The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has obtained a letter written by Lincoln early in his presidency that touches on how race and class affected operations at the White House.
The letter is dated March 16, 1861, just 12 days after Lincoln took the oath of office.
In the letter, Lincoln asks Navy Secretary Gideon Welles to find a job for a Black man who worked for the Lincoln family in Springfield and Washington.
The dark-skinned man was not accepted by lighter-skinned immigrants already working in the White House. A private collector donated the letter to the museum. The letter is on display in the ALPLM’s Treasures Gallery.
