Abraham Lincoln: A Resource Guide

Abraham Lincoln and his son Thad. Boston, Mass.: published by L. Prang & Co., lithographers, [between 1860 and 1909] Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-2777

American Memory Historical Collections

The Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress

The complete Abraham Lincoln Papers from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consist of approximately 20,000 documents. The collection is organized into three "General Correspondence" series that include incoming and outgoing correspondence and enclosures, drafts of speeches, and notes and printed material. Most of the 20,000 items are from the 1850s through Lincoln's presidential years, 1860-65.

This collection contains special presentations on the Emancipation Proclamation and the Lincoln assassination. It also includes a selected bibliography and a list of related resources.

A selection of highlights from this collection includes:

• The final version of Lincoln's first inaugural address, March 1861.
• The preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, July 22, 1862.
• The final draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, [Lithograph Copy], January 1, 1863.
• The Hay Copy and the Nicolay Copy of the Gettysburg Address.
• The Joint Resolution submitting the 13th Amendment to the states; signed by Abraham Lincoln and Congress, February 1, 1865.
• Lincoln's second inaugural address; endorsed by Lincoln on April 10, 1865.

Search by keywords or browse by series and dates to find additional documents in Lincoln's papers.

Additional American Memory Historical Collections

The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana

Alfred Whital Stern (1881-1960) of Chicago presented his outstanding collection of Lincolniana to the Library of Congress in 1953. Begun by Mr. Stern in the 1920s, the collection documents the life of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) both through writings by and about Lincoln as well as a large body of publications concerning the issues of the times including slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and related topics. The collection contains more than 11,100 items. This online release presents more than 1,300 items with more than 4,000 images and a date range of 1824-1931. It includes the complete collection of Stern's contemporary newspapers, Lincoln's law papers, sheet music, broadsides, prints, cartoons, maps, drawings, letters, campaign tickets, and other ephemeral items.

America's First Look into the Camera: Daguerreotype Portraits and Views, 1839-1864

The Library's daguerreotype collection consists of more than 725 photographs dating from 1839 to 1864, including two photographs of Abraham Lincoln and one of Mary Todd Lincoln.

An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera

The Printed Ephemera collection comprises 28,000 primary-source items dating from the seventeenth century to the present and encompasses key events and eras in American history. While the broadside format represents the bulk of the collection, there are a significant number of leaflets and some pamphlets.

A selection of highlights from this collection includes:

• A copy of the Lincoln's second inaugural address.
• A telegram from the War Department announcing Lincoln's assassination.
• A broadside advertising a $100,000 reward for the capture of Lincoln assassination conspirators.

Search this collection to find additional items related to Abraham Lincoln.

By Popular Demand: Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies, 1789-Present

This collection presents portraits of U.S. presidents and first ladies, including seven images related to Abraham Lincoln and one of Mary Todd Lincoln.

Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society

The images in this digital collection are drawn from the New-York Historical Society's rich archival collections that document the Civil War. Items related to Abraham Lincoln include pictorial envelopes, stereographs, drawings, and etchings.

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875

This collection contains a large selection of congressional material related to Abraham Lincoln's political career as a member of the House of Representatives and as U.S. president. Search this collection by date and publication to find materials related to Lincoln.

• The Congressional Globe contains congressional debate and presidential messages from Lincoln's service in the House of Representatives (1847-49) and his presidency (1861-65), including Lincoln's speech against the Mexican War (January 12, 1848) and his First, Second, Third, and Fourth Annual Messages to Congress.
• The United States Statutes at Large contains the full text of laws enacted, proclamations issued, and treaties ratified during Lincoln's presidency, including the Homestead Act, the Pacific Railway Act, and the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress

This collection presents the papers of the nineteenth-century African-American abolitionist who escaped from slavery and then risked his own freedom by becoming an outspoken antislavery lecturer, writer, and publisher. The release of the Douglass Papers, from the Library of Congress's Manuscript Division, contains approximately 7,400 items (38,000 images) relating to Douglass's life as an escaped slave, abolitionist, editor, orator, and public servant. It includes a letter Douglass wrote to Lincoln on August 29, 1864, concerning a plan for helping slaves escape from the South. Search this collection by keyword to find additional items related to Lincoln.

"I Do Solemnly Swear...": Presidential Inaugurations

This collection contains approximately 400 items relating to presidential inaugurations, including Lincoln's first inauguration in 1861 and his second inauguration in 1865.

The Nineteenth Century in Print: Books

The books in this collection bear nineteenth-century American imprints, dating mainly from between 1850 and 1880. They have been digitized by the University of Michigan as part of the Making of America project, a major collaborative endeavor to preserve and provide access to historical texts. There are ten books related to Abraham Lincoln in this collection.

The Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals

This collection presents twenty-three popular periodicals digitized by Cornell University Library and the Preservation Reformatting Division of the Library of Congress. Search the bibliographic records and the full text options to find hundreds of references to Abraham Lincoln, including a series of articles examining Lincoln's life that were written by his private secretaries John Hay and John Nicolay.

Selected Civil War Photographs Collection

The Selected Civil War Photographs Collection contains 1,118 photographs. Most of the images were made under the supervision of Mathew B. Brady, and include scenes of military personnel, preparations for battle, and thirty photographs related to Abraham Lincoln.

Washington during the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865

This collection presents three manuscript volumes that document daily life in Washington, D. C., through the eyes of Horatio Nelson Taft (1806-1888), an examiner for the U. S. Patent Office. The diary details events in Washington during the Civil War years including Taft's connection with Abraham Lincoln and his family. Of special interest is Taft's description of Lincoln's assassination, based on the accounts of his friends and his son, who was one of the attending physicians at Ford's Theatre the night Lincoln was shot.

Search this collection to find additional references to Lincoln and his family.

Words and Deeds in American History: Selected Documents Celebrating the Manuscript Division's First 100 Years

In honor of the Manuscript Division's centennial, its staff has selected for online display approximately ninety representative documents spanning from the fifteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. The collection contains nine documents related to Abraham Lincoln, including a page of Lincoln's student sum book and a draft of Lincoln's instructions to Major Robert Anderson in command at Fort Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina, dated April 4, 1861.