five years ago, the lincoln

forum established an annual book prize recently named in honor of our distinguished chairman with cash award of $1,000 to honor outstanding scholarship on the life and career of our nation's 16th president. published the year preceding the of this award. previous winners of the book prize include sidney blumenthal, james oakes, ted widmer and. roger lowenstein. on behalf of my colleagues on the book prize jury, michele crowe, kristen mcwherter and daniel weinberg, it my honor and pleasure to announce the 2023 howard holter or lincoln book prize winner edward acorn for his the lincoln miracle inside the republican convention, the changed history.

not yet. acorn presents a brilliantly written, riveting account of the 1860 republican convention that was held in chicago during summer of that year. he recounts in comprehensive how abraham lincoln the darkest, dark, stunned the political pundits of the time by defeating william seward of new york. considered by most observers as overwhelming favorite for the republican nomination for president. acorns page. turner. i must admit, i could not put this book down even i knew how it would end places the in the cigar smoke filled hotel rooms of party movers and shakers and on the raucous convention floor, introducing us to lincoln's rivals, and especially his

convention managers who worked the key state delegations and made the essential deals to achieve lincoln's nomination. the 1860 republican convention, one of the most important, if not the most important in our nation's history. and it acorn has given us the the convention deserves before i call it to the stage i want to tell you a little about our book prize winner ed, a resident of rehoboth, massachusetts, is a pulitzer prize for commentary and winner of the yankee quill award and the author of the highly praised every drop of the momentous second inaugural ocean of, abraham lincoln. also available, i believe, in the bookstore along with the lincoln miracle. he also has written truly widely acclaimed books about 19th century baseball. and is something i didn't know until we chatted.

american baseball and american culture titled entitled 59 and 84. and the of beer and whiskey. i to read that one so please eddie cohen. wow. thank you so much. how much of an honor is it to receive an award with the name of harold sir on it? i've turned to his books for insight into inspiration for decades now. and i never honestly imagined a moment like this would come. so thank you to the forum. and to him. i also want to thank my wife, valerie, who is here today. she's the one to whom the book is dedicated. lincoln like to read aloud. finding that sense inside combined to make his writing clearer and better. and he pretty much drove his law partner, billy herndon, crazy

with that. but valerie seemed, to take it. well, when i read each chapter of, this book to her and i, i was on the right track when, she said, i can't wait to hear what happens next. so. so to and all the lincoln aficionados and scholars here who have been so welcoming and kind to me thank you from the bottom my heart. now, i'll talk a little bit about this book. it was tom. tom just mentioned. i spent some time in journalism. i actually 41 years in journalism writing every day pretty much about politics. and that's an interesting word, politic that's from two words, polly meaning many and ticks meaning bloodsucking parasites. so but.

so that was a good experience for history. little more about my background. i started off with 19th century history with another side of american culture, which is the great game of baseball. 59 and 84 was about the grittiest competitors. hall of famer hoss radbrne, who won more games in a single season than any pitcher in history. and that was something managers players regarded as the greatest feat in baseball history well into the 20th century. he was quite a character, a relative contended radbourne drank a quart of whiskey a day during the height of his career, and he was so ornery. he dressed in the other club's locker because he couldn't stand his teammates when. and he was apparently the first man ever photographed giving the middle finger. and you might notice what he's

doing with his left hand there on the cover of the book. my second book was the summer of beer and whiskey about this crazy the early major league, the american association and how immigrants actually saved the game when it was going under. and that book is still selling well. i think the title didn't hurt, but of course, anyone who wants to write about the most remarkable figure of the 19th century has to drawn to abraham lincoln. it's been my extraordinary privilege in recent to have spent day and night in the company of lincoln, immersed his world and his observations. i was trained as an old fashioned journalist to search earnestly the other side, and i have seriously spent a great deal of time investigating the evidence. he was a tyrant and a white supremacist. but i found that no matter

relentlessly, i focused on flaws and errors. this man's humanity, integrity, pragmatism and courage shine through. there's a good reason all of us are here to to honor man. lincoln told a story about meeting a woman on horseback in the woods. he waited for her to pass, but instead she scrutinized them carefully before saying, well, for land's sake, you were the holiest man i ever saw. yes, madam, but i can't help it, he replied. no, i suppose not. but might have stayed at home. well, i can relate to that as someone who's was in daily journalism rather academia. i've often felt something of an interloper in the of lincoln scholarship. i might have stayed at home to at last count. there have been something,

19,000 books about abraham lincoln published, and that's more than other human being, than jesus christ. and across street from ford's theater in washington, we must have seen it. many people must here must have seen it across the street from. ford's theater in washington is a tower of just some of those books glued together. and they sort of to the heavens. and i admit that was daunting to me. what made me with my 2020 book every drop of blood was my feeling that there was a story about lincoln that had never been told in this way. the story is basically 24 hours in abraham lincoln's life from the evening of march. 1865, through his second inauguration to the of march 4th, 1865. and this is the lens through which i think we can see in remarkably sharp detail the

monstrous unleashed by the civil war. and to grasp the ultimate meaning of that war as lincoln. that meaning in, i believe, is his greatest and most profound speech. the second inaugural. i was struck by the very famous people who kept popping in and out of the story on that day interacting with and with each other, interwove woven like a rich tapestry. the great black leader, frederick douglass, who watched lincoln deliver his speech and later discussed it him at a white house reception. the popular actor john wilkes booth, who evidently stalked lincoln at the inauguration. the great american poet walt whitman, who was covering the inauguration for the new york times, the angel of the battlefield, clara barton, who spent that week trying to meet lincoln and finally greeted him at the reception. and, of course, there was the vice president elect, andrew johnson, who showed up at the

inauguration embarrassingly drunk. and the perception of these very different people provide a powerful and moving view of what that war was about and what lincoln was up against on that rainy, muddy day in washington. and i tried to weave those all into the story. at the center of it all. of course is abrahamincoln, who can be seen standing in the middle. this crowd reading his speech just about above the table, a glass of water on it. he did something that day, as i mentioned, that no other no other politician would. on the cusp of victory after, four years of a brutal device of an widely despised war. he declined to make a speech about the union's triumph. instead argued that both sides had been wrong and that the misery that both had shared might have been the price

required for ending terrible moral wrong of slavery. lincoln argued that it time for americans to stop thinking about self-righteousness the only way forward. he argued, was to recognize that all had been wrong, to sacrifice, face hatred and vengeance and treat other with mercy, with toward none, with charity, for all. i think that a very narrow focus on a historical event can give us an understanding that usual omniscient view, historical view cannot. it brings us very close to. the ground instead of 30,000 feet up and studied in the course of one day or a short period. historical figures, almost magic, leigh, become flesh and blood. real human beings subject to emotions and other vicissitudes, including the politics of moment. it becomes clearer they were

groping in the dark and they had no idea how things would turn out. just like us. with this forced perspective, we also get a stronger sense of everything. looked, sounded and, smelled. i this approach which some call micro history. in my new book, the lincoln miracle. in that book we go back five years before the inauguration and to the week in chicago in may 1860. at that time, many northerners were fed with the political bullying corruption and censorship of the democrats. since democrat split between north and south and were unable to choose a candidate at their convention in charleston just days earlier, republicans who gathered in chicago knew they had a very real chance to nominate the next president of the united states and the political struggles that took place that week. i do believe, constituted a

miracle for lincoln and for the united states. lincoln went in as the dark ist of dark horses. after all he had, he had lost two elections for the u.s. senate and had not held public office for more than a decade. in illinois, said of him, lincoln is undoubtedly the most unfortunate politician that has ever attempted to in illinois, in everything he undertakes. politically, he seems doomed to. failure. he has been prostrated in his political schemes to crushed the life of any ordinary man. lincoln had almost no formal education in this country. mannerisms struck many people as quaint at best. he he told dirty jokes. his executive experience was pretty much limited to running a two man law office. lincoln himself had told people

did not think himself fit for the presidency, and two years earlier he had declared, with a roaring laughter. just think of such a sucker as me as president in early 1860, when he visited new york city. he struck many people as crude. he had troubled deciphering a menu with with many items in french until a waiter mentioned beans. lincoln's face brightened and he said, hold on there. bring beans. i know beans. in fact, lincoln's chances seem so remote that the of the republican national committee approved chicago as the convention site, in part because they thought it was neutral ground. no serious candidate from illinois. the ndates candidates in thoseays did not show up at the convention. and lincoln was such a long that he contemplated attending.

he told a friend. he felt like he was too much of a candidate to go with. not quite enough to stay at home. in the end, he wisely stayed back in springfield, the begins on saturday, may 1860. on morning david davis, 45, left his in bloomington, illinois and took the 140 mile train trip up to chicago. go. there he discovered that no one was in charge and the lincoln was so disorganized that nobody had even booked a room to serve as its headquarters. davis more than 250 pounds judge would come to lincoln intimately while the eighth judicial circuit with immediately took over as manager without any official appointment. he bribed a family to leave its rooms, got to lincoln headquarters, sign up on the

door and barely slept. the next six days. in this lithograph of the candidate's that same day, harper's weekly played lincoln's on the bottom with t also rans. it's written description of lincoln was dead last among all the candidates at best. people were talking about lincoln as a possible vice presidential. cummins. cummins coming as he did from the crucial swing state front and center with the biggest picture and first and longest write up was the superstar of the republican party. the former governor, new york and current u.s. senator william seward. seward was regarded as the founder and father of the republic and party, a bold opponent, slavery and defender of the rights of. and he was managed a brilliant political strategist named

thurlow wheat, who who could make or break senators and presidents. he had more money behind him than any candidate. seward had traveled to europe. several months before the convention where he kept his preparation for the presidency by meeting with world leaders, including queen victoria pope pius the ninth and france's emperor the third. when returned, he was mobbed by americans who wanted him to be the next president. he was far and away the most candidate with the delegates gathering in chicago. but his strength was the sept of this man as the radical abolitionist john brown. previous october, he had raided a federal armory and planned to provide slaves guns for a violent insurrection against whites. while brown was apprehended in hang the infuriated the south terrified many voters in the

north. many thought all the slavery talk was putting impossible pressures on the political system and to break the nation and to ignite a bloody civil war. and nobody was more famous for anti-slavery rhetoric than william seward. the lincoln had made many of the same points against slavery. he was far less known as a swing voters and thus not as threatening. on top of that, seward had supported immigrants and was close to catholic leaders, something that turned off a sizable portion of the republicans base who feared a mass immigration was helping democrats steal and destroying america from within. former members of the american party called the know nothing party might well bolt from the

republican. if they nominated seward lincoln's position on immigrants, meanwhile, was solid, well known that some people assumed was a no nothing. in truth, lincoln despised the movement and liked to tell a story about a man who helped him with his gardening. an irish immigrant named patrick lincoln asked pat why he not been born in america. fate, mr. lincoln. he said, i wanted to be, but my mother wouldn't let me. one of the most striking things that quickly became clear in my research was that these men gathered in chicago were not choosing a candidate on the basis of who might make the best president in a national crisis. their biggest concern by far was who would get the most republicans elected, which meant power, jobs and money. the pro lincoln chicago press

and tribune appealed to this naked self-interest in an editorial aimed at arriving delegates, quote, constables are worth more than presidents in the long run as a means of holding political power. the legisla nature is of vastly more consequence to particular states than their delegation is in congress. we look to mr. lincoln to toe constables, general assembly members into power. the gods help those who help themselves and. lincoln's men repeated. lee made that case that week. there was something else going on for, lincoln, that wasn't immediately apparent in the national press, though he was obscure and had been defeated repeatedly in the political realm. he was well-known and well-liked in illinois during his years working the eighth district court circuit in central illinois. he had been going to small towns and making friends with his

funniest and his fairness, his kindness and his intelligence. as a result, david davis could oversee a team of diehard hard supporters ready to work themselves close to exhaustion in for him in chicago. and they could afford to do that because convention was taking place in. state and that kind of personal loyalty made all the difference. now, early in convention, the chief alternative to seward seemed to be this man. a missouri judge named edward bates, a conservative who did not like all this agitation about slavery. his argued he would calm the south and negate all threats of secession. and he had the backing of some powerful, including the most influential newspaper editor in the country horace greeley. unfortunately for bates, german immigrants were dead set against

him because he had with the no nothing party. prominent germans went so far as to hold their own national in chicago. that same just down the road from the republican one which sent a terrifying to the delegates. german made up only a small percentage of the republican vote, but they were enough to sway elections in many northern. the delegates did dare go with bates, and i call this book the lincoln miracle because so many things beyond lincoln's control had to slot into place perfectly to advance him a little bit about chicago in 1860. it a powerful symbol of the american of daring and innovati just 25 years rlier, it had been a small cluster of primitive cabins around fort dearborn on the swampy banks of the chicago river. but its central location turned

it overnight into a roaring transportation hub. and by 1860, its population had soared to 112,000, making it nation's ninth largest city. its skyline was dominated by giant grain elevators, and it was already connected by more rail lines than any city on the globe. unfortunate lately, that explosive growth left it overrun by and plagued by disease. in 1860, the was in the midst of lifting buildings with giant corkscrew so that the street level be raised and sewer pipes buried. it. streets were horribly muddy when it rained and horribly dusty. when it did, the chicago river had the color and consistency of pea soup and stank so badly that women had to cover their noses

handkerchiefs when shopping downtown. this is the wigwam built of wood thrown up inust six weeks to host the convention and fitting up to 11,000 people. it was the largest auditorium in america america. this is the inside of the wigwam viewed from the ladies gallery upstairs. this is looking down on that giant stage on the left there where the delegates were sitting in two groups with the press in the middle of the task of assigning seating on stage was given to chicago lawyer norman, a republican national committee member who happened to be a close friend of lincoln and to tilt the playing field. he very cleverly put the solid seward votes on one side, but the doubtful ones on the other side, and that made it easier for the lincoln forces to negotiate the swing delegations

between and almost impossible for the seward men to reach them. there were no was no electric amplification in back then. but the way structure was designed with that curved ceiling speakers, voices could be heard all over the hall. and ladies got first dibs on the seats and parts. this gallery, which made them valuable assets for those trying to get inside quickly. men began picking up any woman on the street, including women, schoolgirls and and paying them to come inside with them. a man tried to bribe woman to come with them, but she refused, saying she had already entered the wigwam six times. six times before sneaking back. and she was afraid be arrested

if she tried it again. the decorations will put up by the ladies of chicago and you can imagine with gas lights flaring amid evergreens unfinished wood and cloth bunting, the wigwam have been as historian bruce catton noted, one of the most dangerous traps ever built in america. seward's manager was thurlow. we'd there on left and he understood crowds psychology and the herd instead. and he brought thousands of supporters with them by train to chicago. and this was the advantage of seward's money. they led huge parades in the streets and filled up the wigwam, and they created a strong impression of the inevitability of seward's nomination. lincoln's team was paltry by comparison and but it was dedicated and, led by a very shrewd man, judge discovered

early on that many professional politicians were afraid of seward and casting around for an alternative on bloomington lawyer leonard sweat arrived monday thinking lincoln was nothing more than a favorite son candidate and that he would fade after illinois voted. but davis made the startling statement to him. if you will, put yourself at my disposal day and night, i believe lincoln can be nominated. did lawyer nathan knapp sent lincoln a letter that things are working? keep a good nerve, be not surprised at any result. but i tell you that your chances are not the worst. charles ray in chief of the chicago press and told lincoln, as things stand today, i would rather have your chances than those of any other man but don't get excited on tuesday night,

david davis and jesse dubois fired off a telegram to lincoln informing their friend that they were moving heaven and earth for him. they added, hopefully nothing will beat us but old fogy politicians. the heart of the delegates are with us. unfortunate early when the convention started on wednesday, lincoln's men had been unable to persuade enough that he was the best alternative to seward. on thursday evening, the delegates had still not settled on a seward alternative. the new yorker had won a series of test votes that day and was poised to win the nomination when miracle occurred. the tally sheets for voting had yet arrived at the podium, and the delegates were so hungry. that point that they decided to adjourn and vote the next day than take wait a few for the tally sheets for want of tally

sheets was not nominated that evening. that gave the lincoln more time to defeat them. you know on such slender threads hang the fate of nations. as the lincoln men worked hard that night, judge davis counter said seward psychological advantages by finding champions shouters and assigning them spaces in the hall for maximum of fact. on friday morning and somebody on the team managed to print counterfeit admission tickets to the wigwam after the seward forces staged the final grand parade with marching bands friday morning. very impressive. many arrived at the wigwam to find their occupied even though they had legitimate tickets the shouting of the lincoln supporters create an illusion of great strength. a davis that also worked overnight selling cabinet

positions and other offices for support. lincoln to send a message. springfield warning his supporters to make no deals in his name. davis told his team lincoln ain't here. he know what we have to meet. so we will go ahead as if we hadn't heard from him and he must ratify it overnight, davis made deals that he did not know would stick until the actual voting. the next day. in fact, he confessed later that he promised some of the same officers to multiple delegations. you must have prevaricated somewhat. a friend responded to, a story prevaricated. davis replied, prevaricate, added, we lied like hell. lincoln was way seward on the

first ballot, but with his men inside and the pennsylvania delegation flipping toincoln as promised, lincoln captured the nomination, the third ballot. his victory astounded many people. the hall, never mind the nation, the political profession of the wigwam accepted lincoln as the candidate who was as bitterly opposed to slavery he is seward thus appealing to party's base, but much less famous and thus not as scary. swing voters. and unlike bates, he was not offensive to immigrant voters. so all these things, john, the know nothings, the germans, the location, the convention, the momentary lack tally sheets, all these slotted into place perfectly for lincoln. the party insiders also knew that they could sell lincoln's classic to riches story of lifting from a poorhild hood

in a log cabin and already he was known as the rail splitter for having split thousands of rails after he came to illinois. he did seem an unusually man and a man of the people. soon after getting the news from chicago by telegraph, lincoln walked home alone. there's a little woman down at our house who would like to hear this. he. the seward supporters, were livid to see the nominee stolen away from them. and they blamed this man. new york tribune editor horace greeley. greeley's probably most famous for saying go west young, and he spent the week warning delegates that seward was too control to win the men thought it was all an act of vengeance since wheat and seward had refused to make greeley lieutenant governor of new york, giving the job instead to new york. ed henry, raymond greeley had a

lot of influence with the republicans and his timely was another reason the lincoln miracle happened after the vote. greeley had the nerve to show at the new york headquarters where delegates cast him to face. seward's men, one reporter wrote, accused greeley of stabbing seward and say he shall be for it in less than a year. he was paid for it. the seward team got its revenge on greeley by blocking him from the u.s. senate, though, though, seward put on a good face, he was also devastated. thinking himself far superior to the ill educated and inexperienced rail splitter before the november election, lincoln invited repeatedly to visit him in springfield and seward only condescended to stop his train at the station. there while heading to a speech in chicago. on october 2nd.

lincoln had to wait on the platform for the great man, and then fight way through the crowd to get seward in his railroad car. after lincoln approached, seward delivered a calculated. as one reporter noted seward rose from his seat, shook hands with them, introduced him to the ladies and gentlemen in his company, and then, without entering into a converse session of even formal courtesy with him, resumed his seat. like most presidential candidates at the time lincoln sat out the election remaining at his house in springfield, refusing to comment on the crisis engulfing america. here he's up front to the right of the door. a massive campaign parade stopped august 8th. he did communicate with an 11 year old girl named grace who advised him to grow whiskers. your face is so thin she.

wrote of the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands, vote for you and then you would be president. lincoln listened and grew as famous beard. whether the whiskers helped or not. he did win the presidency handily in the electoral college, though he captured only 39% of the popular vote, the smallest percentage of any victor in our nation's history. to this day, his name not even on the ballot in the deep, though he proved very popular in the north. the delegates who nominated him succeeded in getting their jobs, power and patronage. for the most part. but they had no real idea lincoln's greatness of his political humanity, pragmatism flair for the english language and powers of endurance that would be crucial to the nation's survival in the end of, slavery during the civil war. a reporter on the scene at the

wigwam later wrote they had nominated the plain every day storytelling mirth. lincoln of the hustings, the husk only. the lincoln of history. it took four fearful years to give the event its true relations and right proportions and was not until the veil was drawn by an assassin's hand that the real lincoln was revealed. he concluded that the delegate had been unconscious instruments of a higher power. so much had to come together for lincoln that. i think the word miracle is not an exaggeration. well, that's whirlwind tour through the book and i'm so grateful to all of you coming out and listening to this. thank you very much.

thank you so much. thank you. and i'd be delighted to answer questions, which is usually the most interesting part of these presentations. let's start over here. thank you. jeffrey bagwell from columbia, maryland. first timer, wooden, cassius. ever been a more appealing vice presidential candidate than hannibal hamlin? yes. the question is wouldn't cassius clay have been more a more appealing candidate? he might well have been, but what happened with hannibal hamlin was the delegates were in a panic that. the seward supporters were going to bolt from the party at, not bolt, but not get as much as they should.

and they relied, on new york's money and power to get republicans elected. so they were very desperate to to nominate for vice president who was appealing to the seward forces. and they went to new yorkers. and the new yorkers absolutely refused. they they they wouldn't condone this despite global convention and what they had done the seward. so they they opted for this guy in maine hamlin a former democrat who was friendly with seward and supported seward. and this was absolute surprised. everyone they they went to hamlin was in washington that night playing cards some friends and there was a pounding on his door and he went to the door and they they said congratulate and mr. vice president said, what are you talking about? you've been nominated vice president. i don't want the job.

but he he finally decided do it. so that's and lincoln no say in hamlin it was the convention came up with over here. good morning bryan steenburgen grand rapids michigan in is book and in his recent book steve inskeep and a chapter on thurlow, he suggests that seward was so detached that was really a nominee. the contest was really between lincoln and, thurlow wheat and not seward. would you agree with that or do you differ with steve inskeep? well, to an extent, weed was there on the scene, david davis was there on the scene, and were the ones fighting it out. but i think seward was pretty well connected with what weed was doing. he had met with him, you know, prior to it. and they all thought they had their ducks in a row. i mean, even on friday morning, seward was telegrams auburn, new

york saying that don't sweat it this is in the bag don't worry about it all set and he was just the standard he was out on out in the garden outside of his mansion in auburn, new york, which still stands. and when gave him the results, the first ballot, he thought that was fine. and then they came in running to him. lincoln's been nominated on the third ballot and his face just went ashen because he he expected he was going to win. yes. thank jeff matthews. naples, florida. and i think it takes a man covered politics in rhode island to really bring out the nitty gritty here. i david davis is such a great character. and i know that lincoln appointed him, i believe, to the supreme court. but i'm just curious what kind of relation ship they had after that convention. yeah. davis davis was appointed to the

supreme court has is leonard who was i mentioned, was very involved in this had to pretty much browbeat lincoln to appoint davis the supreme court. he said you wouldn't be sitting in that chair if not for and lincoln said you're right but i can't appoint too many of my friends to these. but finally he did he did and he out to be a darn good supreme court justice. in fact, his most famous ruling was against lincoln believe, it or not, didn't come out until after he died. but it was involving whether you can try civilians in military courts and and davis said you can. so they had a kind of a strained relationship wouldn't win. listen though today this is advice. davis was sort of a conservative ish type. lincoln was more liberal than davis and he just wouldn't listen to during the presidency.

you'd listen to him, but he wouldn't follow what he suggested. and then davis, you know, of course, lincoln was assassinated. and davis became, the executor of the estate and and was really a second father to robert. robert was always deeply to davis for what he did. and davis became a very prominent national figure, and he even was a presidential candidate at point. but he didn't. didn't go anywhere. so thank you. yes. john chamberlain. no relation as a former chicago and your description of davis behavior reminded of the dictum vote early and vote often which may have been by -- daley in 1960.

thank you. yes. thank you for your book and your presentation. and i'm from studio city, california. and i wondered, mike, could go to the mike. i wonder if you could share with us your assessment of significance or the insignificance of mr. lincoln's speech in greenwich village, february 27th, 1860. i can't. he you know, in hindsight, often view that trip of lincoln's is propelling him to the presidency. and it it did in a way and made him look like he could be conceivably serious candidate but he still entered that convention. a total long shot and so you know i don't think that that visit was as influential as we

tend to to look at it from the vantage point of hindsight. you know this history is often this way we think, boy, this inevitably had to happen. we think lincoln had to be nominated in 1860 and boy but when you look at the details it's it's absolutely scary how many things had to absolutely fall into place if you want to. so so do you do you believe or disbelieve the comment mr. lincoln supposedly made that was the speech that made him president? yeah, i i don't know the context of that comment. i'd have i'd have to look at it but i mean robert lincoln said i made my father president big by failing my entrance exams. the harvard and that that prompted lincoln to go east and accept this invitation to the cooper union and so forth and so he could use the money to visit robert, sort of talk to him.

what was going on with his education. so yes. dr. john wall in washington. there's apparently some story since you're also an baseball guy when lincoln received his the word of his nomination that he was playing baseball with some local boys in springfield. and he said well, you have to wait till i get another hit. yeah. and apparently spalding, something made that story up. were you able to prove that that's not true? yeah, that breaks my heart. that lincoln wasn't playing baseball when got word information. it's he he was supposedly playing handball and played it during the convention sort of to to ward away some the stress. he loved playing handball which is interesting they apparently his long arms he really helped and he said this game makes my shoulders feel better. so yes ted leventhal from

philadelphia. first timer, i thought remember reading years back that even some of the new york delegation was concerned that was so high profile extremely abolitionist that they actually lincoln to come east and do the cooper union speech is that correct? well the yes republicans who are to seward and about exactly what you said did urge number of speakers to come and speak in the east. one of them was cassius clay and one of them was lincoln. and they they wanted to sort of spread the idea that you can somebody besides seward as the nominee. so that was very much in the case in the working. but the actual delegation that went to chicago was very strongly seward and boy, they had a great time.

they had a lot of money and they they had crates and crates of champagne to play the and it's it's very interesting how hard we'd work to get nominated and how really he was crafty in many ways. but just the moment had passed and the lincoln's men were even craftier. so it's a very interesting story. thank you much, everybody. good morning. i'm chris fernie, a member of the lincoln forum executive committee. and we will get right to the introduction of our two wonderful speakers this morning. edna greene