Saturday, November 30, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 96

Charles Dana, Assistant Secretary of War, once told the president that his young daughter wanted to be introduced to the President. Lincoln walked over, took up the girl, kissed her and talked to her. The scene seemed remarkable to Dana because important men of high office usually lack natural and easy grace in handling a child. With Lincoln Dana noticed the child felt easy. Without knowing it Lincoln had passed an acid test!

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 94

At a spontaneous, celebratory White House serenade on the day Lee surrendered - and the Civil War was all but over - Lincoln said, 'I have always thought “Dixie” one of the best tunes I have ever heard. Our adversaries over the way attempted to appropriate it but I insisted that we fairly captured it. I presented it to the Attorney General and he gave it as his legal opinion that it is our lawful prize. I now request the band to favor me with its performance.'

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 93

'I freely acknowledge myself the servant of the people according to the bond of service - the United States Constitution - and that as such I am responsible to them.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Friday, November 22, 2013

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 91

Draining the President’s attention and energy was a virtually endless stream of office seekers. ‘Too many pegs and not enough holes to put them in,’ he observed wryly. When Lincoln got back to Washington from the Gettysburg cemetery dedication he contracted a mild form of smallpox. Where were the office seekers, he quipped? Now he had something he could give everybody.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 90

'I don't believe in a law to prevent a man from getting rich; it would do more harm than good. So while we do not propose any war upon capital we do wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to get rich with everybody else.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 89

'How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 87

According to Doris Kearns Goodwin, when Lincoln received the Republican nomination for president in 1860 he ‘seemed to have come from nowhere – a backwoods lawyer who had served one undistinguished term in the House of Representatives and had lost two consecutive contests for the U. S. Senate. Contemporaries and historians alike have attributed his surprising nomination to chance – the fact that he came from the battleground state of Illinois and stood in the center of his party. The comparative perspective suggests a different interpretation. When viewed against the failed efforts of his rivals, it is clear that Lincoln won the nomination because he was shrewdest and canniest of them all. More accustomed to relying upon himself to shape events, he took the greatest control of the process leading up to the nomination, displaying a fierce ambition, an exceptional political acumen, and a wide range of emotional strengths, forged in the crucible of personal hardship, that took his unsuspecting rivals by surprise.’
- Doris Kearns Goodwin


Sunday, November 10, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 86

'Much is being said about peace, and no man desires peace more ardently than I. Still I am yet unprepared to give up the Union for a peace which so achieved could not be of much duration.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Friday, November 8, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 85

Whatever the negative effects domestically, the Emancipation Proclamation was an unparalleled success abroad.

Henry Adams secretary to the US Ambassador in London couldn’t have put it more strongly: ‘The Emancipation Proclamation has done more for us here than all our former victories and all our diplomacy. It is creating an almost convulsive reaction in our favor all over this country.'

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 84

 ‘Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.’
- Abraham Lincoln

Monday, November 4, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 83

'If a man is honest in his mind you are pretty safe in trusting him.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 82

'Die when I may I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.'
- Abraham Lincoln