The Lincoln Institute provides resources for scholars and groups involved in the study of the life of America's 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, and the impact he had on the preservation of the Union, the emancipation of black slaves, and the development of democratic principles. We also encourage the use of primary sources about Abraham Lincoln for use by students and scholars along with understanding of the contemporaries with whom Lincoln worked.
Visit The Lincoln Institute sites for specific information and resources on Abraham Lincoln's life including Abraham Lincoln's White House, Abraham Lincoln & Friends, Abraham Lincoln & New York, Abraham Lincoln & Freedom, as well as Abraham Lincoln's Classroom for teacher resources.
Abraham Lincoln had a curious mind – he liked technology and natural mysteries. Judge David Davis recalled that Mr. Lincoln "had a good mechanical mind and Knowledge."1 Attorney Henry Clay Whitney recalled one night when the two lawyers were o...
Stephen A. Douglas spoke about Utah, Kansas-Nebraska Act, the unrest in Kansas and the Dred Scott decision to an audience in Springfield in June 1857. Mr. Lincoln was present. Two weeks later, he replied.
Historian Douglas Wilson wrote in Lincoln Before Wa...
Just three days after his inauguration in 1861, President Lincoln took an early morning horseback ride to visit the Soldiers' Home. Both President Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton had summer cottages in the Northeast section of the city to get away from ...
Opinions on Mr. Lincoln's sociability differed. Mr. Lincoln was "one of the most companionable persons you will ever see in this world," said New Salem resident Mentor Graham.1 "Mr. Lincoln was a social man, though he did not seek company; it sough...
New York Senator Ira Harris was among President Lincoln's "most frequent evening visitors," wrote Lincoln biographer Benjamin Thomas.1 His frequent presence made him privy to the President's patronage — so much so that the President once claimed t...
One day in April 1864, President Abraham Lincoln walked across the hall to the office of aide John Hay. Mr. Lincoln "picked up a paper and read the Richmond Examiners recent attack on Jeff Davis," wrote Hay in his diary. "It amused him. 'Why' said he 'the Examine...
They were big men. George Washington was 6-foot-3. Abraham Lincoln was almost 6-4. Their ambitions were equally big -- first for themselves, and then for the nation they would lead.
As young men, both future presidents trained as surveyors at periods when Americans were preoccupied by the development of the frontier and the acquisition of land. Historian John Ferling wrote: "Starting around age fifteen, George learned surveying through self-help books, such as `The Young Man's Companion,' and it is probable that he was tutored by some of the surveyors employed by the Fairfaxes." In his search for self-improvement, 16-year-old Washington famously wrote out the rules for life and behavior from "Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation." That pursuit would continue the rest of his life.
Surveying helped define both men. In 1834 Abraham Lincoln was named as a deputy surveyor of Sangamon County in Illinois; George Washington had been appointed as Culpepper County surveyor in 1749. Ferling observed that, "surveying ... was a respectable and often lucrative occupation in Washington's Virginia, as the population was growing and new frontiers were opening steadily."
Lincoln at Peoria explains how Lincoln's speech at Peoria on October 16, 1854, was the turning point in the development of his antislavery campaign and his political career and thought.
May 25, 1863 Navy Secretary Gideon Welles writes in his diary: “Am anxious in relation to the South Atlantic Squadron and feel daily the necessity of selecting a new commander. Du Pont is determined Charleston shall not be captured by the Navy, and that the Navy shall not attempt it; thinks it dangerous for the […]...Read More
