Historical research sometimes turns up a story that practically writes it’s own punch line. While researching Lincoln Seeks Justice for Elijah Lovejoy, I came across one involving Illinois Attorney General Usher F. Linder, his friend Benjamin S. Enloe, and a picnic with a rather unusually servicing staff. Enloe was the warden of the state penitentiaryContinue reading “The Prison Picnic That Cost a Warden His Job”
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Before Owen Lovejoy Became Abraham Lincoln’s Ally, He Had to Find His Own Way
What do you do when your older brother seems to know exactly who he is–and you don’t? That is the Owen Lovejoy I met while writing Lincoln Seeks Justice for Elijah Lovejoy. Owen admired his older brother Elijah enormously. Elijah had strong convictions. He had become a minister and newspaper editor. He had taken aContinue reading “Before Owen Lovejoy Became Abraham Lincoln’s Ally, He Had to Find His Own Way”
They Planned to Tar and Feather Elijah Lovejoy. Then He Said Something They Didn’t Expect.
Two men were waiting for Elijah Lovejoy on the road from Alton. Doctors Beall and Jennings threatened to tar and feather him, and they had intercepted him away from home. Lovejoy was alone and unarmed. By this point, the controversy surrounding Lovejoy had become increasingly dangerous. His opposition to slavery and the positions he tookContinue reading “They Planned to Tar and Feather Elijah Lovejoy. Then He Said Something They Didn’t Expect.”
Abraham Lincoln Was Funnier Than His Photographs Make Him Look
Look at almost any photograph of Abraham Lincoln and you see a serious man. Sometimes a very tired man. You probably don’t look at that face and immediately think, There goes the funniest man in the room. But humor was an important part of Lincoln’s personality long before he became president. One story from hisContinue reading “Abraham Lincoln Was Funnier Than His Photographs Make Him Look”
How Do You Write a Novel About Abolition Without Black Characters?
I discovered an uncomfortable problem while writing Lincoln Seeks Justice for Elijah Lovejoy. I was writing a novel about slavery and abolition, and almost all of the people in my story were white. It wasn’t because there were no Black people in Alton. There was a significant Black community in and around the city, includingContinue reading “How Do You Write a Novel About Abolition Without Black Characters?”
What Frightened Young Abraham Lincoln About America?
Abraham Lincoln was only twenty-eight when he warned that one of the greatest dangers facing America might come not from a foreign enemy, but from Americans themselves. What worried him? Mob violence and contempt for the law. In January 1838, Lincoln spoke before the Young Men’s Lyceum in Springfield, Illinois. the country had been witnessingContinue reading “What Frightened Young Abraham Lincoln About America?”
He Wasn’t an Abolitionist. So Why Did He Defend Elijah Lovejoy?
William Harned wasn’t an abolitionist. Yet when the conflict surrounding Elijah Lovejoy’s printing press grew increasingly dangerous in Alton, Illinois, Harned became one of the men willing to defend him. Why? For Harned, it seems to have been less about slavery than about something more basic: the law and what he believed was right. HarnedContinue reading “He Wasn’t an Abolitionist. So Why Did He Defend Elijah Lovejoy?”
Abraham Lincoln Almost Married Someone Else
Long before Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd, there was another Mary–Mary Owens. Lincoln had known Mary during his New Salem years, and at one point he apparently thought she might make a suitable wife. Her sister encouraged the possibility, and Lincoln agreed that if may returned to Illinois, he would consider marrying her. So MaryContinue reading “Abraham Lincoln Almost Married Someone Else”
Before Abraham Lincoln Became President, the Voters Rejected Him
It’s hard to imagine Abraham Lincoln losing an election. We know what came later. President. The Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation. A face carved into Mount Rushmore. But in 1832, none of that existed. Lincoln was twenty-three years old when he ran for the Illinois legislature for the first time. He had little money, littleContinue reading “Before Abraham Lincoln Became President, the Voters Rejected Him”
When Abraham Lincoln Couldn’t Afford a Bed to Sleep in
Imagine arriving in a new city to begin your career with everything you own packed into your saddlebags. You’re twenty-eight old. You’ve managed to become a lawyer despite having almost no formal education. You’re ambitious. You believe you might be capable of something more. There’s just one problem. You can’t afford a bed…or a room.Continue reading “When Abraham Lincoln Couldn’t Afford a Bed to Sleep in”
