Full Title

Excerpts from Crusader and feminist; letters of Jane Grey Swisshelm, 1858-1865;

Description

Jane Grey Swisshelm a journalist was the editor of the Cloud Visiter [sic] and, afterward, the St. Cloud Democrat. The Minnesota Historical Society collected and compiled the series of articles and letters written for the St. Cloud Democrat, publishing them as a book in 1934. Her letters from late April and early May 1865, express her grief over Lincoln's death and her fear for the country's future.

Source

Library of Congress, General Collections and Rare Book and Special Collections Division

Rights

This item is in the public domain and may be reproduced and used for any purpose, including research, teaching, private study, publication, broadcast or commercial use, with proper citation and attribution.

Tags

Cite this Item

Jane Grey Swisshelm. "Excerpts from Crusader and feminist; letters of Jane Grey Swisshelm, 1858-1865;". The Minnesota Historical Society. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1186

Creator

Jane Grey Swisshelm

Publisher

The Minnesota Historical Society

Date

April-May 1865

Full Title

The Feeling in Canada

Description

In this article the emotions of the nation following the death of Abraham Lincoln can be seen in great detail. The aspects of his noble character that won over the public are also mentioned frequently. There is even discussion of why the assassin committed this horrendous deed before questioning why John James Booth killed assassinated the president. His mental health is also questioned

Transcription

THE FEELING IN CANADA
________
Opinion of the Leading Canadian Journal—The Deep Regard and Affection Felt forThe President—The Secessionists Carousing in Honor of the Assassin—A Plea for The Murderer—His Crime Justified.

From the Toronto Globe.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

At twenty-two minutes after seven o’clock, on Saturday morning, about nine hours after he had received the shot of the assassin, ABRAHAM LINCOLN drew his last breath, surrounded by the members of his family, his Cabinet, and leading political and personal friends. His death would, under any circumstances, have produced an extraordinary sensation, but accompanied by murderous violence, the feeling which has been created has been the most intense. No single event of the present century in America can at all compare with it in effect on the popular mind, and we think that in England the shock will be nearly as deeply felt. The grief which is expressed has two very distinct origins, the stronger of which seems to arise from personal sympathy and regard for the deceased. We hear in all quarters the strongest expressions of admiration of the character of Mr. LINCOLN, and deep sorrow that his noble career should have been brought to an untimely end. His simplicity of charafter [character[, his straightforward honesty, his kindliness, even his bluntness of manner, seem to have won the popular heart, even among a foreign, and, in matter of opinion, a hostile nation. We may judge by that fact of his popularity among the citizens of the Northern States. Almost all of us feel as if we had suffered a personal loss. Mr. LINCOLN is spoken of in the same terms as are used toward a familiar friend. All mourn his untimely fate. He had risen by industry, ability and integrity to the great position of Chief Magistrate of his country. He found it in the most imminent danger, and his power to control the elements which were sweeping over the land were far from generally acknowledged. He was regarded with fear and trembling by the friends of his government, and with contempt by his opponents. But steadily he made his way. He was not the best man who could have been imagined for the post of Chief Magistrate in a great civil war. He had not the commanding force which infuses energy into all around him, and his public appearances were often lacking in dignity. But he was sagacious, patient, prudent, courageous, honest and candid. If he did not inspire great Generals, he gave every man in the army an opportunity of developing the talents within him. He recognized merit and rewarded it. He placed confidence, as a rdle [rule], where it was due, and he had his reward in great military successes. Some say that he has been cut off at a favorable moment for his reputation but we cannot accept this view. It seems to us that he had gone through his worst trials, that his patience, sagacity and honesty would have borne even better fruits in the settlement of the affairs of the South than during the wild commotion of the war. He has been cut off at a time when, certainly, he had accomplished a great deal, but leaving much undone which he was well qualified to do. A naturally strong man, of only fifty-six, he might have hope to live many years after finishing his work as President, in the enjoyment of the respect and admiration justly due to one who had saved the life of his country. He will be held, we think, by Americans, if not equal to WASHINGTON, second to none but he. But he had not the gratification of his great predecessor, of seeing his work completed and enjoying for a long period the gratitude of his countrymen and the admiration of strangers. There are few so hard of heart as to not shed a tear over the sudden and bloody termination of so bright a career. As great as WASHINGTON in many moral and mental qualities, his genial character was calculated to win far more popular sympathy than his predecessor. Ability and honesty all admire, but when to them are added kindliness, simplicity, and freedom from selfishness, haughtiness and pride in high position, they win love as well as respect.

THE MURDER JUSTIFIED
From the Toronto Leader

A man may, on the spur of the moment, be so maddened with rage as to strike another down to the earth; but if the accounts which come to us of this distressing affair are correct, the attack upon both Mr. LINCOLN’s and Mr. SEWARD’s lives were concocted some time prior to the inauguration ceremony on the 4th of March, and only failed of accomplishment because one of the parties in the plot lost heart to carry out the scheme at that time. Would that he had never found it again! The act was not committed without due time for reflection as to its awful nature. For over a month the plan remained unacted upon in the bosom of its author, and time seems but to have added to the burning desire to carry it out. There must have been a strong feeling on the part of the person who committed the crime that a grievous wrong had been done, either to himself or to his country, by the President or the government he represented. Had a Southern man, during the four years of the war, taken the life of the President, there would be no difficulty in tracing it to a cause. We cannot so soon forget the numberless acts of wickedness committed in the South by the servants and emissaries of the Northern Government; the beautiful homesteads leveled to the ground with demoniacal fury; the fair women violated by a ribald soldiery; the brave men shot down in the coldest blood on the insane plea of retaliation—all this and much more is still fresh in our memories, and serve to remind us that if the assassination had been committed in the heat of the war by a Southern man, who had so much to drive him to desperation, a reason for his conduct could readily be found. In the present instance these considerations do not help us to discover the cause of the assassination. That the deed was committed by JOHN WILKES BOOTH, a brother of EDWIN BOOTH, the celebrated actor of the present day, there seems to be little doubt. But why should he make himself the champion of the Southern people or the Southern cause? He must have been goaded almost to the verge of madness. No man of ordinary nerve or trivial impulse could have jumped into a private box at the theatre, as he did, calmly shoot down the object of his wrath, then spring on the stage uttering words which serve to give a clue to the act of assassination, and ultimately find his way through the theatre to a place of escape. The man who could have done all this, must have considered that his chances of escape were very few indeed, and that, if need were, he was ready to give up his own life for that which he had taken. There is desperation in such a thought—such a desperation as is caused by a deep consciousness of wrong-doing on the part of the persons against whom it is conceived.

The feeling in Montreal
MONTREAL, Tuesday, April 18.

The following proclamation has been issued by the Mayor of Montreal:
PROCLAMATION.
Whereas Wednesday next, the 19th of April inst., at noon, has been fixed upon for the funeral ceremonies of the Chief Magistrate of the United States, the undersigned, Mayor of the City of Montreal, respectfully invites the citizens generally to close their places of business from 12 o’clock noon on that day, as a tribute of respect to the memory of the late President of the United States, and of sympathy with the bereaved members of his family, and also as an expression of the deep sorrow and horror felt by the citizens of Montreal at the atrocious crime by which the President came to an untimely death.
(Signed) J. L. BEAUDRY, Mayor

Arrival of Gen. Lee in Richmond.
The Richmond Whig of yesterday says:

Gen. R. E. LEE arrived in this city about 3 o’clock Saturday evening, attended by five members of his staff. He rode into the city over the pontoon bridge at the foot of Seventeenth-street, and thence up Main-street to his residence on Franklin-street between Seventh and Eighth-streets.

[Transcription by: Deborah Taylor.]

Source

THE FEELING IN CANADA. (1865, Apr 19). New York Times (1857-1922) Retrieved from http://blume.stmarytx.edu:2048/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/92001549?accountid=7076

Rights

This item is in the public domain and may be reproduced and used for any purpose, including research, teaching, private study, publication, broadcast or commercial use, with proper citation and attribution.

Tags

Cite this Item

Toronto Globe . "The Feeling in Canada". New York Times. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1120

Creator

Toronto Globe

Publisher

New York Times

Date

April 19, 1865

Full Title

John Wilkes Booth, El Asesino Del Presidente Lincoln: Despatchos Telegraficos

Description

In this article from the California-based periodical, El Voz del Nuevo Mundo (commonly referred to as El Nuevo Mundo,) the details of Lincoln's assassination and of John Wilkes Boothe's ultimate demise.

Source

infoweb.newsbank.com

Rights

N/A

Tags

Cite this Item

El Voz del Nuevo Mundo. "John Wilkes Booth, El Asesino Del Presidente Lincoln: Despatchos Telegraficos". El Voz del Nuevo Mundo. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1106

Creator

El Voz del Nuevo Mundo

Publisher

El Voz del Nuevo Mundo

Date

April 28, 1865

Material

newspaper

Full Title

Memorial of President Lincoln in London

Description

This article from the San Antonio Express cites an article from the London Star, purporting that a memorial was being built in London to honor of President Lincoln and the abolition of slavery in the United States.

Transcription

MEMORIAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN in LONDON.—
The London Star says. There are no building in London a church, a public hall and a school-room attached, intended to be a memorial of the abolition of slavery in America, and of the public services of the late President Lincoln. The work is under the superintendence of Dr. F. Tompkins, D. C. L. who who has spent some time in America. The Rev. C.W. Dension, the American agent, has not presented this object in Paris, as a meeting was held on the subject at the Salle Evangeline, in the exhibition on Thursday. J. P. Reynolds, one of the commissioners for the State of Illinois, presided, and the Rev. T. B. Hart, the minister of the English Chapel, Rue Royale, officiated as secretary. Statements with reference to the memorial were made by the Rev. Mr. Denison, the Hon. Mr. Usher, Dr. Smith of Boston, Dr. Freeze of New Jersey, and others, and a resolution commenting it was passed by the meeting.




[Transcription by: Ricarda H., Dr. Susan Corbesero’s Class, Ellis School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]

Source

infoweb.newsbank.com

Rights

N/A

Tags

Cite this Item

San Antonio Express. "Memorial of President Lincoln in London". San Antonio Express. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1105

Creator

San Antonio Express

Publisher

San Antonio Express

Date

August 20, 1867

Material

newspaper

Full Title

"LINCOLN": San Antonio Express

Description

This article, published by the San Antonio Express on March 2, 1867, contains an interview with William Herndon's law partner. Herndon spoke of Lincoln's romantic ventures in his earlier years. Following the interview, a beautiful description of the grave of Lincoln is provided.

Transcription

LINCOLN

A special correspondent of the New York Tribune, writing from Springfield, Ill., relates the following episode in the life of Mr. Lincoln. Mr. Herndon was Mr. Lincoln's law partner. The correspondent says:

"The tenderness of Mr. Lincoln nature romance in early manhood, and as of this Mr. Herndon had spoken in public, I asked particularly about it.

At Sangamon, Illinois, a pretty and high-spirited girl, without fortune, made havoc in many hearts and Mr. Lincoln constituted one of three earnest suitors who wanted her in marriage. She preferred the address of a young merchant of the town, and gave the other two their conge. Her affianced soon afterwards went East to buy goods, but as he returned was taken with brain fever in some wayside town, and lay raving for three months, unknown by name or residence to his entertainers. A rumor started that he had run away to avoid marrying his lady, and waiting some time in vain to hear from him, she received anew the attentions of Mr. Lincoln. About the time when they passed from courtesy to tenderness, and marriage between them was more than hinted at, the sick man returned like a ghost, gauged the condition of affairs, and upbraided the lady with fickleness. She had a delicate sense of honor, and felt keenly the shame of having seemed to trifle with two gentlemen at once; this preyed upon her mind til her body, not very strong, suffered by sympathy, and Mr. Herndon has oral and written testimony that the girl died out of regret at the equivocal position she had unwillingly assumed. The names of all the parties he has given me, but I do not care to print them."

The same writer gives the following beautifully description of the spot where lies all that is mortal of the lamented savior of our country:

"I know of no better illustration of the difference between the real life and the renown of Mr. Lincoln than you get by visiting his grave. A horse railroad, two miles long, leads to it, in the cemetery of Oak Ridge. Behind you is his real life, Springfield, a Western market town, set upon the monotonous prairie, half the year noisy with the chatter of politicians, plethoric with lawyers, for all of whom there is less than enough to do, and savoring much of the frost and the frontier; a pretty prairie city, but capitalized so that what the State has not done for the town, and the people expected it to do, make an unfinished desultoryness. – All at once, as you approach the Sangamon river, the scene changes. Stalwart young oaks of natural growth become plentiful. The landscape is plowed with leafy ravines. Bold knowls start up. – A creek goes plashing around the abrupt hills. Shadow, murmur, and surprise succeed the level life of the city. And among all these mysteries, itself the great mystery of our age, the vault of the President caps a hill, a temporary edifice of brick, and the great drive of one of the handsomest cemeteries in the Union winds with the winding brook beneath it:

"The last
As 'twere the cape of a long ridge of hills,"

and all the white tombs martial it; buttonwood, maple and ash trees cluster at its base; here is to be his monument. – About $75,000 have been collected for it up to this time, and it is supposed the State will vote enough to make $200,000 in all. There is no sweeter spot for a tired life to rest in. It would be blasphemy to mar the dead man's grave with any mere prettiness of marble or smartness of bronze. Let the firey, untamed Western genius be of timid chisel here: "Abraham Lincoln" is a good epitaph if plainly lettered. And, after all, will any monument be like the man, for no such one was ever a sculptur's theme before. Canova could get no notion of Mr. Lincoln. An allegory would be unlike him, a shaft too formal, a statue too inexpressive. If the Pacific railroad could be called by his name, that would be better."

[Transcription by Deborah Taylor.]

Source

Newsbank

Rights

This item is in the public domain and may be reproduced and used for any purpose, including research, teaching, private study, publication, broadcast or commercial use, with proper citation and attribution.

Tags

Cite this Item

San Antonio Express. ""LINCOLN": San Antonio Express". San Antonio Express. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1103

Creator

San Antonio Express

Publisher

San Antonio Express

Date

March 2, 1867

Material

newspaper

Full Title

A Monument to Mr. Lincoln

Description

This article from the San Antonio Express, published in April of 1867, describes a monument to Abraham Lincoln on display at the Union League Club House. The monument depicts Lincoln with arms outstretched toward a black man rising from a kneeling position to his feet. The sculpture is said to have been created by Mr. Ball, from Boston.

Source

infoweb.newsbank.com

Rights

N/A

Tags

Cite this Item

San Antonio Express. "A Monument to Mr. Lincoln". San Antonio Express. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1101

Creator

San Antonio Express

Publisher

San Antonio Express

Date

April 17, 1867

Material

newspaper

Full Title

Brownville, Nebraska Territory Mayor's Proclamation on the Death of Abraham Lincoln

Description

The newly elected Mayor of Brownville, Nebraska Territory, Charles G. Dorsey, made a proclamation on the death of Abraham Lincoln, which was published in the Nebraska Advertiser the week after the President's death. The town of Brownville heard about Lincoln's death almost immediately. The city of Brownville was only about 10 years old at the time of Lincoln's assassination. The Nebraska Advertiser was founded in 1856 by a recent resident, Robert Wilkinson Furnas. Fumas was opposed to slavery and those views were often illustrated in the newspaper.

Source

Library of Congress Chronicling America

Rights

This item is in the public domain and may be reproduced and used for any purpose, including research, teaching, private study, publication, broadcast or commercial use, with proper citation and attribution.

Tags

Cite this Item

Nebraska Advertiser. "Brownville, Nebraska Territory Mayor's Proclamation on the Death of Abraham Lincoln". Robert Wilkinson Furnas. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1097

Creator

Nebraska Advertiser

Publisher

Robert Wilkinson Furnas

Date

April 20, 1865

Full Title

Regarding the Death of Abraham Lincoln, Arizona Miner

Description

The Arizona House of Representatives, President of the Council and the Assistant Secretary of the Arizona Territory signed a resolution as a formal expression of regret for the death of President Abraham Lincoln in February 1866. This article is an official recording of the opinion of the people of Arizona almost a year after the event. A copy of the resolution was sent to President Lincoln's family and was published in the Arizona Miner newspaper as well as other journals of the Pacific and Atlantic States. Originally established as a Republican newspaper in 1864 by Territorial Secretary Richard McCormick (nominated by President Lincoln in 1863), the publication grew to become very politically partisan when racist Democrat John H. Marion took over as editor in 1867. Arizona became a state in 1912.

Transcription

Regarding the death of Abraham Lincoln.
WHEREAS, There has been, to this time, no formal expression of regret on the part of the people of Arizona over the untimely and lamentable death of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States; therefore
Resolved, By the House of Representatives, the Council concurring, That we record our abhorrence of the dastardly act which deprived the nation of the valuable life of Abraham Lincoln, when his great statesmanship and noble character had won the confidence and applause of the civilized world, and the wisdom of his administration of public affairs, at the most critical period in the life of the American people, was universally conceded.
Resolved, That here where civil law was first established by the generous consideration of his administration, as elsewhere upon the continent, which owes so much to his honest and persistent devotion to liberty to justice and to the government of the people, his name is honored and revered as that of a true patriot, a profound ruler, and a magnanimous and unselfish man, whose highest motive was the public good, and whose consistent career has elevated the dignity, brightened the renown, and enriched the history of the Republic.
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the family of the illustrious dead, and to the present President of the United States, also that they be published in the ARIZONA MINER, and in the principal journals of the Pacific and Atlantic States.
JAMES S. GILES,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
HENRY A. BIGELOW,
President of the Council.
A true copy of the original on file in my office.
HENRY W. FLEURY,
Assistant Secretary of the Territory.




[Transcription by: Ricarda H., Dr. Susan Corbesero’s Class, Ellis School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]

Source

Library of Congress Chronicling America

Rights

This item is in the public domain and may be reproduced and used for any purpose, including research, teaching, private study, publication, broadcast or commercial use, with proper citation and attribution.

Tags

Cite this Item

Fort Whipple Arizona Miner. "Regarding the Death of Abraham Lincoln, Arizona Miner". Tisdale A. Hand. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1096

Creator

Fort Whipple Arizona Miner

Publisher

Tisdale A. Hand

Date

February 14, 1866

Full Title

Public Meeting at Peralta, NM - Resolution on the Death of President Lincoln, Santa Fe Weekly

Description

In May 1865, the Santa Fe Weekly Gazette published a summary of a meeting organized by the Probate Judge of Peralta, New Mexico. Peralta was named for the founder of Santa Fe, Don Pedro de Peralta, between 1607 and 1610. Both citizens of the county and Union military were present for the meeting to draft nine resolutions on the death of President Abraham Lincoln. The citizens expressed their sorrow and pledged their loyalty to the new president, Andrew Johnson. The resolutions were read in both Spanish and English. The meeting precedings were then sent to several newspapers throughout the territory, including the Santa Fe Weekly Gazette. The Santa Fe Weekly Gazette was in publication from April 1851 to September 1869 and was the most successful paper in the area up until that point, serving the capital of the province of New Mexico. The city had a population of about 4,500 by 1850. While in publication, the paper supported both Democratic and Republican causes. The paper's motto was "Independent in all things - neutral in nothing."

Source

Library of Congress Chronicling America

Rights

This item is in the public domain and may be reproduced and used for any purpose, including research, teaching, private study, publication, broadcast or commercial use, with proper citation and attribution.

Tags

Cite this Item

Santa Fe Weekly Gazette. "Public Meeting at Peralta, NM - Resolution on the Death of President Lincoln, Santa Fe Weekly". James L. Collins. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1095

Creator

Santa Fe Weekly Gazette

Publisher

James L. Collins

Date

May 13, 1865

Full Title

Houston Tri-Weekly Telegraph

Description

The Tri-Weekly Telegraph of Houston denounced Lincoln and praised his assassin, John Wilkes Booth, when it reported Lincoln's assassination.

Source

The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History

Rights

This item is in the public domain and may be reproduced and used for any purpose, including research, teaching, private study, publication, broadcast or commercial use, with proper citation and attribution.

Tags

Cite this Item

E.H. Cushing. "Houston Tri-Weekly Telegraph". Tri-Weekly Telegraph. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1091

Creator

E.H. Cushing

Publisher

Tri-Weekly Telegraph

Date

April 26, 1865