Part 6

GENERAL PROGRAM FOR CLASSROOM

Place in front of the room the picture of Lincoln veiled with the American Flag

Unveil picture

Pupils stand in saluting posture ten seconds

Quote in concert, verse from Ida Vose Woodbury's "Lincoln's Birthday"

Song, "Battle Hymn of the Republic"

Brief story of life of Lincoln (compare autobiography). (Told by an older pupil--not longer than five minutes)

At least three incidents from Lincoln's life given by intermediate pupils

Damage to borrowed book

Returning of right change

Lincoln and the pig

Long walk to school

Wood chopping for log house

Lincoln and his sums

Illustrate on sand table Lincoln's log house and the clearing of forest land

Recitation, "Gettysburg Speech"

"O Captain, My Captain" read by teacher

Song, "My Country 'Tis of Thee"

Salute flag and give pledge: "I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all"

INTERMEDIATE GRADE PROGRAM

Reading of acrostics, using letters of Lincoln's name

Make Lincoln booklets

Conversational lesson in which each child contributes what he knows or was able to find about Lincoln, the teacher adding interesting items

Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech recited by one child

Civil War newspaper articles read

Patriotic songs chosen by children sung

Pledge--"I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all"

PRIMARY PROGRAM

Picture of Lincoln in front of room

Salute and pledge

Song, "America"

Stories about Lincoln selected and read by children from books brought from home or library

Recitation, "A Prayer for our Soldiers and Sailors," by Oriola Johnson

Marching and military exercises with flags

Lincoln's early boyhood told by pupil. A few readings of sketches written by pupils. Request that each child take his composition home and read it to his parents

Song

KINDERGARTEN OBSERVANCE

=1. Morning Circle=

Singing

Tone plays about flag, etc.

Hail to the flag (Gaynor)

=2. Morning talk about Lincoln=

Get from the children what they know about Lincoln. Add to this until they know something of his life, laying emphasis on his kindness, obedience, thoughtfulness, bravery. Hint as to how these much admired qualities may be used by little children

=3. Table Work=

Gift period

Make soldier hats from squares of newspaper. Build Lincoln log house

=4. Games=

(a) "Soldier Boy, where are you going?"

(b) Parade for Lincoln's Birthday

Choice by children of best kindergarten soldiers to carry the flags in parade; use drum

=5. Table Work=

Occupation period

Make crayoneine frame around picture of Lincoln

Take picture home

=6. Sing "America," at least one verse=

GETTYSBURG SPEECH

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as the final resting-place of those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate--we cannot consecrate--we cannot hallow--this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

_Abraham Lincoln_

SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS

[Lincoln's ideas respecting the injustice of the principles of slavery and the honesty of purpose in waging the Civil War are set forth in the Second Inaugural Speech. This passage is probably the most beautiful, the most chaste, the most profound, the grandest, ever uttered by an American.]

Fellow-countrymen: At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented.

The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this, four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it; all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war--seeking to dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation.

Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came.

The prayer of both could not be answered--those of neither have been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh."

If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?

Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may soon pass away.

Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and for his orphan; to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.

_Abraham Lincoln_

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

The following autobiography was written by Mr. Lincoln's own hand at the request J. W. Fell, of Springfield, Illinois, December 20, 1859. In the note which accompanied it the writer says: "Herewith is a little sketch, as you requested. There is not much of it, for the reason, I suppose, that there is not much of me."

I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams County, and others in Mason County, Illinois. My paternal grand-father, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County, Virginia, to Kentucky, about 1781 or 1782, where, a year or two later, he was killed by Indians, not in battle, but by stealth, when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest. His ancestors, who were Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania. An effort to identify them with the New England family of the same name ended in nothing more definite than a similarity of Christian names in both families, such as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like.

My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age, and grew up literally without any education. He removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer County, Indiana, in my eighth year. We reached our new home about the time the state came into the Union. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so called, but no qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond readin', writin' and cipherin' to the rule of three. If a straggler, supposed to understand Latin, happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three, but that was all. I have not been to school since. The little advance I now have upon this store of education I have picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity.

I was raised to farm work, at which I continued till I was twenty-two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois, and passed the first year in Macon County. Then I got to New Salem, at that time in Sangamon, now Menard County, where I remained a year as a sort of clerk in a store. Then came the Black Hawk War, and I was elected a captain of volunteers--a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went into the campaign, was elected, ran for the Legislature the same year (1832), and was beaten--the only time I have ever been beaten by the people. The next and three succeeding biennial elections I was elected to the Legislature. I was not a candidate afterward. During the legislative period I had studied law, and removed to Springfield, to practice it. In 1846 I was elected to the Lower House of Congress. Was not a candidate for reelection. From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than ever before. Always a Whig in politics, and generally on the Whig electoral ticket, making active canvasses. I was losing interest in politics when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known.

If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said I am in height six feet four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair and gray eyes--no other marks or brands recollected.

THE BIXBY LETTER

Executive Mansion, Washington, November 21, 1864

Dear Madam:

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they have died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully

Abraham Lincoln

To Mrs. Bixby Boston, Massachusetts

SAYINGS FROM LINCOLN'S SPEECHES

Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.

I intend no modification of my oft-expressed wish that all men everywhere should be free.

A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.

I take the official oath today with no mental reservation and with no purpose to construe the constitution by any hypercritical rules.

You can have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government; while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect and defend" it.

The mystic chords of memory stretching from every battle-field and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

In giving freedom to the slaves we assure freedom to the free--honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve.

Do not swap horses in the middle of the stream.

You can fool part of the people all of the time, and all of the people part of the time; but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.

I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.

The leading rule for the man of every calling is diligence; never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

I never let an idea escape, but write it on a piece of paper and put it in a drawer. In this way I sometimes save my best thoughts on a subject.

Wealth is a superfluity of what we do not need.

Come what will, I will keep faith with friend and foe.

Faith in God is indispensable to successful statesmanship.

God bless my mother; all I am or hope to be I owe to her.

I will study and get ready and maybe my chance will come.

Be sure you put your feet in the right place and then stand firm.

And having thus chosen our course, without guile and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear and with manly hearts.

Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time.

It is all in that one word--thorough.

Let us strive on to finish the work we are in.

When you can't remove an obstacle plow around it.

The way for a young man to rise is to improve every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.

To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is alike impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe pronounce the name and in its naked deathless splendor leave it shining on.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won; The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring. But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills; For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths--for you the shores a-crowding; For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning. Here, Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the deck, You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer; his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm; he has no pulse nor will. The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won. Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! But I with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.

_Walt Whitman_

THE UNFINISHED WORK

The crowd was gone, and to the side Of Borglum's Lincoln, deep in awe, I crept. It seemed a mighty tide Within those aching eyes I saw.

"Great heart," I said, "why grieve alway? The battle's ended, and the shout Shall ring forever and a day-- Why sorrow yet, or darkly doubt?"

"Freedom," I plead, "so nobly won For all mankind, and equal right, Shall with the ages travel on Till time shall cease, and day be night."

No answer--then; but up the slope With broken gait, and hands in clench, A toiler came, bereft of hope, And sank beside him on the bench.

_Joseph Fulford Folsom_

ACROSTIC

(Written by a fifth grade child)

L is for Lincoln, brave and true I is for the Iron nerve which helped him through N is for Nation whose tongue sings his praise C is for Colors on his birthday we raise O is for Oration or speech he gave L is for Liberty given the slave N is his Name which ever we'll save

THE BOY THAT HUNGERED FOR KNOWLEDGE

In his eagerness to acquire knowledge, young Lincoln had borrowed of Mr. Crawford, a neighboring farmer, a copy of Weems' Life of Washington--the only one known to be in existence in that section of the country. Before he had finished reading the book, it had been left, by a not unnatural oversight, in a window. Meantime, a rain storm came on, and the book was so thoroughly wet as to make it nearly worthless. This mishap caused him much pain; but he went, in all honesty, to Mr. Crawford with the ruined book, explained the calamity that had happened through his neglect, and offered, not having sufficient money, to "work out" the value of the book.

"Well, Abe," said Mr. Crawford, after due deliberation, "as it's you, I won't be hard on you. Just come over and pull fodder for me for two days, and we will call our accounts even."

The offer was readily accepted, and the engagement literally fulfilled. As a boy, no less than since, Abraham Lincoln had an honorable conscientiousness, integrity, industry, and an ardent love of knowledge.

ABE LINCOLN'S HONESTY

Lincoln could not rest for an instant under the consciousness that he had, even unwittingly, defrauded anybody. On one occasion, while clerking in Offutt's store, at New Salem, Illinois, he sold a woman a little bill of goods, amounting in value by the reckoning, to two dollars six and a quarter cents. He received the money, and the woman went away. On adding the items of the bill again, to make sure of its correctness, he found that, he had taken six and a quarter cents too much. It was night and closing and locking the store, he started out on foot, a distance of two or three miles, for the house of his defrauded customer, and, delivering over to her the sum whose possession had so much troubled him, went home satisfied.

On another occasion, just as he was closing the store for the night, a woman entered, and asked for a half pound of tea. The tea was weighed out and paid for, and the store was left for the night. The next morning, Lincoln entered to begin the duties of the day, when he discovered a four-ounce weight on the scales. He saw at once that he had made a mistake, and, shutting the store, he took a long walk before breakfast to deliver the remainder of the tea. These are very humble incidents, but they illustrate the man's perfect conscientiousness--his sensitive honesty--better perhaps than they would if they were of greater moment.

YOUNG LINCOLN'S KINDNESS OF HEART

An instance of young Lincoln's practical humanity at an early period of his life is recorded, as follows:

One evening, while returning from a "raising" in his wide neighborhood, with a number of companions, he discovered a straying horse, with saddle and bridle upon him. The horse was recognized as belonging to a man who was accustomed to excess in drink, and it was suspected at once that the owner was not far off. A short search only was necessary to confirm the suspicions of the young men.

The poor drunkard was found in a perfectly helpless condition, upon the chilly ground. Abraham's companions urged the cowardly policy of leaving him to his fate, but young Lincoln would not hear to the proposition. At his request, the miserable sot was lifted to his shoulders, and he actually carried him eighty rods to the nearest house. Sending word to his father that he should not be back that night, with the reason for his absence, he attended and nursed the man until the morning, and had the pleasure of believing that he had saved his life.

A BIT OF HUMOR FROM THE BUSY LIFE OF LINCOLN

Two persons who had been arguing with each other how long a man's legs should be in proportion to his body, stepped into Lincoln's office and asked him to settle the dispute.

To them he replied: "After much thought and consideration, not to mention mental worry and anxiety, it is my opinion, all side issues being swept aside, that a man's lower limbs, in order to preserve harmony of proportion, should be at least long enough to reach from his body to the ground."

HOW LINCOLN AND JUDGE B. ... SWAPPED HORSES

When Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Illinois, he and a certain judge once got to bantering each other about trading horses, and it was agreed that the next morning at nine o'clock they should make a trade, the horses to be unseen up to that hour, and no backing out, under a forfeiture of $25.

At the hour appointed the Judge came up, leading the sorriest-looking specimen of a horse ever seen in those parts. In a few minutes Mr. Lincoln was seen approaching with a wooden sawhorse upon his shoulders. Great were the shouts and the laughter of the crowd, and both were greatly increased when Mr. Lincoln, on surveying the Judge's animal, set down his sawhorse, and exclaimed: "Well, Judge, this is the first time I ever got the worst of it in a horse trade."

The following paragraphs are quoted from a small pamphlet of Mr. Judd Stewart of Plainfield, New Jersey, entitled "Suggestions for a Text Book for Students of English." Mr. Stewart is a profound student of Lincoln, and without doubt has the largest private collection of Lincolnia in the United States.

It was recently suggested to me by a lieutenant in the navy, a graduate of Annapolis, that in teaching English the writings and speeches of Lincoln would be a very proper text-book. This appeals to me most forcefully because all school children know who Lincoln was, know something of his Gettysburg Address, know him as the Emancipator of the Slaves and probably a majority of them admire him. Therefore, it seems to me that a text-book based upon, or rather made up from Lincoln's speeches and letters would be of great interest to the majority of children, and by having such a text-book they would learn history and good expressive English at the same time and in a most interesting way.

The suggested text-book would consist of: The House Divided Against Itself Speech, in 1858; The First Debate with Douglas Speech in 1858; The Cooper Institute Speech, 1860; The First Inaugural, 1861; The First Message to Congress, 1861; The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863; The Gettysburg Address, 1863; The Letter to Mrs. Bixby, 1864; The Second Inaugural, 1865.

Lincoln spent 49 years of his life in preparation, six years in the accomplishment of his work. The study of his life is commended and commends itself to all thinking people.

Why should we not teach his thoughts, his modes of speech, his simplicity of expression to those who with their children and descendants for ages will remember Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipator, the Martyr, the Greatest American?