,,abraham ,,lincoln3 ,,was ,,he ,a      
,,christian8  ,by ,john ,b4 ,remsburg   
,i am not a ,christian4--,lincoln4      
#ahic  ,,to ,,the ,,friends ,,of        
,,abraham ,,lincoln  ,,who ,,have ,,had 
,,the ,,courage ,,to ,,affirm  ,,the    
,,true ,,and ,,deny ,,the ,,false2      
,,and  ,,to ,,the ,,friends  ,,of       
,,truth  ,,who ,,will ,,have ,,the      
,,honesty ,,to ,,reject  ,,the ,,false  
,,and ,,accept ,,the ,,true1  ,,this    
,,volume ,,is ,,inscribed  ,,by ,,the   
,,author4     ,,preface4  ,almost       
immediately after the remains of        
,america's most illustrious son were    
laid to rest at ,springfield1 one of his
 biographers put forward the claim that 
he was a devout believer in             
,christianity4 ,the claim was promptly  
denied by the dead statesman's friends1 
but only to be renewed again1 and again 
denied4 ,and thus for a quarter of a    
century the question of ,abraham        
,lincoln's religious belief has been    
tossed like a battledoor from side to   

side4  ,as a result of this controversy1
 thousands have become interested in a  
subject that otherwise might have       
excited but little interest4 ,this is   
the writer's apology for collecting the 
testimony of more than one hundred      
witnesses1 and devoting more than three 
hundred pages to the question1 ,was     
,lincoln a ,christian8  ,about few other
 men has so much been written as about  
,abraham ,lincoln2 while no other       
,american's life has engaged the pens of
 so many biographers4 ,a thousand       
volumes record his name and refer to his
 deeds4 ,in a hundred of these he is the
 central figure4 ,nearly a score of     
elaborate biographies of him have been  
written4 ,as many more books pertaining 
wholly to his life1 his martyrdom1 and  
his character have been published4 ,of  
the many works on ,lincoln which the    
writer has consulted in the preparation 
of this volume1 the following deserve to
 be mentioned3 ,nicolay and ,hay's ,life
 of ,lincoln1 ,herndon and ,weik's ,life

 of ,lincoln1 ,lamon's ,life of         
,lincoln1 ,holland's ,life of ,lincoln1 
,arnold's ,life of ,lincoln1 ,raymond's 
,life of ,lincoln1 ,stoddard's ,life of 
,lincoln1 ,barrett's ,life of ,lincoln1 
,every-,day ,life of ,lincoln1 ,arnold's
 ,lincoln and ,slavery1 ,carpenter's    
,six ,months at the ,white ,house with  
,lincoln1 ,reminiscences of ,lincoln1   
,anecdotes of ,lincoln1 ,lincolniana1   
,the ,president's ,words1 ,the ,martyr's
 ,monument1 ,tribute of the ,nations to 
,lincoln1 ,lincoln ,memorial and        
,lincoln ,memorial ,album4  ,the        
testimony concerning ,lincoln's         
religious belief presented in this      
volume has been derived chiefly from    
three sources4 #a4 ,a part of it has    
been gathered from the works above      
named4 ,in a single volume is published 
for the first time matter which         
heretofore was only to be found         
scattered through numerous volumes1 some
 of them inaccessible to the general    
reader4 #b4 ,a considerable portion of  

it has been gleaned from newspapers and 
periodicals containing statements       
brought out by this controversy1 many of
 which would otherwise soon be lost or  
forgotten4 #c4 ,a very large share of it
 has been obtained by the writer from   
personal friends of ,lincoln2 and when  
we realize how rapidly those who lived  
and moved with him are passing          
away--that erelong none of them will    
remain to testify--the importance of    
this evidence can hardly be             
overestimated4  ,the writer believes    
that he has fully established the       
negative of the proposition that forms  
the title of his book4 ,he does not     
expect to silence the claims of the     
affirmative2 but he has furnished an    
arsenal of facts whereby these claims   
may be exposed and refuted as often as  
made4  ,this effort to prove that       
,lincoln was not a ,christian will be   
condemned by many as an attempt to      
fasten a stain upon this great man's    
character4 ,but the demonstration and   

perpetuation of this fact will only add 
to his greatness4 ,it will show that he 
was in advance of his generation4 ,the  
fame of ,abraham ,lincoln belongs not to
 this age alone1 but will endure for all
 time4 ,the popular faith is transient  
and must perish4 ,it is unpopular now to
 reject ,christianity1 but the day is   
fast approaching when to accept its     
dogmas will be considered an evidence of
 human weakness4 ,to perpetuate the     
claim that ,lincoln was a ,christian is 
to perpetuate an idea that in a future  
age will lessen the luster of his name4 
,it will be urged by some that the      
intent and purpose of this work is      
solely to promote the interests of      
,freethought4 ,but it is not4 ,the      
writer advocates no cause that requires 
the prestige of a great name to make it 
respectable4 ,the cause that requires   
the indorsement of the great to sustain 
it is not worthy to survive4 ,he has    
prosecuted this investigation1 not in   
the interest of any belief or creed1 but

 in the interest of truth2 and truth is 
certainly as high as any creed1 even if 
that creed be true4 ,in proving ,lincoln
 a disbeliever he does not presume to   
have proved ,christianity false1 or     
,freethought true2 but he has shown that
 some ,christians are not honest1 and   
that an honest man may be a             
,freethinker4 ,atchison1 ,kan41 ,april1 
#ahic4     ,,introduction4  ,was        
,abraham ,lincoln a ,christian8 ,many   
confidently believe and earnestly       
contend that he was2 others as          
confidently believe and as earnestly    
contend that he was not4  ,before       
attempting to answer this question1 let 
us define what constitutes a ,christian4
 ,a ,christian is one who1 in common    
with the adherents of nearly all the    
religions of mankind1 believes1 #a4 ,in 
the existence of a ,god2 #b4 ,in the    
immortality of the soul4 ,as            
distinguished from the adherents of     
other religions1 he believes1 #a4 ,that 
the ,bible is a revelation from ,god to 

man2 #b4 ,that ,jesus ,christ was the   
miraculously begotten son of ,god4 ,he  
also believes in various other doctrines
 peculiar to ,christianity1 the chief of
 which are1 #a4 ,the fall of man2 #b4   
,the atonement4  ,those who in nominally
 ,christian countries reject the dogmas 
of ,christianity are denominated        
,infidels1 ,freethinkers1 ,liberals1    
,rationalists1 unbelievers1             
disbelievers1 skeptics1 etc4 ,these     
,infidels1 or ,freethinkers1 represent  
various phases of belief1 among which   
are1 #a4 ,deists1 who affirm the        
existence of a ,god and the immortality 
of the soul2 #b4 ,atheists1 who deny the
 existence of a ,god1 and1 generally1   
the soul's immortality2 #c4 ,agnostics1 
who neither affirm nor deny these       
doctrines4  ,the following are the      
religious views ,lincoln is said to have
 held as presented by those who affirm  
that he was a ,christian3  #a4 ,he      
believed in the existence of a ,god1 and
 accepted the ,christian conception of  

this ,being4  #b4 ,he believed in the   
immortality of the soul1 and in the     
,christian doctrine of the resurrection4
  #c4 ,he believed that the ,bible is a 
revelation from ,god--the only revealed 
will of ,god4  #d4 ,he believed in the  
divinity of ,christ--believed that      
,christ is ,god4  #e4 ,he believed in   
the efficacy of prayer1 and was         
accustomed to pray himself4  #f4 ,he    
believed in the doctrine of experimental
 religion1 and had experienced a change 
of heart4  #g4 ,although he never united
 with any church1 he was contemplating  
such a step at the time of his          
assassination4  #h4 ,the church with    
which he would have united1 we are led  
to infer1 was the ,presbyterian4  ,the  
following is a statement of the         
theological opinions of ,lincoln as     
understood by those who deny that he was
 a ,christian3  #a4 ,in regard to a     
,supreme ,being he entertained at times 
,agnostic and even ,atheistic opinions4 
,during the later years of his life1    

however1 he professed a sort of ,deistic
 belief1 but he did not accept the      
,christian or anthropomorphic conception
 of a ,deity4  #b4 ,so far as the       
doctrine of immortality is concerned1 he
 was an ,agnostic4  #c4 ,he did not     
believe in the ,christian doctrine of   
the inspiration of the ,scriptures4 ,he 
believed that ,burns and ,paine were as 
much inspired as ,david and ,paul4  #d4 
,he did not believe in the doctrine of  
,christ's divinity4 ,he affirmed that   
,jesus was either the son of ,joseph and
 ,mary1 or the illegitimate son of      
,mary4  #e4 ,he did not believe in the  
doctrine of a special creation4  #f4 ,he
 believed in the theory of ,evolution1  
so far as this theory had been developed
 in his time4  #g4 ,he did not believe  
in miracles and special providences4 ,he
 believed that all things are governed  
by immutable laws1 and that miracles and
 special providences1 in the evangelical
 sense of these terms1 are impossible4  
#h4 ,he rejected the doctrine of total1 

or inherent depravity4  #i4 ,he         
repudiated the doctrine of vicarious    
atonement4  #aj4 ,he condemned the      
doctrine of forgiveness for sin4  #aa4  
,he opposed the doctrine of future      
rewards and punishments4  #ab4 ,he      
denied the doctrine of the freedom of   
the will4  #ac4 ,he did not believe in  
the efficacy of prayer as understood by 
orthodox ,christians4  #ad ,he indorsed1
 for the most part1 the criticisms of   
,thomas ,paine on the ,bible and        
,christianity1 and accepted1 to a great 
extent1 the theological and humanitarian
 views of ,theodore ,parker4  #ae4 ,he  
wrote a book 7which was suppressed7     
against the ,bible and ,christianity4   
#af4 ,his connection with public affairs
 prevented him from giving prominence to
 his religious opinions during the later
 years of his life1 but his earlier     
views concerning the unsoundness of the 
,christian system of religion never     
underwent any material change1 and he   
died1 as he had lived1 an unbeliever4   

,,abraham ,,lincoln3 ,,was ,,he ,a      
,,christian8     ,,chapter ,i4          
,,christian ,,testimony       ,dr4 ,j4  
,g4 ,holland--,hon4 ,newton             
,bateman--,rev4 ,j4 ,a4 ,reed--         
,rev4 ,james ,smith4 ,d4,d4--,n4 ,w4    
,edwards--,thomas ,lewis--,noah         
,brooks--,rev4 ,byron ,sunderland4      
,d4,d4--,rev4 ,dr4 ,miner--,rev4        
,dr4 ,gurley--,hon4 ,i4 ,n4 ,arnold--,f4
 ,b4 ,carpenter--,isaac                 
,hawley--,rev4 ,mr4 ,willets--,a ,pious 
,nurse--,western ,christian             
,advocate--,an ,illinois                
,clergyman--,rev4 ,j4 ,h4 ,barrows4 ,d  
,d4--      ,rev4 ,francis ,vinton1      
,d4,d4--,bishop ,simpson4  ,in          
confirmation of the claim that ,lincoln 
was a ,christian1 the following evidence
 has been adduced3  ,,dr4 ,j4 ,g4       
,,holland4  ,president ,lincoln died on 
the #aeth of ,april1 #ahfe4 ,in the same
 year1 the ,life of ,abraham ,lincoln1  
written by ,dr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,holland1       
appeared4 ,in the fields of poetry and  

fiction1 and as a magazine writer1 ,dr4 
,holland had achieved an enviable       
reputation4 ,his ,life of ,lincoln was  
written in his usually entertaining     
style and secured a wide circulation4   
,he affirmed that ,lincoln was a        
,christian1 and by means of this work1  
and through ,scribner's ,magazine1 of   
which he was for many years the editor1 
contributed more than any other person  
to render a belief in this claim        
popular4 ,referring to ,lincoln's       
administration1 ,dr4 ,holland says3     
,the power of a true-hearted ,christian 
man1 in perfect sympathy with a         
true-hearted ,christian people1 was ,mr4
 ,lincoln's power4 ,open on one side of 
his nature to all descending influences 
from him to whom he prayed1 and open on 
the other to all ascending influences   
from the people whom he served1 he aimed
 simply to do his duty to ,god and man4 
,acting rightly he acted greatly4 ,while
 he took care of deeds fashioned by a   
purely ideal standard1 ,god took care of

 results4 ,moderate1 frank1 truthful1   
gentle1 forgiving1 loving1 just1 ,mr4   
,lincoln will always be remembered as   
eminently a ,christian ,president2 and  
the almost immeasurably great results   
which he had the privilege of achieving 
were due to the fact that he was a      
,christian ,president 7,life of         
,lincoln1 p4 #edb74  ,,hon4 ,,newton    
,,bateman4  ,dr4 ,holland's claim rests 
chiefly upon a confession which ,lincoln
 is said to have made to ,newton        
,bateman in #ahfj4 ,during the          
,presidential campaign ,lincoln occupied
 the ,executive ,chamber at the ,state  
,house4 ,mr4 ,bateman was               
,superintendent of ,public ,instruction 
at the time1 had his office in the same 
building1 and was frequently in         
,lincoln's room4 ,the conversation in   
which ,lincoln is alleged to have       
expressed a belief in ,christianity is  
thus related in ,holland's ,life of     
,lincoln3  ,on one of these occasions   
,mr4 ,lincoln took up a book containing 

a careful canvass of the city of        
,springfield in which he lived1 showing 
the candidate for whom each citizen had 
declared it his intention to vote in the
 approaching election4 ,mr4 ,lincoln's  
friends had1 doubtless at his own       
request1 placed the result of the       
canvass in his hands4 ,this was toward  
the close of ,october1 and only a few   
days before the election4 ,calling ,mr4 
,bateman to a seat at his side1 having  
previously locked all the doors1 he     
said3 ',let us look over this book4 ,i  
wish particularly to see how the        
ministers of ,springfield are going to  
vote4' ,the leaves were turned1 one by  
one1 and as the names were examined ,mr4
 ,lincoln frequently asked if this one  
and that were not a minister1 or an     
elder1 or the member of such or such a  
church1 and sadly expressed his surprise
 on receiving an affirmative answer4 ,in
 that manner they went through the book1
 and then he closed it and sat silently 
and for some minutes regarding a        

memorandum in pencil which lay before   
him4 ,at length he turned to ,mr4       
,bateman1 with a face full of sadness1  
and said3 ',here are twenty-three       
ministers1 of different denominations1  
and all of them are against me but      
three2 and here are a great many        
prominent members of the churches1 a    
very large majority of whom are against 
me4 ,mr4 ,bateman1 ,i am not a          
,christian--,god knows ,i would be      
one--but ,i have carefully read the     
,bible1 and ,i do not so understand this
 book2' and he drew from his bosom a    
pocket ,new ,testament4 ',these men well
 know1' he continued1 'that ,i am for   
freedom in the territories1 freedom     
everywhere as far as the ,constitution  
and laws will permit1 and that my       
opponents are for slavery4 ,they know   
this1 and yet1 with this book in their  
hands1 in the light of which human      
bondage cannot live a moment1 they are  
going to vote against me4 ,i do not     
understand it at all4' ,here ,mr4       

,lincoln paused--paused for long        
minutes--his features surcharged with   
emotion4 ,then he rose and walked up and
 down the room in the effort to retain  
or regain his self-possession4 ,stopping
 at last1 he said1 with a trembling     
voice and his cheeks wet with tears3 ',i
 know there is a ,god1 and that he hates
 injustice and slavery4 ,i see the storm
 coming1 and ,i know that his hand is in
 it4 ,if he has a place for me--and ,i  
think he has--,i believe ,i am ready4 ,i
 am nothing1 but truth is everything4 ,i
 know ,i am right1 for ,christ teaches  
it1 and ,christ is ,god4'  ,the effect  
of this conversation upon the mind of   
,mr4 ,bateman1 a ,christian gentleman   
whom ,mr4 ,lincoln profoundly respected1
 was to convince him that ,mr4 ,lincoln 
had1 in his quiet way1 found a path to  
the ,christian standpoint--that he had  
found ,god1 and rested on the eternal   
truth of ,god4 ,as the two men were     
about to separate1 ,mr4 ,bateman        
remarked3 ',i have not supposed that you

 were accustomed to think so much upon  
this class of subjects4 ,certainly your 
friends generally are ignorant of the   
sentiments you have expressed to me4'   
,he replied quickly3 ',i know they are4 
,i am obliged to appear different to    
them2 but ,i think more upon these      
subjects than upon all others1 and ,i   
have done so for years2 and ,i am       
willing that you should know it' 7,life 
of ,lincoln1 pp4 #bcf-bci74  ,,rev4 ,j4 
,a4 ,,reed4  ,in #ahgb1 seven years     
after the publication of ,holland's     
work1 ,lamon's ,life of ,abraham        
,lincoln was published4 ,in this work   
the statements of ,holland and ,bateman 
concerning ,lincoln's religious belief  
are disputed1 and the testimony of      
numerous witnesses cited to prove that  
he lived and died a disbeliever4 ,soon  
after ,lamon's book was published1 the  
,rev4 ,j4 ,a4 ,reed1 a ,presbyterian    
clergyman1 of ,springfield1 ,ill41      
delivered a lecture in which he         
attempted to refute or modify the       

evidence of ,lamon's witnesses and prove
 that ,lincoln died a ,christian4 ,he   
admitted that ,lincoln was an ,infidel  
up to #ahdh1 and possibly as late as    
#ahfb1 but endeavored to show that      
previous to his death he changed his    
views and became a ,christian4 ,the     
following extracts present the salient  
points in his discourse3  ,having shown 
what claims ,mr4 ,lamon's book has to   
being the 'only fair and reliable       
history' of ,mr4 ,lincoln's life and    
views1 and of what 'trustworthy         
materials' it is composed1 ,i shall now 
give the testimony ,i have collected to 
establish what has ever been the public 
impression1 that ,mr4 ,lincoln was in   
his later life1 and at the time of his  
death1 a firm believer in the truth of  
the ,christian religion4 ,the           
,infidelity of his earlier life is not  
so much to be wondered at1 when we      
consider the poverty of his early       
religious instruction and the peculiar  
influences by which he was surrounded4  

,it does not appear that he had ever    
seen1 much less read1 a work on the     
evidences of ,christianity till his     
interview with ,rev4 ,dr4 ,smith in     
#ahdh4 ,we hear of him as reading       
,paine1 ,voltaire1 and ,theodore        
,parker1 but nothing on the other side4 
,while it is to be regretted that ,mr4  
,lincoln was not spared to indicate his 
religious sentiments by a profession of 
his faith in accordance with the        
institutions of the ,christian religion1
 yet it is very clear that he had this  
step in view1 and was seriously         
contemplating it1 as a sense of its     
fitness and an apprehension of his duty 
grew upon him4  ,in support of his      
claims1 ,dr4 ,reed presents the         
testimony of ,rev4 ,dr4 ,smith1 ,ninian 
,w4 ,edwards1 ,thomas ,lewis1 ,noah     
,brooks1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,sunderland1 ,rev4  
,dr4 ,miner1 and ,rev4 ,dr4 ,gurley4    
,,rev4 ,,james ,,smith1 ,d4,d4  ,the    
,rev4 ,james ,smith was for many years  
pastor of the ,first ,presbyterian      

,church of ,springfield4 ,lincoln formed
 his acquaintance soon after he located 
there1 remained on friendly terms with  
him1 and with ,mrs4 ,lincoln frequently 
attended his church4 ,dr4 ,smith was one
 of the three ,springfield clergymen who
 supported ,lincoln for ,president in   
#ahfj1 and in recognition of his        
friendship and fidelity1 he received the
 consulship at ,dundee4 ,dr4 ,reed      
quotes from a letter to ,w4 ,h4         
,herndon1 dated ,east ,cainno1          
,scotland1 ,january #bd1 #ahfg1 in which
 ,dr4 ,smith says3  ,it is a very easy  
matter to prove that while ,i was pastor
 of the ,first ,presbyterian ,church of 
,springfield1 ,mr4 ,lincoln did avow his
 belief in the divine authority and     
inspiration of the scriptures1 and ,i   
hold that it is a matter of the last    
importance not only to the present1 but 
all future generations of the great     
,republic1 and to all advocates of civil
 and religious liberty throughout the   
world1 that this avowal on his part1 and

 the circumstances attending it1        
together with very interesting incidents
 illustrative of the excellence of his  
character1 in my possession1 should be  
made known to the public4444 ,it was my 
honor to place before ,mr4 ,lincoln     
arguments designed to prove the divine  
authority and inspiration of the        
scriptures accompanied by the arguments 
of ,infidel objectors in their own      
language4 ,to the arguments on both     
sides ,mr4 ,lincoln gave a most patient1
 impartial1 and searching investigation4
 ,to use his own language1 he examined  
the arguments as a lawyer who is anxious
 to reach the truth investigates        
testimony4 ,the result was the          
announcement by himself that the        
argument in favor of the divine         
authority and inspiration of the        
,scriptures was unanswerable4  ,,hon4   
,,minian ,w4 ,,edwards4  ,ninian ,w4    
,edwards1 a brother-in-law of ,lincoln1 
writes as follows3  ,springfield1 ,dec4 
#bdth1 #ahgb4  ,rev4 ,jas4 ,a4 ,reed3   

,dear ,sir--  ,a short time after the   
,rev4 ,dr4 ,smith became pastor of the  
,first ,presbyterian church in this     
city1 ,mr4 ,lincoln said to me1 ',i have
 been reading a work of ,dr4 ,smith on  
the evidences of ,christianity1 and have
 heard him preach and converse on the   
subject1 and ,i am now convinced of the 
truth of the ,christian religion4'      
,yours truly1  ,n4 ,w4 ,edwards4        
,,thomas ,,lewis4  ,in corroboration of 
,mr4 ,edwards's statement1 ,thomas      
,lewis1 of ,springfield1 ,ill41         
testifies as follows3  ,springfield1    
,jan4 #fth1 #ahgc4  ,rev4 ,j4 ,a4 ,reed3
  ,dear ,sir--  ,not long after ,dr4    
,smith came to ,springfield1 and ,i     
think very near the time of his son's   
death1 ,mr4 ,lincoln said to me1 that   
when on a visit somewhere1 he had seen  
and partially read a work of ,dr4 ,smith
 on the evidences of ,christianity which
 had led him to change his views about  
the ,christian religion2 that he would  
like to get that work to finish the     

reading of it1 and also to make the     
acquaintance of ,dr4 ,smith4 ,i was an  
elder in ,dr4 ,smith's church1 and took 
,dr4 ,smith to ,mr4 ,lincoln's office   
and introduced him2 and ,dr4 ,smith gave
 ,mr4 ,lincoln a copy of his book1 as ,i
 know1 at his own request4  ,yours etc41
  ,thos4 ,lewis4  ,,noah ,,brooks4 ,noah
 ,brooks1 a newspaper correspondent of  
,new ,york1 and the author of a         
biography of ,lincoln1 gives the        
following testimony3  ,new ,york1 ,dec4 
#ca1ahgb4  ,rev4 ,j4 ,a4 ,reed1  ,my    
,dear ,sir3  ,in addition to what has   
appeared from my pen1 ,i will state that
 ,i have had many conversations with    
,mr4 ,lincoln1 which were more or less  
of a religious character1 and while ,i  
never tried to draw anything like a     
statement of his views from him1 yet he 
freely expressed himself to me as having
 'a hope of blessed immortality through 
,jesus ,christ4' ,his views seemed to   
settle so naturally around that         
statement1 that ,i considered no other  

necessary4 ,his language seemed not that
 of an inquirer1 but of one who had a   
prior settled belief in the fundamental 
doctrines of the ,christian religion4   
,once or twice1 speaking to me of the   
change which had come upon him1 he said1
 while he could not fix any definite    
time1 yet it was after he came here1 and
 ,i am very positive that in his own    
mind he identified it with about the    
time of ,willie's death4 ,he said1 too1 
that after he went to the ,white ,house 
he kept up the habit of daily prayer4   
,sometimes he said it was only ten      
words1 but those ten words he had4      
,there is no possible reason to suppose 
that ,mr4 ,lincoln would ever deceive me
 as to his religious sentiments4 ,in    
many conversations with him1 ,i absorbed
 the firm conviction that ,mr4 ,lincoln 
was at heart a ,christian man1 believed 
in the ,savior1 and was seriously       
considering the step which would        
formally connect him with the visible   
church on earth4 ,certainly1 any        

suggestion as to ,mr4 ,lincoln's        
skepticism or ,infidelity1 to me who    
knew him intimately from #ahfb till the 
time of his death1 is a monstrous       
fiction--a shocking perversion4  ,yours 
truly1  ,noah ,brooks4  ,,rev4 ,,byron  
,,sunderland1 ,d4,d4  ,mr4 ,reed        
presents a lengthy letter from the ,rev4
 ,byron ,sunderland1 of ,washington1    
dated ,nov4 #ae1 #ahgb4 ,dr4 ,sunderland
 in company with a party of friends     
visited the ,president in the autumn of 
#ahfb4 ,in this letter he says3  ,after 
some conversation1 in which he seemed   
disposed to have his joke and fun1 he   
settled down to a serious consideration 
of the subject before his mind1 and for 
one half-hour poured forth a volume of  
the deepest ,christian philosophy ,i    
ever heard4  ,,rev4 ,,dr4 ,,miner4  ,the
 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,miner1 who met ,lincoln in 
,washington1 says3  ,all that was said  
during that memorable afternoon ,i spent
 alone with that great and good man is  
engraven too deeply on my memory ever to

 be effaced4 ,i felt certain of this    
fact1 that if ,mr4 ,lincoln was not     
really an experimental ,christian1 he   
was acting like one4 ,he was doing his  
duty manfully1 and looking to ,god for  
help in time of need2 and1 like the     
immortal ,washington1 he believed in the
 efficacy of prayer1 and it was his     
custom to read the ,scriptures and pray 
himself4  ,,rev4 ,p4 ,d4 ,,gurley1      
,d4,d4  ,while in ,washington1 ,lincoln 
with his family attended the            
,presbyterian church of which the ,rev4 
,dr4 ,gurley was pastor4 ,mr4 ,reed     
cites the following as the testimony of 
,dr4 ,gurley in regard to the alleged   
,infidelity of ,lincoln3  ,i do not     
believe a word of it4 ,it could not have
 been true of him while here1 for ,i    
have had frequent and intimate          
conversations with him on the subject of
 the ,bible and the ,christian religion1
 when he could have had no motive to    
deceive me1 and ,i considered him sound 
not only on the truth of the ,christian 

religion but on all its fundamental     
doctrines and teachings4 ,and more than 
that1 in the latter days of his         
chastened and weary life1 after the     
death of his son ,willie1 and his visit 
to the battlefield of ,gettysburg1 he   
said1 with tears in his eyes1 that he   
had lost confidence in everything but   
,god1 and that he now believed his heart
 was changed1 and that he loved the     
,savior and1 if he was not deceived in  
himself1 it was his intention soon to   
make a profession of religion4  ,,hon4  
,,isaac ,n4 ,,arnold4  ,one of the most 
ardent friends and admirers of ,abraham 
,lincoln was ,isaac ,n4 ,arnold1 for    
several years a member of ,congress from
 ,illinois4 ,mr4 ,arnold wrote a work on
 ,lincoln and ,slavery1 and a ,life of  
,lincoln which was published in #ahhe4  
,lincoln's religious views are thus     
described by ,mr4 ,arnold3  ,no more    
reverent ,christian than he ever sat in 
the ,executive chair1 not excepting     
,washington4 ,he was by nature          

religious2 full of religious sentiment4 
,the veil between him and the           
supernatural was very thin4 ,it is not  
claimed that he was orthodox1 for creeds
 and dogmas he cared little4 ,but in the
 great fundamental principles of        
religion1 of the ,christian2 religion1  
he was a firm believer4 ,belief in the  
existence of ,god1 in the immortality of
 the soul1 in the ,bible as the         
revelation of ,god to man1 in the       
efficacy and duty of prayer1 in         
reverence toward the ,almighty1 and in  
love and charity to man1 was the basis  
of his religion 7,life of ,lincoln1 p4  
#ddf74  ,his reply to the ,negroes of   
,baltimore when they1 in #ahfd1         
presented him with a magnificent ,bible1
 ought to silence forever those who     
charge him with unbelief4 ,he said3 ',in
 regard to the ,great ,book ,i have only
 to say that it is the best gift which  
,god has given to man4 ,all the good    
from the ,savior of the world is        
communicated through this book' 7,ibid41

 p4 #ddg74  ,his faith in a ,divine     
,providence began at his mother's knee1 
and ran through all the changes of his  
life4 ,not orthodox1 not a man of       
creeds1 he was a man of simple trust in 
,god 7lb41 p4 #ddh74  ,f4 ,b4           
,,carpenter4  ,mr4 ,carpenter1 the      
artist1 in his popular book1 entitled   
,six ,months in the ,white ,house with  
,abraham ,lincoln1 uses the following   
language3  ,i would scarcely have called
 ,mr4 ,lincoln a religious man--and yet 
,i believe him to have been a sincere   
,christian 7,six ,months in the ,white  
,house1 p4 #ahe74  ,,isaac ,,hawley4    
,in the spring of #ahhg1 in going from  
,springfield to ,havana1 ,i met ,isaac  
,hawley1 one of the early settlers of   
,illinois1 and who for nearly twenty    
years resided within a few blocks of    
,lincoln in ,springfield4 ,in answer to 
the question1 ,was ,lincoln a           
,christian8 ,mr4 ,hawley replied3  ,i   
believe that ,lincoln was a ,christian1 
and that he was ,god's chosen instrument

 to perform the mighty work he did4     
,,rev4 ,,mr4 ,,willets4  ,the ,rev4 ,mr4
 ,willets1 of ,brooklyn1 ,n4 ,y41 is    
credited with the following statement   
concerning ,lincoln's reputed           
conversion4 ,the information it contains
 was obtained1 it is said1 from a lady  
of ,mr4 ,willets's acquaintance who met 
,lincoln in ,washington3  ,the          
,president1 it seemed1 had been much    
impressed with the devotion and         
earnestness of purpose manifested by the
 lady1 and on one occasion1 after she   
had discharged the object of her visit1 
he said to her3 ,mrs4 --------1 ,i have 
formed a high opinion of your ,christian
 character1 and now1 as we are alone1 ,i
 have a mind to ask you to give me1 in  
brief1 your idea of what constitutes a  
true religious experience4 ,the lady    
replied at some length1 stating that1 in
 her judgment1 it consisted of a        
conviction of one's own sinfulness and  
weakness1 and personal need of a ,savior
 for strength and support2 that views of

 mere doctrine might and would differ1  
but when one was really brought to feel 
his need of divine help1 and to seek the
 aid of the ,holy ,spirit for strength  
and guidance1 it was satisfactory       
evidence of his having been born again4 
,this was the substance of her reply4   
,when she had concluded1 ,mr4 ,lincoln  
was very thoughtful for a few moments2  
,he at length said1 very earnestly1 ',if
 what you have told me is really a      
correct view of this great subject1 ,i  
think ,i can say with sincerity that ,i 
hope ,i am a ,christian' 7,anecdotes of 
,lincoln1 pp4 #aff1 #afg74  ,a ,,pious  
,,nurse4  ,a pious lady1 who served in  
the capacity of a hospital nurse at     
,washington1 and who sometimes visited  
the ,white ,house1 testifies to         
,lincoln's belief in the efficacy of    
prayer4 ,the incident narrated occurred 
while a battle was in progress4 ,the    
report says3  ,the possibility of defeat
 depressed him greatly2 but the lady    
told him he must trust1 and that he     

could at least pray4 ',yes1' said he1   
and taking up a ,bible1 he started for  
his room4 ,could all the people of the  
nation have overheard the earnest       
petition that went up from that inner   
chamber as it reached the ears of the   
nurse1 they would have fallen upon their
 knees with tearful and reverential     
sympathy 7,anecdotes of ,lincoln1 p4    
#abj74  ,,western ,,christian           
,,advocate4  ,soon after the close of   
the war1 the ,western ,chris-tian       
,advocate1 the leading ,christian       
journal of the ,west1 published the     
following3  ,on the day of the receipt  
of the capitulation of ,lee1 as we learn
 from a friend intimate with the late   
,president ,lincoln1 the cabinet meeting
 was held an hour earlier than usual4   
,neither the ,president nor any member  
was able1 for a time1 to give utterance 
to his feelings4 ,at the suggestion of  
,mr4 ,lincoln all dropped on their      
knees1 and offered in silence and in    
tears their humble and heartfelt        

acknowledgment to the ,almighty for the 
triumph he had granted to the national  
cause4  ,the above is quoted by ,raymond
 and other biographers of ,lincoln4     
,,an ,,illinois ,,clergyman4  ,in the   
,lincoln ,memorial ,album appears what  
is reported to be ,lincoln's ,reply to  
an ,illinois ,clergyman3  ,when ,i left 
,springfield ,i asked the people to pray
 for me4 ,i was not a ,christian4 ,when 
,i buried my son1 the severest trial of 
my life1 ,i was not a ,christian4 ,but  
when ,i went to ,gettysburg1 and saw the
 graves of thousands of our soldiers1 ,i
 then and there consecrated myself to   
,christ4 ,yes1 ,i do love ,jesus 7,l4   
,m4 ,a41 p4 #cff74  ,,rev4 ,,john ,n4   
,,barrows4  ,in the ,lincoln ,memorial  
,album1 ,dr4 ,j4 ,h4 ,barrows           
contributes an article on ,the          
,religious ,aspects of ,abraham         
,lincoln's ,career1 from which ,i quote 
as follows3  ,in the anxious            
uncertainties of the great war1 he      
gradually rose to the hights where      

,jehovah became to him the sublimest of 
realities1 the ruler of nations4 ,when  
he wrote his immortal ,proclamation1 he 
invoked upon it not only 'the           
considerate judgment of mankind1' but   
'the gracious favor of ,almighty ,god4' 
,when darkness gathered over the brave  
armies fighting for the nation's life1  
this strong man in the early morning    
knelt and wrestled in prayer with him   
who holds in his hand the fate of       
empires4 ,when the clouds lifted above  
the carnage of ,gettysburg1 he gave his 
heart to the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,when
 he pronounced his matchless oration on 
the chief battlefield of the war1 he    
gave expression to the resolve that     
'this nation1 under ,god1 should have a 
new birth of freedom4' ,and when he     
wrote his last ,inaugural ,address1 he  
gave to it the lofty religious tone of  
an old ,hebrew psalm 7,l4 ,m4 ,a41 p4   
#ejh74  ,,rev4 ,,francis ,,vinton1      
,d4,d4  ,this clergyman1 a resident of  
,new ,york1 and a stranger to ,lincoln1 

visited the ,white ,house in #ahfb1 it  
is claimed1 and indulged in an argument 
and exhortation1 the effect of which was
 to convert the ,president to a belief  
in the ,christian doctrine of the       
resurrection and the immortality of the 
soul4 ,during the interview1 ,lincoln1  
it is reported1 fell upon the neck of   
his clerical visitor and wept like a    
child4  ,before retiring1 ,dr4 ,vinton  
said3 ,i have a sermon upon this subject
 which ,i think might interest you4 ,mr4
 ,lincoln1 the report continues1 begged 
him to send it at an early day1 thanking
 him repeatedly for his cheering and    
hopeful words4 ,the sermon was sent1 and
 read over and over by the ,president1  
who caused a copy to be made for his own
 private use before it was returned     
7,anecdotes of ,lincoln1 pp4 #ajg1      
#ajh74  ,,bishop ,,simpson4  ,the most  
eminent ,methodist divine of that period
 was ,bishop ,simpson4 ,during the war  
his commanding influence and rare       
eloquence did much to secure for the    

,union cause the united support of      
,northern ,methodists4 ,lincoln         
appreciated the services of the         
distinguished divine1 and they became   
warm friends4 ,when the remains of the  
,president were conveyed to their final 
resting-place at ,springfield1 ,bishop  
,simpson was selected to deliver the    
funeral oration4 ,alluding to the       
religious phase of ,lincoln's character1
 he spoke as follows3  ,as a ruler1 ,i  
doubt if any ,president has ever shown  
such trust in ,god1 or in public        
documents so frequently referred to     
divine aid4 ,often did he remark to     
friends and to delegations that his hope
 for our success rested in his          
conviction that ,god would bless our    
efforts because we were trying to do    
right 7,lincoln and ,slavery1 p4 #fgc74 
,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,review ,,of           
,,christian ,,testimony--,,holland ,,and
 ,,bateman4       ,character of         
,holland's ,life of ,lincoln--,the      
,bateman      ,interview--,inconsistency

 and untruthfulness of its              
statements--,holland's ,subsequent      
,modification and ,final                
,abandonment of his original ,claims4   
,in the preceding chapter has been      
presented the ,christian side of this   
question4 ,it has been presented fully  
and fairly4 ,even the ,christian        
claimant must admit that it is the      
longest and most complete array of      
testimony that has yet been published in
 support of his claim4 ,this evidence is
 explicit and apparently conclusive4 ,to
 attempt its refutation may seem        
presumptuous4 ,and yet1 in the face of  
all this evidence1 the writer does not  
hesitate to declare that ,abraham       
,lincoln was not a ,christian1 and      
pledge himself to refute the statements 
of these witnesses by a volume of       
testimony that is irresistible and      
overwhelming4  ,before introducing this 
testimony the evidence already adduced  
will be reviewed4 ,this evidence may    
properly be grouped into three          

divisions3 #a4 ,the testimony of        
,holland and ,bateman2 #b4 ,the         
testimony of ,reed and his witnesses2   
#c4 ,the testimony of ,arnold and the   
miscellaneous evidence remaining4       
,holland's ,life of ,lincoln1 from a    
literary point of view1 is a work of    
more than ordinary merit4 ,it possesses 
a beauty of diction and an intellectual 
vigor seldom surpassed2 but as an       
authority it is unreliable4 ,like       
,weems's ,life of ,washington1 it is    
simply a biographical romance founded   
upon fact1 but paying little regard to  
facts in presenting the details4        
,following the natural bent of          
,christian biographers1 ,holland parades
 the subject of his work as a model of  
,christian piety4 ,he knew that this was
 false2 for1 while he was unacquainted  
with ,lincoln1 he had been apprised of  
his unbelief--had been repeatedly told  
of it before he wrote his biography4    
,but this did not deter him from        
asserting the contrary4 ,he knew that if

 he stated the facts the clergy would   
condemn his book4 ,they needed the      
influence of ,lincoln's great name to   
support their crumbling creed1 and would
 have it at any sacrifice1 particularly 
when its possession required no greater 
sacrifice than truth4 ,holland was equal
 to the emergency4 ,when one of         
,lincoln's friends in ,springfield      
suggested that the less said about his  
religious views the better1 he promptly 
replied3 ,oh1 never mind2 ,i'll fix     
that4 ,and he did4 ,with dramatic       
embellishments1 he presented to the     
delight of the orthodox world the now   
famous1 or rather infamous1 ,bateman    
interview4  ,the publication of this    
story produced a profound sensation     
among the personal friends of the dead  
,president4 ,it revealed to them the    
unpleasant fact1 assuming ,holland's    
account to be correct1 either that      
,newton ,bateman1 who had hitherto borne
 the reputation of being a man of       
veracity1 was an unscrupulous liar1 or  

that ,abraham ,lincoln1 whose reputation
 for honesty and candor1 long anterior  
to #ahfj1 had become proverbial1 was a  
consummate hypocrite2 and loath as they 
were to believe the former1 they        
rejected with disdain the latter4       
,referring to this story1 ,lamon1 in his
 ,life of ,lincoln1 says3  ,there is no 
dealing with ,mr4 ,bateman except by a  
flat contradiction4 ,perhaps his memory 
was treacherous or his imagination led  
him astray1 or1 peradventure1 he thought
 a fraud no harm if it gratified the    
strong desire of the public for proofs  
of ,mr4 ,lincoln's orthodoxy 7,life of  
,lincoln1 p4 #eja74  ,while ,bateman    
undoubtedly misrepresented ,lincoln in  
his account of their conversation--for  
it is not denied that he had an         
interview with ,lincoln--it is quite    
probable that he did not to the extent  
represented by ,holland4 ,bateman       
doubtless exaggerated the affair1 and   
,holland magnified ,bateman's report of 
it4 ,in an article originally published 

in the ,index1 and subsequently quoted  
by ,lamon1 ,lincoln's law partner1 ,mr4 
,herndon1 says3  ,i doubt whether ,mr4  
,bateman said in full what is recorded  
there4 ,i doubt a great deal of it4 ,i  
know the whole story is untrue--untrue  
in substance1 untrue in fact and spirit4
 ,as soon as the ,holland's ',life of   
,lincoln' was out1 on reading that part 
here referred to1 ,i instantly sought   
,mr4 ,bateman and found him in his      
office4 ,i spoke to him politely and    
kindly1 and he spoke to me in the same  
manner4 ,i said substantially to him    
that ,mr4 ,holland1 in order to make    
,mr4 ,lincoln a technical ,christian1   
made him a hypocrite2 and so his ',life 
of ,lincoln' quite plainly says4 ,i     
loved ,mr4 ,lincoln1 and was mortified1 
if not angry1 to see him made a         
hypocrite4 ,i cannot now detail what    
,mr4 ,bateman said1 as it was a private 
conversation1 and ,i am forbidden to    
make use of it in public4 ,if some good 
gentleman can only get the seal of      

secrecy removed ,i can show what was    
said and done4 ,on my word1 the world   
may take it for granted that ,holland is
 wrong--that he does not state ,mr4     
,lincoln's views correctly 7,lamon's    
,life of ,lincoln1 p4 #dif74  ,in a     
lecture on ,lincoln's ,religion1        
delivered in ,springfield in #ahgd1     
alluding to the same subject1 ,mr4      
,herndon says3  ,my notes of our        
conversation bear date ,december #c1    
#ab1 and #bh1 #ahfe4 ,our conversations 
were private1 ,i suppose4 ,however1 ,i  
can say this much3 that ,mr4 ,bateman   
expressly told me ,mr4 ,lincoln was1 in 
the conversation related in ,holland1   
talking politics and not religion1 nor  
,christianity1 nor morals1 as such4 ,i  
have persistently dogged ,mr4 ,bateman  
for the privilege of publishing my      
notes1 or to give me a letter explaining
 what ,mr4 ,lincoln did say1 so that ,i 
might make known the facts of the case4 
,mr4 ,bateman has as stoutly refused4   
,dr4 ,bateman finally permitted ,mr4    

,herndon to make public a letter1 marked
 confidential1 which he had written ,mr4
 ,herndon in #ahfg4 ,in this letter     
,bateman says3  ,he ,lincoln was        
applying the principles of moral and    
religious truth to the duties of the    
hour1 the condition of the country1 and 
the conduct of public men--ministers of 
the gospel4 ,i had no thought of        
orthodoxy or heterodoxy1 ,unitarianism1 
,trinitarianism1 or any other ism1      
during the whole conversation1 and ,i   
don't suppose or believe he had4  ,had  
,lincoln made the confession he is      
reported to have made1 this would have  
suggested to ,mr4 ,bateman the idea of  
his admitted orthodoxy as well as his   
reputed heterodoxy4 ,had ,lincoln       
declared that ,christ is ,god1 this     
would have suggested to him the idea of 
,trinitarianism4 ,it will be seen1 even 
from this letter1 that instead of       
talking theology and professing a belief
 in ,christianity1 he was talking       
politics and denouncing the intolerance 

and bigotry of ,christian ministers4    
,dr4 ,bateman privately asserts that he 
was not correctly reported1 that        
,holland's version of the interview is  
colored4 ,it is to be regretted that he 
had not the courage to state this fact  
to the public1 and his plea1 ,my        
aversion to publicity in such matters is
 intense1 is a poor apology for refusing
 to do so4  ,as previously intimated1   
this story is probably founded on fact  
and has an element of truth in it4      
,lincoln and ,bateman had a political   
interview1 and the object of this       
interview was the examination and       
discussion of the list of ,springfield  
voters4 ,this list revealed the fact    
that twenty out of twenty-three         
clergymen and a very large majority of  
the church-members of ,springfield were 
opposed to ,lincoln4 ,the significance  
of this fact ,dr4 ,holland and ,dr4     
,bateman have apparently overlooked4    
,why was the church opposed to him8 ,it 
must have been either because it was    

opposed to the ,republican party1 or    
because he was personally objectionable 
to the members of that party4 ,his      
political principles were the principles
 of his party1 his ability was conceded1
 and his moral character was above      
reproach4 ,it is fair to assume that the
 political sentiment of the ,christians 
of ,springfield was substantially the   
political sentiment of ,northern        
,christians generally4 ,now1 was the    
,northern ,church overwhelmingly in     
favor of the extension of slavery8 ,were
 eighty-seven per cent1 of ,northern    
,christians ,democrats8 ,or did the     
,christians of ,springfield oppose      
,lincoln because he was an ,infidel8    
,holland makes ,bateman affirm that     
,lincoln drew from his bosom a pocket   
,new ,testament4 ,it is generally       
believed by ,lincoln's friends that he  
did not have a ,new ,testament1 that the
 only book used in the interview was the
 book containing the list of            
,springfield voters4 ,one of them says3 

,the idea that ,mr4 ,lincoln carried the
 ,new ,testament or ,bible in his bosom 
or boots1 to draw on his opponents in   
debate1 is ridiculous4 ,it is possible1 
however1 that there was a ,new          
,testament in the room1 and that        
,lincoln used it to enforce an argument4
 ,indeed1 there is internal evidence in 
the story1 aside from the declaration of
 ,bateman1 that such was the case4 ,the 
central idea in his political creed--the
 keynote of his campaigns1 both in #aheh
 and in #ahfj--was contained in that    
memorable passage1 ',a house divided    
against itself cannot stand4' ,this     
government can not endure permanently   
half slave and half free4 ,the figure   
quoted was a familiar and powerful one1 
and ,lincoln recognized its force in    
dealing with the masses4 ,it was taken  
from the ,new ,testament1 and from the  
words of ,christ himself4 ,that he      
should use it against those ,christians 
who were acting contrary to this        
well-known truth1 is not strange4       

,immediately after the declaration1     
,christ is ,god1 he is reported as      
saying3 ,i have told them that a house  
divided against itself cannot stand1 and
 ,christ and reason say the same4 ,this 
furnishes a solution to the whole story4
 ,this shows what he was doing with a   
,new ,testament4 ,in connection with    
this1 nothing is more natural than that 
he should exclaim3 ,christ teaches it1  
and ,christ is their ,god6 ,that he was 
terribly in earnest1 that he was deeply 
agitated and pained to learn that his   
,christian neighbors were opposed to    
him1 is not improbable4 ,thus the       
incidents of a simple political         
interview that were natural and         
reasonable have been perverted to make  
it appear that he was a ,christian4 ,a  
mere reference to the ,new ,testament   
and ,christ have been twisted into an   
acknowledgment of their divinity4       
,bateman himself admits that ,lincoln   
said3 ,i am not a ,christian4 ,why not  
accept his statement1 then8 ,why then   

distort his words and in the face of    
this positive declaration attempt to    
prove that he was a ,christian8 ,bateman
 reports him as modifying the statement 
by adding3 ,god knows ,i would be one4  
,yes1 ,god knows ,i would be one were ,i
 convinced that ,christianity is true1  
but not convinced of its truth1 ,i am an
 unbeliever4 ,lincoln is also reported  
to have said that in the light of the   
,new ,testament human bondage can not   
live a moment4 ,but he did not utter    
these words4 ,he did not utter them     
because they are untrue1 and none knew  
this better than himself4 ,he knew that 
in the light of this book human bondage 
had lived for nearly two thousand years2
 he knew that this book was one of the  
great bulwarks of human slavery2 he knew
 that there was not to be found between 
its lids a single text condemning       
slavery1 while there were to he found a 
score of texts sustaining it2 he knew   
that that infamous law1 the ,fugitive   
,slave law1 received its warrant from   

this book--that ,paul1 in the light of  
its earliest teachings1 had returned a  
fugitive slave to his master4  ,in this 
story ,lincoln is charged with the      
grossest hypocrisy4 ,he is declared to  
have professed a belief in ,christ and  
,christianity1 and when ,bateman        
observed that his friends were ignorant 
of this1 he is made to reply3 ,i know   
they are4 ,i am obliged to appear       
different to them4 ,now1 to use         
,lincoln's own words1 ,a sane person can
 no more act without a motive than can  
there be an effect without a cause1 and 
what possible motive could he have had  
for such conduct8 ,supposing that he was
 base enough to be a hypocrite1 what    
could induce him to lead the world to   
suppose he was an ,infidel if he were   
not8 ,in the eyes of the more ignorant  
and bigoted class of ,christians1       
,infidelity is a more heinous crime than
 murder1 and an ,infidel is a creature  
scarcely to be tolerated1 much less to  
be intrusted with a public office4      

,freethinkers generally detest the      
dogmas of ,christianity as thoroughly as
 ,christians possibly can the principles
 of ,freethought4 ,but free thought and 
free speech are the leading tenets of   
their creed4 ,they recognize the fact   
that we are all the children of         
circumstances1 that our belief is       
determined by our environments1 and     
while they reject ,christianity1 they   
have nothing but charity for those who  
conscientiously profess it4 ,they may   
repudiate a bigot1 but will not oppose a
 man merely because he is a ,christian4 
,if ,lincoln were an ,infidel1          
discretion might urge a concealment of  
his views2 if he were a ,christian1     
policy would prompt him to give it as   
wide a publicity as possible1 especially
 when he rested under the imputation of 
being a disbeliever4 ,had he changed his
 belief and become a convert to         
,christianity1 a knowledge of the fact  
would not have lost him the support of  
his friends1 even though some of them   

were ,freethinkers2 while it would have 
secured for him a more cordial support  
from the ,republican side of the church1
 many of whom had been alienated on     
account of his supposed anti-,christian 
sentiments4 ,it is hard to believe that 
,lincoln was a hypocrite2 but this      
story1 if true1 makes him not only a    
hypocrite but a fool4 ,if he believed in
 ,christianity there can be but one     
reason advanced for his desiring to keep
 it a secret--he was ashamed of it4     
,holland1 in trying to explain away the 
inconsistencies of this fabrication1    
repeatedly blunders4 ,in one of his     
attempts he makes use of the following  
remarkable language3  ,it was one of the
 peculiarities of ,mr4 ,lincoln to hide 
these religious experiences from the    
eyes of the world4444 ,they his friends 
did not regard him as a religious man4  
,they had never seen anything but the   
active lawyer1 the keen politician1 the 
jovial1 fun-loving companion in ,mr4    
,lincoln4 ,all this department of his   

life he had kept carefully hidden from  
them4 ,why he should say that he was    
obliged to appear differently to others 
does not appear2 but the fact is a      
matter of history that he never exposed 
his own religious life to those who had 
no sympathy with it4 ,it is doubtful    
whether the clergymen of ,springfield   
knew anything of these experiences      
7,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #bci1 #bdj74    
,what6 had the clergymen of ,springfield
 no sympathy with a religious life8 ,a  
person can utter one falsehood with some
 degree of plausibility2 but when he    
attempts to verify it by uttering       
another1 he usually trips and falls4    
,the above passage is mere hypocritical 
cant4 ,it carries with it not only its  
own refutation1 but that of the rest of 
,holland's testimony also4 ,it is the   
language of the man who is conscious of 
having stated a falsehood2 conscious    
that there are others who believe it to 
be a falsehood4 ,he knew that the       
personal friends of ,lincoln all        

understood him to be a disbeliever4 ,he 
knew that the church-members of         
,springfield all entertained the same   
opinion4 ,he virtually says to these    
people3 ,it is true that ,lincoln       
professed to be an ,infidel1 but he was 
not2 he was a ,christian4 ,the fact has 
been kept a profound secret4 ,bateman   
and ,i have been the sole custodians of 
this secret1 and we now give it to the  
world4  ,a ,christian writer1           
apologizing for the absurd and          
contradictory statements of ,holland and
 ,bateman1 says1 ,they aimed at the     
truth4 ,i do not believe it4 ,it is     
clearly evident that they aimed at a    
plausible lie4 ,but in either case they 
made a bad shot4  ,in his ,life of      
,lincoln1 ,holland endeavors to convey  
the impression that ,lincoln was always 
a devout ,christian4 ,he declares that  
even during the years of his early      
manhood at ,new ,salem1 he was a        
religious man2 that he had a deep       
religious life4 ,when ,herndon and      

,lamon exposed his shameful             
misrepresentations he retreated from his
 first position1 and in ,scribner's     
,monthly wrote as follows3  ,what       
,abraham ,lincoln was when he lived at  
,new ,salem and wrote an anti-,christian
 tract 7which the friend to whom he     
showed it somewhat violently but most   
judiciously put in the fire7 is one     
thing1 and it may be necessary for an   
impartial historian to record it4 ,what 
he was when he died at ,washington with 
those most ,christian words of the      
,second ,inaugural upon his lips1 and   
that most ,christian record of five     
years of patient tenderness and charity 
behind him1 is quite another thing4  ,he
 admits that ,lincoln was an ,infidel in
 ,illinois1 but would have us believe   
that he was a ,christian in ,washington4
 ,he refers to those most ,christian    
words of the ,second ,inaugural1 and    
that most ,christian record of five     
years of patient tenderness and charity4
 ,in the ,second ,inaugural there is not

 a word affirming a belief in           
,christianity--not a word in reference  
to ,christianity4 ,he mentions ,god1 and
 quotes from the ,bible1 but does not   
intimate that the ,bible is ,god's word4
 ,that ,christians have a monopoly of   
patient tenderness and charity1 can     
hardly be accepted4 ,the history of the 
church does not confirm this assumption4
 ,many ,christians have possessed these 
virtues4 ,so have the votaries of other 
religions4 ,these attributes belong to  
good men everywhere1 but they are the   
distinguishing features of no particular
 creed4  ,smarting under his exposure1  
with that whining cant so peculiar to   
the vanquished religionist1 ,holland    
finally sent forth this parting wail and
 virtually abandoned the whole case3    
,the question is1 not whether ,abraham  
,lincoln was a subscriber to the creeds 
of orthodoxy1 but whether he was a      
believing--that is to say1 a truthful   
,christian man2 not whether he was      
accustomed to call ,jesus ,christ       

',lord1 ,lord1' but whether he was used 
to do those things which ,jesus ,christ 
exemplified and enforced4 ,he was       
accustomed1 as we know well enough1 to  
speak of an ,almighty ,father1 of whom  
justice and mercy and sympathy with weak
 and suffering humanity were            
characteristic attributes4 ,who was it  
that revealed to man a ,god like this8  
,who was it that once 'showed us the    
,father and it sufficed us8' ,whoever it
 was that made this revelation to       
mankind it was of him that this man1    
even though he knew it not1 had learned1
 and it was in his spirit that he acted 
7,scribner's ,monthly74  ,the concluding
 words of ,dr4 ,holland's testimony1 as 
quoted from his ,life of ,lincoln1 are  
as follows3  ,moderate1 frank1 truthful1
 gentle1 forgiving1 loving1 just1 ,mr4  
,lincoln will always be remembered as   
eminently a ,christian ,president2 and  
the almost immeasurably great results   
which he had the privilege of achieving 
were due to the fact that he was a      

,christian ,president4  ,this prediction
 and this assumption are false1 change  
one word and make them grandly true4    
,moderate1 frank1 truthful1 gentle1     
forgiving1 loving1 just1 ,mr4 ,lincoln  
will always be remembered as eminently a
 ,liberal ,president2 and the almost    
immeasurably great results which he had 
the privilege of achieving were due to  
the fact that he was a ,liberal         
,president4     ,,chapter ,,iii4        
,,review ,,of ,,christian               
,,testimony--,,reed ,,and ,,his         
,,witnesses4                            
,reed--,smith--,edwards--,lewis--,brooks
--,statements of ,edwards1      ,smith1 
and ,brooks                             
,compared--,sunderland--,miner--,gurley-
-      ,failure of ,reed to ,establish  
his ,claims4  ,of the twenty ,christian 
witnesses whose testimony is given in   
,chapter ,i41 ten admit that1 during a  
part of his life1 ,lincoln was an       
unbeliever1 or ,infidel4 ,of the        
remaining ten1 not one denies the fact4 

,it is conceded1 then1 that he was once 
an ,infidel4 ,now1 it is a rule of law  
that when a certain state or condition  
of things is once proven to exist1 that 
state or condition is presumed to       
continue to exist until the contrary is 
proven4 ,if ,lincoln was1 at one time1  
an ,infidel1 it is fair to assume that  
he remained an ,infidel1 unless it can  
be shown that he changed his belief and 
became a ,christian4 ,this ,dr4 ,reed   
attempts to do4  ,his lecture1 under the
 caption of ,the ,later ,life and       
,religious ,sentiments of ,abraham      
,lincoln1 will be found in ,scribner's  
,monthly for ,july1 #ahgc4 ,the evidence
 presented by ,lamon had placed ,dr4    
,holland in a most unenviable light4 ,as
 ,reed's lecture reaffirmed the claim   
made by ,holland1 and brought forward   
fresh evidence to substantiate the      
claim1 it was naturally regarded by many
 ,christians as a vindication of        
,holland's position1 especially by those
 who had not read ,lamon's work4        

,holland was particularly pleased at its
 opportune appearance1 and cheerfully   
gave it a place in his magazine4        
,reed's individual testimony proves     
nothing4 ,he does not profess to know1  
from personal knowledge1 what ,lincoln's
 religious views were4 ,the object of   
his lecture was to invalidate1 if       
possible1 the testimony of those who    
affirmed that he died an ,infidel1 and  
to present1 in addition to what had     
already been presented by ,holland1 the 
testimony of those who affirmed that    
during the last years of his life he was
 a ,christian4 ,to answer his witnesses 
is to answer his lecture4  ,the ,rev4   
,dr4 ,smith affirms that he converted   
,lincoln to a belief in the divine      
authority and inspiration of the        
,scriptures4 ,it was imperative that he 
should1 for1 said he1 ,it was my honor  
to place before ,mr4 ,lincoln arguments 
designed to prove the divine authority  
and inspiration of the ,scriptures4 ,as 
a matter of course1 the result was the  

announcement by himself that the        
arguments in favor of the divine        
authority and inspiration of the        
,scriptures were unanswerable4          
,consequently1 ,mr4 ,lincoln did avow   
his belief in the divine authority and  
inspiration of the ,scriptures4         
,impressed with a deep sense of the     
gravity and importance of his work1 he  
declares that ,it is a matter of the    
last importance not only to the present 
but to all future generations of the    
great ,republic1 and to all advocates of
 civil and religious liberty throughout 
the world that this avowal on his       
part1444 should be made known to the    
public1 coupled with the more important 
fact1 of course1 that it was ,dr4 ,smith
 who did it4 ,it is to be regretted that
 his waiting until after ,lincoln's     
death to announce it1 prevented the     
convert's ,christian friends from       
tendering their congratulations and     
extending the hand of fellowship4 ,it is
 possible that he counseled ,dr4 ,smith 

not to divulge the secret for fear it   
might injure his political prospects4   
,certain it is1 his neighbors were      
ignorant of this remarkable change4     
,when ,holland canvassed ,springfield1  
in #ahfe1 eager to obtain a morsel of   
evidence upon which to base his claim   
that ,lincoln was a ,christian1 he      
failed to catch even the faintest       
whisper regarding this alleged          
conversion4  ,when ,dr4 ,smith's letter 
was made public1 the ,christians of     
,springfield generally smiled1 but said 
nothing1 while unbelievers laughed      
outright and pronounced it the acme of  
absurdity4 ,dr4 ,reed read it to his    
audience and tried to look serious4     
,concerning this claim1 ,lincoln's      
biographer1 ,colonel ,lamon1 says3  ,the
 abilities of this gentleman to discuss 
such a topic to the edification of a man
 like ,mr4 ,lincoln seem to have been   
rather slender2 but the chance of       
converting so distinguished a person    
inspired him with a zeal which he might 

not have felt for the salvation of an   
obscurer soul4 ,mr4 ,lincoln listened to
 his exhortations in silence1 apparently
 respectful1 and occasionally sat out   
his sermons in church with as much      
patience as other people4 ,finding these
 oral appeals unavailing1 ,mr4 ,smith   
composed a heavy tract out of his own   
head to suit the particular case4 ',the 
preparation of that work1' says he1     
'cost me long and arduous labor2' but it
 does not appear to have been read4 ,mr4
 ,lincoln took the 'work' to his office1
 laid it down without writing his name  
on it1 and never took it up again to the
 knowledge of a man who inhabited the   
office with him1 and who saw it lying on
 the same spot every day for months4    
,subsequently ,mr4 ,smith drew from ,mr4
 ,lincoln an acknowledgment that his    
argument was unanswerable--not a very   
high compliment under the circumstances 
7,life of ,lincoln1 p4 #dih74  ,the     
gentleman whom ,colonel ,lamon refers to
 as testifying that ,lincoln did not    

read ,dr4 ,smith's book was ,lincoln's  
partner1 ,mr4 ,herndon4 ,in his lecture 
on ,lincoln's ,religion1 ,mr4 ,herndon  
says3  ,mr4 ,lincoln received a book    
from ,dr4 ,smith on ,infidelity4 ,he    
placed it on our law table4 ,he never   
opened it--never read it to my          
knowledge4  ,if ,dr4 ,smith had         
converted ,lincoln1 as claimed1 is it   
not reasonable to suppose that he would 
have joined ,dr4 ,smith's church8 ,had  
he been converted would the clergymen of
 ,springfield have denounced him as an  
,infidel in #ahfj8 ,again1 if ,dr4      
,smith's book was so effective as to    
convert from ,infidelity to             
,christianity as great a mind as        
,lincoln1 why have we not heard more of 
it8 ,why has it not been used to convert
 other ,infidels8 ,was its vitality as  
an evangelizer exhausted in converting  
,lincoln8  ,mr4 ,reed was a trifle more 
successful than ,dr4 ,holland in        
obtaining witnesses2 for while ,holland 
was able to secure but one witness in   

,illinois1 ,reed was able to summon     
two--,ninian ,edwards and ,thomas       
,lewis4  ,the testimony of ,mr4         
,edwards1 providing that he was the     
author of the letter accredited to him1 
can only be accounted for on the        
following supposition4 ,being a believer
 in ,christianity himself1 he considered
 ,lincoln's ,infidelity a grave defect  
in his character1 and was vexed to see  
that this controversy had given it such 
wide publicity4 ,to assist in removing  
this stain1 as he regarded it1 from his 
kinsman's name1 he allowed to be        
published over his signature a statement
 which1 unless his memory was very      
treacherous1 he must have known was     
untrue4  ,it may be that ,lincoln did   
change his views in regard to some      
historical or doctrinal point connected 
with ,christianity1 and informed ,mr4   
,edwards and other friends at the time  
of the fact4 ,he might have changed his 
opinions on a hundred theological       
questions without having in the least   

changed his views in relation to the    
main or fundamental doctrines of        
,christianity4 ,an admission concerning 
some trivial question connected with    
,christianity has been tortured to      
convey the idea that he accepted the    
whole system4  ,a prominent and         
respected citizen of ,springfield1 a    
gentleman whose name has1 as yet1 not   
been mentioned in connection with this  
controversy1 had a conversation with    
,mr4 ,edwards relative to this subject1 
soon after ,reed's lecture was          
published1 and1 as the result of that   
conversation1 he writes as follows3 ,mr4
 ,edwards was not as good a witness on  
oral examination as he was in print4    
,the letter of ,mr4 ,edwards is dated   
,dec4 #bd1 #ahgb4 ,on ,jan4 #f1 #ahgc1  
the letter of ,thomas ,lewis was        
written4 ,after two weeks of arduous    
labor1 ,reed1 it seems1 succeeded in    
finding one witness in ,springfield who 
was prepared to corroborate the         
testimony of ,edwards--,thomas ,lewis4  

,in a lecture on ,lincoln which appeared
 in the ,state ,register1 of            
,springfield1 ,mr4 ,herndon disposed of 
this witness as follows3  ,mr4 ,lewis's 
veracity and integrity in this community
 need no comment4 ,i have heard good men
 say they would not believe his word    
under any circumstances1 especially if  
he were interested4 ,i hate to state    
this of ,tom1 but if he will obtrude    
himself in this discussion1 ,i cannot   
help but say a word in self-defense4    
,mr4 ,lincoln detested this man1 ,i     
know4 ,the idea that ,mr4 ,lincoln would
 go to ,tom ,lewis and reveal to him his
 religious convictions1 is to me1 and to
 all who know ,mr4 ,lincoln and ,tom    
,lewis1 too absurd4  ,the introduction  
of this ,lewis as a witness demonstrates
 the paucity of evidence to be obtained 
on this side of the question among      
,lincoln's neighbors4 ,reed1 living in a
 city of twenty thousand inhabitants1   
many of them the personal friends of    
,abraham ,lincoln1 after a vigorous     

search for evidence1 is able only to    
present this pitiable apology4  ,i have 
reason to believe that the letters of   
,edwards and ,lewis were drafted1 not by
 the persons whose signatures they bear1
 but by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,a4 ,reed4  ,we   
come next to the testimony of ,noah     
,brooks4 ,mr4 ,edwards1 supported by    
,mr4 ,lewis1 states that ,lincoln was   
converted soon after ,dr4 ,smith located
 at ,springfield1 and about the time of 
his son ,eddie's death4 ,dr4 ,smith came
 to ,springfield in #ahdh1 and ,eddie   
died toward the close of the same year4 
,dr4 ,smith1 in his letter1 does not    
state when ,lincoln's conversion took   
place1 but it is understood from other  
sources that he claimed that it occurred
 about the year #aheh4 ,mr4 ,brooks1 in 
his letter to ,dr4 ,reed1 says3         
,speaking to me of the change which had 
come upon him1 he said1 while he could  
not fix any definite time1 yet it was   
after he came here ,washington1 and ,i  
am very positive that in his own mind he

 identified it with about the time of   
,willie's death4  ,willie's death       
occurred in ,february1 #ahfb1 nearly    
fourteen years after the death of       
,eddie1 and four years after ,smith     
claimed to have converted ,lincoln4     
,thus it will be seen that these        
witnesses nullify each other4 ,the      
testimony of each is contradicted and   
refuted by the testimony of the other   
two4 ,mr4 ,edwards says that ,lincoln   
was converted in #ahdh4 ,this is        
contradicted by the testimony of both   
,smith and ,brooks4 ,according to ,dr4  
,smith his conversion happened about    
#aheh4 ,this is contradicted by the     
testimony of both ,edwards and ,brooks4 
,mr4 ,brooks is quite positive that it  
took place about the time of ,willie's  
death1 in #ahfb4 ,this1 in turn1 is     
contradicted by the testimony of both   
,edwards and ,smith4 ,if ,mr4 ,edwards  
is right1 both ,dr4 ,smith and ,mr4     
,brooks are wrong4 ,if ,dr4 ,smith is   
correct1 both ,mr4 ,edwards and ,mr4    

,brooks are incorrect4 ,if ,mr4 ,brooks 
has stated the truth both ,mr4 ,edwards 
and ,dr4 ,smith have stated falsehoods4 
,the testimony of these witnesses does  
not strengthen ,reed's case1 but weakens
 it4 ,the testimony of two of them is   
self-evidently false1 and this is a     
sufficient reason for doubting the      
truthfulness of the third4 ,had the     
evidence of neither ,edwards nor ,smith 
been invalidated by the evidence of the 
others1 the fact that ,lincoln is so    
generally conceded to have been an      
unbeliever up to the time that he became
 ,president1 would render it unworthy of
 consideration4 ,the testimony of       
,brooks alone demands notice4 ,did      
,lincoln change his belief after he left
 ,springfield and went to ,washington8  
,the evidence upon this point is        
decisive4  ,the man who stood nearest to
 ,president ,lincoln at                 
,washington--nearer than any clergyman  
or newspaper correspondent--was his     
private secretary1 ,col4 ,john ,g4      

,nicolay4 ,in a letter dated ,may #bg1  
#ahfe1 ,colonel ,nicolay says3  ,mr4    
,lincoln did not1 to my knowledge1 in   
any way change his religious ideas1     
opinions1 or beliefs from the time he   
left ,springfield to the day of his     
death4  ,in a letter to his old friend1 
,judge ,wakefield1 written after        
,willie's death1 he declared that his   
earlier views of the unsoundness of the 
,christian scheme of salvation1 and the 
human origin of the ,scriptures1 had    
become clearer and stronger with        
advancing years1 and he did not think he
 should ever change them4  ,after his   
assassination ,mrs4 ,lincoln said3 ,mr4 
,lincoln had no hope and no faith in the
 usual acceptance of these words4 ,his  
lifelong friend and executor1 ,judge    
,david ,davis1 affirmed the same3 ,he   
had no faith in the ,christian sense of 
the term4 ,his biographer1 ,colonel     
,lamon1 intimately acquainted with him  
in ,illinois1 and with him during all   
the years that he lived in ,washington1 

says3 ,never in all that time did he let
 fall from his lips or his pen an       
expression which remotely implied the   
slightest faith in ,jesus as the son of 
,god and the ,savior of men4  ,why do   
the statements of these witnesses1      
,smith1 ,edwards1 and ,brooks1 not agree
 respecting the date of ,lincoln's      
conversion8 ,when their testimony was   
given1 ,smith was in ,scotland1 ,edwards
 was in ,illinois1 and ,brooks was in   
,new ,york4  ,if he was converted1 why  
was the fact not revealed before his    
death8 ,why did these men wait until he 
died to make these statements to the    
world8 ,simply because the dead can make
 no reply4  ,had ,lincoln been          
converted1 the news would have been     
wafted on the wings of lightning from   
one end of the continent to the other4  
,it would have been published in every  
newspaper2 it would have been proclaimed
 from every pulpit2 it would have been a
 topic of conversation at every         
fireside4 ,when ,henry ,wilson1 a man of

 far less note than ,lincoln1 was       
converted to ,christianity1 the fact was
 heralded all over the land4  ,lincoln's
 home was twice visited by death during 
his lifetime1 and both occasions have   
been seized upon to assert that he      
experienced a change of heart4 ,the     
death of a beloved child is no common   
sorrow1 and the womanly tenderness of   
,lincoln's heart made it doubly poignant
 to him4 ,when death entered his        
household1 says his friend1 ,george ,w4 
,julian1 his sorrow was so consuming    
that it could only be measured by the   
singular depth and intensity of his     
love4 ,that ,mr4 ,edwards and ,mr4      
,brooks did each observe a change in the
 demeanor of the grief-stricken father1 
following the sad events referred to1 is
 not improbable4 ,but a manifestation of
 sorrow is no proof of a theological    
change4  ,three of ,reed's witnesses    
remain--three clergymen--,dr4           
,sunderland1 ,dr4 ,miner1 and ,dr4      
,gurley4 ,dr4 ,sunderland is a man of   

distinction4 ,he has had the honor of   
praying for the ,united ,states ,senate 
and officiating at the marriage of a    
,president4 ,yet1 distinction is not    
always the badge of honesty4 ,w4 ,h4    
,burr1 a literary gentleman1 of         
,washington1 writing to a ,boston paper 
in #ahhj1 paid the following tribute to 
,dr4 ,sunderland's veracity3 ,he can    
probably put more falsehood and calumny 
in a page of foolscap than any priest   
out of prison4  ,mr4 ,sunderland called 
upon the ,president in #ahfb4 ,in his   
letter to ,reed he says3 ,for one half  
hour he poured forth a volume of the    
deepest ,christian philosophy ,i ever   
heard4 ,notwithstanding ten years had   
elapsed since that visit1 he proceeded  
to give from memory a verbatim report of
 ,lincoln's remarks4 ,the report is too 
long to reproduce in this work1 and even
 if correct1 would add but little to the
 weight of ,christian evidence already  
presented4 ,it is merely an ethical     
discourse1 and aside from a few indirect

 admissions in favor of ,christianity   
for which ,sunderland doubtless drew    
upon his imagination1 there is nothing  
that ,paine or any other ,deist might   
not with propriety have uttered4 ,those 
who wish to peruse ,mr4 ,sunderland's   
letter will find it in ,scribner's      
,monthly for ,july1 #ahgc4  ,dr4 ,miner1
 like ,dr4 ,sunderland1 had a quiet chat
 with the ,president1 and what was said 
he assures us is too deeply engraved on 
his memory ever to be effaced4 ,but1    
unlike ,dr4 ,sunderland1 he does not    
favor us with a transcript of it4 ,he   
does not repeat a word that was uttered4
 ,he states1 however1 that1 ,if ,mr4    
,lincoln was not really an experimental 
,christian1 he was acting like one4 ,but
 how does an experimental ,christian    
act8 ,if he behaves himself1 if he is   
intelligent and honest1 his actions are 
not materially different from those of a
 good ,freethinker4 ,dr4 ,miner did not 
believe that ,lincoln was an            
experimental ,christian1 and in his     

article there is an implied admission   
that he knew nothing about his religion4
  ,he says that1 ,like the immortal     
,washington1 he believed in the efficacy
 of prayer4 ,the comparison is happily  
drawn4 ,lincoln probably did believe as 
much in the efficacy of prayer as       
,washington2 that is to say1 he did not 
believe in it at all1 in the evangelical
 sense4 ,there is no evidence that      
,washington believed in prayer1 no proof
 that he ever uttered a prayer4 ,that   
story about his praying at ,valley      
,forge is as truly a myth as the story  
about the hatchet4 ,the ,rev4 ,e4 ,d4   
,neill1 an eminent ,episcopal minister1 
and a relative of the person who is     
reported to have seen ,washington       
engaged in prayer1 pronounces it a      
fiction4  ,dr4 ,gurley is represented as
 saying3 ,i considered him sound not    
only on the truth of the ,christian     
religion1 but on all its fundamental    
doctrines and teachings4 ,this1         
remember1 is from a ,calvinistic        

standpoint4 ,lincoln1 then1 not only    
accepted ,christianity1 but its most    
ultra variety--,calvinism4 ,he believed 
in original sin1 predestination         
7including infant damnation71 particular
 redemption1 irresistible grace1 and    
perseverance of the saints4 ,because he 
sometimes went with his wife to the     
,presbyterian church1 of which she was  
an adherent1 the priests of this        
denomination have the contemptible      
assurance to assert that he was a rigid 
,calvinist6  ,when he died ,dr4 ,gurley1
 being ,mrs4 ,lincoln's pastor1         
delivered the funeral oration in        
,washington4 ,in that oration ,dr4      
,gurley did not affirm that ,lincoln was
 a ,christian1 a thing he would not have
 failed to do had it been true4 ,long   
after ,lincoln's death1 ,dr4 ,gurley1 if
 ,reed has correctly reported him1 makes
 a statement that he had not the courage
 to make over his dead body4  ,a        
reputable ,christian gentleman1 of      
,springfield1 who desires to have his   

name withheld from the public1 declares 
that ,dr4 ,gurley knew and admitted that
 ,lincoln was a disbeliever in          
,christianity4  ,it is quite probable   
that ,gurley did not state in full what 
,reed reports him to have stated4 ,a man
 who can take up his pen and at one     
sitting indite a score of falsehoods and
 misrepresentations1 as ,reed1 on a     
subsequent occasion1 is shown to have   
done1 can not be relied upon for        
accuracy as a reporter4  ,the reader has
 doubtless not failed to notice the     
introduction of a claim by ,reed to the 
effect that ,lincoln at the time of his 
assassination was intending to unite    
with the church4 ,that the idea was     
suggested by ,reed is shown by the fact 
that no less than three of these        
witnesses1 including ,reed1 allude to   
it4 ,reed says3 ,while it is to be      
regretted that ,mr4 ,lincoln was not    
spared to indicate his religious        
sentiments by a profession of his faith 
in accordance with the institutions of  

the ,christian religion1 yet it is very 
clear that he had this step in view4    
,dr4 ,gurley is made to say3 ,it was his
 intention soon to make a profession of 
religion4 ,mr4 ,brooks says3 ,i absorbed
 the porosity of some of these witnesses
 is remarkable the firm conviction that 
,mr4 ,lincoln444 was seriously          
considering the step which would        
formally connect him with the visible   
church on earth4  ,this dernier resort  
of an argument has been repeated        
respecting nearly every notable person  
who has died outside of the church4     
,soon after the publication of ,reed's  
lecture1 the ,new ,york ,world contained
 the following pertinent answer to this 
stale fabrication3  ,it is admitted by  
,mr4 ,reed and everybody else that ,mr4 
,lincoln was a working ,infidel up to a 
very late period of his life1 that he   
wrote a book and labored earnestly to   
make proselytes to his own views1 that  
he never publicly recanted1 and that he 
never joined the church4 ,upon those    

who1 in the face of these tremendous    
facts1 allege that he was nevertheless a
 ,christian lies the burden of proof4   
,let them produce it or forever hold    
their peace4 ,in the mean time it is a  
sad and puerile subterfuge to argue that
 he would have been a ,christian if he  
had lived long enough1 and to lament    
that he was not 'spared' for that       
purpose4 ,he had been spared fifty-six  
years and surrounded by every           
circumstance that might soften his heart
 and every influence that might elevate 
his faith4 ,if he was at that late1 that
 fatal hour standing thus gloomily      
without the pale1 what reason have we to
 suppose that he intended ever to enter8
  ,reed speaks of the poverty of his    
early religious instruction1 apparently 
forgetting that he was raised by        
,christian parents4 ,his father was a   
church-member1 his mother was a         
church-member1 and his stepmother was a 
church-member4 ,reed states1 also1 that 
the books he read were all of an        

anti-religious character4 ,holland1 on  
the contrary1 declares that better books
 than those he read could not have been 
chosen from the richest library4 ,the   
fact is1 ,abraham ,lincoln did not      
become an ,infidel to ,christianity from
 a lack of knowledge respecting its     
claims4 ,he thoroughly examined its     
claims1 and rejected them because he    
found them untenable4  ,one important   
feature of this subject ,reed has either
 inadvertently omitted or purposely     
ignored1 and that is in regard to the   
validity of the ,bateman story4 ,as the 
result of previous controversy this     
evidence had been rendered valueless4   
,lincoln's partner had declared it to be
 false1 had asserted that ,mr4 ,bateman 
in private conversations acknowledged it
 to be in part untrue1 and announced his
 readiness to substantiate his          
assertions if ,mr4 ,bateman could be    
prevailed upon to permit the publication
 of his notes of these conversations    
taken at the time4 ,if ,mr4 ,herndon's  

affirmations were true1 it destroyed the
 testimony of ,holland and ,bateman2 if 
untrue1 it challenged ,mr4 ,bateman to  
reaffirm the statements recorded by     
,holland1 and allow the seal of privacy 
to be removed from his conversations on 
the subject4 ,why did ,mr4 ,reed not    
rehabilitate this damaged evidence8 ,did
 he forget it8 ,no1 it is plainly       
evident that he did not dare to attempt 
it4  ,in reviewing this ,calvinistic    
coterie of witnesses 7they are all      
,calvinists1 and nearly all             
,presbyterians71 one is struck with the 
formidable display of theological       
appendages4 ,what an imposing array of  
,d4,d4's6 ,rev4 ,j4 ,a4 ,reed1 ,d4,d46  
,rev4 ,james ,smith1 ,d4,d46 ,rev4      
,byron ,sunderland1 ,d4,d46 ,rev4 ,mr4  
,miner1 ,d4,d46 ,rev4 ,mr4 ,gurley1     
,d4,d46 ,it was a desperate             
case--divinity was sick and needed      
doctoring4 ,the doctors of divinity were
 accordingly called in1 and prescribed  
,the ,later ,life and ,religious        

,sentiments of ,abraham ,lincoln1 after 
which it was supposed that divinity     
would recover4 ,he may be better1 but it
 is painfully apparent that some of     
these ,d4,d4's are themselves sadly in  
need of a doctor4     ,,chapter ,,iv4   
,,review ,,of ,,christian               
,,testimony--,,arnold ,,and ,,other     
,,witnesses       ,arnold's ,life of    
,lincoln--,claims ,concerning ,lincoln's
      ,religious ,belief--,address to   
,negroes of ,baltimore--                
,carpenter--,hawley--,willets--,pious   
,nurse--,western ,christian             
,advocate--,illinois                    
,clergyman--,barrows--,vinton--,simpson4
  ,with the ,christian masses whose     
minds have become warped by the bigoted 
teachings of their clerical leaders1    
nothing affects the reputation of a man 
so much as his religious belief4 ,public
 men who are disbelievers are fully     
cognizant of this1 and generally refrain
 from expressing sentiments that would  
tend to alienate those upon whom the    

retention of their positions depends4   
,biographers understand this1 too1 and  
are likewise aware that a dead ,infidel 
is as cordially hated as a live one4    
,they know that a cold reception awaits 
their works unless they are able to     
clothe the characters of their subjects 
in the robes of popular superstition4   
,mr4 ,arnold realized this when he wrote
 his ,life of ,lincoln4 ,he had been    
most forcibly reminded of the fact by   
the fate of two biographies of his own  
subject which had already               
appeared--,holland's and ,lamon's4      
,holland's work by catering to popular  
prejudice1 regardless of truth1 had been
 financially a success2 ,lamon's work by
 adhering to truth1 regardless of       
popular prejudice1 had been financially 
a failure4  ,determined to profit by    
these examples1 and intimidated by the  
threats and entreaties of those who had 
resolved to secure for ,christianity the
 influence of the ,great ,emancipator's 
name1 ,arnold dare not give the facts   

regarding ,lincoln's religious belief4  
,nor is it to be presumed that he       
desired to4 ,he had previously appeared 
as a special pleader for the popular    
faith4  ,he affirms that ,no more       
reverent ,christian than ,lincoln ever  
sat in the ,executive chair1 not        
excepting ,washington4 ,the fact is1    
when ,arnold wrote his biography of     
,lincoln1 no very reverent ,christian   
ever had occupied the ,executive chair4 
,previous to the installation of ,gen4  
,b4 ,h4 ,harrison no real orthodox      
,christian communicant had held the     
office of ,president4  ,if ,mr4 ,arnold 
knew no more about ,lincoln's religion  
than he appears to have known about     
,washington's1 a more charitable reason 
than those suggested might be assigned  
for his statements concerning the       
former4 ,washington1 like ,lincoln1 has 
been claimed by the church2 yet1        
,washington1 like ,lincoln1 was a       
,deist4 ,this is admitted even by the   
leading churchmen of his day4 ,three of 

the most eminent divines of his age1 and
 the three to whom he was most          
intimately related in a social way1 were
 ,bishop ,white1 ,rev4 ,dr4             
,abercrombie1 and ,rev4 ,dr4 ,ashbel    
,green4 ,bishop ,white declares that    
,washington was not a communicant1 as   
claimed by some1 and intimates that he  
was a disbeliever4 ,the ,rev4 ,dr4      
,abercrombie1 whose church he attended  
while he was ,president1 said3          
,washington was a ,deist4 ,the ,rev4    
,dr4 ,ashbel ,green1 chaplain to        
,congress during his administration1    
said3 ,like nearly all the founders of  
the ,republic1 he was not a ,christian1 
but a ,deist4  ,arnold presents the     
following as the basis of ,lincoln's    
religion1 and proofs of his             
,christianity3 7#a7 ,belief in the      
existence of ,god1 7#b7 in the          
immortality of the soul1 7#c7 in the    
,bible as the revelation of ,god to man1
 7#d7 in the efficacy and duty of       
prayer1 7#e7 in reverence toward the    

,almighty1 and 7#f7 in love and charity 
to man4  #a4 ,belief in the existence of
 ,god4 ,this does not prove a belief in 
,christianity4 ,the ,jew believes in the
 existence of ,god2 the ,mohammedan     
believes in the existence of ,god2 the  
,deistic ,infidel believes in the       
existence of ,god4  #b4 ,belief in the  
immortality of the soul4 ,that he       
believed in the immortality of the soul 
is a claim that cannot be clearly       
established2 and even if it could1 would
 not confirm the assumption that he was 
a ,christian4 ,deists1 many of them1    
believe in the doctrine of immortality4 
,paine believed in immortality2         
,voltaire believed in immortality4  #c4 
,belief in the ,bible as the revelation 
of ,god to man4 ,this1 if true1 would be
 evidence of his ,christianity2 but1    
unfortunately for ,mr4 ,arnold's claim1 
,lincoln did not entertain this belief4 
#d4 ,belief-in the efficacy and duty of 
prayer4 ,this1 in the orthodox sense of 
these terms1 is not true2 and if it     

were1 would not furnish conclusive      
evidence that he was a ,christian4 ,jews
 pray2 ,mohammedans pray2 ,buddhists    
pray2 some ,deists pray4 ,franklin      
believed in the efficacy and duty of    
prayer1 and ,franklin was an ,infidel4  
#e4 ,belief in reverence to the         
,almighty4 ,this does not demonstrate a 
belief in ,christianity1 for all ,deists
 believe in reverence to the ,almighty4 
#f4 ,belief in love and charity to man4 
,when it can be shown that only         
,christians believe in love and charity1
 then will it be time to affirm that    
,lincoln was a ,christian4  ,arnold     
confounds ,christianity with ,deism4 ,in
 the following words he admits that     
,lincoln was simply a ,deist3 ,not      
orthodox1 not a man of creeds1 he was a 
man of simple trust in ,god4  ,when the 
subject of ,lincoln's belief was once   
mentioned to ,mr4 ,arnold1 he said3     
,lincoln was a rational ,christian      
because he believed in morality4 ,with  
equal propriety one might say of an     

upright ,christian1 ,he is a rational   
,freethinker because he believes in     
morality4  ,his reply to the ,negroes of
 ,baltimore1 he says1 ought to silence  
forever those who charge him with       
unbelief4 ,this alleged reply of        
,lincoln was as follows3  ,in regard to 
the ,great ,book ,i have only to say    
that it is the best gift which ,god has 
given to man4 ,all the good from the    
,savior of the world is communicated to 
us through this book4 ,but for this book
 we could not know right from wrong4    
,all those things desirable to man are  
contained in it 7,lincoln ,memorial     
,album1 p4 #cdj74  ,the writer of this  
was in ,washington when the colored     
deputation from ,baltimore presented the
 ,president with a #ejj ,bible4 ,the    
papers mentioned the fact at the time1  
but no such speech as ,lincoln is said  
to have made appeared in the reports4   
,about two months later1 this apocryphal
 version of his remarks on the occasion 
referred to1 made its appearance4  ,the 

first two sentences contained in this   
speech 7the only part of it that ,arnold
 has quoted71 ,lincoln1 if a ,christian1
 might have uttered4 ,they are words    
that any intelligent ,christian might1  
from his standpoint1 with propriety     
affirm4 ,we are familiar with these     
claims4 ,we are also familiar with the  
claims embodied in the last two         
sentences4 ,they are repeatedly made4   
,but they are made only by very ignorant
 persons1 or by clerical hypocrites who 
try to impose upon the ignorance and    
credulity of their hearers4 ,had        
,lincoln been a ,christian he would not 
have used these words1 because he was   
too intelligent to believe them1 and too
 honest to pretend to believe them4     
,concerning this speech1 ,lincoln's     
partner1 ,mr4 ,herndon1 thus vigorously1
 yet truthfully1 remarks3  ,i am aware  
of the fraud committed on ,mr4 ,lincoln 
in reporting some insane remarks        
supposed to have been made by him1 in   
#ahfd1 on the presentation of a ,bible  

to him by the colored people of         
,baltimore4 ,no sane man ever uttered   
such folly1 and no sane man will ever   
believe it4 ,in that speech ,mr4        
,lincoln is made to say3 ',but for this 
book we could not know right from       
wrong4' ,does any human being believe   
that ,lincoln ever uttered this8 ,what  
did the whole race of man do to know    
right from wrong during the countless   
years that passed before this book was  
given to the world8 ,how did the        
struggling race of man build up its     
grand civilizations in the world before 
this book was given to mankind8 ,what do
 the millions of people now living1 who 
never heard of this book1 do to know how
 to distinguish right from wrong8 ,was  
,lincoln a fool1 an ass1 a hypocrite1 or
 a combination of them all8 or is this  
speech--this supposed--this fraudulent  
speech--a lie8  ,arnold would have his  
readers believe that this speech is     
genuine4 ,and yet it is plainly evident 
that he himself does not believe it4 ,he

 mutilates it by omitting the more      
orthodox portion of it--the very portion
 he would have retained had he believed 
it to be genuine4 ,the first part would 
suffice to serve his purpose2 the       
remainder he knew was too incredible for
 belief and would stamp the whole as a  
fraud4  ,arnold says3 ,the veil between 
him and the supernatural was very thin4 
,yes1 so thin that he easily saw through
 it and recognized the greater part of  
it to be a sham4  ,his faith in a       
,divine ,providence began at his        
mother's knee1 and ran through all the  
changes of his life4 ,i do not desire to
 charge ,mr4 ,arnold with plagiarism1   
but the foregoing recalls the following 
much admired passage to be found in     
,holland3 ,this unwavering faith in a   
,divine ,providence began at his        
mother's knee1 and ran like a thread of 
gold through all the inner experiences  
of his life 7,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #fa1
 #fb74  ,there is much in ,arnold's     
biography1 aside from the above1 to     

suggest that ,holland's work formed the 
basis and model of his own4 ,while more 
accurate in the main than ,holland's    
,life1 ,arnold's ,life is in some       
respects equally unreliable1 and less   
readable4  ,adverting to the many       
fraudulent stories that have been       
circulated concerning ,lincoln1 in an   
address delivered in ,london1 ,mr4      
,arnold said3 ,the newspapers in        
,america have always been full of       
,lincoln stories and anecdotes1 some    
true and many fabulous4 ,unfortunately  
for the cause of truth1 ,mr4 ,arnold has
 himself recorded some of these fabulous
 stories1 not because he deemed them    
authentic1 but because they agreed with 
his preconceived prejudices1 or the     
prejudices of those whom he wished to   
please4  ,mr4 ,carpenter says3 ,i would 
scarcely have called ,mr4 ,lincoln a    
religious man1 and yet ,i believe him to
 have been a sincere ,christian4  ,in a 
letter1 ,mr4 ,herndon makes the         
following correction in regard to his   

friend ,carpenter's statement3  ,mr4    
,carpenter has not expressed his own    
ideas correctly4 ,to say that a man is a
 ,christian and yet not a religious man 
is absurd4 ,religion is the generic term
 including all forms of religion2       
,christianity is a specific term        
representing one form of religion4      
,carpenter means to say that ,mr4       
,lincoln was a religious man but not a  
,christian1 and this is the truth4  ,it 
is unfortunate that while in many cases 
we have several words to express the    
same idea1 the same word in many cases  
is employed to express different ideas4 
,ideas thus become confused4 ,if the    
terms morality1 religion1 and           
,christianity1 were always used in their
 legitimate sense--used to express the  
ideas of which they were the original   
signs--much trouble and ambiguity would 
be avoided4 ,as it is1 they are         
promiscuously used as interchangeable   
terms4 ,many use the word religion and  
even ,christianity when they mean       

morality4 ,mr4 ,carpenter uses the word 
religious in its proper sense1 and the  
word ,christian to mean a moral man4    
,the following examples will serve to   
illustrate the various forms employed to
 express the thought now under          
consideration3  ,i would scarcely have  
called ,mr4 ,lincoln a religious man1   
and yet ,i believe him to have been a   
sincere ,christian4--,carpenter4  ,i    
would scarcely have called ,mr4 ,lincoln
 a ,christian1 and yet ,i believe him to
 have been a truly religious            
man4--,herndon4  ,i would scarcely have 
called ,mr4 ,lincoln a religious man1   
and yet ,i believe him to have been a   
truly moral man4--,author4  ,we all     
desire to express substantially the same
 thought4 ,i do not wish to dictate to  
,mr4 ,carpenter and ,mr4 ,herndon what  
words they shall employ to convey an    
idea1 but this explanation is essential 
to a proper understanding of the        
question in dispute and will help to    
reconcile much of the apparently        

conflicting testimony presented in this 
work4  ,as ,lincoln was in a certain    
sense a ,deist1 the religious element   
was not entirely wanting in him1 and    
hence the statement of ,mr4 ,herndon    
that he was a religious man is1 in a    
degree1 true4  ,the basis of            
,carpenter's work was a series of       
articles contributed to the ,new ,york  
,independent4 ,when it was decided to   
publish these in book form1 to swell    
them into a volume of the desired size1 
to his personal reminiscences he added  
many of the stories pertaining to       
,lincoln then going the rounds of the   
press4 ,although he was as it were a    
member of ,lincoln's household six      
months he failed to hear from ,lincoln's
 lips a word expressing a belief in     
,christianity4 ,these apocryphal        
stories1 and these alone1 contain all   
the evidences of ,lincoln's alleged     
piety to be found in ,carpenter's book4 
,and his admission that ,lincoln was not
 a religious man disproves them4  ,mr4  

,hawley professed to believe that       
,lincoln was a ,christian1 but he had no
 personal knowledge of the fact1        
although his neighbor for many years4   
,the only reasons he was able to adduce 
upon which to predicate his belief were 
the ,bateman story and his farewell     
speech on leaving ,springfield4 ,the    
former has been exploded1 the latter    
proves nothing4  ,during all the later  
years of his life ,lincoln generally    
refrained from expressing his           
anti-,christian opinions1 except to     
friends who shared his views4 ,this     
silence1 in connection with his sterling
 moral character1 might lead some of his
 ,christian neighbors to suppose that he
 was a believer1 the more especially as 
,christians are generally ignorant of   
the extent of unbelief1 and are loath to
 believe that a person1 unless he openly
 avows his disbelief1 can be an         
,infidel4  ,according to ,mr4 ,willets1 
,lincoln1 during the war1 had an attack 
of what he thought might be a change of 

heart4 ,he consulted a pious lady in    
regard to it and requested her to       
describe to him the symptoms attending  
this theological disease4 ,she defined a
 true religious experience as a         
conviction of one's own sinfulness and  
weakness1 and personal need of the      
,savior for strength and support4 ,she  
said that when one was really brought to
 feel his need of divine help1 and to   
seek the aid of the ,holy ,spirit for   
strength and guidance1 it was           
satisfactory evidence of his having been
 born again4 ,lincoln replied that if   
what she had told him was a correct view
 of this great subject1 he hoped he was 
a ,christian4 ,but was this a correct   
view of it8 ,i was not aware that       
conviction constituted conversion4 ,we  
have been taught that conviction is but 
a preliminary step toward conversion4   
,if ,lincoln relied upon this as a true 
exposition of this doctrine1 the        
genuineness of his conversion may well  
be questioned4  ,it is to be regretted  

that ,mr4 ,willets did not give the name
 of his informant4 ,as it is1 we do not 
know whether to credit a lady           
acquaintance of his1 or himself1 with   
the invention of a first-class fiction4 
,in regard to the story of the ,pious   
,nurse1 we have not even a clergyman to 
vouch for its authenticity4 ,we do not  
know the name of this witness2 we do not
 know whom she communicated the story   
to2 we do not know when nor where it    
made its first appearance4 ,we only know
 that for years it has been floating    
through the columns of the religious    
press1 a companion-piece to             
,washington's devotional exercise at    
,valley ,forge4  ,history1 said         
,napoleon1 is a set of lies agreed upon4
 ,of the many lies agreed upon by       
,christian writers in making up the     
history of ,lincoln1 none has become    
more thoroughly established than the one
 originally published by the ,western   
,christian ,advocate4 ,it has been      
incorporated into the works of a score  

of historians and biographers1 and is   
almost universally accepted as a        
historical fact4  ,nearly all the pious 
stories relating to ,lincoln1 while     
palpably false in the eyes of those who 
knew him1 are yet of such a nature as to
 render a complete refutation of them   
extremely difficult4 ,the story under   
consideration1 however1 is of a         
different character4 ,its truthfulness  
or falsity could at the time of its     
publication have been easily            
ascertained4 ,if true1 any member of    
,lincoln's cabinet could have verified  
it4 ,i knew that it was untrue--at least
 ,i knew that a ,cabinet meeting had    
never been transformed into a prayer    
meeting at ,lincoln's suggestion4 ,i    
finally resolved to demonstrate its     
falsity if possible4 ,but a quarter of a
 century had passed away1 and every     
member of ,lincoln's ,cabinet was dead  
save one1 ,hugh ,mc,culloch1 his last   
,secretary of the ,treasury4 ,with the  
aid of a friend1 ,mr4 ,n4 ,p4           

,stockbridge1 of ,ft4 ,wayne1 ,ind41 an 
old acquaintance of ,mr4 ,mc,culloch's1 
,i succeeded in bringing the matter     
before this only surviving witness1 and 
received from his pen1 in ,february1    
#ahia1 the following prompt denial3     
,the description of what occurred at the
 ,executive ,mansion1 when the          
intelligence was received of the        
surrender of the ,confederate forces1   
which you quote from the ,western       
,christian ,advocate1 is not only       
absolutely groundless1 but absurd4      
,after ,i became ,secretary of the      
,treasury ,i was present at every       
,cabinet meeting1 and ,i never saw ,mr4 
,lincoln or any of his ministers upon   
his knees or in tears4  ,we were not    
especially jubilant over ,lee's         
surrender1 for this we had been prepared
 for some days4 ,the time for our great 
rejoicing was a little earlier4 ,after  
,sherman had commenced his celebrated   
march to the sea1 and long and weary    
days had passed without any reliable    

reports from him1 we were filled with   
anxiety and apprehension4 ,it was when  
the news came that he and his army1 in  
excellent condition1 were in the        
neighborhood of ,charleston1 that our   
joy was irrepressible2 not only because 
of their safety1 but because it was an  
assurance that the days of the          
,confederacy were nearly ended4 ,with   
,grant before ,richmond in command of   
superior forces1 and ,sherman with the  
finest army in the world1 ready to move 
northward1 everybody felt that the war  
must be soon concluded1 and that the    
,union was safe4  ,we were1 of course1  
happy when ,general ,lee and his        
severely tried soldiers laid down their 
arms1 but this1 as ,i have said1 was not
 unexpected4 ,it was when our anxiety in
 regard to ,sherman was succeeded by    
hopefulness and confidence that our joy 
became exuberant4 ,but there was no such
 exhibition of it as has been published 
by the ,advocate4  ,an ,illinois        
,clergyman reports ,lincoln as saying   

that when he left ,springfield he was   
not a ,christian1 that when his son     
,willie died he was not a ,christian1   
but that when he visited the battlefield
 of ,gettysburg he gave his heart to    
,christ4 ,christians cite the testimony 
of this anonymous witness1 seemingly    
unconscious of the fact that if true it 
refutes the testimony of every other    
,christian witness4 ,if this statement  
be true what becomes of the testimony of
 ,holland and ,bateman8 ,what becomes of
 the testimony of ,reed's witnesses8    
,the testimony of ,brooks invalidated   
the testimony of every other witness2   
the testimony of this ,illinois         
clergyman invalidates the testimony of  
,brooks itself4  ,reed did not present  
this evidence1 doubtless aware that his 
lecture already contained a sufficient  
number of discrepancies4 ,he was        
thoughtful enough1 however1 to          
anticipate it4 ,he had ,dr4 ,gurley     
refer to ,lincoln's conversion as taking
 place after the death of his son       

,willie and his visit to the battlefield
 of ,gettysburg4 ,these events are      
referred to as if they occurred in close
 proximity to each other2 whereas the   
death of ,willie occurred during the    
first year of his administration1 his   
visit to ,gettysburg less than seventeen
 months before his assassination4  ,the 
passage quoted from ,dr4 ,barrows       
contains six specific affirmations4  #a4
 ,in the anxious uncertainties of the   
great war1 he gradually rose to the     
hights where ,jehovah became to him the 
sublimest of realities1 the ruler of    
nations4  ,collect all the utterances of
 ,abraham ,lincoln1 all the letters he  
ever wrote1 all the speeches he ever    
delivered1 all the state papers he gave 
to the public2 and from this full store 
of words that fell from his lips and    
flowed from his pen1 ,i challenge ,dr4  
,barrows to produce one word expressing 
a recognition of ,jehovah4 ,jehovah was 
to him1 not the sublimest of realities1 
not the ruler of nations1 but a hideous 

phantom4 ,he recognized a ,god1 but his 
,god was not ,jehovah1 the ,god of ,dr4 
,barrows4  #b4 ,when he wrote his       
immortal ,proclamation1 he invoked upon 
it not only 'the considerate judgment of
 mankind' but 'the gracious favor of    
,almighty ,god4'  ,when he wrote his    
immortal ,proclamation he did not invoke
 the gracious favor of ,almighty ,god4  
,this instrument1 as drafted by         
,lincoln1 contained no allusion to ,god4
 ,the paragraph containing the words    
quoted was drafted by ,secretary ,chase 
and inserted in the ,proclamation at his
 urgent request after it was printed and
 ready for delivery4  #c4 ,when darkness
 gathered over the brave armies fighting
 for the nation's life1 this strong man1
 in the early morning1 knelt and        
wrestled in prayer with ,him who holds  
in his hand the fate of empires4  ,a    
,christian lady from ,massachusetts     
7name unknown71 and a ,christian        
gentleman from ,new ,york 7,noah        
,brooks71 declare that ,lincoln was     

accustomed to pray4 ,this declaration is
 echoed by ,arnold1 and reechoed by     
,barrows4 ,if true1 is it not strange   
that a hospital nurse and a newspaper   
reporter were in possession of the fact 
while his most intimate friends were    
entirely ignorant of it8  #d4 ,when the 
clouds lifted above the carnage of      
,gettysburg1 he gave his heart to the   
,lord ,jesus ,christ4  ,this is the     
fifth time that ,lincoln gave his heart 
to ,christ4 ,the above statement is the 
vital one in ,dr4 ,barrows's            
testimony--the keystone in the arch     
comprising the religious aspects of     
,lincoln's ,presidential career4 ,the   
others1 even if true1 only prove a      
,theistic belief4 ,this statement       
affirms that he became a ,christian--a  
statement evidently based upon the      
anonymous story of the ,illinois        
clergyman4 ,between the original        
presented by the ,illinois clergyman at 
large1 and that presented by the        
,illinois clergyman from ,chicago1      

however1 a grave discrepancy appears4   
,from the time that the clouds lifted   
above the carnage of ,gettysburg to the 
time that ,lincoln visited its cemetery1
 a period of twenty weeks had elapsed4  
,now1 did ,lincoln give his heart to    
,christ when the battle ended on the    
#crd of ,july1 as stated by the one1 or 
not until he stood upon the battle-field
 on the #aith of ,november1 as asserted 
by the other8 ,this is a question that  
we leave for the ,illinois clergymen    
themselves to decide4  #e4 ,when he     
pronounced his matchless oration on the 
chief battle-field of the war1 he gave  
expression to the resolve that 'this    
nation1 under ,god1 should have a new   
birth of freedom4'  ,this simple        
,deistic phrase1 under ,god1 is the only
 utterance of a religious character to  
be found in that oration4 ,when this    
speech was delivered1 ,lincoln1 it is   
claimed1 had experienced a change of    
heart1 and consecrated himself to       
,christ4 ,this address furnishes an     

overwhelming refutation of the claim4   
,at the dedication of a cemetery1       
surrounded by thousands of graves1 he   
ignores ,christianity1 and even the     
doctrine of immortality4  #f4 ,and when 
he wrote his last ,inaugural ,address1  
he gave to it the lofty tone of an old  
,hebrew psalm4  ,this is true2 and it is
 likewise true that in that document he 
made no more reference to ,christianity 
than did the ,hebrew psalmist who lived 
and wrote a thousand years before it had
 its birth4  ,the ,lincoln ,memorial    
,album1 in which ,dr4 ,barrows's article
 appears1 contains the offerings of two 
hundred contributors1 twenty of them    
divines1 and among them ,lyman ,abbot1  
,dr4 ,bellows1 ,theodore ,l4 ,cuyler1   
,eobert ,collyer1 ,bishop ,coxe1 ,dr4   
,crosby1 ,bishop ,haven1 ,philip        
,schaaf1 and ,bishop ,simpson4 ,the work
 is prefaced with a biographical sketch 
of ,lincoln1 written by ,isaac ,n4      
,arnold1 in which he makes substantially
 the same statements regarding          

,lincoln's belief as those made in his  
,life of ,lincoln4 ,aside from this1    
,dr4 ,barrows is the only one of these  
two hundred memorialists who ventures to
 affirm that ,lincoln was a ,christian4 
,the story of ,dr4 ,vinton1 too absurd  
to demand serious                       
consideration--apparently too incredible
 for belief--is yet believed by         
thousands4 ,when such fabulous tales are
 told by men who are looked upon as the 
exponents of morality1 and published in 
papers and periodicals that are presumed
 to be the repositories only of truth1  
it is not strange that such stories as  
,washington's ,praying at ,valley       
,forge1 ,ethan ,allen and ,his          
,daughter1 ,don't ,unchain the ,tiger1  
,paine's ,recanting1 and a thousand and 
one other pious fictions of a similar   
character1 have gained popular credence4
 ,to read the fabrications of this class
 pertaining to ,lincoln alone1 one would
 suppose that this astute statesman1    
this ,chief ,magistrate of a great      

nation1 this ,commander-in-,chief of two
 millions of soldiers1 engaged in the   
most stupendous civil conflict the world
 has known1 occupied the greater portion
 of his time in studying the            
,scriptures1 poring over doctrinal      
sermons1 participating in               
prayer-meetings led by pious nurses1 and
 weeping upon the necks of clerical     
visitors4  ,bishop ,simpson's remarks   
have been presented1 not because they   
furnish any proofs of ,lincoln's reputed
 ,christianity1 but because he was one  
of the clergymen who officiated at      
,lincoln's funeral1 and because his     
words on that occasion have been cited  
in support of this claim4 ,but he does  
not assert that ,lincoln was a          
,christian4 ,he simply testifies to his 
belief and trust in ,god--to his        
,deistic faith--nothing more4  ,i am    
aware that in some of the published     
reports of his address there have been  
interpolated words intended to convey   
the idea that ,lincoln accepted ,christ4

 ,bishop ,simpson1 ,i am sure1 never    
authorized the insertion of these words4
 ,they express a claim he never made--a 
claim he certainly did not make on the  
day of ,lincoln's interment4  ,in his   
funeral address at ,washington1 ,dr4    
,gurley did not affirm that ,lincoln was
 a ,christian1 or that he was intending 
to make a profession of religion4       
,bishop ,simpson1 in his oration at     
,springfield1 made no mention of these  
claims1 and ,dr4 ,gurley and ,bishop    
,simpson are known to have held a       
consultation before that oration was    
delivered4  ,this silence is conclusive 
evidence that these men knew that       
,lincoln was an unbeliever4 ,commenting 
on this notable omission1 ,mr4 ,herndon 
says3  ,bishop ,simpson delivered the   
funeral oration1 and in that oration    
there was not one word about ,mr4       
,lincoln's ,christianity4 ,bishop       
,simpson was ,lincoln's friend2 ,dr4    
,gurley was ,lincoln's pastor in        
,washington1 ,now these men knew or had 

reason to know1 ,lincoln's religion1 and
 the world would have heard of his      
,christianity on the day of his burial  
if it had been known4 ,but ,simpson and 
,gurley are silent--dumb before the     
,christian world4  ,one of the most     
beautiful and exhaustive tributes ever  
paid to ,lincoln1 aside from the        
matchless tribute paid by ,colonel      
,ingersoll1 is that from the pen of     
,bishop ,simpson which appears in the   
,lincoln ,memorial ,album4 ,in this     
tribute he does not make even the       
remotest allusion to ,lincoln's         
religious belief4 ,he appears to have   
heeded the advice tendered a less       
discreet ,christian writer1 and         
recognized the fact that1 from his      
standpoint1 the less said about the     
subject the better4 ,had all ,christians
 acted as wisely and as honorably in    
this matter as ,bishop ,simpson1 this   
controversy about ,lincoln's religion   
would never have arisen4  ,i have now   
reviewed the testimony of these         

witnesses4 ,tested in the crucible of   
honest criticism1 little remains of     
their statements save the dross of      
falsehood and error4 ,i may be charged  
with unjust severity toward these       
witnesses1 nearly all of whom are men of
 recognized respectability and          
distinction4 ,but a majority of them    
have testified to what they know to be  
false1 and against those who knowingly  
bear false witness no censure can be too
 severe4 ,thousands of ,christian men   
and women1 misled by this false         
testimony1 honestly believe and contend 
that ,lincoln was a ,christian4 ,against
 these ,i have not an unkind word to    
offer4 ,but ,i am resolved to disabuse  
their minds of this erroneous belief4   
,painful as the birth of an unwelcome   
idea is1 they shall know the truth4     
,,chapter ,v4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,hon4   
,,william ,h4 ,,herndon--,,published    
,,testimony       ,herndon's            
,association with                       
,lincoln--,character--,writings--       

,competency as a ,witness1--,the ,abbott
 ,letter--,contribution to      the     
,liberal ,age--,article in the ,truth   
,seeker--,herndon's      ,life of       
,lincoln4  ,having presented and        
reviewed the evidence in behalf of the  
affirmative of this question1 the       
evidence in support of the negative will
 next be given1 and in consideration of 
his long and intimate association with  
,lincoln1 and the character and         
comprehensiveness of his testimony1 the 
first to testify will be ,hon4 ,wm4 ,h4 
,herndon1 of ,springfield1 ,ill4  ,in   
#ahdc1 ,lincoln formed a partnership    
with ,mr4 ,herndon in the law business1 
which existed for a period of twenty-two
 years1 and was only dissolved by the   
bullet of the assassin4 ,the strong     
attachment that these men had for each  
other is illustrated in the following   
touching incident1 related in ,the      
,everyday ,life of ,lincoln3  ,when he  
was about to leave for ,washington1 he  
went to the dingy little law office     

which had sheltered his saddest hours4  
,he sat down on the couch and said to   
his law-partner1 ,herndon1 ',billy1 you 
and ,i have been together more than     
twenty years1 and have never passed a   
word4 ,will you let my name stay on the 
old sign till ,i come back from         
,washington8' ,the tears started to ,mr4
 ,herndon's eyes4 ,he put out his hand4 
',mr4 ,lincoln1' said he1 ',i will never
 have any other partner while you live2'
 and to the day of the assassination all
 the doings of the firm were in the name
 of ',lincoln  ,herndon' 7,everyday     
,life of ,lincoln1 p4 #cgg74  ,mr4      
,herndon died in #ahia4 ,though younger 
than his illustrious partner1 he was at 
the time of his death well advanced in  
years4 ,he had retired from the active  
practice of law1 and resided at his     
country home near ,springfield4 ,he was 
noted for his rugged honesty1 for his   
broad philanthropy1 and for his strong  
and original mental qualities4 ,he was  
one of the pioneers in the antislavery  

movement1 and one of the founders of the
 ,republican party4 ,he was the         
,republican nominee for ,presidential   
,elector of the ,springfield district   
when the first ,republican ticket1      
,fremont and ,dayton1 was placed in the 
field4 ,governor ,bissell1 ,governor    
,yates and ,governor ,oglesby           
successively appointed him ,bank        
,commissioner of ,illinois4 ,his talents
 were recognized and his friendship was 
sought by many of the most eminent men  
in the nation4 ,garrison stopped for    
weeks at his home2 ,theodore ,parker was
 his guest2 ,horace ,greeley was his    
devoted friend1 and ,charles ,sumner was
 his friend and correspondent4  ,when   
,lincoln and ,herndon were first thrown 
into each other's society1 ,lincoln's   
mind was dwelling1 for the most part1 in
 the theological 7or rather             
anti-theological7 world1 while          
,herndon's found a most congenial       
habitation in the world of politics4    
,they were destined to exercise an      

important influence in molding each     
other's characters4 ,herndon was        
indebted chiefly to ,lincoln for the    
religious views he entertained1 while   
,lincoln was indebted mainly to ,herndon
 for the political principles which he  
finally espoused4 ,colonel ,lamon1 in   
his ,life of ,lincoln1 gives the        
following truthful sketch of the        
character of the man whom ,lincoln made 
a ,deist1 and who in turn made an       
,abolitionist of ,lincoln4 ,alluding to 
the ,abolitionists of ,illinois1 as they
 appeared in #ahed1 when ,lincoln took  
his stand on the side of freedom1 ,lamon
 says3  ,chief among them was ,owen     
,lovejoy2 and second to him1 if second  
to any1 was ,william ,h4 ,herndon4 ,but 
the position of this latter gentleman   
was one of singular embarrassment4      
,according to himself1 he was an        
,abolitionist 'some time before he was  
born1' and hitherto he had made his     
'calling and election sure' by every    
word and act of a life devoted to       

political philanthropy and disinterested
 political labors4 ,while the two great 
national parties divided the suffrages  
of the people1 ,north and ,south1       
everything in his eyes was dead4 ,he    
detested the bargains by which those    
parties were in the habit of composing  
sectional troubles1 and sacrificing the 
principle of freedom4 ,when the ,whig   
party paid its breath to time1 he looked
 upon its last agonies as but another   
instance of divine retribution4 ,he had 
no patience with time-servers1 and      
regarded with indignant contempt the    
policy which would postpone the natural 
rights of an enslaved race to the       
success of parties and politicians4 ,he 
stood by at the sacrifice of the ,whig  
party in ,illinois with the spirit of   
,paul when he held the clothes of them  
that stoned ,stephen4 ,he believed it   
was for the best1 and hoped to see a new
 party rise in its place1 great in the  
fervor of its faith1 and animated by the
 spirit of ,wilberforce1 ,garrison1 and 

the ,lovejoys4 ,he was a fierce zealot1 
and gloried proudly in his title of     
'fanatic2' for it was his conviction    
that fanatics were at all times the salt
 of the earth1 with power to save it    
from the blight that follows the        
wickedness of men4 ,he believed in a    
,god1 but it was the ,god of            
,nature--the ,god of ,socrates and      
,plato1 as well as the ,god of ,jacob4  
,he believed in a ,bible1 but it was the
 open scroll of the universe2 and in a  
religion clear and well defined1 but it 
was a religion that scorned what he     
deemed the narrow slavery of verbal     
inspiration4 ,hot-blooded1 impulsive1   
brave1 morally and physically1 careless 
of consequences when moved by a sense of
 individual duty1 he was the very man to
 receive into his inmost heart the      
precepts of ,mr4 ,seward's 'higher law' 
7,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #cej1 #cea74    
,his literary abilities1 both as a      
speaker and as a writer1 were of a high 
order4 ,he had written a meritorious    

work on ,mental ,philosophy1 and a ,life
 of ,lincoln1 which had just been       
published when he died4 ,in addition to 
numerous addresses upon historical1     
economical1 and other subjects he       
prepared and delivered several able and 
interesting lectures on ,lincoln3       
,abraham ,lincoln and ,ann ,rutledge1 a 
beautiful and touching representation of
 that pathetic and romantic love episode
 which forms one of the saddest chapters
 in ,lincoln's history2 ,the ,analysis  
of ,lincoln's ,character1 which appears 
in the ,lincoln ,memorial ,album1 and   
,lincoln's ,religion1 which was         
published in the ,state ,register1 of   
,springfield1 ,ill4  ,carpenter1 and in 
fact nearly every writer on ,lincoln1   
has made free use of ,herndon's         
writings4 ,carpenter declares that his  
masterly ',analysis of ,lincoln's       
,character' has scarcely an equal in the
 annals of biographical literature4     
,both ,holland and ,lamon acknowledge   
that they were more deeply indebted to  

him in the preparation of their         
respective works than to any other      
person4 ,the ,petersburg ,democrat1     
published in ,menard county1 where      
,lincoln spent the first years of his   
manhood1 says3 ,mr4 ,herndon was the law
 partner of ,mr4 ,lincoln from #ahdc to 
#ahfj1 and knew his inner life better   
than any other man4 ,the ,sangamon      
county ,monitor1 of ,springfield1 where 
,lincoln lived for a quarter of a       
century1 says3 ,herndon knew ,lincoln's 
views better than any man in ,america4  
,judge ,david ,davis1 the lifelong      
friend of ,lincoln1 in whose court both 
,lincoln and ,herndon practiced for     
years1 declared that ,herndon knew more 
about ,lincoln's religion than any other
 man4  ,in this chapter will be         
reproduced the evidence of ,mr4 ,herndon
 that has already been made public4     
,the first elaborate exposition of      
,lincoln's ,free-thought views was made 
in #ahgj1 in what is known as the       
,abbott ,letter1 an article which ,mr4  

,herndon by request contributed to the  
,index1 a paper then published at       
,toledo1 ,o41 and edited by ,francis ,e4
 ,abbott4 ,the article was extensively  
copied and commented upon1 and produced 
a profound sensation in the religious   
world1 which1 to a great extent1 had    
been misled by such writers as ,holland4
 ,the first and more important part of  
,mr4 ,herndon's article will now be     
presented3  ,mr4 ,abbott3 ,some time    
since ,i promised you that ,i would send
 a letter in relation to ,mr4 ,lincoln's
 religion4 ,i do so now4 ,before        
entering on that question1 one or two   
preliminary remarks will help us to     
understand why he disagreed with the    
,christian world in its principles as   
well as in its theology4 ,in the first  
place1 ,mr4 ,lincoln's mind was a purely
 logical mind2 secondly1 ,mr4 ,lincoln  
was a purely practical man4 ,he had no  
fancy or imagination1 and not much      
emotion4 ,he was a realist as opposed to
 an idealist4 ,as a general rule1 it is 

true that a purely logical mind has not 
much hope1 if it ever has faith in the  
unseen and unknown4 ,mr4 ,lincoln had   
not much hope and no faith in things    
that lie outside of the domain of       
demonstration2 he was so constituted1 so
 organized1 that he could believe       
nothing unless his senses or logic could
 reach it4 ,i have often read to him a  
law point1 a decision1 or something ,i  
fancied4 ,he could not understand it    
until he took the book out of my hand1  
and read the thing for himself4 ,he was 
terribly1 vexatiously skeptical4 ,he    
could scarcely understand anything1     
unless he had time and place fixed in   
his mind4  ,i became acquainted with    
,mr4 ,lincoln in #ahcd1 and ,i think ,i 
knew him well to the day of his death4  
,his mind1 when a boy in ,kentucky1     
showed a certain gloom1 an unsocial     
nature1 a peculiar abstractedness1 a    
bold and daring skepticism4 ,in         
,indiana1 from #ahag to #ahcj1 it       
manifested the same qualities or        

attributes as in ,kentucky3 it only     
intensified1 developed itself1 along    
those lines in ,indiana4 ,he came to    
,illinois in #ahcj1 and1 after some     
little roving1 settled in ,new ,salem1  
now in ,menard county and state of      
,illinois4 ,this village lies about     
twenty miles northwest of this city4 ,it
 was here that ,mr4 ,lincoln became     
acquainted with a class of men the world
 never saw the like of before or since4 
,they were large men--large in body and 
large in mind2 hard to whip and never to
 be fooled4 ,they were a bold1 daring1  
and reckless sort of men2 they were men 
of their own minds--believed what was   
demonstrable2 were men of great common  
sense4 ,with these men ,mr4 ,lincoln was
 thrown2 with them he lived1 and with   
them he moved and almost had his being4 
,they were skeptics all--scoffers some4 
,these scoffers were good men1 and their
 scoffs were protests against           
theology--loud protests against the     
follies of ,christianity4 ,they had     

never heard of ,theism and the newer and
 better religious thoughts of this age4 
,hence1 being natural skeptics1 and     
being bold1 brave men1 they uttered     
their thoughts freely4 ,they declared   
that ,jesus was an illegitimate child4  
,they were on all occasions1 when       
opportunity offered1 debating the       
various questions of ,christianity among
 themselves4 ,they took their stand on  
common sense and on their own souls2    
and1 though their arguments were rude   
and rough1 no man could overthrow their 
homely logic4 ,they riddled all divines1
 and not unfrequently made them         
skeptics1 disbelievers as bad as        
themselves4 ,they were a jovial1        
healthful1 generous1 social1 true1 and  
manly set of people4 ,it was here and   
among these people that ,mr4 ,lincoln   
was thrown4 ,about the year #ahcd he    
chanced to come across ,volney's        
',ruins' and some of ,paine's           
theological works4 ,he at once seized   
hold of them1 and assimilated them into 

his own being4 ,volney and ,paine became
 a part of ,mr4 ,lincoln from #ahcd to  
the end of his life4 ,in #ahce he wrote 
out a small work on ,infidelity1 and    
intended to have it published4 ,this    
book was an attack upon the whole       
grounds of ,christianity1 and especially
 was it an attack upon the idea that    
,jesus was the ,christ1 the true and    
only-begotten son of ,god1 as the       
,christian world contends4 ,mr4 ,lincoln
 was at that time in ,new ,salem1       
keeping store for ,mr4 ,samuel ,hill1 a 
merchant and postmaster of that place4  
,lincoln and ,hill were very friendly4  
,hill1 ,i think1 was a skeptic at this  
time4 ,lincoln1 one day after the book  
was finished1 read it to ,mr4 ,hill1 his
 good friend4 ,hill tried to persuade   
him not to make it public1 not to       
publish it4 ,hill at that time saw in   
,mr4 ,lincoln a rising man1 and wished  
him success4 ,lincoln refused to destroy
 it--said it should be published4 ,hill 
swore it should never see light of day4 

,he had an eye on ,lincoln's            
popularity--his present and future      
success2 and believing that if the book 
was published it would kill ,lincoln    
forever1 he snatched it from ,lincoln's 
hand when ,lincoln was not expecting it1
 and ran it into an old-fashioned       
tinplate stove1 heated as hot as a      
furnace2 and so ,lincoln's book went up 
to the clouds in smoke4 ,it is confessed
 by all who heard parts of it that it   
was at once able and eloquent2 and1 if  
,i may judge of it from ,mr4 ,lincoln's 
subsequent ideas and opinions1 often    
expressed to me and to others in my     
presence1 it was able1 strong1 plain1   
and fair4 ,his argument was grounded on 
the internal mistakes of the ,old and   
,new ,testaments1 and on reason and on  
the experiences and observations of men4
 ,the criticisms from internal defects  
were sharp1 strong1 and manly4  ,mr4    
,lincoln moved to this city in #ahcg1   
and here became acquainted with various 
men of his own way of thinking4 ,at that

 time they called themselves            
,freethinkers1 or free thinking men4 ,i 
remember all these things distinctly2   
for ,i was with them1 heard them1 and   
was one of them4 ,mr4 ,lincoln here     
found other works--,hume1 ,gibbon1 and  
others--and drank them in4 ,he made no  
secret of his views2 no concealment of  
his religion4 ,he boldly avowed himself 
an ,infidel4  ,when ,mr4 ,lincoln was a 
candidate for our ,legislature1 he was  
accused of being an ,infidel and of     
having said that ,jesus ,christ was an  
illegitimate child4 ,he never denied his
 opinions nor flinched from his         
religious views4 ,he was a true man1 and
 yet it may be truthfully said that in  
#ahcg his religion was low indeed4 ,in  
his moments of gloom he would doubt1 if 
he did not sometimes deny1 ,god4  ,mr4  
,lincoln ran for ,congress against the  
,rev4 ,peter ,cartwright in the year    
#ahdf4 ,in that contest he was accused  
of being an ,infidel1 if not an         
,atheist4 ,he never denied the          

charge--would not--'would die first4'   
,in the first place1 because he knew it 
could and would be proved on him2 and in
 the second place1 he was too true to   
his own convictions1 to his own soul1 to
 deny it4  ,when ,mr4 ,lincoln left this
 city for ,washington1 ,i knew he had   
undergone no change in his religious    
opinions or views4 ,he held many of the 
,christian ideas in abhorrence1 and     
among them there was this one1 namely1  
that ,god would forgive the sinner for a
 violation of his laws4 ,lincoln        
maintained that ,god could not forgive2 
that punishment has to follow the sin2  
that ,christianity was wrong in teaching
 forgiveness4  ,from what ,i know of    
,mr4 ,lincoln1 and from what ,i have    
heard and verily believe1 ,i can say1   
first1 that he did not believe in a     
special creation1 his idea being that   
all creation was an evolution under law2
 secondly1 that he did not believe that 
the ,bible was a special revelation from
 ,god1 as the ,christian world contends2

 thirdly1 he did not believe in miracles
 as understood by ,christians2 fourthly1
 he believed in universal inspiration   
and miracles under law2 fifthly1 he did 
not believe that ,jesus was the ,christ1
 the son of ,god1 as the ,christian     
church contends2 sixthly1 he believed   
that all things1 both matter and mind1  
were governed by laws1 universal1       
absolute1 and eternal4 ,all his speeches
 and remarks in ,washington conclusively
 prove this4 ,law was to ,lincoln       
everything1 and special interferences1  
shams and delusions4  ,in #ahgd ,mr4    
,herndon delivered in ,springfield a    
lecture on ,lincoln's ,religion4 ,it was
 a reply to ,reed's lecture1 and was    
published in the ,state ,register1 of   
,springfield4 ,in this lecture he       
reaffirms the statements made in the    
,abbott ,letter1 supports them with     
substantial arguments and proofs1 and   
completely overthrows the claims        
advanced by ,reed4 ,from it ,i quote the
 following3  ,it is a curious fact that 

when any man by his genius1 good        
fortune1 or otherwise rises to public   
notice and to fame1 it does not make    
much difference what life he has led1   
that the whole ,christian world claims  
him as a ,christian1 to be forever held 
up to view as a hero and a saint during 
all the coming ages1 just as if religion
 would die out of the soul of man unless
 the great dead be canonized as a model 
,christian4 ,this is a species of hero  
or saint worship4 ,lincoln they are     
determined to enthrone among the saints1
 to be forever worshiped as such4  ,i   
believe that ,mr4 ,lincoln did not late 
in life become a firm believer in the   
,christian religion4 ,what6 ,mr4        
,lincoln discard his logical faculties  
and reason with his heart8 ,what6 ,mr4  
,lincoln believe that ,jesus was the    
,christ of ,god1 the true and only      
begotten son of him1 as the ,christian  
creed contends8 ,what6 ,mr4 ,lincoln    
believe that the ,new ,testament is of  
special divine authority1 and fully and 

infallibly inspired1 as the ,christian  
contends8 ,what6 ,mr4 ,lincoln abandon  
his lifelong ideas of universal1 eternal
 and absolute laws and contend that the 
,new ,testament is any more inspired    
than ,homer's poems1 than ,milton's     
',paradise ,lost1' than ,shakspere1 than
 his own eloquent and inspired oration  
at ,gettysburg8 ,what6 ,mr4 ,lincoln    
believe that the great ,creator had     
connection through the form and         
instrumentality of a shadow with a      
,jewish girl8 ,blasphemy6 ,these things 
must be believed and acknowledged in    
order to be a ,christian4  ,one word    
concerning this discussion about ,mr4   
,lincoln's religious views4 ,it is      
important in this3 #a4 ,it settles a    
historic fact4 #b4 ,it makes it possible
 to write a true history of a man free  
from the fear of fire and stake4 #c4 ,it
 assures the reading public that the    
life of ,mr4 ,lincoln will be truly     
written4 #d4 ,it will be a warning      
forever to all untrue men1 that the life

 they have lived will be held up to     
view4 #e4 ,it should convince the       
,christian pulpit and press that it is  
impossible in this day and generation1  
at least in ,america1 to daub up sin1   
and make a hero out of a fool1 a knave1 
or a villain1 which ,mr4 ,lincoln was   
not4 ,some true spirit will drag the    
fraud and lie out to the light of day4  
#f4 ,its tendency will be to arrest and 
put a stop to romantic biographies4 ,and
 now let it be written in history1 and  
on ,mr4 ,lincoln's tomb3 ',he died an   
unbeliever4'  ,in ,january1 #ahhc1 ,mr4 
,herndon contributed an article on      
,lincoln's ,religion to the ,liberal    
,age1 of ,milwaukee4 ,from this article 
the following extracts are taken and    
submitted3  ,in #ahcg1 ,mr4 ,lincoln    
moved to the city of ,springfield1 and  
there came across many people of his own
 belief4 ,they called themselves at that
 time ,freethinkers4 ,some of these men 
were highly educated and polished       
gentlemen4 ,mr4 ,lincoln read in this   

city ,hume1 ,gibbon1 and other ,liberal 
books4 ,he was in this city from #ahcg  
to #ahfa1 an                            
,infidel--,freethinker--,liberal--,free 
,religionist--of the radical type4  ,in 
his philosophy1 he was a realist1 as    
opposed to an idealist2 he was a        
sensationalist1 as opposed to an        
intuitionalist2 and was a materialist as
 opposed to a spiritualist4  ,some good 
men and women say that ,mr4 ,lincoln was
 a ,christian1 because he was a moral   
man4 ,they say that he was a rational   
,christian1 because he loved morality4  
,do not other people1 who are not       
,christians1 love morality8 ,morality is
 not the test of ,christianity1 by any  
means4 ,if it is the test1 then all     
moral men1 ,atheists1 ,agnostics1       
,infidels1 ,mohammedans1 ,buddhists1    
,mormons1 and the rest1 are ,christians4
 ,a rational ,christian is an anomaly1  
an impossibility2 because when reason is
 left free1 it demands proofs--it relies
 on experience1 observation1 logic1     

nature1 laws4 ,why not call ,mr4        
,lincoln a rational ,buddhist1 a        
rational ,mohammedan1 a rational        
,confucian1 a rational ,mormon1 for all 
these1 if true to their faith1 love     
morality4  ,did ,mr4 ,lincoln believe in
 prayer as a means of moving ,god8 ,it  
is said to me by ,christians1 touching  
his religion3 ',did not he1 in his      
parting speech in ,springfield1 in      
#ahfa1 say1 ,i hope you1 my friends1    
will pray that ,i may receive1 etc48'   
and to which ,i say1 yes4 ,in his last  
,inaugural he said3 ',fondly do we hope1
 fervently do we pray4' ,these          
expressions are merely conventional4    
,they do not prove that ,mr4 ,lincoln   
believed that prayer is a means of      
moving ,god4444 ,he believed1 as ,i     
understood him1 that human prayer did   
the prayer good2 that prayer was but a  
drum beat--the taps of the spirit on the
 living human soul1 arousing it to acts 
of repentance for bad deeds done1 or to 
inspire it to a loftier and a higher    

effort for a nobler and a grander life4 
,did ,mr4 ,lincoln1 in his said         
,inaugural1 say3 ',both read the same   
,word of ,god8' ,no1 because that would 
be admitting revelation4 ,he said3      
',both read the same ,bible' ,did ,mr4  
,lincoln say3 ',yet if ,god wills that  
it the war continue till all the wealth 
piled by the bondman's two hundred and  
fifty years of unrequited toil shall be 
sunk1 and until every drop of blood     
drawn by the lash shall be paid with    
another drawn by the sword1 as was said 
by ,god three thousand years ago8' ,he  
did not2 he was cautious1 and said3 ',as
 was said three thousand years ago4'    
,jove never nods4  ,a little later ,mr4 
,herndon wrote an article entitled1     
,abraham ,lincoln's ,religious ,belief1 
which appeared in the ,truth ,seeker of 
,new ,york4 ,from this article ,i quote 
the following passages3  ,in #ahdb ,i   
heard ,mr4 ,lincoln deliver a speech    
before the ,washingtonian ,temperance   
,society1 of this city4444 ,he scored   

the ,christians for the position they   
had taken4 ,he said in that lecture     
this3 ',if they the ,christians believe1
 as they profess--that ,omnipotence     
condescended to take on himself the form
 of sinful man1' etc4 ,this was spoken  
with energy4 ,he scornfully and         
contemptuously emphasized the words as  
they profess4 ,the rebuke was as much in
 the manner of utterance as in the      
substance of what was said4 ,i heard the
 criticisms of some of the ,christians  
that night4 ,they said the speech was an
 insult and an outrage4  ,it is my      
opinion that no man ever heard ,mr4     
,lincoln pray1 in the true evangelical  
sense of that word4 ,his philosophy is  
against all human prayer1 as a means of 
reversing ,god's decrees4  ,he has told 
me often that there was no freedom in   
the human will1 and no punishment beyond
 this world4 ,he denied ,god's higher   
law1 and wrote on the margin of a       
newspaper to his friends in the ,chicago
 convention in #ahfj1 this3 ',lincoln   

agrees with ,seward in his              
irrepressible-conflict idea2 but he is  
opposed to ,seward's higher law' ,this  
paper was handed to ,judge ,davis1      
,judge ,logan1 and other friends4  ,mr4 
,lincoln and a minister1 whose name is  
kept in the dark1 had a conversation    
about religion4 ,it appears that ,mr4   
,lincoln said that when his son--bone of
 his bone1 flesh of his flesh1 and blood
 of his own heart--died1 though a severe
 affliction1 it did not arouse him to   
think of ,christ2 but when he saw the   
graves of so many soldiers--strangers to
 him--444 that sad sight aroused him to 
love ,jesus4444 ,it is a fine thing for 
the reputation of the ',illinois        
,clergyman' that his name is to the     
world unknown4 ,it is a most heartless  
thing1 this supposed conversation of    
,lincoln with the ,illinois clergyman4  
,what6 ,lincoln feel more for the graves
 of strangers than for the death of his 
once living1 loving1 and lovable son1   
now dead1 moldering to ashes in the     

silent tomb6 ,the charge is barbarous4  
,to make ,lincoln a lover of ,jesus1    
whom he once ridiculed1 this minister   
makes him a savage4 ,i wish to give an  
illustration of the uncertainty and     
unreliability of those loose things that
 float around in the newspapers of the  
day1 and how liable things are to be    
inaccurate--so made even by the best of 
men4 ,mr4 ,lincoln on the morning he    
started for ,washington to take the oath
 of office1 and be inaugurated          
,president of this great ,republic1 gave
 a short farewell address to his old    
friends4 ,it was eloquent and touching4 
,that speech is copied in ,holland's    
',life of ,lincoln1' in ,arnold's       
',lincoln and ,slavery1' and in ,lamon's
 ',life of ,lincoln1' and no two are    
exactly alike4 ,if it is hard to get the
 exact truth on such an occasion as     
this1 how impossible is it to get at    
,mr4 ,lincoln's sayings which have been 
written out by men weeks and months     
after what he did say have passed by6   

,all these loose and foolish things that
 ,mr4 ,lincoln is supposed to have said 
are like the cords of driftwood1        
floating on the bosom of the great      
,mississippi1 down to the great gulf    
of--,forgetfulness4 ,let them go4       
,herndon's ,life of ,lincoln1 is a most 
important contribution to biographical  
literature4 ,it will enable the present 
and future generations to become better 
acquainted with ,lincoln the man than   
with any other prominent ,american4 ,the
 author has performed substantially the 
same work for ,lincoln that ,boswell    
performed for ,johnson2 only he has     
performed it more faithfully4 ,political
 partisans and religious bigots may     
condemn the work1 but impartial critics 
are almost unanimous in their praise of 
it4  ,the metropolitan journals of      
,lincoln's and ,hern-don's own state    
commend the work4 ,the ,chicago ,tribune
 says3 ,all these loving adherents of   
,lincoln will hail ,herndon's ',lincoln'
 with unmixed1 unbounded joy4 ,the      

,chicago ,times says3 ,herndon's ',life'
 is the best yet written4 ,the ,inter   
,ocean says that ,herndon knew more of  
,lincoln's inner life than any living   
man4 ,the ,chicago ,herald says3 ,it    
enables one to approach more closely to 
the great ,president4 ,the ,chicago     
,evening ,journal says3 ,it presents a  
truthful and living picture of the      
greatest of ,americans4  ,the ,nation   
thus refers to it3 ,the sincerity and   
honesty of the biographer appear on     
every page4 ,the ,new ,york ,sun says3  
,the marks of unflinching veracity are  
patent in every line4 ,the ,washington  
,capital says that it places ,lincoln   
before the world as he really was4 ,the 
,commercial ,gazette1 of ,cincinnati1   
says3 ,he describes the life of his     
friend ,lincoln just as he saw it4 ,the 
,morning ,call1 of ,san ,francisco1     
affirms that it contains the only true  
history of the lamented ,president4 ,the
 ,st4 ,louis ,republic says3 ,it will do
 more to shape the judgment of posterity

 on ,mr4 ,lincoln's character than all  
that has been written or will be        
hereafter written4  ,in this work ,mr4  
,herndon states in brief the substance  
of the articles already quoted in this  
chapter4 ,i quote as follows3  ,no man  
had a stronger or firmer faith in       
,providence--,god--than ,mr4 ,lincoln1  
but the continued use by him late in    
life of the word ,god must not be       
interpreted to mean that he believed in 
a personal ,god4 ,in #ahed he asked me  
to erase the word ,god from a speech    
which ,i had written and read to him for
 criticism1 because my language         
indicated a personal ,god1 whereas he   
insisted that no such personality ever  
existed 7,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #dde1   
#ddf74  ,the world has always insisted  
on making an orthodox ,christian of him1
 and to analyze his language or sound   
his belief is but to break the idol     
7,ibid74  ,the benevolence of his       
impulses1 the seriousness of his        
convictions1 and the nobility of his    

character1 are evidences unimpeachable  
that his soul was ever filled with the  
exalted purity and the sublime faith of 
natural religion 7,ib474     ,,chapter  
,,vi4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,hon4 ,,william 
,h4 ,,herndon--,,unpublished ,,testimony
       ,extracts from ,herndon's        
,letters--,the ,books ,lincoln          
,read--,his      ,philosophy--,his      
,infidelity--,refutation of ,christian  
,claims--      ,attempts to ,invalidate 
,herndon's ,testimony--,reed's          
,calumnies--,vindication4  ,in the      
preceding chapter has been submitted the
 evidence of ,mr4 ,herndon that has     
already been published4 ,in this chapter
 will be presented some hitherto        
unpublished testimony4  ,the writer     
corresponded with ,mr4 ,herndon for many
 years4 ,much of this correspondence    
related to ,abraham ,lincoln1 and no    
inconsiderable portion of it to the     
subject under consideration4 ,permission
 was granted by ,mr4 ,herndon to use    
such parts of this correspondence as may

 be deemed of value4 ,the limits of this
 work preclude the presentation of much 
that is really interesting1 but no      
apology is needed for devoting space to 
the following extracts from his letters1
 written at various intervals between   
#ahhj and #ahij3  ,i was the personal   
friend of ,mr4 ,lincoln from #ahcd to   
the day of his death4 ,in #ahdc we      
entered into a partnership which was    
never formally dissolved4 ,when he      
became unpopular in this ,congressional 
district because of his speeches on the 
,mexican war1 ,i was faithful to him4   
,when he espoused the antislavery cause 
and in the eyes of most men had         
hopelessly ruined his political         
prospects1 ,i stood by him1 and through 
the press defended his course4 ,in these
 dark hours1 by our unity of sentiment  
and by political ostracism we were      
driven to a close and enduring          
friendship4 ,you should take it for     
granted1 then1 that ,i knew ,mr4        
,lincoln well4 ,during all this time1   

from #ahcd to #ahfb1 when ,i last saw   
him1 he never intimated to me1 either   
directly or indirectly1 that he had     
changed his religious opinions4 ,had he 
done so--had he let drop one word or    
look in that direction1 ,i should have  
detected it4  ,i had an excellent       
private library1 probably the best in   
the city for admired books4 ,to this    
library ,mr4 ,lincoln had1 as a matter  
of course1 full and free access at all  
times4 ,i purchased such books as       
,locke1 ,kant1 ,fichte1 ,lewes2 ,sir    
,wm4 ,hamilton's ',discussions on       
,philosophy2' ,spencer's ',first        
,principles1' ',social ,statics1' etc42 
,buckle's ',history of ,civilization1'  
and ,lecky's ',history of ,rationalism4'
 ,i also possessed the works of ,parker1
 ,paine1 ,emerson1 and ,strauss2        
,gregg's ',creed of ,christendom1'      
,mc,naught on ,inspiration1 ,volney's   
',ruins1' ,feuerbach's ',essence of     
,christianity1' and other works on      
,infidelity4 ,mr4 ,lincoln read some of 

these works4 ,about the year #ahdc he   
borrowed ',the ,vestiges of ,creation'  
of ,mr4 ,james ,w4 ,keys1 of this city1 
and read it carefully4 ,he subsequently 
read the sixth edition of this work1    
which ,i loaned him4 ,mr4 ,lincoln had  
always denied special creation1 but from
 his want of education he did not know  
just what to believe4 ,he adopted the   
progressive and development theory as   
taught more or less directly in that    
work4 ,he despised speculation1         
especially in the metaphysical world4   
,he was purely a practical man4 ,he     
adopted ,locke's notions as his system  
of mental philosophy1 with some         
modifications to suit his own views4 ,he
 held that reason drew her inferences as
 to law1 etc41 from observation1        
experience1 and reflection on the facts 
and phenomena of nature4 ,he was a pure 
sensationalist1 except as above4 ,he was
 a materialist in his philosophy4 ,he   
denied dualism1 and at times immortality
 in any sense4  ,before ,i wrote my     

,abbott letter ,i diligently searched   
through ,lincoln's letters1 speeches1   
state papers1 etc41 to find the word    
immortality1 and ,i could not find it   
anywhere except in his letter to his    
father4 ,the word immortality appears   
but once in his writings4  ,if he had   
been asked the plain question1 ',do you 
know that a ,god exists8' he would have 
said3 ',i do not know that a ,god       
exists4'  ,at one moment of his life ,i 
know that he was an ,atheist4 ,i was    
preparing a speech on ,kansas1 and in   
it1 like nearly all reformers1 ,i       
invoked ,god4 ,he made me wipe out that 
word and substitute the word ,maker1    
affirming that said ,maker was a        
principle of the universe4 ,when he went
 to ,washington he did the same to a    
friend there4  ,mr4 ,lincoln told me1   
over and over1 that man has no freedom  
of will1 or1 as he termed it1 ',no man  
has a freedom of mind4' ,he was in one  
sense a fatalist1 and so died4 ,he      
believed that he was under the thumb of 

,providence 7which to him was but       
another name for fate74 ,the longer he  
lived the more firmly he believed it1   
and hence his invocations of ,god4 ,but 
these invocations are no evidence to a  
rational mind that he adopted the       
blasphemy that ,god seduced his own     
daughter1 begat a son on purpose to have
 mankind kill him1 in order that he1    
,god1 might become reconciled to his own
 mistakes1 according to the ,christian  
view4  ,lincoln would wait patiently on 
the flow and logic of events4 ,he       
believed that conditions make the man   
and not man the conditions4 ,under his  
own hand he says3 ',i attempt no        
compliment to my own sagacity4 ,i claim 
not to have controled events1 but       
confess plainly that events have        
controled me4' ,he believed in the      
supreme reign of law4 ,this law fated   
things1 as he would express it4 ,now1   
how could a man be a ,christian--could  
believe that ,jesus ,christ was         
,god--could believe in the efficacy of  

prayer--and entertain such a belief8    
,he did not believe in the efficacy of  
prayer1 although he used that           
conventional language4 ,he said in      
,washington1 ',god has his own          
purposes4' ,if ,god has his own         
purposes1 then prayer will not change   
,god's purposes4  ,i have often said to 
you1 and now repeat it1 that ,lincoln   
was a scientific ,materialist1 i4e41    
that this was his tendency as opposed to
 the ,spiritualistic idea4 ,lincoln     
always contended that general and       
universal laws ruled the                
universe--always did--do now--and ever  
will4 ,he was an ,agnostic generally1   
sometimes an ,atheist4  ,that ,mr4      
,lincoln was an ,infidel from #ahcd to  
#ahfa1 ,i know1 and that he remained one
 to the day of his death1 ,i honestly   
believe4 ,i always understood that he   
was an ,infidel1 sometimes bordering on 
,atheism4 ,i never saw any change in the
 man1 and the change could not have     
escaped my observation had it happened4 

,lincoln's task was a terrible one4     
,when he took the oath of office his    
soul was bent on securing harmony among 
all the people of the ,north1 and so he 
chose for his ,cabinet officers his     
opponents for the ,presidential         
candidacy in order and as a means of    
creating a united ,north4 ,he let all   
parties1 professions1 and callings have 
their way where their wishes did not cut
 across his own4 ,he was apparently     
pliant and supple4 ,he ruled men when   
men thought they were ruling him4 ,he   
often said to me that the ,christian    
religion was a dangerous element to deal
 with when aroused4 ,he saw in the      
,kansas affairs--in the whole history of
 slavery1 in fact--its rigor and        
encroachments1 that ,christianity was   
aroused4 ,it must be controled1 and that
 in the right direction4 ,hence he bent 
to it1 fed it1 and kept it within       
bounds1 well knowing that it would crush
 his administration to atoms unless     
appeased4 ,his oft and oft invocations  

of ,god1 his conversations with         
,christians1 his apparent respect for   
,christianity1 etc41 were all means to  
an end4 ,and yet sometimes he showed    
that he hated its nasal whines4  ,a     
gentleman of veracity in ,washington    
told me this story and vouched for its  
truthfulness3 ',a tall saddle-faced     
man1' said he1 'came to ,washington to  
pray with ,lincoln1 having declared this
 to be his intention at the hotel ,about
 #aj o'clock ,a4,m4 the bloodless man1  
dressed in black with white cravat1 went
 to the ,white ,house1 sent in his card1
 and was admitted4 ,lincoln glanced at  
the man and knew his motives in an      
instant4 ,he said to him angrily3 ,what1
 have you1 too1 come to torment me with 
your prayers8 ,the man was              
squelched--said1 ,no1 ,mr4              
,lincoln--lied out and out4 ,lincoln    
spoiled those prayers4'  ,mr4 ,lincoln  
was thought to be understood by the mob4
 ,but what a delusion6 ,he was one of   
the most reticent men that ever lived4  

,all of us--,stuart1 ,speed1 ,logan1    
,matheny1 myself1 and others1 had to    
guess at much of the man4 ,he was a     
mystery to the world--a sphinx to most  
men4 ,one peculiarity of ,mr4 ,lincoln  
was his irritability when anyone tried  
to peep into his own mind's laboratory4 
,considering all this1 what can be      
thought of the stories about what he is 
said to have confided to strangers in   
regard to his religion8  ,not one of    
,lincoln's old acquaintances in this    
city ever heard of his conversion to    
,christianity by ,dr4 ,smith or anyone  
else4 ,it was never suggested nor       
thought of here until after his death4  
,i never saw him read a second of time  
in ,dr4 ,smith's book on ,infidelity4   
,he threw it down upon our table--spit  
upon it as it were--and never opened it 
to my knowledge4  ,my opinion is1 from  
what ,i have heard and know1 that these 
men--,gurley and ,simpson--refused to be
 a party to a fraud on the public       
touching ,lincoln's religion4 ,i think  

that they understood each other the day 
that the remains of ,lincoln were put to
 rest4  ,holland came into my office1 in
 #ahfe1 and asked me this question3     
',what about ,mr4 ,lincoln's            
,christianity8' ,to this1 ,i replied3   
',the less said about it the better4'   
,holland then said to me1 ',oh1 never   
mind1 ,i'll fix that1' and went over to 
,bateman and had it fixed4  ,lincoln    
never revealed to ,judge ,davis1 ,judge 
,matheny1 ,joshua ,f4 ,speed1 ,joseph   
,gillespie1 nor myself that he was a    
,christian1 or that he had a change of  
heart1 or anything like it1 at any time4
 ,now1 taking into consideration the    
fact that he was one of the most        
non-communicative of men--that ,bateman 
was1 as it were1 a mere stranger to     
him--that ,bateman was frightened1      
excited1 conscience-smitten when ,i     
approached him on the subject1 and that 
in after years he confessed to me that  
his notes in ,holland's ',life of       
,lincoln' were colored--taking all this 

into consideration1 ,i say1 can you     
believe ,bateman's story to be true8  ,i
 see quoted frequently a supposed speech
 made by ,mr4 ,lincoln to the colored   
people of ,baltimore1 on the            
presentation1 of a ,bible to him4 ,this 
supposed speech contains the following3 
',all the good from the ,savior of the  
world is communicated to us through this
 book4' ,this idea is false and foolish4
 ,what becomes of nine-tenths of the    
life of ,jesus of which we have no      
history--nine-tenths of the great facts 
of this grand man's life not recorded in
 this book8 ,mr4 ,lincoln was full and  
exact in his language4 ,he never used   
the word ,savior1 unless in a           
conventional sense2 in fact1 he never   
used the word at all4 ,again1 he is made
 to say3 ',but for this book we could   
not know right from wrong4' ,the lowest 
organized life1 ,i was about to say1    
knows right from wrong in its particular
 sphere4 ,every good dog that comes into
 possession of a bone1 knows that that  

bone belongs to him1 and he knows that  
it is wrong for another dog to rob him  
of it4 ,he protests with bristling hair 
and glistening teeth against such dog   
robbery4 ,it requires no revelation to  
teach him right from wrong in the dog   
world2 yet it requires a special        
revelation from ,god to teach us right  
from wrong in the human world4          
,according to this speech1 the dog has  
the advantage4 ,but ,mr4 ,lincoln never 
uttered such nonsense4  ,i do think that
 anyone who knew ,mr4 ,lincoln--his     
history--his philosophy--his            
opinions--and still asserts that he was 
a ,christian1 is an unbounded falsifier4
 ,i hate to speak thus plainly1 but ,i  
cannot respect an untruthful man4  ,let 
me ask the ,christian claimant a few    
questions4 ,do you mean to say1 when you
 assert that ,mr4 ,lincoln was a        
,christian1 that he believed that ,jesus
 was the ,christ of ,god1 as the        
evangelical world contends8 ,if so1     
where do you get your information8 ,do  

you mean to say that ,mr4 ,lincoln was a
 converted man and that he so declared8 
,if so1 where1 when1 and before whom did
 he declare or reveal it8 ,do you mean  
to say that ,mr4 ,lincoln joined a      
church8 ,if so1 what church did he join1
 and when did he join it8 ,do you mean  
to say that ,mr4 ,lincoln was a secret  
,christian1 acting under the cloak of   
the devil to advance ,christianity8 ,if 
so1 what is your authority8 ,if you will
 tell me when it was that the ,creator  
caught with his almighty arms1 ,abraham1
 and held him fast while he poured the  
oil of grace on his rebellious soul1    
then ,i will know-when it was that he   
was converted from his ,infidel views to
 ,christianity4  ,the best evidence this
 side of ,lincoln's own written         
statement that he was an ,infidel1 if   
not an ,atheist1 as claimed by some1 is 
the fact that he never mentions the name
 of ,jesus4 ,if he was a ,christian it  
could be proved by his letters and      
speeches4 ,that man is a poor defender  

of a principle1 of a person1 or of a    
thing1 who never mentions that          
principle1 person1 or thing4 ,i have    
never seen the name of ,jesus mentioned 
by ,mr4 ,lincoln4  ,mr4 ,lincoln never  
mentioned the name of ,christ in his    
letters and speeches as a ,christian4 ,i
 have searched for such evidence1 but   
could not find it4 ,i have had others   
search1 but they could not find it4     
,this dead silence on the part of ,mr4  
,lincoln is overwhelming proof that he  
was an unbeliever4  ,while ,lincoln     
frequently1 in a conventional way1      
appeals to ,god1 he never appeals to    
,christ nor mentions him4 ,i know that  
he at first maintained that ,jesus was a
 bastard1 and later that he was the son 
of ,joseph and not of ,god4  ,lincoln   
was not a ,christian in any sense other 
than that he lived a good life and was a
 noble man4 ,if a good life constitutes 
one a ,christian1 then ,mill and a      
million other men who repudiated and    
denied ,christianity were ,christians1  

for they lived good and noble lives4    
,if ,mr4 ,lincoln changed his religious 
views he owed it to me to warn me1 as he
 above all other men caused me to be an 
unbeliever4 ,he said nothing to me1     
intimated nothing to me1 either directly
 or indirectly4 ,he owed this debt to   
many young men whom he had led astray1  
if astray the ,christian calls it4 ,i   
know of two young men of promise1 now   
dead and gone--gone into endless misery1
 according to the evangelical           
creed--caused by ,mr4 ,lincoln's        
teachings4 ,i know some of the living   
here1 men in prominent positions of     
life1 who were made unbelievers by him4 
,one by one1 these apocryphal stories go
 by the board4 ,courageous and          
remorseless criticism will wipe out all 
these things4 ,there will not be a      
vestige of them in fifty years to laugh 
at or to weep at4  ,mr4 ,herndon's      
testimony1 even in the absence of all   
other evidence1 is conclusive4 ,this was
 recognized by the ,christian claimants 

after the appearance of his ,abbott     
,letter4 ,they employed various measures
 to break the force of his testimony by 
trying to induce him either to retract  
or modify his statements4 ,but they were
 not successful4 ,he was not to be      
coaxed1 he was not to be purchased1 he  
was not to be intimidated4 ,he had      
stated the truth and by the truth he    
proposed to stand4 ,foiled in these     
efforts1 their last resort was to       
destroy his credibility as a witness by 
destroying his character4 ,the most     
brazen falsehoods were invented and the 
most cruel calumnies circulated in order
 to crush him4 ,some of these stated    
that he was a drunkard1 others that he  
was a pauper1 and still others that he  
had become insane4  ,these defamatory   
statements were usually first noticed in
 some religious paper or periodical4    
,from this they were naturally copied   
into the secular papers and sent        
broadcast over the land4 ,journalists   
who had once known ,mr4 ,herndon1 either

 personally or by reputation1 were      
surprised and shocked at the            
announcements1 and wrote articles like  
the following which appeared in a       
,kansas paper3  ,bill ,herndon is a     
pauper in ,springfield1 ,ill4 ,he was   
once worth considerable property4 ,his  
mind was the most argumentative of any  
of the old lawyers in the state1 and his
 memory was extraordinary4  ,for several
 years before ,lincoln was nominated for
 the ,presidency1 ,herndon was in some  
respects the most active member of the  
firm1 preparing the greatest number of  
cases for trial and making elaborate    
arguments in their behalf4 ,it is said  
that he worked hard with ,lincoln in    
preparing the memorable speeches        
delivered by the man who afterward      
became ,president1 during the debates   
between ,lincoln and ,douglas in #aheh1 
and in constructing the ,cooper         
,institute address delivered by ,lincoln
 a short time before the war4 ,herndon1 
with all his attainments1 was a man who 

now and then went on a spree4 ,this     
habit became worse after ,lincoln's     
death1 and1 like poor ,dick ,yates1 he  
went down step by step till his old     
friends and associates point to him as a
 common drunkard4  ,i was in            
,springfield the very week that this    
article was published1 and passed a day 
with ,mr4 ,herndon at his home4 ,i was  
prepared to testify1 as all his         
neighbors were1 that the charges it     
contained1 together with others that    
were being circulated1 were false4 ,i   
knew that he still possessed a sound and
 vigorous intellect2 ,i knew that he was
 in comfortable circumstances           
financially2 ,i knew that he was an     
earnest advocate of temperance1 and that
 he practiced what he preached2 in      
short1 ,i knew him to be a man of pure  
morals and exemplary character4 ,at the 
very time that he was declared to be an 
inmate of the insane asylum1 the ,old   
,settlers' ,society selected him to     
examine and report upon the correctness 

of the ,history of ,sangamon ,county1   
which1 as it included a history of the  
capital of the state where1 at one time 
or another1 had resided a majority of   
,illinois's most gifted sons1 was an    
important work1 and one whose revision  
would not likely be intrusted to a      
lunatic4 ,at the very time that he was  
said to be a pauper in the county       
poorhouse1 he was entertaining such     
distinguished guests as ,william ,lloyd 
,garrison4 ,at the very time that he was
 reported to be a common drunkard1 his  
neighbors had just appointed him        
guardian of the educational interests of
 their children4  ,all efforts to trace 
these slanders to their source and      
discover their author proved futile     
until #ahhj1 when the writer of this saw
 in an ,ohio paper an article on        
,lincoln1 in which was quoted a portion 
of a letter which the contributor of the
 article stated had just been received  
from the ,rev4 ,j4 ,a4 ,reed1 of        
,springfield4 ,it related wholly to ,mr4

 ,herndon1 and did not contain one fair1
 truthful statement4 ,in thirty brief   
lines were concentrated1 in addition to 
several statements calculated and       
intended to deceive1 no less than       
sixteen deliberate falsehoods1 some of  
them of the most cruel and infamous     
character4 ,it was evident that ,reed   
had intended that the substance of his  
letter should be given to the public    
without disclosing its authorship4 ,but1
 thanks to the innocent credulity and   
indiscreetness of the friend to whom it 
was sent1 the defamer was discovered and
 exposed4 ,and this sneaking1 cowardly  
assassin was the defender of ,lincoln's 
,christian faith6 ,could the inanimate  
remains of ,abraham ,lincoln have been  
revivified when this exposure was made1 
he would have arisen from his mausoleum 
at ,oak ,bidge1 have come into the city1
 and have kicked this pretended         
defender1 this base calumniator of his  
beloved friend and associate1 out of    
,springfield4  ,the cause of all the    

vituperation which for years had been   
heaped upon ,mr4 ,herndon was now       
apparent4 ,he had replied to ,reed's    
lecture1 and openly1 honestly1 and      
courteously1 but effectively1 refuted   
it2 and because the latter could not    
come forward with a successful          
rejoinder1 he was thus heartlessly and  
covertly plunging a dagger into the     
reputation of his chivalrous opponent4  
,the intercession of friends secured for
 the culprit immunity from arrest for   
libel1 but in the newspapers of his city
 he received such a castigation as he   
will not soon forget4 ,the ,daily       
,monitor1 in an editorial replying to   
the slanders that were being circulated 
concerning ,mr4 ,herndon1 said3  ,mr4   
,herndon is not a pauper1 is not a      
drunkard2 whisky did not ruin him1 and1 
in a word1 the whole thing is a lie4    
,mr4 ,herndon lives on his farm near    
this city4 ,he is a great admirer of    
nature1 loves flowers1 and spends his   
whole time on the farm1 except when     

doing his trading1 or coming into the   
city to see his children and            
grandchildren4 ,he don't drink1 he don't
 chew tobacco1 he don't gamble1 he is   
honorable and truthful1 and he is highly
 respected by his fellow-citizens4 ,he  
is a great reader1 a great thinker1     
loves his neighbors and his neighbors   
love him4 ,he has a great1 big1 kind    
heart for his fellow-man in distress1   
and1 while never worth 'considerable    
property1' he has always had enough for 
his generous purposes4 ,just why this   
thing should be allowed we are at a loss
 to know1 and have waited to see if some
 of those who profess so much of the    
,christ-like in their composition would 
not have enough of the man-like to be   
men1 and not allow a good and true man  
as ,mr4 ,herndon is to be thus          
infamously maligned and belied by those 
whose works in the salvation of men     
would have more effect if more akin to  
,christ in practice4  ,after a life of  
honest toil1 much of it in behalf of the

 poor and the weak1 without reward and  
without the expectation of reward1 to be
 in his old age thus shamefully robbed  
of his good name1 was an outrage almost 
without a parallel1 save in the         
treatment received by ,thomas ,paine4   
,that ,mr4 ,herndon was keenly sensitive
 to this great wrong is disclosed by the
 tone of his letters written at the     
time4 ,in one he says3 ,i have done     
nothing in the spirit of self-laudation4
 ,i prefer moving down the grooves of   
time unnoticed and unknown1 except to   
friends4 ,i have no ambition for fame or
 money4 ,my ambition is to try to do    
good4 ,i spent ten or more years of my  
best life for the negro1 liberty1 and   
union1 not forgetting ,kansas and her   
brave people4 ,but let it all go2 ,i    
make no complaint4 ,i try to live a     
moral and a manly life1 love my fellow  
man1 love freedom1 love justice1 and    
would die for the eternal right4  ,as an
 index of public sentiment in the       
community where the defamed and the     

defamer resided1 ,i will state two      
facts4 ,on a pleasant ,september        
evening1 in #ahhb1 ,i attended ,dr4     
,reed's church in ,springfield4 ,in that
 commodious edifice1 built to           
accommodate an audience of nearly one   
thousand1 ,i found assembled to listen  
to this renowned defender of ,lincoln's 
,christian faith1 an audience of        
forty-four persons4 ,about the same     
time1 in the published report of a      
public meeting held near ,springfield1  
appeared the following3 ,five thousand  
people hovered around the speaker's     
stand for the purpose of listening to   
the able1 eloquent1 and well-known ,hon4
 ,w4 ,h4 ,herndon4  ,it has been charged
 that ,mr4 ,herndon's statements        
concerning ,lincoln's unbelief were     
inspired by a spirit of revenge in      
consequence of ,lincoln's not having    
recognized him with an appointment4     
,this charge and this assumption are    
both false4 ,there is now on file at    
,washington and at ,springfield a       

telegram from ,lincoln tendering him a  
judgeship1 which he declined4  ,to know 
,lincoln was to love him4 ,none knew him
 better than ,mr4 ,herndon1 and none    
entertained a deeper affection for his  
memory4 ,in a letter to me1 dated ,nov4 
#d1 #ahha1 he pays this tribute to his  
dead friend3  ,some people say that ,mr4
 ,lincoln was an ungrateful man4 ,this  
is not true1 and especially when applied
 to myself4 ,he was always kind1 tender1
 and grateful to me--clung to me with   
hooks of steel4 ,i know that ,i was true
 to him4 ,it is said that no man is     
great to his valet4 ,if ,i was ,mr4     
,lincoln's valet1 the rule does not     
apply in this case1 for my opinion of   
him is too well known4 ,his was a grand1
 noble1 true1 and manly life4 ,he       
dreamed dreams of glory1 and glory was  
justly his4 ,he was growing and         
expanding to the day of his death4 ,he  
was slow in his development1 but strong 
and big when he did come4 ,the last     
letter which ,i ever received from him  

concluded thus3 ',god bless you1 says   
your friend4--,a4 ,lincoln' ,he felt    
what he expressed1 and in return ,i say1
 ,god bless you1 ,lincoln4     ,,chapter
 ,,vii4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,col4 ,,ward  
,h4 ,,lamon       ,lamon's ,life of     
,lincoln--,lincoln's ,early             
,skepticism--,his      ,investigations  
at ,new ,salem--,his ,book on           
,infidelity--,his      ,religious       
,opinions ,remain ,unchanged--,holland's
 ,condemnation      of ,lamon's         
,work--,holland's and ,lamon's ,works   
,compared4  ,in #ahgb1 seven years after
 the ,president's assassination1        
appeared the ,life of ,abraham ,lincoln1
 written by ,col4 ,ward ,h4 ,lamon4 ,as 
a faithful record of the life of one of 
the most sublime characters in the      
world's history1 this work stands       
unrivaled4 ,more accomplished writers   
have written biography--have written the
 biography of ,lincoln4 ,but no writer  
has ever been more thoroughly informed  
respecting his subject1 and no writer   

has ever made a more conscientious use  
of the information in his possession    
than has ,colonel ,lamon in his ,life of
 ,lincoln4 ,in ,illinois he was the     
friend and confidant of ,lincoln4 ,when 
the time approached for ,lincoln to take
 the ,executive chair1 and the journey  
from ,springfield to ,washington was    
deemed a dangerous undertaking1 to      
,colonel ,lamon was intrusted the       
responsible duty of conducting him to   
the national capital4 ,during the       
eventful years that followed1 he        
remained at the ,president's side1      
holding an important official position  
in the ,district of ,columbia4 ,when    
,lincoln died1 at the great funeral     
pageant in ,washington1 he led the civic
 procession1 and was1 with ,major       
,general ,hunter and ,judge ,david      
,davis1 selected to convey the remains  
to their final resting-place at         
,springfield4  ,the following extract1  
from the preface to his work1 shows what
 an inexhaustible mine of materials he  

had with which to prepare a full and    
authentic record of ,lincoln's life and 
character3  ,at the time of ,mr4        
,lincoln's death1 ,i determined to write
 his history1 as ,i had in my possession
 much valuable material for such a      
purpose4444 ,early in #ahfi1 ,mr4       
,herndon placed at my disposal his      
remarkable collection of materials--the 
richest1 rarest1 and fullest collection 
it was possible to conceive4444 ,mr4    
,herndon had been the partner in        
business and the intimate personal      
associate of ,mr4 ,lincoln for something
 like a quarter of a century2 and ,mr4  
,lincoln had lived familiarly with      
several members of his family long      
before their individual acquaintance    
began4 ,new ,salem1 ,springfield1 the   
old judicial circuit1 the habits and    
friends of ,mr4 ,lincoln1 were as well  
known to ,mr4 ,herndon as to himself4   
,with these advantages1 and from the    
numberless facts and hints which had    
dropped from ,mr4 ,lincoln during the   

confidential intercourse of an ordinary 
lifetime1 ,mr4 ,herndon was able to     
institute a thorough system of inquiry  
for every noteworthy circumstance and   
every incident of value in ,mr4         
,lincoln's career4 ,the fruits of ,mr4  
,herndon's labors are garnered in three 
enormous volumes of original manuscripts
 and a mass of unarranged letters and   
papers4 ,they comprise the recollections
 of ,mr4 ,lincoln's nearest friends2 of 
the surviving members of his family and 
his family-connections2 of the men still
 living who knew him and his parents in 
,kentucky2 of his schoolfellows1        
neighbors1 and acquaintances in         
,indiana2 of the better part of the     
whole population of ,new ,salem2 of his 
associates and relatives at             
,springfield2 and of lawyers1 judges1   
politicians1 and statesmen everywhere1  
who had anything of interest or moment  
to relate4 ,they were collected at vast 
expense of time1 labor1 and money1      
involving the employment of many agents1

 long journeys1 tedious examinations1   
and voluminous correspondence4 ,upon the
 value of these materials it would be   
impossible to place an estimate4 ,that  
,i have used them conscientiously and   
justly is the only merit to which ,i lay
 claim4  ,lamon's evidence concerning   
,lincoln's unbelief is complete and     
unanswerable4 ,he did not present it    
because he was himself an unbeliever and
 wished to support his views with the   
prestige of ,lincoln's great name4      
,while the ,freethinker regards         
,lincoln's rejection of ,christianity as
 in the highest degree meritorious--a   
proof of his strong logical acumen1 his 
sterling common sense1 and his broad    
humanity--,lamon considered it a grave  
defect in his character4 ,he states the 
fact because it is a fact1 and because  
the purpose of his work is to disclose  
and not conceal the facts of ,lincoln's 
life4 ,if he devotes considerable space 
to the subject1 and exhibits a special  
earnestness in its presentation1 the    

misrepresentations of ,lincoln's        
,christian biographers have furnished a 
reasonable pretext for it4  ,in the     
pages immediately following will be     
given the individual testimony of       
,colonel ,lamon3  ,any analysis of ,mr4 
,lincoln's character would be defective 
that did not include his religious      
opinions4 ,on such matters he thought   
deeply1 and his opinions were positive4 
,but perhaps no phase of his character  
has been more persistently              
misrepresented and variously            
misunderstood1 than this of his         
religious belief4 ,not that the         
conclusive testimony of many of his     
intimate associates relative to his     
frequent expressions on such subjects   
has ever been wanting2 but his great    
prominence in the world's history1 and  
his identification with some of the     
great questions of our time1 which1 by  
their moral import1 were held to be     
eminently religious in their character1 
have led many good people to trace in   

his motives and actions similar         
convictions to those held by themselves4
 ,his extremely general expressions of  
religious faith called forth by the     
grave exigencies of his public life1 or 
indulged in on occasions of private     
condolence1 have too often been         
distorted out of relation to their real 
significance or meaning to suit the     
opinions or tickle the fancies of       
individuals or parties4  ,mr4 ,lincoln  
was never a member of any church1 nor   
did he believe in the divinity of       
,christ1 or the inspiration of the      
,scriptures in the sense understood by  
evangelical ,christians 7,life of       
,lincoln1 p4 #dhf74  ,holland and other 
,christian biographers have represented 
,lincoln as a youth of extreme piety1   
whose constant companion was the ,bible4
 ,the concurrent testimony of the       
friends of his boyhood compels ,colonel 
,lamon to affirm that the reverse of    
this is true--that ,lincoln1 at an early
 age1 was noted for his skepticism4 ,he 

says3  ,when a boy1 he showed no sign of
 that piety which his many biographers  
ascribe to his manhood4444 ,when he went
 to church at all1 he went to mock1 and 
came away to mimic 7,ibid1 pp4 #dhf1    
#dhg74  ,at an early age he began to    
attend the 'preachings' roundabout1 but 
principally at the ,pigeon ,creek       
church1 with a view to catching whatever
 might be ludicrous in the preacher's   
air or matter1 and making it the subject
 of mimicry as soon as he could collect 
an audience of idle boys and men to hear
 him4 ,a pious stranger1 passing that   
way on a ,sunday morning1 was invited to
 preach for the ,pigeon ,creek          
congregation2 but he banged the boards  
of the old pulpit1 and bellowed and     
groaned so wonderfully1 that ,abe could 
hardly contain his mirth4 ,this         
memorable sermon was a great favorite   
with him2 and he frequently reproduced  
it with nasal tones1 rolling eyes1 and  
all manner of droll aggravations1 to the
 great delight of ,nat ,grigsby and the 

wild fellows whom ,nat was able to      
assemble 7lb41 p4 #ee74  ,his chronicles
 were many1 and on a great variety of   
subjects4 ,they were written1 as his    
early admirers love to tell us1 'in the 
,scriptural style2' but those we have   
betray a very limited acquaintance with 
the model 7,ib41 p4 #fc74  ,of his      
,freethought reading and theological    
investigations at ,new ,salem1 and his  
book on ,infidelity1 ,lamon says3  ,when
 he came to ,new ,salem1 he consorted   
with ,freethinkers1 joined with them in 
deriding the gospel history of ,jesus1  
read ,volney and ,paine1 and then wrote 
a deliberate and labored essay1 wherein 
he reached conclusions similar to       
theirs4 ,the essay was burnt1 but he    
never denied or regretted its           
composition4 ,on the contrary1 he made  
it the subject of free and frequent     
conversations with his friends at       
,springfield1 and stated1 with much     
particularity and precision1 the origin1
 arguments1 and objects of the work     

7lb41 p4 #dhg74  ,the community in which
 he lived was preeminently a community  
of ,freethinkers in matters of religion2
 and it was then no secret1 nor has it  
been a secret since1 that ,mr4 ,lincoln 
agreed with the majority of his         
associates in denying to the ,bible the 
authority of divine revelation4 ,it was 
his honest belief1 a belief which it was
 no reproach to hold at ,new ,salem1    
,anno ,domini #ahcd1 and one which he   
never thought of concealing4 ,it was no 
distinction1 either good or bad1 no     
honor1 and no shame4 ,but he had made   
himself thoroughly familiar with the    
writings of ,paine and ,volney--the     
',ruins' by the one1 and ',the ,age of  
,reason' by the other4 ,his mind was    
full of the subject1 and he felt an     
itching to write4 ,he did write1 and the
 result was a little book4 ,it was      
probably merely an extended essay1 but  
it is ambitiously spoken of as 'a book' 
by himself and by the persons who were  
made acquainted with its contents4 ,in  

this work he intended to demonstrate--  
',first1 that the ,bible was not ,god's 
revelation2  ',secondly1 that ,jesus was
 not the son of ,god4'  ,no leaf of this
 little volume has survived4 ,mr4       
,lincoln carried it in manuscript to the
 store of ,mr4 ,samuel ,hill1 where it  
was read and discussed4 ,hill was       
himself an unbeliever1 but his son      
considered his book 'infamous4' ,it is  
more than probable that ,hill1 being a  
warm personal friend of ,lincoln feared 
that the publication of the essay would 
some day interfere with the political   
advancement of his favorite4 ,at all    
events1 he snatched it out of his hand1 
and thrust it into the fire1 from which 
not a shred escaped 7lb41 pp4 #aeg1     
#aeh74  ,colonel ,lamon is confident    
that while ,lincoln finally ceased to   
openly promulgate his ,freethought      
opinions1 he never abandoned them4 ,he  
says3  ,as he grew older1 he grew more  
cautious2 and as his ,new ,salem        
associates1 and the aggressive ,deists  

with whom he originally united at       
,springfield1 gradually dispersed1 or   
fell away from his side1 he appreciated 
more and more keenly the violence and   
extent of the religious prejudices which
 freedom in discussion from his         
standpoint would be sure to arouse      
against him4 ,he saw the immense and    
augmenting power of the churches1 and in
 times past had practically felt it4    
,the imputation of ,infidelity had      
seriously injured him in several of his 
earlier political contests2 and1 sobered
 by age and experience1 he was resolved 
that that same imputation should injure 
him no more4 ,aspiring to lead religious
 communities1 he foresaw that he must   
not appear as an enemy within their     
gates2 aspiring to public honors under  
the auspices of a political party which 
persistently summoned religious people  
to assist in the extirpation of that    
which is denounced as the 'nation's     
sin1' he foresaw that he could not ask  
their suffrages whilst aspersing their  

faith4 ,he perceived no reason for      
changing his convictions1 but he did    
perceive many good and cogent reasons   
for not making them public 7lb41 pp4    
#dig1 #dih74  ,but he never told anyone 
that he accepted ,jesus as the ,christ1 
or performed a single one of the acts   
which necessarily follow upon such a    
conviction4  ,at ,springfield and at    
,washington he was beset on the one hand
 by political priests1 and on the other 
by honest and prayerful ,christians4 ,he
 despised the former1 respected the     
latter1 and had use for both4 ,he said  
with characteristic irreverence that he 
would not undertake to 'run the churches
 by military authority2' but he was1    
nevertheless1 alive to the importance of
 letting the churches 'run' themselves  
in the interest of his party4           
,indefinite expressions about ',divine  
,providence1' the ',justice of ,god1'   
'the favor of the ,most ,high1' were    
easy1 and not inconsistent with his     
religious notions4 ,in this1            

accordingly1 he indulged freely2 but    
never in all that time did he let fall  
from his lips or his pen an expression  
which remotely implied the slightest    
faith in ,jesus as the son of ,god and  
the ,savior of men 7,ib41 p4 #ejb74     
,lamon was ,lincoln's intimate and      
trusted friend at ,washington1 and had  
he changed his belief1 his biographer1  
as well as ,noah ,brooks and the        
,illinois clergyman1 would have been in 
possession of the fact4  ,in #ahea      
,lincoln wrote a letter of consolation  
to his dying father1 in which he        
counseled him to confide in our great   
and good and merciful ,maker4 ,this     
letter was given to the public by ,mr4  
,herndon1 and has been cited by the     
orthodox to prove that ,lincoln was a   
believer4 ,adverting to this letter     
,lamon says3  ,if ever there was a      
moment when ,mr4 ,lincoln might have    
been expected to express his faith in   
the atonement1 his trust in the merits  
of a living ,redeemer1 it was when he   

undertook to send a composing and       
comforting message to a dying man4444   
,but he omitted it wholly4 ,he did not  
even mention the name of ,jesus1 or     
intimate the most distant suspicion of  
the existence of a ,christ 7,ibid41 p4  
#dig74  ,lincoln's mind was not entirely
 free from superstition1 but though born
 and reared in ,christendom1 the        
superstitious element in his nature was 
not essentially ,christian4 ,his        
fatalistic ideas1 so characteristic of  
the faith of ,islam1 have already been  
mentioned by ,mr4 ,herndon1 and are thus
 referred to by ,colonel ,lamon3  ,mr4  
,lincoln was by no means free from a    
kind of belief in the supernatural4444  
,he lived constantly in the serious     
conviction that he was himself the      
subject of a special decree1 made by    
some unknown and mysterious power1 for  
which he had no name 7,ibid41 p4 #ejc74 
,his mind was filled with gloomy        
forebodings and strong apprehensions of 
impending evil1 mingled with extravagant

 visions of personal grandeur and power4
 ,his imagination painted a scene just  
beyond the veil of the immediate future1
 gilded with glory yet tarnished with   
blood4 ,it was his 'destiny'--splendid  
but dreadful1 fascinating but terrible4 
,his case bore little resemblance to    
those of religious enthusiasts like     
,bunyan1 ,cowper1 and others4 ,his was  
more like the delusion of the fatalist  
conscious of his star 7,ibid11 p4 #dge74
  ,when ,lamon's work appeared1         
,holland1 backed by the ,christian      
element generally1 fell upon it like a  
savage and sought1 as far as possible1  
to suppress it4 ,lamon had committed an 
unpardonable offense4 ,he had declared  
to the world that ,lincoln had died a   
disbeliever1 and1 what was worse1 he had
 proved it4 ,holland's attack was made  
in an eight-column review of ,lamon's   
,life1 which was published in           
,scribner's ,monthly1 for ,august1      
#ahgb4 ,in order to give an air of      
candor and judicial fairness to his     

venomous criticisms1 he opens with this 
flattering recognition of its merits3   
,it is not difficult to see how ,colonel
 ,lamon1 who during ,mr4 ,lincoln's     
,presidency held an office in the       
,district of ,columbia1 which must have 
brought him into somewhat frequent      
intercourse with the ,president1 and    
who1 indeed1 had come with him from     
,springfield to the ,capital1 should    
feel that there rested on him a certain 
biographical duty4 ,and certainly he was
 in possession of a mass of material so 
voluminous1 so original1 and so fresh   
that in this respect at least his       
fitness for the work was remarkably     
complete4 ,moreover1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,h4       
,herndon1 who was ,mr4 ,lincoln's       
partner in the practice of the law at   
,springfield1 and was1 of course1       
closely intimate with his partner in a  
business way1444 added to ,colonel      
,lamon's material the valuable documents
 which he had himself collected1 and the
 memoranda which1 with painstaking and  

lawyer-like ability1 he had recorded    
from the oral testimony of living       
witnesses4  ,as far as the story of ,mr4
 ,lincoln's childhood and early life is 
concerned1 down to the time when his    
political life began1 it has never been 
told so fully1 with such spirit and     
zest1 and with such evident accuracy1 as
 by ,colonel ,lamon4  ,nearly the entire
 review is devoted to a denunciation of 
,lamon's exposition of ,lincoln's       
religious opinions4 ,he repeatedly      
pronounces this an outrage on decency1  
and characterizes ,lincoln's            
,free-thought companions as heathen1    
barbarians1 and savages4 ,the review    
concludes as follows3  ,the violent and 
reckless prejudice1 and the utter want  
of delicacy and even of decency by which
 the book is characterized1 in such     
instances as this1 will more than       
counterbalance the value of its new     
material1 its fresh and vigorous        
pictures of ,western life and manners1  
and its familiar knowledge of the       

'inside politics' of ,mr4 ,lincoln's    
administration1 and will even make its  
publication 7by the famous publishers   
whose imprint imparts to it a prestige  
and authority which its authorship would
 fail to give7 something like a national
 misfortune4 ,in some quarters it will  
be readily received as the standard life
 of the good ,president4 ,it is all the 
more desirable that the criticism upon  
it should be prompt and unsparing4      
,christianity must have the support of  
,lincoln's great name4 ,to secure it    
,holland is willing to misrepresent the 
honest convictions of ,lincoln's        
lifetime1 to traduce the characters of  
his dearest friends1 and to rob a       
brother author and a publisher of their 
just reward4  ,lamon states that during 
the last years of ,lincoln's life he    
ceased to proclaim his ,infidel opinions
 because they were unpopular4 ,referring
 to this statement1 ,holland says3 ,the 
eagerness with which this volume strives
 to cover ,mr4 ,lincoln's memory with an

 imputation so detestable is one of the 
most pitiable exhibitions which we have 
lately witnessed4  ,this outburst of    
righteous indignation1 coming from the  
source it does1 is peculiarly           
refreshing4 ,to appreciate it1 we have  
only to open ,holland's work1 and read  
such passages as the following3 ,i am   
obliged to appear different to them4 ,it
 was one of the peculiarities of ,mr4   
,lincoln to hide these religious        
,christian experiences from the eyes of 
the world4 ,who had never in their whole
 lives heard from his lips one word of  
all these religious convictions and     
experiences4 ,they his friends did not  
regard him as a religious man4 ,all this
 department of his life he had kept     
carefully hidden from them4 ,there was  
much of his conduct that was simply a   
cover to these thoughts--an effort to   
conceal them 7,holland's ,life of       
,lincoln1 pp4 #bci1 #bdj74  ,consummate 
hypocrisy in a ,christian is all right  
with this moralist2 but for a           

,freethinker to withhold his views from 
an intolerant religious world is a      
detestable crime4  ,as a biographer of  
,lincoln1 ,holland possessed many       
advantages over ,lamon4 ,his work was   
written and published immediately after 
the awful tragedy1 when almost the      
entire reading public was deeply        
interested in everything that pertained 
to ,lincoln's life4 ,so far as          
,lincoln's religious views are          
concerned1 he advocated the popular side
 of the question2 for while those       
outside of the church cared but little  
about the matter1 the church desired the
 influence of his great name1 and was   
ready to reward those who assisted her  
in obtaining it4 ,holland1 too1 had an  
established reputation as an author--had
 nearly as large a class of readers as  
any writer in this country4 ,his name   
alone was sufficient to guarantee a     
large circulation to any book he might  
produce4 ,lamon1 on the other hand1     
possessed but a single advantage over   

his rival1 that of having the truth on  
his side4 ,and while truth is mighty1   
and will in the end prevail1 yet how    
often is it crushed to earth and for the
 time obscured4 ,in view of all this1 it
 is not strange that the public should  
be so slow to reject the fictions of    
,holland and accept the facts of ,lamon4
  ,that ,lamon's ,life of ,lincoln is   
wholly undeserving of adverse criticism1
 is not claimed4 ,he has1 perhaps1 given
 undue prominence to some matters       
connected with ,lincoln's private       
affairs which might with propriety have 
been consigned to oblivion4 ,a larger   
manifestation of charity1 too1 for the  
imperfections of those with whom        
,lincoln mingled1 especially in the     
humbler walks of life1 would not have   
detracted from its merit4 ,and yet1     
those who desire to know ,lincoln as he 
really was1 should read ,lamon rather   
than ,holland4 ,in ,lamon's work1       
,lincoln's character is a rugged oak1   
towering above its fellows and clothed  

in nature's livery2 in ,holland's work1 
it is a dead tree with the bark taken   
off1 the knots planed down1 and         
varnished4  ,in the ,new ,york ,world   
appeared the following just estimate of 
these two biographies3  ,mr4 ,ward ,h4  
,lamon is the author of one ',life of   
,lincoln1' and ,dr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,holland is 
the author of another4 ,mr4 ,lamon was  
the intimate personal and political     
friend of ,mr4 ,lincoln1 trusting and   
trusted1 from the time of their joint   
practice in the ,illinois ,quarter      
,sessions to the moment of ,mr4         
,lincoln's death at ,washington4 ,dr4   
,holland was nothing to ,mr4            
,lincoln--neither known nor knowing4    
,dr4 ,holland rushed his ',life' from   
the press before the disfigured corpse  
was fairly out of sight1 while the      
public mind lingered with horror over   
the details of the tragedy1 and1 excited
 by morbid curiosity1 was willing to pay
 for its gratification4 ,mr4 ,lamon     
waited many years1 until all            

adventitious interest had subsided1 and 
then with incredible labor and pains1   
produced a volume founded upon materials
 which for their fulness1 variety1 and  
seeming authenticity are unrivaled in   
the history of biographies4  ,dr4       
,holland's single volume professed to   
cover the whole of ,mr4 ,lincoln's      
career4 ,mr4 ,lamon's single volume was 
modestly confined to a part of it4 ,dr4 
,holland's was an easy1 graceful1       
off-hand performance1 having but the one
 slight demerit of being in all         
essential particulars untrue from       
beginning to end4 ,mr4 ,lamon's was a   
labored1 cautious1 and carefully        
verified narrative which seems to have  
been accepted by disinterested critics  
as entirely authentic4  ,dr4 ,holland   
would probably be very much shocked if  
anybody should ask him to bear false    
witness in favor of his neighbor in a   
court of justice1 but he takes up his   
pen to make a record which he hopes and 
intends shall endure forever1 and in    

that record deliberately bears false    
witness in favor of a public man whom he
 happened to admire1 with no kind of    
offense to his serene and 'cultured'    
conscience4 ,if this were all--if ,dr4  
,holland merely asserted his own right  
to compose and publish elaborate        
fictions on historical subjects--we     
might comfort ourselves with the        
reflection that such literature is      
likely to be as evanescent as it is     
dishonest1 and let him pass in silence4 
,but this is not all4 ,he maintains that
 it is everybody's duty to help him to  
deceive the public and to write down his
 more conscientious competitor4 ,he     
turns up the nose of 'culture' and curls
 the lip of 'art' at ,mr4 ,lamon's      
homely narrative of facts1 and gravely  
insists that all other noses and all    
other lips shall be turned up and curled
 because his are4 ,he implores the      
public1 which he insulted and gulled    
with his own book1 to damn ,mr4         
,lamon's1 and he puts his request on the

 very ground that ,mr4 ,lamon has       
stupidly gone and narrated undeniable   
truths1 whereby he has demolished an    
empty shrine that was profitable to     
many1 and broken a painted idol that    
might have served for a god4  ,the names
 of ,holland and ,lamon are not of      
themselves and by themselves            
illustrious2 but starting from the      
title-pages of the two ,lives of        
,lincoln1 and representing1 as they do1 
the two schools of biography writers1   
the one stands for a principle and the  
other for the want of it4     ,,chapter 
,,viii4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,hon4 ,,john  
,t4 ,,stuart ,,and ,,col4 ,,james ,h4   
,,matheny       ,testimony of ,hon4     
,john ,t4 ,stuart--,testimony of ,col4  
,james      ,h4 ,matheny--,stuart's     
,disclaimer--,matheny's ,disclaimer--   
,examination and ,authorship of         
,disclaimers1 ,including the            
,edwards and ,lewis ,letters4  ,besides 
his own testimony concerning ,lincoln's 
unbelief1 ,colonel ,lamon cites the     

testimony of ten additional witnesses3  
,hon4 ,wm4 ,h4 ,herndon1 ,hon4 ,john ,t4
 ,stuart1 ,col4 ,james ,h4 ,matheny1    
,dr4 ,c4 ,h4 ,ray1 ,wm4 ,h4 ,hannah1    
,esq1 ,mr4 ,jas4 ,w4 ,keys1 ,hon4 ,jesse
 ,w4 ,fell1 ,col4 ,john ,g4 ,nicolay1   
,hon4 ,david ,davis and ,mrs4 ,mary     
,lincoln4 ,the testimony of ,mr4        
,herndon having already been presented1 
the testimony of ,mr4 ,stuart and       
,colonel ,matheny will next be given4   
,this testimony was procured by ,mr4    
,herndon for the purpose of refuting the
 erroneous statements of ,dr4 ,holland4 
,hon4 ,john ,t4 ,stuart1 who was for a  
time a member of ,congress from         
,illinois1 was the first law partner of 
,lincoln4 ,he says3  ,lincoln went      
further against ,christian beliefs and  
doctrines and principles than any man ,i
 ever heard3 he shocked me4 ,i don't    
remember the exact line of his          
argument--suppose it was against the    
inherent defects1 so called1 of the     
,bible1 and on grounds of reason4       

,lincoln always denied that ,jesus was  
the ,christ of ,god--denied that ,jesus 
was the son of ,god1 as understood and  
maintained by the ,christian church4    
,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,smith1 who wrote a     
letter1 tried to convert ,lincoln from  
,infidelity so late as #aheh1 and       
couldn't do it 7,lamon's ,life of       
,lincoln1 p4 #dhh74  ,col4 ,james ,h4   
,matheny was one of ,lincoln's most     
intimate friends1 and was for many years
 his chief political manager4 ,he       
testifies as follows3  ,i knew ,mr4     
,lincoln as early as #ahcd-g2 know he   
was an ,infidel4 ,he and ,w4 ,d4        
,herndon used to talk ,infidelity in the
 ,clerk's office in this city1 about the
 years #ahcg-dj4 ,lincoln attacked the  
,bible and the ,new ,testament on two   
grounds3 first1 from the inherent or    
apparent contradictions under its lids2 
second1 from the grounds of reason4     
,sometimes he ridiculed the ,bible and  
the ,new ,testament1 sometimes seemed to
 scoff at it1 though ,i shall not use   

that word in its full and literal sense4
 ,i never heard that ,lincoln changed   
his views1 though his personal and      
political friend from #ahcd to #ahfj4   
,sometimes ,lincoln bordered on         
,atheism4 ,he went far that way and     
shocked me4 ,i was then a young man1 and
 believed what my good mother told me4  
,stuart and ,lincoln's office was in    
what is called ,hoffman's ,row1 on      
,north ,fifth street1 near the public   
square4 ,it was in the same building as 
the ,clerk's office1 and on the same    
floor4 ,lincoln would come into the     
,clerk's office1 where ,i and some young
 men--,evan ,butler1 ,newton ,francis   
and others--were writing or staying1 and
 would bring the ,bible with him2 would 
read a chapter1 argue against it4       
,lincoln then had a smattering of       
geology1 if ,i recollect it4 ,lincoln   
often1 if not wholly1 was an ,atheist2  
at least1 bordered on it4 ,lincoln was  
enthusiastic in his ,infidelity4 ,as he 
grew older1 he grew more discreet1      

didn't talk much before strangers about 
his religion2 but to friends1 close and 
bosom ones1 he was always open and      
avowed1 fair and honest2 but to         
strangers1 he held them off from policy4
 ,lincoln used to quote ,burns4 ,burns  
helped ,lincoln to be an ,infidel1 as ,i
 think2 at least he found in ,burns a   
like thinker and feeler4  ,from what ,i 
know of ,mr4 ,lincoln and his views of  
,christianity1 and from what ,i know as 
honest1 well-founded rumor2 from what ,i
 have heard his best friends say and    
regret for years2 from what he never    
denied when accused1 and from what      
,lincoln has hinted and intimated1 to   
say no more1 he did write a little book 
on ,infidelity1 at or near ,new ,salem1 
in ,menard county1 about the year #ahcd 
or #ahce4 ,i have stated these things to
 you often4  ,judge ,logan1 ,john ,t4   
,stuart1 yourself1 know what ,i know1   
and some of you more4  ,mr4 ,herndon1   
you insist on knowing something which   
you know ,i possess1 and got as a       

secret1 and that is1 about ,lincoln's   
little book on ,infidelity4 ,mr4        
,lincoln did tell me that he did write a
 little book oil ,infidelity4 ,this     
statement ,i have avoided heretofore2   
but1 as you strongly insist upon        
it--probably to defend yourself against 
charges of misrepresentations--,i give  
it to you as ,i got it from ,lincoln's  
mouth 7,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #dhg1     
#dhh74  ,the evidence of ,stuart and    
,matheny1 as recorded in ,lamon's work1 
having been presented1 it is now proper 
to state that this evidence has1 in a   
measure1 been repudiated by them4 ,dr4  
,reed1 in his lecture1 produced letters 
from them disclaiming in part or        
modifying the statements imputed to     
them4 ,dr4 ,reed says3 ,i have been     
amazed to find that the principal       
persons whose testimony is given in this
 book to prove that their old friend    
lived and died an ,infidel1 never wrote 
a word of it1 and never gave it as their
 opinion or allowed it to be published  

as covering their estimate of ,mr4      
,lincoln's life and religious views4    
,alluding to ,stuart's evidence1 he     
says3 ,mr4 ,lamon has attributed to ,mr4
 ,stuart testimony the most disparaging 
and damaging to ,mr4 ,lincoln's         
character and opinions--testimony which 
,mr4 ,stuart utterly repudiates1 both as
 to language and sentiment4 ,regarding  
,matheny's testimony1 he says3 ,mr4     
,matheny testifies that he never wrote a
 word of what is attributed to him2 that
 it is not a fair representation of     
either his language or his opinions1 and
 that he never would have allowed such  
an article to be published as covering  
his estimate of ,mr4 ,lincoln's life and
 character4  ,the following is the      
disclaimer of ,mr4 ,stuart3             
,springfield1 ,dec4 #agth1 #ahgb4  ,rev4
 ,j4 ,a4 ,reed3  ,dear ,sir--  ,my      
attention has been called to a statement
 in relation to the religious opinions  
of ,mr4 ,lincoln1 purporting to have    
been made by me1 and published in       

,lamon's ',life of ,lincoln4' ,the      
language of that statement is not mine2 
it was not written by me1 and ,i did not
 see it until it was in print4 ,i was   
once interviewed on the subject of ,mr4 
,lincoln's religious opinions1 and      
doubtless said that ,mr4 ,lincoln was in
 the earlier part of his life an        
,infidel4 ,i could not have said that   
',dr4 ,smith tried to convert ,lincoln  
from ,infidelity so late as #aheh1 and  
couldn't do it4' ,in relation to that   
point ,i stated1 in the same            
conversation1 some facts which are      
'omitted in that statement1 and which ,i
 will briefly repeat4 ,that ,eddie1 a   
child of ,mr4 ,lincoln1 died in #ahdh or
 #ahdi1 and that he and his wife were in
 deep grief on the account ,that ,dr4   
,smith1 then pastor of the ,first       
,presbyterian church of ,springfield1 at
 the suggestion of a lady friend of     
theirs1 called upon ,mr4 and ,mrs4      
,lincoln1 and that first visit resulted 
in great intimacy and friendship between

 them1 lasting till the death of ,mr4   
,lincoln1 and continuing with ,mrs4     
,lincoln till the death of ,dr4 ,smith4 
,i stated that ,i had heard at the time 
that ,dr4 ,smith and ,mr4 ,lincoln had  
much discussion in relation to the truth
 of the ,christian religion1 and that   
,dr4 ,smith had furnished ,mr4 ,lincoln 
with books to read on that subject1 and 
among others one which had been written 
by himself1 sometime previous1 on       
,infidelity2 and that ,dr4 ,smith       
claimed that after this investigation   
,mr4 ,lincoln had changed his opinions1 
and became a believer in the truth of   
the ,christian religion2 that ,mr4      
,lincoln and myself never conversed upon
 that subject1 and ,i had no personal   
knowledge as to his alleged change of   
opinion4 ,i stated1 however1 that it was
 certainly true that up to that time    
,mr4 ,lincoln had never regularly       
attended any place of religious worship1
 but that after that time he rented a   
pew in the ,first ,presbyterian church1 

and with his family constantly attended 
the worship in that church until he went
 to ,washington as ,president4 ,this    
much ,i said at the time1 and ,i can now
 add that the ,hon4 ,ninian ,w4         
,edwards1 the brother-in-law of ,mr4    
,lincoln1 has1 within a few days1       
informed me that when ,mr4 ,lincoln     
commenced attending the ,first          
,presbyterian church he admitted to him 
that his views had undergone the change 
claimed by ,dr4 ,smith4 ,i would further
 say that ,dr4 ,smith was a man of great
 ability1 and on theological and        
metaphysical subjects had few superiors 
and not many equals4 ,truthfulness was a
 prominent trait in ,mr4 ,lincoln's     
character1 and it would be impossible   
for any intimate friend of his to       
believe that he ever aimed to deceive1  
either by his words or his conduct4     
,yours truly1  ,john ,t4 ,stuart4  ,col4
 ,matheny's disclaimer is as follows3   
,springfield1 ,dec4 #afth1 #ahgb4  ,rev4
 ,j4 ,a4 ,reed3  ,dear ,sir--  ,the     

language attributed to me in ,lamon's   
book is not from my pen4 ,i did not     
write it1 and it does not express my    
sentiments of ,mr4 ,lincoln's entire    
life and character4 ,it is a mere       
collection of sayings gathered from     
private conversations that were only    
true of ,mr4 ,lincoln's earlier life4 ,i
 would not have allowed such an article 
to be printed over my signature as      
covering my opinion of ,mr4 ,lincoln's  
life and religious sentiments4 ,while ,i
 do believe ,mr4 ,lincoln to have been  
an ,infidel in his former life1 when his
 mind was as yet unformed1 and his      
associations principally with rough and 
skeptical men1 yet ,i believe he was a  
very different man in later life1 and   
that after associating with a different 
class of men and investigating the      
subject1 he was a firm believer in the  
,christian religion4  ,yours truly1     
,jas4 ,h4 ,matheny4  ,this disclosure   
startles you1 my dear reader4 ,but be   
patient4 ,i will show you that this     

apparently mortal thrust of ,dr4 ,reed's
 was made1 not with a lance1 but with a 
boomerang4  ,when ,reed made his assault
 upon ,lamon's witnesses1 all stood firm
 but two--two old ,springfield          
politicians whose political aspirations 
had not yet become extinct--,john ,t4   
,stuart and ,james ,h4 ,matheny4  ,these
 men had been among the first to testify
 in regard to ,lincoln's unbelief4 ,his 
,christian biographers had              
misrepresented his religious views2 they
 believed that the fraud ought to be    
exposed1 and they were ready and willing
 to aid in the work4 ,their testimony   
exhibits a frankness that is truly      
commendable4 ,they knew that lying was a
 vice1 but they did not know that       
truth-telling was a crime4 ,they had yet
 to learn that the church tolerates     
murder more readily than the            
promulgation of a truth that is         
antagonistic to her creed4 ,but this    
fact they were destined to learn4       
,lamon's work had scarcely been issued  

from the press before he was            
anathematized and his book proscribed4  
,the merciless attack that had already  
been commenced upon ,herndon portended  
danger to them4 ,nor had they long to   
wait4 ,in ,december1 #ahgb1 they were   
approached by ,reed and his coadjutors4 
,they were informed that the idol which 
their ruthless iconoclasm had helped to 
break must be repaired4 ,they were given
 to understand that if they repented of 
the part they had performed and         
recanted1 peace would be their portion  
here and endless bliss hereafter2 but   
that if they did not1 endless misery    
would begin on ,jan4 #a1 a4d4 #ahgc4    
,the situation was critical4 ,they did  
not like to tell the world that they had
 borne false witness against the dead1  
nor did they1 any more than ,galileo1   
wish to wear a martyr's crown4 ,a       
compromise was finally effected4 ,it was
 incidentally ascertained by ,reed that 
their evidence as presented by ,lamon   
was not originally given in the shape of

 a letter or a written statement1 but   
orally4 ,a happy thought suggested      
itself--one worthy of the unscrupulous  
theological pettifogger that he is4 ,the
 thought was this3 ,say to the public1  
or rather let me say it for you1 that   
you did not write a word of the         
testimony attributed to you4 ,just as a 
witness in court might point to the     
stenographer's report of his testimony  
and say1 ,i did not write a word of     
that4  ,in addition to this1 ,mr4       
,stuart1 in endeavoring to explain away1
 as far as possible1 the obnoxious      
character of his testimony1 declared    
that some things which he did say at the
 time his testimony was given had been  
omitted2 while something he did not say 
was inserted4 ,they were both trivial   
matters1 hardly worthy of notice1 even  
if true1 and having no especial bearing 
upon the case4 ,but they served an      
admirable purpose in enabling ,reed to  
say that the testimony adduced by ,lamon
 was abridged and distorted4  ,stuart's 

disclaimer1 then1 divested of its       
misleading verbiage1 contains but two   
points4 ,in the first place1 he says3 ,i
 could not have said that ',dr4 ,smith  
tried to convert ,lincoln from          
,infidelity so late as #aheh1 and       
couldn't do it4' ,this sentence1 like   
everything else in these disclaimers1 is
 cunningly worded and intended to       
deceive4 ,one would naturally suppose   
the idea he intends to convey is that he
 never declared that ,dr4 ,smith tried  
to convert ,lincoln and couldn't do it4 
,this1 it has been ascertained1 is not  
his meaning4 ,what he means is this3 ,i 
could not have said that ',dr4 ,smith   
tried to convert ,lincoln from          
,infidelity1 so late as #aheh1 and      
couldn't do it4' ,his denial is a mere  
quibble about a date4 ,he did           
undoubtedly say just what he is reported
 to have said4 ,but admitting a doubt1  
and giving him the benefit of this      
doubt1 by throwing out the disputed     
date1 the passage is not less damaging  

than it was before3 ,dr4 ,smith tried to
 convert ,lincoln from ,infidelity1 and 
couldn't do it4 ,but let us omit the    
entire sentence1 and the testimony of   
,mr4 ,stuart that remains1 about which  
there is no dispute1 that portion of his
 testimony which he admits to be        
correct--is as follows3  ,lincoln went  
further against ,christian beliefs and  
doctrines and principles than any man ,i
 ever heard2 he shocked me4 ,i don't    
remember the exact line of his argument2
 suppose it was against the inherent    
defects1 so called1 of the ,bible1 and  
on grounds of reason4 ,lincoln always   
denied that ,jesus was the ,christ of   
,god--denied that ,jesus was the ,son of
 ,god1 as understood and maintained by  
the ,christian church4  ,in the second  
place1 ,mr4 ,stuart complains that the  
rumors concerning ,dr4 ,smith's         
attempted conversion of ,lincoln which  
he had mentioned to ,mr4 ,herndon at the
 time of giving his testimony1 were     
omitted4 ,they were1 and very properly1 

too4 ,mr4 ,stuart1 or any other good    
lawyer1 would have omitted them4 ,mr4   
,herndon desired him to testify about   
what he knew1 and not about what he had 
heard1 especially as he was going to    
headquarters in regard to these rumors4 
,he wrote to ,dr4 ,smith himself about  
them1 received his testimony1 and gave  
it to the public4  ,stuart affects to   
believe that this story1 which ,ninian  
,edwards is dragged around by ,reed to  
verify1 may possibly have been true4    
,but in the same sentence1 he refutes   
this idea1 and refutes the claim itself1
 by saying3 ,i had no personal knowledge
 as to his alleged change of opinion4   
,stuart was a family connection of      
,lincoln1 and if ,lincoln had been      
converted1 he1 as well as every other   
person in ,springfield1 would have known
 it4  ,he states that ,dr4 ,smith's     
first visit to ,lincoln was at the      
suggestion of a lady friend4 ,to have   
avoided another glaring contradiction in
 the evidence of his witnesses1 ,reed   

should have had ,major ,stuart state    
that this lady friend was ,thomas       
,lewis4 ,as it is1 the account given by 
,stuart of ,dr4 ,smith's first visit and
 acquaintance with ,lincoln is entirely 
at variance with the account given by   
,mr4 ,lewis in his letter1 quoted in    
chapter ,i4  ,mr4 ,stuart evidently     
entertained no very kind opinion of     
,colonel ,lamon's work1 and this made   
him all the more disposed to accede to  
,reed's demands4 ,his position on the   
slavery question1 for a time1 was one   
which1 in the light of subsequent       
events1 he had no reason to be proud of1
 and ,lamon in narrating the acts of    
,lincoln's life found it necessary      
frequently to refer to this4 ,such      
passages as the following were          
calculated not only to make him offended
 at ,lamon1 but jealous of ,herndon3    
,john ,t4 ,stuart was keeping his eye on
 ,lincoln1 with the view of keeping him 
on his side--the totally dead           
conservative side4 ,mr4 ,lincoln was    

beset by warm friends and by old        
coadjutors1 and besought to pause in his
 anti-slavery course while there was yet
 time4 ,among these there was none more 
earnest or persuasive than ,john ,t4    
,stuart1 who was but the type of a      
class4444 ,but ,mr4 ,herndon was more   
than a match for the full array against 
him4 ,an earnest man1 instant in season 
and out of season1 he spoke with the    
eloquence of apparent truth and of real 
personal love 7,life of ,lincoln1 pp4   
#cgd1 #ceb74  ,colonel ,matheny was not 
prepared to deny the correctness of a   
single statement in his testimony1 but  
was forced to modify its bearing as a   
whole4 ,he was made to say3 ,it does not
 express my sentiments of ,mr4          
,lincoln's entire life and character4   
,now1 anyone who reads his evidence     
cannot fail to observe that he did      
intend to cover ,lincoln's entire life  
and character4 ,there is not in it the  
slightest intimation that he referred   
merely to a part of his life4 ,indeed1  

there is one statement in his evidence  
which utterly precludes such an         
assumption4 ,he expressly says3 ,i never
 heard that ,lincoln changed his views1 
though his personal and political friend
 from #ahcd to #ahfj4 ,but ,reed must   
have a sufficient portion of his life   
reserved in which to inject the story of
 his alleged conversion2 and so         
,matheny's offense was condoned on the  
condition that he retain the earlier    
part of ,lincoln's life for his         
testimony to rest upon1 and concede the 
remainder to ,reed for ,the ,later ,life
 and ,religious ,sentiments of ,lincoln4
 ,this division of ,lincoln's life is   
quite indefinite1 but ,reed would have  
us believe that ,colonel ,matheny's     
evidence relates wholly to that portion 
of his life anterior to #ahdh1 when ,dr4
 ,smith began the task of               
,christianizing him4 ,matheny's         
disclaimer is dated ,dec4 #af1 #ahgb4   
,on ,dec4 #i1 #ahgc1 he made the        
following explanation1 which was        

published in a ,springfield paper3      
,what ,i mean1 in my ,reed letter1 by   
,mr4 ,lincoln's earlier life1 is his    
whole life and history in ,illinois4 ,in
 ,illinois1 and up to the time he left  
for ,washington1 he was1 as ,i          
understand it1 a confirmed ,infidel4    
,what ,i mean by ,mr4 ,lincoln's later  
life1 is his ,washington life1 where he 
associated with religious people1 when  
and where ,i believe he thought he      
became a ,christian4 ,i told ,mr4 ,reed 
all this just before signing the letter 
spoken of4 ,i knew nothing of ,mr4      
,lincoln's investigation into the       
subject of ,christianity4  ,he says that
 his evidence is a mere collection of   
sayings gathered from private           
conversations4 ,it is doubtless true    
that he had many private conversations  
with ,mr4 ,herndon on this subject2 but 
his published testimony was all given at
 one sitting1 and more1 he signed that  
testimony4 ,every word attributed to him
 in ,lamon's work1 and repeated in this 

chapter1 originally appeared above his  
signature4  ,the concluding words of his
 disclaimer are as follows3  ,while ,i  
do believe ,mr4 ,lincoln to have been an
 ,infidel in his former life1 when his  
mind was as yet unformed1 and his       
associations principally with rough and 
skeptical men1 yet ,i believe he was a  
very different man in later life2 and   
that after associating with a different 
class of men1 and investigating the     
subject1 he was a firm believer in the  
,christian religion4  ,these words1 as  
modified by the following1 constitute a 
most remarkable statement3  ,in         
,illinois1 and up to the time he left   
for ,washington1 he was1 as ,i          
understand it1 a confirmed ,infidel4    
,what ,i mean by ,mr4 ,lincoln's later  
life1 is his ,washington life1 where he 
associated with religious people4       
,colonel ,matheny confines ,lincoln's   
,infidelity to that portion of his life 
when his mind was as yet unformed1 and  
affirms that this portion comprised all 

the years preceding his removal to      
,washington in #ahfa4 ,thus during the  
first fifty-two years of ,lincoln's     
life1 his mind was as yet unformed4 ,his
 enviable reputation as one of the      
foremost lawyers of ,illinois was       
achieved while his mind was as yet      
unformed2 when his friends sent him to  
,congress his mind was as yet unformed2 
when he made his ,bloomington speech1   
his mind was as yet unformed2 when he   
delivered his famous ,springfield       
speech1 his mind was as yet unformed2   
when he conducted his masterly debates  
with ,stephen ,a4 ,douglas1 his mind was
 as yet unformed2 when he prepared and  
delivered that model of political       
addresses1 the ,cooper ,institute       
address1 his mind was as yet unformed2  
when at the ,chicago ,convention he     
outstripped in the race for             
,presidential nominee such eminent      
leaders as ,seward and ,chase1 his mind 
was as yet unformed2 when he was elected
 ,chief ,magistrate of this great       

nation1 his mind was as yet unformed4   
,it was only by leaving ,illinois and   
going to ,washington that he was thrown 
into religious society4 ,washington     
politicians are noted for their piety1  
you know4 ,according to ,matheny et al41
 ,new ,salem was a second ,sodom1       
,springfield a second ,gomorrah and     
,washington a sort of ,new ,jerusalem1  
inhabited chiefly by saints4  ,neither  
in ,matheny's letter1 nor in his        
interpretation of this letter1 is there 
a word to indicate that he recognized   
the fact that ,lincoln went to          
,washington to assume the office and    
perform the duties of ,president4 ,on   
the contrary1 the whole tenor of his    
remarks is to the effect that he        
believed the people sent him there on   
account of his wickedness1 and while his
 mind was as yet unformed1 to attend a  
reform school1 and that subsequently he 
entered a theological seminary1 and     
there died4  ,the most amusing feature  
of ,matheny's letter is that he         

unwittingly certifies that his own      
character was not good4 ,he declares    
that ,lincoln was an ,infidel because   
his associations were with rough and    
skeptical men2 but that after removing  
to ,washington and associating with a   
different class of men he became a      
,christian4 ,now1 it is well known that 
one of the most conspicuous of his rough
 and skeptical associates in ,illinois  
was ,james ,h4 ,matheny4  ,colonel      
,matheny1 in his explanatory remarks1   
says3 ,i believe he thought he became a 
,christian2 and in almost the next      
breath says1 ,i knew nothing of ,mr4    
,lincoln's investigation into the       
subject of ,christianity4 ,can anything 
be more unreasonable than this8 ,colonel
 ,matheny knowing that ,lincoln was a   
confirmed ,infidel--an ,infidel when he 
went to ,washington--knowing nothing    
about his having afterward investigated 
,christianity--knowing that he had no   
time for such an investigation1 and yet 
believing that ,lincoln thought he      

became a ,christian6 ,why did he not    
mention this when he gave his testimony8
 ,the fact is1 he did not believe that  
,lincoln became a ,christian2 but with  
an orthodox club raised above his head1 
he found it very convenient to profess  
to believe it4  ,as ,mr4 ,reed has      
endeavored to prove that ,lamon and     
,herndon did not faithfully report the  
evidence of ,stuart and ,matheny1 it is 
but just that ,mr4 ,herndon1 who took   
down their testimony1 be permitted to   
speak in his own defense4 ,in his       
,springfield lecture1 delivered in      
,major ,stuart's town1 if not in his    
presence1 referring to ,stuart's        
testimony1 he says3  ,mr4 ,stuart did   
not write the note and no one ever said 
he did4 ,what is there stated was the   
substance of a conversation between ,mr4
 ,stuart and myself about ,mr4          
,lincoln's religion4 ,i took down in a  
note in his office and in his presence  
his words and ideas as ,i did in other  
cases4 ,the conversation spoken of took 

place in ,mr4 ,stuart's office1 and in  
the east room4 ,mr4 ,stuart does not    
deny that the note is substantially     
correct4 ,he simply says he could not   
have said that ,dr4 ,smith tried to     
convert ,mr4 ,lincoln1 and couldn't do  
it4 ,i well remember that he did use    
this language4 ,it seemed to do him good
 to say it4444 ,it seems that ,mr4      
,stuart had heard that ,mr4 ,lincoln and
 ,dr4 ,smith had much discussion about  
,christianity1 but he failed to hear of 
,mr4 ,lincoln's conversion1 or anything 
like it1 and well might he say1 as he   
did1 that ',dr4 ,smith tried to convert 
,mr4 ,lincoln1 but couldn't do it4'     
,any charitably disposed person1 knowing
 the general good character of both men1
 instead of crying ,fraud6 as ,reed has 
done1 will readily conclude that ,mr4   
,herndon was mistaken1 or that ,mr4     
,stuart had forgotten just what he did  
say1 and is it not more reasonable to   
suppose that the latter gentleman1 in   
the lapse of six years1 should have     

forgotten some things he said1 than that
 ,mr4 ,herndon1 who recorded them the   
moment they were uttered1 should be     
mistaken8  ,alluding to ,colonel        
,matheny's evidence1 in the same        
lecture1 ,mr4 ,herndon says3  ,the next 
gentleman introduced by ,mr4 ,reed is   
,col4 ,james ,h4 ,matheny4 ,he is made  
to say1 in a letter addressed to ,mr4   
,reed1 that he did not write the        
statement in ,lamon's ',life of         
,lincoln4' ,i do not claim that he did4 
,i wrote it in the court house--this    
hall--in ,mr4 ,matheny's presence1 and  
at his dictation4 ,i read it over to him
 and he approved it4 ,i wrote it all at 
once as he spoke it to me2 it is not    
made up of scraps--'a mere collection of
 sayings gathered from private          
conversations1 that were only true of   
,mr4 ,lincoln's earlier life4' ,i say   
that this statement was written all at  
one time and place1 and not at different
 times and places4 ,let any critic1 any 
man of common sense1 read it and he will

 say3 ',this was all written at once4'  
,i appeal to the manner--the close      
connection of words and ideas in which  
it runs--word with word1 sentence with  
sentence1 and idea with idea1 for the   
proof that it was made at one sitting4  
,mr4 ,matheny has often told me that    
,mr4 ,lincoln was an ,infidel4 ,he      
admits this in his letter to ,mr4 ,reed4
 ,he never intimated in that or any     
other conversation with me that he      
believed that ,mr4 ,lincoln in his later
 life became a ,christian4  ,in a letter
 dated ,sept4 #ad1 #ahhg1 ,mr4 ,herndon 
writes3  ,i acted in this matter        
honestly1 and ,i will always abide by my
 notes taken down at the time4 ,i was   
cautious--very careful of what ,i did1  
because ,i knew that the church would   
damn me and prove me false if it could4 
,i stood on the exactness of truth      
squarely4  ,i have thus far assumed that
 ,stuart and ,matheny really wrote the  
letters of disclaimer addressed to      
,reed4 ,mr4 ,reed states that he is     

amazed to find that they did not write  
the statements attributed to them by    
,lamon4 ,the reader is by this time     
sufficiently familiar with this reverend
 gentleman's methods that he will not be
 amazed to find that ,stuart and        
,matheny did not write these            
disclaimers4 ,i now affirm that ,james  
,h4 ,matheny did not write a word of the
 letter purporting to have been written 
by him4 ,it was written by the ,rev4 ,j4
 ,a4 ,reed6 ,we have not the expressed  
declaration of ,mr4 ,stuart that this is
 true of the letter imputed to him1 but 
there is other evidence which makes it  
clearly apparent that this letter was   
also written by ,mr4 ,reed4  ,nor is    
this all4 ,i shall now endeavor to show 
that the greater part of the evidence   
presented by ,reed1 in his lecture1 was 
composed and written by himself4 ,let us
 take the four letters credited         
respectively to ,edwards1 ,lewis1       
,stuart1 and ,matheny4 ,i shall attempt 
to demonstrate the common origin of     

these letters1 first1 by their form2    
secondly1 by the language of their      
contents4  ,the different forms employed
 in epistolary correspondence are       
numerous1 far more numerous than        
generally supposed4 ,to illustrate3 four
 hundred letters1 written by as many    
different persons1 and all addressed to 
the same person1 were1 without          
examination1 divided into one hundred   
parcels of four letters each4 ,they were
 then examined in regard to the form    
employed by the writer4 ,the heading1   
the address1 the introduction1 and the  
subscription were noted--no attention   
being paid to the body of the letter1 or
 the signature4 ,in not one of these one
 hundred parcels were found four letters
 having the same form4 ,the heading of  
these letters exhibited nine different  
forms2 the address1 fourteen2 the       
introduction1 eight2 and the            
subscription1 eleven4  ,again1 nearly   
every writer employs certain idioms of  
language that are peculiar to him1 and  

which reveal his identity1 even though  
he tries to conceal it4  ,let us now    
institute a brief analysis of the four  
letters under consideration4 ,errors    
will be noticed1 not for the purpose of 
reflecting upon the literary attainments
 of the writer1 but solely with a view  
of discovering his identity4 ,these are 
mostly of a trivial character1 confined 
to marks of punctuation1 etc42 and it is
 a recognized fact that a majority of   
educated persons1 including many        
professional writers1 are more or less  
deficient in the art of punctuation4 ,in
 proof of the common authorship of these
 four letters1 the following reasons are
 submitted3  #a4 ,in all of them we     
recognize a stiff formality--a studied  
effort to conform to one ideal standard4
  #b4 ,all of them were written at      
,springfield1 ,ill41 and all omit the   
name of the state4  #c4 ,in each of     
them1 the day of the month is followed  
by the suffix1 th4 ,this1 if not wholly 
improper1 is not common usage4 ,had     

these letters been written by the four  
persons to whom they are ascribed1 at   
least three of them would have omitted  
it4  #d ,in all1 but one1 the address is
 ,rev4 ,j4 ,a4 ,reed1 and in the        
exception the writer merely substitutes 
,jas4 for ,j4  #e4 ,in each of them the 
address is followed by a colon instead  
of a comma1 the proper mark to use4 ,had
 they been written by four persons1 it  
is possible that a part1 or even all1   
would have made an error1 but it is     
highly improbable that all would have   
made the same error4  #f4 ,in these     
letters1 the introductory words are     
uniformly ,dear ,sir--the most common   
form of introduction1 and the one that a
 writer1 in drafting a letter addressed 
to himself1 would most naturally employ4
  #g4 ,in every instance1 the           
introduction is followed by a dash      
instead of a colon--a uniformity of     
error1 again4  #h4 ,in the subscription1
 the term1 ,yours truly1 is invariably  
used1 except in the ,lewis letter1 which

 concludes with ,yours1 etc4  #i4 ,the  
,edwards letter and the ,lewis letter   
begin with the same idea1 expressed in  
nearly the same words4 ,edwards is made 
to say1 ,a short time after the ,rev4   
,dr4 ,smith1 etc42 and ,lewis--,not long
 after ,dr4 ,smith4  #aj4 ,omitting the 
introductory sentence in the ,stuart    
letter1 which is merely the expansion of
 an idea used in writing the ,matheny   
letter on the preceding day1 the ,stuart
 and ,matheny letters begin with the    
same idea4 ,stuart says3 ,the language  
of that statement is not mine2 it was   
not written by me4 ,matheny says3 ,the  
language attributed to me444 is not from
 my pen4 ,i did not write it4 ,reed     
himself uses substantially the same     
language that is ascribed to them4 ,had 
their statements1 as published in       
,lamon's work1 been forgeries1 or       
grossly inaccurate1 they might have used
 the language quoted above4 ,under the  
circumstances they would not have used  
it4 ,major ,stuart and ,colonel ,matheny

 were lawyers1 not pettifoggers4  #aa4  
,these prefatory sentences of ,stuart   
and ,matheny both begin with the same   
words--the language4  #ab4 ,in both the 
,edwards and ,lewis letters1 reference  
is made to a theological work which ,dr4
 ,smith is said to have written4 ,the   
writer of neither letter is able to     
state the name of the book2 ,dr4 ,reed  
is unable to state the name of it2 ,dr4 
,smith himself does not mention the name
 of it2 but he does plainly state that  
it was a work on the ,bible4 ,for the   
business he had on hand1 however1 it    
suited ,reed's purpose better to give a 
semi-erroneous impression of its        
character1 and so he affirms that it was
 a work on the evidences of             
,christianity4 ,curiously enough1 in the
 ,edwards letter and again in the ,lewis
 letter1 the book is described as a work
 on the evidences of ,christianity4     
#ac4 ,the ,edwards letter reports       
,lincoln as saying3 ,i have been reading
 a work of ,dr4 ,smith on the evidences 

of ,christianity4 ,the ,lewis letter    
represents him as saying that ,he had   
seen and partially read a work of ,dr4  
,smith on the evidences of ,christianity
 ,here are ten consecutive words in the 
two letters identical4  #ad4 ,mr4 ,reed1
 in his lecture1 never once uses the    
word ,christianity1 except as above     
noticed to describe ,dr4 ,smith's book2 
he always uses the words the ,christian 
religion--employing this term no less   
than seven times4 ,this usage is not    
common4 ,an examination of various      
theological writings shows that         
,christianity is used twenty times where
 the ,christian religion is used once4  
,yet in these letters the word          
,christianity is not to be found1 except
 in the same sense as used by ,dr4      
,reed1 while the ,christian religion    
occurs in each of the four letters4     
#ae4 ,the truth of the ,christian       
religion is a favorite phrase with      
,reed1 occurring three times in his     
lecture4 ,this phrase also occurs three 

times in these letters--once in the     
,edwards letter1 and twice in the       
,stuart letter4  #af4 ,reed has much to 
say about ,lincoln's life and religious 
sentiments2 in fact1 his lecture is     
entitled1 ,the ,later ,life and         
,religious ,sentiments of ,abraham      
,lincoln4 ,in the ,matheny letter1 too1 
we find ,mr4 ,lincoln's life and        
religious sentiments4  #ag4 ,the words  
earlier and later are frequently used by
 ,reed in connection with ,lincoln's    
life4 ,the same words are used in the   
,stuart and ,matheny letters1 and in the
 same connection4  #ah4 ,the ,stuart    
letter is1 for the most part1 devoted to
 the narration of some facts which ,mr4 
,stuart is said to have presented to    
,mr4 ,herndon1 beginning with this3     
,that ,eddie1 a child of ,mr4 ,lincoln1 
died in #ahdh or #ahdi1 etc4 ,now1 ,mr4 
,stuart well knew that1 during all this 
time1 ,mr4 ,herndon was the intimate    
associate of ,lincoln and thoroughly    
familiar with every event in his        

history4 ,the facts given in this letter
 are not such as ,mr4 ,stuart would have
 communicated to ,mr4 ,herndon1 but they
 are such as ,mr4 ,reed would naturally 
desire to place before the public4  #ai4
 ,nothing in ,dr4 ,reed's career has    
excited his vanity more than the fact   
that he was pastor of the ,first        
,presbyterian ,church of                
,springfield--the church which ,lincoln 
once attended4 ,consequently1 the ,first
 ,presbyterian ,church is a conspicuous 
object in his lecture1 and nowhere is it
 more conspicuous than in these letters4
 ,in the ,stuart letter it appears three
 times1 and the writer never fails to   
state that it was the ,first            
,presbyterian ,church--the church of    
which ,dr4 ,reed was pastor4  #bj4      
,according to the principle of          
accretion1 if two articles or letters   
are written on the same subject1 the    
second will usually be longer than the  
first4 ,this is true of these letters4  
,the ,lewis letter1 relating to ,smith's

 reputed conversion of ,lincoln1 was    
written after the ,edwards letter       
relative to the same subject1 and is    
longer4 ,the ,stuart disclaimer1 which  
is the longer of the two1 was written   
after the ,matheny disclaimer4  ,from   
the foregoing1 is it not clearly evident
 that these four letters were all       
written by the same person8 ,if so1 then
 knowing that ,dr4 ,reed wrote one of   
them1 the ,matheny letter1 does it not  
necessarily follow that he wrote them   
all8  ,in the ,gurley testimony1 such   
expressions as the ,christian religion  
and the truth of the ,christian         
religion1 together with the ,reed story 
concerning ,lincoln's intention of      
making a profession of religion1 reveal 
the authorship of this testimony also4  
,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the  
,,remaining ,,witnesses ,,presented ,,by
 ,,lamon       ,dr4 ,c4 ,h4 ,ray--,wm4  
,h4 ,hannah1 ,esq4--,james ,w4          
,keys--,hon4      ,jesse ,w4            
,fell--,col4 ,john ,g4 ,nicolay--,hon4  

,david ,davis--,mrs4      ,mary         
,lincoln--,injustice to ,mrs4           
,lincoln--,answer to ,reed's            
,pretended ,refutation of the ,testimony
 of ,lamon's ,witnesses4  ,seven of     
,lamon's witnesses--,ray1 ,hannah1      
,keys1 ,fell1 ,nicolay1 ,davis1 and     
,mrs4 ,lincoln--remain to testify4 ,the 
testimony of these witnesses will now be
 presented4  ,,dr4 ,c4 ,h4 ,,ray4  ,dr4 
,kay1 editor of the ,chicago ,tribune1 a
 prominent figure in ,illinois politics 
thirty years ago1 and a personal friend 
and admirer of ,lincoln1 testifies as   
follows3  ,you knew ,mr4 ,lincoln far   
better than ,i did1 though ,i knew him  
well2 and you have served up his leading
 characteristics in a way that ,i should
 despair of doing1 if ,i should try4 ,i 
have only one thing to ask3 that you do 
not give ,calvinistic theology a chance 
to claim him as one of its saints and   
martyrs4 ,he went to the ,old ,school   
,church2 but1 in spite of that outward  
assent to the horrible dogmas of the    

sect1 ,i have reason from himself to    
know that his 'vital purity4' if that   
means belief in the impossible1 was of a
 negative sort 7,lamon's ,life of       
,lincoln1 pp4 #dhi1 #dij74  ,dr4 ,kay   
states that ,lincoln held substantially 
the same theological opinions as those  
held by ,theodore ,parker4  ,,william   
,h4 ,,hannah4  ,a leading member of the 
,bloomington bar1 when ,lincoln         
practiced there1 was ,wm4 ,h4 ,hannah4  
,he was an honest1 truthful man1 and    
knew ,lincoln well4 ,concerning         
,lincoln's views on the doctrine of     
endless punishment1 ,mr4 ,hannah says3  
,since #ahef ,mr4 ,lincoln told me that 
he was a kind of immortalist2 but that  
he never could bring himself to believe 
in eternal punishment2 that man lived   
but a little while here1 and that1 if   
eternal punishment were man's doom1 he  
should spend that little life in        
vigilant and ceaseless preparation by   
never-ending prayer 7,life of ,lincoln1 
p4 #dhi74  ,,james ,w4 ,,keys4  ,mr4    

,jas4 ,w4 ,keys1 an old and respected   
citizen of ,springfield1 who became     
acquainted with ,lincoln soon after his 
removal there1 and who had many         
conversations with him on the subject of
 theology1 says3  ,as to the ,christian 
theory1 that ,christ is ,god1 or equal  
to the ,creator1 he said that it had    
better be taken for granted2 for1 by the
 test of reason1 we might become        
,infidels on that subject1 for evidence 
of ,christ's divinity came to us in a   
somewhat doubtful shape 7,life of       
,lincoln1 p4 #dij74  ,,hon4 ,,jesse ,w4 
,,fell4  ,jesse ,w4 ,fell1 who died at  
,bloomington in the spring of #ahhg1 was
 one of the best known and most highly  
respected citizens of ,illinois4 ,he was
 ,secretary of the ,republican ,state   
,central ,committee during the memorable
 ,lincoln-,douglas campaign1 and was    
largely instrumental in bringing        
,lincoln forward as a candidate for the 
,presidency in #ahfj4 ,it was for him   
that ,lincoln wrote an autobiographical 

sketch of his life1 which formed the    
basis of his campaign biographies1 the  
facsimile of which appears in ,lamon's  
,life of ,lincoln1 and in the ,lincoln  
,memorial ,album4 ,mr4 ,fell was a      
,christian of the ,unitarian            
denomination1 and there were few men for
 whom ,lincoln had a more profound      
respect4 ,the following is his          
testimony3  ,though everything relating 
to the character of this extraordinary  
personage is of interest1 and should be 
fairly stated to the world1 ,i enter    
upon the performance of this duty--for  
so ,i regard it--with some reluctance1  
arising from the fact that1 in stating  
my convictions on the subject1 ,i must  
necessarily place myself in opposition  
to quite a number who have written on   
this topic before me1 and whose views   
largely pre-occupy the public mind4     
,this latter fact1 whilst contributing  
to my embarrassment on this subject1 is1
 perhaps1 the strongest reason1 however1
 why the truth in this matter should be 

fully disclosed2 and ,i therefore yield 
to your request4 ,if there were any     
traits of character that stood out in   
bold relief in the person of ,mr4       
,lincoln1 they were those of truth and  
candor4 ,he was utterly incapable of    
insincerity1 or professing views on this
 or any other subject he did not        
entertain4 ,knowing such to be his true 
character1 that insincerity1 much more  
duplicity1 were traits wholly foreign to
 his nature1 many of his old friends    
were not a little surprised at finding1 
in some of the biographies of this great
 man1 statements concerning his         
religious opinions so utterly at        
variance with his known sentiments4     
,true1 he may have changed or modified  
those sentiments after his removal from 
among us1 though this is hardly         
reconcilable with the history of the    
man1 and his entire devotion to public  
matters during his four years' residence
 at the national capital4 ,it is        
possible1 however1 that this may be the 

proper solution of this conflict of     
opinions2 or1 it may be1 that1 with no  
intention on the part of anyone to      
mislead the public mind1 those who have 
represented him as believing in the     
popular theological views of the times  
may have misapprehended him1 as         
experience shows to be quite common     
where no special effort has been made to
 attain critical accuracy on a subject  
of this nature4 ,this is the more       
probable from the well-known fact that  
,mr4 ,lincoln seldom communicated to    
anyone his views on this subject4 ,but1 
be this as it may1 ,i have no hesitation
 whatever in saying that1 whilst he held
 many opinions in common with the great 
mass of ,christian believers1 he did not
 believe in what are regarded as the    
orthodox or evangelical views of        
,christianity4  ,on the innate depravity
 of man1 the character and office of the
 great head of the church1 the          
atonement1 the infallibility of the     
written revelation1 the performance of  

miracles1 the nature and design of      
present and future rewards and          
punishments 7as they are popularly      
called7 and many other subjects1 he held
 opinions utterly at variance with what 
are usually taught in the church4 ,i    
should say that his expressed views on  
these and kindred topics were such as1  
in the estimation of most believers1    
would place him entirely outside the    
,christian pale4 ,yet1 to my mind1 such 
was not the true position1 since his    
principles and practices and the spirit 
of his whole life were of the very kind 
we universally agree to call ,christian2
 and ,i think this conclusion is in no  
wise affected by the circumstance that  
he never attached himself to any        
religious society whatever4  ,his       
religious views were eminently          
practical1 and are summed up1 as ,i     
think1 in these two propositions3 'the  
fatherhood of ,god1 and the brotherhood 
of man4' ,he fully believed in a        
superintending and overruling           

,providence that guides and controls the
 operations of the world1 but maintained
 that law and order1 and not their      
violation or suspension1 are the        
appointed means by which this           
,providence is exercised4  ,i will not  
attempt any specification of either his 
belief or disbelief on various religious
 topics1 as derived from conversations  
with him at different times during a    
considerable period2 but1 as conveying a
 general view of his religious or       
theological opinions1 will state the    
following facts3 ,some eight or ten     
years prior to his death1 in conversing 
with him on this subject1 the writer    
took occasion to refer1 in terms of     
approbation1 to the sermons and writings
 generally of ,dr4 ,w4 ,e4 ,channing2   
and1 finding he was considerably        
interested in the statement ,i made of  
the opinions held by that author1 ,i    
proposed to present him a copy of       
,channing's entire works1 which ,i soon 
after did4 ,subsequently1 the contents  

of these volumes1 together with the     
writings of ,theodore ,parker1 furnished
 him1 as he informed me1 by his friend  
and law-partner1 ,mr4 ,herndon1 became  
naturally the topics of conversation    
with us2 and though far from believing  
there was an entire harmony of views on 
his part with either of those authors1  
yet they were generally much admired and
 approved by him4  ,no religious views  
with him seemed to find any favor1      
except of the practical and             
rationalistic order2 and if1 from my    
recollections on this subject1 ,i was   
called upon to designate an author whose
 views most nearly represented ,mr4     
,lincoln's on this subject1 ,i would say
 that author was ,theodore ,parker4 ,as 
you have asked from me a candid         
statement of my recollections on this   
topic1 ,i have thus briefly given them1 
with the hope that they may be of some  
service in rightly settling a question  
about which--as ,i have good reason to  
believe--the public mind has been       

greatly misled4 ,not doubting that they 
will accord1 substantially1 with your   
own recollections1 and that of his other
 intimate and confidential friends1 and 
with the popular verdict after this     
matter shall have been properly         
canvassed1 ,i submit them 7,life of     
,lincoln1 pp4 #dij-dib74  ,mr4 ,fell's  
testimony is full and explicit4 ,he     
affirms that ,lincoln rejected nearly   
all the leading tenets of orthodox      
,christianity2 the inspiration of the   
,scriptures1 the divinity of ,christ1   
the innate depravity of man1 the        
atonement1 the performance of miracles1 
and future rewards and punishments4 ,his
 expressed views on these and kindred   
topics1 ,mr4 ,fell says1 were such as1  
in the estimation of most believers1    
would place him entirely outside the    
,christian pale4 ,mr4 ,fell1 himself1   
was not disposed to withhold from       
,lincoln the appellation of ,christian1 
but it was only because he stood upon   
the broad ,liberal ,christian1 or rather

 non-,christian1 platform which         
permitted him to welcome a ,theist1 like
 ,parker2 a ,pantheist1 like ,emerson2  
or even an ,agnostic1 like ,ingersoll4  
,,col ,,john ,g4 ,,nicolay4  ,the next  
witness introduced by ,lamon1 is ,col4  
,john ,g4 ,nicolay1 ,lincoln's private  
secretary at the ,white ,house4         
,nicolay's relations with the ,president
 were more intimate than those of any   
other man4 ,to quote the words of       
,lincoln's partner1 ,mr4 ,lincoln loved 
him and trusted him4 ,his testimony is  
among the most important that this      
controversy has elicited4 ,it proves    
beyond the shadow of a doubt that all   
these stories concerning ,lincoln's     
alleged conversation at ,washington are 
false1 that he did not change his       
belief1 that he died as he had always   
lived--a ,freethinker4 ,in a letter     
written ,may #bg1 #ahfe1 just six weeks 
after ,lincoln's death1 ,colonel        
,nicolay says3 ,mr4 ,lincoln did not1 to
 my knowledge1 in any way1 change his   

religious ideas1 opinions or beliefs1   
from the time he left ,springfield till 
the day of his death4 ,i do not know    
just what they were1 never having heard 
him explain them in detail1 but ,i am   
very sure he gave no outward indications
 of his mind having undergone any change
 in that regard while here 7,life of    
,lincoln1 p4 #dib74  ,,hon4 ,,david     
,,davis4  ,one of the most important1   
and in some respects the most eminent   
witness summoned to testify in regard to
 this question1 is the ,hon4 ,david     
,davis4 ,in moral character he stood    
above reproach1 in intellectual ability1
 almost without a peer4 ,every step in  
his career was marked by unswerving     
integrity and freedom from prejudice4   
,his rulings and decisions in the lower 
courts of ,illinois1 and on the bench of
 the ,supreme ,court of the ,united     
,states1 commanded universal respect4   
,as a legislator1 his love of truth and 
justice prevented him from being a      
political partisan4 ,as ,united ,states 

,senator and ,vice-,president of the    
,united ,states1 the party that elected 
him could obtain his support for no     
measure that he deemed unjust4          
,referring to his acquaintance with     
,lincoln1 ,judge ,davis says3 ,i enjoyed
 for over twenty years the personal     
friendship of ,mr4 ,lincoln4 ,we were   
admitted to the bar about the same time1
 and traveled for many years what is    
known in ,illinois as the ,eighth       
,judicial ,circuit4 ,in #ahdh1 when ,i  
first went on the bench1 the circuit    
embraced fourteen counties1 and ,mr4    
,lincoln went with the court to every   
county4 ,a large portion of this time   
they passed in each other's company4    
,they often rode in the same vehicle1   
generally ate at the same table1 and not
 infrequently slept together in the same
 bed4 ,the closest intimacy existed     
between them as long as ,lincoln lived1 
and when he died1 ,mr4 ,davis became his
 executor4 ,judge ,davis would not      
intentionally have misrepresented the   

opinions of an enemy1 much less the     
opinions of his dear dead friend4       
,briefly1 yet clearly1 he defines the   
theological views of ,lincoln3  ,he had 
no faith1 in the ,christian sense of the
 term--had faith in laws1 principles1   
causes1 and effects--philosophically    
7,life of ,lincoln1 p4 #dhi74  ,speaking
 of the many stories that had been      
circulated concerning ,lincoln's        
religious belief1 such as the ,bateman  
and ,vinton interviews1 together with   
the various pious speeches he is        
reported to have made to religious      
committees and delegations that visited 
him1 such as his reputed speech to the  
,negroes of ,baltimore1 ,judge ,davis   
says3  ,the idea that ,lincoln talked to
 a stranger about his religion or       
religious views1 or made such speeches1 
remarks1 c1 about it as are published1  
is to me absurd4 ,i knew the man so     
well4 ,he was the most reticent1        
secretive man ,i ever saw1 or expect to 
see 7,ibid74  ,,mrs4 ,,mary ,,lincoln4  

,but one of ,lamon's witnesses          
remains--the wife of the martyred       
,president4 ,her testimony ought of     
itself to put this matter at rest       
forever4 ,mrs4 ,lincoln says3  ,mr4     
,lincoln had no hope1 and no faith1 in  
the usual acceptation of those words    
7,life of ,lincoln1 p4 #dhi74  ,in      
addition to what ,colonel ,lamon has    
presented1 ,mrs4 ,lincoln also stated   
the following3  ,mr4 ,lincoln's maxim   
and philosophy were1 ',what is to be1   
will be1 and no prayers of ours can     
arrest the decree4' ,he never joined any
 church4 ,he was a religious man always1
 ,i think1 but was not a technical      
,christian 7,herndon's ,religion of     
,lincoln74  ,it may be charged that     
,mrs4 ,lincoln subsequently repudiated a
 portion of this testimony4 ,in         
anticipation of such a charge ,i will   
here state a few facts4 ,this testimony 
was given by ,mrs4 ,lincoln in #ahfe4   
,when it was given1 while her heart was 
pierced by the pangs of her great grief1

 her mind was sound4 ,about ,jan4 #a1   
#ahgd1 a brief article1 purporting to   
come from her pen1 appeared1 in which   
the testimony attributed to her was in  
part denied4 ,at the time this denial   
was written1 ,mrs4 ,lincoln had been for
 more than two years insane4 ,the chief 
cause in dethroning her reason was the  
death of her universally beloved ,tad   
7,thomas71 which occurred on ,july #ae1 
#ahga4 ,referring to this sad event1    
,mr4 ,arnold1 one of the principal      
witnesses on the ,christian side of this
 controversy1 says3 ,from this time     
,mrs4 ,lincoln1 in the judgment of her  
most intimate friends1 was never        
entirely responsible for her conduct    
7,life of ,lincoln1 p4 #dci74  ,the only
 effect of this denial on the minds of  
those acquainted with the circumstances1
 was to excite a mingled feeling of pity
 and disgust--pity for this unfortunate 
woman1 and disgust for the contemptible 
methods of those who would take         
advantage of her demented condition and 

make her contradict the honest          
statements of her rational life4        
,before dismissing this witness1 ,i wish
 to advert to a subject with which many 
of my readers are familiar4 ,for years1 
both before and after ,lincoln's death1 
the religious press of the country was  
continually abusing ,mrs4 ,lincoln4 ,if 
a ball was held at the ,white ,house1   
she became at once the recipient of     
unlimited abuse4 ,if ,lincoln attended  
the theater1 she was accused of having  
dragged him there against his will4 ,it 
was almost uniformly asserted that he   
would not have gone to the theater on   
that fatal night had it not been for    
her1 and in not a few instances it was  
infamously hinted that she was cognizant
 of the plot to murder him4 ,but even   
the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,miner1 who was          
acquainted with the facts1 is willing to
 vindicate her from these imputations4  
,he says3 ,it has been said that ,mrs4  
,lincoln urged her husband to go to the 
theater against his will4 ,this is not  

true4 ,on the contrary1 she tried to    
persuade him not to go4  ,lincoln's     
biographers have1 for the most part1    
endeavored to do his wife justice1 and  
have rebuked the insults showered upon  
her4 ,alluding to ,president and ,mrs4  
,lincoln1 ,mr4 ,herndon says3 ,all that 
,i know ennobles both4 ,colonel ,lamon  
says3 ,almost ever since ,mr4 ,lincoln's
 death a portion of the press has never 
tired of heaping brutal reproaches upon 
his wife and widow1 whilst a certain    
class of his friends thought they were  
honoring his memory by multiplying      
outrages and indignities upon her at the
 very moment when she was broken by want
 and sorrow1 defamed1 defenseless1 in   
the hands of thieves1 and at the mercy  
of spies4 ,mr4 ,arnold says3 ,there is  
nothing in ,american history so unmanly1
 so devoid of every chivalric impulse as
 the treatment of this poor1            
broken-hearted woman4  ,the evidence of 
,colonel ,lamon's ten witnesses has now 
been presented4 ,this evidence includes1

 in addition to the testimony of other  
intimate friends1 the testimony of his  
wife2 the testimony of his first law    
partner1 ,hon4 ,john ,t4 ,stuart2 the   
testimony of his last law partner1 ,hon4
 ,win4 ,h4 ,herndon2 the testimony of   
his friend and political adviser1 ,col4 
,james ,h4 ,matheny2 the testimony of   
his private secretary1 ,col4 ,john ,g4  
,nicolay2 and the testimony of his      
lifelong friend and executor after      
death1 ,judge ,david ,davis4 ,no one can
 read this evidence and then honestly   
affirm that ,abraham ,lincoln was a     
,christian4 ,this is the evidence1 the  
perusal of which so thoroughly enraged  
that good ,christian biographer1 ,dr4   
,j4 ,g4 ,holland2 this is the evidence1 
the truthfulness of which the ,rev4 ,j4 
,a4 ,reed1 unmindful of the fate of     
,ananias1 attempted to deny4  ,as a full
 and just answer to this attempted      
refutation of ,lamon's witnesses by     
,reed1 ,i quote from the ,new ,york     
,world the following3  ,this individual 

testimony is clear and overwhelming1    
without the documentary and other       
evidence scattered profusely through the
 rest of the volume4 ,how does ,mr4     
,reed undertake to refute it8 ,in the   
first place1 firstly1 he pronounces it a
 'libel1' and in the second place1      
secondly1 he is 'amazed to find'--and he
 says he has found--that the principal  
witnesses take exception to ,mr4        
,lamon's report of their evidence4 ,this
 might have been true of many or all of 
,mr4 ,lamon's witnesses without exciting
 the wonder of a rational man4 ,few     
persons1 indeed1 are willing to endure  
reproach merely for the truth's sake1   
and popular opinion in the ,republican  
party of ,springfield1 ,ill41 is        
probably very much against ,mr4 ,lamon4 
,it would1 therefore1 be quite in the   
natural order if some of his witnesses  
who find themselves unexpectedly in     
print should succumb to the social and  
political terrorism of their place and  
time1 and attempt to modify or explain  

their testimony4 ,they zealously        
assisted ,mr4 ,herndon in ascertaining  
the truth1 and while they wanted him to 
tell it in full they were prudently     
resolved to keep their own names snugly 
out of sight4 ,but ,mr4 ,reed's         
statement is not true1 and his amazement
 is entirely simulated4 ,two only out of
 the ten witnesses have gratified him by
 inditing1 at his request1 weak and     
guarded complaints of unfair treatment4 
,these are ,john ,t4 ,stuart1 a relative
 of the ,lincolns and ,edwardses1 and   
,jim ,matheny1 both of ,springfield1    
whom ,mr4 ,lincoln taught his peculiar  
doctrines1 but who may by this time be  
deacons in ,mr4 ,reed's church4 ,neither
 of them helps ,mr4 ,reed's case a      
particle4 ,their epistles open1 as if by
 concert1 in form and words almost      
identical4 ,they say they did not write 
the language attributed to them4 ,the   
denial is wholly unnecessary1 for nobody
 affirms that they did write it4 ,they  
talked and ,mr4 ,herndon wrote4 ,his    

notes were made when the conversation   
occurred1 and probably in their         
presence4 ,at all events1 they are both 
so conscious of the general accuracy of 
his report that they do not venture to  
deny a single word of it1 but content   
themselves with lamenting that something
 else1 which they did not say1 was      
excluded from it4 ,they both1 however1  
in these very letters1 repeat           
emphatically the material part of the   
statements made by them to ,mr4         
,herndon1 namely1 that ,mr4 ,lincoln was
 to their certain knowledge1 until a    
very late period of his life1 an        
',infidel1' and neither of them is able 
to tell when he ceased to be an ,infidel
 and when he began to be a ,christian4  
,and this is all ,mr4 ,reed makes by his
 re-examination of the two persons whom 
he is pleased to exalt as ,mr4 ,lamon's 
'principal witnesses4' ,they are but two
 out of the ten4 ,what of the other     
eight8 ,they have no doubt been tried   
and plied by ,mr4 ,reed and his friends 

to no purpose2 they stand fast by the   
record4 ,but ,mr4 ,reed is to be shamed 
neither by their speech nor their       
silence4     ,,chapter ,x4 ,,testimony  
,,of ,,lincoln',s ,,relatives ,,and     
,,intimate ,,associates       ,mrs4     
,sarah ,lincoln--,dennis ,f4            
,hanks--,mrs4 ,matilda ,moore--         
,john ,hall--,win4 ,mc,neely--,wm4 ,g4  
,green--,joshua ,f4 ,speed--      ,green
 ,caruthers--,john ,decamp--,mr4        
,lynan--,james ,b4                      
,spaulding--,ezra ,stringham--,dr4 ,g4  
,h ,ambrose--,j4 ,h4 ,chenery--         
,squire ,perkins--,w4 ,perkins--,james  
,gorley--,dr4 ,wm4 ,jayne--      ,jesse 
,k4 ,dubois--,hon4 ,joseph              
,gillespie--,judge ,stephen ,t4         
,logan--,hon4 ,leonard ,swett  ,were ,i 
to rest my case here1 the evidence      
already adduced is sufficient1 ,i think1
 to convince any unprejudiced mind that 
,lincoln was not a ,christian4 ,but ,i  
do not propose to rest here4 ,i have    
presented the testimony of half a score 

of witnesses2 before ,i lay down my pen 
,i shall present the testimony of nearly
 ten times as many more4  ,in this      
chapter will be given the testimony of  
some of the relatives and intimate      
associates of ,lincoln4 ,the testimony  
of his relatives confirms the claim that
 he was not religious in his youth2 the 
others testify to his unbelief while a  
resident of ,new ,salem and             
,springfield4  ,,mrs4 ,,sarah ,,lincoln4
  ,if there was one person to whom      
,lincoln was more indebted than to any  
other1 it was his stepmother1 ,sally    
,lincoln1 a beautiful woman--beautiful  
not only in face and form1 but possessed
 of a most lovely character4 ,she was   
not highly educated1 but she loved      
knowledge1 and inspired in her step-son 
a love for books4 ,she was a ,christian1
 but she attached more importance to    
deed than to creed4 ,she loved ,lincoln4
 ,after his death she said3 ,he was     
dutiful to me always4 ,i think he loved 
me truly4 ,i had a son1 ,john1 who was  

raised with ,abe4 ,both were good boys2 
but ,i must say1 both now being dead1   
that ,abe was the best boy ,i ever saw1 
or expect to see4 ,lincoln was too good 
and too great not to appreciate this    
woman's care and affection4  ,when the  
materials for ,lincoln's biography were 
being collected1 ,mrs4 ,lincoln was     
considered the most reliable source from
 which to obtain the facts pertaining to
 his boyhood4 ,her recollections of him 
were recorded with the utmost care4 ,his
 ,christian biographers1 in order to    
make a ,sunday-school hero of him1 have 
declared him to be a youth remarkable   
for his ,christian piety and his love of
 the ,bible4 ,the statements of ,mrs4   
,lincoln disprove this claim4 ,the      
substance of her testimony1 as given by 
,lamon1 is given as follows3 ,his       
step-mother--herself a ,christian1 and  
longing for the least sign of faith in  
him--could remember no circumstance that
 supported her hope4 ,on the contrary1  
she recollected very well that he never 

went off into a corner1 as has been     
said1 to ponder the sacred writings1 and
 to wet the page with his tears of      
penitence 7,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #dhf1 
#dhg74  ,the ,bible1 according to ,mrs4 
,lincoln1 was not one of his studies2   
'he sought more congenial books4' ,at   
that time he neither talked nor read    
upon religious subjects4 ,if he had any 
opinions about them1 he kept them to    
himself 7,ibid1 p4 #ch74  ,,dennis ,f4  
,,hanks4  ,the next witness is          
,lincoln's cousin1 ,dennis ,hanks4 ,mr4 
,hanks held the pulpy1 red1 little      
,lincoln in his arms before he was      
twenty-four hours old1 and remained his 
constant companion during all the years 
that he lived in ,kentucky and ,indiana4
 ,he lived a part of the time in the    
,lincoln family1 and married one of     
,lincoln's step-sisters4 ,i met him     
recently at ,charleston1 ,ill4 ,with    
evident delight he rehearsed the story  
of ,lincoln's boyhood1 and reaffirmed   
the truthfulness of the following       

statements attributed to him by         
,lincoln's biographers3  ,abe wasn't in 
early life a religious man4 ,he was a   
moral man strictly4444 ,in after life he
 became more religious2 but the ,bible  
puzzled him1 especially the miracles    
7,every-,day ,life of ,lincoln1 p4 #ed74
  ',religious songs did not appear to   
suit him at all1' says ,dennis ,hanks2  
but of profane ballads and amorous      
ditties he knew the words of a vast     
number4  ,another was3       ',hail     
,columbia1 happy land6      ,if you     
ain't drunk1 ,i'll be damned1'  a song  
which ,dennis thinks should be warbled  
only in the 'fields2' and tells us they 
knew and enjoyed all such songs as this'
 7,lamon's ,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #eh1  
#ei74  ,the fitness of the above coarse 
travesty to be warbled1 even in the     
fields1 may well be doubted4 ,lamon     
would hardly have recorded it1 and ,i   
certainly should not quote it1 but for  
the fact that it strikingly illustrates 
one phase of ,lincoln's youthful piety4 

,among the many ,christian hymns which  
,lincoln parodied1 ,mr4 ,hanks recalls  
the following3       ,how tedious and   
tasteless the hours4      ,when ,i can  
read my title clear4      ,oh6 to grace 
how great a debtor6      ,come1 thou    
fount of every blessing4  ,,mrs4        
,,matilda ,,moore4  ,lincoln's first    
husband was named ,johnston4 ,by him she
 had three children1 a son and two      
daughters4 ,the latter1 like their      
mother1 developed into noble specimens  
of womanhood2 and both loved ,lincoln as
 tenderly as though he had been their   
own brother4 ,the elder was married to  
,dennis ,hanks2 the younger1 ,matilda1  
married ,lincoln's cousin1 ,levi ,hall1 
and1 after his death1 a gentleman named 
,moore4  ,lamon says that ,lincoln in   
his youth made a mockery of the popular 
religion2 not from any lack of reverence
 for what he believed to be good1 but   
because he thought that a person had    
better be without it4 ,that he was      
accustomed to turn so-called sacred     

subjects into ridicule is attested by   
his stepsister1 ,mrs4 ,moore4 ,she says3
  ,when father and mother would go to   
church1 ,abe would take down the ,bible1
 read a verse1 give out a hymn1 and we  
would sing4 ,abe was about fifteen years
 of age4 ,he preached and we would do   
the crying 7,every-,day ,life of        
,lincoln1 p4 #ga74  ,,john ,,hall4  ,on 
the #bhth of ,april1 #ahhh1 the writer1 
in company with ,mr4 ,charles ,biggs1 of
 ,westfield1 ,ill41 visited the old     
,lincoln homestead1 near ,farmington1   
,ill4 ,we dined with ,mr4 ,john ,hall1 a
 son of ,lincoln's stepsister ,matilda1 
in the old log-house built by ,lincoln's
 father sixty years ago1 and in which   
his father and step-mother died4 ,mr4   
,hall1 who owns the homestead and       
preserves with zealous care this        
venerable relic1 is an intelligent      
farmer over sixty years of age4 ,he     
greatly reveres the memory of his       
illustrious uncle and loves to dwell on 
his many noble traits of character4 ,he 

stated that the family tradition is that
 while ,abe was a most honest and humane
 boy he was not religious4 ,he referred 
to the mock sermons he is said to have  
preached4 ,at these meetings1 said ,mr4 
,hall1 my mother would lead in the      
singing while ,uncle ,abe would lead in 
prayer4 ,among his numerous             
supplications1 he prayed ,god to put    
stockings on the chickens' feet in      
winter4  ,,william ,mc,n,e,e,l,t4       
,william ,mc,neely1 of ,petersburg1     
,ill41 who became acquainted with       
,lincoln in #ahca1 when he arrived at   
,new ,salem on a flatboat1 says3        
,lincoln said he did not believe in     
total depravity1 and although it was not
 popular to believe it1 it was easier to
 do right than wrong2 that the first    
thought was3 what was right8 and the    
second--what was wrong8 ,therefore it   
was easier to do right than wrong1 and  
easier to take care of1 as it would take
 care of itself4 ,it took an effort to  
do wrong1 and a still greater effort to 

take care of it2 but do right and it    
would take care of itself4  ,i was      
acquainted with him a long time1 and ,i 
never knew him to do a wrong act        
7,lincoln ,memorial ,album1 pp4         
#cic-cie74  ,,william ,g4 ,,green4  ,one
 of ,lincoln's early companions at ,new 
,salem was ,william ,g4 ,green4 ,he and 
,lincoln clerked in the same store and  
slept together on the same cot4 ,the    
testimony of ,mr4 ,green has not been   
preserved4 ,we have simply an           
observation of his1 incidentally made1  
the substance of which is thus presented
 by ,lamon3  ,lincoln's incessant       
reading of ,shakspere and ,burns had    
much to do in giving to his mind the    
'skeptical' tendency so fully devoloped 
by the labors of his pen in #ahcd-e1 and
 in social conversations during many    
years of his residence at ,springfield  
7,life of ,lincoln1 p4 #ade74  ,mr4     
,green's conclusion1 especially in      
regard to ,burns1 is quite generally    
shared by ,lincoln's friends4 ,burns's  

satirical poems were greatly admired    
by-,lincoln4 ,holy ,willie's ,prayer1   
one of the most withering satires on    
orthodox ,christianity ever penned1 was 
memorized by him4 ,every one of its     
sixteen stanzas1 beginning with the     
following1 was an ,infidel shaft which  
he delighted to hurl at the heads of his
 ,christian opponents3       ,o thou1   
wha in the heavens dost dwell1          
,wha1 as it pleases best thysel'1       
,sends ane to heaven and ten to hell1   
,a' for thy glory1      ,and no for ony 
guid or ill      ,they've done afore    
thee6  ,,joshua ,f4 ,,speed4  ,another  
of ,lincoln's earliest and best friends 
was ,joshua ,f4 ,speed4 ,when he was    
licensed as a lawyer and entered upon   
his professional career at ,springfield 
without a client and without a dollar1  
,speed assisted him to get a start4 ,w4 
,h4 ,herndon was clerking for ,speed at 
the time1 and for more than a year      
,lincoln1 ,herndon and ,speed roomed    
together4 ,referring to the religious   

views held by ,lincoln at that time1    
,mr4 ,speed1 in a lecture1 says3  ,i    
have often been asked what were ,mr4    
,lincoln's religious opinions4 ,when ,i 
knew him1 in early life1 he was a       
skeptic4 ,he had tried hard to be a     
believer1 but his reason could not grasp
 and solve the great problem of         
redemption as taught4  ,this is the     
testimony of an orthodox ,christian1 and
 a church-member4 ,mr4 ,speed1 during   
the years that he was acquainted with   
,lincoln1 was not a member of any       
church2 but late in life he united with 
the ,methodist church4 ,as the wish is  
father to the thought1 ,mr4 ,speed      
professed to believe that ,lincoln      
before his death modified1 to some      
extent1 the radical views of his early  
manhood4  ,,green ,,caruthers4  ,soon   
after ,lincoln removed to ,springfield1 
he became acquainted with ,mr4 ,green   
,caruthers and remained on intimate     
terms with him during all the subsequent
 years of his life4 ,mr4 ,caruthers was 

a quiet1 unobtrusive old gentleman1     
universally respected by those who knew 
him4 ,the substance of his testimony is 
as follows3  ,lincoln1 ,bledsoe1 the    
metaphysician1 and myself1 boarded at   
the ,globe hotel in this city4 ,bledsoe 
tended toward ,christianity1 if he was  
not a ,christian4 ,lincoln was always   
throwing out his ,infidelity to         
,bledsoe1 ridiculing ,christianity1 and 
especially the divinity of ,christ4     
,,john ,,decamp4  ,another of ,lincoln's
 most intimate ,springfield friends was 
,john ,decamp4 ,mr4 ,decamp was         
interviewed by ,mr4 ,herndon regarding  
,lincoln's religious views in ,july1    
#ahhg4 ,his statement was brief1 but to 
the point4 ,he says3  ,lincoln was an   
,infidel4  ,,mr4 ,,lynan4 ,in #ahhj1 at 
,bismarck ,grove1 ,kan41 the writer of  
this delivered a lecture entitled1 ,four
 ,american ,infidels1 a portion of which
 was devoted to a presentation of       
,lincoln's religious views4 ,in its     
report of the lecture1 the ,lawrence    

,standard1 edited by ,hon4 ,e4 ,g4      
,ross1 formerly ,united ,states ,senator
 from ,kansas1 and more recently        
,governor of ,new ,mexico1 said3  ,in   
regard to ,abraham ,lincoln being an    
,infidel1 the evidence adduced was      
overwhelming1 and was confirmed by a    
gentleman present1 ,mr4 ,lynan1 who had 
known him intimately for thirty years4  
,mr4 ,lynan declared that none but      
personal acquaintance could enable one  
to realize the nobility and purity of   
,lincoln's character1 but that he was   
beyond doubt or question a thorough     
disbeliever in the ,christian scheme of 
salvation to the end of his life        
7,lawrence ,standard1 ,sept4 #d1 #ahhj74
  ,,james ,b4 ,,spaulding4  ,mr4 ,j4 ,b4
 ,spaulding1 well known as one of the   
leading nurserymen and horticulturists  
of the ,united ,states1 a man of broad  
culture and refinement1 who resides near
 ,springfield1 became intimately        
acquainted with ,lincoln as early as    
#ahea1 and for a long time resided on   

the same street with him in             
,springfield4 ,mr4 ,spaulding says3     
,lincoln perpetrated many an irreverent 
joke at the expense of church doctrines4
 ,regarding the miraculous conception1  
he was especially sarcastic4 ,he wrote a
 manuscript as radical as ,ingersoll    
which his political friends caused to be
 destroyed4  ,,ezra ,,stringham4  ,a    
short time since ,i was conversing with 
a party of gentlemen in ,riverton1 ,ill4
 ,it being near ,lincoln's old home1 the
 subject of his religious belief was    
introduced4 ,an old gentleman1 who up to
 this time had not been taking part in  
the conversation1 quietly observed3 ,i  
think ,i knew ,lincoln's religious views
 about as well as any other man4 ,what  
was he8 said one of the party4 ,an      
,infidel of the first water1 was the    
prompt response4 ,the old gentleman was 
,ezra ,stringham1 one of ,lincoln's     
early acquaintances in ,illinois4  ,,dr4
 ,g4 ,h4 ,,ambrose4  ,dr4 ,g4 ,h4       
,ambrose1 of ,waldo1 ,fla41 who was     

associated in the law business at       
,springfield from #ahdf to #ahdi with a 
relative of ,mrs4 ,lincoln1 says3 ,mr4  
,lincoln was an ,infidel--an outspoken  
one4  ,j4 ,h4 ,,chenery4  ,mr4 ,j4 ,h4  
,chenery1 one of ,springfield's         
pioneers--for many years owner and      
proprietor of the leading hotel of      
,springfield--says3  ,reed tried to     
prove that ,lincoln was a church man2   
but everybody here knows that he was    
not4 ,once in a great while1 and only   
once in a great while1 ,i saw him       
accompany his wife and children to      
church4 ,his attacks upon the church    
were most bitter and sarcastic4 ,he     
wrote a book against ,christianity1 but 
his friends got away with it4  ,,squire 
,,perkins4  ,a few years ago there died 
near ,atchison1 ,kan41 an old gentleman 
named ,perkins4 ,he was poor1 but       
honest1 and a bright man intellectually4
 ,he was a son of ,major ,perkins who   
was killed in the ,black ,hawk war4     
,lincoln after the fight discovered the 

scalp of ,major ,perkins1 which his     
savage assassin had taken but lost4 ,his
 first impulse was to keep it and take  
it home to the family of the dead       
soldier4 ,then realizing that it would  
only tend to intensify their grief1 he  
opened the grave and deposited it with  
the body4 ,this incident led to an      
intimate acquaintance between ,lincoln  
and the younger ,perkins4 ,in ,june1    
#ahhj1 ,mr4 ,perkins made the following 
statement relative to ,lincoln's        
religious belief3  ,during all the time 
that ,i was acquainted with ,abraham    
,lincoln ,i know that he was what the   
church calls an ,infidel4 ,i do not     
believe that he ever changed his        
opinions4 ,when ,colfax was in ,atchison
 ,i had a talk with him about ,lincoln4 
,among other things1 ,i asked him if    
,lincoln had ever been converted to     
,christianity4 ,he told me that he had  
not4  ,w4 ,,perkins4  ,mr4 ,perkins1 an 
old lawyer and journalist of ,illinois1 
who was acquainted with ,lincoln for    

upward of twenty years1 and who was his 
associate counsel in several important  
cases1 writing from ,belleview1 ,fla41  
under date of ,august #bb1 #ahhg1 says3 
,the unfair efforts that ,christians    
have been putting forth to drag ,lincoln
 into their waning faith betray a       
pitiable imbecility4 ,were it possible  
for them to get the world to believe    
that ,washington1 ,jefferson1 and       
,lincoln1 all prayed1 had faith1 and    
were washed in the blood of the ,lamb1  
would that prove the inspiration of     
their ,bible1 harmonize its             
contradictions1 put a ray of reason in  
its gross absurdities1 or humanize the  
first one of its numerous bloody        
barbarities8 ,i knew ,mr4 ,lincoln from 
the spring of #ahch till his death4     
,like ,archibald ,williams1 our         
contemporary1 an able ,lord ,coke       
lawyer1 he no more believed in the      
inspiration of the ,bible than ,hume1   
,paine1 or ,ingersoll4 ,less inclined   
openly to denounce its absurdities and  

cruelties1 or to antagonize the         
well-meaning credulous professors1 than 
was ,williams4 ,mr4 ,lincoln had no     
faith whatever in the first miracle of  
the ,bible1 or the scheme of bloody     
redemption it teaches4 ,to attribute    
such sentiments to him1 is to tarnish   
his well-earned reputation for common   
sense1 and to impair the estimation of  
his countrymen and the world of his high
 sense of humanity1 justice1 and honor4 
,two of my ,presbyterian friends at     
,indian ,point1 near ,petersburg1 told  
me that they had interviewed ,mr4       
,lincoln to prevent his impending duel  
with ,shields--claiming that it was     
contrary to the ,bible and              
,christianity4 ,he admitted that the    
dueling code was barbarous and regretted
 much to find himself in its toils1 but 
said he1 ',the ,bible is not my book1   
nor ,christianity my profession4'  ,in  
some reminiscences of ,lincoln1 recently
 published1 referring to a celebrated   
murder case in which they were counsel  

for the defendant1 ,mr4 ,perkins says3  
,i reminded him that from the first ,i  
had seen1 and to him said1 the case is  
hopeless1 and that he must have expected
 to work a miracle to save the accused4 
,he answered that ,i did him injustice1 
since he had no faith in miracles4      
,alluding to ,lincoln's alleged change  
of heart1 he writes3  ,he never changed 
a sentiment on the subject up to his    
final sleep4  ,,james ,,gorley4  ,mr4   
,gorley1 who was the confidential friend
 of ,lincoln1 and who spent much time   
with him1 both at home and abroad1 made 
the following statement3  ,lincoln      
belonged to no religious sect4 ,he was  
religious in his own way--not as others 
generally4 ,i do not think he ever had a
 change of heart1 religiously speaking4 
,had he ever had a change of heart he   
would have told me4 ,he could not have  
neglected it4  ,,william ,,jayne1 ,m4,d4
  ,dr4 ,jayne1 who was appointed        
,governor of ,dakota by ,lincoln1 is one
 of the most prominent citizens of      

,springfield1 and was one of ,lincoln's 
ablest and most faithful political      
friends4 ,he secured ,lincoln's         
nomination for the ,legislature once1   
and was one of the first to pit him     
against ,douglas4 ,in a letter to me1   
dated ,august #ah1 #ahhg1 ,dr4 ,jayne   
says3  ,his general reputation among his
 neighbors and friends of twenty-five   
years' standing was that of a           
disbeliever in the accepted faith of    
orthodox ,christians4 ,his mind was     
purely logical in its construction and  
action4 ,he believed nothing except what
 was susceptible of demonstration4444   
,his most intimate friends here1 and    
close to him in the confidential        
relations of life1 assert1 in regard to 
those who claim for ,lincoln a faith in 
the orthodox ,christian belief1 that the
 claim is a fraud and utter nonsense4   
,,hon4 ,,jesse ,k4 ,,dubois4  ,jesse ,k4
 ,dubois1 for a time ,state ,auditor of 
,illinois1 a noble and gifted man1 and  
one whom ,lincoln dearly loved1 once    

related an anecdote which shows that if 
,lincoln did believe in a ,supreme      
,being1 he had little reverence for the 
,god of ,christianity4 ,in company with 
,dubois1 he was visiting a family in or 
near ,springfield4 ,it was summer1 and  
while ,dubois was in the house with the 
family1 ,lincoln occupied a seat in the 
yard with his feet resting against a    
tree1 as was his wont4 ,the lady1 who   
was a very zealous ,christian1 called   
attention to his appearance and         
commented rather severely upon his      
ugliness4 ,when they returned home      
,dubois referred to the lady's remarks4 
,lincoln was silent for a moment1 and   
then said3 ,dubois1 ,i know that ,i am  
ugly1 but she worships a ,god who is    
uglier than ,i am4  ,,hon4 ,,joseph     
,,gillespie4  ,judge ,gillespie1 of     
,edwardsville1 ,ill41 one of ,lincoln's 
most valued friends1 writes as follows3 
,mr4 ,lincoln seldom said anything on   
the subject of religion4 ,he said once  
to me that he never could reconcile the 

prescience of ,deity with the           
uncertainty of events4 ,it was          
difficult1 says ,judge ,gillespie1 for  
him to believe without demonstration4   
,,judge ,,stephen ,t4 ,,logan4  ,lincoln
 was admitted to the bar in #ahcg1 when 
he was twenty-eight years of age1 ,judge
 ,logan being on the bench at the time4 
,soon after his admission he formed a   
partnership with ,john ,t4 ,stuart which
 existed nearly four years1 or until    
,mr4 ,stuart entered ,congress4 ,he then
 became the partner of ,judge ,logan1   
and continued in business with him until
 #ahdc1 when he united his practice with
 that of ,mr4 ,herndon4 ,the testimony  
of ,mr4 ,stuart and ,mr4 ,herndon has   
already been given4 ,no formal statement
 of ,judge ,logan concerning this       
question has been preserved4 ,all that  
,i have been able to find is contained  
in a letter from ,mr4 ,herndon dated    
,dec4 #bb1 #ahhh4 ,mr4 ,herndon wrote in
 relation to ,lincoln's letter of       
consolation to his dying father4 ,in    

,lincoln's letter1 while ,christ and    
,christianity are wholly ignored1 there 
is an implied recognition of immortality
 and an expressed hope that he may meet 
his father again4 ,lincoln's friends1   
for the most part1 consider the letter  
merely conventional1 not an expression  
of his real sentiments1 but simply an   
effort to console his ,christian father 
whom he could never meet again on earth4
 ,mr4 ,herndon1 however1 is inclined to 
believe that while the tone of the      
letter is not exactly in accordance with
 the views generally held by ,lincoln1  
it is yet a sincere expression of the   
feelings he entertained at the time4    
,referring to this letter1 ,mr4 ,herndon
 says3  ,i showed the letter to ,logan1 
,stuart1 et al1 ,logan laughed in my    
face as much as to say3 ',herndon1 are  
you so green as to believe that letter  
to be ,lincoln's real ideas8' ,i cannot 
give the exact words of ,logan1 but he  
in substance said3 ',lincoln was an     
,infidel of the most radical type4'     

,,hon4 ,,leonard ,,swett4  ,i close this
 division of my evidence with the       
testimony of that gifted lawyer and     
honored citizen of ,illinois1 ,leonard  
,swett4 ,previous to his removal to     
,chicago1 in #ahfe1 ,mr4 ,swett resided 
in ,bloomington1 and for a dozen years  
traveled the old ,eighth ,judicial      
,circuit with ,lincoln4 ,few men knew   
,lincoln better than did ,swett1 and    
none was held in higher esteem by       
,lincoln than he4 ,it was he who placed 
,lincoln in nomination for the          
,presidency at ,chicago in #ahfj4 ,i    
quote from a letter written by ,mr4     
,swett in #ahff3  ,you ask me whether he
 ,lincoln changed his religious opinions
 toward the close of his life4 ,i think 
not4 ,as he became involved in matters  
of the greatest importance1 full of     
great responsibility and great doubt1 a 
feeling of religious reverence1 a belief
 in ,god and his justice and overruling 
providence increased with him4 ,he was  
always full of natural religion4 ,he    

believed in ,god as much as the most    
approved church member1 yet he judged of
 him by the same system of              
generalization as he judged everything  
else4 ,he had very little faith in      
ceremonials or forms4 ,in fact he cared 
nothing for the form of anything4444 ,if
 his religion were to be judged by the  
lines and rules of church creeds1 he    
would fall far short of the standard4   
,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,testimony ,,of        
,,friends ,,and ,,acquaintances ,,of    
,,lincoln ,,who ,,knew ,,him ,,in       
,,illinois       ,hon4 ,w4 ,h4 ,t4      
,wakefield--,hon4 ,d4 ,w4 ,wilder--,dr4 
,b4 ,p4      ,gardner--,hon4 ,j4 ,k4    
,vandemark--,a4 ,jeffrey--,dr4 ,arch ,e4
      ,mc,neal--,charles                
,mc,grew--,edward ,buller--,joseph      
,stafford--      ,judge ,a4 ,d4         
,norton--,j4 ,l4 ,morrell--,mahlon      
,ross--,l4 ,wilson--      ,h4 ,k4       
,magie--,hon4 ,james ,tuttle--,col4 ,p4 
,s4 ,rutherford--,judge      ,robert    
,leachman--,hon4 ,orin ,b4 ,gould--,m4  

,s4 ,gowin--,col4 ,r4 ,g4               
,ingersoll--,leonard ,w4 ,volk--,joseph 
,jefferson--,hon4 ,e4 ,b4               
,washburn--,hon4 ,e4 ,m4 ,haines4  ,i   
will next present the evidence that ,i  
have gleaned from the lips or pens of   
personal friends of ,lincoln who were   
acquainted with him in ,illinois4 ,the  
relations of these persons to ,lincoln  
were1 for the most part1 less intimate  
than were those of the persons named in 
the preceding chapter2 but all of them  
enjoyed in no small degree his          
confidence and esteem4  ,,hon4 ,w4 ,h4  
,t4 ,,wakefield4  ,mr4 ,wakefield1 our  
first witness1 is a son of the          
distinguished jurist1 ,judge ,j4 ,a4    
,wakefield4 ,he is a prominent          
journalist1 and was the nominee of the  
,united ,labor party1 for               
,vice-,president1 in the ,presidential  
contest of #ahhh4 ,in a letter to the   
author1 dated ,lawrence1 ,kan41 ,sept4  
#bh1 #ahhj1 ,mr4 ,wakefield says3 ,my   
father1 the late ,judge ,j4 ,a4         

,wakefield1 was a life-long friend of   
,lincoln's1 they having served through  
the ,black ,hawk war together and been  
in the ,illinois ,legislature together1 
during which latter time ,lincoln       
boarded with my father in ,vandalia1    
which was then the state capital4 ,i    
remember of his visiting my father at   
,galena1 in #ahdd or #ahde4 ,they       
continued to correspond until ,lincoln's
 death4 ,my father was a member of the  
,methodist church and frequently spoke  
of and lamented ,lincoln's ,infidelity1 
and referred to the many arguments      
between them on the subject4 ,the noted 
minister1 ,peter ,cartwright1 boarded   
with my father at the same time that    
,lincoln did1 and my father and mother  
told me of the many theological and     
philosophical arguments indulged in by  
,lincoln and ,cartwright1 and of the    
fact that they always attracted many    
interested listeners and usually ended  
by ,cartwright's getting very angry and 
the spectators being convulsed with     

laughter at ,lincoln's dry wit and      
humorous comparisons4  ,lincoln's       
legislative career at ,vandalia extended
 from #ahcd to #ahcg4 ,it was about the 
beginning of this period that he wrote  
his book against ,christianity4 ,he was 
thoroughly informed and enthusiastic in 
his ,infidel views1 and it is not to be 
wondered at that on theological         
questions1 he was able to vanquish in   
debate even so eminent a theologian as  
,peter ,cartwright4 ,ten years later1   
,lincoln was the ,whig1 and ,cartwright 
the ,democratic candidate for ,congress4
 ,in this campaign a determined effort  
was made by the church to defeat        
,lincoln on account of his ,infidelity4 
,but his popularity1 his reputation for 
honesty1 his recognized ability1 and his
 transcendent powers on the stump1      
carried him successfully through1 and he
 was triumphantly elected4  ,,hon4 ,d4  
,w4 ,,wilder4  ,one of the most gifted  
and honorable of ,western journalists is
 ,d4 ,w4 ,wilder1 of ,kansas4 ,he was   

,surveyor ,general of ,kansas before it 
was admitted into the ,union1 and after 
it became a state1 he held the office of
 ,state ,auditor4 ,many years ago ,gen4 
,wilder wrote and published an editorial
 on ,lincoln's religious views in which 
he affirmed that ,lincoln was a         
disbeliever in ,christianity4 ,the      
article excited the wrath of the clergy1
 among them the ,rev4 ,d4 ,p4 ,mitchell1
 the leading ,methodist divine of       
,kansas1 who replied with much warmth1  
but without refuting the statements of  
,gen4 ,wilder4 ,some of my ,western     
readers will recall the article and the 
controversy it provoked4 ,i have been   
unable to procure a copy of it1 but in  
its place ,i present the following      
extract from a letter received from     
,gen4 ,wilder1 dated ,st4 ,joseph1 ,mo41
 ,dec4 #bi1 #ahha3  ,lincoln believed in
 ,god1 but not in the divinity of       
,christ4 ,at first1 like ,franklin1 he  
was probably an ,atheist4 ,although a   
'forgiving' man himself1 he did not     

believe that any amount of 'penitence'  
could affect the logical effects of     
violated law4 ,he has a remarkable      
passage on that theme4  ,concerning     
,lincoln's partner1 ,mr4 ,herndon1 with 
whom he was acquainted1 ,gen4 ,wilder   
says3  ,write to ,wm4 ,h4 ,herndon1 a   
noble man1 ,springfield1 ,ill4 ,send him
 your book ',life of ,paine'4 ,he will  
reply4 ,the stories told about him are  
lies4  ,b4 ,f4 ,,gardner1 ,m4,d4  ,dr4  
,gardner1 an old and respected resident 
of ,atlanta1 ,ill41 in ,march1 #ahhg1   
made the following statement in regard  
to ,lincoln's views3  ,i knew ,lincoln  
from #ahed up to the time he left       
,springfield4 ,he was an ,infidel4 ,he  
did not change his belief4 ,herndon told
 the truth in his lecture4 ,lincoln did 
not believe that prayer moved ,god4     
,when he requested the prayers of his   
neighbors on leaving ,springfield for   
,washington1 he saw that  storm was     
coming and that he must have the support
 of the church4  ,these words of        

,lincoln in his farewell speech         
requesting the prayers of his friends1  
though used merely in a conventional    
way1 have been cited by ,holland1       
,arnold1 and others1 to prove that he   
believed in the efficacy of prayer4     
,that no such import was attached to    
them at the time is admitted by ,holland
 himself4 ,he says3 ,this parting       
address was telegraphed to every part of
 the country1 and was strangely         
misinterpreted4 ,so little was the man's
 character understood that his simple   
and earnest request that his neighbors  
should pray for him was received by many
 as an evidence both of his weakness and
 his hypocrisy4 ,no ,president had ever 
before asked the people1 in a public    
address1 to pray for him4 ,it sounded   
like the cant of the conventicle to ears
 unaccustomed to the language of piety  
from the lips of politicians4 ,the      
request was tossed about as a joke--'old
 ,abe's last' 7,holland's ,life of      
,lincoln1 p4 #bed74  ,,hon4 ,j4 ,k4     

,,vandemark4  ,j4 ,k4 ,vandemark1 who   
formerly resided near ,springfield1     
,ill41 and who was well acquainted with 
,lincoln1 on the #acth of ,october1     
#ahhg1 at ,valparaiso1 ,neb41 testified 
as follows3  ,i met ,lincoln often--had 
many conversations with him in his      
office4 ,to assert that he was a        
believer in ,christianity is absurd4 ,he
 had no faith in the dogmas of the      
church4  ,mr4 ,vandemark at the time his
 testimony was given was a member of the
 ,state ,senate of ,nebraska4  ,a4      
,,jeffrey4  ,mr4 ,jeffrey1 who has      
resided near ,waynesville1 ,ill41 for a 
period of fifty years1 and who was in   
the habit of attending court with       
,lincoln1 year after year1 in an        
interview on the #ast of ,march1 #ahhg1 
made the following statement3  ,lincoln 
was decidedly ,liberal4 ,he admitted    
that he wrote a book against            
,christianity4 ,in later years he seldom
 talked on this subject1 but he did not 
change his belief4 ,a thrust at the     

doctrine of endless punishment always   
pleased him4 ,this doctrine he abhorred4
  ,,dr4 ,,arch ,e4 ,mc,n,e,a,l,l  ,dr4  
,mc,neall1 an old physician of ,bowen1  
,ill41 who was a delegate to the        
,decatur ,convention which brought      
,lincoln forward as a candidate for the 
,presidency1 says3  ,i met ,lincoln     
often during our political campaigns1   
and was quite well acquainted with him4 
,i know that he was a ,liberal thinker4 
,,charles ,mc,g,r,e,w4  ,dr4 ,mc,grew is
 a resident of ,coles ,county1          
,ill4--the county in which nearly all of
 ,lincoln's relatives have resided for  
sixty years4 ,he is a cousin of ,hon4   
,allen ,g4 ,thurman1 and is a man of    
sterling character4 ,he was for a time  
related to ,lincoln1 in a business way1 
and met him frequently4 ,i met ,dr4     
,mc,grew in #ahhh1 and when ,i          
propounded the question1 ,was ,lincoln a
 ,christian8 he replied3 ,lincoln was   
not a ,christian4 ,he was cautious and  
reserved and seldom said anything about 

religion except when he was alone with a
 few companions whose opinions were     
similar to his4 ,on such occasions he   
did not hesitate to express his         
unbelief4  ,,edward ,,butler4  ,early in
 #aheh1 ,lincoln delivered his memorable
 ,springfield speech which prepared the 
way for his debates with ,douglas1 and  
made him ,president of the ,united      
,states4 ,mr4 ,edward ,butler1 who      
resided in ,springfield for a period of 
twenty-six years1 and who was well      
acquainted with ,lincoln1 was leader of 
the band which furnished the music on   
this occasion4 ,in a letter written at  
,lyons1 ,kan41 ,jan4 #af1ahij1 ,mr4     
,butler relates some incidents connected
 with the meeting1 and quotes a passage 
from ,lincoln's speech to the effect    
that from the agitation of the slavery  
question1 truth would in the end prevail
 ,alluding to this passage1 ,mr4 ,butler
 says3 ,shortly after the meeting       
referred to1 ,i chanced to be talking   
with ,lincoln and quizzingly enquired   

how he could reconcile this and similar 
utterances with ,holy ,writ8 ,without   
committing himself1 he enquired if ,i   
had read ,gregg's ',creed of            
,christendom4' ,i informed him that ,i  
had not4 ',then1' said he1 'read that   
book and perhaps you may ascertain my   
views about truth prevailing4' ,i never 
conversed with ,lincoln afterwards1 but 
,i obtained the book1 which ,i keep     
treasured in my library4 ,i am well     
convinced that no man who is used to    
weighing evidence1 especially of        
,lincoln's humane and unbiased          
disposition1 can read the book in       
question without truth coming to the    
surface4  ,it is hardly necessary to    
state that ,gregg's ,creed of           
,christendom is a standard work in      
,infidel literature1 one of the most    
scholarly1 powerful and convincing      
arguments against orthodox ,christianity
 ever written4  ,,joseph ,,stafford4    
,joseph ,stafford1 a resident of        
,galesburg1 ,ill41 and an acquaintance  

of ,lincoln1 says3  ,i know that        
,lincoln was a ,liberal4  ,,judge ,a4   
,d4 ,,morton4  ,in ,april1 #ahic1 at    
,ardmore1 ,i4 ,t41 ,i met ,judge        
,norton1 of ,gainesville1 ,tex41 an old 
acquaintance of ,lincoln and ,douglas4  
,judge ,norton related many interesting 
reminiscences of these noted men4       
,speaking of ,lincoln's religion1 he    
said3  ,for nearly fifty years ,i was a 
resident of ,illinois4 ,i practiced for 
many years in the same courts with      
,lincoln and knew him well4 ,he was an  
,infidel4 ,in his early manhood he wrote
 a book against ,christianity which his 
friends prevented him from publishing4  
,because he had become famous1 the      
church preached him from a theatre to   
heaven4  ,j4 ,l ,,morrell4  ,mr4 ,j4 ,l4
 ,morrell1 a worthy citizen of ,virden1 
,ill41 who came to ,illinois soon after 
,lincoln did1 settled in the adjoining  
county to him1 and like him followed for
 a time the avocation of surveyor1 in a 
conversation with the writer1 on the    

#hth of ,february1 #ahhi1 made the      
following statement3  ,i knew ,lincoln  
well--met him often4 ,his religion was  
the religion of common sense4 ,he went  
into this subject as deep as any man4   
,he did not believe the inconsistencies 
of theology4 ,he was not a ,christian4  
,,marlon ,,ross1 ,,esq4  ,squire ,boss1 
another old resident of ,virden1 ,ill41 
a lawyer1 and a writer of some repute1  
says3  ,i was acquainted with ,lincoln1 
but never talked with him on religion4  
,he did not belong to church1 and his   
friends say that he was not a           
,christian4  ,,lusk ,,wilson4  ,similar 
to the above is the testimony of ,mr4   
,lusk ,wilson1 a prominent and          
respectable citizen of ,litchfield1     
,ill43  ,i was acquainted with ,abraham 
,lincoln1 but never heard him give his  
views on the subject of religion4 ,his  
partner1 ,herndon1 and other friends1   
state that he was not a believer in     
,christianity4  ,,hon4 ,,james ,,tuttle4
  ,two miles east of ,atlanta1 ,ill41   

resides one of the pioneers of          
,illinois1 ,james ,tuttle1 now over     
eighty years of age4 ,he was a member of
 the ,constitutional ,convention of     
#ahdg1 and is a man universally esteemed
 for his love of truth and honesty4 ,mr4
 ,tuttle's residence is situated on the 
state road leading from ,springfield to 
,bloomington4 ,in going from            
,springfield to ,bloomington1 to attend 
court1 and in returning home again1     
,lincoln always stopped over night with 
,mr4 ,tuttle4 ,theological questions    
were favorite topics with both of them1 
and the evening hours were usually spent
 in conversations of this character4    
,mr4 ,tuttle accordingly became well    
acquainted with ,lincoln's religious    
views4 ,feb4 #bf1 #ahhg1 at ,minier1    
,ill41 he made the following statement  
relative to them3 ,mr4 ,lincoln did not 
believe in ,christianity4 ,he denounced 
it unsparingly4 ,he had the greatest    
contempt for religious revivals1 and    
called those who took part in them a set

 of ignoramuses4 ,he was one of the most
 ardent admirers of ,thomas ,paine ,i   
ever met4 ,he was continually quoting   
from the ',age of ,reason4' ,said he1   
',i never tire of reading ,paine4'  ,mr4
 ,tuttle is confident that ,lincoln     
always remained a ,freethinker1 and     
believes that those who claim to have   
evidence from him to the contrary1      
willfully affirm what they know to be   
false4  ,h4 ,k4 ,,magie4  ,mr4 ,magie   
formerly lived in ,illinois1 and was for
 a time connected with the ,state       
,department at ,springfield4 ,writing   
from ,brooklyn1 ,n4 ,t41 ,march #ai1    
#ahhh1 he says3  ,my acquaintance with  
,mr4 ,lincoln was limited1 as ,i did not
 reside in ,springfield during his      
residence there4 ,i met him during his  
campaign with ,douglas at different     
times1 and was with him once for three  
days4444 ,mr4 ,lincoln was a            
,freethinker of the ,thomas ,paine type4
 ,there have been picked up some of ,mr4
 ,lincoln's utterances about            

',providence1' ',god1' and the like1 on 
which an attempt is made to make him out
 a ,christian4 ,those who knew him      
intimately agree in the statement that  
he was a pronounced skeptic4  ,mr4      
,magie also refers to the ,infidel      
pamphlet written by ,lincoln4 ,his      
knowledge regarding this1 however1 was  
derived1 not from ,lincoln himself1 but 
from his friends4 ,he says3 ,at one time
 he wrote a criticism of the ,new       
,testament which he proposed to publish 
and which his friends succeeded in      
having suppressed1 solely because of    
their regard for his political future4  
,in a recent contribution to a ,new     
,york paper from ,washington1 ,d4 ,c1   
,mr4 ,magie writes as follows3 ,i have  
always been fully persuaded in my own   
mind that it would have been utterly    
impossible for a man possessing that    
intuitive wisdom1 keenness of logic1 and
 discernment of truth1 which were the   
marked characteristics of ,mr4          
,lincoln's mind1 ever to have subscribed

 to the atrocious doctrines of the      
,christian church4 ,he was developed far
 above it1 and although making no war   
upon the church1 he did not hesitate to 
speak his mind freely upon these        
subjects upon all proper occasions4 ,i  
lived in ,springfield among his old     
neighbors for many years1 and ,i have   
talked with many of them1 and to those  
who had good opportunity to know his    
views touching religious matters4 ,all1 
without exception1 classed him among the
 skeptics4 ,it was not until after his  
death that he was claimed as a          
,christian4 ,i am sorry for ,newton     
,bateman4 ,he has placed himself in a   
most awkward predicament by trying to   
keep out of one4444 ,he permitted ,mr4  
,holland to circulate an atrocious      
falsehood in his ',life of ,lincoln'    
rather than incur 'unpleasant notoriety'
 by a firm and courageous denial4 ,it is
 not a matter of much importance as to  
just what ,abraham ,lincoln did believe 
concerning ,god1 the ,bible1 or the man 

,jesus1 but when we discover an earnest1
 persistent1 mean1 and wicked attempt by
 lying and deceitful men to pervert the 
truth in this matter1 in order that     
their 'holy religion' shall profit by   
their lies1 the matter does become of   
some importance1 and ,i am glad that    
,mr4 -------- has taken hold of this    
subject with that zeal and earnestness  
which usually characterize his great    
ability1 and from what ,i know in this  
matter ,i can assure all whom it may    
concern that by the time he is through  
with the subject it will be deemed      
settled that ,mr4 ,lincoln was not a    
hypocrite1 neither was he a believer in 
the monstrous and superstitious         
doctrines of the ,christian church4     
,the foregoing evidence1 with the       
exception of a portion of ,mr4 ,magie's 
testimony1 was all given to the writer  
by the witnesses themselves1 either by  
letter or orally1 and he hereby         
certifies to its faithful transcription4
 ,this evidence is from men whose       

characters as witnesses cannot be       
impeached1 and it is hardly possible    
that one of them will ever favor the    
other side with a disclaimer4  ,,col4   
,f4 ,s4 ,,rutherford4  ,i wish now to   
record a statement from ,colonel        
,rutherford1 a well-known citizen and   
soldier of ,illinois4 ,it was not made  
to the writer1 but was made during the  
war to ,mr4 ,w4 ,w4 ,fraser1 a member of
 his regiment1 and a man of             
unquestionable veracity4 ,i will let    
,mr4 ,fraser present it1 together with  
the circumstances which called it out4  
,i quote from a letter dated ,ottawa1   
,kan41 ,dec4 #af1 #ahha3 ,during the    
siege of ,vicksburg our colonel1 ,f4 ,s4
 ,rutherford1 ,colonel of the #igth     
#aaa4 ,vol4 ,inft41 was about to leave  
us1 and ,i went to see him about taking 
a small package to ,alton--his home and 
mine4 ,he had been sick and quite unable
 to do active service4 ,during our      
conversation ,i said that many of the   
,alton boys did not like to be left     

under the command of ----------4        
,colonel ,rutherford then said3  ',if my
 life is worth anything ,i owe it as    
much to my family as my country1 and it 
will be worthless to either if ,i stay  
much longer in camp1 but ,i hate to     
leave the boys4' ,colonel ,rutherford   
said that he had stumped his district   
for ,mr4 ,lincoln1 and had expected1    
from ,mr4 ,lincoln's promises1 something
 better than a colonelcy4 ,i told       
,colonel ,rutherford that ,i was sorry  
to hear that1 as ,i had always thought  
so well of ,mr4 ,lincoln4 ,mr4          
,rutherford then said3 ',what more could
 you expect of an ,infidel8' ,i said3   
',why1 ,colonel1 doesn't ,lincoln       
believe in a ,god8'  ,he replied3       
',well1 he may believe in ,god1 but he  
doesn't believe in the ,bible nor       
,christ4 ,i know it1 for ,i have heard  
him make fun of them and say that       
,christ was a bastard if ,joseph was not
 his father1 and ,i have some sheets of 
paper now at home that he wrote1 making 

fun of the ,bible4  ,,judge ,,robert    
,,leach ,,man4  ,the venerable ,southern
 jurist1 ,judge ,leachman1 was one of   
,lincoln's intimate and valued friends4 
,he is a ,christian1 but candidly       
confesses that ,lincoln was not a       
believer4 ,in the autumn of #ahhi1 at   
,anniston1 ,ala41 ,judge ,leachman made 
the following statement to ,mr4 ,w4 ,s4 
,andres1 of ,portsmouth1 ,o43  ,lincoln 
was not such a ,christian as the term is
 used to imply by church members and    
church-going people4 ,he was in the     
strictest sense a moralist1 he looked to
 actions and not to belief4 ,he greatly 
admired the ,golden ,rule1 and was one  
of those who thought that ',one world at
 a time' was a good idea4444 ,he thought
 this a good place to be happy as is    
shown by his wonderful love for liberty 
and mercy4 ,no1 ,i can truthfully say1  
,abraham ,lincoln was not a ,christian4 
,,hon4 ,,orin ,b4 ,,gould4  ,another    
friend and admirer of ,lincoln was ,orin
 ,b4 ,gould1 of ,franklin ,furnace1 ,o4 

,mr4 ,gould was one of the noted men of 
,southern ,ohio4 ,he was a man of       
sterling worth and extensive knowledge1 
and was familiarly known as the ,sage of
 the ,furnace4 ,he became acquainted    
with ,lincoln in ,illinois at an early  
day1 and a close friendship existed     
between them while ,lincoln lived4 ,mr4 
,gould survived his illustrious friend  
nearly a quarter of a century1 dying    
recently at his beautiful home on the   
banks of the ,ohio4 ,previous to his    
death the question of ,lincoln's        
religion was presented to him and his   
own views on the subject solicited4 ,his
 response was as follows3  ,he1 like    
myself1 recognized no monsters for      
,gods4 ,he1 like myself1 discarded the  
divinity of ,christ1 and the idea of a  
hell's fire4 ,he1 like myself1 admired  
,christ as a man1 and believed the devil
 and evil to be simply 'truth           
misunderstood4' ,he1 like myself1       
thought good wherever found should be   
accepted and the bad rejected4  ,m4 ,s4 

,,gowin4  ,mr4 ,gowin1 an old and       
prominent citizen1 and a ,justice of the
 ,peace1 of ,mc,cune1 ,kan41 in a recent
 article1 has this to say regarding     
,lincoln3  ,i lived near ,springfield1  
,ill41 from the time that ,i was a      
child1 and at the time ,lincoln came    
before the people1 and during the time  
he was ,president1 his enemies called   
him an ,infidel1 and his friends did not
 deny it4  ,,col4 ,,robert ,g4          
,,ingersoll4  ,on the eighty-fourth     
anniversary of ,lincoln's birth1 ,col4  
,ingersoll delivered in ,new ,york his  
masterly oration on ,abraham ,lincoln4  
,in this oration he affirmed that the   
religion of ,lincoln was the religion of
 ,voltaire and ,paine4 ,immediately     
after its delivery ,gen4 ,collis1 of    
,new ,york1 addressed the following note
 to ,col4 ,ingersoll3  ,dear ,col4      
,ingersoll3 ,i have just returned home  
from listening to your most entertaining
 lecture upon the life of ,abraham      
,lincoln4 ,i thank you sincerely for all

 that was good in it1 and that entitles 
me to be frank in condemning what ,i    
consider was bad4 ,you say that         
,lincoln's religion was the religion of 
,voltaire and ,tom ,paine4 ,i know not  
where you get your authority for this1  
but if the statement be true ,lincoln   
himself was untrue1 for no man invoked  
'the gracious favor of ,almighty ,god'  
in every effort of his life with more   
apparent fervor than did he1 and this   
,god was not the ,deists' ,god but the  
,god whom he worshiped under the forms  
of the ,christian ,church1 of which he  
was a member4 ,i do not write this in   
defense of his religion or as objecting 
to yours1 but ,i think it were better   
for the truth of history that you should
 blame him for what he was than commend 
him for what he was not4  ,sincerely    
yours1  ,charles ,h4 ,t4 ,collis4  ,in  
answer to the above ,col4 ,ingersoll    
penned the following reply3  ,gen4      
,charles ,h4 ,t4 ,collis1  ,my dear sir3
  ,i have just received your letter in  

which you criticise a statement made by 
me to the effect that ,lincoln's        
religion was the religion of ,voltaire  
and ,thomas ,paine1 and you add1 ',i    
know not where you get your authority   
for this1 but if the statement be true  
,lincoln himself was untrue1 for no man 
ever invoked the gracious favor of      
,almighty ,god in every effort of his   
life with more apparent fervor than did 
he4'  ,you seem to be laboring under the
 impression that ,voltaire was not a    
believer in ,god1 and that he could not 
have invoked the gracious favor of      
,almighty ,god4 ,the truth is that      
,voltaire was not only a believer in    
,god1 but even in special ,providence4  
,i know that the clergy have always     
denounced ,voltaire as an ,atheist1 but 
this can be accounted for in two ways3  
7#a7 ,by the ignorance of the clergy1   
and 7#b7 by their contempt of truth4    
,thomas ,paine was also a believer in   
,god1 and wrote his creed as follows3   
',i believe in one ,god and no more1 and

 hope for immortality4' ,the ministers  
have also denounced ,paine as an        
,atheist4 ,you will1 therefore1 see that
 your first statement is without the    
slightest foundation in fact4 ,lincoln  
could be perfectly true to himself if he
 agreed with the religious sentiments of
 ,voltaire and ,paine1 and yet invoke   
the gracious favor of ,almighty ,god4   
,you also say1 ',this ,god' 7meaning the
 ,god whose favor ,lincoln invoked7 'was
 not the ,deists' ,god4' ,the ,deists   
believe in an ,infinite ,being1 who     
created and preserves the universe4 ,the
 ,christians believe no more4 ,deists   
and ,christians believe in the same     
,god1 but they differ as to what this   
,god has done1 and to what this ,god    
will do4 ,you further say that ',lincoln
 worshiped his ,god under the forms of  
the ,christian ,church1 of which he was 
a member4' ,again you are mistaken4     
,lincoln was never a member of any      
church4 ,mrs4 ,lincoln stated a few     
years ago that ,mr4 ,lincoln was not a  

,christian4 ,hundreds of his            
acquaintances have said the same thing4 
,not only so1 but many of them have     
testified that he was a ,freethinker2   
that he denied the inspiration of the   
,scriptures1 and that he always insisted
 that ,christ was not the son of ,god1  
and that the dogma of the atonement was 
and is an absurdity4 ,i will very gladly
 pay you one thousand dollars for your  
trouble to show that one statement in   
your letter is correct--even one4 ,and  
now1 to quote you1 ',do you not think it
 were better for the truth of history   
that you should state the facts about   
,lincoln1 and that you should commend   
him for what he was rather than for what
 he was not8'  ,yours truly1  ,r4 ,g4   
,ingersoll4  ,,leonard ,w4 ,,volk4  ,in 
the spring of #ahfj1 just before        
,lincoln was nominated for the          
,presidency1 the celebrated sculptor1   
,volk1 made a bust of him4 ,he spent a  
week in ,chicago and made daily sittings
 in the artist's studio4 ,mr4 ,volk     

relates the following incident1 which   
hardly accords with the tales told about
 ,lincoln's reverence for the ,sabbath1 
and his love for church services3 ,he   
entered my studio on ,sunday morning1   
remarking that a friend at the hotel had
 invited him to go to church4 ',but1'   
said ,mr4 ,lincoln1 ',i thought ,i'd    
rather come and sit for the bust4 ,the  
fact is1' he continued1 ',i don't like  
to hear cut-and-dried sermons4'         
,,joseph ,,jefferson4  ,it is difficult 
for orthodox ,christians to reconcile   
,lincoln's fondness for the play with   
his reputed piety4 ,that his last act   
was a visit to the theater is a fact    
that stands out in ghastly prominence to
 them4 ,to break its force they offer   
various explanations4 ,some say that he 
went to avoid the office-seekers2 others
 that ,mrs4 ,lincoln compelled him to   
go2 and still others that he was led    
there by fate4 ,the truth is he was a   
frequent attendant at the theater4 ,he  
went there much oftener than he went to 

church4 ,the visit of a clergyman       
annoyed him1 but the society of actors  
he enjoyed4 ,he greatly admired the     
acting of ,edwin ,booth4 ,he sent a note
 to the actor ,hackett1 praising him for
 his fine presentation of ,falstaff4 ,he
 called ,john ,mc,culloch to his box one
 night and congratulated him on his     
successful rendition of the part he was 
playing4  ,in his autobiography1 which  
recently appeared in the ,century       
,magazine1 ,joseph ,jefferson gives some
 interesting reminiscences of ,lincoln4 
,in the earlier part of his dramatic    
career he was connected with a          
theatrical company1 the managers of     
which1 one of whom was his father1 built
 a theater in ,springfield1 ,ill4 ,a    
conflict between the preachers and      
players ensued4 ,the church was powerful
 then1 and the city joined with the     
church to suppress the theater4 ,the    
history of the struggle and its         
termination1 as narrated by ,mr4        
,jefferson1 is as follows3  ,in the     

midst of their rising fortunes a heavy  
blow fell upon them4 ,a religious       
revival was in progress at the time1 and
 the fathers of the church not only     
launched forth against us in their      
sermons1 but by some political maneuver 
got the city to pass a new law enjoining
 a heavy license against our 'unholy'   
calling2 ,i forget the amount1 but it   
was large enough to be prohibitory4     
,here was a terrible condition of       
affairs--all our available funds        
invested1 the ,legislature in session1  
the town full of people1 and by a heavy 
license denied the privilege of opening 
the new theater6  ,in the midst of their
 trouble a young lawyer called on the   
managers4 ,he had heard of the          
injustice1 and offered1 if they would   
place the matter in his hands1 to have  
the license taken off1 declaring that he
 only desired to see fair play1 and he  
would accept no fee whether he failed or
 succeeded4 ,the case was brought up    
before the council4 ,the young man began

 his harangue4 ,he handled the subject  
with tact1 skill1 and humor1 tracing the
 history of the drama from the time when
 ,thespis acted in a cart to the stage  
of to-day4 ,he illustrated his speech   
with a number of anecdotes1 and kept the
 council in a roar of laughter2 his good
 humor prevailed1 and the exorbitant tax
 was taken off4 ,this young lawyer was  
very popular in ,springfield1 and was   
honored and beloved by all who knew him1
 and1 after the time of which ,i write1 
he held rather an important position in 
the ,government of the ,united ,states4 
,he now lies buried near ,springfield1  
under a monument commemorating his      
greatness and his virtues--and his name 
was ,abraham ,lincoln4  ,,hon4 ,,elihu  
,b4 ,,washburn4  ,the ball-room1 too1   
had its attractions for him4 ,some years
 ago ,hon4 ,e4 ,b4 ,washburn contributed
 to the ,north ,american ,review a      
lengthy article on ,lincoln4 ,when      
,president ,taylor was inaugurated1     
,lincoln was serving his term in        

,congress4 ,alluding to the inaugural   
ball1 ,mr4 ,washburn says3 ,a small     
number of mutual friends including ,mr4 
,lincoln--made up a party to attend the 
inauguration ball together4 ,it was by  
far the most brilliant inauguration ball
 ever given4444 ,we did not take our    
departure until three or four o'clock in
 the morning 7,reminiscences of         
,lincoln1 p4 #ai74  ,,hon1 ,,elijah ,m4 
,,haines4  ,in ,february1 #ahei1        
,governor ,bissell gave a reception in  
,springfield which ,lincoln attended4   
,hon4 ,e4 ,m4 ,haines1 then a member of 
the ,legislature1 and one of ,lincoln's 
supporters for the ,senate1 referring to
 the affair1 says3  ,dancing was going  
on in the adjacent rooms1 and ,mr4      
,lincoln invited my wife to join him in 
the dancing1 which she did1 and he      
apparently took much pleasure in the    
recreation 7,every-,day ,life of        
,lincoln1 p4 #cjh74  ,early in ,january1
 #ahfc1 ,president and ,mrs4 ,lincoln   
gave a reception and ball at the ,white 

,house4 ,this was a severe shock to the 
,christians of the country1 and provoked
 a storm of censure from the religious  
press4  ,according to ,ninian ,edwards1 
,lincoln is converted to ,christianity  
about #ahdh4 ,in ,march1 #ahdi1 he      
attends the inauguration ball and ,won't
 go home till morning4 ,according to    
,dr4 ,smith1 he is converted in #aheh4  
,in ,february1 #ahei1 he attends and    
participates in a ball at ,springfield4 
,according to ,noah ,brooks1 he is      
converted in #ahfb4 ,in ,january1 #ahfc1
 he gives a ball himself4 ,in every     
instance he retires from the altar only 
to enter the ball-room4     ,,chapter   
,,xii4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,friends ,,and 
,,acquaintances ,,of ,,lincoln ,,who    
,,knew ,,him ,,in ,,washington          
,hon4 ,geo4 ,w4 ,julian--,hon4 ,john ,b4
 ,alley--,hon4 ,hugh ,mc,culloch--      
,donn ,piatt--,hon4 ,schuyler           
,colfax--,hon4 ,geo4 ,s4                
,boutwell--,hon4 ,wm4 ,d4 ,kelly--,e4   
,h4 ,wood--,dr4 ,j4 ,j4 ,thompson--     

,rev4 ,james ,shrigley--,hon4 ,john     
,covode--,jas4 ,e4 ,murdock--      ,hon4
 ,m4 ,b4 ,field--,harriet ,beecher      
,stowe--,hon4 ,j4 ,p4 ,usher--          
,hon4 ,s4 ,p4 ,chase--,frederick        
,douglas--,mr4 ,defrees--,hon4 ,wm4     
,h4 ,seward--,judge ,aaron              
,goodrich--,nicolay and ,hay's ,life of 
,lincoln--,warren ,chase--,hon4 ,a4 ,j4 
,grover--,judge ,james ,m4      ,nelson4
  ,the evidence of more than fifty      
witnesses has already been adduced to   
prove that ,lincoln was not a ,christian
 in ,illinois4 ,those who at first were 
so forward to claim that he was1 have   
generally recognized the futility of the
 claim4 ,they have abandoned it1 and    
content themselves with affirming that  
he became a ,christian after he went to 
,washington4 ,these claimants1 being for
 the most part rigid sectarians         
themselves1 endeavor to convince the    
world that he not only became a         
,christian1 but an orthodox ,christian1 
and a sectarian2 that even from a       

,calvinistic standpoint1 he was sound   
not only on the truth of the ,christian 
religion but on all its fundamental     
doctrines and teachings4  ,the testimony
 of ,colonel ,lamon1 ,judge ,davis1     
,mrs4 ,lincoln1 and ,colonel ,nicolay1  
not only refutes this claim1 but shows  
that he was not in any just sense of the
 term a ,christian when he died4 ,in    
addition to this evidence1 ,i will now  
present the testimony of a score of     
other witnesses who knew him in         
,washington4 ,these witnesses do not all
 affirm that he was a total disbeliever 
in ,christianity2 but a part of them do1
 while the testimony of the remainder is
 to the effect that he was not orthodox 
as claimed4  ,,hon4 ,,george ,w4        
,,julian4  ,our first witness is ,george
 ,w4 ,julian1 of ,indiana4 ,mr4 ,julian 
was for many years a leader in          
,congress1 was the ,anti-,slavery       
candidate for ,vice-,president1 in      
#aheb1 and one of the founders of the   
party that elected ,lincoln to the      

,presidency4 ,he was one of ,lincoln's  
warmest personal friends and intimately 
acquainted with him at ,washington4     
,writing to me from ,santa ,fe1 ,n4 ,m41
 under date of ,march #ac1ahhh1 ,mr4    
,julian says3 ,i knew him ,lincoln well1
 and ,i know that he was not a          
,christian in any old-fashioned orthodox
 sense of the word1 but only a religious
 ,theist4 ,he was1 substantially1 such a
 ,christian as ,jefferson1 ,franklin1   
,washington1 and ,john ,adams2 and it is
 perfectly idle to assert the contrary4 
,,hon4 ,,john ,b4 ,,alley4  ,in #ahhf1  
the publishers of the ,north ,american  
,review issued one of the most unique1  
original1 and interesting works on      
,lincoln that has yet                   
appeared--,reminiscences of ,abraham    
,lincoln4 ,it was edited by ,allen      
,thorndike ,rice1 and comprises1 in     
addition to a biographical sketch of    
,lincoln's life by the editor1          
thirty-three articles on ,lincoln       
written by as many distinguished men of 

his day4 ,one of the best articles in   
this volume is from the pen of one of   
,boston's merchant princes1 ,john ,b4   
,alley4 ,mr4 ,alley was for eight years 
a member of ,congress from              
,massachusetts1 serving in this capacity
 during all the years that ,lincoln was 
,president4 ,to his ability and         
integrity as a statesman this remarkable
 yet truthful tribute has been paid3 ,no
 bill he ever reported and no measure he
 ever advocated during his long term of 
service failed to receive the           
approbation of the ,house4 ,lincoln     
recognized his many sterling qualities1 
and throughout the war his relations    
with the ,president were of the most    
intimate character4 ,mr4 ,alley is one  
of the many who know that ,lincoln was  
not a ,christian1 and one of the few who
 have the courage to affirm it4 ,he     
says3 ,in his religious views ,mr4      
,lincoln was very nearly what we would  
call a ,freethinker4 ,while he reflected
 a great deal upon religious subjects he

 communicated his thoughts to a very    
few4 ,he had little faith in the popular
 religion of the times4 ,he had a broad 
conception of the goodness and power of 
an overruling ,providence1 and said to  
me one day that he felt sure the ,author
 of our being1 whether called ,god or   
,nature1 it mattered little which1 would
 deal very mercifully with poor erring  
humanity in the other1 and he hoped     
better1 world4 ,he was as free as       
possible from all sectarian thought1    
feeling1 or sentiment4 ,no man was more 
tolerant of the opinions and feelings of
 others in the direction of religious   
sentiment or had less faith in religious
 dogmas 7,reminiscences of ,lincoln1 pp4
 #eij1 #eia74  ,in conclusion1 ,mr4     
,alley says3 ,while ,mr4 ,lincoln was   
perfectly honest and upright and led a  
blameless life1 he was in no sense what 
might be considered a religious man     
7,ibid74  ,,hon4 ,,hugh ,,mcculloch4    
,hon4 ,hugh ,mc,culloch1 a member of    
,lincoln's ,cabinet1 his last ,secretary

 of the ,treasury1 writes3 ,grave and   
sedate in manner1 he was full of kind   
and gentle emotion4 ,he was fond of     
poetry4 ,shakspere was his delight4 ,few
 men could read with equal expression   
the plays of the great dramatist4 ,the  
theater had great attractions for him1  
but it was comedy1 not tragedy1 he went 
to hear4 ,he had great enjoyment of the 
plays that made him laugh1 no matter how
 absurd and grotesque1 and he gave      
expression to his enjoyment by hearty   
and noisy applause4 ,he was a man of    
strong religious convictions1 but he    
cared nothing for the dogmas of the     
churches and had little respect for     
their creeds 7,reminiscences of         
,lincoln1 pp4 #dab1 #dac74  ,,donn      
,,piatt4  ,the distinguished lawyer1    
soldier and journalist1 ,donn ,piatt1   
who knew ,lincoln in ,illinois and who  
met him often in ,washington1 writes3 ,i
 soon discovered that this strange and  
strangely gifted man1 while not at all  
cynical1 was a skeptic4 ,his view of    

human nature was low1 but good-natured4 
,i could not call it suspicious1 but he 
believed only what he saw               
7,reminiscences of ,lincoln1 p4 #dhj74  
,those who are disposed to believe that 
,lincoln's ,christian biographers have  
observed an inflexible adherence to     
truth in their statements concerning his
 religious belief would do well to      
ponder the following words of ,mr4      
,piatt3 ,history is1 after all1 the     
crystallization of popular beliefs4 ,as 
a pleasant fiction is more acceptable   
than a naked fact1 and as the historian 
shapes his wares1 like any other dealer1
 to suit his customers1 one can readily 
see that our chronicles are only a      
duller sort of fiction than the popular 
novels so eagerly read2 not that they   
are true1 but that they deal in what we 
long to have--the truth4 ,popular       
beliefs1 in time1 come to be            
superstitions1 and create gods and      
devils4 ,thus ,washington is deified    
into an impossible man1 and ,aaron ,burr

 has passed into a like impossible      
monster4 ,through the same process      
,abraham ,lincoln1 one of our truly     
great1 has almost gone from human       
knowledge 7,ibid1 p4 #dgh74  ,,hon4     
,,schuyler ,,colfax4  ,previous to the  
war no class of persons were louder in  
their denunciation of ,abolitionism than
 the clergy of the ,north4 ,when at last
 it became evident that the institution 
of slavery was doomed1 in their         
eagerness to be found on the popular    
side1 they were equally loud in their   
demands for its immediate extirpation4  
,in ,september1 #ahfb1 a deputation of  
,chicago clergymen waited upon the      
,president for the purpose of urging him
 to proclaim the freedom of the slave4  
,notwithstanding he had matured his     
plans and was ready to issue his        
,proclamation1 he gave them no          
intimation of his intention4 ,in        
connection with their visit1 ,colfax    
relates the following3 ,one of these    
ministers felt it his duty to make a    

more searching appeal to the            
,president's conscience4 ,just as they  
were retiring1 he turned1 and said to   
,mr4 ,lincoln1 ',what you have said to  
us1 ,mr4 ,president1 compels me to say  
to you in reply1 that it is a message to
 you from our ,divine ,master1 through  
me1 commanding you1 sir1 to open the    
doors of bondage that the slave may go  
free6' ,mr4 ,lincoln replied1 instantly1
 ',that may be1 sir1 for ,i have studied
 this question1 by night and by day1 for
 weeks and for months1 but if it is1 as 
you say1 a message from your ,divine    
,master1 is it not odd that the only    
channel he could send it by was that    
roundabout route by that awfully wicked 
city of ,chicago8 7,reminiscences of    
,lincoln1 pp4 #ccd1 #cce74  ,in a       
lecture delivered in ,brooklyn1 ,n4 ,t41
 in #ahhf1 ,mr4 ,colfax stated that     
,lincoln was not a ,christian1 in the   
evangelical sense4 ,to a gentleman who  
visited him at his home in ,south ,bend1
 ,ind41 he declared that ,lincoln was   

not a believer in orthodox              
,christianity4 ,again at ,atchison1     
,kan41 he informed ,mr4 ,perkins that   
,lincoln had never been converted to    
,christianity1 as claimed4  ,,hon4      
,,william ,o4 ,,kelley4  ,william ,d4   
,kelley1 for thirty years a member of   
,congress from ,pennsylvania1 relates an
 incident similar to the one related by 
,mr4 ,colfax4 ,a ,quaker preacher called
 at the ,white ,house to urge the       
,president to proclaim at once the      
freedom of the slave4 ,to illustrate her
 argument and emphasize her plea1 she   
cited the history of ,deborah4 ,having  
elaborated this ,biblical example1 says 
,mr4 ,kelley1 the speaker assumed that  
the ,president was1 as ,deborah had     
been1 the appointed minister of the     
,lord1 and proceeded to tell him that it
 was his duty to follow the example of  
,deborah1 and forthwith abolish slavery1
 and establish freedom throughout the   
land1 as the ,lord had appointed him to 
do4  ',has the ,friend finished8' said  

the ,president1 as she ceased to speak4 
,having received an affirmative answer1 
he said3 ',i have neither time nor      
disposition to enter into discussion    
with the ,friend1 and end this occasion 
by suggesting for her consideration the 
question whether1 if it be true that the
 ,lord has appointed me to do the work  
she has indicated1 it is not probable   
that he would have communicated         
knowledge of the fact to me as well as  
to her' 7,reminiscences of ,lincoln1 pp4
 #bhd1 #bhe74  ,,hon4 ,,george ,s4      
,,boutwell4  ,a great many pious stories
 have been circulated in regard to the  
,emancipation ,proclamation4 ,we are    
told that he made a solemn vow to ,god  
that if ,lee was defeated at ,antietam  
he would issue the ,preliminary         
,proclamation4 ,and yet this document   
contains no recognition of ,god4 ,he    
even completed the draft of it on what  
,christians are pleased to regard as    
,god's holy day4 ,mr4 ,boutwell states  
that ,lincoln once related to him the   

circumstances attending the promulgation
 of the instrument4 ,he quotes the      
following as ,lincoln's words3 ,the     
truth is just this3 ,when ,lee came over
 the river1 ,i made a resolution that if
 ,mc,clellan drove him back ,i would    
send the ,proclamation after him4 ,the  
battle of ,antietam was fought          
,wednesday1 and until ,saturday ,i could
 not find out whether we had gained a   
victory or lost a battle4 ,it was then  
too late to issue the ,proclamation that
 day1 and the fact is ,i fixed it up a  
little ,sunday1 and ,monday ,i let them 
have it 7,reminiscences of ,lincoln1 p4 
#abf74  ,e4 ,h4 ,,wood4  ,mr4 ,e4 ,h4   
,wood1 one of ,lincoln's old            
,springfield neighbors1 who visited him 
at ,washington during the war1 made the 
following statement to ,mr4 ,hern-don1  
in ,october1 #ahha3  ,i came from       
,auburn1 ,n4 ,y4--knew ,seward          
well--knew ,lincoln very well--lived for
 three years just across the alley from 
his residence4 ,i had many conversations

 with him on politics and religion as   
late as #ahei and '#fj4 ,he was a broad 
religionist--a ,liberal4 ,lincoln told  
me ,franklin's story4 ,franklin and a   
particular friend made an agreement that
 when the first one died he would come  
back and tell how things went4 ,well1   
,franklin's friend died1 but never came 
back4 ',it is a doubtful question1' said
 ,lincoln1 'whether we get anywhere to  
get back4' ,lincoln said1 ',there is no 
hell4' ,he did not say much about       
heaven4 ,i met him in ,washington and   
saw no change in him4  ,i have given the
 testimony of two of ,lincoln's nearest 
neighbors in ,springfield1 ,isaac       
,hawley and ,e4 ,h4 ,wood4 ,mr4 ,hawley 
believes that ,lincoln was a ,christian2
 ,mr4 ,wood knows that he was not4 ,mr4 
,hawley never heard ,lincoln utter a    
word to support his belief2 ,mr4 ,wood  
obtained his knowledge from ,lincoln    
himself4 ,mr4 ,hawley's belief is of    
little value compared with ,mr4 ,wood's 
knowledge4 ,mr4 ,hawley never heard     

,lincoln defend ,christianity and       
probably never heard him oppose it4     
,lincoln knew that ,mr4 ,hawley was a   
,christian--that he had no sympathy with
 his ,freethought views4 ,he did not    
desire to offend or antagonize him1 and 
hence he refrained from introducing a   
subject that he knew was distasteful to 
him4 ,mr4 ,wood1 on the other hand1 was 
a man of broad and ,liberal ideas1 and  
,lincoln did not hesitate to express to 
him his views with freedom4  ,j4 ,j4    
,,thompson1 ,m4,d4  ,dr4 ,j4 ,j4        
,thompson1 an old resident of ,illinois1
 now in ,colorado1 in a letter1 dated   
,march #ah1 #ahhh1 writes as follows3 ,i
 knew ,abraham ,lincoln from my boyhood 
up to the time of his death4 ,i was in  
his law office many times and met him   
several times in ,washington4 ,he was a 
,liberal1 outspoken1 and seemed to feel 
proud of it4  ,this great and good man1 
concludes ,dr4 ,thompson1 claimed       
,humanity as his religion4  ,,rev4      
,,james ,,shrigley4  ,rev4 ,jas4        

,shrigley1 of ,philadelphia1 who was    
acquainted with ,president ,lincoln in  
,washington1 and who received a hospital
 chaplaincy from him1 says3 ,president  
,lincoln was also remarkably tolerant4  
,he was the friend of all1 and never1 to
 my knowledge1 gave the influence of his
 great name to encourage sectarianism in
 any of its names and forms 7,lincoln   
,memorial ,album1 p4 #cce74  ,,hon4     
,,john ,,covode4  ,in connection with   
,mr4 ,shrigley's appointment1 the       
following anecdote is related4 ,mr4     
,shrigley was not orthodox1 and when it 
became known that his name had been sent
 to the ,senate1 a ,committee of ,young 
,christians waited upon the ,president  
for the purpose of inducing him to      
withdraw the nomination4 ,hon4 ,john    
,covode1 of ,pennsylvania1 was present  
during the interview and gave it to the 
press4 ,it is as follows3  ',we have    
called1 ,mr4 ,president1 to confer with 
you in regard to the appointment of ,mr4
 ,shrigley1 of ,philadelphia1 as        

hospital chaplain4'  ,the ,president    
responded3 ',oh1 yes1 gentlemen2 ,i have
 sent his name to the ,senate1 and he   
will no doubt be confirmed at an early  
day4'  ,one of the young men replied3   
',we have not come to ask for the       
appointment1 but to solicit you to      
withdraw the nomination4'  ',ah1' said  
,lincoln1 'that alters the case2 but on 
what ground do you ask the nomination   
withdrawn8'  ,the answer was1 ',mr4     
,shrigley is not sound in his           
theological opinions4'  ,the ,president 
inquired3 ',on what question is the     
gentleman unsound8'  ,response3 ',he    
does not believe in endless punishment2 
not only so1 sir1 but he believes that  
even the rebels themselves will finally 
be saved4'  ',is that so8' inquired the 
,president4  ,the members of the        
committee both responded1 ',yes1'       
',yes4'  ',well1 gentlemen1 if that be  
so1 and there is any way under heaven   
whereby the rebels can be saved1 then1  
for ,god's sake and their sakes1 let the

 man be appointed' 7,l4 ,m4 ,a41 pp4    
#ccf1 #ccg74  ,and he was appointed4    
,,james ,e4 ,,murdoch4  ,it is claimed  
that few public men have made greater   
use of the ,bible than ,lincoln4 ,this  
is true4 ,he was continually quoting    
,scripture or alluding to ,scriptural   
scenes and stories1 sometimes to        
illustrate or adorn a serious speech1   
but more frequently to point or         
emphasize a joke4 ,the venerable actor  
and elocutionist1 ,james ,e4 ,murdoch1  
who had met ,lincoln1 both in           
,springfield and ,washington1 relates an
 anecdote of him while at ,washington   
which serves to illustrate this         
propensity3 ,one day a detachment of    
troops was marching along the avenue    
singing the soul-stirring strain of     
',john ,brown4' ,they were walled in on 
either side by throngs of citizens and  
strangers1 whose voices mingled in the  
roll of the mighty war-song4 ,in the    
midst of this exciting scene1 a man had 
clambered into a small tree1 on the     

sidewalk1 where he clung1 unmindful of  
the jeers of the passing crowd1 called  
forth by the strange antics he was      
unconsciously exhibiting in his efforts 
to overcome the swaying motion of the   
slight stem which bent beneath his      
weight4 ,mr4 ,lincoln's attention was   
attracted for a moment1 and he paused in
 the serious conversation in which he   
was deeply interested and in an         
abstracted manner1 yet with a droll cast
 of the eye1 and a nod of the head in   
the direction of the man1 he repeated1  
in his dry and peculiar utterance1 the  
following old-fashioned couplet3        
',and ,zaccheous he did climb a tree1   
,his ,lord and ,master for to see4'     
7,l4 ,m4 ,a41 pp4 #cdi1 #cej74  ,mr4    
,murdoch states that in connection with 
this incident ,lincoln was charged with 
turning sacred subjects into ridicule4  
,he apologizes for1 and attempts to     
palliate this levity1 and affects to    
believe that ,lincoln was a ,christian4 
,but almost daily ,lincoln indulged in  

jokes at the expense of the ,bible and  
,christianity1 many of them ten-fold    
more sacrilegious in their character    
than this trifling incident related by  
,mr4 ,murdoch4 ,if the scrupulously     
pious considered this simple jest1      
uttered in the midst of a mixed crowd1  
irreverent1 what would have been their  
horror could they have listened to some 
of his remarks made when alone with a   
skeptical boon companion8 ,with         
,christians and with strangers he was   
generally guarded in his speech1 lest he
 should give offense2 but with his      
unbelieving friends1 up to the end of   
his career1 his keenest shafts of wit   
were not infrequently aimed at the      
religion of his day4 ,this shows that   
the popular faith had no more sacredness
 for ,lincoln1 the ,president1 in       
,washington1 than it had for ,lincoln1  
the farmer's boy1 who mocked and        
mimicked it in ,indiana1 or ,lincoln1   
the lawyer1 who scoffed at it and argued
 against it in ,illinois4  ,,hon4       

,,maunsell ,b4 ,,field4  ,mr4 ,field1   
who had met nearly all the noted        
characters of his day1 both of ,europe  
and ,america1 in his ,memories of ,many 
,men1 has this significant sentence     
respecting ,lincoln3  ,mr4 ,lincoln was 
entirely deficient in what the          
phrenologists call reverence veneration4
  ,this made it easy for him to         
emancipate himself from the slavery of  
priestcraft and become and remain a     
,freethinker4 ,professor ,beall1 one of 
the ablest of living phrenological      
writers1 says3  ,no man can 'enjoy      
religion1' as the ,methodists express   
it1 unless he has well developed        
veneration and wonder 7,the ,brain and  
the ,bible1 p4 #aji74 ,all those who    
rebel against any form of government    
which in childhood they were taught to  
revere1 must of necessity do so in      
opposition to the faculty of veneration4
 ,thus it is obvious that the less one  
possesses of the conservative           
restraining faculties1 the more easily  

he becomes a rebel or an ,infidel to    
that which his reason condemns4 ,on the 
other hand1 the profoundly conscientious
 and reverential man1 who sincerely     
regards unbelief as a sin1 of course    
instinctively antagonizes every         
skeptical thought1 and is thus likely to
 remain a slave to the religion learned 
at his mother's knee 7,ibid1 p4 #bbh74  
,mr4 ,field also relates the following  
anecdote of ,lincoln3 ,i was once in    
,mr4 ,lincoln's company when a sectarian
 controversy arose4 ,he himself looked  
very grave1 and made no observation     
until all the others had finished what  
they had to say4 ,then with a twinkle of
 the eye he remarked that he preferred  
the ,episcopalians to every other sect1 
because they are equally indifferent to 
a man's religion and his politics4      
,,harriet ,,beecher ,,stowe4  ,the noted
 author of ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin had     
several interviews with the ,president4 
,she wrote an article on him which has  
been cited in proof of his deeply       

religious nature4 ,but if her words     
prove anything1 they prove that he was  
not an evangelical ,christian4 ,they are
 as follows3  ,but ,almighty ,god has   
granted to him that clearness of vision 
which he gives to the true-hearted1 and 
enabled him to set his honest foot in   
that promised land of freedom which is  
to be the patrimony of all men1 black   
and white2 and from henceforth nations  
shall rise up and call him blessed4 ,we 
believe he has never made any religions 
profession1 but we see evidence that in 
passing through this dreadful national  
crisis1 he has been forced by the very  
anguish of the struggle to look upward1 
where any rational creature must look   
for support4 ,no man in this agony has  
suffered more and deeper1 albeit with a 
dry1 weary1 patient pain1 that seemed to
 some like insensibility4 ',whichever   
way it ends1' he said to the writer1 ',i
 have the impression that ,i shan't last
 long after it's over' 7,every-,day     
,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #ege1 #egf74     

,mrs4 ,stowe was herself an orthodox    
,christian communicant1 but her store of
 good sense was too great to allow her  
to inflict her religious notions upon   
the unbelieving ,president1 and1 as a   
consequence1 she did not see him rush   
out of the room with a ,bible under his 
arm to--,i was going to say--pray ,god  
to deliver him from an intolerable      
nuisance4  ,that the mighty burden which
 pressed upon ,lincoln made him a sadder
 and more serious man at ,washington    
than he had been before is true4        
,christians are always mistaking sadness
 for penitence and seriousness for      
piety1 and so they claim that he        
experienced a change of heart4  ,,hon4  
,,john ,p4 ,,usher4  ,christians and    
,theists are wont to speak of ,lincoln's
 constant and firm reliance upon ,god4  
,but it is a little remarkable that in  
the preparation of his greatest work he 
did not rely upon ,god4 ,in the supreme 
moments of his life he forgot ,god4 ,dr4
 ,barrows says3 ,when he wrote his      

immortal ,proclamation1 he invoked upon 
it444 'the gracious favor of ,almighty  
,god4'  ,when he wrote his immortal     
,proclamation he had no thought of ,god4
 ,judge ,usher1 a member of his         
,cabinet1 tells us how ,god came to be  
invoked3 ,in the preparation of the     
final ,proclamation of ,emancipation1 of
 ,january #a1 #ahfc1 ,mr4 ,lincoln      
manifested great solicitude4 ,he had his
 original draft printed and furnished   
each member of his ,cabinet with a copy1
 with the request that each should      
examine1 criticise1 and suggest any     
amendments that occurred to them4 ,at   
the next meeting of the ,cabinet ,mr4   
,chase said3 ',this paper is of the     
utmost importance--greater than any     
state paper ever made by this           
,government4 ,a paper of so much        
importance1 and involving the liberties 
of so many people1 ought1 ,i think1 to  
make some reference to ,deity4 ,i do not
 observe anything of the kind in it4'   
,mr4 ,lincoln said3 ',no2 ,i overlooked 

it4 ,some reference to ,deity must be   
inserted4 ,mr4 ,chase1 won't you make a 
draft of what you think ought to be     
inserted8' ,mr4 ,chase promised to do   
so1 and at the next meeting presented   
the following3 ',and upon this ,act1    
sincerely believed to be an act of      
justice warranted by the ,constitution  
upon military necessity1 ,i invoke the  
considerate judgment of mankind and the 
gracious favor of ,almighty ,god'       
7,reminiscences of ,lincoln1 pp4 #ia1   
#ib74  ,,hon4 ,,salmon ,p4 ,,chase4  ,in
 the ,new ,york ,tribune of ,feb4 #bb;d1
 #ahic1 appeared an article on ,how the 
,emancipation ,proclamation was made1   
written by ,mrs4 ,janet ,chase ,hoyt1   
daughter of ,salmon ,p4 ,chase4 ,in this
 article ,mrs4 ,hoyt gives the following
 extract from a letter written to her by
 her father in #ahfg3 ,looking over old 
papers1 ,i found many of my memoranda1  
etc41 of the war1 and among them my     
draft of a proclamation of emancipation 
submitted to ,mr4 ,lincoln the day      

before his own was issued4 ,he asked all
 of us for suggestions in regard to its 
form and ,i submitted mine in writing1  
and among other sentences the close as  
it now stands1 which he adopted from my 
draft with a modification4 ,it may be   
interesting to you to see precisely what
 ,i said1 and ,i copy it4 ,you must     
remember that in the original draft     
there was no reference whatever to      
,divine or human sanction of the act4   
,what ,i said was this at the conclusion
 of my letter3 ',finally1 ,i            
respectfully suggest that on an occasion
 of such interest there can be no       
imputation of affectation against a     
solemn recognition of responsibility    
before men and before ,god1 and that    
some such close as this will be proper3 
,and upon this act1 sincerely believed  
to be an act of justice warranted by the
 ,constitution 7and of duty demanded by 
the circumstances of the country71 ,i   
invoke the considerate judgment of      
mankind and the gracious favor of       

,almighty ,god4' ,mr4 ,lincoln adopted  
this close1 substituting only for the   
words inclosed in parentheses these     
words3 'upon military necessity1' which 
,i think was not an improvement4'  ,,mr4
 ,,defrees4  ,during his ,presidency the
 clergy petitioned him to recommend in  
his message to ,congress an amendment to
 the ,constitution recognizing the      
existence of ,god4 ,in preparing his    
message it seems that he inserted the   
request4 ,referring to this1 ,mr4       
,defrees1 ,superintendent of ,public    
,printing during ,lincoln's             
administration1 says3 ,when ,i assisted 
him in reading the proof he struck it   
out1 remarking that he had not made up  
his mind as to its propriety            
7,westminster ,review1 ,sept4 #ahia74   
,,hon4 ,,william ,h4 ,,seward4  ,in his 
,travels ,around the ,world1 ,seward    
records one of ,lincoln's sarcastic hits
 at the doctrine of endless punishment4 
,speaking of ,england's jealousy of the 
,united ,states in certain matters1     

,seward says3  ,that hesitation and     
refusal recall ,president ,lincoln's    
story of the intrusion of the           
,universalists into the town of         
,springfield4 ,the several orthodox     
churches agreed that their pastors      
should preach down the heresy4 ,one of  
them began his discourse with these     
emphatic words3 ',my ,brethren1 there is
 a dangerous doctrine creeping in among 
us4 ,there are those who are teaching   
that all men will be saved2 but my dear 
brethren1 we hope for better things'    
7,travels ,around the ,world1 p4 #eac74 
,,judge ,,aaron ,,goodrich4  ,judge     
,goodrich1 of ,minnesota1 ,lincoln's    
minister to ,belgium1 who was one of the
 most accomplished scholars in the      
,west1 and an author of note1 and who   
was on terms of close intimacy with     
,lincoln1 both before and after he      
became ,president1 says3  ,he ,lincoln  
believed in a ,god1 i4e41 ,nature2 but  
he did not believe in the ,christ1 nor  
did he ever affiliate with any church4  

,,frederick ,,douglas4  ,abraham        
,lincoln believed in a ,supreme ,being1 
but he did not believe in the ,god of   
,christians4 ,the ,god of ,christians   
was to him the most hideous monster that
 the imagination of man had ever        
conceived4 ,there were two doctrines    
taught in connection with this deity    
which he especially abhorred--the       
doctrine of endless punishment1 and the 
doctrine of vicarious atonement4 ,that  
the innocent should suffer for the      
guilty--that ,god should permit his     
sinless son to be put to a cruel death  
to atone for the sins of wicked men--was
 to him an act of the most infamous     
injustice4 ,his whole nature rebelled   
against the idea4 ,frederick ,douglas   
narrates an incident which1 while it has
 no direct reference to this theological
 doctrine1 yet tends to disclose his    
abhorrence of the idea4 ,mr4 ,douglas   
was engaged in recruiting colored troops
 and visited the ,president for the     
purpose of securing from him a pledge   

that colored soldiers would be allowed  
the same privileges accorded white      
soldiers4 ,as the ,confederate          
,government had declared that they would
 be treated as insurgents1 he also urged
 upon him the necessity of retaliating1 
if colored prisoners were put to death4 
,but to the latter proposition ,lincoln 
would not listen4 ,mr4 ,douglas says3   
,i shall never forget the benignant     
expression of his face1 the tearful look
 of his eye and the quiver of his voice1
 when he deprecated a resort to         
retaliatory measures4 ,he said he could 
not take men out and kill them in cold  
blood for what was done by others4 ,if  
he could get hold of the persons who    
were guilty of killing the colored      
prisoners in cold blood1 the case would 
be different1 but he could not kill the 
innocent for the guilty 7,reminiscences 
of ,lincoln1 pp4 #ahh1 #ahi74  ,,nicolay
 ,,and ,,hay',s ,,life ,,of ,,lincoln4  
,of the numerous biographies of ,lincoln
 that have been published1 the authors  

of three1 above all others1 were        
specially qualified and possessed the   
necessary materials for a reliable      
biography of him--,herndon1 ,lamon1 and 
,nicolay and ,hay4  ,as ,colonel        
,lamon's ,life covers but a part of     
,lincoln's career1 and as ,mr4          
,herndon's ,life deals more with his    
private life than with his public       
history1 the biography of ,lincoln that 
is likely to be accepted as the standard
 authority1 is the work written by his  
private secretaries1 ,col4 ,john ,g4    
,nicolay and ,col4 ,john ,hay1 which    
originally appeared in the ,century     
,magazine4 ,in the chapter on ,lincoln  
and the ,churches1 the religious phase  
of ,lincoln's character is presented4   
,in dealing with this question the      
authors have carefully avoided the rock 
upon which ,lamon's ,life was wrecked1  
and at the same time have refrained from
 repeating the misrepresentations of    
,holland and ,arnold4 ,they do not      
offend the church by openly declaring   

that ,lincoln was an ,infidel2 neither  
do they outrage truth by asserting that 
he was a ,christian4 ,they affirm that  
during the latter years of his life he  
recognized a superior power1 but they do
 not intimate that he recognized ,jesus 
,christ as this power1 or any part of   
it1 nor that he accepted the ,bible as a
 special revelation of this power4 ,in  
the following passage they impliedly    
deny both his alleged ,atheism and his  
alleged orthodoxy3 ,we have no purpose  
of attempting to formulate his creed2 we
 question if he himself ever did so4    
,there have been swift witnesses who1   
judging from expressions uttered in his 
callow youth1 have called him an        
,atheist1 and others who1 with the most 
laudable intentions1 have remembered    
improbable conversations which they     
bring forward to prove at once his      
orthodoxy and their own intimacy with   
him4  ,as it is not claimed that        
,lincoln was an ,atheist1 especially    
during the last years of his life1 the  

above can very properly be brought      
forward in support of the negative of   
this question4 ,in the last clause it is
 intended by the authors to administer a
 sarcastic rebuke to such witnesses as  
,brooks1 ,willets and ,vinton1 as well  
as deny the truthfulness of their       
statements4  ,in regard to ,lincoln's   
youth1 the following from ,nicolay and  
,hay's work corroborates ,lamon's       
statements and refutes those of         
,holland3 ,we are making no claim of    
early saintship for him4 ,he was merely 
a good boy1 with sufficient wickedness  
to prove his humanity4444 ,it is also   
reported that he sometimes impeded the  
celerity of harvest operations by making
 burlesque speeches1 or worse than that1
 comic sermons1 from the top of some    
tempting stump1 to the delight of the   
hired hands and the exasperation of the 
farmer4  ,,hon4 ,,warren ,,chase4  ,in  
#ahhh1 ,i received a brief letter from  
,warren ,chase pertaining to ,lincoln's 
religious belief4 ,mr4 ,chase was       

acquainted with ,lincoln in ,washington4
 ,his letter has been mislaid1 but ,i   
recall the principal points in it1 which
 are as follows3 #a4 ,lincoln was not a 
believer in ,christianity2 #b4 ,he was  
much interested in the phenomena of     
,spiritualism4  ,,hon4 ,a4 ,j4 ,,grover4
  ,a4 ,j4 ,grover1 a life-long reformer1
 an old-time ,abolitionist1 an able     
advocate of human liberty1 and a        
personal friend and admirer of ,lincoln1
 in a letter written ,april #ac1 #ahhh1 
sends me the following as his testimony3
  ,mr4 ,lincoln was not a religious man 
in the church sense4 ,he was an         
,agnostic4 ,he did not believe in the   
,bible as the infallible word of ,god4  
,he believed that ,nature is ,god's     
word1 given to all men in a universal   
language which is equally accessible to 
all1 if all are equally intelligent4    
,that this great lesson1 ,god's word in 
his works1 is infinite1 and that men    
have only learned a very little of it1  
and have yet the most to learn4 ,that   

the religions of all ages and peoples   
are only very feeble and imperfect      
attempts to solve the great problems    
involved in nature and her laws4 ,mr4   
,lincoln heartily disliked the narrow   
and silly pretensions of the church and 
priesthood who now falsely claim him1 as
 they do ,washington1 ,franklin and     
others4  ,i knew ,mr4 ,lincoln from the 
,douglas campaign in ,illinois in #aheh 
until his death1 and ,i never heard him 
on any occasion use a single pious      
expression in the sense of the          
church--not a word that indicated that  
he believed in the church theology4 ,but
 ,i have heard him use many expressions 
that indicated that he did not know     
much1 or pretend to know much1 and had  
no settled convictions concerning the   
great questions that theology deals so  
flippantly with1 and pretends to know   
all about4 ,and ,i know to my own       
knowledge that the claim the church now 
sets up that he was a ,christian is     
false--as false as it is in regard to   

,washington4  ,writing to me again under
 date of ,jan4 #ab1 #ahhi1 ,mr4 ,grover 
says3 ,i knew ,mr4 ,lincoln in ,illinois
 and in ,washington4 ,i was in the ,war 
office1 for a time1 in a department     
which had charge of the ,president's    
books1 so-called4 ,i met him in passing 
between the ,white ,house and the       
buildings then occupied by the ,war     
,department1 almost every day4 ,i often 
had to go to ,mr4 ,stanton's office1 and
 have often seen ,mr4 ,lincoln there4 ,i
 frequently had to go to the ,white     
,house to see him4 ,it was known to all 
of his acquaintances that he was a      
,liberal or nationalist4  ,,judge       
,,james ,m4 ,,nelson4  ,the last1 and in
 some respects the most important1 of   
our ,washington witnesses is ,judge     
,james ,m4 ,nelson4 ,judge ,nelson for  
many years has been a resident of ,new  
,york1 but he formerly lived in         
,kentucky and ,illinois1 ,lincoln's     
native and adopted states4 ,he is a son 
of ,thomas ,pope ,nelson1 a             

distinguished member of ,congress from  
,kentucky1 and the first ,united ,states
 ,minister to ,turkey4 ,his great       
grandfather was ,thomas ,nelson1 ,jr41 a
 signer of the ,declaration of          
,independence from ,virginia4 ,he was   
long and intimately acquainted with     
,lincoln both in ,illinois and          
,washington4 ,about the close of #ahhf1 
or early in #ahhg1 ,judge ,nelson       
published his ,reminiscences of ,abraham
 ,lincoln in the ,louisville1 ,ky41     
,times4 ,in reference to ,lincoln's     
religious opinions he says3 ,in         
religion1 ,mr4 ,lincoln was about of the
 same belief as ,bob ,ingersoll1 and    
there is no account of his ever having  
changed4 ,he went to church a few times 
with his family while he was ,president1
 but so far as ,i have been able to find
 out he remained an unbeliever4 ,mr4    
,lincoln in his younger days wrote a    
book1 says ,judge ,nelson1 in which he  
endeavored to prove the fallacy of the  
plan of salvation and the divinity of   

,christ4  ,i have yet another passage   
from ,judge ,nelson's ,reminiscences to 
present1 a passage which1 more than     
anything else in this volume1 perhaps1  
is calculated to provoke the wrath of   
,christian claimants4 ,to lend an air of
 plausibility to their claims these     
claimants are continually citing        
expressions of a seemingly semi-pious   
character occasionally to be met with in
 his speeches and state papers4 ,these  
expressions1 in a measure accounted for 
by ,mr4 ,herndon1 ,colonel ,lamon1 and  
others1 are still further explained by a
 revelation from his own lips4 ,judge   
,nelson says3 ,i asked him once about   
his fervent ,thanksgiving ,message and  
twitted him with being an unbeliever in 
what was published4 ',oh1' said he1     
'that is some of ,seward's nonsense1 and
 it pleases the fools4'     ,,chapter   
,,xiii4 ,,other ,,testimony ,,and       
,,opinions       ,new ,york             
,world--,boston ,globe--,chicago        
,herald--,manford's                     

,magazine--,herald and                  
,review--,chambers's ,encyclopedia--    
,encyclopedia ,britannica--,people's    
,library of ,information--      ,the    
,world's ,sages--,every-,day ,life of   
,lincoln--,hon4 ,jesse ,w4              
,weik--,chas4 ,w4 ,french--,cyrus ,o4   
,poole--,a ,citizen of                  
,springfield--,henry ,walker--,win4     
,bissett--,frederick ,heath--      ,rev4
 ,edward ,eggleston--,rev4 ,robert      
,collyer--,allen ,thorndike             
,rice--,robert ,c4 ,adams--,theodore    
,stanton-,geo4 ,m4 ,mc,crie--,gen4      
,m4 ,m4 ,trumbull--,rev4 ,david ,swing1 
,d4,d4--,rev4 ,j4 ,lloyd ,jones--       
,rev4 ,john ,w4 ,chadwick4  ,the matter 
selected for this chapter is of a       
miscellaneous nature1 consisting of the 
statements of those who1 for the most   
part1 are not known to have been        
personally acquainted with ,lincoln4 ,it
 embraces the opinions of journalists1  
encyclopedists1 biographers1 and others4
 ,if their words cannot be accepted as  

the testimony of competent witnesses1   
they may at least be regarded as the    
verdict of honest jurors4  ,,new ,,york 
,,world4  ,in the ,new ,york ,world1    
fifteen years ago1 appeared the         
following3 ,while it may fairly be said 
that ,mr4 ,lincoln entertained many     
,christian sentiments1 it cannot be said
 that he was himself a ,christian in    
faith or practice4 ,he was no disciple  
of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,he did not     
believe in his divinity and was not a   
member of his church4 ,he was at first a
 writing ,infidel of the school of      
,paine and ,volney1 and afterward a     
talking ,infidel of the school of       
,parker and ,channing4  ,alluding to the
 friendly attitude he assumed toward the
 church and ,christianity during the    
war1 this article concludes3  ,if the   
churches had grown cold--if the         
,christians had taken a stand           
aloof--that instant the ,union would    
have perished2 ,mr4 ,lincoln regulated  
his religious manifestations            

accordingly4 ,he declared frequently    
that he would do anything to save the   
,union1 and among the many things he did
 was the partial concealment of his     
individual religious opinions4 ,is this 
a blot upon his fame8 ,or shall we all  
agree that it was a conscientious and   
patriotic sacrifice8  ,,boston ,,globe4 
,as evidence of ,lincoln's piety1 we are
 referred to a picture where ,lincoln1  
with his son ,tad1 is supposed to be    
reverentially poring over the pages of  
the ,bible4 ,the history of this        
picture1 however1 has often been        
explained1 and its apparently religious 
character shown to be quite secular4    
,the ,boston ,globe1 in a recent issue1 
says3 ,the pretty little story about the
 picture of ,president ,lincoln and his 
son ,tad reading the ,bible is now      
corrected for the one-hundredth time4   
,the ,bible was ,photographer ,brady's  
picture album1 which the ,president was 
examining with his son while some ladies
 stood by4 ,the artist begged the       

,president to remain quiet and the      
picture was taken4 ,the truth is better 
than fiction1 even if its recital       
conflicts with a pleasing theory4       
,,chicago ,,herald4  ,during ,february1 
#ahib1 the ,chicago ,herald published an
 editorial on ,lincoln's religion4      
,being one of the latest contributions  
to this subject1 and appearing in one of
 the principal journals of ,lincoln's   
own state1 it is of especial importance4
 ,it is a candid statement of what      
nearly every journalist of ,illinois    
knows or believes to be the facts4 ,from
 it ,i quote as follows3 ,he was without
 faith in the ,bible or its teachings4  
,on this point the testimony is so      
overwhelming that there is no basis for 
doubt4 ,in his early life ,lincoln      
exhibited a powerful tendency to        
aggressive ,infidelity4 ,but when he    
grew to be a politician he became       
secretive and non-committal in his      
religious belief4 ,he was shrewd enough 
to realize the necessity of reticence   

with the convictions he possessed if he 
hoped to succeed in politics4  ,it is   
matter of history that in #ahcd1 at ,new
 ,salem1 ,ill41 ,lincoln read and       
circulated ,volney's ',ruins' and       
,paine's ',age of ,reason1' giving to   
both books the sincere recommendation of
 his unqualified approval4 ,about that  
time or a little later he wrote an      
extensive argument against              
,christianity1 intending to publish it4 
,in this argument he contended that the 
,bible was not inspired and that ,jesus 
,christ was not the son of ,god4 ,he    
read this compilation of his views to   
numerous friends1 and on one occasion   
when so engaged his friend and employer1
 ,samuel ,hill1 snatched the manuscript 
from the author's hands and threw it    
into the stove1 where it was quickly    
consumed4 ,a ,springfield friend said of
 him in #ahch1 ',lincoln was            
enthusiastic in his ,infidelity4' ,john 
,t4 ,stuart1 who was his first law      
partner1 declares3 ',lincoln was an     

avowed and open ,infidel4 ,he went      
further against ,christian belief than  
any man ,i ever heard4 ,he always denied
 that ,jesus was the ,christ of ,god4'  
,david ,davis stated that ',lincoln had 
absolutely no faith in the ,christian   
sense of the term4'  ,these authorities 
ought to be conclusive1 but there is    
further testimony4 ,this latter is      
important as explanatory of ,lincoln's  
frequent allusions in his ,presidential 
messages and proclamations to the       
,supreme ,being4 ,to the simplicity of  
his nature there was added a poetic     
temperament4 ,he was fond of effective  
imagery1 and his references to the      
,deity are due to the instinct of the   
poet4 ,after his death ,mrs4 ,lincoln   
said3 ',mr4 ,lincoln had no faith and no
 hope in the usual acceptation of those 
words4 ,he never joined a church4' ,she 
denominates what has been mistaken for  
his expressions of religious sentiment  
as 'a kind of poetry in his nature1'    
adding 'he was never a ,christian4'     

,herndon1 who was his latest law partner
 and biographer1 is even more explicit4 
,he says3 ',no man had a stronger or    
firmer faith in ,providence--,god--than 
,mr4 ,lincoln1 but the continued use by 
him late in life of the word ,god must  
not be interpreted to mean that he      
believed in a personal ,god4 ,in #ahed  
he asked me to erase the word ',god'    
from a speech which ,i had written and  
read to him for criticism1 because my   
language indicated a personal ,god1     
whereas he insisted no such personality 
ever existed4' ,so it must be accepted  
as final by every reasonable mind that  
in religion ,mr4 ,lincoln was a skeptic4
 ,but above all things he was not a     
hypocrite or pretender4 ,he was a plain 
man1 rugged and earnest1 and he         
pretended to be nothing more4 ,he       
believed in humanity1 and he was        
incapable of ,phariseeism4 ,he had great
 respect for the feelings and           
convictions of others1 but he was not a 
sniveler4 ,he was honest and he was     

sincere1 and taking him simply for what 
he was1 we are not likely soon to see   
his like again4  ,,manford',s           
,,magazine4  ,there are two ,christian  
publications that have had the fairness 
to admit the truth respecting ,lincoln's
 belief4 ,manford's ,magazine1 a        
religious periodical published in       
,chicago1 in its issue for ,january1    
#ahfi1 contained the following3 ,that   
,mr4 ,lincoln was a believer in the     
,christian religion1 as understood by   
the so-called orthodox sects of the day1
 ,i am compelled most emphatically to   
deny2 that is1 if ,i put faith in the   
statements of his most intimate friends 
in this city ,springfield4 ,all of them 
with whom ,i have conversed on this     
subject1 agree in indorsing the         
statements of ,mr4 ,herndon4 ,indeed1   
many of them unreservedly call him an   
,infidel4 ,the evidence on this subject 
is sufficient1 the writer says1 to place
 the name of ,lincoln by the side of    
,franklin1 ,washington1 ,jefferson1 and 

,ethan ,allen1 of ,revolutionary        
notoriety1 as ,rationalists2 besides    
being in company with ,d',alembert1 the 
great mathematician1 ,diderot1 the      
geometrician1 poet1 and metaphysician2  
also with ,voltaire1 ,hume1 ,gibbon1 and
 ,darwin4  ,referring to the ,infidel   
book1 written by ,lincoln1 the writer   
says3 ,this work was subsequently thrown
 in ,mr4 ,lincoln's face while he was   
stumping this district for ,congress    
against the celebrated ,methodist       
preacher1 ,rev4 ,peter ,cartwright4 ,but
 ,mr4 ,lincoln never publicly or        
privately denied its authorship1 or the 
sentiments expressed therein4 ,nor was  
he known to change his religious views  
any1 to the latest period of his life4  
,the article concludes with these       
truthful words3  ,mr4 ,lincoln was too  
good a man to be a ,pharisee2 too great 
a man to be a sectarian2 and too        
charitable a man to be a bigot4         
,,herald ,,and ,,review4  ,this work1 in
 an abridged form1 originally appeared  

in the ,truth ,seeker in #ahhi and      
#ahij4 ,after its appearance1 the       
,adventist ,herald and ,review1 one of  
the fairest and most ably conducted     
religious journals in this country1     
said3  ,the ,truth ,seeker has just     
concluded the publication of a series of
 fifteen contributed articles designed  
to prove that ,abraham ,lincoln1 instead
 of being a ,christian1 as has been most
 strongly claimed by some1 was a        
,freethinker4 ,the testimony seems      
conclusive4444 ,the majority of the     
great men of the world have always      
rejected ,christ1 and1 according to the 
,scriptures1 they always will2 and the  
efforts of ,christians to make it appear
 that certain great men who never       
professed ,christianity were in reality 
,christians1 is simply saying that      
,christianity cannot stand on its       
merits1 but must have the support of    
great names to entitle it to favorable  
consideration4  ,,chambers',s           
,,encyclopedia4  ,alden's ,american     

,edition of ,chambers's ,encyclopedia1  
one of the most popular as well as one  
of the most reliable of encyclopedias1  
says3 ,he ,lincoln was never a member of
 a church2 he is believed to have had   
philosophical doubts of the divinity of 
,christ1 and of the inspiration of the  
,scriptures1 as these are commonly      
stated in the system of doctrines called
 evangelical4 ,in early life he read    
,volney and ,paine1 and wrote an essay  
in which he agreed with their           
conclusions4 ,of modern thinkers he was 
thought to agree nearest with ,theodore 
,parker 7,art4 ,lincoln1 ,abraham74     
,,encyclopedia ,,britannica4  ,by whom  
the article on ,lincoln in ,chambers's  
,encyclopedia was written1 whether by   
one of ,lincoln's personal friends1 or  
by a stranger1 ,i know not4 ,the article
 in the ,britannica was written by his  
private secretary1 ,colonel ,nicolay4   
,in this article his religion is briefly
 summed up in the following words3 ,his 
,lincoln's nature was deeply religious1 

but he belonged to no denomination2 he  
had faith in the eternal justice and    
boundless mercy of ,providence2 and made
 the ,golden ,rule of ,christ his       
practical creed 7,am4 ,ed41 vol4 xiv1 p4
 #ffi74  ,this statement at first glance
 presents a ,christian appearance1 and  
the reader is liable to infer that the  
writer aims to state that ,lincoln was a
 ,christian4 ,but he does not4 ,he aims 
to state in the least offensive manner  
possible that he was not--that he was   
simply a ,deist4 ,a person may have a   
deeply religious nature1 and not be a   
,christian4 ,he may have faith in the   
eternal justice and boundless mercy of  
,providence1 and yet have no faith      
whatever in ,christianity4 ,he may make 
the ,golden ,rule of ,christ or         
,confucius his practical creed1 and at  
the same time wholly reject the dogma of
 ,christ's divinity4 ,the above         
statement is substantially true as      
applied to ,lincoln1 and it would be    
equally true if applied to that prince  

of ,infidels1 ,thomas ,paine4 ,his      
nature was deeply religious2 he had     
faith in the justice and mercy of       
,providence2 and he1 too1 made the      
,golden ,rule his practical creed4      
,,people',s ,,library ,,of              
,,information4  ,mrs4 ,lincoln was      
nominally a ,presbyterian1 and          
frequently1 though not regularly1       
attended the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,gurley's church
 in ,washington4 ,lincoln usually       
accompanied her1 not because he derived 
any pleasure or benefit from the        
services1 but because he believed it to 
be a duty he owed to his wife who1 in   
turn1 generally accompanied him when he 
went to his church1 the theater4 ,the   
,people's ,library of ,information      
contains the following relative to his  
church attendance3  ,lincoln attended   
service once a day4 ,he seemed always to
 be in agony while in church4444 ,his   
pastor1 ,dr4 ,gurley1 had the 'gift of  
continuance1' and the ,president writhed
 and squirmed and gave unmistakable     

evidence of the torture he endured4     
,,the ,,world',s ,,sages4  ,in ,the     
,world's ,sages1 ,mr4 ,bennett writes as
 follows concerning ,lincoln's belief3  
,upon the subject of religious belief   
there is some diversity of claims4 ,all 
his friends and acquaintances readily   
admit that in early manhood and middle  
age he was an unbeliever1 or a ,deist4  
,in fact1 he wrote a book or pamphlet   
vindicating this view4 ,his most        
intimate friends that knew him best1    
claim that his opinions underwent no    
change in this respect2 while a certain 
number of ,christians have1 since his   
death1 undertaken to make out that he   
had become a convert to ,christianity   
7,world's ,sages1 p4 #ggc74 ,when the   
contradictory character of the evidence 
is taken into consideration1 together   
with the fact that his nearest and most 
intimate friends would be most likely   
the ones to know of ,mr4 ,lincoln's     
change1 had any such taken place1 the   
incredibility of the asserted change is 

easily appreciated 7,ibid1 p-#ggd74     
,,the ,,every-,,day ,,life ,,of         
,,lincoln4  ,in the ,emancipation       
,proclamation appears the following     
paragraph1 which contains the only      
allusion to ,deity to be found in this  
immortal document3 ,and upon this act1  
sincerely believed to be an act of      
justice1 warranted by the ,constitution1
 upon military necessity1 ,i invoke the 
considerate judgment of mankind and the 
gracious favor of ,almighty ,god4  ,the 
appearance of the above paragraph in the
 ,proclamation is thus accounted for in 
,francis ,f4 ,brown's ,every-,day ,life 
of ,lincoln1 and agrees with ,judge     
,usher's and ,chief ,justice ,chase's   
account of it3  ,it is stated that ,mr4 
,lincoln gave the most earnest study to 
the composition of the ,emancipation    
,proclamation4 ,he realized1 as he      
afterward said1 that the ,proclamation  
was the central act of his              
administration1 and the great event of  
the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,when the     

document was completed1 a printed copy  
of it was placed in the hands of each   
member of the ,cabinet1 and criticisms  
and suggestions were invited4 ,mr4      
,chase remarked3 ',this paper is of the 
utmost importance1 greater than any     
state paper ever made by this           
,government4 ,a paper of so much        
importance1 and involving the liberties 
of so many people1 ought1 ,i think1 to  
make some reference to ,deity4 ,i do not
 observe anything of the kind in it     
7,every-,day ,life of ,lincoln1 pp4     
#edi1eej74  ,the amendment suggested was
 allowed by the ,president1 and ,mr4    
,chase requested to supply the words he 
desired to be inserted4 ,the paragraph  
quoted was accordingly prepared by him  
and included in the ,proclamation4 ,this
 fact is also admitted by ,holland in   
his ,life of ,lincoln 7p4 #dja74  ,,hon4
 ,,jesse ,w4 ,,weik4  ,judge ,weik1 of  
,greencastle1 ,ind41 who was associated 
with ,mr4 ,herndon in the preparation of
 his ,life of ,lincoln1 in a lecture on 

,lincoln's ,boyhood and ,early ,manhood1
 delivered in ,plymouth ,church1        
,indianapolis1 ,feb4 #d1 #ahia4 said3   
,as a young man he sat back of the      
country store stove and said the ,bible 
was not inspired1 and ,christ was not   
the ,son of ,god 7,indianapolis ,news1  
,feb4 #e1 '#ia74  ,,charles ,,wallace   
,,french4  ,one of the last biographies 
of ,lincoln that has appeared is        
,abraham ,lincoln ,the ,liberator1      
written by ,charles ,w4 ,french4 ,after 
citing with approval some of ,mr4       
,herndon's statements regarding         
,lincoln's belief1 ,mr4 ,french says3   
,the world was his ,lincoln's church4   
,his sermons were preached in kindly    
words and merciful deeds 7p4 #ia74      
,,cyrus ,o4 ,,poole4  ,i quote next from
 a monograph on ,the ,religious         
,convictions of ,abraham ,lincoln1      
written by ,cyrus ,o4 ,poole4 ,referring
 to ,arnold's and ,holland's biographies
 of ,lincoln1 ,mr4 ,poole says3 ,most   
sectarians now think1 write1 and act as 

if they had a copyright to apply        
',christian' to everything good and     
,god-like about this ,president2 yet no 
one presumed to call him a ,christian   
until after his death4 ,it may be a     
soul-saving process like the ancient one
 of ,pope ,gregory in the sixth century4
 ,it is related that one day he was     
meditating on an anecdote of the ,pagan 
,emperor ,tragan's having turned back1  
when at the head of his legions on his  
way to battle1 to render justice to a   
poor widow who flung herself at his     
horse's feet4 ,it seemed to ,gregory    
that the soul of a prince so good could 
not be forever lost1 ,pagan though he   
was2 and he prayed for him1 till a voice
 declared ,tragan to have been saved    
through his intercession4 ,and thus1    
through the prayer of a ,christian      
,pope1 a pagan of the first1 was        
materialized into a ,christian in the   
sixth century1 and was1 of course1      
transferred from hell to heaven4 ,now   
behold how a modern politician ,arnold  

can play theologian in ,christianizing  
,abraham ,lincoln4  ,there is now hope  
for ,benjamin ,franklin1 ,john ,adams1  
and ,thomas ,jefferson1 as well as the  
chieftains1 ,red ,jacket1 ,tecumseh1 and
 ,black ,hawk4  ,respecting ,lincoln's  
message to his dying father1 ,mr4       
,poole1 himself a firm believer in the  
doctrine of immortality1 says3 ,this    
prophetic affirmation of a continued    
existence1 is the only written evidence 
of his views on this momentous question 
that can be found4  ,in addition to the 
above1 ,i cull from the same work the   
following brief extracts3  ,he lived in 
a remarkably formative and progressive  
period1 and was in all matters fully    
abreast with his time4 ,as a truthful   
thinker1 he greatly excelled any of the 
statesmen of his day4  ,lincoln1 like   
,socrates1 was a man so natural1 so     
thoughtful1 rational1 and sagacious1    
that he clearly saw that the popular    
traditional theology of his day and age 
was not religion4  ,a ,,citizen ,,of    

,,springfield4  ,a gentleman residing in
 ,springfield1 ,ill41 who was intimately
 acquainted with ,lincoln from the time 
he located in that city up to the time  
he removed to ,washington1 a period of  
nearly twenty-five years1 in a letter   
dated ,aug4 #bj1 #ahhg1 writes as       
follows3 ,i will say in regard to ,mr4  
,lincoln's religious views that he was  
not orthodox in his belief1 unless he   
changed after he left ,springfield4 ,he 
was heterodox--did not believe in the   
divinity of ,christ--in short1 was a    
,freethinker4 ,now ,i do not want to be 
brought into public notice in this      
matter4  ,in deference to this writer's 
request his name is omitted1 and this   
omission destroys1 to a great extent1   
the value of his testimony4 ,it is      
inserted not because it adds any        
particular weight to the evidence       
already adduced1 but as a specimen of a 
very large amount of evidence of the    
same character that must be withheld    
simply because the persons writing or   

interviewed shrink from publicity4 ,a   
chapter1 yes1 a volume1 of this         
anonymous testimony might be given4 ,at 
least a hundred personal friends of     
,lincoln1 living in and about           
,springfield1 privately and             
confidentially assert that he was an    
,infidel1 but will not permit their     
names to be used4 ,twenty years ago a   
majority of them would not have objected
 to their statements being published3   
but the relentless war waged by the     
church against those who have publicly  
certified to the facts has sealed their 
lips4  ,,henry ,,walker4  ,i now present
 to the reader another citizen of       
,springfield1 one who is not afraid to  
publicly express an honest opinion4 ,mr4
 ,henry ,walker1 who has resided in that
 city for many years1 writes as follows 
concerning ,lincoln's religious belief3 
,after inquiring of those who were      
intimate and familiar with him1 ,i      
arrive at the conclusion that he was a  
,deist4 ,there is a rumor current here  

that he once wrote an anti-,christian   
pamphlet1 but his friends persuaded him 
not to publish it4  ,mr4 ,walker was not
 personally acquainted with ,lincoln4   
,his conclusion is simply based upon the
 information obtained from those who    
were acquainted with him4 ,his          
statement1 like the preceding one1 is   
introduced not so much because of any   
especial value attaching to it as mere  
testimony1 but because it fairly        
represents the common sentiment of those
 who have investigated this subject1 and
 particularly those who are on familiar 
terms with ,lincoln's old associates in 
,illinois4 ,the knowledge of our        
anonymous witness was shared by ,dr4    
,smith1 ,mr4 ,arnold1 and ,mr4 ,edwards2
 the opinion expressed by ,mr4 ,walker  
was the opinion privately entertained by
 ,dr4 ,holland1 it is the opinion       
privately entertained by ,mr4 ,bateman1 
yes1 and unquestionably the opinion     
privately entertained by ,mr4 ,reed     
himself4  ,,william ,,bissett4  ,an     

article on ,lincoln's religion written  
by ,mr4 ,wm4 ,bissett1 of ,santa ,ana1  
,cal41 and recently published in the    
,truth ,seeker1 contains some evidence  
that deserves to be recorded4 ,mr4      
,bissett narrates the following3 ,in the
 ,spring of #ahei we moved into         
,livingston county1 ,mo41 near          
,chillicothe4 ,we at once became        
acquainted with a man by the name of    
,william ,jeeter4 ,mr4 ,jeeter was a    
native of ,kentucky1 and if ,i mistake  
not1 was born and raised in the same    
part of the country that ,mr4 ,lincoln  
was but about that ,i am not sure4 ,mr4 
,jeeter told me that ,lincoln and       
himself settled in ,illinois when they  
were young men1 and boarded together for
 a number of years4 ,he says he knew    
every act of ,lincoln's life up to the  
time he 7,jeeter7 left ,illinois1 a few 
years before ,mr4 ,lincoln's nomination 
for the ,presidency4 ,i was helping     
,jeeter build a house for himself when  
we received the news of ,mr4 ,lincoln's 

nomination2 that is why we came to speak
 so particularly about him4  ,mr4       
,jeeter told me that ,mr4 ,lincoln was  
not a believer in the ,christian        
religion2 that is1 he did not believe   
the ,bible was an inspired work1 nor    
that ,jesus ,christ was the son of ,god4
 ',nevertheless1' said ,mr4 ,jeeter1' he
 was one of the most honest men ,i ever 
knew4 ,if ,i had a million dollars ,i   
wouldn't be afraid to trust it to       
,lincoln without the scratch of a pen1  
,i know the man so well4' ,mr4 ,jeeter  
was a strong believer in the ,christian 
religion and a mem-bier of the          
,cumberland ,presbyterian church1 and a 
very fine and reliable man4  ,,frederick
 ,,heath4  ,the following is from an    
article on ,lincoln by ,mr4 ,frederick  
,heath1 of ,milwaukee1 ,wis43  ,two     
years ago ,i was associated with ,major 
,geo4 ,h4 ,norris1 a wealthy            
orange-grower of ,florida1 in that      
state1 and was in a degree his          
confidant4 ,in earlier years1 while a   

lawyer in ,illinois1 ,major ,norris 7he 
was at one time mayor of ,ottawa1 ,ill47
 was quite closely associated with ,mr4 
,lincoln1 and he gave me to understand  
that ,mr4 ,lincoln was an extreme       
skeptic4 ,they were thrown together a   
good deal at ,springfield1 where they   
were trying cases before the supreme    
court4 ,lincoln would frequently keep   
them from sleep by his stories and      
arguments1 and frequently spoke of      
religious matters in a way that showed  
he was convinced of the delusion of     
faith4 ,i wish ,i could quote the       
,major's words as to ,lincoln's remarks 
on religion1 but will not venture to    
frame them1 as this is a subject that   
demands truth and exactness4  ,,rev4    
,,edward ,,eggleston4  ,when ,lincoln   
went to ,new ,york in the winter of     
#ahfj1 to deliver his ,cooper ,institute
 address1 he had occasion to remain over
 ,sunday in that city4 ,at the          
suggestion of a friend1 he visited the  
famous ,five ,points1 and attended a    

,sunday-school where the spawn of ,new  
,york's worst inhabitants to the number 
of several hundred were assembled4      
,importuned for a speech1 he made a few 
remarks to the children1 and the fact   
was published in the papers4 ,the idea  
of this ,infidel politician addressing a
 ,sunday-school was so ludicrous that it
 caused much merriment among his friends
 at ,springfield4 ,when he returned home
 one of them1 probably ,colonel         
,matheny1 called on him to learn what it
 all meant4 ,the conversation that      
followed1 including ,lincoln's          
explanation of the affair1 is thus      
related by the noted preacher and       
author1 ,edward ,eggleston3 ,he started 
for ',old ,abe's' office2 but bursting  
open the door impulsively1 found a      
stranger in conversation with ,mr4      
,lincoln4 ,he turned to retrace his     
steps1 when ,lincoln called out1 ',jim6 
,what do you want8' ',nothing4' ',yes1  
you do2 come back4'  ,after some        
entreaty ,jim approached ,mr4 ,lincoln1 

and remarked1 with a twinkle in his eye1
 ',well1 ,abe1 ,i see you have been     
making a speech to ,sunday-school       
children4 ,what's the matter8' ',sit    
down1 ,jim1 and ,i'll tell you all about
 it4' ,and with that ,lincoln put his   
feet on the stove and began3 ',when     
,sunday morning came1 ,i didn't know    
exactly what to do4 ,washburne asked me 
where ,i was going4 ,i told him ,i had  
nowhere to go2 and he proposed to take  
me down to the ,five ,points            
,sunday-school1 to show me something    
worth seeing4 ,i was very much          
interested by what ,i saw4 ,presently1  
,mr4 ,pease came up and spoke to ,mr4   
,washburne1 who introduced me4 ,mr4     
,pease wanted us to speak4 ,washburne   
spoke1 and then ,i was urged to speak4  
,i told them ,i did not know anything   
about talking to ,sunday-schools1 but   
,mr4 ,pease said many of the children   
were friendless and homeless1 and that a
 few words would do them good4          
,washburne said ,i must talk4 ,and so ,i

 rose to speak2 but ,i tell you1 ,jim1  
,i didn't know what to say4 ,i          
remembered that ,mr4 ,pease said that   
they were homeless and friendless1 and  
,i thought of the time when ,i had been 
pinched by terrible poverty4 ,and so ,i 
told them that ,i had been poor2 that ,i
 remembered when my toes stuck out      
through my broken shoes in winter2 when 
my arms were out at the elbows2 when ,i 
shivered with the cold4 ,and ,i told    
them there was only one rule4  ,that    
was1 always do the very best you can4 ,i
 told them that ,i had always tried to  
do the very best ,i could2 and that1 if 
they would follow that rule1 they would 
get along somehow4 ,that was about what 
,i said' 7,every-,day ,life of ,lincoln1
 pp4 #cbb1 #cbc74  ,the foregoing is    
significant4 ,lincoln was not an        
advocate of ,sunday-schools4 ,he had    
probably never visited one before4 ,as  
generally conducted1 he regarded them as
 simply nurseries of superstition4 ,he  
could not indorse the religious ideas   

taught in them1 and he was not there    
that day to antagonize them4 ,as a      
consequence1 this ready talker--this man
 who had been making speeches all his   
life--was1 for the first time1 at a loss
 to know what to say4 ,he could not talk
 to them about the ,bible--he could not 
tell them that it is the best gift which
 ,god has given to man--that all the    
good from the ,savior of the world is   
communicated to us through this         
book--that but for this book we could   
not know right from wrong--he could not 
tell them how ,jesus had died for little
 children1 and all this1 because he did 
not believe it4 ,but he obeyed his own  
life-long rule1 did the best he could   
under the embarrassing circumstances1   
and gave them a little wholesome advice 
entirely free from the usual            
,sunday-school cant4  ,,rev4 ,,robert   
,,collyer4  ,robert ,collyer states that
 ,lincoln1 just before he was elected   
,president1 visited the office of the   
,chicago ,tribune1 and picking up a     

volume of ,theodore ,parker's writings1 
turned to ,dr4 ,ray and remarked3 ,i    
think that ,i stand about where that man
 stands4  ,,allen ,,thorndike ,,rice4   
,the lamented ,allen ,thorndike ,rice1  
whose brilliant editorial management of 
the ,north ,american ,review has placed 
this periodical in the front rank of    
,american magazines1 in his             
,introduction to the ,reminiscences of  
,lincoln1 says3 ,the ,western settlers  
had no respect for ,english traditions1 
whether of ,church or of ,state4        
,accustomed all their lives to grapple  
with nature face to face1 they thought  
and they spoke1 with all the boldness of
 unrestrained sincerity1 on every topic 
of human interest or of sacred memory1  
without the slightest recognition of any
 right of external authority to impose  
restrictions1 or even to be heard in    
protest against their intellectual      
independence4 ,as their life developed  
the utmost independence of creed and    
individuality1 he whose originality was 

the most fearless and self-contained was
 chief among them4 ,among such a people1
 blood of their blood and bone of their 
bone1 differing from them only in       
stature1 ,abraham ,lincoln arose to rule
 the ,american people with a more than  
kingly power1 and received from them a  
more than feudal loyalty4  ,so eager is 
the church for proofs of ,lincoln's     
piety that the most incredible anonymous
 story in support of this claim is      
readily accepted and published by the   
religious press as authentic history4   
,by this means the masses have gradually
 come to regard ,lincoln as a devout    
,christian4 ,it is evident that ,mr4    
,rice had these fabulous tales in mind  
when he wrote the following3 ,story     
after story and trait after trait1 as   
varying in value as in authenticity1 has
 been added to the ,lincolniana1 until  
at last the name of the great war       
,president has come to be a biographic  
lodestone1 attracting without           
distinction or discrimination both the  

true and the false4  ,,robert ,c4       
,,adams4  ,the noted author1 ,capt4     
,robert ,c4 ,adams1 of ,montreal1 ,can41
 says3 ,it is significant that in       
political revolution it is the          
,freethinker who is usually the leader4 
,franklin1 ,paine1 ,jefferson1          
,washington1 were the chief founders of 
the ,american ,republic1 and ,lincoln   
presided at its second birth ,mazzini   
and ,garibaldi are the heroes of ,united
 ,italy2 ,rousseau1 ,voltaire1 and      
,victor ,hugo have been the chief       
inspirers of ,democratic ,france 7,new  
,ideal74  ,,theodore ,,stanton  ,in the 
,westminster ,review for ,september1    
#ahia1 ,mr4 ,stanton had an article     
discussing the moral character and      
religious belief of ,abraham ,lincoln4  
,of his religious belief1 he says3 ,if  
,lincoln had lived and died an obscure  
,springfield lawyer and politician he   
would unquestionably have been classed  
by his neighbors among ,freethinkers4   
,but1 as is customary with the church1  

whether ,roman ,catholic or ,protestant1
 when ,lincoln became one of the great  
of the world an attempt was made to     
claim him4 ,in trying to arrive at a    
correct comprehension of ,lincoln's     
theology this fact should be borne in   
mind in sifting the testimony4  ,another
 very important warping influence which 
should not be lost sight of was         
,lincoln's early ambition for political 
preferment4 ,now1 the shrewd ,american  
politician with an elastic conscience   
joins some church1 and is always seen on
 ,sunday in the front pews4 ,but the    
shrewd politician who has not an elastic
 conscience--and this was ,lincoln's    
case--simply keeps mum on his religious 
views1 or1 when he must touch on the    
subject1 deals only in platitudes4      
,after citing the testimony of many of  
,lincoln's friends1 ,mr4 ,stanton       
concludes3 ,a man about whose theology  
such things can be said is of course far
 removed from orthodoxy4 ,it may even be
 questioned whether he is a ,theist1    

whether he is a ,deist4 ,that he is a   
,freethinker is evident2 that he is an  
,agnostic is probable4  ,,geo4 ,m4      
,,crie4  ,in the ,open ,court for ,nov4 
#bf1 #ahia1 ,mr4 ,mc,crie contributes an
 article on ,what ,was ,abraham         
,lincoln's ,creed8 ,concerning          
,lincoln's allusions to ,god1 he says3  
,a ,deity thus shelved or not shelved1  
according to the dictates of political  
expediency1 or of individual opinion as 
to the 'propriety' of either course is  
no ,deity at all4 ,he is as fictional as
 the ',john ,doe' or ',richard ,roe' of 
a legal writ1 and anyone making use of  
such a creation--the puppet1 not the    
parent1 of his own ,egoity--is supposed 
to know with what he is dealing4        
,orthodox religionism may well despair  
of ,abraham ,lincoln as of ,george      
,washington1 ,benjamin ,franklin1 or    
,president ,jefferson4  ,,gen4 ,m4 ,m4  
,,trumbull  ,gen4 ,trumbull1 of         
,chicago1 in the ,open ,court of ,dec4  
#c1ahia1 writes3 ,the religion that begs

 the patronage of presidents doubts its 
own theology1 for the true ,god needs   
not the favor of men4444 ,some of his   
,lincoln's tributes to ,deity are merely
 rhetorical emphasis1 but others were   
not4 ,cicero often swore ',by           
,hercules1' as in the oration against   
,catiline1 although he believed no more 
in ,hercules than ,abraham ,lincoln     
believed in any church-made ,god4       
,,rev4 ,,david ,,swing1 ,d4,d4  ,in a   
sermon on ,washington and ,lincoln1 the 
most eminent and popular divine of      
,chicago1 ,dr4 ,swing1 said3  ,it is    
often lamented by the churchmen that    
,washington and ,lincoln possessed      
little religion except that found in the
 word ',god4' ,all that can here be     
affirmed is that what the religion of   
those two men lacked in theological     
details it made up in greatness4 ,their 
minds were born with a love of great    
principles4444 ,there are few instances 
in which a mind great enough to reach   
great principles in politics has been   

satisfied with a fanatical religion4444 
,it must not be asked for ,washington   
and ,lincoln that1 having reached       
greatness in political principles1 they 
should have loved littleness in piety4  
,,rev4 ,,jenkin ,,lloyd ,,jones4  ,the  
,rev4 ,j4 ,lloyd ,jones1 one of         
,chicago's most eloquent divines1 in a  
sermon preached in ,all ,souls ,church1 
,dec4 #i1 #ahhh1 gave utterance to the  
following3  ,are there not thousands who
 have loved virtue who did not accept   
,jesus ,christ in any supernatural or   
miraculous fashion1 who if they knew of 
him at all knew of him only as the      
,nazarine peasant--the man ,jesus8 ,such
 was ,abraham ,lincoln1 the tender      
prophet of the gospel of good will upon 
earth2 ,charles ,sumner1 the great      
apostle of human liberty2 ,gerrit       
,smith1 the ,st4 ,john of political     
reform2 ,william ,ellery ,channing1 our 
sainted preacher2 ,theodore ,parker1 the
 ,american ,luther1 hurling his defiance
 at the devils of bigotry2 ,john ,stuart

 ,mill and ,harriet ,martineau--yes1 to 
take an extreme case1 the genial and    
over-satirical ,robert ,g4 ,ingersoll1  
are among those who love goodness and   
foster nobility1 though they have no    
clear vision into futurity and confess  
no other lordship in him of ,nazareth   
save the dignity of aim and tenderness  
of life4  ,,rev4 ,,john ,w4 ,,chadwick4 
,in an address delivered in ,tremont    
,temple1 ,boston1 ,may #cj1 #ahgb1 the  
,rev4 ,john ,w4 ,chadwick1 of ,brooklyn1
 ,n4 ,y41 referring to the proposed     
religious amendment to the ,constitution
 of the ,united ,states1 said3 ,of the  
six men who have done most to make      
,america the wonder and the joy she is  
to all of us1 not one could be the      
citizen of a government so constituted2 
for ,washington and ,franklin and       
,jefferson1 certainly the three         
mightiest leaders in our early history1 
were heretics in their day1 ,deists1 as 
men called them2 and ,garrison and      
,lincoln and ,sumner1 certainly the     

three mightiest in these later times1   
would all be disfranchised by the       
proposed amendment4  ,lincoln could not 
have taken the oath of office had such a
 clause been in the ,constitution4      
,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,evidence ,,gathered  
,,from ,,lincoln',s ,,letters           
,,speeches1 ,,and ,,conversations       
,the ,bible and ,christianity--,christ's
 ,divinity--,future      ,rewards and   
,punishments--,freedom of               
,mind--,fatalism--                      
,providence--,lines in                  
,copy-book--,parker--,paine--,opposition
 of      ,church--,clerical             
,officious-ness ,rebuked--,irreverent   
,jokes--      ,profanity--,temperance   
,reform--,indorsement of ,lord          
,bolingbroke's ,writings--,golden ,rule4
  ,the testimony of one hundred         
witnesses will now be supplemented by   
evidence from the tongue and pen of     
,lincoln himself4 ,the greater portion  
of what he wrote and uttered against    
,christianity has perished2 but enough  

has been preserved to demonstrate1 even 
in the absence of other evidence1 that  
he was not a ,christian4 ,from his      
letters1 speeches1 and recorded         
conversations1 the following radical    
sentiments have been extracted4         
,notwithstanding the efforts of ,holland
 and ,bate-man to prove that ,lincoln   
was a believer in ,christianity1 it is  
admitted that in his conversation with  
,bateman1 he said3  ,i am not a         
,christian 7,holland's ,life of         
,lincoln1 pp4 #bcf1 #bcg74  ,when his   
,christian friends at ,petersburg       
interfered to prevent his proposed duel 
with ,shields1 and told him that it was 
contrary to the teachings of the ,bible 
and ,christianity1 he remarked3  ,the   
,bible is not my book1 nor ,christianity
 my profession 7,letter of ,w4          
,perkins74 ,while at ,washington1 in a  
letter to his old friend1 ,judge        
,wakefield1 written in #ahfb1 in answer 
to inquiries respecting his belief and  
the expressed hope that he had become   

convinced of the truth of ,christianity1
 he replied as follows3  ,my earlier    
views of the unsoundness of the         
,christian scheme of salvation and the  
human origin of the ,scriptures have    
become clearer and stronger with        
advancing years and ,i see no reason for
 thinking ,i shall ever change them4    
,in a discussion touching upon the      
paternity of ,jesus1 he said3  ,there   
must have been sexual intercourse       
between man and woman1 and not between  
,god and his daughter4  ,the above words
 were uttered in the presence of ,mr4   
,green ,caruthers and ,mr4 ,w4 ,a4      
,browning1 of ,springfield4  ,lincoln   
contended that ,jesus was either the son
 of ,joseph and ,mary1 or the           
illegitimate son of ,mary4  ,in a       
conversation with his friend1 ,mr4 ,e4  
,h4  ,wood1 of ,springfield1 concerning 
the doctrine of endless punishment1 he  
said3  ,there is no hell4  ,in regard to
 this subject1 he often observed3 ,if   
,god be a just ,god1 all will be saved  

or none 7,manford's ,magazine74  ,the   
orthodox idea of ,god--a ,god that      
creates poor1 fallible beings1 and then 
forever damns them for failing to       
believe what it is impossible for them  
to believe--he abhorred4 ,the ,golden   
,rule was his moral standard1 and by    
this standard he measured not only the  
conduct of man1 but of ,god himself4    
,like the irrepressible ,dr4 ,t4 ,l4    
,brown1 he wanted ,god to damn others as
 he would be damned himself4 ,he        
delighted to repeat the epitaph of the  
old ,kickapoo ,indian1 ,johnnie         
,kongapod3       ,here lies poor        
,johnnie ,kongapod2      ,have mercy on 
him1 gracious ,god1      ,as he would do
 if he were ,god      ,and you were     
,johnnie ,kongapod4  ,lincoln thought   
that ,god ought at least to be as       
merciful as a respectable savage4  ,many
 contend that the doctrine of future    
rewards and punishments1 even if untrue1
 has a restraining influence upon the   
masses of mankind4 ,that ,lincoln did   

not share this fallacious opinion1 is   
shown by the following extract from an  
address delivered in ,springfield in    
#ahdb3 ,pleasures to be enjoyed1 or     
pains to be endured1 after we shall be  
dead and gone1 are but little           
regarded4444 ,there is something so     
ludicrous1 in promises of good1 or      
threats of evil1 a great way off1 as to 
render the whole subject with which they
 are connected1 easily turned into      
ridicule4 ',better lay down that spade  
you're stealing1 ,paddy--if you don't1  
you'll pay for it at the ,day of        
,judgment4' ',be the powers1 if ye'll   
credit me so long ,i'll take another'   
7,lincoln ,memorial ,album1 p4 #ia74    
,commenting upon the question of one's  
returning and communicating with his    
friends after death1 he observed3 ,it is
 a doubtful question whether we ever get
 anywhere to get back 7,statement of ,e4
 ,h4 ,wood74  ,he did not believe in the
 freedom of the will4 ,an observation   
which he repeatedly made was the        

following3  ,no man has a freedom of    
mind 7,testimony of ,w4 ,h4 ,herndon74  
,his fatalistic notions are confirmed by
 his own words3 ,i have all my life been
 a fatalist4 ,what is to be will be2 or1
 rather1 ,i have found all my life1 as  
,hamlet says3        ',there's a        
divinity that shapes our ends1          
,rough-hew them how we will4'           
7,every-,day ,life of ,lincoln1 p4      
#aih74  ,the following was a favorite   
maxim with him3  ,what is to be will be1
 and no prayers of ours can arrest the  
decree 7,statement of ,mrs4 ,lincoln74  
,in a speech on ,kansas1 delivered in   
#ahef1 he used the following words in   
regard to ,providence3 ,friends1 ,i     
agree with you in ,providence2 but ,i   
believe in the ,providence of the most  
men1 the largest purse1 and the longest 
cannon 7,lincoln's ,speeches1 p4 #adj74 
,the writer has in his possession1 among
 others of ,lincoln's papers1 a leaf    
from his copybook1 tattered and yellow  
from age1 on which1 seventy years ago1  

,lincoln1 a school-boy of fourteen1     
wrote the following characteristic      
lines3       ,abraham ,lincoln1 his hand
 and pen2      ,he will be good1 but    
,god knows when4  ,if by good he meant  
pious1 the prophecy was never fulfilled4
  ,but a short time before he was       
elected ,president1 he said to ,dr4     
,ray3 ,i think that ,i stand about where
 that man ,theodore ,parker stands      
7,statement of ,rev4 ,eobert ,collyer74 
,the author whose writings exerted the  
greatest influence upon ,lincoln's mind1
 in a theological way1 was ,thomas      
,paine4 ,ah6 that potential ,age of     
,reason6 ,criticise it as you may1 no   
one ever yet carefully perused its pages
 and then honestly affirmed that the    
,bible is the infallible word of ,god4  
,hern-don and others declare that ,paine
 was a part of ,lincoln from #ahcd till 
his death4 ,to a friend he said3  ,i    
never tire of reading ,paine 7,statement
 of ,james ,tuttle74  ,in the later     
years of his life1 when the subject of  

religion was mentioned1 with a knowing  
smile1 he was wont to remark3  ,it will 
not do to investigate the subject of    
religion too closely1 as it is apt to   
lead to ,infidelity 7,manford's         
,magazine74  ,it has been stated that   
,lincoln was opposed in his political   
campaigns on account of his disbelief4  
,this is confirmed by a letter he wrote 
to ,martin ,m4 ,morris1 of ,petersburg1 
,ill41 ,march #bf1ahdc4 ,in this letter1
 he says3  ,there was1 too1 the         
strangest combination of church         
influence against me4 ,baker is a       
,campbellite2 and therefore1 as ,i      
suppose1 with few exceptions1 got all   
that church4 ,my wife has some relatives
 in the ,presbyterian churches1 and some
 with the ,episcopal churches2 and      
therefore1 wherever it would tell1 ,i   
was set down as either the one or the   
other1 while it was everywhere contended
 that no ,christian ought to go for me1 
because ,i belonged to no church--was   
suspected of being a ,deist4444 ,those  

influences levied a tax of a            
considerable per cent upon my strength  
throughout the religious controversy    
7,lamon's ,life of ,lincoln1 p4 #bga74  
,he never changed his opinions1 and the 
church never ceased to oppose him4 ,in  
the ,bateman interview1 seventeen years 
later1 he was compelled to note its     
relentless intolerance3  ,here are      
twenty-three ministers of different     
denominations1 and all of them are      
against me but three2 and here are a    
great many prominent members of the     
churches1 a very large majority of whom 
are against me 7,holland's ,life of     
,lincoln1 p4 #bcf74  ,for thirty years  
the church endeavored to crush ,lincoln1
 but when1 in spite of her malignant    
opposition1 he achieved a glorious      
immortality1 this same church1 to hide  
the mediocrity of her devotees1 attempts
 to steal his deathless name4  ,in a    
speech delivered in ,springfield1 in    
#aheg1 alluding to the negro1 he said3  
,all the powers of the earth seem       

rapidly combining against him4 ,mammon  
is after him1444 and the theology of the
 day is fast joining in the cry         
7,lincoln ,memorial ,album1 p4 #ajj74   
,the theology of the day was orthodox   
,christianity4 ,in this sentence1 says  
,mr4 ,herndon1 he intended to hit       
,christianity a left-handed blow1 and a 
hard one4  ,in his ,second ,inaugural   
address1 referring to the contending    
,christian elements in the civil war1 he
 says3 ,both read the same ,bible and   
pray to the same ,god1 and each invokes 
his aid against the other4  ,what a     
commentary upon the hypocritical        
assumption that ,christians possess an  
infallible moral standard1 is contained 
in the above words6  ,the ,lincoln      
,memorial ,album pretends to give the   
,second ,inaugural complete1 but omits  
the words quoted4 ,as this address comes
 almost immediately after his reputed   
speech to the ,illinois clergyman1 the  
editor probably noticed a lack of       
harmony between the two1 and thought    

that the retention of these heretical   
words would cast suspicion upon the     
genuineness of that remarkable          
confession4 ,the ,memorial ,album is a  
meritorious work1 but had ,mr4 ,oldroyd 
manifested as great a desire to present 
the genuine utterances of ,lincoln as   
the apocryphal1 its value would have    
been enhanced4 ,the unmutilated version 
of the last ,inaugural may be found in  
,holland's ,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #ejc1 
#ejd2 ,arnold's ,life of ,lincoln1 pp4  
#djc1 #djd2 ,arnold's ,lincoln and      
,slavery1 pp4 #fbe-fbg2 and ,the        
,every-,day ,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #fha1
 #fhb4  ,no ,president1 probably1 was   
ever so much annoyed by the clergy as   
,lincoln4 ,the war produced an increased
 religious fervor1 and theological      
tramps innumerable1 usually labeled ,d4 
,d41 visited the ,white ,house1 each    
with a mission to perform and a precious
 morsel of advice to offer4 ,in the     
following caustic words1 he expresses   
his contempt for their officiousness3 ,i

 am approached with the most opposite   
opinions and advice1 and by religious   
men who are certain they represent the  
,divine will4444 ,i hope it will not be 
irreverent in me to say1 that if it be  
probable that ,god would reveal his will
 to others1 on a point so connected with
 my duty1 it might be supposed he would 
reveal it directly to me 7,religious    
,convictions of ,abraham ,lincoln74     
,equally pertinent1 and1 indeed1 similar
 was his language to a pious lady1 a    
,friend1 who came as ,god's agent to    
instruct him what to do3 ,i have neither
 time nor disposition to enter into     
discussion with the ,friend1 and end    
this occasion by suggesting for her     
consideration the question1 whether1 if 
it be true that the ,lord has appointed 
me she claimed that he had to do the    
works she has indicated1 it is 7is it7  
,,pg ,ed4 not probable that he would    
have communicated knowledge of the fact 
to me as well as to her8 7,every-,day   
,life of ,lincoln1 pp4 #ecf1 #ecg74  ,he

 steadily prohibited his generals from  
meddling with the religious affairs of  
those residing within the limits of     
their respective departments1 and at the
 same time counseled them not to permit 
the pretended sanctity of the church to 
shield offenders from justice4  ,in a   
letter to ,general ,curtis1 censuring   
the provost marshal of ,st4 ,louis for  
interfering with church matters1 he     
writes3 ,the ,united ,states ,government
 must not undertake to run the churches4
 ,when an individual in a church1 or out
 of it1 becomes dangerous to the public 
interest he must be checked 7,nicolay   
and ,hay's ,life of ,lincoln74  ,in an  
order relating to a church in ,memphis1 
issued ,may #ac1 #ahfd1 he said3 ,if    
there be no military need for the       
building1 leave it alone1 neither       
putting any one in or out of it1 except 
on finding some one preaching or        
practicing treason1 in which case lay   
hands upon him1 just as if he were doing
 the same thing in any other building   

7,ibid74  ,during the war his attention 
was called to the notoriously bad       
character of army chaplains4 ,he        
expressed his contempt for them1 and for
 orthodox preachers generally1 by       
relating the following story3 ,once1 in 
,springfield1 ,i was going off on a     
short journey1 and reached the depot a  
little ahead of time4 ,leaning against  
the fence just outside the depot was a  
little darky boy1 whom ,i knew1 named   
,dick1 busily digging with his toe in a 
mud-puddle4 ,as ,i came up1 ,i said1    
',dick1 what are you about8 ',making a  
church1' said he4 ',a church8' said ,i2 
'what do you mean8' ',why1 yes1' said   
,dick1 pointing with his toe1 'don't you
 see8 there is the shape of it2 there's 
the steps and front door--here's the    
pews1 where the folks set--and there's  
the pulpit4' ',yes1 ,i see1' said ,i1   
'but why don't you make a minister8'    
',laws1' answered ,dick1 with a grin1   
',i hain't got mud enough' 7,anecdotes  
of ,lincoln1 p4 #hf74  ,the most highly 

aristocratic church in ,washington is   
,st ,john's ,episcopal church4 ,so very 
aristocratic is it that applicants for  
membership deem it necessary to give    
references respecting their social      
standing in the community4 ,the ,new    
,york ,star relates the following joke  
which ,lincoln once perpetrated at the  
expense of this church3 ,one day during 
the war a young officer called on him to
 secure an appointment in the army1 and 
brought with him letters of             
recommendation signed by the ,f4 ,e4    
,v4's in the ,district of ,columbia4    
,there had been no application for      
office before ,president ,lincoln so    
strongly supported by the aristocracy1  
and1 turning to the young man1 he said  
he would give him the appointment and   
handed him back the papers4 ',don't you 
want to place the papers on file8' asked
 the office-seeker4 ',i supposed that   
was the custom4' ',yes1 that is the     
custom1' said ,president ,lincoln1 'but 
you had better take them with you1 as   

you might want to join ,st4 ,john's     
church4'  ,did ,lincoln ever use profane
 language8 ,if he did1 this fact will   
afford no evidence to ,freethinkers that
 he was a disbeliever in ,christianity4 
,freethinkers are as free from this     
vice1 if vice it be1 as ,christians4    
,very pious persons1 however1 such as   
,lincoln is represented to have been by 
his ,christian biographers1 are very    
careful about their use of profane      
words4 ,christ commanded his followers  
to pray in private1 and bade them swear 
not at all4 ,devout ,christians usually 
pray in public and swear in private4    
,lincoln was but little addicted to     
profanity1 but if he had occasion to use
 a word of this character he did not go 
to his closet to use it4 ,in a business 
letter to a friend1 he said3  ,a        
d------d hawk-billed ,yankee is here    
besetting me at every turn 7,lamon's    
,life of ,lincoln1 p4 #caf74  ,in a     
letter to ,speed1 concerning an alleged 
murder case1 he wrote3  ,hart1 the      

little drayman that hauled ,molly home  
once1 said it was too damned bad to have
 so much trouble and no hanging 7,ibid1 
p4 #cba74  ,for the sake of pleasing the
 fools1 he attached his signature to the
 pious nonsense of ,seward1 ,with equal 
readiness he indorsed the profane       
nonsense 787 of ,stanton4 ,during the   
war the patriotic ,lovejoy had devised a
 military scheme which he believed would
 prove beneficial to the ,union cause1  
and obtained an order from the          
,president for its execution4 ,he took  
the order to ,stanton1 but all that ever
 resulted from it was the following     
spirited colloquy3  ',did ,lincoln give 
you an order of that kind8' said        
,stanton4 ',he did1 sir4' ',then he is a
 d------d fool1' said the irate         
,secretary4 ',do you mean to say the    
,president is a d------d fool8' asked   
,lovejoy1 in amazement4 ',yes1 sir1 if  
he gave you such an order as that4' ,the
 bewildered ,illinoisan betook himself  
at once to the ,president1 and related  

the result of his conference4 ,did      
,stanton say ,i was a d------d fool8'   
asked ,lincoln at the close of the      
recital4 ',he did1 sir1 and repeated    
it4' ,after a moment's pause1 and       
looking up1 the ,president said3  ',if  
,stanton said ,i was a d------d fool1   
then ,i must be one1 for he is nearly   
always right1 and generally says what he
 means' 7,every-,day ,life of ,lincoln1 
pp4 #dhc1 #dhd74  ,at a ,cabinet        
meeting1 in #ahfc1 when a conflict      
between the ,president and ,congress    
regarding the admission of certain      
representatives from loyal districts of 
the ,south1 which he favored1 was       
threatened1 he turned to ,secretary     
,chase1 and exclaimed3 ,there it is1    
sir4 ,i am to be bullied by ,congress1  
am ,i8 ,if ,i do ,i'll be d------d6     
,when ,lincoln visited ,new ,orleans he 
attended a slave sale4 ,a beautiful     
girl1 almost white1 was placed upon the 
auction block and exposed to the        
grossest indignities4 ,as he turned to  

leave1 boiling with indignation1 he     
exclaimed3  ,by ,god1 if ,i ever get a  
chance to hit that institution1 ,i will 
hit it hard 7,arnold's ,life of         
,lincoln1 ,note74  ,thirty years later  
the chance came4 ,he struck the blow--a 
mortal one4  ,the following is a prayer 
which ,lincoln1 while at the ,white     
,house1 put into the mouth of a belated 
traveler who was caught in a violent    
thunderstorm3  ,o ,lord1 if it is all   
the same to you1 give us a little more  
light and a little less noise6 7,six    
,months at the ,white ,house1 p4 #di74  
,is it possible that a ,christian and a 
,calvinist would repeat such an         
irreverent1 not to say blasphemous1     
supplication8 ,according to the         
,brooklyn ,calvinist1 ,god visits such  
supplicants with paralysis and          
petrifaction4  ,like most ,freethinkers1
 ,lincoln was a genuine reformer4 ,the  
,antislavery reform was not the only    
reform that enlisted his support4 ,at an
 early day he espoused the ,temperance  

cause4 ,when the church was the ally of 
intemperance as it was of slavery--when1
 to use his own words1 ,from the        
sideboard of the parson down to the     
ragged pocket of the houseless loafer   
intoxicating liquor was constantly      
found1 he was laboring and lecturing in 
behalf of the ,washingtonian movement4  
,with the fervor of an enthusiast1 he   
exclaims in true ,free-thought language3
 ,happy day1 when1 all appetites        
controlled1 all passions subdued1 all   
matter subjugated1 mind1 all-conquering 
mind1 shall live and move1 the monarch  
of the world6 ,glorious consummation6   
,hail1 fall of fury6 ,reign of ,reason1 
all hail6 7,lincoln ,memorial ,album1 p4
 #if74  ,to sumptuary laws and to the   
denunciatory methods so common among    
orthodox ,christians to-day1 he was1    
however1 strenuously opposed4 ,he says3 
,it is not much in the nature of man to 
be driven to anything2 still less to be 
driven about that which is exclusively  
his own business 7,ibid1 p4 #hf74  ,when

 the conduct of men is designed to be   
influenced1 persuasion1 kind1 unassuming
 persuasion1 should ever be adopted     
7lb41 p4 #hg74  ,his nephew1 ,mr4 ,hall1
 informed me that ,lincoln once made it 
cost a meddlesome clergyman1 of ,coles  
,county1 eighty dollars for seizing and 
destroying a quart of whisky1 valued at 
twelve and a half cents1 and belonging  
to a relative of theirs4  ,in this      
chapter ,i wish to present some radical 
thoughts1 not from the pen of ,lincoln  
himself1 but which in the work from     
which they are taken bear unmistakable  
signs of his approval4 ,mr4 ,d4 ,w4 ,c4 
,shattuck1 an old and respected merchant
 of ,way-land1 ,mich41 has in his       
possession a book which belonged to     
,lincoln4 ,its history is as follows3   
,shortly after ,lincoln's election to   
the ,presidency a young man from        
,springfield1 ,ill41 and a relative or  
intimate acquaintance of ,lincoln's1    
came to board with ,mr4 ,shattuck1 who  
then resided in ,kalamazoo4 ,looking    

over the contents of his trunk one day  
the young man picked up a book and at   
the same time remarked3 ,that book      
belongs to ,abe ,lincoln4 ,i forgot to  
return it to him before leaving         
,springfield4 ,it is his favorite book1 
and ,i must not fail to return it4 ,mr4 
,shattuck expressing a desire to peruse 
the work1 it was handed to him1 and the 
young man being soon after unexpectedly 
called away1 it was forgotten4 ,it      
proved to be a volume of the writings of
 ,lord ,bolingbroke1 the great ,english 
,infidel4 ,on a fly-leaf was the        
signature of ,abraham ,lincoln4 ,in the 
work certain passages which seem to have
 especially impressed ,lincoln are      
marked with a pencil and in a manner    
peculiar to him4 ,the following are the 
passages he marked1 which ,i have copied
 from the book1 and which evidently     
received his unqualified indorsement3   
,abbadie says in his famous book1 that  
the ,gospel of ,st4 ,matthew is cited by
 ,clemens ,bishop of ,borne1 a disciple 

of the ,apostles2 that ,barnabas cites  
it in his epistle2 that ,ignatius and   
,polycarp receive it2 and that the same 
,fathers1 that give testimony for       
,matthew1 give it likewise for ,mark4   
,nay1 your lordship will find1 ,i       
believe1 that the present ,bishop of    
,london1 in his third pastoral letter1  
speaks to the same effect4 ,i will not  
trouble you nor myself with any more    
instances of the same kind4 ,let this1  
which occurred to me as ,i was writing1 
suffice4 ,it may well suffice2 for ,i   
presume the fact advanced by the        
minister and the ,bishop is a mistake4  
,if the ,fathers of the ,first ,century 
do mention some passages that are       
agreeable to what we read in our        
,evangelists1 will it follow that these 
,fathers had the same gospels before    
them8 ,to say so is a manifest abuse of 
history1 and quite inexcusable in       
writers that knew1 or should have known1
 that these ,fathers made use of other  
gospels1 wherein such passages might be 

contained1 or they might be preserved in
 unwritten tradition4 ,besides which ,i 
could almost venture to affirm that     
these ,fathers of the ,first ,century do
 not expressly name the gospels we have 
of ,matthew1 ,mark1 ,luke1 and ,john4   
,writers of the ,roman religion have    
attempted to show1 that the text of the 
,holy ,writ is on many accounts         
insufficient to be the sole criterion of
 orthodoxy2 ,i apprehend too that they  
have shown it4 ,sure ,i am that         
experience1 from the first promulgation 
of ,christianity to this hour1 shows    
abundantly with how much ease and       
success the most opposite1 the most     
extravagant1 nay the most impious       
opinions1 and the most contradictory    
faiths1 may be founded on the same text2
 and plausibly defended by the same     
authority4 ,writers of the ,reformed    
religion have erected their batteries   
against tradition2 and the only         
difficulty they had to encounter in this
 enterprise lay in leveling and pointing

 their cannon so as to avoid            
demolishing1 in one common ruin1 the    
traditions they retain1 and those they  
reject4 ,each side has been employed to 
weaken the cause and explode the system 
of his adversary2 and1 whilst they have 
been so employed1 they have jointly laid
 their axes to the root of              
,christianity2 for thus men will be apt 
to reason upon what they have advanced4 
',if the text has not that authenticity1
 clearness1 and precision which are     
necessary to establish it as a divine   
and a certain rule of faith and         
practice2 and if the tradition of the   
church from the first ages of it till   
the days of ,luther and ,calvin1 has    
been corrupted itself1 and has served to
 corrupt the faith and practice of      
,christians2 there remains at this time 
no standard at all of ,christianity4 ,by
 consequence either this religion was   
not originally of divine institution1 or
 else ,god has not provided effectually 
for preserving the genuine purity of it1

 and the gates of hell have prevailed1  
in contradiction to his promise1 against
 the church4' ,i have read somewhere1   
perhaps in the works of ,st4 ,jerome1   
that this ,father justifies the opinion 
of those who think it impossible to fix 
any certain chronology on that of the   
,bible2 and this opinion will be        
justified still better1 to the          
understanding of every man that         
considers how grossly the ,jews blunder 
whenever they meddle with chronology4   
,the resurrection of letters was a fatal
 period2 the ,christian system has been 
attacked1 and wounded too1 very severely
 since that time4  ,when interrogated as
 to why he had never united with any    
church1 ,lincoln replied3 ,when you show
 me a church based on the ,golden ,rule 
as its only creed1 then ,i will unite   
with it4  ,he never joined a church1    
because of all the ,christian sects1 not
 one could show such a creed4 ,the      
,golden ,rule--conceding to others the  
same rights he claimed for himself--was1

 however1 the very cornerstone of       
,freethought1 and hence he remained a   
,freethinker4     ,,chapter ,,xv4       
,,recapitulation ,,and ,,conclusion     
,character of ,christian                
,testimony--,summary of ,evidence       
,adduced in ,proof of ,lincoln's        
,unbelief--,douglas an                  
,unbeliever--,theodore ,parker's        
,theology--,fallacy of ,claims          
,respecting ,lincoln's ,reputed         
,conversion--,his ,invocations of       
,deity--,his ,alleged ,regard for the   
,sabbath--,the ,church and              
,hypocrisy--,lincoln's ,religion4  ,in  
the prosecution of this inquiry1 the    
testimony of one hundred and twenty     
witnesses has been presented4 ,the      
testimony of twenty of these witnesses  
is to the effect that ,lincoln was a    
,christian2 the testimony of one hundred
 is to the effect that he was not4  ,of 
those who have testified in support of  
the claim that ,lincoln was a           
,christian1 ten admit that during a part

 of his life he was a disbeliever in    
,christianity1 while not one of the     
remaining ten disputes the fact4 ,if he 
never changed his belief then he died an
 unbeliever4 ,did he change his belief  
and become a convert to ,christianity8  
,it devolves upon those who affirm that 
he did to prove it4 ,have they done     
this8 ,they have not4 ,their attempts   
have been in every instance pitiable    
failures4 ,the unreasonable and         
conflicting character of the testimony  
adduced refutes itself4 ,when was he    
converted8 ,no less than five different 
dates have been assigned4 ,one witness  
states that it was in #ahdh2 one1 that  
it was in #aheh2 another1 that it was in
 #ahfb2 another1 that it was in ,july1  
#ahfc2 and still another1 that it was in
 ,november1 #ahfc4  ,the remarkable     
character of the statements recorded in 
,chapter ,i4--remarkable when compared  
with the statements given in the        
preceding ten chapters1 and not less    
remarkable when compared with each      

other--may be variously accounted for4  
,a part of them are based upon a false  
premise1 an erroneous conception of what
 the term ,christian means2 a portion of
 them are merely the expressions of     
beliefs unsupported by actual knowledge2
 while a not inconsiderable share of    
them are the statements of those who    
have knowingly and deliberately borne   
false witness4 ,these witnesses         
comprise3 #a4 ,those who do not know    
what constitutes a ,christian--who      
confound ,christianity with             
morality--who affirm that he was a      
,christian simply because he was a moral
 man4 #b4 ,those who do not know what   
his religious views were1 but who infer 
that he was a ,christian because others 
have declared that he was1 and because  
of the frequent allusions to ,deity that
 occur in his speeches and state papers4
 #c4 ,those who know that he was not a  
,christian1 but who believe it to be    
right and proper to lie for the glory of
 ,christianity and the profit of its    

priests4  ,the testimony advanced in    
support of the claim of ,lincoln's      
,christianity is1 for the most part1 the
 testimony of orthodox ,christians--a   
majority of them orthodox clergymen4    
,dr4 ,holland1 the chief of these       
,christian claimants1 says3 ,the fact is
 a matter of history that he never      
exposed his own religious life to those 
who had no sympathy with it4 ,this1 so  
far as the later years of his life are  
concerned1 is substantially true2 and   
this very fact precludes the possibility
 of these orthodox witnesses being able 
to state from personal knowledge what   
his religious views were4  ,in          
refutation of this claim1 ,i have       
presented the testimony of those who    
were nearest to ,lincoln1 in the        
confidential relations of life4 ,i have 
presented the testimony of his wife1 the
 testimony of his stepmother1 the       
testimony of his step-sister1 the       
testimony of his cousin1 the testimony  
of his nephew1 the testimony of his     

three law partners1 the testimony of    
four members of his ,cabinet1 the       
testimony of his private secretary1 the 
testimony of his executor1 the testimony
 of seven of his biographers1 and the   
testimony of many more of his most      
intimate friends both in ,illinois and  
at ,washington4  ,that he was not an    
orthodox ,christian1 as claimed1 is     
attested by nearly all of the one       
hundred witnesses whose testimony has   
been given2 that he was not in any sense
 of the term a ,christian is proved by  
the testimony of a majority of them4  ,i
 affirmed that he was not religious in  
his youth--that he was a skeptic in     
,indiana4 ,in proof of this ,i have     
adduced the testimony of his            
step-mother1 ,sarah ,lincoln2 his       
step-sister1 ,matilda ,moore2 his       
cousin1 ,dennis ,f4 ,hanks2 his nephew1 
,john ,hall2 his law partner1 ,w4 ,h4   
,herndon1 and his biographer1 ,col4     
,ward ,h4 ,lamon4  ,i affirmed that he  
was an ,infidel or ,freethinker1 during 

the thirty years that he resided in     
,illinois4 ,in support of this ,i have  
given the testimony of ,colonel ,lamon1 
,w4 ,h4 ,herndon1 ,maj4 ,john ,t4       
,stuart1 ,col4 ,james ,h4 ,matheny1 ,dr4
 ,c4 ,h4 ,ray1 ,w4 ,h4 ,hannah1 ,james  
,w4 ,keys1 ,jesse ,w4 ,fell1 ,judge     
,david ,davis1 ,wm4 ,mc,neely1 ,mr4     
,lynan1 ,wm4 ,g4 ,green1 ,joshua ,f4    
,speed1 ,green ,caruthers1 ,squire      
,perkins1 ,judge ,gillespie1 ,john      
,decamp1 ,james ,gorley1 ,dr4 ,wm4      
,jayne1 ,jesse ,k4 ,dubois1 ,judge      
,logan1 ,leonard ,swett1 ,w4 ,h4 ,t4    
,wakefield1 ,d4 ,w4 ,wilder1 ,dr4 ,b4   
,f4 ,gardner1 ,j4 ,k4 ,vandemark1 ,judge
 ,leachman1 ,orin ,b4 ,gould1 ,edward   
,butler1 ,m4 ,s4 ,go win1 ,j4 ,h4       
,chenery1 ,j4 ,b4 ,spalding1 ,ezra      
,stringham1 ,col4 ,r4 ,g4 ,ingersoll1   
,a4 ,jeffrey1 ,dr4 ,mc,neal1 ,charles   
,mc,grew1 ,j4 ,l4 ,morrell1 ,judge ,a4  
,d4 ,norton1 ,w4 ,w4 ,perkins1 ,h4 ,k4  
,magie1 ,james ,tuttle1 ,leonard ,volk1 
,col4 ,f4 ,s4 ,rutherford1 ,e4 ,h4      

,wood1 ,dr4 ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson1 ,a4 ,j4   
,grover1 ,judge ,nelson1 and others4  ,i
 affirmed that he did not change his    
belief after leaving ,illinois--that he 
was not converted to ,christianity at   
,washington--that he died an unbeliever4
 ,in confirmation of this ,i have       
presented the testimony of his wife1    
,mary ,lincoln2 of his private          
secretary1 ,colonel ,nicolay2 of his    
executor1 ,judge ,davis2 of his         
biographer1 ,colonel ,lamon2 and of his 
intimate associates1 ,geo4 ,w4 ,julian1 
,john ,b4 ,alley1 ,schuyler ,colfax1    
,hugh ,mc,culloch1 ,a4 ,j4 ,grover1     
,donn ,piatt1 ,judge ,nelson1 and       
others4  ,many of these witnesses simply
 testify to his disbelief in the        
,christian system as a whole without    
reference to his particular views       
concerning its individual tenets4 ,every
 statement of his unbelief as presented 
in the introduction has1 however1 been  
substantiated by the testimony of one or
 more witnesses4 ,that he did not       

believe in the ,christian ,deity1 that  
he even held ,agnostic and ,atheistic   
views1 at times1 is proved by the       
testimony of ,w4 ,h4 ,herndon1 ,colonel 
,matheny1 ,judge ,nelson1 ,jesse ,k4    
,dubois1 and ,d4 ,w4 ,wilder  ,that he  
was an ,agnostic in regard to the       
immortality of the soul is attested by  
,e4 ,h4 ,wood1 ,judge ,nelson1 and ,w4  
,h4 ,herndon4  ,that he did not believe 
that the ,bible is the word of ,god is  
affirmed by ,colonel ,lamon1 ,john ,t4  
,stuart1 ,judge ,matheny1 ,w4 ,h4       
,herndon1 ,jesse ,w4 ,fell1 ,dennis     
,hanks1 ,w4 ,perkins1 ,colonel          
,rutherford1 and ,chambers'             
,encyclopedia4  ,that he did not believe
 that ,jesus ,christ was the son of ,god
 is affirmed by ,colonel ,lamon1 ,w4 ,h4
 ,herndon1 ,jesse ,w4 ,fell4 ,colonel   
,matheny1 ,john ,t4 ,stuart1 ,jas4 ,w4  
,keys1 ,judge ,nelson1 ,d4 ,w4 ,wilder1 
,green ,caruthers1 ,colonel ,rutherford1
 ,rev4 ,j4 ,lloyd ,jones1 ,chambers'    
,encyclopedia1 and the ,new ,york       

,world4  ,that he did not believe in a  
special creation1 the statements of ,mr4
 ,herndon clearly prove4  ,that he      
accepted the theory of ,evolution1 so   
far as this theory had been developed in
 the ,vestiges of ,creation and other   
writings of his day1 is attested by the 
same witness4  ,that he did not admit   
the possibility of miracles is confirmed
 by the statement of ,jesse ,w4 ,fell1  
,w4 ,perkins1 ,dennis ,hanks1 and ,mr4  
,herndon4  ,that he rejected the        
,christian doctrine of total or inherent
 depravity1 ,william ,mc,neely and      
,jesse ,w4 ,fell affirm4  ,that he      
repudiated the doctrine of vicarious    
atonement is sustained by the testimony 
of ,jesse ,w4 ,fell1 ,joshua ,f4 ,speed1
 ,w4 ,perkins1 and ,colonel ,lamon4     
,that he condemned the doctrine of      
forgiveness for sin1 ,general ,wilder   
and ,mr4 ,herndon both testify4  ,that  
he opposed the doctrine of future       
rewards and punishments1 ,win4 ,h4      
,hannah1 ,e ,h4 ,wood1 ,a4 ,jeffrey1    

,jesse ,w4 ,fell1 and ,manford's        
,magazine1 all testify4  ,that he denied
 the freedom of the will1 ,mr4 ,herndon 
explicitly affirms4  ,that he did not   
believe in the efficacy of prayer is    
fully established by the evidence of    
,mrs4 ,lincoln1 ,mr4 ,herndon1 and ,dr4 
,gardner4  ,that he was a disciple of   
,thomas ,paine and ,theodore ,parker is 
shown by the evidence of ,colonel       
,lamon1 ,w4 ,h4 ,herndon1 ,james        
,tuttle1 ,jesse ,w4 ,fell1 ,dr4 ,ray1   
,robert ,collyer1 the ,new ,york ,world1
 and ,chambers' ,encyclopedia4  ,that he
 wrote a book against ,christianity is  
sustained by the testimony of ,colonel  
,matheny1 ,judge ,nelson1 ,w4 ,h4       
,herndon1 ,colonel ,lamon1 ,j4 ,b4      
,spalding1 ,a4 ,jeffrey1 ,j4 ,h4        
,chenery1 ,chicago ,herald1 ,manford's  
,magazine1 and ,chambers' ,encyclopedia4
  ,that ,lincoln did not believe in the 
inspiration of the ,scriptures1 that he 
did not believe in the divinity of      
,christ1 that he did not believe in the 

freedom of the will1 that he did not    
believe in future rewards and           
punishments1 that he did not believe in 
the efficacy of prayer1 that he was1 in 
short1 a disbeliever in ,christianity1  
is also attested by the evidence cited  
from his own recorded words4  ,in       
connection with this controversy the    
significance of the following facts     
cannot be overlooked3 #a4               
,notwithstanding the strong temptation  
to credit ,lincoln to the popular faith1
 a majority of his biographers have     
either declared that he was not a       
,christian1 or have refrained from      
affirming that he was4 #b4 ,the secular 
press1 fearing to offend the church1 has
 generally been silent regarding the    
question4 ,when it has ventured to      
express an opinion1 however1 it has been
 to concede his unbelief4 #c4 ,the      
leading encyclopedias1 such as the      
,britannica1 ,chambers'1 ,new ,american1
 etc41 have either admitted that he was 
a ,freethinker1 or have made no         

reference to his religious belief4 #d4  
,in the ,lincoln ,memorial ,album appear
 two hundred tributes to ,lincoln1 the  
greater portion of them from the pens of
 ,christians4 ,in but two of these two  
hundred tributes is it claimed that     
,lincoln was a believer in              
,christianity4 #e4 ,the ,reminiscences  
of ,lincoln contain thirty-three        
articles on ,lincoln1 written by as many
 distinguished men who were acquainted  
with him4 ,in not a single instance in  
this work1 is it asserted that he was a 
,christian4 #f4 ,in none of the leading 
eulogies pronounced upon his character1 
at the time of his demise1 is it        
affirmed that he accepted ,christ4  ,it 
is stated that during the last years of 
his life ,lincoln held substantially the
 same theological opinions held by      
,theodore ,parker4 ,his own words are1  
referring to ,parker3 ,i think that ,i  
stand about where that man stands4      
,where did ,theodore ,parker stand8 ,the
 following extracts from his writings   

will show3 ,to obtain a knowledge of    
duty1 a man is not sent away1 outside of
 himself1 to ancient documents2 for the 
only rule of faith and practice1 the    
,word1 is very nigh him1 even in his    
heart1 and by this ,word he is to try   
all documents4 ,there is no intercessor1
 angel1 mediator1 between man and ,god2 
for man can speak and ,god hear1 each   
for himself4 ,he requires no advocates  
to plead for men4 ,manly1 natural       
religion--it is not joining the church2 
it is not to believe in a               
creed--,hebrew1 ,christian1 ,catholic1  
,protestant1 ,trinitarian1 ,unitarian1  
,nothingarian4 ,it is not to keep       
,sunday idle2 to attend meeting2 to be  
wet with water2 to read the ,bible2 to  
offer prayers in words2 to take bread   
and wine in the meeting-house2 love a   
scapegoat ,jesus1 or any other          
theological claptrap4  ,if ,lincoln was 
known to be a ,freethinker1 it may be   
asked why this fact was not more        
generally published and urged against   

him during the ,presidential campaign of
 #ahfj4 ,the answer is easy4 ,his chief 
opponent1 ,douglas1 was himself a       
,freethinker4 ,stephen ,a4 ,douglas1    
like ,abraham ,lincoln1 died an         
unbeliever4 ,like ,washington1 he       
declined the services of a clergyman in 
his last hours4 ,the following is an    
extract from a monograph on ,the        
,deathbed of ,douglas1 published in the 
,boston ,budget3 ,when ,stephen ,a4     
,douglas lay stricken with death at     
,chicago1 his wife1 who was a devout    
,roman ,catholic1 sent for ,bishop      
,duggan1 who asked whether he had ever  
been baptized according to the rites of 
any church4 ',never1' replied ,mr4      
,douglas4 ',do you desire to have mass  
said after the ordinances of the holy   
,catholic church8' inquired the ,bishop4
 ',no1 sir6' answered ,douglas2 'when ,i
 do ,i will communicate with you        
freely4'  ,the ,bishop withdrew1 but the
 next day ,mrs4 ,douglas sent for him   
again1 and1 going to the bedside1 he    

said3 ',mr4 ,douglas1 you know your own 
condition fully1 and in view of your    
dissolution do you desire the ceremony  
of extreme unction to be performed8'    
',no6' replied the dying man1 ',i have  
no time to discuss these things now4'   
,the ,bishop left the room1 and ,mr4    
,rhodes1 who was in attendance1 said3   
',do you know the clergymen of this     
city8' ',nearly every one of them4' ',do
 you wish to have either or any of them 
call to see you to converse on religious
 topics8' ',no1 ,i thank you1' was the  
decided answer4  ,among ,america's most 
eminent statesmen none probably ever    
possessed a more logical mind than      
,lincoln4 ,judge ,davis says3 ,his mind 
was logical and direct4 ,james ,g4      
,blaine says3 ,his logic was severe and 
faultless4 ,george ,s4 ,boutwell says3  
,he takes rank with the first logicians 
and orators of every age4 ,in his       
funeral oration at ,springfield1 ,bishop
 ,simpson said3 ,if you ask me on what  
mental characteristic his greatness     

rested1 ,i answer1 on a quick and ready 
perception of facts2 on a memory        
unusually tenacious and retentive2 and  
on a logical turn of mind1 which        
followed sternly and unwaveringly every 
link in the chain of thought on every   
subject he was called to investigate4   
,lincoln was once called to investigate 
the subject of ,christianity4 ,he       
followed sternly and unwaveringly every 
link in the chain of thought suggested  
by this subject1 and the result was its 
rejection by him4  ,if he was           
subsequently converted to ,christianity1
 it was only after a reexamination and a
 thorough and exhaustive investigation  
of its claims4 ,this his friends        
positively state never took place1 and  
the circumstances associated with each  
and every period assigned for his       
reputed conversion confirm their        
statements4 ,in #ahdh he was a member of
 ,congress1 his mind absorbed with the  
novelties1 the duties1 and the          
aspirations that usually attend a first 

term in this important capacity4 ,in    
#aheh1 and for years preceding and      
following1 the great political questions
 of the day occupied his mind4 ,he was  
engaged in a mortal struggle with one of
 the most powerful intellectual athletes
 of his time4 ,he was contending with   
,douglas for a prize1 and that prize was
 the ,presidency4 ,he must be ever on   
the alert4 ,he must crush his antagonist
 or his antagonist would crush him4     
,think of ,lincoln sitting down in the  
very crisis of this conflict and        
engaging in the study of theology6 ,in  
#ahfb1 and #ahfc1 the other years       
assigned for his conversion1 he was in  
the midst of the great ,rebellion1 all  
his thoughts and all his energies       
enlisted in the mighty task of saving   
the ,union4  ,that ,lincoln was a       
,freethinker in ,illinois1 that he was  
for a time a zealous propagandist of his
 faith1 that he was instrumental in     
making unbelievers of many of his       
associates1 it is useless to deny4 ,if  

he was afterward converted to           
,christianity1 his friends were ignorant
 of his conversion4 ,he failed to notify
 them of his previous mistake and warn  
them of their impending danger4 ,if it  
could be shown that he renounced his    
former views and became a ,christian1   
this fact would be one of the most      
damaging arguments against ,christianity
 that could be advanced4 ,as a          
,freethinker he was one of the most     
tender and humane of men1 ever          
solicitous for the welfare of his       
fellow-beings4 ,did ,christianity       
transform him into a selfish1 heartless 
being1 who coolly disregarded even the  
eternal welfare of his best and dearest 
friends8 ,think of a man directing a    
friend to take a road which he afterward
 discovers leads to certain death1 and  
then not lifting a finger of warning to 
save him from destruction1 when it is in
 his power to do so6  ,the ,freethinker 
will require no other evidence to       
convince him that ,lincoln died a       

disbeliever than the fact that he once  
fully investigated this subject and     
proclaimed himself an ,infidel4 ,the    
mere skeptic who has no settled         
convictions--who has never examined the 
evidences against historical            
,christianity--may become a sincere     
believer in the ,christian religion4    
,the confirmed ,freethinker never can1  
albeit a ,thomas ,cooper1 a ,joseph     
,barker and a ,george ,chainey may      
profess to4 ,as ,col4 ,thomas ,wentworth
 ,higginson happily expresses it3 ,you  
may take the robin's egg from the nest  
in yonder tree1 and so near is the bird 
to being hatched you may crack it with  
the edge of your nail1 and the bird is  
free4 ,but all your power1 and all your 
patient fidelity1 and all the mucilage  
and sticking plaster you can put on it1 
will never get that birdling back into  
that little egg again4 ,so complete is  
the sense of satisfaction1 such is the  
feeling of freedom1 which comes from    
once finding yourself1 not merely out of

 these little sectarian names1 but out  
of the name of the larger and grander   
sect1 which is ,christianity1 that you  
will find when the egg is once broken1  
the bird is free forever4  ,from the    
church steward's standpoint1 there is   
nothing so desirable as the early       
conversion of one who is destined to    
become rich4 ,from the evangelist's     
point of view1 there is nothing like the
 deathbed repentance of one who has     
become great4 ,had the bullet of the    
assassin not immediately destroyed      
consciousness1 all these stories that we
 have heard about ,lincoln's            
conversion--the ,edwards story1 the     
,smith story1 the ,brooks story1 the    
,willets story1 the ,vinton story1 and  
the story of the ,illinois              
clergyman--would never have been        
invented4 ,instead of these we would    
have the story of some domestic1 or some
 intruding priest who saw him during his
 dying hours4 ,aaron ,burr was kinder to
 the church than ,john ,wilkes ,booth4  

,but whatever the religious opinions of 
,lincoln were when he died1 whether he  
had changed his belief or not1 in view  
of the fact that he never thought enough
 of the church to unite with it1 the    
frantic efforts of clergymen and        
church-members to claim him seem quite  
uncalled for1 if not ridiculous4  ,the  
opinion of a writer previously quoted in
 this work1 is that the bitter war waged
 against the persons who have declared  
that ,lincoln was not a ,christian      
arises1 not from a belief that they have
 stated what is false1 but from a       
consciousness that they have demolished 
an empty shrine that was profitable to  
many1 and broken a painted idol that    
might have served for a god4 ,it is     
strange how ,christians tend toward     
fetichism4 ,not satisfied with three    
,gods1 they must canonize and deify men 
and make saints and demi-gods4 ,they    
have already deified three              
,americans--,washington1 ,grant1 and    
,lincoln--and what is remarkable1 in    

each instance they have selected an     
unbeliever--an ,infidel4 ,it is said    
that men have stolen the livery of      
heaven in which to serve the devil2 but 
it seems hardly consistent with the     
pretensions of the church that she      
should be compelled to appropriate the  
beadroll of ,infidelity in order to make
 her appear respectable4  ,lincoln's    
speeches and state papers contain many  
allusions to ,deity4 ,as ,colonel ,lamon
 observes1 ,these were easy1 and not    
inconsistent with his religious notions4
 ,but it is a mistake to attribute all  
the ,deistic expressions that appear in 
his state papers to him4 ,just how much 
of this was the work of his private     
secretaries1 how much of it was         
,seward's nonsense1 or how much of it   
was suggested by ,chase and other       
,cabinet ministers1 can never be        
determined4 ,it is significant1 however1
 that in those documents of least       
importance1 those which he would most   
likely leave to his secretaries or other

 officials to draft1 these expressions  
are chiefly to be found4 ,in his debates
 with ,douglas1 and his other great     
political speeches delivered in         
,illinois1 he seldom refers to ,deity4  
,in his carefully prepared ,cooper      
,institute address1 that model of       
political addresses1 the name of ,deity 
does not once occur4 ,in his ,first     
,inaugural ,address1 he refers to ,god1 
and makes a complimentary reference to  
,christianity intended to conciliate the
 church and gain for his administration 
its support in the coming struggle with 
the ,south4 ,one paragraph of the second
 ,inaugural contains allusions to ,deity
 and quotations from the ,bible2 but in 
this address he makes no recognition of 
,christ or ,christianity4 ,even his     
quotations from the ,bible are made in a
 guarded manner which clearly indicates 
that he did not believe in its divinity4
 ,in the ,preliminary ,proclamation of  
,emancipation1 which was drafted by     
himself1 the name of ,deity does not    

appear4 ,in the final ,proclamation1 an 
acknowledgment of ,god was inserted only
 at the urgent request of ,secretary    
,chase4 ,the ,emancipation              
,proclamation1 with the possible        
exception of the ,declaration of        
,independence and the ,constitution of  
the ,united ,states1 is the most        
important political document ever issued
 in ,america4 ,he knew that this was the
 crowning act of his career1 that it    
would place him among the immortals4 ,in
 the preparation of this work he        
expended much thought and labor1 and it 
was his desire that it should be free   
from religious verbiage4 ,in that       
masterpiece of eloquence1 the           
,gettysburg oration1 the name of ,god   
occurs but once1 while not the remotest 
reference to ,christianity or even      
immortality appears4 ,when we take into 
consideration the fact that this address
 was made at the dedication of a        
cemetery1 the significance of this      
omission can not be overlooked4 ,this   

speech was the product of ,lincoln's own
 mind free from the suggestions and     
emendations of others1 and the occasion 
was too sacred to indulge in pious cant 
in which he did not believe4  ,the      
clergy parade ,lincoln's recognitions of
 a ,supreme ,being as a triumphant      
refutation of the claim that he was an  
,infidel4 ,yet1 at the same time1 they  
do not hesitate to denounce as          
,infidels1 ,paine and ,voltaire1 when   
they know1 or ought to know1 that two   
more profound and reverential believers 
in ,god never lived and wrote than      
,paine and ,voltaire4  ,if ,infidelity  
and ,atheism were synonymous terms it   
would be difficult to maintain that     
,lincoln1 during the last years of his  
life at least1 was an ,infidel4 ,but    
,infidelity and ,atheism are not        
synonymous terms4 ,an ,atheist is an    
,infidel1 but an ,infidel is not        
necessarily an ,atheist4 ,a             
,presbyterian is a ,christian1 but all  
,christians are not ,presbyterians4     

,christians themselves coined the word  
,infidel1 and they have used it to      
denote a disbeliever in ,christianity4  
,a disbelief or denial of ,christianity 
is not necessarily a denial of ,god4    
,christians1 many of them1 regard the   
term as odious and as carrying with it  
the idea of immorality1 notwithstanding 
the most intelligent and the most highly
 moral class in ,christendom are these  
so-called ,infidels4 ,who are to-day's  
,infidels8 says the ,rev4 ,william      
,ohanning ,gannett4 ,he answers3 ,very  
many of the brightest minds1 the warmest
 hearts1 the most loyal consciences1 the
 most zealous seekers after ,god1 the   
most honest tellers of what they        
find--yes1 and the most successful      
finders4 ,infidels to what are they8    
,not to morality3 ,infidels to morality 
are too wise to train with them4  ,it is
 not claimed that ,lincoln was wholly   
free from a belief in the supernatural4 
,he possessed in some respects a simple1
 childlike nature1 and carried with him 

through life some of the superstitions  
of childhood4 ,but the dogmas of        
,christianity were not among them2 these
 he had examined and discarded4  ,as a  
proof of ,lincoln's regard for          
,christian institutions1 great          
prominence is given to his proclamation 
to the army enjoining the observance of 
the ,sabbath4 ,this document gives      
expression to sentiments regarding the  
sanctity of the ,christian ,sabbath that
 ,lincoln personally did not entertain4 
,it was issued to appease the clamor of 
the clergy who demanded it1 and was     
drafted1 not by ,lincoln1 but by some   
pious ,sabbatarian4 ,lincoln himself    
attached no more sanctity to ,sunday    
than to other days4 ,he worked on       
,sunday himself4 ,in ,springfield his   
,sundays were frequently spent in       
preparing cases for court4 ,in company  
with his boys he often passed the entire
 day making excursions into the country 
or rambling through the woods that      
skirted the ,sangamon4 ,he seldom went  

to church either in ,springfield or     
,washington1 the claims of some of his  
,christian biographers to the contrary  
notwithstanding4 ,previous to his       
nomination1 in #ahfj1 we find him       
sitting for a bust on ,sunday in        
preference to attending church4 ,on the 
,sunday immediately following his       
nomination an artist was busy with him  
molding his hands and taking negatives  
for a statue4 ,the draft of the         
preliminary ,proclamation of            
,emancipation was finished on ,sunday4  
,the last ,sunday of his life was spent1
 not in studying the ,scriptures1 but in
 reading his beloved ,shakespere4  ,it  
was stated by friends of ,lincoln that  
he generally refrained from giving      
publicity to his religious opinions     
while in public life because of their   
unpopularity4 ,in answer to this the    
,christian claimant retorts3 ,if this be
 true then he was a hypocrite4 ,but let 
us be honest4 ,nearly every person      
entertains opinions which he does not   

deem it discreet or necessary to make   
public4 ,you1 my ,christian friend1     
entertain doubts and heresies concerning
 your creed which you keep a secret or  
disclose only to your most intimate     
associates4 ,if you1 in private life1   
and not dependent upon the public1 hide 
your unpopular thoughts from the world1 
can you consistently blame ,lincoln for 
his silence when the fate of a nation   
depended upon him and the alienation    
even of a few bigots might turn the     
scales against him8 ,a ,christian       
general does not hesitate to deceive the
 enemy or withhold his plans even from  
his own soldiers4 ,again1 the clergy are
 forever advising and entreating men not
 to publish their doubts and heresies4  
,is it consistent in them to condemn a  
man for following their advice8  ,the   
church should learn to respect honesty  
herself before she charges others with  
dishonesty4 ,it is the shame of         
,christianity that men have been obliged
 to conceal their honest convictions in 

order to escape ostracism and           
persecution4 ,when the church herself   
becomes honest enough to tolerate and   
respect the honest opinions of those who
 cannot conscientiously accept her      
creed1 then will it be time for her to  
charge ,lincoln with hypocrisy for      
having partially withheld his unpopular 
views from religious ruffians4 ,it does 
not evince a want of honesty1 nor even a
 lack of moral courage1 to flee from a  
tiger or avoid a skunk4  ,to do good was
 ,lincoln's religion4 ,to live an       
honest1 manly life--to add to the sum of
 human happiness--to make the world     
better for his having lived--this was   
the aspiration of his life and the      
essence of his faith4  ,in youth1 the   
meanest creature found in him a friend1 
and if need be1 a defender4 ,he wrote   
essays and made speeches against cruelty
 to animals1 and sought to impress upon 
his playmates' minds the sacredness of  
life4 ,the same tender regard for the   
weak and unfortunate characterized his  

manhood4 ,whilst riding through a forest
 once with a party of friends1 he saw a 
brood of young birds on the ground which
 a storm had blown from their nest4 ,he 
dismounted from his horse1 and after a  
laborious search1 found the nest and    
placed the birdlings snugly in their    
little home4 ,when he reached his       
companions1 and was chided by them for  
his delay1 he said3 ,i could not have   
slept to-night if ,i had not given those
 birds to their mother4  ,the narration 
of his many deeds of kindness and mercy 
while at ,washington would fill a       
volume4 ,he loved to rescue an erring   
soldier boy from the jaws of death and  
fill a mother's eyes with tears of joy4 
,he loved to dispel the clouds of sorrow
 from a wife's sad heart and warm it    
with the sunshine of happiness4 ,he     
loved to take the child of poverty upon 
his knee and plant within its little    
breast the seeds of confidence and hope4
  ,a giant in stature1 and a lion in    
strength and courage1 he possessed the  

gentleness of a child and the tenderness
 of a woman4 ,the sufferings1 even of a 
stranger1 would fill his eyes with      
tears1 and the death of a friend would  
overwhelm him4 ,in his tenth year his   
mother died1 and for a time his heart   
was desolate and he could not be        
consoled4 ,in his fifteenth year his    
only sister1 a lovely1 fragile flower1  
just blooming into womanhood1 drooped   
and died1 and life seemed purposeless to
 him again4 ,of his four children1 two  
died while he was living--,eddie1 a     
fair-haired babe1 and his beloved       
,willie4 ,when death took these his     
sorrow was unutterable4 ,the untimely   
death of his young friend1 the gallant  
,colonel ,ellsworth1 at ,alexandria1 and
 the death of his life-long friend1 the 
lamented ,edwin ,f4 ,baker1 at ,ball's  
,bluff1 were blows that staggered him4  
,at the death of his good friend1       
,bowlin ,green1 he was chosen to deliver
 a funeral address4 ,when the hour      
arrived1 and he stepped forward to      

perform the sacred task1 his eyes fell  
upon the coffin of his dead friend and  
for a time he stood transfixed--helpless
 and speechless4 ,the only tribute he   
could pay was the tribute of his tears4 
,when he turned for the last time from  
the bedside of the beautiful ,ann       
,rut-ledge1 his betrothed1 it was with a
 broken heart and a mind dethroned4 ,oh6
 ,i can never be reconciled to have the 
snow1 the rain1 and the storm beat upon 
her grave1 was the pitiful burden of his
 plaint for weeks4 ,reason after a time 
returned1 but his wonted gladness never2
 and down through all those eventful    
years to that fatal ,april night when   
his own sweet life-blood slowly oozed   
away1 beneath that sparkling surface of 
feigned mirth1 drifted the memory and   
the agonies of that great grief4  ,in   
the social relations of life1 he was a  
most exemplary man4 ,he was a devoted   
husband1 an indulgent father1 an        
obliging neighbor1 and a faithful       
friend4 ,mrs4 ,colonel ,chapman1 a lady 

who lived for a time in his family1 pays
 this tribute to his private life3 ,he  
was all that a husband1 father1 and     
neighbor should be1 kind and            
affectionate to his wife and child1 and 
very pleasant to all around him4 ,never 
did ,i hear him utter an unkind word4   
,his devotion to wife and children1 says
 ,george ,w4 ,julian1 was as abiding and
 unbounded as his love of country4 ,the 
strong attachment always manifested by  
him for his friends has often been      
remarked4 ,rich and poor1 great and     
humble1 all were equally dear to him and
 alike the recipients of his regard and 
love4 ,the prince he treated like a man1
 the humblest man he treated like a     
prince4 ,nothing in his career exhibits 
the greatness and nobleness of his      
character in a loftier degree than the  
cordial and unaffected manner in which1 
at ,washington1 in the midst of wealth1 
and splendor1 and refinement1 he was    
accustomed to receive and entertain the 
plain1 uncultured friends of other days4

  ,upon his rugged honesty1 ,i need not 
dwell4 ,the sobriquet of ,honest ,abe   
was early won by him and never lost4 ,in
 his profession--a profession in which1 
too often1 cunning and deceit1 falsehood
 and dishonesty1 are the means1 and     
robbery the end--a profession in which1 
too often1 ,injustice is a purpled      
,dives sitting at a bounteous board1 and
 ,justice1 a ragged ,lazarus lying at   
the gate--he never wavered in his       
loyalty to truth1 to justice1 and to    
honesty4 ,engaged in a just cause1 he   
was one of the most powerful advocates  
that ever addressed a judge or jury2    
engaged in an unjust cause1 he was the  
weakest member of his bar4 ,in fact1 he 
could not be induced to plead a cause in
 which he did not see some element of   
justice1 even though the technicalities 
of law insured success4 ,to one who had 
sought his services and had stated his  
case1 he replied3 ,yes1 ,i can win it2  
but there are some things legally right 
that are not morally right2 this is one3

 ,i cannot take your case4 ,he was once 
employed to defend a person accused of  
murder4 ,as the trial progressed1 it    
became apparent to him that his client  
had done the deed4 ,turning to his      
associate counsel1 with a look of       
disappointment and pain1 he said3       
,swett1 the man is guilty2 you defend   
him2 ,i cannot4 ,on another occasion1   
when he discovered that his client had  
grossly imposed upon his confidence and 
instituted an unjust suit1 he left the  
court-room1 and when the bailiff called 
for him1 he answered3 ,tell ,judge      
,treat that ,i can't come2 ,i have to   
wash my hands4  ,he was the most        
magnanimous of men4 ,william ,h4        
,seward1 his chief opponent for the     
,presidential nomination1 he made the   
,premier of his ,cabinet4 ,secretary    
,chase became his political1 if not his 
personal1 enemy4 ,yet1 recognizing his  
fitness for the place1 he waived all    
personal grievances and appointed him to
 the exalted position of ,chief ,justice

 of the ,united ,states1 the highest    
gift within the power of a ,president to
 bestow4 ,during his professional career
 he was sent to ,cincinnati to assist   
,edwin ,m4 ,stanton in an important     
legal case4 ,the grim ,stanton had never
 met this plain1 ,western lawyer before1
 and displeased at his uncouth          
appearance1 and apparent lack of        
ability1 treated him so discourteously  
that ,lincoln's self-respect compelled  
him to practically withdraw from the    
case4 ,it was a brutal affront1 too     
poignant for him ever to forget1 but not
 to forgive1 and linked together on one 
of the most momentous pages of history  
stand the names of ,lincoln and         
,stanton1 an enduring witness to his    
sublime magnanimity4  ,the murder of    
this loving savior of our ,union was a  
disastrous blow1 not to the victorious  
,north alone1 but to the vanquished     
,south as well4 ,could he have lived1   
the balm of his great1 kindly nature    
would have quickly healed the nation's  

wounds4 ,at the commencement of the     
conflict1 in pleading tones1 he said3   
,we are not enemies1 but friends4 ,and  
at its close1 notwithstanding all the   
cruel1 bitter anguish he had endured    
during those four long years of         
fratricidal strife1 ,with malice toward 
none1 with charity for all1 he died1 and
 many a brave ,confederate deplored     
,the deep damnation of his taking off4  
,when ,stonewall ,jackson died1 he paid 
a touching tribute to his gallantry1 and
 said3 ,let us forget his errors over   
his fresh-made grave4 in the darkness of
 night1 on a bloody field of the        
,peninsula1 he bent beside the prostrate
 form of a dying soldier of the ,south1 
and while the hot tears rolled down his 
furrowed cheeks1 soothed him with words 
of tender-est sympathy1 and1 by the dim 
rays of a lantern1 took down from his   
lips a message to his mother1 and sent  
it by a flag of truce into the enemies' 
lines to be transmitted to his home4    
,glorious apostle of humanity6 ,when    

shall we look upon his like again8 so   
honest1 so truthful1 so just1 so        
charitable1 so loving1 so merciful6 ,law
 was his ,god1 justice his creed1 and   
liberty his heaven4 ,if he sinned1 mercy
 prompted him4 ,in the presence of such 
a man1 and in the presence of such a    
religion1 how contemptible your puny    
theologians and their narrow creeds     
appear6 ,born in the cabin of a ,western
 wild1 dying in a nation's capital1 its 
honored chief1 enshrined in the hearts  
of an admiring world1 ,abraham ,lincoln 
stands to-day the gentlest1 purest1     
noblest character in human history4     
,millenniums may pass away1 unnumbered  
generations come and go1 creeds rise and
 fall2 but the divine faith of          
,freedom's martyr--a faith based upon   
immutable law1 eternal justice1         
universal liberty--a faith formulated   
not in perishable words1 but in immortal
 deeds1 will live through all the years 
to come1 a torch of hope to every son of
 toil4