Entry Forms and Guidelines

Essays About Lincoln is a one-time statewide reading and writing contest celebrating the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth - February 12, 2009. The program is a joint effort of the Illinois State Archives, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois State Library in partnership with the Illinois Center for the Book.
 

Essays About Lincoln is currently in the judging phase.

Nearly 2000 entries from around the state were received. Winners will be announced in early December.

A big thank you to our judges:

• Betsy Adamowski - Library Director, Itasca Community Library

• Kim Bauer - Director, Decatur's Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and noted Lincoln expert

• Lynda B. Clemmons - Retired English Teacher, Trustee, Harrisburg District Library and Board of Directors, Shawnee Library System

• Kathryn Harris - Library Services Director, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Member, Youth Outreach Committee, Abraham Lincoln Association

• Dave Joens - Director, Illinois State Archives

• Crystal Johnson - Executive Director, Chicago Metro History Education Center

• Jack Klintworth - Public Speaker on Lincoln/Civil War and Volunteer at Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum

• Peggy Boyer Long - Former Executive Director, Illinois Issues Magazine, University of Illinois at Springfield and Former Board Member, Illinois Center for the Book

• Barbara Lund - Retired School Librarian

• Anne Muraro-Lacopo - Public Information, Illinois State Board of Education

• Joe Natale - Executive Assistant to the Director for Planning & Outreach, Illinois State Library and Senior Correspondent, Springfield Business Journal

• Karen Ohlmann - School Teacher with an interest in Lincoln studies

• Veronda Pitchford - Vice President of Membership and Communications, Urban Libraries Council and Board of Directors, Illinois Center for the Book

• Jane Running - Former Patents Librarian, Illinois State Library

• Mark Sorenson - Adjunct Professor of History, Milliken University

• Anne Sustik - Former Coordinator for International Programs, Illinois State Board of Education

• Wayne C. Temple - Chief Deputy Director, Illinois State Archives, Illinois Author and noted Lincoln expert

• Timothy P. Townsend - Historian Lincoln Home National Historic Site and Member, Youth Outreach Committee, Abraham Lincoln Association
   

Essays About Lincoln invites students in grades 5 - 12 to:

• read the Gettysburg Address
• be inspired by imagining themselves in Lincoln's place when he wrote the Gettysburg Address
• write their own version of the Gettysburg Address telling what their ideals are for a nation of freedom, democracy and equal opportunity in a concise essay (no more than 300 words) like Lincoln.

The deadline to enter was May 31, 2008. Students entered through their school, library, adolescent groups or individually.

Essays About Lincoln has been endorsed by both the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.