Discover how Abraham Lincoln shaped a region he never visited – and how the Pacific Northwest, in turn, helped shape the Union he fought to preserve. Long before the Civil War, Lincoln was offered a leadership role in Oregon Territory, a little-known sign of the Pacific Northwest’s national importance. As President, Lincoln confronted Confederate plots to seize Western gold, unleash privateers, and build a pro-slavery Pacific empire. He answered with military fortifications and decisive political appointments. Blending political intrigue, frontier defense, Native policy, and maritime history, author and historian Ira Wesley Kitmacher reframes the Civil War from the nation’s western edge.
Ira Kitmacher is a Georgetown professor, retired senior federal executive, county history commissioner, columnist, and frequent public speaker on history and folklore. He is the author of Pacific Northwest Legends and Lore and Haunted Graveyard of the Pacific, among other books.
