Carl Sandburg was born on January 6, 1878 in Galesburg, Illinois. His father, August Sandburg, worked for the railroad company as a blacksmith's helper. As the second of seven children, Carl stopped attending school after eighth grade in order to help his family get by. He held several jobs including brick laying, shining shoes and even harvesting ice until 1897. Sandburg then traveled to Kansas as a hobo. This would help in his future, as he learned several songs and stories that he would later find useful. He also formed much of his political views at this time. Coming from a working class family, and traveling the country with little to no wealth of his own, Sandburg saw the disparity between the wealthy and the poor. This anchored his socialist roots.

During the Spanish-American war, Sandburg volunteered for the armed forces. Though he saw little or no combat, he reaped the benefits that veterans received. Even though he only had the formal education of an eighth grader, Carl was able to attend Lombard College, in his home town of Galesburg, with no cost of tuition. He attended four years of school and was involved in activities outside of classes. The Poor Writers Club was an organization that Sandburg was heavily involved in. Phillip Green Wright was able to mentor and encourage him to polish and publish several of his works. This was the launch pad for Sandburg's career.

After attending college four years, Carl left school without receiving a degree. He was drawn to the political work of Emil Seidel. In 1907, he moved to Milwaukee and became heavily involved with the Socialist party. Between 1910 and 1912, Sandburg even worked as a secretary for Seidel, who had been elected as the first Socialist mayor in the country. In 1912 Carl moved to Chicago, where he would spend 16 years of his life. He loved Chicago and the city was the inspiration for a multitude of his poems. Often incorporating personification of the city, he released his first successful collection of poetry in 1916. The collection was aptly called Chicago Poems. Receiving critical praise for the work, he continued publishing poetry for several more years until his next notable work. Rootabaga Stories, released in 1920, was a book of children's stories made for modern Americans. Sandburg realized that many of the tales that children were being told were old European tales of aristocracy. He created these stories so that children would grow up hearing about a working class hero, rather than the nobility being the only capable people. In 1926, Sandburg published his first biography of Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Year. Due to the positive response of this work, he continued his study of Abraham Lincoln and later released the book he would receive a Pulitzer Prize in history for. Abraham Lincoln: The War Years was released in 1939 and received an even greater response than his earlier work. In 1950 he released Complete Poems, which won him his second Pulitzer Prize. Although Sandburg was also an accomplished folk singer, he also received a Grammy; however, it was not for his music. He won best performance for spoken word for lending his voice to Lincoln Portrait.