Final Cabinet Meeting On April 14, 1865, the day President Lincoln was assassinated, the cabinet gathered for the last time. President Lincoln met a variety of Administration and congressional officials that day while finding time to take a carriage ride with his wife that afternoon and go to the theater that night. Carl Sandburg wrote… […]

Post-Election Cabinet Meeting, November 11, 1864 On November 11, 1864, President Lincoln was reelected with the Electoral College support of all but New Jersey and Delaware. The prospects for his reelection had fluctuated wildly during 1864. Early in the year, supporters of Salmon Chase had tried… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Emancipation Proclamation The production of the Emancipation Proclamation took place in stages – as the president sought to balance pressure on him from pro-emancipation and anti-emancipation groups. For example, Senator Charles Sumner visited “White House twice on July 4 to plead that the President…” Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Cabinet Meetings Many of the most important decisions of the war were made here at noon meetings on Tuesdays and Fridays – a structure that was instituted after Cabinet members complaints about the lack of scheduled meeetings. And virtually all meetings of the cabinet were held… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Visitors Mr. Lincoln himself explained why the reception of visitors was important to administration of the government: “For myself, I feel–though the tax on my time is heavy–that no hours of my day are better employed than those which thus bring me again within the direct contact and atmosphere of the average of our…” Abraham […]

Passage of Thirteenth Amendment Illinois attorney Leonard Swett said he spoke to President Lincoln in October 1863 about a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery: “I told him… I believed the result of this war would be the extermination of slavery; that Congress would…” Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Mr. Lincoln’s Office Mr. Lincoln’s office was the center of the Lincoln White House — where Cabinet Meetings were held on Tuesday and Friday, where the President met most officials and guests, read and answered his mail, where his hair was… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Mr. Lincoln’s Stories Mr. Lincoln liked stories. He liked to hear them and he liked to tell them. And, he liked to use them to suggest a moral or evade a clear statement of opinion. Mr. Lincoln knew words were important. Stories were an evasive tactic for Lincoln. His penchant for stories both… Abraham Lincoln’s […]

President Lincoln’s Funeral Mr. Lincoln died on Saturday, April 15. On Tuesday, April 18, 1865 President Lincoln lay in state in the East Room on an eleven-foot high catafalque designed by Commissioner of Public Building Benjamin French. Preparations had gone on virtually uninterrupted since the President’s body had been moved back to… Abraham Lincoln’s White […]

Second Inaugural Levee On March 4, 1865, an open reception was held here following the Presidential inauguration. “From 8 til 1/4 past 11 the president shook hands steadily, at the rate of 100 every 4 minutes – with about 5,000 persons! Over, rather than under, for I counted the 10 several times, and when they…” […]