A SELF-MADE MAN - The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1849

[Richard Lawrence Miller]

If I have left the impression that Blumenthal says Lincoln and Smith met face-to-face, I have miscommunicated. I referred to Lincoln’s involvement with projects in which Smith had a personal interest. Lincoln did have personal contact with some Mormon leaders and received their thanks for assistance given but, like you, I’ve seen nothing to suggest that Lincoln and Smith met. Blumenthal does not say the two men met. We do know that Mary Todd Lincoln was a courtroom spectator when Smith was under trial for an offense.

The Mormon situation normally gets cursory treatment from Lincoln biographers, but it was a major factor in Illinois politics of the era, which Blumenthal seems to realize.