Use the seven presuppositions mentioned above to deduce what the "Historical Abraham Lincoln" was "really like." Thus,
we will demonstrate the truly arbitrary and unscholarly nature of the presuppositions.
And now, to make the situation of these biographies more equitable with that of the Gospels - let's create the following fictional
scenario:
Welcome to the year 3735.
Near the start of the 21st century, an asteroid some seven miles in diameter slammed into the mid-Atlantic ridge just south of
Iceland, setting off a chain of destruction that nearly annihilated all life and culture on our planet.
Less than fifty thousand survived the resulting chaos. The technological societies of the Americas, Europe and Japan were
wiped out.
Now, our reconstruction of society nearly complete, we seek to reconstruct our past - and that is where I come in.
Allow me to introduce myself. I am Teachminder Phonias J. Futz, and it is my ambition to reconstruct the history of one of
Earth's foremost pre-20th century personages - Abraham Lincoln.
This turns out to be a more difficult task than you might imagine. The only things still known for certain about Lincoln in my time
are:
- That he was President over the major power in the Americas, sometimes called Usa;
- That he presided over the country in a time of internecine conflict.
These were the core facts that were left to us.
Some less believable and non-authentic information we have relates to Lincoln taking some major action to end slavery. That
this actually happened, at least as described, is doubtful. The extreme bigotry and prejudice known to have existed in the 19th
and 20th centuries makes it unlikely that someone of that era would make an effort to end an institution that provided important
economic stimulus and confirmed the prevailing (and of course incorrect) view that various races were somehow inferior to the
dominant American race. All stories attributing the ending of slavery to Lincoln should be regarded as apocryphal, a mere
creation of pro-Lincoln civil rights forces. If slavery ended at all, it ended in the early to mid-20th century, although many areas
of America surely took an initiative and ended it well before then.
My mission began with scouring the globe, looking for any ancient sources about Lincoln that might have survived the
Catastrophe. I was able to uncover only four biographies from the 20th century that had survived intact. They, and their
apparent purposes, are (in chronological order):
- Masters, Edgar Lee. Lincoln the Man. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1931. The purpose of this author was
found on an attachment that was affixed to the inside text by some adhesive. This makes it of doubtful relevance, but it seems
to adequately describe the contents:
"In the vast Lincoln literature this work of Mr. Masters is the first which deals with Lincoln by way of analysis of his
mind and nature; and in terms of politico-legalistic criticism of Lincoln's theories respecting the nature of the Union,
and of his acts and measures as President."
Masters' work is important because it is written closest to the time of Lincoln and in some cases may not having been colored
by later influences. But it still is of sufficient distance from Lincoln's death - about 75 years - for legend and myth to have
creeped in.
- Basler, Roy P. The Lincoln Legend: A Study in Changing Conceptions. New York: Octagon Books, 1969. This
sobering analysis turned out to be the most valuable of the four. It is both a biography and an explosive, provocative expose' of
the many myths surrounding Lincoln.
Why is it therefore most valuable? It is known that the period between 1960 and the Catastrophe was a time of significant
social upheaval. The civil rights movement coalesced, and much of their focus was upon groups that had been previously
oppressed by slavery and were still being denied basic civil rights. Lincoln was selected as a hero for this movement, and it is
therefore reasonable to assume that - with all good intentions - images of Lincoln after the formation of the movement reflected
the desires and opinions of that movement. Basler's book appears to have been an attempt to counter the total absorption and
remaking of Lincoln. This effort, as we shall see, failed miserably.
- Oates, Stephen. With Malice Toward None. New York: New American Library, 1977. The self-description of this
book tells all:
"Here is Lincoln in his bitter struggle to rise from poverty to self-made success in business and law. Lincoln, the
politician who survived crushing defeat and disappointment; Lincoln, the husband and father who came to know both
tender love and shattering loss...Here is Lincoln as he really was - and as we now come to know him for the first time.
Lincoln - the man, not the myth."
1977 was at the heart of the civil rights movement, and here we see that Lincoln, despite Basler, has been taken over by it, and
that the movement has asserted their own history for the man. The description is almost nauseating in its praise; and note the
italicized words - apparently these authors recognized that their "version" of the life of Lincoln was going to be unique!
Did Oates get away with this abominable treachery? Yes, and worse - there are pages full of positive reviews for his book.
This is suspicious, for how could the press praise a book that had just been published? Probably because the media, of course,
was behind the civil rights movement (and rightly so). I view them as mostly unfortunate, unknowing pawns in the effort to
remake Lincoln, at least at the time of Oates. But their participation and collusion went further by the time of our last author:
- Donald, David Herbert. Lincoln. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995. The effusive self-praise and rhetoric in this
book's self-description is almost deafening:
"This fully rounded biography..."
"In Donald's skillful hands, Lincoln emerges as a vigorous, youthful President."
"Donald's biography is written from Lincoln's point of view."
"Donald's strikingly original portrait of Lincoln..."
How "original" is Donald's portrait of Lincoln? So original that it is full of events and reports not mentioned in the other three
biographies. This, and the stated purpose of the book, gives us ample cause to regard Donald's book with suspicion.
The media, at this time, was so deluded by the movement to recreate Lincoln that they awarded Donald a Pulitzer Prize!
The works of Oates and Donald are also clearly written in popular narrative style. This is strongly indicative of fabrication.
In all fairness, the movement to recreate Lincoln was one with noble intent. The 20th century was a barbaric time, when people
around the world suffered oppression; some 90 percent of the population lived in desperate poverty. People needed a savior,
and Lincoln was a natural choice, having been first of all a leader, and second of all being sufficiently distant from the 20th
century for these writers to recreate a history that fit their needs. We, however, have no need for such a hero in our enlightened
time. We may admire Lincoln for what he was in truth; but we may also freely strip him of the excess baggage attached to him
in part by Masters and Basler, and in full by Oates and Donald.
Owing the variable taintedness of all four of these documents, we are constrained to adapt seven primary criteria for their
evaluation:
- If only one of the writers mentions it, it probably did not happen. As alluded to just before, this will apply mainly to
Donald's biography.
- Events and sayings expressed in language like that of the 20th century are the creation of the authors. The
pro-Lincoln civil-rights community developed statements to defend its claims and attributed words and actions to Lincoln that
backed up their claims.
- Words or events that resemble those of the 20th century are often ascribed to Lincoln and his contemporaries.
- Anything that seems incredible, probably didn't happen.
- The writers, according to their own biases, added to or expanded upon Lincoln's deeds and words.
- Many of Lincoln's words or deeds are invented for an occasion.
- Only words or deeds that reflect our present knowledge and conception of Lincoln may be regarded as
authentic.
In addition, we shall note contradictions between the accounts. These contradictions serve to warn us of the unreliability of
these documents.
We will begin with an examination of Lincoln's early life.
1.1.1 Lincoln's Mother (Nancy Hanks Lincoln) - Basic Description
Because Lincoln's mother died when he was young, there is comparatively little information about her.
1.1.1.1 Her Lineage
Masters: Reports that Lincoln confided to a friend, William Herndon, that his mother was the natural child of Lucy Hanks and
"a well-bred Virginia planter." Reports that Lucy had been indicted in Kentucky on a charge of "unbecoming conduct." (pp.
11-12)
Basler: "The illegitimacy of Nancy seems at last to be above suspicion." Basler notes that two different and varying
genealogies were created in an attempt to prove her legitimacy. Masters' quote concerning the Virginia planter is repeated
almost verbatim in a footnote. (p. 111)
Oates: Refers to her "confused and cloudy past" and says that "a controversy has long raged over Nancy's legitimacy, with
many authorities insisting that she was born out of wedlock and others retorting that she was not." He also notes the notation
from Herndon about Lincoln himself saying that his mother was illegitimate. (pp. 6-7)
Donald: Reports that a grand jury in Mercer County, Kentucky, "presented a charge of fornication" against Lucy Hanks, and
that Lincoln thought that his mother was illegitimate. Says Lincoln believed that his mother was illegitimate, but rarely discussed
it; one time that he did was with Herndon, when he also observed that "illegitimate children were 'oftentimes sturdier and
brighter than those born in lawful wedlock,' " with his mother being a primary example, stating that she was the daughter of
Lucy Hanks and "a well-bred Virginia farmer or planter." (pp. 19-20)
Notes:
This is but a small example of the changes wrought by the evolution of Lincoln. The overall effort seems to be to distance Lincoln from Nancy, while creating
an image for him as a loving and forgiving son. Note these differences:
- The "Virginia planter" (Masters, Basler) quote grows into "Virginia farmer or planter" (Donald) - apparently an effort to
muddy the waters and keep anti-Lincoln forces from finding out about Nancy's true origins. This is an example of the writers
adding on to information according to their pro-Lincoln bias.
- The charge against Lucy grows mysteriously from "unbecoming conduct" (Masters) to a more serious charge of
"fornication" (Donald). This effects to widen the distance between Lincoln and Nancy.
Note also these efforts to cloud Nancy's already clouded past: The two genealogies cited by Basler, and Oates' wishy-washy
claim that experts are still debating the issue! In Masters' and Baslers' day, the issue seemed quite settled! Apparently this was
realized by Donald to be a useless tactic; he instead invents a larger quote to Herndon, no hints of which are in the earlier
accounts; at any rate, being that Herndon was an unreliable source (see his entry), we may assert that either he or these writers
simply assumed that this is merely the sort of thing that Lincoln would have said on such an occasion. These words were
created to back up the claim that Lincoln was a loving son, and as a corollary, that he was worthy of respect because he
forgave his mother in spite of her questionable background.
1.1.1.2 Her Appearance
Masters: Notes that there are a variety of reports of Nancy's appearance, including variations in her eye and hair color and
stature. "...Lincoln himself left no description of her..." (pp. 12-13)
Basler: Also notes the varieties of description. (p. 107)
Oates: Asserts a brief yet definite appearance for Nancy: "thin, dark-haired...with eyes like pools of sadness..." (p. 5)
Donald: Cites a variety of descriptions, differing in respect to her height, build, and beauty.
Notes:
There is little of note here, although it
seems that Oates attempted to assert of definite appearance for Nancy in order to give his other, fallacious assertions about
her more credence. The tactic obviously did not work, for Donald reverts to the variety of descriptions.
1.1.1.3 Her Education
Basler: Notes that while those who knew her thought of her as intellectual, "The matter of Nancy's education has never been
and probably never will be settled." Basler compares on the one hand, images of Nancy "reading the Bible and teaching
(Lincoln) to write" with the fact that there are no signed legal documents by her, and the evaluation of one biographer that she
was "absolutely illiterate." (pp. 107-8)
Oates: "Unable to read, she recited prayers for the children and quoted memorized passages from the family Bible. Incapable
of even writing her name, (she) signed legal documents with her mark." (p. 5)
Donald: "According to tradition, she was able to read, but, like many other frontier women, she did not know how to write
and had to sign legal documents with an X." (p. 23)
Notes:
Here, it seems, was a clumsy
attempt to give Abraham Lincoln some source for his intelligence while dealing with the obvious and incontrovertible fact that
his mother has left no visible indication of literacy. Oates and Donald absolutely contradict each other (and Basler), one saying
that Nancy couldn't read, the other saying that she could. Also, Donald's statement that she could read but not write is an
absurdity.
1.1.1.4 Her Meeting with Lincoln's Father
Masters: Records that the two met during an ecstatic religious meeting, described exaggeratedly as an "orgy". (p. 14)
Donald: States only that she married Thomas Lincoln in 1806.
Notes:
Masters' story was
apparently too embarrassing for even Basler to report; it was quite likely violently suppressed. This is an obvious attempt to
cover up Lincoln's sultry origins and make him a more adequate icon for the civil rights movement.
1.1.1.5 Lincoln's Opinion of His Mother
Masters: Lincoln was reportedly stung by his mother's illegitimacy (p. 66).
Basler: Reportedly Lincoln once said: "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." Basler writes of this: "It is
such an expression as any man is likely to make, but...(it) has furnished the keynote of the Nancy Hanks legend." (p. 108)
Oates: Indicates that his mother's obscure origins, along with his general family history, was a "social albatross about his
neck." (p. 60) Indicates that he left his mother's grave without a monument. (p. 104)
Donald: Says Lincoln rarely discussed his mother's illegitimacy. "(Lincoln) referred to her as his 'angel mother,' partly in
recognition of her loving affection, but partly to distinguish her from his stepmother, who was very much alive. If he ever said,
as Herndon reported, 'God bless my mother; all that I am or ever hope to be I owe to her,' it was a tribute not so much to her
maternal care as to the genes that she allegedly transmitted from his unnamed grandfather." (p. 23)
Notes:
This again shows an
attempt to distance Lincoln from his mother while still allowing for him to have cared for her. The "angel mother" quote is subtly
altered by Donald, and made into a reference to a supposed genetic gift - which is ridiculous, since the science of genetics had
yet to be discovered in Lincoln's time. It, too, is put on Lincoln's lips to reflect what the writers believe that Lincoln would have
said at the time. Three writers at least agree that Lincoln was uncomfortable with his mother's status.
1.1.2 Lincoln's Father (Thomas Lincoln)- Basic Description
Masters: "Thomas Lincoln had all the indicia of the Southern poor white...He was unmoral, shiftless, bound down in poverty,
in spite of the fact that he had inherited enough from his father Abraham (Note: Abraham Lincoln's same-named grandfather)
to have made him well circumstanced, if he had possessed ambition and prudence. He was described as a man five feet, ten
and one-half inches in height, and of great strength, and in disposition rather good-natured and amiable..." (pp. 9-10)
Basler: "(His) life was rough and poor, but neither rougher nor poorer than were the lives of many others...the worst that can
be said of him was that he was always poor..." (pp. 14-15)
Oates: Dennis Hanks "falsely characterized (Thomas Lincoln) as a slow and shiftless oaf a who neglected his family." (p. 8)
"...Thomas was a popular yarn-spinner and enjoyed considerable status as a skilled carpenter, whose cupboards and furniture
enriched the cabins of his neighbors."(p.10)
Donald: His personal description: "...a stocky, well-built man of no more than average height, with a shock of straight black
hair and an unusually large nose. 'He was an uneducated man, a plain unpretending plodding man,' a neighbor remembered;
one who 'attended to his work, peaceable - quiet and good natured.' 'Honest' was the adjective most frequently used to
describe Thomas Lincoln, and he was respected in his community, where he served in the militia and was called for jury duty."
(p. 22)
States that Thomas Lincoln received no "patrimony" from his father, "all the money" having been taken by an older brother.
"Abraham Lincoln never fully understood how hard his father had to struggle during his early years..." (p. 24)
"After an exceptional burst of energy at the time of his second marriage, (Thomas) began to slow down. He was probably not
in good health, for one neighbor remembered that he became blind in one eye and lost sight in the other. He was not a lazy
man, another settler reported, but 'a tinkler - a piddler - always doing but doing nothing great.' "
Notes:
It is not difficult to discern a pattern of rehabilitation in the later accounts, to the point of fabrication: Donald ignores the
inheritance reported by Masters because it does not suit his purposes. Note, also, the glowing descriptions of Thomas Lincoln
in the latter two reports, compared to the moderate reports by the first two. Note how Thomas evolves from being shiftless
and imprudent (Masters) to being convival and hard-working, and having stories of his laziness invented by a jealous relative
(Oates), to not being lazy and, in fact, having good health reasons for not working (Donald).
One particular aspect demonstrates the paradigm shift even more aptly:
1.1.2.2 Thomas Lincoln's Attitude Towards Slavery
Masters: "In March of 1805 he was appointed a patroller of Hardin County, and by the duties of that office he became a
slave catcher, empowered to catch and whip insubordinate negroes..." (pp. 9-10)
Basler: "(He) is not without his legendary aspects, however; one of the most persistent of which is that he was the first
Abolitionist in Kentucky...It fitted well into the biography of his son...(but) an aversion to slavery did not keep Thomas from
serving as slave 'patroller' in 1805." (Basler then recounts a legend of the young Thomas Lincoln setting free a slave that he
inherited, and being ostracized as a result.) (p. 114-5)
Oates: "He stayed sober, accumulated land, paid his taxes, sat on juries, and served on the county slave patrol. Though he
came from a family of small slaveholders and undoubtedly shared the anti-Negro prejudice of nearly all whites of his
generation, he came to question the peculiar institution itself...In 1816 Thomas and Nancy Lincoln united with the separatist
(antislavery) church and sang and prayed with its antislavery ministers." (p. 6)
Donald: Donald also mentions Thomas and Nancy's joining an antislavery church, the "Separate Baptist Church," and writes:
"Thomas Lincoln's hostility to slavery was based on economic as well as religious grounds. he did not want to compete with
slave labor...." (p. 24)
Notes:
A brief note, referring back to the earlier entry - did Thomas serve in the militia and get called for jury duty (Donald), or were
accumulating land, paying taxes, and sitting on juries the fruits of his citizenship (Oates)? This is partially contradictory.
Note what happens to Thomas Lincoln's role as a slave patroller. Oates attempts to countermand this image of Thomas by
portraying him as a basically good citizen and reporting what is probably a fictitious account of Thomas and Nancy joining an
anti-slavery church. (This is a tale in line with the one cited by Basler; it is hardly credible that a former slave patroller who
whipped escaped slaves would have such a reversal in temperament!) The account is further embellished by Donald, who
proceeds to invent a name for the church, and neglects to even mention that Thomas was a patroller! Can there be any clearer
evidence that history has been tampered with? All of this serves, of course, to buttress the claim that Abraham himself
somehow was anti-slavery; if his father was, so it goes, it is reasonable to assume that he could have been too! But most of
Lincoln's anti-slavery views and actions are a product of the 20th century, and so are Thomas'. Few 19th-century men would
have been so enlightened, and certainly almost none from the oppressing race.
1.1.2.3 Thomas' Second Marriage
Masters: "In the winter of 1819 Thomas journeyed from Indiana back to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where he married Sarah
Bush Johnston, a widow, to whom he had proposed marriage before he married Nancy Hanks." (p. 10)
Basler: Notes the recorded marriage of Thomas to Sarah Bush Johnston in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. (p. 118)
Oates: "...(Sally Johnston and Thomas) had known each other for more than a decade...Since her husband's death, she had
lived in a modest cabin she had bought herself. Thomas found her there, proposed, paid her debts, and married her in a
Methodist ceremony." (p. 9)
Donald: "Within a year of Nancy's death, Thomas Lincoln recognized that he and his boys could not go one alone, and he
went back to Kentucky to seek a bride. In Elizabethtown he found Sarah Bush Johnston, whom he had perhaps unsuccessfully
courted before he wed Nancy." (p. 27)
Notes:
There is not much insidious here, although we may observe that the in the later biographies this second marriage to Sarah
Johnston takes on the guise of an act of charity - an obvious attempt to rehabilitate Thomas Lincoln.
1.1.2.4 Abraham's Reaction to Thomas' Death
Masters: "Down at Goose Nest Prairie in Coles County, in the winter of 1850-51, Thomas Lincoln became ill, and showed
signs of soon dying, as he did. Lincoln's stepbrother wrote him touching the aged man's condition. Lincoln did not answer.
Then another letter was written Lincoln, this time by Harriet Hanks. Now in the extremity of death the old man wanted to see
the son..."
Masters notes that Lincoln replied to this letter with his own, indicating that business and his wife's poor health would keep him
from coming. (p. 140)
Lincoln much later "put up a stone to the long neglected grave of his father (p. 376)
Basler: "Then, too, there was general knowledge that Abraham Lincoln had never had much respect or love for his own
father. Indeed, it would seem that he held not even the love of a friend for his father. He would not visit him during the lengthy
illness that terminated the old man's life, and he did not attend the funeral..." (p. 114)
Oates: On Thomas Lincoln's death, Oates reports that it was Lincoln's stepbrother, John Johnston, who wrote to Lincoln of
his father's deathly condition. Lincoln replied - to Johnston, in January 1851 - that he did not reply because 'it appeared to me
I could write nothing which could do any good,' and that both his wife's illness and pressing business commitments made a visit
impossible. Oates notes that Lincoln did not attend Thomas' funeral. (pp. 103-4)
After an emotional visit with his stepmother, Lincoln visited Thomas' grave and "ordered a stone marker for Thomas' grave. At
least the old man should have a marker." (p. 223)
Donald: As Thomas neared death, he heard in May 1849 from John Johnston. Also, "At Johnston's request, Augustus H.
Chapman, Dennis Hanks' son-in-law, reinforced the plea with a letter describing Thomas Lincoln's 'Seizure of the Heart' and
his 'truly Heart-Rendering' cries to see his only son. Though Lincoln at the time was actively campaigning to secure
appointment as commissioner of the General Land Office, he rushed off to Coles County to see his father, probably missing a
second letter from Chapman assuring him that Thomas Lincoln had no heart disease and would 'doubtless be well in a Short
time.' Lincoln's visit to Goosenest Prairie delayed by nearly a wekk his trip to Washington, and it may have cost him the Land
Office appointment.
"The next winter, when John D. Johnston wrote him two more letter about Thomas Lincoln's declining health, Abraham Lincoln
did not respond. He thought that his stepbrother was again crying wolf. Only after he heard independently from Harriet
Chapman did he take the news seriously."
Lincoln cited business concerns and his wife's sickness as reasons that he could not visit; Donald notes that the business
aspects could have been covered by Lincoln's law partners or put off, and that Lincoln's wife could have been left in the care of
friends and neighbors; but says "Once again, the husband allowed his wife to take the blame for an uncomfortable decision."
"Unable to simulate a grief that he did not feel or an affection that he did not bear, Lincoln did not attend his father's funeral. He
was not heartless, but Thomas Lincoln represented a world that his son had long ago left behind him." (pp. 152-3)
Notes:
It is sad to see the pathetic extremes to which Oates and Donald stoop in an attempt to make both father and son look good in
this matter. Notice, first, though, these irreconcilable contradictions as to who it was that wrote to Lincoln to inform him of his
father's demise. Was it John Johnston and the single Harriet Hanks (Masters), Johnston only (Oates), or Johnston and Harriet
Hanks, now married as Harriet Chapman (Donald)? Or was it indeed anyone (Basler)?
The accounts at least agree that it was business and his wife's health that Lincoln cited as reasons to not visit his father,
although Oates attempts subtrefuge by reversing their order of priority. Apparently this attempt to excuse Lincoln's behavior
was widely rebuffed, for Donald invents an incredible story, uncorroborated by any of the other writers, about Johnston
"crying wolf" and Lincoln losing an important post as a result of rushing to see his father. Also, instead of properly blaming
Lincoln, Donald blames Lincoln's wife - thus is inexcusable coldness made excusable by embellishment! And thus we
demonstrate how, over time, history is added upon and embellished. Here is another embellishment:
1.1.2.5 Abraham and Thomas: Reason for their Poor Relations
Masters: Indicates that Abraham did help his father with "small doles" (p. 10) and that he "sent him money from time to time."
(p. 140)
Basler: Says no more than the above.
Oates: Oates attributes the estrangement between Lincoln and his father to a difference in education: "Probably Thomas felt
both respect and resentment for a son who read books and wrote poetry, moving toward a world of the mind Thomas could
neither share nor comprehend. And young Lincoln, for his part, had considerable hostility - all mixed up with love, rivalry, and
ambition - for his father's intellectual limitations. In later years Lincoln remarked that his father 'never did more in the way of
writing than bunglingly sign his own name.' "
Donald: "But Abraham's pulling away from his father was something more significant than a teenage rebellion. Abraham had
made a quiet reassessment of the life that Thomas lived. He kept his judgment to himself, but years later it crept into his
scornful statements that his father 'grew up, literally without education,' that he 'never did more in the way of writing than to
bunglingly sign his own name,' and that he chose to settle in a region where 'there was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for
education.' To Abraham Lincoln that was a damning verdict. In all his published writings, and, indeed, even in reports of
hundreds of stories and conversations, he had not one favorable word to say about his father." (p. 33)
Donald notes a gift of $200 by Lincoln to his father after the latter suffered an unsuccessful business venture in Coles County,
and another gift of $20 sent to prevent Thomas' farm being sold due to a legal judgment. However, "Thomas Lincoln's
unambitious, unsuccessful way of life came to represent the values his son wanted to repudiate. He had reason, too, to believe
that his father, as he reached seventy, was becoming a little senile and was too much under the influence of the unreliable
(John) Johnston."
Notes:
How generous, understanding and tolerant Abraham Lincoln becomes in the skilled hands of Oates and Donald! Masters'
"small doles" become an amazing (in that time)$200! Why? Because the amount is a late fabrication! That, and the reasoning
based on the difference in educational level and ambition, are pure invention, meant to rehabilitate both Lincoln and his father
for the purposes of the civil-rights movement.
1.1.3 Lincoln's Boyhood Living Conditions
1.1.3.1 The "Log Cabin" and Environs
An extended quote here from Masters is warranted.
Masters: "In Lincoln's day (log cabin) windows were fitted with greased paper to admit light, in lieu of glass, which was not
obtainable. The floor of these cabins was of earth; the doors were of broad slabs hinged with wood or hide; the fireplace was
built of stones and sticks held together by clay...The bed was made of poles resting in notched sticks, and covered with rags.
From the crude rafters hung bacon and ham, if the family happened to have any...The kitchen utensils, pots, kettles, and the
like, were scanty enough. The whole family, whether there were few or many children, slept in one room. In summer the heat
was terrific in Kentucky and middle Indiana; in winter the cold was pitiless...Bathing was unknown, and washing was avoided
rather than otherwise, especially in winter when the brook was frozen, or the well or spring afforded water stinging with ice.
"Living was in every way indecent. The cabins were filthy, and rats and other vermin abounded. Men and women undressed
before each other; and the children were cognizant of the most intimate relationships carried on within a few feet of where they
slept...The food was vile, consisting of pork and game, but much meat at any rate, and of corn and wheat bread which was
made from meal ground in crude mortars. The cooking, too, was conducive to all stomach ailments, since nearly everything
was fried and in over quantities of grease. People had bad colds in the winter, and fevers in the summer...Much whisky was
drunk; and all weird superstitions abounded concerning the moon, the flight of birds, the bringing of a shovel into a room,
which meant a near death and there were ghosts and witches about, whispering in dark corners and flying over the roofs. In
this sort of cabin was Abraham Lincoln born, in an obscure back settlement of Kentucky of cane brake society, in no wise fit
to be called the home of a human being." (pp. 15-16)
Basler: NOTEWORTHY COMMENT: "If (biographers) do not hesitate to paint what they consider an accurate picture of
the squalor of (Lincoln's) early life, it is only because that background enhances the romance." (p. 103)
Nothing specific, however, is said of his boyhood living conditions.
Oates: "The truth was that Lincoln felt embarrassed about his log-cabin origins and never liked to talk about them." Lincoln
himself said that his early life could be condensed into a single sentence: "The short and simple annals of the poor." (p. 4)
In his own autobiographical notes, Lincoln "Try as he might...could not remember much about Kentucky - and nothing at all
about the log-cabin farm..." (p. 5)
Donald: "The land Thomas claimed was in an unbroken forest, so remote that for part of the distance from the Ohio (River)
there was no trail and he had to hack out a path so that his family could follow. It was a wild region, and the forests were filled
with bears and other threatening animals..."
The family began by living in a temporary camp, then with help "built a proper log cabin. It offered more protection, but
because of the freezing weather the men could not work up the usual mixture of clay and grass for chinking between the logs
and the winds still swept through."
"The family was able to get through the winter because they ate deer and bear meat...
"The first year in Indiana was a time of backbreaking toil and desperate loneliness for all the family, but by fall they were fairly
settled...(p. 25)
Notes:
Basler's admonition seems hauntingly accurate here. Gone are Masters' descriptions of squalor, and life as it really was for the
young Lincoln, most likely suppressed by pro-Lincoln forces; the hero of Oates and Donald could not possibly have arisen in
such dire circumstances! Instead, the facts are either lost in Lincoln's memory (Oates) or romanticized and made not to look so
terrible as they seem (Donald).
1.1.3.2 Lincoln's Early Education
Masters: Lincoln at age 6 or 7 attended a few weeks at the Knob Creek School; "according to his word, he attended school
less than a year in his whole life." In Indiana he learned to read, to write and to cipher to the rule of three. From his tenth to his
fourteenth year he had no schooling whatever. But about 1822 he came under the instruction of a teacher named Azel W.
Dorsey...under Dorsey he learned the fine and characteristic penmanship which is conspicuous in the earliest document which
we have in his hand. He also excelled in spelling from the first...He was not expert in arithmetic..." (pp. 16-17)
One Nathaniel Grigsby is cited as saying that Lincoln was always at school early. Lincoln is also characterized as a voracious
reader, and several titles he read are listed. (p. 20)
Basler: "The life of young Lincoln as it was remembered in after years by his friends who had known him as a boy...was
inevitably remembered in the spiritual presence of the savior of the nation, the martyr and saint...Every act became in some
respect hallowed; as the man was great, so was the child...(p. 120)
"Thus is was recalled that he was never late to school...What a model for mothers to point out to their sons!" (p. 121)
Basler explains that the image of Lincoln as a voracious reader is merely the result of reports from his relatives and friends who
were "of meager education and generally lowly ambitions in regard to study," so that in their eyes, he was a voracious reader.
(p. 122) In fact, "Lincoln was never a consistent reader...That he read sufficiently and with comprehension goes without
saying." (p. 123)
Oates: Notes that Lincoln's "first exhilirating brush with education" was "two brief sessions in 1815 and 1816" when he and
his sister "could be spared from the family chores in the winter" to walk to "the log schoolhouse on the Cumberland Road,"
where he learned his alphabet, taught by an unnamed 52-year old Catholic slave owner. (p. 7)
"Between his eleventh and fifteenth years he went to school irregularly...All told, he accumulated about a year of formal
education...In later years he scoffed at the instruction he received in Indiana, insisting that 'there was absolutely nothing to
excite ambition for education.' 'Still somehow, I could read, write and cipher to the rule of three: but that was all.' " (p. 11)
Oates mentions that Lincoln "took pride in his penmanship" and "enjoyed reading" so much that although "(b)ooks were rare in
frontier Indiana...(he) consumed the few that he found, reading the same volume over and over. He would bring his book to
the field and would read at the end of each plow furrow while the horse was getting its breath; and he would read again at the
noon break." (pp. 12-14)
Donald: Cites a recollection of Lincoln, that he went "for two brief periods" to a nearby school, though mainly for company
for his sister rather than to learn anything. "It was first taught by one Zachariah Riney, about whom little is known except that
he was a Catholic, and then by Caleb Hazel, who, according to a contemporary, 'could perhaps teach spelling, reading and
indifferent writing and perhaps could cipher to the rule of three, but had no other qualifications as a teacher...' " At this school,
"Abraham probably mastered the alphabet, but he did not yet know how to write when the family left Kentucky." (p. 23)
In Indiana, Lincoln was enrolled in a school run by one Andrew Crawford, but attended only three months; the next year, he
Attended a school run by a James Swaney, although only sporadically because of the distance from his house. "The next year,
for about six months, he went to a school taught by Azel W. Dorsey...With that term, at the age of fifteen, his formal education
ended. All told, he summarized, 'the aggregate of his schooling did not amount to one year.'
"In later years Lincoln was scornful of these 'schools, so called' which he attended: 'No qualification was ever required of a
teacher, beyond readin', writin, and cipherin', to the Rule of Three. If a straggler supposed to understand Latin, happened to
sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizzard.' " (p. 30)
"Through constant repetition and drill (Lincoln) learned how to spell. indeed, he became so proficient that it was hard to stump
him in the school spelling bees...So adept did he become that unlettered neighbors in the Pigeon Creek community often asked
him to write letters for them.
Of Lincoln's reading habits: "he could never get enough" of reading. A relative, John Hanks, recalled that Lincoln would read
during meals; his stepmother said that he would copy passages that struck him onto "boards if he had no paper and keep it
there till he did get paper." Donald then describes several books that Lincoln read. (p. 30)
Concerning Lincoln's arithmetic skills, Donald says that Lincoln put together a notebook in which "he recorded complicated
calculations involving multiplication (like 34,567,834 x 23,423) and division (such as 4,375,702 divided by 2,432), which he
completed with exceptional accuracy, and he also solved problems concerning weights and measures, and figured discounts
and simple interest." (p. 31)
Notes:
First let us cite the usual "evolutions" of Lincoln. From Masters to Donald, Lincoln has gone from being "not expert" in
arithmetic to "extremely accurate" in it! In Donald also, as well as Oates by implication, poor Azel Dorsey is robbed of his
specific contribution to Lincoln's education; instead of teaching Lincoln penmanship, these writers would lead us to believe that
Lincoln taught it to himself, which is an invention that would suit that pro-Lincoln forces admirably! Three writers at least agree
that he attended school no more than a year in total, that he was an avid reader (although Basler's comment should give us
pause here), and that he was a good speller, though Oates' and Donald's anecdotes are probably fiction, since they are not
mentioned by the other writers - or by each other!
This subject also presents us with some disturbing contradictions:
Masters: "From his tenth to his fourteenth year he had no schooling whatever."
Oates: "Between his eleventh and fifteenth years he went to school irregularly..."
In this time frame, did Lincoln not go to school, or go to school irregularly?
Masters: Lincoln at age 6 or 7 attended a few weeks at the Knob Creek School.
Oates: Lincoln's "first exhilirating brush with education" was "two brief sessions in 1815 and 1816" when he and his sister
"could be spared from the family chores in the winter" to walk to "the log schoolhouse on the Cumberland Road," where he
learned his alphabet, taught by an unnamed 52-year old Catholic slave owner.
Donald: Lincoln...went "for two brief periods" to a nearby school, though mainly for company for his sister rather than to learn
anything. "It was first taught by one Zachariah Riney, about whom little is known except that he was a Catholic, and then by
Caleb Hazel..."
Was it the "Knob Creek School," "the log schoolhouse on Cumberland Road," or an unnamed "nearby school"? Was the
teacher an unnamed, 52-year old Catholic slave owner, or were there two teachers - a named Catholic (Riney) and Caleb
Hazel?
Finally, note the recurrence and shifting of this phrase:
Masters: "In Indiana he learned to read, to write and to cipher to the rule of three."
Oates: "In later years he scoffed at the instruction he received in Indiana, insisting that 'there was absolutely nothing to excite
ambition for education.' 'Still somehow, I could read, write and cipher to the rule of three: but that was all.' "
Donald: "In later years Lincoln was scornful of these 'schools, so called' which he attended: 'No qualification was ever required
of a teacher, beyond readin', writin, and cipherin', to the Rule of Three. If a straggler supposed to understand Latin, happened
to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizzard.' "
Masters does not make this a quote; Oates puts it in Lincoln's mouth; Donald seems to imply that it comes from Lincoln,
although the peculiar form and the "wizzard" addition make it unlikely. As usual, it seems that Basler has the clearest eye on this
issue, and that the later two writers are inventing stories to improve Lincoln's reputation. Oates' ridiculous story about Lincoln
reading while plowing is especially humorous, but of course too incredible to be believed!
In summary, it seems that the subject of Lincoln's childhood education is one which we can not now, nor ever, speak of with
any surety. The accounts simply contain too many contradictions and obfuscations. What little information we do have here is
undoubtedly a creation of pro-Lincoln forces intended to make Lincoln look self-reliant and of such natural intelligence that he
did not require schooling.
Also, the lists of books read by Lincoln, given by Masters and Donald, only partly agree.
On to Part 2
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