Existing comment:
The Making of a Legend:
Lincoln soon had cause to regret, the furtive nature of his trip into the nation's capital. A New York Times reporter named Joseph Howard claimed that the president-elect had arrived in Washington disguised in "a Scotch plaid cap and a very long military cloak, so that he was entirely unrecognizable." The story had no basis in fact, but this did not prevent other journals from reporting it as truth, much to the embarrassment of Lincoln and his supporters.
Lampooning Lincoln:
Cartoonists in particular had a field day with Lincoln's image. Northern and southern papers alike published sketches ridiculing the president. This life-size figure visible through the window is based on one notorious Vanity Fair caricature. |