Review
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[This wonderful reprint of a very interesting early look at Lincoln the man offers modern readers a view of Abraham Lincoln that they might not have had before. LDS readers have long understood that there was an intersection between Lincoln and the Mormon movement. This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in Lincoln studies. JN]
Title: Herndon’s Lincoln
Authors: William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik (Edited by Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis)
Publisher: University of Illinois Press (Urbana & Chicago)
Genre: Biography
Year: 2006
No. of Pages: 481
Binding: Paperback
ISBN 10: 0-252-03072-9
ISBN 13: 978-0-252-03072-7
Price: $22.95 hardcover (other editions available)
It is somewhat difficult to assess the accuracy of a biographical recollection written down months after a person has died. It is even more difficult when those recollections are written or published YEARS after the death of its subject. For example, the four gospels that are contained in the New Testament of the Christian Bible have provided biblical scholars for the past three centuries with no end of debate and puzzlement, what with their seeming contradictions and literary abnormalities. That is because the evidence suggests that these gospels were written 30-60 years after the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth in the first century. Certainly the authors of those gospels had imperfect memories, and their sources of information likewise had memories clouded by the fog of time.
In 1889 Abraham Lincoln’s former law partner, William H. Herndon, in collaboration with Jesse W. Weik, published “Herndon’s Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life.” It immediately became both a sensation and the most controversial book ever written about the former president. Up to that time there had been scores of excellent biographies of Lincoln published since his assassination in April of 1865. These biographies were thorough, well-researched, and respected by the general population. But they had one major drawback–they were all essentially hagiography. They venerated and idolized Lincoln, in effect making him a saint. And furthermore, they not only minimized his life prior to his becoming president of the United States in 1861, but they had little to say about Lincoln the man, and about Lincoln’s private life. What Herndon set out to do was fill in the gaps, tell the whole story, in tell-all fashion. He claimed as his credentials the fact that from 1844 until 1861 he was Lincoln’s law partner, together presiding over one of the most successful law firms in Springfield, Illinois.
But 1889 is twenty-four years removed from Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, and nearly three decades removed from their law partnership. And Lincoln scholars have wrestled with Herndon since the publication of his biography. This is not to say that *Herndon’s Lincoln* is unreliable–or even faulty. To the contrary, controversial as it may be, the book remains today the best first-hand account of Lincoln’s life ever in print. This reprint of *Herndon’s Lincoln* under review has been smartly and helpfully edited by Douglas Wilson and Rodney Davis. Their Introduction to the volume is an outstanding historical assessment of Lincoln scholarship and Herndon’s book.
William Herndon, like Abraham Lincoln, was born in Kentucky, and along with Lincoln shared a deep antipathy to slavery. After his partnership with Lincoln, he became a respected citizen of Springfield, was regularly in demand as a public speaker on a wide variety of social and scientific subjects, and helped found the Republican Party in Illinois. He knew Lincoln as perhaps few others have ever known him. Within weeks of LIncoln’s death, Herndon had made up his mind to write something about his former partner. He gathered information, conducting interviews and carrying on a heavy correspondence with informants.
The process was time-consuming, growing into the years. In a letter to Josiah G. Holland, he wrote that it was his intention to write of “the inner life” of Lincoln. He goes on, speaking of Lincoln: “He was not God–was man: he was not perfect–had some defects & a few positive faults. . . . .it is my intention to write out this life of Mr. L honestly fairly–impartially if I can, though mankind curse or bless me.”
And so Herndon began to write. He included EVERYTHING about Lincoln, good and bad, including his love affair in 1835 with a beautiful young woman named Ann Rutledge, who tragically died from illness while they were engaged to be married. As a result of this loss, Herndon writes that Lincoln became mentally deranged and had to be under the watch-care of friends, who feared he was suicidal. Herndon also writes of Lincoln’s courtship with Mary Todd. Mary’s older sister told Herndon that Lincoln failed to appear at their first wedding ceremony and left Mary standing at the altar. These and many other aspects of Lincoln’s life had been completely overlooked (or purposefully ignored) by Lincoln biographers of the 19th century.
In short, *Herndon’s Lincoln* portrays the very HUMAN side of the great American. This latest volume, edited by Wilson and Davis, is a trustworthy complement to Lincoln scholarship.