Illinois History & Lincoln Collections

Kate Baker Busey was an artist, teacher, and social reformer in Champaign-Urbana in the early 20^th century. Born in 1855 just before the Civil War and raised by socialist parents, Kate grew up in a time and place where progressive notions were rare and racial inequality was pervasive. Kate had a unique childhood among the former members of the socialist commune Ceresco in Cobden, Illinois—a town in the southern tip of the state. Kate’s community of social reformers had moved to Cobden from Wisconsin when Kate was a baby, after the experimental phalanx failed to sustain itself in the northern forest.… Read More

One hundred years ago, on August 18th, 1920, the United States government ratified the 19th Amendment, giving American women the right to vote. One hundred years ago, after decades of organizing, marching, petitioning, picketing, publishing pamphlets, and holding conventions, women were finally allowed to fully participate in their government. Of course, this ratification was only a stepping stone—as it omitted the rights of all women.

The 19th amendment specifically stated that citizens couldn’t be denied the right to vote on the basis of sex—that doesn’t mean that there weren’t still other avenues by which voters could be discriminated against and disenfranchised.… Read More

Have you ever wondered what Abraham Lincoln ate in his day? Lincoln wasn’t known to be much of a foodie—he had simple taste in cuisine and often skipped meals altogether. However, there are a few unique dishes that he’s rumored to have enjoyed, so we decided to recreate two of them to get a glimpse into Lincoln’s life.* Download our printable recipe cards to try your hand at these recipes at home! 

 *We made minor adjustments to the original recipes to ensure they would be appealing to modern tastes. 

Corn dodgers

This simple, satisfying food is essentially a savory cornmeal patty that can be fried or baked.… Read More

When imagining an artist’s rendering of the sixteenth president, you might first envision something like George Peter Alexander Healy’s famous 1869 painting Abraham Lincoln that depicts the seated, contemplative statesman, or perhaps Norman Rockwell’s 1964 Lincoln the Railsplitter portraying a young beardless Hoosier with axe in one hand and a book in the other. What might not immediately come to mind is something like Midwestern meat processor John Morrell & Co.’s 1963 Pictorial Autobiography of Abraham Lincoln, a commemorative calendar featuring colorful renditions of Lincoln’s life by Isa Barnett for each month. That’s just one of the nearly nine-hundred items from the IHLC’s Lincoln Prints and Ephemera Collection (MS 1045) to be available for patron use upon our reopening to the public (pending state and university regulations for managing the COVID-19 pandemic).… Read More