I recently had a new article published in the Winter issue of The Lincoln Herald, a journal published by the Lincoln Memorial University Press. It’s Part 1 of two (the second part will appear in the Spring issue). In September of 1848, Abraham Lincoln was serving his single term in the U.S. House of Representatives. It had been a busy session and by the end of summer he was eager to escape Washington and head back to his day job as a lawyer in Illinois before having to return for the second session of his congressional term in December.
But 1848 was an election year and the Whig Party had a different task in mind – selling the Whig candidate for president, Zachary Taylor, to the disgruntled New Englanders who thought that Taylor was a horrible choice to represent the party. After sending out some campaign mail and giving a few speeches in the Washington area, Lincoln set out in early September for Massachusetts, giving a dozen speeches in the eastern part of the state. During this trip he would discover the complicated relationship the northeast had with slavery and abolition. Lincoln would also meet William Seward for the first time.
You can read the full article below. Click on the arrows at the bottom of the insert to read all the pages.
After his trip, Lincoln was quickly forgotten. But he learned some important lessons that helped convert him from a mere western politico into a mature, thoughtful, and viable politician on the national stage. Read all about it in the above article.
Now Available: Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours. Or Order directly at:
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David J. Kent is Immediate Past President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of many books on Abraham Lincoln, Nikola Tesla, and Thomas Edison.
