Things Lincoln never said

[David Lockmiller]

(02-06-2014 04:27 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  In the past I have tried to find independent corroboration that Mrs. Stowe actually visited the White House. Yes, I realize nearly every Lincoln biography includes mention of her visit, and it seems "a given." But I still have wondered about it. What surprises me is that there is no mention of it in Lincoln Day By Day.

The web page here says, "According to biographer Joan Hedrick, Stowe was accompanied on her 2 December 1862 visit to the White House by her sister Isabella Beecher Hooker and her daughter Hattie. Although Joan Hedrick does not report the famous quote in her biography–presumably it is not mentioned in Hattie’s contemporaneous letter to her twin sister Eliza or in Harriet’s letter to her husband Calvin–she emphasizes their reports on the joviality of the occasion."

In Lincoln Day By Day, December 2, 1862, was not a particularly busy day for Lincoln, and there is no mention of Harriet Beecher Stowe visiting the White House. Abraham Lincoln, himself, made no known record of the encounter.

Apparently the famous quote did not appear in print until 1896.

From what I can tell we just have to trust the Stowe family members that the meeting and famous quote actually happened. But I am somewhat surprised that are no accounts from Lincoln, White House personnel, or contemporary newspapers that the visit took place.

Apparently, in later years, three Stowe family members wrote accounts of the meeting, but their accounts differ substantially.

It appears that the main reason of so little record of the event is the sneaky way the Stowe clan arranged the meeting. It appears the plan that worked involved Harriet arranging in New York to be invited by Mary Lincoln for tea when she came to Washington. Then, with the assistance of Senator Wilson, the three Stowe family members "ambushed" President Lincoln in his office after hours for about one half hour.

The narrative of Isabella is in a book entitled Visits With Lincoln: Abolitionists Meet The President at the White House, by Barbara A. White.

To accompany her to Washington, Harriet chose two relatives, Hattie, one of her twin daughters, and her forty-nine-year-old brother Henry Ward Beecher. Henry, slightly younger than Harriet, was the closest of her eleven siblings. . . . Harriet’s success with Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Henry’s with his ministry at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn had made them the wealthiest and most famous of their siblings. . . . Harriet thought Henry’s presence in Washington would be helpful to her and was disappointed when he begged off because of work. She next turned to her stepsister, Isabella Beecher Hooker. Isabella, eleven years younger than Harriet, was also bombarding Lincoln with letters. She wanted to meet him . . . .

In the middle of November 1862 Harriet, Hattie, and Isabella met in New York. They stayed in Brooklyn with Henry, who had good news. The President had written, assuring him that he would stand by the proclamation. But did the Republican losses in the November elections mean he would change his mind? Harriet and Isabella decided to adhere to their original plans, and Harriet called on Mary Lincoln, who was in the city (i.e., New York), and succeeded in getting an invitation to the White House. (Pages 43-44)

Another memorable day was December 1, when President Lincoln read the Emancipation Proclamation on the opening day of Congress. Isabella was sitting in the gallery with Harriet and concluded, “Yes I think 25 years hence I shall mention this fact with some exultation.” Clearly, however, the sisters were more impressed by the “magnificent” and “imposing” Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, who came over to speak with Harriet, than they were by the President.

Mrs. Lincoln kept her promise to invite Harriet and her party to tea, and on the evening of December 2 Harriet, Hattie, and Isabella went to the White House. They were first to see Mr. Lincoln and were accompanied by Henry Wilson of Massachusetts . . . . The pavilion entrance was really fine under the brilliant lamps & all looked well enough till we mounted to the President’s private room or office – here Mr. Wilson stuck his head in the door & out again. (Page 47)

There's more to be typed of this account, but there is no specific reference to the introduction between President Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. I am afraid that we have reached a dead end on our discovery quest of the exact words used in this introduction.