Abraham Lincoln In Depth
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Abraham Lincoln was a pragmatist in the use of power. Winston Churchill wrote that Lincoln was "anxious to keep the ship on an even keel and steer a steady course, he may lean all his weight now on one side and now on the other. His arguments in each case when con...
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Abraham Lincoln & Freedom
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The status of blacks who escaped servitude was not obvious or clear at the beginning of the Civil War. Lincoln biographer Noah Brooks wrote how escaped slaves were treated in the early weeks of the Civil War in 1861: "The slaves of the South were thought by the pe...
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Abraham Lincoln's White House
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The second floor of the White House included the family quarters of the White House – as well as the offices and bedroom of Mr. Lincoln's two principal aides. The office Mr. Lincoln called "the shop" was also the government's crisis center. A crisis like the Civi...
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Abraham Lincoln & Friends
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Not all old acquaintances brought Mr. Lincoln joy. " I am constrained to say it is difficult to answer so ugly a letter in good temper," Mr. Lincoln wrote on December 31, 1861 in response to a letter from General David Hunter. Hunter, like many Union generals, h...
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Abraham Lincoln & New York
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While alive, Mr. Lincoln visited New York on six occasions. None of these visits was lengthy. The longest, in February 1860 lasted only three nights. On two of these visits — in September 1848 and June 1862, Mr. Lincoln merely lasted through the city on th...
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Lincoln's Contemporaries
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As a group, the Republican Radicals in Congress lacked the sense of a humor that Abraham Lincoln had in abundance. Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner was especially humorless and obstinate. Wisconsin Republican Carl Schurz observed that "Mr. Lincoln was a const...
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Featured Article
by Lewis E. LehrmanThey 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."
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About the Abraham Lincoln Institute
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. |
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A Project of
The Lehrman Institute
Lewis E. Lehrman, Founder
When using this research please
acknowledge The Lehrman Institute
and The Lincoln Institute.
Lincoln is Here!
Nationwide release -- November 16 |
Watch the Trailer
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Learn More About the Characters in "Lincoln"
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The Lincolns
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| Daniel Day Lewis |
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| Sally Field |
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| Gulliver McGrath |
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| Joseph Gordon-Levitt |
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| Chase Edmunds |
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Lincoln at Peoria
The Turning Point
by Lewis E. Lehrman
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. |
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