Abraham Lincoln lived from february 12, 1809 - April 15, 1865. He served from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Abraham Lincoln was the Sixteen President of the United States of America. Lincoln's main goal was to end slavery and to retain and maintain the Union with all states.
When Lincoln heard that South California was against his ideas of the union and would push it to an act of war President Lincoln gathered his troops of 20,000 and began the start of the civil war. Lincoln kept Great Britain out of the war because they were supporting the Confederacy. Knowing this he kicked up the gear and over time made two different presidential executive orders known as Emancipation Proclamation. Another contribution to winning the war was cutting off the supplies of the Confederacy.
Durning the Civil war Union forces set up a blockade around the Confederate ports to stop incoming and out coming items such as cotton and weapons. This blockade stopped the flow of money to the Confederacy and made supplies run low.
http://history.state.gov/milestones/1861-1865/Blockade
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090101072421AArnYzM
