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.

A detective foiled an assassination plot against Lincoln before his inauguration

In February 1861, detective Allan Pinkerton uncovered a plot to kill Abraham Lincoln en route to his inauguration. Lincoln secretly altered his travel plans and sneaked into Washington DC to take the oath of office. Pinkerton later founded the well-known Pinkerton's National Detective Agency.

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hundreds of women secretly joined the Union and Confederate armies during the war

Hear the story of women who disguised themselves as men to enlist in both Union and Confederate armies—serving as soldiers, medics, and spies.

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.

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.

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

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 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.”

Washington, DC, was designed by French-born architect Pierre L'Enfant

Pierre Charles L'Enfant was an engineer who fought in the American Revolution. George Washington chose him to design the capital for his military service, artistic training, and vision of a monumental national city.

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.

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.

Robert Smalls escaped slavery by piloting a stolen Confederate ship to freedom, then became an influential Black political leader during Reconstruction.

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.

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.

'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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Explore the life and presidency of George Washington, whose two terms in office were defined by precedent-setting, restraint, and institution-building.

As the first president, Washington established lasting norms: enforcing civilian control of the military rather than placing it in the hands of generals, forming a Cabinet, asserting federal authority during the Whiskey Rebellion, and voluntarily stepping down after two terms.

The White House was burned by British forces during the War of 1812

On August 24, 1814, British troops invaded Washington, DC, and set fire to the President's House, destroying its interior and roof. However, the exterior sandstone walls survived. After the war, reconstruction began under the original architect.

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

Washington (reluctantly) presided over the Constitutional Convention

As presiding officer, George Washington presided over the Convention's daily proceedings—opening and adjourning sessions, recognizing speakers, enforcing debate rules, and maintaining order. He rarely spoke and used the role to facilitate deliberation rather than steer outcomes directly.

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.

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.

Read the 1866 story in The Atlantic that put phantom limbs on the map, a fictional story by a Civil War surgeon that was mistaken for being a true account by many readers.

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.

NYC's first subway was built largely in secret

In 1870, Alfred Ely Beach secretly tunneled under Broadway in 58 nights, disguising his pneumatic subway as a mail tube to fool Tammany Hall, the corrupt political machine that ran New York City. Nearly half a million New Yorkers rode it before politics, and a stock market crash killed the project.

The federal government's decision to pay off the states' Revolutionary War debts required a new tax, which sparked an armed rebellion. 

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.

Abigail Adams sailed to Europe to join John during his diplomatic posting in Paris in 1784

This podcast chronicles Abigail's voyage across the Atlantic to join John in Paris during his diplomatic service, then follows the couple's return to America and their rise to the White House.

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.

'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.