{"id":116368,"date":"2023-10-29T14:24:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T18:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=116368"},"modified":"2023-10-30T14:35:52","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T18:35:52","slug":"abraham-lincolns-early-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/abraham-lincolns-early-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Abraham Lincoln\u2019s Early Life: 1809-1829 (And There Was Light)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What was Abraham Lincoln&#8217;s relationship with his father like? How did other children regard him? What influences formed his political views?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential biographer Jon Meacham describes Abraham Lincoln&#8217;s early life in his book <em>And There Was Light<\/em>. He provides insights into Lincoln&#8217;s parents, education, and faith that help us understand America&#8217;s 16th president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more to learn about Abraham Lincoln&#8217;s early life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-abraham-lincoln-s-early-life-1809-1829\">Abraham Lincoln\u2019s Early Life: 1809-1829<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to a poor family in rural Kentucky. He was born in a small cabin on a farm called Sinking Spring. However, Meacham notes that Abraham Lincoln&#8217;s early life memories are of a different farm, Knob Creek, where his family lived until Lincoln was seven. In 1816, the family moved north to a settlement in Spencer County, Indiana, called Little Pigeon Creek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Today, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/abli\/learn\/historyculture\/sinking-spring.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sinking Spring<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/articles\/975192.htm#4\/34.42\/-98.57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Knob Creek<\/a> are both tourist attractions under the purview of the US National Park Service. The Little Pigeon Creek community in Indiana is now known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/libo\/learn\/historyculture\/little-pigeon-creek.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lincoln City<\/a>, in honor of President Lincoln.)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lincoln\u2019s family moved to Little Pigeon Creek because his father could buy land much more cheaply in that area. This also moved the Lincolns to an area where the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 had made slavery illegal. So Lincoln spent this part of his childhood in an <em>abolitionist <\/em>culture, a place where most people favored outlawing (<em>abolishing<\/em>) slavery.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: It\u2019s common to think of supporting slavery versus abolition as a purely moral or political issue, but understanding why so many people in the South supported slavery requires looking at the economic issues as well. The southern US was largely agrarian and <a href=\"https:\/\/a-z-animals.com\/blog\/iconic-u-s-plantations-with-unforgettable-pasts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">relied on huge plantations<\/a> to sustain local economies. Without the automated farming equipment we have today, plantation owners felt they needed enormous amounts of cheap labor to grow and harvest their crops, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/classroom-materials\/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline\/national-expansion-and-reform-1815-1880\/pre-civil-war-african-american-slavery\/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20primary%20reasons,climate%20of%20the%20Deep%20South.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">slavery was their solution<\/a>. This is not to say that <em>all <\/em>Southerners supported slavery\u2014nor that all Northerners opposed it\u2014but the trends do largely follow these economic differences.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll examine Lincoln\u2019s childhood through his relationships with his family members, his education (which was largely self-driven), and his religion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lincoln-s-family\">Lincoln\u2019s Family<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Meacham says that Lincoln\u2019s life at home wasn\u2019t happy. <strong>His mother, Nancy, was born out of wedlock, and local gossip portrayed Nancy as sexually immoral.<\/strong> Despite her reputation, Lincoln loved his mother and spoke well of her. Nancy died when Lincoln was only nine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Meacham relates most of the limited information that\u2019s available about Nancy, but one thing he doesn\u2019t mention is that she was largely responsible for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/icw\/files\/20160331_Lincoln_Nancy.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">educating young Abraham Lincoln<\/a>. In fact, according to the Indiana state government\u2019s website, Nancy was responsible for the insatiable curiosity and love of learning that drove Lincoln to expand his knowledge with every bit of reading material he could get.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lincoln\u2019s relationship with Thomas, his father, was much more contentious.<\/strong> Thomas Lincoln was frequently angry, abusive\u2014even by the standards of the time\u2014and demeaning toward his son. As a form of rebellion, Lincoln liked to be intentionally rude when Thomas was around to embarrass him; this frequently led to physical punishments, which Lincoln endured stoically. Furthermore, Thomas hired Lincoln out to help their neighbors with chores and farm work, then kept the money Lincoln earned for himself.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Some reports about Thomas Lincoln strongly conflict with what Meacham says here. For example, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/people\/thomas-lincoln.htm#:~:text=it%20has%20been%20speculated%20that%20the%20relationship%20between%20him%20and%20his%20son%2C%20Abraham%2C%20was%20distant%20at%20best.%20Available%20evidence%2C%20however%2C%20contradicts%20these%20views.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Park Service<\/a> (NPS) says that Thomas was fairly wealthy, contrary to Meacham\u2019s claim that the Lincolns were poor. The NPS also speculates that Lincoln\u2019s kindness and his famous <a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/honest-abe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">devotion to honesty<\/a> were, at least in part, reflections of Thomas\u2019s character\u2014a contrast to the abuse and exploitation that Meacham describes in this book.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lincoln also had an older sister named Sarah, who died giving birth in 1828 at the age of 21. His younger brother, named Thomas after his father, died in infancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Some historians believe that Abraham Lincoln <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2005\/10\/26\/4976127\/exploring-abraham-lincolns-melancholy#:~:text=Lincoln%27s%20early%20life%20certainly%20had%20its%20harsh%20elements.%20His%20only%20brother%20died%20in%20infancy%20in%20Kentucky.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suffered from depression<\/a>, brought on in large part by the trauma of losing so many family members at a young age. Sarah\u2019s death was especially devastating, as she\u2019d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2005\/10\/26\/4976127\/exploring-abraham-lincolns-melancholy#:~:text=The%20one%20constant%20in%20Abraham%27s%20life%20was%20his%20sister%2C%20Sarah.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">taken over much of the work of raising him<\/a> after their mother Nancy died.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lincoln-s-childhood-education\">Lincoln\u2019s Childhood Education<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Meacham says that Lincoln was an unusual child in many ways. His classmates described him as a quiet loner, though polite. <strong>Even as a child, Lincoln had a reputation as a politician and mediator. <\/strong>He was often called on to settle disputes between boys his own age, and they usually respected his decisions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lincoln was naturally curious and obsessed with books\u2014<strong>he read everything he could get his hands on, often shirking chores and work to do so.<\/strong> Those books made up most of Lincoln\u2019s childhood education, as he had less than a year of formal schooling.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mfw.us\/blog\/2013\/02\/18\/abraham-lincoln-as-a-candidate-for-the-autism-hall-of-fame\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Many people<\/a> believe that Lincoln <a href=\"https:\/\/www.disabled-world.com\/disability\/awareness\/famous\/asp.php#:~:text=Abraham%20Lincoln%2C1809%2D1865%2C%20US%20Politician\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">may have been on the autism spectrum<\/a>. Some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/conditions\/autism\/signs\/adults\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signs of autism<\/a> are consistent with what Meacham describes here: for example, a reputation for being unusual or different from his peers and having a <a href=\"https:\/\/sparkforautism.org\/discover_article\/special-interests-in-autism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">special interest<\/a>\u2014in this case, an interest in books. However, others argue that it\u2019s unlikely because Lincoln was also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/mom-am-i-disabled\/201701\/abraham-lincoln-tops-list-famous-jewish-swimmers#:~:text=Back%20to%20Abraham%20Lincoln.%20I%20told%20Sam%20that%20Lincoln%20did%20not%20have%20Asperger%27s%20Syndrome.%20He%20was%20renowned%20for%20his%20folksy%20humor%20and%20ability%20to%20entertain%20diverse%20audiences%20with%20stories%20tailored%20to%20his%20listeners%27%20interests.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">renowned for his social skills<\/a>, an area that people with autism tend to struggle with.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lincoln-s-religion\">Lincoln\u2019s Religion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Lincoln was raised as a Baptist, an offshoot of Protestantism. Meacham says there was a strong connection between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/abraham-lincolns-christianity\/\">Lincoln\u2019s faith<\/a> and his morality. Specifically,<strong> Lincoln believed that his conscience was God speaking to him; therefore, doing the right thing was synonymous with doing God\u2019s will. <\/strong>He also believed that God called upon all humans to be fair, merciful, and loving to one another. That conviction would guide many of Lincoln\u2019s actions, both in politics and in his private life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to shaping his morality, Lincoln\u2019s religious upbringing influenced his political views: <strong>Many Baptists opposed slavery, and abolition was a common topic in conversations and sermons<\/strong>. Furthermore, the Lincolns belonged to a religious organization called the Baptist Licking-Locust Association Friends of Humanity, which was dedicated to <em>emancipation<\/em>\u2014in other words, freeing all enslaved people in the US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What was Abraham Lincoln&#8217;s relationship with his father like? How did other children regard him? What influences formed his political views? Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential biographer Jon Meacham describes Abraham Lincoln&#8217;s early life in his book And There Was Light. He provides insights into Lincoln&#8217;s parents, education, and faith that help us understand America&#8217;s 16th president. Read more to learn about Abraham Lincoln&#8217;s early life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":116374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,33],"tags":[1309],"class_list":["post-116368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-people","tag-and-there-was-light","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Abraham Lincoln\u2019s Early Life: 1809-1829 (And There Was Light) - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jon Meacham shares insights into Abraham Lincoln&#039;s parents, education, and faith. 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