Bob B asked:
How did President Abraham Lincoln increase the power of the Presidency? Was it a positive development?
How did President Abraham Lincoln increase the power of the Presidency? Was it a positive development?
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Archive for February, 2010
28
Feb
Mourning for Lincoln
Lincoln
As a young man I read everything I could on the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. Actually, I read my first Lincoln book at age twelve. Interestingly enough, I found it emotionally distressing to read about Lincoln’s death-so I avoided that subject. Even today, after many years now, I find I experience a keen sense of loss when reading about the assassination. I realize that I’m mourning for Lincoln. I no longer avoid the subject, however. In informal talks with others who love Lincoln as I do, I find they experience the same sense of loss. Every year as April approaches, my mind begins to think about those days in 1865 leading up to the murder. April 14 and 15 are especially difficult. I find myself watching the clock on the night of April 14. At about 10:15pm, I almost hear the shot ring out that Booth delivered- mortally wounding the President. I imagine the confusion, chaos, and terror of that night in the theater. I hear Mary Lincoln screaming. I can almost feel the cool night air that Booth must have felt on his sweaty face as he rode off into the night bound for Virginia.
Then during the morning of every April 15th, I look at the clock again. At 7:22am, I recall that that was the precise time that Abraham Lincoln died. I then feel great loss myself. I know it’s silly. People probably think I’m nuts. There are those who do understand. I know know how this man ever got ahold of me like he has. He is constantly in my thoughts. Sometimes I scare myself! I was attending an opera with my daughter last year in an upper box in the theater. I was somewhat taken aback by my own thoughts. I thought maybe someone was going to shoot me. Crazy I know. As the box was dark and the stage was brightly lit, I could envision what it was like for Lincoln. Of course, he did not know at all that he was about to get shot. This year, on April 14th, as fate would have it- guess where I will be that night? Attending a performance in a theater! Oh, Lord help me!
B. Nash in the tomb-mourning for Lincoln
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Tags: booth, death of lincoln, lincoln tomb, mourning
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Abraham & Mary Lincoln statue in Springfield, Illinois
We’re all familiar with the stories of Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd. We smile at some of them. The thought of Mr. Lincoln in flight running out of his house in Springfield as pots and pans fly out after him (as thrown by Mary in a fit of anger) cause us to chuckle. Of course, it must have been no fun for Lincoln. William Herndon (his law partner) claimed that Lincoln’s marriage to Mary was pretty much an eqivalent to “hell on earth.” He said that Lincoln would “hide out” in the law office just to get away from Mary. Be that as it may, it is also true that Lincoln knew how to handle his wife most of the time. Some would say he was “hen-pecked.”
The Lincolns
Abe & Mary
For your consideration, I present the following excerpt from Harold Holzer’s book: ‘Lincoln As I Knew Him.’ It is part of an account originally provided by Elizabeth Keckley (Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker)from her 1868 memoiron Mary Lincoln:
“She was extremely jealous of him, and if a lady desired to court her displeasure, she could select no surer way to do it than pay marked attention to the President. These little jealous freaks often were a source of perplexity to Mr. Lincoln. If it was a reception for which they were dressing, he would come into her room to conduct her down-stairs, and while pulling on his gloves ask, with a merry twinkle in his eyes:
“Well, mother, who must I talk with to-night-shall it be Mrs. D.?
“That deceitful woman! No, you shall not listen to her flattery.”
“Well, then, what do you say to Miss C.? She is too young and handsome to practise deceit.”
“Young and handsome, you call her! You should not judge beauty for me. No, she is in league with Mrs. D., and you shall not talk with her.”
“Well, mother, I must talk with some one. Is there any one that you do not object to?” trying to button his glove, with a mock expression of gravity.
“I don’t know as it is necessary that you should speak to anybody in particular. You know well enough Mr. Lincoln, that I do not approve of your flirtations with silly women, just as if you were a beardless boy, fresh from school.”
“But mother, I insist that I must talk with somebody. I can’t stand around like a simpleton, and say nothing. If you will not tell me who I may talk with, please tell me who I may not talk with.”
“There is Mrs. D. and Miss C. in particular. I detest them both. Mrs. B. also will come around you, but you need not listen to her flattery. These are the ones in particular.
“Very well, mother; now that we have settled the question to your satisfaction, we will go down-stairs;” and always with stately dignity he proffered his arm and led the way….
Obviously, as one reads the above account, Mr. Lincoln is portrayed as humoring Mary. He probably was humoring her. But at the same time, I think he was serious in his requests to her. He had learned not to upset her (as much as possible). He knew what she could be like-even in public-when she got mad. So, in the end, was he hen-pecked?
I would love to hear your thought on this!
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Tags: abraham Lincoln, Harold Holzer, hen-pecked, Lincoln As I Knew Him, Mary Todd Lincoln
Lincoln wall portrait, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum
In the rotunda (plaza) of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum, the figures of the Lincoln family are located in the center. Around the perimeter of the plaza are the various exhibits, the Museum store, and the Cafe’-to name a few of the surrounding areas. My favorite exhibit is the “Ghosts of the Library.” It uses state-of-the-art technology in it’s presentation that is stunning. No photographs are allowed in any of the exhibits, by the way, except in the plaza and in the exhibit “Mrs. Lincoln’s Attic.”
B. Nash with Generals McClellan & Grant
After visiting with Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass, I slid over to General McClellan and Grant as they were having a conversation. I don’t know if they actually ever met during the war years- did they? General McClellan looks arrogant and proud. He was a great organizer and drill master. His troops loved him. Lincoln was so frustrated with his lack of fighting that he eventually replaced him. McClellan wrote very unkind things about Lincoln in letters to his wife. He later ran against Lincoln in the 1864 Presidential race as a ”peace Democrat” and lost.
General Grant was in many ways the exact opposite of McClellan. He once presented to a hotel for accomodations and was told there were none to be had. The hotel clerk did not realize that he was turning away U.S. Grant. Grant didn’t “parade” his status. He hated the limelight. One thing he was for sure-a fighter. He received considerable criticism for being a “butcher.” His losses in men during battles were staggering. Lincoln had been pressured to relieve Grant. Lincoln stated he couldn’t because Grant fights. Unlike McClellan too, he won Presidency when he ran (after the war). Well, it was good sharing a word or two with the Generals.
Lincoln head by Gutzon Borglum
Finally, I came across a familiar sculpture and had to stop. There was the “Lincoln head” by Gutzon Borglum. I didn’t know it was featured in the museum, so it was a nice surprise. I took note of it and remembered that I would be visiting the Lincoln tomb shortly and see the Borglum piece again. The sculpture has been very much a part of the “Lincoln story” over the years-and to think that Mr. Borglum originally created the work just for the fun of it! Oh, that our hobbies should produce such masterpieces!
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Tags: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library And Museum, General McClellan, Gutzon Borglum, U.S. Grant
way2cutu asked:
I have to write a report about Abraham Lincoln. I have looked on google and wikipedia and I cannot find anything about Lincoln and states’ rights. Can you please help me? How did Lincoln feel about states’ rights?
I have to write a report about Abraham Lincoln. I have looked on google and wikipedia and I cannot find anything about Lincoln and states’ rights. Can you please help me? How did Lincoln feel about states’ rights?
Thank you so much!
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martha asked:
What did Abraham Lincoln mean in his second inaugural address when he stated, “”Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease”?
What did Abraham Lincoln mean in his second inaugural address when he stated, “”Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease”?
any input would help! Thanks!
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Tags: abraham Lincoln, Conflict, Lincoln
Abbey asked:
How did Abraham Lincoln interpret the Declaration of Independence as it related to African Americans? What is the significance of Lincoln’s interpretation of the Declaration of Independence for Americans today.
How did Abraham Lincoln interpret the Declaration of Independence as it related to African Americans? What is the significance of Lincoln’s interpretation of the Declaration of Independence for Americans today.
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Tags: abraham Lincoln, African Americans, Declaration Independence
B. Nash with Frederick Douglass & Sojourner Truth
After posing with the Lincoln family in the center of the museum rotunda, my eyes caught sight of Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth over to the right. Sojourner Truth had met President Lincoln not long before he was assassinated. She had a grandson in the Union army. She was a tireless advocate for African-Americans. She is buried, by the way, in Battle Creek, Michigan. Frederick Douglass’s book ‘Narrative of an American Slave’ had a profound impact on my thinking about slavery after I read it for the first time a few years ago. Mr. Douglass had been, of course, an advocate of ending slavery immediately. After all, he had been a slave. He knew it’s horrors in a most intimate way. I better understood his viewpoint on abolition after reading his story. He was very frustrated with Abraham Lincoln initially. Lincoln was not an abolitionist. He believed that slavery was evil. He felt in his heart of hearts that it would eventually end on it’s own. As President, he knew he had no legal power to end slavery. Slavery was Constitutionally protected. With the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation(as a war measure), he had the opportunity to impact it’s end. Because of the Proclamation, the 13th Amendment (ending slavery in the USA) was possible. As Douglass became more familiar with Lincoln, his admiration and respect grew. Douglass is often quoted by those who want to discredit Lincoln by quoting Douglass who said during a speech that “Lincoln was the white man’s President.” Those who provide that particular quote to “prove” that Lincoln was, in the end, a racist- are being purposefully dishonest or ignorant. They don’t mention another Douglass quote (from another Douglass speech) where he stated that “Lincoln was the black man’s President.” So as I stood between those two great African-Americans, here in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum, I was reminded of their courage and greatness. I was reminded of how far our country has come-and I’m thankful for them all.
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Tags: 13th Amendment To The Constitution, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Emancipation Proclamation, Frederick Douglass, Slavery, Sojourner Truth
magicman15k asked:
If Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States, how was it possible that his Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in a different country (the Confederacy)? Wouldn’t that be saying for example, the president of Canada saying all Americans have a right to shoplifting, and all of a sudden, we are allowed to steal from stores? I just don’t get how it’s possible for the President of one country to make one statement that changes the other country. Like how is that possible?
If Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States, how was it possible that his Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in a different country (the Confederacy)? Wouldn’t that be saying for example, the president of Canada saying all Americans have a right to shoplifting, and all of a sudden, we are allowed to steal from stores? I just don’t get how it’s possible for the President of one country to make one statement that changes the other country. Like how is that possible?
Thanks,
Eric
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Vachel Lindsay Home, Springfield
B. Nash at Vachel Lindsay house
Vachel Lindsay marker
We were just walking around Springfield. I asked several people: “Do you know where the Vachel Lindsay house is?” We got various directions. I kind of “knew” where it was anyway. Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly where I thought it was supposed to be. About the time I figured we weren’t going to find the place, I realized we were standing right next to it! “There it is!”
And to think I’m related to the great trailblazer Daniel Boone. Abraham Lincoln had spent some time in the house. It had once been owned by his sister-in-law and her husband. It was also Vachel Lindsay’s only home. He died in 1931. His poems about Lincoln are among my favorites.
Enjoy the following:
Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight in Springfield Illinois
It is portentous, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town,
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house pacing up and down.
Or by his homestead, or in shadowed yards
He lingers where his children used to play;
Or through the market, on the well-worn stones
He stalks until dawn-stars burn away.
A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint great figure that men love,
The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.
He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.
He is among us:-as in times before!
And we who toss and lie awake for long
Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.
His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.
Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?
Too many peasants fight, they know not why,
Too many homesteads in black terror weep.
The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.
He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly, and the pain.
He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come;-the shining hope of Europe free:
The league of sober folk, the Workers’ Earth
Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp, and Sea.
It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?
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Tags: Lincoln walks at midnight, poet, Springfield, vachel lindsay