Today is the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, our 16th and perhaps most well known President (okay, perhaps just as many people have heard of George Washington).
Those who know me already understand that I'm a bit of a Lincoln buff. It began for some unremembered reason when I was young, and has continued throughout my life. Seems I'm always chasing Lincoln somewhere, and I admit having a few odd Lincoln collectibles around the house/apartment/storage. One of my prize possessions is the bust that serves as today's photo. This bust also is the icon for my Abraham Lincoln Quote of the Day group, which has unfortunately been dormant due to time constraints.
It seems Lincoln has come into vogue again. Not only are there a ton of special exhibits and events going on this year (check out the Lincoln Bicentennial page if it isn't jammed with traffic today), but the election of a fellow Illinoisian to the White House has sparked a great deal of interest. It helps that President Obama himself has a fascination with Lincoln, even to the point of reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Team of Rivals" on the campaign trail (at 850 pages, not a minor effort!) and using Lincoln's own bible to take the oath of office.
I, too, am reading Team of Rivals, and like many of my 460+ books on Lincoln, it's a signed first edition. I've been waiting for the last several years for this year to come so I could help celebrate Lincoln's birth. Ironically, I'll likely still be here in Brussels all year and will miss most of the special events. But I did bring my book collection with me and have been working my way through it.
So while I've been chasing Lincoln most of my life, I'm very glad that so many others have finally discovered him. He is even much more fascinating - and complex - than most people realize.
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Comments: 57
Enjoy this special day, David.
"The best thing about the future is that it comes only once each day."
Also, today, Christie's is auctioning the original handwritten 4 page speech Lincoln made at his second inauguration in 1864. A library in Dryden, NY has owned it since 1926, but has agreed to sell it to raise money to expand its facilities. The expected purchase price is $3-4 million.
FYI there is a new bio of Mary Todd Lincoln out, with very favorable reviews (Mrs. Lincoln: A Life by Catherine Clinton) I am not a super big fan of her, but it needs to be said that she played a role in Lincoln's political life. Without her, it is doubtful that he would have ever become President.
Sadly, following his assassination, many dismissed her as insane. Her son committed her briefly to an asylum. She was unable to handle the loss of two sons plus husband in a short time span, but we would probably call that a nervous breakdown now. She never really recovered, but then who could ever recover from something like that. I doubt that JFK's wife Jackie ever truly recovered.
Take care.
--September 1862 Meditation on the Divine Will
I would say that Lincoln gained internal strength and resolution from God, but relied on his own judgment, intelligence and compassion to make decisions.
What do you suppose he would have to say about there being a black man sitting behind the desk in the Ovoid Office?
Probably something like this: "Mmmmmmf bffffff prfffff!"
Smugs & Hiles.
That misrepresents what Sandy carefully and thoroughly documented in her posts. The reference was not to "organized religion" but to Lincoln's growing recognition of the primacy of God's will over the will of men. If you had read Sandy's links, which were excellent, you may have learned something about that.
But I'll even take you on regarding your statement above. Although Lincoln never became a member of a denominational church, his attendance at Presbyterian churches became an increasing habit after he lost his 4-year-old son, Edward, in 1850.