Good day!
Since In Lincoln's Time is about educating the reader about Lincoln and his world what better place to begin than with Lincoln's education? Plus we are getting near to the beginning of the new school year so the subject is on the minds of children and parents...well, maybe just the parents.
We all know that schooling is mandatory in our day...to the age of 16 in most states. In Lincoln's day there was no such mandate. Most parents homeschooled their children. They sent their offspring to school generally during the winter months when the farm work was at a minimum. At the time of Lincoln's youth most people lived on farms so most kids attended only during the winter months.
Abraham Lincoln, by his own admission, had less than one year of formal education, going to school "by littles"...a little bit here, a little bit there. Most of his education came
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The wilderness of southern Indiana in 1816 was not a place to excite the mind for learning.
Libraries were really non-existent. What books there were, were in people's homes. Most people had a Bible. Some, like the Lincolns, had Pilgrim's Progress, Aesop's Fables, and/or The Arabian Nights. Lincoln loved the Arabian Nights, the stories of great adventure. He once walked four miles to borrow a book about his favorite president, George Washington. When I speak to elementary school students about Lincoln's reading I tell them that Lincoln learned about people he'd never met and places he'd never been to just by reading books. Today, of course, we have television, Google, and videos in many forms to inform us about people, places, and things. Lincoln had none of these.
After Lincoln's move to New Salem, Illinois he got a job as a surveyor.
This required some study of math, trigonometry to be exact. His schooling in Indiana did not provide that so he obtained a book or two on the subject and when he was sufficiently educated he went to work as a surveyor. One of the more famous towns he surveyed is Lincoln, Illinois; the only town named after him before he became president.
After being elected to the state legislature he discovered he really needed more schooling in the arts of speaking and writing. After the first session of the legislature, upon returning to New Salem, he went to the schoolmaster and procured a grammar book, which he studied with his friend Ann Rutledge.
To become a lawyer Abraham Lincoln needed to study law, of course. There were no law schools in Illinois and he could not afford to travel East to the law schools there. So, he did what many men did...he read law with someone who was already a lawyer. He would borrow their books, read them, and ask questions. He would sit in the courtrooms and watch them in action. When he and his mentor believed he was sufficiently schooled in law he would apply for a license to practice law. It is generally thought Lincoln did not have to take a bar exam but he did need character references in order to get the license.
Once in the White House and the Civil War had begun, President Lincoln had a problem: most of his best generals had fled to the South to fight with the rebels. As commander-in-chief he was responsible for the functioning of the military. Not having gone to military school, he went to the Library of Congress and checked out several books on military strategy so that he could discuss the same intelligently with his commanding officers.
As the war progressed and the burden became heavier on his shoulders, and especially after Willie died, he turned to the Scriptures for solace and direction. His favorite book of the Bible was Job.
These are the highlights. More detail on certain aspects of Lincoln's learning will come in future posts. If you have questions please post them in the comment section. Thank you for reading.
Since In Lincoln's Time is about educating the reader about Lincoln and his world what better place to begin than with Lincoln's education? Plus we are getting near to the beginning of the new school year so the subject is on the minds of children and parents...well, maybe just the parents.
We all know that schooling is mandatory in our day...to the age of 16 in most states. In Lincoln's day there was no such mandate. Most parents homeschooled their children. They sent their offspring to school generally during the winter months when the farm work was at a minimum. At the time of Lincoln's youth most people lived on farms so most kids attended only during the winter months.
Abraham Lincoln, by his own admission, had less than one year of formal education, going to school "by littles"...a little bit here, a little bit there. Most of his education came
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| reading books at home, |
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| in a field, on horseback, |
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| under a tree, or |
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| just walking along the road. |
The wilderness of southern Indiana in 1816 was not a place to excite the mind for learning.
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| Fred Priebe in front of the reproduction cabin of Lincoln's boyhood home in Indiana |
After Lincoln's move to New Salem, Illinois he got a job as a surveyor.
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| A page from Lincoln's early arithmetic studies |
After being elected to the state legislature he discovered he really needed more schooling in the arts of speaking and writing. After the first session of the legislature, upon returning to New Salem, he went to the schoolmaster and procured a grammar book, which he studied with his friend Ann Rutledge.
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| a drawing of Abraham with Ann |
To become a lawyer Abraham Lincoln needed to study law, of course. There were no law schools in Illinois and he could not afford to travel East to the law schools there. So, he did what many men did...he read law with someone who was already a lawyer. He would borrow their books, read them, and ask questions. He would sit in the courtrooms and watch them in action. When he and his mentor believed he was sufficiently schooled in law he would apply for a license to practice law. It is generally thought Lincoln did not have to take a bar exam but he did need character references in order to get the license.
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| Lincoln-Herndon law office Herndon was his third and final partner Courtesy of Lincoln-Herndon law Offices State Historic Site |
Once in the White House and the Civil War had begun, President Lincoln had a problem: most of his best generals had fled to the South to fight with the rebels. As commander-in-chief he was responsible for the functioning of the military. Not having gone to military school, he went to the Library of Congress and checked out several books on military strategy so that he could discuss the same intelligently with his commanding officers.
As the war progressed and the burden became heavier on his shoulders, and especially after Willie died, he turned to the Scriptures for solace and direction. His favorite book of the Bible was Job.
These are the highlights. More detail on certain aspects of Lincoln's learning will come in future posts. If you have questions please post them in the comment section. Thank you for reading.
Very enjoyable post.
ReplyDeleteI do look forward to the more in depth posting coming up.