Abraham Lincoln's Humor: Yarns, Stories, and Anecdotes by and about Our 16th President
Today we think of Abraham Lincoln as America's greatest President. He's celebrated for his leadership and his numerous moving speeches, and for helping the nation through the dark time of the Civil War and out of slavery. Not as widely known was Lincoln's talent for humor and storytelling, and this collection shares many of his jokes and parables.
Lincoln used homespun whimsy effectively as a traveling lawyer and later as a tool that helped him negotiate policy, gain influence, and teach subtle moral lessons. The joke was often on him: once when being accused of being two-faced, he responded: "If I had two faces, why would I be wearing this one?" Even longtime rival Stephen Douglas recognized the power of Lincoln's message and presentation, conceding that "When he begins to tell a story, I'm overmatched." To truly understand Lincoln, we must appreciate his witty style of communicating.
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Abraham Lincoln's Humor: Yarns, Stories, and Anecdotes by and about Our 16th President
Today we think of Abraham Lincoln as America's greatest President. He's celebrated for his leadership and his numerous moving speeches, and for helping the nation through the dark time of the Civil War and out of slavery. Not as widely known was Lincoln's talent for humor and storytelling, and this collection shares many of his jokes and parables.
Lincoln used homespun whimsy effectively as a traveling lawyer and later as a tool that helped him negotiate policy, gain influence, and teach subtle moral lessons. The joke was often on him: once when being accused of being two-faced, he responded: "If I had two faces, why would I be wearing this one?" Even longtime rival Stephen Douglas recognized the power of Lincoln's message and presentation, conceding that "When he begins to tell a story, I'm overmatched." To truly understand Lincoln, we must appreciate his witty style of communicating.
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Abraham Lincoln's Humor: Yarns, Stories, and Anecdotes by and about Our 16th President

Abraham Lincoln's Humor: Yarns, Stories, and Anecdotes by and about Our 16th President

Abraham Lincoln's Humor: Yarns, Stories, and Anecdotes by and about Our 16th President

Abraham Lincoln's Humor: Yarns, Stories, and Anecdotes by and about Our 16th President

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Overview

Today we think of Abraham Lincoln as America's greatest President. He's celebrated for his leadership and his numerous moving speeches, and for helping the nation through the dark time of the Civil War and out of slavery. Not as widely known was Lincoln's talent for humor and storytelling, and this collection shares many of his jokes and parables.
Lincoln used homespun whimsy effectively as a traveling lawyer and later as a tool that helped him negotiate policy, gain influence, and teach subtle moral lessons. The joke was often on him: once when being accused of being two-faced, he responded: "If I had two faces, why would I be wearing this one?" Even longtime rival Stephen Douglas recognized the power of Lincoln's message and presentation, conceding that "When he begins to tell a story, I'm overmatched." To truly understand Lincoln, we must appreciate his witty style of communicating.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780486848839
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publication date: 01/13/2021
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 176
File size: 1 MB

About the Author

John Grafton was an Editor at Dover Publications for many years before his 2019 retirement. He is the editor of several volumes in the Dover Thrift series, including Great Speeches by Abraham Lincoln, The Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History, 1775–1865, Great Speeches by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and 100 Great American Short Stories. He lives in New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Editor's Note xiii

Prelude: Meeting Lincoln in 1861 xv

Part 1 Early Life

1 Lincoln's First Dollar 3

2 Blackstone's Commentaries 4

3 Springfield Society 5

4 Dilemma 6

5 Columbus 6

6 Long-Shanks 6

7 Pragmatism 7

8 The Surveyor 8

9 Studying Law 9

10 Captivated by Breckenridge 9

11 War of 1812 10

12 Spelling Test 10

13 In the Black Hawk War 11

Part 2 Frontier Lawyer

14 Lawyers 15

15 A Charge to the Jury 15

16 More Lawyers 16

17 Lawyers and Preachers 16

18 Lawyer's New Shirt 17

19 Reaching a Settlement 18

20 Webster 18

21 Meeting His Partner 19

22 Following His Nose 20

23 No Vices, No Virtues 20

24 New York Lawyer 21

25 Springfield, Illinois 22

26 Lincoln's Duel 22

27 Human Nature 23

28 Slavery 24

29 Good Deed 24

30 Abe Got the Worst of It 25

31 Right for Once 26

32 Loved a Good Story 27

33 Military Days 27

34 Courthouse Wisdom 28

35 Courtroom Tactics 28

36 Free Speech 29

37 Guilty Client 29

38 Frogs 30

39 Elegant Solution 31

40 Scratched Up a Snake 32

41 The Legal Profession 32

42 Slow Horse 33

43 Joke Was on Lincoln 34

44 Sense of Proportion 34

Part 3 Politics and the Presidency

45 First Campaign 39

46 Turned Democrat 40

47 Locofocos 40

48 Politics North and South 42

49 Going to Congress 42

50 Hog Stealing 43

51 Their Time Is Up 44

52 Winning a Debate 44

53 Reviewing His Efforts 45

54 A Question of the Country 45

55 Inaugural Ball 46

56 Standing In for Lincoln 47

57 Another Job Seeker 48

58 Request from an Actor 48

59 Sicker Than Your Man 49

60 Wall Street 50

61 Forgiveness 50

62 The General Was Not Honest 51

63 With Carl Schurz 51

64 Lincoln's Burden 52

65 Speaking Plainly 54

66 Half a Senator 54

67 Stumped 55

68 Only a Mile 55

69 Asking for Information 56

70 The Frémont Convention 56

71 Frémont Again 58

72 Speaking in Public 58

73 Emancipation Proclamation 58

74 Grammarian 59

75 Making It Work 60

76 The Candidate's Hair 60

77 Diplomacy 61

78 Big Whistle 62

79 Special Trains 63

80 A Good Fight 64

81 Contemplating Re-Election 65

82 A Little Knowledge 66

83 Political Story 68

84 Enough Is Enough 69

85 Inaugural Address 70

86 Politics 72

87 Political Storytelling 74

88 Horse Story 75

89 The Candidate's Silk Hat 75

90 Short Horns in Politics 76

91 Pragmatic Approach 76

92 Presidential Portrait 77

93 Giving Away the Case 77

94 An Office Seeker 78

95 Lincoln and His Men 78

96 Lincoln-Douglas Debates 79

97 More Office Seekers 80

98 Political Instincts 80

99 Lincoln's Hat 81

100 A Little Satire 81

101 The Long and the Short 82

102 Family Life 82

103 Sugar-Coated 83

104 First Nomination 83

105 Taking On the Burden 84

106 Communication 84

107 Fox River 86

108 A Novel Proposal 86

109 No Need of a Story 88

110 Presidential Memory 88

111 Emancipation Proclamation 89

112 Wartime President 90

113 In His Pocket 90

114 Greenbacks 91

115 Printing Money 91

116 Old Times 92

117 More Presidential Humor 93

118 Army Politics 94

119 Hopeless Minority 95

120 Even Rebels 96

121 No Regrets 97

122 Kentucky 97

123 Harriet Beecher Stowe 98

124 Last Official Act 98

Part 4 The Civil War

125 Making It Clear 103

126 Hardtack 103

127 Taking a Walk 104

128 Yankees and Confederates 104

129 Early Discharge 105

130 Bloodshed 105

131 Presidential Furlough 106

132 Surrender to Grant 107

133 The Chess Automaton 107

134 Frontier Wisdom 108

135 McClellan 110

136 Pleasing the Critics 111

137 The Greater Risk 112

138 Always McClellan 112

139 Making a Change 114

140 Northern Governors 115

141 Jefferson Davis 115

142 Victory over Hood 116

143 Feeling Overwhelmed 117

144 Steady Hand 117

145 Maryland 118

146 Criticism 118

147 Taking Office 119

148 Lesson from Tammany 119

149 In the War Department 120

150 White House Reception 121

151 Good News in 1861 122

152 Outnumbered 123

153 Jeff Davis's Escape 124

154 A Charge of Treason 125

155 Greenbacks 127

156 Jacob Thompson 129

157 War Politics 129

158 Union Soldiers 130

159 Union Generals 131

160 Again McClellan 132

161 Soldier's Humor 133

162 A Great General 133

163 On Sherman 134

164 A Senator 134

165 Who Commenced This Fuss? 135

166 Sherman's March 136

167 Lincoln and Grant 137

168 When Old Abe Got Mad 138

169 Fish or Cut Bait 139

170 Lingerers 139

171 Sorry for the Horses 140

172 Cold Molasses 140

173 Raising the Troops 141

174 Gunboat for New York 142

175 The Generals 143

176 Grant Was Right 143

177 Major Anderson 144

178 Grant's Preference 145

179 No False Pride 146

180 The Silent Man 146

181 Go Down with Colors Flying 147

182 Telegrams 147

183 Grant's Brand 148

184 Getting It Right 149

185 Eckert's Honor 149

186 Secretary Stanton Will Get Over It 150

187 Bricks for Stanton 151

188 Just Like Secretary Seward 152

Credits 153

Bibliography 155

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