George Washington Smith served on the faculty of the History Department at Southern Illinois University from 1890 to 1935 and was a professor emeritus from 1935 until his death in 1945.
Paul M. Angle (introduction author), former director of the Chicago Historical Society, librarian of the Illinois Historical Library, and Illinois state historian, was a Lincoln expert and authored a number of books including Bloody Williamson: A Chapter in American Lawlessness. He died in 1975.
Daniel Stowell (foreword author) is the director (and editor) of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln and senior editor of The Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. He also serves as the director of the Center for Digital Initiatives at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Florida and is the author, coauthor, or editor of six books, including In Tender Consideration: Women, Families, and the Law in Abraham Lincoln’s Illinois.