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LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/lincolnfreethinkOOhumd 
 
Price, 25 cents 
 
 LINCOLN 
 
 THE FREETHINKER 
 
 BY 
 JOSEPH LEWIS 
 
 "The Masterpiece in Marble" by Gut'zon Borglum 
 
 Abraham Lincoln at the Time of his First Inauguration in 1860 
 
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 Fac-simile (slightly reduced) of the original draff of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address 
 The words "Under God" are not included. See text page 21. 
 
Lincoln The Freethinker 
 
 By 
 JOSEPH LEWIS 
 
 THE FREETHOUGHT PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 1658 Broadway New York, N. Y. 
 
Copyright, 1924 
 
 JOSEPH LEWIS 
 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 1st Large Printing, November, 1924 
 2nd Large Printing, December, 1925 
 
 Printed in U. S. A. 
 
Abraham Lincoln was, in my judgment, in many 
 respects, the grandest man ever President of the 
 United States. Upon his monument these words 
 should be written: "Here sleeps the only man in 
 the history of the world, who, having been clothed 
 with almost absolute power, never abused it, except 
 upon the side of mercy". 
 
 Robert G. Ingersoll. 
 
Lincoln The Freethinker* 
 
 I remember once reading a statement in the public press 
 that no person could be elected President of the United States 
 unless that person were a believer in the Christian religion. At 
 the time I saw this statement I took it as being true, because 
 there came to my mind a story often told about Robert G. 
 Ingersoll. 
 
 The story was something like this : 
 
 A number of prominent men and women came to pay a 
 visit to the celebrated orator and during the course of conver- 
 sation one of them remarked that the Colonel had a magnificent 
 library which was no doubt extremely expensive. To this Inger- 
 soll replied, that his library was exceedingly expensive and pos- 
 sibly the most expensive library of any individual in the world. 
 The questioner looked a bit dubious at the reply and ventured 
 that he thought he had seen libraries which cost a great deal 
 more than the Colonel's. In reply to this, Ingersoll said that 
 his library cost him the presidency of the United States. 
 
 But it is not true that a person must, be a believer in the 
 Christian religion as a qualification, to hold that high and dis- 
 tinguished office. More than one President of this great country 
 was a disbeliever in the Christian plan of salvation, and, peculiarly 
 so, the very men who were not Christians have been acknowl- 
 
 * Address delivered at banquet of the Freethinkers' Society of 
 New York on the evening of February 12th, 1924, at Hotel Belleclaire, 
 77th Street at Broadway, New York City. 
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 edged as the greatest in that long list of illustrious men who 
 have received the- highest gift within the power of this nation. 
 Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, all unbelievers, are the great 
 triumvirate of the United States of America. 
 
 My effort, and it is a labor of love, is to show you to- 
 night that Lincoln, that sad-eyed martyr of this Republic, was 
 a Freethinker, "even as you and I." But in proving to you that 
 Lincoln was a Freethinker, it becomes necessary to disprove 
 the frequent assertion that he was a Christian. Under ordinary 
 circumstances it would not be necessary to prove a man was 
 not something else in order to establish what he was. But in 
 the case of Abraham Lincoln such a procedure is absolutely 
 essential, because the Christian world, in a shameful disregard of 
 the truth, claims an absolute monopoly of great men. 
 
 It is strange that very little effort is being made by the 
 Christian world to prove the religious beliefs of Presidents other 
 than those three who stand so preeminently as America's greatest 
 statesmen; I think I can safely say that there are more volumes 
 written to prove Lincoln a Christian than to prove the religious 
 conviction of any other statesman of this country. And, like a man 
 that "doth protest too much," there is a reason for this. Perhaps 
 they are believers in the motto that if you tell a lie often enough 
 you will begin to believe it yourself, and so hardly a year passes 
 that a book by some clergyman proclaiming Lincoln a Christian, 
 is not issued from the press. 
 
 Last year, in response to a public announcement that a prom- 
 inent senator was to deliver an address on Lincoln, I attended 
 this gathering. Through an unfortunate circumstance the sen- 
 ator was unable to attend, and the minister in charge of the 
 ceremonies announced that in the evening, at his church, he would 
 deliver an address upon "Lincoln, the Christian." But in making 
 
 ( 10 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 this announcement he seemed to apologize for his liberty in 
 calling Lincoln a Christian without the proper evidence to support 
 his contention, and quoted Emerson, by saying: "What you aire 
 speaks louder than what you say." Under those conditions you 
 can prove anything to be anything you want to prove it to be. 
 But we will measure Lincoln for not only what he said, but also 
 for what he did not say. We will follow the motto that al- 
 though "actions speak louder than words/' only hypocrites say 
 what they do not believe. 
 
 In order to be a Christian it is necessary to believe the Bible to 
 be a divinely inspired book. To be a Freethinker it is essential that 
 you reject the Bible as a revelation from God. To determine, 
 then, whether a person is a Christian or a Freethinker should 
 indeed be very simple. A person may believe in God and yet 
 reject the Bible as a divine book. Such a person cannot be a 
 Christian believer, but may be a Freethinker. 
 
 A person may believe in the Bible, and according to his 
 particular interpretation be any one of the following divisional 
 sects of Christianity: Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, 
 Episcopalian, Congregationalist, Seventh Day Adventist, Holy 
 Roller or Holy Jumper. 
 
 A Freethinker may be any one of the following: A Deist, 
 a Rationalist, a Pantheist, a Materialist, an Agnostic, or an 
 Atheist. 
 
 It is not my intention to dispute, with any particular branch 
 of Christianity that may claim Lincoln as its follower, nor classify 
 him in any one of the subdivisions by which a Freethinker may 
 declare himself. It is my purpose to disprove that Lincoln was 
 a Christian, and with the produced evidence, to show, unequivo- 
 cally, that he was an avowed Freethinker. 
 
 ( 11 ) 
 
 V. OF ILL UBc 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 Evidence may be true or false. Proof of evidence is the 
 only test of its reliability. The proof of a statement, without 
 evidence, depends a great deal upon the person who makes it. 
 What ministers say, particularly in religious controversies, re- 
 quires corroboration. 
 
 For a great many years it was impossible to secure the 
 "Life of Lincoln," as written by his intimate friend and law 
 partner, William H. Herndon. It was to this man that Lincoln 
 on becoming President, said, that he wished his name associated 
 with his own until death. It seems that the religious world 
 took exception to this "Life of Lincoln." It was found to con- 
 tain too many truths that were not in harmony with the notions 
 of a number of clergymen. 
 
 The story goes that every available copy of Herndon's "Life 
 of Lincoln" was purchased by the clergy, some paying as high 
 as one hundred dollars for a copy. They did not spend this 
 money for the book because of its intrinsic value; they did not 
 want its facts known to the public. For nearly twenty-five 
 years this work on Lincoln was held at a premium, and I believe 
 it was only last year, in response to an overwhelming demand, 
 that the descendants of Herndon decided upon a republication of 
 the volumes, and they are, fortunately, once more available to 
 the general public. 
 
 Herndon's "Life of Lincoln" is conceded by all fair-minded 
 persons to be the most accurate picture of the life of the six- 
 teenth President of this country that has ever been written. Some 
 maintain that Herndon was to Lincoln what Boswell was to 
 Johnson. Men prominent in 'the higher walks of life, members 
 of Congress, Senators, Judges, members of the President's cab- 
 inet, intimate friends and relatives and even his wife, testify 
 that Lincoln was an unbeliever, an infidel, a Freethinker. 
 
 ( 12 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 Strangers, a few casual acquaintances and a number of clergy- 
 men, known and unknown, maintain that he was a Christian. 
 And yet the two ministers most intimately acquainted with 
 Lincoln — Bishop Simpson and the Reverend P. D. Gurley — do 
 not support the contention of their more zealous, but less truthful 
 fellow "divines." 
 
 The weight of the evidence is so preponderant in favor of 
 Lincoln's religious emancipation that it seems almost impossible 
 that anyone could be so audacious as to assert that he believed 
 in any dogma of any religious denomination. But we cannot 
 prevent anyone from saying what he will, particularly in re- 
 ligious matters, where the emotion stronger than reason, 
 sometimes prompts the religious fanatic even to murder 
 a person in an endeavor to "save his soul." It may seem a 
 paradox, and yet in religious matters the things most difficult 
 of performance are the things most easily believed. And for 
 Christianity not to possess Lincoln as an adherent is truly a 
 tragedy for it. It is a thrust too painful to bear. It is 
 no small wonder, then, that some clergymen have stooped to 
 questionable means and methods in their endeavors to show Lincoln 
 to have been a member of their faith. They did not seek the 
 truth. They strained every fact to the breaking point in their 
 endeavor to find some shred upon which they might base their 
 claim. But, alas ! unable to secure any truthful evidence, some, 
 as proof of their contention, have said that Lincoln possessed the 
 virtues of Patience, Tenderness and Charity. 
 
 As though these were "Christian" virtues! 
 
 For ages the virtues of Christianity were exemplified in the 
 heartlessness that murdered a Hypatia, and the cruelty that 
 accompanied the Crusades ; that schemed and inflicted the punish- 
 ment of an inquisition; that burned a Bruno and imprisoned a 
 
 « ( 13 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 Galileo; that madly and joyously took part in a Massacre of St. 
 Bartholomew's Eve, and that with due solemnity judicially tried, 
 and convicted, sentenced and executed a rooster for laying eggs! 
 
 It requires but little effort on the part of the unscrupulous 
 to find witnesses to testify falsely. I remember distinctly that 
 when I first read the claim that Thomas Paine recanted I was 
 simply overwhelmed. I was not only convinced that this brave 
 and good man recanted before he died, but I felt certain, from 
 the charges brought against him, that he had led a most profligate 
 and dissolute life. No doubt the defamers of Paine believed 
 in the motto, that if you throw enough mud a little of it will 
 stick. I was stunned and bewildered. I was sore at heart 
 to feel that so great and unselfish a man, the author of the "Age 
 of Reason" and the "Rights of Man," could have fallen to such 
 miserable depths. But when I read IngersolFs answer to the 
 charges; when I saw how he disposed of each and every accu- 
 sation; how he discredited the witnesses; how he exposed the 
 character of the defamers and calumniators of Paine, I realized 
 then that the reputation of any man with courage enough to 
 speak the truth as he sees it may be besmirched if what he says is 
 contrary to what the great mass of people are led to believe to be 
 the truth. 
 
 I also realized then that the statement of a minister, espe- 
 cially in a bitter religious controversy, must be substantiated before 
 being accepted as a verity. But "truth crushed to earth will 
 rise again", and as it was with Paine, so it is with Lincoln. 
 
 Were the Civil War a failure; had the Union perished, the 
 church would not be straining every muscle to claim Lincoln a 
 believer in Christianity. Rather they would "shout from the 
 house tops" the destruction brought upon this nation by the in- 
 sane idealism of this arrogant infidel! All the horrors of that 
 
 ( 14 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 war would be vividly pictured before you. They would relate 
 with glee, how in early manhood he had written a pamphlet 
 against the Bible and Christianity, and how, seated among others 
 discussing its points, it was snatched from his hands and thrown 
 'into the fire. How they would dwell upon this act of "Providence;" 
 and with a sanctimoniousness becoming only to Christians, they 
 would pray God to save them from another Lincoln. Slavery 
 would still be the topic of the Christian pulpit and the "divine 
 institution" would still be supported by the Biblical edict: "Ser- 
 vants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to 
 the flesh, with fear and trembling." 
 
 But the fact of the matter is that the manuscript that Lin- 
 coln wrote against the Bible and Christianity was taken from 
 him and destroyed by a friend and fellow Freethinker, Samuel 
 Hill, his employer, who feared the effects of such a book upon 
 his public career. His friend knew the "liberality" of the religious- 
 minded, and, fortunately for the Republic, his manuscript perished 
 and the Nation was saved! 
 
 When Lincoln ran for Congress against the Reverend Peter 
 Cartwright, charges were brought against him by clergymen that 
 he was an infidel, and that he said that Christ was 1 an illegiti- 
 mate child. And not once did Lincoln deny the truth of these 
 charges. When asked why he did not deny them, Lincoln said 
 he did not do so for two reasons : First, he knew the charges 
 to be true; and second, they could be easily proved. 
 
 Galileo became a heretic when he questioned the truth of 
 Joshua's influence upon the sun. Were Charles Darwin a Chris- 
 tian, the "Origin of Species" would never have seen the light 
 of day, and William Jennings Bryan would have been denied the 
 great opportunity of making a monkey of himself. And if 
 
 ( 15 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 Abraham Lincoln zvere a Christian, the emancipation of the Negro 
 slaves would never have entered his mind! 
 
 Slavery is just as much a fundamental part of Christianity 
 as is the Virgin Birth. To contradict one is just as serious as 
 to deny the other. Leviticus, Chapter 25 Verses 44 to 46, is just 
 as much part of the Bible as are the Ten Commandments. If 
 one is "inspired" so is the other, and I quote the former : 
 
 "Both thy bondmen and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be 
 of the heathen round about you; of them ye shall buy bondmen and bondmaids. 
 Moreover, of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, 
 which they begat in your land ; and they shall be your possession. And ye 
 shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them 
 for a possession ; they shall be your bondmen forever." 
 
 The following quotations from the New Testament require 
 the same belief and acceptance from Christians as does the resur- 
 rection of Christ. I quote Timothy, Chapter 1, Verse 1 : 
 
 "Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their masters worthy 
 of all honor." 
 
 And Titus, Chapter 2, Verse 9 : 
 
 "Exhort servants to be obedient to their masters." 
 
 As proof that the emancipation of the Negro slaves was 
 opposed by the Christian Church, I need but quote the testimony 
 of the celebrated divines of that time. 
 
 The Reverend Alexander Campbell said : "There is not one 
 verse in the Bible inhibiting slavery, but many regulating it. 
 It is not then, we conclude, immoral." 
 
 The Reverend E. D. Simms, professor, Randolph-Macon 
 College, wrote: "The extracts from Holy Writ unequivocally 
 assert the right of property in slaves." 
 
 The Reverend R. Furman, D.D., Baptist, of South Carolina, 
 
 ( 16 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 said: "The right of holding slaves is clearly established in 
 the Holy Scriptures, both by precept and example." 
 
 The Reverend Thomas Witherspoon, Presbyterian, of 
 Alabama, said: "I draw my warrant from the Scriptures of the 
 Old and New Testaments to hold the slave in bondage." 
 
 The Reverend Nathan Lord (what an authoritative name!), 
 president of Dartmouth College, said: "Slavery was incor- 
 porated into the civil institutions of Moses; it was recognized 
 accordingly by Christ and his apostles. They condemned all in- 
 ter meddlers with it." 
 
 The Reverend Taylor, principal of the Theological Depart- 
 ment of Yale College (and he certainly ought to know,) said: 
 "I have no doubt that if Jesus Christ were on earth, he would, 
 under certain circumstances, become a slaveholder." And I want 
 to say here and now that I agree absolutely with the Reverend 
 Taylor. 
 
 And Lincoln himself said: "All the powers of the earth 
 seem rapidly combining against the slave, Mammon is after him — 
 and the theology of the day is fast joining in the cry." 
 
 But the most striking illustration of history, showing the 
 close connection between the Bible and slavery, is the fact that 
 when the Revolutionists of France — Freethinkers all — rejected the 
 Bible as a state book of authority, they also abolished slavery 
 throughout the French possessions. And when the monarchist 
 government came back into power, and the church regained con- 
 trol of the government, the Bible again became a state book of 
 authority and the institution of slavery was re-established. 
 
 To show the close connection between the belief in the Bible 
 and the institution of slavery I need but mention the fact that 
 when a bill was introduced in Parliament to abolish slavery in 
 
 ( 17 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 the British Empire, Lord Chancellor Thurlow characterized the 
 move as "miserable and contemptible" and as being "contrary to 
 the word of God." 
 
 And I repeat and re-emphasize, that it was utterly impossible 
 for Abraham Lincoln to be a believer in the Bible, and be the 
 author of the Emancipation Proclamation. 
 
 A Christian believes the Bible to be the infallible word of 
 God. He believes that all the knowledge necessary to his well- 
 being, happiness and immortality is contained therein. To ques- 
 tion its precepts is heresy to him. It is because of this belief 
 that Christianity has to its credit the Dark Ages. To doubt, to 
 investigate, to improve, to advance, is a principle contrary to the 
 doctrines of religion. "Prove all things, hold fast to that which 
 is true," means to the religious-minded only what the Bible says 
 is true. Whatever is, is best," is the brake upon the wheel 
 of progress. "God's will" is the stereotyped answer to all that 
 is. If Lincoln were a Christian he would have accepted the 
 Negro's plight in life as in accordance with the "divine plan" as 
 enunciated by the "Holy Bible." 
 
 It was because Lincoln was not bound by any creed, not 
 hampered by any religious belief, that he felt that the mark of 
 the vicious lash upon the tender skin was not and could not be 
 right by divine sanction, and for that reason he waged the most 
 just war in humanity's heroic struggle for freedom. "In giving 
 freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free," is the 
 statement that no believer in the, Bible could utter. 
 
 Even those clergymen who claim that Lincoln accepted Chris- 
 tianity in the latter years of his life, admit that in early man- 
 hood he was an infidel. His first law partner, John T. Stewart, 
 said: "Lincoln was an avowed and open infidel, and sometimes 
 
 ( 18 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 bordered on Atheism. He went farther against Christian be- 
 liefs, doctrines and principles than any other man I ever heard." 
 
 The impression, now being created in the minds of our school 
 children, that Lincoln's only sources of knowledge were the Bible 
 and Pilgrim's Progress is, in view of the facts, a deliberate and 
 malicious falsehood. Lincoln was a reader and lover of Voltaire, 
 Volney and Paine, and was not satisfied with being enlightened 
 himself, but informed others of what he had found out. He 
 thought it miserly to keep that knowledge to himself and was 
 zealous in his heresy. He argued and talked for that which he 
 had discovered to be true. It is said that he never tired of reading 
 Paine; and I ask, who does tire of reading him? Who can read 
 the "Age, of Reason" without being convinced by its logic? 
 
 Oh, what a valuable, what a priceless copy of the "Age of 
 Reason" it was that fell into the hands of Abraham Lincoln! 
 The germ of Lincoln the Emancipator was planted when he read 
 these liberty-loving books. And friends, as a gentle reminder, 
 if you have a son whom you would like to see develop into an- 
 other Lincoln, you cannot better equip him than by giving him 
 the same mental food upon which Abraham Lincoln thrived. 
 
 Lincoln's belief in "God" or "Providence" prompted him 
 to say: "Friends, I agree with you in Providence, but I be- 
 lieve in the Providence of the most men, the largest purse and 
 the longest cannon." 
 
 The use of the word "God" has a thousand interpretations 
 and does not reveal the religious belief of the person using that 
 word. The manner in which Lincoln used the word "God" in 
 his immortal papers should be sufficient proof that he had no 
 faith in the generally accepted sense of that word. I think the 
 following incident as related by Herndon should settle for all 
 time the significance of the use of the word 'God' by Lincoln. 
 
 ( 19 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 "No man had a stronger or firmer faith in Providence than Lin- 
 coln, but the continued use by him late in life of the word 'God' 
 must not be interpreted to mean that he believed in a personal 
 God. In 1854 he asked me to erase the word 'God' from a 
 speech I had written and read to him for criticism, because my 
 language indicated a personal God, whereas, he insisted, no such 
 personality existed." 
 
 Herndon goes farther and says: "If Lincoln were asked 
 whether he believed in God, he would have said : 'I do not know 
 that a God exists.' " 
 
 Lincoln's two most important documents, the Emancipation 
 Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, were originally written 
 with the idea of God completely left out. It is an historical fact 
 and noteworthy to us that the Emancipation Proclamation was 
 written and printed by Lincoln before he consulted the members 
 of his cabinet. When he called them into conference he handed 
 each a copy, and asked them for any suggestions. One member, 
 the Honorable Salmon P. Chase, after reading it, stated: 
 
 "Mr. Lincoln, this paper is of the utmost importance — greater than any- 
 state paper ever made by this government. A paper of so much importance, 
 and involving the liberties of so many people, ought, I think, to make some 
 reference to the Deity. I do not observe anything of the kind in it." 
 
 "No, I overlooked it," replied Lincoln. "Won't you make a 
 draft of what you think ought to be inserted?" 
 
 And the following words as suggested by the Honorable 
 Salmon P. Chase were inserted in the proclamation: 
 
 "I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the 
 gracious favor of Almighty God." 
 
 No doubt a similar circumstance was responsible for the 
 words"under God" being put into the Gettysburg Address as 
 
 ( 2CP ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 the original draft of the address makes no mention of these 
 words.* 
 
 We must not lose sight of the fact that Lincoln was the 
 most misunderstood and hated man of his day. There were con- 
 spirators in every branch of the Government, and, it has been 
 intimated, even in his own cabinet. We must not judge him 
 for what he permitted others to do in order to accomplish his 
 glorious undertaking, and if the churches of his day were ready 
 to strike him down on the slightest provocation, the oversenti- 
 mental references to "God" in his messages can be readily under- 
 stood and are of little importance. 
 
 When chided about his Thanksgiving messages as being con- 
 trary to his known convictions on the subject, Lincoln said to 
 Judge James N. Nelson : "Oh ! this is some of Seward's nonsense 
 and it pleases the fools !" Lincoln knew the power of the church's 
 hostility, and was a compromiser in the sense that he believed in 
 "doing a little harm for a great good," particularly so when the 
 end meant the liberation of thousands of human beings from the 
 bondage of slavery. To the church, it is more important to crush 
 the infidel than to add a step of progress to civilization and for that 
 reason, while president, Lincoln was reticent in public upon the 
 question of religion. By this act of discretion he carried the 
 nation safely through the most trying period of its history 
 
 It is very curious indeed, that if Lincoln were a Christian, 
 as some say, nowhere in any of his writings does there appear a 
 single solitary mention of Jesus Christ. In his public addresses, 
 official documents and his private correspondence, never once did 
 he express a belief in any doctrine that would even remotely 
 claim him as a Christian. On the contrary, his personal conver- 
 sations were such as unhesitatingly to classify him an avowed 
 
 * See fac-simile reproduction en page 4. 
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 Freethinker. And yet some have the impudence to say that on 
 the presentation of a $500 Bible, which some misguided Negroes 
 of Baltimore gave him as a token of gratitude, he is quoted as 
 saying : 
 
 "In regard to the great book I have only this to say, that it is the 
 best gift which God has given to Man. All the good from the Saviour of the 
 world is communicated to us through this book. But for this book we could 
 not know right from wrong. All those things desirable to man are contained 
 in it." 
 
 This statement is a lie, the enormity of which I am unable 
 to express. To say that Lincoln said this is too ridiculous for 
 notice, and yet when uttered by a clergyman it is taken to be 
 true. It is utterly impossible that Lincoln, who openly doubted 
 the truth of the Bible and questioned the legitimacy of the birth 
 of Christ, should utter such a puerile statement, especially to a 
 group of people representing a race that had been so mercilessly 
 subjected to a condition of servitude because of the Bible's 
 precepts. Out of courtesy, Lincoln may have thanked the little 
 group of well-meaning Negroes for their gift, yet thinking in 
 his heart what fools they were to take $500 of their hard-earned 
 money and waste it upon the very instrument that was the greatest 
 obstacle in their struggle for emancipation. 
 
 More likely, sad-hearted Lincoln felt, if he did not actually 
 say: "What fools you are; here I am striving with all the 
 energy I possess, with the resources of a great nation, sacrificing 
 thousands of lives, the very flower of the Republic, to liberate 
 you from the chains of slavery, and here you are presenting me 
 with a Bible, a book that has held the minds of men in mental 
 slavery for over a thousand years and has caused more mischief 
 and heartache, and agony and hatred and bloodshed than any 
 other instrument in the world. Go ; you are now physically free ; 
 strive for mental emancipation." 
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 Regarding this supposed speech to the group of Colored Peo- 
 ple, permit me to quote Herndon concerning it: 
 
 "I am aware of the fraud committed on Mr. Lincoln in reporting some 
 insane remarks supposed to have been made by him, in 1864, on the presentation 
 of a Bible to him by the colored people of Baltimore. "No sane man ever uttered 
 such folly and no sane man will believe it. In that speech Mr. Lincoln is made 
 to say : 'but for this book we could not know right from wrong.' Does any 
 human being believe that Lincoln ever uttered this? What did the whole race 
 of Man do to know right from wrong during the countless years that passed 
 before the book was written? How did the struggling race of Mankind build 
 up it's grand civilization in the world before this book was given to Mankind? 
 What do the millions of people now living, who never heard of this book, do 
 to know how to distinguish right from wrong? Was Lincoln a fool, an ass, a 
 hypocrite, or a combination of them all? Or is this speech — this supposed, this 
 fraudulent speech — a lie/" 
 
 Herndon's characterization of this supposed speech of Lin- 
 coln to the negroes of Baltimore as a lie is the only term that 
 can properly be applied to it. It only goes to prove to what lengths 
 people will go in their desperation to prove a false contention. 
 
 But one lie begets another and the great task before us is 
 to disprove them and halt their circulation. I believe it was 
 Mark Twain — another Freethinker, by the way — who said that 
 a lie could get into circulation and around the world before truth 
 had time to put on its shoes. While Lincoln was alive no one 
 presumed to call him a Christian. His enemies took particular 
 delight in referring to him as an infidel. And now that he is 
 dead, we take it .upon ourselves to defend his infidelity, if you 
 please. And when I hear the word "hinder used as anathema, I 
 feel like answering, with all the sauciness of a child: "Sticks 
 and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me." 
 
 Abraham Lincoln is no less Abraham Lincoln because he 
 was a Freethinker. In fact, many of the world's greatest gen- 
 iuses and benefactors have been Freethinkers. And it seems to 
 me a very difficult thing sometimes to determine whether a person 
 
 ( 23 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 is a genius because he is a Freethinker or, a Freethinker because 
 he is a genius. 
 
 For years there has been circulated by the religious forces 
 a picture of Lincoln with his son Tad standing beside him. Both 
 are looking at a large book which Mr. Lincoln has in his lap. 
 This picture is generally captioned: "Lincoln Reading the Bible 
 to His Son." On close examination the book is discovered to be 
 a picture album. And in a recent issue of a magazine in which 
 this picture appeared, Ida M. Tarbell is the authority for the 
 statement, that when this picture of Lincoln was taken he issued 
 this injunction: "Now don't let anybody entitle this picture, 'The 
 President Reading the Bible to His Son.' ' How well have the 
 religious forces carried out his wishes! 
 
 The following explanation from the Boston Globe has an 
 interesting bearing upon this point. 
 
 "The pretty little story about the picture of President Lincoln and his son 
 Tad, reading the Bible, is now corrected for the one hundredth time. The 
 'Bible' was Photographer Brady's picture album which the President was ex- 
 amining with his son while some ladies stood by. The artist begged the President 
 to remain quiet and the picture was taken. The truth is better than fiction, 
 even if the recital conflicts with a pleasing theory." 
 
 If the religious forces will go so far as to declare that a 
 picture album is a Bible, what kind of other evidence would you 
 expect them to present in order to prove their claim. 
 
 How can anyone say that Lincoln believed in the Bible when 
 he so aptly characterized the religious forces of both the North 
 and the South, by saying: "Both read the same Bible and pray 
 to the same God, and each invokes his aid against the other." 
 The opinion of the church element toward Lincoln and the reason 
 for its opposition can best be told by Lincoln himself. In 1843 
 Lincoln desired a nomination for Congress and did all in his 
 power to secure it. The opposition toward him was growing 
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 stronger and stronger and in a letter to some of his constituents 
 he wrote as follows: 
 
 "The strangest combination of church influence was against me. Baker, 
 (his opponent) was a Campbellite, and therefore got all that church. My 
 wife has some relations in the Presbyterian church and some with the Episco- 
 palian churches, and therefore whenever it -would tell, I was set down as either 
 ONE OR THE OTHER, while it was everywhere contended that NO CHRISTIAN 
 ought to vote for me because I BELONGED TO NO CHURCH and zvas suspected 
 as being a deist." 
 
 On another occasion he is quoted as having made this laconic, 
 and all too significant statement: "The Bible is not my book, 
 nor Christianity my profession." 
 
 The Honorable David Davis, a judge of the Circuit Court 
 of Illinois, at the time that Lincoln was a practicing attorney, 
 and who was Lincoln's intimate friend and adviser, and who 
 later became a Supreme Court judge of the state of Illinois — 
 a United States Senator — a Vice-President of the United States 
 and finally a member of that august body, the Supreme Court 
 of the United States, has something to say regarding Lincoln's 
 beliefs. The intimacy between Lincoln and Judge Davis was 
 such a bond of friendship that upon Lincoln's death Judge Davis 
 was chosen by common consent to be administrator of his estate. 
 Few men of this country have been held in higher esteem by his 
 contemporaries than was Judge Davis. Surely his years of as- 
 sociation, his friendship and his intimacy with Lincoln qualify 
 him to testify to Lincoln's religious convictions. Judge Davis 
 says : "Lincoln had no faith in the Christian sense of the term 
 — he had faith in law, principles, causes and effects." 
 
 Recently there appeared in this city a magnificent production 
 of a play by John Drinkwater, entitled, "Lincoln." In that play 
 Lincoln's life was beautifully portrayed, with the exception of 
 one particularly great blunder, a blunder that adds little credit 
 to the playwright. In this play Lincoln is shown in a humiliating* 
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 position, and despite a letter from me correcting this falsity, the 
 scene remained unchanged. In this play Lincoln is made to fall 
 upon his knees in prayer. I emphatically state that no evidence 
 exists that the grown Abraham Lincoln ever prostrated himself 
 in prayer. The scene is a lie and belongs in the same category 
 as that of Washington praying at Valley Forge. We need no 
 better proof of the falsity of this scene regarding Lincoln than 
 Lincoln himself when he said: "What is to be will be, and no 
 prayers of ours can arrest the decree." 
 
 In every great crisis there are always religious fanatics who 
 have spoken directly to God, and who are directed by God to 
 deliver certain messages. The Civil War was no exception, 
 and Lincoln was not free from such annoyers. It is said that 
 Lincoln, more than any other President, was constantly pestered 
 by clergymen with advice from "divine sources." He controlled 
 his temper only because of his sympathy for the mentally de- 
 ranged. To indicate his attitude toward such people I will quote 
 his words of contempt for them: 
 
 "I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice, and by 
 religious men who are certain they represent the Divine Will. I hope it will 
 not be irreverent in me to say, that if it is probable that God would reveal 
 His will to others, on a point so connected with my duty, it might be supposed 
 He would reveal it directly to me." 
 
 On another occasion a woman came to see Lincoln, claiming 
 that God sent her to deliver His message of advice to him, he 
 caustically replied to her as only a Freethinker would: 
 
 "I have neither the time nor disposition to enter into a discussion with 
 the Friend, and will end this occasion by suggesting to her the question, whether, 
 if it be true that the Lord has appointed me to do the work she has indicated, 
 is it not probable that he would have communicated knowledge of the fact 
 to me as well as to her?" 
 
 It is sometimes very difficult to determine properly whether 
 these "very religious people" are not fit subjects for the lunatic 
 
 ( 26 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 asylum, and I wonder if this thought was in Lincoln's mind 
 when he said: "When an individual in a church, or out of it, 
 becomes dangerous to the public interest he must be checked." 
 
 Lincoln's real opinion of the clergy may be gathered from 
 one of his anecdotes which, it is said, he delighted to repeat: 
 
 "Once in Springfield, I was off on a short journey, and reached the 
 depot a little ahead of time. Leaning against the fence just outside the depot 
 was a little darky boy, whom I knew, named Dick, busily digging with his 
 toe in a mud puddle. As I came up I said : 'Dick what are you about ?' Said 
 he, 'Making a church.' Said I, 'What do you mean?' 'Why, yes,' said Dick, 
 pointing with his tee, 'don't you see, there is the shape of it, there's the steps 
 and the front, here's the pews, where the folks set and there's the pulpit.' 
 'Yes, I see,' said I, 'but why don't you make a minister?' 'Laws' answered Dick, 
 with a grin, 'I hain't got MUD enough for dat.' " 
 
 During the course of my address I mentioned the fact that 
 during the latter years of his life Lincoln did not engage in 
 prayer. I want to correct that statement. I want to retract it. 
 For I do find that he did indulge in this form of religious exercise. 
 While at the White House some one came to pay him a visit. A 
 terrific storm was raging. It was raining and thundering with 
 fearful intensity. His visitor found himself unable to leave. 
 Lincoln reflected for a moment and with solemn reverence said : 
 "O Lord, if it's all the same to you, give us a little more light and 
 a little less noise." On another occasion Lincoln prayed to God 
 with deep and reverent devotion, that He put stockings on the 
 chicken's feet in winter. 
 
 More significant than anything that might be said by others 
 on the subject of Lincoln's religious belief is the attitude of 
 Lincoln himself toward religion. The mere fact that he did not 
 become a member of any church is alone sufficient to silence for- 
 ever any charge that he was a Christian believer. 
 
 Lincoln weighted down with the pains and burdens of the 
 bloody struggle of the Civil War and with Death constantly star- 
 
 ( 27 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 ing him in the face, uttered the most important and striking testi- 
 mony to his lifelong disbelief. It is irrefutable! In answer to a 
 letter from Judge J. A. Wakefield, an old friend, inquiring and 
 hoping that he had changed the infidel opinions and convictions 
 of his early manhood, Lincoln wrote — and it is significant that 
 this letter was written after the death of his son Willie: — 
 
 "My earlier views of the unsoundness of the Christian scheme of salvation 
 and the human origin of the scriptures, have become clearer and stronger with 
 advancing years and I see no reason for thinking / shall ever change them.''' 
 
 He emphatically denied the existence of Hell and with equal 
 fervency said that if there were a God all would be saved or none. 
 Lincoln certainly was not as godly as Jehovah, but his humanity 
 was a thousand times greater. He delighted in repeating this 
 homely, yet philosophic epitaph : 
 
 "Here lies poor Johnny Kongapod, 
 Have mercy on him, gracious God, 
 As he would do if he were God 
 And you were Johnny Kongapod." 
 
 Other evidence, equally striking and abundant can be adduced 
 further to disprove the clergy's claim; but enough, I think, has 
 been presented to settle beyond the peradventure of a doubt that 
 Lincoln was not a Christian believer. And yet of the utmost 
 significance is the fact that Mrs. Lincoln was a member and reg- 
 ular attendant of the Christian church and that Lincoln rarely at- 
 tended the services with her. And like a thunderbolt to the heart 
 of the Christian world, Mrs. Lincoln herself testifies that her illus- 
 trious husband and America's greatest President was a disbeliever 
 in the Christian religion. Mrs. Lincoln says: "He never joined a 
 church. He was not a technical Christian. He had no hope or 
 faith in the usual acceptation of those words." 
 
 No effort of mine is needed to establish Lincoln's place in the 
 glittering galaxy of the world's great immortals and humanitarians 
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 and if there is a resting place for those who have passed on, he 
 is happily in company with Voltaire, Paine and Ingersoll. In 
 lauding Lincoln as a Christian example, the church makes its own 
 weapon and stabs itself with the very instrument it would use 
 against us. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln belonged to no sect ; he professed no creed ; 
 he was truly an American ! We honor him as one of the foremost 
 statesmen of this country. 
 
 We honor him as the Preserver of our Republic. 
 
 We honor him as the Great Emancipator, and we honor our- 
 selves when we honor him as a fellow Freethinker. 
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 Since the publication of "Lincoln the Freethinker" there has 
 been a widespread controversy regarding the authenticity of the 
 famous Bixby letter which Lincoln was supposed to have written 
 to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, of Boston, offering his condolence on the 
 loss of her five sons in the Civil War, and in which he refers to 
 "our Heavenly Father." 
 
 The true facts now brought to light concerning this letter 
 are : that five sons of Mrs. Bixby were not killed in the Civil War, 
 but only two sons ; that almost every circumstance connected with 
 the writing of this letter is now a matter of much speculation and 
 doubt; that the men responsible for making the alleged facts 
 public have been proved to be of questionable veracity, and that 
 the original letter (if Lincoln ever wrote such a letter, which I 
 doubt very much) is not in existence! 
 
 "Facsimiles are abundant and though they vary slightly," as 
 stated by Dr. William E. Barton, in defense of the genuineness of 
 this letter, is to me conclusive evidence that the "Bixby Letter" 
 is but another pious fraud perpetrated upon our martyred Presi- 
 dent. For how would it be possible for facsimiles that "vary 
 slightly" to be made from an original letter if it were not in 
 existence? Furthermore, if such letter ever existed, how could 
 facsimiles that "vary slightly" be made from it, if they were fac- 
 similes? 
 
 ( 30 ) 
 
REFERENCES: 
 
 Herndon, William H. Abraham Lincoln. 
 D. Appleton and Co. New York. 
 
 Lamon, Ward H. The Life of Abraham Lincoln. 
 James R. Osgood and Co. Boston. 
 
 Remsburg, John E. Six Historic Americans. 
 Truth-Seeker Co. New York. 
 
NEW7 The Religion of Jefferson 
 
 What Joseph Lewis has accomplished in his remarkable 
 book on Lincoln, he repeats with equal force fulness in this 
 brochure, newly printed, on Thomas Jefferson. You will surely 
 find this brochure a fascinating exposition of the uncertain 
 facts which still surround the great author of the Declaration 
 of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Virginia Statute 
 of Religious Liberty. 
 
 Every American should read this illuminating narrative of 
 that great Republican and champion of Democratic ideals. 
 
 "Jefferson the Freethinker" is a revelational pamphlet of 
 16 pages printed in clear type on sepia stock. A copy will be 
 sent you prepaid for only 10c. 
 
 THE FREETHOUGHT PUBLISHING CO., Inc. 
 1658 Broadway, New York, N. Y. 
 
LINCOLN THE SOLDIER 
 
 JOSEPH LEWIS 
 
 (Address delivered over Station W.G.B.S. February 12, 1925) 
 
 No one will deny the courage of the uniformed soldier who 
 goes forth to battle. Neither will any one withhold from him the 
 credit and respect to which he is entitled. 
 
 But not all soldiers wear uniforms. Neither do all soldiers die 
 upon the battle-fields 'mid shot and shell. 
 
 There are soldiers who do not know how to operate a gun; 
 who do not go forth to battle amid the beating of drums, the wav- 
 ing of flags or the cheering of people. 
 
 There are soldiers who fight, not upon the battle-fields, but 
 upon the field of thought. Upon the battle-field there is somewhat 
 of an eual contest. Man power can be met with man power and 
 destructive explosives with devastating projectiles. But infinitely 
 more courage and superior ammunition are required to do battle in 
 the larger arena of human action. 
 
 The progress of mankind has been one bitter struggle against 
 the forces of reaction; a battle of herculean effort against invisible 
 and deadly enemies. 
 
 On the battle-field, the roaring of guns and the bursting of shells 
 are a signal that the enemy is approaching and preparation is made 
 by the defending army to withstand the attack; but in the battle for 
 human progress, the enemy gives no such signs of approach. 
 
 Ignorance, Hatred, and Superstition are the malignant enemies 
 of the human race. These vicious enemies do not fight in open fields. 
 They do not fight fairly. With them equal combat is unknown. Their 
 victories are won in the dark. Stealth and hypocrisy are their 
 weapons. 
 
 Thousands have died, millions have died in mortal combat upon 
 the battle-fields in defense of their country, in defense of their homes, 
 in behalf of liberty. 
 
 And thousands, yes millions, have died in that grand army of 
 human progress, — soldiers in the army of Science, of Art, of Medi- 
 cine, of Invention and Discovery, and in the Army of Justice and 
 Freedom. 
 
 The world is ever ready to do homage to the soldier upon the 
 battle-field. But in the realm of human progress it is lamentably true 
 that only too often does the gallant soldier receive rebuke and cal- 
 umny for his reward. 
 
 Seldom, in his own day, does the soldier who fights for liberty 
 taste the fruits of his victory. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, the Soul of America, was a soldier in both 
 of these armies. He donned a uniform, shouldered a gun, and marched 
 to battle in defense of his country. He suffered the hardships and en- 
 Copyright, 192."., bv Joseph Lewis. 
 
dured the trials of a soldier's life. As captain of a regiment in the 
 Black Hawk War in 1832, Lincoln acquitted himself with honor. And 
 upon his return from battle he received the plaudits of his countrymen. 
 
 War brutalizes our natures and hardens our hearts; it warps our 
 thoughts and makes us callous to the sufferings of human life. 
 
 But Lincoln never permitted war to harden his heart nor stunt 
 his feelings. He was possessed of a rare love for humanity. His kind- 
 liness knew no bounds and his honesty was so wide-spread that he 
 was affectionately known as "Honest Abe." There were many who 
 chided him for his "softheartedness," but Lincoln was LINCOLN and 
 was not to be swayed from his convictions. 
 
 Lincoln's soul was touched with the kinship of life by the magic 
 wand of a mother's love. To Lincoln his mother was his Star of Hope, 
 his Rainbow of Life, the myriad-colored arch that ever beckoned him 
 to "carry on." Lucky indeed is the child whose mother inspires him 
 with humanitarian ideas and thoughts and with the urge that he may 
 so live that when he passes on, the world will be better for his having 
 lived. 
 
 Lincoln never forgot the lowliness from which he came and it 
 was the memory of his hardships which caused him never to abuse 
 his power except on the side of mercy. 
 
 You remember the case of William Scott? While Scott was on 
 sentry duty, after a strenuous day of fighting, and exhausted from 
 the wear and tear of battle, his strength failed him and he fell pros- 
 trate upon the ground. When discovered by another soldier and 
 awakened, it was revealed that he was dreaming of his mother, and 
 that she had awakened him to remind him of his duty as a soldier! 
 
 But in time of war, excuses for being asleep while on sentry duty 
 are not acceptable or valid, and Scott was taken to his superior officer, 
 tried by court-martial, convicted and condemned to be shot! 
 
 The case was brought to Lincoln's attention. His heart was 
 touched. He could not make himself believe that the boy was a traitor, 
 and ordered his release. You know what followed: Scott died fight- 
 ing valiantly for the cause! 
 
 On another occasion a woman went to the White House and 
 begged an audience with the President. Her husband had been cap- 
 tured, tried, convicted and was to be shot. Lincoln consented to see 
 her. She told her story and pleaded with the President to suspend 
 judgment. Lincoln asked her whether her husband was a good man 
 and whether he treated her children kindly. She replied that he was a 
 good husband and a good father and that the family could not live 
 without him. She said he was a fool about politics and if she ever 
 got him home he would do no more fighting for the South. "Well," 
 said Lincoln, "I will pardon your husband and turn him over to you for 
 safe keeping." The poor woman, overcome with joy, sobbed as 
 though her heart would break. "My dear woman," said Lincoln, 
 "if I had known how badly it was going to make you feel, I never 
 would have pardoned him." "You don't understand," cried the 
 woman between her sobs. "You don't understand, Mr. Lincoln." 
 "Yes, yes, I do," answered the President, "and if you do not go 
 away at once I shall be crying with you." 
 
In our thoughts of Lincoln let us not forget that he was a human 
 being, born just as you and I were born. Only that his hardships 
 were immeasurably greater than ours, his difficulties far more num- 
 erous. He had to struggle for everything he possessed. He had no 
 teachers. He was self-taught. Tramping through the woods for six 
 miles to borrow a grammar is an indication of his thirst for knowledge 
 and the obstacles he overcame to acquire it. 
 
 He had an unquenchable desire to learn. A burning urge to 
 accomplish. This urge prompted him to read every book he could get. 
 He was once asked what he was reading, and he replied: "I'm not 
 reading — I'm studying.'* He was particularly fond of controversies. 
 He loved an argument. He was never satisfied unless the sparks 
 flew in the discussions. "Hew to the block, let the chips fly where 
 they will," was his motto. And fortunately this trait of Lincoln's 
 broke down all barriers and prejudice in seeking knowledge. He was 
 carried on the wave of Rationalism which swept this country in the 
 Forties. This brought him in contact with the writings of Voltaire, 
 Volney and Paine. They were his intimates. 
 
 Voltaire had shot his bolts at the caste system of Europe and 
 the chains began to fall from the minds and bodies of men. 
 
 Thomas Paine was the first man on the American continent to 
 raise his voice in behalf of the negro slaves. 
 
 Fired by these men with the love of Liberty and human rights, 
 Abraham Lincoln entered the Army of Progress. 
 
 I see him on a flat boat navigating down the Mississippi River. I 
 see him arrive at New Orleans. I see him in company with two friends 
 come upon the market place. I see him watch the sale of a negro 
 slave girl. I see him rebel at the revolting scene. As the girl is 
 examined by her bidders, her flesh pinched, her form displayed, her 
 nudity exposed, I see his sad face become more sorrowful, I see him 
 clench his fist, and with a quiver in his voice, and an oath upon his 
 lips, utter this statement: "If I ever get a chance to hit that thing 
 (meaning slavery), I'll hit it hard." 
 
 On his return to Springfield I see him enter the political arena 
 with a short but crude declaration only to be concluded by that ever- 
 lasting monument to his name, the Emancipation Proclamation. 
 
 I now see him competing for public office. I see him defeated, 
 halted in his march. But defeat and discouragement were words not 
 to be found in Lincoln's vocabulary. When questioned concerning 
 his defeat he said he felt like the boy who was too big to cry and 
 too hurt to laugh. Determination was the quality of Lincoln's char- 
 acter and he knew that "the harder the struggle the more glorious the 
 triumph," and so we see him overcoming the obstacles which had 
 beset his path. 
 
 We now see him in his famous debates with Douglass, deter- 
 mining whether the nation can remain "half slave and half free," and 
 whether "a house divided against itself can stand." And in this 
 struggle let us not lose sight of the fact that Lincoln received the 
 brunt of the battle. He was the most misunderstood and hated man 
 of his day. The people did not welcome the economic and social 
 
changes which he advocated. The vilest of arguments were used 
 against him. Arguments now known to be utterly ludicrous. He 
 was vilified. He was slandered. The churches of his day opposed 
 him and bigotry supported their contention. Let us take a lesson 
 from the way Lincoln was treated and be not too ready to dismiss 
 a new idea or condemn a new proposal. 
 
 In his fight for human emancipation he met the bitterest foes 
 of battle. But not once did he falter, not once did he swerve. He 
 had tasted battle as a soldier fighting for human rights against an 
 institution whose only strength was that it was supported by "divine 
 right." But Lincoln knew that man had no property right in man, 
 and that the marks of the vicious lash upon the tender skin were not 
 and could not be right by divine sanction, and that the damnable 
 institution of slavery was a living lie against our sacred Declaration 
 of Independence! 
 
 We see Lincoln gaining in his struggle. We see a convention 
 assembled. We see him nominated for President by an almost 
 unanimous acclamation! We see him at the head of the Republic, 
 Commander-in-Chief of its army, to determine "whether this nation, 
 or any nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition 
 that all men are created equal can long endure!" 
 
 We see him appealing for support — appealing to the nation's 
 men to fight the battle of freedom. After many anxious and un- 
 certain moments we hear the murmur of footsteps and the beating 
 of drums and the welcome exclamation: "We are coming Father 
 Abraham, we are coming 300,000 strong!" 
 
 And we see Lincoln, this giant of a man, who was too big to 
 cry and too hurt to laugh, weeping for joy at the triumph that 3,000,- 
 000 human beings were to be released from the shackles of bondage; 
 weeping for joy that the American Flag, the dearest emblem in all 
 the world, was to rise once more over a united nation without a 
 blemish and without a stain! 
 
 It is the duty of the soldier upon the battle-field to carry the 
 flag of the country for which he fights, and if perchance he is shot 
 and wounded and falls, another soldier must lift it from his hands 
 and carry it high to battle, and this was the task delegated to Lincoln. 
 He carried the flag of freedom which the American Revolutionists 
 had given to Washington, and just as victory was won, just as he 
 crossed the line with the flag waving high, this grand man, this soldier 
 of the Republic, this Liberator, was struck down in battle and died 
 that millions might be free! 
 
 Upon the grave of Lincoln, the military soldier, let us drop flowers 
 of gratitude and upon the brow of Lincoln the Emancipator, the 
 soldier in the Army of Liberty, let us place a wreath as a symbol of 
 the everlasting love and thanks of the human race.