David J. Kent's Blog, page 2

Lincoln Nominates Zachary Taylor, Responds to His Wife, Goes to Massachusetts

On June 11, 1848, congressman Abraham Lincoln arrived back in Washington, D.C. after having traveled all night from Philadelphia, where he attended the Whig National Convention that nominated Zachary Taylor for president. Upon his return he finds a letter from his wife Mary, who has been visiting her family in... Continue reading

Coming Soon: Unable to Escape This Toil – New Book from David J. Kent

It’s been submitted! I’m happy to say that I just submitted the manuscript for my newest book: Unable to Escape This Toil: In Search of Abraham Lincoln’s Forgotten New England Tours. The book is being published by Globe Pequot, the trade arm of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. Unable to... Continue reading

Taper Collection of Lincoln Artifacts Raises Nearly $8 Million at Auction

A major auction of Abraham Lincoln artifacts held May 21, 2025, brought in nearly $8 million dollars. The largest amount for any single item was over $1.5 million (including auction fees) for a pair of blood-stained gloves that Lincoln wore the night of the assassination. Hindman ran the auction for... Continue reading

Abraham Lincoln, Zachary Taylor, and the Land Office Job He Didn’t Get

Abraham Lincoln was not happy. He had worked hard to get Zachary Taylor elected as president as a Whig, and yet he was being passed over for the lucrative General Land Office job. Worse, he was being ignored, something the man who had been Whig leader in the Illinois legislature... Continue reading

Chasing Lincoln Across Upstate New York

Abraham Lincoln traveled through upstate New York in early 1861 on his way to Washington, DC for his inauguration, stopping in Westfield, Buffalo, Albany, Peekskill, and New York City. Twelve years before, in 1848, he stopped in Buffalo and saw Niagara Falls on his way home between sessions of congress... Continue reading

Abraham Lincoln’s First Flatboat Trip to New Orleans

In 1828, nineteen-year-old Abraham Lincoln and neighbor Allen Gentry made what was the first of Lincoln’s two flatboat trips to New Orleans. Gentry’s father funded the trip. A typical investment required about $75 (over $2000 today) for the flatboat alone. The cargo could be worth over $3000 ($82,000 today). A... Continue reading

Abraham Lincoln and the Chiriqui Coal Scheme

On April 10, 1861, two days before the Confederacy opened fire on Fort Sumter, Ambrose W. Thompson met with Lincoln to gain support for a coal mining project in the Chiriqui region of the Granadian Confederation (now Panama near the border with Costa Rica). Thompson headed a corporation that had... Continue reading

Remembering “Doc” Wayne C. Temple, Dean of Lincoln Scholars

The dean of all Abraham Lincoln scholars passed away on March 31, 2025. He was 101. Wayne Calhoun Temple, known to everyone as “Doc,” celebrated his 101st birthday on February 5th. Temple was an internationally recognized authority on Abraham Lincoln. He was the Chief Deputy Director of the Illinois State... Continue reading

Lincoln Stumps for Zachary Taylor for President

Abraham Lincoln stood at the podium in the U.S. House of Representative chambers on July 27, 1848. His topic – the presidential question. Notwithstanding the negative reaction to his previous “spot resolutions” speech, Lincoln was still considered an effective speaker and thus was called upon to help convince people that... Continue reading

Register for the Abraham Lincoln Institute Set for March 22 at Ford’s Theatre – It’s Free

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