{"product_id":"did-lincoln-own-slaves-isbn-9780307279293","title":"Did Lincoln Own Slaves?","description":"In the bicentennial year of Lincoln's birth, here is the one indispensable book that provides all you need to know about our most revered president in a lively and memorable question-and-answer format.You will learn whether Lincoln could dunk a basketball or tell a joke.  Was he the great emancipator or a racist?  If he were alive today, could he get elected?  Did he die rich?  Did scientists raise Lincoln from the dead?  From the seemingly lighthearted to the most serious Gerald Prokopowicz tackles each question with balance and authority, and weaves a complete, satisfying biography that will engage young and old, scholars and armchair historians alike. | \u003ci\u003eList of Illustrations \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAcknowledgments \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER ONE: THE BOY LINCOLN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen and where was Lincoln born? \u003cbr\u003eIs the cabin still there? \u003cbr\u003eHaven’t I seen the cabin somewhere else? \u003cbr\u003eAbout the original birthplace cabin–is it true that Lincoln helped his father build it with his own hands? \u003cbr\u003eWho were Lincoln’s parents? \u003cbr\u003eWere Thomas and Nancy married to each other when Abraham was born? \u003cbr\u003eHis mother was born out of wedlock? \u003cbr\u003eWas Abraham’s last name really Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eNo, I mean,was Thomas Lincoln really his father? \u003cbr\u003eSo Lincoln’s greatness was due to his environment, not his genes? \u003cbr\u003eWhere did Lincoln’s ancestors come from? \u003cbr\u003eWas Lincoln’s father a good-for-nothing bum? \u003cbr\u003eWhy did Thomas and Nancy choose the name Abraham? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was Lincoln’s middle name? \u003cbr\u003eDid he have any brothers or sisters? \u003cbr\u003eLincoln once said “All I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” Did he mean his natural mother or his stepmother? \u003cbr\u003eLincoln didn’t go to his own father’s funeral? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln have a happy childhood? \u003cbr\u003eIf Lincoln was born in Kentucky, why do Illinois license plates say “Land of Lincoln”? \u003cbr\u003eDid they really spend their first winter in Indiana living outdoors? \u003cbr\u003eWhy did the Lincolns move to Indiana? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did slavery have to do with their move? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did Abe do in Indiana? \u003cbr\u003eHow did his mother die? \u003cbr\u003eCan people still get milk sickness? \u003cbr\u003eDid Abraham show any signs of future greatness when he was a boy? \u003cbr\u003eDid he hunt smaller animals? \u003cbr\u003eHow else was Abe different from other children? \u003cbr\u003eIs it true that Lincoln was nearly killed when he was a boy? \u003cbr\u003eDid this really happen three times? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s a paw paw? \u003cbr\u003eHow much schooling did he have? \u003cbr\u003eDid he write his school lessons on the back of a shovel, using a piece of charcoal? \u003cbr\u003eWho taught him? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s a “blab school”? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln ever go to college? \u003cbr\u003eIf his education was so limited, how did he get so smart? \u003cbr\u003eDid he once accidentally ruin a book that he borrowed? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER TWO: RAIL-SPLITTER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat’s a rail-splitter? \u003cbr\u003eSo Lincoln didn’t really split rails for a living. What did he do, before he became a lawyer and politician? \u003cbr\u003eWas this the trip when Lincoln saw slave markets in New Orleans and decided he would dedicate himself to ending slavery? \u003cbr\u003eWhat about his other jobs? Wasn’t he a storekeeper? \u003cbr\u003eDid he really once walk two miles to return change to a customer? \u003cbr\u003eWhat else did he do for a living? \u003cbr\u003eIf his partner drank up the store’s stock, are you saying that Lincoln kept a saloon? \u003cbr\u003eWhen he got a job as a postmaster, did he really carry letters around in his hat? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did Lincoln think about this? What was his religion? \u003cbr\u003eWasn’t he secretly baptized when he was older? \u003cbr\u003eIf Lincoln wasn’t a Christian, why are his speeches full of talk about God? \u003cbr\u003eThis religious conversion he went through–didn’t this happen at Gettysburg? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did Lincoln do for fun as a young man? Did he play sports? \u003cbr\u003eCould he dunk a basketball? \u003cbr\u003eSo, what sports did he play? \u003cbr\u003eWhat else did he do for fun? Did he drink a lot when he was young? \u003cbr\u003eDid he smoke or chew tobacco? \u003cbr\u003eDid he gamble? \u003cbr\u003eDid he swear or tell dirty jokes? \u003cbr\u003eWas he lazy? \u003cbr\u003eSo did Lincoln have \u003ci\u003eany \u003c\/i\u003ebad habits? \u003cbr\u003eHow about good manners? \u003cbr\u003eHe probably didn’t need much in the way of manners for his first girlfriend, Ann Rutledge, did he? \u003cbr\u003eDid he leave New Salem because of Ann Rutledge? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER THREE: SPRINGFIELD\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhy did he move to Springfield? \u003cbr\u003eWhen a guy says to another guy, “It’s a good place to meet people,” he usually means “It’s a good place to meet girls.” Is that what really brought Lincoln to Springfield? \u003cbr\u003eIf he didn’t do so well with the ladies, is it possible–I mean, I once heard a story that he used to visit, you know, working girls . . . ? \u003cbr\u003eWas Lincoln gay? \u003cbr\u003eWhy does anyone care? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was it in his youth that made him great? \u003cbr\u003eLincoln never was much of a lawyer,was he? \u003cbr\u003eWhere did he go to law school? \u003cbr\u003eHow did Lincoln do on his bar exam? \u003cbr\u003eWhat kind of law did he practice? \u003cbr\u003eRunaway slaves? I assume he was helping them to get free . .  .or did Lincoln represent slaveowners? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s his most famous case? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was his most important case? \u003cbr\u003eDid he make a lot of money as a lawyer? \u003cbr\u003eIs it true that the real reason he spent so much time at the office and “riding the circuit”was to get away from Mary? \u003cbr\u003eAbout Mary Todd Lincoln: Was she crazy? \u003cbr\u003eHow did Abe and Mary meet? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did she see in him? \u003cbr\u003eWho broke the engagement? \u003cbr\u003eHow did Abe and Mary get back together? \u003cbr\u003eLincoln fought a duel? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did Lincoln write in those letters that was so bad it made Shields want to kill him? \u003cbr\u003eWas Mary pregnant when she married him? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER FOUR: POLITICIAN \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt’s amazing how Lincoln failed at everything he tried but kept on trying, until one day he was elected president. I read about this in “Dear Abby.”How did he do it? \u003cbr\u003eSo he considered himself a failure before he became president? \u003cbr\u003eIs that why he went into politics in the first place? For attention and fame? \u003cbr\u003eWasn’t Mary Lincoln the real source of Lincoln’s ambition? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did Lincoln do in the Illinois legislature, if he was so ambitious? \u003cbr\u003eDidn’t he once jump out of a window or a trap door or something when he was a legislator? \u003cbr\u003eWait a minute–I’ve been to the Old State Capitol in Springfield, and the House chamber windows are at least twenty feet from the ground. How could he have survived that fall? \u003cbr\u003eWhen did he become a Republican? \u003cbr\u003eWas he the founder of the Republican Party? \u003cbr\u003eWhat happened to the Whigs? \u003cbr\u003eIf he were alive today, what party would Lincoln belong to? \u003cbr\u003eIf Lincoln were running for office today, could he get elected? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER FIVE: SPEAKER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAre there any recordings of Lincoln’s voice? \u003cbr\u003eIf they didn’t have sound equipment, like microphones, how were big audiences able to hear Lincoln’s speeches? \u003cbr\u003eWas Lincoln a good public speaker? \u003cbr\u003eHow did he learn to speak so well? \u003cbr\u003eDid he write his own speeches? \u003cbr\u003eDidn’t Lincoln once make a speech that was so good nobody wrote it down? \u003cbr\u003eIn which speech did he say, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all the time”? \u003cbr\u003eAre there other famous things that Lincoln didn’t really say? \u003cbr\u003eWas Lincoln a good extemporaneous speaker? \u003cbr\u003eWhat about his farewell to Springfield? \u003cbr\u003eDid he ever make bad speeches? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was his greatest speech? \u003cbr\u003eIsn’t it too bad we don’t have politicians today who can debate issues like Lincoln and Douglas did? \u003cbr\u003eYou seem to be saying the debates contained nothing new. What about the “Freeport interrogatories”? \u003cbr\u003eWhy would he have settled for just the Senate? Didn’t he always want to be president? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER SIX: PRESIDENT \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHow old was Lincoln when he became president? \u003cbr\u003eIf Lincoln’s whole political experience was in the Illinois state legislature, plus one term in Congress, how did he ever get elected president? \u003cbr\u003eHow did he win the election? \u003cbr\u003eDid he make a whistle-stop campaign? \u003cbr\u003eIs it true that Stephen Douglas held Lincoln’s hat during the inaugural ceremony? \u003cbr\u003eWhat about his cabinet? Did Lincoln really fill it with his rivals? \u003cbr\u003eDid the rest of the cabinet support Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s a chin-fly? \u003cbr\u003eSo did Chase ever come to acknowledge Lincoln’s superiority the way Seward did? 108\u003cbr\u003eWho was Lincoln’s vice president? \u003cbr\u003eBut Andrew Johnson became president after Lincoln was killed.Why the change? 109\u003cbr\u003eWhy did Lincoln start the Civil War? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln’s presidential actions violate the Constitution? \u003cbr\u003eStill, arresting 13,535 political prisoners is outrageous, isn’t it? \u003cbr\u003eWhat happened to those who did get arrested for opposing the war? \u003cbr\u003eIs it true that Lincoln had an arrest warrant made out for\u003cbr\u003ethe chief justice of the United States? \u003cbr\u003eWas Lincoln responsible for the income tax? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln make Thanksgiving a national holiday? \u003cbr\u003eDid Mary remodel the White House without telling him? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln appear before a Congressional committee to defend his wife’s loyalty to the Union? \u003cbr\u003eDid the Lincolns have a secret summer home? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was a typical day like for President Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eHow big was his White House staff ? \u003cbr\u003eHow much mail did he get? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln answer his own mail? \u003cbr\u003eWhy didn’t Lincoln sign every letter himself ? \u003cbr\u003eDid one of his secretaries write the Bixby letter? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was the “Blind Memorandum” that Lincoln wrote? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did it say? \u003cbr\u003eWhy not just postpone the election? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER SEVEN: COMMANDER IN CHIEF\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBefore Lincoln became commander in chief, did he have any military experience? \u003cbr\u003eWere Lincoln and his men sworn into service by Jefferson Davis? \u003cbr\u003eDid he teach himself military strategy when he became president? \u003cbr\u003eWas Lincoln a military genius? \u003cbr\u003eYou said Lincoln “eventually” found the right commanders–why did it take so long? \u003cbr\u003eSo why did he put up with McClellan? \u003cbr\u003eHow did he finally get rid of McClellan? \u003cbr\u003eDid McClellan and Lincoln know each other before the war? \u003cbr\u003eHow about Confederate General George Pickett, of Pickett’s Charge fame–wasn’t he an old friend of Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eDidn’t he once ask General McClellan if he could borrow the army, since McClellan was not using it? \u003cbr\u003eWas he serious? \u003cbr\u003eWhy not? Didn’t he understand military strategy at least as well as people like McClellan? \u003cbr\u003eDid he ever see a battle? \u003cbr\u003eFor real? Lincoln was involved in a dangerous military operation? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln hire a substitute to fight for him? \u003cbr\u003eDidn’t one of his generals plan to replace him and take over the government as a dictator? \u003cbr\u003eDidn’t Lincoln offer to send a barrel of Grant’s whiskey to his other generals? \u003cbr\u003eDid he pardon a soldier who was about to be executed for sleeping on duty? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln try to have Jeff Davis killed? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln have something to do with machine guns? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did the soldiers think of Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER EIGHT: GETTYSBURG\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln really think the world would not remember what he said at Gettysburg? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln write the Gettysburg Address on the back on an envelope, on the train to Gettysburg? \u003cbr\u003eSo the train ride was too bumpy to write with a pen.\u003cbr\u003eCould he have done it if he had a laptop computer? 147\u003cbr\u003eDidn’t the Gettysburg dedication committee almost forget\u003cbr\u003eto invite Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eIf everyone there knew that Lincoln’s presence was not just an afterthought but an appropriate part of the ceremony, how did this myth get started? \u003cbr\u003eSo Lincoln didn’t think the speech was a failure? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did others think of it? \u003cbr\u003eMy kid’s textbook has the Gettysburg Address in it, and they took out the phrase “under God.” Can’t these revisionists leave Lincoln’s words alone? \u003cbr\u003eWhere are the copies now? \u003cbr\u003eWhen I heard the actor Sam Waterston recite the address, he emphasized “people” in the last line: “of the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE, for the PEOPLE,” instead of “OF the people, BY the people, FOR the people,” the way it’s usually done. Why did he do that? Does he know something the rest of us don’t know? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was he trying to do? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER NINE: EMANCIPATION\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWashington owned slaves, right? Jefferson owned slaves, right? Did Lincoln own slaves? \u003cbr\u003eWhy doesn’t the question go away? \u003cbr\u003eSo consider it. What’s the reason for asking if Lincoln owned slaves? \u003cbr\u003eBut you already established that he didn’t. There must be some other justification for the question, no? \u003cbr\u003eAnd what is the big question about Lincoln and slavery? \u003cbr\u003eWhich was he–the “Great Emancipator” or a clever, lying racist? \u003cbr\u003eSo, Lincoln was a racist. Everybody knows that now anyway. Why is he still called “the Great Emancipator”? \u003cbr\u003eSo Lincoln was not a racist? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln use the n–– word? \u003cbr\u003eThe Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t announced until September 1862. If Lincoln cared about the slaves, why didn’t he free them as soon as he became president? \u003cbr\u003eWhat about the constitutional amendment Lincoln favored that would have protected slavery indefinitely? \u003cbr\u003eDidn’t he once say that he wanted to win the war, whether or not he freed the slaves? \u003cbr\u003eIsn’t it true that the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t really free any slaves at all? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln write the Thirteenth Amendment? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln bribe Congressmen to get them to vote for the Thirteenth Amendment? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln make Nevada a state just so it could ratify the Thirteenth Amendment? \u003cbr\u003eWhy didn’t Lincoln offer to pay the slaveholders for their slaves? That would have been easier than fighting a war. \u003cbr\u003eWhat about paying slaveholders not in the Confederacy, like the ones in Kentucky or Missouri? \u003cbr\u003eHow did he come up with the value? Did slaves really cost four hundred dollars? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln want to send blacks back to Africa? \u003cbr\u003eWas he serious? \u003cbr\u003eDid he know any African Americans personally? \u003cbr\u003eWhat did Lincoln think about women’s rights? \u003cbr\u003eWas Lincoln black? \u003cbr\u003eWhat do you think Lincoln would have said about the idea of reparations for slavery? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER TEN: LINCOLN THE MAN \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHow tall was he? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was his shoe size? \u003cbr\u003eDid people think he was ugly? \u003cbr\u003eWhy don’t any photographs of Lincoln show him smiling? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s the worst photograph of him? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s the first one? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s the last photograph of Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s the best Lincoln photo? \u003cbr\u003eAre there any photographs of Lincoln with his wife? \u003cbr\u003eWhen did he decide to grow a beard? \u003cbr\u003eHow was Lincoln’s health? \u003cbr\u003eDidn’t he have some kind of genetic disease that would have eventually killed him? \u003cbr\u003eWhat about the one that makes people really tall? \u003cbr\u003eCould his DNA be studied to find out if he had either of these conditions? \u003cbr\u003eWas he manic-depressive? \u003cbr\u003eIf Lincoln went into a suicidal tailspin just because of bad weather in 1835, isn’t that pretty manic? \u003cbr\u003eWas he depressed when he was president? \u003cbr\u003eDid he take anything to treat his depression, like after Willie’s death? \u003cbr\u003eIs it true that he once took mercury pills? Aren’t they dangerous? \u003cbr\u003eOther than from mercury poisoning, did Lincoln ever lose his temper? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln hate anyone? \u003cbr\u003eSo Lincoln got along with everyone he met? \u003cbr\u003eI heard that he wrote some poetry. Is it any good? \u003cbr\u003eWhat about the “suicide poem”? Did he really write it? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was his favorite poem? \u003cbr\u003eWas this Knox his favorite poet? \u003cbr\u003eWas Walt Whitman his favorite poet? \u003cbr\u003eThen who was his favorite poet? \u003cbr\u003eWas the Confederate anthem “Dixie” really his favorite song? \u003cbr\u003eEverybody knows that Lincoln was a great joker. What’s the funniest Lincoln joke you know? \u003cbr\u003eOK, then what’s the least funny Lincoln joke? \u003cbr\u003eWhy did he tell funny stories? \u003cbr\u003eHow many children did Lincoln have? \u003cbr\u003eWhat kind of a father was he? \u003cbr\u003eDid he have grandchildren? \u003cbr\u003eWhy isn’t Robert Todd Lincoln buried in the Lincoln family tomb? \u003cbr\u003eDid the president’s children have pets? \u003cbr\u003eIs that where the tradition of the president pardoning a Thanksgiving turkey comes from? \u003cbr\u003eSpeaking of signing pardons, did Lincoln have good handwriting? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was his favorite food? \u003cbr\u003eWas Lincoln a Mason? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln invent something? \u003cbr\u003eDid he know that he would be considered by many people to be the greatest president ever? \u003cbr\u003eYou said that Lincoln wasn’t a Christian. Then why did he have “In God We Trust” put on our coins? \u003cbr\u003eDidn’t he become more religious when he was president? \u003cbr\u003eDid he believe in dreams? \u003cbr\u003eWhat about Mary? Didn’t she hold a séance in the White House? \u003cbr\u003eHow did he stand it being married to her? \u003cbr\u003eI read that she chased him with knives and broke his nose with a stick. Doesn’t that go beyond “emotional highs and lows”? \u003cbr\u003eEveryone knows he was born poor, but didn’t Lincoln die rich? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER ELEVEN: MARTYR \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln know John Wilkes Booth? \u003cbr\u003eDid Lincoln have premonitions of death? \u003cbr\u003eHow did the assassination happen? Why didn’t the Secret Service stop Booth? \u003cbr\u003eSo there was nobody guarding the president? \u003cbr\u003eIs it true that Booth drilled a hole in the door to the presidential box, so that he could see if anyone was looking before he entered? \u003cbr\u003eWhy were Rathbone and Harris invited? Were they special friends of the Lincolns? \u003cbr\u003eDid Major Rathbone try to stop Booth? \u003cbr\u003eWhat does \u003ci\u003eSic semper tyrannis \u003c\/i\u003emean? \u003cbr\u003eDidn’t Booth say something else? \u003cbr\u003eHow did Booth get a horse to wait for him? \u003cbr\u003eWhat happened to Major Rathbone? \u003cbr\u003eCould modern medical techniques have saved Lincoln’s life after he was shot? \u003cbr\u003eWhere is the bullet now? \u003cbr\u003eWhy did Booth shoot Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eDid Booth act alone? \u003cbr\u003eWhat happened to the doctor who helped Booth? Didn’t he get sent to jail and then pardoned? \u003cbr\u003eBut weren’t there also some secret conspirators? Wasn’t the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, really behind the plot? \u003cbr\u003eWas the Confederate government involved in the plot to kill Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eWas Booth convicted of conspiring with anyone? \u003cbr\u003eWhere is he buried? \u003cbr\u003eAre you sure? \u003cbr\u003eWhat happened to the rest of the conspirators? \u003cbr\u003eWhat about Mrs. Surratt’s son? Wasn’t he involved? \u003cbr\u003eDid anyone else ever try to kill Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER TWELVE: LEGACY \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWas Lincoln the greatest president? \u003cbr\u003eDoes anyone hate Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eWhat do you think would have happened if Lincoln had not been assassinated? \u003cbr\u003eWould Lincoln have been able to prevent the Radical Republicans from inflicting Reconstruction on\u003cbr\u003ethe South after the war? \u003cbr\u003eSo what would Lincoln have done? \u003cbr\u003eYou think he would have supported black voting? Didn’t he once say he was opposed to political rights for blacks? \u003cbr\u003eAre there any direct descendants of Abraham Lincoln alive today? \u003cbr\u003eIsn’t there another descendant, but they paid him to keep it quiet? \u003cbr\u003e“Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?” \u003cbr\u003eWhat was it that Stanton said at the moment Lincoln died? \u003cbr\u003eWhere was Lincoln’s funeral? \u003cbr\u003eWhere is he buried? \u003cbr\u003eWas Lincoln’s corpse ever stolen? \u003cbr\u003eIs there a secret message in the hands of the Lincoln Memorial statue? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s the biggest memorial to Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eWho is the best Lincoln impersonator? \u003cbr\u003eWhat is the Abraham Lincoln Association? Can I join? \u003cbr\u003eAre there any Lincoln groups not based in Springfield? \u003cbr\u003eWhat would Lincoln think of all the writers, professors, impersonators, museum guides, souvenir vendors, bicentennial administrators, and others, who make their living from his memory? \u003cbr\u003eIs it true that Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day? If so, what does this mean? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s the best book about Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eWhat about the worst Lincoln book? \u003cbr\u003eAre there any good children’s books about Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eIs it true that there are more books about Lincoln than any other historical figure? \u003cbr\u003eWhat’s the best place to get Lincoln books? \u003cbr\u003eAll right, enough reading–what about movies and TV?\u003cbr\u003eWhat’s the best and worst? \u003cbr\u003eDid scientists raise Lincoln from the dead? \u003cbr\u003eSpeaking of JFK, what about the amazing coincidences between the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations?\u003cbr\u003eWhat do you make of them? \u003cbr\u003eAre you concerned that by simply repeating stories such as this you will end up perpetuating them? \u003cbr\u003eLet’s say that Lincoln really could be revived. What would he have to say about legalized abortion? \u003cbr\u003eWhat museum has most of Lincoln’s things? \u003cbr\u003eI have an artifact of the assassination. It’s a copy of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Herald \u003c\/i\u003efrom April 15, 1865. My grandfather passed it on\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eto me, so I know it’s old.How much is it worth now? \u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eWhat if I have an ordinary letter signed by Lincoln? What’s that worth? \u003cbr\u003eHow can you tell if a Lincoln document is authentic? \u003cbr\u003eWhich Lincoln museum is the best? \u003cbr\u003eI know that Lincoln was born near Hodgenville, but why is there a Lincoln museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana? Did he ever live there? \u003cbr\u003eSo does that mean Lincoln Financial Field, where the Philadelphia Eagles play, is also named for Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eIs it true that Lincoln Logs are also named for Lincoln? \u003cbr\u003eWhat about the Lincoln Town Car? \u003cbr\u003eWhat was Lincoln’s greatest accomplishment as president, saving the Union or helping to end slavery? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSource Notes \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBibliography \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndex \u003c\/i\u003e | “It's fun. It's well written. . . . A valuable catalog of Lincoln information, very accessible, that is a good read from beginning to end.”  —\u003ci\u003eAmerica's Civil War\u003c\/i\u003e“\u003cb\u003eDid Lincoln Own Slaves?\u003c\/b\u003e is a wonderful book, as witty as it is wise. . . . Every Lincoln student must own this book.”  —David Herbert Donald, author of \u003ci\u003eLincoln\u003c\/i\u003e“The surprises found on almost every page should delight anyone even remotely interested in our national history.”  —Larry Cox, \u003ci\u003eKing Features\u003c\/i\u003e“Here is everything one ever wanted to know about Abraham Lincoln-told authoritatively and entertainingly by a fine scholar and gifted writer.” —Harold Holzer, cochairman, U. S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission\"A wonderful book, as witty as it is wise.  Addressing every question that conceivable can be raised about Abraham Lincoln, Gerald Prokopowicz provides answers that are short, accurate, and in many instances highly amusing.\"—David Herbert Donald, author of \u003ci\u003eLincoln\u003c\/i\u003e\"From his birth to his death (not to mention the century and a half since), here is everything one ever wanted to know about Abraham Lincoln, told authoritatively and entertainingly by a fine scholar and gifted writer.  Facts are reported, myths punctured, and controversies analyzed in a text that proves both an essential reference and a page-turning good read.\"—Harold Holzer, cochairman, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission\"Of the thousands of books about Lincoln (you can get the exact number, and many other facts, from this book), very few bring us as much information, and none is more pleasantly amusing.  If you have any interest in Lincoln and start reading this book, you will have a hard time stopping.\"—William Lee Miller, author of \u003ci\u003eLincoln's Virtues: An Ethical Biography\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePresident Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e\"Witty, intelligent, and informative, \u003cb\u003eDid Lincoln Own Slaves?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eis a book that every level of Lincoln student—from grade school to scholar—will find useful.  Prokopowicz has provided accurate answers to the essential questions about our sixteenth president; no more digging around in the Lincoln library is required.\"—Jean H. Baker, author of \u003ci\u003eMary Todd Lincoln\u003c\/i\u003e | Gerald J. Prokopowicz served for nine years as the Lincoln Scholar at the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He holds a law degree from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University, where he studied under Lincoln biographer David Herbert Donald. He is the author of the critically acclaimed \u003cb\u003eAll for the Regiment: The Army of the Ohio 1861\u003c\/b\u003e–\u003cb\u003e1862\u003c\/b\u003e . He has written numerous articles and book reviews for popular magazines and professional historical journals, and was the editor of Lincoln Lore, the quarterly bulletin of the Lincoln Museum. He is a frequent public speaker on Lincoln-related topics and a member of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Board of Advisors. He is currently chair of the history department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. | \u003cb\u003eChapter One: The Boy Lincoln \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIt is a great piece of folly to attempt to make anything out of my early life. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Lincoln’s reply to journalist John L. Scripps, 1860,  when asked to provide information  for a campaign biography[1] \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhen and where was Lincoln born? \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFebruary 12, 1809, in a log cabin on the south fork of Nolin Creek, near Hodgenville, Kentucky. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eIs the cabin still there? \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSort of. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe site is marked today by a curious memorial on the grounds of the original Lincoln farmstead. There, at the top of a wooded hill, stands what appears to be an old-fashioned bank building incongruously looming over an otherwise bucolic setting. A grand flight of fifty-six stone steps, one for each year of Lincoln’s life, leads the visitor to a pair of imposing bronze doors, hidden behind six massive Doric columns. Within this Greek temple on a Kentucky hillside, resting on the granite floor in the center of the room, is the cabin where Abe Lincoln was born. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUnfortunately, it’s not really Lincoln’s cabin. The National Park Service, which maintains the memorial, describes the crude wooden structure as the “traditional” Lincoln birthplace cabin, inventively using the word “traditional” in place of a more accurate adjective, such as “fake.”[2] The real cabin almost certainly fell down at some point in the decades after the Lincoln family moved away, there being no reason at the time to preserve it. A speculator named A. W. Dennett purchased the farm in 1894, hoping it would become a tourist attraction. He found a two-story cabin nearby that might have been standing when Lincoln was a boy, took it apart, transported it to the birthplace farm, and reassembled it into a smaller one-story cabin. When he found few customers willing to make the pilgrimage to his remote corner of central Kentucky, Dennett took the building apart again with the idea of moving it to places more frequented by potential viewers. For good measure, he bought and disassembled another cabin that supposedly was the birthplace of Jefferson Davis. The two cabins appeared side by side at fairs in Nashville, Buffalo, and other cities. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEventually Dennett went bankrupt, and both cabins were taken apart (again) and put in storage. In 1906, the Lincoln Farm Association, a group formed to build a Lincoln birthplace memorial, found the pieces in a basement in New York. By that time the logs that formed the two already dubious cabins were hopelessly intermingled. The association sorted out the components and used some of them to make a one-story structure that resembled descriptions of the original Lincoln cabin. The LFA also constructed the present memorial building to house their prize, but when it was completed in 1911, it turned out that the reassembled cabin was too large to fit inside easily. To make room for visitors to walk around it, they sawed off about a quarter of its length, creating the “traditional” birthplace cabin that you can see today. It’s possible (if unlikely) that some tiny fraction of the wood really did once form part of a building that was associated with Lincoln; but it’s also possible that the exhibit now on display has as much to do with Jefferson Davis as it does with Lincoln.[3]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHaven’t I seen the cabin somewhere else? \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eYou probably have. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere are several versions around the country, most of them replicas of the Park Service “birthplace cabin.” One is in Milton, Massachusetts, commissioned in 1923 by Mary Bowditch Forbes.[4] There’s another in Fort Wayne, Indiana, built by the Lincoln National Life Insurance Company in 1916, that at one time was carefully furnished with antiques to give a sense of what Lincoln’s childhood home might have looked like. Now, however, it sits neglected in a wooded corner of a public park, used by the maintenance staff as a storage shed for snowblowers. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAbout the original birthplace cabin—is it true that Lincoln helped his father build it with his own hands? \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNext question, please. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWho were Lincoln’s parents?\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThomas Lincoln (1778?–1851) and Nancy Hanks Lincoln (1784?– 1818). \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis father married Lincoln’s stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln (1788–1869), in 1819. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWere Thomas and Nancy married to each other when Abraham was born? I heard that he was born out of wedlock. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eYes, they were married, and no, he was not illegitimate. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks were married on June 12, 1806. Their first child, Sarah, was born the following year. Abraham was born in 1809. There is no reasonable doubt that Lincoln was conceived by and born to a lawfully wedded couple, but the question still pops up persistently, probably due to confusion between the matter of Lincoln’s legitimacy and that of his mother, which is indeed doubtful. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHis mother was born out of wedlock? \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eProbably . . . \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e. . . but you can no longer get into a bar fight over the issue. The question today is forgotten by everyone but a handful of antiquarians who are determined to puzzle out the Lincoln-Hanks genealogy. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the 1920s, however, this issue bitterly divided the field of Lincoln scholars. Museum director Louis Warren passionately defended the honor of Lincoln’s grandmother Lucey Hanks, while author William Barton and most others just as avidly insisted that her daughter Nancy was a child of sin. Barton’s eventually became the accepted view of the matter, in part because Lincoln himself had apparently shared it. He believed that his mother was born out of wedlock and that his real grandfather was a Virginia aristocrat who took advantage of a “poor and credulous” girl, if the recollections of Lincoln’s law partner William Herndon are accurate.[5]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eToday, the very terms of the debate give off a musty odor of obsolescence. Defending her honor? Child of sin? Born out of wedlock? These phrases are rarely heard in connection with single parenting in the twenty-first century. But in the 1920s, unwed motherhood still carried much of the deep social stigma that it had in Lincoln’s day. Further, the 1920s were a decade of upheaval in social and sexual mores, as teenagers took advantage of the invention of the automobile to abandon traditional front-parlor courtship rituals in favor of the modern concept of dating. Contraception became a divisive topic, with Margaret Sanger and others fighting to legalize it, opposed by social conservatives who were horrified at the very idea of discussing the subject publicly. Like the issue of gay marriage eighty years later, the birth control debate exposed deep cultural fault lines. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Indiana, where Louis Warren lived, many older people were upset by challenges to the society they had known. They were shocked by new ideas about sex and disturbed by the influx of immigrants from Europe speaking strange languages, as well as the growing number of dark-skinned domestic migrants from the Deep South. It is no coincidence that when the Ku Klux","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48338542624997,"sku":"NP9780307279293","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780307279293.jpg?v=1769572613","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/did-lincoln-own-slaves-isbn-9780307279293","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}