{"id":471,"date":"2015-03-04T18:52:42","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T18:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/?page_id=471"},"modified":"2015-03-04T19:36:18","modified_gmt":"2015-03-04T19:36:18","slug":"close-reading-first-letter-to-eliza-gurney","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/close-readings\/close-reading-first-letter-to-eliza-gurney\/","title":{"rendered":"Close Reading &#8211;First Letter to Eliza Gurney"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"grid_page_left_col\">\n<div id=\"ld_jbqmmo_26983\">\n<div class=\"simple_blog_topics\">\n<div id=\"__w2_MBDu9ll_topics\" class=\"row\">\n<p><strong>By <a href=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/?s=Mary+Beth+Donnelly&amp;submit=Go\" target=\"_blank\">Mary Beth Donnelly<\/a> (Understanding Lincoln, Summer 2013)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid_page_center_col\">\n<div id=\"ld_jbqmmo_26985\">\n<div class=\"   BoardStandaloneItem BoardItem\">\n<div class=\"BoardItemView PostBoardItemView\">\n<p id=\"ld_mfeskm_26544\"><b><i>\u201cIf I were not sustained by the prayers of God\u2019s people I could not endure this constant pressure.\u00a0 I should give up hoping for success.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"board_item_content\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"row board_item_description\">\n<div id=\"ld_mfeskm_26546\">\n<div class=\"suggested\">\n<div id=\"__w2_O7Qngza_inline_editor_content\" class=\"inline_editor_content hover\">\n<div id=\"__w2_dqgXCT5_outer\">\n<div id=\"__w2_dqgXCT5_container\"><b><i>-Abraham Lincoln (1862<\/i><\/b><b><i>)\u00a0<\/i>[1]<\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Abraham Lincoln of 1862 was a different man than the one who ran for President less than two years before.\u00a0 The strain of a war that raged on, day after day with no end in sight, and the loss of his son, Willie, in February, led Lincoln into a period of soul searching where he examined events and tried to find divine meaning in them. The intertwined political, military, and personal hardships took its toll on him physically; journalist Noah Brooks observed that gone was the \u201chappy-faced lawyer\u201d and its place was a man with \u201ca sunken, deathly look about the large cavernous eyes\u201d (Brooks as quoted in Carwardine, 2006).<\/p>\n<div>\n<div style=\"width: 495px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"portrait qtext_image zoomable_in_feed\" src=\"http:\/\/qph.is.quoracdn.net\/main-qimg-15b502f3936dda4e3b32f2df9a439d32?convert_to_webp=true\" alt=\"\" width=\"485\" height=\"598\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lincoln, circa 1862<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It was in the midst of his despondency that Lincoln, a man who had never formally joined a church and who was rumored to have once eschewed Scripture (Mansfield, 2012 &amp; Herndon, 1888), began to look increasingly to the Bible as a source of comfort\u00a0<span class=\"qlink_container\">[2]<\/span>.\u00a0 Lincoln was believed to have found solace in Phineas\u00a0 D. Gurley\u2019s funeral sermon for Willie and reportedly asked for his own copy (PBS, n. d.) as he grappled with his grief.\u00a0 In part, it read:<\/p>\n<p>\u2026Only let us acknowledge His hand, and hear His voice, and inquire after His will, and seek His holy spirit as our counsellor and guide, and all, in the end, will be well. In His light shall we see light; by His grace our sorrows will be sanctified &#8212; they will be made a blessing to our souls &#8212; and by and by we shall have occasion to say, with blended gratitude and rejoicing, \u2018It is good for us that we have been afflicted.\u2019 (Gurley, 1862)<\/p>\n<p>While powerless over tragedy as Willie\u2019s father, Lincoln began to search for divine will in his role as the nation\u2019s Father Abraham.\u00a0 Southern victories and inept military leadership on the part of his generals led him to question, privately at first, whether the war had a higher purpose. Precisely when Lincoln decided to emancipate slaves in the Confederacy remains unknown (Foner, 2010 and Carwardine, 2006), but it was on July 22, 1862 that Lincoln informed his Cabinet that he would issue an Emancipation Proclamation.\u00a0 According to Richard Carwardine (2006), he took the advice of Secretary of State Seward and decided to wait for a military victory before he issued the document.\u00a0 Lincoln knew this might take a long time\u2014but exactly how long he did not know.<\/p>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"landscape qtext_image zoomable_in zoomable_in_feed\" src=\"http:\/\/qph.is.quoracdn.net\/main-qimg-ce757c87e11457713743182813d61f1b?convert_to_webp=true\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<p><b>F. B. Carpenter\u2019s portrait of the first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation (Carpenter, 1866)<\/b><\/p>\n<p>In the interim, Lincoln did a lot of reflecting on God\u2019s purpose in the war and his role in it.\u00a0 It is believed that in early September 1862<span class=\"qlink_container\">[3]<\/span>, Lincoln privately penned his \u201cMeditation on the Divine Will.\u201d\u00a0 Discovered after his death, this undated rumination showed how deeply Lincoln considered the question of what God wanted.\u00a0\u00a0 Lincoln wrote, in part: \u201cGod can not be <i>for<\/i>, and <i>against<\/i> the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God&#8217;s purpose is something different from the purpose of either party&#8212;and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, Lincoln did not claim to be on God\u2019s side, but did endeavor to see if he could determine God\u2019s purpose in the war while \u201cthe contest proceeds\u201d (Lincoln, 1862).<\/p>\n<p>Lincoln\u2019s religious skepticism (Herndon, 1888), coupled with his earnest desire to determine God\u2019s will, left him with very little patience for those who claimed with authority that God was on their side.\u00a0 After all, both the Union and Confederacy believed they were divinely inspired (Foner, 2010) and to paraphrase Lincoln, God cannot be for and against the same thing simultaneously.\u00a0 Around the same time he penned \u201cMeditation on the Divine Will\u201d, Lincoln addressed a group of Chicago Christians who presented a memorial in favor of emancipation:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice, and that by religious men, who are equally certain that they represent the Divine will. I am sure that either the one or the other class is mistaken in that belief, and perhaps in some respects both. I hope it will not be irreverent for me to say that if it is probable that God would reveal his will to others, on a point so connected with my duty, it might be supposed he would reveal it directly to me; for, unless I am more deceived in myself than I often am, it is my earnest desire to know the will of Providence in this matter. <b><i>And if I can learn what it is I will do it!<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Exasperated, Lincoln went on to explain to the Chicago delegation that he could not solely rely on divine inspiration, but had to continue to think and act rationally.\u00a0 He said, \u201cThese are not\u2026 the days of miracles, and I suppose it will be granted that I am not to expect a direct revelation. I must study the plain physical facts of the case, ascertain what is possible and learn what appears to be wise and right\u201d (Lincoln, 1862, Sept. 13).<\/p>\n<p>Of course, by the time Lincoln communicated with the Chicago Christians in September 1862, Lincoln had already decided he would issue a proclamation of emancipation; it was just a question of when.\u00a0 According to Allen C. Guelzo (2005), Lincoln asked God to give him a sign that the time had come to announce his decision.\u00a0 It came at Antietam, a bloody and costly Union victory where Lee\u2019s forces were driven out of Maryland.\u00a0 A few days after the battle, Lincoln assembled his Cabinet and told them of his decision.\u00a0 Salmon Chase later recalled that Lincoln\u2019s said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>When the rebel army was at Frederick, I determined, as soon as it should be driven out of Maryland, and Pennsylvania is no longer in danger of invasion, to issue a Proclamation of Emancipation such as I thought most likely to be useful. I said nothing to any one; but I made the promise to myself, and (hesitating a little)\u2014to my Maker. The rebel army is now driven out, and I am going to fulfill that promise. I have got you together to hear what I have written down. I do not wish your advice about the main matter\u2014for that I have determined for myself (Chase, 1903).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>While Lincoln was resolute in his decision, he realized that it might come at a price: Midterm elections were in November 1862 and things did not look good for the President and his Republican Party (Carwardine, 2006).<\/p>\n<p>In this context\u2014the chaotic, tragic intersection of personal, military, and political turmoil\u2014Lincoln first met Eliza P. Gurney on October 26, 1862 while she visited the White House as the head of a small delegation of Quakers.\u00a0\u00a0 Gurney began her meeting with him with a prayer later recalled by a colleague:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I can truly say it is not from any motive of idle curiosity that I have requested this interview. I come in the love of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, &#8211; that blessed gospel which breathes glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will to men. In common with the members of my own Society, &#8211; may I not say in common with every true-hearted citizen of the United States? &#8211; my spirit has been introduced into near sympathy with our Chief Magistrate in the heavy weight of responsibility that rests upon him; believing, as I do, that in the faithful discharge of his various and important duties he does endeavor to preserve a conscience void of offense toward God and man (Mott, ed., 1884).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_472\" style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2015\/03\/HD_gunrneyEPKc.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-472\" class=\"wp-image-472 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2015\/03\/HD_gunrneyEPKc-250x300.jpg\" alt=\"HD_gunrneyEPKc\" width=\"250\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-472\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eliza P. Gurney<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The fact that Gurney met with the busy, beleaguered wartime President for a visit was not unusual; despite the obvious demands on the President\u2019s time, Lincoln made it a priority to regularly have what he called \u201cpublic opinion baths\u201d (Carwardine, 2006)<span class=\"qlink_container\">[4]<\/span>.\u00a0 What was noteworthy, though, about Lincoln\u2019s meeting with Gurney and the Quakers was the extent to which Lincoln was sincerely moved by her earnest prayer for him. She acknowledged the burden he was under as President, said she prayed for him without any ulterior motives, and expressed her support for his decision on emancipation.<\/p>\n<p>The encounter with Gurney made a lasting impression on Lincoln that would result in a correspondence between the two for the next two years.\u00a0 The first letter from Lincoln to Gurney, written the same day they met, is the focus of this close reading. The full text of the letter is as follows:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I am glad of this interview, and glad to know that I have your sympathy and prayers. We are indeed going through a great trial \u2013 a fiery trial. In the very responsible position in which I happen to be placed, being a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father, as I am, and as we all are, to work out his great purposes, I have desired that all my works and acts may be according to his will, and that it might be so, I have sought his aid \u2013 but if after endeavoring to do my best in the light which he affords me, I find my efforts fail, I must believe that for some purpose unknown to me, He wills it otherwise. If I had had my way, this war would never have been commenced; If I had been allowed my way this war would have been commenced; If I had been allowed my way this war would have been ended before this, but we find it still continues; and we must believe that He permits it for some wise purpose of his own, mysterious and unknown to us; and though with our limited understandings we may not be able to comprehend it, yet we cannot but believe, that he who made the world still governs it (Lincoln, 1862, Oct. 26).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In this letter, Lincoln acknowledged that he took comfort in the Quakers\u2019 prayers for him\u2014a remarkable contrast to the exhausted tone that had been evident in his communication with the Chicago Christians.\u00a0 Notable in this letter also was his description of the Civil War as a \u201cfiery trial\u201d, wording that came from the Bible<span class=\"qlink_container\">[5]<\/span>.\u00a0 Lincoln would use this phrase again later in his annual address to Congress in December 1862, when he stated that, \u201cThe fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation\u201d (Lincoln, 1862, Dec. 1).<\/p>\n<p>Lincoln also discussed in his first letter to Gurney his understanding of God\u2019s will\u2014an understanding he acknowledged as limited\u2014and he tried to articulate where he fit in as part of God\u2019s master plan.\u00a0 In a typically understated fashion, he described his role as \u201cthe very responsible position in which I happen to be placed.\u201d\u00a0 Evocative of the \u201cMeditation on the Divine Will\u201d, believed to have been written almost two months earlier, Lincoln was clearly trying to figure out not only <b>why<\/b> the war happened, but <b>why it persisted<\/b> 18 months after Fort Sumter.\u00a0 He stated that, \u201cwe find it still continues; and we must believe that He permits it for some wise purpose of his own\u201d but allowed that this purpose was \u201cmysterious and unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Finally, in this letter, Lincoln discussed working earnestly with a limited vision to see God\u2019s will, stating that he was \u201c\u2026endeavoring to do my best in the light which he affords me.\u201d\u00a0 His use of an \u201cobstructed vision\u201d metaphor to describe mankind\u2019s limited comprehension of God\u2019s will was echoed in his subsequent letter to Gurney in September 1864.\u00a0 Here he said to Gurney that, \u201c\u2026 we must work earnestly in the best light He gives us, trusting that so working still conduces to the great ends He ordains.\u201d As an example of his spectacular oratorical skills, Lincoln\u2019s Second Inaugural Address (1865) marked the culmination of this theme when he spoke of acting \u201cwith firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At first blush, Lincoln\u2019s October 1862 letter to Gurney might be remembered merely as a well written follow up correspondence to a White House visitor.\u00a0 Or maybe this correspondence is remembered only as a footnote, since it marked his first use of the phrase \u201cfiery trial<span class=\"qlink_container\">[6]<\/span>\u201d\u00a0 But a deeper look reveals that there was much more to this Presidential letter than that. Clearly, Lincoln used the occasion of thanking Gurney for her visit as an occasion to explore his emerging philosophy about divinity, fate, and finding a higher purpose amidst an ongoing tragedy (Wilson, 2006).\u00a0\u00a0 Moreover, what makes this letter even more historic is that it marked the beginning of a connection between Lincoln and Gurney that would last another two years, up until the fall of 1864.\u00a0 Given Lincoln\u2019s tendency to be private and enigmatic (Foner, 2010)\u2014particularly with respect to matters of faith (Carwardine, 2006)\u2014Lincoln did not seem to hide from Gurney his vulnerability (Wilson, 2006) in questioning God\u2019s purpose in the Civil War and exploring his unique role in God\u2019s plan as President.<\/p>\n<p>While it is beyond the scope of this close reading to analyze in great detail the three additional letters that the pair exchanged, each are significant in their own right as part of an exploration of Lincoln\u2019s theology. Therefore, to illustrate the genuine warmth and candor which existed in that first letter to Gurney, it is important to examine briefly his second (and last letter) to Gurney from September of 1864.\u00a0 Lincoln began this letter, \u201cMY ESTEEMED FRIEND, &#8211; I have not forgotten, probably never shall forget, the very impressive occasion when yourself and friends visited me on a Sabbath forenoon two years ago. Nor has your kind letter, written nearly a year later, ever been forgotten.\u201d\u00a0 His next line revealed that, while Lincoln\u2019s faith appeared to grow during his Presidency, he still kept a safe distance from organized religion.\u00a0 He stated to Gurney, \u201cIn all it has been your purpose to strengthen my reliance on God.\u201d\u00a0 Characteristically enigmatic, Lincoln did not say whether or not Gurney had been successful in this pursuit<span class=\"qlink_container\">[7]<\/span>. Nonetheless, Lincoln expressed to Gurney that he was truly grateful for the prayers he had received from her during the Civil War.\u00a0 He stated that he was \u201cmuch indebted to the good Christian people of the country for their constant prayers and consolations, and to no one of them more than to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Starting with his first letter, Lincoln\u2019s correspondence with Gurney seemed to mark the transition from his private expression of searching for God\u2019s will (as expressed in the \u201cMeditation on the Divine Will\u201d) to a more public stance before a small audience (Wilson, 2006), wherein he explored themes, ideas, and language that would ultimately become legendary in his Second Inaugural Address (1865).\u00a0 At one point in December 1862, in the depths of his despair, Lincoln questioned aloud to Pennsylvania governor Andrew Curtin, \u201cWhat has God put me in this place for?\u201d (as quoted in Guelzo, 1997).\u00a0 Although Lincoln, as Commander-in-Chief, would continue to \u201cstudy the plain physical facts of the case, ascertain what is possible and learn what appears to be wise and right,\u201d his communication with Eliza P. Gurney gave him some solace as he fervently pursued the answer to his question.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><b>ENDNOTES<\/b><br \/>\n<span class=\"qlink_container\">[1]<\/span> In 1862, Lincoln said this to Noyes Miner, a Chicago minister and friend.\u00a0 This quote was taken from <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Powe<\/span>r by Richard Carwardine (2006).<br \/>\n<span class=\"qlink_container\">[2]<\/span> Lincoln described his quest as a \u201cprocess of crystallization\u201d which dated back to about 1860, the year he was elected President (Lincoln, as quoted in Shenk, 2005).<br \/>\n<span class=\"qlink_container\">[3]<\/span>There is some dispute about this date among historians and among those who knew Lincoln.\u00a0 Popularly accepted to have been written on September 2, 1862, this is an estimated date from the <i>Collected Works<\/i> who based the date on Lincoln\u2019s anxious state of mind before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.\u00a0 By contrast, Lincoln\u2019s secretary, John Hay, who found the document after Lincoln\u2019s death, estimated that the manuscript was written around September 30, 1862.\u00a0 <i>The Lincoln Log<\/i> puts the date at the end of October 1862 to coincide with Lincoln\u2019s meeting with Eliza P. Gurney (the focus of this close reading).\u00a0 Finally, Douglas Wilson, author of Lincoln\u2019s sword, estimates that \u201cMeditation on the Divine Will\u201d was written closer to 1864.\u00a0 This close reading proceeds from the assumption that the document was written in early September 1862\u2014before the Emancipation Proclamation.<br \/>\n<span class=\"qlink_container\">[4]<\/span>About meeting with the general public, Lincoln said, \u201cI feel\u2014though the tax on my time is heavy\u2014that no hours of my day are better employed than those which bring me again within the direct contact and atmosphere of the average of our whole people\u201d (Lincoln as quoted in Carwardine, 2006).<br \/>\n<span class=\"qlink_container\">[5]<\/span> The phrase \u201cfiery trial\u201d comes from the New Testament, 1 Peter 4:12.\u00a0 According to the King James Version of the Bible, the sentence that uses this quote is: \u201cBeloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.\u201d (Biblehub)<br \/>\n<span class=\"qlink_container\">[6]<\/span>Eric Foner\u2019s book, The Fiery Trial (2010), used as a source for this close reading, only attributes the phrase to Lincoln\u2019s December 1862 address to Congress.\u00a0 No mention whatsoever is made of his letter to Gurney.<br \/>\n<span class=\"qlink_container\">[7]<\/span> The extent to which Lincoln experienced a religious conversion during his Presidency relies on contradictory evidence among those\u00a0who knew him and therefore, remains a contentious debate among historians (Carwardine, 2006).<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">BIBLIOGRAPHY<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b>Primary Sources<\/b>Carpenter, F. B.\u00a0 (1866). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Six months at the White House with Abraham Lincoln: The story of a picture<\/span>. New York: Hurd and Houghton.Chase, S. P.\u00a0 (1903). Diary and correspondence of Salmon P. Chase.\u00a0 In Chase, S. P., <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1902<\/span>(pp. 88-89).\u00a0 Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.Gurley, P. D. (1862).\u00a0 Funeral sermon by Dr. Gurley on February 24, 1862.\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Abraham Lincoln online<\/span> [On-line].\u00a0 Available at: <span class=\"qlink_container\"><a class=\"external_link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.abrahamlincolnonline.org\/lincoln\/education\/williedeath.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Death and Funeral of Willie Lincoln<\/a><\/span>Gurney, E. P.\u00a0 In Richard F. Mott (Ed.), <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Memoir and correspondence of Eliza P. Gurney (pp. 309-312) [on-line]<\/span>.\u00a0 Available at: <span class=\"qlink_container\"><a class=\"external_link\" href=\"http:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/memoircorrespond00gurn#page\/318\/mode\/2up\/search\/lincoln\" target=\"_blank\">Page on Archive<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Herndon, W. (1888).<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Herndon\u2019s Lincoln<\/span>.\u00a0 Chicago, IL: Acheron Press.<br \/>\nLincoln, A. (circa 1862, Sept. 2).\u00a0 Meditation on the divine will.\u00a0 In M. P.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson, M. P. (Ed.), <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Abraham Lincoln, slavery, and the Civil War: Selected writings and speeches<\/span>(2001).\u00a0 New York, NY: Bedford\/St. Martin\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Lincoln, A. (1862, Sept. 13).\u00a0 Reply to Emancipation Memorial presented by Chicago Christians of all denominations<span class=\"qlink_container\"><a class=\"external_link\" href=\"http:\/\/...\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/&#8230;<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0 In R. P. Basler (Ed.) and M. D. Pratt, M. D. and L. A. Dunlap (Assistant Eds.), <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The collected works of Abraham<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Lincoln.<\/span> (1953, Volume 5).<i>\u00a0 <\/i>New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press.<i>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Lincoln, A.\u00a0 (1862, Oct. 26).\u00a0 Reply to Eliza P. Gurney.\u00a0 In R. P. Basler (Ed.) and M. D. Pratt, M. D. and L. A. Dunlap (Assistant Eds.), <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The collected works of Abraham Lincoln.<\/span> (1953, Volume 5).<i>\u00a0 <\/i>New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press.<i>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Lincoln, A.\u00a0 (1862, Dec. 1).\u00a0 Annual message to Congress.\u00a0 In R. P. Basler (Ed.) and M. D. Pratt, M. D. and L. A. Dunlap (Assistant Eds.), <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The collected works of Abraham Lincoln.<\/span> (1953, Volume 5).<i>\u00a0 <\/i>New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press.<i>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Lincoln, A. (1864, Sep. 4).\u00a0 To Eliza P. Gurney.\u00a0 In R. P. Basler (Ed.) and M. D. Pratt, M. D. and L. A. Dunlap (Assistant Eds.), <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The collected works of Abraham Lincoln.<\/span> (1953, Volume 7).<i>\u00a0 <\/i>New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press.<i>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Lincoln, A. (1865).\u00a0 Second inaugural address.\u00a0 In Johnson, M. P. (Ed.),<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Abraham Lincoln, slavery, and the Civil War: Selected writings and speeches<\/span>(2001).\u00a0\u00a0 New York: Bedford\/St. Martin\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p><b>Secondary Sources<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Bible hub.\u00a0 (2004-13). 1 Peter 4:12.\u00a0 Biblos. Available at: <span class=\"qlink_container\"><a class=\"external_link\" href=\"http:\/\/biblehub.com\/1_peter\/4-12.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">1 Peter 4:12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Carwardine, R.\u00a0 (2006). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Lincoln: A life of purpose and power<\/span>.\u00a0 New York: Alfred A. Knopf.<\/p>\n<p>Dickinson College.\u00a0 (2007-2010). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">House Divided: The Civil War research engine at Dickinson College, anniversary edition<\/span>.\u00a0 Available at: <span class=\"qlink_container\"><a class=\"external_link\" href=\"http:\/\/hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Daily Report | House Divided<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Foner, E. (2010). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The fiery trial: Abraham Lincoln and American slavery<\/span>. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &amp; Company, Inc.<\/p>\n<p>Guelzo, A. C. (1997, Winter). Abraham Lincoln and the doctrine of necessity.<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association<\/span><i> <\/i>[On-line]<i>,<\/i> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">18<\/span> (1).<i> <\/i>Available at:<span class=\"qlink_container\"><a class=\"external_link\" href=\"http:\/\/quod.lib.umich.edu\/j\/jala?page=home\" target=\"_blank\">Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Guelzo, A. C. (2005, February).\u00a0 Lincoln&#8217;s sign.\u00a0 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Illinois Issues Online<\/span>. Available at: <span class=\"qlink_container\"><a class=\"external_link\" href=\"http:\/\/illinoisissues.uis.edu\/features\/2005feb\/purpose.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Lincoln&#8217;s sign- Essay by Allen Guelzo<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Mansfield, S. (2012).\u00a0 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Lincoln\u2019s battle with God: A President\u2019s struggle with faith and what it meant for America<\/span>.\u00a0 Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.<br \/>\nPBS. (n. d.) People and ideas: Abraham Lincoln.\u00a0 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">God in America<\/span>.\u00a0 Available at:<span class=\"qlink_container\"><a class=\"external_link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/godinamerica\/people\/abraham-lincoln.html\" target=\"_blank\">God In America &#8211; People &#8211; Abraham Lincoln<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Abraham Lincoln Association. (2006). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The collected works of Abraham Lincoln<\/span>. Available at:\u00a0 <span class=\"qlink_container\"><a class=\"external_link\" href=\"http:\/\/quod.lib.umich.edu\/l\/lincoln\/\" target=\"_blank\">Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Lincoln Log.\u00a0\u00a0 (n. d.) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A daily chronology of the life of Abraham Lincoln<\/span>. Available at: <span class=\"qlink_container\"><a class=\"external_link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thelincolnlog.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Lincoln Log<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Wilson, D. L.\u00a0 (2006). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Lincoln\u2019s sword: The Presidency and the power of words<\/span>.\u00a0 New York: Vintage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Mary Beth Donnelly (Understanding Lincoln, Summer 2013) \u201cIf I were not sustained by the prayers of God\u2019s people I could not endure this constant pressure.\u00a0 I should give up hoping for success.\u201d\u00a0 -Abraham Lincoln (1862)\u00a0[1] The Abraham Lincoln of 1862 was a different man than the one who ran for President less than two [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"parent":440,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-471","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}