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The President Demands Better for His Troops

As an active commander in chief, Lincoln personally tested the innovative Spencer repeater carbines, or “navy rifles.” Despite being pressured to approve the weapon, Lincoln demanded its flaws be corrected before it was issued to his troops. This letter shows Lincoln’s sense of responsibility—in word and deed—to the troops and his insistence on high standards. […]

Lincoln Offers Words of Comfort

The devastating losses of the Civil War made the composition of condolence letters one of Lincoln’s regular, dismal duties. He wrote this deeply felt letter to the twenty-two-year-old Fanny McCullough only ten months after the death of his son Willie. Lincoln offers words of solace on the death of McCullough’s father, telling her that “In […]

Lincoln Upholds Execution of a Condemned Slave Trader

This document stands out in the history of a man renowned for his mercy and willingness to forgive. His refusal to grant the condemned Nathaniel Gordon clemency for his capital crime made Lincoln the only American president to execute a slave trader. Predictably, Lincoln’s decision caused a huge public stir. The execution made an example […]

Lincoln Fires a Union Officer for Disloyalty

When Major John J. Key became the only Union officer to be court- martialed and discharged for “uttering disloyal sentiments,” the final appeal came to Lincoln. Having reviewed the arguments on both sides, Lincoln used his legal expertise to distill his response into a few words. Such disloyalty was “wholly inadmissible,” and Key was to […]

Lincoln Calls for a Black Regiment

In this terse memo to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Lincoln makes it clear he wants Stanton to help William Dole organize what would be the first regiment of African-American soldiers formed in Washington, DC. Coincidentally, in Boston, the Massachusetts 54th Infantry was mustered on the following day, 13 May 1863, and officially became the […]

Lincoln Curbs Burnside’s Violations of Civil Liberties

Lincoln came under fire for wartime measures that suspended the writ of habeas corpus, jailed newspaper editors, and tried civilians in military tribunals. Responding to critics who decried his violations of civil liberties, Lincoln argued that such acts were essential to the nation’s survival. This memo to Stanton, however, shows that Lincoln did not always […]

The Abolition of Slavery as a Precondition

In this memorandum, Lincoln deftly prohibits the efforts of Louisiana planters to hold an election under a state constitution that preserved slavery. Instead Lincoln insists on a state constitutional convention that would implement antislavery measures. Thus Lincoln subtly signals that Louisiana will not be readmitted to the Union until slavery is abolished. Lincoln skillfully cloaks […]

Lincoln Mentors a Student

In the midst of the 1860 presidential campaign, Lincoln paused to write a letter of consolation to a friend of his son Robert, George C. Latham, who had been denied admission to Harvard. Lincoln wrote this letter of encouragement declaring, “It is a certain truth that you can enter and graduate in Harvard University; and […]

Lincoln’s Language Provokes Hostility

In Lincoln’s time, Americans were familiar with Lincoln’s opinions primarily through his printed speeches. As this vitriolic letter demonstrates, Lincoln’s words sometimes provoked raging anger among those who disagreed with his principles.

Lincoln Remembered By a Former Slave

In this 1909 tribute to Lincoln delivered to the Republican Club of New York City, Booker T. Washington remembers his mother on the dirt floor of their slave cabin praying that Lincoln would succeed in ending slavery. Now a prominent public figure, the former slave Washington sees Lincoln’s legacy as the “blending of all tongues, […]