3 7 C- 6 LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER LINCOLN AND LIQUOR Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/lincolnliquorOOtown Photograph of Abraham Lincoln taken for his friend \ George Schneider of Chicago, in 1854 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR By WILLIAM H.TOWNSEND Author of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, DEFENDANT LINCOLN AND HIS WIFE'S HOME TOWN LINCOLN, THE LITIGANT Illustrated New York: The Press of the Pioneers, Inc. 1934 Copyright, 1934 The Press of the Pioneers, Inc. New York City 1 7 3. 1Kb 3 1,',-co^ 31 TLk This book is dedicated to my law partners, judge rlchard c. Stoll, Wallace Muir and James Park, with the warmest appreciation of the author PREFACE Ihe name of Abraham Lincoln has become a synonym for conservative, farsighted statesmanship, keen sagacity in practical politics, and rugged personal integrity. Vital problems of government which deeply agitate the public mind, especially if moral issues are thought to be involved, hardly ever fail to evoke the query, "What would Lincoln do?" During the past twelve months this question was frequently asked as the various states voted on the Eighteenth Amendment. Members of the House of Representatives discussed it pointedly on the floor of the National Congress. Now that federal prohibition has been repealed, power to regulate the liquor traffic is again vested in the several states. Wets and drys are already recruiting their ranks for bitter legislative battles, and both sides, mind- ful of the magic of his name, claim Lincoln. Would he favor state-wide prohibition, or would he endorse the view of those who contend that temperance is a personal matter which can not be enforced by legis- lation? Was Lincoln a total abstainer, a prohibitionist, and a lecturer against the evils of strong drink, or was he a user of liquor, a saloonkeeper in his early manhood, and a foe of reform who denounced prohibition as a "species of intemperance within itself" ? viii PREFACE Recent research among old newspaper files, musty court records, archives of the Illinois Legislature almost a century old, and the priceless though little known Herndon-Lamon manuscripts in the Huntington Library at San Marino, California, sheds new light upon the highly controversial subject of Lincoln's personal habits, his attitude toward the liquor problem of his own day, and the environment and association which doubtless influenced his views and actions. In the laborious task of assembling the source mate- rial for this book, it has been my fortune to have had not only the efficient aid of various public institutions, but also the intelligent cooperation and kindly interest of many individual friends. Among the former, I desire to thank the Henry E. Huntington Library, Library of Congress, Chicago Historical Society, Illinois State Historical Society, Union Theological Seminary of New York, Garrett Biblical Institution of Evanston, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln Association, New York Public Lib- rary, and John Hay Memorial Library of Brown Univer- sity. As to the latter, I must first express my deep gratitude to Mr. Paul M. Angle, of Springfield, Illinois, and Mr. David C. Mearns, of Washington, D. C, through whose tireless research many important records have been discovered. It is not too much to say that without their generous assistance this study would hardly have been possible. My thanks and appreciation are also due to Mr. Emanuel Hertz and Miss Ida M. Tarbell, of New York, PREFACE ix Dr. Louis A. Warren, of Ft. Wayne, Indiana; Mr. Carl Sandburg and Mr. Oliver R. Barrett of Chicago, Illinois; Mr. Thomas P. Reep and Mr. Henry E. Pond, of Petersburg, Illinois; Dr. Howard O. Russell, of Westerville, Ohio; Mr. John W. Starr, Jr., of Millers- burg, Pennsylvania; Mr. Charles T. White, of Brook- lyn, New York; Mr. Clint Clay Tilton, of Danville, Illinois; Dr. Benjamin P. Thomas, of Springfield, Illinois, Mr. Thomas I. Starr, of Detroit, Michigan; Dr. Milton H. Shutes, of Oakland, California; Mr. John T. Vance, of Washington, D. C; Mr. Charles T. Baker, of Grand View, Indiana ; Judge James W. Bollinger, of Davenport, Iowa; Miss Esther C. Cushman, of Providence, Rhode Island; Judge O. M. Mather, of Hodgenville, Kentucky; Mr. Malcolm Bayley, of Louisville, Kentucky, and especi- ally my companions on many historical excursions, Mr. Charles R. Staples, Mr. J. Winston Coleman, Dr. Frank L. McVey, President of the University of Ken- tucky; Dr. Thomas D. Clark, Dr. John S. Chambers, Dr. Claude W. Trapp, and Major Samuel M. Wilson, of Lexington, Kentucky. Miss Ethel Duncan has rendered most efficient service in typing and preparing the manuscript for publication. While it is indeed a pleasure to acknowledge the help that has come to me from so many sources, the respon- sibility for the use of all material, the sifting and weigh- ing of evidence, and the conclusions expressed in these pages must be mine alone. It is quite possible that some x PREFACE of those to whom I am indebted may not entirely agree with everything I have said, and I have a very high respect for the sincerity of their opinions. The writing of history in certain aspects is not unlike the working of a jig-saw puzzle. One must take the pieces as he finds them. He is not at liberty to change their size or shape, and the picture is not complete until each piece has been put in its own proper place. When one has made a faithful effort to do this, without bias or any attempt to support preconceived theory, he should be able to abide the result with at least a fair degree of equanimity. William H. Townsend September ist, 1934. 28 Mentelle Park, Lexington, Kentucky. CONTENTS Preface vii CHAPTER I. Kentucky Childhood ... i II. Indiana Youth 13 III. New Salem 23 IV. The Legislator 40 V. A Washingtonian . . . .52 VI. The Maine Law Campaign . 63 VII. The Springfield Years ... 90 VIII. President Lincoln . . . . 113 Bibliography 145 Index 149 ILLUSTRATIONS Photograph of Abraham Lincoln taken for his friend, George Schneider of Chicago, in 1 854 {Frontispiece) Facing page Thomas Lincoln's still-house near Lexington . 7 Site of still-house where Lincoln worked in Indiana 23 Tavern license to sell liquor issued in the name of Lincoln and Berry 23 Bond for liquor license for Lincoln and Berry . 37 Spurious hand-bill circulated in Atlanta ... 51 Rev. James W. Smith, pastor of the First Presby- terian Church of Springfield 73 Bar of the Tremont House in Chicago 93 Lincoln's letter on reception of Notification Com- mittee 101 Washington's contract with his gardener . . . 115 Union field officers indulging in social glass. . . 131 Ford's Theatre, showing Star Saloon, where Booth took his last drink before the assassination . 143 CHAPTER I KENTUCKY CHILDHOOD On a raw, sleety January evening, two handsome young men, elegantly attired in black satin smallclothes with knee buckles of artistic design, ruffled shirts, silk stockings and gay-colored brocaded waistcoats, sat at a cardtable before a crackling fire of hickory wood in an upstairs room of McLean's Tavern at Bardstown, Ken- tucky. One was John Rowan, lawyer, later jurist, Con- gressman and United States Senator. The other was Dr. James Chambers, son-in-law of Judge Benjamin Se- bastian, of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the most promising young physician in the state. They had just come up from the tap-room, where Rowan had ordered mugs to be filled with a potent brew, and, turning to those present, had hospitably "asked help to drink it." The "gallon of strong beer" which he and his friend Chambers had drunk before arriving at the Tavern had given them a "zest for more." The game of "vigutun" which they were playing had not progressed far, however, before Rowan and the Doctor became involved in a heated argument "as to which understood some of the dead languages the best." Rowan, with bibulous gravity, declared that the Doctor was not competent to dispute with him on such 1 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR subjects. Chambers emphatically retorted that he was vastly Rowan's superior in classical scholarship. "I'll be damned if you are," replied Rowan. 'Til be damned if I'm not," exclaimed Chambers. "You are a damned liar," shouted Rowan. According to an observer: "Each asserted his superiority with warmth and acrimony, both being intoxicated. Mr. Rowan appeared more so, for when blows ensued, Mr. Rowan struck the wall of the chimney as often, or perhaps oftener, than he struck the Doctor." Through the intervention of friends, the belligerent linguists were quickly separated, but next day Cham- bers challenged Rowan to a duel. Again friends at- tempted to "accommodate" the difficulty, but without avail, and, shortly after dawn on the morning of February 3rd, 1801, as a dense fog was lifting along the Beech Fork near Jacob Yoder's plantation, the two masters of the dead languages rode out of the woods, dis- mounted, removed their greatcoats, wheeled and fired at ten paces, and Dr. Chambers fell mortally wounded with a pistol ball in his body under the left arm. 1 The Kentucky of Abraham Lincoln's childhood was a brawling, whisky drinking, horse racing, card playing region that amazed early travelers to the western coun- x This incident occurred only a few miles from Abraham Lincoln's birthplace. For accounts by seconds and eye witnesses see "The Pallad- ium," a newspaper published at Frankfort, Kentucky, March 10, May 12, 1 801. George M. Bibb, later United States Senator and Secretary of the Treasury under Tyler, was Rowan's second. KENTUCKY CHILDHOOD 3 try. "They are nearly all natives of Virginia," observed the Frenchman, M. Michaux. "With them a passion for gaming and spiritous liquors is carried to excess, which frequently terminates in quarrels degrading to human nature. If a traveler happens to pass by, his horse is appreciated, if he stops, he is presented with a glass of whisky." 2 In the Bluegrass region, the center of culture in the western country, encounters between gentlemen were usually attended by the most punctilious observance of the "code," but the backwoodsmen, drunk or sober, scorned such pompous formalities. When Timothy Flint visited Kentucky in 1818, he noted in his Journal: "Fights are characterized by the most savage ferocity, goughing, or putting out the an- tagonist's eyes by thrusting the thumbs in the sockets, is a part of the modus operandi. Kicking and biting are also ordinary means used in combat. I have seen several fingers that have been mutilated, also several noses and ears which have been bitten off by this canine mode of fighting." 3 And Flint's horrified fellow traveler, F. Cuming, wrote back to London: "They fight for the most trifling provocations, or even sometimes without any, but merely to try each other's prowess, which they are fond of vaunting of. Their hands, teeth, knees, head and feet are their weapons, not only boxing with their fists, but 2 Michaux, 194. 3 Flint in Thwaites, IX, 138. 4 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR also tearing, kicking, scratching, biting, goughing each other's eyes out by a dexterous use of a thumb and finger, and doing their utmost to kill each other, even when rolling over one another on the ground." 4 Dennis Hanks relates such an incident concerning Abraham Lincoln's father, which occurred "at a gather- ing in Hardinsburg, Ky." It seems, according to Hanks, that a certain local citizen "was reputed and cracked up as the best man in Breckinridge County." Thomas Lincoln, however, who "though not a fleshy man," was "knit so compact that it was difficult to find or feel a rib in his body," had friends and neighbors from the "Bar- rens" of Hardin County who disputed the claims of the champion and his supporters. "It was agreed to and they both consented to a fair fight," says Hanks. "They soon stript and went at it, and Thomas Lincoln whipped him in less than two min- utes without getting a scratch." And this, too, in spite of the fact that Lincoln was always "good humored, sociable and never appeared to be offended." 5 But not all public gatherings in those early glamor- ous years of the nineteenth century were marred by truculence or tragedy. Frequently at race meetings, shooting matches, militia musters, barbecues and other pioneer festivities, good liquor and good humor were present in great abundance, memories of hilarious 4 Cuming's "Tour to the West," Thwaites, IV, 137. 5 Hanks' Chicago statement, June 8, 1865. "No one else ever tried his manhood in a personal combat." Hanks' second Chicago statement. Herndon-Lamon MSS. KENTUCKY CHILDHOOD 5 political banquets — Kentucky River catfish, mutton chops, wild turkey, venison, hickory-smoked ham, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pies, eloquent speeches; claret, brandy and mellow whisky — were fondly cherished long after the snow of many winters had cooled the blood and bleached the hair of the merry participants. One of these never-to-be-forgotten occasions was in the autumn of 1 809, when the Legislature chose Henry Clay, hardly thirty-three years of age, to represent Kentucky in the Senate of the United States. That evening the young statesman was tendered a dinner at Frankfort, and, many years later, one who was present recalled that "Gallant Harry of the West," after "the bottle had circulated until a late hour, an- nounced his intention of finishing off the entertainment by a grand Terpsichorean performance on the table, which he accordingly did, executing a pas seul from head to foot of the dining table, sixty feet in length, amidst the loud applause of his companions and to a crashing accompaniment of shivered glass and china, for which expensive music he next morning paid, without demur, a bill of $i2o.oo." 6 The widespread use of alcoholic liquors in Kentucky made the manufacture of ardent spirits one of the earliest and most important industries in the state. 7 6 Little, 38. 7 A traveler who visited in Lexington in 1809 noted "two brew houses" that "make as good beer as can be got in the United States," and seven distilleries. Cuming, 164. 6 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR "Bourbon" whisky, a delicately proportioned mash of Indian corn, rye and malt, mixed with pure sparkling limestone water, carefully cooked over a slow burning fire, and distilled through heavy copper "worms" into oaken barrels, charred on the inside, and then ricked high in well ventilated warehouses to be aged by the soft, warm, sweet-scented winds of a dozen languorous summers, was a delicious, exhilarating beverage fit to tickle the palate of a king. Apple and peach brandies were also in large demand. The fruit, when dead ripe, was thrown into large wooden troughs and pounded with heavy pestles until reduced to pulp. Large powerful screw presses then squeezed the juice into vats of blue ash, where, after fermenting from six to twelve hours, according to the weather, it was ready for distillation. With liquor drinking so generally prevalent among all classes of pioneer society, one would not expect to find easy-going, lethargic Thomas Lincoln a tee-totaler. 8 Occasionally he worked at a still house, and one ad- joined the birthplace of his famous son, but he used liquor very moderately, and, for his day, was counted a temperate man. 9 The time-stained store ledgers of Bleakley & Montgomery, at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, contain occasional items, such as, "Thomas Lincoln — 8 "Thomas Lincoln was no drunkard, neither was he a total abstainer." Barton, I, 112. 9 "Thomas Lincoln was temperate in his habits, never was intoxicated in his life." Hanks' Chicago Statement, June 8, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. Thomas Lincoln's still-house near Lexington KENTUCKY CHILDHOOD J one pint of whiskey — 21c," but they are few and far between when compared to similar entries for other customers. So much, however, can not be said for the uncle of Abraham's father, who was also named Thomas. This prosperous kinsman, frequently mentioned by Lincoln in his correspondence of later years, owned a fertile farm, cultivated by his slaves, up in the Bluegrass region, where, according to his own description, he also "operated a very good & well fixed distillery" on South Elkhorn Creek, near Lexington. In 1810, his wife, Elizabeth, sued him for the recov- ery of certain property under a separation agreement which recited that "the said Elizabeth hath come to a final determination to reside with her husband no longer." Her bill of complaint alleged that "the said Thomas hath been very abusive to his said wife, & has twice kicked her with his feet & once thrown a chair at her, and gives her very repeatedly the -most abusive language." 10 The response that Thomas filed is in contrite but somewhat guarded terms. It alleges that "the said Lincoln with truth can say that whatever of his conduct towards her that may have savoured of either injustice or cruelty, has proceeded either from a deranged mind or casual intemperance & intoxication, and while he with the deepest remorse laments & acknowledges these 10 Thomas Lincoln v. John O'Nan, Elizabeth Lincoln, et al, March 31, 1 8 10, file 215, Fayette Circuit Court. 8 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR errors of his own life, it has been the misfortune of his wife to have her errors also." In further defence, he states that on one occasion his wife "actually approached to strike him with a chair & was about to strike him when he repelled the blow by striking her." 11 When the case came to trial on December 13, 18 10, one of Mrs. Lincoln's witnesses, Peter Warfield, ad- mitted that she was "in the habit of frequent intoxica- tion" and that he had "frequently seen her in that state," but expressed the opinion that it was "generally believed in the neighborhood that Mrs. Lincoln's intem- perance proceeded from the bad conduct of her husband." Evidently the infuriated Thomas, after court ad- journed, laid violent hands upon the truthful Peter, because Warfield next morning filed a suit against Lincoln for assault and battery, stating that on the previous day "Thomas Lincoln did with feet and fists commit an assault upon the said plaintiff & him, the said Pltff, then & there did beat, wound & evilly treat so that his life was despaired of greatly." 12 In after years, when Abraham Lincoln lounged about the courthouse on visits to his wife's home town, and, as he wrote Jesse Lincoln, "heard the older people speak of Uncle Thomas and his family," and perhaps read the dust laden records in the office of the Circuit Clerk, it must have been apparent to him that mutual indulgence 11 Thomas Lincoln v. John O'Nan, Elizabeth Lincoln, et al, March 31, 1 8 10, file 227, Fayette Circuit Court. 12 Peter Warfield v. Thomas Lincoln, Dec. 14, 1810, file 227, Fayette Circuit Court. KENTUCKY CHILDHOOD 9 to excess in the mellow juice of Kentucky corn had been a vital factor in the marital unhappiness of Thomas and Elizabeth Lincoln. 13 Abraham's Uncle Mordecai, his father's oldest brother, whom he says he "often saw," was also a heavy drinker, and so was his son "Young Mord. ,, The elder Mordecai moved to Hancock County, Illinois, and one stormy December day in 1830, unable to longer breast the blizzard, Uncle Mord dismounted from his horse, lay wearily down in a snowdrift to sleep off his liquor, and never awoke. 14 Abraham Lincoln had no recollection of his birth- place, the rude cabin by the Sinking Spring on Nolin Creek. When he was two years old his father moved across Muldraugh's Hill to a fertile little farm in the bottom lands of picturesque Knob Creek, and here the Lincolns lived until they moved to Indiana when Abraham was almost eight years old. This new home was on the old Cumberland Road, the main highway between Louisville and Nashville, and the hustle and bustle along this important thorough- fare afforded contacts with the outside world, in sharp contrast with the isolation of "The Barrens" of Nolin Creek. Caleb Hazel, the closest neighbor of the Lincolns, and Abraham's second school-teacher, kept an "ordi- 13 Apparently Thomas Lincoln never reformed nor regained his former prosperity. An execution issued against him July 3, 1815, was returned by the sheriff marked "No property found." Execution Book D, 215, Fayette Circuit Court. 14 Barton's "Lineage of Lincoln," 103-4-14. IO LINCOLN AND LIQUOR nary," and on one occasion was indicted in the Hardin Circuit Court for "retailing spiritous liquors by the small without a license." 15 Peter Atherton, the Knob Creek ferryman, sold whisky also, and in 1814 was arrested for the same offense. 16 Two miles down the road from the Lincoln home, and within sight of the school that Abraham attended, was a distillery which in time became the largest liquor manufacturing plant in the world. 17 Every mill site, cross roads, and other pub- lic place had its "ordinary" or "groggery," where peach brandy, applejack and whisky could be had at low cost. Liquor drinking was by no means uncommon among the clergy. William Downs, probably the first preacher Abraham ever heard, who baptized Thomas Lincoln in Knob Creek, was "indolent, slovenly, and self-indulgent and, while pastor of the Little Mount Church which the Lincolns attended, was summoned before the con- gregation to answer a charge of being intoxicated. 18 David Elkin, another pastor of the same church, who, according to tradition, preached the funeral of Lincoln's mother, is said to have had his reputation "sullied in his later years, perhaps from too free use of strong drink." 19 Rather frequently, Thomas Lincoln rode to Eliza- bethtown, and now and then he took his young son with 15 Warren, 214. 16 Ibid, 168. 17 Ibid. 18 Spencer, Historian of "Kentucky Baptists," in Warren, 244. "His moral character was so defective that he exercised little influence for good." 19 Spencer, in Warren, 246. Dennis Hanks says that Elkin was "an old Ky. friend" of the Lincolns. KENTUCKY CHILDHOOD II him. This was on court days or other public occasions, and here, in particular, the boy had abundant oppor- tunity to observe the boisterous conviviality of which the pioneers were so fond. 20 Doors of the "ordinary" and "groggery" stood wide open and all were heavily patronized. Indeed, an enter- prising physician of the village, on the days of militia musters, always had two large buckets of "sweetened whiskey" in front of his office as the backwoods soldiery marched by, and "let the whole company swig to their hearts' content." 21 It is certain that Abraham Lincoln, during his child- hood, whether he rode to mill or played about the ferry, or went to school, or attended church, or visited the county seat, was brought into intimate contact with liquor, and with those who drank it regularly and, fre- quently to excess. Moreover, in the business transactions of the neigh- borhood, Lincoln saw liquor used as one of the chief mediums of exchange. Even at Lexington, the "Athens of the West," church subscriptions were acceptable in "good merchantable whiskey." With no market outlet for his surplus corn, the pioneer often found it safer to convert his crop into whisky than to fatten the jowls of 20 Elizabethtown was quite a gay place in the backwoods country. At one of the terms of court the defendant moved for a new trial on the grounds that the jury, on retiring and before making a verdict, "did eat, drink, fiddle and dance," and that "divers persons, not of the jury, were admitted and joined with the jury in drinking, revelling and carousing." Haycraft, 54. 21 Ibid, 153. 12 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR half wild porkers which ran at large through the dark, tangled forest. It is, therefore, not surprising that when Thomas Lincoln left Kentucky to stake out a claim in the wilder- ness of Indiana, near the close of the year 1816, the rude raft that he launched in the swift, foaming waters of Rolling Fork carried ten barrels of distilled spirits. 22 22 Lincoln's raft carried "his whiskey, farming utensils, a chest of cabinet and carpenter's tools" and some household goods. Enroute the raft capsized, but Lincoln "succeeded in saving most of his whiskey, a few tools, and a few other goods." Hanks' second Chicago statement. Herndon-Lamon MSS. CHAPTER II INDIANA YOUTH Oixteen miles from the Ohio River, on a slight ele- vation in the dense, sombre woods, Thomas Lincoln cleared away the thick undergrowth of grapevines, sumac and dogwood bushes, and erected a rude, cheer- less shelter of poles and brush, open on one side, which DennisHanks called "that Darn Little half-faced camp." 1 On this isolated knoll, amidst an environment which undoubtedly left its imprint upon him, Abraham Lin- coln lived until he was twenty-one years of age. Social life in southern Indiana at this period was typical of all backwoods settlements. Cabins, though far apart, were overcrowded with large families; few of the inhabitants could read or write; amusements were rough and boisterous; alcoholic beverages potent and plentiful. The most popular form of entertainment was the "frolic. " A traveler wrote, "They seldom do any- thing without having one. Thus they have husking, reaping, log rolling frolics, etc. Among the females, they have picking, sewing and quilting frolics." 2 These occasions brought the entire neighborhood to- gether, and were invariably attended by much feasting 1 Hanks to Herndon, March 12, 1866. Herndon-Lamon MSS. 2 Woods in Thwaites, X, 337, 14 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR and drinking. The men took their whisky straight, while the women sweetened it to a toddy or drank it in the form of a stiff eggnog. 3 In the evenings by the weird flickering light of burn- ing log heaps, whilst liquor circulated freely in earthen jugs, passed around by small boys, the buxom frontier belles, in short-waisted dresses of linsey woolsey, and their stalwart beaux, in jeans or buckskins, "danced the livelong night barefooted on puncheon floors. " 4 Even at religious services, liquor seems to have had a proper place. Before the log church on Pigeon Creek was built, the little congregation to which Lincoln's family belonged met the preacher at a neighbor's cabin on Sunday morning, where there was usually a bottle of whisky, a pitcher of water, sugar and glasses, and a basket of apples or turnips, or sometimes a cake or batch of fried apple pies. When the refreshments had been consumed, the shepherd of the flock took the floor, threw off his coat, opened his shirt collar, read his text, and then "preached and pounded" until the sweat pro- duced by his exertions and the exhilarating effects of the toddy rolled down his flushed jowls in great drops. 5 3 Woods in Thwaites,X,337. "Brandy, rum and wine can be purchased and whiskey is in great plenty; and too much of it is drank by many." "Excessive drinking seems the all-prevading, easily besetting sin of this wild hunting country." Faux in Thwaites, II, 212. 4 Lamon, 53. Woods says that at a public sale the auctioneer "held a bottle of whiskey in his hand and frequently offered a dram to the next bidder. As I made some biddings, I was several times entitled to a sip out of the bottle, and though I much dislike the taste of whiskey, I took a sip for the novelty of the thing." Woods in Thwaites, X, 347. 6 Herndon, I, 64. INDIANAYOUTH 15 The services were concluded by singing such hymns as, using the grotesque spelling of Dennis Hanks, "O when shall I see jesus and Rain with him aBove" and "how teageous and tasteless the hours when jesus No Longer I see." But one of the worshipers remembered that at "old Mr. Linkern's house" the Sunday morning "treat" was only "a plate of potatoes washed and pared very nicely. They took off a potato and ate them like apples." 6 The following extract from one of the old minute books shows how the Pigeon Creek Church was sup- ported: 7 "We the undersigned do asign our names to pay the sevrial somes annexed to our names in produce this fall to be delivered betwixt the first and 20th of December, the produce is as follows corn wheat whiskey pork Linnen wool or any other article or material to do the work with, the produce will Be Dilevered at the meting hoas in good marchanable produce. "William Barker ere." Among the names of the "undersigned" appears "Thomas Lincoln in corn manufactured pounds 24." According to his schoolmate, Nat Grigsby, Abraham Lincoln, at seventeen years of age, was six feet two inches tall, "stout — withey — wirey," and weighed around 160 pounds. "Like the balance of us," says Grigsby, "he wore low shoes, short socks, wool being scarce — between the shoe and sock and his britches, 6 Lamon, 42. 7 Records of Pigeon Creek Church at Rockport, Ind; see also Tarbell's "In The Footsteps of the Lincoln," p. 143. 1 6 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR made of buckskin, there was bare and naked six or more inches of Abe Lincoln's shin bone. He always came to school thus — good humoredly and laughing." 8 Whisky was sold at the cross roads, which later be- came Gentryville, and young Lincoln and his step- brother, John D. Johnston, Dennis Hanks and Nat Grigsby loafed a good deal around Gentry's store, where Abe was extremely fond of telling his droll stories. "Sometimes we spent a little time at Grog," Hanks naively recalled in 1865. 9 And Grigsby says: "Abe drank his dram, as well as all others did, preachers and christians included," but he stresses the fact that "Lincoln was a temperate drinker." 10 William Wood, a Kentuckian, and a thrifty early settler of Indiana, was a near neighbor of the Lincolns, and a trusted friend and adviser of Abraham's youth. According to Wood, "Abe once drank as all people did here at that time." 11 Wood was a temperance man, and took a paper de- voted to that cause which Lincoln frequently read with much interest. "One day," relates Wood, "Abe wrote a piece on temperance and brought it to my house. I read it carefully over and over again, and thought the piece 8 Grigsby's statement, Sept. 12, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. One of the girls who went to school with Lincoln adds that he wore a "linsey- woolsey shirt and a cap made from the skin of a squirrel or coon." Kate Gentry in Herndon, I, 38. 9 Lamon, $6. 10 Grigsby's Statement, Sept. 12, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. 11 Wood's Statement, Sept. 15, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. INDIANA YOUTH 17 excelled in sound sense anything my paper contained. " He was so impressed with the article that he showed it to Aaron Farmer, a Baptist preacher, who sent it to a news- paper in Ohio, where it was published. 12 Doubtless, Lincoln's indulgence in alcoholic bever- ages during the Indiana years was extremely casual. In- deed his stepmother did not know that he drank at all, or else she had forgotten the rare instances when, years later, she said to Herndon, "He never drank whisky or other strong drink — was temperate in all things — too much so, I thought sometimes." 13 But the tall, loose-jointed youth, in coonskin cap and skimpy buckskin breeches, found the evenings at Gentry's store none the less entertaining because of the presence of ribald associates. And when the hour grew late and the storekeeper finally dismissed the loungers by snuffing his candles, and the boys of the neighbor- hood started home, Abe's voice, if not the most melo- dious, was certainly one of the loudest in singing, as Dennis Hanks wrote, "the turpen (turbaned) turk that Scorns the world and struts aBout with his whiskers Curled for No other man But himself to see" and "Hail Collumbia Happy land if you ain't Drunk I'll be damned." 12 Wood says that this was in 1827 or 1828. Unfortunately, no copy of this article has ever been discovered. 13 Sally Bush Lincoln to Herndon, Sept. 8, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. On the occasion of this interview, she also said of Lincoln: "He was the best boy I ever saw. I had a son, John, who was raised with Abe. Both were good boys — but I must say, both now being dead, that Abe was the best boy I ever saw or ever expect to see." 1 8 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR Dennis further recalled that "Abe youst to try to sing pore old Ned But he Never could sing Much." 14 Lincoln, however, even in those early days of boisterous fun-making, was quick to lend succor to those in distress. Late one winter evening, as he and several others were trudging homeward from Gentry's store, they came upon an old man lying on his face in a mud hole by the side of the road, helplessly drunk. Rolling him over and seeing that he could not be aroused, the rest of the party proceeded on their way. But Lincoln gathered the unconscious figure in his sinewy arms, threw the half-frozen burden over his shoulder, and, wholly without assistance from his merry com- panions, carried the old man to a cabin more than a mile away, where "he built a fire, and warmed, rubbed and nursed him through the entire night." The old man gratefully gave Lincoln the credit for having saved his life. "It was mighty clever in Abe," he often told his friends, "to tote me to a warm fire that cold night." 15 "Lincoln was kindly disposed toward everybody and everything," says Nat Grigsby. "He scarcely ever quarreled." In fact, the only physical encounter of his boyhood days which has been recorded was with Nat's older brother, William Grigsby. It seems that Grigsby and John D. Johnston had a "terrific fight" near Gentry- 14 Lamon, 59. "Other little songs I won't say anything about," wrote the modest Dennis. "They would not look well in print, but I could give them." "Lamon, 168. INDIANA YOUTH 19 ville, which was attended by all of the countryside for miles around. It was one of those fierce "fist and skull" affairs — kicking, biting, gouging — that so astonished and shocked the early journalists. After they had fought for some time, Johnston, who had taken a severe mauling at the hands of his larger adversary, suddenly went down with Grigsby on top of him, and the excited spectators closed in upon the struggling youths, cheering and swearing. At this point, Lincoln burst through the crowd, his long muscular arms flying like flails, shouting that "Bill Boland (one of the Grigsby sympathizers) showed foul play." Seizing Grigsby by the heels, he tossed him into the bushes, jerked his step brother to his feet, and, swinging a whisky bottle over his head, "swore he was the big buck of the lick." "If any one doubts it," he shouted, "he has only to come on and whet his horns!" This challenge was immediately followed by a general engagement between the two factions, from which the Lincoln crowd soon emerged completely victorious. 16 Though doubtless of great concern to the partici- pants at the time, this episode evidently left no perma- nent animosity on either side. In the fall of 1844, Lincoln closed his Indiana campaign for Henry Clay, Whig candidate for President, at Gentryville. It was his 16 Lamon, 6$; Herndon I, 46-47; Grigsby to Herndon, Oct. 25, 1865; Herndon-Lamon MSS. 20 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR first return to the home of his boyhood. In the midst of his speech, Nat Grigsby entered the room, and Lincoln recognized him instantly. "There's Nat," he exclaimed, and "without the slightest regard for the proprieties of the occasion," he "scrambled" down from the platform and pushed eagerly through the crowd until he reached his old schoolmate and clasped him by the hand. Then, as though no interruption had occurred, he returned to the rostrum and finished his speech. That night, Grigsby and Lincoln slept together at the home of the village store-keeper, where the Presidential elector from Illinois "commenced telling stories and talked over old times" until long past midnight. 17 Reuben Grigsby, father of William and Nat, who lived only a short distance from the Lincolns, was one of the thriftiest citizens of the community. He bought and sold large quantities of farm produce, and many bushels of his corn went into hog fat and whisky. Thomas Lincoln made his lard casks, built his still house, and "coopered" the vats and the oaken barrels that held the potent fluid in sturdy embrace through the ageing period. 18 In 1826, Abraham's only sister, Sarah, married Aaron Grigsby, one of Reuben's numerous sons. Two years later, when she was being attended in childbirth 17 Lamon, 275. 18 Charles T. Baker, Grandview, Indiana, to the author, Nov. 10, 1933. Flint refers to land owners in Indiana who rented ground on shares and operated still houses to use the surplus corn. He observes that in 1820 corn sold for "25 cts" per bushel, but "when converted into spirits it yields him at the rate of a dollar per bushel." Flint in Thwaites, IX, 293. INDIANA YOUTH 21 by a local midwife, probably Mrs. Josiah Crawford, a baffling situation arose which required the immediate services of a physician. The nearest doctor lived about two miles away, but when he arrived he was so drunk that he had to be put to bed. Sarah's father-in-law then jumped on his horse and galloped off in a pouring rain to summon Dr. William Davis from Warwick County, but on the return trip the rising waters of Little Pigeon Creek made it impossible to cross at the usual ford, and when Dr. Davis finally arrived at the Grigsby residence, Sarah and her baby were dead. 19 In the fall and winter of 1826, Lincoln worked on a ferryboat at the mouth of Anderson's Creek, where it empties into the Ohio River. The following year, he and John D. Johnston went to Louisville and worked for a while on the Louisville and Portland Canal, where they were paid off in silver dollars. The next year, Allan Gentry, son of the store-keeper, took a flat boat loaded with meat and other produce down the river to New Orleans. Lincoln went along as a "bow hand" to work the "front oars," for which he received $8.00 a month and board. One night as the boat was tied up at the plantation of Madam Bushane, six miles below Baton Rouge, Lincoln and Gentry, asleep in the stern, were awakened by a band of plundering negroes, armed with hickory clubs. But the stalwart young giant, who would some day strike the fetters from the feet of four million 19 Shutes, 59. Charles T. Baker to author, Nov. 3, 1933. Mr. Baker is an authority upon the doctors of the Lincoln family in Indiana. 22 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR blacks, furiously defended himself, his companion and his cargo, with mighty strokes of a huge bludgeon that knocked some of the marauders into the river and routed the others, leaving the deck slippery with blood and wool, and Lincoln with a deep scar that he carried to his grave. 20 These contacts with the outside world, as he ap- proached manhood, brought Lincoln in touch with types of humanity more varied than he had ever known in the backwoods. The river revealed to him the lowest and most dissipated sort of life. As the traveler, Wood, observed, in writing his experiences in Indiana and in the Ohio Valley, "many of the store-keepers were very obliging, but the boatmen the very reverse; a rough set of men, many given to drinking whisky, fighting and goughing. ,,21 In the autumn of 1829, John Dutton employed Lincoln's stepbrother to operate a still house for him, "up at the head of a hollow," four miles southwest of Huntingburg, Indiana, near what is now the Fredonia and Princeton highway. Lincoln wrote the contract between Dutton and Johnston, and here in this little still house he worked among the mash tubs and copper "worms," the last winter he spent in the Hoosier state. 22 20 Lamon, 71-72; Romine's Statement in Beveridge, I, 88. 21 Woods in Thwaites, X, i$$. 22 Hobson, 79-80. Lincoln left the contract which he had written with his friend and neighbor, Henry Brooner. Site of still-house where Lincoln worked in Indiana CHAPTER III NEW SALEM It was August ist, 1831, and election day at New Salem, a straggling village of some fifteen log cabins situated upon a high bluff of the Sangamon River, in what is now Menard County, Illinois. The voting place was at the home of John M. Cameron, one of the earliest settlers in the community. During the morning, the election officers found themselves in need of a clerk. A tall and very slender young stranger, exceedingly awkward in appearance, even among uncouth surroundings, wearing a calico shirt, brogan shoes and pale blue castinet pantaloons, much too short for his long scrawny legs, 1 was loitering about the polls, and one of the officers asked him if he could write. The stranger's deepset gray eyes twinkled: "I can make a few rabbit tracks," he drawled, with a Kentucky accent that clung to him all his life. 2 Later in the day, as the voters came in slowly, the new clerk began to relate some of his Indiana yarns, the most amusing of which remained vividly in the memory of a bystander after the elapse of over thirty years. Statement of James Short, July 7, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. Short says that at this time Lincoln "appeared to be as tall as he ever be- came, and slimmer than of later years." 2 Lincoln at New Salem, 21. 24 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR One Sunday morning, so the story went, an itinerant preacher, short and very corpulent, filled the pulpit of the Little Pigeon Baptist church. The day was hot and sultry, and he wore a huge pair of pantaloons made of coarse linen with a flap in front, attached to his shirt without belt or suspenders, the upper garment fastening by a single button at the back of his neck. After several hymns had been sung, the minister ad- vanced to the front of the rostrum, and, before reading his text, announced in a loud, solemn voice: "I shall rep- resent Christ today." Just at that instant, a little blue lizzard popped out from between the logs, and, un- noticed by the audience, ran up a leg of his baggy breeches. The preacher slapped wildly at his heavy thigh, and, hoping to allay any suspicion that all was not well, repeated in tones even louder than before: "I shall represent Christ today." By this time the in- truder, clawing viciously, was climbing his broad, sweaty back, and, throwing caution to the wind, the good man gave a frantic shrug of his thick shoulders that burst his collar button, and both shirt and trousers dropped to the floor. Then, as the bewildered congregation sat gazing at the naked, disheveled figure, apparently doing a war dance on the pulpit, an "old sister" arose indignantly to her feet, and, as she marched down the aisle and out of the door, shouted shrilly: "If you represent Christ then I am done with the Bible." 3 3 Statement of J. R. Herndon, July 2, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. NEW SALEM 25 In this manner, Abraham Lincoln introduced him- self to the fun-loving citizens of New Salem, and sprang instantly into a popularity that steadily increased as time went on. His presence in the village was due to the fact that early in the spring he had taken a flat-boat loaded with bacon, corn and hogs to New Orleans for Denton Offutt, a brisk, boastful, venturesome trader, then en- gaged in extensive business operations up and down the Sangamon River. 4 OfFutt, having taken a great liking to his droll, stalwart boat-hand, had purchased a quantity of merchandise in St. Louis and was opening a store at New Salem with Lincoln in charge. The new establishment was a general country store, including dry goods, and whisky was as much a part of the stock as coffee, tea, sugar, molasses, tobacco and gunpowder. 5 The best evidence, however, that liquor was not sold by the drink at Offutt's place is that the convivial element did not congregate there, but had its rendez- vous across the road at William Clary's "grocery," where the sportive Offutt himself spent much of his time when he happened to be in New Salem. 6 Lincoln found little in the pioneer life of Illinois that he had not known before. Religion was demonstrative, 4 James Short to Herndon, July 7, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. "Offutt was a wild, harum-scarum kind of a man, and I think not much of a business man." 5 R. B. Rutledge to Herndon. Herndon-Lamon MSS. 6 Lincoln at New Salem, 24. 26 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR and the use of ardent spirits widely prevalent. Commun- ity intercourse centered largely about the familiar camp meetings, log rollings, house raisings and trading ex- cursions to the village on Saturday afternoons. But the deviltry of the Clary Grove Boys added a spice and zest to New Salem atmosphere that Gentry- ville never had. Wild, reckless, warm-hearted, impulsive, this swaggering set of picturesque young rowdies, descendants of Kentuckians who had brought their racing stock and game cocks to the frontier country, were equally ready for fight or frolic. 7 Devoted to rough sports involving feats of physical strength, hostile to strangers whose courage was yet untested, they stood aloof from Lincoln until one sunny afternoon, under the giant oak near OfFutt's store, when the tall, sinewy clerk conquered their chief and champion wrestler, Jack Armstrong. Thereafter, as one of them declared: "Abe was king, his word was law." He umpired their cock- fights, wrestling matches and foot races, and his de- cisions were accepted without a murmur. 8 Strangely enough, Lincoln never drank any liquor at New Salem. The evidence is uncontradicted and con- 7 Lincoln at New Salem, 27. Uncle Jimmy Short, looking back upon those days through the sombre eyes of old age, refers in harsh terms to the Clary Grove Boys — "Roughs and bullies who were in the habit of winning all of the money of strangers at cards, and then whipping them in the bargain." Short to Herndon, July 8, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. 8 Onstott, 73; "He could throw down any man that took hold of him, he could out jump and out box the best of them, he could beat all of them on anecdote, he was the superior of all of them." J. R. Herndon to Hern- don; May 28, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. NEW SALEM 27 elusive on this point. 9 "I have seen him," says R. B. Rutledge, "frequently take a barrel of whisky by the chimes and lift it up to his face as if to drink out of the bung-hole, but I never saw him taste or drink any kind of spiritous liquor." 10 And yet, though he neither drank nor brawled, Lincoln never rebuked his roistering companions, nor attempted to reform them in any way, except perchance by force of his personal example. While he was stretched out reading on the counter, his head propped up with bolts of cotton or calico, a drunken fight would frequently start in the village street and Lincoln would run out, "pitch in," grab the ag- gressor by the "nap of the neck and seat of the britches," and toss him "10 or 12 feet easily." This, an eye witness dryly observes, "usually ended the fuss," and Lincoln calmly returned to his book. 11 On one occasion, the Clary Grove Boys persuaded an old man by the name of Jordan to allow himself to be rolled down the steep, rocky bluff in a barrel, for a 9 "Lincoln never drank liquor of any kind." Onstott, 73. Onstott's father was the village cooper. "He never played cards nor drank nor hunted." Short to Herndon, July 7, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. "I am certain that he never drank any intoxicating liquors." State- ment in Herndon, I, 117. "In all my acquaintance with Mr. Lincoln, I never knew him to take a drink of liquor of any kind." Ross, 99. Ross was the New Salem mail- carrier. 10 R. B. Rutledge to Herndon. Herndon-Lamon MSS. 11 J. R. Herndon to W. H. Herndon, May 28, 1865; statement James A. Herndon. Herndon-Lamon MSS. 28 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR gallon of whisky, but, as Royal A. Clary tersely re- marks, "Lincoln stopped it." 12 In the early thirties, Dr. John Allen, the genial physician of New Salem, organized a Temperance Society, pledged to total abstinence. The new movement, however, was not popular. In fact, it was vigorously opposed by many church members, particularly those of the Hard Shell Baptist persuasion. 13 Mentor Graham, the schoolmaster who was teach- ing grammar to Offutt's young clerk, joined the reform society, and the trustees of his church promptly ex- punged his name from the roll. At the same time, one of the members was expelled for getting drunk. Mysti- fied by this naively inconsistent attitude on the part of the church board, another member stood up, drew from his pocket a flask half full of whisky, and, holding it in his hand, inquired: "Brethering, you turned one mem- ber out because he did not drink, and another because he got drunk, and now I want to ask you, how much of this 'ere critter does a man have to drink to stay in full fellership in this church ?" 14 Although he belonged to the village debating club, there is no evidence that Lincoln at any time affiliated 12 Clary's statement. Herndon-Lamon MSS. Clary was a member of Lincoln's company in the Black Hawk War. 13 Lincoln at New Salem, 109. One of the residents accounts for much of this opposition by saying that most of the church members had barrels of whisky at home. Onstott, 165. Even that most upright citizen of New Salem, Rev. John Cameron, kept a barrel of whisky in his cellar. Tarbell's "In the Footsteps of the Lincolns," 194. 14 Lincoln at New Salem, 102. NEW SALEM 29 with the Temperance Society, but tradition has it that years later he publicly acknowledged in Allen's presence that the old doctor had greatly influenced his "ideas upon the liquor question." 15 By the time the ice had broken up on the sluggish Sangamon in the spring of 1832, Denton OfTutt had failed in business, left the country, and his clerk was out of a job. On March 9th of that year, Lincoln announced his candidacy for the Legislature, but a few weeks later he enlisted for service in the Black Hawk War, and was elected captain of the New Salem company, with the doughty, faithful Jack Armstrong as his first sergeant. The men of Lincoln's regiment were all volunteers, rough, rollicking frontiersmen, who sang and shouted, gambled, played pranks, and heartily despised military discipline. One night, a member of Captain Lincoln's company broke into the officers' quarters and stole several buckets of wine and whisky, which he generously distributed among his grateful comrades. Next morning, the captain was chagrined to find that only a few of his men were fit for marching. To make matters worse, Lincoln himself was arrested, held technically respon- sible by his superiors for the affair, and, as a symbol of his degradation, was made to carry a wooden sword for two days. 16 In less than three months, the Black Hawk campaign was over, and Lincoln hurried back to Sangamon 15 Lincoln at New Salem, m. Claim, however, has been made that Lincoln gave this credit to Rev. Berry. 16 Herndon, I, 95-6. 30 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR County and plunged into his race for the Legislature, al- though the election was hardly more than a week off. His personal appearance is described by one who saw much of the young candidate at this time: "He wore a mixed jeans coat, claw-hammer style/* says A. Y. Ellis, "short in the sleeves and bob-tailed — in fact, it was so short in the tail he could not sit on it, flax and tow- linen pantaloons, a straw hat and pot-metal boots. " 17 There was, of course, an abundance of liquor at all public meetings where the many candidates appeared, and some of the aspirants for the more remunerative offices were able to "charter" entire saloons and grocer- ies for the free accommodation of those whose suffrage they sought. But Lincoln went his cheerful, friendly way, meeting people, shaking hands, spinning yarns, delivering an occasional speech, but neither indulging in nor making use of liquor in any manner. 18 Losing by a narrow margin in the election, the de- feated politician was looking for a job when a tragedy in the Herndon family where he boarded 19 presented an opportunity for another mercantile venture at New Salem. During the summer of 1832, Rowan Herndon and his brother James had opened a store in the village, but James soon sold out to a young drunkard named William F. Berry. Then in the early autumn, Rowan 17 Lamon, 127. 18 Ibid, 125; Beveridge, (MS. Ed.) I, 125. 19 "He came to my house to board soon after his return from the army . . . my family became much attached to him." Rowan Herndon to W. H. Herndon, May 28, 1865. Herndon-Lamon MSS. NEWSALEM 31 killed his wife with a shotgun, claiming that the weapon had been discharged as he was taking it from the loft for the purpose of cleaning it. 20 Sentiment, however, was about evenly divided as to whether the shooting was accidental or by design, and Herndon, anxious to leave the community, sold his half of the store to Lincoln. 21 A few weeks later the new firm bought a small stock from Rutledge and Sinco, 22 and on January 15, 1833, Berry and Lincoln acquired the wreckage of Reuben Radford's grocery after the Clary Grove Boys, in a drunken spree, had smashed up his place. 23 Of course, the firm of Berry and Lincoln did not prosper. The junior partner spent most of his time with a book, and the senior partner with a bottle, until the fol- lowing spring when Lincoln sold his interest to Berry. 24 It has hardly ever been denied that Berry and Lincoln sold liquor in quantities at their store. Certainly the Rutledge-Sinco and Radford goods acquired by the new firm consisted largely of whisky. 25 But a fierce con- troversy has raged for years as to whether they sold liquor over the counter by the drink. 20 Lincoln at New Salem, 45. 21 James A. Herndon to W. H. Herndon, June 25, 1865. Herndon- Lamon MSS. 22 "A remnant of a stock belonging to Rutledge and Sinco." A. B. Rutledge to Herndon. Herndon-Lamon MSS. 23 Lincoln at New Salem, 45-113. 24 Ibid, 47. 25 Rutledge and Sino sold whisky over the bar, Henry Sinco having a "grocery" license. Tarbell's "Early Life of Lincoln," 169. Radford also kept a "grocery." Lamon, 136. Lincoln at New Salem, 45. 32 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR The sale of intoxicating beverages in Illinois at that time was regulated by two Acts relating to "Taverns," which required a tavern license of "any public inn, ale house or dram shop or public house of entertainment," and any "tippling shop commonly called a grocery" that sold or retailed "any rum, brandy, or other spirits, or strong water, by less quantity or measure than one quart" or "any beer, ale or cider, by any quantity less than two gallons, the same liquors being respectively de- livered to one person and at one time." The license fee to be paid to the County Commissioners was "any sum not exceeding $12.00 which they may deem reasonable." Bond was required, with surety, in the discretion of the Commissioners, "not exceeding three hundred dollars," for the "good behavior" of the licensee. 26 On March 6, 1833, the Commissioners of Sangamon County "ordered that William F. Berry, in the name of Berry and Lincoln, have a license to keep a tavern in New Salem," and fixed the prices to be charged for liquor: French brandy per \ pt. 25c Peach brandy per \ pt. i8f Apple brandy per \ pt. 12 Holland gin per \ pt. i8| Domestic gin per \ pt. wi Wine per \ pt. 25 Rum per \ pt. i8| Whiskey per \ pt. "i 26 The Revised Laws of Illinois (1833 Ed.), 595-597- Quotations from these statutes are from Squire Bowling Green's copy, which Lincoln studied, loaned to the author by Mr. Henry E. Pond, of Petersburg, Illinois. 27 Photostatic copy of record in author's possession. -U^ by H iZA sJ>6VC0 ■f/l.f.S-C- -iS-a^J <*.se of rempWrancc. h is a 4|>«ies of »t«[i»ri«« within tt,di. for it gw. beywd the bounds of tt-ason. in that it attempts to ttmrd aia.jn's appetfte by legwlation and in m.ikjng crime'!, out of things that arc not, trim?*. A prohibitory la* strike* » blow at the very prmciptat on which our Government *«S founded, lhave»iw*ys been found laboring to* protect the weaker etasset from the stronger, ami I can never give my consent to sueh a law as yo*t propose to enact Unt'l "»y teegtK be silcm ed in death t will continue'to fight for the right* of man." Colored voter, he appeals to you to protect the liberty he has bestowed upon you. Will you go back on his advice ■MTOYOTOWMTS! READ AND AGT I VOTE FOR THE SALE! Spurious hand-bill circulated in Atlanta THE LEGISLATOR 51 it in the Senate, and he voted in favor of his own motion which killed a state-wide prohibition amendment. However, in spite of Lincoln's apparent attitude toward the enforcement of temperance by law, there can be no doubt, as we shall see, of his firm belief in temperance as a rule of personal deportment. LIBRAR? UNIVERSITY OF WJHW CHAPTERV A WASHINGTONIAN On April 6, 1840, six liquor addicts met in the rear of a saloon in Baltimore and formed an organiza- tion opposed to the use of alcoholic beverages, called "The Washington Society. ,, Urging total abstinence, with a membership consisting largely of reformed drunkards, this movement swept across the country with the fervor and zeal of a crusade, and within three or four years 600,000 bleary-eyed derelicts had signed the pledge. 1 In December 1841, a Washington Temperance Society was organized in Springfield, and a few days later its membership numbered 350 persons out of a population of less than 2,000. Similar societies quickly sprang into existence at Athens, Salisbury, and other towns in Sangamon County. Article Two of the constitution adopted by the Springfield Chapter recited that "the sole object ,, of the Society was "to advance the cause of temperance, and especially direct its efforts to the redemption of our fellowmen who have been degraded by the use of intoxi- cating liquor.'' 1 The founders of The Washingtonians were: W. K. Mitchell, a tailor; J. F. Hoss, a carpenter; David Anderson and George Steers, blacksmiths; James McCurley, a coach-maker, and Archibald Campbell, a silversmith; White, 37. See also Banks, 99-101. A WASHINGTONIAN 53 Article Three provided that "any person having signed the Washington Temperance pledge in this city, and who adheres strictly to the same, shall be members of this Society, and if any one shall be so unfortunate as to violate said pledge, his case shall be brought before the Society, whose duty it shall be to use every other means to restore him before he shall be expelled. " The pledge to which the members subscribed was simple, brief and explicit: "The undersigned being de- sirous of carrying out the principles of Temperance, do pledge our honor that we will abstain from all intoxi- cating drinks. ,,2 The first evidence of Abraham Lincoln's connection with the Washington Society is the eulogy of a deceased member which he delivered on February n, 1842. In opening his address, Lincoln referred to the "sudden and melancholy death of its much respected member, Benjamin Ferguson. " "Mr. Ferguson/' he observed, "was one who became a member of this Society without any prospect of ad- vantage to himself. He was, though not totally abstin- ent, strictly temperate before; and he espoused the cause solely with the hope and benevolent design of being able, by his efforts and example, to benefit others. Would to God he had been longer spared to the humane work upon which he had so disinterestedly entered." Lincoln then spoke briefly and appropriately of the sterling character and many virtues of the deceased, 2 Records in Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield. 54 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR and closed his remarks with the somewhat trite senti- ment: "In very truth he was/ 4 the noblest work of God — an honest man." 3 Eleven days later, on February 22, 1842, following a spectacular parade of the Sangamo Guards, Lincoln delivered a Washington's Birthday oration before the Society, and an assemblage that packed the Second Presbyterian Church. He began his speech by congratu- lating the friends of temperance upon the rapid strides which the cause had made in recent years. This great success was due to "rational causes" which, upon con- sideration, were apparent. The warfare hitherto "waged against the demon intemperance" had been ineffective. There was something wrong either with their advocates or the tactics employed. "These champions," said Lincoln, "for the most part have been preachers, law- yers and hired agents" — men between whom and the "mass of mankind" there was a "want of approachabil- ity." Motives of self-interest were charged against them — the preacher, it was said, was a fanatic who desired a "union of church and state," the lawyer, in hearing himself speak, gratified his "pride and vanity," the hired agent worked for his salary. The "new champions," to whom recent "success is greatly, perhaps chiefly, owing," were themselves reformed drunkards. When "a redeemed specimen of long lost humanity" appeals to his former associates, 3 Angle, 12. This address was published in the Sangamo Journal, Feb. 11, 1842. A WASHINGTONIAN 55 "there is a logic and an eloquence in it that few with human feelings can resist." Nobody can doubt his sincerity or question his motives. Lincoln expressed the opinion that former methods of reform had been injudicious — "to much denuncia- tion against dram sellers and dram drinkers was in- dulged in," said he. "This, I think, was both impolitic and unjust. It was impolitic because it is not much in the nature of man to be driven to anything; still less to be driven about that which is exclusively his own business, and least of all where such driving is to be submitted to at the expense of pecuniary interest or burning appetite." As long as they were denounced "in thundering tones of anathema" as the authors of all the vice and misery and crime in the land — classed with "thieves and rob- bers and murderers .... shunned by all the good and virtuous," it was no wonder that they did not readily "join the ranks of their denouncers in a hue and cry against themselves." "Persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion," said Lincoln, is the best way to influence human conduct. Gain a man's friendship first and then it is not difficult to successfully appeal to his reason. "On the contrary," he observed, "assume to dictate to his judgment, or to command his action, or to mark him as one to be shun- ned and despised, and he will retreat within himself — all efforts to reform him will be in vain." The Washingtonians knew that "their real friends and companions" were not "demons nor even the worst 56 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR of men." Far from it. "Generally they are kind, gener- ous and charitable, even beyond the example of their more staid and sober neighbors. " The older generation had "found intoxicating liquor recognized by everybody, used by everybody, repudiated by nobody." Physicians prescribed it. Preachers had it on their sideboards. Its manufacture was an honorable means of livelihood; its sale a reputable business. Even as to those who habitually used liquor to excess, "none failed to think the injury arose from the use of a bad thing, but from the abuse of a very good thing. . . . Their failure was treated as a misfortune, and not as a crime, or even as a disgrace." Was it strange, therefore, "that some should think and act now as all thought and acted twenty years ago?" Was it "just to assail, con- demn or despise them for doing so?" The Washington- ians, declared Lincoln, repudiated the inhuman doctrine of the old reformers that consigned the habitual drunk- ard to utter and eternal damnation. They bear aloft the torch of hope — despair is banished. "While the lamp holds out to burn, the vilest sinner may return." The most ardent exponents of the new cause were once the chief offenders. "Whether or not the world would be vastly bene- fitted by a total and final banishment from it of all intoxicating drinks, it seems to me not now an open question," said Lincoln, emphatically. "Three-fourths of mankind confess the affirmative with their tongues, and I believe all the rest acknowledge it in their hearts." A WASHINGTONIAN 57 This being so, everybody should lend a hand in provid- ing "moral support and influence" for those who were struggling to resist the craving for drink. No person, however sober and reputable, should regard himself too good to join what some people called "a reformed drunkards' society." "In my judgment," said the speaker, "such of us as have never fallen victims have been spared more by the absence of appetite than from any mental or moral superiority over those who have. Indeed, I believe that if we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class." Lincoln then referred to the "political revolution of '76," which demonstrated to the world "the capability of man to govern himself." What of the temperance revolution ? What a "noble ally" to the "cause of political freedom ... in which we shall find a stronger bond- age broken, a viler slavery manumitted, a greater tyrant deposed." And this moral triumph accomplished without the costly price paid for our political liberty! No orphans — no widows — no bloodshed! Even the makers and sellers of liquor "will have glided into other occupations so gradually as never to have felt the change." In conclusion, the speaker expressed the hope that the day would come "when there should be neither a slave nor a drunkard" on the globe, and paid a brief, 58 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR glowing tribute to Washington — "the mightiest name of earth." 4 Such was Lincoln's first temperance address. The Washingtonians were satisfied with it and had it printed. The Sangamo Journal gave it favorable mention. 5 But caustic comment came from other quarters. His criticism of the old reformers and his exhortation to fellowship with the fallen rankled in the breasts of the bigots. "I was at the door of the church as the people passed out," says Herndon, "and heard them discussing the speech. Many of them were open in the expression of their displeasure. 'It is a shame/ I heard one man say, 'that he should be permitted to abuse us so in the house of the Lord/ " 6 So far as known, Lincoln made only two references to his Washington's Birthday speech. On the day of its delivery, he wrote his young friend, George E. Pickett, for whom he had obtained an appointment to West Point, 7 and who, years later, was to lead his shattered brigades up Cemetery Hill in the historic charge at Gettysburg: "I have just told the folks here in Spring- field, on this noth anniversary of the birth of him whose name, mightiest in the cause of civil liberty, still mightiest in the cause of moral reformation, we mention 4 Works, I, 193. 6 Sangamo Journal, Feb. 25, 1842. 6 "The whole thing, I repeat, was damaging to Lincoln." Herndon, II, 261-2. This address contributed to Lincoln's defeat that year for the Whig nomination to Congress, when Hardin won. Newton, 19. 7 "George E. Pickett was appointed to West Point through the political power and friendship of Abraham Lincoln." Pickett, 126. A WASHINGTONIAN 59 in solemn awe . . . that the one victory we can ever call complete will be that one which proclaims that there is not one slave or one drunkard on the face of God's green earth. Recruit for this victory." 8 Several weeks later, he wrote his old roommate, Joshua Speed, at Louisville: "You will see by the last Sangamo Journal that I made a temperance speech on the 22nd of February, which I claim that Fanny and you should read as an act of charity to me, for I can not learn that anybody else has read it, or is likely to. Fortunately, it is not very long, and I shall deem it a sufficient compliance with my request if one of you listens while the other reads it." 9 For a year or more after Lincoln's address, the Washingtonians remained active in Springfield. Herndon says that, in spite of criticism directed against him, "nothing daunted, Lincoln kept on and labored zealously in the interest of the temperance movement. He spoke often again in Springfield, and also in other places over the country, displaying the same courage and adherence to principle that characterized his every undertaking." 10 However, by the end of 1 842, the Washington move- ment had perceptibly waned, 11 the hysterical enthusiasm 8 Lincoln to George E. Pickett, Feb. 22, 1842. Works, I, 191. 9 Lincoln to Joshua Speed, March 27, 1842. Works, I, 214. 10 Herndon, II, 261-2. 11 The movement depended upon moral suasion alone, many of its most zealous supporters opposing all resort to the enactment or enforcement of laws against the traffic." White, 38. Some thought that the "weak spot" in the movement was the lack of religion. Many leaders "would not con- sent for the meetings to be opened with prayer." Banks, 109-10. 60 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR of the great reform had subsided as suddenly as it began, and we hear nothing further of Lincoln's temperance activities until the Sangamon Temperance Union was formed in May 1846. This organization was apparently a central agency for the twenty or more local temper- ance societies in the county. 12 It had a President, Secre- tary, and a Board of Visitors, whose duty it was to attend the meetings of the local societies and encourage them in their work. At a meeting on August 31, 1846, J. B. Watson re- ported to the Board that Mr. Lincoln had addressed the Springfield Juvenile Society, and that three had signed pledges. On June 28, 1847, it was reported that Lincoln and S. S. Brooks had attended "an interesting meeting" at Langston's, where Lincoln made "an excel- lent address," but no pledges were signed. Upon advice of J. B. Weber, the minutes of the Board on August 30, 1847, recite that Lincoln and J. Robinson addressed a meeting on South Fork, and that one pledge had been signed. Of this last temperance gathering, we have the recorded recollections of several persons who were present. It was held at the South Fork school house in Cotton Hill Township. The log structure had just been erected, and, the day being warm, the crowd sat outside on the freshly cut stumps. Cleopos Breckenridge, many 12 The minute book of this Society was recently discovered by Paul M. Angle, and is now in the archives of the Illinois State Historical Society. It existed from May 1846 to Sept. 1850. A WASHINGTONIAN 6l years afterward, remembered that Lincoln "made a very strong appeal for total abstinence. . . . He gave reasons why he was in favor of total abstinence, and why he thought others should become total abstainers." 13 In the autumn of 1847, Lincoln made an address one evening at a church, while attending court at Tremont. The pastor "made some opening remarks," and, turning to the circuit rider who sat beside him on the rostrum, smilingly said: "I will now give place to the strong man." Lincoln unfolded his tremendous stature and, as he walked forward, drolly observed: "If my reverend friend had said the long man, he would have hit it." One of those present relates that "his following re- marks were strongly in favor of total abstinence, and he earnestly advised the boys to sign the pledge." 14 But, in spite of his temperance activities, there is no positive evidence that Lincoln was ever a member of any of the reform societies, although it would seem very probable that he was a Washingtonian. So far as the records show, he did not belong to the Sangamon Union, and certainly he was neither an officer nor a member of the Board of Visitors. The Sons of Temperance was another anti-liquor society which flourished in Illinois during the early fifties, and James Gourley told Herndon: "I got Lincoln to join the Sons of Temperance about 1854. He joined 13 Banks, 33-4; Hobson, 54. 14 Shaw, 13. 62 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR and never appeared in it again." 15 But if he ever con- sidered himself a member of this organization, Lincoln did not mention the fact when he addressed one of its delegations at the White House on September 29, 1863. 16 And on September 26, 1854, J u dg e James S. Ewing heard him say at Bloomington, "I am not a member of any temperance society." 17 16 Gourley's statement to Herndon. Herndon-Lamon MSS. "Lincoln was a great temperance man during the time of the Washingtonians." 16 Works, IX, 144. 17 James S. Ewing, Feb. 12, 1909, in Phillips, 55. CHAPTERVI THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN During the late thirties and through the decade of the forties, temperance reform in Illinois, as we have seen, was largely confined to the exertion of "moral suasion." There was seldom any serious mention of prohibition. But around the turn of the fifties, those who waged war on strong drink began to clamor for the absolute suppression of the liquor traffic by law. In 1 85 1, the Maine Legislature enacted a measure introduced by Neal Dow, which prohibited the manu- facture and sale of intoxicating beverages in that state, 1 and this law immediately became a model for similar legislation adopted in New England. That same year, the temperance forces in Illinois won a signal victory by securing the passage of an Act known as the "Quart Law," which made it unlawful to sell liquor "by a less quantity than one quart," pro- hibited its sale "by any quantity whatever to be drunk in any house, tavern, store, grocery, outhouse, shed, or other building," and repealed all license laws. 2 Thus, the iniquitous tippling house which served liquor by the "dram" was abolished. 1 For text of the Maine Law, see White, 165. 2 General Laws of Illinois, 17th General Assembly, 18-19. 64 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR By 1853 the prohibition agitation had really become acute in Illinois. The Legislature which convened in January was flooded with petitions favoring the passage of a Maine Law. Additional pressure was brought upon the General Assembly by a temperance organiza- tion called the Maine Law Alliance, which met in con- vention at Springfield on January 23rd and continued in session for several days. On the first day, the delegates were addressed by Dr. James Smith, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. Taking his text from Habakkuk, 11:15: "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him. ,, Dr. Smith, with great dramatic fervor, drew a vivid picture of the drunkard — "a miser- able being with bloated face and shabby appearance, frequenting the lowest haunts of vice . . . forever under the influence of strong drink, stretched senseless in the gutter; or rolling in the mud on the highway; or stagger- ing into the midst of his unhappy family, besmeared with blood and dirt." He dwelt at length upon "the evils resulting from the use of the bottle." It destroyed character, impaired reason, brought poverty and shame upon the innocent members of the drunkard's family, and finally damned the disheveled victim himself to the bottomless pit. "But who hath put the bottle to his neighbor?" inquired Dr. Smith. The liquor seller? Yes, but the responsibility lay deeper than this. The landlord "who rented the liquor seller the house in which his traffic THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 65 was conducted" — who put money above human happi- ness, material gain above "the souls of men" — was equally guilty. But wait before passing sentence upon these culprits! No matter how guilty they may be before God, "neither has violated the law of the land." What about the Legislature that "gave the liquor seller the legal authority to conduct his traffic?" And the Governor who approved it? The Legislators and the chief executive, however, are merely servants of the people, Dr. Smith reminded his audience, who acted "under the conviction that they were doing their will and pleasure." Therefore, it was the people, the voters, who were really responsible for the drunkard's plight. The remedy? "The most effectual would be the pas- sage of a law altogether abolishing the liquor traffic, except for mechanical, chemical, medicinal and sacra- mental purposes, and so framed that no principle of the constitution of the state or of the United States be violated." Should the Legislature now in session pass such a law and leave its adoption with the people, said Dr. Smith, "the most vigorous exertion should be made to secure that end by spreading information on the subject broadcast throughout the land." In conclusion, the speaker warned the delegates against discouragement: "Should our present Legisla- ture take no salutory action on the subject, persever- ance in the work, and a Dependence upon the Divine 66 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR blessing, will infallibly secure a final and glorious victory/ ' Dr. Smith's address seems to have been most enthusi- astically received, and next day he was handed the following note: "Rev. James Smith, D.D. Sir: The undersigned having listened with great satisfaction to the discourse on the subject of temperance, delivered by you last eve- ning, and believing that, if published and circulated among the people, it would be productive of good, would respectfully request a copy thereof for publication." Among the thirty-nine signers of this communica- tion were Simeon Francis, editor of the Illinois State Journal, one of Lincoln's most intimate friends, and John T. Stuart, his first law partner, and the last name on the list was that of Abraham Lincoln himself. 3 Lincoln's signature to the request for the publica- tion of Dr. Smith's speech frequently has been cited as conclusive evidence that he advocated prohibition. Certainly, the movement to wipe out liquor traffic by legislative enactment was becoming increasingly popu- lar among the Illinois Whigs. And no one can positively say that Lincoln was not one of those who favored it. But it is only fair to observe that his signature does not necessarily prove this to be so. Reading the "Discourse," it is possible to agree entirely with Dr. Smith as to the "evils" of intemperance without acquiescence in his 3 A photostatic copy of this address entitled: "A discourse on the Bottle — its Evils, and the Remedy," with the note and list of signers, is in the possession of the author. THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 67 "remedy," and, therefore, any temperance man, as Lincoln surely was, might well think the publication of the address "productive of good," and still not be a prohibitionist. Furthermore, it is now known that at this time Lincoln considered himself under very deep obligations to Dr. Smith. Young Eddie Lincoln had died of diph- theria on February 1, 1850, and the funeral had been conducted by the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. 4 Shaken and disconsolate over the loss of his little boy, the religious doubts and misgivings of Lincoln's early manhood again rose up to perplex him. Finding him, as Dr. Smith says, "much depressed and downcast at the death of his son, and without the consolation of the Gospel," the doctor had a long talk with Lincoln, and loaned him a copy of a book which he had written entitled: "The Christian's Defense," a militant assault upon agnosticism and infidelity. 5 This volume gave the distressed father much comfort, and shortly thereafter Lincoln rented a pew in the First Presbyterian Church, which he kept as long as he lived in Springfield. 6 Under the existing circumstances, irrespective of other motives, it is apparent that personal considera- tion alone would have justified Lincoln's gesture of 4 Illinois Daily Journal, Feb. 2, 1852. 6 Dr. Smith, in Barton's "The Soul of Abraham Lincoln," 162. 6 Dr. Smith, in Barton's "The Soul of Abraham Lincoln," 156. Town- send, 227-231. Lincoln appointed Dr. Smith consul at Dundee, Scotland, which position he held until his death in 1871. 68 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR courtesy, if such it was, in joining his friends and neigh- bors in the request for the publication of Dr. Smith's temperance speech. At any rate, the lobbying of the prohibition forces and the circulation of the Smith pamphlet seemed about to achieve the desired result, when, on February 4, 1853, a select legislative committee, to which all liquor peti- tions had been referred, reported "an Act for the sup- pression of drinking houses and tippling shops," which was almost an exact duplicate of the Maine Law. 7 On February 7th, the "Quart Law" was repealed, apparently for the purpose of clearing the way for the enactment of the great reform measure. But on the 1 2th, much to the chagrin of the temperance leaders, the "Maine Law" was defeated, and on the same day an Act was passed which reinstated the license system substantially as it had existed prior to 1851. 8 However, the prohibition movement soon rallied from this temporary setback, and its forces returned to the assault more determined than ever. On May 22, 1854, the people of Springfield voted to prohibit the sale of liquor within the city limits, which became effective August 1st of that year. 9 Lincoln's law partner was then mayor, and, though himself addicted to the liquor habit, Herndon was a staunch prohibitionist, and 7 Senate Journal, 18th General Assembly, 285. 8 General Laws of Illinois, 18th General Assembly, 91-92. 9 Illinois State Journal, June 3, 1854. THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 69 entered upon the enforcement of this law with all the ardor of his impetuous nature. 10 At last, when the Legislature convened in January 1855, the prohibition tide was too strong to be stemmed. On January 20th, "an Act for the suppression of intem- perance and to amend Chapter 30 of the Revised Sta- tutes/' more stringent in some respects than the original Maine Law, passed the House by a vote of 42 to 26, and on February 9th, the Senate adopted it by a vote of 17 to 7. 11 Vigorous opposition, however, had forced the advo- cates of the bill to concede an amendment which pre- vented the measure from becoming effective until it had been ratified by the people of the state at an election to be held June 4, 1855. During the four months which followed, the fight for votes was one of the most bitter ever waged in Illinois. This contest came at an exceedingly inopportune time for Lincoln, who was doing his utmost to arouse public sentiment against the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. 12 And the anti-slavery men were sharply 10 "I went personally to some, if not most of the groceries in our city . . . and told them they must close their doors. . . . Women and children can now walk through our streets, highways and alleys, at all hours, night or day, with scarce a fear of insult or harm." Valedictory of William H. Herndon, Illinois State Journal, Apr. 11, 1855. 11 Illinois House Journal, 1855, 4 11 ; Laws of Illinois, 1855, 3-30. 12 For an editorial written by Lincoln, see Illinois State Journal, Sept. 11, 1854, Angle, 132. In his Springfield speech, July 17, 1858, Lincoln stated that he believed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise was "the beginning of a conspiracy" to make slavery "perpetual, national and uni- versal. ... So believing, I have since then considered that question a paramount one." Works, III, 174. 70 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR divided on the question of prohibition. Billy Herndon stoutly favored it. 13 So did Judge Stephen T. Logan, Lincoln's second law partner, who had been in active charge of the bill when it passed the House. So did Editor Simeon Francis. On the other hand, the foreign born citizens of the state were almost solidly against prohibition. This was especially true of the 90,000 Germans, who could send to the polls 20,000 votes, and the Germans were as much opposed to the extension of slavery as they were to liquor reform. 14 Many of Lincoln's warm personal and political friends, like Jacob Bunn, of Springfield, 15 and Jesse Fell, of Bloomington, 16 were against the new law. Moreover, Lincoln was then an active candidate for the United States Senate, 17 and he was not only indus- triously canvassing the members of the Legislature, but his letters show that, like any other good politician, he 13 "Our Legislature has passed a Maine Law — I am for it, as you may suppose — to take effect if the people vote for it. I think they will." Hern- don to Theodore Parker, Feb. 13, 1855. Newton, 77. "Our State Register — slaveite whisky paper — attacked our prohibitory law and I was called on to defend." Same to Same, Apr. 12, 1855. Ibid. 78. 14 Koerner, I, 623. 15 Bunn was a large wholesale and retail grocer, and Lincoln's regular client. John W. Bunn to Isaac N. Phillips, Nov. 8, 1910. Phillips, 145. In 1859, when Lincoln secretly bought a German newspaper, The Staats- Anzeiger, his trusted friend Bunn handled the transaction for him. Angle, 204. 16 A leading anti-slavery man, Fell was in 1855 against prohibition. Beveridge, III, 294. Fell was the first man to publicly espouse Lincoln's cause as the Republican candidate for President. 17 1 have really got it into my head to try to be United States Senator, and, if I could have your support, my chances would be reasonably good." Lincoln to J. Gillispie, Dec. 1, 1854. Works, II, 265. THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 71 was extremely anxious to avoid giving offense in any- way to those whose assistance he sought. 18 Three days after the election, Lincoln wrote his old circuit-riding companion, Henry C. Whitney, lamenting that Logan, who had been a candidate for the Supreme Court, was "worse beaten than any other man ever was since elections were invented,'' and closed his letter with the remark: "It is conceded on all hands that the pro- hibitory law is also beaten." 19 The most diligent search through many years has failed to reveal any other reference that Lincoln ever made to this exceedingly vituperative campaign. But Herndon was not so complacent over the defeat of the cause to which he was earnestly devoted. On October 30, 1855, he wrote Parker: "As I wrote you once before, we got badly beaten in our temperance move, and the reason is that human rights float in the bubbles of whiskey which swim on the fire surface. Though defeated, we are not conquered. It is very hard to overcome interest, appetite, habit and the low dema- gogue who rules the synod in the grocery." 20 For almost a half-century, no claim was ever made that Lincoln had taken any part whatever in the pro- hibition struggle of 1855. While the contest itself was raging, and for years afterward, Herndon wrote regu- 18 Lincoln to J. M. Palmer, Sept. 7, 1854; Same to T. J. Henderson, Nov. 27, 1854; Same to E. B. Washburne, Dec. 14, 1854. Works, II, 187, 263, 267. 19 Lincoln to Whitney, June 7, 1855. Works, XI, 101-2. 20 Newton, 83. 72 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR larly to Theodore Parker, the noted theologian, aboli- tionist and temperance advocate of Boston. Frequently he mentioned his law partner's anti-slavery activities, and sent Parker Lincoln's "best wishes, ,, and spoke freely of his own efforts on behalf of prohibition, but there is not a single word in all this correspondence that mentions Lincoln in that connection. 21 Later on, the alert, diligent Herndon collected a vast store of reminiscences from those who had known Lincoln intimately, and there is not a line in all this material indicating that he participated in the Maine Law campaign. There is, however, an interview with James Gourley, Lincoln's next door neighbor for sixteen years, in which he positively states that Lincoln "took no part in the great temperance move when an Act of the Legislature was passed and submitted to the people," and Herndon, who certainly knew whether this was true or not, wrote the statement down carefully, without dissent. 22 In 1872, Ward H. Lamon, Lincoln's law partner at Danville, and one of his closest friends, published a "Life of Lincoln," in which he declared that Lincoln "disliked sumptuary laws and would not prescribe by statute what other men should eat or drink. When the temperance men ran to the Legislature to invoke the power of the state, his voice — the most eloquent of them — was silent. He did not oppose them, but 21 Newton, 72, et seq. 22 Statement of James Gourley, Herndon-Lamon MSS. Rev. James W. Smith, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 73 quietly withdrew from the cause and left others to manage it." 23 And, though Herndon, Browning, Swett, Davis, Trumbull and others discussed Lamon's book critically and at length, this statement went unchallenged. 24 Simeon Francis, whose devotion to Lincoln and to pro- hibition is beyond question, made no denial in the pages of his Journal, or elsewhere. In 1874, Messrs. Davidson and Stuve published in Springfield "A Complete History of Illinois from 1673- 1873," which stated that "the Hon. B. S. Edwards, a lawyer of ability and eminent standing, framed" the prohibition bill. Ten years later, while Mr. Edwards was still living, a second edition of this history, revised in some particulars, was brought out by a different publisher, but this information about the authorship of the Maine Law legislation remained unmodified. Thus matters stood as to Lincoln and the prohibition issue of 1855, until Thursday afternoon, May 26, 1904, after Herndon and Browning and Davis and Francis and Logan and Swett and Lamon and Edwards and Trum- bull, and every other close associate of Lincoln were all dead, when James B. Merwin, seventy-five years of age, delivered an address at the Lincoln tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery. 25 Merwin, a native of Greene County, New York, early in the fifties had edited a temperance news- 23 Lamon, 480. 24 Newton, 306, 309; Diary of O. H. Browning, II, 366. 26 This address was first published in a temperance journal called "The New Voice," June 16, 1904. 74 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR paper at Hartford, Connecticut, and had been active in the state-wide prohibition campaign which swept New England after Maine went dry in 1851. Thereafter, he had been a journalist and a professional temperance lecturer. On this occasion, at the Lincoln tomb, Merwin broke a silence of nearly fifty years, and declared that in the autumn of 1854 he had arrived in Springfield for the purpose of assisting in the Maine Law campaign; that he had made a speech before a temperance meeting held in the State House, after which the crowd had called for Lincoln, who, thereupon, delivered such an address upon the "definition of law, its design and mission, its object and power, as few present had ever dreamed of." Mer- win then said that he and Lincoln had stumped the state together for prohibition. "In that memorable canvass," said he, "Mr. Lincoln and myself spoke in Jacksonville, in Bloomington, in Decatur, in Danville, in Carlinville, in Peoria, and at many other places." Although he undertook to quote from memory the exact words of Lincoln's speeches, Merwin made no mention at this time that Lincoln had been the author, or had taken any part in the drafting of the Illinois measure. Apparently, he did not recall this important fact until several years later, but on July 5, 1910, in response to an inquiry from Dr. F. D. Blakeslee, of Binghamton, New York, District Superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League, as to Lincoln's "temperance prin- THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 75 ciples," Merwin announced that "Mr. Lincoln drew the prohibitory law." 26 The startling news that Abraham Lincoln had not only campaigned for prohibition in Illinois, but had actually drafted the law itself, received wide publicity through the temperance press, and, despite his advanced age, Merwin became very much in demand at various meetings sponsored by the Anti-Saloon League. The 1 6th national convention of the Anti-Saloon League was held in Atlantic City, July 6-9, 191 5. Dr. Howard O. Russell, founder of the League, presented Merwin to the delegates as "a man who was an inti- mate friend of Abraham Lincoln, to give us his testi- mony first hand." Under interrogation by Dr. Russell, Merwin then told of his relations with Lincoln in Illinois, and later during the Civil War. 27 In doing so, however, he stated that he was "eighty years old last May," when, in fact, he was eighty-six, 28 and he fixed the year that he went to Springfield as 1852 instead of 1854. At the close of the interview, questions were invited from the audience, and an inquisitive, perhaps skeptical, delegate asked: "Mr. Merwin, will you tell me how you know Mr. Lincoln wrote that prohibition law for Illinois?" To which the old man made an exceedingly nebulous reply: "Yes, with great pleasure, too, because he said of 26 White, 155. 27 Proceedings of the i6thNational Convention of the Anti-Saloon League of America, 264-273. 28 Merwin "was born in Cairo, Greene County, New York, in 1829." White, 87. 76 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR it when it was written, 'I know it will hold water, but I want to know whether it will hold whiskey or not/ He sent me to twenty-five or thirty of the leading judges and lawyers of the State of Illinois with a copy of that law to submit to them whether it would hold prohibition and be efTective. ,, Merwin then exhibited to the audience a large gold watch, saying that "after the campaign ended he (Lincoln) made me a present of this. "I want to fix in your mind, brethren and sisters," he emphasized, "that Mr. Lincoln then and there, with- out any solicitation or prompting upon the part of any- one, drew this inscription that is on the watch." Engraved upon the dust lid of this very handsome timepiece was the following: "Presented by the friends of temperance in Chicago to J. B. Merwin, Corresponding Secretary of the Illinois State Maine Law Alliance, as a token of their confidence and regard for his untiring energy and perseverence in the campaign of 1855, for Prohibition. Inscription written by Abraham Lincoln/' 29 Then on March 31, 1917, three days before he died, Merwin made a still more detailed statement, in which, referring to the first time he ever saw Lincoln, at the State House in Springfield, in the autumn of 1854, ne said: "After the meeting, I introduced myself to him, told him my mission to Springfield, and we went to his home together. I had with me a copy of the Maine Law, and we sat up all night looking over that statute. I was 29 For a photograph of this watch, with inscription, see White, Opp. 86. THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 77 a young man of about twenty-six, and Lincoln was about forty-five. . . . Mr. Lincoln set to work to frame a law, and he worked at it almost constantly for days. After he had completed it, he had me take it around the state to get the views of his lawyer friends, and of those most interested. ... In 1855, he made more than a score of addresses in the campaign waged under the direction of the Illinois State Maine Law Alliance that year for the state-wide prohibition of the liquor traffic. . . . Lincoln was heart and soul in favor of it." 30 Since publication, Merwin's story has provoked extensive comment with pronounced differences of opinion. On the whole, prohibitionists and liberals have either accepted or rejected it, according to their own personal attitude toward the liquor question, but, even among serious and honest Lincoln students, Merwin is not without his champions. 31 It is submitted, however, with all possible deference to those who have heretofore expressed themselves upon this matter, that the present study is the first effort to critically analyze Merwin's statements in the light of exhaustive research. So far as a diligent examination of the record reveals, Merwin's sponsors rest their case upon the tangible evidence of the watch which Merwin says Lincoln inscribed and presented to him, and upon an alleged corroboration of Merwin by Henry B. Rankin, of Spring- so White, 147. 81 Among these are: "Lincoln and Prohibition," by Charles T. White; "Latest Light on Abraham Lincoln," by Dr. Erwin Chapman; "Foot- prints of Abraham Lincoln," by Dr. J. T. Hobson. 78 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR field, and A. J. Baber, of Paris, Illinois. For convenience, this evidence will be examined in the order named. There is no room for doubt that the watch was pre- sented to Merwin "by the friends of temperance in Chicago. " The Northwestern Christian Advocate of June 13, 1855, contains an account of this incident under title of "Pleasant Ceremonies," which occurred "at the office of the N. W. C. Advocate, on the evening of the 8 th inst. 32 "The meeting was numerously attended by the members of the press, the pastors of churches, and the principal and most influential citizens of our city," and the reporter mentions some of the most prominent by name. "Rev. Mr. Watson, Editor of the Northwestern," having been "called upon to state the object of the meeting," did so, and "then proceeded, as instructed by the appreciative donors, to present Mr. Merwin a beautiful and massive gold watch which cost upwards of $200.00, on tendering of which Mr. W. made the follow- ing characteristically felicitous and pertinent address." Mr. Watson's remarks, highly ornate, according to the style of the times, interspersed with biblical allu- sions and quotations from the poets, are too long to be given in full, but in the midst of his address he dramati- cally approached Mr. Merwin and said: "Turn, sir, ... to the words fitly spoken, inscribed on a less perishable material than the pages of rock, 32 See files of Northwestern Christian Advocate, Garrett Biblical In- stitution, Evanston, 111. THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 79 prayed for by the patient patriarch of Uz. Open, sir, the golden gates of that elegant souvenir and read: 'Presented by the friends of temperance in Chicago to J. B. Merwin, Corresponding Secretary of the Illinois State Maine Law Alliance, as a token of their confidence and regard for his untiring energy and perseverance in the campaign of 1855, for Prohibition. ' " There is no mention whatever of the last line: "In- scription written by Abraham Lincoln," which later appeared upon the watch. No mention of Lincoln's name throughout the entire proceedings. Not a word in- dicating Lincoln's presence, notwithstanding the fact that he was already such an important public figure that the newspapers always noted his visits to Chicago. 33 Obviously nothing further need be said about the watch as substantive or any evidence in support of Merwin's story. On May 6, 1917, John W. Starr, Jr., of Millersburg, Pennsylvania, Lincoln student and author who had been in correspondence with Merwin, wrote Henry B. Rankin, one of Springfield's oldest citizens, asking him about Merwin's association with Lincoln. And on the 10th Rankin replied: "In the temperance campaign of 1854-55, 1 was a youth of 17 yrs and at school. I have a general recollection of the Springfield lawyers who favored the Maine Law election in Illinois then — B. S. Edwards, S. T. Logan, W. H. Herndon, Abraham 33 See Chicago Daily Journal, Oct. 30, 1854; The Daily Democratic Press, July 9, 1855; Angle, "Day by Day/' 43-80. 80 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR Lincoln, J. H. Matheny are among them. I consider Major J. B. Merwin a truthful, reliable man, and that what he says would be substantially correct." 34 It will be observed that here Rankin merely states that Lincoln "favored" the prohibition law. Nothing is said about any activity on his part, but, like Merwin, Rankin's memory seemed to improve with age. Four years later, at eighty-four, he wrote Charles T. White: 35 "Lincoln prepared the first draft of the law for sub- mission to the Legislature. He took it over to Judge S. T. Logan's office for any change the judge thought should be made. They both discussed the act as Lincoln had drawn it. The judge had the manuscript several days and added such revisions and changes as he deemed would facilitate its adoption by the Legislature, and took it back to Lincoln. Lincoln approved of the judge's alterations. They then canvassed the matter as to who would be most proper to present it to some member of the Legislature to bring before the Legislature. "Lincoln advised that they both go over to the law office of Stuart & Edwards (both of whom had gone over from the Whig to the Democrat party after the compromise measures of 1850 had passed) and submit the manuscript to B. S. Edwards, and, if he approved it, then to insist that he bring it before such members of the Legislature — on the Democratic side — who would 34 Quoted in letter from Starr to the author, May 23, 1932. 35 Letter dated Feb. 28, 1921, White, 69. THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 8l introduce it free of any of the Whig odor of Logan, or the free-soil Whigism of Lincoln. "This was done. Edwards consented, and adopted the Act as they had prepared it. He copied the manu- script in his own handwriting and interested his party friends in the Legislature to secure its adoption. All three thus had a hand in it. I heard Edwards in a speech in the courthouse at Petersburg in 1855 advocating its adoption by the referendum then before the state, say that he wrote the law." The wealth of detail in this letter about an incident which had occurred sixty-six years before, written by one who had been, as he wrote Starr, "a youth of 17 and at school," and who in 1917 had only "a general recollection" of those who "favored the Maine Law," is truly amazing. If Rankin, as we must assume, did not know these details at the time he wrote Starr in 1917, from whom did he learn them later? All of Lincoln's Illinois as- sociates, personal and political, had long since passed away. He did not claim to have had his memory re- freshed by existing records, newly discovered or other- wise. If, on the other hand, Rankin did know that Lincoln was the author of the prohibition measure before 19 17, the matter is all the more inexplicable. In 1 9 10, Rev. Joseph Fort Newton, with access to many hitherto unpublished documents, particularly the full correspondence between Herndon and Theodore 82 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR Parker, wrote a brilliant book entitled "Lincoln and Herndon. ,, In his preface, he acknowledges his in- debtedness to "Mr. Henry B. Rankin, whose reminis- cences and suggestions were invaluable/' yet Newton, in discussing the Maine Law contest in Illinois, declares: "Lincoln — neither prohibitionist nor abolitionist — held aloof, not wishing to divert attention from the supreme question of the age." 36 Did Rankin tell Newton this? It would be unfair to infer that he did. But certainly he did not, in his "reminiscences and suggestions," tell Newton what he later wrote Starr and White. After the publication of "Lincoln and Herndon," Rankin had six years in which to meditate upon New- ton's error before writing a book of his own in 191 6, styled "Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln." At the beginning of this volume, Rankin announces the motive which had induced him, after all these years, to write of Lincoln. "There are," he says "certain impor- tant parts of his life and of influences that were strong there in the development of the inner and greater Lincoln, that have never been told. Some of these told are sadly defective. There are slurs and caricatures, luminous with their distortions, that I wish to see removed as excrescences from many of the so-called 'accepted historical accounts' of the personality of Lincoln."' 36 Newton, 77. 37 Rankin, "Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln," 8. '37 THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 83 Then Rankin marches blithely through 399 pages, flashing his bright blade of truth, lopping off "excres- cences," puncturing "myths," adding here and there some illuminating and hitherto unknown incident in his hero's life. At one point he speaks of Lincoln's convic- tion "of the evils of trafficking in and using ardent spirits," 38 and one would suppose that this reference should have reminded the author of the "so-called ac- cepted historical accounts" that Lincoln, as Lamon says, "disliked sumptuary laws and would not pre- scribe by statute what other men should eat or drink," and, as Gourley says, "took no part in the great temper- ance movement," and, as stated by Newton, was no "prohibitionist" and "held aloof." Yet the author finally brings his book to a close, leaving this hoary "excrescence" serenely intact. However, readers who are inclined to accept Merwin's story, and Rankin as a corroborating witness, may seek to excuse Rankin's singular omission by saying that Starr did not write Rankin about Merwin's claim until 1917, a year after the "Personal Recollections" were published, nor did Rankin write White until 1921, and that, if Rankin had written another book he would cer- tainly have published to the world what he had set down at length in personal communications. There are two things which would, of course, impair the plausibility of this contention. One is that Rankin, having lived in Springfield all those years, quite familiar 38 Rankin, "Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln " 80. 84 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR with Lincoln literature, knew perfectly well what Lamon, Newton and others had said about Lincoln and the prohibition campaign of 1855, an d must have been acutely aware of the local tradition about it. And the other is that Rankin did write a second book. In 1924, seven years after he had told Starr that Lincoln favored prohibition and "substantially" en- dorsed Merwin, and three years after he had informed White that Lincoln was, in fact, the author of the Il- linois Maine Law, Rankin published a volume en- titled "Intimate Character Sketches of Abraham Lincoln," consisting of 335 pages. With Merwin dead, but his story still under fire, the Eighteenth Amend- ment adopted and in full force, national prohibition at its floodtide, memorials being erected throughout the country to those hardy, courageous pioneers in the great movement which had slowly but finally achieved its goal — how appropriate it would have been for Rankin in this book to have both vindicated Merwin and placed a new wreath upon the brow of Abraham Lincoln ! In searching these pages of Rankin's second book, one finds reference to "the early days of temperance re- form," but again the author is wholly silent on Lincoln and prohibition. Of course, there may be some who attach derogatory significance to the fact that Rankin, after the elapse of sixty-four years, in private correspondence, readily identified Lincoln as a prohibitionist, and finally as the author of the Illinois law, but omitted to do so on the THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 85 two occasions when he had an opportunity to reveal this important information publicly. But waiving this, and attributing to the old man every integrity of purpose, it is apparent that his attempted corroboration of Merwin is altogether unconvincing. 39 The remaining evidence which is alleged to confirm Merwin grows out of a letter which John G. Woolley, a temperance writer, wrote in January 19 14, to A. J. Baber, eighty-two years of age, who was a prominent citizen of Paris, Edgar County, Illinois, asking Baber to tell him what he knew of Lincoln as a temperance man. Apparently, Woolley referred to Lincoln as a prohibition- ist, because Baber replied: 40 "I know he was a full-fledged temperance man, but as to being a prohibitionist I have forgotten whether he was really a prohibitionist, but I know he was an ardent temperance man." Baber went on to relate that he be- came acquainted with Lincoln when he came to attend the Edgar Circuit Court. "Lincoln would follow the circuit; this brought him to Paris twice a year for quite a number of years. "While at court session in 1855," continued Baber, "my business called me to Paris, and I saw Lincoln and Ficklin, Linder and Judge Harlan, sitting in the shade of the Paris House. I went to where they were." 39 Rev. William E. Barton, noted Lincoln authority, seriously doubted the accuracy of Rankin's recollections concerning Abraham Lincoln. Barton, "Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman," 92-94. 40 Baber to Woolley, Jan. 24, 1914, White, 150. 86 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR During the conversation "Lincoln spoke up and said that Col. Baldwin had invited him to come to his place and make a temperance speech, and it was about time he was going — Linder and Ficklin opposed his going — rather made sport of it," but after a while, no one having come for him, "Lincoln started afoot and walked to the place of speaking, six miles out. ... It was a hot day and Lincoln wore a long linen duster and made the trip just to make a temperance speech — walked six miles on a hot day." Doubtless Baber was doing his best to accurately re- call an incident which, as he thought, occurred fifty-nine years before. Certainly, if Lincoln made a temperance speech in 1855, prior to June 4th of that year, it could hardly have failed to be in favor of prohibition. But the surrounding circumstances strongly indicate that Baber was mistaken as to time. It is quite true, as Baber says, that Lincoln often came to Edgar County on his trips around the circuit, but in 1853, Edgar and several other counties were cut off from the Eighth Judicial Circuit that Lincoln regu- larly traveled. 41 Moreover, only one session of the Edgar Circuit Court was held in 1855, and this convened on April 1 6th and adjourned April 26th. 42 The records show that from Monday, April 9th, to Friday, April 20th, the McLean Circuit Court was in 41 Angle, "Abraham Lincoln — Circuit Lawyer." Lincoln Centennial As- sociation papers, 1928, 28. 42 Order Book 4, 1, Edgar Circuit Court. THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 87 session at Bloomington, more than a hundred miles from Paris, with no rail connection, and that Lincoln was in attendance there; that on Saturday, April 21st, he was at Springfield, and that from Monday, April 23rd, to Wednesday, April 25th, he was trying cases every day in the Woodford Circuit Court at Metamora, more than one hundred and fifty miles from Paris. 43 According to the order books of the Paris Circuit Court, Lincoln had no cases at the Spring Term in 1855, and, in fact, none after the Spring Term of 1853, when Edgar County was transferred to another judicial district. 44 Furthermore, it will be noticed that Baber says that Linder "opposed" Lincoln's temperance appointment — "rather made sport of it," but this could not have oc- curred after the beginning of 1854, since Linder was himself an avowed prohibitionist, and on February 22, 1854, addressed the Maine Law Alliance at Springfield. "Mr. Linder came full into the field," says the Illinois Journal, "and pointed out a course for the friends of prohibition which he thought would secure the passage of a law by the next Legislature, to carry out that principle. Mr. Linder was eloquent, and his 43 Angle: "Lincoln Day by Day," 67-69. Distances are reckoned ac- cording to public highways as shown by Peck & Messinger's map of Il- linois, 1853 Ed. 44 Letter from Arnold Moss, Circuit Clerk, to the author, Oct. 25, 1933. See also letter from Lincoln to Jacob Harding, editor of "Paris-Prairie Beacon," May 25, 1855, which indicates that he had not been in Paris for a considerable length of time. Tracy, 57; Angle: "Lincoln Day by Day," 73- 88 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR speech sparkled with wit, irony, and occasionally a touch of sarcasm. " 45 It can hardly be doubted that the incident described by Baber, which Merwin's defenders have emphasized so strongly, actually did happen at some time or an- other, but that it occurred in 1855 is beyond reasonable probability. Both Rankin and Baber, as old men are wont to do, simply mixed imagination with their memories. Having considered in detail the testimony which is usually cited in confirmation of the Merwin story, the following observations from Lincoln's own son would seem to finally dispose of the matter. Shortly after Merwin's death, Mr. Charles T. White wrote Robert T. Lincoln, who promptly replied: "You will perhaps be surprised to know that I never heard of James B. Merwin until a few months ago when someone wrote me in regard to some of his quotations of my father. I, thereupon, obtained a book I had not before seen called 'Footprints of Abraham Lincoln/ by Rev. J. T. Hobson, and in this book I found much mention of Mr. Merwin, and I must confess to you that I was dumfounded to know that my father had a friend who claimed such intimacy with him, and of whom I knew nothing whatever. "I was surprised, too, by some of his statements which indi- cated that he accompanied my father on a long temperance cam- paign in Illinois at a time when I supposed my father was giving all the attention he could possibly take away from his professional work, upon which depended his living, in a campaign against the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. You will find in Nicolay & Hay reference to the political work, but none to the temperance work at any such time. 45 Illinois Journal, Feb. 23, 1854. THE MAINE LAW CAMPAIGN 89 "You may think that I was too young to do so, but I very well remember that political campaign of my father, and even drove him to a number of meetings; if it is true, as I believe it is, that I never heard him speak of Merwin, it is at least queer." 46 In conclusion, it may also be pointed out that no personal letter or document written by any of Lincoln's contemporaries has ever been found which supports the contention that Lincoln took any part in the Illinois Maine Law election. And the most careful examination of Illinois newspapers has failed to disclose any refer- ence to Lincoln's connection with it, although notices of meetings, and the names of speakers frequently appear. The Illinois State Register, leading Democratic organ in Central Illinois, which Herndon called a "slaveite whiskey paper," was strongly opposed to the reform movement. 47 The anti-prohibition Germans were Democrats, but Lincoln was drawing them rapidly into the party opposed to slavery. The Register would have been quick to circulate any news of Lincoln's prohibi- tion activities. So we may be sure that Lincoln, with his usual astuteness, neither said nor did anything that might offend any group or faction of the anti-slavery element who opposed prohibition, and that, regardless of how he may have voted, he took no part in this contest that raged so fiercely about him in the eventful spring of 1855. 46 Robert T. Lincoln to Charles T. White, Apr. 30, 19 17. White, 159. 47 Newton, 78; See Illinois State Register, Apr. 3, 1855, et seq. CHAPTER VII THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS opringfield, when Abraham Lincoln moved there in 1837, was a rude, unattractive frontier town of less than two thousand inhabitants. Built around an open square, later occupied by the State House, the streets were entirely unimproved. In summer traffic stirred up clouds of dust that settled like a pall over houses and shrubbery. In winter wagons sank to the hubs and horses to their knees in the black sticky mire. But the town, proud, wide-awake and eager for dis- tinction, had just achieved its greatest civic ambition. It was now the capital of the state. New buildings were going up, the population was increasing — signs of the steady growth which in a few years made Springfield one of the most prosperous cities in Central Illinois. Society, although comparatively free and easy after the pioneer manner, was not without its cliques and select groups, the aristocracy being largely of Kentucky origin. The use of alcoholic beverages was, of course, quite general, and its presence at banquets and other festive functions is frequently mentioned in the public press. Reading the records, one does not find much men- tion of drinking on the part of the clergy, as was true of THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS 91 an earlier day. 1 The temperance movement of the forties seemed to have militantly arrayed the ministers on the side of reform, but the members of the legal profession showed no such hostility toward liquor. The Springfield lawyers, including Lincoln, generally prepared their briefs in the Supreme Court Library at the State House, and one of them relates that "with but few exceptions, they drank their toddy," making fre- quent visits to a jug of good whisky which Col. Warren, the Clerk of the Court, "usually hid from sight, but which was never so cleverly concealed that the wise ones could not find it." 2 Out on the circuit, tippling shops and tap-rooms clustered about the courthouse, and when a court was established in Christian County, the two buildings first erected were a courthouse and a saloon. 3 Examinations for admission to the bar were ex- ceedingly lax and informal, and it was customary for the young applicant to provide a bottle of whisky or brandy for the delectation of the examiner. This Mr. Bodkin of Alton found out when he appeared before Judge Thomas C. Brown of the Supreme Court. No liquor being in sight, the eminent jurist inquired: "Are you a judge of good brandy?" Bodkin took the hint, and soon a flask of the best brandy and a bowl of loaf sugar were set before His 1 See"Autobiography of Peter Cartwright, "the Methodist circuit rider. 2 Herndon in Weik, 207. 3 "Recollections of the Bench & Bar of Central Illinois," address by James C. Conkling, Jan. 12, 1881 — Fergus Historical Series, No. 22. 92 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR Honor, who sipped a stiff toddy meditatively before be- ginning the examination. Presently he asked: "Mr. Bodkin, have you read Blackstone and Chitty?" "Oh, yes, sir," replied Bodkin. "What do you think of them as authors ?" "I think highly of them," said Bodkin. Judge Brown mixed himself another toddy. "Have you read Shakespeare?" he inquired. "Oh, yes," answered Bodkin. "You greatly admire him, Mr. Bodkin?" "Oh, beyond all the power of language to express," exclaimed Bodkin. "Do you know there was no such person as Shake- speare?" asked Brown. "Indeed I did not," confessed Bodkin. "It is true," solemnly declared the judge. "Then you do not know who wrote the work entitled 'The Plays of Shakespeare' ?" "If he did not write them, I do not know," replied the bewildered Bodkin. "Would you like to know?" asked the judge. "I certainly would," was the answer. "Then," said Brown, with ponderous gravity, "as you have shown in this examination the highest qualifi- cations to be admitted to the bar, I will say to you, in the strictest confidence, what I have never said to r ^ A ■ ps "H ^K# """^-^ ? .-....' -rs ?s~>- ^ «|" , W k .» j i ffcl ' ■* r . ** *5* ! \ \ 3 HHH M ifor q/ /A? Tremont House in Chicago THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS 93 anyone before, that / am the author of those plays! Mr. Bodkin, write out your license, and I will sign it." 4 Lincoln, at least during the early years of his Spring- field residence, continued to observe the rule of total abstinence which he had practiced in New Salem. Joshua Speed, whose intimate association with Lincoln began on the very first day of his arrival, 5 and continued until the spring of 1841, when Speed returned to Ken- tucky, says: "He had no vices, even as a young man. . . . Most men who have been great students, such as he was, in their hours of idleness, have taken to the bottle, to cards or dice. He had no fondness for any of these." 6 It is interesting to note Lincoln's first recorded con- tact with the evil of excessive drinking in his new sur- roundings. A shoemaker who lived near his office was in the habit of getting drunk and whipping his wife. Lincoln warned him that if he did not quit it he would thrash him, and for a while things went along quietly. But a few weeks later the shoemaker again resorted to his favorite pastime, and Lincoln and James Matheny dragged him over into the back yard of the courthouse, stripped off his shirt and tied him to the town pump. Then they sent for his wife, gave her a long, limber switch and told her to "light in," which, as Matheny says, "she did lustily and well." Of course, the culprit 4 Linder, 74. 6 "It was in the spring of 1837, and on the very day that he obtained his license that our intimate acquaintance began." Speed, 21. 6 Speed to Herndon, Dec. 6, 1866. Herndon-Lamon MSS. 94 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR swore vengeance, but neither Lincoln nor Matheny ever heard any further reports of his misconduct. 7 As to Lincoln's personal use of liquor after the fervor of the Washington movement had subsided, there is not complete agreement among those who knew him during the Springfield years. "He told me," says Swett, "not more than a year before he was elected President, that he had never tasted liquor in his life." 8 Leonard Swett first became acquainted with Lincoln in 1849, and remained one of his closest friends as long as he lived. Together they traveled the circuit for eleven years, stopping at the same country taverns and often sleeping in the same bed. Swett was an able lawyer, a man of strict integrity and unimpeachable veracity, and yet the numerous errors in the article where this state- ment appears, which he wrote in 1886, particularly as to his recollection of what Lincoln told him about his early life, is another striking illustration of the tricks which an old man's memory often plays upon him when he attempts to relate things he heard a long time ago. The same may also be said of that fine old news- paper man, Horace White, who sometime in the nineties recalled that on one occasion Lincoln had said to him that he "had never taken a drink of any alcoholic beverage in the past twenty years." 9 7 Herndon (2 Vol. Ed.), I, 180. 8 Swett in Rice, 455. This statement was made in 1886. 9 Weik, 232. THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS 95 Obviously if Lincoln had never "tasted liquor in his life," he would hardly have said to White that he had not taken a drink in twenty years. While on the other hand, if White's recollection was correct, it would ap- pear that Swett's memory was at fault. Most probably both are in error as to the exact language Lincoln used in expressing the undisputed fact that he was not nor had he ever been a "liquor drinker/ ' as that term was ordinarily understood. John Hay declares that Lincoln, although he had no desire for alcoholic stimulants, did not remain "always on principle a total abstainer, as he was during a part of his early life in the fervor of the Washingtonian reform. " 10 In 1872, Ward Hill Lamon, whom Lincoln set down in his own handwriting as "entirely reliable and trust- worthy — my particular friend", wrote that "Mr. Lin- coln indulged in no sensual excesses; he ate moderately and drank temperately when he drank at all. . . . He had no taste for spiritous liquors, and when he took them it was a punishment to him, not an indulgence/' 11 On July 4, 1889, he replied to a letter from Miss Kate Field: "You ask my recollection of Mr. Lincoln's views on the question of temperance and prohibition. I look upon him as one of the safest temperance men I ever knew. He was neither what might be called a 'drinking man,' a total abstainer, nor a prohibitionist." 12 10 "Life in the White House in the Time of Lincoln," by John Hay, Century Magazine, Nov. 1890. 11 Lamon, 480. 12 Kate Field's "Washington," Vol. X, No. 24, 371-372, Dec. 12, 1894. 96 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR And Lamon left a statement which was found among his papers after his death that "none of his nearest associates ever saw Mr. Lincoln voluntarily call for a drink," but that they had seen him "take whiskey with a little sugar in it to avoid the appearance of dis- countenancing it to his friends. If he could have avoided it without giving offense, he would have gladly done so." 13 Lincoln Dubois, son of Jesse K. Dubois, one of Lincoln's very intimate political and personal friends, in his unpublished reminiscences, corroborates Lamon: "He decidedly was not what would be called a drinking man, but made no fuss about it at all; took it when offered, but seldom drank it." 14 Herndon, who, of course, was in a better position than anyone else to know what his partner's personal habits were, is entirely silent on Lincoln's use of liquor, in his three- volume biography. But he wrote Jesse Weik, of Greencastle, Indiana, that Lincoln "did sometimes take a horn when he thought it would do him good," although "he had no very strong thirst or appetite for stimulating drinks or tonics." 15 However, there must have been long intervals even in the later years when Lincoln was practically, if not actually, a total abstainer. Judge Ewing speaks of an incident which occurred in 1854 when he visited Stephen A. Douglas at his hotel in Bloomington. "A 13 Lamon, "Recollections," 305. 14 Dubois MSS, owned by Frank E. Stevens, Sycamore, 111. 16 Herndon to Weik, Feb. 5, 1887, Weik MSS. THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS 97 pitcher of water, some glasses and a decanter of red liquor" stood on the table. Presently Lincoln came in, and, after a little conversation, Douglas said: "Mr. Lincoln, won't you take something?" "No, I think not," replied Lincoln. "What!" exclaimed Douglas. "Are you a member of the Temperance Society?" "No," said Lincoln, "I am not a member of any Temperance Society; but I am temperate in this, that I don't drink anything." 16 The occasions on which Lincoln took "whiskey with a little sugar in it" must have been very rare at any period, because several of his associates agree with Judge Logan, who says: "I never in my life saw Lincoln taste liquor." 17 Henry C. Whitney, who was on the circuit with Lincoln more than Logan, though not so much as La- mon, recalls an incident when he and Lincoln and several other lawyers drove out to the residence of Reason Hooten, near Danville, where several varieties of homemade wine were passed around. "A mere sip of each affected Lincoln," relates Whitney, "and he said 16 Ewing in Phillips, 54-5. Lincoln's refusal in this instance would not have been surprising, in any case. He and Douglas were political rivals and Douglas was much addicted to liquor. During the "Debates," Lincoln remarked with unwonted severity: "I flatter myself that thus far my wife has not found it necessary to follow me around from place to place to keep me from getting drunk." Weik, 136. 17 MSS dated July 6, 1875, owned by Mrs. Alice H. Wadsworth, Mt. Morris, N. Y. 98 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR comically, Tellers, I am getting drunk!' That was the nearest approach to inebriety I ever saw him." 18 "I am entitled to little credit for not drinking/' Lin- coln told Herndon, "because I hate the stuff. It is un- pleasant and always leaves me flabby and undone." 19 And Judge Joseph Gillispie wrote Herndon that Lincoln "was a remarkably temperate man, eschewing every indulgence, not so much, as it seemed to me, from principle as a want of appetite." 20 Fragments of the Diller Drug Store ledger contain occasional purchases of liquor charged to Lincoln and delivered to his residence, such as: "1859 — June 3, A. Lincoln To bot. brandy $2.00 June 13, A. Lincoln To bot. brandy $2.00" 21 But James Gourley expressed the opinion, based upon observation as his next-door neighbor, that Lin- coln "scarcely ever drank" and only "as a medicine, I think." 22 At any rate, it seems reasonably certain that the Lincolns did not keep liquor in their home for beverage purposes. On Saturday evening, May 19, 1861, Lincoln re- ceived formal notification of his nomination as the 18 Whitney, 157. 19 Herndon to Weik, Feb. 5, 1887, Wiek MSS. 20 Gillispie to Herndon, Jan. 31, 1866. Herndon-Lamon MSS. "This excellent lawyer and skillful politician was one of the five or six men with whom Lincoln may be said ever to have been intimate." Beveridge, II, 219. 21 Shutes, 58. These two items are the only liquor purchases shown by the ledgers for 1857, '58 and '59. Lincoln was in Chicago on the date of the first purchase. Angle, "Lincoln Day by Day," 283. 22 James Gourley's statement, Herndon-Lamon MSS. THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS 99 Republican candidate for President of the United States. Several hours before the Committee arrived, Gustave Koerner and Judge Peck went up to the Lin- coln home. On a table in the library stood a number of glasses, two decanters of brandy, and under the table a basket of champagne which some of Lincoln's friends had sent over for the entertainment of the Committee. In a few moments, Mrs. Lincoln came in, and Koerner and Peck said to her that, inasmuch as many Easterners were strong temperance people, the "treat- ing" of the Committee might have a bad political effect. Mrs. Lincoln, however, who had a vivid recollection of the frosted mint juleps which her father had served to Henry Clay, John J. Crittenden, and other Whig leaders back in Kentucky, "remonstrated in her very lively manner." Presently Lincoln walked over from the sitting room across the hall and stood in the door listen- ing to the argument. At last he said soothingly,"Perhaps, Mary, these gentlemen are right. After all is over we may see about it, and some may stay and have a good time." 23 It was past seven o'clock that evening when the Committee, after an "elegant" dinner at the Chenery House, reached the Lincoln residence and were ushered into the library, which impressed one of the delegates . as a "rather bare looking room." The brandy and cham- pagne had disappeared, and a silver-plated pitcher now occupied the center of the white marble-topped table. 23 Koerner, II, 93-95. IOO LINCOLN AND LIQUOR The Republican candidate, "tall and ungainly in his black suit of apparently new but ill-fitting clothes, his long tawny neck emerging gauntly from his turned- down collar, his melancholy eyes sunken deep in his haggard face," stood quietly listening, without visible embarrassment, to the dignified speech of Mr. Ashmun, the president of the convention. When Ashmun had concluded, Lincoln responded with "a few appropriate, earnest and well shaped sentences." Then followed a brief, informal conversation "in which the hearty sim- plicity of Lincoln's nature was shown." Ice water was graciously served, and after a round of handshaking the Committee left to accept other hospitalities where liquor and champagne flowed freely, numerous toasts were pro- posed, bands of music played, and fireworks were set off. 24 A few days later, John W. Bunn met Lincoln on the street and asked him how his distinguished guests had received the cold water which he had served them at his house. "Greatly to my surprise," chuckled Lincoln, "they drank freely of it, and I never knew the reason till one of them confided that they had just come from a sump- tuous dinner at the hotel where they were given bounti- ful quantities of everything to drink but water, so that when they reached my house they were so dry, notwith- standing the refreshments at the hotel, even water was stimulating enough to satisfy their appetites." '25 24 Schurz, II, 187-80; Schurz was a delegate to the Republican Conven- tion from Wisconsin and a member of the Notification Committee. 26 Weik, 273. e>c*£s~ o-e-&y m* Lincoln's letter on reception of Notification Committee THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS IOI This unorthodox reception of the Notification Com- mittee evidently excited considerable comment, and, having received certain communications about it, Lincoln wrote the following letter, which he marked "Private & Confidential": "Springfield, 111. June II, i860. J. Mason Haight, Esq. My Dear Sir: I think it would be improper for me to write, or say anything to, or for, the public upon the subject of which you inquire. I, therefore, wish the letter I do write to be held as strictly confi- dential. Having kept house sixteen years, and having never held the 'cup* to the lips of my friends there, my judgment was that I should not, in my new position, change my habits in this respect. What actually occurred upon this occasion of the Committee visit- ing me, I think it would be better for others to say. Yours respectfully, A. Lincoln/' 26 Yet, it is a curious fact that the President-elect, at the time he wrote Haight, was having trouble over a hotel bill that involved items of liquor. On Sept. 17th, 1859, Lincoln had made a speech in Cincinnati, and he and Mrs. Lincoln and Tad were entertained over the week-end by the local Republican Committee at the Burnet House. When Lincoln left the hotel on Monday, he was informed by the clerk that the bill had been paid, but on June 5, i860, he received a letter, together with a bill, from the Burnet House, saying that "We relied upon the Republican Committee, but as yet have not 26 Hertz, 778. 102 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR been able to find any one willing to take the responsi- bility of paying same." The enclosed statement amounted to $53.50, which included a charge for liquor and to- bacco in the sum of $7.50, and "occupancy of room No. 15. Committee, $5.00." On June 7, i860, Lincoln wrote W. M. Dickson, of Cincinnati, sending him a copy of the Burnet House communication, stating that he had been "distinctly told the bill was settled. ... As to wines, liquors & Cigars," said Lincoln, "we had none — absolutely none. These may have been in Room 15 by order of the Committee, but I do not recollect them at all. Please look into this and write me. I can and will pay it if it is all right, but I do not wish to be 'diddled.' " 27 Men with whom Lincoln came in contact were not always able to appreciate his failure to indulge in the habits that gave them pleasure, and he was fond of tell- ing a story on himself which illustrated this fact. One morning in 1849, Lincoln left Randall's Tavern in Spring- field for Washington. The only other passenger in the stagecoach was a well-dressed, affable Kentuckian, who was on his way home from Missouri. The two men immediately fell into conversation, and after a while the Kentuckian took a chew of tobacco and handed the plug to Lincoln, who politely said that he did not chew. Later on, as the clumsy vehicle jolted and swayed over the rough, dusty road and conversation lagged, the stranger pulled a leather case from his 27 Angle, 247. Cincinnati Daily Commercial, Feb. 16, 1861. The bill was thereupon promptly paid by the Cincinnati Republicans. THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS 103 pocket and offered his companion a cigar. Lincoln thanked him, but said that he never smoked. Finally, as lunch time approached, the traveler pro- duced a flask from his satchel. "Well, my friend," he remarked, "seeing you do not smoke or chew, perhaps you will take a little of this French brandy. "Tis a prime article and a good appetizer besides.' ' But Lincoln again declined this highest and best demonstration of Ken- tucky hospitality. In the afternoon at the junction, as the gentleman from the Bluegrass state was about to take another stage for Louisville, he shook hands cordially. "See here," he said smilingly, "you are a clever but peculiar companion. I may never see you again, and I do not want to offend you. But I want to say this: My experience has taught me that a man who has no vices has damned few virtues. Good day." 28 The fact that Lincoln was an exceedingly temperate man made it difficult for his friends to understand his fondness for the society of certain associates whose habits were notoriously bad. Whitney complains that Lincoln would play billiards by the hour with George Laurence, "a worthless, drunken fellow, who turned lawyer late in life." 29 Judge David Davis, who presided over the Eighth Judicial Circuit, accounted for Lincoln's association 28 Herndon, 302-3. "Whitney, 480; Beveridge, II, 230. On May 27, 1854, Lincoln and Swett signed Laurence's law license, Angle, 129. 104 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR with a few "low and vulgar" men by the fact that "he loved sharp, witty things, loved jokes, etc.," and ex- pressed the opinion that "Lincoln used these men merely to whistle off sadness, gloom and unhappiness." 30 But Davis was sure that Lincoln "hated drunkenness." However, Lincoln did not allow his personal aver- sion to liquor nor his temperance views to interfere with the performance of professional duties. The records show that he appeared with impartial zeal as counsel for saloon keepers and for reform crusaders, who destroyed the property of saloon keepers. In 1846, at the April term of the McLean Circuit Court, Lincoln represented Roswell Munsell, who kept bar in the Bloomington Hotel at Bloomington, Illinois, in a suit against William H. Temple over the validity of his liquor license. 31 In 1852, he and James Haines acted as arbitrators over the ownership of five gallons of peach brandy, and the award is in Lincoln's handwriting. 32 In 1853, Lincoln defended Patrick Sullivan, who was convicted at the October term of the Macon Circuit Court for selling liquor without a license. The fine was only $10.00, which was less than the costs of an appeal, but Lincoln took the case to the Supreme Court and strenuously, though ineffectually, contended that the existing laws of the state did not prohibit the sale of 30 David Davis to Herndon, Sept. 19, 1866. Herndon-Lamon MSS. 31 Munsell v. Temple, 8 III, 93. 32 Photostat in Illinois State Historical Library. THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS 105 intoxicants without a license. The wholesale grocers at Springfield sold large quantities of liquor to saloon keepers in Central Illinois, and were vitally interested in the outcome of this litigation. Since this action was apparently a test case, it is not improbable that Lincoln actually represented Jacob Bunn, who was one of his regular clients, his close personal friend, and a large wholesale grocer. 33 Lincoln's participation in the Sullivan case on be- half of the liquor element is all the more interesting, because his partner, the year previous, had represented the temperance forces in an important proceeding before the Supreme Court, which had sustained the constitu- tionality of the liquor law passed by the Legislature in 1 85 1. Curiously enough, the temperate Lincoln kept himself out of this case entirely, while Herndon, intem- perate, but a devoted prohibitionist, appeared alone "for the people." 34 But in May 1854, Lincoln represented nine women who were indicted for "riot" in the Dewitt Circuit Court. According to the Decatur Gazette, a man named Tanner had opened a "doggery'' in the town of Marion, "much to the annoyance of the fair sex," who called upon and requested him to "desist his traffic of liquor." The request being refused, the women, "in a quiet and respectful manner, took the liquor and turned it out 33 Sullivan v. People, 15 111. 233. 34 Johnson v. The People, 14 111. 196. "I argued that case for the People," says Herndon. See "Letters on Temperance,'' by W. H. Herndon, 1855, 15. Reprint of articles published in 111. Journal. 106 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR upon the ground/ ' At the trial more than a hundred ladies were present to witness Lincoln's defense of the "fair daughters of Adam. " The jury having imposed the insignificant fine of $2.00, the editor of the Gazette felt that Lincoln and his clients had won a victory, and ex- claimed, "Huzzah for the Marion ladies !" 35 In this same month, Frederick Pearl and Sylvester Pearl filed a suit in the Tazewell Circuit Court against Alexander Graham and twenty other men for trespass, claiming that they had entered claimants' dwelling and destroyed certain liquors and other property. The re- sponse filed by the defendants is in Lincoln's hand- writing, and alleges that "the supposed dwelling house in said declaration mentioned was a common, disorderly and ill-governed house, within which, by the permission and procurement of the plaintiff, drunkenness, idleness, quarreling, profane swearing, obscenity and other offen- sive acts and noises were then and there practiced and encouraged, to the great injury and annoyance of the peaceful citizens of the neighborhood." A year later, May 4, 1855, tne defendants were tried and fifteen of them acquitted, six were found guilty, and damages assessed at $5o.oo. 36 In a similar case over in McLean County, Lincoln was not so successful. His clients, Ephriam Piatt and A. B. Davidson, were fined $600.00 and costs, according to the Bloomington Pantagraph, for "destroying certain 35 Decatur Gazette clipped in Illinois State Register, May 17, 1854. 36 Photostatic copy of record in possession of author. THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS 107 barrels of spiritual comfort" belonging to the firm of Reynolds & Fuller. 37 On June 12, 1855, eight days after the Maine Law election, the case of George Organ and Benjamin Kessler, jointly indicted for selling liquor without a license, was called in the Sangamon Circuit Court, and the firm of Lincoln and Herndon is noted on the docket as counsel for defendants. 38 Not only did Lincoln make no distinction among his clients with reference to temperance, but, as Dubois says, he "made no fuss" about drinking on the part of his friends and associates. "I never heard him declaim against the use of tobacco or other stimulants," declared Judge Gillispie. 39 The contemporary press shows that on many occasions he attended banquets and public dinners where an amazing number of toasts were offered, and we may be sure that they were not drunk with water. When on July 5, 1858, the Union Fire Company, of Jacksonville, returned the friendly visit of Springfield's crack organization called The Pioneers, an elaborate luncheon was served at the St. Nicholas Hotel. Lincoln was the guest of honor, and, being called on for a toast, gallantly responded with the following: 37 Common Law Record 6, 487, Tazewell Circuit Court; the Blooming- ton Pantagraph, Sept. 17, 1856. 38 The People of Illinois v. George Organ and Benjamin Kessler, Record Book N, 518, Sangamon Circuit Court. 39 Gillispie to Herndon, Jan. 31, 1866. Herndon-Lamon MSS. 108 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR "The Pioneer Fire Company. May they extinguish all the bad flames, but keep the flame of patriotism ever burning brightly in the hearts of the ladies." 40 On the 25th of January, 1859, Springfield celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns with a dinner at Concert Hall, which "was well filled on this interesting occasion. " "Among the invited guests," says the reporter, "we observed the Hon. Abraham Lincoln of this city and U. F. Linder, Esq., of Coles County. The banquet was spread by Myers and embraced all that could be desired by the greatest epicure. The company sat down at nine o'clock, and after satisfying the appetite with eatables, the 'mountain dew' was brought out, and, together with a number of mysterious looking bottles, was freely circu- lated during the remainder of the evening. . . . The regu- lar toasts were responded to in order by Messrs. Lincoln, Linder, Matheny, Blaisdell, and others, and the pauses were filled up with songs by Messrs. Ewing, Knox, Childs, Eastin and others, together with instrumental music by the Young American Band." 41 It is certain that there was never any restraint be- cause of Lincoln's presence among the jolly circuit riders who regularly gathered after supper in Judge Davis* room at the best tavern in the town where court was being held. Indeed, he was the outstanding favorite of all 40 Illinois State Journal, July 7, 1858. 41 Illinois State Journal, Jan. 27, 1859. THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS 109 that gay, versatile group. 42 A bucket of beer stood on the hearth, a pitcher of whisky on the table, and hour after hour would swiftly pass in song and story, while Judge Davis' fat sides shook as Lincoln related a humorous anecdote in his droll inimitable way. And when Lamon got sufficiently "mellow" someone would exclaim: "Now, Hill, let's have some music," and Lincoln's Danville law partner, with his rich baritone and soft Virginia accent would sing "The Blue-Tailed Fly" or "Cousin Sally Downard," or some other ballad of equal interest but less propriety. 43 One night at the old McCormick House in Danville, Lincoln was tried before a mock tribunal called the "Ogmathorial Court" on a charge of impoverishing the bar by his "picayune fees." He was promptly found guilty and fined one gallon of whisky, "which he paid, and then kept the crowd in high good humor until mid- night with his stories." 44 Newton says that Lincoln watched Herndon's fight against the drink habit "with never failing sympathy." 45 This is doubtless true, and certainly his loyalty toward his young, impetuous partner never wavered. On one occasion, Lincoln represented Jacob Bunn in an im- 42 Three were later Governors of Illinois, three United States Senators, two Cabinet members, and when Lincoln became President, he appointed Davis to the Supreme Court. 43 Weik, 217-18. 44 "Lincoln and Lamon: Partners and Friends," by Clint Clay Tilton. Transactions Illinois State Historical Society, No. 38, 182. 46 Newton, 18. IIO LINCOLN AND LIQUOR portant matter not strictly within the scope of legal duties, for which he declined to make any charge, saying that if he should feel at any time that he was entitled to a fee he would let his client know. Months passed, and Bunn had almost forgotten the transaction, when Lincoln, apparently much perturbed, came to his house one morning about daybreak, and asked Bunn if he would pay him one hundred dollars as a fee in the case. Bunn very readily assented, and then Lincoln hurriedly explained that he did not want the money for himself, but that three of his friends, one of whom later proved to be Herndon, had spent the night in a drunken carousal, had almost wrecked a saloon, and that the sheriff then had them in his office and would take them to jail unless the damage was immediately paid. 46 And yet, so very marked was Lincoln's disinclination to criticise the conduct of his friends that only once did he speak to Herndon about his habits during the six- teen years of their partnership. It was late afternoon of Lincoln's last day in Spring- field. All day crowds had filled the lobby of the Chenery House where the President-elect now received visitors. Herndon waited down the street in the frowsy old law office. Presently Lincoln came in. The lines in his rugged face were deep with care and fatigue. For a little while they discussed unfinished legal business and went hastily over the books of the firm. 46 Weik, 203-4. THE SPRINGFIELD YEARS III Then Lincoln threw himself down on the battered, rickety lounge, and for a few minutes lay with his face toward the ceiling, without speaking. Suddenly he blurted out: "Billy, there is one thing I have for some time wanted you to tell me, but I reckon I ought to apologize for my nerve and curiosity in asking it even now." "What is it?" asked Herndon. "I want you to tell me," said Lincoln, "how many times you have been drunk." Herndon, though somewhat abashed by the blunt- ness of this inquiry, told him as best he could, but when he had finished, Lincoln, instead of delivering the antici- pated lecture, merely said that on several occasions efforts had been secretly made to have him drop the junior partner from the firm because of his intemperate habits, but that he had always declared his intention to stand by Herndon in spite of his shortcomings. Then, as though anxious to change the subject, Lincoln began to talk of the early days of his practice, recalling the humorous features of various law suits on the circuit. Thus his reminiscences ran on until dusk crept through the grimy little windows and it was time to go home. As he gathered a bundle of books and papers under his arm and started out, he spoke of the old sign, "Lincoln & Herndon," which hung on rusty hinges over the door at the foot of the steps. "Let it hang there undisturbed," he said in a lowered voice. "Give our clients to understand that the election 112 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR of a President makes no change in the firm of Lincoln and Herndon. If I live, I am coming back some time, and then we will go on practicing law as if nothing had happened." He lingered for a moment as if to take a last look at the old quarters, and then passed forever through the door into the hallway, and down the narrow stairs. 47 Weik, 299-301. 47 CHAPTER VIII PRESIDENT LINCOLN Champaign biographies of the little-known Lincoln which poured from the press following his nomination in May i860, stressed the fact that "in private life Mr. Lincoln is a strictly moral and temperate man," and many of them went so far as to declare that "he never drank intoxicating liquors of any sort, not even a glass of wine." 1 However, in the earlier years of the Republic total abstinence was not considered an essential nor even an important qualification for the Presidency. Washington, although a temperate man according to the standards of his time, was by no means a total abstainer. His mahog- any wine chest, with its exquisite cut-glass bottles, may still be seen at Mt. Vernon. Madeira was the wine customarily used on Wash- ington's table, but at his Thursday dinners and on other special occasions as many as four different kinds were often served. 2 1 Thayer & Eldridge, n. See also Biographies by Bartlett, Scripps and Howard. 2 "It will appear as if the household consumed enormous quantities of liquor of various sorts, but, as the temperate habits of the President and all his family are too well known for comment, the large amount of enter- tainment carried on in the house must be held responsible for it." Decatur, 122. 114 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR In April 1789, Washington received the French minister, Comte de Moustier, who relates that "there was a great provision of wine and punch, which the President himself offered me; but I reminded him how I had objected at Mt. Vernon to that usage/' 3 Whisky was distilled on several of his plantations, and on April 12, 1787, in a quaint and curious contract which he entered into with one Philip Bates, his gardener, Bates agrees, for a term of one year, to "conduct him- self soberly, diligently & honestly/' and that "he will not at any time suffer himself to be disguised with liquor except on the times hereinafter mentioned." Washington then agrees to provide Bates with various articles of wearing apparel and "four Dollars at Christ- mas, with which he may be drunk 4 days & 4 nights; two Dollars at Easter to effect the same purpose; two dollars also at Whitson tide, to be drunk two days; a Dram in the morning, & a drink of Grog at dinner or at noon." 4 Thomas Jefferson entertained lavishly at the White House during his two terms, and his wine bill amounted to the sum of $10,855.90. Madeira was Jefferson's favor- ite beverage, but he also bought other fine wines in large quantities. His purchases for 1803 included five hun- dred bottles of Champagne; two half pipes of wine of O Eyras from Lisbon; two pipes of Brazil Madeira, two 3 Decatur, 4. 4 Original in Library of Congress. t&gy^^u., Ji7*;~~f«* ^'JZ&paJu, 4'* s*^«j£~ TSS^fe, ■£**£&. ■~~rsr^,S ~*£iC* €^„^^ A' *-**&* »rz**. <&*C*w*. ^*^^*Z&&£$F&e. Washington's contract with his gardener PRESIDENT LINCOLN 115 hundred and ninety-four bottles of Chambertin Bur- gundy; fifty bottles of White Hermitage; one hundred and fifty bottles of Rozan Morgan, and one quarter cask Mountain, crop of 1747. In 1804, the President's guests were entertained with the best brands of Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Ger- man, Hungarian and French vintages. 5 A dinner guest at the White House during Madison's term observed that "there were many French dishes and exquisite wines, I presume, by the praises bestowed on them; but I have been so little accustomed to drink that I could not discern the difference between Sherry and rare old Burgundy Madeira. Comment on the quality of the wine seems to form the chief topic after the re- moval of the cloth." 6 When James Fenimore Cooper attended a White House dinner, while James Monroe was President, he relates that at the end of the dessert, Mrs. Monroe "withdrew, attended by two or three of the most gallant of the company," and that "no sooner was his wife's back turned than the President reseated himself, invit- ing his guests to imitate the action," and that the men did not rejoin the ladies until after the guests had been allowed "sufficient time to renew, in a few glasses, the recollections of similar enjoyments." 7 During the Administration of John Quincy Adams, Esther Singleton notes that on one occasion he received a committee of mail contractors who were introduced 5 Singleton, I, 42-43. 6 Ibid, 62. 7 Singleton, I, 145. Il6 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR by Henry Clay, Secretary of State; that cakes and wine were served, and that the President "drank success to them all through highways and byways." 8 The dinners of Martin Van Buren were famous for the wide variety of excellent food served. "Champaign, without ice, was sparingly supplied in long slender glasses, but there was no lack of sound claret, and with the dessert several bottles of old Madeira was generally produced by the host who succinctly gave the age and history of each." 9 The finest Madeira bore the name of "The Supreme Court," being the favorite beverage of the members of that body who made direct importations every year and sipped it complacently as they consulted over their cases in council chambers. When John Tyler brought his bride to the White House, "a most magnificent Bride's cake and sparkling Champaign awaited the welcoming guests, and the dis- tinctions of party and of opinion were all forgotten, and kind feelings and generous impulses seemed to gladden the hearts of all." 10 It will be also remembered that hard cider was the beverage of the Harrison campaign. Zachary Taylor, however, was reported to be a total abstainer, but when prohibitionists emphasized this fact, it was pointed out that drinking too freely of ice water had killed him. There can be no doubt but that liquor drinking was very widely prevalent among all classes in the national capital during the first half of the nineteenth century, 8 Singleton, I, 169. 9 Poore, I, 222. 10 Singleton, I, 292. PRESIDENT LINCOLN 117 and this was particularly true in official society. Ladies and gentlemen were fascinated by the brilliance of Mr. Clay's conversation, especially after a few glasses of Madeira or Champagne, and they were vastly amused by the picturesque escapades of Kentucky's gifted ine- briate, Tom Marshall. When Jennie Lind gave her first concert in Wash- ington, and the end of her first song was greeted with tumultuous applause, Mr. Webster, who had been din- ing out that evening, rose with pompous dignity and made an imposing bow, which was most heartily enjoyed by the audience. 11 On another occasion, Mr. Webster was called upon for an impromptu after-dinner speech and being very much in his "cups," had to be prompted by a friend who sat just behind him. The prompter suggested, "The tariff." Webster resolutely braced himself against the edge of the table. "The tariff, gentlemen," he de- clared, "is a subject requiring the profound attention of the statesmen." Here the Senator paused and nodded a little, and his friend whispered, "The national debt." Recovering himself, Webster continued, "And, gentle- men, there is the national debt — it should be paid; yes, gentlemen, it should be paid." Then, stimulated by the loud cheers, he announced, "I will be hanged if it sha'n't be!" And taking out his pocketbook, "I will pay it my- self! How much is it?" Considering Webster's well- » Poore, I, 388. Il8 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR known financial condition, this incident excited the mirth of Washingtonians wherever it was related. 12 Except for one brief term which the Springfield lawyer had spent in Congress, 13 the Lincolns knew little about Washington, and nothing whatever of the social life of the capital. For generations the Southerners, with their gracious hospitality, had dominated Washington aristocracy. And in this circle Mrs. Lincoln, with her Kentucky background, would have been quite at home. But in 1 86 1, low-hanging war clouds had changed every- thing. The shutters of many fine old houses in the ex- clusive residential sections were closed; their owners had gone south to cast their fortunes with the young, eager, chivalrous Confederacy. Others of like sympathies held aloof from the court of the "Black Republican queen." Still, there were a few places where the broken ranks of the social elite gathered before blazing wood fires and played euchre until midnight, when a bountiful supper of cold duck, venison pie and broiled oysters was served, with iced Champagne or Burgundy at blood heat. Mrs. John J. Crittenden, the beautiful wife of the venerable Kentucky Senator, Mrs. Myra Gaines, widow of the Virginia general, both Southerners, and Mrs. Stephen A. Douglas and Kate Chase, daughter of the 12 Poore, I, 288. 13 The Lincolns then lived at Widow Sprigg's boarding-house on Capitol Hill, and the "lone Whig" from Illinois spent "most of his leisure hours at a nearby bowling alley," where he "played the game with great zest and spirit," accepting "success and defeat with like good nature and humor." Busey, 27. PRESIDENT LINCOLN 119 Secretary of the Treasury, were practically all that re- mained of the old "official set." But in spite of obvious difficulties, Mrs. Lincoln bravely attempted to carry on the usual White House functions — small state dinners, receptions and levees — until the death of Willie Lincoln in 1862 cast a permanent shadow over the Executive Mansion. Liquor, notwithstanding the denial of some biog- raphers, was undoubtedly served at state dinners during the Lincoln Administration, as shown by the following telegrams which have survived the vicissitudes of the War Department files: "February 1, '64. Clement Heerdt & Co. No. 93 Water St., New York. If you have not disposed of the box of Madeira, of similar quality to the one sent us a few weeks since, please forward it immediately. Mrs Lincoln ;> Clement Heerdt & Co. "February 25, '64. 93 Water St., New York. Please send immediately one basket Champagne, the Widow Cliquot brand. Mrs Lincoln .» Clement Heerdt & Co. "February 26, '64. 93 Water St., New York. A telegram was sent you in reference to a basket of Cham- pagne. Please send a basket of the kind requested, also another one of the choicest quality you have in store. Mrs. Lincoln. " 120 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR "February 13, 1865. C. Heerdt & Co. 93 Water St., New York. Send by express one (1) case Veuve Cliquot Champagne, same price and quality as before. Mrs. A. Lincoln." 14 On February 5, 1862, an elaborate state reception was held at the White House. The President and his wife received in the East Room. Mrs. Lincoln was attractively attired in a white satin dress, cut decollete and trimmed with black lace flounces which were looped up with knots of ribbon, and she wore a head-dress of flowers. The Green, Red and Blue Rooms of the White House were thrown open, and were decorated with rare flowers, and the Marine Band played entrancing music in the corridor. Robert Lincoln, the eldest son whom the humorists of that day had nicknamed "The Prince of Rails," assisted in receiving. The brilliant company included members of the diplomatic corps, with their wives and daughters, senators, justices of the Supreme Court, cabinet officials, and two French princes, the Comte de Paris and the Due de Chartres. 15 Senator Browning, who was present, referred to the event as "a very large and very brilliant one." 16 But the affair seems to have brought great censure upon both the President and Mrs. Lincoln. In spite of the fact that "Hertz, I, 271. 15 Poore, II, 1 15-120. 16 Browning, I, 529. PRESIDENT LINCOLN 121 there was no dancing, a Philadelphia rhymester wrote a scurrilous poem entitled "The Queen Must Dance. ,, The American Temperance Journal deplored at great length "the famous fete at the White House," and re- ferred to Mrs. Lincoln's table, "spread with all that can intoxicate and cheer," and continued, "with regard to the President, we had at his election, and have to this day, good reason to suppose that he was and is in prin- ciple and practice a decided temperance man. We never endorsed for his better half, but ... we supposed that all was right in the family. 17 In spite of Lincoln's well known and long standing reputation as a man of temperate habits, rumors of his excessive personal use of liquor were quite current below the Mason & Dixon Line. Newspaper dispatches reported on the authority of passengers arriving from the "ex- treme south" that the people "universally believe that Lincoln has been drunk ever since his inauguration, and only goes out at night disguised to escape assass- ination." 18 But the evidence is clear and unmistakable that except for mere gestures at wine drinking on state occa- sions, Lincoln was a total abstainer in the White House. John G. Nicolay, one of his secretaries, says that "he never drank," adding, however, "the only qualifi- cation that could possibly be made on this last point is that he did sometimes at his own table, and especially 17 Journal of the American Temperance Union, Vol. 25, March 1862, 40. 18 Cincinnati Daily Commercial, Apr. 30, 1861. 122 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR at state dinners, sip a little wine; but even then, in a perfunctory way, in complying with a social custom and not as doing it from any desire or initiative or habit of his own." 19 James Grant Wilson, who saw Lincoln frequently during the last six years of his life, writes: "I never saw him smoke or use tobacco in any form, and but a few times observed him drinking a glass of wine." 20 "He drank little or no wine," says John Hay. "He never cared for wine or liquors of any sort." 21 So definitely was this fact known that the Copper- head "Life of Lincoln," extensively circulated in 1864, entitled "Only Authentic Life of Abraham Lincoln, Alias 'Old Abe/ " said: "In his habits he is by no means foppish, though he brushes his hair sometimes and is said to wash. He swears fluently. A strict temperance man himself, he does not object to another man's being pretty drunk, especially when he is about to make a bargain with him He can hardly be called handsome, though he is certainly much better looking since he had the smallpox." 22 John Hay's Diary, however, indicates that the Presi- dent's gay, rollicking young assistant secretary, and even the older and more staid Nicolay, were by no means so abstemious as their chief. 19 J. G. Nicolay to J. G. Wilson, Apr. 7, 1900. Putnam's Magazine, Feb. 1909. 20 Putnam's Magazine, February 1909. 21 "Life in the White House," by John Hay. Century Magazine, November 1890. 22 "Only Authentic Life of Abraham Lincoln, Alias 'Old Abe,' " 14-15. PRESIDENT LINCOLN 123 On the afternoon of November 18, 1863, Lincoln and his party went down to Gettysburg for the dedication of the National Cemetery to be held next day. Arriving at dusk, the President was taken to the home of one of the leading citizens, Judge Wills. Gettysburg was cele- brating its greatest evening. The hotel, boarding houses and private residences were filled with convivial strangers. Crowds thronged the village streets and marched boisterously from place to place as the blaring military bands serenaded various distinguished guests. Young Hay and several associates "foraged around," ate a "chafing dish of oysters," and then went to the lodging of John W. Forney, a noted newspaper man, "and drank a little whiskey with him. He had been drinking a good deal during the day and was getting to feel a little ugly and dangerous. . . . We went out after a while, following the music, to hear the serenades. . . . We went back to Forney's room, having picked up Nicolay, and drank more whiskey. Nicolay sang his little song of the 'Three Thieves/ " Finally it was pro- posed that Forney deliver an address. Somebody went out to get a band. Forney then made a ludicrous, tipsy speech, amidst lusty cheers of the crowd, after which, as Hay says, "we sang 'John Brown' and went home." 23 The records contain numerous references to very heavy liquor drinking on the part of many of the mem- 23 Hay Diary entry, Nov. 18, 1863, Thayer, Vol. I, 204-6. On Jan. 27, 1864, enroute to Florida, Hay refers to having "brought my books and my whiskey," and on Feb. 1st, "We went upstairs and drank a few whiskey punches." 124 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR bers of Congress, particularly during the early part of Lincoln's Administration. On August 5, 1861, an entry in Senator Browning's Diary recites: "Several of the Senators were quite drunk today, especially McDougall of California & Saulsbury of Delaware, and some scenes were enacted which ought not to occur in a body occupy- ing so exalted & Dignified a position as the Senate of the United States." 24 And on January 27, 1863, Saulsbury, in a bitter tirade against the Administration, referred to "Mr. Lincoln — a weak and imbecile man; the weakest man that I ever knew in a high place; for I have seen him and conversed with him, and I say here in my place in the Senate of the United States, that I never did see or converse with so weak and imbecile a man as Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States." At this point the Vice-President ruled Saulsbury out of order, but he appealed from the decision of the chair, and, in his remarks in support of the appeal, continued: "Talk not to me about lettres de cachet; talk not to me about the espionage of Napoleon; they are all buried beneath the wave of oblivion in comparison to what this man of yesterday, this Abraham Lincoln that neither you nor I ever heard of four years ago, has chosen to exercise. Sir, it is out of order, I am told, so to char- acterize the act of an administration; but if I wanted to paint a tyrant; if I wanted to paint a despot, a man per- fectly regardless of every constitutional right of the 24 Browning, I, 493. PRESIDENT LINCOLN 125 people, whose sworn servant, not ruler, he is, I would paint the hideous form of Abraham Lincoln. If that be treason — " 25 Here Senator Browning says that the Senator from Delaware "was again required to take his seat, which he refused to do, and became very turbulent. He was ordered into the custody of the Sergeant of Arms, and, other Senators informed me, drew a pistol. I did not see the pistol, but heard him threaten to shoot, and have no doubt he had one. He was very drunk. The Sergeant at Arms took him into custody and the business pro- ceeded. He ought to be expelled, and I presume will be." 26 However, no further action seems to have been taken against Senator Saulsbury until after the occur- rence of a most embarrassing incident which set the tongues of Washingtonians and of the whole country wagging for many weeks. On the morning of March 4, 1865, Andrew Johnson was sworn in as Vice-President of the United States before a brilliant assemblage that crowded the Senate chamber. Johnson, still weak from an attack of typhoid fever, had taken one or perhaps two glasses of brandy just before the ceremonies began, and, when the time arrived for him to make his speech, was roaring drunk. Wholly unprepared for such conduct on the part of the Senate's presiding officer, the distinguished audience sat in bewildered silence while the tipsy Tennessean 26 Cong. Globe, 3rd Sess. 37th Cong. Pt. 1, 548-550. 26 Browning, I, 620. 126 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR bellowed and gesticulated in a wild harangue. After admonishing the Senators and the members of the Supreme Court that they were, after all, merely "crea- tures of the American people," who "stood above them," he turned to the gallery, where the foreign representa- tives sat in their gorgeous uniforms, and disdainfully exclaimed: "And you, gentlemen of the diplomatic corps, with all your fine feathers and gewgaws!" 27 "During the painful ordeal," says Senator John B. Henderson of Missouri, "Mr. Lincoln's head drooped in the deepest humiliation." And when at last Johnson's speech was over and Lincoln started to the steps of the Capitol for his own inauguration, he turned to the marshal and said, quietly but apprehensively, "Do not let Johnson speak outside." 28 At the east portico, Chief Justice Chase presented to Lincoln a large, Morocco-bound Bible upon which to take the oath of office, and the book is said to have been open significantly at the passage in Isaiah: "Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning that they may follow strong drink." 29 That night, Secretary Welles noted in his diary that the conduct of the Vice-President "was all in very bad taste." 30 And the other members of the Cabinet made sharp comment. Senator Browning appraised the incident as "a very disreputable inaugural. He addressed himself to the Cab- 27 Milton, 146. 28 Century Magazine, Dec. 1912. 29 Milton, 148. 30 Welles, II, 252. PRESIDENT LINCOLN 127 inet officers by name, and boasted of his plebeian origin, and disgusted all decent people who heard him." 31 The American Temperance Journal, under large headlines: "Astounding Event; Intemperance Near the Throne !!," said, "Andrew Johnson, the noble loyalist, the hero of Tennessee, the man elected to fill the second office of the people, and in case of death, the first . . . appears as the silly and almost idiotic drunkard, to the mortification and sadness of all who, in confidence of his high character and remembrance of his high deeds, had elevated him to this exalted place. " 32 Shocked and penitent, the Senate, on Monday, March 6th, passed a resolution directing the Sergeant at Arms to "remove forthwith" all "intoxicating liquor" from the Senate wing of the capitol and "hereafter to exclude liquor in every form." Then it voted to remove Senators McDougall and Saulsbury from all standing committees "because of their habitual inebriety and incapacity for business." But Lincoln, with a wider and more varied experience than most of his colleagues, took a philosophical view of the matter. "I have known Andy for many years," he said. "He made a bad slip the other day, but you need not be scared. Andy ain't a drunkard." 33 It is certain that one of Lincoln's greatest problems during the war was the excessive use of liquor in the 31 Browning, II, 9. 32 Journal of the American Temperance Union, Vol. 29, Apr. 1865, 57. 33 Milton, 149. 128 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR army. Not only was this true when the soldiers were encamped around Washington, where there were six hundred licensed saloons and fifteen hundred unlicensed rum shops, but in the field as well. On September 29, 1863, a delegation of the Sons of Temperance waited upon the President, and Lincoln made them a brief address. "When I was a young man — long ago — before the Sons of Temperance as an organization had any exis- tence," said he, "I, in an humble way, made temperance speeches, and I think I may say that to this day I have never, by my example, belied what I then said." To the delegation's suggestion for the purpose of advancing the cause of temperance in the army, Lincoln said: "I can not make particular responses to them at this time." He pointed out that the prevention of in- temperance in the army was part of the articles of war, and that the law required the dismissal of officers for drunkenness. "I am not sure that, consistent with the public service, more can be done than has been done." Then he continued, "I think that the reasonable men of the war have long since agreed that intemperance is one of the greatest, if not the very greatest, of all evils among mankind. This is not a matter of dispute, I believe. . . . The mode of cure is one about which there may be differences of opinion." To the suggestion that drunkenness in the army was the cause of frequent disaster to the Union arms, Lincoln replied that "while it is perhaps rather a bad source to PRESIDENT LINCOLN 129 derive comfort from, nevertheless in a hard struggle, I do not know but what it is some consolation that there is some intemperance on the other side, too; and that they have no right to beat us in physical combat on that ground." 34 And to another temperance committee, who em- phatically told Lincoln that his troops could not win because the army drank so much whisky as to bring the curse of the Lord upon them, the President mildly observed that he could not see the justice of this curse, since "the other side drinks more and worse whiskey than ours do/' 35 The American Temperance Journal, however, was apparently not altogether satisfied with Lincoln's reply to the Sons of Temperance. "The President said he was not sure that more could be done than has been done," stated the Journal. "Is he sure that in consistency with the public service some things could not have been left undone which have been done? For instance, the issuing of the order of General Banks permitting liquor to be carried over the lines for the use of the officers in their 34 Works, IX, 144. 35 Herndon, III, 516. The accuracy of Lincoln's observation is indicated by a rare Confederate temperance tract, published in Richmond "By a Physician," owned by the author, which reads in part: "Officers and privates — church members and worldlings, gather around the festive board and spend the hours and days in drinking, gambling and too often, alas! in obscene and profane jocularity. The man who raises his stalwart arm to break the shackles which an earthly despot would impose upon this sunny South, now bows at the shrine of Bacchus. . . . Better had we bowed the neck to Lincoln's yolk than made ourselves the willing slaves of grovelling passions and depraved appetites." 130 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR tents, while it was refused to the private soldiers; an order which has converted every officer's tent into a drinking saloon and caused more drunkenness in the army than anything else whatever." 36 In January 1863, Lincoln found it necessary to ap- point a new commander for the Army of the Potomac to succeed Burnside. General Joseph Hooker seemed to be the most available man. "Fighting Joe," a very im- pressive looking officer, had captivated John Hay by his "tall and statuesque form, grand fighting head and grizzled russet hair, red florid cheeks and bright blue eyes." It was rumored, however, that Hooker was very fond of liquor. Montgomery Blair considered him "too great a friend of John Barleycorn," and Gideon Welles was afraid that he indulged in "the free use of whiskey." 37 Even Hay, who dined with him occasionally, noticed that while Hooker did not drink much, "yet what little he did drink made his cheeks hot and red and his eyes brighter," and Hay observed, "I can easily understand how the stories of his drunkenness have grown, if so little affects him as I have seen." 38 Lincoln himself was not wholly without doubt about Hooker, but he had an engaging frankness and a keen intelligence that the President admired. Hooker was personally popular with the army, and, as his sobriquet indicated, was not afraid of combat. So, on January 36 Journal of the American Temperance Union, Vol. 36, Nov. 1863, 168. 37 Welles, I, 229-30. 38 Hay Diary, I, 93-99. Si 1 a PRESIDENT LINCOLN 131 26, 1863, the President placed him in command, with a now celebrated letter of friendly warning. All went well until the afternoon of May 2nd, when the veteran infantry of Stonewall Jackson burst like a thundercloud upon Hooker's right flank lying unpro- tected in the woods at Chancellorsville. In the fighting that followed, the Union troops were completely routed, and Hooker himself was stunned for several hours when a cannonball shot away a wooden pillar of the portico of the Chancellor House, near where he was standing. Following this battle, it was bitterly charged that Hooker had been intoxicated, but General Schurz, who was in immediate command of the right flank, seems to be under the impression that Hooker's "torpid condi- tion" was due to the fact that he had "utterly abstained from his usual potations for fear of taking too much/' and that "his brain failed to work because he had not given it the stimulus to which it had been habituated." 39 When Lincoln appointed Grant to command the armies of the United States with rank of lieutenant general, many of his friends and advisors doubted the wisdom of his choice. 40 As a young officer with the army in Mexico, Grant had been a "solitary drinker," and it was said that he had been removed from the army before the Civil War on account of his bibulous habits. After Shiloh, where it 39 Schurz, II, 431. 40 "He had also, like Hooker, the reputation of indulging too freely in whiskey to be always safe and reliable." Welles, I, 387. 132 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR was claimed that he had almost lost the battle through dissipation, Lincoln was strongly urged to remove him, but the President, sitting in deep meditation before an open fire in the Cabinet Room, his long legs propped up on the high marble mantle, slowly shook his head. "I can't spare this man," he said. "He fights." 41 Later the now famous story became current that, when a committee appeared at the White House seeking Grant's retirement on the ground that "he drinks too much whiskey," Lincoln smiled and said: "By the way, gentlemen, can either of you tell me where General Grant procures his whiskey? If I can find out, I will send every general in the field a barrel of it." 42 David Homer Bates, in his "Lincoln Stories," pub- lished in 1926, challenges the authenticity of this anec- dote, saying that Lincoln denied it in his presence when he was a young telegraph operator in the War Depart- ment. 43 But Bates would be more convincing were he not so evidently anxious that Lincoln should appear under all circumstances as perfect in thought and action as possible; for instance: " 'By jinks/ Lincoln exclaimed one day, under pressure, in the telegraph office. Almost instantly he looked self-accused and apologetic. To the suggestion that 'by jinks' was not swearing, he replied 41 McClure, 178-80. 42 Carpenter, 247. Carpenter spent six months in the White House shortly after this incident is alleged to have occurred. 43 Bates, 50. PRESIDENT LINCOLN 133 that according to what his mother told him when a child, it was swearing and wrong." 44 Now, in the quaint verbiage of old Aunt Tish, who was being vexatiously cross-examined in a rural Ken- tucky court, "Enough is enough and too much spiles it." Certainly Lincoln was not a profane man. In fact, he rarely ever swore. But at the same time he was no squeamish, mealy-mouthed individual who went about quaking in his boots lest, in an unguarded moment, some robust or impious word escape him. "Ewing won't do anything. He is not worth a damn," Lincoln wrote his law partner, John T. Stuart. 45 And a few months later: "A damned hawk-billed Yankee is here besetting me at every turn I take." 46 "Then, in God's name, cut it down clean to the roots," he exclaimed, when upon arriving home one afternoon he found a man chopping down, by order of Mrs. Lincoln, the only shade tree in his front yard. 47 "By God, Governor, I will make the ground in this country too hot for the foot of a slave," he declared when the chief executive of Illinois declined to inter- fere in the case of a free negro boy from Springfield who had been taken off a boat in the Mississippi River and sold into bondage. 48 44 Bates, "Lincoln Stories," 7-8. 45 Works, IX, 98. For a fac simile of this letter see A. C. Goodyear Sale Catalog, Feb. 1, 1927. 46 Works, I, 139. 47 Statement, P. P. Enos, 1866, in Beveridge, II, 205. 48 Herndon, II, 379 134 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR And young John Hay one night recorded in his diary a conversation with the President that day in which Lincoln had said: "For once in my life, I rather gave my temper the rein, and I talked to those men pretty damned plainly." 49 Of course, Lincoln could not swear with the crashing vehemence of Washington, or the lurid imagery of Andrew Jackson, or the tripping rhythmic eloquence of Kentucky's gallant Harry of the West, but it is appar- ent that, now and then, under sufficient provocation, he could do rather well in his own awkward way. Furthermore, at least on one occasion, he did not seem greatly shocked at the use of profanity in his presence. One day the President and Secretary of State Seward, with a young staff officer, were riding in an army ambulance driven by four mules. The party was going down to a military review near Arlington, and when they reached the Virginia side of the Potomac, the roads — rough and rutted from artillery and army trains — became very bad. Finally the driver lost his temper and began swearing. After a while the President turned around and said: "Driver, my friend, are you an Episcopalian ?" Much astonished, the man replied: "No, Mr. Presi- dent, I ain't much of anything, but if I go to church at all I go to the Methodist Church." "Oh, excuse me," replied Lincoln, with a smile and a twinkle in his eye, "I thought you must be an Episco- 49 Diary entry, Oct. 30, 1863, Thayer, I, 203. PRESIDENT LINCOLN 135 palian, for you swear just like Secretary Seward, and he is a church warden." 50 The "Grant Whiskey" story deserves only passing notice. If related by Lincoln at all, it was so obviously in jest that the persistent attack upon it by the Pro- hibitionists is somewhat surprising. At the very time that this story first became current, Lincoln was lend- ing every possible aid to James B. Merwin and other temperance agents in their work among the soldiers of the Union Army. At the beginning of the Civil War, Merwin was an agent of the Michigan State Temperance Alliance, with headquarters in Detroit. In July 1861, he arrived in Washington. Fifty-four years later, it was his recollection that he came at the urgent personal solicitation of President Lincoln. 51 But the report of the Committee on Military Affairs filed in 1862, with reference to "the memorial of Rev. J. B. Merwin . . . asking compensation as chaplain," recites that "It is claimed by Mr. Merwin, and your Committee believes truly, that upon the suggestion of the Hon. Lewis Cass and Governor Blair, of Michigan, Mr. Merwin came to Washington on the 8th of July last with a petition addressed to the President and Secretary of War, asking that he should be assigned to some posi- tion in the army which would give him facilities for 50 Putnam's Magazine, Feb. 1909. 81 "Lincoln wrote me to come to Washington." See full statement "Proceedings 16th National Anti-Saloon League of America," 267-269. 136 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR visiting the various camps and regiments, and for the purpose of addressing the officers and soldiers on the subject of temperance." 52 Although there is no evidence to support Merwin's oft-repeated assertion of intimacy with Lincoln during the war period, it is no doubt a fact that he performed valuable services as a faithful temperance worker in the army camps. 53 Soon after Merwin's arrival in Washington, a memorial was presented to Lincoln, signed by many in- fluential members of Congress, asking that Merwin be commissioned a major of volunteers, which the Presi- dent somewhat cautiously endorsed on the back as follows: "If it be ascertained at the War Department that the President has legal authority to make an appointment such as is asked within, and General Scott is of the opinion it will be available for good, let it be done." 54 But a year later, the highly salutary effects of Mer- win's work had been so thoroughly established that Lincoln did not hesitate to write the following: 52 House Report No. no. House Bill No. 484 was reported May 16, 1862, but seems to have been killed by Senator Conkling of New York, June 13, 1862. See House Journal, 37th Congress, Second Sess. 702; Cong. Globe, 37th Cong., Second Sess., Vol. 32, pt. 3, 2716. 53 Brigadier General Richardson informed the Committee on Military Affairs: "His visit and address to the regiments in this brigade under my command has been productive of very great good; the men listened with the deepest interest. There is a marked improvement in their behavior and appearance. Seven hundred and forty in one regiment have taken the temperance pledge." House Report No. no, Ibid. 64 Lincoln to War Department, July 17, 1861. Facsimile in White, opp. 90. PRESIDENT LINCOLN 137 "Surgeon General will send Mr. Merwin wherever he may- think the public service may require. July 2.4, 1862.. A. Lincoln." 55 On June 16, 1904, "The New Voice," a prohibition periodical, published an interview with Merwin, stating that Lincoln had "called Mr. Merwin to the White House that fateful Friday, the 14th of April 1865, with reference to a plan to excavate the Panama Canal with freedmen labor," and that during this conversation Lincoln had said, "Mr. Merwin, after reconstruction, the next great question will be the overthrow of the liquor traffic." During the next six years, this incident underwent a drastic evolution, and on July 5, 19 10, Merwin wrote Dr. Blakeslee that General Ben Butler had suggested to Lincoln the Panama Canal plan, and that the President wanted Merwin to confer with Horace Greeley about it. "He telegraphed General Dix to send me to Washington by first train," said Merwin. "I left New York Tuesday night, reached Washington Wednesday morning. A great crowd of people were around the White House. I held the telegram up. President Lincoln saw it; said 'Come at ten tonight.' It was twelve at night before he could get away and lock up. We worked until three a. m. and then retired. Thursday night we worked on the proposition until three a. m., and still it did not quite suit Mr. Lincoln. Friday was Cabinet meeting. He 55 Facsimile in White, opp. 88. 138 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR locked all the doors at its close, and ordered our dinner brought up. He finished the paper. We ate dinner and he read it over. One door was not locked. Mrs. Lincoln came in and said, 'Abe, the Ford's Theater people have tendered us a box for this evening, and I have accepted. The Grants are going with us, and I do not want you to make any other engagement/ "Mr. Lincoln said: 'Mary, I do not think we ought to go to the theater. Do you remember it is Good Friday, a religious day with a great many people, and I do not think we ought to go the the theater tonight/ "Mrs. Lincoln said: 'We are going/ "We finished dinner. He read the paper over again. He folded it carefully and handed it to me saying, 'Merwin, we have cleaned up a colossal job. We have abolished slavery. After reconstruction, the next great movement on the part of the people will be the over- throw of the legalized liquor traffic, and you know my heart and my hand, my purse and my life will be given to that great movement/ " 'Mr. Lincoln, shall I make this public?' asked I. "He said 'Yes, publish it as broad as the daylight/ " 56 Yet Merwin, the lifelong prohibitionist, the pro- fessional temperance lecturer, the militant, implacable foe of strong drink, waited almost forty years before he obeyed Lincoln's parting injunction to publish his momentous declaration as "broad as the daylight," and 66 White, 153 PRESIDENT LINCOLN 139 more than forty-five years elapsed before he disclosed the full details of this last and most important interview. Under the circumstances, even the most credulous of Merwin's followers can hardly object to the close scrutiny of this startling, if somewhat tardy, disclosure. In 1892, General Benjamin F. Butler wrote a bulky volume entitled "Butler's Book," which, as we may fairly infer, Merwin had at least casually read. Butler says that just before Lincoln left for City Point to visit Grant's army, he suggested to him that the negro soldiers then enlisted in the Union ranks be employed after the cessation of hostilities in digging "a short canal across the Isthmus of Darien." Lincoln replied: "There is meat in that, General Butler. There is meat in that/' and he requested Butler to consult Secretary Seward as to how the project might affect our foreign relations, saying, however, "there is no special hurry." 57 A short time after this interview, Lincoln arrived, on March 23, 1865, at City Point, where he remained with Grant until after the fall of Richmond, and Butler never saw him again. That day Secretary Welles re- corded in his diary, "the President has gone to the front, partly to get rid of the throng that is pressing upon him. . . . He makes his office much more laborious than he should. . . . The more he yields, the greater the pressure upon him. It has now become such that he is com- pelled to flee. There is no doubt he is much worn down." 58 • B7 Butler, 902-908. 58 Welles, March 23, 1865, II, 264. I40 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR On Sunday evening, April 9th, the President re- turned to Washington. Lee had surrendered. The North was frantic with joy. The capital was in a state of delirious confusion; thousands of marchers crowded the streets amidst brilliant illumination and fireworks, serenading the President and demanding speeches. The corridors of the White House were packed and jammed with the "throng" that was "pressing about him." And yet Lincoln, according to Merwin, though weighted down with important matters which had ac- cumulated during the long absence from his office, con- fronted with a multitude of perplexing problems suddenly arising out of the end of the war, in the very vortex of all this swirling excitement, worked with him until three o'clock Thursday morning, and until the same hour Friday morning, and then through the dinner hour that day, on a paper concerning the canal plan which Merwin was to carry to Horace Greeley. Why all this writing? The plan, it must be remem- bered, was not Lincoln's. It was Butler's; and Lincoln was as yet wholly unacquainted with the details. Butler says that he had promised the President to "elaborate my proposition carefully in writing before I presented it to Mr. Seward," but he had not done so, and Lincoln had said there was "no special hurry." It is inconceiv- able, therefore, that Lincoln would have written at such extraordinary length to a crusty, peevish, fault-finding newspaper man like Greeley concerning a project upon which he could only have been meagerly informed. PRESIDENT LINCOLN I4I Furthermore, Merwin's account of this last inter- view with Lincoln is improbable on its face. The Cabinet meeting did not adjourn before one-thirty. Grant was present at this conference, and the General was still in the White House, according to Merwin, when he and Lincoln dined alone. 59 But what became of Grant? He could scarcely have been entertained by Mrs. Lincoln, because she "could not tolerate" him, 60 and he did not like her. 61 Strange, indeed, that the President should leave the commanding general of his victorious armies, lock the door, and have luncheon with Merwin! However, one door was unlocked. This, of course, has to be, for Merwin is about to introduce Mrs. Lin- coln in a bit of highly inconsistent dialogue. He says she called the President "Abe," but no one else, not even her relatives and members of her household, ever heard her refer to him except as "Mr. Lincoln." 62 Mrs. Lincoln would hardly have informed the Presi- dent that the theater box had been tendered that evening, because the invitation had been extended to Lincoln himself, and it had been accepted at least three hours before Mrs. Lincoln's supposed conversation. 63 It 59 Letter to the author from J. W. Starr, quoting Merwin, May 23, 1932. 60 Keckley, 133-134. 61 Badeau, 356, et seq. 62 Keckley, 125-129. "Mary never called her husband by his first name," Mrs. Lincoln's sister, in Helm, 106. "I often laugh and tell Mr. Lincoln that I am determined my next husband shall be rich. ..." "Mr. Lincoln is not at home." Mary Lincoln to her sister, Emilie, Sept. 20 (1856). Helm, 122-124. 63 Testimony of James R. Ford, Manager of Ford's Theater, May 30, 1865. Pitman, 101. I42 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR is not likely that she would have told him that the Grants were going, because Lincoln had known this even before the Cabinet meeting, 64 and had also known by eleven o'clock that the Grants had cancelled their engagement, 65 and Mrs. Lincoln had invited Major Rathbone and Miss Harris in their stead. It is also strange that Lincoln should have expressed an unwillingness to attend the theater, because Bates, the telegraph operator at the War Department, says that when Lincoln visited the Secretary of War about ten- thirty that morning, Stanton found that he was "set on going" to the theater in spite of the Secretary's warning that it might not be safe. 66 And when Speaker Colfax, according to the Wash- ington Evening Star, April 15, 1865, visited Lincoln as he was starting to the theater, the President stated to him that he was going, although Mrs. Lincoln had not been well, because he did not want to disappoint the people. 67 While, of course, Merwin's story of Lincoln's an- nounced purpose to lead a crusade against the liquor traffic is difficult to directly contradict, the marked improbability of his entire story in connection with it is so apparent that it is little wonder Robert Lincoln politely rejected it. 64 Starr, 18. 65 Ibid. 66 Bates, 366. 67 "She (Mrs. Lincoln) had tried to persuade her husband not to go, but he persisted in order, as he said, to escape the multitude which would otherwise press into the White House to shake hands with him." Starr, 19-20. Ford's Theatre, showing Star Saloon, where Booth took his last drink before the assassination PRESIDENT LINCOLN 143 In a letter dated April 30, 1917, from Robert T. Lincoln to Charles T. White, a portion of which has been quoted in a previous chapter, he said, with particu- lar reference to the Merwin interview: "Then, as to his dining with my father on the day of his death, I can only say this: I arrived from Appomattox on the morning of that day and breakfasted with my father; I do not recall anything about luncheon, but I dined with him and my mother in the evening of that day, and I simply know that neither Mr. Merwin nor any other guest was present at the dinner. Perhaps Mr. Merwin did take luncheon with him and called it dinner. That is entirely pos- sible, but I know nothing of it, and personally, I have my doubts as to the truth of the statement. That was a very busy day at the White House. "General Grant was in town and conferred with my father; there was a Cabinet meeting, and it is hard to make me believe that on that day he discussed with Mr. Merwin a plan for the ex- tension and completion of the Panama Canal by means of the labor of the freedmen, and plans for his going to New York to secure the view of Horace Greeley and others on the subject. The sum of this is that while there may be no doubt of Mr. Merwin having done something in the cause of temperance, I can not help the feeling that in his account of things he has let his imagination run a little wild. . . . "As an illustration of the growth of inventions, in a book of Dr. Hobson, who never saw my father, I find, at page 53, the following statement: 'Mr. Lincoln often "preached" what he called his "sermon to boys," as follows: "Don't drink, don't gamble, don't smoke, don't lie, don't cheat. Love your fellowmen, love God, love truth, love virtue, and be happy." ' "In the inquiry made of me, of which I wrote above, a later author improved this invention of Dr. Hobson's as follows: " 'The Hon. Robert T. Lincoln has stated that his father never used liquor or tobacco in any form, and quotes the following ser- mon, as he calls it, which he preached to his boys: "Don't drink, don't smoke, don't swear, don't gamble, don't lie, don't cheat. Love 144 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR your fellowmen and love God. Love truth, love virtue and be happy/ " "I never made this statement nor heard of it until I saw it as indicated. Very truly yours, Robert T. Lincoln." 68 Two hours after Colfax's interview with Lincoln at the White House, J. Wilkes Booth, acclaimed by Wash- ington billboards as the "Youngest Tragedian in the World," paced restlessly up and down the sidewalk in front of Ford's Theater. The dapper, swaggering actor wore a dark frock coat and trousers, long, elegant riding boots of soft polished calfskin, and one of those new black round-topped hats that marked the man of fashion. The weather was changing rapidly. Patches of clouds scudded across the sky. Now and then flashes of lightning flickered along the western horizon. In a little while, if it did not rain, the moon would be rising over the gnarled willows that fringed the sluggish Potomac. Shortly after ten o'clock, Booth entered the Star Saloon adjoining the playhouse, and called for whisky. The barkeeper, Peter Taltavull, set out a bottle with a small tumbler, which his customer filled to the brim and drained at a gulp. Then wiping his black glossy mustache with a silk handkerchief, the "youngest tragedian in the world" walked through the lobby of the theater and turned furtively toward the long flight of carpeted steps that led to the balcony. Upstairs in the state box, gaily festooned with flags, Abraham Lincoln sat with his back to the door. . . . 68 White, 159. THE END BIBLIOGRAPHY Angle, Paul M., "New Letters and Papers of Lincoln ;" Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1930. "Lincoln 1 854-1 861 ;" The Abraham Lincoln Association, Springfield, 1933. Badeau, Adam., "Grant in Peace;" S. S. Scranton Co., Hartford, 1887. Banks, Louis Albert, "The Lincoln Legion;" the Mershon Co., New York, 1903. Barton, William E., "The Soul of Abraham Lincoln;" George H. Doran Co., New York, 1920. "The Life of Abraham Lincoln;" Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, 1925. "Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman;" Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, 1928. "The Lineage of Lincoln;" Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, 1929. Bates, David Homer., "Lincoln in the Telegraph Office;" The Century Co., New York, 1907. "Lincoln Stories;" William Edwin Rudge, Inc., New York, 1926. Beveridge, Albert J., "Abraham Lincoln;" Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1928. Browning, Orville Hickman. "Diary;" Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield, 1925. Busey, Samuel C, "Personal Reminiscences;" Washington, 1895. Butler, Benjamin F., "Butler's Book;" A. M. Thayer & Co., Boston, 1892. Carpenter, F. B., "Six Months at the White House;" Hurd and Houghton, New York, 1866. Cartwright, Peter, "Autobiography;" Carlton & Porter, New York, 1856. Chapman, Erwin, "Latest Light on Abraham Lincoln;" Fleming H. Re veil Co., New York, 19 17. "Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln;" Francis D. Tandy Co., New York, 1905. Cuming, F., "Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country;" Pitts- burgh, 1 8 10. Decatur, Stephen, Jr., "Private Affairs of George Washington," Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933. I46 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR Ferguson, W. J., "I Saw Booth Shoot Lincoln 5" Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1930. Hay, John, "Diary." Privately printed. Haycraft, Samuel, "A History of Elizabethtown, Kentucky;" (Privately Printed), 1921. Helm, Katherine, "Mary, Wife of Lincoln;" Harper & Bros., New York, 1928. Herndon, William H., "The True Story of a Great Life;" Belford, Clarke & Co., Chicago, 1889. "Abraham Lincoln," Appleton & Co., New York, 1892. Hertz, Emanuel, "Abraham Lincoln, a New Portrait;" Horace Liveright, Inc., New York, 1931. Hobson, J. T., "Footprints of Abraham Lincoln;" The Otterbein Press, Dayton, 1909. Keckley, Elizabeth, "Behind the Scenes;" G. W. Carleton & Co., New York, 1868. Koerner, Gustave, "Memoirs, 1 809-1 896;" Torch Press, Cedar Rapid, 1909. Lamon, Ward H., "The Life of Abraham Lincoln;" J. R. Osgood & Co., Boston, 1872. "Recollections of Abraham Lincoln;" The University Press, Cambridge, 1895. "Lincoln-Douglas Debates;" Follett, Foster & Co., Columbus, i860 Linder, Usher F., "Reminiscences of the Early Bench and Bar of Illinois;" Chicago Legal News Co., Chicago, 1879. Little, Lucius P., "Ben Hardin: His Times and Contemporaries;" Courier-Journal, Louisville, 1887. McClure, A. K., "Abraham Lincoln and Men of War-Times;" The Times Publishing Co., Philadelphia, 1892. Michaux, Francois A., "Travels West of the Alleghany Moun- tains;" B. Crosby & Co., London, 1805. Milton, George Fort, "The Age of Hate;" Coward-McCann, Inc., New York, 1930. Newton, Joseph Fort, "Lincoln and Herndon;" Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, 1 910. Onstott, T. G., "Pioneers of Menard and Mason Counties;" J. W. Franks & Sons, Peoria, 1902. Phillips, Isaac N., "Abraham Lincoln — Some Men Who Knew Him;" Pantagraph Printing Co., Bloomington, 1910. BIBLIOGRAPHY 147 Pickett, LaSalle Corbell, "Pickett and His Men;" The Foote & Davies Co., Atlanta, 1900. Pitman, Benn, "Assassination of President Lincoln and Trial of the Conspirators;" Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin, New York, 1865. Poore, Benjamin Perley, "Perley's Reminiscences of Sixty Years in the National Metropolis;" Hubbard Bros., Philadelphia, 1886. Rankin, Henry B., "Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln;" G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1916. "Intimate Character Sketches of Abraham Lincoln;" J. B. Lippincott Co., Phila- delphia, 1924. Reep, Thomas P., "Lincoln at New Salem;" Old Salem Lincoln League, Petersburg, 1927. Rice, Allen Thorndike, "Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln by Some Distinguished Men of His Times;" North American Pub. Co., New York, 1886. Ross, Harvey Lee, "Early Pioneers of Illinois;" Chicago, 1899. Sandburg, Carl, "Abraham Lincoln — The Prairie Years; "Harcourt, Brace & Co., New York, 1926. Shaw, George W., "Personal Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln," Carlson Printing Co., Moline, 1924. Schurz, Carl, "Reminiscences;" The McClure Co., New York, 1907. Shutes, Milton H., "Lincoln and The Doctors;" The Press of the Pioneers, New York, 1933. Singleton, Esther, "Story of the White House;" McClure, New York, 1907. Speed, Joshua F., "Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln;" John P. Morton Co., Louisville, 1884. Starr, John W., Jr., "Lincoln's Last Day;" Frederick A. Stokes Co., New York, 1922. Stevens, Frank E., "Life of Stephen Arnold Douglas;" Illinois State Historical Society, Springfield, 1924. Tarbell, Ida M., "The Early Life of Abraham Lincoln;" S. S. McClure, New York, 1896. "In the Footsteps of the Lincolns;" Harper & Brothers, New York, 1924. Thayer, William Roscoe, "The Life and Letters of John Hay;" Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 191 5. I48 LINCOLN AND LIQUOR Thwaites, Reuben Gold, "Early Western Travels 1748-1846;" Arthur H. Clark Co., Cleveland, 1904. Townsend, William H., "Lincoln and His Wife's Home Town;" Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, 1929. Tracy, Gilbert A., "Uncollected Letters of Abraham Lincoln;" Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1917. Warren, Louis A., "Lincoln's Parentage and Childhood;" The Century Co., New York, 1926. Weik, Jesse W., "The Real Lincoln;" Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1922. Welles, Gideon, "Diary;" Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 191 1. White, Charles T., "Lincoln and Prohibition;" The Abingdon Press, New York, 1921. Whitney, Henry C, "Life on the Circuit with Lincoln;" Estes and Lauriat, Boston, 1892. INDEX Adams, John Quincy, 115 Allen, Dr. John, 28 American Temperance Journal, The, ill, 127 Anderson's Creek, 21 Anti-Saloon League, The, 74, 75 Armstrong, Jack, 26, 29 Ashmun, 100 Atherton, Peter, 10 Baber, A. J., 78, 85, 86, 8P Baldwin, Col., 86 Banks, General N. P., 129 Bardstown, Ky., 1 Barker, William, 15 "Barrens, The," 9 Bates, David Homer, 132, 142 Bates, Philip, 114 Baton Rouge, La., 21 Berry, William F., 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38 Black Hawk War, 29 Blair, Montgomery, 130 Blaisdell, 108 Blakeslee, Dr. F. D., 74, 137 Bleakley & Montgomery, 6 Bloomington Pantagraph, The, 106 Bodkin of Alton, 91, 92 Boland, Bill, 19 Booth, J. Wilkes, 144 Breckenridge, Clopos, 60 Breckenridge County, Ky., 4 Brooks, S. S., 60 Brown, Judge Thomas C, 9 1 , 92, 93 Browning, Senator, 120, 124, 125, 126 Bunn, Jacob, 70, 105, 109, no Bunn, John W., 100 Burner, Daniel Green, 34, 35, 36 Burns, Robert, 108 Burnside, General, 130 Bushane, Mme., 21 Butler, General Benjamin F., 137, 139, 140 Calhoun, John, 38 Cameron, John M., 23 Cass, Hon. Lewis, 135 Chambers, Dr. James, 1, 2 Chartres, Due de, 120 Chase, Chief Justice Samuel, 126 Chase, Kate, 118 Chenery House, 99, no Clary Grove Boys, 26, 27, 31 Clary, Royal A., 28 Clary, William, 25 Clay, Henry, 5, 19, 41, 99, 1 16, 1 17, 134 Colfax, Speaker of the House, 142 Cooper, James Fenimore, 115 Crawford, Mrs. Josiah, 21 Crittenden, John J., 99 Crittenden, Mrs. John J., 118 Cumberland Road, 9 Cuming, F., 3 Davidson, A. B., 107 Davidson and Stuve, 73 Davis, Judge David, 103, 104, 108, 109 Davis, James McCan, 34, 35, 36, 38 Davis, Dr. William, 21 Decatur Gazette, 105 De Witt Circuit Court, 105 Dickson, W. M., 102 Diller Drug Store, 98 Dix, General, 137 Douglas, Judge Stephen A., 37, 41, 96,97 Douglas, Mrs. Stephen A., 118 Dow, Neal, 63 15° INDEX Downs, William, 10 Dubois, Jesse K., 96 Dubois, Lincoln, 96 Dutton, John, 22 Edgar Circuit Court, 85, 86, 87 Edwards, Hon. B. S., 73, 79, 80 Eighteenth Amendment, 49, 84 Elizabethtown, Ky., 6, 10 Elkin, David, 10 Ellis, A. Y., 30 Ewing, General Lee D., 42 Ewing, Judge James S., 62, 96, 108 Farmer, Aaron, 17 Fell, Jesse, 20 Ferguson, Benjamin, 54, $$ Field, Kate, 95 First Presbyterian Church, 67 Flint, Timothy, 3 "Footprints of Abraham Lincoln," 88 Ford's Theatre, 138, 144 Forney, John W., 123 Francis, Simeon, 66, 70, 73 Frankfort, Ky., 5 Fulton County, Ga., 50 Gaines, Mrs. Myra, 118 Gentry, Allan, 21 Gentry's store, 17, 18 Gentryville, Ind., 18, 19 Gillispie, Judge Joseph, 98, 107 Gourley, James, 61, 72, 83, 98 Graham, Mentor, 28, 29 Grant, Ulysses S., 131, 132, 143 Grants, The, 142 Greeley, Horace, 137, 140, 143 Green, Squire Bowling, 33 Grigsby, Aaron, 20 Grigsby, Nat, 15, 16, 18, 20 Grigsby, Reuben, 20 Grigsby, Sarah Lincoln, 21 Grigsby, William, 18 Haight, J. Mason, 101 Haines, James, 104 Hancock County, 111., 9 Hanks, Dennis, 4, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 Hardin Circuit Court, 10 Hardin, John J., 44 Hardinsburg, Ky., 4 Harrison Campaign, 116 Hay, John 95, 122, 123, 130, 134 Heerdt, Clement & Co., 119, 120 Henderson, Senator John B., 126 Herndon, James A., 30, 31 Herndon, Rowan, 30 Herndon, William H., 17, 33-36, 58, 59, 61, 68, 70, 71, 72, 79, 81, 89, 98, 105,109-112 Hill, Parthenia, 34, 35, 36 Hill, Samuel, 35 Hobson, Rev. J. T., 88, 143 Hooker, General Joseph, 130, 131 Hooten, Reason, 97 Huntingburg, Ind., 22 Illinois General Assembly, 40 Illinois Maine Law, 84 Illinois State Maine Law Alliance, 77 § Illinois State Register, The, 89 Illinois Whigs, 66 "Intimate Character Sketches of Abraham Lincoln," 84 Jackson, Andrew, 134 Jackson, Thomas Jonathan, 131 Jefferson, Thomas, 114 Johnson, Andrew, 125, 126, 127 Johnston, John D., 16, 18, 19, 21, 22 Kaskaskia River, 40 Kelso, Jack, 38 Kessler, Benjamin, 107 Kitchell, Attorney General W., 47 Knob Creek, 9 Koerner, Gustave, 99 Lamon, Ward Hill, 72, 73, 83, 84, 96, 97, 109 Langston's, 60 Lee, General Robert E., 140 Lexington, Ky., 11 INDEX ISI "Life of Lincoln," 122 Lincoln, Abraham, 9-1 1, 13, 15-23, 25-46, 48-51, 54-62, 66, 67, 69-77, 79, 81-91,93-113, 120-144 "Lincoln and Herndon," 82 Lincoln, Edward, 67 Lincoln, Elizabeth, 7, 8, 9 Lincoln, Jesse, 8 Lincoln, Mary, 99, 118-121, 138, 141-142 Lincoln, Mordecai, Jr., 9 Lincoln, Mordecai, Sr., 9 Lincoln, Robert, 88, 120, 1 42-144 Lincoln, Sarah, 20 "Lincoln Stories," 132 Lincoln, Tad, 101 Lincoln, Thomas, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 1 2, 1 5 Lincoln, Willie, 119 Lind, Jennie, 117 Linder, Usher F., 42, 43, 85-87, 108 Little Mount Church, 10 Little Pigeon Baptist Church, 24 Little Pigeon Creek, 21 Logan, Judge Stephen T., 70, 71, 79, 80, 97 Louisville and Portland Canal, 21 McClean Circuit Court, 86, 104 McClean's Tavern, 1 McDougall, Senator, 127 McNelly, W., 34, 35 Macon Circuit Court, 104 Madison, James, 115 Maine Law, 64, 68, 69, 72-74, 76, 79, 81, 82, 89, 107 Maine Law Alliance, 64, 87 Maine Law Campaign, 63 Marshall, Tom, 117 Mason & Dixon Line, 121 Matheny, James H., 80, 93, 108 Menard County, 111., 23 Merwin, James B., 73-80, 83-85, 88, 89, I35-H3 Michaux, M., 3 Michigan State Temperance Alliance, 135 Missouri Compromise, The, 69 Monroe, James, 115 Monroe, Mrs. James, 115 Mt. Vernon, 113, 114 Moustier, Comte de, 114 Muldraugh's Hill, 9 Munsell, Roswell, 104 New Orleans, 21 New Salem, 111., 23, 25, 26, 37 Newton, Rev. Joseph Fort, 81-84, 109 Nicolay, John G., 121-123 Nolan Creek, Ky., 9 Northwestern Christian Advocate, The, 78 Offutt, Denton, 25, 29 Offutt's store, 26 "Only Authentic Life of Abraham Lincoln, Alias 'Old Abe' ", 122 Organ, George, 107 Ormsbee, Representative, 47 Owens, Mary, 43 Panama Canal, 137 Paris, Comte de, 120 Parker, Theodore, 72, 81 Pearl, Frederick, 106 Pearl, Sylvester, 106 Peck, Judge, 99 "Personal Recollections of Abra- ham Lincoln," 82, 83 Pickett, George E., 58 Pigeon Creek, 14 Pigeon Creek Church, 15 Pioneer Fire Company, The, 108 Pioneers, The, 107 Piatt, Ephriam, 106 Potomac Saloon, 144 Potter, John, 35, 36 "Quart Law," 63 Radford, Reuben, 31 Randall's Tavern, 102 Rankin, Henry B., 77, 79-84, 88 Reynolds & Fuller, 107 / 152 INDEX Robinson, J., 60 Rolling Fork River, 12 Ross, Harvey, 37, 38, 48 Rowan, John, 1, 2 Russell, Dr. Howard O., 75 Rutledge & Sinco, 31 Rutledge, James McGrady, 34, 36 Rutledge, R. B., 27 Sangamo Journal, The, 58, 59 Sangamon County, 111., 40, 44 Sangamon River, 23, 25 SangamonTemperance Union, 60, 6 1 Saulsbury, Senator, 124, 127 Schurz, General, 131 Sebastian, Judge Benjamin, 1 Seward, William H., 134, 139, 140 Shields, James, 41 Shiloh, Battle of, 131 Singleton, Esther, 115 Sinking Spring, Ky., 9 Smith, Dr. James W., 64-68 Sons of Temperance, 61, 128 South Elkhorn Creek, Ky., 7 Spears, George, 33, 3$, 3 6 Speed, Joshua, 59, 93 Springfield, 111., 40, 64, 90 Springfield Chapter, Washington Temperance Society, S3 Stanton, Edwin M., 142 Starr, John W., Jr., 79, 81, 82 Stuart & Edwards, 80 Stuart, John T., 66, 133 Sullivan Case, 105 Sullivan Patrick, 104 Swett, Leonard, 94 Taltavull, Peter, 144 Tarbell, Ida M., 34 Taylor, Zachary, 116 Tazewell Circuit Court, 106 Temperance Society of New Salem, 28 Temple, William H., 104 Tyler, John, 116 Van Buren, Martin, 116 Vandalia, 111., 40 Walker, Newton, 43 Warfield, Peter, 8 Washington's Birthday Speech, 58 Washington Evening Star, The, 142 Washington, George, 113, 114 Washington Temperance pledge, 54 Washington Temperance Society, 52, SS> 56, 58, 59> 61 Watson, J. B., 60, 78 Weber, J. B., 60 Webster, Daniel, 117 Weik, Jesse, 96 Welles, Gideon, 126, 130, 139 White, Charles T., 80, 82, 83, 84, 88, 143 White, Horace, 94, 95 Whitney, Henry C, 71, 97 Williams, Archibald, 43 Wilson, James Grant, 122 Wood, William, 16, 22 Wooley, John G., 85 Yoder, Jacob, 2 Young, Judge Richard M., 41 s ^