I'll suggest the elephant in the room. ..... that Lincoln had a sexual relationship with Joshua Speed.
Interesting answer Mike, but not correct.
Best
Rob
Next clue: This represented a small portion of Lincoln's life, but seemed to dog Tarbell for a number of years before settling down.
Best
Rob
That Lincoln acquired syphilis because of the "devilish passion" he apparently experienced in Beardstown?
Sorry Roger, but that's not it. It isn't sexual in nature.
Best
Rob
That Lincoln represented Robert Matson (a slaveowner) in court?
Not that, Roger.
Next clue: Tarbell wrote an article on the subject in which she quoted Lincoln, but the main subject was not Lincoln.
Best
Rob
Rep. Lincoln's vote against war with Mexico?
Sorry Steve, but that's not it.
Best
Rob
Did she write an article on blue mass, and she used some Lincoln quotes in the article?
Sorry Roger, but that's not it.
Final clue: Charles White.
Best
Rob
Whether Lincoln was a supporter of Prohibition/the temperance movement?
In the overall sense, you are correct Steve. The issue that Tarbell was constantly called upon to discuss was whether Lincoln made the following statement:
"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."
Throughout the years someone would draw Tarbell's attention to the quote, and from the time she was working on her original Lincoln book up to the end of her life she never found any evidence that Lincoln said that. She wrote an article for Liberty that appeared July 6, 1929 where she asked "Is Prohibition Causing Civil War" in which she quoted Lincoln's Temperance speech, but noted that there is no evidence as to whether Lincoln would be a "wet" or a "dry" in the current day.
Tarbell, who had been a supporter of prohibition, soon realized that the law was ineffective and became a strong supporter of temperance over banning the sale of liquor. Even her anti-suffrage viewpoint didn't bring in as many letters as did her anti-prohibition stance. Her papers include well over 240 letters on the subject alone.
Good job Steve.
Best
Rob
Please no Googling.
What was Tarbell talking about when she said ""I think it is one of the most interesting bits of information about Abraham Lincoln brought to light in recent years."
Best
Rob
That John Hay revealed, "the letter of Mr. Lincoln to Mrs. Bixby is genuine."