Throughout the Civil War, liberal member of Parliament John Bright was Britain’s leading supporter of Lincoln’s policies. In a series of speeches in 1862–63 he argued that the Southern states were fighting for the maintenance of slavery, not independence, and that emancipated labor would improve the supply of cotton to British factories. Bright was almost […]

In 1836, Lincoln found himself in a torturous situation. He felt obligated to his friend Elizabeth Abell to fulfill a promise to marry her sister, Mary Owens, if she came to Illinois from Kentucky. He regretted his rash promise and struggled to find an honorable way to get out of it. In this letter, he […]

This portrait of Lincoln was taken the year of his election as president.

On the occasion of his inauguration, Lincoln tried to avert further secession by Southern states while insisting on the indivisibility of the Union. Reacting to an early draft of the inaugural address, Lincoln’s secretary of state, William H. Seward, suggested a more conciliatory approach. Lincoln took Seward’s advice, but (perhaps with a nod to Shakespeare’s […]

The public’s overwhelmingly positive response to this address— summarizing the evidence that the founders had predicted the ultimate extinction of slavery—catapulted Lincoln onto the national stage and helped him win the Republican presidential nomination. It also precipitated the South’s instantaneous reaction against Lincoln’s election that November.

These twenty-seven lines provide valuable insight into Lincoln’s thought process at a crucial moment of his public life. He advances the fundamental truth that all creatures will fight for the fruits of their labor, drawing upon the kind of moral story he admired as a youthful reader of Aesop’s fables. It illustrates his use of […]

Lincoln was born only a few weeks after Poe. The author came to his attention through one of the numerous parodies of “The Raven,” first published in January 1845. Johnston, a fellow lawyer, sent Lincoln one such parody, “The Pole-Cat,” which led him to seek out Poe’s poem. It is said that Lincoln so appreciated […]

In an autobiographical sketch written in 1859, Lincoln recalled that, in his youth, “there was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three; but that was all. I have not been […]

Lincoln was essentially self-taught. His appetite for reading was voracious, but, because few books were available to him in his youth, he was a careful rather than an extensive reader. He was determined to learn how to write and speak effectively and, to achieve those goals, read and memorized Kirkham’s Grammar, which he is said […]

Published in 1868, this admiring Italian biography of Lincoln testifies to his importance in the eyes of the world, particularly as a role model for the unification of Italy.