 On The Line -- Issue 621 -- February 9, 2007  Online News and Views of Life in San Benito County with Herman Wrede Published by HollisterOnline.com -- Copyright 1995-2008 HollisterOnline.com
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On The Line -- Issue 621 -- February 9, 2007 Online News and Views of Life in San Benito County with Herman Wrede Published by HollisterOnline.com -- Copyright 1995-2008 HollisterOnline.com
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He is the quintessential American. Of all the men and women who preceded Abraham Lincoln and all those who came after, he is the one most identified with the nation to his countrymen and to residents of other lands.
The outlines of his life are well known. He was born in a log cabin in Kentucky on Feb. 12, 1809 to semi-literate parents. When his mother, Nancy Hanks, died while he was still a boy, he responded to the open love of his stepmother, and later in life attributed "any success I have enjoyed to my blessed mother." He early developed a love of learning and sought out books in the Indiana and Illinois communities of his early youth. His father, Thomas Lincoln, disdained his son's desire to better himself but his stepmother encouraged him. Abraham -- he never used the nickname "Abe" but did not correct those who called him by it -- Lincoln found a home in Clary's Grove, Illinois and became a popular member of the community. Although young men of his own age first found him a figure if fun for his studious ways, he laughed with them. However, when a few challenged him to wrestling matches, he accepted and beat everyone, then laughed with them after he had established himself as man to reckon with. In 1832 when Chief Black Hawk of the Sacs left the land where they had been moved to return to their ancestral home, a cry went up through the Midwest for volunteers to resist in what officials thought would be a terrible war of Indian reprisal. Lincoln volunteered with most of the young able-bodied men of his community. To his utter surprise fellow recruits elected him their captain, what he later termed "the most gratifying honor I have ever received." When his month term of enlistment expired, he enlisted as a private for another month, then did so again when that term expired. Lincoln learned then what life in the field was like for the military, and also met others who would be influential in his later life. He never saw combat but came across some men of both sides who had been killed. It left him with a strong distaste for war. At one point an old Indian wandered into is camp and many of the militiamen made a rush for him. Lincoln interposed himself between the old man and his fellow soldiers. "Boys," he said, "this poor fellow can't hurt anyone, and anyone who wants to hurt him will have to get by me first." The soldiers grumbled a bit but withdrew. Those three months represented the only military experience Lincoln would have until he became commander-in-chief of the nation's armed forces, yet it gave him a feeling -- and respect -- for the common solider superior to those of many elected leaders. He eventually became a lawyer and practiced it in rural courthouses before common people who were quick to recognize justice as he explained it to them in terms that made good sense. Lincoln served a term in the U.S. House of Representatives and was the only member who condemned the Mexican-American War on charges of injustice. He was not re-elected because of his unpopular stand. H also served two terms in the Illinois legislature. He married Mary Todd, a step that many people considered a step above. She was ambitious and often critical of him but they had four sons together. Only Robert Todd Lincoln, the oldest, lived beyond 23. Lincoln became a candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, running against the popular Stephen Douglas. Their series of debates took them to many places in the state. Although Lincoln lost, the press coverage gave Lincoln a reputation nationally. In 1860, he became the Republican candidate for president and in a bitter race that had him comment, "I feel I have been bought and sold 10 times over," he gained the highest office in the land. He had hardly assumed office in 1861 when the Southern states seceded and civil war broke out. What should have been the crowning glory of his life turned into a term of unparalleled carnage. Lincoln was set upon by many critics who called for the immediate cessation of the war, no matter what the terms, and his resignation. With that unrelenting pressure and the mounting casualty lists, he held firm to the notion of restoring the nation. On that point he was inflexible. He found commander after commander of the Army who would fight and press the advantage when the enemy faltered. His vision was nothing less than total victory, then a benign restoration of the Union he had revered. He also said that slavery would no longer be permitted. Most of his former critics, including several members of his cabinet, came to realize the moral strength of the man. The ordinary man and woman, including the greatest part of the military, saw his resolution and compassion much earlier. The South came to realize that as long as Lincoln was president he would press the war, and hoped he would lose the 1864 election so that a peace allowing the Confederacy to remain intact might be reached. To test the loyalty of the American soldier, Union prisoners-of-war in Andersonville, Ga. were told to hold a mock election and let it be known that a Lincoln loss would result in more rations. After it was staged, hope Confederate officers examined the results. They were chagrined to find that most of the starving, emaciated prisoners had voted for "Uncle Abe" despite the promise of more food. The war ran on five more months until General Robert E. Lee realized that his soldiers' gallant fighting could result only in more losses to the Southern army. He surrendered to General U. S. Grant at Appomattox, Va., thereby effectively ending the war. The nation went wild, and Lincoln spoke of welcoming the seceded states back into the Union with dignity and a desire to help them. Those intentions ended with a single shot in Ford's Theater less than a week later. It was not until Lincoln's assassination that the entire nation realized the depth of his leadership and compassion at the time the country most needed him. More than 140 years after his death Abraham Lincoln's influence on our country is still powerful. |
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