Last updated: June 14, 2025
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On Our 250th: A Wish For America
Share your wish at Lincoln Home National Historic Site!
Stop by between June 19 and July 4, 2025. Check out the in-person Wish Wall and scavenger hunt in the Visitor Center. Or follow the link below to share your wish online!
What is your wish for America?
Share at OnOur250th.org!Abraham Lincoln's Wish for America
On George Washington’s birthday in 1861, Abraham Lincoln made a wish.Early in the morning on February 22, President-elect Lincoln arrived at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Standing in the birthplace of the nation, Lincoln sought to reassure the divided nation that bloodshed could be avoided. He drew his hope for America’s future from its revolutionary past. To him, the Declaration of Independence was not just about the colonies separating from Britain. He believed it promised an America in which “the weight would be lifted from the shoulders of all men.”
This wish defined his life and legacy. And left an enduring wish to fulfill.
As we approach America’s 250th birthday, we invite you to join us as we look back at – and forward to – the wishes that made US.

Library of Congress, Harper's Weekly, March 9, 1861
A Changing Wish
Lincoln wished for an America that lifted the “weight” from the shoulders of all. But the things we wish for can change as we get older, meet new people, and experience more of the world.What did "lifting the weight" mean to Lincoln at different moments in his life?
Our upbringing often shapes our views of the world and what we wish for it. This was the case for Abraham. His deep appreciation for reading and learning suggests that the ability to learn became his wish for others.
In a March 9, 1832 speech, Lincoln said: “Upon the subject of education…I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in. That every man may receive at least, a moderate education, and thereby be enabled to read the histories of his own and other countries, by which he may duly appreciate the value of our free institutions, appears to be an object of vital importance… For my part, I desire to see the time when education…shall become much more general than at present…”
Learn more about Lincoln’s “learning by littles.”
Lincoln was shaped by many members of his family. Learn more about Abraham Lincoln’s family and their impact on his childhood.
Discover more about Lincoln's work in the Illinois Legislature.
Curious about how Lincoln's views of slavery changed over time? Learn more about his wish to prevent the spread of slavery.
Read and learn more about Abraham Lincoln's speech at Independence Hall during his 1861 inaugural journey to Washington, D.C.
Abraham Lincoln sought to balance the preservation of the Union with the abolition of slavery, carefully navigating political pressures from both sides. While committed to ending slavery, he was cautious not to alienate border states with loyal Unionists, and waited for a military victory before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. After the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln reframed the war as both a fight to preserve the Union and to secure freedom for enslaved people.
Discover more about the Emancipation Proclamation and the pursuit of freedom at Antietam.
Read the Gettysburg Address.
Learn more about Lincoln’s visit to Gettysburg at the David Wills House.
Learn more about Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address and its vision for America's future.
Lincoln was not alone!
What were the hopes of people living around Lincoln?Who shared Lincoln's wish?
Find out with this scavenger hunt!A Wish Fulfilled?
Assassinated in 1865, Lincoln did not live to see his wish fully achieved. But his wish – for freedom and equality grounded in the founding ideals – has echoed through time.America’s first 250 years were shaped by the hopes of many people, including Abraham Lincoln. His life embodied the changing hopes for America as each ebb and flow of new generations, peoples, and ideas added to the wishes of the founders. Today, their wishes remain for us to fulfill, perfect, or make our own.
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