Author Chris DeRose takes a more detailed look at a period in Abraham Lincoln’s life that is normally glossed over in other biographies – his single term as a U.S. Congressman. The first few chapters highlight the political status of the time, as well as the political wrangling between different factions both within and external to the Whig party. The book goes into various aspects of the key question of the day, slavery. Doing so makes it clear that the post-Civil War reinvention of history to suggest the South wasn’t fighting to maintain and expand slavery is hogwash.
Despite dismissals by others that Lincoln’s term in congress was lacking, DeRose shows that many important decisions were made and that Lincoln was much more active than most freshman congressmen. Unlike first termers in general, Lincoln was willing to stand up for what he believed, even when it wasn’t particularly popular. Several actions related to slavery that would become important later, e.g., the end of the Mexican War and how California and New Mexico were brought in to the Union, were argued and somewhat decided. Critical friendships with players that would be allies or adversaries during his own presidency are also discussed.
Overall, this is much-needed survey of Lincoln’s time in Congress.
Further note: After I had written the above review I had the pleasure of meeting Chris DeRose in September 2014. Chris presented his new book “The Presidents’ War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them” to the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. He has recently become Chair of the Scholarly Advisory Group at President Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington, D.C.
David J. Kent is a lifelong Lincolnophile and is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. His most recent article, “Lincoln and the Rule of Three,” was published in the September 2014 issue of The Lincolnian. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and an ebook Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.
The title comes from the controversy (assuming you knew there was a controversy) over whether Edwin Stanton, upon Lincoln taking his last breath, said “Now he belongs to the ages” or “Now he belongs to the angels.” With this contrivance as a starting point Gopnik presents what amounts to six essays.
Abraham Lincoln is the only president to ever get a patent, an ingenious, though impractical, method for lifting boats over shoals. This interest in technology served him well during the Civil War as battles increasingly relied on mechanization for transportation, communication, and weaponry.
Abraham Lincoln’s Air Force – Balloons in the Civil War
Abraham Lincoln and the Technology of War
The world woke up this morning to the news of the untimely death of actor, comedian, and humanitarian Robin Williams. Having been a fan of his since his first appearance as Mork on the sitcom Happy Days, before he spun the character off into his own show Mork and Mindy, his demise comes as a shock. The world mourns.
Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day, February 12, 1809. Both became icons of change and are will be remembered throughout history for their contributions. The book is subtitled: Shared Visions of Race, Science and Religion. While their views were not so much shared as contrasted, author James Lander deftly flips back and forth between Darwin’s and Lincoln’s lives as they experience their separate travels, coming of age, development of ideas, and eventual breakthroughs into the public eye as they dramatically change history.
Everyone knows Abraham Lincoln, in part because of the diligent work done by his two secretaries – John G. Nicolay and John Hay. But little has been done to illuminate the two men themselves. Zeitz has done us all a favor by accomplishing just that.
After a delightful open-air lunch at the Urbana Park, we were on to Fort Stevens. Located inside the District line from Silver Spring, Maryland (and not far from the modern day horror of the “DC sniper”), Fort Stevens is a series of low dirt mounds lined with Union cannon. Here was not only the repelling of Early’s forces but the site of one of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous incidents.
Living not far away at the Soldier’s Home, Lincoln had decided to see the action first hand. Ignoring the risk, Lincoln stood his 6-foot, 4-inch frame (plus tall top hat) on top of the mound to get a view. A medical officer standing beside him was hit with a bullet, after which the infamous (and possibly apocryphal) line was blurted out: “Get down you fool.” Whether it was this or a more respectful imploring for the President to get out of the line of fire we will likely never know, but thankfully he did get down and was unharmed.
Our last stop was at Fort DeRussy, another of the small forts that served as a perimeter around Washington DC during the war. Earthenwork like Fort Stevens, DeRussy also boasted a “100-pounder,” a rifled Parrott cannon that could fire accurately for up to 4 miles.Many thanks to Craig Howell for being such a fantastic and knowledgeable tour guide, to Beltway Transportation for the comfortable bus and daring driver, and to Karen Needles, Susan Dennis, and everyone else in the Lincoln Group who arranged the tour. As the saying goes, a great time was had by all.
Founded in 1935, the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia (LGDC) has been instrumental in celebrating the life and times of our 16th President – Abraham Lincoln. And now LGDC is going digital. Yes, Abraham Lincoln has a 
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