Video
Shaping Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln Before the Presidency
Transcript
Hello and welcome to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. My name is Ranger Amanda and today I'm coming to you from the park's museum. I'm actually located in the entry area of the museum, where you have several large busts of Union and Confederate generals that were important to here at Kennesaw Mountain. Behind me is the Union side and with that we actually have two Union generals but directly behind me to my right on the back wall is a black and white photo of the 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln. Now here in February, we recognize President's Day which is going to be taking place soon or actually today. And with that we honor the presidents that were born throughout the year but specifically in the month of February. Abraham Lincoln, of course, was born on February 12th, So we recognize him both for his birthday, as well as President's Day. These men, of course, have great influence throughout our history and Lincoln, of course, is one of the other presidents who has great significance, specifically for here at Kennesaw Mountain. Now most of the time when we think of Lincoln we think of him writing the Gettysburg Address. We also think about his time creating and establishing the Emancipation Proclamation and all the great things he did as President of the United States; however, have you ever thought about what and who actually helped in the development of that man? Well that's what I'm going to talk to you a little bit about today. I'm going to talk about his family and those people who actually influenced his life. Now Abraham was the second child of Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. Thomas was actually born in 1778 in Virginia and he and his family moved to Kentucky when he was four years old. Now Thomas grew up on the frontier and as he grew and developed he actually became a very skilled carpenter. He would marry Nancy Hanks. Now Nancy was born in 1784. She became an orphan and would live with her uncle and aunt and grow up in Kentucky as well and on that frontier. She developed her skills of a woman of the frontier and was known as a seamstress and being able to develop beautiful clothes and things of that nature. The couple married in 1806, and shortly thereafter had two children. They first had Sarah, Abraham's sister, and then right after that they had Abraham. Now in total they had three children but unfortunately, the third child, a son, would actually die in infancy. So, it was a small family of four. Now the family was originally settled in the Mill Creek area of Kentucky not too far from Elizabethtown. And they would eventually move into Elizabethtown, Kentucky, as well and that's where Abraham really got his first bearings. And how he was raised and grew up. And so they would live in the frontier of western Kentucky. Now things would change and Thomas would have some issues with land disputes in his Kentucky home and so he decides to move his family to Indiana. And there in Indiana, for the first couple of years, they actually had a wonderful life living in rural western Indiana. The problem came about two years after they made the move in 1818. Now Nancy was kind and loved her neighbors and was willing to help them even in a time of sickness. And in 1818, an illness, known as milk sickness, actually spread throughout the community. This is a sickness that when cows eat the, I believe, the snake root plant, their milk actually becomes tainted and poisoned and cause illness and even death to those who drink the tainted milk or eat products from that cow. Now Nancy actually went into the community to help a family that had come down with the sickness. She unfortunately drank some of this tainted milk and became sick herself and ended up dying. Of course, this is a hardship for the family. And with that she, um, Abraham is very grief-sticky stricken as well as his sister. They cling to each other. They were already close siblings and they clung to each other during this time. But he had to learn a hard lesson too, because Thomas and Abraham, and Abraham was only nine years old when this happened, actually had to build the casket that would hold his mother. So he had to learn hard lessons at a very young age. Around a year later, Thomas actually went back to Kentucky, ends up remarrying a woman named Sarah Bush Johnston and brings her back to Indiana. Now Sarah Bush Johnson was actually a widow and she had three children of her own. So as she and her family move up with Thomas to join Sarah, his sister, and himself, they are going to have a much larger blended family. Sarah, his stepmom, actually brings not only furniture and the family, she also brings a wealth of books along with her. And really influences Abraham in his education. Now Abraham only had one year of formal education but it would be said that people could see him with an axe in one hand and a book in the other. So he was always curious and always trying to learn. And that encouragement came from his stepmother. Now life in Indiana was good, but they decided to move to Illinois in 1830. Now they moved to one location, didn't like it there and then would move a little bit closer to Indiana again a year later. But they, the family, would remain in Illinois from then on. Abraham actually moves with his family, with his father and stepmother, to this location but he'll eventually strike out on his own as a young man in his early 20s. And really learn how to develop himself and he goes through a variety of different careers or tries his hand at several things. One of which is a flat boat captain, where he would take supplies up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Now Indiana and Illinois were always free states, including free territories before they came states, So Lincoln probably didn't have a lot of familiarity with slavery, especially, even though he came from Kentucky. He was very young and maybe not have that much involved with that. He might not have that connection. But he is highly influenced as a young man when he is a flat boat captain because he ends up going to the city of New Orleans, and at that point he actually sees a slave auction take place in the city center and that affects him for the rest of his life. So even that personal experience and the atrocity of a slave auction will affect Lincoln as he becomes president. Now, he will set up his own home in New Salem, Illinois, and finally get into law. He ends up studying and practicing law, tries his hand at politics, he tries to make a bid for state legislature. The first go-around he actually does not get elected, but he has that taste for it. And he will eventually meet his future wife, Mary Todd. Now Mary Todd and Lincoln both lost their mothers at a young age. They both come from Kentucky. But that's really where the similarities change. Because where Lincoln was on the frontier, he grew up with a small poor family, frontier family, Mary did not. She lived in Lexington, Kentucky. She was part of the wealthy genteel class. So she was very familiar with what came with that. And, of course, that would have been slavery itself. So she actually would move to Illinois to live with her sister and that's where Abraham and Mary actually met. Now they would get married in November of 1842, not long after they would have their first son, Robert, and then three additional sons after that. They would move to Springfield, Illinois, and set up their home and business there. And that's where they would actually build or purchase and live within the only owned home that the Lincolns would have. Now they would stay in Springfield until Lincoln would become president. And then would move to Washington D.C. where, of course, they would live in the White House. Unfortunately, Lincoln, himself, would never return to Illinois alive and his body after his death would be returned to Springfield, where he would be buried. Now just like us all we are affected by the people that raise us and the people who influence our lives and the areas and experiences that we have in our life. And Lincoln is no different. His father was known as a kind generous man who loved to tell stories and apparently that description also describes Abraham, as well. His mother even though she didn't have any formal education, she encouraged her children to be curious and to explore and to learn. And we could see that with Abraham and learning different skills. Of course, his stepmother, Sarah, would also bring in books and learning on a different level and encourage that as well. Now his sister, Sarah, she had a little bit more formal education, but she would walk, Lincoln would actually walk with his sister back and forth when she attended school in Kentucky. And so I'm sure they had plenty of different conversations but, of course, they were very close siblings and the grief and the mourning of their loss of their mother brought them even closer. And, of course, we can't forget Mary Todd. Mary Todd would definitely be that driving force behind Lincoln as he goes into politics and moves forward and becomes the 16th President of the United States. So each one of these people, as I'm well aware several others, affected the 16th President, but they are probably the most influential in his life. Now Abraham Lincoln did not grow up rich, had very little education; was a average man. He was simple and knew that hard work, curiosity, learning, would take him far and he was willing to do that. And obviously it helped push him to where he would become the 16th President of the United States. But just like Lincoln, we are all affected by those around us, as well as, the experiences that we have. I hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit about Lincoln and his family here at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Please stay tuned to more of our social media posts about Kennesaw Mountain, other areas of history, and we're even going to post some links that you can kind of take a virtual tour through other National Parks that focus specifically on Lincoln's early life before he became President. So thanks again and we look forward to having you join us next time. Take care!
Description
Please join Ranger Amanda as she shares the family background and those who helped shaped the man who would become the 16th President. If you would like to take the early journey of Abraham Lincoln’s childhood and young life, you can visit 3 National Park units: • Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park (Kentucky) – (www.nps.gov/abli) • Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (Indiana) – (www.nps.gov/libo) • Lincoln Home National Historic Site (Illinois) – (www.nps.gov/liho)
Duration
12 minutes, 17 seconds
Date Created
02/15/2021
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