Author: David J. Kent

[This is Part 2. Read Part 1 here.]

Lincoln did appreciate the allure of the Falls. The very first impression in his fragment is “Niagara-Falls! By what mysterious power is it that millions and millions, are drawn from all parts of the world, to gaze upon Niagara Falls?” Kaplan, in his book “Biography of a Writer,” notes that the simplicity of the opening exclamatory “establishes the hugeness of his subject.” He further notes that “the exclamation point is both redundant and expressive,” signs of someone who appreciates the magnificence of the Falls. Lincoln’s sensitivity to the Falls’ is further shown in his fragment as he recognizes “its power to excite reflection, and emotion, is its great charm.” Therefore, it appears Lincoln did appreciate the beauty of the Falls, as well as the power of its attraction to people drawn from far and wide.

That said, Herndon is right in his observation that Lincoln had a problem-solver mentality. Seeing the Falls in person is an overwhelming experience. Yes, the beauty, the grandeur, the roar of the water falling into the misty gorge. But the astute Lincoln would also ponder where all that water comes from, and why does it not drain the lake? A systematic thinker would be curious about the larger technical issues of the falls, in addition to the beauty.

As Lincoln whiled away the long days and nights on the Globe as it worked its way through the Great Lakes, his mind was clearly on a future lecture on what he had seen at Niagara. Indeed, while he never completed his Niagara fragment, he did make mention of Niagara Falls in a draft of his later lecture on Discoveries and Inventions, before striking it out. In his analytical thinking, Lincoln did not believe there was any great mystery of the physics behind the falls itself.

“If the water moving onward in a great river, reaches a point where there is a perpendicular jog, of a hundred feet in descent, in the bottom of the river, Lincoln noted dryly, “it is plain the water will have a violent and continuous plunge at that point.” Having dropped off the edge, “thus plunging, will foam, and roar, and send up a mist.” If the sun is shining, it is only logical that “there will be perpetual rain-bows.”

Others may have been satisfied with the “mere physical” of Niagara Falls, or like Herndon, enthralled by the beauty without thinking too much about the science, but Lincoln’s analytical mind took this much further. He thought of the phenomenon from multiple viewpoints, a characteristic that allowed him to make decisions with both deeper and broader understanding than most people. Examining his fragment gives us further insight into that mind.

“The geologist will demonstrate,” Lincoln writes, as he envisioned how the vast movement of water wears away the rock as it plunges over the Falls, not just of the bottom, but more importantly, from the top. He speculated that that geologist would “ascertain how fast it is wearing now,” and determine from this that the Earth was “at least fourteen thousand years old.” This estimate is close to the time of the last Ice Age, which is when the Falls were formed.

Lincoln also showed he had some grasp of natural hydrology cycles, speculating that a natural philosopher “of a slightly different turn,” would look at Niagara as the pouring of “all the surplus water which rains down on two or three hundred thousand square miles of the earth’s surface.” He was remarkably accurate in this estimate; today’s scientists say the Niagara River and Lake Erie combined drain a watershed of 265,000 square miles. This same natural philosopher, according to Lincoln, might estimate “that five hundred thousand [to]ns of water, falls with its full weight, a distance of a hundred feet each minute—thus exerting a force equal to the lifting of the same weight, through the same space, in the same time.”

This is rather scientific stuff for a frontier lawyer with little formal education. Lincoln is writing this as he made his way back by steamer home from the East, so he would seem to be recalling all this from memory. But he did not stop there. Lincoln elaborates on this hydrology cycle by pulling in the role of the sun, which through the process of evaporation the water is “constantly lifted up.” He contemplates that if enough water is raised from the watershed to feed the Falls, this natural philosopher would be “overwhelmed in the contemplation of the vast power the sun is constantly exerting in quiet, noiseless operation of lifting water up to be rained down again.” This sounds like a science geek talking, not a future president. He would incorporate this view of solar power (as well as energy from the wind) in his later Discoveries and Inventions lecture.

“But still there is more.”

Lincoln was not finished. In the last paragraph of his Niagara fragment he turns philosophical. He suggests that Niagara Falls “calls up the indefinite past,” and “when Columbus first sought this continent—when Christ suffered on the cross—when Moses led Israel through the Red Sea—nay, even, when Adam first came from the hand of his Maker—then as now, Niagara was roaring here.” Lincoln also shows some familiarity with paleontology, noting that the “Mammoth and Mastodon,” whose existence is demonstrated by “fragments of their monstrous bones,” also “gazed on Niagara.” This section shows that Lincoln could be as philosophical as he could scientific.

Lincoln thus shows he is multidimensional in his thinking. While Herndon was enthralled by the beauty and power of the Falls, Lincoln saw the Falls as both beautiful and a learning experience. He contemplated not only its charm and power to excite emotion, but also its hydrology, geology, and natural science aspects. Keeping in mind that the Falls we see today are significantly lessened since the 1895 diversion of water into tunnels feeding the new hydroelectric plant, the site Lincoln saw must have been awe-inspiring indeed.

With Herndon notoriously lacking of a sense of humor, we also have to wonder whether Lincoln was pulling Herndon’s leg a bit with his initial reply to Herndon’s “deepest impression” query about the Falls. But clearly the events immediately following his brief visit were important in securing the technical aspects of the Falls in Lincoln’s already scientifically-primed mind, his “fascination from an early age with the human, the mechanical, and the natural, how things work in the world.”

Lincoln would once again get a chance to view the magnificence of the Falls. During a July 1857 trip to New York, ostensibly to collect an outstanding $5000 fee for a railroad case, Mary Lincoln notes that some portion of the trip was “spent most pleasantly traveling east,” with stops in “Niagara, Canada, and New York.” It is highly likely, as husband and wife gazed romantically upon the majesty of Niagara Falls, Lincoln was secretly doing a little math in his head.

[The above is adapted from my article by the same title in The Lincolnian, a publication of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. If you missed Part 1 you can read it here.]

David J. Kent is an avid traveler, scientist, and Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World as well as two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

Abraham Lincoln was fascinated by science and technology. In his personal life he sought to improve his knowledge, studying not only the law but Euclid geometry, astronomy, and various forms of technology-driven improvement. As President he was often the first man inventors (and hucksters) would seek out with their new devices. He even had a patent, the first and only President ever to receive one. But perhaps the best way to highlight Lincoln’s way of thinking would be to examine the incredulous response to a question from his law partner, William Herndon.

Lincoln was on his way back to Illinois in 1848 during the intercession of his single term as a US Congressman. It was a presidential year so Lincoln, as a prominent Whig in Congress, gladly accepted an invitation to stump for Zachary Taylor on his first visit to New England. Joined by Mary and their two young sons, Robert at 5 and Eddy at 2-1/2, he made his way to Boston, which he used as a base to make day trips to various cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts. Lobbying for Taylor would later prove to be time well spent when it came to his own presidential aspirations, as would his second New England tour in 1860 following the renowned Cooper Union speech.

After an exhausting 11 days in which he gave 12 speeches in nine Massachusetts communities, Lincoln and family were ready to make the long trip home. Taking a train from Boston to New York City, then on to Albany, Lincoln eventually found his way to upstate New York and the fabled Niagara Falls. Formed during the last Ice Age, Niagara Falls consists of three separate falls: American and Bridal Veil Falls on the American side of the international border, and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side. The Falls have a vertical drop of over 165 feet, but because of the incredible width of the combined falls it has an average flow of 4 million cubic feet per minute. Seeing the massive volume of water crossing the precipice into the gorge is something most visitors do not soon forget.

Following his all-too-brief visit, Lincoln boarded the steamship Globe for the trip through the Great Lakes and on to Chicago, from whence he, with family in tow, traveled via the Illinois and Michigan Canal to LaSalle, then took a steamer to Peoria, before boarding a stagecoach for the final leg back to Springfield. Tired and cranky from the long journey, Lincoln caught up with his law practice for several weeks before the next session of Congress would call him back to Washington. After finishing his term as Congressman in 1849, Lincoln returned to Springfield and threw himself into his law career full time. Busy with his law practice, Lincoln likely did not have much time to think about Niagara.

At some later point, William Herndon also went to New York and made his way back by way of Niagara Falls. A few days after Herndon’s return he was regaling Lincoln with an account of his trip. In describing Niagara he “indulged in a good deal of imagery.” Herndon relates that:

“As I warmed up with the subject my descriptive powers expanded accordingly. The mad rush of water, the roar, the rapids, and the rainbow furnished me with an abundance of material for a stirring and impressive picture. The recollection of the gigantic and awe-inspiring scene stimulated my exuberant powers to the highest pitch.”

Nearly exhausted with this description, Herndon then asked Lincoln of his opinion of Niagara Falls. “What made the deepest impression on you when you stood in the presence of the great natural wonder?” he queried Lincoln, expecting something equally imagery-indulgent.

“The thing that struck me most forcibly when I saw the Falls,” Lincoln said, “was, where in the world did all that water come from?”

Dumbfounded, the humorless Herndon could not believe his ears. The beauty! The splendor! Had the man not opened his eyes to the sight before him? Had he not opened his ears to the thundering roar of the water splashing into the mist below?

Herndon’s explanation of Lincoln’s answer was that “it in a very characteristic way illustrates how he looked at everything.” Elaborating, Herndon added:

“He had no eye for the magnificence and grandeur of the scene, for the rapids, the mist, the angry waters, and the roar of the whirlpool, but his mind, working in its accustomed channel, heedless of beauty or awe, followed irresistibly back to the first cause. It was in this light he viewed every question. However great the verbal foliage that concealed the nakedness of a good idea Lincoln stripped it all down till he could see clear the way between cause and effect. If there was any secret in his power this surely was it.”

Herndon undoubtedly is not giving Lincoln enough credit for imagination here. While clearly an analytical thinker, Lincoln was not so divorced from emotion that he would fail to be impressed with the “magnificence and grandeur” of Niagara Falls.

A clue to how Herndon may have focused on this part of Lincoln’s response is in his biography of Lincoln immediately following the above passage about Niagara Falls. Herndon notes that after seeing the Falls, Lincoln continued his journey homeward. Immediately after his visit, while still on the long arduous journey, he took the time to compose a literary fragment likely intended for one of his future scientific lectures. He also found himself witness to an incident that coupled the science and technology of his recent visit to the Falls.

As the steamship Globe made its way through the narrow Detroit River passing between Lakes Erie and Huron, it overtook another steamer, the Canada, which had run aground on Fighting Island. Stuck fast, the Captain ordered the hands to collect “all the loose planks, empty barrels, boxes, and the like which could be had” and force them under her hull to buoy the ship higher in the water. This effort eventually allowed the Canada to escape her entrapment, but not until a few days after Lincoln and the Globe had passed into Lake Huron on their continuing voyage to Chicago. Ever the inquisitive one, and remembering his own experiences getting stuck on the New Salem dam back on the Sangamon, Lincoln was completely enthralled with the ongoing operation. The incident got him thinking seriously about how to solve this particular kind of problem.

Not long after, he would develop his own “improved method of lifting vessels over shoals,” for which, in May 1849, he received a patent, the only U.S. President to do so.

All of this was likely on Lincoln’s mind when Herndon asked him about his “deepest impressions” of Niagara Falls. To Herndon, the Falls he had just visited were fresh in his mind, as was the beauty and grandeur. For Lincoln, the awe-inspiring view was only part of a much more complicated memory from a brief visit to the Falls that also included witnessing the attempt to free a grounded steamship, his old memories of his personal standing on the Sangamon, and the subsequent development of an invention to overcome shoals. Added to his natural affection for science and technology and his boatman’s experience, and it is not surprising that he would relate the Falls to the more scientific question of how much water comes over it.

Still, Lincoln did appreciate the allure of the Falls. We’ll talk about that in Part 2.

[The above is adapted from my article by the same title in The Lincolnian, a publication of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. You can read Part 2 here.]

David J. Kent is an avid traveler, scientist, and Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World as well as two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

[Photo credit: David J. Kent]