973.7L63 
 H2Sch66a 
 
 Schory, Harold F. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln A Poetic Appraisal 
 
LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 twt 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 presented by 
 
 Harry E. and Marion D. Pratt 
 
 Collection 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 A Poetic Appraisal 
 
©HAROLD F. SCHORY - rt * „ 
 254 PARK PLACE 1963 
 
 DECATUR, ILLINOIS 
 
■a, 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 From Illinois to Washington Abraham Lincoln came. 
 He stood tall and he stood fast, and his character the same t 
 To free the slave, to guide and save our stricken Ship of State, 
 To win his fame and honored name before he met his fate. 
 
 Why was Lincoln great? 
 
 Early in 1963, 
 
 A century after old Abe set the Negroes free, 
 
 I stood in new New Salem on a bluff 
 
 Above the languid Sangamon near the falls 
 
 And wondered, "What made Lincoln great?" 
 
 Why was he beloved by North and South, 
 
 And honored by all mankind? 
 
 It was not his comeliness nor grace; 
 
 He was said to be awkward and crude; 
 
 Petty politicians ridiculed him and called him an Illinois beast. 
 
 It was not his quick action ; 
 
 It was said his "inertia" was "sapping the government." 
 
 It was not that he was free of mistakes; 
 
 He made plenty, which he would not deny. 
 
 Not that he was radical on freeing the slaves; 
 
 Many fanatics and abolitionists were more eager 
 
 To free them at any cost. 
 
 It was not his military prowess, 
 
 Of which at times he seemed innocent. 
 
 It was not that he was born in a log cabin ; 
 
 Thousands have been born in cabins 
 
 And many in sod huts, 
 
 But not on the road to fame. 
 
 The question still remains, 
 
 What made him great? Why does the magic name 
 
 Of Lincoln head the list of those 
 
 Marked as the noblest symbols of democracy? 
 
 I paused above the Sangamon, and I pondered: 
 
 As in the days of the Revolution 
 
 And the founding of our great Republic, 
 
 God found a towering man for noble leadership, 
 
 So in the torturous years of internecine strife 
 
 Between the states 
 
 Divine Providence was calling and shaping 
 
 One who would liberate the slaves 
 
 And save the Union, proving to all mankind 
 
 That a republic of free and independent men 
 
 Could ride out the most violent of storms, 
 
 And be a worthy Ship of State. 
 
As a Captain for this Ship on its most tempestuous voyage, 
 
 God had been preparing a sturdy youth, 
 
 Born of pioneering parents in a Kentucky cabin, 
 
 A youth early used to poverty, grief, and desolation, 
 
 But possessed of strength and great fortitude, 
 
 A saving sense of humor and a love of mankind. 
 
 The mother, a primitive mystic whom he adored, 
 
 Died when the lad was nine, 
 
 Two years after moving to Indiana. 
 
 The father, a carpenter-farmer, 
 
 A good man, highly respected in the community, 
 
 Later married a practical, pleasant woman, 
 
 Who did so well as a substitute mother 
 
 That it is not known to whom Lincoln referred 
 
 When he later said: 
 
 "All that I am, or hope to be, I 
 owe to my angel mother." 
 
 Though having less than a year of formal schooling, 
 
 Lincoln was blessed with parents and friends 
 
 Who helped to quench his eager thirst for knowledge 
 
 By providing books of lasting influence. Among these were 
 
 Dilworth's Speller, Webster's Speller, Murray's English Reader, 
 
 Columbian Class Book, The Kentucky Preceptor, dictionaries, 
 
 Scott's Lessons in Elocution, Pike's Arithmetic, Aesop's Fables, 
 
 Shakespeare, Pilgrim's Progress, Franklin's Autobiography, 
 
 Weem's Life of Washington, and The Bible. 
 
 These books greatly impressed young Lincoln 
 
 In his formative years in three ways: 
 
 They laid the foundation for fine communication, 
 
 And Lincoln from his early youth liked to harangue 
 
 His friends and neighbors; these books stimulated 
 
 His imagination and gave him a store of material 
 
 For communication ; and they inculcated high moral 
 
 Standards of conduct and noble ideals. 
 
 When Abe was nineteen, he worked his way to New Orleans on 
 
 a flatboat. 
 Two years later his family left Little Pigeon Creek, 
 Crossed the Wabash at Vincennes, and settled temporarily 
 On the Sangamon west of Decatur, Illinois, 
 Where his fame as a rail-splitter grew 
 As he helped to build a log cabin and erect rail fences. 
 Young Lincoln, having now decided 
 That farming was not for him, 
 Moved to New Salem and made a second trip 
 To the southern metropolis, 
 Where he witnessed cruelties of the slave market 
 And remarked with reference to slavery, 
 
"If I ever get a chance to hit that thing, 
 I'll hit it hard." 
 
 Back at New Salem for six years 
 
 Many potent influences shaped this young man. 
 
 Having conquered Jack Armstrong, the bully of the Clary Boys, 
 
 He proved his strength and good nature, 
 
 And later became their leader. 
 
 His intense curiosity and desire for learning, 
 
 Already stimulated in his childhood, 
 
 Drove him to borrow and devour any books available. 
 
 He hiked frequently to the home 
 
 Of schoolmaster Mentor Graham for private lessons 
 
 In grammar, rhetoric, arithmetic, biography, 
 
 Philosophy, theology, and literature, 
 
 With special attention to Shakespeare, Burns, and Tom Paine. 
 
 His idol was George Washington. 
 
 For a pittance he worked in a store, 
 
 Became postmaster, and qualified as a surveyor. 
 
 In all his activities certain essential traits were manifest. 
 
 His integrity, his absolute honesty, 
 
 His friendliness, his sincere love of people, 
 
 His youthful love of fair play, 
 
 His ability to see both sides of an issue, 
 
 His willingness to compromise for a greater good, 
 
 His unwillingness to yield beyond a certain point, 
 
 His curiosity and sense of humor, 
 
 His wonder at the many mysteries of life, 
 
 His impressionable and sentimental nature — 
 
 All found stimulation and expression 
 
 During his six years of maturing 
 
 At New Salem. 
 
 Here he fell in love 
 With the tavern keeper's daughter, Ann Rutledge, 
 Whose sudden death grieved him deeply, 
 And revived the melancholy 
 That had so heavily beset him 
 At the death of his mother 
 And again at the passing of his sister Sarah. 
 
 However, his good nature, humor, and congeniality 
 
 Soon steered him into local and state politics, 
 
 While his natural sense of logic and love of argument 
 
 Led him into the legal profession, where he became well known 
 
 As circuit rider, trial lawyer, and corporation attorney. 
 
 Though lacking formal legal training, 
 
 He had a way with juries and said: 
 
"If I can strip this case of technicalities 
 and swing it to the jury, I'll win it." 
 
 From New Salem he had moved to Springfield, 
 
 Where he practiced law when not in the legislature at Vandalia. 
 
 Later he was instrumental in having the capital 
 
 Located in Springfield, where, incidentally, 
 
 He fell in love with and finally married Mary Todd, 
 
 A lady of position and strong character, 
 
 Who proved a true helpmate to him 
 
 In the trying years ahead. 
 
 During Lincoln's years in Springfield 
 
 His triumphs and defeats, at the bar and in politics, 
 
 Sharpened his wit and alerted him 
 
 To the rising issues of the day, 
 
 While his astuteness and penetrating judgment 
 
 Were revealed in his debates with Douglas and others. 
 
 Meanwhile conflicting forces, state and national, 
 
 Were propelling him toward candidacy 
 
 For the presidency, so that when 
 
 The Illinois state nominating convention 
 
 Met in Decatur, he was naturally chosen 
 
 As the Rail Candidate for President of the United States, 
 
 And would be so introduced a week later 
 
 To the Republican National Convention in Chicago. 
 
 Why was Lincoln great? 
 
 In his Peoria speech in 1854 
 
 Lincoln had revealed a strong stand 
 
 For new free states as "places for poor people 
 
 To go to better their condition." 
 
 In the Freeport debate he placed Douglas in a dilemma 
 
 Which, while it helped Douglas to enter the Senate, 
 
 Deprived him of a chance for the presidency. 
 
 In the Quincy debate on the slavery issue 
 
 He rose from a position of expediency upheld by Douglas 
 
 To the moral issue of slavery as an evil thing 
 
 Which must sooner or later be corrected. 
 
 In his Cooper Institute address 
 
 His strength and integrity as a scholar and statesman, 
 
 As well as his patience, forbearance, and humanity, 
 
 Were clearly established, 
 
 So that the eastern states, unable to nominate 
 
 Their own favorite sons in the Convention, 
 
 Would join with the Midwest in unanimously nominating 
 
 As sixteenth President of the United States, 
 
 The Rail-Splitter from Illinois, — 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 During the spectacular campaign which followed, 
 
 Lincoln made no speeches. 
 
 His character, his appearance, his position 
 
 On leading issues were well known. 
 
 Both North and South had their radical elements, 
 
 The Abolitionists and Secessionists. 
 
 In general the people did not want war, 
 
 Nor did they think war to be inevitable. 
 
 Though Lincoln was known to oppose slavery, 
 
 He was considered a moderate, not an extremist 
 
 On the issue. However, his most quoted utterance, 
 
 From his acceptance speech made earlier in Springfield 
 
 When nominated for the United States Senate, 
 
 Became a slogan in the presidential campaign: 
 
 "A house divided against itself cannot stand. 
 I believe this government cannot endure 
 permanently half slave and half free . . . ." 
 
 The Union he would save at any cost. 
 
 On his unique Inaugural journey to Washington 
 
 Lincoln made many brief talks, 
 
 In which he plead for patience and saw no need of war, 
 
 Even though many states had already seceded. 
 
 "You have no oath registered in Heaven 
 to destroy the Government," he told the 
 South, "while I have the most solemn one 
 to 'preserve, protect, and defend' it." 
 
 After the Inauguration the rising tide of enthusiasm 
 Which sustained him during the election began to ebb, 
 And a period of indecision and delay engulfed him. 
 Meanwhile the South was organizing the Confederacy, 
 Seizing banks and munitions stores, 
 And on April 14 fired on Fort Sumter. 
 Lincoln realized this was war, 
 War which he hated with his entire being. 
 Who can imagine the anguish of one 
 Reared in the sweet serenity of primitive forests, 
 Matured among the friendly inhabitants of pioneer towns, 
 Who as a child mourned the shooting of a wild turkey, 
 One who loved his fellowmen, 
 Who would harm no one, man nor beast? 
 Who can know the torture of that soul 
 That must give the orders that would split families 
 And pit brother against brother in mortal combat, 
 In order to try to preserve the Union, 
 
 That this unique bastion of liberty "might not perish from the 
 earth"? 
 
Why was Lincoln great? 
 
 The first two years of his administration 
 
 Were marked by defeats, delays, and indecisions. 
 
 The North had not the united will to win 
 
 Possessed by the South with its fierce 
 
 Passion for separation from the Union, 
 
 Slavery or no slavery. 
 
 When it became obvious the war 
 
 Would not end in a few months, 
 
 A hard, determined plan of containment 
 
 Was sought. Lincoln moved cautiously 
 
 In asserting his powers as commander-in-chief. 
 
 Meanwhile he was plagued by attacks 
 
 From extremists of all kinds. 
 
 Some said he put forth no effort to win, 
 
 While others declared he should sue for peace 
 
 And let the South secede. 
 
 Certain members of his cabinet, 
 
 Former supporters, self-seeking politicians, 
 
 Connived to block or overthrow him. 
 
 His devoted wife was accused of disloyalty, 
 
 Because some of her southern relatives 
 
 Had free access to the White House. 
 
 Meanwhile Willie, his beloved son, 
 
 Died after a brief illness. 
 
 Such was the cistern of grief 
 
 That nearly overwhelmed him. 
 
 But having tasted the dregs 
 
 Of domestic, political, and national despair, 
 
 He would rise above all, 
 
 Assume a resolute role, 
 
 Lead the nation to victory, 
 
 And save the Union. 
 
 Why? Because he had four things: 
 
 A sense of humor that would permit 
 
 A ray of sunlight to pierce the heavy gloom, 
 
 A compassionate love of mankind, 
 
 Faith in the righteousness of his cause, 
 
 And a supreme trust in the will and power 
 
 Of divine Providence to bring victory 
 
 And save the Republic. 
 
 Though there would be more defeats, 
 
 More complaints, more replacements of military leaders, 
 
 He would remain adamant. He extended 
 
 And defined his duties as commander-in-chief. 
 
 He would seek and listen to advice, 
 
 But the decision would be his. 
 
 He finally found Ulysses S. Grant, who would prove 
 
 A match for the redoubtable Robert E. Lee. 
 
Why was Lincoln great? 
 
 "In January 1863 Old Abe set the Negroes free." 
 
 The Emancipation Proclamation ended 
 
 Two hundred and forty-four years of slavery 
 
 On the North American continent 
 
 And gave a needed moral stimulus 
 
 To citizens of the North. 
 
 In the following July the battle of Gettysburg 
 
 Ended Lee's efforts to envelop Washington. 
 
 For three days the pride of the Confederacy 
 
 Stormed the Union positions in bitter combat 
 
 Only to be repulsed with awful carnage 
 
 And finally put to rout. The following day, 
 
 July 4, Vicksburg fell to Ulysses S. Grant. 
 
 It now appeared that the tide was finally changing, 
 
 That the South, under complete blockade, 
 
 Would be unable any longer to match 
 
 The resources and reinforcements of the North. 
 
 But the resourcefulness of General Lee 
 
 Was not to be denied. It would 
 
 Require nearly two more years 
 
 Of bloody conflict to bring victory. 
 
 November 19, the battlefield at Gettysburg 
 
 Was dedicated as a national cemetery, 
 
 And the nation's leading orator, Edward Everett, 
 
 Delivered the dedicatory address. Then Lincoln, 
 
 Who had been asked to make "a few remarks," arose. 
 
 His "remarks" fell on dull ears. 
 
 There was a little belated applause, and he left, 
 
 Thinking his speech had been a failure. 
 
 A few days later he received a letter 
 
 From Everett, in which the orator said: 
 
 "I wish that I could flatter myself that I had come 
 as near to the central idea of the occasion in 
 two hours as you did in two minutes." 
 
 These "remarks" which Lincoln made at Gettysburg 
 
 Are now recognized as one of the most famous speeches 
 
 Any statesman ever made. 
 
 The war moved on. Meanwhile, in 1864, 
 
 Despite much opposition within his own party, 
 
 Lincoln was elected to a second term. 
 
 With ultimate victory in sight, 
 
 Lincoln now sought to commiserate the South. 
 
 Having issued an Amnesty Proclamation, 
 
 He considered ways of reimbursing the rebels 
 
 For their loss of property. 
 
Such altruism infuriated the radical dispensers of hate, 
 
 Who had other plans for taking over the South. 
 
 Meanwhile victory followed victory 
 
 Until Lee was finally brought to bay at Appomattox. 
 
 At Lincoln's request, Grant offered amnesty 
 
 To Lee and his men. 
 
 Though formidable in action, Grant's humbleness in victory 
 
 was shown 
 By his refusal to wear sidearms at the surrender, 
 Because Lee was not permitted to wear them. 
 
 Occasional deeds of chivalry, heroism, and devotion, 
 
 Like nature's wildflowers, contrasted sharply 
 
 With the weedy morass of savage carnage 
 
 That had despoiled so much of the land. 
 
 Now that the struggle had ended, 
 
 Lincoln sought to "bind up the nation's wounds." 
 
 For four long years his heart had bled 
 
 For the broken homes, the stricken lives, 
 
 And the ravaged lands of his beloved country. 
 
 He would forgive the Secessionists, treat them 
 
 As long lost brothers and help to reestablish them 
 
 On their devastated farms. To pay the national debt 
 
 Prosperity must be developed in the South 
 
 As in the North. 
 
 "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, . . ." 
 
 But, alas, in his hour 
 Of greatest triumph the assassin struck, 
 And he who deserved no enemy in the world, 
 Who had forgiven deserters, 
 Who had visited the battlefields and hospitals, 
 And comforted the sick and the dying, 
 Who had learned "to turn the other cheek," 
 And had borne the agony of grief, 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 ". . . paid the last full measure of devotion 
 that the government of the people, by the people, 
 and for the people should not perish from the earth." 
 
 This heinous deed stunned the nation, 
 Catapulted Lincoln into immortality, 
 
And cast the foul assassin into lasting infamy. 
 
 One wonders how a family could produce 
 
 The greatest American actor, Edwin Booth, 
 
 And in the same home John Wilkes Booth, 
 
 The pitiful profligate beast, the American Judas, 
 
 Who struck down the Savior of his country 
 
 In his golden hour of victory. 
 
 For a year after this crime Edwin Booth, 
 
 For shame of his nefarious brother, 
 
 Could not be persuaded to reappear on the stage. 
 
 Testimonies to Lincoln's greatness have risen 
 
 Throughout the world. Cities, schools, and streets 
 
 Have been named for him. Every community he ever visited 
 
 Has a claim on him. Innumerable statues, busts, 
 
 And monuments have been erected in his honor, 
 
 The most famous of which is the Memorial 
 
 Which stands in the Mall at Washington. 
 
 Countless eulogies were read in his praise. 
 
 Condolences poured in from North and South 
 
 And from leaders of all nations. 
 
 Jewish rabbis likened him to Father Abraham, 
 
 Their foremost patriarch, while clergy 
 
 Of all denominations vied to honor him. 
 
 He who years before had said : 
 
 "God must love the common people, 
 for He made so many of them," 
 Now received homage from people everywhere. 
 After a long and arduous journey 
 The funeral cortege arrived in Springfield, 
 Where his body now lies buried 
 Beneath an imposing monument in Oak Ridge cemetery. 
 
 Why was Lincoln great? 
 
 From Washington to Illinois Abraham Lincoln came; 
 
 He stands tall and he stands fast, and his character the same, 
 
 With wisdom and forbearance, and liberty aflame; 
 
 TRUE SYMBOL OF DEMOCRACY is his modest claim. 
 
 He substituted peace and love for violence and hate; 
 
 He freed the slave, and he did save our stricken Ship of State; 
 
 He EARNED his fame and honored name before he met his 
 
 fate, 
 And that is why, beloved of men, our Lincoln is so great. 
 
 -Harold F. Schory 
 
I 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA 
 
 973.7L63H2SCH66A C001 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN DECATUR, ILL. 
 
 3 0112 031824177