Abraham Lincoln

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews and discusses Abraham Lincoln. According to the paper, Lincoln may have suffered greatly from depression, or melancholy, during his term of office. The paper reports that some historians believe that his mental illness made him a much stronger person, and a better president.

From the Paper:

"In the first stage, the fear is that the misery will never end unless the person ends his or her own life. At Lincoln's worst times, he "resolved the deed to do" (Miller, 2005, p. BW03), and it was necessary to put him in a safe environment without any sharp utensils and a constant watch, as when he committed himself to a doctor's care in 1841. In the second stage, engagement, Lincoln stated, says Shenk, "he was not afraid to die"...but he had "an 'irrepressible desire' to accomplish something while he lived." Although the melancholy did not dissipate at this second stage, it gave Lincoln strength. At one point in the late 1840s, he sang a Scottish song with one of his favorite lines, "Yea, Hope and despondency, pleasure and pain, are mingled together in sun-shine and rain." In the third stage, transcendence, during his mid-40s, the same frailties that had long brought Lincoln so much trouble played a defining role, states Shenk (2005 b, p. 58). The suffering brought him clarity, creativity, conviction and humility to guide the nation."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Burlingame, M. (1994). The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln. Urbana, IL: U of Illinois.
• Goodwin, D.K. (2005) Team of Rivals. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• History Channel (2005) Lincoln. Website retrieved on November 20, 2006. http://www.history.com/exhibits/lincoln/
• Kekley, E. (1868). Behind the Scenes. or, Thirty years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House New York: G.W. Carleton & Co.
• Miller, W.L. (2005). The Mournful Giant. A new book argues that a towering presidency was rooted in terrible gloom. Sunday, October 2, 2005; Page BW03

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