Abraham Lincoln was alive in America.
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 . In 1860 , Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state . Indiana [ ɪndiˈænə ] is a U.S. state located in the midwestern and Great Lakes regions of North America . The Lincoln -- Douglas Debates ( also known as The Great Debates of 1858 ) were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln , the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois , and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas , the Democratic Party candidate .