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A Busy Day in Abraham Lincoln’s Life

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Lincoln MemorialPeriodically I check a website called The Lincoln Log to see what was going on in Lincoln’s life on this day throughout his life. Today was an especially busy day.

The Lincoln Log arose out of a long-term project beginning with Lincoln Day-by-Day: A Chronology, a series of three volumes published in 1960 cataloging the life of Lincoln. The third volume was made possible in part by volunteer work of the Lincoln Group of DC, of which I am a current officer. The Lincoln Log was later augmented by information from the Papers of Abraham Lincoln project, with a special emphasis on Lincoln’s legal work. More information is added periodically. It’s a fun and useful resource.

Which gets to today, May 7th. This date seems to hold several important events in Lincoln’s life over the years.

1832: Lincoln is en route to Rock River in Illinois serving in the Black Hawk War.

1833: Lincoln is appointed postmaster at New Salem by President Andrew Jackson. Lincoln is already identifying himself as a Whig and Jackson is a Democrat more likely to give patronage to party members, Lincoln believes the post office position is “too insignificant to make his politics an objection.”

1837: Lincoln the romantic? Probably not. On this date in 1837 he writes to Mary Owens, whom he has committed to marry despite reservations by both parties. He writes: “I … wish you would think seriously before you decide. . . . My opinion is that you had better not do it. You have not been accustomed to hardship, and it may be more severe than you now immagine.” Lincoln adds, “Whatever woman may cast her lot with mine, should any ever do so, it is my intention to do all in my power to make her happy and contented; and there is nothing I can immagine, that would make me more unhappy than to fail in the effort.”  [At least now he is still free to meet Mary Todd…and Joshua Speed]

1852: Jury begins deliberation in Johnston v Jones and Marsh, a case in which Lincoln later serves an attorney. More familiarly known as the “Sand Bar” case, Lincoln deftly handles the environmental and technical aspects of sand accumulating after a rock wall is built, thus affecting the property owned by two Lake Michigan lakeside owners.

1858: Lincoln defends Duff Armstrong, the son of an old friend from his New Salem days, in a murder trial that becomes known as the “Almanac Trial” due to Lincoln’s use of an almanac to dispute the testimony of a key witness. I visited the site of the trial in Beardstown, Illinois.

1861: Lincoln acknowledges a letter from the Republic of San Marino conferring citizenship upon him. He now has dual citizenship.

1862: The presidential party arrives at Fort Monroe, Virginia and boards the USS Monitor. The Monitor was undergoing repairs after its battle with the Confederate ironclad Virginia (formerly the Merrimack). Lincoln confers with General Wool and visits the yacht Vanderbilt, donated by its namesake millionaire to the Union cause.

1863: Lincoln and General Halleck spend the day with General Joseph Hooker and the Army of the Potomac. After returning to Washington he frantically telegraphs Secretary of War Stanton: “Have you any news?” He then writes Hooker to ask him what he plans to do next. Hooker has spent the last several days failing miserably during the Battle of Chancellorsville, one of Robert E. Lee’s best military wins. Stonewall Jackson is wounded by his own men in a “friendly fire” incident and dies soon after.

1864: Lincoln receives first-hand report on the Wilderness campaign from H.E. Wing, who arrives about 2 a.m. on a special locomotive. Lincoln also transmits to the Senate the opinion of his attorney general on the “rights of colored persons in the army or volunteer service.” Lincoln is working to get more equal treatment of black troops.

All of this on May 7th.

I discuss many of these points in my forthcoming book. More on that shortly.

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His newest Lincoln book is scheduled for release in February 2022. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

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Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2020

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Books 2019Given COVID, the election, the post-election, and everything else that happened this year, it should come as no surprise that my Abraham Lincoln book acquisition pattern was different that in previous years. While last year I had a big jump in the number of new Lincoln books I acquired (82), this year was back around my average. Overall I acquired 55 new books this year. This is actually more than I expected. I had decided when I set my annual goals for 2020 (which mostly got tossed out as soon as COVID hit) that I would purchase fewer Lincoln books. Driving factors in that decision were a decreasing amount of shelf space, a reassessment of the amount of “stuff” I have in the house, and the knowledge that I would likely be receiving some books from publishers for review. I also planned to spend more time writing a book (more on that later).

I started the year off slowly in accordance with my plan. And then I became an official reviewer for the Lincoln Herald, a journal published by Lincoln Memorial University. They sent me two books to review, plus I reviewed a book I already had on my shelf (one review has been published; the other two will be in future issues). Starting in the summer I also received about ten books from publishers to evaluate for the Abraham Lincoln Institute annual book award competition. Another half dozen books were received late in the year. And then I discovered my health insurance company had been giving me points for something and I could cash those in for even more Lincoln books. I also decided to enter into my spreadsheet the PDF books that I had downloaded, so some of those in the list below exist only as PDFs, not hard copies. All of this added to my slightly less active purchasing obsessions, totaling 55 for the year, including duplicates.

Twenty-four are new books published in 2020. The oldest copyright is 1796 for a PDF book. The oldest physical book was published in 1941. The shortest actual books were 26 pages (M.L. Houser’s Abraham Lincoln Mathematician) and 58 pages (Daniel Kilham Dodge’s Abraham Lincoln: Evolution of His Literary Style). Longest books stretched to 1066 pages (Abe: Abraham Lincoln In His Times by David S. Reynolds) and 1097 pages (a two-volume set called The Tragic Years by Paul M. Angle and Earl Schenk Miers).

There were some blockbusters, including the aforementioned Abe book by David S. Reynolds, along with Harold Holzer’s The Presidents vs. The Press and Ted Widmer’s Lincoln on the Verge. There were also more obscure books like the two by M.L. Houser, the New Philadelphia book by the McWorters, and Robin Blackburn’s An Unfinished Revolution: Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln. There is also a graphic biography by Mark Shulman (author) and Tom Martin (illustrator) called Abraham Lincoln: Defender of the Union. I rarely buy fiction, but I so enjoyed the library copy of Stephen L. Carter’s The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln that I bought one for myself (the book explores the alternative history that Lincoln survives the assassination attempt and then is impeached in his second term for not being hard enough on the surrendering South). Also, I may have the only copy of a pre-publication book by Ed Steers that he accidentally made available on Amazon just long enough for me to buy a copy before it was shut down; the final version is due out in March 2021 from the University Press of Kentucky). The most bizarre book I acquired is Richard Salva’s The Yoga of Abraham Lincoln (and yes, it is as contrived as the title suggests).

As a huge departure for me, there are several books that I would classify as Civil War books and not expressly Abraham Lincoln. I usually avoid such books, but some came from publishers and others provided some insights I wanted to better understand Lincoln. One book that covers Lincoln and the Civil War but begins pre-Revolutionary War and expands to the present is Heather Cox Richardson’s How the South Won the Civil War. Richardson has become a social media sensation this year with her daily “Letters from an American” and social/political commentary on Facebook. The book is an excellent read and one from which all Americans would gain valuable insight.

One huge change this year – only one of the books is signed by the author, and it was purchased that way. Normally I would have ample opportunity for authors to sign the book directly to me, but this year COVID moved all the usual in-person events to virtual lectures, including the Abraham Lincoln Institute symposium normally held at Ford’s Theatre in March, the Lincoln Forum (Gettysburg in November), and the monthly Lincoln Group of DC dinner lectures. Most of these are expected to be virtual in 2021 as well, although there is hope COVID will be under control enough to hold the fall Forum in Gettysburg. At some point I hope to catch up with authors for signings.

As always, collecting these books means I do a lot of reading. While I can’t claim to have read all of them, I have read many of them and plan to read the rest over time. And, of course, acquire even more. Note to publishers: I’m always open to receiving books in return for an honest review via my various venues, including Goodreads and Amazon.

So how many Lincoln books will I acquire in 2021? As with this year the plan is to hold back on buying too many books in the early part of the year (my shelves are not getting less packed). I do expect to be on the ALI book award committee again this year (along with taking on Treasurer duties). But even more important is that I just agreed to terms with a publisher for my the book I’m writing myself, with a pretty tight deadline for turning in the manuscript, so I won’t have much time for reading during the first half of the year. I’ll have more details on this in my annual Year in a Writer’s Life post but by summer I know I’ll be ready to read a lot about Lincoln that isn’t directly related to my book.

See the 2020 list showing author/title/publication date below my signature blurb below.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and 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!

Here is the 2020 list! [Author, Title, Date of Publication]

Abel, E. Lawrence John Wilkes Booth and the Women Who Loved Him 2018
Abel, E. Lawrence Lincoln’s Jewish Spy: The Life and Times of Issachar Zacharie 2020
Achorn, Edward Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln 2020
Angle, Paul M. and Miers, Earl Schenck Tragic Years, 1860-1865: A Documentary History of the American Civil War 1960
Blackburn, Robin An Unfinished Revolution: Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln 2011
Blaisdell, Bob (ed.) The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Book of Quotations 2005
Boorstin, Daniel J. The Mysterious Science of the Law: An Essay on Blackstone’s Commentaries 1941
Brands, H.W. The Zealot and the Emancipator: John O’Brien, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom 2020
Browning, Judkin and Silver, Timothy An Environmental History of the Civil War 2020
Carden, Allen and Ebert, Thomas J. John George Nicolay: The Man in Lincoln’s Shadow 2019
Carter, Stephen L. The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln: A Novel 2012
Condon, William H. The Life of Major-General James Shields 1900
Dilworth, Thomas Dilworth’s Spelling-Book, Improved: A New Guide to the English Tongue 1796
Dixon, David T. Radical Warrior: August Willich’s Journey from German Revolutionary to Union General 2020
Dodge, Daniel Kilham Abraham Lincoln: The Evolution of His Literary Style 2000
Drake, Brian Allen (Ed) The Blue, the Gray, and the Green: Toward an Environmental History of the Civil War 2015
Fry, Zachery A. A Republic in the Ranks: Loyalty and Dissent in the Army of the Potomac 2020
Greene, Julia Gates Abraham Lincoln on the Niagara Frontier 1930
Holzer, Harold The Presidents vs. The Press: The Endless Battle Between the White House and the Media from The Founding Fathers to Fake News 2020
Houser, M.L. Young Abraham Lincoln Mathematician 1943
Houser, M.L. Lincoln’s Education and Other Essays 1957
Johnson, William Bruce Lincoln’s First Crisis: Fort Sumter and the Betrayal of the President 2020
Johnson, William Bruce Lincoln’s First Crisis: Fort Sumter and the Betrayal of the President 2020
Kanefield, Teri The Making of America: Abraham Lincoln 2018
Keller, Ron J. Lincoln in the Illinois Legislature 2019
Kline, Michael J. The Baltimore Plot: The First Conspiracy to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln 2008
Levin, Kevin M. Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth 2019
Luskey, Brian P. Men is Cheap: Exposing the Frauds of Free Labor in Civil War America 2020
Mackey, Thomas C. Opposing Lincoln: Clement L. Vallandigham, Presidential Power, and the Legal Battle Over Dissent in Wartime 2020
McPherson, James M. Abraham Lincoln 2009
McWorter, Gerald A. and Williams-McWorter, Kate New Philadelphia 2018
Meltzer, Brad and Mensch, Josh The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America’s 16th President – And Why it Failed 2020
Mitchell, Elizabeth Lincoln’s Lie: A True Civil War Caper Through Fake News, Wall Street, and the White House 2020
Norder, Steve Lincoln Takes Command: The Campaign to Seize Norfolk and the Destruction of the CSS Virginia 2020
Norder, Steve Lincoln Takes Command: The Campaign to Seize Norfolk and the Destruction of the CSS Virginia 2020
Power, John Carroll History of an Attempt to Steal the Body of Abraham Lincoln 1890
Rappaport, Doreen (author) and Nelson, Kadir (illustrator) Abe’s Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln 2008
Reid, Brian Holden The Scourge of War: The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman 2020
Reingold, Nathan(Ed.) Science in Nineteenth-Century America: A Documentary History 1964
Reynolds, David S. Abe: Abraham Linicoln In His Times 2020
Richardson, Heather Cox How the South Won the Civil War 2020
Salva, Richard The Yoga of Abraham Lincoln: Forerunner of the Modern Truth Seeker 2015
Shaara, Michael The Killer Angels 2003
Shulman, Mark (author) and Martin, Tom (Illustrator) Show Me History! Abraham Lincoln: Defender of the Union 2018
Snee, Brian J. Lincoln Before Lincoln: Early Cinematic Adaptations of the Life of America’s Greatest President 2016
Steers, Edward Jr. Getting Right With Lincoln: Correcting Misconceptions About Our Greatest President 2020
Stevenson, Augusta Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator 1986
Striner, Richard Summoned to Glory: The Audacious Life of Abraham Lincoln 2020
Taylor, Daniel Cravens Thomas Lincoln: Abraham’s Father 2019
Temple, Wayne C.; Edited by Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis Lincoln’s Confidant: The Life of Noah Brooks 2019
Welker, David A. The Cornfield: Antietam’s Bloody Turning Point 2020
Widmer, Ted Lincoln On The Verge: Thirteen Days To Washington 2020
Widmer, Ted Lincoln On The Verge: Thirteen Days To Washington 2020
Widmer, Ted Lincoln On The Verge: Thirteen Days To Washington 2020
Wilson, Rufus Rockwell Intimate Memories of Lincoln 1945
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Abraham Lincoln Picks a Vice President or Two

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Abraham Lincoln Healy PortraitAs I write this, Barack Obama’s Vice President Joe Biden is within days of picking his own vice presidential running mate, so it seems a good time to revisit the two vice presidents that Abraham Lincoln picked. Well, saying Lincoln picked his vice presidents isn’t quite accurate. In fact, he had nothing to do with picking the first one and likely not much more to do with the second one.

Presidents and their running mates back in Lincoln’s day were picked by the party’s nominating convention. Today we have what seems an endless campaigns and a series of state primaries and caucuses that drag on for months. The public votes for delegates who are supposed to carry that vote to the convention, which is more for show than it is for making any decisions on candidates. By the time the convention shows up we already know who is the nominee.

Not so in Lincoln’s time. The public had no say in who the party nominated. Nothing was secured in advance. When the date of the convention came each candidate would have his representatives in the smoke-filled rooms trying to persuade enough of the delegates to swing to them. There were usually several rounds of voting. In 1860, most people expected that New York Senator William Seward would get the nomination, and he led on the first ballot. But Lincoln was surprisingly close behind, closed the gap on the second ballot, and won on the third ballot. Abraham Lincoln was the Republican nominee for President.

Then the convention delegates went on to pick the vice president. Seward’s people, not happy that their man hadn’t won, blocked any choice from nearby states, insisting that the convention choose Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine. As a former Democrat, Hamlin was considered a good balance with the former Whig Lincoln ideologically, as well as the geographical balance with the westerner from Illinois. Through all of this deciding, Lincoln was in Springfield waiting in the telegraph office for news. He had nothing to do with picking Hamlin.

In 1864 Lincoln was the sitting President in the midst of the Civil War. By the time of the nominating convention he had survived an attempted coup of sorts by his Treasury Secretary, Salmon P. Chase. The Republican party, in an effort to secure all the pro-Union voters for Lincoln, opted to rename itself (for one election only) the National Union party. With this in mind the party operatives sought to balance the ticket more than the Mainer Hamlin could do, so they nominated Andrew Johnson of Tennessee as the vice presidential running mate. Johnson had been the only southern Senator that remained in the Union when their states seceded. Lincoln had appointed him as military Governor in those parts of Tennessee recaptured by the Union. He was a loyal Unionist, although he would have faults that would become all too evident.

Some have inaccurately argued that Lincoln forced Hamlin out and brought Johnson in, but that isn’t true. The delegates of the convention made the choices then, and they did in this case. When old friend Leonard Swett asked Lincoln about one particular candidate, Lincoln responded “Wish not to interfere about V.P. Can not interfere about platform. Convention must judge for itself.”

All of this set the stage for endless “what ifs” when Lincoln was assassinated, making Andrew Johnson President instead of Hannibal Hamlin. Johnson went on to be impeached by the Republican Congress and lived in infamy as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history (usually just behind James Buchanan, who preceded Lincoln).

In Lincoln’s time and before, vice presidents had very little in the way of official duties. Essentially they sat around waiting to see if the President passed away in office, which had happened a couple of times before and caused problems as Whig Presidents were replaced by Vice Presidents with differing ideologies. In modern times the presidential nominee for each party picks their own vice presidential running mate. This makes it more likely that they will pick someone with whom they are more compatible ideologically and stylistically. Many more significant responsibilities are delegated to vice presidents today, so the selection of running mate is much more important than in the past.

[Since I mention Joe Biden’s imminent running mate pick, I’ll update this with the name after the announcement: It’s Kamala Harris!]

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and 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!

 

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Lincoln in Scotland – Wiegers Calendar January

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Wiegers calendar JanuaryDavid Wiegers is a photographer. He is also an Abraham Lincoln fan. He has combined those two interests into a calendar featuring photos of Lincoln statues from around the world. January is the statue in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This particular statue represents one of those “argh” moments for me. I was in Edinburgh and yet didn’t see the statue. And when I say I was “in” Edinburgh, I don’t just mean for a few days on vacation – I actually lived there for three months in the summer of 2005. The company I worked for at the time had an office in Edinburgh. As manager of the Washington DC office I had the opportunity to work out of the Edinburgh office for that summer (which I’m told was the sunniest summer they had had in a decade, and that’s all I’m going to say about that). I lived in an apartment about a mile or two away from the center of town, so although the actual work facility was a drive in the opposite direction, I did hike downtown fairly often.

On one such foray I walked up to the top of Calton Hill, one of seven in the city. What I didn’t know at the time was that right across the street was Old Calton Burial Ground. And that is where the Lincoln statue stands.

Old Calton Burial Ground

 

When I found out years later I had missed the statue I was, let’s say, more than a little disappointed. I had literally been steps from it without noticing. Worse, that was the first summer I had finally ditched my old 35-mm film SLR and purchased a digital SLR, only to have most of my photos lost in a once-in-a-lifetime comedy-of-errors involving my computer and all of my layered backup options. [A story for another time]

Which means I need to get back to Edinburgh.

Luckily, David Wiegers has been there and has photographed the statue. Seeing it in the very first photo of his calendar brings back both good and bad memories of my brief life in Edinburgh.

Wiegers Calendar January

So why is there a Lincoln statue in Scotland? Because of the six Scottish men who fought on behalf of the Union during the American Civil War. The names of those men are etched into the large dual-figure monument erected in 1893. The lower figure represents an enslaved man being released from shackles at the feet of Lincoln. A bronze shield bears the flag of the time, with thistles to the left and cotton to the right. Two regimental flags complete the grouping.

As I flip through the calendar I see many places that I’ve visited and realize that I missed Lincoln in a few of them. Each month I’ll write one of these posts featuring David’s calendar photo and my own story associated with the statue and/or location. One thing is sure – I’m getting many more ideas for future Chasing Abraham Lincoln tours.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and 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 credits: Two calendar photos are my photos of David Wiegers calendar photo; Old Calton Burial Ground photo by Kim Traynor – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17821287.

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Galesburg – Chasing Lincoln’s 5th Lincoln-Douglas Debate

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One of the stops on my Chasing Abraham Lincoln tour was the campus of Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, site of the 5th Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Drawing the largest crowd of any of the seven debates, Galesburg seems the natural place to host the Lincoln Studies Center led by Co-Directors Rodney O. Davis and Douglas L. Wilson.

Due to fierce winds and foreboding weather, the debate platform had to be moved into the shadow of “Old Main,” the largest building on the Knox College campus. To reach the platform Lincoln, Douglas, and other dignitaries needed to enter the building and crawl out a window. The self-taught Lincoln, according to tradition, noted that “At last I have gone through…college.”

The day of my visit mimicked the day of the debates. Overcast and windy, I dodged puddles and raindrops (and a few modern day students) to record the following report:

As with all of the debates, the primary issue debated was slavery. Douglas denied there was any wrong in slavery, and in fact, vociferously argued that the government was by and for white people. Lincoln strenuously disagreed:

I confess myself as belonging to that class in the country who contemplate slavery as a moral, social, and political evil [and] desire a policy that looks to the prevention of this wrong, and looks hopefully to the time when as a wrong it may come to an end.

Two more debates would occur over the following week or so and due to the vagaries of the law at that time Lincoln would lose the election to Douglas despite Republicans gaining more votes [state legislatures still chose Senators; the 17th Amendment giving direct vote to the people wasn’t until 1913]. But these debates would firmly place Lincoln in the public’s eye for the forthcoming presidential election in 1860.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and 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!

 

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Chasing Classic Art – Art Institute of Chicago

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We all grow up with some sort of art appreciation. Recently I was able to realize my dream of seeing some classic art at the Art Institute of Chicago. Building on my odd taste in art as a teen, I specifically wanted to visit the Art Institute because I knew they held several of the original paintings I cherished.

I’ve been lucky. My three years living in Brussels and widespread travel in the world has allowed me to see some of civilizations’ greatest art: Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa in the Louvre, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus in Florence’s Uffizi, Da Vinci’s Last Supper in Milan, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, Raphael’s School of Athens in the Vatican, Munch’s The Scream in Oslo, Picasso’s Guernica at the Reina Sophia in Madrid, Jacques-Louis David’s The Death of Marat in Brussels, and many others. But there were more classic paintings that I had never seen in person – and several were at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Picasso Guitarist Art Institute of Chicago

I’ve had a thing for Picasso’s The Old Guitarist since my undergraduate days. Ironically, it was hanging in the Carriage House, a just-off-campus BYOB hangout built in, you guessed it, an old carriage house. Gone were the horses and hay, replaced by a small kitchen and an even smaller stage where a variety of unknown acts would play for broke students. So while a singer crooned folk songs or the naked piano player (yes, there was such a thing) cracked jokes to music, a print of Picasso’s masterpiece from his blue period gazed down from the side wall. Perhaps the oddity of the situation was what locked the painting into my mind.

Wood American Gothic Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute is also the home of Grant Wood’s much parodied American Gothic. Posing his dentist and his sister in front of an old carpenter gothic style house, Wood created one of America’s most recognized paintings.

Hopper Nighthawks Art Institute of Chicago

Another American artist, Edward Hopper, is best known for Nighthawks, his ambiguous statement on late night life is his most famous painting and likely second only to American Gothic in being repurposed and parodied.

Van Gogh Bedroom Art Institute of Chicago

Heading back to Europe, The Bedroom is one of three versions of Van Gogh’s bedroom in the “yellow house” of Arles, in the south of France. Joined for several tension-filled months by fellow artist Paul Gauguin, it was here that Van Gogh, prone to periodic psychotic episodes, cut off part of his left year, an event that ended his friendship with Gauguin. The Art Institute also has a wonderful self portrait of Van Gogh.

Seurat Sunday Jatte Art Institute of Chicago

Another masterpiece I’ve always wanted to see was French painter Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (sometimes simply called A Sunday on La Grande Jatte). Seurat’s most famous painting, at nearly 7 feet high by over 10 feet wide it is also his largest, a size that is even more remarkable given it is painted using the pointillist technique. Think of pointillism as an early form of pixilation, where small dots of paint are applied to the canvas such that the eye blends them into perceived color patterns.

There were many other wonderful paintings and sculptures at the Art Institute. One thing in particular that struck me was the number of paintings that reflected on science. I’ll have more about that in a future science traveling of art post.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and 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!

 

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Abraham Lincoln in Chicago

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In 1860 the city of Chicago hosted the Republican National Convention nominating Abraham Lincoln for President. But Lincoln’s presence is pervasive throughout the city today. Here are a few examples.

The Wigwam where Lincoln was nominated was a temporary structure, long since torn down to make room for skyscrapers and the “L” train overpasses. But recently they installed a marker stone with plaque at the location.

Wigwam marker Chicago

A seated Lincoln as “Head of State” graces Grant Park, not far from the Buckingham Fountain. Designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, this statue is “intended by the artist to evoke the loneliness and burden of command felt by Lincoln during his presidency.” It sits on a pedestal and a 150-foot wide exedra designed by famed architect Stanford White.

Abraham Lincoln Chicago

Another Saint-Gaudens design known by most as the “Standing Lincoln” (officially, “Lincoln: The Man”) can be found further up the lake in Lincoln Park. The sculpture shows a contemplating Lincoln, rising from a chair to give a speech. Copies of this statue stand in London’s Parliament Square and Mexico City’s Parque Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln Chicago

A lesser known statue is in Garfield Park, a short “L” ride west of downtown. Sculpted by Charles J. Mulligan, “Lincoln the Railsplitter” depicts a younger Lincoln, axe in hand, taking a break after splitting rails for fences on the farm.

Abraham Lincoln Chicago

These are the main statues of Lincoln in the windy city, but he appears in many other places as well. That’s him dominating the side of a building down the street from the Chicago History Museum. Inside the Museum itself you can find the actual bed that Lincoln died in after being carried across the street from Ford’s Theatre into the Petersen House in Washington, D.C. At the Art Institute of Chicago I also found miniature versions of two sculptures by Daniel Chester French. One was the familiar seated Lincoln known to all visitors of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The other is a lesser known standing Lincoln statue, the original of which can be found in Lincoln, Nebraska. The newest Lincoln in Chicago is a huge bust located in the lobby of the Palmer Hotel.

Even that wasn’t the last of the Lincoln connections. While in Chicago I also visited an obscure area called Canal Origins Park. Here was the beginnings of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, an internal improvement project that Abraham Lincoln was instrumental in creating, and which helped grow Chicago from a tiny lakeside village to the dominant powerhouse city it is today. The park and its bas-relief sculptures are, sadly, poorly maintained.

Canal Origins Park Chicago

I ran out of time before I could visit another statue of a young Lincoln located about an hour north of town, so perhaps I’ll be visiting Chicago again soon. For now, there are more Chasing Abraham Lincoln plans in the works. Stay tuned.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and 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!

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Chasing Lincoln’s Wigwam

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Wigwam_(Chicago)I’m currently chasing Abraham Lincoln’s wigwam, the name given to the building in which Lincoln received the Republican nomination for President in 1860. Here’s the backstory:

Lincoln’s preparation for the Republican National Convention actually began in the fall of 1859, with old friend Norman Judd serving on the committee to decide when and where to have the assembly. Each of the main contenders for the nomination wanted a site that best benefitted him: New York’s William Seward wanted New York City, Ohioan Salmon P. Chase wanted Cleveland, and Missouri’s Edward Bates wanted St. Louis. Judd suggested Chicago. After all, he explained, there was no prominent candidate from Illinois, so Chicago would be a neutral site. The committee agreed to have the convention in Chicago, demonstrating how little they considered Lincoln a viable candidate.

There was one problem: Chicago did not have a building big enough to handle all the delegates, so the national committee allocated funds for building a suitable temporary space. In a credit to engineering, the hastily erected convention hall—nicknamed the Wigwam—provided seating space for more than 10,000 delegates and observers, all with good views of the speaker’s platform and excellent acoustics.

As was the custom, Lincoln stayed at home in Springfield while David Davis and a cadre of others who knew Lincoln from the Eighth Judicial Circuit took the train to Chicago. Their strategy was to stop the default support for William Seward, then line up around 100 delegates willing to vote for Lincoln on the first ballot, make sure he gained votes on the second ballot, and win the nomination on the third ballot. For two days before the voting began, Davis and his colleagues talked with delegations from Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Massachusetts to encourage them to fall to Lincoln if their preferred candidate failed to get enough support. Lincoln’s team was coached to talk about Lincoln’s life, character, and great ability. They were instructed to always commend Seward in the highest terms, but point out that he would have difficulty winning the swing states. In stark contrast, Thurlow Weed and other Seward men put on airs of inevitability and put off delegates by telling everyone Lincoln was “greatly the inferior.”

In a letter to Samuel Galloway, Lincoln instructed his campaign committee to consider:

My name is new in the field; and I suppose I am not the first choice of a very great many. Our policy, then, is to give no offence to others—leave them in a mood to come to us, if they shall be compelled to give up their first love.

The strategy worked. As expected, Seward received 173.5 votes on the first ballot. Lincoln surprised many by receiving 102, while Cameron, Chase, and Bates attracting only around 50 apiece. On the second ballot, Seward picked up a few votes to 184.5 while Lincoln surged up to 181 as he siphoned votes from the others. After the third ballot Lincoln took the lead with 231.5 out of the 233 needed, with Seward decreasing slightly to 180 and the others falling completely out of contention. Seeing how close Lincoln was, the Ohio delegation switched four votes to give Lincoln enough for the win, further supplemented by a huge wave of changed votes to total 364. Abraham Lincoln was the Republican nominee for President. Hannibal Hamlin of Maine was selected by the delegations as Lincoln’s running mate.

[Adapted from Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. I’ll soon be in Chicago seeking the new stone and plaques marking the location of the Wigwam.]

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and 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!

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Abraham Lincoln and the McCormick Reaper

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One of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous cases is one in which he never actually tried. On my second Chasing Abraham Lincoln tour I made an unplanned stop at the McCormick Farm, now part of the Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

As populations grew the need for improved crop yields increased, and the mechanical reaper made that possible. Cyrus McCormick had invented a reaper that became the gold standard and stimulated others to “borrow” his ideas. McCormick sued rival John Manny for patent infringement, accusing him of stealing the McCormick reaper design. Manny’s lawyers called in Lincoln because of his jury skills and his local presence in Illinois, but then the case was transferred to the district court in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lincoln spent considerable time preparing for the case and writing a technical brief, but when he arrived in Cincinnati he was shocked to learn that an esteemed Ohio lawyer, Edwin Stanton, had been hired and his own services were no longer needed. Worse, Stanton treated Lincoln poorly, writing him off as a hick western lawyer of little value. While angry at being tossed out of what he thought was his case, Lincoln turned it into an educational experience, watching the trial and learning a great deal about how more classically educated eastern lawyers worked a case.

The era of farm mechanization had begun, and Lincoln the President later relied on his experience to push for and begin the U.S. Department of Agriculture to enhance the use of science in farming. McCormick’s reaper eventually led to the modern combine harvester; his company eventually merged with others to form International Harvester.

The McCormick Farm is a well preserved set of eight original buildings, including a grist mill, blacksmith shop, slave quarters, carriage house, manor house, smoke house, schoolroom, and housekeeper’s quarters. The original ice house was torn down in the 1960s. Outside the grist mill a wooden water wheel creaked eerily as it continued to turn after all these years. Inside, the mostly wood gear mechanisms showed how the grain was ground into meal. There are two sets of mill apparatuses: one solely for corn, the other for wheat and other grains. Grain is fed from a hopper in the upper level and ground at mid level while the main drive shaft and gears take up most of the lower level.

Another main building had the wood shops in the lower section and a museum in the upper section. Here there were many models of different McCormick reapers, a full-size original reaper, and tons of information about the history of the farm and the inventor. On the wall hung an old scythe and cradle, hand tools used to mow and reap crops before invention of the reaper. While onsite I also checked out the small blacksmith shop and water well.

Before leaving I left my name and website address in the guest book. Shortly after my return home I received an email from Amanda Kirby, an assistant at the Research and Extension Center, thanking me for my visit and providing some additional information and resources for the book I’m researching. All along my Chasing Abraham Lincoln road trip routes I’ve met many hugely interesting and helpful people, from local librarians to small museum curators to volunteers at courthouses. The tours have been a great way to study all things Lincoln.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and 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!

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Lincoln’s Rocking Chair – The Ford Museum and Greenfield Village

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Abraham Lincoln rocking chairMy Chasing Abraham Lincoln tour took me to Dearborn, Michigan to see the chair. “The Chair.” The rocking chair that Abraham Lincoln was sitting in the moment he was assassinated. The chair is in the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, which along with its outdoor venue, Greenfield Village, is a treasure trove for Abraham Lincoln aficionados.

After spending the previous day in the bowels of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Emily Rapoza helped me research their incredible Lincoln collection, I drove from Fort Wayne up to Dearborn to see the original rocking chair. After it had languished for decades in storage at the Smithsonian Institution, the aging widow of Ford’s Theatre co-owner Harry Ford reclaimed it in 1929, and it was soon auctioned for $2,400. The buyer? An agent for automobile pioneer Henry Ford (no relation to the Ford’s Theatre Fords). Henry Ford had revered Lincoln, the “humble, self-made man, the ordinary man who seized opportunity and raised himself up.” The Lincoln rocking chair now sits in a temperature and humidity controlled glass enclosure in the Henry Ford Museum.

But there was more Lincoln to the visit. Prior to the protected spot in which it now sits, the chair was held in the Logan County Courthouse in the adjoining Greenfield Village. This is the actual courthouse from Postville, Illinois (since renamed Lincoln, Illinois) in which Lincoln practiced in during his long months on the 8th Judicial Circuit. Ford had it transported to Michigan and restored to depict Lincoln’s visits between 1840 and 1847.

The chilly, rainy day I visited made the warm and dry courthouse a welcome retreat. A somewhat bored docent was happy to see someone he could entertain. Finding a knowledgeable patron, his love for talking about Lincoln cascading out like the water Lincoln saw flowing over the lip of Niagara Falls. I decided not to tell him about my own book about Lincoln and let him run on with an incredible font of information about the courthouse, Lincoln, and legal circuit. He also told me the wardrobe sitting in the corner of the courthouse was believed to have been built by Lincoln’s father, Thomas. The knowledge and enthusiasm the docent exhibited was exhilarating. He was so enthralling I didn’t even tell him I had written a book on Lincoln.

One of my previous books was about Thomas Edison and Greenfield Village also has a replica of Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park lab, including some original outbuildings and even soil carted in by train from the New Jersey site. I had visited the current Menlo Park site museum and its towering lightbulb, as well as his West Orange (NJ) and Fort Myers (FL) laboratories, so it was a great treat to see one of his first labs as it was. Even more exciting, I fortuitously was there during one of the periodic visits by Edison himself, an actor who came into the lab in character and told us all about his current work. Afterwards I toured some old saw and grist mills important for my research.

Lincoln furniture, Ford Museum

Back inside the Ford Museum I found a small center table and side chair once owned by Abraham and Mary Lincoln in their Springfield, Illinois home. Furniture owned by other writers like Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe were a thrill to see. I also spent some time in the Agriculture section of the museum where I could see some of the technological improvements (e.g., a McCormick reaper) that I’m researching for my next Lincoln book. For the science geek in me they had a Mathematica section with all sorts of cool exhibits.

Both the Museum and the Village have much more worth seeing and I highly encourage everyone to make the trip. There truly is something for everyone here and one can’t help but learn some history and science while being entertained.

My Chasing Abraham Lincoln tours continue! Much more to come.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and 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!