Extra Credit Questions

[RJNorton]

Nope, Rob, it was not Emerson, but his views on slavery were similar to Emerson's.

Hint #2: There was a report that Lincoln was somewhat uneasy in his seat during the lecture because the speaker wanted the President to move more quickly against slavery.

[AussieMick]

Horace Greeley?

[RJNorton]

Kudos, Michael! Yes, indeed --> Horace Greeley it was. As far as I know there is not a text of the speech, but it is mentioned on this page:

http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/resi...1811-1872/

[AussieMick]

(01-03-2019 07:03 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Kudos, Michael! Yes, indeed --> Horace Greeley it was. As far as I know there is not a text of the speech, but it is mentioned on this page:

http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/resi...1811-1872/

It was almost as much a guess as my others, except your hint about the speaker pressing Lincoln to be more anti-slavery clicked something in my mind.

[L Verge]

To what was he referring when Nathaniel Hawthorne said, "_________may be more justly called the centre of Washington and the Union than either the Capitol, the White House, or the State Department."?

[wpbinzel]

(01-04-2019 07:16 PM)L Verge Wrote:  To what was he referring when Nathaniel Hawthorne said, "_________may be more justly called the centre of Washington and the Union than either the Capitol, the White House, or the State Department."?

I believe he was referring to the Willard Hotel, where, incidentally, the term "lobbyist" was coined.

[L Verge]

(01-04-2019 09:58 PM)wpbinzel Wrote:  

(01-04-2019 07:16 PM)L Verge Wrote:  To what was he referring when Nathaniel Hawthorne said, "_________may be more justly called the centre of Washington and the Union than either the Capitol, the White House, or the State Department."?

I believe he was referring to the Willard Hotel, where, incidentally, the term "lobbyist" was coined.

Sorry to be so late in responding, but Bill is absolutely correct that Hawthorne was referring to the Willard Hotel, which still continues to be a hub for rather elite in D.C.

---

Since we are on the subject of the Willard, which Senator had a free black house servant near the end of his (the Senator's) life who would be charged with grand larceny for stealing less than $100 in silverware and linens from the Willard at the beginning of the Civil War?

Despite the efforts of a prestigious lawyer and pleas from the Senator's wife -- as well as a petition signed by many prominent citizens and sent to President Lincoln -- the accused was found guilty and sentenced to two years of imprisonment and labor at the D.C. Penitentiary. A pardon clerk refused to change the decision and sent it on to Attorney General Edward Bates, who closed the case by scrawling across the front, "not granted." No one is sure whether Lincoln ever saw the petition.

Now, back to the original question of which Senator this servant had worked for:

[RJNorton]

Since Stephen A. Douglas died only a few months after the war began, I shall guess him.

[L Verge]

And you have guessed correctly! I'd send you some silverware, but I doubt you would want to keep polishing it.

The accused's name was James Hepburn, and he had spent 15 years working in the prominent hotels and households in Washington. He spent over a year with Senator Douglas, but about 1860, his wife, a slave, was sold into the Deep South. This may have been his motivation to steal in order to get her back. Items matching those missing from Willard's were found in Hepburn's possession, but there were no unique markers of identification to tie them to the hotel.

[RJNorton]

Please try to answer without research.

156 years ago today:

Abraham Lincoln was upset by a talk given by a man who had been generally supportive of Lincoln's policies but disagreed on specifics. Lincoln wrote to the man and said his talk caused him a good deal of uneasiness.

What was the man's name?

Hint #1: He has been previously mentioned on the forum.

[Rogerm]

Was it Horace Greeley?

[RJNorton]

That is a wonderful guess, Roger, but it's not Greeley.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Herndon?

[RJNorton]

Eva, like Roger's guess, that is a very thoughtful try, but it's not Herndon.

[Eva Elisabeth]

What age group - older than 50? Younger than 30? Or in between?