Extra Credit Questions

[LincolnMan]

(05-20-2015 05:30 PM)DanielC Wrote:  

(05-20-2015 09:05 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  You are correct! I wonder if he wore the shirt intentionally- I suppose he did considering what he did. I also wonder if he knew the connection of the phrase to JWB?

Let's hope the government can expedite Tsarnaev leaving this world as quickly as McVeigh.

Indeed!

[RJNorton]

Shortly after the death of Hannibal Hamlin in 1891 an article by A. K. McClure was printed in the Philadelphia Times that asserted Abraham Lincoln had "quietly" used his influence in 1864 to replace Hamlin on the ticket in favor of Andrew Johnson.

Shortly after this article appeared Mrs. Hamlin received a letter telling her that McClure's article was wrong. The letter assured Mrs. Hamlin that Lincoln did not use his influence in favor of Johnson. The letter said that Hamlin was actually Lincoln's personal preference, but the president had left the decision to the convention.

McClure responded by saying the letter writer was "ignorant" and "arrogant."

Who wrote the letter to Mrs. Hamlin?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Leonard Swett?

[RJNorton]

Good try, Eva, but it was not Swett.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Hay or Nicolay? (I'm so sure I've heard about this incident before...)

[L Verge]

Did some Googling, and I believe Eva is correct with her guess of Nicolay. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2...YIC2_lViko

[RJNorton]

Congrats to both of you - John Nicolay is the correct answer. And, although Hay did not write this particular letter, he agreed with Nicolay. As far as I know there is no direct evidence that Lincoln played a role in dumping Hamlin and replacing him with Johnson. Apparently Hamlin showed no outward signs of being upset as he campaigned for the Lincoln/Johnson ticket in the fall.

[RJNorton]

One person whose name has come up often on this board attended a "Slipper School" when he or she was very young. Who attended what was referred to as a "Slipper School?"

[Eva Elisabeth]

I have zero idea, but it reminds me of elementary school. In winter we (students) had to bring carpet slippers to be worn in the classroom to keep it clean and dry. The wet, "snowy" boots were denied entry. I would guess this was similar in the frontier log cabin schools. Wild guess - Abraham Lincoln himself? (On a second thought though I don't think frontier people possessed such luxury goods as carpet slippers.)

[RJNorton]

Eva, your thinking is all excellent, but it was not Abraham Lincoln.

[RJNorton]

Hint #1: The phrase "Slipper School" was coined due to a "different" use of a slipper.

[Eva Elisabeth]

This is the only thing I found online on slippers and 19th century schools:

"More informally, the 'slipper' -- something of a euphemism: in fact it was normally a big, heavy gym shoe or plimsoll -- was widely used for instant, unofficial discipline over the clothed seat of both sexes (though, again, many more boys than girls), typically in the presence of classmates. Most teachers would hold the implement by its heel and apply the sole to the offender, but some maintained that it was even more effective the other way round, with the heavier heel end being the part that made contact. In some schools, every teacher had his or her own 'slipper'. Its use was particularly prevalent in the gym in the hands of physical education or 'PE' teachers. Slippering was usually a brisk affair: the student was typically made to come to the front, bend over on the spot, be whacked two or three or four times, and return to his or her seat as the lesson continued without further ado."

Does it have to do with this use of the slippers?

Next try - Herndon?

[RJNorton]

Brilliant, Eva!! That is the correct use of a slipper as used at this school. However, Herndon is not the answer.

[Anita]

Robert Lincoln?

[RJNorton]

Congratulations, Anita! Indeed it was Robert Lincoln. Prior to going to Abel Wilder Estabrook's school he attended what was referred to as a "Slipper School." Robert recalled, "I have a dim recollection of being under the slipper-guardianship of a school mistress until 1850."

SOURCE: Lincoln's Springfield Neighborhood by Bonnie E. Paull and Richard E. Hart with a Forward by Dr. Wayne Temple. This book was recommended to me by Joe Di Cola, and I agree with Joe - excellent book.

I cannot think of an appropriate prize for this, so I simply shall wish you a wonderful weekend.