A Bible given to Abraham Lincoln in the final months of the Civil War ties together the 16th president's budding views on spirituality and his belief that God was calling him to end slavery as well as his widow's labors to solidify his religious standing, historians say. "During the Civil War, there is an evolution that takes place in Mr. Lincoln's religious thoughts. He's redefining his relationship with his maker, and he's trying to figure out what is God's purpose in this war," Wheeler said. But multicolored ribbon markers are distributed throughout the book, which Mary Lincoln told Miner her husband had placed when she gave Miner the book in 1872. Mary Lincoln was outraged when her husband's former law partner, William Herndon, started noting in essays, lectures and finally a biography that the martyred president was an atheist.

Source: ABC News June 20, 2019 20:33 UTC