Events

The almanac trial is probably Abraham Lincoln’s most famous case. Immortalized by Young Mr. Lincoln in 1939 starring Henry Fonda, the movie portrays a prosecution witness who saw the killing under the bright light of the moon.  During the trial, Lincoln earned an acquittal for his client when he used a farmer’s almanac to show the moon was not up at the time of the murder. Did Hollywood get it right?Join John Lupton and Dr. Samuel Wheeler from the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission to shed some “moon” light on the Armstrong murder trial of 1857.

John Lupton is the Executive Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission. Samuel Wheeler is the Director of History Programs for the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission.

This program will livestream on Looking for Lincoln's Facebook page and YouTube Channel. The event is FREE. Please do not click on any links that take you to pay page. Our free Facebook events will never ask you for a credit card. If you have trouble finding the event, check the main news feed on the page, and do not click on links in the comments. 

In 1862 Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law promising U.S. citizens and immigrants free land in the West. The Homestead Act is one of the most important social policies ever enacted in the U.S. and it combined with the 13th and 14th amendments to give Black Americans an opportunity to own land after the Civil War. In total, 270 million acres were distributed through the Homestead Act. Join Dr. Jacob Friefeld from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum as he discusses this important part of the Lincoln legacy.

Dr. Jacob Friefeld is a historian and a writer. His book, Homesteading the Plains: Toward a New History, challenges the scholarly consensus about Homestead Act of 1862. His forthcoming book, The First Migrants: How Black Homesteaders’ Quest for Land and Freedom Heralded America’s Great Migration, tells the epic story of Black Americans homesteading in the Great Plains after the Civil War.

Friefeld has a passion for making history accessible for broad audiences through his writing, public speaking, and work at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum where he serves as the Illinois and Midwest Studies Research Historian.

This program will livestream on Looking for Lincoln's Facebook page and YouTube Channel. The event is FREE. Please do not click on any links that take you to pay page. Our free Facebook events will never ask you for a credit card. If you have trouble finding the event, check the main news feed on the page, and do not click on links in the comments.

Abraham Lincoln's oldest and only surviving son Robert lived his adult life in the public eye. As a public man, he could have had any elective office he wanted, up to and including president of the United States. Unlike his father, Robert had no interest in being a politician; he did believe in the duty of a citizen, however, and held multiple appointed offices in federal and state government. Even in his private life as lawyer and businessman Robert faced various issues that resonated in the public arena. While today Robert Lincoln's life is relatively obscure, he was a respected man during his lifetime who showed himself to be a worthy heir of one of the greatest Americans, and today is considered one of the most successful presidential children in US history. Lincoln historian and Robert Lincoln biographer Jason Emerson will examine Robert Lincoln's public life and show how and why the oldest Lincoln child was exactly the kind of man his father wanted him to be.

Jason Emerson is the author or editor of nine books, including Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln, The Madness of Mary Lincoln, and Lincoln the Inventor. Learn more about him on his website at www.jasonemerson.com.

This program will livestream on Looking for Lincoln's Facebook page and YouTube Channel. The event is FREE. Please do not click on any links that take you to pay page. Our free Facebook events will never ask you for a credit card. If you have trouble finding the event, check the main news feed on the page, and do not click on links in the comments.