Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln

by Richard Brookhiser

  20to rest HI, 560.

  20reader he was Bray, 152, discusses similar behavior when Lincoln was slightly older.

  20smacked him for it HI, 39.

  20“sign his own name” Autobiography Written for Campaign, SWII:160.

  20“hug it the tighter” To Joshua F. Speed, 2/25/42, SWI:91.

  21quart a day Wood, 339.

  21“in his life” HI, 97.

  21“tried his manhood” HI, 96; see also 28, 36.

  21even better HI, 454, 37.

  22“‘farting’” Herz, 398–399.

  23“yesterday” HI, 113.

  23“rams’ horns” HI, 151.

  23“better than the Bible” HI, 120.

  24of his stepbrother To Thomas Lincoln and John D. Johnston, 12/24/48, SWI:224.

  24“in any extremity” To John D. Johnston, 1/12/51, SWI:256.

  Chapter Two

  26steamboat . . . foundered See Levasseur II:158–164.

  26“of his age” Brookhiser (Washington), 111.

  27“country’s ruins” Ibid., 164.

  27two or three days The story of Josiah Crawford loaning Weems’s Life is in HI, 125 and 455. But another old acquaintance remembered the book that Lincoln borrowed as David Ramsay’s Life of George Washington (HI, 41). Lincoln himself said that he encountered Weems “away back in my childhood, [during] the earliest days of my being able to read,” which would have been before he knew Crawford (who arrived in Indiana when Lincoln was seventeen) (Address to the New Jersey Senate, Trenton, 2/21/61, SWII:209).

  27“not displeased” Mason L. Weems to Washington (undated), 1795.

  28not lying all the time I have forgotten the name of the historian who said this to me, though not his remark.

  28“industry and honor” Weems, 13.

  28“of Latin” Weems, 54.

  28“as a wizard” To Jesse W. Fell, 12/20/59, SWII:107.

  29“this fall” Weems, 20.

  29“a thousand fold” Weems, 23–25.

  30“his good!” Weems, 27–28.

  30tend the farm? Weems, 47.

  30“his own merit” Weems, 42.

  32“frost-bitten” Weems, 139–140.

  32“live with us” Weems, 137, 143.

  32“defend her or perish” Weems, 140.

  32“about to fight for” Weems, 141.

  33“was made” Address to the New Jersey Senate, op. cit., SWII:209–210.

  34revelation closed H, 2–3.

  Chapter Three

  38floating driftwood HI, 12.

  39both came home Hanks’s testimony is in HI, 457. Lincoln wrote that Hanks turned back at St. Louis (Autobiography for Campaign, SWII:163–164). See also Bray, 15, 232.

  40“everything all over” H, 83.

  40saddled with debt Donald, 54.

  40still in use Thomas, 40.

  40“Great God Almighty!” HI, 449.

  40“I ever saw” H, 145.

  41with a romance See Douglas Wilson, 114–124, and Donald, 608–609.

  41“quick as a flash” HI, 534.

  41“committing suicide often” HI, 243.

  41“two weeks I think” Douglas Wilson, 121.

  41“raining on her grave” HI, 557.

  41“beat on her grave” HI, 27.

  42“as he walked” H, 473.

  42“never dare” HI, 205.

  42“upon yourself” To Mary Owens, 8/16/37, SWI:21.

  42“smaller attentions” HI, 262.

  43“a fool of myself” To Mrs. Orville H. Browning, 4/1/38, SWI:39. The date of the letter suggests that Lincoln meant it as a joke. But the joke falls flat.

  43“very much chagrined” To the people of Sangamon County, 3/9/32, SWI:5.

  44the expression was Jefferson’s J, 632–633.

  44“their esteem” To the people of Sangamon County, op. cit.

  45for all the spectators HI, 451.

  45“ready servant” Weems, 316.

  46“crop of folly” Martineau, I:269, 273.

  47“of Illinois” H, 140.

  49“in a lump” To John Stuart, 1/20/40, SWI:66.

  49“the general wreck” Guelzo, 92; CWI:200–201.

  49“like the present” American Antislavery Writings, 269.

  50“of the District” Douglas Wilson, 165–166; Protest in the Illinois Legislature on Slavery, 3/3/37, SWI:18.

  Chapter Four

  52“more grieved” P, 415.

  52Christian antidote Bray, 23.

  52in New Salem One old acquaintance said Lincoln read Common Sense in New Salem (HI, 172); Herndon wrote that he also read The Age of Reason (H, 355).

  53“such sermons” P, 702.

  53“enslave mankind” P, 666.

  53“exactness is necessary” P, 766.

  53“justly deserved it” P, 801.

  54“word of God!” P, 754.

  54“worn out debauchee” P, 770–771.

  54“upon the stroll” P, 800.

  54“would she be believed?” P, 792, 797.

  54Paine’s erotic history Keane, 49–52, 75–78.

  54“blasphemy” P, 750.

  54“example of murder” P, 703.

  55“God to man” P, 685.

  55“TO EACH OTHER” P, 694.

  55church trustee Thomas, 12.

  55“talked about it” HI, 107.

  56“grounds of reason” HI, 472.

  56“a bastard” HI, 576.

  56burned it Hill’s son said his father made Lincoln burn it (HI, 61–62), Herndon said Hill burned it himself (H, 355).

  56“hundreds of times” HI, 61.

  56“an open scoffer” Handbill Replying to Charges of Infidelity, 7/31/46, SWI:139.

  57“or explanation” P, 777.

  57“and one is three” P, 697.

  57“interval of life” P, 710.

  58“horses and cattle” 4th Lincoln/Douglas Debate, Charleston, Illinois, 9/18/58, SWI:677.

  58“leave her alone” Speech on the Dred Scott Decision, Springfield, Illinois, 6/26/57, SWI:398.

  58“upon . . . emetics” To Erastus Corning and others, 6/12/63, SWII:461.

  59“MUNIFICENCE” P, 694.

  59“still goes on” P, 674.

  59“would be hanged” P, 702.

  59“think that is” To Andrew Johnston, 4/18/46, SWI:137.

  60always had them See HI, 404.

  60all the plays To James Hackett, 8/17/63, SWII:493.

  60A scholar rediscovered it See Miller, 1 and 6.

  61“alive with fun” The Bear Hunt, before 2/25/47, SWI:148.

  61Lincoln gave a speech Address to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, 1/27/38, SWI:28–36.

  63portrait of Napoleon The lines are from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, canto III, stanza 42.

  65a note of thanks See CWI:115.

  65Vicksburg had turned on its gamblers An account of the whole episode is in Foote, 250–262. The bandit behind the supposed plot appears in Jorge Luis Borges (A Universal History of Iniquity), and his cave appears in Mark Twain (Tom Sawyer).

  66panic among masters Protest in the Illinois Legislature on Slavery, 3/3/37, SWI:18.

  Chapter Five

  68another story Boritt, 55.

  68“so interesting” The Rebecca Letter, 8/27/42, SWI:100.

  69“for political effect” To Elias Merryman, 9/19/42, SWI:102.

  70The Log Cabin Campaign See Brookhiser (American History, Harrison) and Collins.

  70“Damn such a book” Guelzo, 93.

  70“happy condition” Boritt, 72.

  70single-issue candidate Boritt, 175.

  71“continued in operation” Address to the People of Illinois, 3/4/43, CWI:318.

  71“he certainly did” See Douglas Wilson, 216, 353.

  72“printed on them” Douglas Wilson, 214.

  72“on the earth” To John T. Stuart, 1/20/41, SWI:69.

  72hid their knives and razors H, 168–169; HI 475.

  72“let us hear soon” Douglas Wilson, 236.<
br />
  73“better than tolerable” To Mary Speed, 9/27/41, SWI:74–75.

  73“nervous debility” To Joshua Speed, c. early 1/42, SWI:77.

  73“hug it the tighter” To Joshua Speed, 2/25/42, 90–91.

  74to fight her battles Exodus 14:13; 2 Chronicles 20:17; to Joshua Speed, 7/4/42, SWI:95.

  74glad to be married To Joshua Speed, 10/5/42, SWI:103–104. Lincoln’s relationship with Speed, and their relationships with women, have been the primary stimulus for the question: Was Lincoln gay? Tripp argued yes; I reviewed his book (Brookhiser, “Was Lincoln Gay?”), not critically enough.

  74“the garret or the cellar” Douglas Wilson, 242.

  74throw things at him Strozier, 107.

  75“he had lived” HI, 197.

  75“look in this” H, 254.

  75documents and underwear H, 280.

  75“his back in a ditch” HI, 636.

  76“never very formidable” H, 210.

  76“dug up the root” H, 272.

  76“as he walked” H, 473.

  76“whistle off sadness” HI, 350.

  76“reverse the decree” H, 352; HI, 360. Herndon remembered it as “no prayers of ours can reverse,” Mary as “no cares of ours can arrest.”

  76“before the man” H, 354.

  77“self-evident demonstration” P, 736.

  77the case of Rebecca Thomas Lincoln Legal Briefs nailed down the specifics of the case. Herndon reconstructed Lincoln’s speech in H, 274–275; Fehrenbacher and Fehrenbacher are skeptical (Recollected Words, 230, 541). But Herndon was there, and he was witnessing a performance in his own profession.

  78“ruff-scuff generally” Howe, 35.

  78“‘a gallon of gall’” Address to the Washington Temperance Society of Springfield, Illinois, SWI:83.

  78“moral reformation” Ibid., SWI:90. The real George Washington served wine at his table, treated voters to drinks, and ran a distillery at Mount Vernon.

  79fun of them H, 206–207.

  79“fall dead” To John J. Hardin, SWI:124.

  79“the Christian denominations” Handbill Replying to Charges of Infidelity, 7/31/46, SWI:139. Lincoln’s language was careful: he implied that he was no longer a fatalist, but his exact words were that he had “left off . . . arguing thus.”

  81“seemed wonderful” To Williamson Dursley, 10/3/45, SWI:111.

  82“spot of soil” “Spot” Resolutions in the US House of Representatives, 12/22/47, SWI:159.

  82“Washington would answer” Speech in the US House of Representatives on the War with Mexico, 1/12/48, SWI:168.

  82“spotty Lincoln,” “spotted fever” Thomas, 120.

  82“peace and harmony” Washington, 972.

  83“vile dirt!” Appendix to the Congressional Globe, 163.

  83“I ever heard” To William Henry Herndon, 2/2/48, SWI:174.

  84Winthrop’s oration Winthrop, 70–89.

  84sputter along One of its lawmakers would be Alexis de Tocqueville, the man who interviewed Charles Carroll.

  85“immovable attachment” See also Washington, 964.

  86“negro livery stable” Speech on the Kansas-Nebraska Act at Peoria, Illinois, 10/16/54, SWI:313.

  86“of said District” Protest in the Illinois Legislature on Slavery, 3/3/37, SWI:18.

  86“(paradox though it may seem)” To Williamson Dursley, 10/3/45, SWI:112.

  87“leading citizens” Proposal in the US House of Representatives for the Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia, 1/10/49, SWI:229.

  Chapter Six

  90“possible to conceive” Dyer, 222–230.

  90“supply their places” Henry Adams, 134.

  91“knell of the union” J, 698.

  91“disgust with the union” Brookhiser (Madison), 243.

  92rush of the moment See Dyer, 230.

  93“Clay and Frelinghuysing” Schlesinger, 439.

  93“glorious triumph” To William H. Herndon, 6/12/48, SWI:185.

  93“a natural death” To Williamson Dursley, 10/3/45, SWI:112.

  94a long Senate speech Register of Debates, 22nd Cong., 1st sess., 1832, 277.

  95“the opulent” Madison, 531.

  96“vigor of his nature” Hamilton, 663.

  96“the pistol’s mouth,” “gallant” Weems, 288.

  97“to reflect” Abridgement of the Debates, XVI:391.

  98“‘successfully compromised’” H, 292.

  99delivered a eulogy Eulogy on Henry Clay, Springfield, Illinois, 7/6/52, SWI:259–272.

  99“and with Hell” Chapman, 172.

  101come back to it repeatedly 1st Lincoln/Douglas Debate at Ottawa, Illinois, 8/21/58, SWI:527; Speech at Bloomington, 9/4/58, CWIII:89; 5th Lincoln/Douglas Debate at Galesburg, Illinois, SWI:717; Speech at Columbus, 9/16/59, SWII:58.

  101of every issue Foner, 20.

  Chapter Seven

  105“as never before” Autobiography Written for Campaign, c. 6/60, SWII:167.

  106“miss him very much” To John D. Johnston, 2/23/50, SWI:244.

  106“was unanswerable” HI, 549.

  106“Knows nothing of Lincoln” HI, 547.

  106“he could not be scared” Eulogy on Zachary Taylor, Chicago, Illinois, 7/25/50, SWI:251.

  107references to his age To William H. Herndon, 2/2/48, 7/10/48, SWI:174, 203.

  107“a little engine that knew no rest” H, 304.

  108“as he now is” Speech to the Scott Club of Springfield, Illinois, 8/14–26/52, SWI:273.

  108“magnetism” H, 330.

  110“interested in it” Jaffa, 155.

  110“the whole controversy” Cutts, 122–123.

  112When speaking on the stump Lehrman, 41–43.

  112“new slavery agitation” Speech on the Kansas-Nebraska Act at Peoria, Illinois, 10/16/54, SWI:333.

  113“in the state library” Lehrman, 44.

  113“continue to speak” SWI:334, op. cit.; “is” before “his love of justice” in SWI is a mistake. See CWII:271.

  113“Lincolnisms” Lehrman, 44.

  113“making cheese” SWI:308, op. cit.

  114“hogs and Negroes” Ibid., 325–326.

  114“wild bears” Ibid., 326.

  114“running at large” Ibid., 327.

  115“that is despotism” Ibid., 328.

  115“ONLY BY NECESSITY” Ibid., 309, 342, 338.

  116corrected the error See letters to John L. Scripps, 6/16/60, and to James O. Putnam, 9/16/60, CWIV:77, 115.

  116“no slave amongst them” SWI:309, op. cit.

  116“slave of another” Ibid., 328.

  117“fully, and firmly” Ibid., 332.

  117“they would not go” Ibid., 338.

  117“rest in peace” Ibid., 340.

  117“ancient faith,” “old-time men” Ibid., 328–329.

  117“bleed to death” Ibid., 338.

  118“will not admit of ” complete equality Ibid., 316.

  118“blood, of the Revolution” Ibid., 339–340.

  Chapter Eight

  119“events have controlled me” To Albert G. Hodges, 4/4/64, SWII:586.

  120buying their votes Pinsker, 18–19.

  120“consented to it” To William H. Henderson, 2/21/55, SWI:357. Shields would go on to serve briefly as a senator from both Minnesota and Missouri, becoming the only man ever to be a US senator from three states.

  121“backed with wrath” H, 312–313.

  122“save every Whig” To Lyman Trumbull, 6/7/56, SWI:366.

  123“bound to respect” Jaffa, 280.

  123“to disband” Jaffa, 286.

  124“is sustained” Fehrenbacher (Prelude), 134.

  124“amalgamation” Donald, 201.

  124“will not admit of ” racial equality Speech on the Kansas-Nebraska Act at Peoria, Illinois, 10/16/54, SWI:316.

  124“hatred of the negro” Foner, 109.

  124“miscegenation” Foner, 309.

  124Lincoln answered Speech on the Dred Scott Decision at Springfield, Illinoi
s, 6/26/57, SWI:390–403.

  127Douglas responded Sheahan, 319–320.

  128“support to Mr. Douglas” Greeley, 357.

  128“surrender at once” To Lyman Trumbull, 12/28/57, SWI:419.

  129“only choice” Fehrenbacher (Prelude), 67.

  129Lincoln addressed them “House Divided” speech, Springfield, Illinois, 6/16/58, SWI:426–434.

  129“damned fool utterance” H, 326.

  129“my natural life” Fragment on the Struggle Against Slavery, c. 7/58, SWI:438.

  130“a hundred years” 4th Lincoln/Douglas Debate, Charleston, Illinois, 9/18/58, SWI:677.

  130In a draft Draft of a Speech, c. late 12/57, SWI:413. Governor John Quitman of Mississippi sponsored a revolution in Cuba; William Walker, a southern adventurer, tried to conquer Baja California, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

  131his published papers See Moore, X:106–108. Buchanan’s letters are quoted to show that he did not meddle in the Dred Scott decision, yet they suggest the opposite.

  132texts of the debates The standard printed texts of the Lincoln/Douglas debates follow the newspaper accounts that Lincoln put in his scrapbook, with some additions (Lincoln clipped out the crowd reactions). Below I give the reactions that were reported in the newspapers in brackets. I list debates by number (1st, 2nd, 3rd . . .) and their page numbers in SWI.

  132Republicans kept tabs Fehrenbacher (Prelude), 113.

  132“any way promoted” 5th Debate, SWI:709.

  133“on fire” Fehrenbacher (Prelude), 101.

  133“the town together” 1st Debate, SWI:500.

  133“disgrace to white people” 2nd Debate, SWI:556–557; 4th Debate, SWI:666.

  133“almost white” 4th Debate, SWI:672.

  134“the superior position” 1st Debate, SWI:513.

  134“marrying together” 1st Debate, SWI:517.

  134“white people with negroes” 4th Debate, SWI:637.

  134was constitutional 2nd Debate, SWI:538.

  134“from its limits” 2nd Debate, SWI:541–542.

  134“local police regulations” 2nd Debate, SWI:552.

  135“every stump in Illinois” 2nd Debate, SWI:551.

  135“our fathers made it?” 1st Debate, SWI:503.

  135“that day and hour” 3rd Debate, SWI:598–599. Benjamin Franklin had freed his slaves by 1776; George Wythe did so later.

  136“at that time” 6th Debate, SWI:765.

  136“disapprobation” 7th Debate, SWI:802.

  136“for free society” 7th Debate, SWI:794.

  136“the course of ultimate extinction?” 7th Debate, SWI:801.

  137“existed among us” 7th Debate, SWI: 802.