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December 20, 1859

1 entries found
Tuesday, December 20, 1859.
 Springfield, IL.

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Revised Entry

Lincoln writes to his friend Jesse W. Fell of Normal, Illinois. Fell prompted Lincoln to provide an autobiography that could be used to promote Lincoln's political career. Lincoln writes, "Herewith is a little sketch . . . There is not much of it, for the reason, I suppose, that there is not much of me. If any thing be made out of it, I wish it to be modest, and not to go beyond the material." Of his early years in Indiana, Lincoln recalls, "It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods . . . There were some schools, so called; but no qualification was ever required of a teacher, beyond ' readin, writin, and cipherin' . . . If a straggler supposed to understand latin, happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizzard." Abraham Lincoln to Jesse W. Fell, Enclosing Autobiography, 20 December 1859, CW, 3:511-12. 

<div2 part='N' sample='complete' org='uniform' type='Revised'> <dateline> 
  <date value='1859-12-20'>Tuesday, December 20, 1859.</date> 
  <place key='39.8000, -89.6333' teiForm='name'>Springfield, IL</place>.
  </dateline> <p> Lincoln writes to his friend Jesse W. Fell of Normal, Illinois.
  Fell prompted Lincoln to provide an autobiography that could be used to promote
  Lincoln's political career. Lincoln writes, "Herewith is a little
  sketch . . . There is not much of it, for the reason, I suppose, that there is not
  much of me. If any thing be made out of it, I wish it to be modest, and not to
  go beyond the material." Of his early years in Indiana, Lincoln recalls, "It
  was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the
  woods . . . There were some schools, so called; but no qualification was ever
  required of a teacher, beyond ' <uLine>readin</uLine>, <uLine>writin</uLine>,
  <uLine>and</uLine> <uLine>cipherin</uLine>' . . . If a straggler supposed to
  understand latin, happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon
  as a wizzard." <bibl default='NO'>
  <xref from='ROOT' url='http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=lincoln;rgn=div1;view=text;idno=lincoln3;node=lincoln3%3A177' targOrder='U' to='DITTO'>Abraham Lincoln to Jesse W. Fell,
  Enclosing Autobiography</xref>, 20 December 1859,
  <title corresp='books_Basler2'>CW</title>, 3:511-12.</bibl> </p> </div2>
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