Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum

10/13/2026

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas met for the sixth of their seven debates today in 1858.

Lincoln condemned slavery as wrong but also rejected the idea of "political and social equality between the white and black races." His views would change significantly before his death in 1865.

Source: https://ow.ly/vgcN50ZXgnU

10/13/2026

regularly found new ways to mock Stephen Douglas's weak attempts to justify .

Source: https://ow.ly/zMMR50ZX1z0

10/12/2026

The anniversaries of the final Lincoln-Douglas debates are coming up: Oct. 13 in Quincy and Oct. 15 in Alton. Scott Loyd, our head of oral history and a veteran debate coach, has written a piece for our blog about the power of debate at its best.

https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/Blog/Posts/1219/Abraham-Lincoln/2026/9/Lincoln-and-Douglas-showed-the-power-of-true-debate/blog-post/

The Lincoln-Douglas debates included insults and one-liners, but they also used compelling arguments to focus on issues of substance

10/10/2026

in 1838, hundreds of Potawatomi men, women and children finished the Illinois leg of a forced migration known today as the Trail of Death. Reference librarian Morg Bode wrote about the event and a record of it that can be found at the ALPLM.

https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/Blog/Posts/1221/Artifacts-Documents/2026/10/A-glimpse-of-the-Potawatomi-Trail-of-Death/blog-post/

Diary at ALPLM offers a glimpse of Potawatomi men, women and children as they were forced to leave their homes on a deadly march westward.

10/09/2026

🎬 Join us for a FREE movie night at the ALPLM!

Our America 250 Movie Series continues with "All the President’s Men", starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Follow the Washington Post reporters whose investigation of the Watergate break-in helped bring down a president.

📅 Friday, October 16 | 6:30 p.m.
📍 ALPLM Union Theater

🎟️ Admission is FREE, but advance registration is required!
🔗 https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/events/

10/09/2026

In 1859, Abraham Lincoln urged the Republican Party to find a presidential candidate who would firmly stand by the position that buying and selling human beings was wrong. They did indeed find such a candidate -- him.

Source: https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/41444

10/08/2026

When the Sons of Temperance urged to crack down on drinking in the army, Lincoln reminded them that he had been speaking out against alcohol abuse before their group was even founded. He also suggested drinking wasn't likely to be a big factor in the because both sides were doing it.

Source: https://ow.ly/sZFx50ZVHWH

10/07/2026

in 1858, and Stephen Douglas met in Galesburg for their fifth debate, speaking to thousands on a damp, windy day. Douglas argued the Declaration of Independence was written for white people, while Lincoln said it applies to all.

Info: https://ow.ly/4MrW50ZVcZg

10/07/2026

During his 1858 Senate race, called an evil practice that must be contained and ultimately eliminated. He stopped short of calling for immediate abolition, though.

Source: https://ow.ly/1WbG50ZVe1v

10/06/2026

Author Bennett Parten will speak at the ALPLM tomorrow night about one of the most famous military maneuvers of the -- Sherman's March -- and how thousands of enslaved people seized the opportunity to reach freedom.

Get a preview of his talk in this discussion with The 21st Show on Illinois Public Media.

Among the most famous episodes in the Civil War is General William Sherman’s “March to the Sea.” It split the Confederacy in half and helped bring about the end of the war. Less well known is that the march led to the emancipation of as many as 20,000 people who’d been enslaved. Although She...