By John A. O'Brien Denver, Colorado Wednesday, March 18, 2026 I suspect that anyone who studies Lincoln might have wondered at some time what it would have been like to be in the crowd at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863, to hear him deliver his “few appropriate remarks” to dedicate the new cemetery. Certainly, there is no recording or time machine to allow us anything like the authentic experience. There is now, however, an amazing alternative that helps to give a glimpse of

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. Friday, March 13, 2026 President Abraham Lincoln will again arrive by steam train at Gettysburg, Pa., this time on November 18, 2026, just as he did back in 1863 on the day before he delivered his 272-word Gettysburg Address, a speech that still resonates today. This November's arrival of Lincoln, portrayed by actor Billy Campbell, will kick off two days of festivities to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence and help the public fo

by David J. Kent Washington, DC Thursday, March 12, 2026 The annual Abraham Lincoln Institute (ALI) Symposium will be held at Ford's Theatre on March 21, 2026, and the very special program is not to be missed. This is the third of a series of posts highlighting the upcoming symposium. The ALI Symposium this year will have four panels featuring some of the most preeminent scholars on their topics in a discussion moderated by a renowned journalist. Each panel has a theme relate

by David J. Kent Washington, DC Saturday, March 7, 2026 The annual Abraham Lincoln Institute (ALI) Symposium will be held at Ford's Theatre on March 21, 2026, and the very special program is not to be missed. This is the second of a series of posts highlighting the upcoming symposium. The ALI Symposium this year will have four panels featuring some of the most preeminent scholars on their topics in a discussion moderated by a renowned journalist. Each panel has a theme relate

by David J. Kent Washington, DC Tuesday, March 3, 2026 In recognition of the release day of the Lincoln Group of DC Immediate Past President David J. Kent's new book, Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours , David have begun posting a series of short videos about Lincoln and the New England states . Each video is less than ten minutes in length and covers Lincoln's connections to one state per video. There is info about Lincoln's visits (if any) and tidbits

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. Friday, February 27, 2026 Author George Saunders best-selling and award-winning 2017 novel Lincoln in the Bardo , about President Abraham Lincoln's love and overwhelming feeling of loss over the 1862 death of his 11-year-old son Willie from typhoid fever, is being turned into a feature movie starring one of Hollywood's biggest stars and an elaborate Metropolitan Opera production that will premiere in October. Willie Lincoln Saunders work, which

by David J. Kent Washington, DC Friday, February 20, 2026 The annual Abraham Lincoln Institute (ALI) Symposium will be held at Ford's Theatre on March 21, 2026, and the Lincoln Group of DC will be featured. This is the first of a series of posts highlighting the upcoming symposium. As mentioned previously , the ALI Symposium this year is a huge change from previous years. Rather than five authors speaking about their books, 2026 will have four panels, each with a pair of spea

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. February 12, 2026 For a guy who's been gone since 1865, Abraham Lincoln proved today on his 217th birthday that he can still draw a crowd. The Lincoln Group's memorial wreath inside the Lincoln Memorial chamber. Some two dozen memorial wreaths were placed at the foot of the epic sculpture by Daniel Chester French of a seated Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial at the west end of the National Mall in the nation's capital. The wreaths came from th

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. Friday, January 23, 2026 The Trump administration wants to hold an IndyCar race this summer on the National Mall, including around the Lincoln Memorial, but the idea faces opposition from congressional Democrats, according to reports. Punchbowl News , a daily newsletter that covers Congress in detail, reported this morning that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has told congressional leaders the plan calls for a race on Friday, August 21. The

by David J. Kent Washington, D.C. Thursday, January 22, 2026 The Lincoln Group of DC is co-sponsoring the annual Abraham Lincoln Institute (ALI) Symposium at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC on March 21, 2026. And now you can order your free tickets. Order here: https://fords.org/event/abraham-lincoln-institute-symposium/ We highly recommend you reserve your free tickets now as this year we have a special format and many special guests, including David Rubenstein, some Pulitz

By David J. Kent Washington, DC Sunday, January 11, 2026 The Abraham Lincoln Institute, with co-sponsorship from the Lincoln Group of D.C., will present the annual ALI Symposium at Ford's Theatre on Saturday, March 21, 2026 . As I previewed before , the Lincoln Group proposed that ALI do a special program that honors Abraham Lincoln's commitment to the Declaration of Independence and the aspiration that "all men are created equal" to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declarat

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. Dec. 31, 2025 Lincoln250.org The dawning year of 2026 will bring the 250th anniversary -- the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence -- and amid all the celebrations it's important to remember the message of Abraham Lincoln, the Declaration's fiercest, most-steadfast advocate. Lincoln understood that the Declaration's "proposition that all men (all people in today's terms) are created equal" was not a statement of fact, but rather

By Bill Shepherd Friday, December 26, 2025 (This article originally appeared on Lincoln250.org , our separate website dedicated to Abraham Lincoln and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.) Abraham Lincoln’s faith in the promise of the Declaration of Independence - that all people are created equal and that they should get opportunities to succeed in life - was shaped in good part by his often-overlooked ancestral roots in Virginia’s Shenandoah Val

By David J. Kent Washington, DC Wednesday, December 17, 2025 Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed those enslaved in the areas still in rebellion against the United States. Lincoln then fought for passage of the 13th Amendment ending slavery forever. Despite these actions and the 14th and 15th Amendments that followed from them, basic civil rights for African Americans remained elusive. It would be actions taken nearly 100 years after Lincoln's efforts that finall

By John A. O'Brien Denver, Colorado Monday, December 8, 2025 The Lincoln Forum at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in November was a glorious experience for any Lincoln buff. There was a superb lineup of Lincoln scholars introducing their latest books and papers. The annual conference occurs about the time of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and includes appropriate commemoration ceremonies. This year the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia was particularly well represented. Thirt

By David J. Kent Washington, D.C. Monday, December 1, 2025 Ronald Rietveld passed away  on November 27, 2025, at the age of 88. Rietveld was a professor of history at California State University–Fullerton for many years, although he is best known for his discovery at the age of 14 of the only known photograph of Abraham Lincoln in his coffin, taken April 24, 1865, as he lay in repose in New York during the long train ride back to Springfield. Rietveld's discovery shocked hist

By Ed Epstein Washington D.C. Friday, November 21, 2025 What does the visiting governor of Illinois get the first Chicago-born pope as a gift when he visits the pontiff at the Vatican? Lincoln: The Life and Legacy that Defined a Nation in 100 Object s, a new book featuring dozens of objects from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. The book, authored by Christina Shutt, the ALPLM's executive director, and Ian Hunt, director of acquisitions, was

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. Thursday, November 20, 2025 Lincoln Group member Michelle A. Krowl became the first woman to read out Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address yesterday at the annual Dedication Day ceremony in the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Holding American flags presented to them on Wednesday are Jonathan W. White and Michelle A. Krowl. The reading of the address, first delivered on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the new cemetery where Union soldiers k

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. Tuesday, November 11, 2025 Names by the thousands were read aloud today as the Lincoln Group joined in honoring the 209,154 men -- mostly freed slaves -- who enlisted in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War to fight against the pro-slavery Confederacy. USCT names were read aloud simultaneously at 10 microphones. The reading of names went on for long hours on a cold, blustery Veterans Day at the African American Civil War Memoria

By Ed Epstein Washington, D.C. Monday, November 3, 2025 It's been a few weeks since Lincoln250.org and Instagram's A.Lincoln250 launched to spread the word--next year's 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is very much about Abraham Lincoln, who was a fierce advocate of the Declaration's daring proposition that "all men are created equal." The logo for Lincoln250.org . Help spread the word. We assume that if you're reading this, you are interested in Lincoln