Lincoln and Slavery: Wish vs. Duty in the Greeley Letter

By Erin Carlson Mast
How many of us have heard this quote from Abraham Lincoln, “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others [...]

Lincoln’s Last October at the Cottage

By Erin Carlson Mast
October 1864 marks Lincoln’s last season in residence at the Cottage, a tumultous summer of military victories and defeats, and shifting public support for his administration and his reelection campaign. 
In August, Lincoln and many of his supporters indicated a belief that Lincoln’s chances of reelection looked bleak.   One colleague of Lincoln’s wrote: 
“I am in active correspondence with your staunchest friends [...]

Mary Lincoln, Another Side to Her Story

By Erin Carlson Mast 
Mary Lincoln, a deeply controversial figure of her day, continues to draw an intense amount of public interest, sympathy, and even scorn.  As much as we continue to debate Abraham Lincoln and his presidency, so too do we dissect his wife’s actions and role in the Lincoln story. 
Mary Lincoln was intelligent and highly [...]

Mudslinging, 19th-Century Style

By Erin Carlson Mast
Every election season the partisan and personal attacks heat up, and this year is no exception. But what are jabs about old age, inexperience, or even the recent exchange of attacks for smearing and lying compared to the attacks of the 1860s? A quick glance at newspapers from the 1860 election reveals [...]

Clinton Offers to Debate Obama in Lincoln-Douglas Style

By Erin Carlson Mast
Yesterday, Senator Clinton challenged Senator Obama to a ”Lincoln-Douglas style debate,” where the candidates ask each other questions rather than having a moderator pose questions to each candidate.  Although the Lincoln-Douglas debates were reprinted during the presidential campaign of 1860, the debates originally took place in 1858 during Illinois race for the United States [...]

Not Just a Place of Relaxation…

by Erin Carlson Mast
For Lincoln, the Soldiers’ Home was not just a place of relaxation, but a place of work. And for both relaxation and work, the Soldiers’ Home provided Lincoln privacy that did exist at the White House, allowing Lincoln to meet with allies and adversaries without it becoming common knowledge.
In August 1864, the [...]