Reviews
"A wonderful book, as witty as it is wise. Addressing every question that conceivable can be raised about Abraham Lincoln, Gerald Prokopowicz provides answers that are short, accurate, and in many instances highly amusing." --David Herbert Donald, author ofLincoln "From his birth to his death (not to mention the century and a half since), here is everything one ever wanted to know about Abraham Lincoln, told authoritatively and entertainingly by a fine scholar and gifted writer. Facts are reported, myths punctured, and controversies analyzed in a text that proves both an essential reference and a page-turning good read." --Harold Holzer, cochairman, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission "Of the thousands of books about Lincoln (you can get the exact number, and many other facts, from this book), very few bring us as much information, and none is more pleasantly amusing. If you have any interest in Lincoln and start reading this book, you will have a hard time stopping." --William Lee Miller, author ofLincoln's Virtues: An Ethical BiographyandPresident Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman "Witty, intelligent, and informative,Did Lincoln Own Slaves'is a book that every level of Lincoln student--from grade school to scholar--will find useful. Prokopowicz has provided accurate answers to the essential questions about our sixteenth president; no more digging around in the Lincoln library is required." --Jean H. Baker, author ofMary Todd Lincoln From the Hardcover edition.
Table of Content
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction CHAPTER ONE: THE BOY LINCOLN When and where was Lincoln born? Is the cabin still there? Haven't I seen the cabin somewhere else? About the original birthplace cabinis it true that Lincoln helped his father build it with his own hands? Who were Lincoln's parents? Were Thomas and Nancy married to each other when Abraham was born? His mother was born out of wedlock? Was Abraham's last name really Lincoln? No, I mean,was Thomas Lincoln really his father? So Lincoln's greatness was due to his environment, not his genes? Where did Lincoln's ancestors come from? Was Lincoln's father a good-for-nothing bum? Why did Thomas and Nancy choose the name Abraham? What was Lincoln's middle name? Did he have any brothers or sisters? Lincoln once said "All I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." Did he mean his natural mother or his stepmother? Lincoln didn't go to his own father's funeral? Did Lincoln have a happy childhood? If Lincoln was born in Kentucky, why do Illinois license plates say "Land of Lincoln"? Did they really spend their first winter in Indiana living outdoors? Why did the Lincolns move to Indiana? What did slavery have to do with their move? What did Abe do in Indiana? How did his mother die? Can people still get milk sickness? Did Abraham show any signs of future greatness when he was a boy? Did he hunt smaller animals? How else was Abe different from other children? Is it true that Lincoln was nearly killed when he was a boy? Did this really happen three times? What's a paw paw? How much schooling did he have? Did he write his school lessons on the back of a shovel, using a piece of charcoal? Who taught him? What's a "blab school"? Did Lincoln ever go to college? If his education was so limited, how did he get so smart? Did he once accidentally ruin a book that he borrowed? CHAPTER TWO: RAIL-SPLITTER What's a rail-splitter? So Lincoln didn't really split rails for a living. What did he do, before he became a lawyer and politician? Was this the trip when Lincoln saw slave markets in New Orleans and decided he would dedicate himself to ending slavery? What about his other jobs? Wasn't he a storekeeper? Did he really once walk two miles to return change to a customer? What else did he do for a living? If his partner drank up the store's stock, are you saying that Lincoln kept a saloon? When he got a job as a postmaster, did he really carry letters around in his hat? What did Lincoln think about this? What was his religion? Wasn't he secretly baptized when he was older? If Lincoln wasn't a Christian, why are his speeches full of talk about God? This religious conversion he went throughdidn't this happen at Gettysburg? What did Lincoln do for fun as a young man? Did he play sports? Could he dunk a basketball? So, what sports did he play? What else did he do for fun? Did he drink a lot when he was young? Did he smoke or chew tobacco? Did he gamble? Did he swear or tell dirty jokes? Was he lazy? So did Lincoln haveanybad habits? How about good manners? He probably didn't need much in the way of manners for his first girlfriend, Ann Rutledge, did he? Did he leave New Salem because of Ann Rutledge? CHAPTER THREE: SPRINGFIELD Why did he move to Springfield? When a guy says to another guy, "It's a good place to meet people," he usually means "It's a good place to meet girls." Is that what real
