Complete Biography of Abraham Lincoln 

 In 1828, a 19-year-old young villager visited the city of New Orleans for the first time in his life. It was his first experience watching such a big city. The magnificent buildings and large ships in the docks impressed him. But then he observed something that rested in his memory forever. He saw that human beings were being bought and sold in the city market like commodities. Helpless human beings in chains were being dragged from ships and taken to the market. Paper advertisements about auctions of slaves were pasted on walls. These advertisements announced that the buyers should bring cash because slaves were not available on credit. Ironically all slaves were black. Whites in America had enslaved their fellow black countrymen. The young villager noticed the cruelty. This practice had hurt him but he was in no position to help the slaves. The young villager was just an employee on a small boat. Yet he told his friend that someday he would stop this evil trade. But this mission was not an easy one. He needed to become the most powerful man in America to accomplish his mission. And look, it happened ... but how?  Hi I am Ali Raza and we are showing you this story Who Was Abraham Lincoln. This is the Sangamon River,

                                     Sangamon River

 is where Abraham Lincoln started his career as a storekeeper. Around 100 people lived in the town. They all became his customers. Sometime travelers also visited his shop and bought things. The store sold candles, small bottles of wine and some utensils. But the time was against Lincoln. He soon lost his job. Because the store owner closed the store due to financial losses and fired Lincoln. This was his first failure. Even after losing job Lincoln had achieved something very precious. The locals considered him an honest man. One day a woman bought something from his shop. When she left, Lincoln noticed that his scales were not right. He had not weighed the stuff properly. So he went to the woman's house and gave her some more stuff. The people of the New Salem Called Abraham Lincoln "honest Abe" because of his honesty. Because of this reputation, Lincoln decided to run in the 1832 state election. He was sure that the people of the New Salem and other nearby settlements would vote for him and he would become member of Illinois state assembly. But it so happened that he lost, despite his good reputation. This was his 2nd failure. Since he was 6 feet 4 inch tall, he had enough space on his chest for more badges of failure. 23-year-old Lincoln was had no money or enough food after losing his 1st election. He used his power to make a living and began to work as a logger. Later he became a postman and started delivering letters at homes. He also worked as part time surveyor. But even this job did not suit his needs and temperament. He then took advantage of his excellent physique and challenged the New Salem wrestling champion. But even here he lost. Some say he lost deliberately to win the sympathy of the wrestling champion and his friends. And he succeeded this time. The wrestling champion Armstrong and his friends became Lincoln's close friends. They helped him in his future political struggle. He opened the Berry-Lincoln Store with a friend, William Berry to earn a living. Once his financial concern was over he restarted his political career. He became a member of the assembly of Illinois in 1834. This was his first success in a life full of failures. But this success did not solve his financial problems. He received only 3 dollars a day allowance during assembly sessions. He could not manage his store because of politics. 1835 proved to be a painful year of his life. First, his store partner William Berry died and then the store was shut down. The store had a debt of $1800. It took Lincoln 15 years to repay the loan. Lincoln jokingly called it the national debt. But the greatest tragedy of all was the death of Anne Rutledge.

 Lincoln had met Anne in his New Salem store. She was so beautiful that he fell in love with her. But the girl was engaged to someone else. According to psychologists, once you fall in love with someone, you can't return easily. Both lovers spent lot of time together. They often met outside the store and even on the banks of the river. But all of a sudden typhoid fever spread in the area and N. Rutledge died of the fever. This memorial board hangs at the place where Anne lived in a cabin. Lincoln met her for the last time in the same cabin. It is also written on the board that Lincoln wept under a banyan tree near the cabin. Lincoln had tasted 3 failures in a single year. His last failure was the most tragic of all. Lincoln visited Anne's grave several times as long as he lived. 2 years after the deaths of Anne and Berry, Lincoln moved to the nearby town of Springfield. New Salem was already losing its population. The town was established as a temporary stay for the steam boats from Sangamon River. But Sangamon River was never cleaned for the steamboats. So the town disappeared within 3 years of Lincoln's departure. Lincoln never returned to New Salem. But he visited his beloved's grave sometimes. Lincoln became a lawyer in Springfield. He earned good money and paid his debts. He also married Mary Todd, a girl from a noble family.

 He also became a member of the U.S. Congress and spent 2 years in Washington D.C. But all of this soon lost its appeal. Because he could not forget the slaves he saw in the beginning of his life who were being sold in chains. He disliked slavery, but his own party, the Wig Party and the people of his constituency supported slavery. So he quit politics and only focused on his law career. When he was free, he spent time with his wife and children, but he almost forgot about his father and stepmother. Abraham Lincoln rose to fame because of debate in America. This debate was about the issue of slavery. The American nation was divided over this issue. The southern states of the country were supporting slavery. The southern farmers needed slaves for their fields and farms. In return, slaves were given permanent housing and food. These slaves had no rights. The southern states didn't want to abolish slavery because slaves were a cheaper labor. But the northern states were experiencing an industrial revolution. Industries provided jobs for the white people and made them less dependent upon agriculture. Slaves were not suitable for the industry. The white people didn't want the slaves to take away their jobs. So it was a moral as well as an economical problem that motivated the whites in the northern states to abolish slavery. In 1850s, the issue of slavery became a hot topic in both the southern and the northern states. This hot debate soon led to bloodshed and a civil war erupted in the country. Both proponents and opponents of slavery took up arms. Both sides used references from the Bible to justify their cause. Now Lincoln also set aside his law files and rejoined politics. One day he heard Democratic senator Stephen Douglas' 

speech. Senator Douglas was speaking in favor of maintaining slavery. He did not consider blacks to be equal to whites. He was saying that every American state had the right to decide the future of the slavery. When Stephen Douglas finished his speech, Lincoln stepped forward. He said he would prove the next day that Douglas was wrong. Now people in Springfield knew Lincoln, so they came to hear the speech the next day. Lincoln spoke for 3 hours, arguing against slavery. He said that Douglas could only be right if we didn't consider the blacks to be human beings. He said that if the blacks were humans then no human had the right to keep them slaves. He declared that the blacks were human beings and free. Lincoln's arguments touched the hearts of many. Soon his name was popular among the abolitionists. Abraham Lincoln's old whig party was dissolved soon. The Republican party replaced it which was an anti slavery party. Lincoln also joined the new party. In 1858, he tried to become senator as a republican candidate. His rival Stephen Douglas was also running for the same seat. Lincoln decided to hold public debates with his opponent. So he challenged Douglas to a debate. Douglas accepted the challenge. Lincoln and Douglas had 7 public debates of 3 hours each in various cities of Illinois. A fat Douglas with a height of 5 feet 4 inch was facing Lincoln who was 6 feet 4 inch tall.

 When the two came face to face, people could not help but smile at the difference in their height. People started calling Douglas the Little Giant and Lincoln the Long Abbey. Thousands of people saw these debates and street vendors earned lot of money by selling their name badges. As the people flocked to see these debates, another revolution was also taking place. This was the revolution of print media. Telegraph system was installed by that time. This system wired messages faster than trains. Reporters sent their typed news reports to their newspaper offices via telegraph. These news were then printed and distributed across America by trains. Reporters also used cameras to take pictures for their newspapers. It was a new innovation in media. The print media spread Lincoln's message against slavery across the United States. Supporters of Licoln and Douglas studied those reports and used them in their political debates. Abraham Lincoln lost to Douglas in the senate elections. But despite the defeat, his name was now a is against black slavery. He had become so popular that his name was sometimes mentioned as a U.S. presidential candidate. Lincoln was recently defeated in the senate elections, so he didn't imagine to become a presidential candidate. Yet his state Illinois declared him its presidential candidate. But the final decision for the presidential candidate was to be made at the National Convention in Chicago. The Republican party was a new party. So it needed a powerful candidate to win the elections. The party had lost the previous elections. But now they wanted to win. Delegates in the national convention discussed many names including Lincoln. No one opposed Lincoln. Thus a failed businessman, failed lover and a failed senate candidate was nominated for the US presidential elections. Abraham Lincoln was not present at the convention. He was playing playing handball at his home in Springfield. When he was declared presidential candidate, people gathered outside his home and cheered. The Republican nomination was like winning the election. Because the Democrats could not field a single agreed candidate. The Democrats could not choose between Stephen Douglas or John Bracken Ridge. So both candidates participated in the elections. This broke the unity of the Democrats and greatly benefited Lincoln. Elections were held on November 6, 1860. Voting was taking place all over the United States, but interestingly, the southern states did not have the slightest support for Lincoln. Even his name did not appear on the ballot papers. Nevertheless, when the result was announced, Lincoln won. Interestingly, his votes were 300,000 less than the combined votes of the 2 Democrat candidates. But obviously they were divided. Lincoln won 180 electoral votes from 18 states. Thus Lincoln became president but his success divided his country into two. The southern states broke away from America after Lincoln's victory. They created their own country and named it the Confederate States of America. The new country had its own flag and parliament. Senator Davis was elected as its president. Lincoln had to face the biggest crisis in American history. But his 1st challenge was his oath taking ceremony. He had to travel 1654 miles from Springfield to Washington D.C. But along the 1,500-mile route, thousands of his opponents were waiting for him. He threatened to assassinate Lincoln if he did not resign and come to Washington to take the oath. At that time, there were no airplanes to carry him safely to Washington. He had to travel by train and this route was not safe. What happened then? How did Lincoln reach Washington? Did Abraham Lincoln live up to his promise to abolish slavery? Or political problems hindered him? Why was the media against him? Why did Lincoln fire so many generals, including his army chief? What was the decision that made Abraham Lincoln one of the greatest leaders in history? We'll show you all this in the next episode of this series. On February 11, 1861, U.S. President-elect Abraham Lincoln addressed his supporters in Springfield. "This is the place where I have lived for a quarter of a century, this is where my children were born and one of them is also buried here," he said. He said that he didn't know if he would ever return to Springfield. He said a big challenge was waiting for him in Washington. At that time the southern states had declared independence while Lincoln had yet to take oath. Lincoln had no experience of presidency. Then how he faced the greatest challenge in American history? Lincoln's train left Springfield and arrived in Philadelphia after 9 days. Lincoln addressed his supporters at every station along the way. But a threat was waiting for him in Baltimore. Lincoln's security in charge warned him that his opponents were planning a knife attack on him in Baltimore. The threat alert said that when Lincoln would address his supporters in Baltimore, somebody would stab him. So Lincoln's security personnel secretly changed his train. Lincoln was taken to Washington in another train. But the train he had left was never attacked. Some say that Lincoln's security in charge overreacted. But his actions damaged Lincoln's reputation. Because when the original train arrived in Baltimore, Lincoln's supporters were disappointed when they didn't see him. It was a scandalous story for the press. Pro-rebel newspapers used this story to portray Lincoln as a coward. They published cartoons and news stories claiming that Lincoln was a coward 

who changed his train and hid behind a seat. In cartoons, he was shown peeking out of train doors with a terrified face or running away from death with long legs. The U.S. newspapers were also divided over this issue. some newspapers were supporting Lincoln. But pro-slavery newspapers never missed an opportunity to criticize him. In these circumstances Lincoln took oath on 4th of March 1861. Military forces with cannons were deployed to guard the oath taking ceremony. Snipers were positioned on the rooftops. Lincoln's supporters expected that he would abolish slavery in his inauguration address. But when Lincoln started his hand-written speech he didn't announce abolition of slavery. Instead, he said that he would not interfere with the slavery system in the states. He declared that he had no authority over the states to do that. But he also threatened the rebel states. He said, "In you hands, my dissatisfied countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war." He said, "The government will not assail you... You can have no conflict, without being yourselves the aggressors." He said, "You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one "to preserve, protect and defend" it." After his oath, Lincoln went to his office. But the people who visited him in his office thought he was a non serious person. Now his supporters were disappointed. They thought that Lincoln didn't care for his country any more. But it was not the case. The rebel states were so close to him. He could see the rebel state of Virginia through the White House windows. The rebel capital Richmond was situated in Virginia. Rebel president Colonel Jafferson's office was also in that city. Lincoln could not ignore this threat. His supporters wanted a quick attack on Virginia. But Lincoln didn't want to start the war. He was waiting for some mistake from the rebels. The rebels made the mistake of attacking a union post, Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Then Lincoln ordered his army to prepare for the war. At that time the United States didn't have an active standing army. Lincoln ordered the recruitment of 75,000 volunteers. They had to serve for 3 months. These volunteers started training and a war environment was created. The northern states under Lincoln were superior to their southern rivals. The Union had 23 states and controlled the largest area of the country. While 11 rebel states controlled a small area. The union states had powerful industry to manufacture ammunition while the southern states had no such facilities. Over 20 million inhabitants of the northern states were a great source of recruitment. The total population of the southern states was only 9 million. 4 million of them were slaves and the rebels could not trust them. The rebel states had only one advantage. Their president was a capable military commander. Jafferson Davis had led the American forces successfully in the war against Mexico. This was the situation when on 21st of July, 1861, Lincoln ordered his general Irvin McDowell to attack on Virginia. Many Americans considered it a sort of stage show. Virginia was just in front of Washington. Only the Potomac river separated it from the capital city. When the union troops advanced, hundreds of citizens gathered on a mountain to watch the battle. These were rich people. They had come in carriages with food and drinks. It was like a picnic for them. The union troops were also feeling proud and walked into the battle like heroes. 90% of them had no idea how horrible a battle was. When the union troops under Irvin McDowell crossed the Potomac river and faced the real weapons, They lost heart. Blasts of the cannons, dead bodies, blood and screams of the wounded damaged their morale. The union troops fled the battlefield. Then the spectators also panicked and ran. They left their food behind and many carriages were also broken during escape. These people locked themselves in their homes. This was the 1st battle of Bull Run. Lincoln didn't sleep that night. He questioned many people returning from the battlefield about the battle. This was a surprise defeat. Lincoln ordered 3 of his other generals to launch attacks against the rebels. But the commanders were slow in their response. Lincoln thought that the general looked handsome in their uniforms but they had no experience of war. He understood the fact that the war could not be won only by the generals. So Lincoln prepared himself to meet this challenge on his own. He got books on military strategy and studied them all. It was by reading books that he had become a lawyer. So he became a bookish general. He sat with his military officers and planned everything by himself. His commanders had to follow his orders otherwise he dismissed them. First of all he retired his ageing military chief Winfield Scott. Then he dismissed general Irvin McDowell who had lost the battle of Bull Run. He also dismissed many more officers during the war. Now the war was in full swing. The union army was attacking or defending at various fronts. There were days when thousands of Americans died in a single battle. Blood was flowing like water. Now Lincoln was feeling that he needed dictatorial authority to run the war. Congress gave him this authority. Lincoln ordered arrest of the supporters of the rebels without any court proceedings. He also imposed martial law in some places. Even the pro-rebel newspapers were temporarily shutdown. Now Lincoln was leading the war by himself. The U.S. navy cut off the rebels' shipping lanes on his orders. This blockade effectively ended their trade and any hope of getting help from Europe. Lincoln's war policies were successful and the union army was now retaking areas from the rebels. It seemed that the rebel states would soon surrender. But 2 events in 1862 changed this situation. Lincoln had already seen death of his 3-year-old son in Springfield. Now his 11-years-old son William Wallace died of typhoid fever. When Lincoln returned from his funeral he locked himself up in his room and cried for hours. Then he wiped out his tears, came out and took over his responsibilities like before. On the other hand, the rebel states appointed General Robert Lee as their new commander. General Robert Lee successfully stopped the union advance in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. He also launched attacks deep inside the union territory. He forced Lincoln's union army in a defensive position at many fronts. The rebel forces were now winning under Lee. It could be a turning point in the war. But Lincoln still held his trump card. He could abolish slavery in the southern states. He hoped that if he abolished slavery the slaves in the rebel states would revolt against their white masters. But this was not the right time to abolish slavery because his army was losing. Abolition of slavery at that time could have been interpreted as a desperate effort to win the war. On 17th of September, 1862, General Lee launched attacks around Washington. President Lincoln himself went to the battlefield to save his capital city. Union general McClellan was defending the capital city. But Lincoln himself reached the front because it was a sensitive matter. His tent was setup near the battlefield. Here Lincoln supervised the battle himself. This was a do or die mission for him. If General Lee had conquered Washington the union government would have collapsed. Great world powers like Britain and France were waiting the capture of Washington to formally recognize the rebel states. Now America's future depended upon this battle. The battle took place near Sharpsburg. It is also called the battle of Antietam. General Lee was in a weak position before the battle. His force was exhausted and without much ammunition. So general Lee retreated after a brief fight. He crossed the Potomac river and entered Virginia. He had saved most of his troops but his bid to capture Washington had failed. 17th of September was the bloodiest day of the civil war. 10,000 rebels and over 12,000 union troops were killed in a single day. It was also the last day for general McLellan. He had failed to crush the rebel army once and for all. Lincoln thought he was a lazy general. Lincoln ordered him to chase the rebels and end the war then and there. But McLellan could not do that. Lincoln called the general to his tent and later dismissed him. Though the rebel army was not fully destroyed but it had to retreat from the union areas. This was a success. This was the victory Lincoln needed to announced the abolition of slavery. 6 days after the battle, Lincoln gave the rebel states a deadline until 1st of January, 1863, to surrender otherwise he would abolish slavery. Newspaper published cartoons about this deadline. But the rebel states ignored it. So the 1st of January, 1863 became a memorable day in American history. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that abolished the slavery. Lincoln wrote his full name on the document. He declared, "if my name ever goes into history, it will be because of this act." This proclamation also allowed the union army to recruit black soldiers. Thousands of black people joined the union army afterwards. Though the slaves in rebel states didn't rise up in rebellion. But the proclamation surely spread some unrest in those states. Now the union army won more battles after the proclamation. But it was not able to capture the capital city of the rebels. The war could not be won without capturing the rebel capital. So now the union army advanced on Richmond, the capital of the rebel states. General Grant was leading the campaign. General Lee defended Richmond well. Countless soldiers died in the fighting. The union army lost 54,000 troops in the battles around Richmond. At this point the American nation was fed up of the war. Those who thought war was just a game, now they were witnessing its tragedies. Now many were demanding to end the war. Another presidential election was at hand, any pause in the war could have strengthened the rebels. But the opposition to the war was making it difficult for Lincoln to win the next elections. Do you know who was his opposite candidate. It was general McLellan whom Lincoln had dismissed. Now the democrats had chosen this man their presidential candidate. Now McLellan promised to end the war and restore slavery. This was a powerful slogan. Lincoln had only one chance to win now. Lincoln needed to win the war to impress his voters. Meanwhile the union army captured the state of Georgia. The union army also tightened its noose around Richmond. Now the last rebel stronghold was in danger. This was a good news for Lincoln. The U.S. public opinion once again went in his favor. Lincoln overwhelmingly won the presidential election. He got 212 electoral votes while McLellan could get only 21 electoral votes. Lincoln abolished slavery through a constitutional amendment after winning the election. His 37-years-old dream finally came true in January 1865. That's why some say that you should dream because sometimes dreams come true. The rebels' power broke within a month of Lincoln's 2nd inauguration. The rebel states were falling one by one to the union army. But it was essential to capture Richmond. Without capturing Richmond, it was impossible to reunite America and defeat the supporters of slavery. On 3rd of April, 1865, the union flag was hoisted over Richmond. General Lee also surrendered on 9th of April, 1865, 6 days after the fall of Richmond. The Rebels' president Jefferson Davis was also arrested a month after these events. The American civil war ended after 4 years and the loss of 600,000 lives. But now Lincoln faced another dilemma. He had to decide the future of the defeated rebels. He announced his decision two days after the surrender of Lee. On 11th of April, 1865, Lincoln addressed his supporters from a window of the Whitehouse. He had some papers in his hands with his speech points written on them. He read from these papers and dropped them one by one. His 12-years-old son was sitting at his feet and was picking up every dropped paper. Some one from the crowd asked, "what should we do with the rebels?" The Crowd answered, "hang them, hang them." But Lincoln's son responded even before his father. He said, "no we must hang on to them." Tedd Lincoln had truly represented his father's thoughts. Lincoln wanted to pardon the rebels to end the bitterness of the civil war. So all the rebel soldiers and politicians were pardoned. Event the rebels who had fought bravely were recognized as heroes. There monuments exist to this day in the southern states. The war was over. But this war had damaged Lincoln's nerves. His health had seriously deteriorated. The death of his 11-years-old son had also hurt him alot. His wife was also mentally shaken and became quarrelsome. Lincoln was disturbed but he remained silent. This is one of the last pictures of Abraham Lincoln. You can clearly see that the war had severely affected his health. When this picture was taken the glass of the camera was cracked, then its original negative was also broken. In those days Lincoln had a horrible dream. In his dream, he heard sounds of crying from every room in the Whitehouse. What was this dream? Who murdered Lincoln and why? What happened to his murderers? Why Lincoln's guards couldn't save him? Why did his body take out of his grave 17 times. Is Lincoln's current gravesite is his real tomb? In early 1865, Lincoln a dream. He saw that he was walking in the Whitehouse. There was a weeping sound from every room. He followed the sound and entered the east room of the building. He saw a shrouded body. Its face was covered. Many people were sitting around the body and crying. He asked a guard, "who died in the Whitehouse?" The Guard said it was the president. An assassin murdered him. With these words the weeping sound got intense and Lincoln woke up. I am Faisal Warraich and we will show you this story in the last episode of Lincoln's biography. Lincoln was facing death threats from the start of his terms as the president. You have watched the Baltimore plot story in the 2nd episode of this series. Lincoln had received so many threat letters. He could not read them all. He put them in a box. The word assassin was written on its lid. Lincoln's close friends were concerned about his security. So they deployed military guards in the Whitehouse. when Lincoln went outside in a carriage he was always surrounded by armed guards but Lincoln was not satisfied. He said that if somebody wanted to kill him then even a suit of armor or several guards would not save him. Because there were a thousand ways to kill a person. On 14th of April, 1865, Lincoln got up early as usual. He completed a few tasks before breakfast. Later he attended a cabinet meeting and also met with general Grant. He ordered that no retaliatory action would be taken against any person in the rebel states. Lincoln said that enough blood had been shed. So he didn't want anymore bloodshed. Then he took his lunch and returned to his office. He also decided about some applications of court-martial. Lincoln also repealed the death sentence of a rebel spy and pardoned a defector of the union army. At noon, Lincoln told his wife that it was the happiest time of his life. Then he left with his wife in a carriage for outing in the evening. He tried to end his wife's sadness by talking in a sweet tone. He mentioned the tragedies of the civil war and the death of their son William. He said that they must remain more happy in the future. That night, Lincoln and his wife visited Ford's theater to see a stage show. A presidential box with a military flag was reserved for them in the theater. Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée were also sitting in the carriage with them. Both couples entered the presidential box. All the people in the hall below stood up to pay their respects to the president and the first lady. The stage orchestra struck up "hail to the Chief" music. Lincoln smiled and nod. Then he sat on an armchair. His wife sat beside him, Major Rathbone and his fiancée sat on the right side of the couple. Then the show started. It was a famous comedy drama "Our American Cousin." Famous actress Laura Keene was performing the lead role. Lincoln laughed at the comedy dialogues of the drama. All 4 people in the box were facing the hall and the door was behind them. The door was not locked and an American cop John Parker was guarding the door. But Parker abandoned his duty to watch the drama and went below in the hall. An assassin saw that there was no guard. He moved towards the door with a pistol and a knife. He had decided to murder the president at all cost. The assassin thought that Lincoln was a cruel dictator who had deprived the southern states of their freedom. People were laughing at a comedy act in the hall when the door behind Lincoln opened without a sound. The assassin came in and without any delay shot Lincoln in the back of his head. Lincoln fell to a side never to move again. His wife tried to rescue him and screamed. Major Henry attacked the assassin but the attacker injured him with his knife and jumped into the hall, 12 feet below. He said something loudly which meant that tyrants meet the same end and the south is avenged. There were hundreds of people in the hall but nobody could stopped the assassin. The assassin was a famous stage actor John Wilked Booth. They thought it was another act of the drama. John Wilkes Booth went out through the stage door. There he fled on a horse. Then the people in the hall realized the situation and they panicked. They went out of the hall screaming while 2 doctors rushed in to attend the injured president. Lincoln was unconscious. The bullet had entered his skull and stopped, cut through his brain and stopped just behind his right eye. Then 6 soldiers came to the presidential box. They took Lincoln across the road in a boarding house. Lincoln was taller than the bed in the boarding house. That's why didn't lay straight on the bed. Now 5 doctors were trying to save his life. But his situation was critical. Doctors realized that he was going to die. So they called all his close friends and relatives to his bed. Lincoln's son Robert Lincoln was also standing near his bed. Mary Todd had lost her nerves. She was screaming and asking the people to bring her son Tedd. She thought Tedd could save his father's life. But Tedd was in another theater that night. When soldiers came to inform him about his father, he screamed. He said, ''They killed my pa, they killed my pa." The soldiers didn't take Tedd to Lincoln. They took him to the Whitehouse. On the other hand the city was in turmoil. The foreign secretary was also attacked but survived. Rumors spread that the rebels were about to capture the city. So the military was deployed in the city to defend it. At 7:22 am on 15th of April, 1865, Lincoln died. He was covered with a white cloth. American war minister Edwin Stanton declared that now Lincoln had become part of the history. On the 19th of April, a funeral procession took place. Black soldiers were walking with Lincoln's coffin beating their drums lightly. All the church bells in the city were tolling. However Lincoln had once said that he didn't believe much in the religion. He used Biblical references and God's name during his speeches. But he never said that he was a Christian. Even he once said that the lack of religious belief was like a tax on his popularity with the voters. Historians say that he tolerated the lack of religious support but never tried to show himself as a religious man. To this day the debate lasts that Lincoln believed in religion or not. On 21st of April, 1865, a special funeral train left Washington with Lincoln's coffin for his native state Illinois. The remains of his late son William were also kept in a coffin along with Lincoln