One President of America was Abraham Lincoln.
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 . Lincoln has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as among the greatest U.S. presidents . The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln , one of the best-known in American history . The United States presidential election of 1864 was the 20th quadrennial presidential election , held on Tuesday , November 8 , 1864 .