Abraham Lincoln's Birthday

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Growing up in NY, we always celebrated Abe Lincoln's birthday seperate from the present President's Day. Here is some interesting information about him.




Frequently Asked Questions
about Lincoln's Speeches and Writings
Where can I read the letter written to a widow who lost four sons in the Civil War?
This is the so-called "Bixby Letter" of Saving Private Ryan fame. Click here for the full text.

I think I have the original Bixby letter. How much is it worth?
The original was destroyed by Mrs. Bixby, a Confederate sympathizer who resented President Lincoln. What you probably have is a copy of an early forgery -- it may be an old paper, but it is not valued by collectors.

There's a story or quote I think Lincoln said. How do I find the source?
This can be difficult to determine. If the quote was from conversation, you have to weigh the reliability of the source, and even historians don't agree on sources. The safest ground is Lincoln's own speeches and writings, found in the The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy Basler and published by the Abraham Lincoln Association (a multi-volume set of books), or short one-volume versions also by Basler. A small selection of speeches and writings are on this web site, which are searchable. We've added a quotes page and Quote of the Week page to help you.

Where can I learn the value of an old Lincoln document?
If you have possible Lincoln document you want appraised or sold, contact a dealer in rare/used books or Lincolniana. You can visit an online buy-and-sell service at The Railsplitter. Also see the dealers listed under Lincoln Bookstores. Or, you can email Kent Tucker of Illinois, an appraiser of Lincolniana. To look up all sorts of Lincoln collectibles, consult Collecting Lincoln With Values by Stuart Schneider (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Co., Ltd, 1997). This book is available in public libraries and through Inter-Library Loan.

Did Lincoln write the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope?
No. Lincoln prepared his speeches with great care. There are several original copies of the speech, none of which appear on envelopes. You can read the Gettysburg Address and see helpful links on this web site.

Where can I see the text of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates?
You can read the complete speeches in the The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. There are also debate titles on our book page.

Did Lincoln say something about "the better angels of our nature?"
Yes. That expression is found at the end of Lincoln's First Inaugural Address given on March 4, 1861.

Which Lincoln writings are inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.?
Carved into the walls are Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address.

Did Lincoln write a letter to a girl who asked him to grow a beard?
Yes. He wrote a reply to Grace Bedell of Westfield, New York, who suggested he grow a beard to get elected.

Where can I see poetry that Lincoln wrote?
We have a page of poems Lincoln wrote in the 1840s.

How can I see the proclamation Lincoln issued about Thanksgiving Day?
Lincoln signed a proclamation on October 3, 1863, which set the precedent for the national Thanksgiving Day celebrated today.

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Here is his famous Gettysburg Address:


Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

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"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him
a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate
in all times and situations. They presented him the words: 'And this, too,
shall pass away.' How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour
of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!"
Abraham Lincoln
Source: September 30, 1859 - Address before the Wisconsin State
Agricultural Society

Happy Birthday Lincoln!!!

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Happy Birthday Lincoln!!

Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all.
Abraham Lincoln

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Sorry I'm a day late to acknowledge Lincoln's birthday, I have always admired Lincoln's love for learning. He loved to read. And basically taught himself to be a lawyer.

The mode [of studying law] is very simple, though laborious, and tedious. It is only to get the books, and read, and study them carefully. Begin with Blackstone's Commentaries, and after reading it carefully through, say twice, take up Chitty's Pleading, Greenleaf's Evidence, & Story's Equity &c. in succession. Work, work, work, is the main thing.
--September 25, 1860 Letter to John M. Brockman

A capacity, and taste, for reading, gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others. It is the key, or one of the keys, to the already solved problems. And not only so. It gives a relish, and facility, for successfully pursuing the [yet] unsolved ones.
--September 30, 1859 Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society

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I love these quotes.

[quote]Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.
Abraham Lincoln [/quote]


[quote]We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.
Abraham Lincoln[/quote]

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Happy Birthday Lincoln!!!

“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
― Abraham Lincoln

Whatever you are, be a good one.”
― Abraham Lincoln

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Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln!!

“Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it.” -Abraham Lincoln