Lincoln Unbound

by Rich Lowry

  Clay, Clement Claiborne, Jr., 177

  Clay, Henry, 56–64, 80, 85, 134, 142, 154, 238; “American System” of, 58–59; Hamiltonian economics of, 59; Lincoln’s eulogy, 86, 141; re-­chartering Bank of the United States, 61–62; “self-­made man” coined, 57

  Clinton, DeWitt, 98

  Cobb, Williamson R. W., 177

  Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (Basler ed.), 2n

  Colton, Calvin, 114–15

  Commentaries on the Laws of England (Blackstone), 51, 75

  Cooke, Jay, 188

  Cooper, Thomas, 95

  Cowen, Tyler, 202

  Crawford, Elizabeth, 25

  Crawford, Josiah, 34

  Cuomo, Mario, 9, 13, 207

  currency, 61–62, 87, 91, 103–5; “greenbacks,” 174; Legal Tender Act and, 174–75; Lincoln and national bank, 105–6

  Davis, David, 32, 53, 77–78, 97, 109

  Davis, Rodney O., 23n

  De Bow, James, 146, 150

  DeBow’s Review, 118–19

  Declaration of Independence, 5, 7, 16; Lincoln and, 128, 129, 140–45, 156, 164, 228; natural rights and, 143–45, 161; “self-­evident lie,” 140–41

  Democracy in America (Tocqueville), 197

  Democratic Party: banking and, 61–62, 87–88, 175; basic tenets, 230–31; “Cross of Gold” speech, 194; as Democratic Republicans, 60; government action vs. self-­reliance, 230; hard-­money gospel of, 105; in Illinois, 53, 101; Jacksonians in, 61, 105, 121, 146; “negative liberal state” of, 58. See also Jackson, Andrew

  Dickey, T. Lyle, 127–28

  DiLorenzo, Thomas, 10–11

  Dirck, Brian, 50

  Dodge, William E., 171

  Donald, David Herbert, 8, 26, 78

  Douglas, Stephen, 42, 82, 129–30, 132–33, 152, 192, 229; Kansas-­Nebraska Act, 133–35; Lincoln debates, 57, 125–40, 151–64; as Lincoln rival, 114, 123, 126, 127, 130–33; railroads and, 128–29, 134; slavery and, 133–35, 151–64, 237; wife Adele, 152

  Douglass, Frederick, 161

  Duncan, Joseph, 100

  Eberstadt, Nicholas, 213

  economy, 194; banking-­currency and, 104, 174–75; barter economy, 29, 38; cash economy, 29, 76, 103; democratic capitalism and, 5, 168; federal spending, Civil War and post-­war, 184; financiers, debt financing, and Robber Barons, 187–89; free trade and, 176; global, U.S. share, 209; globalization, 203–4; government debt, 184; housing bubble, 209; industrialization and, 15–16, 21, 107, 120, 121, 149, 168, 171–72, 193; labor market, 204; Lincoln and a robust market, 14; Lincoln and industrialization, 4, 7, 15–16, 107, 120, 121, 149, 168; as Lincolnian republic and, 199–207; of Lincoln’s boyhood, 20–21, 29; Lincoln’s formula for today’s economic ills, 207; Lincoln’s modernization of, 5, 168; Lincoln’s vision, 89, 107, 116–17, 129, 165, 172, 183–84, 193; post-­Civil War, 185–87 191; post-­World War II, 201–2; protective tariffs and, 193; private sector and, 209–10; revolution in business, 187–89; slowing growth of, 202–3, 209; Southern cotton sales, 170–71; technology and, 202, 204, 208, 210; unemployment and, 206; U.S. vs. Western Europe, 204; World War II and, 194–95

  Edison, Thomas, 191

  education: American Dream and, 205–6; class divide in America and, 207; costs, 211, 212; emphasizing today, 210–12; G.I. Bill and, 201; land-­grant colleges, 176–77, 185; Lincoln policies, 44, 45, 210–11; moral, 225–26; North vs. South, 150; opportunity and, 210–11; reforms proposed, 211–12; rural America, 31–32 ; socio-­cultural effects, 205, 206; U.S. advantage in, 202; U.S. slippage, 211, 227

  Edwards, Elizabeth (sister-­in-­law), 77, 79, 80

  Edwards, Matilda, 130

  Edwards, Ninian (brother-­in-­law), 80, 113–14, 130

  Eisenhower, Dwight, 232

  Elements of Political Economy, The (Wayland), 90

  Elmore, Johnson, 42

  Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 4, 8

  English Grammar (Kirkham), 49

  English Reader (Murray), 34, 226

  Erie Canal, 98, 99

  Faust, Drew Gilpin, 3

  Federalist Papers, 95–96

  Fehrenbacher, Don, 126, 153

  Fillmore, Millard, 219

  Fisk, John Moore, 53

  Fitzhugh. George, 140, 146, 208

  Fogel, Robert, 149

  Foner, Eric, 120, 158

  Ford, Thomas, 101, 106

  Forquer, George, 55

  Founding Fathers, 8, 16, 141, 142, 155–58; Lincoln reverence for, 227–29

  Francis, Simeon, 82

  Franklin, Benjamin, 195

  Garrison, William Lloyd, 228

  Gentry, James, 38–39

  Gentry, Joseph, 25

  Gettysburg Address, 2, 7

  Gillespie, Joseph, 78, 84, 88, 89, 131–32, 142, 151

  globalization, 203–4

  Godbey, Russell, 51–52

  Goldwater, Barry, 231–33

  Goodrich, Grant, 93–94

  Grant, Ulysses S., 186

  Great Stagnation, The (Cowen), 202

  Greeley, Horace, 177, 179

  Green, Bowling, 50–51

  Greene, William, 49–50, 70

  Grigsby, Nathaniel, 70–71

  Guelzo, Allen, 12, 12n, 153, 229

  Hacker, Louis, 184, 189, 192

  Hamilton, Alexander, 61, 95–96, 116, 168

  Hammond, James, 145, 147, 170

  Hanks, Dennis (cousin), 27, 29, 30, 34, 35–36, 38, 206–7

  Hanks, John (cousin), 33, 40, 41, 206–7

  Hardin, John, 71

  Harmony of Interests, The (Carey), 91

  Harrison, William, 80, 85–86

  Hartz, Louis, 116

  Haskins, Ron, 223

  Hay, John Milton, 78, 121

  Hay, Milton, 121

  Hazel, Caleb, 31

  Herndon, J. Rowan, 56–57

  Herndon, William “Billy,” 22, 57, 23n, 78, 164; on Douglas, 131; interviews on Lincoln, 22, 23–24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 35–36, 39, 40, 51, 53, 54–55, 63, 69, 70, 71, 78, 80, 84, 93–94, 114, 127–28, 130, 142, 151, 184; letter from Mary Owen, 79; letter from Wentworth, 133; Lincoln and Elements, 90; Lincoln and law, 50; Lincoln and railroads, 111–13; Lincoln as politician, 80; Lincoln letter to, 75–76; Lincoln’s mother, 28; Lincoln’s ambition, 22, 23, 80; Lincoln’s debt, 46; Lincoln’s 1839 debate loss, 131–32; Lincoln’s love of politics, 80; Lincoln’s office, 108; Lincoln’s presidential aims, 86; Lincoln’s remoteness, 77; Lincoln’s “skinning of Thomas,” 82; Lincoln’s thinking, 93; on the System, 99

  Herndon’s Informants (Wilson and Davis, eds.), 23n

  Hofstadter, Richard, 14

  Holt, Michael, 59, 62

  Homestead Act, 12, 177–79, 185

  Howe, Daniel Walker, 56, 56n, 58, 74, 94, 192, 217

  Illinois, 21; 1840 Bank crisis, 87–88; banning of blacks in, 162–63; corn and wheat exports, 120; Democrats, 53, 87–88, 101, 103; elections as events, 80–81; industrialization of, 120; Lincoln and the System, 95–102, 110; Lincoln and the Long Nine, 99–100; Lincoln as representative, 48; Lincoln family moves to, 39–40; Lincoln’s economic vision manifested in, 116–17, 120–21; manufacturing in, 121; party switchers in, 54; population growth, 120; railroads, 99, 110, 117, 134; Republican Party, 125–26; state bank created, 103, 106; state capital, 48, 100; Whigs in, 54–55, 88

  Illinois Central Railroad, 110–13, 128

  immigration, 168–69, 217–18, 221–22

  Indiana, 21; banning of blacks in, 162; Lincoln attends school in, 32; Lincoln family in, 19, 23, 22–24, 27–28, 31; Lincoln return to (1859), 121–22; newspapers in, 34; property rights in, 95

  In Pursuit (Murray), 200

  Internet, 208

  Jackson, Andrew, 54, 59–63, 96, 106, 142, 154, 23
5; Douglas as supporter of, 129–30

  Jaffa, Harry, 73

  Jefferson, Thomas, 20, 35, 57, 96, 142, 156, 158, 168

  Johnson, Andrew, 177–78

  Johnson, Lyndon Baines, 11, 12

  Johnston, John (stepbrother), 69, 76–77

  Junius Tracts (Colton), 114–15

  Kelley, Robert, 67

  Kendall, Willmoore, 10

  Kentucky: banning of blacks in, 162; Clay and, 57; Lincoln attends school in, 31; Lincoln family in, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28–29; property rights in, 94–95; as slave state, 137–38

  Kentucky Preceptor, The, 226

  Kerry, John, 9

  Kirkham, Samuel, 49

  Kleiman, Mark, 224–25

  Know-­Nothings, 135, 218, 219

  Lamborn, Josiah, 55

  law: bankruptcy law, 61; Commentaries, 51, 75; land law, 94–95; Lincoln circuit riding, 109–10; Lincoln letters on, 74–75; Lincoln’s belief in rule of, 72–73; Lincoln’s cases, 52, 108–15; Lincoln’s earnings, 110, 111; Lincoln’s office, 108; Lincoln’s study of, 50–52; patent law, 93–94; upward mobility and, 50. See also property rights

  Lehrman, Lewis, 140

  Lessons in Elocution, 34, 225–26

  Levin, Yuval, 224

  Levine, Bruce, 21, 45, 120

  liberalism/progressivism, 12, 58, 231; claiming Lincoln, 9, 194, 229–30

  Libertarians, 10–11, 233

  Licht, Walter, 187, 190, 191

  Life of Washington (Weems), 165

  Lincoln, Abraham, 19n, 108; ambition of, 8, 22–23, 25, 30–31, 50, 52, 55, 67, 122, 240; animals, kindness to, 70–72; appearance, 42, 43, 46, 47, 78–79, 83, 114, 152, 206–7; aspiration and, 115; character and personality, 2, 23–24, 35, 42–43, 69, 71, 77–78, 109, 122, 131–32; courtship of Mary Owen, 79; Declaration and, 5, 7, 16, 128, 129, 140–45, 156, 164, 228; deification of, 197; enduring relevance of, 240; the Founding and, 8, 16, 141, 194, 228; “getting right with Lincoln,” 8–9, 229; individualism and, 13, 14; as inventor, 93; Irish jokes, 217–18, 219; judgment of human nature, 236–37; marriage to Mary Todd, 78–79; middle-­class values, 4–5, 30, 67–70, 214–15; as non-­drinker, 67–68, 73–74, 81; as non-­smoker, 68; “optimism of Western Civilization” and, 90; principles of, 53–54, 67–73, 115–16, 163–64; “race of life,” 199; rhetorical style, wit, verbal acuity, 33, 42, 48, 55–56, 82–83, 84–85, 153, 236; strength of, 20, 38, 42, 69–70, 81; talents and intelligence, 23–25, 35, 84–85; voice, 154; work ethic, 4–5, 18, 20, 33, 74, 75, 76–77, 200, 214–15

  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