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Lincoln's New Salem
Excerpt from Lincoln's New Salem
No other portion of Lincoln's life lends itself so readily to intensive study of his environment as do his six years at New Salem. His physical surroundings have been re-created. The names and occupations of practically all of his asso ciates and something of the character of many of them are known. The village was small enough to make practicable a reasonably complete description of its people and its life.
Aside from its connection with Lincoln, New Salem is important as an example of a typical American pioneer vil lage. There were hundreds like it. Some of them survived others died, as it did. It is one of the few - perhaps the only one - whose founding, growth and decline can be minutely traced.
Part One of this book is devoted to the history Of New Sa lem. It tells who the inhabitants were, how they lived, how they looked on life. Since many of those most active in the village lived in outlying settlements the account is not limited to the village, but provides a picture of the whole community. Part One sets the stage, so to speak; for Part Two, in which Lincoln's activities are discussed, and the meaning of the New Salem years in his development is ap praised. Part Three explains the growth of the Lincoln legend around the site of the lost town, and the changing conception of the significance of the frontier as a factor in Lincoln's life. It explains how New Salem came to be re stored, the manner in which the facts about the old cabins were secured, how the furnishings were acquired, and the problems that had to be solved in the restoration.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
No other portion of Lincoln's life lends itself so readily to intensive study of his environment as do his six years at New Salem. His physical surroundings have been re-created. The names and occupations of practically all of his asso ciates and something of the character of many of them are known. The village was small enough to make practicable a reasonably complete description of its people and its life.
Aside from its connection with Lincoln, New Salem is important as an example of a typical American pioneer vil lage. There were hundreds like it. Some of them survived others died, as it did. It is one of the few - perhaps the only one - whose founding, growth and decline can be minutely traced.
Part One of this book is devoted to the history Of New Sa lem. It tells who the inhabitants were, how they lived, how they looked on life. Since many of those most active in the village lived in outlying settlements the account is not limited to the village, but provides a picture of the whole community. Part One sets the stage, so to speak; for Part Two, in which Lincoln's activities are discussed, and the meaning of the New Salem years in his development is ap praised. Part Three explains the growth of the Lincoln legend around the site of the lost town, and the changing conception of the significance of the frontier as a factor in Lincoln's life. It explains how New Salem came to be re stored, the manner in which the facts about the old cabins were secured, how the furnishings were acquired, and the problems that had to be solved in the restoration.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
151 pages, Paperback
Published July 18, 2017
2 people are currently reading
About the author
Benjamin P. Thomas
36 books7 followersThe son of a storekeeper, Benjamin Platt Thomas was two years old when his father died. After his mother's remarriage to a Baptist minister, Thomas moved frequently throughout the mid-Atlantic states. He earned his bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University, and returned after a brief period as a teacher and bond salesman to earn his doctorate. Upon receiving his Ph.D. in 1929 Thomas taught as an associate professor of history at Birmingham-Southern College, in Birmingham, Alabama.
In 1932, Thomas accepted an offer to become executive secretary of the Abraham Lincoln Association. In that role he edited the organization's quarterly publication and wrote two books published by the Association. Thomas left the Association in 1937 and worked in insurance and as a farmer for several years. He returned to the Abraham Lincoln Association in 1939 by becoming a director, and took up the position of the body's treasurer three years later. Thomas sold his insurance business in 1944 to focus on scholarship, and wrote a series of books, the most notable of which, his 1952 biography of Abraham Lincoln, became a national bestseller. He was working on a biography of Lincoln's second secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, when he committed suicide after receiving a diagnosis of throat cancer.
In 1932, Thomas accepted an offer to become executive secretary of the Abraham Lincoln Association. In that role he edited the organization's quarterly publication and wrote two books published by the Association. Thomas left the Association in 1937 and worked in insurance and as a farmer for several years. He returned to the Abraham Lincoln Association in 1939 by becoming a director, and took up the position of the body's treasurer three years later. Thomas sold his insurance business in 1944 to focus on scholarship, and wrote a series of books, the most notable of which, his 1952 biography of Abraham Lincoln, became a national bestseller. He was working on a biography of Lincoln's second secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, when he committed suicide after receiving a diagnosis of throat cancer.
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December 19, 2018
I've read many, many books on our sixteenth President, covering all different time periods in his life: Springfield, the White House, Civil War, and his assassination. However, the ones that I really enjoy the most, are the ones that focus on just one period. The ones that focus on one place, one time, and the people that he shared his life with. This is a book like that. It covers basically his life in New Salem from 1831 to 1837, sharing stories from people that knew him best during that six year span, when he was just feeling his way on his own.
I've been to New Salem twice in the last ten years. It's a wonderful place to visit. You really get the sense of how it must have been in Lincoln's time. So, this book brought back some memories of my two visits. But honestly, I would have gotten much more out of my visits had I read this book first. When visiting Henry Onstott's cooper shop, I could have better imagined him working there. Or seeing Dr. Allen's cabin and knowing that he accepted dressed hogs, bacon, and lard in payment for his services. Or picturing the residents on the porch of the Rutledge tavern. There they are: the Trent brothers, and Samuel Hill, and Robert Johnson, Isaac Golliher, the Clary boys, the Berrys, and the rest of them.
If you're interested in Lincoln at all, you should dig into his time in New Salem. It really is the time period that made him the man that he became. At only 160 pages, you really get a sense of him and his time there.
I've been to New Salem twice in the last ten years. It's a wonderful place to visit. You really get the sense of how it must have been in Lincoln's time. So, this book brought back some memories of my two visits. But honestly, I would have gotten much more out of my visits had I read this book first. When visiting Henry Onstott's cooper shop, I could have better imagined him working there. Or seeing Dr. Allen's cabin and knowing that he accepted dressed hogs, bacon, and lard in payment for his services. Or picturing the residents on the porch of the Rutledge tavern. There they are: the Trent brothers, and Samuel Hill, and Robert Johnson, Isaac Golliher, the Clary boys, the Berrys, and the rest of them.
If you're interested in Lincoln at all, you should dig into his time in New Salem. It really is the time period that made him the man that he became. At only 160 pages, you really get a sense of him and his time there.
Displaying 1 of 1 review