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By William F. Walsh April 14, 2026 While preparing his first inaugural address, a newspaper article summarizing a speech by Alexander H. Stephens on Nov. 14, 1860 to the legislature of his home state of Georgia caught the attention of President-elect Abraham Lincoln. Talk of the south’s secession was very much in the air. Stephens’ speech was notable because it cautioned against disunion on constitutional grounds. Alexander H. Stephens of Gerorgia Lincoln reached out to Ste

Washington, D.C. March 30, 2026 Lincoln scholar Lucas E. Morel is one of the most eloquent voices in explaining how Abraham Lincoln’s views on the primacy of the Declaration of Independence remain relevant today. Here are his remarks when he was asked at the Abraham Lincoln Institute symposium at Ford’s Theatre on March 21 to briefly talk about Lincoln and the 250 th anniversary of America’s Founding: In the year of the semi-quincentennial, America 250, we’re harking back t

Image by Christopher LaPorte

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. Friday, March 13, 2026 President Abraham Lincoln will again arrive by steam train at Gettysburg, Pa., this time on November 18, 2026, just as he did back in 1863 on the day before he delivered his 272-word Gettysburg Address, a speech that still resonates today. This November's arrival of Lincoln, portrayed by actor Billy Campbell, will kick off two days of festivities to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence and help the public fo

Washington, D.C. March 12, 2026 This year's five-day Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College will zero in on the meaning of the Declaration of Independence during the Civil War and beyond this June 12-17. CWI director Ian Isherwood "Check out our special, America250 sessions we are offering at our summer conference, featuring award-winning authors and scholars from the academy, museum, and publishing worlds," the CWI said in an email. The intensive CWI program features spea

On March 17, the Dubois County Historical Society will host an evening devoted to one of the central questions of American history: what did the Declaration of Independence mean to Abraham Lincoln? Joshua Claybourn, president of the Abraham Lincoln Association, will speak at the Dubois County Museum in Jasper, Indiana. His presentation explores Lincoln’s lifelong engagement with the ideas of the Declaration of Independence and the way those ideas shaped his understanding of t

By Jacob K. Friefeld Between August and October 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engaged in seven debates during their U.S. Senate campaign. These debates were a prelude to a showdown in the 1860 presidential election and grappled with topics fundamental to the republic like the nature of slavery and freedom. As Lincoln prepared to debate Douglas, the nation’s most famous political figure, he thought deeply about the context of America’s founding. The founders harbor

by David J. Kent Washington, DC Friday, February 20, 2026 The annual Abraham Lincoln Institute (ALI) Symposium will be held at Ford's Theatre on March 21, 2026, and the Lincoln Group of DC will be featured. This is the first of a series of posts highlighting the upcoming symposium. As mentioned previously , the ALI Symposium this year is a huge change from previous years. Rather than five authors speaking about their books, 2026 will have four panels, each with a pair of spea

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. Feb. 12, 2026 Today is the 217th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, who was born into poverty in his parents' log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky on Feb. 12, 1809. Through his drive and hard work he went much farther in the world than anyone would have thought possible, given where he began. Some of the birthday wreaths waiting to be laid at the Lincoln Memorial on Feb. 12, 2024. Lincoln's birthday is commemorated at many places, pretty good for a ma

By Bill Shepherd Feb. 5, 2026 On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln offered the nation his vision of the true meaning of the sacrifices made on the Gettysburg battlefield. In the first sentence of his speech, Lincoln transported us back to 1776 and the remarkable promise made in the Declaration of Independence — “all men are created equal.” Too often, we read or hear that phrase without asking how or why it became our truism, our creed. My curiosity about the origin of

By William F. Walsh Jan. 22, 2026 “I recollect thinking then, boy even though I was, that there must have been something more than common that those men struggled for.” It was exceedingly rare for Abraham Lincoln to speak of his childhood. Yet, he was doing just that on Feb. 21, 1861, as he reflected on the Revolution’s Battle of Trenton before the members of the New Jersey Senate. Gen. George Washington, victor at the Battle of Trenton The president-elect was introducing him

David J. Kent Washington, DC Thursday, January 15, 2026 The Gettysburg Address is Abraham Lincoln's most famous speech. In 272 words delivered in slightly over two minutes, Lincoln set the tone for the remaining years of the war and steered us to a new birth of freedom . But in another sense, Lincoln made a major error. Most know the opening line: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to t

By David J. Kent Washington, D.C. Jan. 12, 2026 The Abraham Lincoln Institute, with co-sponsorship from the Lincoln Group of D.C., will present the annual ALI Symposium at Ford's Theatre on Saturday, March 21, 2026 . As I previewed before , the Lincoln Group proposed that ALI do a special program that honors Abraham Lincoln's commitment to the Declaration of Independence and the aspiration that "all men are created equal" to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration in 20

By Jeffrey Boutwell Columbia, MD. Jan. 10, 2026 In April 1859, Abraham Lincoln set forth his views on the importance of the founding principles of the Declaration of Independence in a little-known letter to a political meeting in Boston that would help propel him to the presidency. Thomas Jefferson The occasion was that year’s Thomas Jefferson Birthday Dinner organized by the Massachusetts Republican party. Chaired by George Boutwell, former Massachusetts governor and Presi

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. Dec. 31, 2025 The dawning year of 2026 will bring the 250th anniversary -- the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence -- and amid all the celebrations it's important to remember the message of Abraham Lincoln, the Declaration's fiercest, most-steadfast advocate. Lincoln250.org Lincoln understood that the Declaration's "proposition that all men (all people in today's terms) are created equal" was not a statement of fact, but rather

By Bill Shepherd Dec. 5, 2025 Abraham Lincoln’s faith in the promise of the Declaration of Independence - that all people are created equal and that they should get opportunities to succeed in life - was shaped in good part by his often overlooked ancestral roots in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, These played a significant role in shaping his identity and values. The Lincoln Family Cemetery in Harrisonburg, Virginia. My recent trip to Harrisonburg, Virginia, included visits to

The Annual Abraham Lincoln Association will hold its banquet celebrating the 217th anniversary of the birth of our 16th President on Thursday, February 12, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. The evening’s keynote address will be delivered by Professor Allen Guelzo , one of the nation’s leading Lincoln scholars, speaking on “Walking in the Old Paths: Abraham Lincoln and the Inheritance of the Revolution.” His lecture will explore how Lincoln understood and carried forward the founding generat

By Wendy Swanson Washington, D.C. November 2025 At a time of division, Abraham Lincoln steadfastly focused on fulfilling the promise of the Founding Fathers to strive toward “a more perfect union.” Several weeks before traveling to Gettysburg, where Lincoln spoke of that “unfinished work,” he created a National Day of Thanksgiving, a step toward his goal of unification. Despite chaotic times, Lincoln remained firm in his mission to achieve Jefferson’s proposition “that all me

By Tom Peet Nov. 22, 2025 Here are suggested topics for classroom discussion, student essay projects or reports on Abraham Lincoln and the founding of the United States. Great ideas as students dig into the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. The list was complied by Tom Peet, a longtime Ohio high school history and government teacher. He is co-author of “Reading Lincoln: An Annotated Bibliography,” which offers capsule reviews of hundreds of books a