On December 20, 1860, a secession convention in South Carolina voted unanimously to secede from the Union. Fearing that Republican Abraham Lincoln’s administration would appoint antislavery officials who would undermine slavery, slaveholders chose to abandon the Constitution and form their own nation. To justify…
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On December 1, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his second State of the Union Address, a landmark speech that emphasized the moral and strategic motivations behind the Union’s fight in the American Civil War. Delivered just ten weeks after the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln…
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On October 3, 1863, amid the turmoil of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that would establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday in the United States. Lincoln’s declaration designated November 26, 1863, as a day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our…
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In the middle of November, the sixteenth president was jotting down a speech as he traveled by train from Washington to Pennsylvania to dedicate the most famous battle in American history. The Gettysburg Address, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, is…
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On November 8, 1861, the Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward found themselves caught in one of the most important diplomatic conflicts during the Civil War. Called the “The Trent Affair,” the incident involved the interception of a British mail steamer, the RMS Trent,…
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On August 21, 1858, in Ottawa, Illinois, two leading figures in American democracy launched a series of debates over a Senate seat, debating what it means to be free, democracy, and the purpose of the United States. The National Parks Service states that the first debate…
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Hopes for peace were dashed on July 21, 1861. The First Battle of Bull Run shattered the naive expectations of a quick and bloodless Civil War. The battle underscored the harsh reality that the war would be neither swift nor easy, setting the stage…
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The New York Draft Riots of 1863 were among the most violent and destructive events in the history of New York City. They occurred from July 13 to July 16, 1863, during a time of immense social, economic, and political turmoil in the United…
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On July 12, 1862, during the heart of the Civil War, Congress authorized the Medal of Honor for the United States Army a few months following its initial creation for outstanding acts of bravery and heroism among sailors in the Navy by President Lincoln.…
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The dedication of the Lincoln Memorial on May 30, 1922, marked the commemoration of one of the nation’s most revered presidents, Abraham Lincoln. Located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the massive marble monument stands as a tribute to…
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