Documents

Below are 12 primary documents that you will look at. Think about the questions that are being asked about the document, and then use the proper analysis worksheet to fill out questions about the specific document.

Grace Bedell's Letter to Abraham Lincoln

Transcription: I have got 2 brothers and part of them will vote for you any way and if you will let your whiskers grow I will try and get the rest of them to vote for you you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin. All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President.

Think:

 

  1. What does Grace's letter tell us about how an 11-year-old viewed Lincoln?
  2. Why did Grace think growing a beard would help Lincoln?
  3. What does this letter show about how people could communicate with political candidates?

 

 

Abraham Lincoln Photograph

 

Think:

  1. What do you notice about Lincoln's appearance?
  2. What does the photograph show about how Lincoln looked before growing his beard?
  3. Why might Grace have thought a beard would change his appearance?

 

New York Daily Tribune Newspaper

 

Think:

  1. What information does the newspaper give readers about Lincoln?
  2. What political issues are discussed?
  3. How might newspapers have influenced people's opinions of Lincoln?

Click this link for a more readable version: 

https://www.loc.gov/resource/lprbscsm.scsm0237/?st=pdf&pdfPage=2&r=-0.242,-0.074,1.484,1.484,0

 

 

 

The Great Exhibition of 1860 Political Cartoon

Think:

 

  1. What people, objects, or symbols do you notice?
  2. How is Lincoln being portrayed?
  3. What message do you think the artist was trying to communicate?

 

 

 

 

Video Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Watch Lincolns First Inaugural AddressThink:

     

    1. What does Lincoln say about the division in the country?
    2. What does Lincoln say about preserving the Union?
    3. What does this speech tell us about Lincoln's perspective in 1861?

     

     

     

    Civil War Map

     

    1. What states, cities, rivers, or other locations do you notice?
    2. Where was the Civil War taking place?
    3. How might geography have affected soldiers and civilians?

     

     

     

     

    Emancipation Proclamation

     

     

    1. What does Lincoln declare in this document?
    2. Who was affected by the proclamation?
    3. How does this document show a change in the purpose or meaning of the war?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Gettysburg Address

     

    Use this link to be able to read it better: https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.24404500/?st=text

     

    1. What does Lincoln say the war is about?
    2. What does Lincoln say about the future of the country?
    3. How is Lincoln's message different from his First Inaugural Address?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Taft's diary

     

    Click this link to go directly to his diary entries: 

    https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1107

     

     

    1. What does Taft record about life during the Civil War?
    2. What does the diary show that a political speech might not show?
    3. How is Taft's experience different from the experience of a soldier?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Civil War Soldier's Letter

     

    Click this link if you need it to be transcribed: https://www.loc.gov/resource/mreynolds.010001#viewer-image-wrapper

     

    1. What does Reynolds tell the reader about his experience as a soldier?
    2. What emotions or experiences can you identify?
    3. How is his perspective different from Lincoln's perspective in his speeches?