Abraham Lincoln’s life was shaped by war, political pressure, personal struggles, sharp humor, and moments that often feel stranger than the familiar textbook version. These 50 stories reveal more of the man behind the presidency and the Civil War.
Brazil Deportation Plan
1. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln wanted to deport free African Americans to Brazil. The plan failed because Brazil said no.
2. During the Civil War, Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and oversaw mass arrests of up to 38,000 antiwar protesters and journalists in the North.
3. A jeweler engraved a secret message inside Lincoln’s pocket watch, and it was not found until 2009.
4. A few days before giving the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln watched John Wilkes Booth portray a villain in a play at Ford’s Theatre. Someone told Lincoln, “He almost seems to be reciting these lines to you.” Lincoln answered, “He does talk very sharp at me, doesn’t he?”
5. Abraham Lincoln repeatedly warned that British recognition of the Confederacy was equal to a declaration of war. Since a war would stop vital shipments of American food, devastate the British merchant fleet, and bring the immediate loss of Canada, Britain was unwilling to risk a conflict.
6. California’s newspapers learned of Abraham Lincoln’s election victory only 7 days and 17 hours after East Coast papers did. It was an “unrivaled feat at the time.” In the previous election, it took months for news of James Buchanan’s win to arrive.
7. A few weeks before Abraham Lincoln was elected president, 11-year-old Grace Bedell wrote him a letter urging him to grow a beard, saying, “All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you…” By the time of his inauguration, Lincoln had a full beard.
8. Abraham Lincoln gave hats great importance because they would shield him from bad weather, help him carry important documents, and make his height advantage more noticeable.
9. In 1840, Abraham Lincoln and four other legislators leaped out of a window to stop a vote that would have done away with the Illinois state bank.
10. Many well-known figures have said they saw Abraham Lincoln’s ghost in the White House, including Winston Churchill, President Lyndon Johnson, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, First Lady Grace Coolidge, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Lincoln’s Bartending Claim
11. Abraham Lincoln is the only president in U.S. history who also held a licensed bartender’s license.
12. Abraham Lincoln’s corpse was taken on a two-week funeral tour across America and displayed openly to thousands. During the journey, the body visibly decomposed, became bloated, and darkened. In New York City alone, more than 150,000 people saw the body, which was exposed to the air for 23 hours straight.
13. Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 election even though he was not on the presidential ballot in 10 Southern states.
14. Before entering politics, Abraham Lincoln was an elite wrestler. He once taunted a crowd by saying, “I’m the big buck of this lick. If any of you want to try it, come on and whet your horns.” No one accepted the challenge. He is also in the wrestling hall of fame, with only one loss in about 300 matches.
15. Abraham Lincoln set the national day for Thanksgiving in 1863 partly to celebrate “the advancing armies and navies of the Union.”
16. Abraham Lincoln was a big fan of John Wilkes Booth and even invited him to The White House once.
17. In an 1855 letter, Abraham Lincoln feared the “Know-Nothings” would expand discrimination, “I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty — to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy.”
18. Someone tried and failed to save President Abraham Lincoln. His name was Major Henry Rathbone. After Booth fired the shot, Rathbone tried to tackle him to the ground, but Booth was able to get free by slicing Rathbone in the arm with a dagger. Rathbone was never free of the guilt till his death.
19. Abraham Lincoln did not invite his father, Thomas Lincoln, to his wedding nor did he ever introduce him to his wife and kids due to his abusive nature.
20. Abraham Lincoln was challenged to a duel in 1842. As the challenged party, he would have the right to select the weapons used. He accepted the challenge and chose broadswords “of the largest size” in order to take advantage of his superior reach.
Armstrong’s Wrestling Challenge
21. In Abraham Lincoln’s early wrestling days, a local gang leader named Jack Armstrong learned of him and challenged “The Honest One” to a match. Lincoln won by grabbing Armstrong by the throat, lifting him up, giving a slight shake, and then throwing him to the dirt, which became the first chokeslam used in wrestling.
22. When he was young, Abraham Lincoln thought about joining the Donner Party in California. The group became notorious for mass cannibalism after being trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for 5 months during the winter. He later turned down the idea because of a growing political career, a toddler, and a pregnant wife.
23. Abraham Lincoln wrote poems throughout his life, including this one when he was seventeen: Abraham Lincoln is my nam[e], And with my pen I wrote the same, I wrote in both hast and speed and left it here for fools to read.
24. Lincoln’s bodyguard, Officer John Parker, was a drunk who had previously been reprimanded for drinking on the job. He was not at his post to protect POTUS the night Lincoln died. Instead, he was at the Star Saloon next door drinking, the same saloon where John Wilkes Booth was looking for the liquid courage to assassinate the President.
25. Abraham Lincoln’s family line is believed to have gone extinct in 1985 after the death of his last great-grandson. Although other relatives exist, no direct descendants of the former president are alive today.
Add Comment