!«-.< JL 1 X. 
 
 DANIEL 
 
Class ^ 
 
 Book 
 
 Copyright ]^^_ 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
TRUE STORIES OF GREAT AMERICANS 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
,21^^ 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
 ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 
 
 LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
 MELBOURNE 
 
 THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 
 
 TORONTO 
 
Fro^ii^^olUcmn of Americana of Freaerlclc H. Meserve, New Yor,. 
 Lincoln and his Son Tad. 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 BY 
 DANIEL E. WHEELER 
 
 " From prairie cabin up to Capitol, 
 One fair ideal led our chieftain on. 
 Forevermore he burned to do his deed 
 "With the fine stroke and gesture of a king. 
 He built the rail pile as he built the State, 
 Pouring his splendid strength through every blow, 
 The conscience of him testing every stroke. 
 To make his deed the measure of a man." 
 
 — Edwin Markham. 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 1916 
 
 Ali rights reserved 
 
I 
 
 Copyright, 1916, 
 By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1916. 
 
 NorinootJ Press 
 
 J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
 
 Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 
 
 MAR 23 1916 
 SCI.A427339 
 
CONTENTS 
 or 
 
 y4^ CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A Boy of the Backwoods . . . • . i 
 
 :r 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 "Pretty Pinching Times" ii 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 A Welcome Stepmother i8 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 New Experiences 27 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 When Abe was Twenty-one 33 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 At Work in New Salem 44 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 Lincoln as a Soldier 53 
 
 V 
 
vi CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Storekeeper and Surveyor 6i 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 A Heavy Blow 70 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 Lincoln as Legislator 77 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 An Interrupted Courtship 86 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 Congressional Experiences 96 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 Riding the Circuit 105 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 The Great Debates 115 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 Nominated for President 127 
 
CONTENTS vii 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "Vexed with Many Cares" . . , . o 139 
 
 CHAPTER XVn 
 First Year of the War 149 
 
 CHAPTER XVni 
 The Emancipation Proclamation . . . .159 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 Dark Days » 169 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 A Big Battle and a Little Speech , . . 178 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 Intimate Glimpses , . , . . o .186 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 Tension and Reelection . c c . . » 198 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 The Curtain Falls 210 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Lincoln and his Son Tad . . . Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace .... 6 
 The Illinois Cabin of the Lincolns ... 40 
 The Lincoln Home in Springfield, Illinois . 102. 
 St. Gaudens' Statue of Lincoln . . . .162 
 The "Gettysburg Address" in Lincoln's Hand- 
 writing 182, 185 
 
 Mary Todd Lincoln 196 
 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 A Boy of the Backwoods 
 
 Of all poor boys who ever became great men, 
 Abraham Lincoln is at once the most familiar and 
 inspiring figure in American history. The year 
 1809 that gave him to the world saw a number of 
 famous men born, including Darwin, Gladstone, 
 Tennyson, Mendelssohn, Poe, and Oliver Wendell 
 Holmes; but none of them was so lowly born, so 
 handicapped by poverty and hardship, as was our 
 sixteenth president. 
 
 Lincoln's Hfe begins Hke many favorite fairy tales : 
 A Kttle boy and his sister living in a deep wood, in 
 a tiny house hardly big enough for the father and 
 mother and their two children ; the father chopping 
 down trees to make room for a farm; the mother 
 spinning and sewing the skins of animals into 
 clothes, all day long trying to make ends meet 
 that never met. 
 
2 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 February 12, 1809, was the date of Abraham 
 Lincoln's birth, and, happily enough, he came 
 as the best birthday present his two-year-old sister 
 Sarah could have had — a playmate in the lonely 
 forest clearing. Midwinter cold and lack of com- 
 mon comforts could not overshadow the joy of this 
 hardy pioneer family at the advent of a son. And 
 the few women neighbors traveled miles in the 
 frost to hold the new baby and bring gifts of honey 
 and dried fruits to the mother. Doubtless, while 
 they chattered, Thomas Lincoln mused on the help 
 his boy would some day be to him, while Nancy 
 Hanks Lincoln, the happy mother, dreamed of the 
 great deeds her son would do when he grew to 
 manhood. And her dreams were to come true. 
 
 Baby Abraham came of a long Hne of ancestors 
 who wandered over the face of the earth in search 
 of fortune. His first ancestor in this country, 
 Samuel Lincoln, a weaver, left home in Norfolk, 
 England, in 1637, to try his luck among the Pil- 
 grims of Massachusetts. Mordecai, the fourth son 
 of the weaver, was a blacksmith, grew rich and 
 content at it, living and dying in Scituate. Two of 
 his sons, however, named Mordecai and Abraham, 
 felt the call to roam, and forsook Massachusetts 
 for Pennsylvania, where they settled among the 
 Quakers. Next, John, a son of this second Mor- 
 
A BOY OF THE BACKWOODS 3 
 
 decai, answered the summons to wander, and fared 
 forth to Virginia, where he thrived. In turn, his 
 son, Abraham, responded to the lure of the wilder- 
 ness trails, sold out his acres, and led his family 
 westward over the way blazed by Daniel Boone 
 into the primeval heart of Kentucky. 
 
 This Abraham Lincoln was the grandfather of 
 our President. It was about 1782 that he, with 
 his wife and five children, went into Kentucky, 
 settling in a stockade somewhere in the region 
 of Louisville. Grandfather Abraham secured 
 claims to some seventeen hundred acres of land and 
 began clearing it. One fatal day in 1788, while 
 working with his three sons in these fields, a red- 
 skin stole upon them and shot the father. 
 
 Mordecai, a lad of fourteen, sped to the home- 
 stead after a gun; Josiah, the second son, ran to 
 the fort near by to summon aid; the youngest, 
 Thomas, then a boy of ten, was left behind at the 
 mercy of the Indian, who was preparing either to 
 kill or carry off the horrified child. But Mordecai 
 fired at the foe, killing him. 
 
 To the bereft family Kentucky was indeed a 
 "dark and bloody ground." None of the boys was 
 old enough to assume the burden of supporting the 
 family, so the Lincolns scattered. Mordecai, as 
 the eldest son, inherited all his father's land. His 
 
4 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 brothers and sisters shifted as they might. Little 
 Thomas suffered most because of his father's 
 untimely death. Child though he was, he had to 
 earn his own living in that wild, unsettled country. 
 He became what was known as "a, wandering 
 laboring-boy," hiring himself to any farmer that 
 would have him. Of course he had no chance of 
 education, and he grew to manhood without 
 knowing how to write his name. But he was 
 physically strong and had a cheerful disposition 
 that made him friends. His sound sense and quiet 
 manner were noted, and he had the reputation of 
 being a good spinner of a yarn. 
 
 By the time Thomas Lincoln was twenty-five, 
 he had learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, 
 and had managed to secure a bit of land on Nolin 
 Creek, then in Hardin, but afterwards La Rue 
 County, Kentucky. This foothold was about 
 fourteen miles from Elizabethtown, where he was 
 living, and where he worked for a distant cousin 
 named Joseph Hanks, who owned a carpenter shop. 
 What was more attractive, Joseph Hanks had a 
 lovely, gray-eyed sister called Nancy. She was 
 a tall, slim girl, dark and delicate-looking. Usually, 
 she was sweet-tempered and lively, but at times 
 she had moods of melancholy that gave to her face 
 a sad expression which people were quick to observe. 
 
A BOY OF THE BACKWOODS 5 
 
 Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks fell in love, 
 and on June 12, 1806, when he was twenty-eight 
 and she twenty-three, they were married. The 
 event was one for boisterous merrymaking. 
 Guests were invited from every quarter, there was 
 plenty to eat and drink, including the roasting of a 
 whole sheep, and the company joked and danced 
 till daylight. 
 
 For about a year thereafter Thomas and Nancy 
 Lincoln lived in Elizabethtown, where their 
 daughter, Sarah, was born on the loth of Feb- 
 ruary, 1807. Following this event Thomas Lin- 
 coln decided to remove to his place on Nolin Creek. 
 As a carpenter, things had been discouragingly slow 
 with him, and so he thought it a wise plan to com- 
 bine farming with his poor trade. Though he 
 possessed a fine set of tools, and was skillful in their 
 use, there was little call upon his services. 
 
 Out to the woods the family went and set up 
 housekeeping in the humble log cabin that was to 
 become famous the world over as the birthplace of 
 Abraham Lincoln. It was only a one-room house, 
 but it was quite as habitable and comfortable as 
 the majority of homes in the region. The Lincolns 
 were as well off as the general run of pioneers. 
 
 The log cabin had one window, a door, and a wide 
 outside chimney made of poles and clay, in which a 
 
6 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 great fire might roar. There was no glass for the 
 window (glass was a luxury then) but greased 
 paper served instead. Contrary to accepted behef , 
 the Lincolns had a feather-bed and home-woven 
 coverlets; there were pewter spoons and dishes, 
 iron pots, horn-handled knives and forks, a loom 
 and spinning-wheel. Primitive as these things 
 may appear, yet they provided some conveniences 
 and comforts that reHeved the many hardships of 
 the wilds. And you may be sure that Nancy 
 Lincoln made it as cozy as possible, for she was held 
 to be an ideal housewife. 
 
 Until Abraham was four years old they remained 
 on Nolin Creek, life adding its burdens to the man 
 and wife, the two children happy and content in 
 their woodland home. During long winter even- 
 ings the father told them stories, in particular 
 recounting his own hairbreadth escape from the 
 Indians in his boyhood. Sometimes Mrs. Lincoln 
 took a moment from her housework to read aloud 
 from the Bible. 
 
 The Nolin Creek land was not very good for 
 farming, Thomas Lincoln concluded, so in the 
 autumn of i8 13 the family moved to a new locaHty, 
 Knob Creek, about fifteen miles to the northeast. 
 Here the children began going to school. It was 
 little more than a beginning, however, Sally and 
 
A BOY OF THE BACKWOODS ^ 
 
 Abe having the benefit of only a few weeks' in- 
 struction in these "A B C schools." Teachers 
 were few in the wilderness, and came and went as 
 chance prompted. From all accounts, the teacher 
 had a scanty store of knowledge at his disposal, 
 and his equipment seems to have been principally 
 *'readin', writin', and cipherin' to the Rule of 
 Three," to use the description given us by Lincoln. 
 
 Under two of these wandering teachers, Zacha- 
 riah Riney and Caleb Hazel, the boy and girl learned 
 their alphabet and a few simple words. The chief 
 articles of instruction in the log-cabin schoolroom 
 were a Webster's Speller and a switch. Abe was 
 familiar with both. 
 
 The class sat around on rude benches and three- 
 legged stools in a bare room, without blackboard 
 or slates. Abe proved a quick pupil, ahead of his 
 classmates most of the time. His love of learning 
 was a strange thing to his companions. They 
 preferred games and pranks. He liked fun, too, 
 and joined them in their froKcs, but he also had 
 a serious side to his character that puzzled them. 
 Even at this age — he was about seven — he gath- 
 ered spice bushes to break up and burn at night so 
 that he might study his lessons by their flare ! 
 
 Nancy Lincoln encouraged her son in every way 
 she could, hearing him spell, helping him to read, 
 
8 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 and explaining the mysteries of addition. The 
 mother of Lincoln was herself fond of books. 
 Besides assisting her little boy in his lessons, Nancy 
 taught her husband how to write his name and how 
 to read his way slowly through the Bible. UnHke 
 his boy, Thomas was a dull scholar, and in reality 
 he did not set much store on learning, for he be- 
 lieved that in the wilderness the ax was more useful 
 than the pen. 
 
 Carrying out his practical ideas, the father put 
 little Abe to work doing the easier tasks of the field 
 just as soon as he was strong enough to pull weeds 
 and carry tools. Abe helped his mother, too, 
 carrying wood and water. Often he ''gritted'' 
 corn for her to make into ''dodgers." Gritting 
 corn consisted of rubbing the ears over a hole- 
 punched piece of tin in the same way that you would 
 grate horse-radish. Afterwards, the scraped corn 
 was molded into cakes and baked. They were 
 called "dodgers.'* 
 
 Dodgers and potatoes were staple foods, the 
 potatoes being sometimes peeled and eaten raw like 
 apples ; and in the bitter cold weather potatoes 
 hot from the ashes were given the children on their 
 way to school, or when an errand took them a dis- 
 tance, to serve them as hand warmers ! Wheat 
 bread was a rarity. An enthusiastic hunter, 
 
A BOY OF THE BACKWOODS 9 
 
 Thomas Lincoln often supplied the family with 
 game. Fish abounded. Poor as they were, we 
 may conclude that the Lincolns had sufficient food 
 most of the time. At any rate, Abraham Lincoln 
 when he had grown to manhood enjoyed the 
 memories of his boyhood, the poverty and hardships 
 leaving no bitterness in his heart. 
 
 There are two recollections of the period worth 
 recording. One comes from a playmate of Abe's 
 who bore the name of Gollaher. It appears the 
 boys had been hunting partridges near Knob 
 Creek. In ''cooning" across a fallen tree-trunk 
 Abe tumbled into the water and would have 
 drowned had not Gollaher, with presence of mind, 
 held out a sycamore branch and pulled his flounder- 
 ing companion ashore. 
 
 The other recollection is Lincoln's own. Once, 
 some one asked him if he remembered anything in 
 connection with the War of 181 2. Lincoln recalled 
 that he was about five years old when, returning 
 from a fishing trip one day, he met a soldier on the 
 road. Into his mind flashed one of the precepts 
 of his mother — to be kind to soldiers because they 
 fought and were willing to die for their country. 
 Acting on this counsel, the little fisherman gave 
 his lone fish — he had caught but one — to the 
 soldier. 
 
10 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Dissatisfied with the return that the Knob Creek 
 land offered him, and his title to it being doubtful, 
 Thomas Lincoln, in the autumn of 1816, felt again 
 the impulse to move on and try to better his lot. 
 Indiana, recently admitted as a State, attracted his 
 fresh hopes. Many reputable people were settling 
 there. From strangers and kin he heard glowing 
 reports of the country. Plenty of rich land could 
 be had almost for the asking. Furthermore, no 
 slaves were to be allowed there. Thomas Lincoln 
 liked that item among the attractions. He de- 
 cided to see for himself what Indiana was like. 
 Disposing of his claim to the Knob Creek property 
 for a small amount of ready money and four hun- 
 dred gallons of corn whisky, he built himself a flat- 
 boat, or raft, and set out to find his latest Eden. 
 By way of explanation for the quantity of whisky, 
 we must point out that it was readily used those 
 days as money in barter. 
 
 When he had swung into the stream, his family 
 turned their attention to preparations for leaving 
 their Kentucky home forever. Sorrowful though 
 the mother might have been at the uprooting, we 
 may be sure that the children looked forward 
 eagerly to the change. Indiana meant a new 
 world to them, and the journey there was a glorious 
 prospect. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 " Pretty Pinching Times " 
 
 Down the Rolling Fork to the Salt River, thence 
 to the Ohio, Thomas Lincoln floated on his rude 
 boat, with his gallons of whisky and kit of tools. 
 In these days it would be an odd sight to see such 
 a drifting cargo, but in those times it was common 
 enough to see all manner of strange craft on the 
 rivers. Roads were few and bad, and so the flowing 
 waters were the chief highways. It was no unusual 
 sight to see a whole family living on a raft-like 
 contrivance, performing various household duties, 
 even to feeding the chickens and pigs as these 
 creatures wandered about the floating home. And 
 these water families tied up wherever they pleased, 
 to visit or trade. 
 
 Misfortune overtook Thomas Lincoln at one 
 point of his journey, for his boat capsized and his 
 cargo went to the bottom. By dint of ingenuity 
 he recovered his property, and shortly afterwards 
 reached what he thought a promising bit of Indiana 
 shore called Thompson's Ferry. Afoot, and keen 
 
 II 
 
12 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 on the lookout, he struck into the woods, and after 
 threading their mazes for some fifteen miles he 
 hit on a site that pleased him, near a water course 
 named Little Pigeon Creek. It was really a dense 
 wilderness, but in his eyes was most desirable. 
 Staking his claim in the accustomed fashion by 
 marking the trees and heaping up piles of brush- 
 wood at the boundaries, he turned his face home- 
 ward. He had to walk all the way, a distance of 
 about a hundred miles. 
 
 When he arrived at Knob Creek two horses were 
 borrowed, the few belongings packed, and off they 
 went, Nancy Lincoln alone stealing a wistful, back- 
 ward glance at the forsaken home. 
 
 It was late autumn, the trees were tattered but 
 brilliant, and the air was snappy. For several days 
 they traveled like gypsies, camping for the night 
 and building fires, a thrilHng experience for the boy 
 and girl, and their joys ended all too soon. The last 
 ten or fifteen miles of their way lay through a track- 
 less forest, so a path had to be hewed to the location 
 of the new home. 
 
 Too late in the season to begin building a regular 
 cabin, Thomas Lincoln contented himself with a 
 makeshift shelter known as a ''half -faced camp.'' 
 Ground had to be cleared also for planting. Winter 
 was at hand. Realizing the urgent necessity for 
 
"PRETTY PINCHING TIMES" 13 
 
 making most of the time remaining, the elder 
 Lincoln put an ax in Abe's hands and bade him fall 
 to upon the underbrush. Of this time and place 
 Abraham Lincoln wrote in after years that it was 
 "a region with many bears and other wild animals 
 still in the woods . . . the clearing away of the sur- 
 plus wood was the great task ahead. Abraham, 
 though very young, was large of his age, and had 
 an ax put into his hands at once; and from that 
 time till within his twenty-third year he was almost 
 constantly handling that most useful instrument." 
 
 Their half -faced camp, in which they purposed 
 spending the winter, was built of saplings and had 
 a roof and three walls, the fourth side being left 
 open to serve as fireplace and chimney. Odd as 
 this may seem, it was the sort of shelter often built 
 in those times when a temporary home was needed. 
 One might manage to keep comfortable in it, 
 especially if hidden in the heart of thick woods 
 where friendly trees acted as a wind shield. The 
 Lincolns had warm clothing for day use and at night 
 wrapped themselves in bearskins and other heavy 
 coverings. And the fire was never out. 
 
 Everybody kept busy. The father had his hands 
 full providing meat for the larder. Off at daybreak 
 he went, his gun over his shoulder. Abe and 
 Sally helped their mother in her endless round of 
 
14 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 daily duties. Once, at least, Abe appeared in the 
 role of hunter when, one morning, he fired his 
 father's gun at a flock of wild turkeys through a 
 chink in the wall, kilHng one of the birds. But the 
 boy did not enjoy hunting or trapping. 
 
 Though there was no school for the children that 
 winter, we may be sure that Abe often pHed his 
 patient mother with questions about words and the 
 world in general. From his baby days Abe was 
 noted as a questioner, the ''whys and wherefores'' 
 of a thing urging him to put his elders through a 
 course of cross-examination which was sometimes 
 trying, especially to his father. 
 
 At last winter was at an end, but then their 
 tasks were greater than ever. Plowing and plant- 
 ing that virgin soil was a big job, and to increase 
 the difiiculty, it proved to be stony ground. How- 
 ever, their troubles were overcome, and Thomas 
 Lincoln set to work on a substantial log cabin that 
 was to be their permanent home. By the autumn 
 it was fairly ready for them, though the door and 
 windows were unfinished. There was a loft planned 
 for the children to which they would climb at bed- 
 time, not up a ladder but by means of pegs driven 
 into the wall. The one room ''downstairs" had 
 poles set in the wall and fastened to a stake to 
 serve as a bedstead. Their floor was mother earth, 
 
"PRETTY PINCHING TIMES" 15 
 
 but they pounded the dirt hard and smooth and 
 covered it with rugs made of skins. 
 
 Altogether, they considered the house quite fine. 
 Without waiting for finishing touches the family 
 moved in ; and no sooner were they out of the half- 
 faced camp than some of Nancy Lincoln's relatives 
 came to live in it. The newcomers were a Mr. 
 and Mrs. Sparrow and a nephew, Dennis Hanks. 
 All three were distant cousins on the Hanks side, 
 and Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow had been kind to Nancy 
 in her orphaned girlhood. Dennis Hanks was a 
 jolly, good-hearted lad, some ten years older than 
 Abe, but the difference in ages was no barrier to 
 their becoming chums. It is to Dennis Hanks 
 that we owe many of the picturesque details of 
 Lincoln's youth, told in later years. 
 
 Another winter, spring, and summer passed, and 
 that spot of wilderness had been tamed into giving 
 them corn and wheat, and supplied fodder enough 
 for a cow and a few hogs. But, strange to say, no 
 time was found in which to finish the Lincoln cabin ; 
 it was still floorless and doorless, and the windows 
 were merely apertures. 
 
 However, just as their outlook appeared to be 
 growing brighter, utter darkness fell. In October 
 of that second year on Pigeon Creek a dreadful 
 and mysterious plague broke out, called the ''milk- 
 
1 6 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 sick," and was supposed to come from drinking the 
 milk of diseased cows. Persons suffering from the 
 ailment seldom recovered. First of our little 
 colony to fall ill were Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow, and 
 their deaths followed apace. The nearest doctor 
 was thirty miles or more away, and even had 
 he attended them their recovery would have been 
 doubtful. Medical knowledge was not far ad- 
 vanced a hundred years ago. 
 
 Dennis came to live at the log cabin. Now 
 happened the worst. Nancy Lincoln became vic- 
 tim of the malady. For a week she suffered from 
 the terrible fever that marked the disease, and on 
 October 5, 18 18, succumbed. Before she died she 
 called her two children to her and enjoined them to 
 care for their father, to do always what was right 
 and true, and to love God. Abe was in his tenth 
 year and Sally in her twelfth when this heart- 
 breaking scene was enacted in their lives. Long 
 as he lived Abraham Lincoln retained a vivid 
 impression of that dark day, and he never failed to 
 obey those solemn words. He was fond of saying 
 that all he was, or ever hoped to be, he owed to his 
 angel mother. 
 
 That bitter, lonely winter poor Sally did her best 
 at keeping house, but she often sat by the hearth 
 crying for the mother whose place she in vain 
 
"PRETTY PINCHING TIMES" 17 
 
 tried to fill. Abe and Dennis noticed her spells of 
 grief and they sought to cheer her, bringing her 
 playmates from the deep woods. Once they 
 brought her a baby raccoon, then they gave her a 
 comical turtle, and they tried to get her a pretty 
 fawn to comfort her, but failed to catch it. Refer- 
 ring to these dark days Abe said that they were 
 "pretty pinching times." 
 
 Silently Abe sorrowed over the loss of his mother. 
 The sensitive boy missed the offices of religion at 
 the grave and he made up his mind to have prayers 
 said there. Back in Kentucky he knew of a friendly 
 clergyman, the Reverend David Elkin, who had 
 often visited their home on Knob Creek. A few 
 months after his mother's death, Abe got word to 
 this minister, and through snow the good man 
 journeyed to repeat the divine words the boy 
 craved to hear. 
 
 From far and near neighbors gathered to Hsten 
 and pray under the wide sycamore that sheltered 
 the humble mound over Nancy Hanks Lincoln. 
 And the service done, Abe felt that the memory of 
 his gentle mother, ''who gave us Lincoln, and never 
 knew," had been sanctified at last. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 A Welcome Stepmother 
 
 Desolate was that winter of i8 18-19, and the 
 succeeding summer hardly better. Listlessly 
 Thomas Lincoln went about his work. Already 
 the children looked unkempt. Sally could cook 
 and wash after a fashion, but she was not able to 
 make clothes. Another winter was fairly upon 
 them when, one day in late November, the father 
 bade the family good-by and told them he was 
 going to Elizabethtown ; it was his object to ask 
 an old sweetheart of his, now a widow with three 
 children, to marry him. Losing no time, he called 
 on the lady, Mrs. Sarah Bush Johnston, and laid 
 the case before her. 
 
 ''I have no wife and you no husband," he said. 
 "I came a-purpose to marry you. I knowed 
 you from a gal and 3^ou knowed me from a boy. 
 IVe no time to lose; and if you're willin' let it 
 be done straight off !" 
 
 Abrupt but earnest was his plea. The widow 
 hesitated, made a trifling objection, and then ac- 
 
 18 
 
A WELCOME STEPMOTHER 19 
 
 cepted. On December 2, 1819, they were married, 
 and at once preparations were made to journey out 
 to Little Pigeon Creek. The bride had a lot of 
 fine furniture to take along, including chairs, tables, 
 bedsteads, and a wonderful walnut bureau, the 
 like of which her new husband thought it a sin to 
 own. A generous relative of Thomas Lincoln's 
 placed at their service his big wagon and a double 
 team of horses. The furniture loaded, they climbed 
 aboard and set out. 
 
 One can readily picture the astonishment of Abe 
 and Sally as the cavalcade drove up to the cabin, 
 and the happiness which seized them on learning 
 that the tall, sweet-faced woman was their new 
 mother. And to crown the joy, they were to have 
 also another brother and two sisters ! Fancy what 
 this meant in their lonely lives ! 
 
 Mrs. Lincoln bustled about and soon the whole 
 place was transformed. Abe and Sally were intro- 
 duced to a scrubbing of soap and water and were 
 given clean, warm clothes to wear. Their beds of 
 corn husks and leaves in the loft were exchanged 
 for those of feathers. Nor was Thomas Lincoln 
 permitted to let the house go unfinished any 
 longer ! A puncheon log floor was laid ; a suitable 
 door was cut and hung ; and window frames made 
 and set. 
 
20 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Transformation complete! Lincoln's second 
 mother was altogether a remarkable woman. Not 
 only did she keep her home in spotless order and 
 inspire its inmates to industry and cheer, but she 
 maintained peace and love in her mixed family. 
 
 From the first Abe attracted her, and the awk- 
 ward, long-legged lad responded to her affection. 
 Though she herself possessed scanty knowledge, 
 she appreciated the true value of education. In 
 her Abe had a stanch ally in his efforts to improve 
 his mind. As she once said : "I induced my hus- 
 band to permit Abe to read and study at home 
 as well as at school. At first he was not easily 
 reconciled to it, but finally he seemed willing to 
 encourage him to a certain extent. Abe was a 
 dutiful son to me always, and we took particular 
 care when he was reading not to disturb him." 
 But in truth Abe's father was sorely vexed because 
 the boy preferred books to an ax or saw; for 
 Thomas Lincoln wanted him to be a carpenter, and 
 tried to teach him the trade, but Abe only appKed 
 himself half-heartedly. 
 
 Mrs. Lincoln nevertheless sent Abe and the other 
 children to school under a certain Azel Dorsey, a 
 man with a progressive mind. The teacher talked 
 politics, and found in Abe an eager listener. Dor- 
 sey was proud of this intelligent pupil. A class- 
 
A WELCOME STEPMOTHER 21 
 
 mate said of Abe at this period : ''He was always 
 at school early, and attended to his studies. He 
 was always at the head of his class, and passed us 
 rapidly in his studies. He lost no time at home, 
 and when he was not at work was at his books.'' 
 
 Figuring on the fire shovel, a broad wooden 
 implement, was one of the persevering student's 
 ways of learning. He used a piece of charcoal for 
 pencil, and afterwards scraped off the sums with a 
 knife. Down beside the fire, on the hearth, he 
 would fling himself to obtain the light he needed. 
 
 But delights of learning were to be obtained only 
 "by littles." Whenever Thomas Lincoln decided 
 he wanted him, the boy would be taken from 
 school. Abe, however, stole hours from sleep to 
 review what he had learned. All over the place 
 were traces of his scholarship — examples and 
 sentences on the walls, on the floor, even on the 
 fences and trees ! 
 
 Of all companions his stepmother understood 
 him best. Seeing him sprawled by the fire she 
 would encourage him to read aloud the book in 
 hand. Books were few, but Abe found pleasure 
 in re-reading them until he knew them by heart ; 
 he also developed a talent for mimicking public 
 speakers, especially the clergymen he heard. 
 Mounted on the stump of a tree for pulpit, he would 
 
22 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 orate and berate in the most approved manner then 
 current. 
 
 Several years elapsed before Abe again attended 
 school. When about fourteen he secured a few 
 months' instruction under Andrew Crawford, a 
 man of superior culture, who, among other things, 
 gave lessons in good manners. He taught his pupils 
 how to enter a room like ladies and gentlemen, and 
 how to leave it, and initiated them into other forms 
 of poHteness. These social graces must have 
 shown Abe Lincoln an ungainly figure. He looked 
 all arms and legs. One of the girls attending the 
 Crawford school has left us the following unflatter- 
 ing portrait : — 
 
 ''His skin was shriveled and yellow. His shoes, 
 when he had any, were low. He wore buckskin 
 breeches, linsey-woolsey shirt, and a cap made of 
 the skin of a squirrel or coon. His breeches were 
 baggy and lacked by several inches the tops of 
 his shoes, thereby exposing his shin bone, sharp, 
 blue, and narrow." 
 
 Those who laughed at his scarecrow appearance, 
 however, were forced to respect his scholarship. 
 His mind, if not his body, was better clothed than 
 theirs. None of his fellows could stand up long 
 against him in a spelKng match, and in the writing 
 of compositions he had no peers. ''Cruelty to 
 
A WELCOME STEPMOTHER 23 
 
 Animals" was one of his subjects, and in it he took 
 to task those who wantonly hurt dumb brutes. 
 Consideration for animals was a novel idea to his 
 companions — they had never heard of such regard 
 for mere dogs and horses ! 
 
 We have this souvenir of those school-days, 
 discovered in one of his sum-books : — 
 
 " Abraham Lincoln is my name 
 And with my pen I wrote the same, 
 I wrote in both haste and speed 
 And left it here for fools to read." 
 
 Like his other terms in school, that at Crawford's 
 was short and sweet. His time belonged to his father, 
 and Abe was often hired out to busy neighbors at a 
 wage of twenty-five cents a day. His last glimpse 
 of school came in his seventeenth year. Attend- 
 ance there required a walk of nine miles a day. 
 Swaney was the name of his last teacher. What 
 he learned from him is largely left to our imagina- 
 tions, but the Friday ^'recitations" must have 
 found in Abe an eager participant. fS 
 
 Altogether, his schooling, from his seventh to his 
 seventeenth year, did not amount to a full year. 
 But in that interval he got hold of, and managed to 
 read, a half dozen excellent books, absorbing them 
 with an intensity peculiar to himself. Aside from 
 
24 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 the Bible, which he knew thoroughly, he read 
 "/Esop's Fables," "Robinson Crusoe,'' ''Pilgrim's 
 Progress," a ''History of the United States," and 
 Parson Weems's "Life of Washington." This 
 "life" was a favorite volume, and Lincoln always 
 spoke highly of it. 
 
 How Abe came to own this Weems book is 
 interesting. It belonged to one Josiah Crawford 
 (not the polite schoolmaster), a man who had ac- 
 quired a reputation for hardness and meanness. 
 Abe borrowed it. One night he left the volume 
 in a roof -chink and it was damaged by rain. The 
 boy was crestfallen and apologetic. He offered 
 Josiah Crawford any equivalent in his power to 
 offset the injury. Seeing his chance and seizing it, 
 the crafty farmer declared the book to be worth 
 seventy-five cents, and said that Abe might own it 
 outright by working three days at pulling fodder. 
 It was back-breaking toil, but Abe accepted the 
 conditions and went to work cheerfully. After- 
 wards the boy got even with the taskmaster by 
 ridiculing the big, blue nose of Crawford in various 
 verses. 
 
 Taking corn to the mill for grinding was one 
 of the delights of Abe's boyhood. While waiting 
 their turn at the mill, the men and lads gathered 
 there would hold athletic meets and long-winded 
 
A WELCOME STEPMOTHER 25 
 
 debates. Abe held his own at either diversion. 
 He was surprisingly strong for one of his '* spindle 
 shanks" and narrow chest, and his ''stunts" were 
 the talk of the circle. Once, at the mill, Abe 
 nearly lost his life. A horse kicked him insensible. 
 The group thought him dead. But he recovered, 
 and his first words completed the sentence of 
 command which he had been giving the horse 
 when kicked. 
 
 During these days it was his love of knowledge 
 that tormented him more than anything else; he 
 was so desirous to know things and his means of 
 satisfying his craving were so inadequate. His own 
 words vividly express this hungering and striving 
 for knowledge : — 
 
 "I remember how, when a mere child, I used to 
 get irritated when anybody talked to me in a way 
 I could not understand. I do not think I ever got 
 angry at anything else in my life ; but that always 
 disturbed my temper, and has ever since. I can 
 remember going to my little bedroom, after hearing 
 the neighbors talk of an evening with my father, 
 and spending no small part of the night walking 
 up and down and trying to make out what was the 
 exact meaning of some of their, to me, dark sayings. 
 I could not sleep, although I tried to, when I got 
 on such a hunt for an idea, until I had caught it ; 
 
26 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 and when I thought I had got it, I was not satisfied 
 until I had repeated it over and over ; until I had 
 put it in language plain enough, as I thought, for 
 any boy I knew to comprehend. This was a kind 
 of passion with me, and it has stuck by me ; for 
 I am never easynow, when I am handling a thought, 
 till I have bounded it north, and bounded it south, 
 and bounded it east, and bounded it west." 
 
 Unwittingly, the boy was cultivating the power 
 to think by a method which even the profoundest 
 student could scarcely improve. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 New Experiences 
 
 At eighteen years of age Abe Lincoln had at- 
 tained that height which marked him among 
 men — six feet, four inches tall. His stepmother 
 used to say she was afraid lest he mark up her 
 ceiling which, at that time, had secured the re- 
 fining touch of whitewash. This was one of her 
 regular jokes. The remark gave Abe an idea for 
 a prank. Waiting until Mrs. Lincoln was absent, 
 he got hold of some youngsters, had them ''muddy" 
 their feet, and then, turning them upside-down, 
 made them walk over the snowy ceiling. Upon 
 her return, Mrs. Lincoln, viewing the highly origi- 
 nal decoration, did not know whether to laugh or 
 cry. But she saw the funny side first. Then the 
 chief joker assured her that the ceiKng needed a 
 new coat of whitewash anyhow, so he obtained a 
 fresh lot of lime and did the job. 
 
 Abe's love of a joke or a laugh became a byword. 
 That, and his perpetual reading of his few books, 
 caused many of the natives to put him down as 
 
 27 
 
28 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 a good-natured, lazy fellow. Even when at work 
 in the field he carried a book, which he would 
 pore over industriously at odd times. But if there 
 were companion-workers in the field he would 
 like as not mount a stump and deliver a speech 
 that would set them all laughing. 
 
 One employer grew justly annoyed at his antics 
 and called him to account. Abe smiled, and 
 replied that his father had taught him to work, 
 true enough, but had failed to teach him to love 
 it! Nevertheless, he performed every jot of his 
 task, doing as much as any ''hand," for his strength 
 was equal to that of three men, and he always 
 made up for lost time. Many stories are told of 
 his enormous physical power; how he lifted two 
 heavy logs that three men were in doubt about 
 handling, and how he once carried a chicken coop 
 weighing nearly six hundred pounds. Dennis 
 Hanks' tribute was : — 
 
 "And how he would chop ! His ax would flash 
 and bite into a sugar tree or sycamore, and down 
 it would come. If you heard him felling trees, 
 you would think there were three men at work, 
 they came down so fast." Abe gloried in his 
 reputation for strength, and in that primitive 
 community it won him more respect and honor than 
 all the learning that he could cram into his head. 
 
NEW EXPERIENCES 29 
 
 The social life of these rude forefathers was far 
 from polished. Weddings, log-rollings, and house- 
 raisings afforded the people their fullest opportuni- 
 ties for "si good time." 
 
 One of the leading attractions in the Hfe of the 
 simple settlers was church, and whenever a preacher 
 came into their midst it was sign for rejoicing. 
 They thought nothing of walking eight or ten miles 
 to attend service which, in the summer time, was 
 usually held outdoors. A church meeting meant a 
 gathering of the neighbors far and near. Often the 
 congregation remained for several days, visiting and 
 hobnobbing. Refreshments would be served before 
 the sermon, the preacher receiving special dainties. 
 
 During these half dozen years of life on Pigeon 
 Creek, the adjacent town of Gentryville, a mile 
 and a half east of the Lincoln farm, had developed. 
 It was now a village of about a dozen houses, and 
 was named after its founder and leading citizen, 
 James Gentry. Like every place of the kind, it 
 had a general store, where anything from eggs to 
 nails might be bought or exchanged. A man by 
 the name of Jones kept this store, and one winter 
 he asked Abe to help him. Eagerly the offer was 
 accepted. Here, Abe knew, he would see the 
 Louisville newspaper regularly, and have a chance 
 to discuss questions of the day with customers. 
 
30 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Soon Abe was the principal attraction of the 
 store. His droll stories drew a crowd of amused 
 listeners, while his more serious arguments gained 
 him an attentive audience. Politics was the all- 
 absorbing theme, and slavery a fruitful topic. 
 Men were beginning to talk of negro slavery as a 
 crime. A few aboKtion societies had been formed, 
 and there were newspapers devoted to the cause of 
 freeing slaves in the United States. Slavery was 
 a question that would fall readily to the tongue of 
 young Abraham Lincoln, for it is said, on excellent 
 authority, that his parents were opposed to the 
 practice. 
 
 About this time the tall and awkward youth 
 engaged in a venture that gave him a chance to 
 see a little more of the world. At a wage of thirty- 
 seven cents a day, he hired himself to one James 
 Taylor, who ran a ferry across the Ohio River, 
 at Anderson's Creek. Abe himself was the motor 
 power of the boat. It proved one of the toughest 
 jobs he had yet undertaken. But Abe was not 
 to be balked of all pleasure and improvement. 
 Working on the ferry, he became acquainted with 
 a kindly lawyer, Judge Pitcher, who owned a 
 fair-sized library. Making known his love of 
 reading, Abe obtained permission to borrow books. 
 Over these he would pore until midnight warned 
 
NEW EXPERIENCES 31 
 
 him that in a few hours more he would be due at 
 the ferry. Once he told Judge Pitcher that he 
 wanted to study law but could not afford it as the 
 need for him at home was too urgent. 
 
 Experiences on the river front gave Abe an idea 
 that he might do well if he had a boat of his own, 
 and marketed farm products in outlying parts. 
 He observed a number of men prospering thus. 
 Kindled by the prospect, he built and launched 
 his craft, but as a merchant Abe evidently failed. 
 There is one episode, however, connected with 
 this experiment which is worth repeating, and in 
 his own words it sounds best. 
 
 *'I was about eighteen years of age," he said, 
 . . . ^'we had succeeded in raising, chiefly by my 
 labor, sujQ&cient produce, as I thought, to justify 
 me in taking it down the river to sell. After 
 much persuasion I had got the consent of my 
 mother to go, and had constructed a flatboat large 
 enough to take a few barrels of things we had 
 gathered to New Orleans. A steamer was going 
 down the river. We have, you know, no wharves 
 on the western streams, and the custom was, if 
 passengers were at any of the landings they were to 
 go out in a boat, the steamer stopping and taking 
 them on board. I was contemplating my new boat, 
 and wondering whether I could make it stronger 
 
32 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 or improve it in any part, when two men with 
 trunks came down to the shore in carriages, and 
 looking at the different boats, singled out mine and 
 asked, *Who owns this?' I answered modestly, 
 'I do.' ^Will you,' said one of them, 'take us and 
 our trunks out to the steamer?' 'Certainly,' 
 said I. I was very glad to have the chance of 
 earning something, and supposed that each of 
 them would give me a couple of bits.^ The trunks 
 were put in my boat, the passengers seated them- 
 selves on them, and I sculled them out to the 
 steamer. They got on board and I lifted the 
 trunks and put them on the deck. The steamer 
 was about to put on steam again, when I called 
 out, 'You have forgotten to pay me.' Each of 
 them took from his pocket a silver half dollar and 
 threw it on the bottom of my boat. I could 
 scarcely believe my eyes as I picked up the money. 
 You may think it was a very little thing, and in 
 these days it seems to me like a trifle, but it was 
 a most important incident in my life. I could 
 scarcely credit that I, a poor boy, had earned a 
 dollar in less than a day; that by honest work I 
 had earned a dollar. I was a more hopeful and 
 thoughtful boy from that time." 
 
 ^ A " bit " was twelve and a half cents. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 When Abe was Twenty-one 
 
 Dissatisfied with farm Kfe, accepting anything 
 that would take him from it, Abe's lot fretted him 
 during these days when the boy was merging into 
 the man. The river was a lure from which he 
 found it difficult to escape. Flowing along, it 
 seemed to urge him to follow. Once he thought of 
 seeking a job aboard a steamboat. 
 
 Ambition's wings were sprouting. He wrote 
 compositions that were praised. One, on "Tem- 
 perance," aroused the fervor of a Baptist minister 
 to an extent that resulted in the printing of it in 
 a newspaper. Another effort entitled "National 
 Politics" won the enthusiastic admiration of a 
 lawyer, who declared that "the world couldn't 
 beat it!" 
 
 Commendation from such authorities made the 
 backwoods boy feel that his wings were strong 
 enough for a longer flight than any he had yet 
 attempted. 
 
 33 
 
34 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Already Abe had read every book he could lay 
 hands on within a radius of fifty miles. Whole pas- 
 sages he could repeat from memory. And it was his 
 habit to copy favorite bits of prose and verse in a 
 notebook that he made by sewing some sheets of 
 paper together. With pains he copied extracts, 
 using a turkey-buzzard feather for pen, and ink 
 manufactured out of brier-roots or walnut shells. 
 
 Among other books borrowed, Abe read one 
 called ''The Statutes of Indiana," a bulky volume, 
 and one that ordinarily would repel a boy nineteen. 
 It was meat and drink to Abe ! In it he found the 
 constitution and laws of Indiana, the Constitution 
 of the United States, and the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence. Through this volume he enlarged his 
 knowledge of his country's history, and learned 
 something of the complexities of law. 
 
 More and more his mind turned to the law, and 
 whenever the chance came he walked to Boonville, 
 fifteen miles away, to attend court. This became 
 a delightful diversion. Having Hstened one day 
 to a thrilling speech at a murder trial, he excitedly 
 rose to congratulate the orator; but the eloquent 
 gentleman of the bar snubbed his uncouth admirer. 
 
 Poor Abe was chagrined at this churlish treat- 
 ment. Time, however, brought him full redress, 
 for some thirty years later the aristocratic lawyer 
 
WHEN ABE WAS TWENTY-ONE 35 
 
 and his admirer met in Washington when their 
 relative positions were far different. Lincoln 
 with a smile mentioned their encounter that day 
 in Boonville, but the Kentucky gentleman had 
 forgotten, or wished to forget, the incident. 
 
 At length, after much secret chafing at his 
 bonds, an opportunity presented itself for Abe 
 to see more of the world. James Gentry, of 
 Gentryville, knowing the quality of the youth, 
 asked him to take a load of produce down to New 
 Orleans and dispose of it. Abe jumped at the 
 suggestion. Arrangements were completed forth- 
 with. He and Allan Gentry, a son of the promoter, 
 assumed joint responsibility for the voyage. Abe 
 was to receive eight dollars a month and board. 
 In March, 1828, the two boys launched upon their 
 thousand-mile trip down the Ohio and Mississippi 
 rivers, at a sleepy pace of from four to six miles an 
 hour. Swung on to the bosom of the Mississippi, 
 the lads began the barter of cotton, tobacco, and 
 sugar for their potatoes, bacon, and jeans. 
 
 By the end of a week they had floated into a 
 land of summer. Strange and interesting sights 
 were on all sides. Gangs of slaves were seen at 
 work on plantations. Then came the big city. 
 That was a wonderful moment ! New Orleans was 
 at the height of its glory, a metropolis of the first 
 
36 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 rank, the center of commerce and society. Its 
 wharves were crowded with ships from foreign 
 lands. A mixture of languages must have filled 
 the ears of the backwoods boys — French, Spanish, 
 Dutch. 
 
 One exciting adventure befell them. Their 
 flatboat had been tied up for overnight at a planta- 
 tion a few miles below Baton Rouge. The boys 
 were asleep in their bunks when stealthy footsteps 
 awoke them. A gang of thieving negroes had 
 boarded the boat to rob it. Grasping a club, 
 Abe instantly attacked the marauders with a 
 violence that pitched several overboard, and their 
 astonished companions were put to flight. Gen- 
 try joined the fray, and the two boys pursued the 
 thieves, beating them until they were exhausted. 
 
 As souvenir of the occasion, Lincoln bore a 
 small scar for the remainder of his life, but it did 
 not leave him with any prejudice against the negro 
 race. Lincoln never bore a grudge. Dennis 
 Hanks said, "When God made Abe Lincoln He 
 left the meanness out for other folks to divide 
 up among 'em.'' 
 
 Aside from the midnight fracas, the trip was 
 successful in every respect. In June they were 
 back home, having sold cargo and boat, and 
 feeling quite men of the world. 
 
WHEN ABE WAS TWENTY-ONE 37 
 
 It may have been difficult to resume the ordinary 
 duties of life again, but so far as we know Abe ful- 
 filled them to the letter. A year went by, unevent- 
 ful save for the untimely death of Lincoln's 
 sister, Sarah Lincoln, which was Abe's second 
 great sorrow. In the autumn of 1829 the dreaded 
 *' milk-sick" again broke out in the Lincoln settle- 
 ment. Dennis Hanks, then a married man with 
 a growing family, was despondent at the loss of 
 cattle. He considered a move to a more healthful 
 neighborhood urgent. 
 
 Fourteen years on the Pigeon Creek property 
 had not given them many comforts. The land 
 was poor. Why remain? Near by, Illinois was 
 booming, and rich land might be had at a dollar- 
 and-a-quarter an acre. The stream of emigration 
 had set in that direction. John Hanks, a cousin 
 of the Lincolns, had sent them word that he would 
 select for them a desirable piece of land. 
 
 Fate w^as in it. Glad to go, Thomas Lincoln 
 sold his land and stock. Household belongings 
 were loaded into wagons drawn by oxen, and off 
 the caravan lumbered in March, 1830. Abe acted 
 as driver. He had just reached his majority and 
 was his own master at last; but he had decided 
 to see his father settled in the new land of promise 
 before tackling the world on his own account. 
 
38 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Abe had a private scheme, however, to *' try- 
 out" during the journey from Indiana to Illinois. 
 He had invested some thirty dollars in ** notions," 
 buying them of Jones in Gentryville, and this 
 stock he peddled whenever they passed through 
 a populated section. Knives and forks, needles 
 and pins, buttons too, he sold. Subsequently 
 he wrote to Jones that he doubled his money. 
 
 Two weeks they were on the road and covered 
 about one hundred and fifty miles. Spring thaw 
 had set in, and their going was through endless 
 reaches of deep mud. Streams they had to ford 
 were coated with thin ice. Thickets beset their 
 progress. Abe had his hands full. Mired in mud 
 or stuck in a hole at the bottom of a stream, he 
 had to use all his ingenuity to overcome obstacles. 
 He also was their self-appointed jester and kept up 
 the flagging spirits of the party. They probably 
 never fully appreciated what he did for them on 
 that long, dreary trek through the wilds, solving 
 their difficulties and keeping up their spirits. 
 
 One episode of the journey reveals Abe^s tender 
 heart. Crossing an ice-filled brook, a little dog of 
 theirs was accidentally left behind. All save Abe 
 were in favor of leaving the animal to its fate, as 
 it would be a waste of time to recross the stream 
 for an insignificant creature like that. But while 
 
WHEN ABE WAS TWENTY-ONE 39 
 
 they discussed the question, Abe had taken off his 
 shoes and stockings and had waded into the freez- 
 ing water in defiance of consequences. The Kttle 
 dog was rescued, and Abe declared that the animal's 
 joy more than repaid him for his effort and risk. 
 
 After many adventures, pleasant and unpleasant, 
 the outfit arrived at the homestead of Cousin John 
 Hanks, in Macon County, five miles northwest of 
 Decatur. Five miles farther west John had se- 
 lected a site for them, on the banks of the Sanga- 
 mon River. It proved a charming location. 
 
 Right willingly they set to work building a house 
 under the supervision of Thomas Lincoln. Trees 
 were felled, logs hewed, and the structure went up 
 quickly. Abe and John Hanks hitched the oxen 
 to plows and broke up fifteen acres of ground for 
 planting ; then they wielded axes and split walnut 
 rails enough to fence in the fields — rails that were 
 destined to become more famous than any ever 
 made before or since. 
 
 The region was very thinly settled and there 
 were more square miles than people. Decatur 
 and Springfield, both near, were merely straggling 
 villages. Chicago was not dream.ed of. 
 
 To his father's holdings Abe devoted much of 
 his time and labor during the spring and summer 
 of 1830, but if a good outside job offered itself he 
 
40 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 gladly accepted it. One of these odd jobs was to 
 split rails in payment for sufficient material to 
 make him a suit of butternut-dyed jeans, for each 
 yard of goods Abe agreeing to split four hundred 
 rails ! 
 
 Illinois people soon showed a liking for Abe. 
 His talk won friends everywhere. It is related 
 that he once put a passing orator to shame in a 
 speech on the navigation possibiHties of the 
 Sangamon River. And it is said that the beaten 
 orator congratulated Abe on his ability. 
 
 The first winter in the new home was dishearten- 
 ing. Autumn brought them fever and ague, and 
 Christmas ushered in a snowstorm of unexampled 
 severity. Three da^^s it continued in bHnding 
 sweep. Then followed a freeze-up that lasted 
 two weeks. Men and animals perished in great 
 numbers. That period of suffering and death is 
 known to history as ''the winter of the deep 
 snow." For generations men talked about it and 
 dated events by it. 
 
 To the Lincolns, though they came through the 
 ordeal, the Sangamon locality was no longer charm- 
 ing. Plans to move again were in the air. Mean- 
 while, Abe had his own immediate plans. In the 
 autumn of 1830 he had met a man named Denton 
 Offutt, who announced his intention to send a 
 
WHEN ABE WAS TWENTY-ONE 41 
 
 flatboat of produce down to New Orleans in the 
 spring. Offutt engaged Abe, John Hanks, and John 
 Johnston (Abe's stepbrother) to make the trip. 
 Each man was to receive fifty cents a day and a 
 bonus of twenty dollars at the end of the job, 
 provided it was a success. The three agreed to 
 meet Offutt in Springfield in March, 1831. 
 
 When the time came, the country was flooded 
 from the melting snows, but the three young 
 fellows bought a canoe and paddled to within five 
 miles of Springfield, walking the rest of the way. 
 They found their employer in a tavern, the picture 
 of woe. Offutt told them, in explanation, that he 
 had been unable to hire or buy a flatboat. The 
 project was quashed. But why not build a flat- 
 boat themselves? the three inquired of Offutt. 
 
 This they did. Mightily pleased, Offutt agreed 
 to pay them each twelve dollars a month until the 
 boat was ready. In a month it was completed. It 
 was a clumsy craft with plank-and-canvas sails, and 
 was to be the cause of much merriment on the river. 
 
 Early in April the cargo — hogs, pork in barrels, 
 and corn — was put aboard, and the venture was 
 fairly under way. At New Salem, a tiny hamlet 
 along the Sangamon, the boat stuck on a dam, and 
 the whole population turned out to see the fun. 
 The villagers stood on the bank and offered jocular 
 
42 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 suggestions. They took particular interest in the 
 actions of a long, lanky chap who, with his trou- 
 sers ^'rolled up about five feet,'' was directing 
 operations. It was Abe, of course, devising a 
 scheme to move the flatboat and save the cargo. 
 Now, the craft was caught in such fashion that the 
 bow was high in the air while the stern was sunk 
 under water. Abe rigged up tackle to hoist out 
 the Hve stock and produce ; then, when the boat was 
 Hghtened, he bored a hole in the bow and managed 
 to tilt the vessel so that the water it held ran out. 
 
 Never before had the natives seen a boat saved 
 by boring a hole in it ! 
 
 Without further mishap New Orleans was reached 
 and the cargo sold at profit. On this second visit 
 to the Crescent City, Abe witnessed the sale of 
 slaves in the slave market. The sight sickened 
 him. Afterwards he told John Hanks, "the 
 iron entered his soul then, and he swore to hit it 
 [slavery] hard, if he ever got the chance." 
 
 By way of steamboat they returned as far as 
 St. Louis, walking thence across the prairies to 
 the latest home of the family in Coles County, 
 whither Thomas Lincoln and Dennis Hanks had 
 removed while the boys were absent. 
 
 Abe stayed at home about a month; then in 
 July he gathered together his scant possessions, 
 
WHEN ABE WAS TWENTY-ONE 43 
 
 bade the family good-by, and set out for New 
 Salem, the scene of the boat-boring experiment. 
 Denton Ofiutt had been deeply impressed by the 
 talents of Abraham Lincoln and had offered him 
 a job as clerk in his store in New Salem. True, 
 the store was as yet merely a project — one of 
 Offutt's glowing dreams — but Abe held faith in 
 his prospective employer. 
 
 Home ties were at last broken, his detested 
 farm chores were over, and Abe was ready to face 
 the world. What lay before him? If judged 
 from past achievement, he was going forth with 
 many qualities to insure success. His stepmother 
 summed him up feelingly when she said in her 
 simple fashion : — 
 
 ^'Abe was a good boy, and I can say what 
 scarcely one woman — a mother — can say in a 
 thousand : Abe never gave me a cross word or 
 look, and never refused, in fact or appearance, to 
 do anything I requested him. . . . He was a 
 dutiful son to me always. I think he loved me 
 truly. ... I must say that Abe was the best 
 boy I ever saw, or expect to see." 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 At Work in New Salem 
 
 A FRONTIER settlement with never more than 
 fifteen log houses and about one hundred in- 
 habitants — such was New Salem, the starting 
 place of Lincoln's career. It was founded in 
 1829 by James Rutledge and John Cameron, who 
 set up a mill on the Sangamon River. The hamlet 
 eked out an existence of a dozen years, then quietly 
 died. When Abe arrived that July day. New 
 Salem boasted a gristmill, a sawmill, two stores 
 and a tavern. Why Denton Offutt chose this 
 town in which to open still another store will 
 ever remain a mystery. 
 
 Upon his arrival Abe discovered that he was 
 ahead of the stock his employer was to ship there, 
 so the friendly young fellow filled in his time 
 getting acquainted. Election Day falling before 
 the Offutt goods appeared, the clerk of the polls, 
 Mentor Graham, offered the entertaining stranger 
 a job as his assistant. 
 
 "Can you write?'' asked Graham. 
 
 44 
 
AT WORK IN NEW SALEM 45 
 
 *' Yes, I can make a few rabbit tracks," replied Abe. 
 
 Engaged, the newcomer proved himself both a 
 clear-handed scribe and a most diverting com- 
 panion. His humorous anecdotes seemed inex- , 
 haustible. Abe made a decided hit with the 
 natives. Mentor Graham, who was also the 
 village schoolmaster, .noted the intelligence of his 
 assistant. 
 
 Offutt^s stock of merchandise arrived in ox 
 carts, and in a little log house on top of the hill 
 overhanging the river the store was made ready for 
 the public. But trade was anything but brisk. 
 To offset this drawback, the irrepressible Offutt 
 added a mill to his burden, engaged another helper, 
 a chap named William Greene, and awaited a change 
 in his fortunes. 
 
 Talk, however, continued to be the principal 
 transaction. Men gathered in the new store to 
 discuss crops, politics, and the future greatness 
 of New Salem with the popular clerk, Abe Link- 
 horn (the name was often pronounced 'Xinkhern" 
 and ''Linkhorn"), who was always willing to 
 enter an argument. Offutt himself was bursting 
 with opinions and importance, and one of his 
 chief topics of conversation was his clever clerk. 
 Offutt declared that Abe Lincoln was the strongest, 
 smartest young fellow in the whole country; that 
 
46 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 he could outrun, outjump and "wrassle" any- 
 body. Furthermore, Offutt said he was willing to 
 match his clerk against all comers, either in brains 
 or in brawn. This wholesale bragging brought its 
 reward. 
 
 A few miles off there was a settlement known as 
 Clary's Grove, its population composed of rough 
 and rowdy fellows whose principal mission in life 
 was to terrorize the law-abiding citizens. Period- 
 ically, these gangsters would descend upon New 
 Salem and ''clean it out." Liquor and brawling 
 were the delight of their Hves, and invariably a 
 stranger in town had to undergo a hazing at their 
 hands, one of their favorite tricks being that of 
 putting a victim in a barrel and rolKng it downhill. 
 But these frontier bullies were not without some 
 saving grace, we believe, for we are told they 
 worked hard at times and often lent their rude aid 
 to the unfortunate or unprotected. 
 
 Before the members of this ring it was Offutt's 
 foolish pleasure to boast of Abe's extraordinary 
 powers. In honor bound, the Clary Grove Boys 
 felt it their duty to test these claims. Shortly 
 there came a challenge to a wrestling match, the 
 Clary crowd swearing their leader. Jack Armstrong, 
 the better man of the two. Armstrong was held 
 to be a "powerful twister." 
 
AT WORK IN NEW SALEM 47 
 
 Naturally, Abe disliked all this bluster of which 
 he was made the center, and objected to the 
 ^'wooHng and pulling" which was being thrust 
 upon him. Circumstances, however, forced him to 
 accept the challenge, and the community turned 
 out to enjoy the tussle. 
 
 The "wrasslers" met in a clearing near the 
 Offutt store. Laying hold of each other, it was 
 soon evident that the pride of Clary's Grove had 
 a worthy opponent in the tall, thin grocery clerk 
 whose long arms were like flails. Armstrong, fear- 
 ing for his reputation, tried a foul tactic, which so 
 maddened Lincoln that he took the bully by the 
 throat and shook him like a rag. Thereupon 
 the Clary Grove Boys rushed to their champion's 
 rescue. It looked bad for Abe in that rough and 
 tumble fight, but his pluck against such odds won 
 out for him. Doubtless ashamed of himself and 
 full of admiration for his antagonist, Armstrong 
 controlled the mob and offered to shake hands with 
 Lincoln. With a friendly grip, Armstrong said that 
 Abe was ''the best fellow who ever broke into the 
 camp." 
 
 Thus was Lincoln initiated as a worthy citizen. 
 The Clary Grove Boys accepted him as one of them 
 and supported him through thick and thin. They 
 made him their umpire in cockfights and horse 
 
48 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 races, and in their personal disputes his word was 
 finaL With Jack Armstrong Abe became most 
 friendly, visiting the family as a privileged inti- 
 mate, and, years later, he was the powerful lawyer 
 that saved Jack's son from the gallows ! 
 
 Other braggarts besides the Clary Grove gang 
 were made to realize the unsuspected steel in the 
 angular frame of Abe Lincoln. While tending store 
 it became his painful duty more than once to ad- 
 minister a lesson to some lout who thought he 
 could say and do as he pleased on the Offutt 
 premises. On one occasion a loiterer used profane 
 language in the presence of women customers. 
 Quietly, Abe asked the offender to stop, but no 
 heed was given the request except to add personal 
 abuse to the affront. 
 
 ^' Well," sighed Lincoln, '4f you must be whipped, 
 I suppose I might as well whip you as any other 
 man!" 
 
 Acting on his words, he flung the undesirable 
 citizen outdoors and, throwing him to earth, rubbed 
 smart-weed into his face until the culprit howled 
 for mercy. It was characteristic, too, that follow- 
 ing the punishment, Abe should minister to the 
 man's hurts. 
 
 New Salem was not slow to appreciate this sense 
 of decency and fairness in the store clerk. For 
 
AT WORK IN NEW SALEM 49 
 
 his square dealing he began to be known among the 
 people as "Honest Abe.'' Two of his deeds of 
 honesty have been frequently related. On one oc- 
 casion he walked miles to restore six and a quarter 
 cents to a customer that he had unwittingly over- 
 charged. Again, he carried to a woman a few 
 ounces of tea that he had failed to include in her 
 package because of a misplaced weight in the 
 scales. 
 
 Tasks at the store and the mill were not enough 
 to keep him busy, and so Lincoln looked around for 
 means of improving his time. To master his 
 mother tongue was one of his ambitions, and learn- 
 ing from Mentor Graham, who had become a 
 helpful friend, that there was a copy of '^Kirkham's 
 Grammar" to be had for the asking, Abe straight- 
 way walked far to borrow it from the owner. The 
 book absorbed him. Greene, his fellow-employee, 
 was often requested to hold the grammar and hear 
 him recite his lesson. If any difficulty arose, Abe 
 would consult Schoolmaster Graham for explana- 
 tion. Such diligent application brought him speedy 
 success. Abe said that he was astonished to find 
 English grammar so simple. Turning to Greene, 
 he exclaimed, — 
 
 "Well, if that's what they call a science, I think 
 I'll go another!" 
 
 E 
 
So ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Offutt's store did not succeed. Eight months 
 had passed without encouragement. Things looked 
 on the verge of bankruptcy. FeeHng the shadow of 
 the sheriff upon them, Abe made up his mind to 
 get from under. He would put his popularity to 
 the test by becoming a candidate for the General 
 Assembly of the State! In March, 1832, there- 
 fore, he announced himself as such, and had hand- 
 bills printed setting forth his poHtical principles. 
 This circular showed Abe to be an ardent Whig, 
 under the banner of the great Henry Clay, and in 
 glowing language the handbill advocated all kinds 
 of internal improvements, such as new roads and 
 canals, particularly urging the clearance of the 
 Sangamon so that it might be open to trading 
 vessels. 
 
 He could have chosen no better topic than the 
 Sangamon to win public support, for the whole 
 country was agitated over the prospect of bringing 
 ships of commerce to the river towns. It spelled 
 prosperity. 
 
 Weeks before Abe's handbills had been scattered 
 about, there had come word that a certain Cap- 
 tain Bogue had pledged himself to charter the 
 steamship Talisman for the express purpose of 
 bringing her down the Sangamon, to prove the 
 river navigable. When the weather permitted, 
 
AT WORK IN NEW SALEM 51 
 
 the Talisman made the memorable trip from 
 Cincinnati to New Salem. At Beards town a 
 number of men, including Lincoln, met the vessel, 
 long poles in their hands to hold back the branches 
 of trees obstructing passage, while the Talisman 
 puffed proudly to the end of her journey. The 
 steamship was tied up for a week, during which 
 time speeches were made, parades took place, 
 and loud huzzas rang to heaven. A new and glo- 
 rious era was anticipated. Village poets wrote 
 odes to the event. 
 
 Alas, the sequel was not according to promise. 
 The return voyage of the Talisman was not a 
 triumph. On account of the rapid fall of the river, 
 the steamship had to crawl along at the rate of 
 four miles a day. Reaching the fateful Rutledge 
 dam, the vessel stuck and hung there all night. By 
 dint of mighty effort they freed themselves in the 
 morning. Neither Captain Bogue nor any other 
 man was ever tempted to repeat the stunt on the 
 Sangamon. 
 
 Abe Lincoln, however, profited by the steamship 
 trial. On the return trip to Beardstown he was 
 engaged as pilot, and received forty dollars for his 
 services. Also, he had the satisfaction of trying 
 to prove the Sangamon River navigable in prac- 
 tice as well as theory. 
 
52 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 These milldam experiences of Abe's were to 
 bear singular fruit in the years to come, when he 
 tried to invent and patent a vessel equipped with a 
 clumsy contrivance designed to float it over shoal 
 places. His whittled model of the ship may be 
 seen in Washington to-day — a prize curio ! 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Lincoln as a Soldier 
 
 Election was held in August, and Abe had in- 
 tended to do his speech-making throughout the 
 county of Sangamon in the months he would be 
 idle, now that the Offutt establishment had failed. 
 But Governor Reynolds of Illinois issued a call 
 for volunteers to help fight old Black Hawk, the 
 chief of the Sac Indians, who was again defying the 
 authorities of the United States. Black Hawk had 
 caused much terror and bloodshed in his day, and 
 only a year before had "touched the goose quill" 
 to a treaty of peace with the government. He had 
 promised to keep to territory west of the Mis- 
 sissippi. On April 6, 1832, however, he crossed 
 that river with some five hundred braves and 
 marched up the valley of the Rock River to the 
 ancient abiding place of his tribe. Ostensibly, 
 he only wanted ''to plant corn" in the land where 
 the Sacs had sown their crops from ancient days; 
 but the settlers of northwestern Illinois were panic- 
 stricken. 
 
 53 
 
54 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 A courier rode into New Salem bearing the appeal 
 of the governor, which stated that those who wished 
 to enlist against the Indians must be at Beards- 
 town not later than the 2 2d day of April. Among 
 the first to offer themselves as soldiers was Abe 
 Lincoln, who saw in the opportunity a chance for 
 experience. In due time the New Salem contin- 
 gent set off for Beardstown, forty miles away. 
 Before arriving there, the men of Sangamon deter- 
 mined to choose their captain. Though Lincoln 
 was a candidate for the honor, he was surprised to 
 have the majority of the men rally around him and 
 elect him their leader. Nothing, he declared in after 
 years, had ever given him so much satisfaction. 
 
 Under their new captain the company entered 
 Beardstown and was made part of the Fourth 
 Illinois Regiment which, on the 27 th of April, 
 moved on to Yellow Banks, thence to the mouth 
 of the Rock River, and thence to the town of 
 Dixon — altogether a hike of some ninety miles. 
 At Dixon they pitched camp on May 12, all of 
 them tired, hungry, and disgruntled. No Indians 
 had been seen to enhven the long tramp, a real 
 engagement seemed as far off as ever, and, in 
 short, there was no fun in it. 
 
 Captain Lincoln's men, however, had managed 
 to find amusement. During hours of leisure they 
 
LINCOLN AS A SOLDIER 55 
 
 indulged their fondness for athletics — running, 
 jumping, and wrestling. Lincoln himself had a 
 tussle with a recruit named Thompson, and was 
 thrown twice, much to the indignation of his 
 loyal followers, who claimed that Thompson had 
 employed unfair means to gain the victory. But 
 Lincoln said such accusations were false, that he 
 had been thrown fairly. This settled the disputes, 
 and, if anything, increased the admiration of the 
 men for their captain, though upon one occasion 
 their lawless behavior resulted in their captain 
 being compelled to wear a wooden sword for two 
 days ; he was punished for their sins. 
 
 Like other soldiers in the ranks, Lincoln's men, 
 when passing through an abandoned settlement, 
 foraged. At times the commissary department 
 failed to appease their appetites. Chicken houses 
 were sometimes raided when the owners had left 
 all behind in their hurry to flee from redskins. 
 A side of bacon dangling from a ceiUng was sweet 
 reward for their hardship. There is a legend that 
 once the famished crew were forced to satisfy their 
 stomachs on a gallon of soup made from one 
 lonely dove, a chance shot ! 
 
 One of the most amusing incidents of their march 
 Lincoln was fond of relating. It was a joke on 
 him. His company was swinging along, twenty 
 
56 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 abreast, when they one day encountered a fence 
 that had only a narrow opening for passage. 
 Immediately the captain realized his quandary — 
 he did not know the proper miUtary order that 
 would bring his company endwise, so it might 
 march in unbroken Hne through the gate. Cap- 
 tain Lincoln thought rapidly, then sang out, — 
 
 ''Halt! This company will break ranks for 
 two minutes and form again on the other side of 
 the gate!" 
 
 We have but one serious, almost tragic, episode 
 to record of Lincoln's captaincy. Into the camp 
 wandered an old Indian, and although he bore a 
 letter from General Cass proving him a neutral, 
 the men of the company were all for killing him. 
 Fortunately, Captain Lincoln was close at hand to 
 reason with the angry, thoughtless fellows. Even 
 then, some of them persisted in their dastardly 
 design. In overpowering rage, Lincoln swore 
 that if they carried out their purpose it would be 
 after they had killed him. His men had never 
 before seen their genial leader angry, and they 
 knew, furthermore, that he meant every word he 
 said. Sullenly they gave way to his authority. 
 
 Many of the first volunteers were heartily sick 
 of the fruitless chase after Black Hawk, and, by 
 the end of May, were mustered out. Among them 
 
LINCOLN AS A SOLDIER 57 
 
 were a number of Lincoln's company which, in 
 consequence, was disbanded. Lincoki reenlisted 
 as a private under Captain Elijah lies, in the 
 "Independent Spy Battalion," a unique body of 
 men privileged to ''draw rations as often as they 
 pleased." It is of historic interest to note that 
 Lieutenant Robert Anderson mustered in Lincoln 
 on this occasion ; almost thirty years later Anderson 
 was to be in command of Fort Sumter when fired 
 upon, awaiting the word of Lincoln which should 
 decide the fate of the nation. 
 ; For about six weeks Captain lies and his bat- 
 talion were variously engaged in hunting down the 
 wily enemy, but all they found were trails and 
 traces of the Indians and frightened women and 
 children. The middle of June saw the Independ- 
 ent Spy Battalion back in Dixon and mustered 
 out. Again, on June 20, Lincoln was mustered 
 in, this time as member of a company under 
 Captain Jacob M. Early. 
 
 Black Hawk was now at his worst. Early's 
 company, with a brigade, was sent northwest in 
 pursuit of the ravaging redmen. On this expedi- 
 tion Lincoln came nearest to real conflict, his 
 company arriving at a place immediately after 
 the massacre of a handful of settlers. An actual 
 fray he did not experience, but he saw hard service. 
 
58 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Rejoining the main army after their scouting, 
 Lincoln with his companions-at-arms had arduous 
 reconnoitering to perform, through swamps and 
 thick forests, in what was then known as Michigan 
 Territory. Exhausted, out of provisions, the men 
 of Early's command were disbanded on July lo, 
 three weeks before the Battle of Bad Axe, which 
 ended the sorry ''war" with almost complete 
 annihilation of the foolish Sacs. 
 
 Out of the ranks, Lincoln found himself in the 
 town of Whitewater, Michigan Territory, more 
 than two hundred miles from home. The horse 
 that he had acquired as a member of the Spy 
 Battalion was stolen the night before the start 
 was made for New Salem. From Whitewater to 
 Peoria was a long trek, but he and another unlucky 
 messmate began the journey afoot. Now and 
 then they were given a lift. At Peoria, Abe and 
 his friend bought a canoe, paddled to a town 
 called Havana, and thence walked home. 
 
 Lincoln arrived at New Salem about ten days 
 before election, in August. He plunged into the 
 political campaign with zest. Little as was the 
 time left him, he made the most of it, and from 
 box-top and wagon-end delivered speeches to the 
 men of Sangamon County, declaring himself a 
 stanch Whig. This required courage in the face 
 
LINCOLN AS A SOLDIER 59 
 
 of the fact that the region was thoroughly Demo- 
 cratic. 
 
 At a village named Pappsville there started a 
 free-for-all fight in the midst of a speech. From 
 his platform Lincoln noted that one of his sup- 
 porters was being badly pommeled, so he promptly 
 jumped down into the fracas. One who witnessed 
 Abe^s headway in the melee vowed that he threw 
 an enemy fully ten, and perhaps fifteen, feet away. 
 Having displayed his muscle to the chagrin of his 
 foe, Abe again mounted the speaker's stand and 
 wound up his address in the following picturesque 
 fashion : — 
 
 ^'Fellow-citizens: I presume you all know who 
 I am. I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have 
 been solicited by my many friends to become a 
 candidate for the legislature. My politics are 
 short and sweet, like the old woman's dance. I 
 am in favor of the internal improvement system 
 and a high protective tariff. These are my senti- 
 ments and political principles. If elected, I shall 
 be thankful; if not, it will be all the same." 
 
 August 6 was Election Day. Lincoln was de- 
 feated for office — the only time in his career he 
 suffered defeat on a direct vote of the people. 
 There was consolation, however, in knowing that 
 out of eight unsuccessful candidates, five received 
 
6o ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 fewer votes than himself. As for his own precinct, 
 he made a clean sweep, all but seven out of two 
 hundred and eighty-four votes being cast for him ; 
 and this was no mean triumph for a comparative 
 stranger in a Democratic community. 
 
 Political defeat left him pretty well stranded. 
 What would he do for a Hving? Some one sug- 
 gested that he become a blacksmith, and he 
 seriously debated the idea with himself. But? his 
 mind turned instinctively to occupation in a store, 
 and there were no less than four of them in New 
 Salem; but, alas, they needed customers more 
 than clerks. 
 
 Extraordinary as it may seem, in the face of his 
 problems and his poverty, Lincoln resolved to 
 buy a store as the way out of his troubles! 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Storekeeper and Surveyor 
 
 Two brothers by the name of Herndon kept one 
 of the '' general stores " in New Salem. One sold 
 out his interest to a fellow-townsman, William 
 Berry, and the other brother followed his example, 
 making over his share of the business to Abe Lin- 
 coln. Not a cent of real money was needed in 
 the deal, a promissory note being all that was re- 
 quired. And in the same manner the new firm of 
 Lincoln & Berry acquired the stock and good 
 will of two other New Salem storekeepers. Busi- 
 ness methods were extremely free and easy in 
 those days. 
 
 Even the feat of combining the three stores into 
 one did not bring prosperity to the young mer- 
 chants. Trade was dull. Lincoln, as might be ex- 
 pected, gave himself up to the joys of reading and 
 study. Stray customers would find him, book in 
 hand, stretched out beneath a tree, moving his 
 body around with the shifting of the shade ; some- 
 times his long legs were up the trunk of the tree. 
 
 6i 
 
62 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Or, he would be discovered sprawled on the store 
 counter, absorbed in a volume. Less intellectual 
 and ambitious, Berry, the senior partner, devoted 
 his time to drinking their wet goods, always an 
 important item of the grocer's stock in the pioneer 
 period. The best thing that the store brought 
 Lincoln came in an old barrel, and he related the 
 incident as follows : — 
 
 "One day a man who was migrating to the West 
 drove up in front of my store with a wagon which 
 contained his family and household plunder. He 
 asked me if I would buy an old barrel for which 
 he had no room in his wagon, and which he said 
 contained nothing of special value. I did not 
 want it, but to oblige him I bought it, and paid 
 him, I think, half a dollar for it. Without further 
 examination I put it away in the store, and forgot 
 all about it. Some time after, in overhauling 
 things, I came upon the barrel, and emptying it 
 upon the floor to see what it contained, I found 
 a,t the bottom of the rubbish a complete edition 
 of Blackstone's ' Commentaries.' I began to read 
 those famous works, and I had plenty of time ; for 
 during the long summer days, when the farmers 
 were busy with their crops, my customers were 
 few and far between. The more I read the more 
 intensely interested I became. Never in my 
 
STOREKEEPER AND SURVEYOR 63 
 
 whole life was my mind so thoroughly absorbed. 
 I read until I devoured them." 
 
 These law classics were Hterally his constant com- 
 panions, and even in company he had one of them 
 ready for a few minutes' communion in case the 
 talk grew tiresome. At odd intervals Abe would 
 leave the store to work for some one needing help. 
 It is told that upon one of these occasions the 
 farmer who had employed him found Abe sitting 
 on top of a woodpile with his nose buried in a book. 
 
 ''What's that you're readin'?" asked the as- 
 tounded man. 
 
 ''I'm not reading," Abe replied, "I'm study- 
 ing." 
 
 "Studyin' what?" persisted the farmer, still 
 more amazed. 
 
 "Law, sir," came the cool rejoinder. 
 
 The farmer expressed his astonishment in strong 
 language, and it may be inferred that he soon 
 sought a less studious helper ! 
 
 It was in these days, too, that Lincoln first came 
 to know aught of the bard Shakespeare, and the 
 Scotch poet, Burns. A town " character," Jack 
 Kelso, was given to declaiming passages from these 
 authors, as he performed sundry jobs or fished in 
 the Sangamon. Abe grew fond of Hstening to 
 Kelso, and frequented his society. 
 
64 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 On May 7, 1833, Abe Lincoln was appointed 
 postmaster of New Salem, an office too insignifi- 
 cant for any Democratic jealousy. Abe entered 
 upon his duties with zest, for among his privileges 
 was that of opening and reading all newspapers 
 passing through the mail. To him, this alone was 
 sufficient payment. Letters were few, the postal 
 rates being beyond the ordinary purse, and the 
 delivery of mail being slow and uncertain. It has 
 been said that Lincoln kept the New Salem post 
 office in his hat; he used to carry letters about 
 in that fashion, at any rate, and meeting an ac- 
 quaintance would often doff his hat and hand over 
 mail. Indeed, keeping things in his hat became, 
 in time, a habit pecuUar to Abe, and later on in 
 life he stowed memoranda in this unusual recep- 
 tacle, to the despair of his associates. 
 
 In connection with his office of postmaster, a 
 story is related that illustrates the almost fanatic 
 honesty of his nature. Years after he had given 
 up the office, an agent of the Federal government 
 called on him for an accounting of some seventeen 
 dollars that had never been turned in. At this 
 request, Abe rose from his chair, went over to a 
 little trunk, and poking around in it at last lifted 
 out what looked like an old blue sock. It con- 
 tained the government money to a penny. With 
 
STOREKEEPER AND SURVEYOR 65 
 
 a whimsical smile he handed it over, and said to 
 the puzzled official, — 
 
 ''I never use any man's money but my own." 
 
 He had kept the money untouched through years 
 of scrimping and penury. 
 
 During the summer of 1833 ^^^ Lincoln-Berry 
 estabhshment slumped more and more, and Abe 
 let it be known that he was wilHng to take any 
 sort of work within his ability. Now, at last, 
 Dame Fortune seemed to smile by sending an 
 opportunity his way, in which he might assist the 
 county surveyor, John Calhoun, who was fairly 
 swamped by orders and petitions to lay out towns, 
 map roads, and plot farms. 
 
 Everybody was speculating in land. A boom 
 was in full swing. Calhoun needed a helper the 
 worst way. Hearing of the talents of Lincoln, he 
 decided that the merchant-postmaster was just 
 the sort of man he wanted, provided he could 
 master the requisite knowledge for surveying. 
 Through a friend. Pollard Simmons, he sent word 
 to Lincoln. It was late autumn. Simmons found 
 Abe in the woods sphtting rails, one of his most 
 familiar tasks. The glad prospect was laid before 
 Abe, but he had some suspicion of the offer inas- 
 much as Calhoun was a dyed-in-the-wool Demo- 
 crat, while Lincoln himself was just as ardent a 
 
66 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Whig. Not until he was convinced that all was 
 aboveboard — that he would not have to change 
 his political faith — did Abe agree to entertain 
 the proposition. 
 
 That he knew nothing at all of surveying failed 
 to daunt him. Calhoun told him the principal 
 things he ought to study and lent him a book that 
 would give him the necessary rudiments of the 
 science. Day and night Abe applied himself, 
 and in moments of perplexity sought his old friend, 
 Schoolmaster Graham, to unravel a knotty prob- 
 lem. So intense and unremitting was his con- 
 centration that friends began to comment upon his 
 haggard appearance. His health was failing, they 
 thought. However, in six weeks he had mastered 
 the subject sufficiently to report for work, to the 
 astonishment of Calhoun. He was sent to the 
 northwest section of the county, extant records 
 showing him to have been busy there in January, 
 1834. Tradition has it that at first, being too poor 
 to buy a surveyor's chain, he used a long, 
 straightened grapevine with which to measure 
 distances. Whether with grapevine or regular 
 chain, Lincoln's surveys were famed for their 
 accuracy. His salary was three dollars a day. 
 
 Even with this success he could not get very 
 much ahead financially, the store acting as a 
 
STOREKEEPER AND SURVEYOR 67 
 
 millstone around his neck. Left to the mercy of 
 Berry, the grocery- tavern went from bad to worse. 
 Early in 1834 two brothers, Alexander and Wil- 
 Ham Trent, offered to take over the store. A dicker 
 was made. As was usual, the Trents gave prom- 
 issory notes. But even by so shadowy a contract, 
 Lincoln and Berry were vastly relieved. 
 
 Their relief was short-lived. When the business 
 continued to lag and creditors grew impatient, the 
 Trent brothers promptly disappeared, jumped 
 the county, leaving Lincoln and Berry to face the 
 music ! To make matters worse. Berry reached 
 the end of his dissipations by suddenly dying. On 
 Abe fell the full weight of debt, and he shouldered 
 the burden without even a whimper. It was a 
 common practice in those days to *' clear out'' 
 before such a fate overtook you. Denton Offutt 
 had done so, the Trents did Kkewise. But Abe's 
 code of honor was different from theirs, and he 
 assumed all responsibihties. 
 
 ''That debt," he subsequently confessed, ''was 
 the greatest obstacle I have ever met in my Hfe; 
 I had no way of speculating, and could not earn 
 money except by labor, and to earn by labor eleven 
 hundred dollars, besides my living, seemed the 
 work of a Ufetime. There was, however, but one 
 way. I went to the creditors, and told them that 
 
68 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 if they would let me alone, I would give them all 
 I could earn over my living, as fast as I could 
 earn it." 
 
 Clearing himself proved a difficult and slow pro- 
 cess, and for fifteen years he was paying what he 
 quaintly called ^Hhe national debt." And there 
 was only one instance of an impatient creditor. 
 This was a man who sued him, and Lincoln's 
 horse, saddle, and bridle, together with his sur- 
 veying instruments, were seized and sold. Always 
 rich in friends, one of them now came forward, 
 bought the surveyor's trappings, and returned them 
 to him. Pleasant to record, some thirty years later, 
 when President, Lincoln remembered this kindness 
 of his benefactor, then in hard straits, by appoint- 
 ing him an Indian agent, thereby saving him from 
 the poorhouse. 
 
 Through all his cares and struggles, Abe made 
 and kept friends. He was magnetic, sympathetic, 
 and alert to help any one in distress. As post- 
 master, he shared the joys and woes of the various 
 families he served. As a surveyor, traveling to 
 distant points, he brought news and cheer to lonely 
 Hves. If a widow needed a strong arm to chop 
 wood, or a Uttle help with her harvest, it was Abe 
 Lincoln who offered himself. If a browbeaten 
 fellow needed a champion, Lincoln stood ready. If 
 
STOREKEEPER AND SURVEYOR 69 
 
 the inn at which he stopped was overcrowded, 
 Abe gave up his bed and went to sleep on the 
 counter of his store, his pillow a web of calico. 
 Indeed, he was known to rock a cradle for a harassed 
 housewife while she prepared supper. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 A Heavy Blow 
 
 After his store had "winked out/' to use his 
 own expression, Abe felt freer to pursue his sur- 
 veying, his post-ofiice duties, and his reading of 
 Blackstone. Most important, though, was his 
 determination to run for the legislature in the 
 forthcoming election of August, 1834. Spring 
 and summer were spent in canvassing. The usual 
 speeches were demanded as a matter of course, 
 but the campaign was more of a hand-shaking 
 ceremony than anything else. Supporters were 
 often gained by physical exhibition. Men ad- 
 mired a candidate with muscle and nerve. So it 
 became Lincoln's task to lift weights, wrestle and 
 throw some husky backwoodsman, or to show the 
 farmers how much grain he could cut at a stroke. 
 Once, to please a crowd, he Ufted, by means of a 
 harness fitted to his body, a box of stones weighing 
 a thousand pounds or more. 
 
 Suffice it to say, Lincoln was elected to the legis- 
 lature. The four successful candidates were: 
 
 70 
 
A HEAVY BLOW 7 1 
 
 Dawson (1390 votes) ; Lincoln (1376 votes) ; 
 Carpenter (11 70 votes); and Stuart (1164 votes). 
 The last mentioned was Major John T. Stuart, a 
 brilliant, rising young lawyer of Springfield, with 
 whom Lincoln had become friendly during the 
 days in the Spy Battalion, when both hunted the 
 elusive Black Hawk. Major Stuart had en- 
 couraged Lincoln to enter the race for the legis- 
 lature, and, furthermore, urged him to apply all 
 his energies to the study of law, and lent him books 
 to that end. Several New Salemites have left us 
 their recollections of the tall student plodding back 
 and forth between their town and Springfield, a 
 distance of twenty miles, the books he had borrowed 
 from Major Stuart open in his hands, his lips 
 muttering passages he wished to retain. 
 
 Soon the ungainly plodder was able to accommo- 
 date the natives when they desired deeds, contracts, 
 or other legal papers drawn. Now and then he 
 was called upon to act as a kind of amateur advo- 
 cate for some litigant before the village squire, 
 a certain Mr. BowHng Green, a man who highly 
 esteemed the young law aspirant. 
 
 On December i, 1834, the session of the legis- 
 lature was called, and Lincoln was due at the capi- 
 tal of the state, a town called Vandalia. Despite 
 his surveying jobs and the post office pittance, 
 
72 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Abe discovered to his dismay that he had no 
 money to clothe himself suitably. Another debt 
 was contracted. He borrowed two hundred dollars 
 from Coleman Smoot, an admiring friend, which 
 sum was duly paid back. Vandalia was about 
 seventy-five miles southeast of New Salem, and 
 clad in fine raiment and new dignity, Lincoln set 
 out to assume a r61e in government. Part of 
 the way he rode, most of it he walked. 
 
 The capital had a population of eight hundred 
 souls, a far larger center than Lincoln had ever 
 lived in. There was a brick courthouse, three 
 taverns, a land office, and two newspapers. Among 
 the inhabitants were lawyers, physicians, and a 
 number of eminent Illinois politicians. The court- 
 house had square pillars and a belfry. Its furnish- 
 ings were plain wooden desks and benches. The 
 men who met there to make laws were for the most 
 part plain in dress and speech. Jean suits, one of 
 which Lincoln wore, were in the majority. Three 
 dollars a day was the salary paid the representa- 
 tives. 
 
 During this first winter of legislative life, little 
 was done by Lincoln save to get acquainted with 
 his associates. Among them was one destined to 
 play a big part in the career of Abraham Lincoln ; 
 this was Stephen A. Douglas, a youth four years 
 
A HEAVY BLOW 73 
 
 the junior of Lincoln, who had left his native state 
 of Vermont to seek his fortune in the growing 
 West. When Lincoln met him, Douglas was a 
 Democratic candidate for the office of State Attor- 
 ney for the first judicial district of Illinois. He was 
 short and slim, which led Lincoln to declare that 
 Douglas was ''the least man" he ever saw. 
 
 This Ninth Assembly undertook vast projects ; it 
 chartered a new State Bank, revived another, and 
 voted to authorize a loan of half a million dollars 
 to complete the IlHnois and Michigan Canal, which 
 had been begun. The state was booming, every- 
 body said, therefore her credit was good enough 
 to warrant such expense. Eastern capital was 
 counted on. With his fellow-legislators, Lincoln 
 favored these extravagant measures, and IlHnois 
 entered a period of financial juggling that was 
 almost to ruin it. 
 
 In the early spring of 1835 our New Salem states- 
 man returned home to resume his surveying, his 
 study of law, and the post-oflSice duties. But upper- 
 most in his mind was quite another matter. He had 
 fallen in love with sweet Ann Rutledge, a New 
 Salem belle, and intended asking her to be his wife. 
 Between his surveying commissions and his pros- 
 pects in politics and law, Lincoln felt that he was in 
 a position to ask the girl of his heart to share his lot. 
 
74 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 The Rutledges were of the South Carolina family 
 and had a proud ancestry. James Rutledge, the 
 father of Ann, was a founder of New Salem ; also, 
 he kept the tavern at which Lincoln for a time 
 lived. There Ann and Abe had been thrown much 
 in each other's company, and evidently the young 
 man interested the girl in the study of EngKsh, 
 for on the flyleaf of Kirkham's Grammar, in 
 Lincohi's handwriting, is inscribed, "Ann M. 
 Rutledge is now studying grammar." 
 
 But when Lincoln became acquainted with Ann 
 she was engaged to another, one calling himself 
 John McNeill, from New York. He was a success- 
 ful merchant and owned a farm in the region. He 
 had wanted to marry Ann when she was only 
 seventeen, but her parents persuaded the young 
 people to wait. At this stage of affairs McNeill 
 grew restless. In confidence he told Ann that he 
 was going back east for his mother and father and 
 would return. Then he told her a great secret — 
 he had been hving under an assumed name, for 
 he was really John McNamar. When he had left 
 New Salem, Ann brooded over his revelations, and 
 when his letters became less frequent and finally 
 stopped altogether, she doubted her absent lover. 
 Learning the circumstances, her mother and 
 father and friends denounced McNamar. 
 
A HEAVY BLOW 75 
 
 Lincoln's heart went out to Ann in her grief. 
 Being held free of any vow to the runaway 
 McNamar, Abe told the girl of his own love, but 
 she was silent, still thinking that the absent lover 
 might be loyal. At length she yielded so far as 
 to promise a decision when Abe should come back 
 from Vandalia. 
 
 McNamar had been away a whole year now. 
 Upon his return to New Salem from the capital 
 Abe sought Ann and renewed his suit. She 
 consented to become his wife in the following 
 spring. Meanwhile, she would attend an academy 
 to make herself fit to be the wife of a lawmaker, 
 and Lincoln would fit himself for admission to the 
 Illinois bar. 
 
 Whether from secret grief and worry over the 
 vanished McNamar or because of her delicate 
 constitution, Ann faded day by day like a plucked 
 flower, and died on August 25, 1835. Her death 
 had a terrible effect on the mind of Lincoln. That 
 singular streak of melancholy in his nature 
 threatened to upset his reason. He avoided his 
 friends for the most part and preferred the com- 
 panionship of the river and woods. Finally, the 
 good old squire, Bowling Green, fearing that his 
 favorite would go crazy, induced Abe to leave the 
 tragic scene and spend a few weeks at his home 
 
76 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 outside of New Salem. Here Abe regained his 
 wonted composure, though many of his friends 
 declared that the death of Ann Rutledge left an 
 indelible stamp of sadness on his face and in his 
 heart. And according to tradition, it was from 
 this event that sprang Lincoln's extraordinary 
 fondness for melancholy poetry, especially the 
 verses, "Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be 
 proud ! " to which his preference has given endur- 
 ing fame. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 Lincoln as Legislator 
 
 Back to Vandalia Lincoln went in December to 
 attend an extra session of the legislature which 
 was called to consider increase of members. 
 Growth of population in IlKnois was held to war- 
 rant the addition of fifty members. After this 
 question and the all-absorbing one of internal im- 
 provements, the rise of the convention system was 
 bitterly argued. Hitherto, a candidate had simply 
 to announce himself for whatever office he fancied 
 and conduct his campaign independently. Now, 
 however, the Democrats were introducing the 
 party ^'machine " ; that is, the organization choos- 
 ing its candidates and uniting upon them. The 
 Whigs denounced the convention system as a 
 Yankee ''contraption" directed against the liber- 
 ties of the people. But eventually the Whigs 
 came to accept the new order. 
 
 Following the old method, Lincoln, in June, 1836, 
 announced himself as a candidate for the Tenth 
 Assembly, his "platform" being presented in a 
 
 77 
 
78 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 letter to the Sangamon Journal. Part of his dec- 
 laration was as follows : — 
 
 "I go for all sharing the privileges of the govern- 
 ment who assist in bearing its burdens. Conse- 
 quently, I go for admitting all whites to the right 
 of suffrage who pay taxes or bear arms (by no 
 means excluding females). 
 
 *'If elected, I shall consider the whole people of 
 Sangamon my constituents, as well those that op- 
 pose as those that support me." 
 
 Personal abuse and unusual excitement flavored 
 the campaign of 1836. Sangamon County had been 
 allotted nine members — seven representatives 
 and two senators — in the reapportionment of the 
 General Assembly of the previous December ; and 
 the fever of the political race appeared to increase 
 in proportion. One of Lincoln's first acts in his 
 canvass was to refute a newspaper attack, made 
 by a rival who insinuated that if the truth were 
 known about Lincoln, no decent citizen would vote 
 for him. Abe wrote a pubhc letter to his slanderer, 
 imploring him to reveal the blasting truth. The 
 letter never was answered. 
 
 Not always were attacks made under cover. 
 Face to face on the platform, candidates frequently 
 belabored each other with words and even blows. 
 One day Lincoln had made an effective speech to an 
 
LINCOLN AS LEGISLATOR 79 
 
 enthusiastic crowd. In the audience, however, was 
 a man named George Forquer who, having a repu- 
 tation for sarcastic eloquence, took it upon him- 
 self to put the ''smart" young fellow in his proper 
 place. Forquer, it may be said, was a renegade 
 Whig, and had gone over to the opposite camp 
 because it gave him the lucrative position of Regis- 
 ter of the Land Office. Incidentally, Forquer had 
 put on his house the only lightning rod in the 
 county. After this gentleman had taken the plat- 
 form and done Lincoln to a turn, as he thought, 
 Abe again faced the audience and made Forquer 
 a laughingstock, crowning his reply with these 
 words : — 
 
 ''The gentleman commenced his speech by say- 
 ing that this young man [Lincoln] would have to 
 be taken down, and he was sorry the task devolved 
 upon him. I am not so young in years as I am in 
 the tricks and trade of a politician ; but live long 
 or die young, I would rather die now than, like the 
 gentleman, change my politics and, simultaneously 
 with the change, receive an ofhce w^orth three 
 thousand dollars a year, and then have to erect a 
 lightning rod over my house to protect a guilty 
 conscience from an offended God!" 
 
 It won the crowd, and Lincoln was borne out of 
 the courthouse upon the shoulders of delighted 
 
So ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 friends. That happy allusion to the lightning rod 
 went from mouth to mouth. The dullest settler 
 could appreciate its point. 
 
 Election was in August, and the nine men chosen 
 to represent Sangamon County in the legislature 
 became famous in the history of IlKnois. Lincoln, 
 of course, was one of them. Each of the men was 
 six feet or more in height, their combined stature 
 being fifty-five feet. Hence, they were promptly 
 nicknamed ^'The Long Nine.'* 
 
 Lincoln journeyed to Springfield in early Septem- 
 ber and sought admission to the bar, and in October 
 he made his first appearance in court. But there 
 were more calls for the surveyor than the lawyer. 
 The wave of internal improvements brought him 
 plenty of commissions. Many were his chances 
 to speculate in land, as every one else appeared to 
 be doing, but he gave no heed to the lure of get-rich- 
 quick voices. Lincoln was unlike another surveyor 
 who had grown rich on " inside information," and 
 to whom he remarked, "I am told, sir, you are 
 monarch of all you survey V^ 
 
 The Tenth Assembly claimed his time in Decem- 
 ber, 1836. It was a gathering of notable men, 
 many of them destined to fill distinguished roles 
 in the future government of the country. At 
 that time, however, all were concerned with the 
 
LINCOLN AS LEGISLATOR 8 1 
 
 immediate prospects of Illinois. Railroads, canals, 
 and river improvements were voted for with lavish 
 hand. Twelve million dollars were appropriated 
 to meet expenses, and a commission was appointed 
 to sell bonds of the state, to finance these gigantic 
 schemes. All over the United States the same mad- 
 ness prevailed. Reaction was to follow in a terrible 
 panic. 
 
 Sharing in the general enthusiasm for spending 
 money before it was in hand, Lincoln regularly 
 voted in favor of all ^'improvements." But his 
 particular task was to secure the removal of the 
 capital to Springfield. Vandalia was considered 
 too far away from the real center of growing popu- 
 lation. Many towns desired to be chosen the new 
 capital, and jealously fought for the honor, but 
 the *'Long Nine of Sangamon" counted on Lincoln 
 to have Springfield awarded the prize. Their 
 faith was not misplaced. Lincoln won out, though 
 it brought down a storm of criticism and censure 
 upon him and the Long Nine. To this abuse 
 Lincoln replied, using all his powers of ridicule, and 
 his opponents were glad to retire. 
 
 Altogether, Lincoln's most significant act in the 
 Tenth Assembly was in connection with slavery. 
 Abolition agitation at this time was alarming the 
 South. Slavery was not forbidden by the Consti- 
 
82 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 tution of the United States, the Southerners claimed, 
 and many Northerners agreed with them, that 
 the black race should remain chattels. On the 
 other hand, there were thousands in the North 
 who contended that the ''peculiar institution," as 
 slavery was poHtely termed, should be wiped out. 
 Riots and pubKc violence occurred in many places 
 because of this difference of opinion. 
 
 The Tenth Assembly, at Vandalia, felt called 
 upon to pass resolutions, on March 3, 1837, tofcthe 
 effect : " That we highly disapprove of the formation 
 of Abolition societies, and of the doctrines promul- 
 gated by them. . . . That the right of property 
 in slaves is sacred to the slave-holding States by 
 the Federal Constitution, and that they cannot be 
 deprived of that right without their consent." 
 
 Lincoln decHned to support these sentiments 
 without modification, and so he drew up a set of 
 resolutions of his own, protesting against the 
 Assembly's willing acceptance of the *' peculiar 
 institution." There was only one other man 
 among the legislators who would sign the document. 
 He was Dan Stone, one of the Long Nine. The 
 vital difference between the original resolution and 
 the protest penned by Lincoln lay in the phrase, 
 "They believe that the institution of slavery is 
 founded on both injustice and bad policy." 
 
LINCOLN AS LEGISLATOR S^ 
 
 Courage of a high order was required for a young 
 representative to express such bold conviction, to 
 be willing to go on public record as against the 
 majority ; but Lincoln's conscience would not per- 
 mit him to dodge or evade an issue. He had said 
 to John Hanks that he would hit slavery if he ever 
 got the chance, and here was his first blow. 
 
 His stand in this matter did not injure him in the 
 estimate of his associates. On the contrary, at the 
 series of festive political suppers which were the 
 order of the day, Lincoln was f^ted and toasted 
 as much as anybody. Two of the toasts were, 
 ''Abraham Lincoln, one of Nature's noblemen"; 
 and "Abraham Lincoln ; he has fulfilled the expec- 
 tations of his friends and disappointed the hopes 
 of his enemies." 
 
 When that session of the Assembly was over, 
 Lincoln returned to New Salem for the last time, for 
 he had decided to move to the new capital, Spring- 
 field, and launch upon his law career in earnest. 
 Major Stuart had offered him partnership, and an- 
 other friend invited him to take a place at his table 
 and eat with the family just as long as he wanted to. 
 Lincoln, as may be imagined, was still as poor as a 
 church mouse, still burdened with debt, and casting 
 his lot with Major Stuart meant giving up his three 
 dollars a day as surveyor. Well, he would risk it. 
 
84 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 His advent in Springfield illustrates his poverty 
 with a smile and a tear. He rode into the town 
 on a borrowed horse, his worldly goods a pair of 
 saddle-bags and his whole wardrobe therein. 
 Stopping in the general store kept by Joshua Speed, 
 he inquired the price of a single bed, together with 
 mattress, sheets, etc. The merchant figured the 
 full cost at seventeen dollars. Cheap enough, 
 Lincoln affirmed, but not so cheap that he could 
 afford it. He took Speed into his confidence, and 
 asked him if he would credit him until Christmas. 
 *'If I fail in this,'' he said sadly, referring to his 
 hopes of the law, *'I don't know that I can ever 
 pay you." 
 
 Joshua Speed looked at the speaker and thought 
 that he had never seen a more melancholy face. 
 His heart was touched, and the stranger appealed 
 to him in an irresistible way. 
 
 "You seem to be so much pained at contracting 
 so small a debt," ventured the kindly storekeeper, 
 "I think I can suggest a plan by which you can 
 avoid the debt, and at the same time attain your 
 end. I have a large room with a double bed up- 
 stairs, which you are very welcome to share with 
 
 me. 
 
 ''Where is your room?" asked Abe, brightening. 
 "Upstairs," said Speed, pointing out the stairway. 
 
LINCOLN AS LEGISLATOR 85 
 
 Grasping his saddlebags, Lincoln mounted the 
 stairs, and threw his possessions on the floor. He 
 came down to Speed beaming with pleasure. 
 ''Well, Speed," he exclaimed, ''I am moved!'' 
 From that day dated the closest friendship that 
 Abraham Lincoln ever made with a man, for 
 Joshua Speed, generous and hospitable, won a 
 place in the heart of Abraham Lincoln that makes 
 his name beloved to this day by all of us. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 An Interrupted Courtship 
 
 "There is a great deal of flourishing about in 
 carriages here," wrote Lincohi to Mary Owens in 
 1837, after he had been settled a short time in 
 Springfield. Miss Owens was another Kentucky 
 belle in whom he had become interested. Though 
 he never could forget Ann Rutledge, he was at- 
 tracted to the fair sex. If his love affair with Ann 
 was a tragedy, then his acquaintance with Mary 
 Owens might be termed a comedy. Mary was well 
 off and used to the good things of the world, and 
 Abe feared that his poverty would never do for her 
 to share. But after many odd letters, in which he 
 warned her against sharing his lot, he proposed 
 marriage. Gently, firmly, she refused him. Being 
 lukewarm, to her he was "deficient in those httle 
 links which make up the chain of a woman's hap- 
 piness." He was mortified at her refusal, despite 
 his half-hearted wooing. 
 
 Law duties and "Long Nine" interests, however, 
 kept him from brooding over his foolish courtship. 
 
 86 
 
AN INTERRUPTED COURTSHIP 87 
 
 Major Stuart, his partner, was too taken up with 
 politics to pay much attention to law practice, 
 therefore Lincoln had every opportunity to try 
 his powers. There were not many cases, and those 
 that did come along amounted to little. When 
 they promised fat fees, Lincoln would refuse to 
 take full due, contenting himself with a minimum 
 return for his services. He became widely known 
 for this unheard-of characteristic among the legal 
 fraternity, and the nickname "Honest Abe" ac- 
 quired new significance. 
 
 One of his early cases created a sensation. A 
 widow claimed that a prominent politician. General 
 James Adams, was endeavoring to cheat her out 
 of a parcel of land by means of a forged document. 
 Lincoln brought the case to court, proved the gen- 
 eral to be a rascal, and won for the widow. The 
 Sangamon Journal and the Springfield Republican 
 were full of the notorious suit. General Adams 
 made a fierce bluster of denial in and out of court, 
 but he was found guilty. Lincoln as victor was 
 given flattering publicity. 
 
 Out of politics he could not keep, and in 1838 
 again offered himself as a candidate for the As- 
 sembly. The Whigs counted on him, while his 
 Democratic rivals began to fear his unfailing logic 
 and humor, his powerful sincerity. Also, his clever 
 
88 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 handling of opposing speakers was disconcerting, 
 as the following story illustrates. 
 
 Colonel Dick Taylor, an influential Democrat, 
 was ''stumping it," as they sometimes described 
 the canvassing for votes, and he and Lincoln met 
 one afternoon in debate. It was then the fashion 
 among Democratic orators to tell audiences how 
 simple and humble they were in comparison to the 
 Whigs. They prided themselves on being " plain 
 folks." But look at the Whigs! these eloquent 
 sons of simplicity would exclaim. Look at their 
 airs and elegance ! 
 
 Unfortunately for him, Colonel Taylor was fond 
 of arraying himseK in princely clothes, wearing 
 ruffled shirts, velvet waistcoats, and conspicuous 
 jewelry. On the platform, however, the colonel 
 was careful to wear a long, all-concealing coat 
 over his gaudy apparel. 
 
 Meeting Lincoln that memorable day, Taylor 
 launched the usual tirade at the foppery and 
 snobbery of the Whigs. His present opponent 
 certainly did not look the part in his shabby jeans, 
 but the colonel went on unabashed. Lincoln lis- 
 tened quietly. When it came his turn to reply, 
 he stepped quickly beside the Democratic apostle 
 of ruggedness and deftly flung open his enveloping 
 coat; there stood the colonel, a living, glittering 
 
AN INTERRUPTED COURTSHIP 89 
 
 contradiction to everything he had said ! Lincohi 
 need not have uttered a word, for the lesson was 
 obvious, but "Honest Abe'' permitted himself a 
 few trenchant remarks. 
 
 Next to his hatred of shams was Lincoln's love 
 of a square deal, as has been already noted. In 
 this campaign he indulged in a spectacular act to 
 assist a valued friend of his, Mr. E. D. Baker. The 
 Springfield courtroom was for the time being lo- 
 cated under the ofiices of Stuart & Lincoln. Heated 
 arguments were in progress there one night when 
 the crowd, angered by something he had said, 
 began roughly pulling Baker from the platform. 
 Upstairs, Lincoln had overheard everything. At 
 this crisis he opened a trapdoor in the floor and 
 suddenly shot through it into the midst of the riot- 
 ous throng. Lining himself up with Baker, the 
 visitor from the ceiling said, — 
 
 ''Hold on, gentlemen! This is a land of free 
 speech." 
 
 With a few sensible words backed up by a fight- 
 ing attitude Lincoln quieted the crowd, and Baker 
 resumed his argument. 
 
 Stephen A. Douglas was in the middle of the 
 limelight about this time. His rise had been ex- 
 traordinarily rapid, and now he was nominated for 
 Congress on the Democratic ticket. Major John 
 
90 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 T. Stuart, Lincoln's law partner, was his Whig 
 opponent. Five months of whirlwind campaign- 
 ing through the northern half of Illinois returned 
 Stuart to Congress, by a bare majority of fourteen 
 votes. Of course, Douglas was sorely disappointed, 
 but in secret cherished the hope of one day going 
 to Washington. 
 
 This election of 1838 returned Lincoln to the leg- 
 islature where, whatever his work, he did nothing 
 of particular importance. The state had just 
 passed through the blackness of panic and hard 
 times, and her former generous representatives 
 were mourning the folly of their sanguine, unbal- 
 anced "appropriations." 
 
 Lincoln's reputation as a public speaker was 
 growing. As early as 1837 he had been invited 
 to address the *' Young Men's Lyceum" of Spring- 
 field, and had chosen our political institutions for 
 his subject. In December, 1839, there was a series 
 of public discussions in Springfield which grew out 
 of an argument between Douglas and Lincoln. 
 There were eight evenings of debate, four Demo- 
 crats and four Whigs pitted against one another, 
 each having an evening to speak, alternately. 
 Lincoln came last on the list, but he was acclaimed 
 the best. There was a demand for printed copies 
 of his address, in which he remorselessly picked to 
 
AN INTERRUPTED COURTSHIP 91 
 
 pieces the statements made by Douglas in defense 
 of the Van Buren administration. It might be 
 said to be the opening bout of the war of words 
 that the two men were to wage, off and on, for a 
 period of twenty years. 
 
 The election of 1840 was for president, and as one 
 of the presidential electors, Lincoln threw himself 
 earnestly into the campaign which, perhaps, was 
 the most hilarious in our history. Harrison was 
 the Whig candidate, and being a true son of the 
 common people, an Indian fighter of fame, his 
 followers adopted a humble symbol — the log 
 cabin. Monster celebrations were held throughout 
 Illinois, and in June one occurred in Springfield at 
 which were gathered about twenty thousand people. 
 One of the log cabins drawn there on a float took 
 thirty yoke of oxen to pull it! Lincoln made a 
 speech to the throng, standing in a wagon, and his 
 usual fund of yarns and sound sense won much 
 laughter and applause. 
 
 Welcome as was Lincoln in political gatherings, 
 he proved no less welcome in the social circles of 
 Springfield. Uncouth he might appear, but he 
 was ever entertaining and diverting, especially to 
 the men. With the ladies he was never so easy, 
 felt awkward and bashful, yet he was a favorite. 
 Miss Mary Todd, a proud and brilliant girl from 
 
92 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Kentucky, showed marked preference for the so- 
 ciety of the homely railsplitter. She appeared to 
 possess prophetic power in seeing the young man's 
 future, and gave it as her opinion that he would 
 achieve great heights. Many of the finest fellows 
 in town paid court to the clever and beautiful Ken- 
 tucky girl, among them Stephen A. Douglas, but 
 none of them could hope to rival Lincoln in her 
 interest and affection. The sequence was that 
 some time in 1840 the two became engaged, and 
 the wedding day was set for the first of the follow- 
 ing January. 
 
 But before that date Lincoln had come to the 
 harrowing conclusion that Mary Todd and he were 
 unfitted to each other. She loved the gay social 
 round and plenty of attention. He cared little 
 or nothing for the fritterings of "society," and was 
 often thoughtless of his fiancee's preferences and 
 tastes. Misunderstandings and quarrels were the 
 outcome. Lincoln grew miserable, and his dreaded 
 melancholy moods marked him for all to see. Un- 
 able to stand the mental torture longer, he de- 
 cided that the best thing for them both would be 
 separation. Their engagement was broken. That 
 did not mend matters. If anything, Lincoln was 
 more morose than ever. Despair seized him. He 
 thought his mind was weakening. Gossip was agog 
 
AN INTERRUPTED COURTSHIP 93 
 
 with this nine-days' wonder. Writing to his friend 
 Stuart, he said, 
 
 *'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 earth." 
 
 That was the way he felt in January, after the 
 break with Mary Todd, but the situation was to 
 brighten. His friend Joshua Speed, then removed 
 to Louisville, invited Lincoln to visit him in the 
 summer, an invitation he accepted. Lincoln could 
 unbosom himself to Speed, and found in him the 
 understanding and sympathy he craved; the un- 
 happy lover returned to Springfield in a more 
 cheerful frame of mind. 
 
 A few months later interested friends brought 
 the parted sweethearts together, and their renewed 
 intercourse was lightened by a humorous prank 
 they indulged at the expense of a hot-headed Irish- 
 man, James Shields, then the Democratic auditor 
 of the state. Shields was a notorious dandy, 
 seeking the admiration of the ladies, preening him- 
 self like a fat pigeon before them. Miss Todd and 
 a chum of hers thought it would be a lark to take 
 him down a peg. 
 
 Now taxes had been forbidden to be paid in state 
 bank notes, to the anger and disgust of the Whigs, 
 
94 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 and on this Democratic obliquity the gallant audi- 
 tor was attacked in a Springfield paper by the two 
 girls and Lincoln, who signed their effusions "Aunt 
 Rebecca." Written in racy dialect, ''Aunt Re- 
 becca" complained of her useless bank notes, and 
 held the state auditor up to ridicule. Finally, 
 after berating him soundly, the imaginary old 
 scold proposed that Shields should marry her. 
 
 The auditor was furious at being made the butt 
 of the county. Enraged, he demanded of the 
 editor of the paper that he reveal the identity of 
 the waspish correspondent. Lincoln came forward 
 and took the blame, saying nothing of the girls, 
 who had really started the teapot tempest. Shields 
 thereupon wrote Lincoln a letter hotly demanding 
 instant apology, and threatening dire consequences 
 should he not humble himself sufficiently. Lincoln 
 coolly reminded his fire-eating antagonist that he 
 assumed too much. At this, Shields challenged 
 him to a duel ! 
 
 Choice of weapons was given Lincoln as the chal- 
 lenged party. He chose cavalry broadswords of the 
 largest size, and also insisted upon absurd conditions 
 to govern the encounter. Auditor Shields was a 
 little, pudgy man, and one can fancy what chance 
 he would have against the six-foot-four Lincoln 
 brandishing a big broadsword. An eyewitness of 
 
AN INTERRUPTED COURTSHIP 95 
 
 the ^'duel" recalled that Abe solemnly drew his 
 sword from its scabbard, felt its edge carefully, 
 then suddenly lopped off a tree twig from an incred- 
 ible height. That is about as far as the farcical 
 fight went, for peace-making friends arrived in 
 haste to settle matters without further flourish of 
 saber. 
 
 Whether this ''Aunt Rebecca'' affair and the Lin- 
 coln-Shields duel brought it about or not would be 
 hard to say, but they doubtless played a good part 
 in bringing about a fresh betrothal. Quietly, 
 without previous preparation or announcement, 
 Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln were married on 
 November 4, 1842, at the home of the bride's uncle. 
 Soon after, Lincoln and his wife went to live at 
 the Globe Tavern, securing board at four dollars 
 a week, and there they continued to reside until 
 Lincoln purchased a house in 1844. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 Congressional Experiences 
 
 With his marriage Lincoln was spurred to greater 
 endeavor. For eight years he had served in the 
 Illinois legislature continuously, and it was about 
 time to seek higher office. His friends, knowing his 
 desire, offered to back him for governor of the 
 state. This honor he declined. Instead, he let 
 it be known that he would like to be sent to Wash- 
 ington as congressman. PoHtical wheels were set 
 in motion in 1842 to that end, but the Sangamon 
 Whigs decided to make Edward D. Baker their can- 
 didate. Swallowing his own disappointment, Lin- 
 coln loyally supported his friend. However, when 
 the convention assembled in May, 1843, John J. 
 Hardin proved to be the favorite of the state's 
 candidates for Congress. Baker, seeing how mat- 
 ters lay, rose and decHned the candidacy, making a 
 stirring speech to the convention. Hardin was 
 thereupon elected, but not before Lincoln had come 
 forward with an extraordinary resolution which 
 recommended Baker for the next term in Congress. 
 
 96 
 
CONGRESSIONAL EXPERIENCES 97 
 
 Unheard of as was this proceeding, the resolution 
 was carried. 
 
 In the campaign of 1844 Lincoln was a presiden- 
 tial elector and espoused the election of Henry 
 Clay with enthusiasm. The wonderfully gifted ora- 
 tor of Kentucky had been Abe's idol from child- 
 hood, one might say, and so he pitched headlong 
 into the political battle for him, speaking in Indiana 
 as well as Illinois. He revisited the old scenes of 
 Gentryville and delivered an address to former 
 neighbors and friends. All the familiar spots and 
 kindly faces aroused deep emotion in his breast, and 
 he afterwards tried to express his feelings in a poem. 
 
 It is of historic moment to know that in this 1844 
 campaign Lincoln had to deal with the ever smol- 
 dering fires of slavery. The question of the annex- 
 ation of Texas was at issue before the country. 
 Clay and the Whigs opposed the move, arguing 
 that it would be unfair to Mexico and would tend 
 to bring on war with that nation. Furthermore, 
 they said, it would surely increase territory for slav- 
 ery, a condition that the North especially feared 
 and fought. But the South wanted Texas and 
 exerted every effort to have it annexed. And the 
 South had its way. 
 
 Both Hardin and Baker having had a term in 
 Congress, Lincoln felt it only his due in 1846, and 
 
 H 
 
98 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 accordingly became a candidate. His rival on the 
 Democratic ticket was Peter Cartwriglit, an old 
 Methodist preacher of renown, whose son Lincoln 
 was to save from the gallows. Lincoln was 
 elected by a surprising majority, and in November, 
 1847, he took his seat in the National Congress. 
 
 Many celebrated men were in Washington at 
 that time, and Lincoln was most eager to see and 
 meet them. Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun 
 were thundering in the halls of state. John Quincy 
 Adams was there, the patriarch of the statesmen. 
 Among others were James Buchanan, Thomas H. 
 Benton, Andrew Johnson, Alexander H. Stephens, 
 and Jefferson Davis. Also, Douglas was in Wash- 
 ington, having just achieved his ambition of be- 
 coming Democratic senator from Illinois. 
 
 During his first weeks in Congress that winter 
 Lincoln did little save take in everything that was 
 said and done. He lived quietly at a small board- 
 ing house. But, as usual, he soon was remarked 
 for his quaint mannerisms and witty yarns. Oddly 
 enough, he appeared to enjoy thoroughly the social 
 side of Washington life, attending balls, breakfasts, 
 and banquets. Bowling was one of his favorite 
 pastimes. There are many recollections of him at j 
 
 this period, but perhaps more characteristic than 
 any is that in which Lincoln is described as carry- 
 
CONGRESSIONAL EXPERIENCES 99 
 
 ing books from the library in a large bandanna 
 handkerchief, the bundle slung over his shoulder at 
 the end of a stick. 
 
 The United States was at war with Mexico at 
 that time, and the Whigs were violently opposed 
 to it. President Polk wished that party to sanc- 
 tion and second his declaration of hostility, to 
 declare it just and right. On December 22 Lincoln 
 made his first notable speech in Congress, censuring 
 the course of the Administration in beginning the 
 war, holding it both unnecessary and unconstitu- 
 tional. His address came to be known as the *' Spot 
 Resolutions," inasmuch as most of his remarks 
 consisted of searching comments and questions 
 regarding the exact spot where hostilities had be- 
 gun, the whole war hinging on that point. In 
 January, Lincoln delivered a telling defense of these 
 ^'Spot Resolutions" in the face of overwhelming 
 criticism. His inflexible attitude against the policy 
 of Polk brought down upon his head the wrath of 
 ''war patriots." Even his home state frowned at 
 his stand. Nevertheless, Lincoln was undaunted 
 and unafraid, for he was convinced that his opposi- 
 tion to the Mexican War was based on moral 
 right. 
 
 Zachary Taylor won national admiration and 
 laudation for his military prowess in Mexico, and 
 
lOO ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 on this wave of popularity he was nominated for 
 president in the summer of 1848. "Old Rough 
 and Ready," as Taylor was called, had no more 
 ardent or eloquent supporter than Abe Lincoln 
 who, in July, on the floor of Congress, made an 
 ambitious speech praising the hoary warrior and 
 ridiculing his Democratic rival. General Cass. 
 The wit of Lincoln's remarks convulsed Congress, 
 while his keen arguments struck home surely and 
 forcibly. During the delivery of this speech it is 
 told of him that he marched up and down the aisle 
 of the House, making extraordinary gestures and 
 striking still more extraordinary attitudes. 
 
 Many invitations were extended to him to ad- 
 dress New England audiences, and after Congress 
 adjourned he went on a lecture tour. Massachu- 
 setts led in the demand to hear him. Expecting 
 entertainment, the people were surprised to receive 
 enlightenment. For the first time Lincoln found 
 himself in territory largely given over to anti- 
 slavery folk, and he was impressed at the earnest- 
 ness and fervor of their belief. When confronted 
 with public inquiry as to his own convictions, 
 Lincoln was always careful to steer a moderate 
 course, declaring himself an enemy to the extension 
 of slavery, but also declaring that he saw no way 
 under the Constitution to abolish the institution 
 
CONGRESSIONAL EXPERIENCES loi 
 
 peacefully. Altogether, the campaign in these 
 Northern states was a succession of triumphs for 
 Lincoln. Leaving New England, he went to Al- 
 bany, visited Niagara Falls, which fairly awed him, 
 then sped homeward to Illinois, where he continued 
 to make speeches for General Taylor, who was 
 elected to the presidency in November. 
 
 One of the most important results of the Mexican 
 War would be the acquisition of new territory for 
 the United States, and the all-absorbing question 
 before the nation was, Will slavery be permitted in 
 it? The an ti- slavery element of the North sought 
 to forbid the spread of the evil through a bill 
 known as the Wilmot Proviso. The South, of 
 course, fought this restraining measure. Lincoln 
 said he voted for the Wilmot Proviso at least forty 
 times during his congressional term ! 
 
 In the last half of his term Lincoln tried in still 
 another fashion to deal a blow to slavery by having 
 it abolished in the national capital. In the Lincoln- 
 Stone protest of 1837 he had declared it his belief 
 that the people of Washington had the right to for- 
 bid slavery in their city, if they chose to exercise 
 the right through lawful proceedings. To stimulate 
 the people into decisive action, Lincoln drew up a 
 bill and presented it to Congress, January 16, 1849, 
 urging the abolishment of slavery in the nation's 
 
I02 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 capital, '' with the consent of the voters of the 
 District and with compensation to owners." 
 
 What had impelled him more than anything else 
 to take this bold step was a filthy slave-market 
 within view of the Capitol windows. Lincoln 
 described it as '' a sort of negro livery stable, where 
 droves of negroes were collected, temporarily kept, 
 and finally taken to Southern markets, precisely 
 like droves of horses." 
 
 This, perhaps his most noteworthy act while in 
 Congress, caused quite a stir, but the feeling on the 
 subject of slavery ran too high for any such inter- 
 ference as Lincoln suggested, mild and just as it 
 was, so the bill died without ever being put before 
 the House. 
 
 In March, 1849, his term expired. Frankly, he 
 longed for further public service, and tried his best 
 to secure the position of Commissioner of the 
 General Land Office, giving eleven strong reasons 
 why he should be appointed. Another appHcant 
 secured the place, much to Lincoln's chagrin. 
 By way of consolation President Taylor offered 
 him the governorship of Oregon Territory. But 
 Mrs. Lincoln did not favor this and refused even 
 to think of going so far out of the world. 
 
 Convinced that his political career was over, 
 and sighing at the prospect, Lincoln determined 
 
CONGRESSIONAL EXPERIENCES 103 
 
 to devote all his energies to law. He refused an 
 advantageous proposition to become partner of a 
 well-known Chicago lawyer, saying that his health 
 would not withstand the grind of a big city prac- 
 tice, and returned to Springfield. 
 
 Reaching home, he set himself the task of acquir- 
 ing more general education, for Washington society 
 had shown him many shortcomings in his culture 
 and fund of knowledge. Mathematics, astronomy, 
 poetry, and other subjects were tackled in turn, 
 and in his efforts at acquiring knowledge Lincoln 
 went so far as to master the first six books of 
 Euclid — an accomplishment that any one might 
 envy. 
 
 Describing his life at this time, a writer who 
 knew him has said : — 
 
 ''He Hved simply, comfortably, and respectably, 
 with neither expensive tastes nor habits. His 
 wants were few and simple. He occupied a small, 
 unostentatious house in Springfield, and was in 
 the habit of entertaining, in a very simple way, 
 his friends and his brethren of the bar. . . . Mrs. 
 Lincoln often entertained small numbers of friends 
 at dinner and somewhat larger numbers at evening 
 parties. In his modest and simple home every- 
 thing was orderly and refined, and there was 
 always, on the part of both Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln, 
 
104 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 a cordial and hearty Western welcome which put 
 every guest at ease. Yet it was the humor, anec- 
 dote, and unrivaled conversation of the host which 
 formed the chief attraction and made a dinner at 
 Lincoln's cottage an event to be remembered." 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 Riding the Circuit 
 
 Up to now Lincoln had been pursuing his profes- 
 sion on and off for about thirteen years. Three 
 partners had shared labors with him. Major 
 Stuart had been succeeded by General Stephen T. 
 Logan, who, in turn, was succeeded by William 
 Hemdon, the latter some nine years younger than 
 Lincoln. During his four years' partnership with 
 Stuart, Lincoln had gained but little headway. 
 Less than two years with Logan, he learned a great 
 deal, though Logan did not succeed in making him 
 a technical lawyer ; however, he did teach Lincoln 
 many points in legal procedure. 
 
 Logan and Lincoln were each too independent 
 and decided in character to get along well together. 
 Aside from this, Lincoln was getting only a small 
 share of the firm's profits; hence they separated. 
 There is a good story of how Lincoln later on took 
 advantage of his former partner in a suit when they 
 were on opposing sides. Logan was dignified and 
 methodical, but he had one failing — he was ex- 
 
 los 
 
io6 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 tremely careless in details of dress. For that 
 matter, so was Lincoln, but that did not deter him 
 on this memorable occasion from good-naturedly 
 lampooning his old friend, who had just gravely 
 addressed the court. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said Lincoln, addressing the jury, 
 "you must be careful and not permit yourselves to 
 be overborne by the eloquence of the counsel for the 
 defense. Judge Logan, I know, is an effective lawyer. 
 I have met him too often to doubt that ; but shrewd 
 and careful though he may be, still, he is sometimes 
 wrong. Since this trial began I have discovered 
 that, with all his caution and fastidiousness, he 
 hasn't knowledge enough to put his shirt on right !" 
 
 Sure enough, Logan had on his shirt with its 
 bosom to the back. Discomfited, he grew red as 
 fire, while the court burst into laughter. 
 
 Most of the practice in those days was carried 
 on in traveling about the country, the judges and 
 lawyers going from county to county and holding 
 court in various places. The seasons for this mov- 
 able court of justice were spring and autumn. 
 Illinois was divided into what was called judicial 
 circuits. The particular territory which Lincoln 
 covered was known as the "Eighth Judicial Cir- 
 cuit," and it embraced an area of about one hun- 
 dred and fifty square miles. Railroads there were 
 
RIDING THE CIRCUIT 107 
 
 none until 1854, and horses and rigs were used by 
 the legal travelers. Lincoln acquired a horse and 
 buggy described as ''ramshackle." The remainder 
 of his trappings were an old carpet bag and an 
 ancient umbrella without a handle and tied up with 
 string. 
 
 As the learned cavalcade went along the road 
 it generally was noisy with mirth and singing. 
 Innumerable stories were ''swapped." Sometimes 
 one of the fraternity performed upon the jew's- 
 harp. Because he had such long legs, Lincoln was 
 appointed advance agent to try the depth of streams 
 to be crossed. WilKngly he waded into the water 
 for his friends, and they also noted other kindnesses 
 of his. For instance, he once picked up two bird- 
 lings that had fallen from the nest and at great 
 pains put them back. Questioned as to this quix- 
 otic act, Lincoln confessed that he could not have 
 slept unless he had known the poor Httle things were 
 safe with their mother. At another time he went 
 even further in his charity and rescued a pig fallen 
 into a boggy hole. 
 
 Reaching a county seat, it was customary for 
 the legal company to put up at the town tavern 
 and sleep two in a bed, three or four beds in a room ! 
 Quarters were close. All ate at the same table, 
 sometimes lawyers, jurors, witnesses and prisoners 
 
io8 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 ranged around the one board. It was a strange 
 order of things. 
 
 Judge David Davis, who presided over the Eighth 
 Judicial Circuit, became an enthusiastic admirer 
 of Lincoln. He enjoyed listening to the droll sto- 
 ries that Abe told endlessly, and he remarked the 
 shrewdness and common sense of the gaunt enter- 
 tainer. Judge Davis could not bear to miss any- 
 thing Lincoln said, and showed singular irritation 
 when he did. Not alone with the Judge was Lin- 
 coln so popular, but with the whole community in 
 each stopping-place. As *'01d Abe" or "Honest 
 Old Abe," he was hailed far and near. 
 
 There was little variety in the cases tried on the 
 circuit ; land litigation, damages sought for injuries 
 to cattle, and trials for assault made up the calen- 
 dar. Lincoln's set policy was to avoid suit as much 
 as possible, and he constantly advised clients to 
 adjust matters outside of court. An amusing case 
 of his points a moral. In vengeful anger a man 
 came to Lincoln, demanding him to institute suit 
 against a debtor for two dollars and a half. The 
 debtor had nothing, not a cent to give. Lincoln 
 tried to persuade the plaintiff to drop the matter, 
 but his client persisted. Thereupon, the counsel 
 said he would charge ten dollars as a retainer. His 
 obstinate client paid. Secretly, Lincoln gave half 
 
RIDING THE CIRCUIT 109 
 
 the money to the poor defendant, who then paid 
 over the two dollars and a half for which he was 
 sued, to the intense satisfaction of the plaintiff ! 
 This illustrates one of Lincoln's notes for a lecture 
 on law which he jotted down in 1850 : — 
 
 *^ Discourage litigation. Persuade your neigh- 
 bors to compromise whenever you can. Point out 
 to them how the nominal winner is often a real 
 loser — in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a 
 peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity 
 of being a good man. There will still be business 
 enough." 
 
 Lincoln saw very little of his Springfield oflSce 
 during the six months or more out of every year 
 that he rode the circuit. He was almost the only 
 one of the traveling court, except Judge Davis, that 
 went the whole way round the fourteen counties, 
 year after year. The gypsylike freedom of the 
 life appealed to him, and those days of tiresome so- 
 journ, uncomfortable sleeping quarters, and bad 
 food, were happy ones. 
 
 Judge Davis liked and trusted Abraham Lincoln 
 enough to appoint him to the bench when he, the 
 judge, was forced to be absent. This was unusual, 
 to say the least, but perhaps more extraordinary 
 still was the manner in which Lincoln handled his 
 privilege and authority, never incurring enmity 
 
no ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 or complaint. Instinctively, Judge Davis felt the 
 mastery of men which was latent in Lincoln's 
 nature. 
 
 Records of his helpful strength and abounding 
 good nature must, however, be balanced by that 
 other side of his nature which would persist in pop- 
 ping out every little while. At these times he was 
 the gravest, most reserved man in the company, 
 silent, lost in faraway reflection. One of his fellow 
 circuit riders has left this impression: ''He [Lin- 
 coln] would frequently lapse into reverie and re- 
 main lost in thought long after the rest of us had 
 retired for the night; and more than once I re- 
 member waking up early in the morning to find 
 him sitting before the fire, his mind apparently con- 
 centrated on some subject, and with the saddest 
 expression I have ever seen in a human being's 
 eyes." 
 
 Gradually, Lincoln's ability as a lawyer became 
 recognized by the general public of Illinois. As a 
 jury lawyer and at trial work he was unexcelled. 
 His deep knowledge of human nature, his wit, and 
 his power to go to the heart of a matter were excep- 
 tional. Between 1849 ^^^ i860, he tried more 
 cases than any other lawyer on the Eighth Circuit. 
 In 1853 the Illinois Central Railroad retained him 
 as counsel, and subsequently he was legal adviser 
 
RIDING THE CIRCUIT ill 
 
 to the Rock Island Road. Upon several occasions 
 "Big Business" engaged him, all of which led to his 
 pitting his brains against the best in the state, and 
 public records show him victor over the cleverest 
 legal talent in the region. 
 
 The worst disappointment of his career in the law 
 was in a reaper patent case tried in Cincinnati. 
 Brilliant lawyers were engaged on the opposing side 
 and Lincoln felt it the opportunity of his lifetime to 
 do battle with them. Almost at the last minute 
 Lincoln's client grew afraid of the strong counsel 
 ranged in opposition and decided to get some one 
 more powerful than the "country lawyer" he had 
 retained. Edwin M. Stanton, then a well-known 
 barrister, was called in. Lincoln, after having 
 prepared himself thoroughly in the case, had the 
 matter taken out of his hands. To add to the 
 injury, he overheard Stanton sarcastically exclaim, 
 "Where did that long-armed creature come from 
 and what can he expect to do in this case? " 
 
 A few years later "the long-armed creature" was 
 to reward the insult by making Stanton his Secre- 
 tary of War ! 
 
 Before a jury Lincoln was at his best. No one 
 in the state of Illinois could touch him there. A 
 child could understand his arguments, grasp his 
 proposition. With a sure sweep he brushed away 
 
112 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 details and presented the vital points. Keen 
 logic was his, and keener humor. Both he used 
 effectively. He probably laughed more cases out 
 of court than any other man who ever practiced 
 at the bar, yet he could be dramatic and pathetic 
 to an extreme degree. His case of an old woman, 
 the widow of a Revolutionary soldier, against a 
 pension shark, has been cited a thousand times. 
 In his plea he described the sufferings of the sol- 
 diers at Valley Forge, dwelt on the sorrows and 
 pitiable weakness of his aged cHent, then blazed 
 away at the robber defendant who would take food 
 out of the mouths of the helpless. The court 
 was dissolved in tears. Of course, Lincoln won 
 the day. 
 
 But one of his most celebrated cases had to do 
 with the defense of William Armstrong, son of that 
 Clary Grove champion whom Lincoln worsted that 
 early day in New Salem. William was held for 
 murder. There had been a brawl in which he and 
 a crony had beaten a third fellow, the latter dying 
 of his injuries. Norris, the crony, had been sen- 
 tenced to eight years in prison. Hannah Arm- 
 strong, the mother of William, appealed to Lincoln 
 to save her son. He was in desperate plight, and 
 the law of Illinois would not allow him to testify 
 in his own behalf. 
 
RIDING THE CIRCUIT 113 
 
 Taking the case in hand, Lincoln managed the 
 witnesses so adroitly that no damaging testimony 
 was given until a man named Allen swore that he 
 actually saw the prisoner deal the blow which 
 killed the deceased — a blow dealt with a slung- 
 shot, or a similar weapon. 
 
 Lincoln pressed this witness hard and got him to 
 fix the hour of assault in which he saw all this so 
 clearly at eleven o'clock at night. Seeing his 
 advantage, Lincoln bade Allen inform the jury 
 how he could see at that time of night. 
 
 "By the moonlight," said Allen without hesita- 
 tion. 
 
 "Well, was there light enough to see every- 
 thing that happened?" insisted the dogged 
 cross-examiner. 
 
 Allen then described in detail where the moon 
 was at that hour, and furthermore said he noted 
 it was almost full. 
 
 Hardly were the words spoken when Lincoln 
 produced a calendar and by it proved to the jury 
 that the moon at the hour and date specified was 
 only slightly past its first quarter and therefore 
 could have afforded Httle or no Hght ! From that 
 dramatic moment on, Lincoln swept everything 
 before him, obtaining an acquittal for the youth he 
 once had rocked in his homely cradle while Hannah 
 
114 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Armstrong got supper ready. The grateful mother 
 offered to pay her counsel for saving her son from 
 the hangman's noose, but Lincoln smiled at the 
 idea and gently refused any remuneration. 
 
 Besides his generosity with clients, and his in- 
 sistence on small fees, Lincoln himself had to be- 
 lieve in the justice of a case in order to defend it 
 well. Many were the cases he gave up voluntarily 
 because he could not sanction the cause. As a 
 money-maker he was the despair of partners and 
 legal brothers. Avarice had no place in his nature. 
 Wealth to him was, as he often said, ^'simply a 
 superfluity of things we don't need." 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 The Great Debates 
 
 To quote Lincoln's words, ^'In 1854 his profes- 
 sion had almost superseded the thought of politics 
 in his mind, when the repeal of the Missouri Com- 
 promise aroused him as he had never been before." 
 This ^'Missouri Compromise" was a law passed 
 by Congress in the year 1820, which admitted Mis- 
 souri to the Union as a slave state, and forbade 
 slavery in all other territory of the United States 
 north of the latitude 36*^ 30', which was the south- 
 ern boundary line of Missouri. However, most of 
 the vast tracts of land lying in what was then the 
 undeveloped West, out of which states were to be 
 organized in the future, were north of this line; 
 and the South, fearing the power which would 
 come to the North through the creation of such 
 free states, desired the repeal of this Compromise. 
 
 Differences over the institution of slavery were 
 almost as old as the nation ; and for a half-century 
 they had torn the sections with strife. Negro 
 labor had become essential to the South in their 
 
 "5 
 
Ii6 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 pursuit of agriculture, but in the North the black 
 man was not needed in business. The South took 
 the stand that the North wanted to control them in 
 the matter of having negroes for slaves, and that 
 Northern people were against slavery because it 
 was not a necessity among them. The North, on 
 the other hand, said that to enslave another man, 
 no matter what his color, was wrong and shameful 
 in a country boasting of its freedom. 
 
 Lincoln had grown up in the midst of all this con- 
 flict of opinion and feeling. As we know, he ex- 
 pressed his ideas on the subject more than once; 
 always, however, steering a middle course between 
 rabid abohtionism and fanatic pro-slavery. He 
 believed that the institution should be restricted to 
 limits then fixed, and not allowed to spread ; hence 
 when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise opened 
 up new fields for the growth of slavery, he was 
 " aroused as never before." And, it is singular to 
 note, his old antagonist, Douglas, now a senator, 
 was the man mainly responsible for that repeal. 
 
 Indeed, for ten years Douglas, as senator, had 
 tried to get Congress to organize the territory west 
 of Missouri and Iowa. Little attention was paid 
 his efforts. But in 1854 he came forward with a 
 new proposition to offer in relation to the land. 
 This was a bill providing that two territories — 
 
THE GREAT DEBATES 117 
 
 Kansas and Nebraska — should be organized, and 
 that the people of the territories be themselves 
 allowed to decide whether they should be free or 
 slaves states. In brief, that the Missouri Compro- 
 mise of 1820 be declared void. When this bill 
 was passed, the North was outraged, but the South 
 was highly gratified. 
 
 Douglas was despised in the North. In his ac- 
 tion was seen a desire to please the South and win 
 its support for the presidency. In Illinois, his 
 adopted state, the people were against him. Chi- 
 cago went into public mourning and tolled funeral 
 bells. Douglas tried to explain his acts to his con- 
 stituents. It was in October, 1854, that Lincoln 
 repUed to one of Douglas's most glib speeches, 
 at the Illinois Agricultural Fair, held at Springfield. 
 Lincoln turned every one of Douglas's arguments 
 inside out, proving them false to the Constitution of 
 the United States and to the Ordinance of 1787. 
 The gist of Lincoln's contention was in these 
 words : — 
 
 ''I admit that the emigrant to Kansas and Ne- 
 braska is competent to govern himself ; but I deny 
 his right to govern any other person without that 
 person's consent." 
 
 So convincing were Lincoln's words that Douglas 
 could not find an adequate reply, though he tried. 
 
ii8 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Some days later, at Peoria, Douglas again ad- 
 dressed a big crowd of people, and Lincoln again 
 took the platform to combat the "Little Giant." 
 Each spoke for three hours. At the end Douglas, 
 discomfited, came up to Lincoln and said : — 
 
 *'You understand this question of slavery in 
 the territories better than all the opposition in 
 the Senate of the United States. I cannot make 
 anything by debating it with you. You, Mr. 
 Lincoln, have here and at Springfield given me 
 more trouble than all the opposition in the Senate 
 combined." 
 
 Douglas then proposed that neither speak further 
 during the campaign. To this Lincoln gave as- 
 sent, but Douglas broke the agreement, and his 
 antagonist once more entered the lists. 
 
 That election was for a senatorship. There were 
 three parties represented in the Illinois legislature 
 — Democrats, Whigs, and Anti-Nebraska Demo- 
 crats. For the Senate the Democrats nominated 
 General Shields, of duel celebrity, the Anti-Ne- 
 braska party were for Lyman Trumbull, and the 
 Whigs named Lincoln. Most of the Anti-Ne- 
 braskas were eventually won over to Lincoln, but 
 there were five of them who would not vote for a 
 Whig under any circumstances. They held out for 
 Trumbull, though their companions had gone over 
 
THE GREAT DEBATES 119 
 
 to Lincoln. Realizing the deadlock, and fearing 
 a Douglas Democracy triumph, Lincoln told his 
 friends to cast their votes for Trumbull, which they 
 did, much against their wishes. Lincoln had never 
 desired a position more than this one of senator, 
 but he sacrificed his ambition to the good of his 
 cause. He lost that honor, but through his unself- 
 ish act won a host of new friends, even the five 
 who had held out for Trumbull eventually coming 
 under his standard. 
 
 In that year of 1856 was held the first Republican 
 convention, and there Lincoln was named as one of 
 the candidates for Vice-President. He received 
 one hundred and ten votes. When he heard of it 
 Lincoln laughed in incredulity and said he thought 
 it was intended for another Lincoln — an eminent 
 man in New England. 
 
 At Bloomington, Illinois, on May 29, 1856, 
 Lincoln addressed a big state convention. This was 
 his famous ''lost speech," so called because every- 
 body there in the capacity of reporter was so elec- 
 trified by his eloquence that taking notes was an 
 impossibility. The whole audience was literally 
 swept off its feet by the power of the orator's 
 words. 
 
 However, the opponents of slavery extension were 
 divided between John C. Fremont and Millard 
 
120 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Fillmore in the election, and Buchanan, the Demo- 
 cratic candidate, was made President. It was a 
 distinct triumph for the South, for although 
 Buchanan was a Northern man, he was in sympa- 
 thy with the principles held by the Southerners. 
 Shortly following his election came the celebrated 
 Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court, in which 
 it was settled that a slave was always the undis- 
 puted property of his master, whether living in a 
 free state or not. Dred Scott, the negro slave, had 
 brought up the question in the courts, as he thought 
 his residence on free soil made of him a freedman. 
 Great excitement followed the case. The Supreme 
 Court decision inflamed the anti-slavery people. 
 And furthermore, the opinion of Chief- Justice 
 Taney went to such extremes as to intimate that 
 neither Congress nor a territorial legislature had 
 any right to exclude slavery from a territory. 
 
 Then followed civil strife in Kansas. Both 
 Southern and Northern emigrants had rushed to 
 the territory to make it their own. Bloodshed 
 had been the result, and the United States troops 
 had been called out to maintain peace and order. 
 The majority in Kansas wished the state to come 
 in free, but the opposing element tried to maneuver 
 it in under a slave constitution. Buchanan sup- 
 ported the latter move, which led to Douglas at- 
 
THE GREAT DEBATES 121 
 
 tacking the administration. The President warned 
 the "Little Giant" that he would be crushed for 
 his daring. Douglas fearlessly maintained his 
 stand. In one speech he said : — 
 
 "If Kansas wants a slave constitution she has a 
 right to it. It is none of my business which way 
 the slavery clause is decided. I care not whether 
 the slavery clause is voted up or voted down.'* 
 
 Violence invaded the very precincts of the Senate. 
 Senator Sumner, of Massachusetts, had delivered 
 a speech in Congress denouncing the Kansas out- 
 rage. Because of his bitter eloquence, Senator 
 Brooks, of South Carolina, rose one day from his 
 seat, went over to where Sumner sat, and beat him 
 with a heavy cane until he was almost dead, and 
 only for the intervention of bystanders would have 
 killed him. Fresh fuel was thus added to the fires 
 of hatred burning throughout the land. 
 
 In the midst of it all came the election for sena- 
 torship in Illinois. It was the year 1858. Douglas 
 was indorsed for the office by the Democrats, and 
 on June 16 the Republican State Convention chose 
 Abraham Lincoln as its candidate. Accepting this 
 honor Lincoln made one of his most famous speeches 
 — the "House Divided Against Itself" speech. 
 It was a bold, brave statement of his deepest con- 
 victions, and his friends were afraid that his fear- 
 
122 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 less handling of the subject would be fatal to his 
 success in the coming campaign. They urged him 
 to omit the well-known passage : — 
 
 ''We are now far into the fifth year since a policy 
 was initiated with the avowed object and confident 
 promise of putting an end to slavery agitation. 
 Under the operation of that policy that agitation 
 has not only not ceased, but has constantly aug- 
 mented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until 
 a crisis shall have been reached and passed. *A 
 house divided against itself cannot stand.' I be- 
 lieve this government cannot endure permanently 
 half slave and half free. I do not expect the 
 Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the 
 house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be 
 divided. It will become all one thing or all the 
 other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest 
 the further spread of it, and place it where the 
 public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the 
 course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates 
 will push it forward, till it shall become alike law- 
 ful in all the States, old as well as new — North 
 as well as South." 
 
 His friends said these words would wreck him 
 politically. Lincoln replied that he would rather 
 be defeated with those sentiments given to the 
 world than succeed without having uttered them. 
 
THE GREAT DEBATES 123 
 
 He declared that one day it would be admitted that 
 these were the wisest words he had ever spoken. 
 
 In the early summer of 1858 both candidates went 
 canvassing. With ease and suavity Douglas ad- 
 dressed his audiences, convincing them that all he 
 wanted was fair play all around. Lincoln, intense 
 with moral purpose, showed how Douglas was 
 glossing over the really vital points at issue. He 
 denied that any one could dismiss the question as 
 lightly as Douglas did, with his apparent indiffer- 
 ence as to whether a people endured slavery or not. 
 
 On July 24 Lincoln challenged the ''Little Giant" 
 to a series of joint debates. Seven debates were 
 arranged for in as many Illinois towns of impor- 
 tance. Douglas was to open and close four of them, 
 Lincoln three. Immense crowds came to hear the 
 speakers, and the people indulged in a semi-holiday. 
 Many farmers came from a distance, bringing their 
 midday meal. Twenty thousand assembled at the 
 first great debate. Douglas arrived in a special 
 car gay with bunting, and cannon and brass bands 
 saluted him. Lincoln came quietly, without noise 
 or show of any kind. 
 
 They were pretty evenly matched in power to 
 hold and persuade a multitude. Both men had 
 risen from obscurity. Physically they were in 
 singular contrast. Douglas was short and rotund, 
 
124 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 handsome and magnetic, with a sweeping eloquence 
 that dazzled while it failed to convince. He was 
 florid and effective, but lacking in wit. Lincoln 
 was tall, plain in feature, but with a simplicity and 
 purity of language that never clouded his meaning. 
 His penetrating logic and homely humor were in- 
 valuable assets. Lincoln went to the point at issue ; 
 Douglas went around it. It was a battle royal they 
 waged, Lincoln lunging straight at the mark, so to 
 speak, while Douglas was a clever and bewildering 
 fencer. 
 
 Their subject was that of slavery under its new 
 aspects. Especially was its extension discussed, 
 Lincoln showing how it was being forced upon the 
 people, even against their will. The Republicans 
 of Illinois did not want to free the slaves, he said ; 
 they were not aboHtionists, " but they did want 
 slavery restricted to its original area instead of 
 spreading all over the country." Afresh, Douglas 
 declared his principles of ^'popular sovereignty" — 
 that the people of a territory should decide for them- 
 selves about the institution. Then Lincoln asked 
 him about the attempted forcing of Kansas into 
 the Union as a slave state, and what about the 
 Dred Scott decision which, in substance, permitted 
 an owner of slaves to conduct his property any- 
 where. 
 
THE GREAT DEBATES 125 
 
 Douglas affirmed that the "Black Republicans," 
 as he nicknamed the new political party, aimed at 
 stirring up hatred of the South. This Lincoln denied, 
 saying that all his party desired was the suppression 
 of the spread of slavery into new states, following 
 the evident plan of the "Fathers of our country,'' 
 when they passed the Ordinance of 1787 forbidding 
 slavery in the Northwest Territory. 
 
 At first, Douglas treated Lincoln rather conde- 
 scendingly and in superior fashion, as befitted the 
 best debater in the United States Senate. But it 
 slowly dawned on Douglas that Lincoln was getting 
 the better of him. Particularly was this true when 
 Douglas, with overweening confidence, put a series 
 of seven questions to Lincoln in an attempt to make 
 him a loser at the outset. At this time they were 
 met in the southern, or slave-infected, region of 
 IlHnois. However, Lincoln not only answered all 
 questions successfully, but he propounded four 
 himself — one so skillfully constructed that if Doug- 
 las answered at all, he would offend either the 
 South or the Northern Democrats. Lincoln fore- 
 saw that his answer to the question would ruin 
 Douglas's chances of ever becoming President, 
 even if he did secure the reelection to the Senate. 
 Douglas, on the horns of this dilemma, chose what 
 he thought the lesser evil in the way of an answer, 
 
126 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 but as Lincoln foresaw, his words doomed him in 
 the South. 
 
 So, in the remaining debates, Douglas grew fretful 
 and spiteful. He used all his arts to anger Lincoln, 
 but the latter remained calm, serene, and victorious. 
 Though Lincoln was triumphant in this unprece- 
 dented debate, he was not elected to the Senate. 
 The legislature voted for Douglas. Lincoln was 
 disappointed, but philosophic. At any rate, he 
 was convinced that Douglas would reach no higher 
 office than the one he had held. 
 
 When asked how he felt about his defeat, he said 
 that he was like the overgrown boy who stubbed 
 his toe,'' it hurt too bad to laugh and he was too 
 big to cry." 
 
 These debates, nevertheless, made Lincoln known 
 the country over. They had appeared in full in 
 numerous newspapers, and people from Maine 
 to California weighed the merits and the argu- 
 ments of the two men and found Abraham Lincoln 
 the better man. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 Nominated for President 
 
 A LEADING lawyer in the state, Lincoln returned 
 to some of his most important cases after his historic 
 contest with Senator Douglas. Once more we find 
 him on the circuit. But his reputation had spread 
 far and wide, and he was invited to speak in many 
 places. In the autumn of 1859 he delivered 
 addresses in Ohio. Then came his invitation to 
 address a New York audience. 
 
 On February 27, i860, Lincoln stood before his 
 first New York pubHc at Cooper Institute, and made 
 what was the supreme effort of his career. All 
 the culture of the great city was represented among 
 his hearers. On the platform sat Horace Greeley, 
 William Cullen Bryant, and many scholars and 
 politicians. They were perhaps prompted more 
 by curiosity than by anything else in being present. 
 Some of them expected to hear racy stories, ques- 
 tionable jokes, and the crude oratory of the Western 
 stump speaker. Rumors had preceded the speaker, 
 and a large majority of the audience expected to 
 
 127 
 
128 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 be vastly entertained. And when the tall, gawky 
 figure came forward, clad in ill-fitting black clothes, 
 with hair rumpled, and awkward gestures, they 
 thought their fun assured. 
 
 Lincoln began his immortal speech in a low voice 
 and in diffident fashion, but his sincerity soon fired 
 him and he forgot everything and everybody except 
 his subject. Men stood up and cheered. It was 
 one of the greatest speeches that any of his listeners 
 had ever heard. Even Horace Greeley, who had 
 been skeptical of this Westerner, acknowledged that 
 it was the best address he had ever listened to, and 
 he had often heard Webster. 
 
 Indeed, that Cooper Institute speech was a mas- 
 terly summing up of the whole slavery question in 
 this country, presented without bias or bitterness. 
 Of the Southern and Northern attitudes, he said, — 
 
 ''All they ask we could readily grant, if we 
 thought slavery right; all we ask they could as 
 readily grant, if they thought it wrong." 
 
 There it was in a nutshell. His arguments were 
 unanswerable. At the close of this remarkable 
 address he uttered the famous words, — 
 
 " Let us have faith that right makes might ; and 
 in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty 
 as we understand it." 
 
 It was almost a prayer. 
 
NOMINATED FOR PRJESIDENT 129 
 
 Next day the newspapers printed his speech and 
 reviewed it enthusiastically. Lincoln had won the 
 East. To complete his conquest, he journeyed in 
 New England and repeated his ideas and sentiments. 
 
 After this trip East, Lincoln was often spoken of 
 as a possible candidate for the next presidential 
 election, but he always said that he considered 
 himself unworthy. There were many shrewd 
 politicians in Illinois, however, who thought him 
 worthy enough to enter the race, and they ma- 
 neuvered to have a National Republican Conven- 
 tion held in Chicago. Meanwhile, at the Republi- 
 can State Convention, held in Decatur on May 10, 
 Lincoln was acclaimed first choice of Illinois for 
 President. 
 
 It was at Decatur that Lincoln's cousin, John 
 Hanks, appeared at a proper moment in the pro- 
 ceedings with two old fence rails over his shoulder, 
 and a banner flying the words, — 
 
 Abraham Lincoln: The Rail Candidate: For 
 
 President in i860. 
 Two rails from a lot of 3000 made in 1830 hy 
 John Hanks and Abe Lincoln — whose father was 
 the first pioneer of Macon County. 
 
 This was a signal for wild enthusiasm, and the 
 convention shouted and stamped and waved hats 
 
I30 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 until Lincoln, who had only a few moments before 
 been lifted over their heads to the platform, came 
 forward and in an embarrassed manner said, — 
 
 ^' I suppose I am expected to reply to that. I 
 cannot say whether I made those rails or not, but 
 I am quite sure I have made a great many just as 
 good/' 
 
 A week later the National Republican Convention 
 met at Chicago in their building called the " Wig- 
 wam." There were a number of men whose names 
 were put before the convention as possible candi- 
 dates. Most prominent of all was that of William 
 H. Seward, of New York, who had been governor of 
 that state, and who was the choice of the wealthy 
 and powerful East. Edward Bates, of Missouri, 
 a lawyer and firm friend of moderation in slavery 
 measures, was another candidate. The delegates 
 from Pennsylvania were for Simon Cameron, a man 
 at that time not fully trusted by the people. Ohio 
 presented the name of Salmon P. Chase, who was 
 an avowed hater of slavery, and had been United 
 States Senator and governor of Ohio. 
 
 And Lincoln was the first Republican ever 
 selected by Illinois for such high honor. His 
 political heutenants at the convention were his old 
 admirers. Judge Davis, of the Eighth Circuit, and 
 two fellow-lawyers, Leonard Swett and Norman 
 
NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 131 
 
 B. Judd. These three astute managers of the 
 Illinois candidate filled Chicago with enthusiasts 
 for Lincoln. 
 
 It was the general opinion throughout the North 
 that Seward would be chosen as the RepubUcan 
 candidate ; but after much exciting balloting, Lin- 
 coln was nominated, receiving two hundred and 
 fifty-four votes. 
 
 The uproar that followed was indescribable. 
 People went mad. ''Hurrah for Old Abe!" 
 *' Three cheers for Lincoln ! " '' Hooray for the 
 rail-splitter ! " was yelled by ten thousand throats. 
 
 Where was Lincoln all this time? In a Spring- 
 field newspaper office he sat, his chair tilted against 
 the wall, an anxious look on his careworn coun- 
 tenance. A messenger from the telegraph office 
 came in, breathless, with a message. Lincoln 
 read it without comment and handed the sHp over 
 to the editor. Congratulations followed, but Lin- 
 coln broke away from his well-wishers with, — 
 
 *' There is a little woman down the street who will 
 be pleased to know about this. I think I will go 
 and tell her." 
 
 Thus Lincoln brought the wonderful news to his 
 wife, the woman who, as many as twenty years 
 before, had declared that Abe would one day be 
 President of the country. 
 
132 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 But it was not all glory and honor. The Demo- 
 crats, especially the Southern ones, were enraged 
 at the choice of the Republicans. Then, in their 
 own camp, came dissension and division. After 
 a stormy session in Charleston, South Carolina, in 
 April, the Democratic convention split into what 
 might be termed Northern and Southern halves, 
 the point of difference being slavery. They, how- 
 ever, agreed to meet again in Baltimore in June. 
 But no reconciliation was possible then; so the 
 Southern Democrats nominated John C. Brecken- 
 ridge, of Kentucky, for the presidency; and the 
 other wing of the Democratic party chose Stephen 
 A. Douglas for their candidate. To further com- 
 plicate the poHtical tides, some of the old Whig 
 party, who thought the best way to treat the 
 slavery issue was to ignore it, formed themselves 
 into a new alliance and nominated John Bell, of 
 Tennessee. 
 
 Four candidates for President, and each of the 
 four parties with a different attitude toward the 
 question of negro slavery ! 
 
 Let us fix the attitudes of these four parties 
 clearly in mind : — 
 
 The Republican party declared slavery was 
 wrong, and that its spread into new states should be 
 forbidden ; the Douglas Democrats took no stand 
 
NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 133 
 
 for or against slavery, save that each state or 
 territory might, and ought, to settle the question 
 itself ; the Southern Democrats supported slavery 
 and advocated its extension ; the followers of Bell, 
 calling themselves the Union party, thought it best 
 to say nothing about negro slavery in their political 
 principles. 
 
 All that summer preceding the election, Lincoln 
 remained quietly in Springfield, hearing himself 
 abused by North and South. The friends of 
 slavery called him a negro-lover, and made rude 
 jokes at Lincoln's expense. Strange to say, the 
 enemies of slavery attacked him too, for the rabid 
 Abolitionists thought him half-hearted. Even 
 men like Wendell Phillips cried, " Who is this 
 huckster in politics? Who is this country court 
 advocate ? " 
 
 The two extremists hated and baited him. But 
 he had the support of a vast majority among the 
 common people. His lowly origin, his hard work, 
 and his everyday wisdom appealed to them. 
 Torchlight processions were introduced for the 
 first time, and the famous " Wide-Awake Boys " 
 marched all over the North. " Honest Abe " and 
 " The Rail-Splitter '' became bywords. 
 
 Election Day, November 6, brought the crisis. 
 The result had been fairly anticipated. Lincoln 
 
134 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 was chosen by the people as the next ruler of the 
 United States. The popular vote was as follows : 
 Lincoln, 1,866,452; Douglas, 1,375,157 ; Brecken- 
 ridge, 847,953; Bell, 590,631. Of the electoral 
 votes Lincoln had 180, the other three combined, 
 only 123. 
 
 The next four months were a nightmare. Lincoln 
 was compelled to watch and do nothing — for he 
 was not yet inaugurated — while the country 
 appeared to be going to pieces. President Bu- 
 chanan took no stand against the movements of the 
 South when, one by one, the slave states withdrew 
 from the Union, and announced themselves an 
 independent nation. 
 
 South Carolina led the other Southern states, six 
 weeks after the November election. At Charleston 
 a state convention was called, and it was pro- 
 claimed that South Carolina had severed her ties 
 from the United States. Her palmetto flag was 
 unfurled to the boom of cannon and loud huzzas. 
 The United States forts in the harbor of Charleston 
 were threatened. 
 
 The men in the councils of Buchanan were in 
 sympathy with the South. They did everything 
 they could to ruin the Federal government, and 
 planned to seize all the forts and government 
 properties possible. 
 
NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 135 
 
 Florida followed the example of South Carolina 
 in seceding, and shortly afterwards Alabama, 
 Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas joined 
 the ranks. Delegates met at Montgomery, Ala- 
 bama, and formed their own government, naming 
 their union the Confederate States of America, 
 with Jefferson Davis for president and Alexander 
 H. Stephens for vice president. 
 
 Now, to further embarrass and confuse the in- 
 coming administration in Washington, many of 
 the leading Abolitionists vowed that the Southern 
 states had every right to secede if they wanted to ! 
 Leaders of opinion in New York, Philadelphia, and 
 Boston agreed that the slave states acted within 
 their rights in leaving the Union. Horace Greeley 
 led in this cry. 
 
 How different was Abraham Lincoln's opinion! 
 In a letter of December 17, i860, he said to Thurlow 
 Weed,— 
 
 " My opinion is, that no State can in any way 
 lawfully get out of the Union without the consent 
 of the others ; and that it is the duty of the Presi- 
 dent and other government functionaries to run 
 the machine as it is." 
 
 A turn in the tide of public feeling in the North 
 was brought about when a United States steamer, 
 Star of the Westj was fired on by the Confederate 
 
136 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 soldiers as she was taking provisions to the forts. 
 Added to this, the Southern government hauled 
 down the American flag over its forts, seized an 
 arsenal at Baton Rouge, and made demand that 
 the revenue cutter at New Orleans be turned over 
 to them. It was then that John A. Dix, recently 
 appointed Secretary of the Treasury, sent his 
 stirring dispatch over the wires — 
 
 "// any man attempts to haul down the American 
 flag, shoot him on the spot.^^ 
 
 Northern men at last realized the pitiful part 
 they were playing in allowing the South to coerce 
 them into submission and dishonor. 
 
 Amid all the turmoil Lincoln had remained firm 
 and calm, though how sorely troubled no one could 
 imagine. He was beset by frightened and weak 
 individuals to do this, that, and the other thing, in 
 the way of absurdity. Many put all the blame 
 for the unfortunate conditions upon Lincoln him- 
 self. He was Hterally besieged in the governor's 
 room of the Springfield capitol, where he saw 
 visitors. 
 
 To wildest suggestions he listened quietly, 
 answered those that required attention, and let 
 nobody divert him from his chosen path. One 
 of his letters warned a representative from Illinois, 
 
NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 137 
 
 " Entertain no proposition for a compromise in 
 regard to the extension of slavery. The tug has 
 got to come, and better now than later." 
 
 When not listening to his horde of nervous 
 advisers, Lincoln would spend his hours in a little 
 room over a store, composing his inaugural address, 
 the important message he would give the country 
 on the 4th of March; behind a locked door he 
 wrote and pondered, changing phrases, altering 
 words, endeavoring to make his thought strong 
 and sure, yet without any trace of conscious effort 
 or arrogance. 
 
 Before leaving for the capital of the nation, on 
 February 11, he paid a farewell visit to his step- 
 mother, and arranged to have a stone put over the 
 grave of his father, Thomas Lincoln, who had died 
 ten years before. At parting, his fond stepmother, 
 who had always loved him as her own, wept bitterly 
 and cried that she would never see him again. 
 Shortly before his train left, Lincoln paid a last 
 visit to his old office, and to Herndon, his law 
 partner. Referring to their creaking sign in the 
 doorway, he said, — 
 
 " Let it hang there undisturbed. ... If I 
 live I'm coming back some time, and then we'll 
 go right on practicing law as if nothing ever hap- 
 pened." 
 
138 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Gathered at the little railroad station were 
 hundreds of kindly neighbors and friends to see 
 him off. The day was gloomy and wet, adding to 
 the sadness of the occasion. Just prior to the train 
 pulling out, Lincoln stood on the car platform, and 
 with tears in his eyes, addressed them : — 
 
 *' My friends : No one, not in my situation, can 
 appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. 
 To this place, and the kindness of these people, I 
 owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a 
 century and have passed from a young to an old 
 man. Here my children have been born, and one is 
 buried. I now leave, not knowing when or whether 
 ever I may return, with a task before me greater 
 than that which rested upon Washington. With- 
 out the assistance of that Divine Being who ever 
 attended him, I cannot succeed. With that as- 
 sistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him, who can 
 go with me, and remain with you, and be every- 
 where for good, let us confidently hope that all will 
 yet be well. To His care commending you, as I 
 hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid 
 you an affectionate farewell." 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 "Vexed with Many Cares" 
 
 During the two weeks of his journey to the 
 national capital, Lincoln stopped in some of the 
 larger cities, as had been arranged, making ad- 
 dresses to the legislatures and delivering little talks 
 to crowds of citizens. Always his words contained 
 the same simple and unfaltering ideas : the preser- 
 vation of the Union and the adherence to their 
 principles. He could not say what his course 
 would be. Events alone could determine that. 
 But he had resolved on patience and prudence. 
 
 On the whole, his speeches disappointed his 
 hearers; he was too reserved and cautious. But 
 the time for taking the public into his confidence 
 had not come. 
 
 Lincoln had reached Harrisburg when the 
 rumors of a plot to assassinate him when visiting 
 Baltimore alarmed his detective escort and accom- 
 panying friends. Much against his will, he was 
 persuaded to return to Philadelphia and take a 
 
 139 
 
I40 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 train secretly for Washington, where he arrived 
 on the morning of February 23. 
 
 The days remaining to him before the ceremony 
 at the capitol he spent in official routine and in 
 final steps regarding the choice of a cabinet. Prior 
 to his nomination in Chicago, his family of advisers 
 had been partly chosen. His managers. Judge 
 Davis, Swett, and Judd, had promised certain dele- 
 gates that if Lincoln were elected, Caleb B. Smith 
 of Indiana, and Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania, 
 would be awarded high places. This political 
 dicker had displeased Lincoln, especially as he had 
 telegraphed his managers in the days of the Chi- 
 cago convention, ^^ Make no contracts that will 
 hind we." 
 
 Notwithstanding, Lincoln had to make good the 
 promises made by his managers. Simon Cameron 
 was appointed Secretary of War and Caleb Smith 
 given the portfolio of Secretary of the Interior. 
 For his Secretary of State, Lincoln chose his former 
 powerful rival for the presidency, William Henry 
 Seward, of New York ; and he furthermore selected 
 two other presidential rivals for his cabinet; 
 Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, was made Secretary of 
 the Treasury, and Edward Bates, of Missouri, was 
 appointed Attorney General. Two more were 
 needed to complete his official family, and Lincoln 
 
"VEXED WITH MANY CARES'* 141 
 
 gave the secretaryship of the navy to Gideon Welles, 
 of Connecticut; and made Montgomery Blair, of 
 Maryland, the Postmaster General. 
 
 His choice of the seven members of his cabinet 
 was severely criticized. Republicans complained 
 that he was favoring the Democrats, inasmuch as 
 four of the cabinet members were ex-Democrats, 
 and that, in consequence, it was a poor balance of 
 power. To this Lincoln replied good-naturedly, — 
 
 ''Very well, since I myself am an ex- Whig, we 
 shall be pretty well balanced. '^ 
 
 One Republican described the cabinet as "an 
 assortment of rivals." Seward and his followers 
 were especially prejudiced and critical, and on 
 March 2d, two days before the inauguration, 
 Seward withdrew his name from the chosen cabinet. 
 Four days later the new President persuaded the 
 New York leader to come back to his fold of 
 counselors. 
 
 The inauguration itself took place quietly and 
 without any especial feature, though there had 
 been threats that Lincoln would never be permitted 
 to take the oath of office. Washington was full 
 of his enemies, but General Winfield Scott and his 
 troops kept order. In the procession that left 
 the Senate Chamber for the pubHc platform were 
 many distinguished men, including Senator Doug- 
 
142 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 las, who held his one-time rival's hat while Lincoln 
 read his inaugural address to a vast assembly of 
 people. His inaugural was a clear, gentle, but 
 firm statement of the attitude of the new admin- 
 istration. Much of it was directed to the South, 
 and in terms of reason and affection counseled 
 them to abandon rash measures. In a dignified 
 manner he pleaded with the discontented section. 
 Among other sentiments, he said : — 
 
 "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-country- 
 men, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of 
 civil war. The government will not assail you. 
 . . . We are not enemies, but friends. We must 
 not be enemies. Though passion may have 
 strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. 
 The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every 
 battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart 
 and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet 
 swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, 
 as surely they will be, by the better angels of our 
 nature.'' 
 
 These were the closing words. Their utterance 
 over. Chief Justice Taney stepped forward to ad- 
 minister the oath of office. In a solemn moment 
 Abraham Lincoln was made President of the LTnited 
 States. First to congratulate him was Senator 
 Douglas, and a lifelong rivalry was ended in a hearty 
 
"VEXED WITH MANY CARES" 143 
 
 handclasp. It is also well to state Douglas's idea 
 of the existing political condition. While promi- 
 nent Abolitionists, like Seward and Wendell 
 Phillips, maintained that the Southern states had 
 every right to declare a separate government, 
 Douglas came out with this striking opinion : — 
 
 ''If the Southern states attempt to secede, I am 
 in favor of their having just so many slaves, and 
 just so much slave territory, as they can hold at the 
 point of the bayonet, and no more." 
 
 For a month after the inauguration there was 
 no move made on the part of the South to carry out 
 its program of enmity, and during that time 
 Lincoln had taken hold of the reins of government. 
 How well, is illustrated by his management of Sew- 
 ard. Either because Lincoln had shown anxiety 
 to retain him as Secretary of State, or because he 
 considered himself far above the Western rail- 
 splitter in experience and education, Seward one 
 day sent Lincoln a letter headed, ''Some Thoughts 
 for the President's Consideration." In this re- 
 markable document Seward virtually dictated to 
 the President what course he ought to pursue in 
 relation to the present situation and in his dealings 
 with foreign nations. By suggestion, he also gave 
 Lincoln to understand that he, Seward, was the 
 man equal to these emergencies. It was the same 
 
144 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 as if he had said to Lincoln, ^'You must be a 
 figurehead ; I will be the real ruler." 
 
 Some of Seward's suggestions in this letter were 
 utterly unworthy of the man and statesman. If 
 Lincoln had been as weak or ignorant as Seward 
 supposed, and had fallen in with the proposition, 
 the whole system of our government might have 
 been overturned and immeasurable calamity have 
 befallen the country. 
 
 But Lincoln was master of the situation, and in 
 a firm but gentle tone replied that he alone must 
 decide those or any other vital questions ; always, 
 of course, with the privilege of seeking advice 
 from the Cabinet if need be. Upon digesting this 
 courteous but no less masterful answer to his 
 ** Thoughts," Seward appears to have recognized 
 the quality of his chief ; from that time forth he was 
 tireless in his labors in behalf of the President. 
 
 For a while North and South played a waiting 
 game. The Northerners thought the administration 
 ought to settle matters one way or another — let the 
 slaveholding states secede without objection — grant 
 their separate government — anything to end the 
 suspense. On the other hand, the Confederates 
 urged Jefferson Davis to take some decisive step. 
 
 In this hour of tensity his Cabinet was of little 
 help to Lincoln. They thought for the most part 
 
"VEXED WITH MANY CARES" 145 
 
 that the easiest way was the best. Even old Gen- 
 eral Scott, head of the United States Army, advised 
 the evacuation of Fort Sumter, which the South 
 desired. This Lincoln refused to do. 
 
 Major Robert Anderson, with a small detail of 
 soldiers, held Fort Sumter, and they were sadly 
 in need of provisions. Lincoln determined to send 
 supplies to the garrison, and notified General 
 Beauregard, at Charleston, that he intended doing 
 so. Upon receiving this news General Beauregard, 
 on April 11, sent word to Major Anderson to 
 surrender the fort or suffer consequences. Major 
 Anderson replied that he would remain until 
 starvation forced him out. 
 
 The next day the Confederates bombarded the 
 fortress from the shore, keeping up their fire far 
 into the night. Major Anderson returned shot 
 as he might, but his defense was weak, and on the 
 13th Fort Sumter, badly battered, was given up to 
 the Southerners. Meanwhile, the Federal relief 
 expedition lay idle and helpless not far away. 
 
 Sumter was the strongest fortress on the South 
 Atlantic coast, and the people of the South were 
 overjoyed at its coming into their hands. The 
 populace of Charleston was wild with enthusiasm 
 at the victory. But the attack upon Sumter awoke 
 all the slumbering patriotism of the North, and at 
 
146 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 last Republican, Democrat, Abolitionist, and Whig 
 realized that the Federal government had been 
 defied and insulted. Like wildfire the spirit of 
 fight spread in the North. When Lincoln called for 
 75,000 volunteers to serve three months, it was 
 responded to by more men than could be handled. 
 Camps sprung up like mushrooms overnight 
 everywhere in the North. Ohio, Indiana, and 
 Illinois alone offered all the men that could be 
 used. Michigan had 50,000 ready for the front 
 within her own borders. Massachusetts had a 
 regiment equipped and marching before forty-eight 
 hours had passed. The spirit of the North had 
 awakened ! 
 
 And Southerners were as loyal and ardent to 
 fight for what they considered their rights. The 
 Southern states that had not already seceded, did 
 so — Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and 
 Arkansas joined their fortunes to the Confederate 
 cause. Delaware alone, of the slaveholding states, 
 responded to President Lincoln's call for troops. 
 
 On the whole, the South was better prepared for 
 war than the North. Its states had been arming 
 for months and the troops were well drilled. They 
 felt that one of their soldiers was equal to ten 
 Yankees, though in actual proportion the North 
 numbered four whites to one in the South. 
 
"VEXED WITH MANY CARES" 147 
 
 Though the rank and file had responded so over- 
 whehningly in the North, and the soldiers and 
 sailors held true to the Stars and Stripes, there 
 were many backsliders among trusted officers 
 who went over to the enemy. General Winfield 
 Scott, then the highest officer in the army, and 
 seventy-six years of age, was offered the command 
 of the Virginia troops. His answer was memorable : 
 
 "I have served my country under the flag of the 
 Union for more than fifty years, and as long as God 
 permits me to live, I will defend that flag with my 
 sword, even if my own native State assails it ! " 
 
 Just the opposite was the decision of Robert E. 
 Lee, at that time a colonel in the United States 
 Army. Though he said, "I cannot imagine a 
 greater calamity than the dissolution of the Union,'' 
 he decided to cast his lot with Virginia. General 
 Scott, realizing that his age and infirmities barred 
 him from taking the field, offered Lee the command 
 of the Union Army. But Virginia, seceding, 
 decided him against acceptance. 
 
 Another man who played a big part in bringing 
 about this national crisis, vanishes from the earthly 
 scene at this stage of affairs. Douglas had taken 
 upon himself the task of traveling through the 
 North to arouse the people to their danger. He 
 spoke without rest, calling upon his strength until 
 
148 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 it was taxed beyond further endurance. Curiously 
 enough, in Chicago, the city that once put itself 
 in mourning in mockery of his senatorial labors, he 
 was taken ill, and died a victim of his love of 
 country ere the first battle had been fought between 
 the divided sections of the Union. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 First Year of the War 
 
 While the tap of the drum was heard in every 
 village in the North, and numerous factories had 
 begun to manufacture ammunition and other army 
 supplies, the situation of Washington, the capital, 
 was reason for much disquiet. It lay in Southern 
 territory, really, and was poorly defended. One 
 of the first moves, then, was fortification. Regi- 
 ments were on their way from Massachusetts, New 
 York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, but their 
 progress appeared all too slow to the anxious ones 
 in Washington. Rumors came from time to time 
 that Confederates were headed for the capital as 
 well, and planned to take it before it was protected. 
 And when the Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts 
 on its way to Washington was attacked by a mob 
 in Baltimore and demoralized, it looked as if the 
 Southerners would have their way. Furthermore, 
 Maryland, a neutral state, protested to Lincoln 
 that no more soldiers should march across its soil 
 to fight against her sister states. 
 
 149 
 
150 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 ''We must have troops," replied Lincoln, "and 
 as they can neither crawl under Maryland nor fly 
 over it, they must come across it." 
 
 But the strain of waiting for these troops to 
 appear began to tell on the stoutest hearted. Even 
 the President lost some of his wonderful calm. 
 Pacing the floor, he was heard to exclaim, ''Why 
 don't they come ! Why don't they come !" 
 
 On April 25 the Seventh Regiment, of New York, 
 reached the capital, and the city welcomed the 
 soldiers with shouts of joy. Shortly thereafter, 
 General Benjamin F. Butler, without orders, 
 descended upon Baltimore and took possession of 
 that riotous city. 
 
 Besides these vital questions of safety and 
 defense, Lincoln was worried by a relentless mob 
 of office-seekers. He was hardly permitted to 
 think over the national issues of life or death, he 
 was so pestered by self-seeking politicians. To a 
 friend he remarked one day, "I am like a man 
 so busy in letting rooms at one end of his house that 
 he cannot stop to put out the fire that is burning 
 at the other." The patience and tact that he 
 exercised, however, with this flood of petty office- 
 seekers appeared inexhaustible. 
 
 No less skillful and tactful was he when handling 
 men and affairs of greater importance, as testified 
 
FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR 151 
 
 • 
 by his course with Seward's letter to our minister 
 to England. Secretary Seward had drafted the 
 dispatch under date of May 21, 1861, and it had 
 to do with our relations to England during the 
 crisis. Lincoln was shown it so that he might 
 know what attitude the State Department was 
 taking toward Europe's leading Power. The tone 
 of the dispatch was too severe and dictatorial, 
 Lincoln found, and he made changes in it so that 
 England could not possibly take offense. His 
 alterations, it is conceded, saved us from war 
 with Great Britain and France ; for already those 
 nations had expressed sympathy with the Con- 
 federacy, and Seward's demands would have 
 brought about open antagonism, if not actual 
 alliance with the South. By this time Secretary 
 Seward had come to acknowledge Lincoln's superior 
 judgment and statecraft, and he felt no anger or 
 hurt that Lincoln should correct his letter almost 
 as one would correct a schoolboy's composition. 
 Instead, soon after, he wrote to his wife, "The 
 President is the best of us all." 
 
 Toward the end of May, impatience was the 
 popular attitude North and South. The people 
 wanted combat to settle their differences at once. 
 Down in Dixieland the general cry was "On to 
 Washington!" Up in the North that cry was 
 
152 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 echoed by *'0n to Richmond!" Richmond was 
 now the heart and capital of the Confederacy. 
 All through June the Southern forces were gather- 
 ing on the hills beyond the Potomac. The Con- 
 federate flag could be seen waving over the encamp- 
 ments from the windows of the White House. 
 Washington was almost in a state of siege. 
 
 Before any battle took place Congress met, 
 July 4, responding to the call for an extra session 
 from the President. Only the Northern and Border 
 states were represented. The question of the 
 Border states — Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri 
 — was a very delicate one. Both North and South 
 contended for them. Their support meant every- 
 thing. 
 
 Lincoln's message to Congress laid stress on the 
 necessity for unalterable firmness in their stand. 
 He showed how their cause was just, and how the 
 South had been the aggressor against the peace and 
 laws of the country. He spoke of the Border 
 states and demonstrated how impossible was their 
 attempt at ''armed neutrality." It was evident 
 they would have to cast their fate with one side 
 or the other. He requested that Congress vote 
 him 400,000 men and $400,000,000 at least, so 
 that he might end the conflict without delay. 
 Congress met his plea with generous enthusiasm; 
 
FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR 153 
 
 he might have 500,000 men and $500,000,000 for 
 his purposes. 
 
 A half million volunteers were straightway called 
 for, to serve three years, unless the war ended sooner. 
 Immediate was the response from all over the North. 
 
 Meanwhile, the forces in the field were moving to 
 meet the enemy. General Butler took possession 
 of Old Point Comfort. Into West Virginia Gen- 
 eral McClellan led an army to cut off any Confed- 
 erate advance there. Troops in Missouri were 
 under the command of General Fremont, who had 
 distinguished himself in the Mexican War. The 
 harbors of the South were blockaded. On July 
 21, owing to the urging in the North, President 
 Lincoln ordered General McDowell to attack the 
 Confederates at Bull Run. This was the first 
 pitched battle of the war, and the opening action 
 was in favor ot the North, but General Beauregard 
 being reenforced at a critical moment by General 
 Johnston, the Union forces were routed, and 
 retreated in panic and confusion from Virginia 
 soil back to Washington. Had the Confederates 
 known the utter fright and wreck of the Federals, 
 they would have followed up their advantage and 
 perhaps have captured the capital. Their victory, 
 as it stood, elated them, however, to a point of 
 delirious joy. 
 
154 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 It was a sore blow to the confident North. De- 
 feat made them reaHze that the Federal army was a 
 raw organization, in need of discipline and training. 
 Therefore, the day after the battle Lincoln sent for 
 General McClellan to put the Union forces into 
 shape. McClellan was a comparatively young 
 man, and the unexpected honor of making him the 
 head of the army dazzled him. Said he in a letter, 
 
 **I find myself in a new and strange position here : 
 President, Cabinet, General Scott and all, deferring 
 to me. By some strange operation of magic, I 
 seem to have become the power of the land." 
 
 Though the position in which he found himself 
 fed his vanity, he did masterful work in drilHng 
 the soldiers. But as a fighting general he was not 
 a success. Nevertheless, he regarded himself as 
 the one to save the nation. Perhaps he had better 
 become dictator ! And many took up the notion 
 and foolishly thought it possible. It was of this 
 ridiculous clamor that Lincoln told the story of the 
 fellow caught in the thunder shower who prayed to 
 the Lord to send more light and less noise. 
 
 General McClellan was short-sighted enough to 
 suppose himself indispensable, and Lincoln's mild 
 and willing air led him further astray. So ''Little 
 Mac" kept his attitude of lordHness, drilled the 
 troops to perfection, but was so maddeningly slow 
 
FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR 155 
 
 tp engage the enemy that Lincoln lost patience 
 with him, as is easily appreciated from the famous 
 remark the President let drop, — 
 
 ''If McClellan is through with the Army, I'd 
 like to borrow it for the afternoon." 
 
 Trouble also came to Lincoln through the 
 measures taken by General Fremont in Missouri. 
 Without leave or license, Fremont took it upon 
 himself to proclaim slaves free, and he also confis- 
 cated property when he considered it necessary. 
 Now, it will be remembered, that one of the main 
 issues was to preserve the Border states to the 
 Union, and Lincoln had long fought to retain 
 them. In a letter to a friend he had gone so far as 
 to say, — 
 
 ''I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as 
 to lose the whole game. Kentucky gone, we cannot 
 hold Missouri, nor, I think, Maryland. These 
 all against us, and the job on our hands is too large 
 for us." 
 
 The Border states, still being neutral and also 
 sanctioning slavery, of course objected to the high- 
 handed methods of Fremont. To complicate the 
 matter, the Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, 
 backed up the acts of Fremont, and the Abolition- 
 ists throughout the North were enthusiastic. 
 Some time previously General Butler had declared 
 
156 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 negro slaves, when taken from owners who used 
 them for war purposes, "contraband" — the same 
 as other property. This had proved a popular 
 move; and the Abolitionists thought General 
 Fremont's work better still, as being a means of 
 ending slavery wherever possible. Lincoln, how- 
 ever, considered it a grave mistake, and forbade it. 
 He would sanction nothing beyond what was con- 
 tained in an Act of Congress, passed in August, that 
 only those slaves should be considered free who had 
 been employed in military service by the Con- 
 federates. - 5 
 
 Again was the North impatient for decisive 
 fighting, but McClellan persisted in drilling and 
 would not take the risk of battle just then. By 
 the beginning of November, General Scott had 
 resigned, and McClellan was placed in supreme 
 charge. Once more the North fixed its hopes on 
 "Little Mac," as he was called by his soldiers. 
 
 It looked as if the problems of the President were 
 increasing day by day. The next thing to confront 
 him was the case of the British mail steamship, 
 Trent, which had been held up by Captain Wilkes, 
 of the U. S. war sloop, San Jacinto, and two Con- 
 federate envoys taken from it. These men, 
 Messrs. Mason and Shdell, were on their way to 
 Europe to represent the Confederate cause abroad. 
 
FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR 157 
 
 At their capture the North went wild with enthusi- 
 asm at the act of Captain Wilkes. Even Secretary 
 of the Navy Welles sent Wilkes the seal of ofEcial 
 approval. Lincoln saw the matter differently. 
 He declared the hold-up unwise, without judg- 
 ment, and wrong. He said : — 
 
 ''We must stick to American principles con- 
 cerning the rights of neutrals. We fought Great 
 Britain for insisting, by theory and practice, on the 
 right to do precisely what Captain Wilkes has 
 done." 
 
 He alluded to the chief cause of the War of 181 2. 
 Despite the angry clamor at his attitude, the public 
 reluctantly saw the justice of his reasoning, and when 
 Great Britain demanded reparation and apology^ 
 they were given. Lincoln had said, "One war at a 
 time," and that phrase set the people thinking. 
 It is now acknowledged that this act of Lincoln's 
 made it impossible for either France or England to 
 give aid to the Southern people. 
 
 As we have seen. Secretary Cameron set himself 
 against the President on the Fremont issue in 
 Missouri. Now Fremont was guilty of further 
 breach. Without consulting the President or sub- 
 mitting his ideas to any higher authority, he sent 
 broadcast his annual report in which he recom- 
 mended that the slaves be armed and made part 
 
158 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 of the Union forces. Learning of this flagrant act, 
 Lincoln recalled the report by telegraph and had 
 it revised, so that the arming of negroes, if at- 
 tempted, should appear a military necessity rather 
 than an order emanating from the government. 
 
 In January, 1862, Lincoln removed Cameron 
 from the Cabinet on this account and because there 
 was widespread dissatisfaction with the conduct 
 of the War Department. The man chosen by the 
 President to fill the office was Edwin Stanton, the 
 man who, years ago, had disparaged Lincoln so 
 bitterly at the time of the reaper lawsuit. And 
 even later Stanton had violently attacked the 
 course of the government, one of his frequent 
 phrases being, ''The painful imbecility of Lincoln.'' 
 
 Once more we are constrained to note the mar- 
 velous amiability and forgiveness of Lincoln in 
 choosing his assistants; he knew Stanton was a 
 man of worth and ability, and refused to let any 
 personal feeling influence his selection of a man for 
 an office. We must note, too, that his choice of 
 Stanton was one of the wisest he ever made, though 
 Stanton was to embarrass and interfere with the 
 President, again and again. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 The Emancipation Proclamation 
 
 Stanton went to work with terrific energy to 
 reorganize the War Department. Totally dif- 
 ferent from Cameron, he kept tab of every detail 
 of his office. One of his innovations was making 
 his quarters the center of the telegraphic system 
 of the United States, by which means he kept 
 himself informed of every move made in the capi- 
 tal and on the field. Conscientious to a degree, 
 he held himself responsible for all mihtary 
 operations. 
 
 As the winter of 1862 progressed, Stanton, 
 among his strongest convictions, felt that Mc- 
 Clellan's course of inaction was detnoralizing the 
 Union spirit. The mania of McClellan was for 
 more men — and yet more. Constantly he com- 
 plained of having too few soldiers, though he had 
 one hundred thousand men. The enemy, he 
 thought, outnumbered him greatly. 
 
 Out of patience, Lincoln ordered that a forward 
 movement be made not later than February 2 2d. 
 
 159 
 
i6o ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 The President offered a plan for an advance on 
 Richmond — a maneuver having the backing of 
 several military experts. McClellan announced 
 that he had a better plan, but still he dallied. 
 Not until the Monitor, " the cheese-box on a raft," 
 had met and defeated the hitherto invincible 
 Merrimac in the waters of Hampton Roads, on 
 March 9, did McClellan make a move. By that 
 time the Confederates had retreated beyond reach, 
 and all McClellan's elaborate preparations went 
 for naught. His too great caution and obstinacy 
 enraged the North, and on March 11 Lincoln found 
 it necessary to deprive him of supreme command of 
 the Union Army; he was retained, however, at 
 the head of the Army of the Potomac, and in that 
 position undertook the disastrous Peninsular Cam- 
 paign against Richmond. 
 
 Politically, several important steps were taken 
 in relation to slavery. In March, Lincoln pro- 
 posed to Congress that money be appropriated and 
 given to any state that would undertake the gradual 
 abolishment of slavery. His effort was futile. 
 But in April slavery was forbidden in the District 
 of Columbia. It was also prohibited in territories 
 over which Congress had control, and on vessels 
 and in forts belonging to the United States. Lin- 
 coln hesitated, however, about declaring any sweep- 
 
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION i6i 
 
 ing freedom for negroes, and he was slow in giving 
 his permission to arm slaves that had fallen into 
 Northern hands. He was fearful lest he arouse 
 the enmity of the Border states. And members 
 of Congress from these doubtful states he tried to 
 argue and convince into agreeing to compensation 
 for slave property. Lincoln also advanced his pet 
 scheme of ridding the country of negroes by col- 
 onizing them in a land of their own. But the 
 Border states were deaf to all such propositions. 
 
 Meanwhile no decisive victories came to encour- 
 age the North. Farragut had captured New 
 Orleans, and an obscure soldier named Grant 
 appeared to be doing deeds of daring in the West 
 — he had taken Fort Donelson and sent ringing 
 through the land his phrase of " unconditional 
 surrender " — but McClellan was gaining nothing. 
 Midsummer found him in retreat and full of com- 
 plaints. 
 
 Almost inconsolable at the result of the Penin- 
 sular Campaign, Lincoln, on July i, issued a call 
 for 300,000 more volunteers, an act he dreaded. 
 On the whole, the summer of 1862 was the blackest 
 the North had to face. The outlook promised no 
 relief. Despairing, the President went down to 
 visit McClellan in Virginia to see what could be 
 done. 
 
 M 
 
l62 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 After his return from the front, it is said that 
 Lincoln came to the conclusion that emancipation 
 of the negroes was in reality now an imperative 
 war measure. Long had he fought this idea, 
 thinking his own scheme to pay slaveholders for 
 their human chattels would be the most just and 
 welcome solution of the problem. 
 
 On July 22, Lincoln called together his Cabinet 
 and told them he was ready for the vital step of 
 emancipation by proclamation. He asked their 
 opinion, saying, at the same time, that he had 
 settled it in his own mind. None of his counselors 
 volunteered anything important except Secretary 
 Seward, who said he thought it would be a serious 
 mistake to announce the freedom of the negroes 
 at that time when the North was in the depths. 
 Better to wait for some noteworthy victory, ad- 
 vised Seward, then cap it with such a proclamation. 
 Lincoln was struck with the sanity of this analysis 
 and said he would defer his measure until a pro- 
 pitious moment arrived. 
 
 While awaiting a victory this long summer, the 
 sorely beset President was attacked in the New 
 York Tribune, by Horace Greeley, who denounced 
 what he considered Lincoln's vacillation and 
 weakness. Greeley headed his editorial, " The 
 Prayer of Twenty Millions." Lincoln answered 
 
Photograph by Scharf Bros., Chicago. 
 
 St. Gaudens' Statue of Lincoln in Lincoln Park, Chicago. 
 
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 163 
 
 the severe criticism in a lucid and reasonable letter 
 that scored Greeley, and took the people into his 
 confidence. It was a masterly stroke. Lincoln's 
 most telHng words in that reply were these : — 
 
 ''I would save the Union. I would save it 
 the shortest way under the Constitution. The 
 sooner the national authority can be restored the 
 nearer the Union will be the Union as it was. If 
 there be those who would not save the Union un- 
 less they could at the same time save slavery, I 
 do not agree with them. If there be those who 
 would not save the Union unless they could at the 
 same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with 
 them. My paramount object in this struggle is 
 to save the Union, and is not either to save or to 
 destroy slavery. If I could save the Union with- 
 out freeing any slaves, I would do it; and if I 
 could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do 
 it ; and if I could save it by freeing some and leav- 
 ing others alone, I would also do that. What I 
 do about slavery and the colored race, I do because 
 I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I 
 forbear, I forbear because I do not beHeve it would 
 help to save the Union." 
 
 Trouble with military heads came apace. After 
 his visit to McClellan, in Virginia, Lincoln had 
 made Henry W. Halleck, General in Chief; and 
 
l64 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 he promoted Pope, who had won some battles in 
 the West, to the head of a new army in Virginia. 
 Both generals recommended that McClellan be 
 recalled from his position on the Peninsula. 
 Then followed fresh defeats for the Northern arms. 
 Generals Pope and Banks were thwarted by Gen- 
 erals Lee and Jackson, and the second battle of 
 Bull Run completed the Union woes. It seemed 
 as if the Northern cause were doomed. 
 
 At this new crisis Lincoln turned once more to 
 McClellan as an organizing genius, and "Little 
 Mac " was again placed in charge of the forces in 
 . Washington. Stanton was angry and fumed at 
 such a course of action, but Lincoln remained 
 firm and told his Secretary of War that if he could 
 furnish a better man for the emergency, to get 
 him quick. 
 
 September came and still no Union victory. 
 Lee threatened an invasion of Maryland. Was 
 this the end? In haste McClellan was sent to 
 meet the Confederate military genius who had 
 concentrated his forces. The bloody battle of 
 Antietam, on September 17, was the result. Every- 
 thing was in favor of the Union, McClellan having 
 almost twice the number of men that Lee had. 
 Realizing his danger, Lee gave the order to retreat. 
 This was McClellan's greatest opportunity to 
 
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 165 
 
 retrieve his reputation. Eagerly, Lincoln tele- 
 graphed McClellan to be sure not to let Lee get 
 away — to destroy him. But, as of yore, McClellan 
 obeyed his own judgment. He thought his troops 
 were not in condition to follow up the flying foe. 
 
 Nevertheless, Antietam was a victory for the 
 North, though not as great and decisive as had 
 been hoped for and expected. Nothing loath, 
 Lincoln embraced the propitious moment in keep- 
 ing with his intention and stood ready to give the 
 world the greatest of state papers — The Emanci- 
 pation Proclamation. 
 
 On September 22, he called his Cabinet together 
 for the auspicious occasion. When they were 
 gathered in solemn conclave, the President, in one 
 of his jocose moods, tried to Hghten the meeting by 
 reading a chapter from Artemus Ward's book of 
 nonsense stories. Wondering what could be the 
 matter with their chief, the assembled statesmen 
 listened respectfully while he read and laughed. 
 Out of courtesy, all except Stanton tried to express 
 enjoyment of the humor. 
 
 Suddenly, becoming graver, the President began 
 on the real business in hand, and told his council 
 that he had determined on the step which he had 
 outlined to them in July. He said he had promised 
 himself and his Maker that he would issue a 
 
i66 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 proclamation of emancipation when a Northern 
 success at arms warranted the issue. Then he 
 read to them his immortal document. It was to 
 be given to the world immediately, but it was not 
 to go into effect until January i, 1863. On that 
 date all persons held in bondage in the Southern 
 states were declared free forevermore. This was 
 not to include the Border states, as they were 
 not in rebelHon against the Federal authority. 
 
 The immediate result was not encouraging. As 
 Lincoln said in a letter to Vice-President Hamlin, 
 "The North responds to the Proclamation suffi- 
 ciently in breath; but breath alone kills no 
 rebels.'' State elections that autumn showed a 
 spirit of discontent with the Republican party in 
 general. 
 
 Meanwhile military achievement shed no glory 
 on the Union arms. McClellan was again demon- 
 strating his strange incompetency in attacking the 
 enemy. Lincoln urged him to no purpose. At 
 length, wearied with argument and desiring some 
 triumph to please the North, Lincoln, on November 
 7, deprived McClellan of command and gave 
 General Burnside his position. Alas, Burnside 
 proved a loser, too. He had planned an advance 
 upon Richmond by way of Fredericksburg. Lin- 
 coln said it might be done if rapidly executed. 
 
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 167 
 
 Burnside was slow. Lee was strongly intrenched. 
 On December 13, therefore, the Union forces suf- 
 fered terrible defeat at Fredericksburg, thus closing 
 this black year of 1862. 
 
 To take Burnside 's place, Lincoln selected '' Fight- 
 ing Joe" Hooker, though it must be added that 
 Burnside was dropped more because of quarrels 
 with subordinates than because he had not achieved 
 victory. The year closed also over Cabinet squab- 
 bles. Seward and Chase were the chief factors. 
 From the beginning, Seward had a multitude of 
 political enemies, and finally a Senate committee 
 went so far as to request the President to make 
 certain changes in his Cabinet. By means of an 
 innocent ruse, Lincoln brought together the dis- 
 contented committee and the Cabinet, that griev- 
 ances might be aired openly. It resulted in both 
 Chase and Seward resigning. Lincoln shrewdly 
 declined to accept either resignation, thus showing 
 his impartiality, and both factions were compelled 
 to acknowledge his fairness. Lincoln considered 
 it a triumph to keep both men in his Cabinet, as 
 they balanced opposing elements. After this out- 
 break and its amicable ending, Lincoln remarked to 
 a friend, " Now I can ride; I have got a pumpkin 
 in each bag," comparing himself to a farmer riding 
 with saddle bags, well balanced. 
 
1 68 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 The new year was signalized by Lincoln taking 
 the final step in emancipation. Tired from re- 
 ceiving a host of callers, he withdrew to sign the 
 paper that was to give four million slaves their 
 liberty. Signing it, his fingers, weary from much 
 hand-shaking, trembled, and characteristically he 
 made some joking allusion to his nervousness at 
 affixing his signature to the world-famous document. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Dark Days 
 
 With the realization of the Emancipation 
 Proclamation two things were achieved ; European 
 powers regarded the North more favorably, and 
 the employment of negro soldiers proved an 
 advantage. On the other hand, compulsory army 
 service brought riots and even bloodshed, while 
 *' Copperheads" were rampant. Northern men 
 who expressed public sympathy with the Confed- 
 erate cause were called ^Copperheads," their 
 badge being a Liberty head cut out of a copper 
 coin. 
 
 The case of Vallandigham was the most notorious 
 of the kind. For his treasonable speeches General 
 Burnside arrested him and a military tribunal 
 convicted him. Loud was the protest in the 
 North because the action tended to curb free 
 speech. Imprisoning Vallandigham was equal to 
 Russian despotism, said many malcontents. Lin- 
 coln himself was doubtful of Burnside's right to 
 do as he had done, but the President was willing 
 
 169 
 
lyo ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 to share the blame. Eventually, Lincoln disposed 
 of the troublesome case in an unlooked-for, clever 
 manner — he sent the culprit South where lay 
 his sympathies. 
 
 Though Lincoln knew that desertion from the 
 ranks was punishable by death, he could rarely 
 resist an appeal to pardon a doomed fellow. Hun- 
 dreds of stories are told of his tender heart in this 
 respect. In some cases his generals were com- 
 pelled to cut the telegraph Hues so that a deserved 
 sentence might be carried out and discipline 
 preserved. 
 
 In truth, Lincoln was very sympathetic and 
 lenient in his treatment of his soldiers. He loved 
 the boys in the ranks like so many sons and they, 
 in turn, were happy to call him *' Father Abraham." 
 At the Soldiers' Home, where he spent the summer 
 months, he was on friendly footing with the mem- 
 bers of his guard, and occasionally joined them in 
 their mess. It was noticed, too, that he never 
 failed to visit the wounded and dying in the mili- 
 tary hospitals, giving a cheerful word to a sufferer, 
 or placing a gentle hand on an agonized brow. 
 
 The story of Lincoln and the sleeping sentinel is 
 one typical of his great heart. This young soldier 
 was found asleep at his post while on guard duty 
 in the national capital. A serious, even criminal 
 
DARK DAYS 171 
 
 offense. Military authorities decided to make an 
 example of the boy, and he was condemned to die. 
 All appeals to the generals were vain. As a last 
 resort, the boy's friends sought the President and 
 pleaded for his Hfe. 
 
 Imagine the prisoner's astonishment when, a 
 few hours later. President Lincoln was ushered into 
 his tent. The illustrious visitor asked him a 
 number of questions about himself, and learned 
 that the lad was from the mountains of Vermont, 
 his mother and father living on a farm there. He 
 showed Lincoln a picture of his mother which he 
 carried. The President told the boy that he 
 knew what it was to be a farmhand, and how hard 
 it was for a fellow of that kind to keep awake at 
 night. He promised to pardon him, but warned 
 the prisoner that the bill would be high. Hearing 
 the glad news, the Vermont boy was overjoyed, 
 and vowed that his father would raise enough 
 money to pay in full. Then Lincoln told him that 
 he misunderstood — that he only could pay the 
 bill by becoming, in future, one of the bravest 
 and most faithful defenders of the flag. 
 
 Gladly, the young fellow pledged his life to his 
 benefactor, and not long afterwards he saw his 
 first battle. Among the earliest to engage the 
 enemy, he was one of the last to give up fighting 
 
172 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 when the retreat had been sounded. A river had 
 to be crossed in the retreat and many wounded 
 men were unable to breast the water. The Ver- 
 mont lad swam back and forth under a hail of bul- 
 lets, saving his helpless comrades, until a shot 
 ended his heroic endeavor. He died blessing 
 Lincoln, the man who had given him a chance to 
 prove himself worthy of self-sacrifice and glorious 
 martyrdom. 
 
 Before we leave the consideration of this merci- 
 ful side of Lincoln's nature, let us quote the Presi- 
 dent's letter to a poor widow, Mrs. Bixby, whose 
 five sons had fallen in battle. So lofty is this 
 letter in its expression of noble sympathy that, at 
 the present moment, it stands out in characters of 
 gold on the wall of one of the rooms at Oxford 
 University, England. 
 
 "I have been shown on the file of the War De- 
 partment," he wrote, "a statement of the Adju- 
 tant-General of Massachusetts, that you are the 
 mother of five sons who have died gloriously on 
 the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless 
 must be any word of mine which should attempt to 
 beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming ; 
 but I cannot refrain from tendering to you the 
 consolation that may be found in the thanks of 
 the Republic they died to save. I pray that our 
 
DARK DAYS 173 
 
 Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your 
 bereavements, and leave only the cherished memory 
 of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that 
 must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice 
 upon the altar of freedom." 
 
 From January to July, 1863, there was little to 
 encourage the hope of Lincoln. The Emancipa- 
 tion Proclamation was accomplishing its purpose, 
 but slowly; faster came the fury of the South 
 against its growing effect. Lincoln urged the 
 arming of negroes wherever he thought it prudent 
 and advisable. To Andrew Johnson, military 
 governor of Tennessee, he wrote in March, — 
 
 ^'The colored population is the great available 
 and yet unavailed of force for restoring the Union. 
 The bare sight of fifty thousand armed and drilled 
 black soldiers upon the banks of the Mississippi 
 would end the rebellion at once; and who doubts 
 that we can present that sight if we but take hold 
 in earnest?" 
 
 Confederate leaders thought that, if captured, 
 the white generals who headed negro battalions 
 ought to be dealt with as outlaws and criminals, 
 though subsequently Jefferson Davis organized 
 black troops in imitation of the North. Up 
 North, there was a group of men that demanded 
 the same pay and privileges for the black soldier 
 
174 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 as the white one enjoyed. Frederick Douglass, 
 the famous negro orator, went to Lincoln with such 
 a demand. The President listened patiently, 
 then pointed out that the negro soldier ought to 
 wait until he had proven himself as valiant and 
 intelligent before he could expect the same rewards. 
 Using them at all was protested against in many 
 sections of the Union, Lincoln reminded Douglass, 
 and at best it was a grave experiment. The negro 
 orator saw the truth of these remarks, and used 
 his influence against the unreasonable movement. 
 All of which shows how many and complicated 
 were the causes brought to the harassed President, 
 and how unfailingly ^he met them with wisdom 
 and justice. 
 
 The strong hand of Lincoln was also needed 
 during this disturbing period in the matter of 
 privateering, England being a prime offender in 
 assisting the South in its depredations on our 
 commerce. Both the country at large and Congress 
 were inclined to take revenge by authorizing pri- 
 vateers on their own account, and an act was 
 passed giving the President power to do so when- 
 ever he thought fit. But Lincoln never saw fit. 
 Instead, he avoided inviting additional warfare, 
 by refusing to accept offers of privateers; and 
 ultimately, through his firm manipulation of this 
 
DARK DAYS 175 
 
 delicate international matter, he forced England 
 to pay full indemnity for her part in aiding the 
 South to prey upon our commerce. 
 
 While the letter to Mrs. Bixby shows his tender- 
 ness, the one written to General Hooker, on plac- 
 ing him in command of the Army of the Potomac, 
 January 26, 1863, shows his strength and tact 
 with a commander already under a cloud of sus- 
 picion. Here is the letter : — 
 
 ^^ General: I have placed you at the head of the 
 Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this 
 upon what appear to me to be sufficient reasons ; 
 and yet I think it best for you to know that there 
 are some things in regard to which I am not quite 
 satisfied with you. 
 
 "I believe you to be a brave and skillful soldier, 
 which of course I like. I also believe you do not 
 mix politics with your profession, in which you are 
 right. You have confidence in yourself, which is 
 a valuable, if not indispensable, quality. You 
 are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, 
 does good rather than harm. But I think that 
 during General Burnside's command of the army 
 you have taken counsel of your ambition, and 
 thwarted him as much as you could ; in which you 
 did a great wrong to the country and to a most 
 meritorious and honorable brother officer. I have 
 
176 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your recently 
 saying that both the army and the government 
 needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this, 
 but in spite of it, that I have given you the com- 
 mand. Only those generals who gain successes 
 can set themselves up as dictators. What I ask 
 of you is military success, and I will risk the dicta- 
 torship. The government will support you to the 
 utmost of its ability, which is neither more nor 
 less than it has done and will do for all commanders. 
 
 ^'I much fear that the spirit which you have 
 aided to infuse into the army, of criticising their 
 commander and withholding confidence from him, 
 will now turn upon you. I shall assist you as far 
 as I can to put it down. Neither you nor Napo- 
 leon, if he were alive again, could get any good out 
 of an army while such a spirit prevails in it. 
 
 ^'And now, beware of rashness. Beware of 
 rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance 
 go forward and give us victories." 
 
 Like McClellan, General Hooker speedily got 
 the disorganized army into fighting shape, but he 
 delayed getting it into action; and the Southern 
 warriors, seizing their opportunity, inflicted one of 
 their most terrible blows against the North in the 
 battle of Chancellorsville, fought May 2-4, 1863. 
 At this encounter Hooker failed to do .the very 
 
DARK DAYS 177 
 
 thing that Lincoln had repeatedly told him to do — 
 to use all of his men. 
 
 The news from the front was well-nigh crushing. 
 The President did not sleep that night ; he paced 
 the floor wearily, trying to see a ray of light in the 
 encompassing darkness. It was one of his worst 
 hours. When the clerks came to office duties in 
 the morning, they found Lincoln eating his break- 
 fast at his desk and intent upon instructions for 
 General Hooker that he had jotted down during 
 his lone night vigil ; notes that were to urge Hooker 
 on and on in the desperate fight. 
 
 M 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 A Big Battle and a Little Speech 
 
 After the crushing defeat at Chancellorsville, 
 the victorious Lee, seeing with what ease he routed 
 one general after another of the foe's armies — 
 McClellan, Pope, Burnside, and Hooker — deter- 
 mined to invade the North and carry warfare 
 right into Washington. Aware of this move of 
 the Confederates, Hooker outlined a plan for 
 swooping down upon the unprotected capital of 
 the Confederacy — Richmond. Instantly Lincoln 
 saw the folly of this plan. He advised Hooker, — 
 
 *'If left to me, I would not go south of the 
 Rappahannock upon Lee's moving north of it. 
 If you had Richmond invested to-day, you would 
 not be able to take it in twenty days ; meanwhile 
 your communications, and with them your army, 
 would be ruined. I think Lee's army, and not 
 Richmond, is your true objective point. If he 
 comes toward the upper Potomac, follow on his 
 flank and on his inside track, shortening your 
 lines while he lengthens his. Fight him, too, when 
 
 178 :- 
 
A BIG BATTLE AND A LITTLE SPEECH 179 
 
 opportunity offers. If he stays where he is, fret 
 him and fret him." 
 
 No more important decision could have been 
 made at this most critical moment. Still, Hooker 
 lagged, though he chased the Confederate forces 
 across Maryland, and they entered Pennsylvania 
 June 22, to the horror of that state. The cities 
 of Pittsburg and Philadelphia were panic stricken. 
 And at this dire instant, when the whole North 
 was holding its breath, there was a petty quarrel 
 between the Union generals, and, annoyed at being 
 ordered by Lincoln to submit to the authority of 
 Halleck, Hooker resigned. Everybody was stunned 
 at such a turn. Lincoln and Stanton made haste, 
 however, to appoint General Meade in Hooker's 
 place. 
 
 To his everlasting fame, Meade took hold of his 
 forces with promptitude and decision ; he led his 
 ninety thousand men after the invaders and com- 
 pelled them to turn about at Gettysburg village 
 to save themselves. For the first three days of 
 July, a gigantic and desperate battle raged over 
 fertile fields and fruitful valleys, hosts of men falling 
 on either side. It was the decisive battle of the 
 war. The total killed and wounded of the Union 
 soldiers was 23,186; that of the Southern army 
 almost as many, and Lee's loss was the greater 
 
i8o ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 because he had fewer men. The Confederate ranks 
 were terribly shattered. But the Union was 
 saved ! 
 
 Broken, Lee and his ragged legions retreated 
 slowly across the Potomac. Now, at the height 
 of its accomplishment, the same fatality appeared 
 to follow the Army of the Potomac ; its commander 
 refused to pursue the crushed enemy and deal the 
 blow that would finish the war, though Meade had 
 been reenforced with fresh troops. This failure 
 to follow up an enormous advantage made Lin- 
 coln as nearly angry as anything could, and he 
 criticized Meade rather sharply. In answer Meade 
 expressed satisfaction at the enemy having been 
 driven from Northern soil, at least. But Lincoln 
 was impatient of such an argument and said, — 
 
 *'Why will not our generals get that notion out 
 of their heads? All American soil is ours !" 
 
 That Fourth of July, 1863, was a truly glorious 
 one for the North, however, for besides a victory 
 at Gettysburg, word came flashing over the wires 
 that General Grant had at last conquered sweep- 
 ingly in the West. A little more than a year 
 before, this little-heard-of commander had cap- 
 tured Fort Donelson, a stronghold of great im- 
 portance in the Mississippi Valley, and since then he 
 had been struggling against seemingly insuperable 
 
A BIG BATTLE AND A LITTLE SPEECH i8i 
 
 odds of nature and Southern intrenchment at Vicks- 
 burg. But finally, on the Fourth of July, this 
 citadel capitulated. Grant's campaign had been 
 one of tremendous difficulty and required all 
 the courage and hardihood of real heroes to win it. 
 How Grant ran the gantlet of the powerful 
 batteries to attack the stronghold is one of the big 
 feats of American history. In spite of sickness 
 among his men, and many other handicaps as well, 
 he conquered Vicksburg, and the Confederacy 
 was literally cut in two ; the Mississippi was once 
 more open as a highway to the North. As Lincoln 
 himself phrased it, *'The 'Father of Waters' again 
 goes unvexed to the sea." 
 
 Rejoicing was great in the North, and the end 
 of the war was expected in short order. All the 
 more, then, the people resisted the '^drafts," the 
 compelhng of men to join the army. But losses 
 had been tremendous, and as volunteering had 
 almost stopped, the government was forced to take 
 drastic measures. If a man were rich enough, 
 however, he might ''buy off" for three hundred 
 dollars instead of serving his time of three years. 
 This caused bitter feeling among the poor, especially 
 in New York City, and in 1863, from July 13 to 16, 
 there were mobs and riots which resulted in terror 
 and death. Ten thousand troops were called out 
 
i82 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 to quell the disturbance in the metropolis. Such 
 a state of affairs sorely troubled Lincoln, and it 
 was another grief added to the many he already 
 bore. Fortunately, these conditions soon abated, 
 and in many parts of the country volunteering was 
 resumed when the Northern victories gave a new 
 glory to the standard of the Union. Autumn 
 saw Grant winning notable successes around 
 Chattanooga. The battle of Lookout Mountain 
 was fought and won "in the clouds," and the 
 victory on Missionary Ridge was a thrilling 
 achievement. 
 
 Crowning all the inspiriting midsummer of 1863 
 came the dedication of a national burying-ground 
 at Gettysburg, where the war had reached its bloody 
 crisis and where so many of our bravest soldiers 
 had given up their lives. A multitude met on 
 November 19 to witness the solemn ceremonies. 
 Edward Everett, the celebrated New England ora- 
 tor, was to be the chief speaker of the day, a 
 large chorus of voices was to render sacred music, 
 and President Lincoln was expected to make "sl 
 few appropriate remarks. '^ 
 
 Everett had prepared a two-hour speech and it 
 was delivered with all the eloquence and passion 
 of which its author was capable. Lincoln had 
 hastily jotted down his few remarks, and almost 
 
THE " GETTYSBURG ADDRESS " IN LINCOLN'S HANDWRITING 
 
4?;,*<I<V' ^§J^^^ .^^//Cctr 5^^^^^icW -^-u^, <£v^ -^r-M 
 slc^h^^C^ ^.C-vO^ /-^^bJS/Zj /^'0'0^e£> o^ (h^OA^ j&t-yV^ a^Jw^ 
 
 V 9 
 
A BIG BATTLE AND A LITTLE SPEECH 183 
 
 up to the last moment, he had been occupied in 
 shaping his ideas on scraps of paper. When it 
 came his turn to address the throng, they saw a 
 gaunt, care-worn man rise on the platform, his 
 face the very semblance of sadness, and before 
 they realized it he had finished speaking and sat 
 down again. 
 
 A feeling of disappointment followed. All had 
 looked for something more inspiring from him, 
 something of greater style and impressiveness. 
 Secretary Seward, one of those seated on the plat- 
 form, addressing Everett, said, 
 
 ^^He has made a failure, and I am sorry for it. 
 His speech was not equal to him." 
 
 Lincoln himself felt that he had failed miserably 
 in his effort. But that speech was to be acclaimed 
 a masterpiece equal to any classic of its kind, 
 comparable indeed to the immortal efforts of 
 the Greek orators. This noble address, enshrined 
 to-day in the hearts of countless thousands, is so 
 fine and flawless, that to alter a single word 
 would be to mar its perfection. It is here given 
 in full : — 
 
 "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers 
 brought forth on this continent, a new nation, 
 conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the prop- 
 osition that all men are created equal. 
 
i84 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 "Now we are engaged in a great civil war, test- 
 ing 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." 
 
A BIG BATTLE AND A LITTLE SPEECH 185 
 
 Seeing it in print, many were quick to recognize 
 its greatness that had not realized its perfection 
 when dehvered from Lincoln's lips. First among 
 these was Everett, who paid the President a grace- 
 ful tribute of appreciation. 
 
 ''I should be glad," he wrote, ^^if I could flatter 
 myself that I came as near the central idea of 
 the occasion in two hours as you did in two min- 
 utes." 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 Intimate Glimpses 
 
 Elevated to the highest position in the gift of 
 his countrymen, Abraham Lincoln remained the 
 same in word and manner. There was no change 
 in the outward man from the friendly neighbor with 
 a "howd'y" for all in Springfield, to the ruler of 
 twenty millions in the White House, with a great 
 army at his command. No man ever bore more 
 simply such honor and such power. 
 
 As one of Springfield's leading citizens, it was 
 no unusual sight to see him chopping his own wood, 
 milking his cow, going to market, a basket on his 
 arm, or working about his stable ; and, without 
 a thought as to how it might strike others, he 
 would carry his boys on his back or sprawl on the 
 floor with them in some game. Indeed, he always 
 delighted in the company of children, whether 
 they were his own or not. The anecdote of the 
 little girl who asked him to let his whiskers grow, 
 so that he would look better, is an instance that 
 shows his big, childlike heart. 
 
 i86 
 
INTIMATE GLIMPSES 187 
 
 Just before his election this little girl wrote him 
 a letter pointing out to him the advantage of 
 whiskers. Lincoln, no doubt smiling boyishly to 
 himself, answered the child as follows : — 
 
 ''My dear little Miss: Your very agreeable 
 letter of the fifteenth is received. I regret the 
 necessity of saying I have no daughter. I have 
 three sons, one seventeen, one nine, and one seven 
 years of age. They, with their mother, constitute 
 my whole family. As to the whiskers, never having 
 worn any, do you not think people would call it 
 a piece of silly affectation if I were to begin now?'^ 
 
 But he evidently thought better of it, for there 
 came a time when he let his whiskers grow, and 
 while stopping at a town on his way to be inaugu- 
 rated, he faced a crowd and asked for the little 
 girl, Miss Grace Bedell. She was there, sure 
 enough, and was brought forward to meet her 
 idol. Lincoln kissed her and called her attention 
 to his brand-new whiskers. We may picture her 
 embarrassment and delight. 
 
 At the White House he did not give up his coun- 
 try habits. He rose with the dawn, and as early 
 as six o'clock he would be seen at the gate of the 
 White House impatiently craning his neck for sight 
 of the newsboy. Regulation clothes he detested, 
 and whenever it might properly be done, he would 
 
1 88 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 don his dressing-gown and put on slippers. Further- 
 more, he was fond of cocking his feet above his 
 head and almost sitting on his shoulder-blades! 
 Of course, only in his resting hours and in his own 
 particular rooms would such a sight present itself. 
 At times, when full dress and dignified manners 
 were required, Lincoln could comply with the forms 
 of etiquette, though in his heart he was bored at 
 social functions. 
 
 The servants in the White House were never un- 
 der rigid control. They seemed to come and go 
 as they pleased, even going to the length of inter- 
 rupting state conferences to deliver some unim- 
 portant message from Mrs. Lincoln. President 
 Lincoln stood their free and easy attitude with 
 good nature and never rebuffed them. Once, it 
 is said, a caller on a Sunday morning rang the 
 White House bell vainly until, tiring of receiving 
 no response, he walked in. Still not a servant was 
 in sight to announce the visitor. Taking his 
 courage in hand, he knocked on the President's 
 door, and explained his extraordinary reception 
 to Lincoln. ''Oh," laughed the head of the nation, 
 "the boys are all out this morning." 
 
 His children, ''Tad" and "Willie," took full 
 possession of the White House when the family 
 moved there. "Tad" or Thomas was eight and 
 
INTIMATE GLIMPSES 189 
 
 Willie ten years old when they went to live in the 
 historic mansion. Together they played boister- 
 ously through the stately halls and rooms. Each 
 of them had a pet goat hitched to a little wagon 
 that they drove and raced. Ponies were theirs, 
 too, and the little lads had lots of fun, heedless of 
 the terrible shadow hanging over their father. 
 Often it was only their merry voices echoing about 
 the place that relieved the gloom in the hearts of 
 those anxious ones in the White House. Lincoln 
 loved to hear them and have them swoop down 
 on him suddenly with joyous proposals to frolic. 
 And grave senators and elegant gentlemen were 
 occasionally shocked to see the head of the nation 
 playing with his boys as if he were one of them, 
 entering their ball game with zest and running 
 bases like a long-legged, overgrown youngster. 
 
 Willie Lincoln died in February, 1862, just 
 when everything else seemed blackest, and the 
 loss was well-nigh unbearable for the afflicted 
 father, while it almost affected the reason of the 
 bereaved mother. Lincoln had all he could do to 
 master that melancholy which was always ready 
 to take possession of him. But his other respon- 
 sibilities roused his courage beyond despair. 
 Tad, after this sorrow, became the light of his 
 father's eyes. The little fellow was permitted all 
 
I90 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 sorts of liberties. He was allowed to seek out his 
 father and demand attention, no matter what task 
 of state might be occupying the President; and 
 Lincoln only laughed indulgently at any complaint 
 against the child. His own childhood had been so 
 full of hard work that he appeared resolved that 
 his boy's Hfe should be filled to overflowing with 
 play and gladness. 
 
 Whenever Mrs. Lincoln and Tad were absent 
 from home on a trip or visit for any length of time, 
 Lincoln, in sending messages to his wife, never for- 
 got to include news of importance to Tad. The 
 goats occupied the main position in these telegrams. 
 Once he telegraphed that, "Nanny was found rest- 
 ing herself and chewing her little cud in the middle 
 of Tad's bed." Again, the information was, **Tell 
 Tad the goats and father are very well — especially 
 the goats." 
 
 Tad somehow succeeded in making Secretary 
 Stanton his slave. Usually Stanton was stern, 
 abrupt, and full of business, but he did so far 
 forget himself one day as to make Tad a lieutenant 
 in the army. Tad took his appointment with due 
 respect and dignity, and managed to get a suitable 
 uniform for his rank. He drilled and messed with 
 his father's guard of soldiers, and, once exercising 
 his authority, dismissed them from duty. A new 
 
INTIMATE GLIMPSES 191 
 
 guard was to be organized by him out of the White 
 House laborers, he decided. Some one brought it 
 to the President's notice as a serious matter. 
 Lincoln saw only the amusing side of the affair. 
 
 Another trait of the little boy was one that re- 
 minded people of his father. Tad would get up 
 fairs for the sick and wounded soldiers, and solicit 
 support. He might raise a racket playing '^ Min- 
 strel Show" in the attic in a morning, but perhaps 
 the same afternoon would find him running a 
 charitable "fair," or going among his father's 
 crowd of callers, finding out their troubles, and 
 then importantly leading to the President those 
 that had touched his sensibilities. 
 
 It was Tad's habit to report each evening to his 
 father all his interests and activities of the day. 
 Laying aside his cares and labors, Lincoln would 
 hsten to the childish confidences, nodding gravely 
 over a vital act, or laughing at some ridiculous 
 happening. Generally, before he was half through 
 his recital. Tad fell asleep, usually on the floor, 
 when the father would gather up his precious bur- 
 den and carry him to bed. 
 
 We have alluded to the crowd of callers that 
 besieged the White House. Never before or since 
 has such a stream of humanity, bearing all sorts of 
 complaints or seeking favors, deluged the home of 
 
192 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 our chief executive. They were welcome to see 
 the President several days of the week, in the early 
 afternoon, when he had finished with senators and 
 other important personages. Lincoln loved these 
 hours when he met the people face to face. He 
 used to refer to these informal receptions as his 
 "public opinion baths." The crowd was as a 
 rule received by him while seated in an armchair, 
 and on a table close at hand rested a Bible — a 
 book which he read more and more as he grew 
 older. 
 
 All sorts of people sought him in this way. There 
 were endless office-seekers, relatives of soldiers 
 caught in the toils of war, cranks who knew the 
 way to end the war at once, and enthusiastic in- 
 ventors wishing support of wild projects. Many 
 women, widows and orphans of dead soldiers, were 
 in this assemblage of pleaders. To every one 
 Lincoln listened courteously and kindly, having a 
 sympathetic word for one, a funny yarn for another, 
 and for all any real help that lay in his power. 
 
 Two women one day begged him to release their 
 husbands from jail ; the men were needed by their 
 families; they had been arrested for refusing to 
 be drafted. After a moment's thought, the 
 President reached for his pen and signed the order 
 of release, also setting free other men jailed for the 
 
INTIMATE GLIMPSES 193 
 
 same reason. One of the women was aged. She 
 turned to the man who had granted her wish. 
 With deep emotion she said, "I shall probably 
 never see you again until we meet in heaven." 
 
 Lincoln was touched by the simple words of 
 faith. To his friend Joshua Speed, who happened 
 to be standing near, he said that the old woman's 
 remark had gladdened him more than anything 
 else that had happened that day. Then he added 
 those words that were so beautiful and true of 
 himself. ''Die when I may," he said, "I want it 
 said of me by those who knew me best, that I 
 always plucked a thistle and planted a flower 
 where I thought a flower would grow." 
 
 Sometimes the old joke-telling Lincoln would 
 throw off his weight of responsibility, and for an 
 evening, surrounded by a few kindred spirits, he 
 would laugh and spin yarns by the hour. Such 
 a light hour was given him when Dennis Hanks, his 
 old chum and fellow farm-laborer, came to see 
 him in Washington, to plead for some friends of 
 his who had been locked up as Copperheads. 
 
 Dennis Hanks came all togged out in his best 
 Sunday clothes to call on his old friend, now the 
 first man of the land. He was naturally nervous 
 and awkward in his manner of making known his 
 desire to the guards who felt like laughing at the 
 
194 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 rustic visitor. However, Dennis made his way 
 past the gibing fellows and was highly gratified to 
 find "Abe'' the same as ever, and delighted to 
 greet him. Indeed, the President insisted on 
 Dennis spending a lot of time with him, and they 
 swapped old-time memories of happy days. Of 
 course, Lincoln granted his friend's request for 
 pardon of the offenders in Illinois, and sent him 
 home the proud possessor of a silver watch, en- 
 graved with words commemorating the occasion. 
 
 Careless about his appearance generally, Lincoln 
 was equally careless about his eating and the rou- 
 tine of business. It was a common thing for him 
 to forget to come to meals, and after he had eaten, 
 it was often difficult for him to recall what he had 
 taken. His indifference to petty office details 
 drove others to distraction. Letters that required 
 an answer he used to keep in his tall hat. If he 
 got a new hat, or changed to another, it would be 
 likely that his correspondence suffered! It is on 
 record that he once apologized for not replying to 
 a letter because it was in his old hat. When he 
 was practicing law, it was customary for him to 
 bundle miscellaneous memoranda together, tie 
 them up and label the packet, — 
 
 "When you can't find it anywhere else, look into 
 this." 
 
INTIMATE GLIMPSES 195 
 
 Lincoln relied on his retentive and accurate 
 memory. Card indexes and files were not for him. 
 But he never forgot the principal points or facts 
 in a matter. Great issues were clear to him, and 
 his mind would sweep aside all except the vital 
 parts. Woe betide the individual who tried to 
 gloss over a moral issue or becloud an honest 
 argument. In such cases Lincoln's mind was like 
 an X-ray, penetrating to the very soul of things. 
 
 He never found fault with subordinates, and 
 rather than demand a service of them would 
 perform a task himself. Thus he would work 
 early and late, sparing everybody but himself. 
 
 Social functions must have wearied him more 
 than all his other labors put together, yet no one 
 was more patient and courteous, tolerating bores 
 and putting at ease those who were awkward and 
 tongue-tied in his presence. While his voice and 
 wit were with the brilliant company, his heart 
 and soul were out with *Hhe boys in blue" fighting 
 on bloody battlefields, or his mind would plunge 
 into the ineffable sadness ever ready to infold him. 
 A French marquis described such remarkable 
 changes in the face of the President one evening 
 during a reception. The nobleman counted twenty 
 alterations of countenance, from animated gayety 
 to sudden, profound melancholy. More than one 
 
196 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 commentator has thought Lincoln wore the cloak 
 of humor to hide his natural sadness. 
 
 In no home was the ravage and tragedy of the 
 war felt more keenly than in the Lincoln family at 
 the White House. Lincoln himself had a number 
 of dear friends fighting for the North, as well as 
 an equal number on the Southern side. It will be 
 remembered that the President was born a South- 
 erner, and that his wife was a Kentuckian. Both 
 of them suffered personal griefs as the armies 
 clashed. Several of Lincoln's dearest friends were 
 killed in battle, and his heart was torn by deaths 
 in Confederate and Union ranks equally. Mrs. 
 Lincoln, on the other hand, had brothers fight- 
 ing on the Southern side. Two of them were 
 killed on the field of battle. Her favorite brother 
 lay dying at Shiloh while she had to open a grand 
 ball in honor of that Union victory ! 
 
 Lincoln had no vacations, but in the summer 
 time he lived in a cooler retreat than the White 
 House. This was the Soldiers' Home, a short 
 distance out of Washington. It was a familiar 
 sight to see him driving between the two places, 
 a mounted guard of twenty-five or thirty cavalry 
 attending him, their swords drawn and upright. 
 Stanton would insist on these protectors though 
 Lincoln complained of them. ''They make such 
 
From the Collection of Americana of Frederick H. Meserve, New York. 
 Mary Todd Lincoln. 
 The Lady of the White House. 
 
INTIMATE GLIMPSES 197 
 
 a noise that Mrs. Lincoln and I cannot hear our- 
 selves talk," he would protest. 
 
 To walk or sit under the, stars in the cool of the 
 evening was one of Lincoln's habits. He loved to 
 get away from the crowded, maddening world and 
 meditate in the dark. Frequently he went to a 
 Httle mall adjoining the White House, there to 
 think and perhaps to pray. The sculptor, Bor- 
 glum, has conceived him so in his "Lonely Lincoln," 
 which is a very human monument that gives an 
 enviable touch to the city of Newark, New Jersey. 
 Lincoln would have commended the spirit of the 
 sculptor, for he always expressed an admiration for 
 the lowlier aspects of life, and once told of a dream 
 to illustrate this trait of his. In this dream he 
 heard himself criticized as being a common-look- 
 ing man, and turning to the speaker the President 
 rebuked him, saying, — 
 
 ''Friend, the Lord prefers common-looking 
 people ; that is why he made so many of them." 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 Tension and Reelection 
 
 Before the year 1863 ended, Lincoln, in his 
 annual message, again betrayed his never-sleeping 
 desire to forgive his enemies. He made it known 
 that he was ready to pardon all rebels, with the 
 exception of certain offenders, provided they took 
 oath to support the Constitution, the Union, 
 and the proclamation concerning slavery. Also, 
 he outlined a plan of restoring to the Union the 
 seceded states that might wish to come in. Much 
 opposition in congress and throughout the North 
 resulted. They held that the President was going 
 too far. His authority, they contended, was not 
 great enough to permit him to make such a 
 declaration. As a consequence of this and the 
 prospect of unabated warfare, Lincoln's renomina- 
 tion looked extremely doubtful. PoKticians were 
 especially set against him. The Secretary of the 
 Treasury, Chase, counted himself a possible rival 
 candidate, and after injuring Lincoln's cause as 
 much as he could, he resigned from the Cabinet 
 
 198 
 
TENSION AND REELECTION 199 
 
 because his disloyalty became a common topic of 
 conversation. It is strange to note that the most 
 powerful men of Lincoln's Cabinet all tried thwart- 
 ing or rivaHng him — always to their shame and 
 defeat in the end. And Chase was no exception, 
 for, when the time for nomination came, his own 
 state, Ohio, preferred Lincoln. 
 
 Perhaps the year of 1864 was harder then any 
 on Lincoln. Everything depended on the army 
 now. The victories of 1863 had buoyed the people 
 up with false hopes of the immediate cessation of 
 war. Under Grant, who had been created Com- 
 mander in Chief, they expected speedy triumph 
 over the Confederates in the spring. Instead, 
 the Southern generals, Lee and Johnston, proved 
 that they possessed the strength and purpose of 
 desperation and decision. Frightful slaughter was 
 the outcome of the battles of the Wilderness, 
 Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor. The losses of 
 Grant amounted to fifty thousand men in little 
 more than a month. Yet he sent forth his ringing 
 slogan to hearten the gloomy North : — 
 
 ^'7 propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all 
 summer.''^ 
 
 Then he settled down to besiege Petersburg, come 
 what might. General Sherman, the other leader 
 
200 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 depended upon, was in Georgia, fighting his way 
 heroically, every foot of progress costing precious 
 blood. 
 
 Among the political leaders it seemed as if any one 
 save Lincoln was preferred as a candidate for the 
 next presidential election ; still, the ** plain people" 
 did not swerve from their support of the man at the 
 helm ; and largely through their firmness and devo- 
 tion he was renominated at the Baltimore Con- 
 vention, June 8, 1864, the Republicans dropping 
 their party name and choosing him on what was 
 called the Union ticket, with Andrew Johnson, a 
 Democrat of Tennessee, for Vice-President. Learn- 
 ing this, a delegation of admirers called at the 
 White House to express its pleasure at the outcome. 
 With a look of quizzical seriousness on his face, 
 Lincoln answered : — 
 
 "I do not allow myself to suppose that either 
 the Convention or the League have concluded 
 that I am either the greatest or the best man in 
 America, but rather they have concluded it is not 
 best to swap horses while crossing the river, and 
 have further concluded that I am not so poor a 
 horse that they might not make a botch of it in 
 trying to swap." 
 
 His quaint and homely words caught the popular 
 fancy, and on all sides was echoed and reechoed 
 
TENSION AND REELECTION 201 
 
 the phrase, ''Don't swap horses while crossing a 
 river," which in this fashion was molded into a 
 campaign watchword. But doubtful days were 
 hard upon these loyal supporters. All summer 
 the war went on without sign of breaking. The 
 Southerners bore the favor of Fortune, apparently. 
 Once they came up as far as the environs of the 
 capital, and at the time Washington was almost 
 defenseless. Terror reigned, and a steamer was 
 prepared to carry off the President and his Cabinet 
 to safety should Confederates descend upon the 
 city. Fortunately, help came from Grant at the 
 proper moment and the enemy fled. 
 
 Midsummer was with them and still no victory 
 to cheer the North. Complaint was general. It 
 would seem the worst time possible to call for more 
 men to fight, yet Lincoln determined to do so. 
 PoHtical well-wishers told him it would ruin his 
 chances of reelection. To this advice he replied, 
 
 ''It is not a personal question at all. It matters 
 not what becomes of me. We must have men. If 
 I go down, I intend to go like the Cumberland, 
 with my colors flying." 
 
 So the President had the courage to call for 
 500,000 men, and, furthermore, proclaimed that 
 if they were not supplied by the various states 
 by September, it would be necessary to draft them. 
 
202 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 As the summer merged into August unmarked 
 by a Union victory, Lincoln saw nothing but 
 failure ahead. The Democrats held their conven- 
 tion on August 31, and nominated McClellan for 
 President. In their platform they declared that 
 the time had come to end the terrible war by means 
 of peaceful agreement; that four years of strife 
 and bloodshed had failed to accomplish the de- 
 sired end. And many prominent Republicans be- 
 lieved the same thing. When Lincoln heard of 
 an attempt to drive out of the army one of his 
 generals for speaking in favor of McClellan, he 
 prevented the deed, saying, — 
 
 '^Supporting General McClellan for the presi- 
 dency is not violation of army regulations, and 
 as a question of taste in choosing between him and 
 me — well, I'm the longest, but he's better- 
 looking." 
 
 Even Lincoln agreed with those who foretold 
 his failure to gain reelection. Many thought that 
 he ought to withdraw from the ticket and allow 
 another to take his place. So convinced was 
 Lincoln of a coming defeat that he sat down one 
 morning in August and penned a resolution which 
 he had made in his own heart. It ran as follows : 
 
 ''This morning, as for some days past, it seems 
 exceedingly probable that this administration will 
 
TENSION AND REELECTION 203 
 
 not be reelected. Then it will be my duty to 
 so cooperate with the President-elect as to save 
 the Union between the election and the inaugura- 
 tion, as he will have secured the election on such 
 ground that he cannot possibly save it afterwards." 
 
 But his forebodings were to be happily dis- 
 pelled. In September the country was electrified 
 by the sweeping victories of Sherman, who took 
 Atlanta, and by the prowess of Sheridan in the 
 Shenandoah. Lincoln called on the people to give 
 public thanks. Rejoicing was uppermost in the 
 hearts of the North. 
 
 Triumph at the polls now appeared certain for 
 Lincoln. Success blessing the Federal arms also 
 shed an air of glory around him. Election returns 
 in November gave him a majority of about half a 
 million votes. Lincoln was in the War Depart- 
 ment waiting the returns and filHng in idle moments 
 by reading the amusing yarns of Petroleum V. 
 Nasby. In times of deep feeHng and tensity it re- 
 lieved him to divert his mind with jokes and humor, 
 as we have seen again and again in his career. 
 
 When his reelection was assured, his first thought 
 was of his wife, as it had been on the former occa- 
 sion. Turning to a subordinate, he exclaimed, — 
 
 "Send the word over to Madam; she will be 
 more interested than I am." 
 
204 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 As the days passed, further victories crowned 
 the arms of the Union. Sheridan took possession 
 of the Shenandoah Valley, Sherman swept trium- 
 phantly to the sea, and General Thomas routed 
 the Confederates in Tennessee. The cause of 
 Secession was doomed. 
 
 Victory did not make Lincoln proud, nor did it 
 cause him to think of the so-called sweets of re- 
 venge. All he felt was sorrow and sympathy for 
 his brothers in the South. He was anxious to 
 bring peace speedily and to be as easy and as gentle 
 with the defeated ones as was possible. To this 
 end he argued with his Cabinet and with Congress, 
 for neither of these bodies was incHned to leniency. 
 Moreover, he consented to meet representatives 
 of the Confederate government in Hampton 
 Roads, headed by their vice-president, Alexander 
 H. Stephens, to talk over plans for peace without 
 further strife. In agreeing to meet these emis- 
 saries he cared nothing for his dignity or his 
 pride — all he desired was an end to the horrors 
 of war. But he was disappointed in this confer- 
 ence, for the Confederate delegates insisted upon 
 recognition of their government as the first issue 
 in the matter of conciliation. The President 
 could not recognize any other nation set up within 
 the boundaries of the United States. One of the 
 
TENSION AND REELECTION 205 
 
 representatives, in argument, used Charles I. of 
 England as an example for Lincoln in his negotia- 
 tions. To this Lincoln dryly remarked, — 
 
 ''All I distinctly recollect about Charles I. is 
 that he lost his head !" 
 
 This attempt at peace, February 3, was a com- 
 plete fizzle. Arms really had to settle the differ- 
 ences between the divided nation. Still, Lincoln 
 persisted in his endeavor to bring about a cessa- 
 tion of bloodshed. After his return from the 
 Hampton conference, he planned to submit to 
 Congress a scheme whereby an appropriation of 
 four hundred milKon dollars be made as compensa- 
 tion to the South for the loss of their slaves, pro- 
 vided they consented to lay down arms before the 
 ist- of April. With one voice his Cabinet cried 
 out against the idea. Facing them, the President 
 said sorrowfully, — 
 
 "I see that you are all opposed to me, and I 
 will not send it." 
 
 Compensated emancipation had been a favorite 
 idea of Lincoln's for many years, but it never 
 became a reaHty. Everywhere it was rejected; 
 by the South, by the Border states, by the North. 
 However, he had the happiness to see the launching 
 of an amendment to the Constitution forbidding 
 slavery anywhere in the United States. 
 
2o6 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 His second inauguration was, if anything, more 
 solemn than his first. It was almost in the nature 
 of a religious ceremony. Rain had filled the day 
 of his inauguration up to the moment he took the 
 oath of office, when the sun burst through the 
 clouds and clothed him in radiance. Four years 
 before Lincoln had faced the listening multitude, 
 his gigantic task only begun. Now he stood vir- 
 tually a conqueror, the end in sight, but still 
 humble and gentle. In those four years he had 
 grown old, wrinkled, and careworn; on his sad 
 face was written the tragic epic of a war waged 
 by brother against brother; he looked like some 
 prophet whose past words had been translated 
 into scourge and fire, whose present words were 
 to bring healing and balm to the stricken nation. 
 Slowly, impressively, he began his noble oration 
 that was to sway and thrill the throng that heard, 
 and was to touch the hearts of endless unborn 
 generations of men : — . 
 
 " Fellow-Countrymen : At this second appearing 
 to take the oath of the Presidential office, there is 
 less occasion for an extended address than there 
 was at the first. Then a statement, somewhat in 
 detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting 
 and proper. Now, at the expiration of four 
 years, during which public declarations have been 
 
TENSION AND REELECTION 207 
 
 constantly called forth on every point and phase of 
 the great contest which still absorbs the attention 
 and engrosses the energies of the Nation, little 
 that is new could be presented. The progress of 
 our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is 
 as well known to the public as to myself ; and it is, 
 I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to 
 all. With high hope for the future, no prediction 
 in regard to it is ventured. 
 
 " On the occasion corresponding to this, four 
 years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to 
 an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought 
 to avert it. While the inaugural address was being 
 dehvered from this place, devoted altogether to 
 saving the Union without war, insurgent agents 
 were in the city, seeking to destroy it without war 
 — seeking to dissolve the Union, and divide effects, 
 by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war ; but 
 one of them would make war rather than let the 
 Nation survive, and the other would accept war 
 rather than let it perish. And the war came. 
 One eighth of the whole population were colored 
 slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, 
 but localized in the southern part of it. These 
 slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. 
 All knew that this interest was, somehow, the 
 cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and 
 
2o8 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 extend this interest was the object for which the 
 insurgents would rend the Union, even, by war; 
 while the Government claimed no right to do more 
 than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. 
 
 " Neither party expected for the war the magni- 
 tude or the duration which it has already attained. 
 Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict 
 might cease with, or even before, the conflict it- 
 self should cease. Each looked for an easier 
 triumph, and a result less fundamental and as- 
 tounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray 
 to the same God, and each invokes His aid against 
 the other. It may seem strange that any men 
 should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wring- 
 ing their bread from the sweat of other men's 
 faces ; but let us judge not, that we be not judged. 
 The prayers of both could not be answered — 
 that of neither has been answered fully. The 
 Almighty has His own purposes. ' Woe unto the 
 world because of offenses, for it must needs be 
 that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom 
 the offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that 
 American slavery is one of those offenses which, 
 in the Providence of God, must needs come, but 
 which, having continued through His appointed 
 time. He now wills to remove, and that He gives 
 to both North and South this terrible war, as the 
 
TENSION AND REELECTION 209 
 
 woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall 
 we discern therein any departure from those 
 Divine attributes which the believers in a living 
 God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, 
 fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of 
 war may speedily pass away. Yet if God wills 
 that it continue until all the wealth piled by the 
 bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unre- 
 quited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of 
 blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by an- 
 other drawn with the sword, as was said three 
 thousand years ago, so still it must be said, 
 ' The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous 
 altogether.' 
 
 " With malice toward none, with charity for all ; 
 with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see 
 the right, let us strive on to finish the work we 
 are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care 
 for him who shall have borne the battle, and for 
 his widow and his orphan; to do all which may 
 achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among 
 ourselves, and with all nations." 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 The Curtain Falls 
 
 Spring of 1865 brought the bustle of preparation 
 for renewed struggle. General Grant broke winter 
 quarters, and the President, anxious to be near the 
 scene of the close of the conflict, so confidently 
 expected, went down the James River and estab- 
 lished himself on board a steamer called River 
 Queen, where his accommodations were anything 
 but comfortable. He wanted to be ready in case 
 of emergency that he alone felt empowered to 
 handle. Afraid lest Grant discuss poKtical matters 
 in the event of Lee's capitulation, he had written, 
 
 ^'Such questions the President holds in his own 
 hands, and will submit them to no military con- 
 ferences or conventions." 
 
 Mrs. Lincoln and Tad were sent for that they 
 might enjoy a change, and Robert, the oldest son, 
 obtained leave from Harvard to have some prac- 
 tical soldiering under Grant. 
 
 The President appeared in excellent spirits, 
 his gloom gone for the time being. At Grant's 
 
 210 
 
THE CURTAIN FALLS 211 
 
 winter quarters at City Point, he sat with officers 
 round a camp fire telling entertaining stories and 
 listening to others. 
 
 One memorable day, when General Sherman had 
 arrived in camp from Georgia, Grant and Admiral 
 Porter joined him, and together they went to con- 
 sult with Lincoln. Final plans were to be dis- 
 cussed. The gentle-souled President shrank from 
 the idea of more carnage. 
 
 ^'Must more blood be shed? Cannot this last 
 bloody battle be avoided?" he asked, gravely, 
 pain coming to his eyes. 
 
 The three fighting men in answer agreed that Lee 
 would never surrender until driven to it. That 
 wonderful Confederate leader had gathered his 
 tattered and broken army about him for a desperate 
 stand, refusing to admit defeat even in the face of 
 the awful facts. 
 
 The I St of April brought the news of Sheridan's 
 success at Five Forks. That was enough to assure 
 the fall of Richmond. The day following the bat- 
 tle, Jefferson Davis sat in his pew joining in prayers 
 for divine succor, when word came that Lee was in 
 flight before the hosts of Grant. Richmond was 
 without protection, open to the enemy, for the 
 first time in four years ! Jefferson Davis, his 
 cabinet, and the paraphernalia of the Confederate 
 
212 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 government, were hurried to trains and whirled 
 farther South. 
 
 Richmond citizens, rich and poor, fled at the 
 approach of the invaders, some of them setting fire 
 to the military supplies, and soon the flames spread 
 to other parts of the frenzied city. A horde of un- 
 derworld criminals began looting and drinking. 
 Disorder and destruction reigned when the Union 
 forces reached the scene. The conquerors did 
 not join the orgy, but set about extinguishing fires, 
 quelling the drunken thieves, and giving food to 
 hundreds of the famished population that had 
 suffered all the deprivations of a siege. 
 
 In the deserted home of Jefferson Davis the 
 commander of the Union troops, General Weitzel, 
 took up residence, and the Stars and Stripes once 
 more flung its folds over the capital of the Con- 
 federacy. 
 
 The joyous tidings were brought to Lincoln at 
 City Point. ^' Thank God that I have lived to see 
 this!" he exclaimed. ^'I want to see Richmond." 
 Hardly any preparations were made. Like the 
 humblest citizen he entered the fallen stronghold 
 of the Confederacy, and walked through the 
 city, his only escort a handful of sailors. He 
 walked about a mile and a half, fearless of any 
 crazed or vengeful enemy that might seek his life. 
 
THE CURTAIN FALLS 213 
 
 During his walk he was constantly besieged by 
 negroes in ecstasies of joy and thanksgiving. 
 Many prostrated themselves before him. Some 
 kissed his feet. Others strove to touch him. Most 
 of them danced around in a frenzy of rejoicing, 
 singing hymns, exclaiming that salvation was at 
 hand. Their exclamations were those of camp- 
 meeting hysteria : " Glory ! Hallelujah ! " " God 
 bress Massa Linkum !" ^'Open de pearly gates !" 
 "Jerusalem, my happy home ! " "I'se bound for de 
 Ian' ob Canaan ! " "No more sighin' an' weepin' ! " 
 These and many other shouts made a din that 
 deafened. Lincoln sought to stay their exhibi- 
 tions of mad worship. He was hot and uncom- 
 fortable, and he fanned himself with his "stove- 
 pipe" hat. 
 
 "God bless you, and let me pass on," said 
 he to the clamorous blacks. He cautioned and 
 counseled them to be quiet and orderly. 
 
 At last he reached the home of Jefferson 
 Davis, and quite exhausted he sank into the 
 Confederate President's chair, at his desk. He 
 sat in reverie. 
 
 On April 5, Lincoln journeyed back to Grant's 
 headquarters at City Point. Four days later he 
 turned his face toward Washington, on April 9, 
 the day Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox 
 
214 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Court House. These two great leaders, Grant 
 and Lee, were equally noble in their demeanor 
 at that momentous meeting, the Union general 
 recognizing in his antagonist a worthy but unfor- 
 tunate rival, the Southern leader rendering homage 
 to a brave and successful brother-in-arms. 
 
 The Southern soldiers were weary, shabby, and 
 hungry; and the first thought of the conquerors 
 was to feed and clothe their former enemies. Lin- 
 coln heard of this Christian spirit with deep grati- 
 fication. Personally, he had always regarded the 
 rebellious Southerners as brothers, misguided and 
 obstinate, fighting for a lost cause with souls that 
 should have burned for a more worthy ideal. And 
 his desire had ever been to treat them as prodigals 
 returned to the fold. 
 
 As he went up the Potomac that April Sunday 
 morning from City Point, he read his favorite 
 Shakespearian play — Macbeth. One passage he 
 read aloud to his companions, then read it again 
 as if wishing to impress the significant words on 
 his mind forever : — 
 
 "Duncan is in his grave ; 
 After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well; 
 Treason has done his worst ; nor steel, nor poison, 
 MaHce domestic, foreign envy, nothing, 
 Can touch him further." 
 
THE CURTAIN FALLS 215 
 
 As the boat neared Washington Mrs. Lincoln 
 voiced her perpetual fear. ^'That city is filled 
 with our enemies!'* she said apprehensively. 
 
 "Enemies!" echoed her husband. "We must 
 never speak of that." 
 
 But there were many who hated him, who saw 
 him in the guise of a monster — this gentle man 
 who would, if he could, restrain the outburst of 
 rejoicing in the North over the defeat of their 
 foes — this man who applauded the way Grant 
 treated the beaten enemy when that general com- 
 manded the artillery to cease firing in honor of 
 Lee's downfall. 
 
 Two days after the surrender, on April 11, a 
 big crowd collected about the White House in the 
 evening, to show their joy at the outcome of the 
 long, tragic war. Lincoln appeared in a window 
 and read to them a short speech which contained 
 nothing of exultation or boastful reflection. He 
 was quiet, earnest, with his uppermost thought 
 betraying his anxiety to restore the South to the 
 Union as soon and easily as could be managed. 
 
 Nothing of especial note occurred during the 
 next few days. The President was deep in his 
 plans for reconstruction. Neither Johnston, in 
 the Carolinas, nor General Kirby Smith, west of 
 the Mississippi, had yet laid down arms, but their 
 
2i6 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 surrender was merely a matter of time. So Lin- 
 coln went ahead with the political machinery 
 that would reestablish the fallen South to its 
 original relationship to the Federal government. 
 April 14 dawned like many another April day, 
 though its close was to mark one of the greatest 
 tragedies of history. Strangely enough, it hap- 
 pened to be Good Friday. 
 
 At the White House a Cabinet meeting was held. 
 More important than any other topic was that of 
 how to dispose of the Confederate leaders. Should 
 they be hanged as traitors, or what? Lincoln 
 declared that no one need expect him to sanction 
 such retaliation. 
 
 *' Frighten them out of the country!'' he ex- 
 claimed. "Scare them off!" The speaker here 
 threw up his long arms as if "shooing" imaginary 
 sheep. "Enough lives have been sacrificed. We 
 must extinguish our resentments if we expect 
 harmony and union." Again he counseled, "All 
 must begin to act in the interest of peace." 
 
 The Cabinet meeting ended with the President's 
 plea ringing in their ears. Lincoln was in un- 
 usually good spirits. The mountain of cares that 
 had oppressed him for the past four years seemed 
 to be dissolving like a mirage. But Secretary 
 Stanton was worried over the fact that the Presi- 
 
THE CURTAIN FALLS 217 
 
 dent had arranged to go to the theater that night, 
 and had also invited General Grant and Mrs. 
 Grant to occupy the box with him and Mrs. 
 Lincoln. Stanton did not approve of Lincoln and 
 Grant exposing themselves to unnecessary danger. 
 Washington was by no means free from desperate 
 and bitter enemies, and frequently Lincoln's life 
 had been threatened in anonymous letters. Lin- 
 coln himself was careless of all threats, and had 
 an intense dislike of bodyguards or special efforts 
 at protection in his behalf. 
 
 On this April day, however, he had resolved to 
 forget, if possible, the burdens he had lately borne. 
 He went driving with Mrs. Lincoln in the afternoon 
 and proved so gay and care-free that she could 
 hardly beheve her ears and eyes. Fondly he talked 
 of their past struggles, of the hard but happy days 
 in Springfield ; how he longed to travel as well as 
 to be back among ''home folks"; but he added 
 that they ought to enjoy life to the full when his 
 term of office had expired. 
 
 Instead of being gladdened by his sanguine mood, 
 Mrs. Lincoln was apprehensive. 
 
 ''I have seen you thus only once before," she 
 said; "it was just before our dear Willie died." 
 
 That afternoon Lincoln signed a pardon for a 
 soldier sentenced to death for desertion. Also on 
 
2i8 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 petition, he granted the discharge of a Southern 
 prisoner. His last official acts were those of mercy. 
 
 Word came that the Grants could not attend the 
 theater party that evening, and Mrs. Lincoln 
 invited in their stead a young couple recently be- 
 trothed, Major Rathbone and a Miss Harris. 
 Visitors detained the President until the hour was 
 quite late to go to the theater. It was about nine 
 o'clock when the Presidential party appeared in 
 the box reserved for them. As Lincoln was rec- 
 ognized, the orchestra played ''Hail to the Chief,'' 
 and the performance stopped temporarily, while 
 the audience cheered enthusiastically. 
 
 Lincoln and his party settled themselves to 
 enjoy the rollicking fun of ''Our American Cousin," 
 a comedy from the pen of Tom Taylor, a famous 
 English dramatist. Thus, an hour went by. 
 
 Meanwhile, one of Lincoln's fanatical enemies 
 was carrying out a well-laid plot to kill him. John 
 Wilkes Booth was an actor, a Southern radical, 
 and came of a celebrated family of players, of 
 whom Edwin Booth was the most illustrious 
 member. John Wilkes Booth was a handsome, 
 dissipated young man of twenty-eight. With 
 others, he concocted the dastardly scheme of 
 murdering both the President and Secretary 
 Seward, the latter then ill in bed. 
 
THE CURTAIN FALLS 219 
 
 Up and down Pennsylvania Avenue the destroyer 
 paced, awaiting his appointed hour to strike, 
 drinking heavily to inflame further his mad pur- 
 pose. At about ten o'clock he crept into Ford's 
 Theater. He had taken the precaution, before- 
 hand, to prepare the door of the presidential box 
 so that there might be no hitch in his work. A 
 hole had been bored in the door for spying, and 
 a length of board had been provided to use as a bar 
 to keep out any assistance. 
 
 Noiselessly the assassin stepped into the little 
 anteroom back of the box, a pistol in one hand, a 
 dagger in the other. The audience meanwhile was 
 convulsed with laughter at the lines being spoken 
 on the stage. Between the gusts of merriment, 
 Lincoln had been talking to his wife of their 
 peaceful future together, and his mind had re- 
 verted to his desire to travel. ''There is no place 
 I should like so much to see as Jerusalem," he said. 
 
 The dreadful moment came. 
 
 The very angels must have hidden their faces 
 as the crazed Booth aimed the pistol at the back 
 of Lincoln's head and fired a shot that pierced the 
 brain. For a moment no one realized what was 
 happening. As the shot sounded, Lincoln was 
 seen to rise in his chair and then fall back, his 
 head limp upon his chest. Major Rathbone 
 
220 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 quickly recovered from his moment of surprise 
 and horror, and dashed at Booth, who, dropping 
 his pistol, dug at the Major with his dagger. It 
 was driven into Rathbone's outstretched arm. 
 
 Then Mrs. Lincoln screamed. Booth leaped 
 to the edge of the box and sprang for the stage, 
 a distance of about eight feet. Folds of the 
 American flag that had been draped about the 
 front of the President's box caught his spur and in 
 the leap he broke his leg. But he was so far gone 
 in insane passion that he did not feel the injury- 
 enough to give him pause. Standing on the stage 
 he flourished his knife and shouted, ^^Sic semper 
 tyrannisT^ which was the motto of his native 
 state, Virginia. 
 
 Commotion was now on all sides, and was in- 
 creasing till it sounded like the surge of great 
 waves. Owing to the confusion, the assassin 
 managed to escape through the stage door where 
 his horse was being held in readiness for him. 
 He jumped into the saddle and clattered away, 
 his broken leg-bone fairly rending his flesh. 
 
 An eyewitness, Walt Whitman, " the good, gray 
 poet," has left us this vivid account of the 
 event : — 
 
 "A moment's hush — a scream — the cry of 
 murder — Mrs. Lincoln leaning out of the box, 
 
THE CURTAIN FALLS 221 
 
 with ashy cheeks and lips, with involuntary cry, 
 pointing to the retreating figure, *He has killed 
 the President!' And still a moment's strange, 
 incredulous suspense — and then the deluge ! — 
 then that mixture of horror, noises, uncertainty — 
 (the sound, somewhere back, of a horse's hoofs 
 clattering with speed) — the people burst through 
 chairs and railing, and break them up — that 
 noise adds to the queerness of the scene — there 
 is inextricable confusion and terror — women 
 faint — feeble persons fall and are trampled on — 
 many cries of agony are heard — the broad stage 
 suddenly fills to suffocation with a dense and motley 
 crowd Hke some horrible carnival — the audience 
 rush generally upon it — at least the strong men 
 do — the actors and actresses are there in their 
 play costumes and painted faces, with mortal 
 fright showing through the rouge — some trem- 
 bling, some in tears — the screams and calls, con- 
 fused talk — redoubled, trebled — two or three 
 manage to pass up water from the stage to the 
 President's box — others try to clamber up. 
 Amidst all this, a party of soldiers, two hundred 
 or more, hearing what is done, suddenly appear; 
 they storm the house, inflamed with fury, literally 
 charging the audience with fixed bayonets, muskets, 
 and pistols, shouting, ' Clear out ! clear out ! ' . . . 
 
222 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 And in the midst of that pandemonium of senseless 
 haste — the infuriated soldiers, the audience, the 
 stage, its actors and actresses, its paints and 
 spangles and gaslights — the life blood from 
 those veins, the best and sweetest of the land, 
 drips slowly down, and death's ooze already begins 
 its Httle bubbles on the lips." 
 
 Doctors at once assumed charge of the stricken 
 hero, but they quickly saw that there was no hope, 
 for the bullet had penetrated the brain. Many 
 willing hands carried the dying martyr from the 
 theater to a Httle house opposite. The curtain 
 of Ford's Theater fell, never to rise again! 
 
 Everything that affection or medical skill could 
 do was unavailing ; the President never recovered 
 consciousness; he hovered on the brink of eter- 
 nity for hours, and the next morning, at twenty- 
 two minutes past seven, he died, surrounded by 
 weeping friends. As Lincoln breathed his last, 
 Stanton said in a hoarse, grief-stricken whisper, 
 
 ''Now he belongs to the Ages!" 
 
 Not much remains to tell. It was found that 
 a similar attempt had been made on Secretary 
 Seward's life as he lay in bed. In the struggle the 
 Secretary and his son were severely slashed with a 
 murderous knife, and for a time the elder Seward's 
 life was despaired of. Nearly two weeks later 
 
THE CURTAIN FALLS 223 
 
 Booth was cornered in a barn by a posse and, re- 
 fusing to give himself up, was shot to death. His 
 fellow-conspirators were hanged. 
 
 When it was known throughout the land that 
 Lincoln was dead, there was such a display of 
 public sorrow as seldom occurs in the history of 
 the world. People were dazed by the shock of it, 
 and joy at the finish of hostilities between North 
 and South was turned to mourning. Europe 
 sent genuine expressions of grief at the loss of the 
 man who had, as Emerson said, "been permitted 
 to do more for America than any other American 
 man." 
 
 Little Tad was overcome and ' inconsolable 
 at the loss of his best friend and playfellow. After 
 tempestuous grieving he sought consolation. 
 
 "Do you think, sir, that my father has gone to 
 heaven?" he asked of a visitor. 
 
 "I have not a doubt of it," replied the gentle- 
 man. 
 
 "Then I am glad he has gone there," said Tad 
 in a tearful voice, "for he was never happy after 
 he came here. This was not a good place for him ! " 
 
 Tributes were paid his memory by countless 
 pens and tongues, and they continue to be paid. 
 But none of them comes nearer the mark of true 
 appreciation clothed in beautiful language than 
 
2 24 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Lowell's "Ode." The following lines are often 
 quoted and should be a household treasure : — 
 
 "How beautiful to see 
 
 Once more a shepherd of mankind indeed, 
 
 Who loved his charge, but never loved to lead ; 
 
 One whose meek flock the people joyed to be, 
 Not lured by any cheat of birth, 
 But by his clear-grained human worth, 
 
 And brave old wisdom of sincerity! 
 
 They knew that outward grace is dust ; 
 They could not choose but trust 
 
 In that sure-footed mind's unfaltering skill, 
 And supple-tempered will 
 
 That bent like perfect steel to spring again and thrust. 
 His was no lonely mountain-peak of mind, 
 Thrusting to thin air o'er our cloudy bars, 
 A sea-mark now, now lost in vapors blind ; 
 Broad prairie rather, genial, level-lined. 
 Fruitful and friendly for aU human kind. 
 
 Yet also nigh to heaven and loved of loftiest stars. 
 
 "Great captains, with their guns and drums, 
 Disturb our judgment for the hour. 
 But at last silence comes ; 
 These all are gone, and, standing like a tower, 
 Our children shall behold his fame. 
 
 The kindly-earnest, brave, foreseeing man. 
 Sagacious, patient, dreading praise, not blame. 
 New birth of our new soil, the first American." 
 
 Printed in the United States of America. 
 
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 literature have been entrusted with a volume. In each case 
 they have written with a child's point of view in mind, those 
 events being emphasized which are calculated to appeal to the 
 younger reader, making a full and well-balanced narrative, yet 
 always authentic. 
 
 "Most admirable in their construction and purpose. The 
 volumes are interesting and attractive in appearance, graphic 
 in style, and wonderfully inspiring in subject matter, reaching 
 an enviable mark in juvenile literature." — Philadelphia Public 
 Ledger. 
 
 " Far away from the '■ dry as dust ' type of biography." 
 
 — Sa7i Francisco Bulletin. 
 
 " Simply and attractively told. . . . Especially interesting 
 to children.'" — Christian Advocate. 
 
 "An excellent series." — New York Sun. 
 
 See the following pages for descriptions of the individual books 
 of this series. 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 
 
TRUE STORIES OF GREAT AMERICANS 
 
 New Illustrated Biographies for Young People 
 
 THOMAS A. EDISON By Francis Rolt=Wheeler 
 
 Thomas Alva Edison is the typical American. From boy- 
 hood to ripest manhood he has been keen to see an opportu- 
 nity, and quick to turn that opportunity to a practical use. 
 His genius is peculiar because it is so American. It is not as 
 a scientist that Edison is great, it is not even as an inventor, 
 it is as the master of the practical use of everything he touches 
 that he appears a giant mind of modern times. 
 
 Illustrated. $.50 
 
 ROBERT FULTON By Alice C. Sutcliffe 
 
 The life of Robert Fulton makes good reading. The story 
 of his belief in and work upon a submarine and his journeys 
 to France and England to lay his plans before the British 
 Government — his steamboat, and the years of study and labor 
 which went toward perfecting it — his paintings — his travels 
 in foreign lands in days when American travelers were few — 
 combine to make one of the most interesting and inspiring 
 books of the series. 
 
 "The story is full of interest, and the style fascinating. 
 Few of the 'heroes of peace' attract the youthful reader more 
 than the one chosen by this writer." — Christian Standard. 
 
 Illustrated. $.50 
 
 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN By E. Lawrence Dudley 
 
 As a statesman, diplomat, scientist, philosopher, and man of 
 letters, Benjamin Franklin was the foremost American of his 
 time. The story of his life is an inspiring and stimulating 
 narrative, with all the fascination and interest of Colonial and 
 Revolutionary America, Mr. Dudley has written a book that 
 will find favor with every right-minded boy or girl. 
 
 Illustrated. $.50 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Fublisliers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 
 
TRUE STORIES OF GREAT AMERICANS 
 
 The Lives of National Heroes Told in a New Way 
 for Children 
 
 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS By Mildred Stapley 
 
 The story of the discovery of America has been told and 
 retold, but always on the same foundation of conjecture and 
 tradition. Mildred Stapley has consulted new and recently 
 discovered sources of contemporary information, and the his- 
 tory of Columbus' voyages is revised and corrected, though 
 the romance and excitement still glow through the record of 
 his achievements, and his fame as a daring navigator remains 
 an example of courage and unequalled valor. 
 
 Illustrated. $.50 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH By Rossiter Johnson 
 
 The adventurous Captain who founded Virginia lived the 
 life of a typical hero of romance — Soldier of Fortune in 
 America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, pirate, slave, and friend of 
 princes. He was an able executive and a man of energy and 
 capacity. 
 
 " The picturesque story is one of the bright spots in the 
 somewhat dreary early American history, and all children 
 should know it." — New York Sun. Illustrated. $.50 
 
 WILLIAM PENN By Rupert S. Holland 
 
 The life of William Penn is of especial interest and value 
 because the events of his career are closely related to American 
 and English history at a time when America was separating 
 herself from her parent country and shaping her destiny as an 
 independent Republic. Mr. Holland presents the great Amer- 
 ican as a man of noble character and a fearless champion of 
 liberty. Illustrated. $.50 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New Tork 
 
TRUE STORIES OF GREAT AMERICANS 
 New Illustrated Biographies for Young People 
 
 ROBERT E. LEE By Bradley Oilman 
 
 Robert E. Lee ranks with the greatest of all English-speak- 
 ing military leaders. Bradley Gilman has told the story of his 
 life so as to reveal the greatness and true personality of a man 
 "who has left an enduring memory of the highest idealism." 
 
 " The story of Lee's life is sympathetically told and v/ith 
 a fine appreciation of those traits in his character that have 
 commanded universal respect." — Review of Reviews. 
 
 Illustrated. $.50 
 
 DAVY CROCKETT By William C. Sprague 
 
 No fictitious tale of perils and adventures could surpass the 
 true story of Davy Crockett, pioneer. His life and adventures 
 are closely bound up with the greatest events of American 
 history. He was an explorer, and scout in the Indian wars, 
 and first to open up much of the new territory beyond the 
 Alleghanies ; he was killed fighting under the lone-star flag 
 of Texas at the siege of the Alamo in San Antonio. 
 
 Illustrated. $.50 
 
 NATHAN HALE By Jean Christie Root 
 
 There is hardly another story in the whole range of Ameri- 
 can history which contains so much of inspiration and splendid 
 heroism as that of Nathan Hale. 
 
 " There is more than the work of a gifted biographer here. 
 
 There is a message." — New York World, r^. . ^ , «, 
 
 * Illustrated. $.50 
 
 NEW VOLUMES 
 
 U. S. GRANT By F. E. Lovell Coombs 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN By Daniel E. Wheeler 
 
 LA SALLE By Louise S. Hasbrouck 
 DANIEL BOONE By Lucile Gulliver 
 
 LAFAYETTE By Martha F. Crow 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 
 
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