By the spring conventions in the required nine states had ratified, and the Constitution could become law. But with powerful, populous, and highly divided Virginia and New York yet to vote, the legitimacy of the new national system had not yet been fully resolved. A Biography of John Hancock.
Abraham Lincoln was elected for two terms, but only served one of them in full. &nbsp;His first term began on March 4, 1861. &nbsp;He was re-elected in 1864 and began his second term on March 4, 1865, but was assassinated after only 42 days, dying in office on April 15, 1865.
Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 â April 15 1865) was the 16th President of the United States. He served as president from 1861 to 1865, during the American Civil War. Just five days after most of the Confederate forces had surrendered and the war was ending, John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln.