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Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours
“Combining history, travelogue, and memoir, Kent’s engagingly written account is sure to find a receptive audience among Lincoln scholars and enthusiasts alike.” —John C. Rodrigue, PhD, author of Freedom’s Crescent, finalist for the 2024 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize and recipient of the John L. Nau III Prize in Civil War Studies
Lincoln in New England revisits the important towns where Lincoln spoke and the pivotal figures that helped define the great issues leading to the Civil War. Readers join native New Englander and Lincoln historian David J. Kent as he travels back in time to examine the nation’s downward spiral into conflict.
Readers will explore the crucial issues that predicated the civil war, the birth of the Republican Party as an anti-slavery faction, and New England’s own short-lived flirtation with secession in the spirit of independence. Through the book’s first-person travelogue style, historical maps with redrawn routes, original writings from Lincoln himself, insight from Lincoln historians, and black and white photographs, readers gain a full picture of the region’s vital influence leading up to the Civil War.
Lincoln in New England revisits the important towns where Lincoln spoke and the pivotal figures that helped define the great issues leading to the Civil War. Readers join native New Englander and Lincoln historian David J. Kent as he travels back in time to examine the nation’s downward spiral into conflict.
Readers will explore the crucial issues that predicated the civil war, the birth of the Republican Party as an anti-slavery faction, and New England’s own short-lived flirtation with secession in the spirit of independence. Through the book’s first-person travelogue style, historical maps with redrawn routes, original writings from Lincoln himself, insight from Lincoln historians, and black and white photographs, readers gain a full picture of the region’s vital influence leading up to the Civil War.
- GenresHistory
288 pages, Paperback
Published March 3, 2026
3 people are currently reading
2229 people want to read
About the author
David J. Kent
8 books155 followersDavid J. Kent is an award-winning Abraham Lincoln historian and award-winning former scientist. He is the author of books on Abraham Lincoln, Nikola Tesla, and Thomas Edison. His website is davidjkent-writer.com.
His newest book is "Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours."
His newest book is "Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours."
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 19, 2026
Advanced praise for Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours:
Many fine Lincoln-related guide books cover sites in the Midwest and the Upper South, but New England has been sadly neglected. No longer! David J. Kent, author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln's Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America, has filled the gap with this engaging combination of travelogue, autobiography, and history that illuminates Lincoln’s little-known 1848 campaign tour in Massachusetts and his highly significant 1860 lecture/campaign trip starting in New York and followed by a multi-stop swing through Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. No Lincolnians can claim to have comprehensively visited the Lincoln sites without touring New England, something they will especially enjoy doing with this book in hand to provide insight and entertainment along the way.
Michael Burlingame, PhD, author of Abraham Lincoln: A Life
Abraham Lincoln is customarily associated with Kentucky, Illinois, or the Midwest in general. In Lincoln in New England, however, Massachusetts native David J. Kent retraces Lincoln’s 1848 and 1860 forays into the region to offer illuminating reflections on Lincoln’s life and career, the meaning of the Civil War, and related aspects of U.S. history. Joined along the way by fellow Lincoln experts and local guides, Kent also explores places that Lincoln never visited—such as Hildene in Vermont—but that have further enriched the Lincoln story. Combining history, travelogue, and memoir, Kent’s engagingly written account is sure to find a receptive audience among Lincoln scholars and enthusiasts alike.
John C. Rodrigue, PhD, author of Freedom’s Crescent, finalist for the 2024 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize and recipient of the John L. Nau III Prize in Civil War Studies.
David J. Kent covers new ground with his detailed account of Abraham Lincoln’s most consequential campaign tours. He provides a fresh perspective on Lincoln’s character, will and judgement just one year prior to his becoming President of a nation at war with itself.
Brian Keefe, President, Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home
David J. Kent has written a lively, interesting book that will fit well on any Lincoln shelf. Abundantly illustrated and presented in the style of a modern-day travelogue, Kent details Lincoln's two trips to New England, first during his 1848 visit to Massachusetts stumping for Zachary Taylor, and then a dozen years later, just months in advance of the 1860 presidential campaign. The book provides rich detail and context to the political issues that would ultimately tear the nation apart, and it also illuminates part of Lincoln's personal journey from raw stump speaker to a more thoughtful man on the eve of his own presidential nomination.
William F. Hanna, Author of Abraham Among the Yankees: Lincoln's 1848 Visit to Massachusetts
What happened at Cooper Union did not stay at Cooper Union—not where Abraham Lincoln was concerned. So David J. Kent shows in this absorbing, definitive account of that quintessential Westerner’s transformative visits to the East. Lincoln made himself a viable presidential candidate by repeating his antislavery Cooper Union message in New England—twelve years after making his debut in the region campaigning for another rustic nominee, Zachary Taylor. Kent not only brings these long-ignored tours vividly back to life, he adds nuanced layers of observation by animating his own experiences retracing Lincoln’s steps. The result is a multi-layered exploration of a leader on the threshold of greatness—even out of his comfort zone.
Harold Holzer, Winner of the Lincoln Prize
Following Lincoln around New England may seem like an esoteric journey, but David J. Kent’s Lincoln in New England is so full of fascinating characters, events, Lincoln iconography, and cultural insight that I was hooked. From the strenuous political campaigning of the 1840s to the simple—at first—visit to his son at a New Hampshire preparatory school in 1860, Kent, a top-notch tour guide, brings Lincoln and his times alive, shows us that history is not only interesting but relevant to today, and proves that the Lincoln statues, memorials, murals, and paintings that dot the country are more than just artistic or cultural sentimentality—they are a guidebook to remembering Lincoln’s journey to greatness, one stop at a time. This is a unique addition to Lincoln literature and an inspiring travelogue that made me want to throw some Lincoln books in my backpack and hit the road for the East Coast.
Jason Emerson, author of Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln
Many fine Lincoln-related guide books cover sites in the Midwest and the Upper South, but New England has been sadly neglected. No longer! David J. Kent, author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln's Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America, has filled the gap with this engaging combination of travelogue, autobiography, and history that illuminates Lincoln’s little-known 1848 campaign tour in Massachusetts and his highly significant 1860 lecture/campaign trip starting in New York and followed by a multi-stop swing through Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. No Lincolnians can claim to have comprehensively visited the Lincoln sites without touring New England, something they will especially enjoy doing with this book in hand to provide insight and entertainment along the way.
Michael Burlingame, PhD, author of Abraham Lincoln: A Life
Abraham Lincoln is customarily associated with Kentucky, Illinois, or the Midwest in general. In Lincoln in New England, however, Massachusetts native David J. Kent retraces Lincoln’s 1848 and 1860 forays into the region to offer illuminating reflections on Lincoln’s life and career, the meaning of the Civil War, and related aspects of U.S. history. Joined along the way by fellow Lincoln experts and local guides, Kent also explores places that Lincoln never visited—such as Hildene in Vermont—but that have further enriched the Lincoln story. Combining history, travelogue, and memoir, Kent’s engagingly written account is sure to find a receptive audience among Lincoln scholars and enthusiasts alike.
John C. Rodrigue, PhD, author of Freedom’s Crescent, finalist for the 2024 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize and recipient of the John L. Nau III Prize in Civil War Studies.
David J. Kent covers new ground with his detailed account of Abraham Lincoln’s most consequential campaign tours. He provides a fresh perspective on Lincoln’s character, will and judgement just one year prior to his becoming President of a nation at war with itself.
Brian Keefe, President, Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home
David J. Kent has written a lively, interesting book that will fit well on any Lincoln shelf. Abundantly illustrated and presented in the style of a modern-day travelogue, Kent details Lincoln's two trips to New England, first during his 1848 visit to Massachusetts stumping for Zachary Taylor, and then a dozen years later, just months in advance of the 1860 presidential campaign. The book provides rich detail and context to the political issues that would ultimately tear the nation apart, and it also illuminates part of Lincoln's personal journey from raw stump speaker to a more thoughtful man on the eve of his own presidential nomination.
William F. Hanna, Author of Abraham Among the Yankees: Lincoln's 1848 Visit to Massachusetts
What happened at Cooper Union did not stay at Cooper Union—not where Abraham Lincoln was concerned. So David J. Kent shows in this absorbing, definitive account of that quintessential Westerner’s transformative visits to the East. Lincoln made himself a viable presidential candidate by repeating his antislavery Cooper Union message in New England—twelve years after making his debut in the region campaigning for another rustic nominee, Zachary Taylor. Kent not only brings these long-ignored tours vividly back to life, he adds nuanced layers of observation by animating his own experiences retracing Lincoln’s steps. The result is a multi-layered exploration of a leader on the threshold of greatness—even out of his comfort zone.
Harold Holzer, Winner of the Lincoln Prize
Following Lincoln around New England may seem like an esoteric journey, but David J. Kent’s Lincoln in New England is so full of fascinating characters, events, Lincoln iconography, and cultural insight that I was hooked. From the strenuous political campaigning of the 1840s to the simple—at first—visit to his son at a New Hampshire preparatory school in 1860, Kent, a top-notch tour guide, brings Lincoln and his times alive, shows us that history is not only interesting but relevant to today, and proves that the Lincoln statues, memorials, murals, and paintings that dot the country are more than just artistic or cultural sentimentality—they are a guidebook to remembering Lincoln’s journey to greatness, one stop at a time. This is a unique addition to Lincoln literature and an inspiring travelogue that made me want to throw some Lincoln books in my backpack and hit the road for the East Coast.
Jason Emerson, author of Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln
March 3, 2026
This engaging book rediscovers a largely overlooked yet deeply consequential chapter in Abraham Lincoln’s political development: his two trips through New England. The first visit in 1848 quietly shaped Lincoln’s thinking long before he became a national figure. His return in 1860, on the heels of the Cooper Union address, helped transform him from a respected speaker into a viable presidential candidate.
What sets this book apart is not just its insight, but its approach. The author combines rigorous research with an inviting, reflective narrative style that brings the story to life. Readers travel with him through the towns Lincoln visited, and experience his journeys as dynamic encounters with ideas, people, and places. A good reminder that history is not only made by famous moments, but along the roads between them.
What sets this book apart is not just its insight, but its approach. The author combines rigorous research with an inviting, reflective narrative style that brings the story to life. Readers travel with him through the towns Lincoln visited, and experience his journeys as dynamic encounters with ideas, people, and places. A good reminder that history is not only made by famous moments, but along the roads between them.
Review of advance copy received from Author
David Kent has written another enjoyable, informative treatment of aspects of Lincoln's life that are too little known, even for Lincoln devotees. Like his Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, which explored Lincoln's fascination with and expertise in new advances in science and technology in the mid-1800s, Lincoln in New England recounts Lincoln's visits to the region in the late 1840s and in 1860 and their importance to his road to the presidency. Deftly interweaving his own retracing of Lincoln's journeys in New England with the historical context of Lincoln's travels, Kent illuminates the importance of these "forgotten tours" to Lincoln's becoming president, doing so with a wonderfully native New Englander touch.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews