When anyone thinks about Abraham Lincoln, they often do not make a ready connection to Minnesota’s past. In reality, Lincoln did make an extensive contribution to the state while also sharing a few surprising ties to its history. Minnesota first came into the union as a state a mere two years before the 1860 presidential election kicked off. Lincoln was the very first president that the residents of the state got to vote for.

As president, Lincoln provided a legal impediment to encourage immigrants from overseas to bring their families West to settle and start their new lives. This was done when he signed into law the Homestead Act, which provided land out west at an affordable price. Once in place, people flooded into the plains and the frontier, including Minnesota, to establish farms, businesses and set up new communities. This was very critical for the state to gain a position within the United States.

When the Civil War began to boil in the East, Lincoln put out a general call for volunteers to join the Union Army and stop the separation being pushed by the Southern states. Young men lined up to join, quickly filling the ranks with ready volunteers. As a new state, Minnesota was the very first one to volunteer its own young men for service in the war, showing its fierce loyalty to a unified America.

As the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday comes near, the state plans to celebrate its own connections to this great historic man. Activities throughout the state center on past events such as the election of 1860, exhibits of historical artifacts and also tours of historic Fort Snelling. These events will give people the flavor of the time period and help them to understand the interesting connection between Abraham Lincoln and the state of Minnesota.