Portraits
This is just one of the 20 portraits across the northern and southern ends of the building of famous individuals who played a significant role in Lincoln's life. This one shows William Henry Seward, a rival for the Republican nomination in the 1860 presidential race.
Lincoln won the nomination and the race and asked Seward to serve as Secretary of State. The Republican party, formed from an uneasy union of former Whigs, Northern Democrats, and No Nothings, teetered on the brink of collapse even after securing the office of President. Lincoln sought to unify the party by filling his cabinet with members of the ideologically and geographically diverse rival factions within the party. This shrewd move solidified the party, but gave Lincoln perpetual headaches for the next four years. Part of his genius as executive was negotiating these factions within his party. All were loyal to Lincoln, but none of them liked the others. Doris Kearns Goodwin's novel Team of Rivals (on which, the recent film Lincoln was based) tells the story of Lincoln's attempts to wrangle these guys together to pass the 13th Amendment. It seems like everytime I hear a report about Obama and Boehner negotiating the so-called Fiscal Cliff, someone references the movie.
Seward initially refused Lincoln's offer. After reconsidering, Seward, a seasoned Washington political operative, decided he could run the administration through the bumpkin novice that just became President. He tried some early shenanigans, but after a Come-to-Jesus talk from Lincoln, the two became close friends and strong allies through the tumultuous four years of war.
To see all the quote panels and portraits, see the U of I site:
http://www.lincolnhall.illinois.edu/history/quotes/
Fasces
Behind each of the medallions that flank the quote panels and the scenic panels you can see a double bladed axe inside a bundle of sticks. One of these is called a fascis, the Latin word for "bundle." Certain Roman officials (consuls, for instance) would walk around town with a small entourage of guys called lictors. Lictors had various duties, the most important being walking around carrying a fascis. The fascis, made of birch rods tied into a cylinder with ribbon, symbolized strength through unity. One birch rod can be easily snapped in two. A bundle of birch rods not so much. The axe represents the power over life and death held by the official in question. Needless to say, the symbol became quite popular in the United States. You can see fasces above the door to the Oval Office, on the seal of the National Guard Bureau, on the back of the Mercury dime (1916-1945), behind the podium in the US House of Representatives, on the seal of the US Senate, on the Supreme Court Building, and (importantly for us) beneath Lincoln's hands on the Lincoln Memorial Statue (without the axe). You can see them in the replica from Lincoln's tomb:
Don't suppose that the Romans were original. They got the idea of the fascis from the Etruscans. Authoritarian groups that came into power after World War I liked fasces so much, they took the name and called themselves Fascists.
Owls
There are 69 of them around the building. After circling the building twice looking for little carved owls nestled high in the cornice and mullions, I realized they had been at eye level the entire time. I mean, they were still on mullions (the vertical support between two windows), I just had the wrong mullions.
They all look as grumpy as this little guy:
Panels
Lincoln Hall has ten panels depicting scenes from either Lincoln's life or events influenced by Lincoln. Three of the ten panels don't have Lincoln in them. Go figure. My pictures aren't very good at all. I took them to prove that I had been there. Apparently, when the building was initially constructed, the faculty hated the scenic panels and didn't want them hung.
If you want to see clear close-ups of the scenic panels, check out the U of I site:
http://www.lincolnhall.illinois.edu/renovation/features/scenes/
Rail Splitter 1830
This scene depicts Lincoln as a teenager, splitting rails for a fence. When his candidacy for President became evident, Lincoln's team knew he needed a nickname or a tagline to make him marketable. Andrew Jackson was known as Old Hickory, Harrison was the Hero of Tippecanoe. Folks on the circuit had called Lincoln Honest Abe for years, but his team worried that made him sound too old. During the Illinois State Republican convention, Lincoln's supporters tore down two rails from his father's fence and paraded them through the hall, touting Lincoln as The Rail Splitter. The appellation, though mostly a fiction, made Lincoln sound hardworking and salt of the earth and won him the support of Illinois Republicans. It's true, Lincoln did split rails on his father's farm. It was a chore. Like when kids take out the trash or mow the lawn today. But Lincoln abhorred physical labor. That's why he became a lawyer.
Slave Auction 1831
According to popular myth, while in his early 20s, Lincoln took a trip down the Mississippi to New Orleans where he saw his first slave auction. The scene so horrified him, that he swore to fight against slavery. This supposed pivotal moment in his life, according to modern scholars, didn't really happen. It doesn't stop it from sounding romantic. In the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, they have a wax model of an auctioneer splitting a family to sell them into slavery. Even the Vampire Hunter movie features a scene where Lincoln first encounters slavery at a riverfront dock. In that movie, though, the slave owner has a supernatural thirst for blood. Truth is, slavery had long been a part of public and private debate. His parents moved from Kentucky because they hated the peculiar institution and Lincoln had been raised to believe that slavery was morally corrupt.
Circuit Rider 1849
This panel shows Lincoln taking the case of a Revolutionary War widow defrauded by an agent she hired to secure her war pension of $500. The agent took $200 from her pension as a fee. According to the popular version, handed down by Lincoln's law partner, William Herndon, Lincoln sued the agent and won the money back. In Herndon's biography of Lincoln, we see that typical Lincoln tenacity when, in his notes for his closing argument, he writes, "Skin Defendant." It's known as his Skin Defendant Case. This is how we like to remember it. Court records show that, contrary to Herndon's account, the widow only won $35. Court records also show that Lincoln was far from a moral crusader, but would take any case he could (he had bills to pay). He represented a runaway slave in a case against his owner, represented a slave owner in a case to recollect his runaway slave, the railroads against barge captains, canals against railroads, corporations against individuals, and individuals against corporations.
The important thing to remember: Lincoln practiced law on the 8th Circuit in Illinois for a quarter of a century, probably the most formative years of his life. There he learned the intricacies of law, debated politics with lawyers and judges in taverns, and created a sphere of political contacts that would help propel him to the presidency.
The war widow case is romantic. Everyone loves a war widow. But his most important legal moment came when he sued James Barrett, a shareholder, on behalf of the Alton and Sangamon Railroad. Barrett refused to shell out cash for his share when the railroad replotted the line away from his property. Lincoln labored to create an airtight case before the Illinois Supreme Court and won. Lawyers cited the case in at least 25 other cases across the country.
Freeport Debate 1858
This panel represents a turning point in the Lincoln Douglas debates. Lincoln, previously, made a weak showing. At Freeport, he called Douglas out on a point that would later haunt the Little Giant in his 1860 presidential bid. In the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision (1857), the court ruled that the federal government could not prohibit slavery in federal territories since it would violate the 5th Amendment's due process clause. The Popular Sovereignty doctrine touted by Douglas claimed that citizens of a territory could decide whether to enter the Union as a slave state or a free state by popular vote. Lincoln, in essence, posed a question that made Douglas choose between supporting Popular Sovereignty and supporting the Supreme Court's decision. Douglas' response, an attempt to reconcile the two ideologies, said that in spite of Dred Scott, state level legislation determined the legality of slavery. Known thereafter as the Freeport Doctrine, it killed his support among Southern Democrats. In the 1860 presidential elections, Douglas only won the 9 electoral votes of Missouri. Then he died of typhoid fever.
First Inaugural Address 1861
Lincoln's first inaugural address gives a glimpse of his genius as an orator, as a politician, and as a leader. Lincoln, in his years as an Illinois lawyer, had developed the skill to argue any side of any argument. However, in crucial historical moments, rather than argue a side, he demonstrated a capacity to redefine the argument.
On December 20, 1860, one week after the Electoral College met to choose Lincoln as the 16th President of the US, South Carolina voted to secede from the Union. South Carolinian troops surrounded Fort Sumter and declared that the US should vacate the fort. Any attempts to resupply it would be construed as an act of war.
In his speech, rather than negotiate the situation before him, Lincoln denied that the states had any legal ability to secede and vowed that, in keeping with his oath of office, he would protect and maintain federally owned property in the southern states. Any insurrection threatening the operation of federal business in the south would be met with force. In effect, Lincoln refused to acknowledge that the southern states were no longer part of the Union. He never recognized the Confederate States of America as a separate national entity. He wasn't invading a sovereign nation to conquer it, but suppressing insurrection within the borders of the US. Any conflict would be initiated by insurrectionists in the southern states, rather than by the US government, since the US government was only carrying on business as usual.
In closing this speech, he said what would be some of his most often quoted lines:
I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.Call to Arms 1861
This is one of the three panel scenes that doesn't portray Lincoln. In response to secession by Virginia and the imminent threat to Washington DC, Lincoln requested militia from the governors of the northern states. The 6th Massachusetts Regiment were the first to respond. It's important to note that the militia from Massachusetts were the first into the fray in April 1775. Massachusettsians are War Mongers.
Things got awkward when the regiment arrived in Baltimore. Up to that point, no one knew what Maryland planned to do. Since Maryland is the bread on top of the DC Sandwich, this caused quite a bit of stress for pretty much everyone in the District. In Baltimore, the 6th Massachusetts came under attack from a secessionist mob. Shots were exchanged. People died. In exchange for a peaceable Maryland, all future troop reinforcements from northern states had to take the long way around Baltimore.
The University website will tell you this was the 24th Massachusetts Regiment which is sort of completely untrue. Sorry.
Rising Sun 1863
In this panel, Lincoln points to the rising sun while a black couple grovels at his feet. I don't think this represents an actual event. Maybe it's a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation which went into effect January 1st, 1863.
Here's what the Emancipation Proclamation did: nothing. It freed slaves only in the rebellious southern states. Slaves in states loyal to the Union were still slaves. It didn't touch them. In effect, it only held in areas physically occupied by a Union army. Slaves escaped and attempted to make it to Union lines, which left Union commanders with the quandary: how do we feed all these people? No such luck if you didn't have Union troops in the neighborhood. I hope you appreciate the irony here. If the southern states were still part of United States, then the Proclamation would violate Due Process.
On the other hand, the Emancipation Proclamation created political momentum that lead to the passage of the 13th Amendment.
All that said, this panel makes me a little uncomfortable.
Gettysburg Address 1863
Again, we have Lincoln redefining the argument. In the few minutes it took him deliver this speech, Lincoln transformed the war from a conflict over legal interpretation of the US Constitution to a crusade to end slavery. We all memorized this speech in junior high and then forgot all but the first six words, but this is probably the Greatest Speech in American History. I imagine you would say, well, James, what about Washington's Farewell Address? To that I would say that 90% of the speech was written by Hamilton and Washington never actually delivered it as a speech, he had it printed in newspapers. So there.
Surrender at Appomattox 1865
No Lincoln. After a last ditch attempt to break free from Grant's chokehold, Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant on April 9th. It was actually Grant's victories in the western theater that decided the outcome of the war and it would still be another month until General Kirby Smith, the commander of the last large Confederate Army, surrendered in Galveston, Texas. However, the newspapers followed Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. It was the vacillating fortune of this battered fighting force that Americans at that time and since have regarded as the True Civil War. After Appomattox, the War was pretty much a done deal. Lincoln attended Ford's Theater six days later.
Return Home 1865
No Lincoln. This shows a Civil War veteran returning home after the long years of fighting.
Parting Shot
I know what you want to ask. You want to ask, James, what events do you think are missing from these panels? Well, I'll tell you.
1. The Spot Resolutions 1847
Lincoln, a Freshman Congressman still in his 30s, declared the Polk's war against Mexico illegal. In a series of resolutions, he demanded that Polk show the American People the Exact Spot (hence the name) that Mexican Troops invaded US territory. These resolutions were pretty much ignored by Polk and Congressmen of both parties. The resolutions had no effect other than ensure Lincoln would be a one term Congressman and cause some political headaches down the road. But they are further evidence of Lincoln's gigantic cojones.
2. Vampire Battle 1863
When the the South deployed vampires against the Union troops at the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln personally ensured the delivery of silver ammunition to the troops in Pennsylvania. In order to do this, he had to have an epic fist fight on top of a train travelling over a massive burning bridge. He did this while in his 50s. I think that's impressive. Actually, I don't know if that actually happened, but it was in the Vampire Hunter movie. I haven't gotten to that part in the David Herbert Donald biography yet, but I'll keep you posted.
3. Signing the 13th Amendment 1865
Pretty much the topic of the recent Lincoln movie and the Doris Kearns Goodwin book. The Amendment passed the House on January 31st (Aine's birthday... I think.) and the Senate on April 8th (one day before Appomattox, seven days before Ford's Theater).
The text:
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.These two sentences freed all slaves anywhere within the United States.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Interesting Note:
The 13th Amendment only abolished slavery. Blacks were not granted citizenship until the 14th Amendment (1868). Black men were given the right to vote in 15th Amendment (1870). Women, white or black, weren't given the right to vote until the 19th Amendment, signed by Woodrow Wilson in 1920. Another great historical blunder of the Democratic Party. Luckily, the God-fearing Patriotic Deep South held out on ratification until the 50s and 60s. Mississippi didn't ratify the 19th Amendment until 1984. In fact, the President of the Tea Party in Mississipi, asserted in October 2012, that women were too emotional and unstable to be entrusted with so important a decision.
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