About the Center for Lincoln Studies
The Center for Lincoln Studies is dedicated to the study of Abraham Lincoln's life, era, and legacy. Through active learning opportunities, meaningful research, and civic engagement, the Center for Lincoln Studies ensures that everyone has the opportunity to see themselves reflected in Lincoln's legacy.
Center for Lincoln Studies Core Activities
Community Education
The Center for Lincoln Studies offers engaging programs on Lincoln's life, era, and legacy. Most notably, the CLS holds the Mary and James Beaumont Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series every fall. This year, Jon Grinspan, curator of political history at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American history, joins Saladin Ambar, author of Murder on the Mississippi: The Shocking Crimes That Shaped Abraham Lincoln, to deliver lectures on the topic of Lincoln and American 250.
Lincoln Research
The Center for Lincoln Studies conducts and supports research on Lincoln, his era, and his legacy. The Center for Lincoln Studies Book Series will publish two new books in 2026. Lincoln's Poetry: The Creative Life of a Leader focuses on the role of poetry in Lincoln's Life and Thought. The Pioneer Boy and How He Became President is a new edition of an 1863 text with annotations by independent scholar Steven K. Rogstad.
Student Opportunity
The Center for Lincoln Studies supports opportunities for student-centered educational experiences through programs like LEAD: Spirit of Lincoln Youth Leadership Academy. The Center also offers The Lincoln Home National Historic Site Internships, the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission Internships, and the Long Nine Museum Internship.
Related Degrees
History Degree (B.A., M.A.)
Explore and interpret the past with a history degree from UIS.
News
Events
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Lincoln and America 250
On Thursday, October 22, 2026, The University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies presents…