WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- From Capitol Hill to Springfield , Illinois , President Obama and Congress paid tribute Thursday to Abraham Lincoln on the bicentennial of his birth . Visitors greet an Abraham Lincoln impersonator in Washington on Thursday . `` It is an honor to be here : a place where Lincoln served , was inaugurated , and where the nation he saved bid him a last farewell , '' Obama said at the Capitol on Thursday . `` As we mark the bicentennial of our 16th president 's birth , I can not claim to know as much about his life and works as many who are also speaking today , but I can say that I feel a special gratitude to this singular figure who in so many ways made my own story possible -- and who in so many ways made America 's story possible . '' White House officials say Obama 's speechwriter had several conversations with historian Doris Kearns Goodwin in crafting the speech . `` At a moment when we are far less divided than in Lincoln 's day but when we are once again debating the critical issues of our time -- and debating them sometimes fiercely -- let us remember that we are doing so as servants of the same flag , as representatives of the same people and as stakeholders in a common future . That is the most fitting tribute we can pay and the most lasting monument we can build to that most remarkable of men , Abraham Lincoln , '' Obama said . Watch more on the Lincoln celebration taking place » . Obama will also speak later Thursday at an event in Springfield . Throughout the 2008 presidential campaign , Obama -- a Democrat who hails from the Land of Lincoln -- reminded audiences from coast to coast about the similarities between himself and the beloved political leader . At his presidential acceptance speech in Chicago , Illinois , on November 4 , Obama used Lincoln as a guide for his ideology . `` As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours , 'We are not enemies but friends . ... Though passion may have strained , it must not break our bonds of affection , ' `` Obama said . Watch a young student read one of Lincoln 's speeches » . In Washington , a congressional tribute took place at the Capitol rotunda . Illinois senior Sen. Dick Durbin , a Democrat , gave the keynote address . At the end , a wreath was placed at the Capitol . The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield also opened its doors Thursday for a special celebration , featuring original documents including the Gettysburg Address . Watch CNN 's Kyra Phillips take a tour » . Meanwhile , the Library of Congress marks the bicentennial Thursday by opening a special exhibit featuring Lincoln 's handwritten speeches and artifacts , including the Bible used last month by Obama during his swearing-in . `` This exhibit , in a little more than 200 items , presents Lincoln , the man and the politician , '' said John Sellers , curator of the exhibit , which runs through May 9 . Lincoln successfully fought a proposal for legalized slavery as development spread to the Western United States , and he eventually brought an end to slavery throughout the country . Among the manuscripts on display is a letter he wrote in impassioned defense of his Emancipation Proclamation . Watch actor Sam Waterson 's reading of Lincoln speeches » . The librarian of Congress , James Billington , acknowledges that the materials are available on the Internet in `` digitized '' form , but he said `` there is something about seeing the original because , after all , Lincoln was a man of words , of rare eloquences . '' `` His words changed history , '' Billington said . The exhibit at the Library of Congress -- on Capitol Hill next to the U.S. Supreme Court -- was in the works for Lincoln 's bicentennial long before the presidential campaign in which voters elected Obama . Billington said the exhibition is all the more profound as visitors explore the links between the anti-slavery Lincoln and the African-American Obama . There are also grim reminders of Lincoln 's assassination . An original `` wanted '' poster with large black letters reads : `` $ 100,000 Reward . The murderer is still at large . '' The poster includes a photograph of John Wilkes Booth , who was on the run after being accused of firing the fatal shots at Ford 's Theatre in Washington , where Lincoln was attending a play . `` This is the autopsy report , '' Sellers noted during the preview . `` Those are actual blood stains -- Lincoln 's blood . '' Other , more lighthearted artifacts are also on display , including an 1860 letter from a girl urging presidential candidate Lincoln to grow a beard to help his prospects with voters . CNN 's Paul Courson , Ed Hornick and Suzanne Malveaux contributed to this report .
Obama says Lincoln `` in so many ways made my own story possible '' President Obama , Congress salute the bicentennial of Lincoln 's birth . The president said he was proud to be a descendant of one of America's greatest presidents.