Collected works of abraham lincoln
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If any personal description of me is thought desired desirable, it may be said, I am, in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and grey eyes — no other marks or brands recollected–
INTRODUCTION
By the age of fifty, Abraham Lincoln was an attorney in Springfield, Illinois, running a two-man law firm. He had been married for seventeen years. The Lincolns had three surviving boys, with their eldest son Robert getting ready to try to become the first member of the family ever to go to college. Yet future president Lincoln was a more powerful national figure than it might appear. He was widely regarded as the leader of the Republican Party in Illinois. That was important because for the Republicans to win the presidency, they almost had to win Illinois, a key swing state in the electoral college of that era. Moreover, Lincoln had recently vaulted into popular consciousness following his impressive performance in a series of senatorial debates again
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The Lincoln Autobiography
Sharing Lincoln's Life Story
Jesse Fell suggested that Lincoln write an autobiographical sketch so newspaper editors back east could share his life’s story with voters. After all, there were early whispers of Lincoln as a long-shot candidate for president.
Lincoln’s “simple unadorned statement” (as Fell called the autobiography) was sent to Pennsylvania newspaperman Joseph Lewis, brother of a Bloomington newspaper editor.
Lewis used the autobiography to write an article on Lincoln in his weekly paper, the Chester County Times. Versions of Lewis’ article soon appeared in newspapers throughout the North where Lincoln was little known.
You can read a typewritten transcription of the autobiography here.
“Very frequently I have been asked: ‘Who is this man Lincoln, of your state, now campaigning in opposition to Senator Douglas?'”
— Fell Recalling His 1858 Travels Through Northern States