About the Center for Lincoln Studies

lincoln statue

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.

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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.

History
statue of Lincoln with the UIS Colonnade in the background

News

Logo with Lincoln and the UIS colonnade with the text "Making Our History: Artists Render Lincoln's Legacies"
Feb 07, 2023
UIS art exhibit depicting the life story and legacy of Abraham Lincoln to go on display in Chicago
The University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies’ exhibit “Making Our History: Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacies” will be on display Feb. 10…
Lincoln artwork featuring photos of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass and the text "Abraham Lincoln, Tale of Two Cities, Government cannot endure half slave half free."
Jul 25, 2022
UIS presents “Making Our History: Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacies,” an innovative physical and digital art exhibit
The University of Illinois Springfield is proud to announce “Making Our History: Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacies,” an innovative physical and digital art…
Lincoln Statue
Jun 01, 2022
UIS Center for Lincoln Studies to host Juneteenth discussion on the Emancipation Proclamation
WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies invites the public to attend a Juneteenth Lecture Series discussion on “Cause &…
Events
Wide Awake book cover depicting a torch-lit street procession.
Wide Awake: Lunch Book Discussion with Jon Grinspan
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Grinspan and Friefeld Discuss "Wide Awake" Join the UIS Center for Lincoln Studies and Lincoln Home National Historic Site for a lunch…
U.S. Declaration of Independence with "Lincoln & America 250" text overlay.
24th Annual Mary and James Beaumont Endowed Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series
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Lincoln and America 250 On Thursday, October 22, 2026, The University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies presents the…