He is considered the greatest living scholar on Abraham Lincoln's youth in Indiana.

[5] In the book Bartelt guides readers through the various texts that provide much of historians' knowledge about Lincoln's boyhood.

There I Grew Up helped to inspire The Better Angels, a 2014 American biographical drama-historical film about Lincoln's formative years.

"[1] Together with Joshua Claybourn, he co-edited Abe's Youth: Shaping the Future President (Indiana University Press, 2019).

Bartelt lectures before Civil War and Lincoln groups and at museums, colleges, and historical societies conferences throughout the country.