Post Scripts: Abe Lincoln – the humorist

Abraham Lincoln, born Feb. 12, 1809, our 16th president, 1861-65, was the first humorist to occupy the White House. "He could make a cat laugh," exclaimed a friend, Bill Green. Lawyer H.C. Whitney, who rode the circuit with him in Illinois, said "It was as a humorist that he towered above all other men it was ever my lot to meet."

During the Civil War, London’s Saturday Review told its readers: "One advantage the Americans have is the possession of a president who is not only the First Magistrate but the Chief Joker of the land."

By 1863, several books had been written with titles like Old Abe’s Jokes, Abe’s Jokes – Fresh from Abraham’s Bosom, or Wit at the White House. They were circulating in the north and spreading Lincoln’s stories far and wide. Collections of Lincoln anecdotes have been in print ever since.

Humor was unquestionably a psychological necessity for Lincoln, though – being a serious but solemn man – he would not have put it that way. He once called laughter "the joyous, beautiful universal evergreen of life" and he enjoyed droll stories the way some people enjoy detective novels. Both as a lawyer and politician he also found amusing stories enormously helpful in putting across important points he wanted to make. As president he used his gifts as a storyteller to put people at ease, to win them over to his point of view, or simply get them off the point and out of his office without having to deny their request in so many words.

Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was subjected to violent headaches and violent mood swings. They became increasingly worse in the White House. Lincoln called them "Mary’s nervous spells." His wife’s mental illness was an increasing burden during the Civil War. His sense of humor helped him relax and get through some of his troubles he encountered during that time. "I laugh," he told a friend in the darkest days of the Civil War, as a means of relaxing, getting away from troubles for a moment, and refreshing his spirit. "I laugh," he said, "because I must not cry, that is all – that is all."

One of Lincoln’s favorite stories about him concerned two Quaker ladies who discussed him and Jefferson Davis. "I think Jefferson will succeed," said the first Quaker lady. "Why does thee think so," asked the second. "Because Davis was a praying man" said the first. "And so is Abraham a praying man," said the second. "Yes," said the first, "but the Lord will think he is just joking."

We’ve written about Lincoln many times as he is the president I most admired but I wanted tell about his last day that I read in my book, Presidential Anecdotes. April 14, 1865, he pardoned, a soldier who was sentenced and scheduled to die, helped a soldier’s wife get her husband’s pay, and approved the discharge of a rebel soldier. He didn’t want to go to the theater that night. He had seen the play, Our American Cousin, before and wasn’t anxious to see it again. He tried to get out of going but Mrs. Lincoln had her heart set on it. "It has been advertised that we will be there," Lincoln told White House guard, Colonel William H. Crook, "and I cannot disappoint the people." As he left he said "Goodbye Crook" and this puzzled the colonel as he usually said "Goodnight." And you know the rest of the story about the assassination of this humorist who died the next morning.