As I follow Abraham Lincoln’s life and work on my novel, there is one idea that keeps appearing again and again in his early thinking: the fear that civilization itself could begin to unravel. Lincoln lived during a period of growing instability in the United States. Mob violence, political anger, and deepening sectional divisions wereContinue reading “Why Abraham Lincoln Feared the Breakdown of Civilization”
Tag Archives: history
Why Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Speech Still Matters
One of the moments that I refer to in my study of Abraham Lincoln is the Lyceum Address. At the time, Lincoln was still a new young lawyer and politician in Illinois. He was not yet the national figure history would later remember. But in this speech, it is possible to see the beginnings ofContinue reading “Why Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Speech Still Matters”
How Family and Community Shaped Abraham Lincoln’s World
This week I spent time researching through a section of family history, tracing connections between the Pelton, Warren and Mayhew families. What stands out is not a single event but the pattern. These families are connected through marriage, shared Quaker roots, and a migration path from New England into Ohio, Indiana, and the broader Midwest.Continue reading “How Family and Community Shaped Abraham Lincoln’s World”
The 161st Anniversary of Lincoln’s Death and What Might Have Been
This week marked the 161st anniversary of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. There have been a number of posts about it on social media, which has made me think more about the event and the impact it had on our history. In writing about him, I often find myself considering not only what happened, butContinue reading “The 161st Anniversary of Lincoln’s Death and What Might Have Been”
The View From The Imaginarium 