Lincoln & Herndon

[RJNorton]

(07-07-2014 09:57 PM)LincolnToddFan Wrote:  All of the above tells me that if Herndon didn't sometimes straight out lie to make his points, he wasn't above embellishing and twisting facts.

I agree that we have to look carefully at Herndon's writings. The hard part for me is that I tend to "accept" some things and "question" others. Is this right? Should we really be questioning everything? For example, I think most writers accept Lincoln's quote - "God bless my mother; all that I am or ever hope to be I owe to her" - as fact. But the source for this is Herndon. Did Lincoln really say it as Herndon reported or was the quote "modified" to purposely leave out Mary Lincoln? Does everyone accept that Lincoln said this exactly as Herndon reported?