10 Score Later, America Still Loves Lincoln

Honest Abe may be gone, but an industry of books, debates, and a Spielberg biopic are all alive and well. With Abraham Lincoln's bicentennial coming next year, all three White House hopefuls have invoked his name, and the US Mint is issuing pennies to honor states where he lived. "He changed America's views through his verbiage and thoughts," one expert said.

Seventeen states have set up bicentennial commissions, and publishers are issuing a spate of books on Lincoln's life. Experts on black history are prepping too, because the celebration falls on the 160th anniversary of Harriet Tubman's 1849 race to freedom. The bicentennial isn't just an excuse to "have a birthday cake and say happy birthday," said one expert. (More Abraham Lincoln stories.)