In 1860 former U.S. Rep. Abraham Lincoln defeats four candidates for the presidency. In 1862, in the midst of the Civil War, the embattled president issues a preliminary decree stating that unless the rebellious states return to the Union by January 1, freedom would be granted to slaves within those states. No Confederate states take the offer. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln presents the Emancipation Proclamation. It does not free all slaves in the United States. Rather, it declares free only those slaves living in states not under Union control. Lincoln is re-elected president on Nov. 8, 1864. Five months later, on April 14, 1865, he is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.