Abraham Lincoln’s Relationship with Biography

Friend, foe, political adversary, renowned historical figure, and yet most notably, entirely an enigma. Incomparable is that of Abraham Lincoln, who seems to have an entire fan group of historians dedicated to uncovering his legacy to this day. One would argue that Lincoln in this age would be outdated and that there is nothing left to say about him. Many historians however would heavily disagree, including Allen C. Guelzo in his discussion “Icon In Motion: Abraham Lincoln’s Changing Historical Image” where he exposed that to this day we are still uncovering Lincoln’s image. Guelzo said himself, “Can there be anything new said about Lincoln? There will always be more to discover about Lincoln and we still know maddeningly little of Lincoln’s management of Congress.” With that said, does Lincoln love or hate biography? William Herndon, best confidant of Abraham Lincoln, answered this stating that Lincoln “Had a contempt for all history and biography because he knew how it was written he knew the movies and cosine of the writers of history and biography.” But how well did Herndon know Lincoln? Despite being his greatest confidant, Herndon felt that Lincoln was just as closed mouth with him as he was with everyone else. With that in mind, Herndon set about proving his theory correct and talked to old friends of Lincoln about who they thought he was. What he learned astounded him. Herndon found that the young Lincoln had pursued two other women for marriage and that Lincoln was a religious unbeliever in his 20 years that mocked Christianity. Historians have become a community together, sharing any new information they found on Abraham Lincoln with one another. Biographies of Lincoln began right after his death, starting with journalist Josiah Gilbert Holland who produced four days after his death a full biography of the man. However, so much information about Lincoln to this day has still yet to be discovered. His only surviving child, Robert Todd, had protected many of Lincoln’s personal belongings and documents, even past his own death. Even Abraham Lincoln’s political affiliation was called into question and is debated whether he would have been more Democratic or Republican leaning in this era. “A democratic people must abide by certain restraints in order to be a democratic people… the price of American freedom, of all civil liberty, was fidelity to the faith that all men are created equal” perfectly describes the sentiment of being a Democrat and the beliefs associated with such. Lincoln held these beliefs, as he pushed for equal rights and argued that the denial to any slave of economical development was slavery in itself. However, some would argue that he held Republican views as well. In reality, neither party can claim Lincoln’s beliefs, as he is one of the most moderate presidents that the United States has ever seen. He held beliefs not representative of Democrats or Republicans while also asserting ideas and plans, which is not seen in third parties nowadays, as Guelzo explains is why third party candidates are never chosen. Lincoln stands as a significant and unique historical figure. In many ways his life and his ideas were a mystery. Included in this was whether Lincoln really did love biography or not. But just as his political status, he is somewhere in between. Lincoln both loves and hates biography, but one thing we do know is that biography adores him.