Happy birthday Abe.
Below is a link to a fascinating look at how Lincoln came to be what many believe to be our best president and a truly remarkable person we remember with respect and affection. It’s a long read, but well worth your time, not just because it’s about Lincoln, but looks at our history of the early 19th century, and what self-help really means. If you want the abridged version, the last paragraph sums up things pretty well . . .here it is.
Below is a link to a fascinating look at how Lincoln came to be what many believe to be our best president and a truly remarkable person we remember with respect and affection. It’s a long read, but well worth your time, not just because it’s about Lincoln, but looks at our history of the early 19th century, and what self-help really means. If you want the abridged version, the last paragraph sums up things pretty well . . .here it is.
As a young man, in the Illinois of the 1830s, Lincoln rose from poverty to prominence through self-improvement, hard work, persistence, and individual effort, but above all without the help—or hindrance—of a family. In fact, Lincoln rejected his family as no help at all, a basic characteristic of the historical self-made man. Historians have focused on the symbolic functions of the self-made ethic since Lincoln's death, viewing it as one of his most enduring legacies. [19] But they have neglected its cultural functions during his own lifetime. Beyond its political uses, the self-made ethic encouraged young men, such as Lincoln, to leave—even flee—their families and their farms, to take risks in the burgeoning commercial economy, to join together to succeed in life, and above all to improve themselves. The self-made ethic eased this often difficult and sometimes painful transition from a society based on families to one based on individual success. In this sense, the ethic—even as a myth—helped to shape the course of Lincoln's personal life, as well as his political career. Indeed, the self-made ethic emerged during Lincoln's formative years and undoubtedly emboldened him, along with his peers, to abandon more traditional paths, to test his own fortunes—or fate—and to depend on himself. The self-made ethic rewarded those few who did succeed, granting them all the credit for their own achievements in life, singling them out as extraordinary individuals, and encouraging others to follow their lead. In short, Lincoln not only contributed to the self-made myth; he benefited from it. Indeed, his life confirmed and strengthened it.
While Lincoln was a congressman in Washington in 1848, his young law partner, William Herndon, asked him for advice about how to succeed. Lincoln, quite typically, pondered the question and then frankly admitted that "I hardly know what to say." After searching for an answer, however, Lincoln soon found it within himself. The key to success was self-improvement. "The way for a young man to rise," Lincoln wrote, "is to improve himself every way he can." To Lincoln, self-improvement meant a combination of hard work and a single-minded, unwavering pursuit of knowledge. "You have been a laborious, studious young man," Lincoln reassured his partner. "You can not fail in any laudable object, unless you allow your mind to be improperly directed." A young man need not depend on his family, rely on his friends, or even go to school. The surest way for a man to succeed, from Lincoln's perspective, was to "improve himself."[20]
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