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A Legacy Takes Shape:
In the immediate aftermath of Lincoln's death, Americans rushed to memorialize their fallen leader. An elaborate tomb, grander than anything previously built to honor a president, was planned for Springfield, Illinois. Other cities raised their own monumental tributes.
Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated, and his death rocked the nation. A grieving country struggled to come to terms with his death, and what it meant for the future.
Why does Abraham Lincoln still fascinate the world? What is it about this frontier man that holds our imagination? What do you think is Lincoln's greatest legacy?
Lincoln the man was scarcely laid to rest when Lincoln the martyr took his place in the pantheon of American democracy. For millions of his grieving countrymen it required no stretch of imagination to picture George Washington, the Father of His Country, welcoming the Savior of the Union to Heaven.
The First American:
In this excerpt from a commemorative ode recited at Harvard University on July 21, 1865, poet James Russell Lowell captured the reverential mood among Americans as the first shock of Lincoln's death gave way to reflections on the meaning of his life.
"Great captains, with their guns and drums,
Disturb our judgment for the hour,
But at last silence comes;
These are all gone, and, standing like a tower,
Our children shall behold his fame,
The kindly, earnest, brave, foreseeing man.
Sagacious, patient, dreading praise, not blame,
New birth of our sail, the first American." |