Abraham Lincoln in Minnesota
Lincoln and Minnesota?
Surprising but true—there are a number of connections between Abraham Lincoln and Minnesota!
- Lincoln was the first president Minnesotans could vote for, because we had become a state just two years before his election.
- Lincoln was president during the Civil War, and the first troops that volunteered to serve were from Minnesota.
- Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which encouraged settlement in Minnesota and other frontier states.
To honor the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, the Minnesota Historical Society has gathered information about this great president, his connections to Minnesota, and Minnesota during the Lincoln years on a special Lincoln Bicentennial webpage.
Abraham Lincoln and one or all of his connections to Minnesota would make an excellent History Day topic for the theme “The Individual in History: Actions and Legacies.”
For more information on President Lincoln and the Dakota Conflict in Minnesota, see the Minnesota History Topic on the Dakota War of 1862. Included is a digital image of the December 6, 1862, letter that President Lincoln wrote to Henry Sibley listing the names of the 39 Dakota Indians to be hanged in Mankato for their participation in the Conflict (in the Edward D. Neill and Family Papers).
Did you know there is a National Park site devoted to telling the story of the Homestead Act of 1862? To learn more about what may be the most influential piece of legislation this country has ever created go to http://www.nps.gov/home or visit Homestead National Monument of America. Located in Nebraska, the Monument includes one of the first 160 acres homestead claims but tells the story of homesteading throughout the United States. Nearly 4 million claims in 30 states were made under the Homestead Act and 1.6 million or 40 percent were successful. The Homestead Act was not repealed until 1976 and extended in Alaska until1986. Homesteads could be claimed by “head of households” that were citizens or eligible for citizenship. New immigrants, African-Americans, women who were single, widowed or divorced all took advantage of the Homestead Act. It is estimated that as many as 93 million Americans are descendents of these homesteaders today. This is a story as big, fascinating, conflicted and contradictory as the United States itself. Learn more!
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Comment by Ranger Doris — March 1, 2009 @ 12:30 pm