Lincoln Myths - Busted

Dale Ogden, Senior Curator of Cultural History, Indiana State Museum dispels myths surrounding one of our most beloved Presidents Abe Lincoln.

Myths

1.  Lincoln was raised by an incompetent and abusive father.  Tom was actually a skilled carpenter and a leader in his community.

2.  Abraham and Mary Lincoln were working-class and AL was generally unknown prior to his presidency.  The Lincolns were actually a well-known, upper middle-class family.  I’ve attached a photo of the cordial set she used to entertain.

3.  A myth often paired with #2 is that Abraham was a repeated failure until he won the presidency.  Lincoln was an exceptionally successful professional who held a number of extremely important positions (surveyor, postmaster, attorney, state legislator) long before he ran for president. 

4.  None of AL’s children amounted to much and Robert’s success was simply a matter of him capitalizing on his father’s name.  (see attached photo of Hildene, Robert’s estate).