September 2026 – David J. Kent

New England map Abraham Lincoln made two separate tours of New England. The first in 1848 helped make him the Lincoln we know as Lincoln. The second in 1860 helped make him president. My most recent book, Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours, takes the reader on a ride with me as I explore where Lincoln spoke, how the community reacted to him, and how they remember him (if at all). I also delve into the issues that informed Lincoln and the nation.

I created a series of short videos (10-15 minutes each) that look at Lincoln’s connections with each of the six New England states in turn, starting with the two states he didn’t visit (Maine and Vermont) but which had profound impacts on his life nevertheless, and then into the four states he spent considerable time in. The idea of each video is to dig into the important people and places from those states. Bookmark this page and come back to watch each of the videos at your leisure (or binge-watch all six if you’re into that).

And be sure to check out the book links below to get your copy of Lincoln in New England:

Lincoln in New England book cover

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David J. Kent is Immediate Past President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of many books on Abraham Lincoln, Nikola Tesla, and Thomas Edison.

Abraham Lincoln photo I recently had a new article published in the Winter issue of The Lincoln Herald, a journal published by the Lincoln Memorial University Press. It’s Part 1 of two (the second part will appear in the Spring issue). In September of 1848, Abraham Lincoln was serving his single term in the U.S. House of Representatives. It had been a busy session and by the end of summer he was eager to escape Washington and head back to his day job as a lawyer in Illinois before having to return for the second session of his congressional term in December.

But 1848 was an election year and the Whig Party had a different task in mind – selling the Whig candidate for president, Zachary Taylor, to the disgruntled New Englanders who thought that Taylor was a horrible choice to represent the party. After sending out some campaign mail and giving a few speeches in the Washington area, Lincoln set out in early September for Massachusetts, giving a dozen speeches in the eastern part of the state. During this trip he would discover the complicated relationship the northeast had with slavery and abolition. Lincoln would also meet William Seward for the first time.

You can read the full article below. Click on the arrows at the bottom of the insert to read all the pages.