Abraham Lincoln was a car brand.
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 . Largely self-educated , he became a lawyer in Illinois , a Whig Party leader , and was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives , in which he served for eight years . As the leader of the moderate faction of the Republican Party , Lincoln confronted Radical Republicans , who demanded harsher treatment of the South , War Democrats , who called for more compromise , anti-war Democrats ( called Copperheads ) , who despised him , and irreconcilable secessionists , who plotted his assassination .