Lincoln And The Bluegrass

The Bluegrass region of Kentucky was the only part of the slaveholding South Abraham Lincoln knew intimately. How the cultural environment of Lexington, the home of Lincoln's wife, with its pleasure-loving aristocracy, its distinguished political leaders, and its slave auctions shaped his opinions on slavery and secession is traced in these pages. In this city, early known as the "Athens of the West," Lincoln's alliance with the Todd family widened his circle of acquaintances to include such diverse personalities as the fiery Cassius M. Clay, who urged immediate emancipation; Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge, courageous Presbyterian minister, and the doctor's nephew, John C. Breckinridge, who took up arms against Lincoln after his election to the presidency.

THE BLUEGRASS REGION OF KENTUCKY was the only part of the slaveholding South that Abraham Lincoln knew intimately. Even before the young Illinois lawyer had married a daughter of one of Lexington’s leading statesmen, he had taken Robert Todd’s close friend, Henry Clay, as his political idol. Mary Todd, who had grown to young womanhood in Lexington, widened Lincoln’s circle of acquaintances in the Bluegrass to include such diverse personalities as Judge George Robertson, Lincoln’s counsel, who supported emancipation in the abstract but indignantly demanded that the President protect his slave property; the fiery Cassius M. Clay, who urged Lincoln to proclaim immediate emancipation and who raised a motley battalion in Washington, D.C., to defend the Capital; Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge, the doughty Presbyterian minister who refused to ask special treatment for the members of his family in the Confederacy; and the Doctor’s nephew, Vice-President John C. Breckinridge, who rejected a demand that he use his position to thwart Lincoln’s election but immediately took up arms against him. With the gifted pen that has won praise from so many students of Lincoln and the Civil War, William H. Townsend here describes the fabulous Bluegrass region which had so large a part in shaping Lincoln’s views about emancipation and secession. Lexington, heart of the Bluegrass, had early been called the “Athens of the West,” and the grace and culture of its pleasure-loving aristocracy could hardly have failed to impress any thinking man. Here Lincoln saw the genteel side of slavery—the trusted mammies whose word was law, the valets whose talent for mixing mint juleps was famous—but he also saw the public whipping post, slave jails, and slave auctions, and the disregard for the humanity of the Negro.

Discover the complex history of the American Civil War in Kentucky, where tensions over slavery and secession flared into violence and rebellion. This meticulously researched book sheds light on this little-known chapter of the war and its profound impact on the state and the nation. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Based on deep consultation of seldom-examined primary sources, this third volume in Richard Lawrence Miller's massive Lincoln biography follows Lincoln's long effort to win a seat in Congress, his activity there, and his return to Illinois--chastened by his Washington experience. Topics include: Lincoln's anti-slavery efforts in Congress; the popularity of his stance against the Mexican War (which, contrary to common belief, didn't significantly harm his political reputation); his support of Zachary Taylor's presidential campaign and his subsequent efforts to win a patronage job from the Taylor White House; his political activities after returning to Illinois; and his generally happy home life with Mary and his sons. Throughout the work, a new portrait emerges of Lincoln as a canny politician, making his own luck by striking swiftly and strongly when opportunities arose.

Using simple language that beginning readers can understand, this lively, inspiring, and believable biography looks at the childhood of the Kentucky girl who grew up to marry Abraham Lincoln.

“Covers Lincoln’s background in Kentucky and his lifelong association with the state of his birth . . . entertaining . . . well researched.” —Louisville Courier-Journal Young Abraham Lincoln and his family joined the migration over the Ohio River, but it was Kentucky—the state of his birth—that shaped his personality and continued to affect his life. His wife was from the commonwealth, as were each of the other women with whom he had romantic relationships. Henry Clay was his political idol; Joshua Speed of Farmington, near Louisville, was his lifelong best friend; and all three of his law partners were Kentuckians. During the Civil War, Lincoln is reputed to have said, “I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.” He recognized Kentucky’s importance as the bellwether of the four loyal slave states and accepted the commonwealth’s illegal neutrality until Unionists secured firm control of the state government. In this book, Lowell Harrison emphasizes the particular skill and delicacy with which Lincoln handled the problems of a loyal slave state populated by a large number of Confederate sympathizers. It was not until decades later that Kentuckians fully recognized Lincoln’s greatness and paid homage to their native son. “An outstanding work.” —James A. Ramage, author of Gray Ghost: The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby

This manuscript is the first biography of Joseph Holt, the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General during the Civil War. Leonard argues that Holt has been portrayed as more or less a caricature of himself, flatly represented as the brutal prosecutor of Lincoln's assassins and the judge who allowed Mary Surratt to be hanged despite knowing her sentence had been reduced. Leonard contends that the southern view of Holt became the predominant way we see him, in large part because the memory perpetrated by the Lost Cause defined Holt as ruthless toward Southerners and the South. But Leonard argues that there is much more to Holt than what sympathizers with the Lost Cause came to think of him, and she tells his story here, from his early life in Kentucky to his wartime life as a member of Lincoln's administration to his postwar life as the prosecutor of Lincoln's assassins. Perhaps most important, Leonard will look at the erasure of Holt from American memory and investigate how such a significant figure has come to be so widely misunderstood.