Abraham Lincoln Papers: Selected Bibliography
         URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/albib.html

         This massive bibliography is provided by the Library of Congress’s American Memory Project and includes an extensive list of the best primary source material for studying Abraham Lincoln.  It is a very helpful guide to the many compilations and collected works out there.
 

Black Hawk War of 1832 Bibliography
        URL: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/blackhawk/bibliography.html

        This is an excellent resource for the study of the Black Hawk War.  A page of the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project at Northern Illinois University, it provides an exhaustive list of both primary and secondary source material on the Black Hawk War. 
 

Lincoln Home National Historic Site Bibliography
       URL: http://www.nps.gov/liho/biblio.htm 

        This bibliography is provided by the National Park Service as a supplement to its page on the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois.  The bibliography is an excellent listing of the major authoritative biographies of Lincoln, with some special interest books in the mix: a good place to start the search for biographical resources.
 

Lincoln, Abraham. “Lecture on Discoveries, Inventions, and Improvements, 
          Springfield, Illinois, February 22, 1860” in Nicolay, John G., and Hay, John
          (Ed.s), The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, v. 5. New York: Francis D.
          Tandy Company, 1894.

          In this speech Lincoln inferred the superiority of whites based on their discovery of gold in territory on which Indians and Mexicans lived for generations; he rhetorically asked “why did Yankees almost instantly discover gold in California, which had been trodden upon and overlooked by Indians and Mexican greasers for centuries?” (103).  Lincoln also explained that phonetic writing was what separated whites from “savages,” and from that talent had derived the fruits of civilization- government, culture, etc., (109).
 

Lincoln, Abraham. “Letter to C. H. Fisher, Springfield, Illinois, August 27, 1860” in
         Nicolay, John G., and Hay, John (Ed.s), The Complete Works of Abraham
         Lincoln, v. 5. New York: Francis D. Tandy Company, 1894.

         In this letter Lincoln acknowledged the savagery of non-white races, but said that it should not be used as a pretext for their mistreatment by whites. 
 

Lincoln, Abraham. “Letter to John Chrisman, September 21, 1860” in Nicolay, 
        John G., and Hay, John (Ed.s), The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, 
        v. 5. New York: Francis D. Tandy Company, 1894. 

        Lincoln described his lineage and the movement of his family in this 1860 letter.  He also attested to the fact that his grandfather moved to Kentucky and was killed by Indians there in 1784. 
 

Lincoln, Abraham. “The Seventh and Last Joint Debate at Alton, Illinois, October
        15, 1858” in Nicolay, John G., and Hay, John (Ed.s), The Complete Works of
        Abraham Lincoln, v. 5. New York: Francis D. Tandy Company, 1894.

        In this debate Douglas argued that the Declaration of Independence did not include blacks or Indians and that the Framers intended to establish a government of white men for the benefit of white me.  Lincoln countered Douglas’s point, but his argument fell short of a complete rejection of Douglas’s remarks.  Lincoln said “I think the authors of that notable instrument intended to include all men, but they did not intend to declare all men equal in all respects. They did not mean to say that all men were equal in color, size, intellect, moral development, or social capacity,” (35). 
 

Lincoln, Abraham. “Speech at Peoria, September 17, 1852,” in Basler, Roy P.
       (Ed.), The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, v.2. New Brunswick, NJ: 
       Rutgers University Press, 1953.

        In this speech Lincoln referred to Winfield Scott’s involvement in the removal of Indians as evidence of his qualification for public service.  More significantly, he defended Andrew Jackson’s decision to remove the Cherokee from Georgia and send them on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma.  To Jackson’s critics Lincoln scoffed, “Is it true that the noble hearted man and Christian gentleman who as the agent of a democratic administration, removed the Cherokee Indians from their homes to the west of the Mississippi in such a manner as to gain the applause of the great and good of the land, is a fool?” (159).
 

Lincoln, Abraham “Speech in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Presidential
        Question” in Basler, Roy P. (Ed.) The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln,
        v.1. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953.

        In this address to Congress Lincoln gave a humorous account of his Black Hawk War days, describing an occasion on which he accidentally bent his own musket and acknowledging that he saw no combat except for “a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes” (510).
 

Lincoln, Abraham “Speech on the Sub-Treasury, December 26, 1839” in Basler,
        Roy P. (Ed.), The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, v.1. New Brunswick,
        NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953.

        Lincoln defended the expense of removing Indians from desired territory, saying that Douglas had overestimated the costs of such operations. 
 

Lincoln, Abraham.  “Speech to Indians, White House, March 27, 1863” in Basler,
        Roy P. (Ed.), The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, v.6. New Brunswick,
        NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953.

        In this historic meeting with several Indian chiefs, a very respectful Lincoln nonetheless created quite a mockery by referring to whites as “pale-faced people,” to the White House as a “wigwam,” and having the Indians instructed as to the spherical nature of Earth.  Lincoln praised the way that Indians lived in harmony with the land but advised the chiefs that assimilation into white culture was their only chance for success.
 

Lincoln, Abraham. “Third Joint Debate at Jonesboro, Illinois, September 15, 1858”
        in Nicolay, John G., and Hay, John (Ed.s), The Complete Works of Abraham
        Lincoln, v. 5. New York: Francis D. Tandy Company, 1894.

        In this debate Douglas reinforced the inferiority of “the negro, the savage Indians …or any other inferior and degraded race,” (23).  Much to Lincoln’s credit, he responded only by asserting the natural equality of men and subsequent entitlement to the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. 
 

Lincoln, Abraham.  “To Alexander Ramsey, Washington, August 27, 1862.”  in
         Basler, Roy P.  The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, v.5. New Brunswick,
         NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953.

        In response to the initial raids of the Dakota Conflict, Lincoln ordered Minnesota Governor Ramsey to proceed with the suppression of that rebellion. 
 

Lincoln, Abraham.  “To Henry H. Sibley, Washington, December 6, 1862” in
        Basler, Roy P.  The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, v.5.  New Brunswick,
        NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953.

        Without question the most significant of Lincoln’s orders regarding Indians, this document directed Sibley to execute thirty-nine of the Indians condemned for their involvement in the Dakota Conflict.  The order also exonerated 264 of the Indians condemned by the military courts.  Hence this document at once ordered the largest mass execution and the greatest act of clemency in American history.
 

Lincoln, Abraham.  “To Jesse Lincoln, Springfield Illinois, April 1, 1854” in Basler,
        Roy P. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, v.2. New Brunswick, NJ:
        Rutgers University Press, 1953.

        In this letter to Jesse Lincoln, a distant cousin, Abraham Lincoln wrote that the story of his grandfather’s death at the hands of the Indians, and of his Uncle Mordecai, a fourteen year old, then killing one of the Indians was “the legend more strongly than [most prominent of] all others imprinted upon my mind and memory” (217).
 

Lincoln, Abraham.  “To John Pope, Washington, November 10, 1862.”  In Basler,
        Roy P.  The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, v.5.  New Brunswick, NJ:
        Rutgers University Press, 1953.

        This extremely significant document was Lincoln’s order to John Pope to send the full records of all Indians condemned to death by the military courts established to punish the Sioux for the Dakota Conflict.  Hoping to expedite the executions, Pope had telegraphed a simple list of names to Washington expecting a quick approval from Lincoln.  Lincoln, however, made it clear that the executions would be given careful consideration, and ordered Pope to send the full records by mail. 
 

Lincoln, Abraham.  “To Joseph Holt, Washington, December 1, 1862” in Basler, 
        Roy P.  The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, v.5. New Brunswick, NJ:
        Rutgers University Press, 1953.

        This letter reveals Lincoln’s discomfort with having to approve the executions of the Indians condemned to death for their involvement in the Dakota Conflict.  Lincoln asked Holt for his legal advice, inquiring as to whether he could leave the decision to someone else.
 

Lincoln, Abraham; Bartlett, David W.  Life and Public Services of Hon. Abraham 
        Lincoln, With a Portrait on Steel.  To Which is Added a Biographical Sketch of 
        Hon. Hannibal Hamlin.  New York: H. Dayton, 1860. 

        This memoir often refers to “outrages” committed against Indian tribes in the efforts to remove them from territories desired by whites, while consistently referring to the Indians as “savages.”  There is also some expression of sympathy for the Indians whose rebellion began the Black Hawk War; the memoir explains that they had been promised food in exchange for their departure from the Illinois and Wisconsin territory, but that the government did not hold up its end of the deal and the hungry Indians were forced to rebel.  There is also a record of Senator Lincoln voting against a bill which would compensate a slaveowner for the loss of a slave, Antonio Pacheco, who had fought with the Indians against the whites. 
 

Lincoln, Abraham, Douglas, Stephen. “First Joint Debate at Ottawa, August 21, 
        1858” in Nicolay, John G., and Hay, John (Ed.s), The Complete Works of
        Abraham Lincoln, v.3. New York: Francis D. Tandy Company, 1894. 

        In this debate Douglas openly proclaimed the racial inferiority of Indians (along with blacks) and characterized westward expansion as a gallant effort “spreading civilization and Christianity where before there was nothing but savage barbarism” (222). Lincoln’s response failed to address the Indians, but asserted that while physical differences between whites and blacks precluded social equality, blacks were entitled to life, liberty and property as guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence.

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Buice, David.  “Lincoln’s Unissued Proclamation.”  Prologue, Volume 10, Issue 3.
        1978. 

        Adding to other indictments of Lincoln’s failed “Indian System,” Buice is critical of Lincoln’s failure to draft or implement policies to aid the Five Civilized Tribes. 
 

Darling, Ernest F.  “Lincoln’s Message to Indian Territory.”  Chronicles of 
        Oklahoma, Volume 63, Issue 2.

        This article reviews a very significant order of Lincoln’s which attempted to attract Indians to service for the Union during the Civil War.  Significantly, the order was issued as Lincoln employed other policies to solve his manpower shortage, among them the Conscription Act and the Emancipation Proclamation. 
 

Davis, Jane S.  “Two Sioux War Orders: A Mystery Unraveled.”  Minnesota 
        History, Volume 41, Issue 3.  1968.

        This article presents the historic documents ordering the execution of thirty-nine Indians for their involvement in the Dakota Conflict, explaining that one (frequently cited) original was actually never sent.
 

Donald, David Herbert. Lincoln.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. 

        This authoritative biography contains a valuable description of Lincoln’s role in the Black Hawk War, emphasizing it as his first leadership experience.  Donald also emphasizes that the Dakota Conflict of 1862 forced Lincoln to admit that he had hitherto failed to effectively involve himself in Indian affairs.  Significantly, the Donald biography also lends credibility to the story of Lincoln protecting an Indian spy whom his subordinates wanted to kill during the Black Hawk War. 
 

Efflandt, Lloyd. Lincoln and the Black Hawk War.  Rock Island, IL: Rock Island
        Arsenal Historical Society, 1992. 

        Though this book is primarily a bare-bones overview of the Black Hawk War, Chapter Four, entitled “Lincoln: Illinois Militiaman” provides a description of Lincoln’s involvement in the War specifically.  Efflandt’s account serves to downplay Lincoln’s experience in the Black Hawk War by characterizing Lincoln’s service as obligatory and brief, and by portraying Captain Lincoln as a bumbling oaf who, for example, issued an order to "go to the devil” and spent his time breaking his weapon, picking wild onions, and fighting mosquitoes rather than Indians. 
 

Homstad, Daniel W.  “Lincoln’s Agonizing Decision.” American History, Volume
        36 Issue 5.  December 2001.

        This article provides excellent background and perspective on Lincoln’s historic decision to execute thirty-nine of the three hundred-plus Indians sentenced to death by the military tribunals established in the wake of the Dakota Conflict.  Homstad pays particular attention to the unfairness of the military trials and the pressure on Lincoln to swiftly approve all of the executions. 
 

Kelsey, Harry.  “Abraham Lincoln and American Indian Policy.”  Lincoln Herald, 
         Volume 77, Issue 3.  1975. 

         This article offers an excellent description of challenges to the decision-making process in regard to Indian policy.
 

King, Jeffery S.  “A Memorable Spectacle; Lincoln’s Meeting With Plains Indians 
        on March 27, 1863.”  Lincoln Herald, Volume 81, Issue 1.  1979.

        Provides useful background to Lincoln’s historic White House meeting with the chiefs of several Indian tribes. 
 

King, Jeffery S.  “’Do Not Execute Chief Pocatello’; President Lincoln Acts to Save
        the Shoshoni Chief.”  Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume 53, Issue 3.  1985.

        This article offers extremely useful evidence of Lincoln’s pardon of a Shoshoni chief who had orchestrated attacks on Utah settlers. 
 

King, Jeffery S. “President Lincoln as the Great White Father: Lincoln and the
        Indians.”  Lincoln Herald, Volume 84, Issue 3.  1982.

        In this article King offers a unique interpretation of Lincoln as a benevolent father who never lost sight of Indian affairs despite the demands placed on his administration by the Civil War.
 

McPherson, James.  “Lincoln the Devil” (Book Review) New York Times, 
        August 27, 2000.

        McPherson critically critiques Lerone Bennett Jr.’s Forced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream, making a significant point in that Lincoln’s execution order after the Dakota Conflict was the “largest act of executive clemency” just as it was “one of the largest mass executions in military history,” (12). 
 

Nichols, David A.  “The Other Civil War: Lincoln and the Indians.”  Minnesota 
        History, Volume 44 Issue 1.  1974. 

        This article provides a good description of the central conflict that Lincoln faced in regard to Indian policy.  According to Nichols Lincoln struggled to reconcile his efforts for westward expansion with the welfare of the Indians.
 

Nichols, David A. Lincoln and the Indians: Civil War Policy and Politics. 
        Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1978. 

        The most significant work on Lincoln’s Indian policy, Nichols’ book effectively portrays a complex and corrupt Indian system, the dynamics of which were set up to benefit its self-interested agents more than the Indians themselves.  With swindle, theft, and other abuses of office rampant, the “machine” bestowed upon Lincoln proved itself resistant to reform, and Lincoln’s best efforts were thwarted both by corruption and by the distractions and imperatives of the Civil War.  That is not to say that Lincoln ambitiously pursued reform from the start; in Nichols’ account, it was not until the Dakota Conflict of 1862 that Lincoln acknowledged the necessity of reform.  Lincoln’s efforts to crack down on the system only further hurt the Indians, as policies underscored by white supremist beliefs and desires for westward expansion only further removed, decimated, and impoverished Indian tribes.
 

Oates, Stephen B. With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln.
        New York: Harper & Row, 1977. 

        Another authoritative biography, Oates’ account sharply indicts Lincoln as having a “paternalistic toward the Indians” and for pursuing removal policies thoroughly consistent with a tradition of antagonism toward the Indians: “Lincoln had carried on the policy of ‘concentration’ begun in 1851, another step in the long process of oppression and removal which had characterized federal Indian policy since Jefferson’s Presidency,” (368).
 

Ryan, Edward J. Comes and Echo on the Breeze.  New York: The Exposition Press,
        1949. 

        This historical novel presents a narrative version of Lincoln’s service in the Black Hawk War, significant in that it uses the stories to explain the development of character, values, and ethics in the young Lincoln.  The novel reveals humility, determination, and humanity as traits central to Lincoln’s character.
 

Suppiger, Joseph E.  “Lincoln and Pope.”  Lincoln Herald, Volume 77, Issue 4.
        1975.

        This article pays close attention to the role of John Pope in the trial of Indians after the Dakota Conflict, underscoring the conflict between Pope’s goal of the speedy execution of all the three hundred-plus condemned rebels and Lincoln’s desire to see justice served carefully and cautiously.
 

Suppiger, Joseph E.  “Private Lincoln and the Spy Battalion.”  Lincoln Herald, 
        Volume 80, Issue 1.  1978.

 An interesting account of Lincoln’s service in the Spy Battalion during the Black Hawk War, significant because Lincoln’s spy activity and/or membership in this company is seldom if ever mentioned in other accounts of his Black Hawk War service.
 

Tarbell, Ida M. The Life of Abraham Lincoln, Volume One.  New York: 
        McClure, Phillips & Co., 1895.

        Contains a valuable chapter on the Black Hawk War in which Lincoln is described as being a stranger to military manners and tactics to the extent that his service was full of laughable blunders, but who, nonetheless, encouraged honor and honesty in his subordinates. 
 

Temple, Wayne C. Lincoln – Grant Illinois Militiamen.  Published by the State of
        Illinois Military and Naval Department Public Affairs and Retention
        Recruiting Sections, February 1984.

        Written as a recruiting pamphlet for the military, this document recalls the service of Lincoln in the Black Hawk War with attention devoted to details like the kind of dress he wore, weapons used, battle tactics employed, etc. 
 

Thomas, James.  “Nevada Territory.”  Journal of the West, Volume 16, Issue 2. 
        1977. 

        This is an excellent source for understanding the significance of Nevada to Lincoln’s Civil War and Indian policy; Lincoln pushed for Nevada statehood because he needed Comstock silver to finance the Civil War, and he pursued the removal and forceful subduing of Indians to get it.

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