Was Abraham Lincoln EVER happy?

[Rob Wick]

Quote:Lincoln totally achieved all by himself. He wasn't part of those who got everything served to them on a silver plate. That added his motivation to succeed.

While I certainly agree that Lincoln had an inner resolve that served him well (most of the time), this smacks too much of the "self-made man" myth that surrounds so many 19th (and some 20th) century figures and was, in my opinion, severely questioned in the 1950s by Richard Hofstadter.

Examples abound of the influences upon Lincoln that shaped his character and determination. First, there is his birth mother, Nancy Hanks. Second, his stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston. How about Mentor Graham? How about his own father, who made him realize that he wanted a better life than he witnessed. Both good and bad go toward making up who we are.

Even Lincoln himself alluded to his inability to control things when he wrote to Albert G. Hodges in 1864, "In telling this tale I attempt no compliment to my own sagacity. I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me." One can accuse Lincoln of false modesty here, and there is some evidence that Lincoln, for purely political purposes, did all he could to keep the self-made man myth alive. But as I continue to study Lincoln, I am more thankful each day that William Seward or Salmon Chase were never elected president, but to say that Lincoln achieved what he did by himself takes away from those who influenced and help mold him and further mythologizes Lincoln to the point of caricature.

By the way, welcome to the forum, Emilie

Best
Rob