A Historic Trip Before Taking Office: LINCOLN’S VISIT TO LEAVENWORTH

Fort Leavenworth is the oldest continually operating U.S. Military post west of Washington D.C. It sprung up around the military base, and Fort Leavenworth is the oldest permanent settlement in the state of Kansas. Since 1827 it has borne witness to many of the most celebrated events in American history. It has even played host to some of the nation's significant historical figures, none greater than Abraham Lincoln.

The Man Who Would Be President

Lincoln was an every-man born in Kentucky who became a self-taught prairie lawyer in Illinois. He is a testament to the American ideal that a man can lift himself up in life by ability and determination. He is also remembered for being on the right side of history regarding America's original sin, slavery. Though far less progressive than many of his peers, Lincoln firmly believed that slavery should not be allowed to spread to new states and that the practice violated the principle equality among men enshrined in the Constitution. His rise to political prominence was in large part due to his debates with Senator Stephen Douglas whose Kansas-Nebraska Act left it to each new territory to decide "the slavery issue." Lincoln delivered his famous "a house divided cannot stand" speech only months before visiting Kansas, a territory that was largely against slavery and was ready to join the Union as a free state.

The Visit to Kansas

Lincoln arrived in Kansas Territory at the end of November 1859, crossing the Missouri River into Elwood. He made it to Leavenworth on Saturday, December 3rd. That night, Lincoln gave a speech outlining the problems inherent in the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and he called on all those who believed slavery was wrong to stand together to oppose its spread. He did not, however, call for its absolute end, to the disdain of the many Northern abolitionists who had relocated to the territory. That Monday, a reception was held for him in one of Leavenworth's hotels where he ordered a pitcher of a famous Leavenworth-brewed lager. That pitcher was saved and now sits in the Fort Leavenworth Museum.

Though he never had the chance to return, the memory of Kansas made an impression on Lincoln. During his presidency, when asked if he would advise his fellow citizens to go west, he remarked: "If I went West, I think I would go to Kansas—to Leavenworth or Atchison."

Soak in Leavenworth's rich history and call the Leavenworth Convention and Visitors Bureau at (913) 758-2948 to begin planning your trip today!