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 [...]

1950s Painting Depicts Lincoln Writing Emancipation Proclamation at Soldiers’ Home

By Erin A. C. Mast
Jes W. Schlaikjer was an official artist for the U.S. government and well known painter of portraits and historic scenes in the mid 1900s. A great admirer of Abraham Lincoln, Schlaikjer determined to paint a historical scene of Lincoln toiling on the Emancipation Proclamation one evening in September 1862 at the [...]

Vote on Upcoming Anniversaries

In the next 4 calendar years we will witness three major anniversaries:  the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth; the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War; and the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation going into effect.  Programs and celebrations for the Lincoln Bicentennial have already begun and will only intensify over [...]

Emancipation and the Press

by Erin Carlson Mast
When Lincoln issued his preliminary emancipation proclamation on September 22, 1862, there was, unsurprisingly, a mixed reaction. What might be surprising to some today however, is how many reactions from the media in the north were negative or ambivalent. 
In the District, the Washington Evening Star wrote, “The Star is silent on the [...]