Document of the Week: Final Installment
OK folks, here it is, the last in our weekly “document of the week” series. I’ve saved the best for last–this week features what is almost certainly the most important single Lincoln document in the Rosenbach collection–the manuscript of the Baltimore Address. (I’m pretty certain I didn’t do this one yet–bear with me if I’m mistaken)
So what makes these such important pieces of paper. First, there’s the rarity factor–this is a complete manuscript of Lincoln speech, which is rare and it is a speech which he gave as President, which is even rarer since I think he only gave about a dozen public speeches while in office.
Second, there is the content. In this speech, which Dr. Wilson describes as one which really deserves to be better known, Lincoln tackles some mighty big issues. He talks about the competing definitions of liberty which are at the heart of the Civil War conflict, as well as addressing the massacre of black soldiers at Fort Pillow.
He not only tackles big issues, but does it with style–the musing on the meaning of liberty is very elegant and Lincolnian: “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatable things, called by the same name———liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatable names———liberty and tyranny.” Lincoln follows it up with another gem of Lincoln style–an Aesopian fable about a wolf and a black sheep.
Finally, the collecting history of the manuscript is pretty interesting. You might notice the horizontal lines which indicate that the manuscript was cut up and reassembled. We think it was probably cut up in order to be set into type at a newspaper. Shortly after it appeared in print the newspaper owner, who was a big Lincoln supporter, asked Lincoln if he would donate the speech to be sold at the Philadelphia Sanitary Fair to benefit the troops (the newspaper owner’s wife was on one of the fair’s committees). Lincoln agreed and the speech was sold (he had donated the original autograph copy of the final Emancipation Proclamation to Chicago Northwestern Sanitary Fair in 1863) I believe it may have had an additional intermediate owner before Dr. Rosenbach purchased it, but he certainly had good taste—as you can see it is one cool document! To find out more, please head over to the document viewer to check it out!
