Frequently Requested Documents in the Abraham Lincoln Papers

• African-American soldiers, equality in treatment for dependents of, Abraham Lincoln to Charles Sumner, May 19, 1864, letter of introduction for Mrs. Lionel F. Booth.
• Ashmun, George, card of admission for April 15, 1865, written by Abraham Lincoln before leaving for Ford’s Theatre on Friday, April 14, 1865
• Autobiographical statement sent to Jesse W. Fell, ca. December 20, 1859
• Autobiographical statement [May-June 1860] 
• Bible owned by Mary Todd Lincoln (published 1847). Includes family record
• Bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, [January 1849], proposed by Abraham Lincoln but not introduced to Congress
• “Blind Memorandum,” memorandum on probable failure of reelection, endorsed by members of cabinet, August 23, 1864
• B'nai B'rith, St. Louis, to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, January 5, 1863, sending resolution protesting Ulysses S. Grant's order expelling Jews
• Burnside, Ambrose E., from Abraham Lincoln, September 25, 1863, regarding Burnside’s failure to reinforce Rosecrans (letter not sent)
• Cabinet appointments, March 1, 1861 memorandum on
• Cigar box label featuring Abraham Lincoln, “El Biejo Onesto Abe Cigarros," 1860
  Note: A similar label featuring Stephen A. Douglas is available from the Prints & Photographs Division of the Library of Congress
• Congress, July 12, 1848 speech to, on the Mexican War
• Congress, July 4, 1861 message to, handwritten first draft of. Includes the phrase “This is essentially a people’s contest”
• Congress, December 6, 1864, fragment of last annual message to; certified by John D. Defrees, April 19, 1866
• “Conkling Letter,” Abraham Lincoln to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863; draft of letter to be read at Union mass meeting in Springfield, Illinois
• “Corning Letter,” Abraham Lincoln to Erastus Corning and Others, [June] 1863, draft of reply to resolutions concerning military arrests and suspension of habeas corpus (in Lincoln’s handwriting)
• Douglass, Frederick to Abraham Lincoln, August 29, 1864, regarding Lincoln’s request for a plan to help the enslaved escape from Confederate-held areas
• Emancipation Proclamation, first draft, read to cabinet on July 22, 1862
• Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863, lithograph of manuscript copy
• Everett, Edward to Abraham Lincoln, November 20, 1863, regarding Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Includes the statement “I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”
• Farewell Address, February 11, 1861, delivered on departure from Springfield, Illinois
• Genealogy of Lincoln family in Mary Todd Lincoln’s Bible
• General War Order No. 1, draft of, January 27, 1862
• Gettysburg Address, Hay Copy
• Gettysburg Address, Nicolay Copy
• Grant, Ulysses S. to Abraham Lincoln, May 1, 1864, assuming responsibility for any military failures in upcoming campaign
• Greeley, Horace, newspaper clipping of open letter to Greeley from Abraham Lincoln in response to Greeley’s August 20, 1862 “The Prayer of Twenty Millions”
• “Hodges Letter,” Abraham Lincoln to Albert G. Hodges, April 4, 1864, outlining views on slavery and presidential powers
• Inaugural Address, first inauguration, March 4, 1861, final version. Contains closing paragraph that includes the phrases “mystic chords of memory” and “the better angels of our nature”
• Inaugural Address, first inauguration, William H. Seward’s handwritten notes on (including suggested concluding paragraph adapted by Lincoln in final version of First Inaugural Address) [February 1861]
• Inaugural Address, first inauguration, William H. Seward’s suggestions for a closing paragraph, [February 1861]. These suggestions from Seward were not used by Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural address.
• Inaugural Address, second inauguration, March 4, 1865, manuscript copy. Contains closing paragraph that begins “With malice toward none; with charity for all.”
• Inaugural Address, second inauguration, March 4, 1865, reading copy
• Law, notes for a lecture on, ca. 1850-1860
• Legitimate Object of Government, fragment, ca. 1840s
• Lincoln, Mary Todd, from Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1860, report from Exeter, New Hampshire
• Lincoln, Mary Todd, $5 check made out to “wife” by Abraham Lincoln, August 6, 1860
• Lincoln, Mary Todd to Abraham Lincoln, November 2, [1862], affairs in New York and comments on General George B. McClellan
• Lincoln, Mary Todd to Abraham Lincoln, [November 3, 1862], regarding money given to Elizabeth Keckley to purchase supplies for contrabands
• Lincoln, Mary Todd, from Abraham Lincoln, August 8, 1863, reporting that Tad’s pet Nanny Goat is missing
• Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Stephen A. Douglas to Abraham Lincoln, July 30, 1858, with suggestions for the structure of the debates
• Meade, George G., July 14, 1863 letter from Abraham Lincoln, regarding Meade's failure to pursue Robert E. Lee
• Medal (gold), presented to Mary Todd Lincoln on behalf of citizens of France, 1866, in honor of Abraham Lincoln. See also accompanying letter from the Committee of the French Democracy, October 3, 1866, and transmittal letter from John Bigelow to Mary Todd Lincoln, December 7, 1866.
• Mexican War, speech to Congress by Abraham Lincoln, January 12, 1848
• Nomination as Republican Party’s presidential candidate, draft of acceptance letter, Abraham Lincoln to George Ashmun, May 23, 1860
• Owens, Mary S., from Abraham Lincoln, August 16, 1837, pledging to continue their relationship if it will “add to your happiness”
• Pierce, Franklin, to Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1862, condolence letter from the former president after the death of Willie Lincoln
• Poem, “My Childhood Home I See Again” (ca. 1844)
• Proclamation calling up militia to quell rebellion, April 15, 1861
• Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, December 8, 1863, manuscript copy
• Queen Victoria to Mary Todd Lincoln, April 29, 1865, private condolence letter following death of Abraham Lincoln
• Savannah, Ga., Abraham Lincoln to William T. Sherman, December 26, 1864, acknowledging Sherman's Christmas gift of
• Savannah, Ga., William T. Sherman to Abraham Lincoln, December 22, 1864, received copy of telegram offering Savannah as Christmas present
• Seward, William H. to Abraham Lincoln, April 1, 1861, memorandum “Some thoughts for the President's Consideration”
• Seward, William H., from Abraham Lincoln, April 1, 1861, reply to memorandum “Some thoughts for the President's Consideration”
• Slavery, proposed bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, [January 1849]
• Slaves, observations of while traveling by steamboat, Abraham Lincoln to Mary Speed, September 27, 1841
• Thanksgiving, Sarah J. Hale to Abraham Lincoln, September 28, 1863, urging Thanksgiving be made a national observance
• Thirteenth Amendment, ceremonial copy of the Joint Resolution Submitting 13th Amendment to the States; signed by Abraham Lincoln and Congress, February 1, 1865
• Wills, David to Abraham Lincoln, November 2, 1863, extending invitation to attend the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg and deliver "a few appropriate remarks" at the ceremony
• Wills, David to Abraham Lincoln, November 2, 1863, extending invitation to stay at Wills’ house during trip to Gettysburg