Bitter dissensions in the Democratic party brought about its defeat, and Lincoln was elected. The secession of the Southern States followed, and when he was inaugurated as President he was confronted with a divided country and a Constitution defied. The war which fo lowed was one of the most extensive and disastrous in history. Magnificent armies, made up of the finest soldiers in the world, contended with each other for four years for the supremacy of the American continent. The immediate cause of the war was the attempt of the South to extend slavery into the newly settled States of the West. But in reality the war was a decisive conflict between two great and opposing principles of government Nationalism and States' rights. The North contended that the nation was supreme; that the union existing between the States was so close and vital that no one State could secede from the rest. On the other hand, the South maintained that the State was sovereign, and that the union between the States was in the nature of a confederacy, which might at any time be dissolved, and from which any State had the right to withdraw. The issue of the war decided forever that the United States was a nation and not a confederacy, and also that hereafter slavery should not exist on American soil. The central figure of this, the darkest period of American history, was Abraham Lincoln. Towards him every eye was turned, in him every hope rested; and he never failed. His coolness, courage, and judgment never deserted him. For every emergency he was ready, and in the end he gained the victory and laid down his life upon the altar of his country. His literary works were mainly in the form of speeches and state papers, many of which are models of simple style and vigorous thought. His education was exceedingly limited, yet few have excelled him in the clear and pointed expression of noble ideas. CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY OF THE LEADING EVENTS IN LINCOLN'S LIFE He was born in Hardin County, Ky., Feb. 12, 1809. Removed to Indiana 1816. Removed to Macon County, Ill., 1830. Became a clerk in a country store at New Salem, 1831. Commenced studying law, 1832. Elected to Legislature, 1834, 1836, 1838, 1840. Admitted to the Bar, 1836. Married Mary Todd, Nov. 4, 1842. Elected to Congress as a Whig, 1847. Republican party organized in Illinois, May 29, 1856. Elected President, Nov. 7, 1860. Inaugurated, March 4, 1861. Issued Emancipation Proclamation, Jan. 1, 1863, Re-elected, November 1864. Assassinated, April 14, 1865. BOOKS FOR REFERENCE THERE is no collection of the works of Lincoln. His letters, speeches, proclamations, etc., are scattered through a wide range of publications. The Lincoln-Douglas debates were published in Cincinnati in 1859, but the book is now out of print. His messages to Congress and proclamations may be found in the Congressional Record, 1860-1865. McPherson's "Political History of the Rebellion" contains many of his official letters and orders that cannot be found elsewhere. There are scores of biographies and some exceedingly interesting volumes of recollections, a few of which are mentioned below. Nicolay and Hay's Life is a magnificent work in 10 vols., containing a complete history of the period. Arnold's Life is a standard work, interesting and reliable. "The Every-day Life of Lincoln," by Francis F. Browne, gives a better insight into his personality than perhaps any other. Herndon, Lincoln's lawpartner, has written an extended sketch of his life previous to 1860, which contains much new matter. Other biographies may 66 be found in the "American Statesmen Series" and in the "American Reformers Series." Abraham Lincoln's Pen and Voice," by Van Buren, contains a partial collection of his most notable works. Chittenden's Recollections of President Lincoln and his Administration" is exceedingly interesting, and sheds much light upon the inner workings of his administration. "Inside the White House," by Stoddard, is of interest, because it gives a good picture of the President's daily life. THE WORDS OF LINCOLN Early History In speaking of his boyhood Lincoln once remarked: My early history is perfectly characterized by a single line of Gray's Elegy: "The short and simple annals of the poor." At the request of a friend he wrote the following simple sketch of his early life : I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Va. My parents were born in Virginia, of undistinguishable families --second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams and others in Macon Counties, Ill. My paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County, Va., to Kentucky, about 1781 or '82, where, a year or two later, he was killed by Indians, not in battle, but by stealth, when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest. His ancestors, who were Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pa. An effort to identify them with the New England family of the same name ended in nothing more than a similarity of Christian names in both families, such as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like. My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age, and he grew up literally without education. He removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer County, Ind., in my eighth year. We reached our new home about the time the State came into the Union. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so called, but no qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond "readin'," "writin'," and "cipherin'" to the Rule of Three. If a straggler supposed to understand Latin happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three, but that was all. I have not been to school since. The little advance I now have upon this store of education I have picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity. I was raised to farm-work, which I continued till I was twenty-two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois, and passed the first year in Macon County. Then I got to New Salem, at that time in Sangamon, now in Menard, County, where I remained a year as a sort of clerk in a store. Then came the Black Hawk War,' and I was elected a captain of volunteers -a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went through the campaign, ran for the Legislature the same year (1832), and was beaten-the only time I have ever been beaten by the people.2 The next and three succeeding biennial elections I was elected to the Legislature. I was not a candidate afterwards. During this legislative period I had studied law, and removed to Springfield to practice it. In 1846 I was once elected to the Lower House of Congress, but was not a candidate for re-election. From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than ever before. Always a Whig in politics, and generally on the Whig electoral tickets, making active canvasses. I was losing 4 1. An interesting account of his participation in this war may be found in "The Every-day Life of Lincoln," by Francis F. Browne. 2. Lincoln was a candidate for U. S. Senator in 1858 and was beaten. Does not this fact contradict the above statement? 3. Why was he not a candidate for re-election? 4. What were the principles of the Whig Party, and by what party was it opposed? |