973.7L63 Henry E. Huntington Libr. E5Ex48 and Art Gallery. An exhibition commemorating the birth of Abraham Lincoln, . . . LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://archive.org/details/exhibitioncommemOOhenr HENRY E. HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND ART GALLERY &tt €xf)ttutton Commemorating the birth of ABRAHAM LINCOLN February 12 1809 Abraham Lincoln From the photograph by Alexander Hesler, June I860 SAN MARINO, CALIFORNIA February 12 - - September 30 19 5 9 iiTTBIMTIOItf! THE PEIPLE!! A. LINCOLN. ESO'R., OF Sangamon ( cmnly, our of lb* MCtrr- loral Camaidatet, Bill (l>l)KISS cKr PEOPLE This Evening!! Al Karl) < iindlrllshilns. at the 1fOI.lt COfRT HOO.VUBt (Rlle)'r. Bulldln*.) By requeil of BANT en vi.v.ys. The Early Years Captain Lincoln of the Black Hawk War. 1832. Twenty-three-year-old Lincoln served three months in the Black Hawk War. As Captain of a company of Mounted Volunteers he signs the honorable discharge of Private David D. Pantier. (The earliest example of his handwriting in the exhibit). "Never again to think of marrying." Auto- graph letter. April 1, 1838. Lincoln, already admitted to the Bar and a practicing politician, writes to his friend, Mrs. Orville H. Browning, describing half seriously, half comically, his romance with Miss Mary Owens - - his desire to get out of the engagement, his screwing up courage to do so, his chagrin at the lady's prompt agreement. He resolves "never again to think of marrying." "Your friend as ever." Autograph letter. Nop. 14, 1839. Lincoln, recently selected as a presidential elector, writes political news of the Illinois home front to John Todd Stuart, his law partner, away in Washing- ton. They are fellow-representatives in the state legis- lature. First Separately Published Speech. Delivered Dec. 26, 1839. Lincoln received his early political training in the Illinois State Legislature (1834-41) where he be- came Whig floor leader. Hirst of his speeches to be published separately was that in favor of a National Bank vs. the administration's Sub-Treasury scheme. (Rare copy of the first edition). Attention! the People!! A. Lincoln, Esq'r., of Sangamon County, one of the Electoral Can- didates, will ADDRESS the PEOPLE This Eve- ning!! At Early Candlelighting, at the OLD COURT ROOM . . . Thursday, April 9th. 1840. A handbill rallies the populace to hear electoral can- didate A. Lincoln spread enthusiasm for Tippecanoe and Tyler too. The Lawyer "Logan & Lincoln for Complainant." Bill of Chancery in Lincoln's hand. 1841. Between his partnership with Stuart and with William H. Herndon, Lincoln was affiliated in the practice of law with Judge Stephen T. Logan whose common sense and professional devotion and integrity were a lasting influence on his career. Todd vs. Ware. Affidai'it in Lincoln's hand. Dec. 9. 1843. The complainant, the Hon. Robert S. Todd of Ken- tucky, was Lincoln's father-in-law. Illinois Central Railroad vs. McLean County. Illinois. Brief in Lincoln's hand. 1855. By 1855 a front ranking lawyer and partner of Herndon, Lincoln was engaged in such important litigation as this concerning the right of a county to tax the Illinois Central. Also exhibited is a Spring- field City Directory of 1859 listing the firm of Lincoln and Herndon. The Family "My love to Mother and all the connec- tions." Autograph letter. Dec. 24, 18-f8. Lincoln writes to his father on Christmas Eve from Washington where he is a member of the House of Representatives. "I very cheerfully send you the twenty dollars ... to save your land from sale." An appended letter to his step-brother Thomas sharply refuses a request for $80. "If you will but follow my advise you will find it worth more than eighty dollars to you." Lincoln to Mrs. Lincoln. Autograph letter. Nor. 9, 1862. The President writes briefly to his wife who is on one of her frequent visits to their son Robert, a student at Harvard. Two family retainers wish to move to the White House. "Shall they?" Lincoln and his Generals Congressional and Campaign Speeches "The substance of all I have ever said about negro equality." Notebook partially in Lincoln's hand, with printed extracts from his speeches of 1854-58. He writes, "I believe the declaration that all men are created equal is the great fundamental principle." Two Speeches by Congressman Lincoln. Early printings. 1848. Lincoln's term in the House of Representatives began in December 1847. The first of his three set speeches there defends the anti-administration doctrine that the Mexican War was unnecessarily commenced by President Polk. In his second speech are "a few remarks on amend- ing the Constitution." "As a general rule, I think, we would do much better to let it alone. No slight occasion should tempt us to touch it. Better not take the first step, which may lead to a habit of altering it." "A HOUSE divided against itself cannot stand." June 16, 18^8. An early pamphlet printing. Lincoln, accepting the Illinois Republican nomina- tion for Senator, delivered his famous "House Divid- ed" speech: "I believe this Government cannot en- dure, permanently, half slave and half free." The Campaign in Illinois. Last Joint Debate. 18^8. This copy of the October 15, 1858 debate between Lincoln and Douglas in the senatorial campaign was printed from the Chicago Daily Times of October 17. On November 2 Lincoln was defeated. Presidential Campaign of I860 The Cooper Institute Speech. Delivered Feb. 27, 1860. An early printing. This is Lincoln's first speech in New York, with its memorable sentence beginning: "Let us have faith that right makes might." (One of the thousands of pamphlet copies distributed during the campaign). Senator Lyman Trumbull to Candidate Lin- coln. Autograph letter. April 24, 1860. The Senator weighs chances of candidates for the Presidential nomination; assures Lincoln he is for him "first and foremost", but the contest "ought not to be put to hazard from personal considerations." Lincoln to Trumbull. Autograph letter. April 9, 1860. The candidate judges the chances of his opponents. Life and Speeches of Abraham Lincoln . . . edited and published by reuben vose. n.y. [I860]. (One of three known copies). New York Democrat . . . Das Leben von Abraham Lincoln. [7860]. Such campaign "lives" as these constitute the first biographies of the future President. The New York Democrat was the principal German Republican paper in the United States. Presidential Ballots. 1860. Three of the four parties in the presidential cam- paign of I860 are represented by the ballots ex- hibited. Until long after the Civil War there was no official ballot and each party prepared its own which was mailed or handed to the voter. Candidate Lincoln to Senator Trumbull. Autograph letter. May 31, I860. Thirteen days after his nomination as presidential candidate, Lincoln writes Trumbull regarding the request of vice-presidential candidate Hannibal Ham- lin for a copy of Lincoln's acceptance letter. Republican National Committeeman Fogg to Lincoln. Autograph letter. Oct. 31, I860. From George G. Fogg, near the end of the campaign, Lincoln hears that "all our information is in the highest degree cheering . . . Our New Jersey friends . . . all unite in saying that no speaker who has visited that State suits ... as well as yourself." The New President The Farewell Address. Feb. 12. 1861. Printed broadside. To his fellow citizens of Springfield, Lincoln de- livered a simple address on his departure for Wash- ington to take office as sixteenth President. First Inaugural Address. Delivered March 4. 1861. Printed proof of draft with manuscript notes by Orville H. Browning dated Springfield, Feb. 1 5, 1861. Lincoln gave his old law associate, Browning, one of the few printed copies of the draft of his Inaugural Address for suggested changes. The copy contains suggestions in Browning's hand. COMPASSIOxN AND HUMOR Lincoln to the Father and Mother of Colo- nel Ellsworth. Autograph letter. May 25, 1861. Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, first Union officer to die in the war, had studied law in Lincoln's office. The President's beautiful letter of condolence to the young man's parents expresses personal sorrow and warm sympathy — a tribute "to the memory of my young friend and your brave and early-fallen child." Note in Lincoln's Hand. January 23, 1862. The President writes on the back of an old envelope: "This man wants to work - - so uncommon a want that I think it ought to be gratified — I shall be obliged by any head of a Bureau or Department who can and will find work for him." Lincoln and His Generals Lincoln to Major General David Hunter. Autograph letter. Dec. 31, 1861. The President, chiding General Hunter who has com- plained of the command given him, quotes Pope's "Essay on Man" and adds, "He who does something at the head of one Regiment, will eclipse him who 3 nothing at the head of a hundred.'' Lincoln to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Autograph letter. April 30, 186 To his General in high command of the armies of the United States, the President expresses "my entire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time, so far as I understand it." /Lfcs- t^ %-^M/ --after-, ^J>-,ij> , ll^-y, O*-*-*^- ■'ton/ _ »— M^ j'^-L^vCi^i — ', /Le-^-e; 1^1 /-' <—tx ~c-«-^ fai-d4 £f(-a^. V^ru^' f*su-. .*, >\-u c e, Cc Okie's C/r- -X- ■■ d-^ t ru-. To the Parents of Colonel Ellsworth General W. T. Sherman to President Lincoi \ Autograph letter. Dec. 22, 1864. Two days after the fall of Savannah, Sherman pre- sents the President with the city as a Christmas gift. This copy of his message was written by the General for a friend. The Emancipation Proclamation January 1. 1863 (One of fifty authorized printed copies. Signed by Lincoln) The President read the preliminary and the final Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet, but the decision was his own. "What I did, I did after a very full deliberation, .md under a very heavy and solemn sense of responsibility. It is now for the country and the world to pass judgment and. maybe, take action upon it." The Gettysburg Address November 19, 1863 (A modern printing by the eminent typographer, Frederic W. Goudy). "Four score and seven years ago ..." Thus began the words delivered at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. Next day Lincoln wrote to Edward Everett, principal orator of the day: "I am pleased to know that, in your judgment, the little I did say was not entirely a failure." The Thirteenth Amendment February 1, 1865 (Duplicate of the original engrossed manuscript. Signed by Lincoln). Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the United States. The Congressional Resolution, signed by Lincoln, was ratified by the necessary number of states and became the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Although the Presi- dent had done what he could to eradicate slavery in his Emancipation Proclamation, that wartime Execu- tive measure was not enough. "This amendment winds the whole thing up," he said. (This copy was made for a chief engrossing clerk in the House of Representatives. It is one of three- duplicates of the original.) A Permit in Lincoln's Hand. April 11. 1863. "Allow the bearer, W. H. Lamon & friend, with ordinary baggage to pass from Washington to Rich- mond and return." Ward Hill Lamon, Lincoln's erstwhile law associate, was his trusted guard in Washington. The pass is signed by the President and dated April 11, three days before his assassina- tion. Second Inaugural Address. Delivered March 4. 1865. An early broadside printing. "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." Pictorial Material In addition to the books and manuscripts listed here and a few others not noted, the exhibit is enriched with portraits of Lincoln in photography, oil and sculpture. There are engravings of himself and of contemporary figures and scenes, and there are politi- cal cartoons and posters. Among these, the portrait in oil by George Henry Story, the photograph taken by Hesler in I860, and the bronze bust and hands by the sculptor Leonard Volk, are perhaps most outstanding. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA 973 7L63E5EX48 C001 AN EXHIBITION COMMEMORATING THE BIRTH OF 3 0112 03 813766