Abraham lincoln bicentennial commission. Thank you for joining us today. Unlike that of winston churchill, Abraham Lincolns humor tended towards selfdepreciation. During one of the Lincoln Douglass debates in illinois, a spectator shouted lincoln was being two faced. Two faced, shouted lincoln. If i had two faces, do you think i would wear this one . Lincolns humor was an essential component of his personality and political persona. Richard carwardine will explore with us whether his humor might also occasionally have been a handicap. Richard carwardine was educated at Corpus Christi and queens colleges oxford and at the university of california at berkeley. For three decades, he taught history at the university of sheffield before being appointed rhodes professor of American History and institutions at Oxford University and a fellow of st. Catherines college. He was elected president of Corpus ChristiCollege Oxford in 2010. And served in that post until 2016. He is the author of one of the finest modern biographies of the 16th president , lincoln, a life of purpose and power which was awarded the lincoln prize in 2007, and lincolns sense of hum humor, a doubleedged sword, on which todays lecture is based. Ladies and gentlemen, professor richard carwardine. Good morning, fellow lincolnians. Im going to begin with a well known story familiar to some ofv you, i have no doubt. The occasion was an evening ary. Banquet in wintry illinois. Was the month was february. The year, 1856. Edito the setting was a convention ofa republican newspaperm editors,o the decatur. B Abraham Lincoln was there, and he spoke. He apologized for being an interloper, as he put it. And cast himself as the subject of a story about a man, and i quote, with features the ladiess could not call h handsome. Riding through the woods, he met a lady on horseback. He waited for her to pass. But instead, she stopped and scrutinized him before saying, well, for lambs sake, youre i the homeliest man i ever saw. Yes, madam, but i cant help itp he replied. E no, i suppose not, said the ter] lady. But you might stay at home. Well, once the editors had stopped laughing, lincoln said p he felt with propriety, he might have stayed at home. Well, the story is i chose it because its particularly apt. I was scheduled to speak here last year at the symposium, but when it came to it, i stayed ati home. And now i may possibly be the ugliest man you have ever seen, though i certainly hope not. But that wasnt why i stayed away. I simply wasnt well enough to travel. E so im especially grateful to president john white and the executive committee of the i wat Abraham Lincoln t Institute Fora extending the invitation a second time. And i want particularly to thank michael burlinggame who stepped in to fill the gap a year ago. So now, while i was working on my book on lincolns humor, i was aware of those who questioned my choice of subject so seemingly lacking in gravitas and so marginal to the big issues of s lincolns time. I believe, however,when b peoplu as muchs. If not more revealing about themselves when being funny than when theyre serious. It was plato who reflected, gra serious things cannot be grasped without ridiculous ones. And no one indulged in humor more than lincoln. It was as characteristic of him as his stovepipe hat, but unlike his hat, it was an intrinsic element of the man, a way of ite life, a habit of mind. Y and it expressed his essential ing f humanity, his sense of proportion, his understanding of human foibles. What prompted my research and my inquiry was a remark lincoln made to david ross locke. Locke was a young ohio newspaper man and merciless satirest of the peace democrats, the copper heads. Lockes satire centered on a copperhead grotesque. A a pastor of a proslavery edy church, he was a drunken, greedy, sordid, lying racist. Locke called him a Nickel Plated son of a bitch. The v stood for vesuvius. An allusion to his bigoted and racist eruptions on the issues of the day which were syndicatee in union newspapers. Lockes use of the appalling nasby too ridicule disloyal opponents of the administration delighted lincoln. The nasby papers were his constant companion. The pamphlet copy in the librart of congress has singe marks made by the president s candle for his nighttime reading. He could quote passages at wills and on the final afternoon of his life, lincoln delayed dinner by reading nasby aloud to two old friends from illinois. Gs, for thei genius to write these things, lincoln told the author, i would gladly give up my office. The pleasure he took in lockes savage assault on racial prejudice and antiemancipationl sentiment speaks involumes aboun the moral springs of lincolns r owned humor. He admired the great ethical force of lockes satire. Leonard sweet maintained the president read nasby as much as he did the bible. Lincoln relished pretty well rdy every form of the comic, tall tales and absurdity, word play y and a delight in the plasticity ambiguity, and surprises of language. Quick wit, irony, and notoriously, dirty jokes and stories. But his love of nasby tells us that his chief pleasure was satirical humor that elicited righteous mirth, just laughter, occasioned by comic writing designed to deliver a moral critique. But as my title indicates, i er. Shall focus this morning on the utility of lincolns humor. The purposes to which he put it, the personal and political benefits that accrued, and the political danger that day in being known as a humorist, r. Particularly as a leader in time of war. Unbalanced, but he derived more advantage than not from the ans pursuit of laughter and that hih humor was an essential element in his statesmanship in his skill in Public Affairs. We should recognize that lincoln deployed humor as an act of his deliberate selfconscious therapy. As a Health Giving salve. Toriou his appetite for comic release o and hisn notorious vulnerabilit to depression were two sides of the same coin. Laughter was a therapeutic antidote to the grievous low ea spirits to which he was prone. Ta lincoln explained, if it were s not for these stories, jests, e jokes, i should die. They give vent. My mood they are the vent of my moods and gloom. At the landmark capitol meeting of september 22nd, 1862, where he unveiled the preliminary emancipation proclamation, he u began by reading a short piece. Gentlemen, why dont you laugh, he asked his irritated t colleagues, with a fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if i did not laugh, i should die. Of impos humor was also, of course, a means of empowerment, of imposing himself on others. From an early age, lincolns comic story telling and mimicry made him entertaining company. His odd lanky appearance and bookish appetites might in e. Another young man have been a recipe for social reticence and shyness. But his physical awkwardness tr seems not to have troubled him. Rather, he had a strong sense of self worth and enjoyed the personal regard he won for his amiable wit and quaint stories. This social empowerment helped, for example, to secure his election as a military captain in the blackhawk war, to win him the respect of fellow congressmen in his washington boarding house, and to make him the magnet for the well disposed attention of lawyers and residents gathered at the county seat of the illinois eighth circuit. Later in life, lincoln would repeat with appreciative glee the description of a type of ck southwestern political orator who, as i quote, mounted the rostrum, threw back his head, shined his eyes, opened his mouth, and left the consequence to god. In sharp contrast, there was little in lincolns own speeches that was not planned and well r calculated. His use ofic coumor and stories in his public addresses and private conversations was rarely lacking in broader intent or designed to cover up empty thought. The utility of his humor can be categorized under six headings. At times it lay in crushing opponents. More commonly, when used as a means of selfdepreciation, and of emphasizing his common touch, humor could be a weapon of subtle attack. Sometimes, it was a way of disingenuously planted a selfserving idea into the mind of his heroes. It provides a means of tactical diversion or obfuscation and ith had a role in relation to public morale. Above all, he used his stories l ofan parablees, as a persuasiveh form of political explanation. , first, then, the use of humor tn crush opponents. As he was firing whig politician, lincoln occasionally resorted to cruel and aggressive behavior, not simply to put hish opponents on the offensive but to eviscerate and humiliate insn them. The socalled roasting of forkee was just one instance of lincoln using his power to hurt to ge co withering effect. Thewd occasion wasngfi ael meet front of a large crowd in reele springfield during his campaigne for reelection to the state Pr Legislature in 1836. Lincolns impressive speech prompted a request from george forker, a prominent local democrat, that he be given the e stand. Nd had a recent convert from pncolns whig party, and had been arrewarded by his new associates with a lucrative public office. He had also built the best housa in the city over which he had erected a lightning rod, the ea, only one in the place. 15 years lincoln senior, the patronizing forker declared the young man would have to be taken down. Ged he w after waiting with suppressed ut excitement, lincoln resumed the stand. He acknowledged that he was young, but he said his critics should remember, i am older in yearsof than i am in the tricks and trades of politicians. I desire to live and i desire a place and distinction, but i would rather die now than, like the gentleman, live to see the day i would change my politics for anth office worth 3,000 a year and then feel compelled to erect a lightning rod to protect a guilty conscience from an offended god. During the same phase of life, h lincoln learned theat painful lesson that selfindulgent aggressive humor could injure its author as well as its a target. In september 1842, he wrote for the pages of a journal, a satirw ridiculing james shields. Shields was an impetuous man is with a short fuse, and he had good reason to rage at the insult with its sexual insinuations and demeaning assault on his character. Shields challenged lincoln to a duel, and lincoln reluctantly accepted the challenge. We cannot be sure how far he ea. Intended the dark humor that oad lurked in his selection of weapons. Calvary broad swords of the incs largest tsize, precisely equaln all respects. Ave a taller than shields, lincoln would have a huge advantagee in reach. He did manage a joke on the wayw to the dueling ground past the hundreds who had turned out. He was reminded, he said, of the Young Kentuckians whose sweetheart when he was leaving to fight, presented him with a belt with the motto victory or death. Isnt that rather too strong, the grateful volunteer said . Suppose you put victory or be crippled . Only at the lastr moment was th duel averted. Never again would lincoln, who was deeply embarrassed by the whole episode, never again would he write insulting anonymous or pseudonymous satire. And he realized ridicule could damage the author as well as the victim. Over time,as he learned to bow more deft in sharpening a oppo debating edge. As a maturing politician, he juiced gentler wit to put his opponents on the back foot, and no one was moreof aware of this than steven douglass, who said he didnt fear lincoln in debating substance, there is one thing, however, i stand constantly in dread. When lincoln begins to tell a story, i begin to get apprehensive. Every one of his stories seems like a whack on my back. No that is exactly the effect of the allegories have on me. Nothing else disturbs me, but when he begins to tell a story, i feel i am to be overmatched. Next self depreciation and subtle attack. In his facetoface engagement with the and jok public, lincol recourse of stories and jokes was designed to remind of his lowlyly origins, of belonging t the back woods and of the prairie. It encouraged Common People to see him as a natural man lacking artifice, able to engage with ordinary farmers and laborers on equal terms. Lincolns lifelong selfidentification with plain folkselfd was closely allied t habit of self depreciation. He made much of his unprepossessing appearance. U conscious of his unusual physical proportions, his height and unusually long limbs, and t aware that many considered him d an ugly man, he faced that head on. His jesting gave rise to as he was splitting rails, he found himself looking down the gun n e barrel of a passerby who explained he had promised to shoot the first man he met who t was uglier than himself. Getting a good look at the mans face, lincoln remarked, while bearing his chest, well, if i am uglier than you, then blaze away. This selfmockery amounted to far more than a means of securing a laugh. By preempting comments about his strange looks, modest upbringing and calculated eccentricities. It was also a means of enlisting the audience on the side of the underdog. He used this big man little man technique throughout his prepresident ial years against some of the biggest or torical beasts. In his political wrestling with douglass f throughout the 1850s he assumed the identity of a modest provincial phasing the renowned hope for the white self house who was enjoyed the statur a very great man while he himself was only a small man. Dii the heavy irony of this language intensified by the sight of thel diminutive little giant stanging next to the elongated lincoln. Lincoln also used laughter to a larger selfserving idea. As a lawyer, he wielded humor to plant a seed that would shape rk the deliberations of a jury. During a lunch break, he is sai to have told jurors the story of a small boy who ran to summon his father. Paw, paw, come quick. The hired man and sis are up, e and hes pulling down his pants and shes lifting up her skirts, and pa, theyre getting ready to pee all over our hay. The father advised, son, youve got your facts absolutely right, but you have drawn completely the wrong conclusion. Later in court, following his opponents lengthy winding up t speech, lincoln told the jurors, my learned opponent has his facts absolutely right, but he has drawn completely the wrong conclusion, and he won the case. Humor also provided a means of diversion. He used anecdotes to turn or to smooth the conversation without giving offense. Isance john hay told how in late 1863, an infernal nuisance of a brooklyn post master with his eyes on the following years president ial election fastened o himself to the tycoon and tried to get into conversation on the subject of the succession, would lincoln run again . The president quickly put him up with a story of his friend jesst dubois, who as state auditor, controlled the use of the Illinois State house in gious le springfield. And a quack preacher requested it as the venue for a religious lecture. Jesse . It about, saidist. The Second Coming of christ, ih said the parson. Nonsense, roared jesse. If christ had been to springfield once and got away, he would be damn clear of coming again. One of the president s most stressful tasks ass leader of tt new administration in 1861 was dealing with the avalanche of applicants for government postsy he was bombarded with far more requests than he had jobs. One day, a delegation called toh urge the appointment of an acquaint nls of theirs as commissioner of the sandwich aisles. They earnestly emphasized not only his fitness for the post fr but his poorom health, which won benefit from the climate. The president closed the that t interview with affected regret. Gentlemen, im sorry to say that there are eight other applicants for that place, and they are all sicker than your man. But above all else, lincolns stories served as parables, as s colorful and pointed means of an instruction, not obfuscation, ty not obfuscation, instruction and elucidation. They gave him the a means ofrgu driving home political argumentt with engaging economy. Min he neverd. Seemed to talk withoe some definite aim in mind, one t acquaintanceo reflected. The few stories i heard him relate were told in each instance to illustrate some welldefined point. Lincoln himself told a colleague, they say i tell a great many stories. L i do, but i have found in the course of a long experience that Common People, e Common People, take them as they run, are more easily influencedi and informed through the mediums of broad illustration than in he any other way. Ents as president , he used stories to drive home political arguments with engaging economy. When Major General john pope telegraphed he had captured 5,000 confederates, the cabinete asked the president s opinion. That reminds me, he replied, of an old woman who was ill. The doctor gave her medicine for her constipation. The next morning, he found her e fresh and well and getting breakfast. She confirmed the medicine had worked. Now, how many movements, the physician inquired . 142, she replied. Madam, i am serious, the physician replied, how many. 142. Madam, i must know. It is necessary i have the exac number of movements. I tell you, 142. 140 of them, wind. Lincoln closed the discussion, s am afraid popes captures are 140 of them wind. Finding himself with the support of only one member of the cabinet during a critical phase of the trent affair, when eizure britain threatened war over the union navy seizure of confederate envoys from a bri british ship. He recalled the drunk. Lots of drunks in lincolns stories, he recalled a drunk whn strayed into an Illinois Church and fell asleep in the front s row. He slumberred ononside as the revivalists ask who are on the lords side, and the uired, w congregation responded by risin en masse. When the preacher then inquired, who are on the side of the devil, the sleeper stood, but not before grasping the inquiry. He stood up, i dont exactly understand the question, he said, but ill stand by you parson to last, but itit seems me that were in a hopeless minority. Ways. The power of lincolns humor to enforce his argument is on one instant irresistible. It confirmed the president as the representative american. The womens rights activist and abolitionist Caroline Healy dold rebuked those fine lady whose were repelled by the president s homely manners and jokes. As a nation, she wrote, we are e an intell jntd but not a cultivated people. Mr. Lincoln fairly represents ci our average attainment and hes never written a letter that mely behumble of his