Abraham Abe Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He is considered one of the greatest figures in the history of the United States. He was an attorney in Springfield, Illinois, before running for the Presidency. During his Presidency he kept his country together during the Civil War and later signed the Emancipation Proclamation which freed African-Americans from slavery. He was elected to a second term as president even though his war policies were criticised. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, an actor who was a Confederate sympathizer in 1865, after which Abe was seen as a martyr and an icon among many people in the United States. His iconic status has been represented in many media protrayals, both serious and comic.