Ted Sorensen on Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Words

[Meanderer]

Kennedy advisor Ted Sorensen found that of all the U.S. presidents, Lincoln had the best speechwriter—himself.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/histo...n-a-man-of-his-words-12048177/?no-ist=&page=2

The sight of President Abraham Lincoln still captivates audiences nearly 150 years after his death.

 

[Meanderer]

Lincoln's Letter to Edward Everett

http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/everett.htm

The day before he wrote this letter, President Abraham Lincoln and Edward Everett shared the speakers' platform during the dedication of the soldiers' cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Lincoln was responding to Everett's note which praised him for the "eloquent simplicity & appropriateness" of his remarks. Everett said, "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."
It's ironic that the length of these two speeches has been so much discussed, because the Gettysburg Address is one of Lincoln's shortest efforts. Prior to his presidency, his political speeches often lasted two to three hours, yet he managed to retain the attention of his listeners. For example, the reporter covering his speech in Dover, New Hampshire, on March 2, 1860, said, "Mr. Lincoln spoke nearly two hours and we believe he would have held his audience had he spoken all night."


Executive Mansion
Washington
November 20, 1863
Hon. Edward Everett.
My dear Sir:
Your kind note of to-day is received. In our respective parts yesterday, you could not have been excused to make a short address, nor I a long one. I am pleased to know that, in your judgment, the little I did say was not entirely a failure. Of course I knew Mr. Everett would not fail; and yet, while the whole discourse was eminently satisfactory, and will be of great value, there were passages in it which transcended my expectation. The point made against the theory of the general government being only an agency, whose principals are the States, was new to me, and, as I think, is one of the best arguments for the national supremacy. The tribute to our noble women for their angel-ministering to the suffering soldiers, surpasses, in its way, as do the subjects of it, whatever has gone before.
Our sick boy, for whom you kindly inquire, we hope is past the worst. Your Obt. Servt.
A. Lincoln

 

[Meanderer]

 

[oldman]

Abraham Lincoln is my all time favorite President, mostly because I always considered him to be the most honest and truthful of the Presidents that I have read about. I guess I read so much about President Lincoln because of his connection to the Civil War. To this day, I still visit Gettysburg, which is only about a half hour drive for me, just to walk the battlefield and try to reminisce about how it may have been during those three fateful days of July 1-3, 1863. In a small area to the south and what once was a small town lies Hanover Junction. This small area was developed as a stop for trains back in the day to take on water or coal, but the real significance of this railroad depot is that President Lincoln's train had stopped there twice while he was on-board and as the 16th President. Once, he stopped on the way to Gettysburg to deliver his Gettysburg Address and his second stop was when he laid in state after being shot and killed. On this trip, he was on his way back to Illinois to be buried. There is much more history to the train depot, especially during the Civil war era, so if anyone is interested, please read it here. http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-1BB

When I was in school, both elementary and high school, it was taught that President Lincoln had written the Gettysburg Address while at Hanover Junction. That story has since been disproved, but it makes for good reading. Today, the Junction has been restored by the local Preservation Society and is a National Landmark and as such is listed in the National Landmark registry. Like I said, I have visited the battlefield on numerous occasions, the last time being this past October. Here is a picture that I took of the Pennsylvania Monument that stands on the battlefield. The second picture was taken inside the museum and is of the various pistols used during the Gettysburg Campaign.

 

[oldman]

BTW, Lincoln has been quoted with his sayings maybe as much as Yogi Berra, but more intelligent. My favorite Lincoln saying is:

"When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."
-Abraham Lincoln-

 

[Meanderer]

It's funny,but I never think of Lincoln as a person from the past. He is more of a contemporary. I think that he is remembered by children, who have grown into adults, because of all the pennies they have handled in their lifetime. They know who he is!

 

[Pappy]

I'll never forget standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial looking up at that huge man.

 

[Meanderer]

A step back in time with Lincoln boots

05/14/09- WASHINGTON — The flashlight beam lighted up the dark interior of Abraham Lincoln's left boot as if the inside of a tomb, and there at the bottom was the smooth and shiny indentation made by the martyred president's heel.


The odor of fine leather still clung to the top of the boot, where the white cloth pull straps were sewn. When the light hit a maroon section of the hide, boot maker Michael Anthony Carnacchi whispered, "Aha. There's your original color."


A small group of National Park Service curators and conservators craned to peer inside -- and, in a way, back in time to the night in 1865 when Lincoln pulled on his boots and clomped to the carriage that took him to Ford's Theater.........

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/14/nation/na-lincoln-boots14

 

[NancyNGA]

?
Disclaimer: I admit to being a Sam Waterston fan, so take it FWIW:

I believe Waterston is reading his own commentary about Lincoln's farewell letter to Springfield in the book, In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts.

I like his simple statement, "It's very grown up." (~0:45)

 

[Meanderer]

Thanks, Nancy, I also like Sam. Lincoln is an amazing man!