Series III
Abraham Lincoln to Edwin M. Stanton, Jan 23 1864. Courtesy of A. K. Smiley Public Library, Redlands, CA.
Elected the Sixteenth President of the United States on November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861. Several states had already seceded from the Union, and his presidency was dominated by the American Civil War. The war was nearing its end when Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865, and died the next day.
Series III includes the massive documentary record of an active president engaged in leading a nation during wartime.
Scope
Series III incorporates all Lincoln documents from Abraham Lincoln's inauguration as President on March 4, 1861 through his death on April 15, 1865.
A "Lincoln document" is any of the following:
- a document written in Abraham Lincoln's hand;
- a document printed from an original written in Abraham Lincoln's hand (e.g., letters authored by Lincoln to a newspaper);
- a document written by a clerk or assistant but signed by Abraham Lincoln or issued directly under his authority;
- a document reporting Abraham Lincoln's words (e.g., legislative bills and acts, newspaper reports of speeches);
- a document addressed or directed to Abraham Lincoln (either sender's or recipient's copy; either draft or final version);
- a document enclosed with correspondence addressed to Abraham Lincoln or written by Lincoln; or
- a document comprising a part of the official record of a particular matter submitted for Abraham Lincoln's review.
