Abraham Lincoln in 1860 at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress provides a wealth of resources for teachers to use in the classroom.  Most helpful are the themed Collection Connections, which seek to give historical context to the Library’s collections and assist teachers in using them in the classroom.  One of these Collection Connections is on the Abraham Lincoln papers.  In this section, documents by Abraham Lincoln have been selected for each of several categories.  These resources are invaluable for anyone studying the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.  One of the categories is Lincoln’s 1860 presidential campaign.  There are four key documents included to illustrate this period of Lincoln’s life, including speech notes, campaign posters, and a letter.  This selection of a few key documents serves to underscore the main themes and events of the campaign, and there are discussion questions included as well for teachers to use in the classroom.  The page presents the information in a clear way but requires a critical reading of the texts as well.  To help students further analyze the documents, there is a critical thinking page designed to give assistance with interpretation and analysis of events during Abraham Lincoln’s lifetime.