As president, Lincoln was able to transcend the immediate political and military needs of the day and change the course of history. With the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln made freedom as well as union the North’s goal. In the Gettysburg Address, he reshaped America’s vision of itself as a land of equality. Lincoln’s refusal to consider postponing the presidential election of 1864 (as some advised him to do) vindicated the principle of free, elective government. And in the Second Inaugural, Lincoln’s words began the process of healing that enabled the country to reunite after four years of strife.

"Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves... The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation."

-- Abraham Lincoln, Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.

The "Public Opinion Bath"

In a re-creation of Lincoln's White House office, visitors can view personal artifacts belonging to Lincoln, official documents, a chair from the Lincoln White House, a Senate copy of the Thirteenth Amendment, a Leland Boker souvenir edition copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and personal and official letters of President Lincoln. 

In the White House, President Lincoln spent many hours each week meeting with any citizen who wanted to see him. He called these sessions his "public opinion baths."