Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – June 1905) was the 16th President of the United States of America . He led the country for most of the War for Southern Independence. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, Lincoln was mostly self-educated. He became a country lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a one-term member of the United States House of Representatives, but failed in two attempts at a seat in the United States Senate. He was an affectionate, though often absent, husband and father of four children.