Idaho
Historian says Lincoln won Civil War with the 'idea of Idaho,' and early governor might have prevented assassination – East Idaho News
IDAHO FALLS – Abraham Lincoln said goodbye to his friend for the last time as they left the meeting that afternoon.
It was Friday, April 14, 1865. America’s 16th president was 42 days into his second term and would be shot later that night while attending a play with his wife at Ford’s Theatre.
It had been two years since Lincoln had signed the bill that made Idaho a territory. His friend, William Wallace, whom he’d appointed its governor, declined an invitation to accompany him to the theater that night before they parted ways.
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David Leroy — a Lincoln historian who spoke at the Museum of Idaho Wednesday night in celebration of the state’s creation on March 4, 1863 — says Lincoln’s fate might have been different had Wallace decided to attend.
“Maybe he would’ve prevented the assassination,” Leroy tells EastIdahoNews.com.
Lincoln’s ties to the state’s beginnings and his friendship with Wallace is one of numerous connections to Idaho. Though Lincoln never set foot in the Gem State, he actively lobbied for its creation and almost became its governor at one point, though indirectly.
During Wednesday night’s event, Leroy suggested Lincoln developed the “idea of Idaho” throughout his life and left a massive footprint that many Idahoans don’t know about.
Lincoln’s ideas of Idaho
Lincoln’s first connection to Idaho dates back to his youth on the American Frontier.
“He was a farmer’s son, a rail splitter, a man of the soil … in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois,” Leroy told Wednesday night’s crowd. “He was also a merchant, understanding commerce and its interaction with farming.”
At age 19, Leroy said Lincoln also saw the “abhorrence of slavery.” On a river boat trip to Mississippi and Louisiana, he saw black men and women being auctioned on a city block.
These experiences shaped Lincoln’s world view and resemble values that are important to Idahoans today.
Lincoln’s connection to Idaho became more recognizable years later when Lincoln was first elected to Congress in 1847. The Oregon Territory — which included parts of present-day Idaho, Montana, and Washington — was created the following year after months of heated debate.
“The House of Representatives fought for months (over Oregon’s creation),” Leroy said. “It was contentious because the southern senators wanted to allow the possibility that Oregon Territory could have slaves.”
Lincoln opposed slavery.
President Zachary Taylor, a fellow Whig Party member who sided with Lincoln on the slavery issue, was elected that same year and offered Lincoln a job as the territory’s first governor. Lincoln declined.
“He went home and proudly suggested to Mary (his wife) that he had a singular opportunity to move out West. She said, ‘No way. We’re not going out there,’” Leroy told the crowd. “Think of that! Lincoln could’ve been our governor!”
The debate about slavery in the western territories of the United States continued for years, and came to a head in 1861 when the country was propelled into Civil War. Lincoln publicly expressed his opposition to slavery in a speech printed in the New York Tribune in 1858. His views were so well expressed, Leroy said, that it led to his election as president in 1860 and the creation of Idaho three years later.
Although history records that the Civil War ended in 1865, Leroy believes “Lincoln won the war in 1862 … with the idea of Idaho.”
He cites multiple bills he signed that year as an example. Among them was the Territorial Abolition Act, which abolished slavery in all federal territories of the United States. He also signed the Pacific Railroad Act, authorizing the construction of the transcontinental railroad. This law, Leroy said, connected free states across the country and promoted equal opportunity for everyone.
Lincoln signed the bill that created the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which Leroy said “recognized the importance of farming and what farming would be” in Idaho and the western territories.
That same year, Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which promoted westward settlement and development of the American frontier. It allowed American citizens to claim land to live on and farm. More than 60,000 Idahoans benefitted from this law.
Another bill, the Morrill Land Grant College Act, gave states federal land to build colleges that taught agriculture. This bill resulted in the founding of the University of Idaho in 1889.
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Idaho’s creation
But Lincoln didn’t just sign bills that aligned with Idaho values. He actively lobbied for its creation.
On March 3, 1863, Leroy says Lincoln stayed up all night urging Congress to vote in favor of Idaho becoming a territory.
“The bill was due to expire at midnight on March 3, 1863. Lincoln remained at the capitol in the President’s Room off the floor of the Senate and helped lobby it through the Senate and the House,” Leroy says. “He stayed in the capitol building until it was … on the roll.”
Around 4 a.m. the next morning, Lincoln likely approached the legislation with a sense of satisfaction as he read these words.
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“Providing that slavery is prohibited in said territory, by act of Congress…,” the bill said, according to Leroy.
With the stroke of a pen, Lincoln then signed the bill into law.
Lincoln’s friendship with Gov. Wallace
Lincoln’s friendship with William Wallace is one of the most noteworthy connections to Idaho.
In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Leroy says the two met around 1840 when Wallace was a young attorney in Indiana. Both men were members of the Whig Party and Wallace introduced Lincoln —- then an Illinois state legislator —- who was speaking at a rally for presidential candidate William Henry Harrison.
“Wallace introduced Lincoln in a friendly, jocular way. Their senses of humor connected and over the years, they stayed in touch,” says Leroy.
Wallace later moved to Iowa, where he served as Speaker of the House in the state legislature. After an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senator, he moved to Washington Territory and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Through letters, Lincoln and Wallace often discussed the politics of the day, including when Lincoln entered the presidential race in 1860.
“When Lincoln was elected, Wallace went to Washington, D.C. to lobby for selection to territorial positions appointed by the president. He was successful,” Leroy explains.
Lincoln appointed Wallace governor of Washington Territory in 1861.
At that time, Washington extended from the Pacific Ocean to modern day Montana and Wyoming. The land that makes up Idaho today was under Wallace’s jurisdiction as governor. Realizing the large size of the geographic area, he became an advocate for breaking it up and Idaho was created on March 4, 1863.
Wallace met with Lincoln the day he was shot to talk about filling a vacancy on the Idaho Supreme Court and in the U.S. Marshal’s Office.
“They talked for a bit, talked about Idaho, talked about the need for these specific offices — and then Lincoln said, ‘Old Idaho, come back on Monday and you shall have the appointments as you wish them,’” Leroy said at Wednesday’s event.
Old Idaho was the nickname Lincoln gave Wallace.
Wallace declined the invitation to attend the play because his wife was sick.
Around 10:20 p.m., a bullet to the back of Lincoln’s head at point-blank range rendered him unconscious. He died the next morning at a boarding house across the street.
“I wonder, at some point during the play, with the Idaho appointments due on Monday being fresh in his mind, whether Lincoln thought just a bit about the idea of Idaho?” Leroy said on Wednesday.
Lincoln may have visited Idaho had he lived
Prior to his visit with Wallace, Leroy said Lincoln took a carriage ride along the Potomac River with his wife. The ending of the Civil War days earlier weighed heavily on his mind and the possibility of a peaceful second term delighted him.
“When we finish the term, I’d like to travel,” Lincoln said, according to Leroy.
Walking the streets where Jesus walked in Jerusalem and going to California after the completion of the transcontinental railroad are two places Lincoln mentioned.
“I theorize that had he made it to California, he may well have come to visit (Idaho),” said Leroy.
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A recent Idaho law could slow the process for some child custody disputes and even adoption cases, the Idaho Supreme Court found in a ruling this week.
The law, created in 2025 through Senate Bill 1181, means some Idaho parents who can’t afford legal representation won’t have state-provided defense attorneys in cases that could risk them permanently losing their kids, the court found.
In the opinion, the court alluded to an essentially unenforceable right to public defense in some parental rights termination cases brought by private parties, rather than the state Department of Health and Welfare. That’s because courts can’t require the state’s public defenders to represent parents in those privately brought cases, the Idaho Supreme Court found.
“This gap created by Senate Bill 1181 is vitally important matter that needs to be addressed by the Idaho Legislature. If constitutionally required representation cannot be provided in private termination cases, it will likely result in serious delays or even dismissals of cases affecting Idaho’s children and parents,” Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan wrote in the opinion published Tuesday. “It may mean that children awaiting adoption cannot be adopted.”
The decision comes more than a year after the Legislature passed the bill over the objections of child welfare attorneys, who warned about the bill’s impact on parents’ right to legal counsel. The bill was pitched as a way to control the workload of public defenders as the state overhauled its public defense system.
Attorney says this is the ‘conundrum’ she warned Idaho Legislature about
There are two ways parental rights termination cases can be brought: By the state — often initiated by a state Department of Health and Welfare, or by a private party, such as one parent wanting to end the rights of another parent.
For over 60 years, Idaho law gave parents deemed legally indigent — essentially those who can’t pay legal bills — and who were facing parental rights’ termination cases “with a categorical right to an attorney at public expense,” Bevan explained in the opinion.
But in 2025, he wrote all of that changed when the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1181.
The bill was meant to control the workloads of public defenders as the state consolidated public defense from counties into one statewide office. But at the time, two child welfare attorneys warned the law might inadvertently end the right to legal counsel in privately brought parental right termination cases, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.
One of the attorneys who testified on the bill, Mary Shea from Pocatello, said in an interview that the court described “exactly the conundrum” that she was trying to warn the Legislature about.
“It’s an invitation to the Legislature to fix this, and to provide some kind of a funding mechanism so that those private terminations and adoptions can continue to proceed,” she said. “Because we do have a shortage of attorneys in this state. It is very difficult for us to provide the low-income and pro bono needs for the entire state.”
Sen. Todd Lakey, a Nampa Republican who was the bill’s original sponsor, said in an interview that the Legislature could take up clarifications next year.
“I personally am reluctant to have the taxpayers fund legal costs in a private party termination,” Lakey said on Wednesday. “That said, I recognize that there is a certain situation where it’s constitutionally required, and I want to make sure we’re limiting the burden on the taxpayers to only those situations, where it’s fundamentally required constitutionally. I think as the court noted, that’s kind of a case by case basis, depending on the circumstances.”
Rep. Dustin Manwaring, a Pocatello Republican who also cosponsored the bill, said in an interview that he already has ideas for legislation to address that issue flagged in the ruling.
“When representation is appointed and is constitutionally required, then we need to clarify who’s picking up the tab for that. So, we will do that. And I will personally commit to taking that on and making sure we get that done,” he said.
How the Idaho Supreme Court ruled
The bill, Bevan wrote, requires the State Public Defender’s Office only to represent parents deemed legally indigent in parental rights’ termination cases brought by the state — not by private parties.
“That begs the question: if representation is constitutionally required in a private termination case, who would provide it?” Bevan asked.
Parents in private parental termination cases sometimes still have due process rights to public defense counsel, Bevan wrote, pointing to precedent in the U.S. Supreme Court. But since Idaho courts can no longer order the State Public Defender’s Office or counties to pay for that defense, he wrote that the courts effectively can’t appoint public legal representation in those cases.
“If neither the (State Public Defender’s Office) nor the counties can be required to provide representation, a private termination proceeding may fail to comply with the requirements of due process,” Bevan wrote. “The legislature has eliminated the options available to courts for appointment of counsel at public expense.”
Some parents who are entitled to representation won’t get it, he wrote.
“We have little doubt that, so long as the representation gap created by Senate Bill 1181 exists, at least some indigent parents who constitutionally require representation will not get it,” Bevan wrote.
Idaho State Public Defender Office spokesperson Patrick Orr said in a statement that the agency hasn’t been assigned any private termination cases since the court took up the case in October.
“Our view is the same now as it was last year. Our office provides indigent defense representation – and representation for parents in Child Protective Act cases where the state seeks to interfere with a parent-child relationship,” he said. But, he added, “we can’t provide legal representation in a private termination case.”
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From artisan jewelry to cowboy boot spurs, women silversmiths in Idaho turn raw metal into works of art. As part of a special Expressive Idaho series, we are revisiting a gathering of Idaho artisans called the “Cowgirl Congress.”
This story was made to be heard. Click or tap the ‘Listen’ button above for the full audio.
Transcript:
CERISE: I wanted every piece to be hand forged and individual and unique. It’s very rare that I make two pieces that are exactly the same. My name is Mary Cerise and I am the owner of Hanging Moon Silver, which is a silver company. I make fine and very wearable art out of sterling and fine silver. I am not originally from Salmon, but it’s been my home for 16 years and I really enjoy that little kind of nook of the world that is off the beaten path. And it is definitely a destination.
Arlie Sommer
/
Idaho Commission on the Arts
WANGSGARD: I’m Annie Wangsgard and I live in Milad, Idaho. And I’m a silversmith and I’ve been silversmithing for 12 years, I think, right around there. My favorite part about probably the whole process of anything that I make is the design, you know, the design process, and trying to come up with something that has never been done before, I guess I rate my success on whether I’m able to take the image in my brain and the idea and then bring it to life. And if I can do that, then it’s success.
CERISE: I use a lot of opals and turquoise. I’m very particular about my sourcing of stones, so I use very ethically sourced, I know all of my miners and my lapidary cutters, and that’s very important to me that I’m buying right from the guys who dig it out of the ground.
WANGSGARD: When I first got started, I was really drawn to rings. I, a little bit got branded as a ring maker, you know, a western ring maker, which is great, I’ll make lots of different things. I’ve made spurs. And I’ve made a bit. And um, it’s definitely a lot different than just silversmithing. Working with steel is a lot dirtier than working with silver.
Arlie Sommer
/
Idaho Commission on the Arts
CERISE: This Idaho Cowgirl Congress. And there’s something about being with other makers, even if they’re not silversmiths, maybe they’re not metal workers, they’re leather workers or fiber artists, fine artists. We travel along the same path a lot. I love the opportunity for collaboration, and I just want to continually learn. That’s my definition of success, is continually striving to learn more and push harder. Some of the hardest days give me the best pieces of work because usually those are the most beautiful times. We have similar difficulties with or challenges that we face, right? Having these businesses and being an artist. And we also have big successes, and those are the people that celebrate your successes. So I would say, it feels like coming home.
This Expressive Idaho episode was produced by Lauren Paterson, with interviews recorded by Arlie Sommer and edited by Sáša Woodruff. Music by Lobo Loco.
The web article was written and edited by Katie Kloppenburg and Lacey Daley.
Expressive Idaho is made in partnership with the Idaho Commission on the Arts’ Folk and Traditional Arts Program. This program is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
IDAHO FALLS — A large brush fire prompted the closure of a section of railroad tracks on Wednesday.
According to a news release from the Idaho Falls Fire Department, firefighters responded to the brush fire around 1:50 p.m. near the tracks off of North Haroldsen Drive. The fire reportedly threatened nearby structures and businesses.
When crews arrived, they encountered “multiple spot fires and burning debris across a dry grass area,” which created quickly changing conditions and challenging access.
Officials believe the fire was caused by metal work in the area, which produced sparks that ignited nearby dry grass.
The fire burned about 150 yards long and 800 feet wide, extending from a fence line toward the railroad tracks. Due to multiple spot fires, the total affected area has not yet been measured.
Fire crews deployed two Type 3 brush trucks, one Type 6 brush truck, one tactical tender, three Type 1 engines and a ladder truck. Dispatch coordinated with the railroad to halt train traffic in the area during suppression efforts.
Crews quickly contained the fire and stayed on scene to monitor conditions, extinguish hot spots and prevent rekindling due to continued wind. No significant property damage was reported.
“This was a fast-moving fire in a complex area to access, and our crews executed a strong, coordinated response,” said Idaho Falls Fire Chief Johan Olson in the release. “They did an outstanding job stopping the fire before it could impact nearby businesses or cause significant loss. With the unusually dry conditions we’re experiencing, we urge the public to treat current conditions more like mid-summer. Please use extreme caution with anything that could create sparks around dry vegetation.”
The Idaho Falls Fire Department reminds residents that increased heat, wind and dry conditions significantly elevate fire risk. Avoid activities that may produce sparks near dry grass, and report any signs of fire immediately.
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