10 Things You Didn't Know About Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln was the first president born beyond the original 13 states
1. Born in Kentucky in 1809, Abraham Lincoln was the first president born beyond the boundaries of the original 13 states.
2. Lincoln worked as a ferry operator and a flatboat pilot before entering the world of politics.
3. In 1849, Lincoln obtained Patent No. 6,469 on a device that was designed to keep boats afloat when they passed over a sandbar or entered shallow water; to this day, he is the only president to hold a patent.
4. Lincoln was the first president to sport a beard; he began to grow his beard shortly after his election in 1860, when supporters and advisers suggested that facial hair would soften his somewhat harsh appearance.
5. The Lincoln family shared the White House with several unusual pets, including two goats named Nanny and Nanko. The Lincolns also had a dog named Fido whom they left in Illinois after the presidential victory in 1860 because they were worried that the long train ride to Washington would be too difficult and frightening for him.
6. A turkey was sent to the White House for a holiday dinner in 1863, and Lincoln's son Tad pleaded that it not be executed. Lincoln issued "an order of reprieve," sparing the turkey's life.
7. Lincoln was the first president to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
8. In 1876, a group of men tried to remove Lincoln's body from Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Ill., and hold it for a large ransom.
9. The Lincoln Bedroom was never a bedroom in Lincoln's time; it was an office where Lincoln met with cabinet members and signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The room still contains a few pieces of office furniture from Lincoln's time along with a handwritten copy of the Gettysburg Address.
10. Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks, was a distant relative of Tom Hanks, making the president and the actor fourth cousins, four times removed.
Sources:
- Facts About the Presidents (H. W. Wilson Co.)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- New York Post
- Chicago Tribune
- National Park Service
- Time magazine
Reader Comments
A few more unknown items
At least they are now that books have been rewritten and they were conveniently forgotten. The civil war was never all about freeing the black race though it was one factor among many that brought it on. Lincoln sent the federal troops to prevent the south from seceeding. His ONLY objective for the war was to "preserve the union" - at the expense of ripping a divide among the people that would never completely heal. Union troops initiated the first battle as they marched on the south. A battle that they lost dearly, had the confederate troops chosen to pursue them, quite likely would have taken washington and ended the war right then. This is why the south called it "the war of northern aggression".
Lincoln had made the statement,and had written letters, to the effect that if reversing the abolition of slavery would avert and end the war he would do so. These letters used to be in our national archives as well as certain plans and agreements to send former slaves back to africa and to south america to form a new nation there. Had He lived to accomplish this the only former slaves left here would have been the ones who really wanted to be here and I think that we would be facing a completely different,stable attitude between blacks and whites.
The south was already moving toward freeing the slaves. Some plantations had begun to free them and sharecrop the land already. Admittedly this was a business decision and not humanitarian but it was a move in the right direction. They were providing an interim focus on the way to the total end of slavery. Instead, they recieved total freedom with no plan for their education to provide for themselves.
Most southerners did not own slaves. It was primarily the plantation owners and many of those did treat the slaves quite badly but things were changing. Let's not forget that the north also owned slaves but the industrial focus and the harder winters made it unprofitable for them so it was no big deal for them to give up their houseslaves.
It is pure conjecture, but in my research to find out what went wrong I think that the north was actually a little jealous of the south. I do know that racism was rampant in the north. They had the same "no blacks allowed" signs as the south, seperate restrooms and drinking fountains...etc.
No, the war was about increasing federal government control which is the same objective they have today. I am NOT anti government! I think we have the greatest form of gov't in the world but it is being managed very badly. Those who framed our constitution knew that if people were left alone with only a few guiding principles they would work things out among themselves. Now the gov't is so entwined in our lives that we are like the borg for the old star trek series with mechanical devices atached and mingled with our own body systems tking us over and completly controling our actions. Any evidence of free will results in system shut down. wait for it!!!
the beard
there is a letter the the Detroit public library owns that confirms the little girls and her story, as far as I can remember Grace Biddle is her name.
I would have hoped US News and World Report would have researched this better, but as most investigative reporting has gone to the way side for entertainment!
The Lincoln Bedroom wasn't even a room
There was a room in the White House which Lincoln used as an office during the war. Many years later, it was turned into a bedroom for guest called the Lincoln Bedroom. When Truman was President, the White House was close to collapse, so the entire building was torn down, except the outer shell. When the new White House was built, a bedroom was designated the Lincoln Bedroom and furnished with some furniture from the 19th century, including a ocuch that Lincoln may have sat on.
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