LincolnÕs
Sword
By Karen
S. Lynch (Crossroads ©2007)
With a portrait of Abraham Lincoln hanging
above the fireplace behind him, Douglas L. Wilson read from his most recent
book, LincolnÕs Sword- The Presidency and the Power of Words. The former Knox College Professor discussed his book
to a packed Alumni Room Friday night January 5 at Knox CollegeÕs Old Main.
Wilson is the co-director of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College. This
is the fourth book Wilson has written on Lincoln, ÒBecause IÕm a student of
Literature, but itÕs not the kind of book a student of Lincoln would write.Ó
The latest book is becoming
widely acclaimed with rave reviews in publications such as the San Francisco
Chronicle, ÒThe book is a delight and a Wonder.Ó Richard Norton Smith, founding
director, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum wrote, ÒIt is Doug
WilsonÕs genius to reconstruct the man by deconstructing his words.Ó
Wilson explained that Lincoln wanted to
be a poet, but considered himself a failed poet, finding poetry too
restrictive. ÒHe could not express powerful emotions written within constraints
of pentameter rhyme.Ó Wilson continued, ÒLincoln wrote insensately all of his
life, but he never considered himself a writer.Ó He clearly had literary
aspirations, according to Wilson, who described Lincoln as ÒA man of letters.Ó
Giving insight into the inner
thoughts of Lincoln, found in the manuscripts the Library of Congress who asked
for help in transcription, Wilson said, ÒLincoln was a secretive manÉ not given
to private revelations or self-disclosure.Ó In describing the reading habits of
Lincoln, Wilson stated, ÒHe devoured books. Lincoln especially loved
Shakespeare, the Bible, and Burns. He knew the Bible by heart.Ó
In facing LincolnÕs critics Wilson explained, ÒHis pen became
his sword.Ó Lincoln used his writings to defend against his critics by writing
powerful letters and speeches from bits and pieces of papers and notes he often
kept in his hat. U.S. Senate candidate Lincoln wrote his ÒHouse DividedÓ speech,
given before the Republican State Convention at the Springfield, Illinois
statehouse on June 16, 1858. Wilson shared the story behind the ÒHouse DividedÓ
speech. ÒLincoln dumped the notes from his hat, arranged then on the table,
numbered them and then proceeded to write his speech.Ó Lincoln wanted to shock
the people with his now famous speech, according to Wilson. Going against his
critics, Lincoln refused to strike the words ÒA house divided against itself
cannot stand.Ó
According to Wilson, Lincoln was
both a re-writer and a pre-writer, who often revised several times what he had
written, after delivering a speech to submit to Congress to be published with
the revisions. ÒHeÕs a pre-writer in anticipation of an occasion, looking for a
place to make a statement.Ó Lincoln preferred to read his speeches aloud,
according to Wilson. ÒHe has to hear it and have a live audience.Ó
Lincoln had many critics, even in
his own Republican Party for appointing Democrats as Generals. The use of black
soldiers was also highly criticized, but strongly defended by Lincoln who was a
strong abolitionist. He brought together a divided nation after the carnage of
the Civil War by following his own convictions, ignoring his critics. From WilsonÕs
book jacket: ÒLincolnÕs Sword
tells the story of how Lincoln developed his writing skills, how they served
him for a time as a hidden presidential asset, how it gradually became clear
that he possessed a formidable literary talent, and it reveals how writing came
to play an increasingly important role in his presidency.Ó
1/11/07