"I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky," wrote Abraham Lincoln in an autobiography he prepared and sent to his friend Jesse W. Fell, of Bloomington, Illinois, on December 20, 1859.

Chronology
Feb. 12, 1809	Born near Hodgenville, KY
Nov. 1816	Moved with parents to Indiana
Oct. 5, 1818	Mother died
Dec. 13, 1818	Mary Todd born at Lexington, KY
Dec. 2, 1819	Father married Sarah Bush Johnson
Jan. 20, 1828	Sister Sarah died
Mar. 1830	Moved with family to Illinois
Mar. 9, 1831	Made first political speech
Apr. 19, 1831	Boat piloted by Lincoln stuck on dam
Mar. 9, 1832	Announced candidacy for Legislature
Apr. 21, 1832	Elected captain of military company
May 8, 1832	Mustered into U. S. Army for service in the Black Hawk War
July 16, 1832	Mustered out of military service
Aug. 6, 1832	Defeated for Legistlature
May 7, 1833	Appointed postmaster at New Salem
Jan. 14, 1834	Submitted first known report as deputy surveyor of Sangamon County, IL
Aug. 4, 1834	Elected to Legislature
Jan. 13, 1836	Published announcement of his political views
Mar. 24, 1836	Sworn in as a lawyer of the Circuit Court of Sangamon County
Aug. 1, 1836	Reelected to Legislature for second term
Sept. 9, 1836	Licensed to practice law
Mar. 1, 1837	Admitted to the bar of Illinois
Sep. 21, 1855	Humiliated by being ignored in McCormick Reaper case at Cincinnati
Feb. 22, 1856	Made important speech at Decatur, IL, before Editor's Convention
May 29, 1856	Delivered "lost speech" at Bloomington
June 19, 1856	Received 110 convention votes for Vice-President on the Fremont ticket
July 19, 1856	Delivered Fremont campaign speech in Chicago
Dec. 10, 1856	Spoke at Republican banquet in Chicago
Jan. 6, 1857	Newspaper notice of construction of an "addition to house on 8th Street for A. Lincoln"
June 23, 1857	Awarded $4800 in suit against Illinois Central Railroad
June 26, 1857	Spoke at Springfield on the Dred Scott decision
Sep. 24, 1857	Argued Rock Island bridge case
May 7, 1858	Defended Armstrong, who was charged with murder
June 16, 1858	Delivered "house divided" speech at Springfield
July 10, 1858	Spoke at Chicago on popular sovereignty and the Lecompton constitution
July 17, 1858	Spoke at Springfield, answering Douglas on the Dred Scott decision
Aug. 21, 1858	First debate with Douglas, at Ottawa
Aug. 27, 1858	Second debate with Douglas, at Freeport
Sep. 8, 1858	Spoke at Paris on popular sovereignty and the Nebraska bill
Sep. 13, 1858	Spoke at Edwardsville on differences between the parties
Sep. 15, 1858	Third debate with Douglas, at Jonesboro
Sep. 18, 1858	Fourth debate with Douglas, at Charleston
Oct. 7, 1858	Fifth debate with Douglas, at Galesburg
Oct. 13, 1858	Sixth debate with Douglas, at Quincy
Oct. 15, 1858	Seventh and last debate with Douglas, at Alton
Oct. 22, 1858	Honored by parade of 2,000 ladies at Carthage, IL, where he spoke to a large assembly
Nov. 2, 1858	Defeated by Douglas for United States Senate
Nov. 5, 1858	First mentioned in press for President
Feb. 22, 1859	Lectured at Springfield on inventions and discoveries
Mar. 1, 1859	Spoke at Chicago at Republican meeting celebrating city victory
May 30, 1859	Bought Illinois Staats-Anzeiger
July 14, 1859	Started trip with party of state officials and lawyers over the lines of the Illinois Central Railroad
Aug. 13, 1859	Delivered address at Council Bluffs, Iowa
Sep. 16, 1859	Spoke at Columbus, Ohio, on behalf of Republican state ticket
Sep. 17, 1859	Spoke at Cincinnati, continuing argument made at Columbus
Sep. 17, 1859	Delivered addresses at Dayton and Hamilton
Sep. 30, 1859	Spoke at Milwaukee on the importance of agriculture
Dec. 27, 1859	Located warrant for 120 acres of Iowa land issued for services in Black Hawk War
Feb. 27, 1860	Cooper Institute address in New York
Mar. 2, 1860	Addressed audience in Dover, N.H.
Mar. 5, 1860	Spoke at Hartford, Conn., on the slavery issue
Mar. 6, 1860	Spoke at New Haven, Conn.
Mar. 8, 1860	Addressed audiences in Meriden, Conn., and Woonsocket, R.I.
May 9, 1860	Selected as a candidate for the Presidency by Illinois Republican Convention
May 18, 1860	Nominated for the Presidency
May 19, 1860	Received notification committee from the Chicago Convention
June 3, 1860	Photograhed at Springfield by Hesler
June 20, 1860	Appeared for last time as a practitioner in United States Circuit Court
June 30, 1860	Received C. A. Barry, a Massachusetts artist
July 4, 1860	Degree of LL.D. conferred on Lincoln by Knox College
Aug. 8, 1860	Spoke at Springfield, acknowledging greetings of friends and neighbors
Nov. 6, 1860	Elected President
Nov. 22, 1860	Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln met Vice-President Elect Hamlin by appointment in Chicago
Dec. 6, 1860	Sold Illinois Staats-Anzeiger
Dec. 12, 1860	Wrote editorial for Illinois State Journal
Dec. 22, 1860	Wrote memorandum on fugitive slave clause of Constitution
Jan. 31, 1861	Visited for last time his stepmother, living in Coles County, Illinois
Feb. 11, 1861	Delivered farewell to Springfield
Feb. 11-12, 1861	Delivered at Indianapolis first of speeches en route to Washington
Feb. 13, 1861	Spoke to Ohio Legislature, Columbus
Feb. 14, 1861	Spoke at Steubenville, Ohio
Feb. 15, 1861	Spoke at Pittsburgh
Feb. 15, 1861	Spoke at Cleveland
Feb. 16, 1861	Spoke at Buffalo
Feb. 17, 1861	Attended Unitarian Church of Buffalo, NY, with Ex-President Fillmore
Feb. 18, 1861	Spoke at Rochester, NY
Feb. 18, 1861	Spoke at Utica, NY
Feb. 18, 1861	Spoke at Albany, NY
Feb. 19, 1861	Spoke at Troy, NY
Feb. 19, 1861	Spoke at Poughkeepie, NY
Feb. 19, 1861	Spoke at Hudson, NY
Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, 1861	Spoke in New York City
Feb. 21, 1861	Spoke at Trenton, NJ
Feb. 22, 1861	Raised flag at Independence Hall, PA
Feb. 22, 1861	Spoke to Pennsylvania Legislature, Harrisburg
Feb. 23, 1861	Arrived in Washington
Feb. 24, 1861	Attended church with William H. Seward
Feb. 25, 1861	President Buchanan called on Lincoln at Willard's Hotel
Mar. 4, 1861	Inaugurated as President
Mar. 29, 1861	Ordered relief of Fort Sumter
Apr. 1, 1861	Answered Seward, relative to control of administration
Apr. 13, 1861	Replied to committee of Virginia Convention
Apr. 13, 1861	Fort Sumter fell
Apr. 15, 1861	Called for 75,000 volunteers
Apr. 19, 1861	Proclaimed blockade
Apr. 27, 1861	Broadened blockade, closing the ports of Virginia and North Carolina
May 3, 1861	Issued call for 42,034 volunteers
May 10, 1861	Proclaimed martial law
May 25, 1861	Wrote letter of condolence "To the Father and Mother of Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth
July 4, 1861	First message to Congress
July 22, 1861	Vested with war powers by Congress
Aug. 8, 1861	Proclaimed Fast Day
Sep. 2, 1861	Sent letter to General Fremont revoking proclamation concerning liberation of slaves
Nov. 1, 1861	Appointed McClellan to command of Union armies
Dec. 3, 1861	First annual message to Congress
Dec. 26, 1861	Made decision in Trent case
Jan. 27, 1862	Issued General War Order No. 1
Feb. 20, 1862	William Wallace Lincoln, third child, died
Mar. 6, 1862	Recommended to Congress compensated emancipation
Apr. 10, 1862	Proclaimed first Thanksgiving Day
Apr. 16, 1862	Signed act freeing slaves in District of Columbia
July 1, 1862	Called for 300,000 volunteers
July 2, 1862	Signed the Morrill, Land Grant College, Bill
July 12, 1862	Outlined plan for compensated emancipation
Aug. 6, 1862	Spoke at Washington, touching on relations of Stanton and McClellan
Aug. 19, 1862	Replied to Horace Greeley editorial
Sep. 22, 1862	Issued preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
Sep. 30, 1862	Wrote meditation on Divine Will
Oct. 1, 1862	Visited battlefield of Antietam
Oct. 4, 1862	Spoke at Frederick, MD
Nov. 15, 1862	Relieved McClellan of command
Dec. 1, 1862	Second annual message
Dec. 31, 1862	Wrote opinion on admission of West Virginia to Union
Jan. 1, 1863	Issued Emancipation Proclamation
Jan. 19, 1863	Letter to workingmen of London
Jan. 24, 1863	Proclaimed admission of West Virginia to Union
Jan. 26, 1863	Wrote famous letter to General Hooker
Feb. 2, 1863	Letter to workingmen of London
Apr. 20, 1863	Proclaimed admission of West Virginia to Union
May 19, 1863	Ordered Vallandigham beyond Union lines
June 12, 1863	Letter to Erastus Corning and others, concerning military arrests
Aug. 15, 1863	Wrote opinion on military draft
Aug. 26, 1863	Letter to J. C. Conkling and others, called Lincoln's "last stump speech"
Oct. 3, 1863	Proclaimed first annual Thanksgiving Day
Nov. 17, 1863	Issued proclamation fixing point of construction of Union Pacific Railroad
Nov. 19, 1863	Delivered Gettysburg Address
Dec. 8, 1863	Proclaimed amnesty and reconstruction
Dec. 8, 1863	Third annual message
Feb. 9, 1864	Photographed by Mathew Brady
Mar. 10, 1864	Appointed Grant to command Union armies
Mar. 18, 1864	Closed Sanitary Fair in Washington with address
Mar. 21, 1864	Replied to workingmen of New York
May 31, 1864	Fremont nominated for President by anti-Lincoln Republicans
June 8, 1864	Renominated for President
July 7, 1864	Proclaimed Day of Prayer
July 18, 1864	Called for 500,000 volunteers
Aug. 18, 1864	Address to 164th Ohio Regiment on our "free government"
Oct. 31, 1864	Issued proclamation admitting Nevada into Union
Nov. 8, 1864	Reelected President
Nov. 21, 1864	Wrote letter of condolence to Mrs. Bixby
Dec. 6, 1864	Fourth annual message
Dec. 20, 1864	Degree of LL. D. conferred by College of New Jersey (Princeton)
Feb. 3, 1865	Met Confederate envoys
Mar. 4, 1865	Reinaugurated as President
Mar. 11, 1865	Issued proclamation, offering pardon to deserters
Mar. 22, 1865	Visited Grant's army
Apr. 3, 1865	Notified of the fall of Richmond
Apr. 4, 1865	Visited Richmond
Apr. 9, 1865	Notified of Lee's surrender
Apr. 11, 1865	Delivered last public speech, in Washington
Apr. 14, 1865	Shot by Booth
Apr. 15, 1865	Died at Washington
May 4, 1865	Buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL
Gettysburg Address (Address delivered on November 19, 1863 at the dedication of the cemetery at Gettsburg) Five Gettysburg Addresses were written by Lincoln. It is true that they are all much alike, and the sentiment expressed in each of them is identical; yet, realizing that no address of any man has been so often cast in metal and engraved in stone, it does seem to be of paramount importance that every word should be reproduced exactly as he spoke it on that immortal occasion. The speech contains two hundred and seventy words. The Gettysburg Address stands as pre-eminently as a composition demonstrating the eloquence of simplicity. The speech is as follows: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
The Lincoln Tomb Oak Ridge Cemetery Springfield, IL Abraham Lincoln was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery at the request of Mrs. Lincoln. The Lincolns admired the beauty of the cemetery which was dedicated in 1860. Immediately after Lincoln's death on April 15, 1865, the citizens of Springfield organized the National Lincoln Monument Association and started a drive for funds to build a tomb and memorial. The monument erected was designed by Larkin G. Mead, Jr. of Brattleboro, Vermont, with a 117-foot spire, four heroic bronze groups on the corners representing the Infantry, Calvalry, Navy and Artillery of the Civil War, and a ten-foot statue of Lincoln at the south of the shaft above the entrance. Directly beneath the statuary groups is a cordon of shields, each bearing the name of one of the thirty-seven states of the Union at the time of the original construction of the Tomb. The nine types of marble used in the Tomb came from Minnesota, Missouri, Massachusetts, Arkansas, Utah, Italy, Spain, France and Belgium. On the day of the funeral, May 4, 1865, Lincoln's body was placed in a receiving vault at the foot of the hill north of the Tomb. This vault may still be seen. The body remained there until December of that year when it was moved to a temporary vault on the hillside northeast of the present Tomb. It was transferred in 1871 to a crypt in the partially completed monument, and the temporary tomb was removed. In 1876 a gang of counterfeiters attempted to steal Lincoln's body - they expected to get $200,000 ransom and the freedom of one of their members who was in the penitentiary. They were foiled by secret service agents, but on that occasion and at other times when extensive repairs were being made the body was moved to various locations within the Tomb. Finally, on September 26, 1901, it was placed in a cement vault, thirty inches north of the present cenotaph, and ten feet below the surface of the floor, where it has remained. The bodies of Mrs. Lincoln and three of their four sons are in cryts south of the cenotaph: Edward "Eddie" Baker (1846-1850); William "Willie" Wallace (1850-1862); and Thomas "Tad" (1853-1871). The eldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926), who served as Secretary of War and Minister to Great Britian, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Construction of the Lincoln Tomb was started in 1869 and was dedicated in 1874, the orginal cost being $180,000. In 1895 the Monument Association turned control of the Tomb over to the State. In 1901 and 1931, reconstruction costing $100,000 and $175,000 respectively, were completed. The orginal monument plot has been enlarged to 12.4 acres. A bronze reproduction of Gutzon Borglum's Lincoln head is mounted in front of the entrance to the Tomb. The foyer has a bronze model of the Daniel Chester French statue of the President in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C. In niches of the corridors leading to and from the burial chamber there are four-foot statuettes by famous sculptors commemorating periods in Lincoln's career. These are: Lincoln the Ranger, by Fred Torrey; Lincoln the Soldier, by Leonard Crunelle; Lincoln the President, by Augustus St. Gaudens; Lincoln the Circuit Rider, by Torrey; the Birthplace Statue, by Adolph A. Weinman; Lincoln the Debater, by Crunelle; Lincoln in Deep Thought, by French; and Lincoln the Lawyer, by Lorado Taft. Four bronze tablets on the walls of the corridors give the Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, a portion of the Second Inaugural Address, and a biographical sketch of Lincoln. The large gold stars in the corners represent the forty-eight states. On the cenotaph itself is the simple inscription, "Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865." Surrounding it are four flags of the states in which generations of the Lincoln family lived - Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and the three flags of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois where Lincoln lived - with the national colors and the presidential flag. Inscribed over the window at the north are the words, "Now he belongs to the ages," which were spoken by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton at Lincoln's death. The Tomb is open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

He was born the son of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln in a log cabin on Nolin Creek three miles south of the present site of Hodgenville. When he was two years of age the family, which included an older sister Sarah, moved to a place on Knob Creek where they lived until they crossed the Ohio on a raft in 1816 and began life in Indiana. "While here Abraham went to ABC schools by littles, kept successively by Andrew Crawford, Sweeney, and Azel W. Dorsey." In the autumn of 1818 his mother died, and his future wife, Mary Todd, was born in Lexington, Kentucky. A year later his father married Mrs. Sarah Johnston, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, a widow with three children.

During the following ten years he spent his time doing odd jobs on the neighbors' farms, attending schools, and reading all available books and newspapers. When he was ninteen he made his first trip on a flatboat to New Orleans.

In 1830 his father again moved the family. This time they settled on the north side of the Sangamon River about ten miles west of Decatur, Illinois. The following year the family moved for the last time, to Coles County, but without Abraham. Having reached his majority, he accepted the job as clerk in Offutt's store in New Salem, Illinois. Before volunteering for service in the Black Hawk War in the spring of 1832, he announced his candidacy for the Illinois Legislature. He returned from military service in time for the election in which he received his first and only defeat on a direct vote of the people. The failure of several merchants in New Salem resulted in Lincoln forming a partnership in a store with William F. Berry. This venture lasted less than a year. Being very much in need of a source of income, he was appointed postmaster at New Salem upon the endorsement of friends. Also a surveyor of Sangamon kindly agreed to give a portion of his work to Lincoln, who quickly learned the trade.

At the age of twenty-five he ran a second time for the Illinois Legislature and won; two years later he was reelected, receiving the highest vote cast for any candidate. He served from 1834 to 1841; in the mastership at New Salem, moved to Springfield, became a law partner of John T. Stuart, and met Mary Todd, whom he married on November 4, 1842. The following year the first of his four sons, Robert Todd Lincoln, was born, and a law partnership formed with Stephen T. Logan in 1841 was dissolved. His private life became more closely bound to the rapidly growing city of Sprinfield. He purchased his first home in 1844 and began a partnership with William H. Herndon that lasted until April 15, 1865. Edward Baker Lincoln, his second son, was born the year he was elected to the Congress of the United States in 1846 as a Whig among seven Democrats from Illinois. Between sessions of Congress he was in Massachusetts from September 11 to 23, 1848, speaking in favor of Taylor and Fillmore. While in Congress he introduced a bill to free the slaves in the District of Columbia, and received a patent on a boat-lifting device.

The year 1850 was an eventful one for the family. Another son, William Wallace, was born and Edward Baker, the second child, died. The active law practice during these years almost superseded his participation in politics. "The repeal of the Missouri Compromise," however, "aroused him as he had never been before." A fourth son, Thomas ("Tad") Lincoln, was born on April 4, 1853. In the 1854 campaign for the Senate he was defeated by Lyman Trumbull. The following year he delivered the famous "lost speech" at Bloomington and at the Republican Convention received 110 votes for Vice-President on the Fremont ticket. In 1858 he was the Republican candidate for the Senate. The Democratic candidate waas Stephen A. Douglas. They discussed the issues in a series of seven debates in seven appointed cities and towns from August to October. Douglas, the incumbent, was reelected by the Legislature although Lincoln received a majority of the popular vote.

On May 18, 1860, he was nominated for President by the Republican Convention meeting in Chicago. Six months later the people elected him. It was believed by many that his famous speech at the Cooper Institute on February 27 contributed much to his election. Approximately one year later, on February 11, 1861, he said farewell to the people of Springfield "not knowing when or whether ever I may return." He arrived in Washington twelve days later, having made a number of speeches en route, and was inaugurated as President on March 4.

Fort Sumter fell on April 13, 1861, and from then until the Confederates surrendered at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, he was the Commander-in-Chief in time of war. He issued calls for troops, proclamations pertaining to blockades, martial law, and pardons. Commanding officers were appointed and general war orders issued. At the same time the annual messages to Congress were made, proclamations admitting states into the Union, setting aside fast days, establishing amnesty and reconstruction, and emancipating the slaves were issued. A chief justice of the Supreme Court was selected and the Gettsburg Address was delivered. A presidential campaign for reelection was conducted successfully and a second inaugural address delivered only 41 days before Abraham Lincoln was murdered by John Wilkes Booth while attending a performance in the Ford's Theater in Washington, D. C.

The story of Lincoln's beard: In August, 1860, an eleven year old girl wrote to Abraham Lincoln: "I have four brothers and part of them will vote for you anyway and if you will let your whiskers grow I will try and get the rest to vote for you; you would look a great deal better for your face is so sad and thin. All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President."

Lincoln won the election, however, without resorting to the campaign suggestion of his correspondent, Grace Bedell; but immediately after the election he did give more attention to his personal appearance and began to wear a beard. This was naturally the subject of much political-lampoonging and one wit in a newspaper dated December 27, 1860, submitted this item, "They say Old Abe is raising a pair of whiskers. Some individual of the cockney persuasion remarked that he was "a puttin' on (h) airs'."

The sequel to Grace Bedell's letter is found in the inaugural trip to Washington. When the President's train stopped at Westfield, Chautauqua County, New York, Mr. Lincoln stepped to the platform and inquired of the large crowd which had assembled if little Grace Bedell, with whom he had had some correspondence, was present. She was there and came forward, whereupon Mr. Lincoln stepped down from the car, shook her hand, kissed her, and remarked, "You see, Grace, I let my whiskers grow for you."

"You cannot if you would, be blind to the signs of the times. I beg of you a calm and enlarged consideration of them, ranging, if it may be, far above personal and partizan politics."

(Proclamation, May 19, 1862, Revoking General Hunter's order re-emancipation)

"History is not history unless it is the truth."

(To W. H. Herndon, 1856)

"I don't think much of a man who isn't wiser today than he was yesterday."

(Quoted in Lord Charnwood's Abraham Lincoln, Cardinal Edition)

"Gentlemen, reading from speeches is a very tedious business ... "

(Speech delivered in Chicago, July 10, 1858)

"Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history."

(Second Annual Message, December 1, 1862)

"Human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed."

(Cooper Institute Address, New York, February 27, 1860)

"In regard to this Great Book (Bible), I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given man. All the good Saviour gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong.

(Reply to Committee Presenting Bible, September 7, 1864)

"The United States don't need the services of boys who disobey their parents."

(To Secretary Welles, No Date)

"It really hurts me very much to suppose that I have wronged anybody on earth."

(Debate in Quincy, October 13, 1858)

"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."

(Cooper Institute Address, New York, February 27, 1860)

"There is no permanent class of hired laborers amongst us. Twenty-five years ago, I was a hired laborer. The hired laborer of yesterday, labors on his own account today; and will hire others to labor for him tomorrow.

(September 17, 1859)

"Bad promises are better broken than kept.

(Last Public Speech, April 11, 1865)

Lincoln's Springfield Home

Farewell Address At Springfield, Illinois
February 11, 1861

My Friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him, who can go with me, and remain with you and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.

Forty-seven words were used by Abraham Lincoln to tell his life story, prepared for the Dictionary of Congress in 1858. Now, over four thousand books and pamphlets have been written about Lincoln, and there is a steadily increasing flow of Lincoln literature each year.

After receiving the nomination for the presidency, Lincoln wrote these words to a friend: "Holding myself the humblest of all whose names were before the Convention, I feel in especial need of the assistance of all." However, Coolidge said, "Lincoln is the richest legacy of the greatest century"; Wilson wrote that "Lincoln was the supreme American of our history"; and Taft remarked that the "influence of his Christ-like character has spread to the four quarters of the globe."

English appraisals of Abraham Lincoln are even more flattering than the testimonials of his own countrymen: "One of the six greatest figures in history," says H. G. Wells; "The most outstanding character since the Christian era," according to Drinkwater; "One of the five great lawyers of all time" in the opinion of Lord North; and Lloyd George writes, "I doubt whether any statesman who ever lived sank so deeply into the hearts of the people of many lands as Abraham Lincoln did."

Lincoln Memorial

Bibliography

Angle, Paul M. "Here I Have Lived": A History of Lincoln's Springfield, 1821-1865 Springfield, IL: Abraham Lincoln Association, 1935.

Baringer, William E. Lincoln's Rise to Power. Boston: Little, Brown, 1937.

Barton, William E. The Life of Abraham Lincoln. Two Volumes. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1925.

Barton, William E. The Lineage of Lincoln. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1929.

Basler, Roy P. (ed.) Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Nine Volumes. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1953-1955.

Browne, Francis Fisher. The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln. New York: N. D. Thompson Publishing Co., 1886.

Dodge, Daniel K. Abraham Lincoln, Master of Words. New York: Appleton, 1924.

Keckley, Elizabeth. Behind the Scenes. New York: Carleton & Co., 1868.

Lewis, Lloyd. Myths After Lincoln. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1929.

Lorant, Stefan. Lincoln: A Picture Story of His Life. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1952.

Sandburg, Carl. Abraham Lincoln: The Prarie Years. Two Volumes. New York: Harcourtt, Brace, 1926.

Sandburg, Carl. Abraham Lincoln: The War Years. Four Volumes. New York: Harcourtt, Brace, 1939.

Tarbell, Ida M. In the Footsteps of the Lincolns. New York: Harper & Bros., 1924.

(02/04/98) Copyright 1998 by Thomas R. McKinnis)