What Lincoln Was Thinking When He Freed the Slaves

The President Grappled for Months Over Whether Signing the Emancipation Proclamation Was ‘American’

The American Civil War was, among other things, an epic inheritance quarrel, with both sides claiming to be the legitimate heirs to the nation’s founding principles as articulated in the Declaration of Independence. The Confederacy, of course, saw itself beating back the forces of tyranny much as Washington and Jefferson had asserted the sovereignty of the individual states from that of an “undemocratic” distant power. The Union, meanwhile, sought to preserve the republic forged by independence and fulfill the Declaration’s assertion of “inalienable” human rights bestowed by our “Creator,” for …

Prayers, Glittering Parties, and the Sudden Taste of Freedom

The Emancipation Proclamation Inspired New Year’s Celebrations That Endure to This Day

For young Ed McCree, enslaved on a thousand-acre Georgia cotton plantation, Christmas and New Year’s Day 150 years ago were like no other he had ever known. This child and …

The Photos That Helped Save Yosemite

Thanks to These Striking Images, President Lincoln Signed the Yosemite Grant Act 150 Years Ago

One hundred and fifty years ago this month, with the Civil War raging, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law an act that protected the heart of what we now know …

Would Abe Lincoln Be Into Drones?

Either Way, Yes or No, the Approach Would Not Be Like Obama’s

Abraham Lincoln never ordered a drone strike. Nor was he ever forced to determine exactly when the government should Mirandize a terror suspect. Yet he confronted all kinds of dilemmas …

Mind If We Dig You Up, Mr. Lincoln?

Why the 16th President Can’t Be Left in Peace

Election night 1876 arrived full of uncertainty. The presidential race was something of a referendum on Reconstruction, and the results were so tight that the winner was unknown. It would …