Shawna Ruppert asked:


Taking an Abraham Lincoln quiz is essentially taking a quiz in the history of the United States, as he stands as one of the most important presidents in the history of the nation. Although no president has left the country untouched by his own politics and beliefs, Lincoln went further than most in creating the changes that he believed in and, even though his legacy was already assured by his actions, his legend was assured by the manner of his death.

 

Abraham Lincoln trivia usually starts with the civil war, as it was his leadership that allowed the country to emerge united through the crisis which had torn it in two.  It is also going to touch on some of his famous speeches. Although earlier presidents had also been orators of a sort, it was Lincoln who among all others of the time truly became known for the speeches that he made. Although the most famous of those speeches is easily the Gettysburg Address, he had mentioned to others that his favorite among all of his speeches was his second inaugural address.

 

The most lasting effects beyond the victories of the civil war that were achieved by Lincoln involve both the Emancipation Proclamation, and the freeing of the slaves. The industry of the southern part of the country had been build upon the backs of slaves, and by freeing them, Lincoln set events into motion which would allow for the first steps to be taken along the long road to equality, a road that has surely led to the recent election of President Obama, and event that never could have taken place without the leadership of President Lincoln in his own times, a clear reason why any Abraham Lincoln quiz would include matters regarding the emancipation.

 

Finally, an Abraham Lincoln trivia point that many are interested in but most are sad to reflect upon was on this great president’s assassination. He had dodged assassins throughout most of his presidency, and on April 14th, 1865 he was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre while attending a play. He was killed by the actor, John Wilkes Booth, who was working with the Confederates against Lincoln. Booth escaped after the assassination and remained in hiding for twelve days until he was caught and shot dead in the attempt to capture him. In fitting fashion, instead of solving the problems of the confederates, the death of Lincoln helped cement the rest of the country more firmly around his legacy; acknowledging him as the hero and the martyr who had saved their country.

Elnur MAJIDLI asked:




“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” ~ Samuel Beckett

As a young man, Abraham Lincoln went to war a captain and returned a private. Afterwards, he was a failure as a businessman. As a lawyer in Springfield, he was too impractical and temperamental to be a success.

He turned to politics and was defeated in his first try for the legislature, again defeated in his first attempt to be nominated for congress, defeated in his application to be commissioner of the General Land Office, defeated in the senatorial election of 1854, defeated in his efforts for the vice-presidency in 1856, and defeated in the senatorial election of 1858.

At about that time, he wrote in a letter to a friend, “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth.”

Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. He later wrote, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up.” (his capitals, mind you)

Socrates was called “an immoral corrupter of youth” and continued to corrupt even after a sentence of death was imposed on him. He drank the hemlock and died corrupting.

Sigmund Freud was booed from the podium when he first presented his ideas to the scientific community of Europe. He returned to his office and kept on writing.

Robert Sternberg received a C in his first college introductory-psychology class. His teacher commented that “there was a famous Sternberg in psychology and it was obvious there would not be another.” Three years later Sternberg graduated with honors from Stanford University with exceptional distinction in psychology, summa *** laude, and Phi Beta Kappa. In 2002, he became President of the American Psychological Association.

Charles Darwin gave up a medical career and was told by his father, “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat catching.” In his autobiography, Darwin wrote, “I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.” Clearly, he evolved.

Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.” As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”





Read More

Philip Yaffe asked:


By Philip Yaffe

Abraham Lincoln, America’s iconic 16th President (1861-65), was never known as either a great writer or a great orator. Yet he penned one of the most highly praised and oft-quoted speeches in history. It was probably so good because it clearly expressed his controlled passion towards the monumental event he was talking about. Nevertheless, it is possible to dispassionately analyze it and draw some important lessons.

This great piece of oratory is known simply as The Gettysburg Address because it was delivered by President Lincoln in 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to mark a pivotal victory in the American Civil War.

Some reports suggest that he scribbled it on the back of an envelope just before arriving in Gettysburg. This is a myth, but the emotion it engenders makes the story seem more than plausible.

Let’s analyze the speech sentence by sentence. But first read the whole thing – there are only 272 words – as a first approach to appreciating what a miniature masterpiece it truly is.

The Gettysburg Address (November 19, 1863)

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation – or any nation so conceived and so dedicated – can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Analysis

Sentence 1

Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

The language of the mid-19th century was somewhat more florid than what we use today. But it appears that Mr. Lincoln purposely employed such phraseology to give his first words almost biblical importance. He could have said, “Eighty-seven years ago, our country was founded based on the idea that all men are created equal.” Hardly the same thing, is it?

Sentence 2

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation – or any nation so conceived and so dedicated – can long endure.

The sentence begins, “Now we are engaged in a great civil war . . . .” This is very plain language, almost banal, suggesting that war is a mean and dirty business. The rest of the sentence then reverts to more sophisticated language to ennoble the purposes of the war. Note the repetition the words “conceived” and “dedicated” from Sentence 1. This heightens the impact of the statement, which would have been seriously weakened if Mr. Lincoln had believed it mandatory to avoid such repetition.

Sentence 3

We are met on a great battlefield of that war.

This is another banal statement. It could easily have been combined with Sentence 4 by saying “battlefield of that war in order to dedicate . . . .” But notice how much stronger it is standing by itself. This is an excellent example of the “separation” technique, i.e. dividing a sentence in order to heighten its impact.

Sentence 4

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.

This sentence once again contains a repetition, or at least a near repetition: “ . . . who here gave their lives that that nation might live.” The words “lives” and “live” complement each other and reinforce Mr. Lincoln’s thought. He could have chosen “survive”, “overcome”, “prosper”, or a dozen other alternatives to avoid this near repetition. But none of them would have been anywhere near so effective.

Sentence 5

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

Yet another banal statement, providing dramatic contrast between the sophisticated statement that preceded it and the sophisticated statement that follows it.

Sentence 6

But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground.

Note the near repetition created by the words “dedicate”, “consecrate”, “hallow”. This is almost tautological, as it was meant to be in order to emphasize the thought.

Sentence 7

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.

Note the repetition of the word “consecrated”: the tautology continues, further emphasizing the thought of the previous sentence.

Sentence 8

The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

Oh, what an understatement! Mr. Lincoln probably truly believed this, but he was wrong. Virtually every American schoolchild learns these words by heart, and the speech is known and recognized as a masterpiece well beyond the borders of the United States.

Sentence 9

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

This sentence, although divided by periods in the written form, is in fact a single, unified thought. However, it is quite easy to understand thanks to repetition of the word “devotion” and use of “internal bullet points”, indicated by repeated use of the word “that”.

The sentence powerfully expresses Mr. Lincoln’s conviction about the purposes of the war that he passionately hated yet found himself constrained to pursue. The last “bullet point” has almost become America’s national motto: “That government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

The Gettysburg Address appears to be deceptively simple; however; the writing techniques it uses are impeccably professional.

To be so clear and so concise while saying so much is truly a magnificent achievement. It should be an inspiration to us all.

Philip Yaffe is a former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a marketing communication consultant. He currently teaches a course in good writing and good speaking in Brussels, Belgium. His recently published book In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional is available from Story Publishers in Ghent, Belgium (storypublishers.be) and Amazon (amazon.com).

For further information, contact:

Philip Yaffe

Brussels, Belgium

Tel: +32 (0)2 660 0405

Email: phil.yaffe@yahoo.com

Jordan Robert K. asked:


Okay, so sooner or later on every show about the New World Order the subject of Assassinations comes into play. Now I have never been one to be too interested in the finer details of the JFK assassination; I don’t really care if there was one shooter, two shooters, a knoll that was grassy or not so grassy, etc.

However, I am quite interested on a more “macro” level and looking at not just the assassination of JFK, but at all of the Presidential assassinations to see if there is a common thread. To that end some basic details need to be reviewed. Lincoln First there have been four successful Presidential assassinations, at least three of which were ardent opponents to the central banking monopoly of power. Starting with Abraham Lincoln, the first successful Presidential assassination, we see that the bankers and the President were diametrically opposed. Lincoln did serve the interest of the bankers in bringing the country into Civil War (both sides of which the banks financed). While engaging in the war Lincoln made two very significant changes in monetary policy, both were done to raise money for the civil war. The first measure was the signing of the National Banking Act.

This act tied the issuing of Bank Notes to government debt. In other words, it allowed National banks (and all but forbade smaller State chartered banks) to issue bank notes, or paper promises to provide real money, which circulated as currency. The reason this war time measure was taken was because the National bank reserves now had to be in the form of government bonds (debt). This is one of the main factors that funded the Civil War. The more money the National Banks created and used to buy government bonds, the more the government was going into debt to the bankers.

The second measure, which was much less popular with the bankers, was the issuance of “greenbacks” from the Treasury. These greenbacks, or United States Notes, were actually issued by the government whereas today there are “Federal Reserve Notes” which are issued by the Federal Reserve, a corporation whose stock is owned by powerful multi-national banks. Greenbacks were the first non-debt based national currency since the Revolutionary War. This meant that when the government authorized and printed these greenbacks they could spend them into the economy (largely for the war effort) and there was no debt to pay back left in their wake. In most other cases the government needs to “borrow” new money that is created by bankers and pay the bankers back plus interest.



So Lincoln’s greenbacks were in direct competition with the National Bank notes. The more the government printed and used the greenbacks (US Notes) the less they were dependent on selling debt to the bankers in exchange for money (National Bank Notes) they created. Since the government’s war-time need for money was so huge the bankers didn’t mind too much sharing the market with the greenbacks. After the civil war ended, when the governments demand for cash was drastically reduced, the bankers wanted to kill the issuance of greenbacks so that any deficit spending of the government would mean the government, or by extension the general public, would become more and more indebted to the bankers. While they did successfully stall any further issuance of greenbacks, Lincoln had big plans for the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. Notice the following quote from Lincoln taken from Senate document 23, page 91 from 1865:

The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency… needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity.”

Not exactly music to the ears of the bankers who were planning to have the power to issue all the currency in the form of national bank notes that were built on government debt. They would one day have their wish as is the case today when none of the money in your wallet says “United States Note” instead it is all issued by the authority of the “Federal Reserve” which is a privately owned bank under very limited government regulation. However, this dream may never had been able to be realized if Lincoln had been able to expand the US Notes to the point where they would have satisfied the nations need for currency and the public would have enjoyed the benefits of having money provided without the government going into debt in the process (as is the case today).



So, what did the bankers do about it? Well, I must pause a moment just to say that the implication that is about to follow is somewhat speculative. In life there is always a difference between what you believe and what you can prove definitively, I just like to make it clear when I am presenting a belief. However, in the context of the other assassinations you will see that this is not such an unreasonable belief. I am of course referring to the fact that 5 days after General Lee surrendered, officially ending the war and opening the way for Lincoln to phase out National Bank Notes in favor of United States Notes, he was shot dead. Again, all of the above is 100% fact, the only speculative portion being the implication that the bankers arranged the assassination. Look, of course Booth was the one who shot him and he was a Confederate that wanted to be immortalized in history. The stories we are taught in school about these events are “true” but are they the whole truth? Was he helped along, given access and other help to complete the difficult act of assassinating a world leader? In Latin there is an expression that is used to cut right to the heart of a matter: Cui Bono, which means “to whose benefit?”. I leave you with the facts above showing how the ones who had the most to gain from Lincolns death were the central (or national) bankers that wanted to keep control of the power to issue money. In this context, notice what a contemporary had to say about Lincoln’s assassination, namely the statesman of Germany, Otto Von Bismark:

“The death of Lincoln was a disaster for Christendom. There was no man in the United States great enough to wear his boots… I fear that foreign bankers with their craftiness and tortuous tricks will entirely control the exuberant riches of America, and use it systematically to corrupt modern civilization. They will not hesitate to plunge the whole of Christendom into wars and chaos in order that the earth should become their inheritance”.

Unfortunately, this would not be the only President he would live to see assassinated. It is interesting how he puts the onus on foreign bankers that had been seeking to gain control of the issuance of money in the U.S. since its independence from Great Britian. What’s interesting is that often times xenophobia is blamed for any mention of “international bankers” but Bismark also being foreign to the United States was not speaking out of xenophobia but was just plainly explaining the state of affairs that was understood then but which has been obscured in modern history books and in the media. Garfield James A. Garfield was not a friend of the central bankers. Unfortunately for the bankers they didn’t know this until after he was inaugurated. Notice the speech he gave shortly after his rise to the office of President:

“Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerce… when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate”.



To give some context to the above statement, Garfield became in favor of forcing banks to provide the gold they claimed to have when customers came in to redeem their Bank Notes or withdraw their demand deposits. In the National Banking Act we discussed there were several loop holes where banks could avoid having to fork up the real money the certificates claimed to represent. For banks this meant that their ability to, not just loan out their money but to create new money that had no gold to back it would be greatly reduced. In a sense, depositors would have a means of keeping a bank “honest” if Garfield had his way. Now before his election the bankers may have thought he would be useful since he did oppose silver which the banks hated because again it competed with their National Bank notes. However, the reason Garfield opposed silver was because it had been overvalued as compared to gold but it became clear that he would be open to silver money if the exchange of Gold to Silver would be more equitable. Anyway, to get back to the main point here, we can plainly see that President Garfield was not happy with the fact that a few powerful bankers had the power to control the volume of money in circulation, which he rightly equated with them being the unknown masters of society. A few weeks after he is recorded as making that daring attack on the banking elite, he was shot by his eventual assassin. I say eventual because he did not die on the spot. It was a slow death that was hastened by his doctors that ruptured his liver while apparently attempting to remove a bullet. Thomas Edison even tried to help with this difficult bullet inventing a metal detector to find it, but to no avail. What was the result? Ten years later the letter below was issued by the American Bankers Association in 1881. While reading the quote keep in mind that they are talking about what they will do three full years in advance:

“On September 1st, 1894, we will not renew our loans under any consideration. On September 1st we will demand our money. We will foreclose and become mortgagees in possession. We can take two-thirds of the farms west of the Mississippi, and thousands of them east of the Mississippi as well, at our own price… Then the farmers will become tenants as in England.”

So the letter, while sounding sinister also sounds like they will just be enforcing their legal options – which is true. However, if Garfield had lived he would have drastically limited the power of the banks, or at least attempted to by limiting their ability for the banks to create money out of thin air. With the laws remaining in their favor it made the above letter more than idle words. It may be wise to reflect on these statements made by Lincoln and Garfield and ask yourself this question: when was the last time you heard a President ardently denounce the banking system (not just bonuses to banking CEO’s which ironically could be considered one of the more legitimate aspects of banking by comparison)? Well, while you are thinking of the answer we will just tell you to make it easier: John F. Kennedy. John F. Kennedy Now, historically speaking, the Kennedy family was involved in many shady business dealings that are well documented and don’t need to be harped on here. My point in bringing it up is not to brand the Kennedy family as corrupt boot-legging Nazi-collaborators (although there is evidence to that effect) but to point out that the banking establishment had reason to believe that JFK would have been easy to manipulate. Also, he expressed in his campaign support for various spending programs that had the potential to put the government in greater debt to the banks by running deficits.



However, shortly after JFK became President they were abruptly woken up by the fact that JFK was not afraid to discuss some touchy topics. Indulge me a bit in the following simplified timeline: January 20th, 1961 – JFK enters office as the President of the United States. Three months later he gives what is often referred to as the “Secret Societies” speech to the American Newspaper Publishers Association. In this speech he says that America had been “inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and secret proceedings.” He then went on to describe what can only be a description of the international banking elite when he said “we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence–on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed.” Some may say he was simply referring to the soviet empire, but yet if so there would be no reason to leave out any reference to the Russians. Also the connection to secret societies would have no relevance in the context of the Cold War. Not too say that they didn’t play a part in this “monolithic conspiracy” of which he was referring. We could speculate all day about the finer details but what is of much greater use is to examine the public record. There were a few significant steps that Kennedy was taking that would have been hubris in the banking community. First, on October 11, 1963, Kennedy signed NSAM 263, initiating a withdrawal of 1,000 troops (roughly 5 – 10%) from the American presence in Vietnam. Other documents, including planning documents from the spring of 1963, show that this was the first step in a planned complete withdrawal. There is always some question with regard to government documents because often times there are several contradictory plans that are being championed by different interests in an administration.



What is known for a certainty is that the bankers, who had financed both sides of every war since the days of Napoleon, made major profits financing the war. In recent history, the banks are set up in multiple ways to profit from war. The most direct way is by ownership in most of the defense companies. Every company, individual and even government are in debt to the banks paying vast sums of interest to them annually which they shrewdly use to increase their ownership of not only defense companies but the Fortune 500 which they own directly and indirectly via holdings of the Federal Reserve. Another way the bankers, who own and control the Federal Reserve Corporation, make out in war time is by the debt built up by the Government which is justified as needed to win the war. Remember when the Government goes into deficit territory it makes up the budget difference by going to the federal reserve and giving them an IOU (or treasury bond) in exchange for newly created money. What is also a matter of public record is what happened in Vietnam after JFK was assassinated; President Johnson drastically escalated the logistics police action into an all out war. I bring up Vietnam first because in actuality there was something much more threatening JFK had done to the banking elite. Wars come and go, but one thing the bankers don’t ever want to lose is their authority to create money. Now JFK wasn’t about to take that power away from banks, but he did take an enormously significant step in that direction with the signing of Executive Order 11110. There is a scant description of the order on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11110) but it does not express the significance of this order. Executive Order 11110 ordered the re-circulation of more silver certificates, among other provisions. This may sound in itself insignificant, but remember that these silver certificates were “United States Notes” that were issued by the Treasury and represented real silver. This form of money, which was essentially Lincoln’s greenbacks, could be issued by the government and spent without creating debt. Just like the Vietnam troop withdrawal this was just a first step towards fulfilling Lincoln’s dream that “The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency…” as we discussed earlier. This would have put the power to issue money back in the hands of the government and taken it away (at least partially) from private bankers. That should strike the average person as strange that bankers can, in any way, create or issue money. This strange privileged has been compared to putting the police department under the control of the Mafia. It took just five months after the signing of Executive Order 11110, and just one month after the signing of the first troop withdrawal from Viet Nam, for John F. Kennedy to be assassinated. Every President since has steadily increased the power of the privately owned Federal Reserve and none has said so much as a word about the reintroduction of the “greenbacks”, the United States Notes. The 150 year struggle for the central bankers not to take over has been nearly erased from the history books and no one in the media ever questions why we all walk around with money that proudly declares it was issued by a privately owned bank with the words “Federal Reserve Note”.



By

Jordan Kaufman

Jordan is host of the Las Vegas based radio program Corruption Radio, on KDWN 720 AM and is editor and main contributor of CorruptionRadio.com

Send Jordan your comments to Jordan@CorruptionRadio.com (VM: 702-560-1948). Follow on Twitter: CorruptionShow

Michael A. Verdicchio asked:


Ever since the traditional “first Thanksgiving”" celebration in 1621, there have been many subsequent celebrations. I have read that the first recorded Thanksgiving observance was held on June 29, 1671 at Charlestown, Massachusetts by proclamation of the town’s governing council.

During the 1700s, it was common practice for individual colonies to observe days of thanksgiving throughout each year. Those observances were to be a day set aside for prayer and fasting.

Later in the 18th century it was common for each of the states to periodically designate a day of thanksgiving in honor of a military victory, an adoption of a state constitution, or an abundant crop. There was a Thanksgiving Day celebration in December of 1777 by the colonies nationwide, commemorating the surrender of the British at Saratoga.

But it was President Abraham Lincoln, on October 3, 1863, who issued a proclamation calling for the observance of the fourth Tuesday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving. Here is that proclamation:

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.”

“No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.”

“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.”

“In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.”

“Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth, by the President, Abraham Lincoln.”

Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. But Franklin Roosevelt made it one week earlier, on the 2nd-to-last Thursday in order to make a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, the Congress finally sanctioned Thanksgiving as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.

Perhaps in these days we are living in, it is a good idea to stop and be thankful for what we have. We still have a lot to be thankful for.

Spencer Holly asked:


February 12th, 2009, is the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincolns’ birthday

The Life Story of Abraham Lincoln for Young People – American Era History Book Review

History Book Review:

Book Title/Title Page:

The Life of Abraham Lincoln For Young People

Told in One Syllable Words

By Harriet  Putnam

Illustrated

Copyright 1906

Published by McLoughlin Brothers, New York

================================================



About This Version

This is a review of an American era antiquarian history book that is a short biography of the life of Abraham Lincoln created especially for younger people to read. This is an unabridged, and enhanced ebook version which includes the original text and illustrations, plus additional supplemental images and photographs, and music.

The original, printed version of this book is a good quality hardbound book, printed in a large type format, for easy reading. The book includes approximately 144 textual pages, with associated images. There are about 60 images, most of which are black and white images, however there are also color plates. The presentation, editing, and production are flawless; a modern word processing program could not have done better. 

The original content has been enhanced and supplemented by additional images and photographs of the era, and a selection of civil war music. The images are associated with the text, and may be magnified for better viewing, and can also be viewed as slide shows. This version also includes a selection of music of the period, and the Civil War.

While the printed version of this antiquarian book is rare, and  out-of print,  it can be found, especially on the Internet; the purchase price depends on the condition of the book.  Since this book was published over a hundred years old, even one in good condition will be somewhat delicate, and easily damaged. Often books of this age are not really suitable for normal, every day reading because the act of reading them might damage them. Even so, it is still possible to find a printed version of the book, and they are very readable if the book is in good condition.

Obviously, the downside of reading this ebook version is that you will need a PC to read it. It’s difficult to curl-up in your favorite chair, and read an ebook from a PC screen; (however, it is not completely out of the question if you have a laptop computer). However, there is also an upside to reading an ebook: you will be able to hear music of the Civil War, and view images, and search the text, and print pages, etc, and it won’t be worn-out in a hundred years.

The author, Harriet Putnam, is also known for her art work, and prints of her work can be viewed, and purchased on the Internet. The Life of Abraham Lincoln includes five color prints that are popular among enthusiasts. Putnam also wrote another book entitled Lives of the Presidents, Told in One-syllable Words.

Comments:

This book is unique in that the story is told in one syllable words.  Multi-syllable words are broken into their individual syllable

Written especially for young people, the text and grammar are geared to the younger reader, and every word is divided into it\’s individual syllables. This is a great book for reading comprehension, pronunciation, and to practice reading out loud, or silently.

As an example,  the following paragraph of the book; note how the words are purposely

broken into syllables:

\”The hut, not much more than a cow-shed, held the fa-ther and moth-er, whose names were Thom-as and Nan-cy, and their girl child, Sa-rah. These three were the first who saw the strange, sad face of the boy, who, when he grew to be a man, was so great and good and did such grand deeds that all the world gave most high praise to him.\”

This book is a classic story of Abraham Lincolns’ life. From his meager birth in a tiny  cabin, to his legendary strength, and honesty, and humor, and compassion. It\’s the story of the Rail Splitter, who worked hard to earn money and help his family, and who spent his evenings studying and reading by the light of a fireplace in order to better himself.

The images throughout are perfect for the young reader. Pictures of Lincoln as a child offering fish to a soldier, or seeing him as the Postmaster, or a store clerk, help young readers identify with Lincoln. His defense of the underdog, and compassion for animals is well illustrated. This version includes a photograph of a replica of the tiny cabin in which Lincoln was born that really illustrates how small the cabin was; the whole cabin isn’t much bigger than most bedrooms.

These images have an impact on young people; pictures of Lincoln reading and studying by fire light, or splitting rails, or reading to his son, Tad, etc, are images that I still recall from my own childhood.

The images  necessary to tell about the Civil War are quite tame. They convey the story without being graphic. The images are mostly black and white sketches, with some color images; there are a few actual photographs that were gleaned from other sources, including an actual picture of Lincoln visiting Union troops.

Several of the music selections are Civil War songs that are played by an orchestra, in the original, authentic instrumentation and style of the Civil War. They sound very much as

they did in 1865.

The story of Abraham Lincoln is the story of America; the story that anyone can attain greatness, and make a difference, if they are honest, and hard working, and have the desire, all of which Abraham Lincoln possessed.

Since this is an antiquarian work, the style and prose of the post-Victorian era in which it was produced, lend a certain flare, and drama, that is not present in many modern biographies. It adds a certain quaintness that is pleasant, and fun to read because it is far detached from our modern American era history.

This is a fine book for a young persons first time exposure to the life of Abraham Lincoln.

 

The End

BJ012709YPL01

 

==============================================

 

Table of Contents

 

CHAPTER I. THE **** OF THE LOG CABIN AND HIS KIN

CHAPTER II. THE NEW HOME AND THE FIRST GRIEF

CHAPTER III. READING BY THE FIRELIGHT ; THE NEW MOTHER ; THE FIRST DOLLAR

CHAPTER IV THE SLAVE SALE; LINCOLN AS SOLDIER, POSTMASTER, SURVEYOR,

AND LAWYER

CHAPTER V. LEADER FOR FREEDOM; LAW MAKER LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS 39-54

CHAPTER VI. LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS

CHAPTER VII. THE PEOPLE ASK LINCOLN TO BE THEIR PRESIDENT   

CHAPTER VIII. IN THE PRESIDENTIAL CHAIR; THE CIVIL WAR BEGINS

CHAPTER IX. EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR

CHAPTER X.  GRANT WINS IN THE WEST, AND FARRAGUT AT NEW ORLEANS

CHAPTER XI.  ANTIETAM, VICKSBURG, GETTYSBURG

CHAPTER XII. CHATTANOOGA, CHICKAMAUGA, LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. LINCOLN\’S

GETTYSBURG SPEECH

CHAPTER XIII. GRANT IN THE EAST; LINCOLN CHOSEN FOR SECOND TERM

CHAPTER XIV. RETURN OF PEACE; LINCOLN SHOT; HIS BURIAL AT SPRINGFIELD

 

Technorati Tags: Abraham Lincolns Birthday, Color Plates, Illustrations