More than any other state, Idaho is related to Abraham Lincoln.

It was Abraham Lincoln who established the Idaho Territory in 1863 by signing an act of Congress on March 4.  He helped pick the name "Idaho" and appointed our first territorial governor. Lincoln even had Idaho on his mind the day he was assassinated, when he invited an Idaho Congressman to join him at Ford's Theater.

Throughout his first and second terms, Lincoln would appoint more than fifteen men to various federal positions in Idaho, filling the offices of governor, secretary, chief justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court, U.S. marshal, U.S. attorney and Indian agent.  He also nominated a collector of internal revenue for the district of Idaho Territory.  All of these men were his legal, personal or political friends and allies.  After the initial round of appointments upon the creation of the territory, Lincoln next visited this exercise of executive authority in February of 1864.  After Wallace was elected delegate to Congress, the territory needed a new governor.  Lincoln made a curious choice.  Former New York Congressman and civil war soldier Caleb Lyon became Idaho Territory's second Chief Executive.

Lincoln closely watched Idaho grow telling Congress about us in 1863 and 1864.

On April 14, 1865, Idaho political issues were considered late in the afternoon in the White House.  President Abraham Lincoln acted on the advice of his friend and Idaho's First Territorial Delegate William H. Wallace and agreed to appoint Milton Kelly to the Idaho Territorial Supreme Court. On the same day, President Lincoln named James H. Alvord as Idaho's Territorial Marshal.  Then Lincoln invited Wallace and his wife to attend a play called "Our American Cousin."  The Wallaces could not attend as Mrs. Wallace was ill.  That evening the President was assassinated at Ford's Theatre, making the Idaho appointments among the last public acts of Lincoln's presidency.

The Idaho Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission invites you to join us between now and December 1, 2009, in remembering and revering the legacy of the Sixteenth President.  The 200th anniversary of his birth on February 12, 2009, and the months leading up to and following it present a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the history of Lincoln's time and to relearn the impact and importance of his actions and ideals in our modern era.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ABE!