It's amazing how much nuance our American history has lost in the last twenty years. The many biographies and histories of the civil war that I read in the seventies and eighties were, as far as I could tell, completely untainted by the ideology that's simply expected nowadays, such that I don't read recently written histories anymore. Those old histories were no less condemning of slavery, but they did not feel compelled to rewrite history in order to do it.
I love the subject of Lincoln, and particularly of his depressive nature. I think it's important to hold in your mind that, along with his depression, he was also always the funniest and best storyteller in a room full of politicians, men who were accomplished tellers of jokes. Apparently he could tell stories all night. Another thing to keep in mind about Lincoln is that, despite his depression and sensitive nature, he was amazingly stalwart in prosecuting the war which in the beginning, for many years, saw nothing but defeat. One example of the depth of his depression is after his young son died, he was so distraught by his death, he eventually had his son's body exhumed so he could see him one more time. This was not as unusual back then as it seems now, but still, it marks an extremity of feeling that is rare in any time, and especially rare in a politician. Nineteenth century feelings about death were very different from ours—it was much more common, and children often died young. Contemporary detractors of Lincoln have no clue about what an extraordinary man he was, and how remarkably lucky we were to have him as president during that pivotal and brutal time.
Hey, thanks for the thoughtful comment! I’m glad you brought up his humor and storytelling. I’ve been meaning to follow up this article with one that explores how he coped with depression, especially with comedy. There are some great accounts of jokes he told, and he kept political comic strips in his drawers in the oval office, including the ones that made fun of him. I’ll need to get back on the writing train!
It's amazing how much nuance our American history has lost in the last twenty years. The many biographies and histories of the civil war that I read in the seventies and eighties were, as far as I could tell, completely untainted by the ideology that's simply expected nowadays, such that I don't read recently written histories anymore. Those old histories were no less condemning of slavery, but they did not feel compelled to rewrite history in order to do it.
I love the subject of Lincoln, and particularly of his depressive nature. I think it's important to hold in your mind that, along with his depression, he was also always the funniest and best storyteller in a room full of politicians, men who were accomplished tellers of jokes. Apparently he could tell stories all night. Another thing to keep in mind about Lincoln is that, despite his depression and sensitive nature, he was amazingly stalwart in prosecuting the war which in the beginning, for many years, saw nothing but defeat. One example of the depth of his depression is after his young son died, he was so distraught by his death, he eventually had his son's body exhumed so he could see him one more time. This was not as unusual back then as it seems now, but still, it marks an extremity of feeling that is rare in any time, and especially rare in a politician. Nineteenth century feelings about death were very different from ours—it was much more common, and children often died young. Contemporary detractors of Lincoln have no clue about what an extraordinary man he was, and how remarkably lucky we were to have him as president during that pivotal and brutal time.
Hey, thanks for the thoughtful comment! I’m glad you brought up his humor and storytelling. I’ve been meaning to follow up this article with one that explores how he coped with depression, especially with comedy. There are some great accounts of jokes he told, and he kept political comic strips in his drawers in the oval office, including the ones that made fun of him. I’ll need to get back on the writing train!
That’s detail I didn’t know—I’ll keep an eye out for your next piece!