Lincoln's Kalamazoo Visit | August 27

Today in 1856, Abraham Lincoln visited Kalamazoo to campaign for John Charles Fremont. His speech, initially lost to history, was rediscovered in 1930 by Tom Starr in a 1856 Detroit Advertiser at the Detroit Public Library. Lincoln emphasized the importance of emancipation, stating, “Shall we say, 'Let it be'? No – we have an interest in the maintenance of the principles of the Government, and without this interest, it is worth nothing.”