Section 39. Abraham Lincoln LOOKING upon the death-mask of our beloved Lincoln the famous French sculptor Fremiet said: "It seems impossible that a new country like yours should produce Lincoln's such a face. I can do nothing with that head and Fremiet on I doubt if any one in these times can. The more death-mask I studied it the more difficulty I found. The subtle character of its forms is beyond belief. There is no face like it." In much the same way has mankind always stood in wonder at the character and attributes of that great Kentuckian, asking in amazement: "How could a race of frontiers that was men have produced such a man?" The question The question The blending is answered by those who believe in the power Lincoln of heredity by pointing to Lincoln's ancestrythat Hingham, Massachusetts, Yankee stock which pioneered its way through the Jerseys (p. 75) and Pennsylvania into the Valley of Virginia, where it was united (in Lincoln's grandfather, Abraham) with typical southern stock. In this blending we find a heritage which made possible a temper so balanced and a heart so kind that Jefferson Davis is said to have exclaimed, on hearing of Lincoln's assassination, "We have lost a generous enemy." The parentage of Lincoln and Andrew Jackson was somewhat similar. While the two men were much unlike, yet in the prime quality of instinct for choosing right courses in crises an instinct which comes from a knowledge of both the nobility and the frailty of the common heart of humanity-the two might have been brothers. Both were painfully misguided by friends and advisers on unimportant matters; both frequently ignored all counsel on questions of critical importance. Born in Kentucky February 12, 1809, Lincoln came of age just as his parents completed a series of typically American frontier migrations-to Illinois and Indiana. His boyhood had been that of a migrating pioneer's son. His physique was Lincoln's youth finely developed and, while his education had been neglected, yet it was improved by a stepmother's interest and by Lincoln's innate ambition. During his latter 'teens he had not lived where a lack of materials for education existed; boys about him were working their way through college. The interesting thing is, not that materials were lacking but, rather, that from a mass of good, bad, and indifferent, the laxly guided youth chose with commendable care wheat from chaff and hugged tightly his borrowed copies of Pilgrim's Progress, Æsop's Fables, Robinson Crusoe, and nurtured a genuine love of Burns and Shakespeare. He became a good speller and penman and, quite early, was wooing the Muse with coarse satires, crude verse, and essays on the American government; his formal schooling, however, did not total twelve months. His love of good litera ture His political advancement At the age of 23 he became a candidate for the state legislature; his popularity was heightened by his fund of good stories which were well told, rather than his fitness for office at so early an age. As a captain in the Black Hawk War his laurels gained seem to have been those of a good story-teller. Defeat in this election in no wise lessened his ambition and he was chosen two years later and served steadily until 1842, ranking as a Whig without abolition sentiments, although slavery (as he had seen it) in his own words, made him "miserable." Early he had set his eyes toward the legal profession and in 1836 he was admitted to the bar. It was the salvation of his career. His keen insight into human nature, his acquaintance with "all sorts and conditions of men," his power of analysis, all, fitted him for success in this profession and success here meant political advancement. In 1842 he offered himself for Congress but again Elected to met defeat; in 1846, however, he was elected, Congress beating the celebrated Rev. Peter Cartwright by 1,500 votes. He in no wise pleased those who elected him by his course at Washington. He objected to the administration's forcing the Mexican War and was author of the "Spot Resolu tion" which demanded that President Polk name the "spot" where the Mexicans invaded American territory; also of a bill to free the slaves in the District of Columbia, after compensating their owners. Luckily Lincoln did not seek reëlection; in fact, from 1849 to 1853 he was outwardly but little interested in politics. These days, however, as we look back on them, seem of immeasurable A CARTOON OF THE ELECTION OF 1860 (see key p. 633) importance. Applying himself strictly to his profession he now gained a state-wide reputation as a reasoner and cross-examiner at the bar. His homely sayings often went straight to the heart of a knotty question. He became admired for refusing to take "shady" cases and also for his efforts to conciliate antagonists and keep them from "going to law. He became a tall, gaunt, uncouth prophet of honor in his own country, an "honest Abe." What this meant when all eyes were turned from "bleeding Kansas" to oratorical Illinois, we shall see. Lincoln be comes a na tional figure The arousing of the nation by the passage of Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Bill is well illustrated by its luring Lincoln out from the comfortable and successful life he had set for himself into the arena of politics. Now a powerful man, he played an important part in swinging Illinois from the Democratic column in 1854. With a million others he now aided in uniting all antislavery factions into the Republican party; in that year he missed by only three votes being elected United States Senator from Illinois. These services made him a national figure; and in the first Republican national convention (1856) Lincoln received 110 votes for the second place on the ticket with Fremont. Two years later the term of Senator Douglas expired; Lincoln was nominated by the Republicans of Illinois to oppose Douglas. This gave the occasion for the famous LincolnDouglas debates which were held in that cam- The paign. In accepting the nomination Lincoln Divided" placed himself among the first rank of national speech spokesmen for Republican ideals by his "House "House Divided" speech, in which he expressed the opinion that the nation could not remain half free and half slave but must become the one or the other. He had previously expressed this opinion as early as 1855. In the second of the Douglas debates with Douglas Lincoln- STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS Scott decision could not preserve slavery in a territory if the people voted to put it out. This admission the South called |