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Abraham Lincoln, The Physical Man
by Albert Kaplan
Soon after acquiring the daguerreotype I scanned the New York Research Librarys extensive repository of Lincoln books and papers, searching for word descriptions of Lincoln, the physical man. ... At first I thought that the physical strength attributed to Lincoln was an exaggeration, the stuff of legend. By the standards of our present age, and the records of what our strongest men are capable of, that attributed to Lincoln stretches credulity. ...
From Hertzs "The Hidden Lincoln" let us read William Herndons accounts beginning with a description of Thomas Lincoln, Abrahams father: "He (Thomas Lincoln) was, we are told, five feet ten inches high, weighed one hundred and ninety-five pounds, had a well-rounded face, dark hazel eyes, coarse black hair, and was slightly stoop-shouldered. ... "
"It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods" wrote Lincoln in the Fell autobiography. ... "He (Thomas Lincoln) settled in an unbroken forest, and this clearing away of the surplus wood was the great task ahead. Abraham, though very young was large of his age, and had an ax (axe) put into his hands at once: and from that till within his twenty-third year he was almost constantly handling that most useful instrument - less, of course, in plowing and harvesting seasons. ... Louis they disembarked, Offut remaining behind while Lincoln, Hanks, and Johnson started across Illinois on foot. ... Hanks going to Springfield, while Lincoln and his step-brother following the road to Coles Country, to which point old Thomas Lincoln had meanwhile removed. ... "
(Interrupting Herndons account for a moment to quote from Brownes biography of Lincoln, on page 53, quoting Dennis Hanks: "My, how he could chop! ... Offut and "Bill" Clary - the latter skeptical of Lincolns strength and agility - ended a heated discussion in the store one day over the new clerks ability to meet the tactic of Clarys Grove, by a bet of ten dollars that Jack Armstrong was, in the language of the day, "a better man than Lincoln". ... Lamons "The Life of Lincoln", one reads "Lincoln has often been seen in the old mill on the river bank to lift a box of stones weighing from one thousand to twelve hundred pounds. ... Howells "The Life of Abraham Lincoln", a campaign biography published with Lincolns handwritten corrections, we read the following: "In the autumn of 1816 when Abraham was eight years old, his father determined to quit Kentucky. ... But the emigration of Thomas Lincoln is, we believe, to be chiefly attributed to the insecurity of the right by which he held his Kentucky land; for, in those days, land titles were rather more uncertain than other human affairs. ... Abraham was a hardy boy, large for his years, and with his ax did manful service in clearing the land. ... George Close, the partner of Lincoln in the rail-splitting business, says that Lincoln was, at this time, a farm laborer, working from day to day, for different people, chopping wood, mauling rails, or doing whatever was to be done. ... Lincoln and Mr. ... As Lincoln was already of great altitude, the number of rails that went to the acquirement of his pantaloons was necessarily immense. ... Abraham Lincolns father, Thomas, was a man of extraordinary strength. ... Offut boasted that there was no stronger man in the State of Illinois than his clerk, Abraham Lincoln. ... Currents "The Lincoln Nobody Knows" the following: "The strongest man I ever looked at" recalled an Illinoisan who had helped Lincoln with his bath when he was in Galesburg to debate with Stephen A. ... He succinctly summed up young Lincoln: "I would say he was a cross between Venus and Hercules". ... The physical Lincoln, the external man, was made for caricature, was the delight of cartoonists.
Approximate Word count = 3139
Approximate Pages = 12.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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