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Posted by: Erin Allen
The Gettysburg Address, which Abraham Lincoln delivered on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of a national cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield – the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War – is recognized as a literary masterpiece and one of the most important speeches in American history. In three brief …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Exhibitions, Thomas Jefferson Building
Posted by: Erin Allen
Here’s a sampling of some of the highlights in the Library’s blogosphere from February. Inside Adams: Science Technology & Business Turf Wars on the Football Field Jennifer Harbster debates the differences between natural and synthetic turf grass on the football field. In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog In Memory of Patty Andrews and the Andrews …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Blogging, Civil War, Collections, Education, History, LC Web site, Manuscripts, Music, Technology
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is an article from the January-February 2013 issue of the Library’s magazine, LCM, featuring an excerpt from an interview with historian and author Robert Caro about Lyndon Baines Johnson.) LCM: You’ve spent more than 30 years researching and writing about Lyndon Johnson, with a final volume yet to be published. What aspects of …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Podcasts, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
The Library of Congress holds the papers of 23 U.S. presidents, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge. These collections, housed in the Manuscript Division—and the Library’s holdings in other formats such as rare books, photographs, films, sound recordings, sheet music and maps—inform us about the time and tenor of each of their administrations. Unique to …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Capitol Hill, Collections, Congress, Events, History, Manuscripts, Today in History, Uncategorized, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
President Barack Obama next week will again take the oath of office on the Bible, drawn from the Library of Congress collections, that President Abraham Lincoln used at his first inauguration more than 150 years ago. Obama took the oath on the Lincoln Bible at his first inauguration, in 2009. On Monday, the small, burgundy …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Books, Capitol Hill, Collections, Congress, Events, Manuscripts, News, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
Three-hundred-and-twenty-five words made up the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. So simple a start for what would become a pivotal document in our nation’s history – one that would also provide groundwork in passing the 13th amendment abolishing slavery. Currently on view in the Library’s “The Civil War in America” exhibition through Feb. 18, …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Collections, Exhibitions, History, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
What if Abraham Lincoln recorded his innermost thoughts as he moved toward the realization that he must end slavery? What if he lost that diary, but a recently discovered letter suggests that the diary is still out there? Such is the premise of “The Lincoln Letter” (Tor/Forge, 2012) by William Martin, his latest mystery novel …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Books, Capitol Hill, Civil War, Collections, History, LC Web site, Newspapers, Researcher Stories, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
Thanksgiving is just a day away, and I’ve been noticing on Facebook, friends posting what they are thankful for this holiday season. Those statuses certainly have given me pause to count my own blessings. First and foremost, I am thankful for my family, who, no matter how far away I am from them, help me …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Collections, Education, Events, History, LC Web site, Manuscripts, Photos, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
According to the 1860 census, the population of the United States that year was 31,429,891. Of that number, 3,952, 838 were reported as enslaved. The 1860 census was the last time the federal government took a count of the Southern slave population. In 1861, the United States Coast Survey issued two maps of slavery based …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Collections, Exhibitions, History, Maps