Today, July 26, marks the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress.
Robert Todd Lincoln had deposited the Lincoln Papers with the Library of Congress in 1919 and on January 23, 1923, he deeded them to the Library. The deed stipulated that the Lincoln Papers remain sealed until 21 years after his own death. He died July 26, 1926, a week before his 83rd birthday. On July 26, 1947, the Lincoln Papers were officially opened to the public.
The younger Lincoln had arranged for the organization and care of the papers shortly after his father’s assassination. At that time, he had the Lincoln Papers removed to Illinois, where Judge David Davis of Bloomington, Ill., Abraham Lincoln’s longtime associate, directed the first organization of the documents. Later, Lincoln’s presidential secretaries, John G. Nicolay and John Hay, assisted in the project. In 1874, most of the Lincoln Papers returned to Washington, D.C., and Nicolay and Hay used them in the research and writing of their 10-volume biography, Abraham Lincoln: A History (New York, 1890).
The papers encompassed over 40,000 documents detailing the life and presidency of Abraham Lincoln. They included both state papers like the drafts of the Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address, as well as correspondence Lincoln had with some of the most important figures of the day. To that collection the Library of Congress has added other documents from other sources, making it a place where all Lincoln scholars have made a pilgrimage (or ten) to see original manuscripts for their research. I’ve spent quite some time there myself. For those who live far away, much of the collection has been digitized and is available online. As Wendy notes:
The Library of Congress website contains extensive information about the Lincoln Papers and Lincoln Research Resources. If you haven’t already, take time to explore these historic treasures.
Take a hop over to Lincolnian.org to read Wendy’s full article on the topic.
Before you leave, today, July 26, 2023, is also the anniversary of Robert’s death, which is what triggered the release of the Papers. I’ll have more shortly on Robert and Hildene, his summer home in Vermont, where I recently visited and toured.
[Photo from Library of Congress]
Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.
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David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.
His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
