Friday, February 26, 2010

A Sustaining Statement

“One of the most interesting exhibits in the Library of Congress is a display of the personal effects found on Abraham Lincoln the night he was shot. Those include a small handkerchief embroidered with “A. Lincoln,” a country boy’s pocketknife, a spectacle case repaired with cotton string, a Confederate $5 bill and a nearly wornout newspaper clipping praising his accomplishments as president. The newspaper story begins with this sentence: “Abe Lincoln is one of the greatest statesmen of all time….” Clearly that clipping was an important source of affirmation for President Lincoln. Although today he is regarded as one of the nation’s finest presidents, in his day he was extremely controversial and unpopular in some circles. The nation was bitterly divided. Many major newspapers blamed him and his leadership for the Civil War. His life was constantly threatened. Thus Lincoln needed something in his pocket to remind him that his critics were not his only observers — that someone believed in him. So he carried that newspaper clipping.”

VICTOR PARACHIN

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