Abraham Lincoln's father, Thomas, decided to move to Illinois for better farmland. In Illinois there was flat, black soil. They sold there old farm for $125 and traveled 200 miles before they stopped in Illinois. Then they built a cabin on their fifteen acres of land that they bought. In Illinois Abe became very political. He ran for congress many times and lost.

Abe retired from politics temporarily. He devoted himself to law practice and to improving his mind. He began to study Shakespeare and the Bible. Soon after, Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and Abe got back into politics to fight against it.

One day Abe was selling tea and a woman approached him wanting to buy tea. Abe sold her the tea but soon realized that he had given her less tea than she had paid for. Abe walked four miles to give the woman the rest of her tea. After that people started calling him "Honest Abe" for never lying or cheating.

Lincoln spent many months of one year as a traveling lawyer. He rode from city to city on "Old Buck" his horse. He became known and loved throughout the country for his work as a lawyer. Courts were crowded when he was there. Many people hired Lincoln as their lawyer when they were in trouble. He once defended his good friend's son, Duff Armstrong, and won.

In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen Douglas for the position of state legislature of Illinois and lost. Two years later Abe ran for president against Breckinridge and John Bell. Abe won in a landslide and became the first republican president of the United States.