Channeling Mr. Lincoln

                        

Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem.
          ~Abraham Lincoln

This past fall Lanny and I went to see the movie "Lincoln" starring Daniel Day Lewis and Sally Fields. We both thought it was an excellent movie. Daniel Day Lewis brought Abraham Lincoln to life for us both, and we talked about different parts of the movie for days afterwards. For Christmas, I gave Lanny a copy of Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Team of Rivals", the book on which the movie was based. It was over 800 pages, and he read it eagerly. As you can imagine, a book of such length contained amazing details about Mr. Lincoln and the times in which he governed. It vividly portrayed this extremely complex man-- and then seeing the movie brought some of all this into focus. We both wanted to learn more.

Lanny's birthday was this past weekend, and as usual, I struggled to think of something to give him. He has everything he needs and most of what he wants, so finding some material thing to give so close after Christmas is always a challenge. This year I decided to give him a weekend getaway and travel the Lincoln Trail, which is a loosely organized group of sites that were important to Abraham Lincoln's life.

Lincoln's birthplace (a representation of the cabin-- this is not the actual one)

We decided to try, as best we could, to travel the trail in chronological order. First we went to rural western Kentucky to the sites of Lincoln's birthplace and early boyhood home. That was followed by visiting the site of his boyhood home in southern Indiana, and that was followed by visiting sites in Illinois.

Every school child in America learns that Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin, taught himself to read, became President, freed the slaves and was assassinated. Visiting the locations of these log cabins, still fairly remote, on a cold midwinter weekday, when we were the only tourists there and could wander about a bit, helped us understand a little better the hardships the Lincoln family faced. We were able to trace for instance, the distance from the Lincoln cabin to the location of the school Abe and his sister had to walk to-- over 2 miles of hilly, wooded terrain. Once there, there were no books, so the schoolmaster taught using a technique where the students recited lessons out loud. The school was known as a "blab" school because all the students (at all different grade levels) were reciting out loud. Imagine trying to learn in such an environment! It is no wonder that in his entire life, Lincoln attended a formal school less than one year total.

Knob Creek, Kentucky-- part of the Lincoln boyhood home. This was a deep pool in the creek and we tried to imagine Abe swimming here with friends.

A reproduction of the cabin near Lincoln City, Indiana

More amazing still is that he was driven to make his mark on the world, and over time came to realize that working as a hard laborer was not going to allow him to do this. He had to find something else. The first place he lived as a young adult on his own was in New Salem, Illinois. While there he worked in many different jobs-- trying each one to see if this was his calling. He worked there as a store clerk, as a surveyor (self-taught, of course...), got odd jobs as a handyman of sorts, became postmaster, had a short stint in the army during the Black Hawk Indian war, and eventually determined he wanted to study and practice law. It was while working in the store that he was asked to accompany some goods on a flatboat journey down the Sangamon River to the Mississippi, and on down to sell in New Orleans. It was in New Orleans that he witnessed a slave auction and was repulsed. Lincoln was raised by parents who were both very anti-slavery, so he already had a bias-- but he wrote about his experience in New Orleans as a turning point. Not only would he learn the law, but he would enter politics as a way to somehow right this great wrong. Quite an ambition for someone from a log cabin!

This is the first store Lincoln worked at in New Salem, IL

He read law books as he could get his hands on them, and then realized he would have to head to Springfield-- the "big city"-- and apprentice with a practicing attorney. He moved there with no money, few possessions, and no plans for a place to stay. He was able to "job shadow" an attorney, eventually became certified and began practicing law. Soon after he went into local politics, was eventually elected to the Illinois House of Representatives and served several terms in that body.  It was while there that he made his famous "House Divided" speech that propelled him into the national spotlight. Also, it was where he ran into Stephen Douglas, who was perhaps his most ardent rival. Their debates have become legend.

The Old Statehouse in Springfield, IL where Lincoln served in the State House and practiced as an attorney.

Lincoln's home in Springfield

He married and practiced law for twenty some years before becoming elected president. His law practice took him on what was known as a circuit for the US District courts, so he was absent from his home 12 weeks at a time, twice a year. Riding the circuit provided times of solitude for deep thinking. It also helped him gain a statewide, and eventually national reputation. He was known as an honest man, clear-speaking, and someone who didn't mince words. He was an elaborate story teller, which made people naturally like him. The private Lincoln was very complicated-- he loved to laugh at jokes (most often on himself), loved his family and his children (the lack of discipline in the Lincoln home was legendary-- he couldn't help but be a softie with his kids!) but also was vexed by bouts of "melancholy" or clinical depression.

He never, ever lost his determination to end slavery. While often speeches indicated his desire to "preserve the Union", there are many quotes from his closest friends and advisors that indicate above all he was determined to end slavery. He led the nation during a terrible Civil War, which caused over a million casualties, and frequently visited battlegrounds and war hospitals. He saw first hand the carnage. He sent hundreds of letters to families of dead soldiers, expressing his own grief and appreciating theirs. He knew grief first hand, having lost his mother at age 9, his only sibling sister Sarah 10 years later, his first love Anne Rutledge in his early 20's and two of his own sons as children. But even armed with firsthand knowledge of grief, he did not back away from battles that he thought might win the war.

Grave of Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln on the Lincoln farm in Indiana

We are still processing all that we have learned. I am going to read Goodwin's book for sure. Learning about Abraham Lincoln has enriched our understanding of history, and helped us appreciate the greatness of this very complicated man. He is worth getting to know better. His ideals for himself and our democracy are indeed worthy of esteem.

Nowhere in the world is presented a government of so much liberty and equality. To the humblest and poorest amongst us are held out the highest privileges and positions. The present moment finds me at the White House, yet there is as good a chance for your children as there was for my father's.
           ~Abraham Lincoln, August 31, 1864 Speech to 148th Ohio Regiment