He entered the Blackhawk war as a captain, but came out a private.
In 1831 he failed in business
In 1832 he was defeated for the state legislature
In 1833 he failed again in business
In 1834 he was elected to the state legislature
In 1835 his sweetheart died
In 1836 he had a nervous breakdown
In 1838 he was defeated for Speaker
In 1840 he was defeated for Elector
In 1843 he was defeated for Congress
In 1846 he was elected for one term to Congress
In 1848 he was defeated again for Congress
In 1855 he was defeated for Senate
In 1856 he was defeated for Vice President
In 1858 he was defeated again for Senate
In 1860 he, finally, was elected President of the United States. And these are just a few of the rough spots in the life of great former President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln grew up in a very difficult environment. He had less than a year of formal schooling, he experienced defeat and failure year after year, but is one of the greatest success stories of all time. In spite of everything, he had the right attitude to achieve success.