Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns : connected lives and legends

269 Pages·2008·1.651 MB·English

by  Ferenc Morton Szasz

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
sixty-two, aA prborcalahmaamtio nL wiansc iosslnue d by the Presi
dent of the United States, containing, among other
and
things, the following, to wit:
Robert Burns

“That on the first dayq of January, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three,
all personCso hnenldec atesd s lLaivveess wainthdi Lne agneyn dSstate, or desig
nated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be
in rebellion against the United States, shall be then
thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive
Government of the United States, including the mili
tary and naval authority thereof, will recognize and
maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no
act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in
any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
That the Executive will, on the first day of January
aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and
parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof re
spectively shall then be in rebellion against the Unit
ed States; and the fact that any State, or the people
thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented
in the Congress of the United States by members cho
sen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qual
ified voters of sFuecrehn cS Mtaotret osnh Sazlla shzave participated,
shall in the absence of strong countervailing testimo
ny be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and
the people thereof are not then in rebellion against the
United States.”
(cid:43)
Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns

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Southern Illinois University Press / Carbondale
Copyright © 2008 by the Board of Trustees,
Southern Illinois University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
11 10 09 08 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Szasz, Ferenc Morton, 1940–
Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns : connected lives and legends /
Ferenc Morton Szasz.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8093-2855-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8093-2855-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
1.Lincoln, Abraham, 1809–1865—Ethics. 2.Lincoln, Abraham, 1809–1865—
Political and social views. 3. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809–1865—Influence.
4.Presidents—United States—Biography. 5.Burns, Robert, 1759–1796—Ethics.
6. Burns, Robert, 1759–1796—Political and social views. 7.Burns, Robert, 1759–
1796—Influence 8.Poets, Scottish—18th century—Biography. 9.United States—
Intellectual life—1783–1865. 10.Scotland—Intellectual life—18th century. I. Title.
E457.2.S96 2008
973.7092—dc22 2008005349
Printed on recycled paper.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. ∞
For Margaret, who loves history, Scotland, and
travel in about equal proportions
And to Richard W. and Betty Smith, who started it all

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List of Illustrations ix
Acknowlegments xi
Introduction 1
1. Robert Burns: A Brief Biography 13
2. Burns’s Poetry Comes to America 29
3. The Lincoln-Burns Connection 49
4. Scottish Émigrés and Scottish Ideas in Lincoln’s World 87
5. Burns and Lincoln in Historical Memory 122
Epilogue: The Dilemmas of Democratic Fame 153
Appendix A: Selected Burns Verses 163
Appendix B: Selected Lincoln Documents 175
Notes 179
Bibliography 211
Index 233

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Following page 86
Burns’s birth cottage
Lincoln’s log-cabin birthplace
Murdoch Instructing Burns
Lincoln studying by firelight
American engraving of Burns (1859)
Vanity Fair cartoon of Lincoln (1861)
Boy Scout wreath-laying ceremony
Forgery of Lincoln document by Joseph Cosey
Stamps honoring Burns and Lincoln
Statue of Burns in Central Park
Statue of Lincoln in Edinburgh
Lincoln Memorial Statue with Children
ix