Near Hodgenville, Kentucky, 217 years ago, Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room, 16 ft by 18 ft log cabin. He was named after his paternal grandfather, Captain Abraham Lincoln, a Virginia native who moved to Kentucky and was killed by a Shawnee tribe member nearly twenty years earlier.
My interest in Civil War history began when I was almost three years old, after visiting Lincoln's home and tomb in Springfield, Illinois. Since that time, I’ve spent years retracing Abraham’s footsteps; the places he lived, worked, visited, argued cases, gave speeches, and encountered moments that shaped both his life and our nation. Spending time in these places helped me better understand his impressive progression through life.
The more I’ve learned about Abraham, the more I’ve come to respect him. Not because he was perfect, but because he wasn’t. He had some quirks in his personality, and made many mistakes throughout his life and even more during his presidency. Yet those mistakes and weaknesses show that a person can do many things wrong and still get some of the most important things right. The people he chose for his Cabinet. The Emancipation Proclamation. The promotion of Ulysses S. Grant to Lieutenant General of the Army. The Gettysburg Address, one of the most brilliant and moving speeches ever written, and one that continues to be recognized around the world.
A few years ago, I began making history videos. My first was about the Lincoln Home, not only because Springfield is where my passion for history first ignited, but because this house represents Abraham and his family in the most personal way.
Abraham’s childhood and young adulthood were spent in one-room cabins, shared beds above stores, and boarding houses. In 1844, he was finally able to buy a home for himself, his wife Mary, and their first son, Robert. This was the first and only home Abraham Lincoln would ever own. A real, proper home that offered stability and comfort he had never known before. A place filled with family, friends, and the rhythms of everyday life.
It was the home he took final photographs in front of, with the people of Springfield and with his son, Willie, before he departed for Washington to be sworn in as President. A home Abraham had expected to return to, a home he missed...but was never able to see again due to an assassin’s bullet.
That’s why the Lincoln Home in Springfield, Illinois is so important.
The National Park Service has done a remarkable job restoring the house to closely resemble how it looked when the Lincoln family left in 1861. It stands quietly, as if still waiting for the six-foot-four man to bound up the front steps and fling open the door that bears a simple gold plate embossed with “A. Lincoln.”
The video below goes beyond a walk-through or visitor recommendations. It explores what was happening in Illinois while Abraham lived there, the growth of the Lincoln family, and how Abraham and Mary interacted within the walls of their home. It’s about the private life behind the public figure.
On a day like today, it feels right to pause and remember Abraham not just as a president, but as a person. A son, brother, husband, father, colleague, and friend.
Happy birthday, Mr. Lincoln.
And thank you for being the person who continues to inspire us.
