A detective foiled an assassination plot against Lincoln before his inauguration

Abraham Lincoln had to sneak into Washington, DC, in disguise for his 1861 inauguration after a detective uncovered a plot to assassinate him in Baltimore.

Lincoln was assassinated by a well-known actor, who originally planned to kidnap him

On April 14, 1865, actor John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC. Booth had initially conspired to kidnap Lincoln but turned to assassination after the Confederacy's defeat.

Abraham Lincoln's missing bodyguard

The night President Abraham Lincoln was shot, his bodyguard John Frederick Parker was late for his shift—and reportedly left his post to drink at the bar. Infamous assassin John Wilkes Booth entered the booth at Ford's Theater where the president sat while Parker was absent, leading to one of the United States' greatest political tragedies. Read more about the troubled history of Parker here.

Listen to a widely lauded historical fiction podcast about the manhunt and power struggle that gripped the US after President Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

Truth met President Lincoln at the White House in 1864

In October 1864, Truth traveled to Washington and met President Lincoln a week before his reelection, though she could secure the appointment only through a white abolitionist friend. Lincoln signed her autograph book, and Truth later said she had never been treated with more "kindness and cordiality" by anyone.

Abraham Lincoln's victory in 1860 sparked Southern secession—even before his inauguration

Abraham Lincoln's election on an antislavery expansion platform convinced many Southerners that their way of life was under threat. Within three months, seven states seceded from the Union—forming the Confederacy—before Lincoln took office in March 1861.

Abraham Lincoln's assassination helped create the multibillion-dollar funeral business

After the president was killed in April 1865, he became one of the first well-publicized embalming examples in the US. The burgeoning science enabled his body to go on a multistate tour. Prices soon climbed for the process and fueled more wakes, perhaps helping to lay the foundation for the pricy funeral industry.

Was the Gettysburg Address written on the back of an envelope?

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, wrote his famed Gettysburg Address on a train car. Actually, he had a version of it ready a few days before. Well, really, he came up with it on the spot. Rumors about the speech's creation abound. This 1909 article walks readers through evidence Lincoln's speech was carefully planned and written in Washington, DC (in pencil).

Future President Abraham Lincoln challenged Polk’s justification for war with Mexico

As a freshman congressman, Abraham Lincoln introduced the “Spot Resolutions,” demanding President Polk prove that Mexico had attacked on US soil. This constituted Lincoln’s first major political stand and highlighted growing dissent over the war.

Whitman led a Lincoln lecture late in life

Whitman toured several cities with “The Death of Lincoln,” a lecture series about the slain president that sought to establish him as a crucial figured in American history. The talks attracted famous figures, including Mark Twain and General William Tecumseh Sherman.

In the midst of the Civil War, Lincoln rapidly expanded presidential power

Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, expanded the army without congressional approval, and issued the Emancipation Proclamation—despite likely lacking authority to unilaterally alter national slave law. His actions set precedents for expanded presidential power in wartime.

Former American President Abraham Lincoln is one of history’s most famous ghosts

Abraham Lincoln, Anne Boleyn, Pausanias, and the Maharajah Duleep Singh are just a few of the notable phantoms found around the world. Several White House occupants and visitors have claimed to see Lincoln, including Theodore Roosevelt, Grace Coolidge, and Winston Churchill.

The Lincoln-Douglas debates sharpened the national divide over slavery

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen Douglas debated while competing for an Illinois Senate seat. Their seven debates, reprinted nationwide, brought the question of slavery to the forefront—further polarizing the country and propelling Lincoln to national prominence.

Abraham Lincoln received only 40% of the popular vote in the 1860 election, highlighting the deep divisions in the country on the eve of the Civil War.

President Abraham Lincoln was inspired by a novel to create the holiday

A writer and abolitionist from New Hampshire, Sarah Josepha Hale was instrumental in cementing many of the Thanksgiving traditions we celebrate today. Her 1852 novel "Northwood, a Tale of New England," described a feast with a roasted turkey, stuffing, plum pudding, and pumpkin pie. She wrote dozens of editorials and letters to politicians campaigning for the day to become a national holiday. In 1863 she was finally successful in convincing President Lincoln to make it official.

Lincoln's original reconstruction vision prioritized reconciliation

Proposed in 1863, Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan offered lenient readmission for Southern states once 10% of voters pledged loyalty and ended slavery. It was adopted in a few Union-occupied areas but was only partially implemented before his assassination in 1865.

The Civil War introduced many technological advances to both society and warfare.

The Prize Cases established that the president can respond to an attack without waiting for Congress to act

When Lincoln blockaded Confederate ports at the start of the Civil War without congressional authorization, the Supreme Court upheld his actions, ruling that a president does not initiate war by responding to an attack and need not wait for Congress when the nation is already under threat.

Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 triggered a cascade of Southern secessions and the formation of the Confederacy, culminating in the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina.

Mexico admired Lincoln for opposing the war and supporting Mexican sovereignty

As a congressman, Abraham Lincoln condemned the Mexican-American War as unjust. Years later, as president, he backed Mexico’s fight against French occupation. His principled stance earned enduring respect and monuments across Mexico.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address became one of the most famous speeches in American history

Delivered by Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of a national cemetery, the 272-word Gettysburg Address reframed the war as a struggle for equality. The speech would be cited as a moral touchstone for later movements such as women's suffrage and civil rights.

Whitman’s famous elegy for Lincoln, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’

After President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Whitman wrote two poems about him, both mourning the country’s loss. The more famous one is “O Captain! My Captain!,” which first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1865.

Whitman’s lesser-known eulogy for Lincoln, ‘When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d'

In addition to "O Captain! My Captain!," Whitman wrote another poem for the slain Lincoln: the longer, more sullen elegy, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.”

'Presidential Reconstruction' attempted rapid reunification with minimal federal oversight

Led by Andrew Johnson after Lincoln's death, Presidential Reconstruction (1865-67) quickly restored Southern governments through mass pardons and lenient terms, allowing ex-Confederates to regain power and pass Black Codes that restricted freedpeople's rights.

See some of the most controversial pardons in presidential history

From Lincoln's selective commutations of Dakota men after an 1862 uprising, to Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon after Watergate, and Bill Clinton's final-day clemency decisions, pardons have long sparked fierce debate over justice, political favoritism, and presidential power.

The Lincoln Memorial was almost never built

The Memorial faced years of opposition from Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, who blocked it for nearly a decade, arguing that the swampy land west of the Mall was an unfit and undignified site to honor Lincoln.

Read an annotated 1866 essay by abolitionist Frederick Douglass, where he laid out his vision for reshaping America after the Civil War.

James Garfield's 79-day decline hooked America on news updates

After he was shot while departing Washington, DC, in 1881, the president was treated for his wounds and cared for at the White House. Since 1861, telegraphs had spanned the continent, and the Associated Press pooled sources to share telegraph news. The public, seeking updates on the president's condition, was able to receive them regularly for the first time due to this network, laying the foundation for the continuous news cycle.

The FBI ran a covert campaign to discredit Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

From 1963 to 1968, the FBI surveilled Dr. King with wiretaps, hotel bugs, informants, and anonymous threats, citing concerns about Communist influence—an effort later revealed through declassified files and documented in the film MLK/FBI.

The Secret Service was originally formed to combat counterfeiting

By the 1860s, an estimated one-third of US currency in circulation was counterfeit. In 1865, the Secret Service was created specifically to combat the country's serious counterfeiting problem, which had led to widespread financial instability. This was partly due to the lack of federal currency standardization in the country at the time.

Explore early Thanksgiving documents, from recipes to early proclamations

History buffs will love this trove of original documents related to the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving, including 18th-century recipes, one of Sarah Josepha Hale’s appeals to President Lincoln to establish the national holiday, and a copy of Abraham Lincoln’s original 1863 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. You can also find illustrations and photos of historical Thanksgiving celebrations over the years.

Dolley Madison rescued George Washington's portrait before the White House burned

As British troops approached in August 1814, first lady Dolley Madison ordered Gilbert Stuart's full-length portrait of George Washington removed from the White House, which remains displayed in the building today. She also secured key state papers and valuables before fleeing.

Adams was so involved as first lady that some nicknamed her 'Mrs. President'

As first lady, Adams took an active role in her husband's presidency—advising on appointments, critiquing his speeches, and corresponding extensively with politicians. She supported the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts and pressed for war with France during the XYZ Affair.

Cartoonist Thomas Nast helped bring down Boss Tweed, one of America's most corrupt political bosses.

Conspiracy theories come from distrust in government, media, and institutions

Some believe JFK's assassination was orchestrated by larger networks rather than a lone shooter. Skeptics wondered how one unknown man could kill the most powerful person in America, and believed the CIA, FBI, or Soviet government played a role in the murder.

Conspiracy theories persist around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 assassination

Despite multiple investigations—including FBI inquiries and a 1979 House committee report—questions and conspiracy theories have continued to surround the 1968 assassination of Dr. King long after his assassin’s conviction.

The hidden hallway behind Mount Rushmore and why it’s unfinished

Mount Rushmore was designed to be more than a massive monument to US presidents, and its ambitious plans were part of the reason why. This fascinating video explores its backstory, creation, and the hidden tunnel behind President Lincoln's head.

In 1804, Alexander Hamilton was mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr

The fatal duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr followed years of political rivalry. Hamilton had criticized Burr's character and fitness for office, prompting Burr to demand a retraction, which ultimately led to the deadly encounter.

Congress descended into fistfights, duels, and violence before the Civil War

In the decades before the Civil War, members of the United States Congress carried weapons, assaulted colleagues, and, in one case, a congressman killed another in a duel. The violence was driven largely by sectional conflict over slavery and foreshadowed the nation's descent into war.

Hear the story of the largest single escape attempt by enslaved people in American history

On April 15, 1848, 77 enslaved individuals in Washington, DC, boarded a ship named the Pearl in the largest single escape attempt in US history. Their capture led to riots and intensified the conflict over fugitive slave laws.

Aaron Burr introduced James Madison to his future wife, Dolley

This trivia celebrating James Madison's birthday notes that Aaron Burr—later vice president and Alexander Hamilton's dueling rival—introduced Madison to Dolley Madison in 1794. It also highlights that Madison arrived 11 days early to the Constitutional Convention to prepare.

Francis Scott Key was a prominent lawyer before he became known as the writer of the national anthem.

Experts believe Peggy Shippen played a larger role than originally thought in her husband Benedict Arnold's treasonous plot.

Paul Revere rode to Concord to warn rebel leaders of British attack

Revere was a well-known Boston messenger and an excellent horseman, known as a reliable relayer of messages. As Boston’s patriot leaders spread out into the areas around the city in fear of British arrest, Revere turned his skills to aid the revolutionary moment.

19th-century photographer William Mumler claimed he captured ghosts on film, producing images that stunned and bewildered the public.

'Lift Every Voice and Sing' was written to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's birthday, but would go on to become the 'Black national anthem' and a Juneteenth tradition.

Three of America's first five presidents—Jefferson, Adams, and Monroe—died on July 4.

Roosevelt joined the NAACP and campaigned for anti-lynching laws—even receiving a $25K bounty from the KKK

Eleanor Roosevelt joined the NAACP board, lobbied for a federal anti-lynching law, and pushed to integrate the Army Nurse Corps—often going beyond the support her husband was willing to give to racial justice efforts. Her advocacy made her a target: The Ku Klux Klan placed a $25,000 bounty on her head.

The abolitionist movement long predated the Civil War

Beginning in the late 18th century, abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Sojourner Truth campaigned through newspapers, lectures, and political action to end slavery.

Lincoln Logs, the popular children's toy, was designed by John Lloyd Wright, son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who was inspired by his father's foundation of Tokyo's Imperial Hotel.