Abraham Lincoln
Date: 1862
An engraving of Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States. He successfully led the country through the Civil War, saving the Union and ending slavery, only to be assassinated as the war was virtually over. Before becoming the first Republican elected to the Presidency, Lincoln was a lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Abraham Lincoln
Date: Between 1859 and 1860
This sepia colored photograph shows Abraham Lincoln. A lawyer from Springfield, Illinois who began his political career as an Illinois state legislator and later was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He became the sixteenth President of the United States on November 6, 1860. As commander in chief he guided the country through the difficult years of the Civil War and signed into law legislation that respected and maintain human freedom for all individuals.

Abraham Lincoln
Date: 1861
An engraving of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the Civil War, saving the Union and ending slavery, only to be assassinated as the war was virtually over. Before becoming the first Republican elected to the Presidency, Lincoln was a lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Abraham Lincoln
A portrait of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the Civil War, saving the Union and ending slavery, only to be assassinated as the war was virtually over. Before becoming the first Republican elected to the Presidency, Lincoln was a lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Abraham Lincoln
Date: 1850s
A portrait of Abraham Lincoln. In December 1859, Lincoln traveled to the Kansas Territory and spoke at Elwood, Troy, Doniphan, Atchison, and Leavenworth. His speeches covered several issues including preventing the expansion of slavery, the theory of popular sovereignty, and the evils of states seceding from the Union. In 1860, Lincoln received the Republican party's nomination for president. Although Kansans liked him the delegation from the territory did not support his nomination. He won the election, and on February 22, 1861, at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Lincoln raised the United States flag bearing a 34th star, honoring Kansas as the newest state.

Abraham Lincoln
Creator: Jackson, Calvin
Date: Oct. 01, 1858
A photograph of Abraham Lincoln taken at the time of the Douglas- Lincoln debates.

Abraham Lincoln
Creator: Hesler, Alex, 1823-1895
Date: June 3, 1860
This black and white photograph shows Abraham Lincoln during his campaign for the U.S. Presidency. A lawyer from Springfield, Illinois who began his political career as an Illinois state legislator and later was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He became the sixteenth President of the United States on November 6, 1860. As commander in chief he guided the country through the difficult years of the Civil War and signed into law legislation that respected and maintain human freedom for all individuals.

Abraham Lincoln
Creator: Brady, Mathew B., 1823 (ca.)-1896
Date: February 1860
This black and white negative shows Abraham Lincoln. A lawyer from Springfield, Illinois who began his political career as an Illinois state legislator and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He became the sixteenth President of the United States on November 6, 1860. As commander in chief he guided the country through the difficult years of the Civil War and signed into law legislation that respected and maintain human freedom for all individuals.

Abraham Lincoln raising the thirty-four star flag
Creator: Richards, F. De B. (Frederick De Bourg)
Date: February 22, 1861
This is an illustration showing President Abraham Lincoln hoisting the American flag with thirty-four stars upon Independence Hall, Philadelphia, February 22, 1861. Copied from Harper's Weekly, March 9, 1861.

Abraham Lincoln to L. [Levant] L. Jones
Creator: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Date: December 09, 1859
This letter was written by Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois to Levant L. Jones, Lawrence, Kansas. In the letter, Lincoln declines an invitation to meet with Levant L. Jones, a Lawrence attorney, after a speech in Leavenworth, Kansas. During the first week in December, 1859, Lincoln gave speeches in Elwood, Troy, Doniphan, Atchison, and Leavenworth, Kansas. His remarks dealt with the Republican party's efforts to prevent the extension of slavery. In Atchison, Lincoln commented that John Brown was guilty of treason and had paid the proper penalty for his actions at Harper's Ferry. He spoke about the theory of popular sovereignty and about the evils of states seceding from the Union. At the time, he was considering his chances as a presidential candidate in 1860, and his Kansas speeches were a precursor of the campaign. Although Kansas liked Lincoln, the delegation from the territory to the 1860 Republican convention did not support his nomination. Levant L. Jones, a 1st Lieutenant in the 1st Kansas, Company F, was killed at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in 1861.

Abraham Lincoln to Mark W. Delahay
Creator: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Date: May 14, 1859
Lincoln regretfully declines an invitation to attend the Osawatomie convention on May 18, 1859, which was to formally organize the Republican Party in Kansas. Lincoln warns against "the temptation to lower the Republican Standard [in whatever platform the convention might adopt] in order to gather recruits. "In my judgment," Lincoln continues, "such a step would be a serious mistake" that "would surrender the object of the Republican organization-- preventing the Spread and Nationalization of Slavery." This two-page, handwritten copy of a letter sent by Abraham Lincoln to Mark Delahay was probably given to the Kansas Historical Society by Delahay's daughter, Mary E. Delahay, in the early 1900s.

Admit Me Free flag
Date: 1856
In 1856 this cotton and wool flag was used by Walter Whitehead in a rally at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for Republican presidential nominee John C. Fremont. The oversized 33rd star and the words, "Admit Me Free" in the canton of the flag are in support of Kansas admittance as a free state. It was also used in the 1860 presidential campaign for Abraham Lincoln and other political campaigns.

A joint resolution to amend the constitution of the United States
Creator: United States. President (1861-1865 : Lincoln)
Date: March 16, 1861
This document is a copy of a joint resolution to amend the constitution of the United States, sent to the governor of Kansas. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America that Article XIII be "proposed to the legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States which when ratified by three-fourths of said legislatures shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the said Constitution." Article XIII - "No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere within any state with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State."

Broadside commemorating Emancipation Proclamation
Date: Between 1917 and 1919
This slide of a broadside shows President Abraham Lincoln in the center with Frederick Douglass and Lieutenant Colonel Otis Duncan to his right. To Lincoln's left is Lieutenant Colonel Franklin A. Dennison and Paul L. Dunbar. Supplementing the portraits in the broadside are civilian and military scenes. The broadside was created during World War I to focus on civil rights for African Americans in the United States.

Charles and Sarah Robinson correspondence
Creator: Robinson, Charles, 1818-1894
Date: 1861-1862
Correspondence between Charles Robinson, the first Governor of Kansas, his wife Sara, and others, mostly involving activities in the fight for a non-slavery Kansas. Some of the people discussed are Abraham Lincoln, James H. Lane, and Charles Jennison.

Daniel Mulford Valentine's diary
Creator: Valentine, Daniel Mulford, 1830-1907
Date: 1859
Daniel Mulford Valentine, 1830-1907, moved to Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, from Fontanelle, Iowa, in 1859. Valentine was 28 years old at the time, and was a lawyer and surveyor. Many of the diary entries record the weather and short phrases such as "loafing" or "reading." Other entries record information about the elections in Kansas and local politics, and include his assessments of many of the territory's leaders. Valentine records information about Abraham Lincoln's 1859 visit to Leavenworth. Lincoln made two speeches in Kansas, and Valentine attended and wrote about both. Valentine served as an associate justice on the Kansas Supreme Court from 1868 to 1893.

Exchange of Flags Between Kansas & Philadelphia
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: 1915
This file includes general correspondence relating to the exchange of flags between Kansas and Philadelphia. Topics included, but not limited to, in the correspondence is Kansas Statehood birthday, exchanging state flags with Philadelphia to commemorate the work of President Abraham Lincoln, and arrangements organizing the flag exchange. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Arthur Capper correspondence.

George W. Deitzler to Samuel N. Wood
Creator: Deitzler, George Washington, 1826-1884
Date: August 18, 1860
In the wake of Abraham Lincoln's nomination, May 16, 1860, as the Republican presidential nominee, Deitzler writes from Lawrence that Mark W. Delahay had gone to Springfield, Illinois, on behalf of "our Gen'l J. H. Lane," and the latter was going East soon, "to howl frightfully against Democracy & in favor of 'Old Abe' & so secure, if possible, the confidence of that good man." Deitzler is worried about the new administration, if it is to be controlled by the likes of Lane and Delahay. On another subject, in behalf of a friend, Deitzler asks about the new territorial divorce law and Wood's availability to handle such a case "in a quiet way."

George W. Martin certificate of appointment
Creator: United States. President (1861-1865 : Lincoln)
Date: March 08, 1865
This certificate appointing George W. Martin, Register of the Land Office at Junction City, Kansas. The certificate is signed by Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, and John Palmer Usher, Secretary of the Interior.

Grace Bedell Billings
Date: 1875
This is a portrait of Grace Bedell Billings, who sent Abraham Lincoln a letter on October 5, 1860, from Westfield, New York, urging him to grow a beard to improve his appearance. Lincoln responded in a letter on October 19, 1860, making no promises; however, within a month, he grew a full beard. She later married a Union soldier and settled in Delphos, Kansas.

Henry Adams to William Hutchinson
Creator: Adams, Henry J., 1816-1870
Date: November 14, 1860
Henry J. Adams was in Washington, D. C., as a special agent of Kansas Territory attempting to convince the U.S. Congress to pay claims for damages suffered by Kansas citizens during episodes of violence in the territory. Adams reported on the prospects of getting the claims paid during the upcoming session of Congress as well as on his concerns about being compensated for his lobbying efforts. He expressed particular concern that Charles Robinson intended to cheat him out of his pay. Adams also commented on Abraham Lincoln's election as president, and the possible secession of Southern states in response to the election results.

John McArthur to Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States
Creator: McArthur, John, 1826-1906
Date: December 17, 1864
John McArthur to Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, discussing Smith's Guerillas and asking for promotion of several officers: Col. William Linn McMillan, Col. Lucius Frederick Hubbard, and Col. Sylvester G. Hill.

John McCannon to James Montgomery
Creator: McCannon, John
Date: May, 1860
John McCannon, writing from Denver City, Araphahoe County, Kansas Territory, a location that is currently in Colorado, describes the killing of a man named Akins, who McCannon claimed had been killed by pro-slavery supporters. McCannon also comments favorably upon the Republican Party's nomination of Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate.

John Milton Hay to Mark W. Delahay
Creator: Hay, John, 1838-1905
Date: July 29, 1862
This letter from John Milton Hay, Abraham Lincoln's private secretary and assistant, to Mark W. Delahay, replying on behalf of the President, is a confidential communication concerning a course of political action.

John Palmer Usher
Date: Between 1860 and 1865
This black and white photograph shows John Palmer Usher, (1816-1889). A lawyer from Indiana and a member of President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet. Usher served only two years as the seventh U.S. Secretary of the Interior, (1863-1865), before returning to private life. In 1865, he become the chief counsel for the Kansas Pacific Railroad a position he held until his retirement in 1880. Usher also resumed his political career when he moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1872, and was elected to serve one term as the town's mayor, (1879 to 1881). On April 13, 1889, at the age of seventy-three, he passed away at the University Hospital in Philadelphia after a lengthy illness. Burial was at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence, Kansas.