Lincoln Unbound (31 page)

early and pre-­presidential years:
background of poverty, 4, 18, 20, 32–33, 114; Black Hawk War, 3, 46, 70; brawling by, 69–70; childhood/adolescence, 20–43; as deputy county surveyor, 47, 48, 51, 53–54; earning his first dollar, 17–18; education, 31–36, 48–52, 225–26; failure of store and debt, 46, 48; family moves to Illinois, 39–40; family moves to Indiana, 23; father and, 25–30, 36–37, 40; first legal case, 52; first white shirt, 38; as “Honest Abe,” 43; jobs held, 36; law studies, 48–52; as lawyer, 52, 78, 93–94, 97, 108–15, 133; leaves home, 39–40; “Lincoln the railsplitter,” 18–20; New Orleans trips, 38–39, 40–41; in New Salem, 41–52; Offutt and getting a start, 40–42; popularity and friendships, 43, 47, 50–51, 53–54; as postmaster, 42, 47–48; as reader, 33–36, 46, 48–49; riverine commercial endeavors, 38–39.
See also
Springfield, Illinois

policies:
admiration for Clay, 56–57, 86; admiration for Jefferson, 142–43; agriculture, 91–92, 193; antislavery, 3, 5, 37, 86, 126–28, 135–36, 137–40, 147–48, 151–64, 237–38; banking, 4, 103–6, 114, 174–75, 193; as capitalist, 86, 91, 115–16, 143, 145, 148, 168, 198; criticism of, as elitist, 113–14; Declaration and, 128, 129, 140–45, 156, 164, 228; dissolution of rural isolation, 5, 187; domestic agenda after Southern secession, 172–79; Douglas debates and, 151–64; economic-­industrial development and, 4, 7, 15–16, 86, 89–90, 91, 107, 168, 191–92, 193; education, 44, 45, 176–77, 210–11; ending of Southern caste system, 5; fulfillment of individual potential as “true north,” 3–4, 16; government activism, 13; government handouts, 12–13; immigration, 218–19; income tax and, 11–12; infrastructure, 44, 95–102, 114, 215; invention and technology, 92–93, 193, 208, 216; market economy, 14; Mexican War, 138; natural rights vs. political-­social rights, 143–45, 161–62; object of government, 13; opportunity and upward mobility, 2, 3–4, 7, 14, 16, 22, 86, 114, 116, 148, 193, 198, 207; property rights, 7, 47, 90, 91, 94, 193; on the purpose of America, 125; Republican ideals, 90, 115, 135–36; tariffs, 106–7, 143, 175–76, 193, 221; themes of, 44–45; trademark formula, 45; trade unionism and, 192; transportation, railroads, and communication, 4, 9, 44, 45, 68, 86, 97, 100, 102, 110–13, 119, 186–87, 194, 215; urban growth and, 15 ; Van Buren's Independent Treasury plan, 132; vision for America, 89, 107, 116–17, 129, 165, 172, 183–84, 193, 198; wage labor defended by, 193; Whigs and, 52, 53–57, 63–67, 86, 90–92, 114–15

political career
, 22; 1832 campaign for Illinois legislature (first ), 43–46, 97; 1834 campaign for Illinois legislature (second), 47–48; 1836 campaign for Illinois legislature, 54–55; 1840 Bank of Illinois crisis, 87–89; 1840 campaign for Harrison, 85–86; 1840 Whig rally, Springfield, 81; 1847 in Congress, 102; 1848 campaign for Taylor, 93; 1849 return from Congress, 122–23; 1858 Senate contest, 114, 125–28, 131, 164; backers and boosters, 48, 50, 77, 78, 100; Calhoun tariff debates, 54; catalogue of office-­seeking, 80; in Congress, 133, 138; Douglas as rival, 114, 123, 130–33; Douglas debates, 57, 125–40; duel with James Shields, 83–84; Illinois infrastructure improvements and, 95–102; “jumping scrape,” 87–89, 106; law as a stepping stone to, 50; as natural leader, 84; newspaper reading and, 34–35; as nominee for Speaker of the Illinois House, 48; on party switchers, 55–56; politics of, as Republican, 3, 4, 7–8; politics of, as Whig, 3, 4, 7–8, 52, 53–57, 63–67, 73–74; presidential ambitions, 80, 86; presidential nomination, 133; ridicule of opponents, 82–83

as president:
1861 arrival in Washington, 171; 1861 speeches and appearances en route to Washington, 165, 175, 178, 221, 222; 1861 message to Congress, 240; 1862 message to Congress, 210; 1864 message to Congress, 167–68; arguments for sectional compromise and, 171; creation of Department of Agriculture, 216; domestic agenda after Southern secession, 172–79; Emancipation Proclamation, 229; threats to personal safety, 165; U.S. becomes world's foremost military power under, 182; as war leader and Great Emancipator, 197–98

speeches and writings
, 217; 1829 ­couplet, 17; 1836 reply to Forquer, 55; 1837 first published speech, 103–4; 1838 Lyceum address, 227–28; 1847 notes on natural rights, 143–44; 1848 in Congress on transportation projects, 102; 1854 antislavery speech in Peoria, 140, 141–42; 1854 statement on the object of government, 13; 1855 letter to Robertson, 127, 198; 1855 letter to Speed, 135, 219; 1856 speech in Kalamazoo, 128; 1856 speech on work for no wages, 36–37, 52; 1857 speech in Springfield, 125; 1858 House Divided speech, 126–27, 155, 157; 1858 Lecture on Discoveries and Inventions, 7, 87, 89, 94; 1858 on all men are created equal, 128; 1858 final Senate campaign speech, 229; 1858 speech on the object of government, 13; 1859 address on return to Indiana, 121–22; 1859 address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, 7, 92, 148; 1860 and 1864 addresses on property and wealth, 14, 94, 217; 1860 Cooper Union address, 24, 192; 1860 New Haven speech, 115–16, 121–22; 1861 German working men in Cincinnati speech, 178; 1861 New Jersey Senate address, 165; 1863 Thanksgiving address, 220; address to 166th Ohio Regiment, 1–3, 16; on ambition, 22; autobiographical accounts, 31, 133; “blind memorandum,” 1; on campaign for Harrison, 85; on Clay, 57; eulogy for Clay, 86, 141; fragment on abolition of slavery, 139, 144, 147; fragment on America's growth, 122; fragment on tariffs, 107; Gettysburg Address, 2, 7; on his frontier surroundings, 31; lampoon of party-­switcher, 55–56; letters on self-­improvement and hard work, 75–77; letters on the study of law, 74–75; on a National Bank, 105–6; note on Douglas, 123; “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions,” 72; poem on the wilderness, 29; on property, 14; Second Inaugural speech, 5, 7; on Slave States, 138; speech to the Springfield Washington Temperance Society, 68, 73–74, 236; statement on the spread of liberty to all men, 15.
See also
Lincoln-­Douglas Debates

Lincoln, Mary Todd, 40, 77, 78–80, 130; ambitions for Lincoln, 80; Lincoln's courtship of, 78–79; Lincoln's post-­war plans, 184

Lincoln, Mordecai (uncle), 26, 28

Lincoln, Nancy Hanks (mother), 26, 27, 28, 34; death of, 27

Lincoln, Robert (son), 210–11

Lincoln, Sarah Bush Johnston (stepmother), 23, 27–28, 30, 33, 34, 68

Lincoln, Sarah (sister), 27

Lincoln, Thomas (father), 25–30; antislavery position of, 138; compared to Denton Offutt, 40; death of, 40; estrangement from son, 40; hiring his son out, 36; legal problems, 50, 52; Lincoln's view of, 26, 28, 30–31; property rights and, 94–95; son's bookishness and, 36; travel and, 37; as unlettered, 26, 30

Lincoln, Willie, 237

Lincoln and the Economics of the American Dream
(Boritt), 90

Lincoln-­Douglas Debates, 131, 151–64

Lincoln platform for today, 208–40, 208n; build infrastructure, 215–16; elevate the culture, 225–27; embrace what is new, 208–10; emphasize education, 210–12; exploit our resources, 220–21; fund other basic supports for growth, 216; look to the Founders, 227–29; pay attention to the interests of the common worker, 221–22; reject class politics, 217; renovation of the private sector, 209–10; Republican Party and, 235–39; resist dependency, 213–15; support causes of social renewal, 222–25; welcome immigrants, 217–20

Linder, Usher, 83

Littlefield, John H., 108–9

Locke, John, 144

Logan, Stephen T., 103

Lovejoy, Elijah, 72–73

Lowell, James Russell, 8

Madison, James, 95–96, 142

manufacturing, 15; declining employment in, 204; factory system, 120; growth in U.S., 184–85; of Lincoln's boyhood, 20; nation's credit base and, 184; North vs. South, 171; post-­World War II, 201–2; protective tariffs and, 193; steel, 15, 176, 188, 201; transportation revolution and, 21, 45, 121; World War II, 195

Martineau, Harriet, 67, 199–200

Maryland, free blacks in, 169

Mason, James, 178

Masters, Edgar Lee, 113

Mayer, Susan, 223

McCardell, John, 145

McClellan, Gen. George B., 43

McDougall, James A., 173

McDougall, Walter, 172, 181

McNabb, Babb, 43

Mead, Walter Russell, 209

Meigs, Gen. Montgomery, 174

Melville, Herman, 168

Mexican War, 138–39

Meyer, Frank, 10

middle-­class: acculturation and, 226; American as greatest, 195; as American foundation, 15; economic evisceration of, 7; erosion of, 5, 204–5, 223; Lincoln and, 4–5, 30, 67–70, 214–15; post-­World War II solidity, 291; Republican Party and, 238; values, 4–5, 16, 222–23, 224, 225; Whig party and, 58–59

Miller, Joaquin, 119

Miller, William, 43

Morrill, Justin, 175–76, 177

Morris, Charles R., 191

Murray, Charles, 200

Murray, Lindley, 34, 226

Neely, Mark, 113

New Orleans, 37–41, 118–19

New Salem, Illinois, 41, 46; Lincoln as postmaster, 42, 47–48; Lincoln leaves (1837), 52; Lincoln studying law in, 50–52; Sangamon River and, 43–44

New York City, 185, 187

Nicolay, John G., 78, 140

Niles, Hezekiah, 199

Nimmo, Joseph, 119

Nott, Josiah, 145

Obama, Barack, 9, 194, 209; 2011 Osawatomie speech, 217; claiming of Lincoln, 229–30

Obama, Michelle, 222

Offutt, Denton, 40–42, 46

Olmsted, Frederick Law, 169–70

opportunity, 3–4, 6, 58–59; Lincoln commitment to, 2, 3–4, 7, 14, 16, 22, 86, 114, 116, 148, 193, 198, 207

“Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln” (Douglass), 1

Owens, Mary, 71, 79

Paul, Ron, 10, 234

Pettit, John, 140, 142

Phillips, Wendell, 171

Pierce, Franklin, 135

Piketty, Thomas, 202

Pomeroy, Samuel, 183

populism, 7–8, 18, 194

Potter, John Fox, 179

Principles of Political Economy
(Carey), 90

property rights, 7, 47, 90, 94, 193

Putnam, Robert, 226

railroads, 15, 21, 117, 118, 119, 121, 128, 137, 152, 185–87, 193; high-­speed rail, 231; in Illinois, 99, 100, 101–2, 110, 117, 120, 134; land-­grant railroads, 110; Lincoln and, 4, 9, 45, 68, 86, 100, 110–13, 119, 194, 215; manufacturing and, 21; Pacific Railroad Acts, 172; Southern vs. Northern, 150, 171, 181; subsidies, 12, 179; transcontinental, 128, 134, 172–73, 186, 215

Randolph, John, 67

Reagan, Ronald, 233–34, 237

Reavis, Isham, 74–75

Republican Party, 16, 59, 62, 238; as “Black Republicans,” 161; conservatives criticizing Lincoln, 10; defining principles, 90, 116; domestic agenda after Southern secession, 172–79; homestead bills and, 177–79; libertarian bent in, 233; Lincoln and, 18–19, 90, 115, 135–36; Lincoln and revitalization of the party today, 231–39; Lincoln-­inflected agenda for today, 235–39; Lincoln Senate run, 125–26; middle-­class and, 4, 238; as National Republicans, 60, 62; in the North, 120–21; opposed to centralization, 59; origins of, 135; platform of 1860, 178, 218–19; Reagan and Lincoln, 233–34; record on civil rights, 231–32; Southern voters and, 232–33; victory in 1860, 170

Richardson, Heather Cox, 173

Robertson, George, 198

Rockefeller, John D., 188

Roksa, Josipa, 212

Roll, John, 52

Romine, John, 35

Roosevelt, Franklin D., 10, 11, 12, 180, 194

Roosevelt, Theodore, 12, 13, 192–93, 194

Ross, Frederick A., 147

Rutledge, Robert B., 49

Saez, Emmanuel, 202

Sangamo Journal
, 44, 82, 114, 131

Sangamon River, 40–41, 43–44

Sawhill, Isabel, 223

Scott, Winfield, 80, 168

Scripps, John, 31, 133

Sellers, Charles, 223, 226–27

Seward, William, 8, 49, 182, 195

Sherman, William Tecumseh, 186

Shields, James, 83–84

Short, Bradford William, 143–45

Simmons, Pollard, 53–54

slavery: anti-­abolitionism, 72–73; “bloody Kansas,” 135; Britain and, 139; compensated emancipation proposed, 10, 138; as cornerstone of the South, 136–37, 147–51; Declaration and, 140; in Delaware, 10;
Dred Scott
decision, 160, 169; expansion of, 158–59; Jackson and, 60; Kansas-­Nebraska Act, 133–35, 139, 178; liberation of, cost, 181; Lincoln-­Douglas Debates and, 151–64; Lincoln letter to Robertson on, 127; Lincoln on natural rights vs. political-­social rights, 162–63; Lincoln's antislavery stance, 3, 5, 37, 135–36, 137–40, 151–64, 237–38; Lincoln's House Divided speech, 126–27, 155, 157; Missouri Compromise, 133, 134, 160; “nonextension” position, 139; as political issue, 123, 151–64; population in South, 169; proslavery arguments, 145–46; Thirteenth Amendment, 229; voluntary colonization of blacks, 139; Wilmot Proviso, 138–39

Slavery Justified
(Fitzhugh), 146

Slavery Ordained by God
(Ross), 147

Smith, Adam, 96

Smoot, Coleman, 47, 48

social capital, 7

social democracies, 198–99, 214

Speed, Joshua, 71, 98–99, 122, 131

Lincoln letter in 1855, 135, 219

Springfield, Illinois, 51; Lincoln as lawyer in, 52, 78, 93–94, 97, 108–15, 133; Lincoln's in-­laws in, 80; as state capital, 100; Temperance Society, 68; Whig newspaper, 82; Whig rally, 81

Stanton, Edwin, 197

Stephens, Alexander, 136

Stevens, Thaddeus, 160, 183

Stuart, John, 51, 54, 78, 80, 82, 85, 100, 101, 131

Taney, Roger, 63, 160, 161

tariffs: Lincoln and, 106–7, 143, 193, 221; Morrill Tariff, 175–76; Tariff of Abominations, 106–7; Whigs and, 91

taxes: Civil War taxes liquidated, 184; Confederacy's income tax, 12, 180; current U.S. system, as progressive, 203; Lincoln's income tax, 11–12, 176, 184; reformation of system, 210, 222; regressive payroll tax, 221

Taylor, George Rogers, 37, 117–18