# Abraham Lincoln *Sixteenth president of the United States (1861–1865); reviewed the death sentences imposed by the 1862 Dakota military commissions.* Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the sixteenth president of the United States, holding office from 1861 until he was assassinated in 1865. He was the first president elected from the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].[^1] He led the Union through the American Civil War, and on January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation.[^1] In the [[Minnesota]] record, Lincoln is the federal official who reviewed the death sentences that military commissions imposed on [[Dakota]] men after the [[U.S.–Dakota War]] of 1862. According to the project's at-issue record, 303 men were tried. Lincoln commuted 264 sentences and condemned 39. One of the 39 was reprieved, and 38 were hanged at [[Mankato]] on December 26, 1862.[^2] A second at-issue row records that the war ended at [[Wood Lake]] on September 23, 1862, and that [[Lincoln's review]] reduced the number of death sentences by 265.[^3] Both rows describe the Mankato hanging as the largest mass execution in United States history.[^2][^3] Both rows rest on a single historical source, the Minnesota Historical Society. The commission transcripts and Lincoln's written order are not among the cited sources, so the record gives these figures on that secondary authority.[^2][^3] ## Who Lincoln was born in Kentucky on February 12, 1809, in a one-room log cabin.[^1] He grew up on the frontier, taught himself, and went on to practise law.[^1] As a Whig and a supporter of Henry Clay, he served four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives for Sangamon County.[^1] He then served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives (1847–1849).[^1] On November 4, 1842, he married Mary Todd. They had four sons, of whom only Robert Todd Lincoln lived to adulthood.[^1] The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 opened the territories to slavery. In response, Lincoln became a leader of the newly formed Republican Party, and in the 1858 Senate campaign he debated Stephen A. Douglas.[^1] He won the presidency in 1860 and was inaugurated on March 4, 1861. In April 1861 he suspended the [[writ of habeas corpus]]. In *Ex parte Merryman*, Chief Justice Roger Taney found that only Congress could take that step.[^1] He was re-elected in 1864.[^1] John Wilkes Booth shot him at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865, and he died at 7:22 am the next day.[^1] ## What The at-issue record states that Lincoln, as president, acted on all 303 death sentences returned by the Dakota military commissions.[^2] He commuted 264 sentences, about 87 percent of the total, and let 39 stand. One of the 39 men was then reprieved.[^2] The second row gives the outcome as a reduction of 265.[^3] The two figures agree. The 264 commutations plus the one reprieve equal the difference between the 303 men sentenced and the 38 men hanged.[^2][^3] ## When - The U.S.–Dakota War ended at Wood Lake on September 23, 1862.[^3] - The 38 men were hanged at Mankato on December 26, 1862, during Lincoln's first term.[^2][^1] - Six days later, on January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.[^1][^2] - The record does not give the date on which Lincoln completed his review of the sentences.[^2][^3] ## Where - The executions took place at Mankato, Minnesota.[^2][^3] - The war's final engagement recorded in the at-issue rows took place at Wood Lake.[^3] - The record does not state where the military commissions sat.[^2][^3] ## How many - Tried by military commission and sentenced to death: 303.[^2][^3] - Sentences commuted by Lincoln: 264.[^2] - Sentences left standing: 39, one of which was later reprieved.[^2] - Men hanged at Mankato: 38.[^2][^3] - Net reduction in death sentences after the review, as given in the second row: 265.[^3] ## In the at-issue record - **AI-Dakota-094** (Dakota package, rank 94). This row records the 303 trials, the 264 commutations, the 39 sentences left standing, the one reprieve, and the 38 hangings at Mankato on December 26, 1862. It describes the hanging as the largest mass execution in United States history.[^2] - **AI-070** (Block F, rank 70; see [[At issue 070 - The U.S. Dakota War ended at Wood Lake]]). This row records that the war ended at Wood Lake on September 23, 1862, and that 303 men were sentenced to death. It also records the 38 hangings at Mankato and states that Lincoln's review reduced the number of death sentences by 265.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Abraham Lincoln* (revision 1381516586, retrieved 2026-10-27), CC BY-SA 4.0 — Lincoln's birth, career, party, presidency, habeas corpus suspension, Emancipation Proclamation, re-election and assassination. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln [^2]: Minnesota wiki project, *At-issue record AI-Dakota-094* (Dakota_Founding_Instruments_2026-09-02.md, 2026-09-02; underlying source domain mnhs.org) — 303 tried, 264 commuted, 39 condemned, one reprieved, 38 hanged at Mankato on December 26, 1862. No URL for the underlying Minnesota Historical Society record is among the pack's allowed sources. [^3]: Minnesota wiki project, *At-issue record AI-070* (Freeman_Apex_Dossier_2026-09-02.md §VI, 2026-09-02; underlying source domain mnhs.org) — war ended at Wood Lake on September 23, 1862; 303 sentenced to death; 38 hanged at Mankato on December 26, 1862; review reduced death sentences by 265. No URL for the underlying Minnesota Historical Society record is among the pack's allowed sources.