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 The Papers of Abraham Lincoln project
had previously released all Lincoln documents through the end of his
Illinois legislative career in 1841. Now the project has added 509
documents that extend through March 3, 1849, when Lincoln left
Congress.
“These eight years were pivotal in the personal life and career of
Lincoln,” said Dr. Daniel Worthington, director of the Papers of
Abraham Lincoln. “Personally, he married, welcomed his first two
sons and purchased the land on which he would build his only home.
Professionally, he saw his law practice flourish. Politically, he
rose from a little-known state politician to a U.S. congressman and
a rising star in the Whig Party.”
Documents from this period include:
The letter in which Lincoln first uses the “house divided” metaphor
that would later be the theme of one of his most famous speeches
The marriage certificate for Lincoln and Mary Todd
A satirical newspaper column that almost led to Lincoln fighting a
duel
A brief message that is Lincoln’s first known use of the telegraph
The “spot resolutions” Lincoln introduced in Congress to demand an
accounting for what he considered an illegal war against Mexico.
The documents are available at
www.PapersOfAbrahamLincoln.org along with extensive
annotations explaining the people and events mentioned. Thousands of
additional documents that provide context to Lincoln’s life are also
available.
The Papers of Abraham Lincoln not only makes Lincoln documents
available online but has discovered lost documents and digitally
reunited documents that have been separated over time.
On July 6, 1847, Lincoln delivered a speech in Chicago on a hot
topic of the day: infrastructure improvements and President Polk
blocking projects on the Great Lakes. Yet this speech was somehow
forgotten. Lincoln biographies and collections of his speeches said
nothing about it.
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But the Papers staff came across a mention of it in an obscure
book about internal improvements. They were then able to track down an account
of the speech in a St. Louis newspaper. Now anyone in the world with internet
access can read Lincoln’s words.
“We meet here to promote and advance the cause of internal improvement. Parties
have differed on that subject, but we meet here to break down that difference —
to unite, like a band of brothers, for the welfare of the common country,”
Lincoln told the conference.
As a digital project, the Papers of Abraham Lincoln can update
information and create new connections. One example involves two future
presidents.
In 1848, Lincoln wrote to Secretary of State James Buchanan and requested a copy
of an 1836 treaty between Mexico and what had been the independent nation of
Texas. The text of that letter has been available for decades, but there was no
known response from Buchanan, who would become the 15th president. Then a
researcher pointed the ALPLM team to a 1909 collection of Buchanan’s papers. It
contained his response (which was basically, sorry, I don’t have a copy).
Today, anyone researching Lincoln’s criticism of the Mexican War can read his
letter and Buchanan’s reply together, along with the copy of the treaty that
Lincoln eventually tracked down on his own.
In all, the Papers of Abraham Lincoln has now published 930 documents by or to
Lincoln, all of which have been edited, transcribed and annotated. They are
accompanied by 8,095 background documents, such as copies of legislation.
The project is now publishing documents from the next phase of Lincoln’s life –
the period from leaving Congress to winning the presidential election in 1860,
involving some 3,800 documents.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum uses a combination of
rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship to immerse visitors in Lincoln’s
life and times. The library holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln books,
documents, photographs, artifacts and art, as well as some 12 million items
pertaining to all aspects of Illinois history.
For more information, visit
www.PresidentLincoln.illinois.gov.
[Christopher Wills] |
