Masters: "He did not care for fishing and hunting..." (p. 20)

"He had a tenderness for animals, and wrote in those youthful days a composition denouncing cruelty to dumb beasts." (p. 23)

Basler: "The stories of Lincoln's kindness to animals are legion, and certainly many are fiction. Some of the more famous are doubtless fact, especially those which Lincoln himself related in later life...Terrapins, toads, fawns, dogs, hogs, pigeons - all were beholden to young 'Abe' for protection against the cruelties of mankind. The fact that he never cared for the one great sport of the frontier, hunting, gave rise to many sentimental and fantastic stories of his 'chicken-heartedness.' There are stories of boyhood speeches and essays against cruelty to animals..." (p. 121)

Basler adds a footnote on same page that expresses doubt over the authenticity of one incident in which Lincoln was said to have helped in sewing up the eyelids of some hogs that refused to be driven off of a flatboat.

Oates: Shortly after the move to Pigeon Creek, Lincoln "stood inside the doorway and shot a wild turkey as it approached. It was a traumatic experience, for he loved birds and animals, hated killing them for food. He never liked to hunt or fish again." (p. 8)

Donald: "In February 1817, just before his eighth birthday, he spied a flock of wild turkeys outside the new log cabin. He seized a rifle and, taking advantage of one of the chinks (in the wall), 'shot through a crack, and killed one of them.' But killing was not for him, and he did not try to repeat his exploit. Recalling the incident years later, he said that he had 'never since pulled a trigger on any larger game.' " (p. 25)

After his mother's death, Lincoln "began to reprove other children in the neighborhood for senseless cruelty to animals. He scolded them when they caught terrapins and heaped hot coals on their shells, to force the defenseless animals out of their shells, reminding them 'that an ant's life was to it as sweet as ours to us.' " (p. 27)

A story with the same setting as the one told in Basler's footnote is related by Oates, but there is no mention of how the hogs were treated. Instead, there is a remarkable story of how Lincoln ingeniously saved a boat from sinking (p. 18). The same story is also related by Donald, though in greater detail (p. 38-9), which suggests embellishment, although the story is probably generally true.

Here again we are faced with insuperable contradictions:

Oates: Lincoln "stood inside the doorway and shot a wild turkey as it approached."

Donald: Lincoln "spied a flock of wild turkeys outside the new log cabin. He seized a rifle and, taking advantage of one of the chinks (in the wall), 'shot through a crack, and killed one of them.' "

Was there just one turkey, as Oates says, or a whole flock, per Donald? And was it shot from the doorway, or through a crack in the wall? Donald's version at least cites a third-hand source, but this could be easily fabricated. Indeed, the fact that these two authors so directly contradict each other is clear evidence of fabrication.

Masters: "He did not care for fishing and hunting..."

Basler: "The fact that he never cared for the one great sport of the frontier, hunting..."

Oates: "He never liked to hunt or fish again."

Donald: "But killing was not for him, and he did not try to repeat his exploit. Recalling the incident years later, he said that he had 'never since pulled a trigger on any larger game.' "

The first three authors more or less agree, but the last clearly indicates that Lincoln did hunt smaller game - perhaps rabbits. This is contradictory to the other three authors' statements. It is my theory that Donald here was making a lame attempt to inspire the admiration of another political group of the 1990s, the National Rifle Association, who probably denounced Lincoln as "chicken-hearted" themselves.

In the account of this event, we see a most blatant and irreconcilable contradiction between the two later authors.

Masters: Does not mention this incident. However, we must note that he records the death of Lincoln's mother as taking place in the winter of 1819, of milk-sickness. (pp. 9, 16)

Oates: Records that an epidemic of "milk sick" swept through the area, killing Lincoln's mother. Then, "...in 1819 there occurred another scrape with death: a horse kicked Abraham in the head 'and apparently killed him for a time,' as he put it later." (p. 9)

Donald: With no numbered date given, but indicating that it was sometime after 1817, Donald reports: "First, Abraham had a dangerous accident. One of his chores was to take corn over to Gordon's mill, some two miles distant, to be ground into meal. When he got there, he hitched his old mare to the arm of the gristmill. Because it was getting late and he was in a hurry to get home before dusk, he tried to speed up the mare by giving her a stroke of the whip with each revolution. She lashed out at him with a kick that landed on his forehead, and he fell bleeding and unconscious. At first it was thought that he was dead and his father was summoned. He could not speak for several hours, but he revived and suffered no permanent damage.

"Then the Pigeon Creek community was devastated by an attack of what was called milk sickness...Nancy fell ill" and later died, on October 5. The "next year" is given in the following paragraph as 1819, so Donald places her death in 1818. (italics added)

We have looked at only a small number of incidents of Lincoln's family and childhood and found many irreconcilable contradictions and obvious myths. Are there more to come? Regrettably, the admirers of Lincoln did not stop there in recreating the President in their own image, as we shall see!

1.2.1 Marriage to Mary Todd

Lincoln's relationship to Mary Todd was a stormy and troublesome one. As Masters says, "That Lincoln had an urge to marry someone, is clear enough. The tragedy is that he did not find his mate - not in Mary Todd." (p. 67) The reasons for this shall be revealed in later entry on Joshua Speed, where also we shall see how the couple first met, and the contradictory accounts of that incident. For now, let us explore the relationship the two had, their wedding, and afterwards.

Masters: The morning of November 4, the day of the wedding, Lincoln "aroused his friend (James) Matheny from bed to tell him that he was to be married that night and to ask him to act as best man for him. The same morning Mary Todd hurried to the house of a woman friend and secured her attendance as maid of honor. Meanwhile the Episcopal rector, Rev. Charles N. Dresser, was asked to come to the Edwards mansion and perform the ceremony...While Lincoln was dressing for the wedding, at the Butler boarding house...one of the Butler's little boys asked Lincoln where he was going. Lincoln replied, 'To hell I reckon.'

"The wedding was painfully ludicrous. Lincoln was pale and trembling as if being driven to slaughter, as Herndon described him...The rector stood forth in his canonical robes, and at the proper point handed the ring to Lincoln, repeating the words of the ritual that the groom was thereby endowing Mary Todd with all his worldly goods." A Supreme Court judge present cracked a joke which sent the rector into convulsions and probably embarrassed Lincoln. "With the union solemnized, the bride and groom went to the Globe Tavern in Springfield where the couple took board and room at $4 a week. A picture of this hostelry was taken in 1886, which showed it as it was in 1842. It was a two-story, frame structure with four windows in the second story, and two windows and two doors in the ground story. It was altogether less than a commonplace house; it was the ugly, almost shabby sort of building that succeeded the picturesque log structures." (pp. 71-3)

Oates: "They set November 4, 1842, as their wedding day...

"Later, as Lincoln blackened his boots and dressed for the ceremony, a young fellow entered his room and asked where he was going. Lincoln cracked, 'To hell, I reckon.' Which was his way of fighting back anxiety.

"That evening, with rain pelting the Edwards mansion, Lincoln and Mary Todd...stood before an Episcopal minister in the parlor with a small group of friends in attendance. Lincoln seemed pale and nervous as he exchanged vows with Mary. But with a rising hope that his old trouble would soon be over, that he would be happier or at least 'less miserable' living with Mary than alone, Lincoln took her hand...and he gave her a wedding ring with the inscription 'Love Is Eternal.'

"Later that night, the newlyweds drove their carriage through the blinding rain and came at last to the Globe Tavern, where Lincoln had rented a single room as their home. A few days afterward Lincoln wrote an acquaintance that nothing was new 'except my marrying, which to me, is a matter of profound wonder.' "(pp.68-9)

Donald: "...Lincoln renewed his offer of marriage and was accepted. At the last possible moment they informed the Edwardses, for, as (Mary) told her sister, 'the world - woman, and man were uncertain and slippery and...it was best to keep the secret courtship from all eyes and ears.' " The wedding was on November 4.

"Lincoln was equally secretive, and he did not ask James H. Matheny...to act as his best man until late afternoon of the wedding day. As he prepared for the ceremony, Lincoln, like many another bridegroom, began to get cold feet, and Matheny recalled that he 'looked and acted as if he were going to the slaughter.' While he was dressing and blacking his boots, Speed Butler, the son of his landlord, asked where he was going, and Lincoln replied, 'To hell, I suppose.'

"Despite the haste and the forebodings, the wedding ceremony, presided over by Episcopal minister Charles Dresser, went off without incident, and Lincoln placed on his wife's finger a ring engraved 'Love is eternal.' " (p. 93)

" 'Nothing new here,' Lincoln wrote a friend on November 11, 1842, 'except my marrying, which to me, is a matter of profound wonder.'

"The newlyweds took up residence in the Globe Tavern, a simple, two-story wooden structure...It had about thirty rooms, mostly for transients, but in addition, according to its advertisement, it offered 'eight pleasant and comfortable rooms for boarders.' " The room cost $4 a week. "This was not an unusual arrangement for a young married couple...Though the Globe was a respectable hotel, its accommodations were inferior to those of its principal competitor, the American House, and it was often noisy." (pp. 94-5)

• Did Lincoln wake up Matheny in the morning to ask him to act as best man (Masters), or did he ask him in late afternoon (Donald)?
• Was Dresser a rector (Masters) or a minister (Oates, Donald)?
• Notice how the person who asks Lincoln where he is going evolves from a little boy (Masters) to a young fellow (Oates) to a son of the Butlers of indeterminate age (Donald). Obviously the later authors were embarrassed that Lincoln had used profanity in front of a small child, so they clouded the child's age. I am amazed that they didn't simply alter the phrase as Donald did ("reckon" to "suppose") - though it would lose its humorous bite if they had, and they certainly wanted to keep the image of Lincoln as a funnyman foremost in the readers' mind in order to make him more human and real. Notice, too, how this statement is transformed from what was probably an expression of Lincoln's revulsion for marriage (Masters) to being excused by his anxiety (Oates, Donald). Something is being covered up here, and we shall see what it is later on.
• Who said Lincoln looked ready for slaughter - Herndon (Masters) or Matheny (Donald)?
• Did the wedding go off without a hitch (Donald) or was there an embarrassing moment provided by a Supreme Court judge (Masters)?
• Note how the descriptions of the Globe Tavern are improved - an effort to overcome the obvious fact that Lincoln couldn't afford more than a seedy flophouse room for them to live in. Citing the advertisement as Donald does is absurd; advertisements lie. The picture of the place in Oates and Donald is highly romanticized.

Masters: "One can search all through the records of Lincoln to the last without finding any passion in them, any tenderness of moment expressed to Mary Todd or any other woman, who occupied any intimate relationship toward him." His letters to her were with but one exception "entirely colorless."

"He married Mary Todd out of fear for his own conscience, out of torturing pity for her that he had so shamefully humiliated and wounded; and in consequence, we have no letter from him to her in which he wrote as a man does who loved a woman..." (pp.74-6)

"...there is no day that Lincoln does not do something to arouse her distaste, her indignation. He has forgotten to do something that she asked him to do; or else he has been lying about on the floor reading newspapers, and when there was a knock at the door he has gone to answer the summons, and has presented himself in his stocking feet to the well-dressed lady caller; and he has stood before her, with his coat off, and his one suspender barely holding up his trousers. To the inquiry whether Mrs. Lincoln is in he has said, 'I reckon she is,' and he has admitted the fashionable lady about the time that Mrs. Lincoln appears to witness the unceremonious and shocking conduct of her husband. Her eyes have told him what is to come when the lady is out of the way, and he has gone uptown to escape for as long as possible the wrath that is surely to descend." (pp. 111-2)

Basler: "The domestic relationship was too well known to be, not merely matter-of-fact, but on occasions unbearably cross and common...She was a vain, extravagant, mentally unbalanced woman - a picture of great pathos that can inspire nothing but pity in the student of her misfortunes. But to her inconsiderate and not-too-tender contemporaries she was a disgrace to the memory of her sainted spouse." (p.148)

Oates: "Of the two, Lincoln may have adjusted more readily to married life, because he was used to hardship and responsibility...Mary, on the other hand, was shocked at the realities of marriage and utterly unprepared for the demands it placed on her." (p. 70)

"Though on the surface Mary seemed a blunt and willful woman, she was extremely sensitive and suffered from deep insecurities which marriage and motherhood only aggravated." (p. 70)

Thunderstorms "terrified her and brought on blinding headaches that sent her to bed for days at a time. When this happened, Lincoln tended to her every need, lavished affection on her, and she reveled in all his attention...Lincoln, for his part, knew that Mary loved him to dote on her, call her 'little woman' or 'my Molly, ' tease and pamper her in a fatherly, gentle way.

"Other conflicts derived from their different habits and temperaments. If Mary liked a good argument to get everything out in the open, he often withdrew at the first sign of a quarrel...There was his practice of answering the door himself, often in his stocking feet, instead of leaving it to the maid. He also liked to lie on his back in the hallway, resting his head against an upside down chair, and read the newspapers aloud. And there was his carelessness of dress, which, if scarcely so extreme as legend claims, was still a problem until Mary taught him how to match his clothes and improve his appearance.

"Inevitably, as in any marriage, the Lincolns had their conjugal spats, especially when Lincoln was too melancholy or Mary became frustrated and so 'got the devil in her,' as a neighbor recalled. Then they would both lose their tempers and have a pretty good row. Still, they didn't quarrel very often - and always made up when they did. In truth the Lincolns enjoyed a relatively stable marriage, with a physical need and mutual respect for one another which transcended their differences. Lincoln, for his part, understood Mary better than anyone, loved her in spite of her flaws, shielded her from criticism, and remained thoroughly loyal to her as a husband. In turn, Mary could be tender to him, extremely tender...and was fiercely proud of him." (pp.71-2)

Donald: Notes that Lincoln called his wife "Mary" in letters, and she called him "Mr. Lincoln." In private, he says, he called her "little woman" or "child-wife." After the birth of their son, he called her "Mother." (p. 95)

"The Lincoln's domestic life was often troubled. Husband and wife were as different in temperament as they were in physique. He was slow, moody, given to bouts of melancholy and long periods of silence...She was lively, talkative, and sociable, constantly needing the attention and admiration of others. Indifferent to what other people thought, he was not troubled when visitors found him in his favorite position for reading, stretched out a full length on the floor. She...was embarrassed when he answered the doorbell in his shirtsleeves."

Mary was famous for giving people tongue-lashings, including her husband. On one occasion, when Lincoln three times ignored her directive that the fire in the fireplace was going out, she got his attention by bopping him on the nose with a piece of firewood.
"Such episodes were infrequent. The subject of much gossip in Springfield, they incorrectly represented the Lincoln's marriage. For all their quarrels, they were devoted to each other." Lincoln was never unfaithful; she was proud of him and very supportive. (pp. 107-8)

I do believe that Mary and Lincoln - in part because of their children - did settle down into a moderately happy relationship. However, there was another reason that Lincoln had to adjust to his situation - and we shall save that for our final entry.

One quick and unrelated contradiction:

• Was it because of his stocking feet and trousers (Masters), stocking feet alone (Oates), or his shirtsleeves (Donald) that he embarrassed Mary when he answered the door?

This final section of Mary Todd is included as a simple and further demonstration of the inability of the two latest writers to keep their stories straight - and not contradict each other. We may take this as further warning that their accounts are embellished and/or unreliable.

Oates: "When they had first moved in, the White House was a shambles - the walls smudged, the furniture shoddy and broken down, the carpets stained with tobacco juice...So she obtained twenty thousand dollars from Congress" for renovations. "Through the spring, summer, and fall, Mary traveled back and forth to New York and Philadelphia on shopping expeditions. She bought imported drapes, custom-made carpets, ornately carved furniture, glittering vases, and a seven-hundred-piece set of Bohemian cut glass, not to mention a $1,100 set of china emblazoned with the national emblem...(pp. 294-5)

"But Mary's pride turned to panic when all the bills came in. She'd exceeded her appropriation by $6,700, and she was terrified. She knew Lincoln would never approve. In her misery, she called on Benjamin French, Commissioner of Public Buildings, and begged him to plead her case with Lincoln. Tell him, she said in tears, 'that it is common to overrun appropriations - tell him how much it costs to refurbish.' (emphasis in original)

"When French interceded in Mary's behalf, Lincoln became furious and refused to cover the excess bills with government funds. 'It can never have my approval,' Lincoln stormed. 'I'll pay it out of my pocket first - it would stink in the nostrils of the American people to have it said the President of the United States had a approved a bill over-running an appropriation of $20,000 for flub dubs for this damned old house, when the soldiers cannot have blankets.'

"Congress finally settled Mary's dilemma by burying an extra appropriation in the White House budget for the ensuing year..." (p. 297)

Donald: "(Mary) made refurbishing the White House her main project as First Lady. She found it in bad shape. The furniture was broken down, the wallpaper peeling, the carpeting worn, and the draperies torn. The eleven basement rooms were filthy and rat-infested...Congress had appropriated $20,000 to be expended over the four years of her husband's term of office for rehabilitating the Executive Mansion...

"In the summer of 1861 she went to Philadelphia and New York" to buy suitable furnishings. "...she bought everything: chairs, sofas and hassocks; fabrics of damask, brocade, pink tarlatan, plush...wallpaper imported from France; and a full set of Haviland china...with the American coat of arms in the center of each plate...117 yards of crimson Wilton carpet...and for the East room an imported Brussels velvet carpet...

"But by fall, when the bills began to come in, she discovered that she had greatly overspent the congressional allowance...Desperately she tried to keep her husband from learning what she had done...She authorized the sale of secondhand White House furniture," but it brought in little. "Then John Watt, the White House gardener, showed her easier ways of covering her deficit, by padding bills for household expenditures and presenting vouchers for nonexistent purchases...

"None of this, however, could cover her enormous overrun of expenditures, and she had to ask Benjamin B. French, the commissioner of Public Buildings, who kept the White House accounts, to explain the situation to the President and to ask him to sponsor a supplemental congressional appropriation. Lincoln was furious. Never, he said, would he ask Congress for an appropriation 'for flub dubs for that damned old house!' 'It would stink in the land to have it said that an appropriation of $20,000 for furnishing the house had been overrun by the President when the poor freezing soldiers could not have blankets,' he went on....Rather than ask Congress for more money he vowed he would pay for Mary's purchases out of his own pocket. Eventually, though, he was obliged to back down, and Congress quietly passed two deficiency appropriations to cover rehabilitating the White House." (pp. 312-3)

• The lists of damages to the White House are nowhere near the same; they only agree that the furniture was damaged.
• Was it Mary who obtained the appropriation (Oates) or had Congress done it on their own initiative (Donald)?
• Did Mary do her shopping in spring, summer and fall (Oates) or just in the summer (Donald)?
• The lists of her purchases vary substantially; and was the china emblazoned with the national emblem (Oates) or the American coat of arms (Donald)?
• Did Mary take a few desperate and dishonest measures first (Donald), or did she plead for help from French immediately (Oates)?
• Did she ask French to plead her case (Oates) or ask Lincoln for more money (Donald)?
• Did Congress pass one extra appropriation to cover the costs (Oates) or two of them (Donald)?
• Compare the quotes:

            Oates: 'It can never have my approval. 'I'll pay it out of my pocket first

            - 'It would stink in

            Donald: 'It would stink in

            the nostrils of the American people to have it said the President of the United States had

            the land to have it said that an

            approved a bill over-running an appropriation of $20,000 for flub dubs for this damned old house,

            'for flub dubs for that damned old house!'

            appropriation of $20,000 for furnishing the house had been overrun by the President

            when the soldiers cannot have blankets.'

            when the poor freezing soldiers could not have blankets

Confusing? For perspective, note Donald's original order of the quote:

1. 'for flub dubs for that damned old house!'
2. 'It would stink in the land to have it said that an appropriation of $20,000 for furnishing the house had been overrun by the President when the poor freezing soldiers could not have blankets

While there is probably some genuine material behind this quote, it is obvious that Donald has embellished it to make Lincoln look more indignant, and therefore more appealing in the eyes of the pro-Lincoln forces, who would be familiar with 20th century stories of government excess. Indeed, one wonders if the story is not based on excesses of First Lady Nancy Wilson Reagan, rather than being a reflection of true history from Lincoln's time. The fact that it is only mentioned by the authors closest to that time makes it suspicious.

1.2.2.1 Early Beliefs: General

An extended quote here from Masters is warranted.

Masters: "...if Dennis Hanks is to be believed, Lincoln did not read the Bible much, though he was always reading something. In a community where religious revival swept the inhabitants as if with flame which drove them to repentance, Lincoln stood aloof, not joining any church; and according to his stepmother Lincoln as a boy had no religion, and never talked about religion, and, so far as she could observe, did not even think about religion." (p. 21)

Oates: Through his father's influence, Lincoln got a job as a sexton at Pigeon Creek Baptist Church, his duties being "sweeping the place out and furnishing it with candles. The preacher was known for washing his feet and inveighing against slavery, and Abraham no doubt heard some of his antislavery sermons. Like his father, Lincoln came to oppose human bondage. But he never joined his father's church."

Donald: "From his earliest days Lincoln had a sense that his destiny was controlled by some larger force, some Higher Power. Turning away from orthodox Christianity because of the emotional excess of frontier evangelism, he found it easier as a young man to accept what was called the Doctrine of Necessity," a type of fatalism. (p. 15)

Lincoln attended sermons at Pigeon Baptist Church, and afterwards, "climbing on a tree stump, he would rally the other children around him and repeat - or sometimes parody - the minister's words." His father would be offended by this and send him to work. (p. 33)

Masters:Lincoln was known to have read the works of Paine, Voltaire and Volney, three famous skeptics. "Lincoln at this time and place was regarded as a skeptic; but to call him such then, and especially within a few years of this time, is to take a superficial view of the man. He was immersed in Hebraic-Christianity from his earliest years, which is something deeper than belonging to a church or professing a creed. He was really a Jehovah man all his life; and he early realized the advantage of using the Bible for his appeals to the people." (p. 34)

In a letter to Joshua Speed in 1842, he shows that he "held to a belief in a punishing Almighty who sends afflictions for the good of mortals..." (p. 70)

"...Ingersoll claimed Lincoln as one of his own, as a free thinker, or infidel. Lincoln is not that easy to classify. Already many letters and some speeches of Lincoln have been quoted in which he spoke of God...One does not know whether to believe or not that in his New Salem days Lincoln wrote an essay against the Bible, in which he attacked its inspiration as God's revelation, and in which he strove to prove that Jesus was not the son of God. Herndon affirmed in his book that Lincoln did this...John T. Stuart, Lincoln's first law partner, said of him that he was an open infidel; and others called him an avowed atheist...Stuart further asserted that Lincoln always denied the divinity of Jesus. On the other hand the sober David Davis scouted the idea that Lincoln talked about religion, especially to any stranger. He added, however, that Lincoln had no faith in the Christian sense, but that he had faith in laws, principles, causes and effects. Another man, a friend of Lincoln's, gave the opinion that Lincoln believed in a Creator; and that, as to the Christian theory that Christ is God, Lincoln stated to him that it had better be taken for granted; and while the divinity of Jesus came to man in doubtful shape, yet the system of Christianity was an ingenuous one, and perhaps was calculate to do good...

"Leonard Swett wrote in 1866, 'As he became involved in matters of the greatest importance, full of responsibility and great doubt, a feeling of religious reverence, a belief in God and his justice and overruling power increased with him. He was always full of natural religion; he believed in God as much as the most approved church member, yet he judged of Him by the same system of generalization as he judged everything else.' " (pp. 150-1)

Netwon Bateman said Lincoln once came to him and said, "Mr. Bateman, I am not a Christian - God knows I would be one - but I have carefully read the Bible, and I do not understand (it)...I know there is a God, and that He hates injustice and slavery. I see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it...I know that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it, and Christ is God..."

Masters indicates that these words do not sound characteristic of Lincoln. (pp. 152-3)

In a proclamation after the Union loss at Fredericksburg, Lincoln supported a national day of "prayer and humiliation" and referred to "the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord...It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness." (p. 155)

Masters doubts Lincoln's sincerity in this regard and says that Lincoln "was the first president to introduce the cant and the hypocrisy of Christianity into American politics." (p. 156)

Basler:"There is a respectable library, so far as numbers are concerned, of books and pamphlets dealing entirely with Lincoln's religion..." Bateman, who said that Lincoln affirmed that 'Christ is God,' was criticized by Lamon and Herndon. Among those who knew Lincoln, "Testimony was divided...The most fair-minded said they could never ascertain exactly what Lincoln's religion was...

"Lamon claimed that Lincoln was an infidel...Herndon admitted that he was an infidel himself and contended that Lincoln was." Basler notes that this does not always mean a disbelief in God (pp. 166-7) and makes several citations showing that Lincoln considered himself to be receiving divine guidance.

One Father Chiniquy reported that Lincoln said, "Is not our Christian religion the highest expression of the wisdom, mercy, and love of God! But what is Christianity if not the very incarnation of that eternal law of divine justice in our humanity?" (p. 175)

Oates:"(Lincoln) thought he might be a skeptic. He loathed all the emotionalism and fierce sectarian disputes that characterized organized religion in his day, and so he never joined a church. Still, he believed in God, believed there was a Supreme Being who endowed people with individual destinies. And he had read the Bible and was a religious fatalist like his mother. Yet he had reservations. What, for instance, was he to make of Christ? of sin and salvation? of Heaven and Hell? Well, perhaps he was a deist then." Lincoln was known to have associated with a club of freethinkers in New Salem and "most likely read some Voltaire and Paine."

Lincoln later complained that he lost an early political race because of opposition by churchmen who said he "belonged to no church, was suspected of being a deist, and had talked about fighting a duel." (p. 73)

In a later contest that Lincoln won, he circulated a signed handbill with these contents: "He confessed that he wasn't a church member, but argued this didn't make him an infidel. On the contrary, he believed in a Supreme Being and had never denied the truth of the Scriptures. But with an eye on the electorate, he said he wouldn't support an atheist for public office, since no man had the right to injure community feelings and morals." (p. 83)

After the death of his son, Lincoln rented a church pew for Mary at Dr. James Smith's First Presbyterian Church. Lincoln read a book Smith wrote against skepticism, but refused "to let Dr. Smith convert him and declined to join Mary's church." (p. 101)

Donald:Lincoln associated with a freethinkers' club in New Salem, which introduced him to the works of Thomas Paine and Constantin de Volney. In a political race in 1846 he issued a handbill with a formal denial to the claim that he was "an open scoffer at Christianity," saying, "That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of Christians in particular." He went on to assert his fatalistic viewpoint, and said that he could never "support a man for office, whom I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at, religion." (pp. 49, 114)

Lincoln said once to White House visitors, who were of the anti-slavery Quakers, "Perhaps...God's way of accomplishing the end [of slavery]...may be different from theirs." (p. 354)

Joshua Speed noticed Lincoln reading the Bible. Lincoln acknowledged that in doing so, he was "profitably engaged." He then said of the Bible, "...take all of this book upon reason that you can, and the balance of faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man." To a delegation of Baltimore African-Americans "who presented him a magnificently bound Bible in appreciation of his work for the Negro," he said, "this Great Book...is the best gift God has given to man." (p. 514)

• Did Lincoln definitely read Paine, Voltaire, and Volney (Masters), maybe read Paine and Voltaire (Oates), or definitely read Paine and Volney (Donald)? Was he associated with a freethinkers club when he did so (Oates, Donald), or read them on his own (Masters)?
• Note the significant differences in the contents of the handbill from Oates and Donald.

The answer is as Basler indicates - no one knows for sure what Lincoln believed, beyond fatalism. But one thing is evident: Lincoln altered his statements of beliefs as much as possible to please others. Even the authors admits this much. Masters notes that Lincoln "early realized the advantage of using the Bible for his appeals to the people." The handbill mentioned by Donald and Oates, and the reply to the Negro church about the Bible recorded by Donald, shows that Lincoln was a religious chameleon, given to changing his stated views as needed, doing what he could to further himself.

In that light, we may also wonder if he ever made statements against slavery in order to please people whose votes he needed. Donald's cite of Lincoln talking to the Quakers - already suspicious because "of slavery" is in brackets, not in the direct quote - could perhaps be viewed as authentic; but in light of what Lincoln said and did regarding public statements of his religion, even if this and other statements against slavery are authentic, they assuredly represent times when Lincoln was making himself seem to be against slavery in order to win votes. Masters writes that Lincoln "was the first president to introduce the cant and the hypocrisy of Christianity into American politics." To this we may add that he may have done the same with slavery when it suited him. For this and other reasons, no anti-slavery statements attributed to Lincoln should be taken at face value.

Lincoln presents a contrast in this area. He is noted for his long periods of depression - an area we will not explore here - and also for his bouts of good humor. We may agree that Lincoln had a sense of humor; as a politician, he doubtless could not have been elected without one. But how these authors report this information reflects, once again, on the conspiracy behind their reporting - to make Lincoln a suitable icon for the civil rights movement.

Masters: At work at a store in Gentryville, "Lincoln regaled the crowd with stories and witticisms..." (p. 23) Lincoln would act as storyteller to his comrades on the legal circuit. His stories were remembered in Illinois for 30 years afterwards. "Some were sex stories justified by their really witty points, others were of the filthy variety for which no point is good enough to make them permissible." (p. 87)

Masters describes Lincoln's humor as "the only aesthetic gift that he had; and by this he drew people to him and held them...His sense of humor rose from the comprehension of the incongruous, the illogical, the ridiculous, and it was related to his mimicry, and expressed itself through mimicry. Thus he could be a satirist, he could command terrible invective, and he was forever gathering stories and making them up with which to illustrate logical absurdities, or with which to burlesque preposterous phases of human behavior." (p. 142)

Oates: At ages 12 and 13, Lincoln would gather with other boys and entertain them with "a procession of hilarious stories" including "raunchy ballads." (p. 11)

In meetings with other bachelors at Speed's store, Lincoln and the others "vied with one another in spinning bawdy tales." (p. 49)

"Some of Lincoln's stories were quaint anecdotes which illustrated some point. Others were mindless rib-ticklers, like the one about the man in an open carriage who got caught in a nighttime downpour. As Lincoln repeated the yarn, the traveler was out on a lonely country road when the storm hit, and as he passed a farmhouse a drunk fellow stuck his head out a window and shouted, 'Hullo! Hullo!' The traveler stopped his buggy and asked what the drunk wanted. 'Nothing of you,' the man replied. 'Well,' the traveler exclaimed, 'what in damnation do you yell hullo for when people are passing?' 'Well,' the drunk retorted, 'what in damnation are you passing for when people are yelling hullo?'

"Still other Lincoln tales were pungent and downright bawdy." (p. 108)

Lincoln noted that humor had the same effect on him that "a good square drink of whiskey has on an old toper; it puts new life into me." (p. 268)

Donald: Dennis Hanks recalls Lincoln's storytelling and joking ability at age sixteen. He would tell jokes and play tricks for people at the Gentryville store. (p. 34-5)

Lincoln was welcomed at a the local store because of his anecdote-telling ability. "When no women were present, his stories sometimes took on a scatological tone...Such stories had no special point. Unlike Lincoln's later anecdotes, they were not used to illustrate any argument or to ridicule any particular person. Lincoln repeated them because he thought they were funny and because he had grown up in a household where swapping stories was an accepted way of passing the time. Told at great length, with much mimicry and many gestures, his stories eased his acceptance by the predominantly masculine society of New Salem..." (pp. 39-40)

As a member of the House of Representatives, Lincoln would charm other guests in his boardinghouse with his jokes and stories. He would also interrupt serious discussions with anecdotes, which set the group laughing and "disarrange the tenor of the discussion." (p. 120)

How well were the speeches of Abraham Lincoln recorded? In this survey we will examine three of Lincoln's speeches as recorded by these writers - two here, and one later in a more appropriate area. We can learn several lessons about how freely and carelessly these (and probably earlier) writers transmitted Lincoln's words.

A special format is called for in regards to these speeches. We shall use colors to signify each writers' reports. The color assignments shall be as follows:

Masters: Red

Basler: Black (though he does not record this speech)

Oates: Green

Donald: Blue

1.3.1 Gettysburg Address

Basic Information: The Gettysburg address was given at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, near the close of the Civil War. Gettysburg had been the scene of a decisive battle won by the Union.

Masters: "The Gettysburg Address is Lincoln's most famous utterance. In a measure it parallels the oration of Pericles over the dead who had fallen in war between Athens and Sparta...But while Pericles clung to the historic truth in referring to the past as the background of what he said, Lincoln carefully avoided one half of the American story, just because Gettysburg could not be lauded if he had said that 'governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.' When our fathers brought forth this government it was by the assertion of this truth. Lincoln at Gettysburg could not celebrate such a philosophy, for with all his original, if perverted, view of things, he knew that it was on this field where the right to set up a new government had received its first deadly blow....

"Lincoln dared not face the facts at Gettysburg. He had so long duped his own mind with the falsely formed judgments of his early and inadequate thinking and reading that he was unable to deal realistically with the history of his country..." (pp. 478-9)

Oates: The speech at Gettysburg was the result of an invitation to attend a commemoration on November 19 of a new National Soldiers' Cemetery at Gettysburg. "...Lincoln accepted...because he thought it an appropriate setting to say something significant about the meaning of the war, to explain how Union armies were fighting not just to subdue a rebellion, but to save democracy and America's liberal institutions. Yes, something like that.

"In rare moments alone, in his office or on a crisp ride in the country, Lincoln reflected on his speech and arranged phrases in his mind. He managed to write down several lines on executive stationery, but was too busy to finish the speech before it was time to go. He confided in Noah Brooks that it was going to be 'short, short, short.' " (p. 393)

"He left on November 18, but the train was too crowded and noisy for him to work on his speech." (p. 394)

"The next morning, Lincoln finished his speech, took a wagon ride with Seward, and then joined a slow, chaotic procession out to the battlefield cemetery south of town." (p. 395)

"At Gettysburg that day, (Lincoln had) called for a national rededication to the proposition that all men were created equal, a new resolve to fight for that proposition and salvage America's experiment in democracy for all mankind. Let Union people of all colors and conditions come together in a new national crusade. Let them cease their petty quarrels, put aside their differences, and vow together that those who died in battle...had given their lives for a true and noble ideal..." (p. 397)

Donald: During fall of 1863, Lincoln "allowed his thoughts to turn to making another public statement...But the President's thoughts were not yet sufficiently matured for full expression..." The opportunity presented itself when he was "invited to attend the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg."

"...Using White House stationery, Lincoln began writing out an address...(but) shortly before he went to Gettysburg he told James Speed that he had found time to write only about half of his address."

"But he had the rest of it in mind before he left the White House on November 18 and needed only a few quiet minutes to write it out...

"...Lincoln's message was at once a defence of his administration, an explanation why the war with its attendant horrors had to continue, and a pledge that because of these exertions, 'government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.' " (pp. 460-2) Lincoln made "final touches" to the speech on the morning it was to be given. (p. 463)

• What was the purpose of Lincoln's speech? Oates seems to have gone especially overboard in his analysis; more on this later.
• Did Lincoln finish the speech the morning it was given (Oates) or just put final touches on the already-finished speech (Donald)?

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation,

conceived in liberty.

conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Oates: "He waited for the applause to die away, then went on."

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave there lives that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

"But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - from these honored dead we take increased devotion - that we here highly resolve that these

this nation under God have a new birth of

dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of

(under God?) new birth of

freedom that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish

freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish

freedom that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish

from the earth."

from the earth."

from the earth.

Oates: "The audience gave him a sustained ovation." (p. 397)

Donald: "So brief were his remarks that those in the audience came away with very different recollections of the occasion - whether Lincoln read his manuscript or relied on his memory, whether he made gestures, whether he inserted the phrase 'under God' in his promise of a new birth of freedom, whether he was interrupted by applause." (p. 465)

What exactly is going on here? Why is Oates the only one who gives any substantial portion of this allegedly important speech?

The reason is obvious from the opinions of the writers. Masters probably has the correct view; in all probability, aside from the few words all three writers preserve, this speech was actually filled with invectives against the Confederacy, the Constitution as framed, and also racism - though none of the three writers would dare mention the latter. Oates has simply attempted to invent an entire speech for Lincoln's lips that fits what the pro-Lincoln coterie wanted him to say, and provided a most incredible interpretation for his cohorts to follow - but they couldn't get away with it, so Donald returns to a minimal account of it, and appeals to the confused recollections of the audience - obviously an excuse to cover up Oates' previous fakery.

What did Lincoln really say? Using what few genuine words we do have, and what information I have deduced from this report, I believe I have reconstructed a semblance of the speech - but only those in purple may be regarded as genuine words of Lincoln.

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty. Yet they did their job poorly; they did not adequately insure that our most primitive members should remain in their place. Today we suffer the results of that carelessness. Our soldiers lie dead because of rebellion. We are overrun by rebels and runaway slaves. We, the people - the true people, who alone qualify as members of the human race, and are the true descendants of our fathers who founded this country - have found it necessary to take charge of our land, and to spill our own blood in defense of what is right. If that is what is needed for us to retain control, so be it. If the blood of the inferior be spilled, so be it. Our freedom to do as we please is the very backbone of our society. When this war is at last won, we shall regain and reclaim the freedom that we have lost. We will not, can not, must not give up now. We will send the forces of inferiority down to defeat, and I promise that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

This may not be fully accurate - but it is undoubtedly as close to the true words of Lincoln as we shall get.

This speech was delivered by Lincoln at a convention in June, 1858. The authors all use substantial paraphrases - no doubt in order to eliminate references that do not support their pro-Lincoln stance.

Once again we are forced to read between the lines of what little we are provided. Again it is Oates who provides the bulk of the speech; Donald gives us quite a bit, Masters almost nothing. Basler does not record it at all. Paraphrases will be ignored in our reconstruction, as they are undoubtedly fabrications.

We will once again engage our color-code method. Note how freely in some cases they paraphrase Lincoln beyond what is actually preserved.

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention,

If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge

If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge

what to do, and how to do it.

what to do, and how to do it.

We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated, with the avowed object,

We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated, with the avowed object,

and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation.

and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation

Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only, not ceased, but has

Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only, not ceased, but has

constantly augmented.

constantly augmented.

In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed.

In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed.

'A house divided against itself cannot stand.'

'A house divided against itself cannot stand.'

I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.

I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.

I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - But I do

I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - But I do

I do

expect it will cease to be divided.

expect it will cease to be divided. (Note the fundamental disagreement here. - PF)

not expect it will cease to be divided.

It will become all one thing, or all the other.

It will become all one thing or all the other.

Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the

Either the opponents of slavery, will place it where the

Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the

public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will

public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will

public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction its advocates will

push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new - North as well as South.

Put it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new - North as well as South.

push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new, North as well as South.

Comment: We are obliged to wonder, as with the Gettysburg speech, how much of this speech is the invention of the late pro-Lincoln forces. Words not preserved by all three authors are automatically suspect, especially since Masters, the author closest to Lincoln, gives him the fewest words. Based on the undeniable principle that elaboration is performed upon any person's recorded words over time, it is wise to assume that Oates and Donald have performed an elaboration upon Lincoln's speech. (Masters says nothing else on this speech after this.)

Note that in the above there is no condemnation of slavery. Oates informs us - by paraphrase only! - that Lincoln's next words were that "We Republicans must place slavery back on the course of ultimate extinction." There is no direct quote given - because no such quote exists; Lincoln was not against slavery, except insofar as it caused economic harm to white men or disrupted the Union. But both Oates and Donald intersperse further quotes with paraphrases of their own invention to make Lincoln "say" what they want him to. Further analysis will be done when we consider Lincoln's position on slavery later. For now, we shall see that we start receiving the speech piecemeal - and thus are we forced to do our own reconstruction.

We continue with the report of the speech, reminding the reader that the earliest writer, Masters, has no knowledge or indication of the following. Items only in Oates, and only in Donald, stay in their original color. Parallels shall be performed as needed. Our emendations, reflecting what Lincoln probably said in addition to these words (assuming he said them at all) will, again, be in purple.

Section 1

Words from Oates only are used here. He uses the phrases below in context of the above statement about Republicans, and the Democrats possibly nationalizing slavery. Donald does not seem to have any knowledge of this section.

Have we no tendency to the latter condition? Yea, and more - we are, and should continue to be, determined to maintain slavery in perpetuity. Daily our success in this area grows. We have in this country now an almost complete legal combination - piece of machinery so to speak - compounded of the Nebraska doctrine and the Dred Scott decision. (T)he design and its chief bosses do good - but it is not great. Our opponents the Democrats have gone far; but not far enough. It is our party that will guarantee the preservation of both slavery and the Union - by force of arms, if needed.

Section 2

Here the words of Oates and Donald join briefly. Both present these words in the context of Lincoln's chief rival, Stephen Douglas, being part of a plot to preserve slavery - though Oates does not make this as clear.

Unparalleled phrases from Oates:

from a common plan.

another supreme court decision

we cannot absolutely know. But, when we see a lot of framed timbers, different portions

a lot of framed timber

of which we know have gotten out at different times and places and by different workmen - Stephen, Franklin, Roger and James, for instance - and when we see these timbers joined

Stephen, Franklin, Roger and James

together, and see they exactly make the frame of a house or a mill, all these tenons and mortices exactly fitting, and not a piece too many or too few

another nice little niche

probably coming unless the power of the present political dynasty shell be met and overthrown.

We shall lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the verge of making their State free,

and we shall awake to the reality, instead, that the Supreme Court has made Illinois a slave State.

certain unknown personages

it would be perfectly natural in him, just like him.

remind us that he is a very great man, and that the largest of us are very small ones

a very great man

a living dog is better than a dead lion.

a living dog is better than a dead lion. at least a caged and toothless one

This is a difficult reconstruction, for the authors have been very free in quoting Lincoln's direct words. But most likely, here, if anything, is what was said:

What sort of plan our opponents have for preserving slavery, we cannot absolutely know. But, when we see a lot of framed timbers, different portions of which we know have gotten out at different times and places and by different workmen - Stephen, Franklin, Roger and James, for instance - and when we see these timbers joined together, and see they exactly make the frame of a house or a mill, all these tenons and mortices exactly fitting, and not a piece too many or too few - we may be sure that there will be no means whereby we may cooperate from a common plan. If they remain in power, to be sure, we will get another nice little niche - twiddling our thumbs while suppressed under their thumbs, while the imminent slave revolt that is probably coming because of their weakness of control, their delays, their counting on another supreme court decision rather than the necessity of force - brings the Union closer to catastrophe. This shall happen, unless the power of the present political dynasty shall be met and overthrown.

Our opponents ignore the atrocities of the Abolitionists performed right before their eyes; the Abolitionists who said of Dred Scott, "We shall lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the verge of making their State free." We Republicans will assume power - and we shall awake to the reality, instead, that the Supreme Court has made Illinois a slave State because of our actions.

It has been proposed that my opponent has sent certain unknown personages hither to divide us - sheep in wolves' clothing, pretending to be Republicans, but in truth, they are Abolitionists sent to make our party look incohesive in the public eye. Yes, it would be perfectly natural in him, just like him. He never ceases to try to remind us that he is a very great man, and that the largest of us are very small ones. But I say to you that a living dog is better than a dead lion, at least a caged and toothless one.

Section 3

A comparison is fairly easy here, and again reminds us how freely these authors used Lincoln's words:

How can he oppose the advance of slavery? He don't care anything about it. His avowed mission is impressing the 'public heart' to care nothing about it.

its own undoubted friends - those whose hands are free, whose hearts are in the work, who do care for the result.

Of strange, discordant, and even, hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought the battle through, under the constant hot fire of a disciplined, proud, and pampered enemy.

dissevered and belligerent

we shall not fail - if we stand firm, we shall not fail.

The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail - if we stand firm, we shall not fail.

A single phrase is all that may possibly have been preserved from here. And now our reconstruction:

And how this toothless lion does besmirch us! He says of me, "How can he oppose the advance of slavery? He don't care anything about it. His avowed mission is impressing the 'public heart' to care nothing about it." But I say to you - I challenge you to prove otherwise - that where slavery is concerned, I am one of those who is one of its own undoubted friends - those whose hands are free, whose hearts are in the work, who do care for the result.

Of strange, discordant, and even, hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought the battle through, under the constant hot fire of a disciplined, proud, and pampered enemy. Let them attempt to divide us. Let them portray us as dissevered and belligerent. The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail - if we stand firm, we shall not fail.

1.4 Lincoln as President

We now come to actions of Lincoln as President. Our special focus, of course, is upon the myth that Lincoln was somehow instrumental in ending slavery. We shall see that he was not opposed to slavery at all, except, possibly, inasmuch as it provided competition for poor whites seeking employment or disrupted the Union. The Emancipation Proclamation, if it ever was made, was made for such reasons.

We will begin with one issue of Lincoln's Presidency not related to slavery in order to demonstrate that, as elsewhere, there are far too many contradictions in the works of these writers to recover any semblance of what the historical Lincoln was really like.

1.4.1 Baltimore Assassination Plot

Masters: On his way to Washington after being elected President, "At Philadelphia on the night of the 21st, Lincoln had been notified of a plot to assassinate him at Baltimore, and naturally he recalled that Maryland had not invited him to speak on the way to Washington." His detectives and one of his officials named Judd suggested that he get on the train in Harrisburg and go to Washington "secretly and in disguise...Lincoln and a friend were bundled into a carriage and driven in secret through the darkness to a deserted railroad crossing outside of Harrisburg, where an engine and one coach awaited them. They entered the coach and at ten o'clock the train was at West Philadelphia. There Lincoln and his companion got out, and entered another carriage. All the while Lincoln did not know exactly where he was going, or whether for that matter the driver was not taking him to a secret spot to be done to death.

"Now followed a drive of about an hour, when the carriage came to the depot in Philadelphia where Lincoln took the train to Washington. The man with Lincoln all this while was Lamon...(who) told the conductor that his companion was sick. He gave the tickets to the conductor while Lincoln lay secreted in the berth of the sleeper. At three in the morning the train reached Baltimore, and Lincoln was tossing sleeplessly in his berth. Lincoln looked out the window. There was no enemy in sight." The train went on to Washington and arrived at six o'clock. (pp. 381-2)

Oates: In Philadelphia, Lincoln met with Allen Pinkerton, a detective who worked for the railroad, and Norman Judd. "A short, bewhiskered man who spoke with a slight Sottish burr, Pinkerton informed Lincoln that his detectives had uncovered a well-organized plot in Baltimore...Lincoln was scheduled to change trains there, and the plotters intended to kill him as he took a carriage from one station to the other." They insisted that Lincoln take a train to Washington that night, but Lincoln refused to break his engagements for the next day. (p. 228)

"On the train to Harrisburg that afternoon, Judd took Lincoln aside and rehearsed a clandestine getaway plan Judd had worked out with railroad officials and trusted army officers. At dusk, a special train would convey Lincoln back to Philadelphia, where he would be ushered in disguise aboard a sleeping coach. A night train would pull it to Baltimore and another would take it to Washington in secret. Tomorrow the regular Presidential train would go on to Baltimore as scheduled, with Judd and the military escort on board to protect Lincoln's family and traveling companions." Lincoln didn't like the idea, but consented, and insisted that Mary be told; she was upset, but went along with the plan, insisting that Ward Hill Lamon accompany Lincoln.

"That night, disguised in a 'brown Kossuth hat' and an overcoat, Lincoln waited in a carriage somewhere in West Philadelphia. Lamon was with him, armed with two revolvers, two derringers, and two large knives. In the darkness someone approached...It was Pinkerton....They escorted the President-elect to the depot and sneaked him into the last sleeping car of the Baltimore train, where he climbed into a berth reserved for the 'invalid brother' of a Pinkerton detective." The berth was cramped and Lincoln was unable to sleep, worrying about the safety of his family in Baltimore. "At three-fifteen in the morning, the train passed through the empty streets of Baltimore and left Lincoln's car to be picked up by the night train. As Lincoln lay there, he could hear a drunk singing 'Dixie' on the platform outside..." The train finally moved again and arrived in Washington in dawn. (pp. 229-30)

Donald: "Allen Pinkerton, the head of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, informed Judd of a plot to assassinate Lincoln as he passed through Baltimore...Working for S. M. Felton, the president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad," Pinkerton and his operatives "reported details of a plot to kill the President-elect. When Lincoln's train from Philadelphia arrived at the Calvert Street Station, the President-elect and his party would have to get out and go across town to Camden Street Station in order to board the Baltimore & Ohio train bound for Washington. Just as Lincoln emerged from the narrow vestibule of the Calvert Street Station, Cypriano Ferrnadini, a Baltimore barber, and a few associates planned to assassinate him." Pinkerton urged that Lincoln leave at once, bit Lincoln refused, wanting to fulfill his engagements. The next day Williams Seward's son came and "brought confidential news from Washington" that both his father and General Scott "believed the Baltimore conspiracy was genuine...Pinkerton proposed that Lincoln, traveling alone so as to avoid suspicion, should take a special train from Harrisburg to Philadelphia; there, incognito, he would board the 11 PM train to Baltimore, passing unrecognized through that city at 3:30 AM and arriving unannounced at Washington two and a half hours later." Colonel Sumner denounced the plan as cowardly and suggested a cavalry escort to cut the way to Washington' but the impressions of Pinkerton and Seward convinced Lincoln to go ahead with plan, although he said "he was not entirely convinced that there was a conspiracy," and insisted that Mary be told. "Against Colonel Sumner's protest, Lamon was chosen as his only companion and bodyguard during the trip."

"That evening the President-elect quietly slipped out of the hotel in Harrisburg. He was unrecognized because, instead of the usual stovepipe hat that had become his trademark, he wore for the first time in his life a soft felt 'Kossuth' hat someone in New York had given him. To help conceal his tall figure his long overcoat was thrown loosely over his shoulders without his arms being in the sleeves. He boarded a special train in Harrisburg, where all telegraphic communication had been interrupted to prevent possible leaks to the conspirators. At Philadelphia, accompanied only by Pinkerton and Lamon, he entered a sleeping car of the train to Baltimore and occupied a berth Pinkerton had reserved for an 'invalid passenger.'...The train proceeded undisturbed to Baltimore, and without being observed, Lincoln transferred to the Camden station and went on to Washington." (p. 278)

The incident provoked unfavorable comments from the media, which wanted proof that a conspiracy had existed. (p. 279)

This entire incident appears to have been nothing but an exercise in cowardice and selfishness on Lincoln's part, and the authors have carefully orchestrated, embellished upon, and altered the details. He probably did not ask that Mary be told of the plan; this is added only be the later writers to make Lincoln look better. Oates even gives us a few "worrying thoughts" for Lincoln to think of as he rests safely in the train, and has a drunk sitting outside singing the enemy theme song! In all likelihood, the media furor Donald alludes to was brought up in reply to Oates' version of the story, and that is why Donald brings in Seward's son, creates a name for the assassin, and increases the details on the plot, to make Lincoln look better and seem to be more beholden to the others in his party. Note, too, how Donald creates a buffoonish reply by Sumner. This is calculated to make any alternative plan look foolish and further excuse Lincoln.

As usual, there are contradictions which demonstrate the unreliability of these authors:

* What time was the train in Baltimore - 3:00 (Masters), 3:15 (Oates), or 3:30 (Donald)?

* What exactly was Pinkerton's job? Did he just work for the railroad (Oates) or did he do that and head up a detective agency (Donald)?

* Was the berth not reserved (Masters), reserved for the invalid brother of a Pinkerton detective (Oates), or for just an invalid passenger (Donald)?

* In the same vein, where was Pinkerton in Masters' story? In all likelihood, Pinkerton is a fictional character, created by the later authors, for Masters clearly indicates that Lincoln was accompanied only by Lamon. Furthermore, if Pinkerton had been along, Lincoln would not have wondered if he was being driven to some remote spot to be assassinated.

Note the variations in the scheme by author, by color-code:

1) Put in a carriage and driven to a deserted railroad crossing outside of Harrisburg, where an engine and one coach awaited them. They entered the coach and at ten o'clock the train was at West Philadelphia.

1) Disguised in a 'brown Kossuth hat' and an overcoat, Lincoln waited in a carriage somewhere in West Philadelphia. Lamon was with him.

1) He slipped out of the hotel in Harrisburg wearing a soft felt 'Kossuth' hat and a long overcoat. He boarded a special train in Harrisburg.

So did they take a carriage to outside Harrisburg (Masters), or board one in Harrisburg and take a train to Philadelphia (Donald, Oates)?

2) There Lincoln and Lamon got out, and entered another carriage. After an hour in the carriage, they came to the depot in Philadelphia where Lincoln took the train to Washington. Lamon told the conductor that his companion was sick.

2) Lamon and Pinkerton escorted him to the depot and sneaked him into the last sleeping car of the Baltimore train, where he climbed into a reserved berth.

2) At Philadelphia, accompanied only by Pinkerton and Lamon, he entered a sleeping car of the train to Baltimore and occupied a berth Pinkerton had reserved for an 'invalid passenger.'

We have already pointed out that Pinkerton was obviously not present, according to Masters, and the discrepancy relative to the status of the berth. To this we add - did he go to Philadelphia by carriage (Masters) or was he simply escorted (Oates, Donald)?

3)The train reached Baltimore at 3 AM, then went to Washington.

3) At three-fifteen, the train passed through the empty streets of Baltimore and left Lincoln's car to be picked up by the night train, which took it to Washington..

3) The train proceeded undisturbed to Baltimore, and without being observed, Lincoln transferred to the Camden station and went on to Washington.

We have pointed out the time discrepancy. Did Lincoln stay in the train (Masters, Oates) or get off, go to another station, and get on another train (Donald)?

As we can see, this story was carefully orchestrated to make the best of yet another Lincoln miscue - though not carefully enough to escape our notice.

1.4.2 Views on Slavery: A Chronology and Reconstruction

We come now to the central issue in our thesis, that of slavery and Lincoln's view of it. To summarize what we have said so far, and make our position more clear:

1) If slavery ended at all in America, it ended sometime in the early or mid-20th century. There were indeed places where slavery was abolished in America, such as Massachusetts; but these were few, and motivated by economic reasons; it remained as an institution in most of the country, especially the South, and it remained approved throughout the country implicitly, by actions such as the Dred Scott decision, the Fugitive Slave Laws, and general bigotry and prejudice.

2) Lincoln himself did not oppose slavery, except insofar as it:

a) adversely affected white employment;

b) caused disruption of the Union;

c) served his political purposes to do so.

3) Lincoln himself was hostile to the African-American race, though as a politician, he could certainly act to appease them when necessary.

4) The Emancipation Proclamation, if indeed it was made and had anything to do with slavery, must also be viewed in this light - or, based on Lincoln's evident racism, it is probable that he issued the Emancipation with the intent to someday revoke it, and enslave the black race all over again. In that case, Lincoln's death may have actually been a boon to slaves.

5) Finally, in an attempt to make Lincoln a suitable icon for the civil rights movement, the later authors downplayed his pro-slavery inclinations, excusing them to social and political factors beyond Lincoln's control.

1.4.2.1 Personal Views on Slavery - General

Information on Lincoln's view of slavery may be derived from examining his attitude towards enslaved races and specific statements on the topic of slavery. Because of the importance of this topic, we will at times comment directly after the quotes, rather than after the entire set of them.

1.4.2.1.1 Attitude Towards Enslaved Races ("Negroes")

1.4.2.1.1.1 Was the Negro Inferior?

Masters: "(Lincoln) called the negro an inferior being (in public speeches in Illinois, as late as 1858), and he said that there was a physical difference between the white and the black race, which would forever forbid the two races living together upon terms of social equality, and that he was in favor of the superior position being assigned to the white man. Yet all men were created equal. But that equality was fulfilled when the negro was permitted to work for wages! It was this idea of of social inferiority that dictated and perpetuated Southern slavery." (p. 148) Lincoln reaffirmed this basic position in Charleston on September 18, 1858: "...I as much as any other man, am in favor of the superior position being assigned to the white man." (p. 307-8)

Quote by Lincoln: "There is a natural disgust in the minds of nearly all white people at the idea of an indiscriminate amalgamation of the white and black races." (p. 267)

The above clearly represent the closest we will get to Lincoln's true evaluation of "negroes." It is clearly a racist view, and one wonders how the later writers altered this in order to make Lincoln suitable for the civil rights movement. The answer is: very subtlely.

Oates: In a debate with Douglas, said: "Now I protest against that counterfeit logic which concludes that, because I do not want a black woman for a slave I must necessarily want her for a wife. I need not have her...either, I can just leave her alone. In some respects she is certainly not my equal' but in her natural right to eat the bread she earns with her own hands...she is my equal, and the equal of all others." (p. 146)

In a debate with Douglas, said that "Negroes were not his equal or the equal of Douglas in moral and intellectual endowment." (p. 166)

In a debate with Douglas in Charleston, Lincoln gave these views: "He was not and never had been in favor of Negro social and political equality with whites," nor of giving them suffrage, allowing them to serve on juries, letting them hold office, or intermarrying with whites. Douglas replied by calling Lincoln a "racial hypocrite, a chameleon" who changed his positions as his audience required. "In his rebuttal Lincoln denied that he favored Negro citizenship, as Douglas charged" and replied that he was consistent on the race issue. (p. 171)

Later on, "...Lincoln had just about decided that the fate of former slaves would have to be worked out in the South itself, that the white and black races in America would have to learn how to live with one another." (p. 359)

The above view is portrays Lincoln as still racist, but slightly more moderate - as we should expect; it would take quite a while to establish a believable turnaround from the view recorded by Masters! Note especially the charge by Douglas; we will get to that shortly. But by 1995, the pro-Lincoln forces had become quite bold:

Donald: In a debate with Douglas, Lincoln "acknowledged that he thought it impossible to free the slaves and make them 'politically and socially, our equals.' 'My own feelings will not admit of this,' he declared; nor would those of the majority of whites...'A universal feeling, whether well or ill-founded, can not be safely disregarded....

Note here that Donald has appealed to the incorrigibly racist nature of the society as a reason for Lincoln stating that equality was not possible.

"He and (Douglas) might both regret that slavery had ever been introduced to the American continent and they might both believe that African-Americans could never be the moral or intellectual equal of whites. But their views of African-Americans were fundamentally different. Douglas, Lincoln said, 'has no very vivid impression that the negro is a human; and consequently has no idea that there can be any moral question in legislating about him.' But to Lincoln the African-American was very much a man. The Declaration of Independence taught him that all men - even men of limited abilities and prospects - are created equal. Because the Negro was a man, there could be no moral right to slavery, which was 'founded in the selfishness of man's nature.' " (pp. 175-6)

This type of statement is found nowhere else in the biographies. It is pure fabrication.

In Charleston, Lincoln gave these views: " 'I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races...I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people...There is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality...'

Donald writes of this: "This was a politically expedient thing to say in a state where the majority of the inhabitants were of Southern origin; perhaps it was a necessary thing to say in a state where only ten years earlier 70 percent of the voters had favored a constitutional amendment to exclude all blacks from Illinois. It also represented Lincoln's deeply held personal views, which he had repeatedly expressed before...Unlike many of his contemporaries, he was not personally hostile to blacks...But he did not know whether they could ever fit into a free society..." (p. 221) (Douglas accused Lincoln later of tailoring his speeches according to whether he was in a place that favored abolition or not. - p. 223) So this obviously virulently racist statement is turned into something Lincoln said to save his political skin!

In this area, Donald is certainly the most creative liar imaginable. In a FOOTNOTE in his book - how many people would read their small type? - he writes:

"It would, I think, be a mistake to attempt to palliate Lincoln's racial views by saying that he grew up in a racist society or that his ideas were shared by many of his contemporaries...At the same time, it ought to be noted that Lincoln fortunately escaped the more virulent strains of racism. Unlike many of his fellow Republicans, he never spoke of African-Americans as hideous or physically inferior; he never declared that they were innately inferior mentally or incapable of intellectual development; he never described them as indolent or incapable of sustained work; he never discussed their supposed licentious nature or immorality...Lincoln's own views on race...were nearly always expressed tentatively..." (pp. 633-4)

In another footnote Donald recognizes an article in a leading African-American magazine with the title, "Was Abe Lincoln a White Supremacist?" which labels Lincoln a racist; Donald refers his reader to "more balanced discussions" instead. (p. 683) More balanced, indeed! The article in the magazine was probably an attempt to counter people like Donald who were COVERING UP Lincoln's racist views and denying, as Donald does but as Masters (and indirectly Oates) contradicts, that Lincoln considered blacks inferior and whites superior. The above footnote by Donald is a bare-faced, propagandic lie; and what he regards as a "mistake" is in fact what he is doing himself! Very subtle is his use of the proper term "African-Americans" in his book - used in some cases as if to imply that Lincoln used this term! No; Lincoln's most polite term for African-Americans was "Negroes" - and we may be certain that he had less polite terms that he used when expressing his opinion in private!