Lincoln, the Founding and Lincoln250.org

By Ed Epstein

Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

There was no fiercer defender of the promise of the Declaration of Independence--that "all men are created equal" and that everyone has "unalienable rights" to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"- than Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln250.org's logo

The nation in 2026 will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. Amid all the fireworks, parades, and patriotic displays, it is important that Americans think about Lincoln and his challenge to all generations of Americans to constantly try to live up to America's promise of equality and opportunity for all.

With that in mind, the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia and the Abraham Lincoln Association, based in Springfield, Ill., have partnered on a project to make sure that Lincoln's view of the nation's founding as a promise that every generation must live up to is included in next year's discussions. We've created a website, Lincoln250.org, and an Instagram account, A.Lincoln250, The website includes a lively blog, a list of events surrounding Lincoln and the founding, and lots of news about Lincoln. The Instagram account is designed to draw in a younger audience used to quick social media postings.

We plan to offer new content right through July 4, 2026, so bookmark the sites and keep coming back. Spread the word about them to Lincoln friends, colleagues and others.

The blog will include analysis of the numerous times that Lincoln spoke at length about the meaning of the Declaration to him, from his so-called Lyceum Speech in 1838 to the Gettysburg Address in November 1863 and on to his assassination in April 1865. We'll also contrast his views with those of his opponents, the leaders of the secessionist Confederacy, who claimed that the Declaration was mistaken in saying that all people were equal. Instead, they advocated white supremacy and slavery for all African Americans in their new nation.

In an early blog post on Lincoln250.org, Civil War and Lincoln historian Allen C. Guelzo recounts how Lincoln felt that the "political edifice of liberty and equal rights" set forth in the Declaration and the U.S. Constitution should survive and flourish, generation to generation.

"As Americans begin their celebrations of the 250th anniversary of their independence, the Abraham Lincoln Association and the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia take this opportunity to point to Lincoln as the preserver of that “political edifice,” and to see in Abraham Lincoln our greatest defender of the American revolution’s “definitions and axioms of free society," Guelzo wrote.

We are grateful to Marisa C. Peacock, a senior lecturer in the Sandage Department of Advertising in the University of Illinois' College of Media, and her students for all their work in creating the new website and Instagram account.