The following are a collection of links to research both Lincoln and his influences

 

The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln / http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln
The Abraham Lincoln Association / http://www.abrahamlincolnassociation.org
An Abraham Lincoln Research Site http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln2.html

 

PDF of book, “Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, 1847 – 1865, Lamon, Ward Hill, 1911 Controversial book, written by a long time friend and bodyguard.
Articles over history about Lincoln from the periodical “The Atlantic” Interesting collection
Robert Burns.ORG Vast collection of works of Robert Burns. It is my understanding that Burns and Byron were constant influences of Lincoln. You can search specific poems, works and philosophies of Burns at this site. Listed as some of Lincolns favorites were Tam O’ Shanter , The Cotter’s Saturday Night , Holy Willie’s Prayer , A Wife As Willie Had and Epistle To A Young Friend
Lord Byron Works of Byron
Abraham Lincoln Classroom. ORG Interesting collection
William Shakespeare This site is The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. If I am not mistaken, Hamlet was one of Lincolns favorites. I think that Lincoln enjoyed the choices that man has to make during life. He supposedly found many lessons of life within Shakespeare’s writings.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. I will try to update this. I have this listed as a reminder to me.
The Last Leaf Poem ‘The Last Leaf’ by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. – A poem which was one of Lincoln’s favorites
Edgar Allan Poe Kaplan cited ‘The Raven‘ as one of Lincoln’s favorites.
Benjamin Franklin I need to verify, but I believe that Lincoln enjoyed Franklin’s Autobiography. Here is a PDF as well in full
George Washington I linked a site titled, ‘The Papers of George Washington.’ Interesting and in-depth site
Aesop’s Fables It is believed that he actually memorized Aesop’s Fables
Mortality Poem William Knox’s Poem Mortality – Lincoln supposedly quoted this frequently
The Burial of Sir John Moore A poem by Charles Wolfe. 1791-1823 – Lincoln supposedly quoted this frequently
Speeches and Essay of Abe Lincoln A selection of some of Lincoln’s speeches and essays
Pilgrims Progress – John Bunyan 1628- 1688 A book providing moral guidance through what it said and how it said it. The language just as important as the substance. The words transcend the ordinary.
THE ARABIAN NIGHTS – by Sir Richard Burton (1850) One of his few sustained engagements with fantasy
Henry Clay He enjoyed Henry Clay’s speeches. He would often recite them to friends and family. Henry Clay was Lincoln’s hero. Certainly something to consider studying.
Ralph Waldo Emerson – Representative Men Lincoln enjoyed these
Thomas Hood Here is a collection of many if not all of his poems. He was one of Lincoln’s favorites.
Oliver Goldsmith Here is a collection of many if not all of his poems. He was one of Lincoln’s favorites.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning Here is a collection of all of her poems. Lincoln enjoyed the American Contemporaries, like Browning.
Thomas Dilworth Dilworth’s Speller was an early influence. Kaplan claims it formed him. Thomas Dilworth’s guide to the English Tongue was also enjoyed by Abe.
Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard He memorized poems of loss and bereavement. According to Kaplan, this was one of his favorites. Certainly a must read for me.
History of the United States By William Grimshaw It was discussed to be an early account of America and the expeditions leading to America. A third of it is devoted to voyages of inquisitions and their importance.
An Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce By James Riley “An Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce” By James Riley. Kaplan claims this is an account of sufferance of surviving officers and crew who were enslaved by wandering Arab’s in the African desert. This book supposedly helped form his detestation of slavery.
William Scott – Lessons of Elocution William Scott – Lessons of Elocution. According to Kaplan, a substantial anthology of literary gems.
The American Spelling Book By Noah Webster The American Spelling Book , by Noah Webster. Mentioned by Kaplan.
The English reader By Lindley Murray The English Reader – Lindley Murray. Mentioned by Kaplan
The Life of Washington (The John Harvard Library) by Mason L. Weems Enjoyed the Biography The Life of Washington (The John Harvard Library) by Mason L. Weems. I could not locate the Google book. this is the Amzon link. George Washington was a hero to Lincoln.
Bound to Rise by Horatio Alger I may have transcribed wrong from Kaplan. I thought he said, “Franklin’s Horatio Alger Story gave value to Lincolns Ambition.” Franklin and Washington were his heroes. Here is a link to Alger’s “Bound To Rise.” Perhaps this is the incorrect subject.
John Milton Reading Room John Milton – Kaplan mentioned that Lincoln enjoyed Milton’s poems
Edward Gibbon “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”
Alexander Pope – Wikipedia Page Alexander Pope and “The Great Chain of Being.” were discussed in Kaplan’s book
Hugh Blair 1718 – 1800 Kaplan mentioned the influence of Hugh Blair and Moral Philosophy
David Hume David Hume – Author mentioned that Lincoln read Hume.
Joseph Addison Samuel Johnson’s essay on Poet and essayist Joseph Addison 1672-1719.
Abraham Lincoln’s Classroom SSIA
Petroleum V. Nasby Political Satirist during the Civil War. In the Book ‘Lincoln’s Melancholy’ it was mentioned that Lincoln would read aloud to good friends. He spent an hour or so before dinner reading this with a few friends, hours before he was assassinated.
http://www.knox.edu/academics/distinctive-programs/lincoln-studies-center/burlingame-abraham-lincoln-a-life.html This is a 2000 page volume titled, ‘Abraham Lincoln: A Life – by Michael Burlingame – Unedited Manuscript by Chapters. I read reviews, and some call it the most thorough
http://www.loc.gov/index.html Library of Congress – Search ‘Abraham Lincoln’
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/blackstone.asp Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England (Lincoln loved to read this in his spare time.)

Last updated: December 12, 2012

I have read quite a few books on Abe Lincoln. I just finished an excellent book written by William H. Crook, one of Lincoln’s bodyguards. The book shows you what a wonderful and caring person Lincoln must have been. The title is “Through Five administrations.” I was able to read it via our town library. A tremendous excerpt for me was, “I have often wondered why the negligence of the guard (John Parker) who accompanied the President to the theatre on the night of the 14th has never been divulged.”

January 1, 2012

I write this note, only with goodness in mind. I have been studying Abraham Lincoln for 3 years. Up until yesterday evening, I only saw goodness in A. Lincoln. I watched the awesome PBS documentary “Looking for Lincoln,” by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and saw a side of A.L. that I did not consciously remember in my studies.

I did previously read the Lincoln Douglas debates from 1858, and I guess… my emotions, or subconscious allowed me to ignore the words of a Lincoln. Here is a quote from Lincoln in the debates of 1858: “I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.”

So my studies of Lincoln and my perception of his internal perfection have led me to a side I just didn’t realize existed. I will keep searching, and I reckon that my fondness of Lincoln will still be strong, but now I will see a side of him that existed, and perhaps his views changed over the next 7 years and a few months after that comment.

Until yesterday, I thought he was a man without a trace of racism or prejudice. I realize that actions speak louder than words. When one reads the Gettysburg address, it is filled with love and respect.

I recall an old Bruce Springsteen quote, where he suggested that the fan of Springsteen should “trust the art not the artist.”
Peace, Love and Happiness to all during 2012 and beyond.

Last updated: December 5, 2011

I have read quite a few books on Lincoln since my last update in 2009. The list is below. So far, my favorite book on Lincoln is ‘Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer’ by Fred Kaplan. At some point, I will look to read the collected works. I do have a link below for “The Collected Works.”

January 5, 2011

I expanded my studies, in light of my concerns on 1/1/12 of Lincoln possibly being a racist. I am somewhat convinced (but that could change in theory based on future studies), that Lincoln was not a racist. The following text is from http://housedivided.dickinson.edu/debates/was_lincoln_racist.html

“Was Lincoln a Racist?

Well this is an important question: was Lincoln a racist? People ask this all the time. In our terms, with our language and our understanding, he sounds like a racist in some of his public statements. But that’s not the way to evaluate the question. We have to ask ourselves what “racism” meant then. Lincoln based his views about race on the science and culture of the nineteenth century, like everyone did then, and in their world they thought there was a hierarchy of races. Science seemed to approve it and almost everyone accepted it. The question is what you did about it, and the one thing that Lincoln didn’t want to do about it was enslave the people who were at the bottom of what they perceived to be the natural hierarchy, and that makes him someone who is actually in direct opposition to racism of the nineteenth century. He thought blacks were people, he said they deserved all the natural rights that were embodied by the Declaration of Independence: He always believed that. When I think about this question the way that I try to answer it for my students is to say that there were three fundamental ways to look at black people in America in the nineteenth century: one was to see them as human, one was to see them as property, and the third was to see them as citizens. Lincoln always saw blacks as people. He never accepted the idea that they could be property, but he evolved and grew on the question of whether or not they should hold full citizenship. That was something that he probably was skeptical about at the beginning of his life, and then was certain to avoid talking about in the middle of his political career because it was political suicide to do so. And then by the end of the war, he seemed to be coming around to the idea that because of all the sacrifices of black men and women for the Union cause, especially for those 200,000+ men who served in the Union armed forces, that blacks deserved full equality and citizenship. And so it’s not clear but it seems likely that by the end of his life he was ready to take that leap and move from seeing blacks as fellow humans to seeing them as full citizens. “

Last updated: May 21, 2009

A page dedicated to Abraham Lincoln. Up until April 2009, I had never really studied Lincoln. I am in the midst of a book titled ‘Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer’ by Fred Kaplan. This page will serve as a reference tool for me for items mentioned in the book and things to study and remind myself in the future. Many of these items are studies and philosophies that Lincoln embraced during his life. Charlie Munger has mentioned the following: “Admire and learn from those who are dead – as well as the living.” I will strive to study the influence and mentors of Lincolns life.