Honor's Voice, A Tale of Self-Identity and Ethical Choices Part 6

In the sixth and final section of Douglas Wilson's Honor's Voice, Lincoln's pre-president life is reviewed. Most notably, Wilson makes reference to a phrase Lincoln once used in a congressional speech: "the power to hurt" (Wilson 303). In Shakespeare's 94th sonnet, he essentially says that those who don't hurt, despite having to power to hurt, have a sense of superiority. According to Wilson, Lincoln possessed a quality similar to the one Shakespeare writes about: "The power to hurt...was curiously offset in his nature by something like its obverse, an inability to ignore the helpless" (Wilson 305). Once, as Lincoln's wife recalled, while Lincoln was crossing a prairie, he noticed a pig stuck in mud. Deliberating whether or not to help the pig, he passed on by, but, because of his conscience, he rushed back and saved the pig in distress. Stories like this, which defined Lincoln as a person, were not at all uncommon in his life.

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Although the story of Lincoln and the pig shows that Lincoln was a man of integrity, Lincoln was not the kind of person who completely devoted his life to service and helping others. In fact, he had more important, more self-oriented goals to accomplish. Wilson writes, "Rising in the world, which was apparently Lincoln's ambition from the start, seems to have meant a quest primarily for recognition or distinction" (Wilson 293). While this may seem selfish, it is only natural to strive for recognition and distinction. Everyone wants to have their recognizable place in the world. What is unique in Lincoln's case, though, is the fact that his yearning to achieve distinction led to a monumental feat in the service of helping others. In a nutshell, Wilson describes this thought, "As his wife observed, the world found out about Lincoln's hard-won resolution, for his rock-solid ability to keep his resolves once they were made would undergrid his performance as president. And that would make all the difference" (Wilson 323). The individual longing for distinction and upward mobility is neccesary, as it was in America during the time of Lincoln, to make advancements in society. There is, however, a danger in certain ambitious individuals. Luckily, Lincoln was not one of them.

Honor's Voice, A Tale of Self-Identity and Ethical Choices Part 5

In the 5th section of Douglas Wilson's Honor's Voice, Lincoln's move from New Salem to Springfield is discussed. After Lincoln had helped make Springfield the capital of Illinois, he had established himself as a leader in the Illinois legislature. Even though he had moved up the ranks, he decided to take up a career in law, to be "the law partner of a rising political star" (Wilson 261). Lincoln, however, could not pursue his career in law in the city of New Salem as it didn't provide him the opportunity to do so. He would have to move to Springfield. Moving from New Salem to Springfield would not be easy for Lincoln just as moving from a house that one has been living at for years to a new location would presumably be difficult. What made the move even more difficult is the fact that Lincoln had built up a strong reputation in New Salem, one that would have to be re-built if he moved to Springfield. Wilson attests to this, "He established a viable niche for himself at New Salem, where he was not only accepted but regarded as something of a remarkable young man. But there was no future for a lawyer there" (Wilson 249). Dealing with the challenge of moving to New Salem would be somewhat of a test for him.

Upon Lincoln's arrival to Springfield, he was a man who was by no means one of the upper-class. Lincoln was born into a farming family and lived in the same conditions of those around him, no better, no worse. To Lincoln, though, this didn't matter: "Poverty was not the issue, for Lincoln seems to have been quite content to live a simple life of very few materials wants and possessions. The issue was debt" (Wilson 265). Lincoln had incurred sums of debt as a result of investing in a horse and a compass as well as a failed storekeeping venture. Just as if that wasn't enough, Lincoln had several other problems. Wilson writes, "If Lincoln's first year in Springfield found him having to cope with apprehension about his prospects as a lawyer, feelings of social ineptitude and a lack of acceptance, there was at least one more thing that must have given him serious concern: his recurring bouts of depression" (Wilson 283). The doubt of his being successful should be expected and his want for being accepted into the society is by no means abnormal. On the flip side, Lincoln's depression, which is seemingly abnormal to those who regard Lincoln as great, was quite normal as he had lived with the blues before he came to Springfield. What was different about the blues he had in New Salem was the fact that he didn't show it. In Springfield, it seemed to consume him and it showed greatly. One of Lincoln's associates, Herndon, described Lincoln as "a sad-looking man; his melancholy dripped from him as he walked" (Wilson). Lincoln's move was met with adversity, but he would pull through.