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Category: U.S. Presidents

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

The Great Buchanan Inheritance Hoax

Posted by: Neely Tucker

Ninety years ago, a Texas grocer named Lorenzo D. Buchanan stepped forward with one of the great hoaxes of 20th-century American pop-culture life, a genealogical fabrication that continues to resonate today. The Great Buchanan Inheritance Hoax rocked American life from 1931-1936 with his false tale of an $85 million inheritance that was available to anyone who could prove a family connection.

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inauguration Stories: Lincoln’s 1865 “With Malice Toward None” Speech

Posted by: Neely Tucker

Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address, delivered as the Civil War was in its final weeks, was one of most important in American history, featuring the immortal line, "With malice toward none, with charity for all." Michelle Krowl, the Library's Civil War and Reconstruction historian, explains how the day unfolded in this short video.