Abraham Lincoln was in politics.
Abraham Lincoln ( [ ˈeɪbrəhæm_ˈlIŋkən ] February 12 , 1809 -- April 15 , 1865 ) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865 . Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846 , Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks , tariffs , and railroads . The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln , one of the best-known in American history . The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly , the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois . The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which , along with the Senate , composes the legislature of the United States .