AMERICA does not have an official day to observe the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln, but “President’s Day” on the third Monday in February is a US federal holiday set on the calendar because of its close proximity to the birthdays of Lincoln on February 12th and President George Washington on February 22nd. As I reflect on the birth of Lincoln, and as we have just celebrated the birth of Robert Burns, I highlight the depth of feeling Lincoln and the Lincoln family had for the Scottish Bard and Scotland more generally.
When President Lincoln was tragically killed in 1865, so many of his personal hopes that he shared with First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln came to an abrupt rest. One of the goals they longed to do following Lincoln’s presidency was travel to Scotland. Lincoln who never left the United States for any foreign journey, often contemplated Scotland and spoke of his goal of travelling there. At the end of the Civil War, Lincoln said to his personal secretary John Hay: “Now we have won this great war, I must make good on my promise to go to Scotland and pay homage to the man without whom everything would be different. Tomorrow you must book my passage.” The man he reverently referred to was Burns, and, of course, the literal passage never occurred because of his assassination at Ford’s Theatre.
Lincoln is arguably the most gifted speaker and eloquent writers ever to occupy the White House. His political life produced historic oratory messages such as the “House Divided,” the “Gettysburg Address,” and the “Second Inaugural Address.” His personal writings are a treasure trove of descriptive talent and wisdom. While Lincoln is known as a political figure, to pigeon hole him into this role alone does history a disservice. His writing influences were broad and stemmed from his zest for reading, pursuing knowledge, a desire to understand human-beings, and polish his communication skills.
Lincoln was born into poverty in a small log cabin in Kentucky 13 years after Burns died in Dumfries in 1796. The economic circumstances and social obstacles surrounding Lincoln’s birth and early years were similar to Burns’ who was also born into poverty in a small Alloway cottage. Lincoln had been exposed to Burns as a teenager by a Scottish American immigrant teacher named Jack Kelso. It is believed that Kelso gave young Abe his first book of Burns. And from that moment Burns became a lifelong inspiration for Lincoln. He frequently drew from his words, and the depth of his understanding of Burns ran deep. I believe that Lincoln would have cited Burns’ love poems to Mary Todd as he courted her and came to love her; poems such as “Highland Mary” or “To Mary in Heaven” or “Mary Morrison.”
Burns cultivated in Lincoln a respect for Scotland, Scottish language, Scottish history, and the Scottish people. Lincoln then nurtured it in Mary Lincoln, and they came to share the admiration. While their third son was named after Mary’s brother-in-law, it is likely the name they chose of William Wallace was also out of respect for Sir William Wallace. Lincoln likely would have told “Willy” those tales before the 11-year-old child sadly died in the White House. Additionally, the Lincoln’s selected Scottish born and Scottish educated Alexander Williamson as a private tutor for their boys. The Scot was present at Lincoln’s bedside when he died.
A few years after Lincoln’s death, still grieving, Mary travelled to Scotland to fulfill their shared dream. With her son, Thomas, she went to Scotland for seven weeks. She made a pilgrimage to the Burns Cottage and other sights frequently thinking of her late husband and the joy he would have felt. She also made a special visit to the grave of Mary Campbell or "Highland Mary." Standing at the grave, she was overcome by the moment, still terribly missing her husband and the hope they had of being together in Scotland. At the poetic moment in a Greenock cemetery, Mary's love for her husband was close. There in Scotland, she healed further, the couple reconnected, and Burns was as if the Brig o’ Doon itself on which they together stood.
The first foreign statue to Lincoln is fittingly in Edinburgh’s Old Calton Cemetery in city centre. If you happen to be there, read a passage of Burns or sing Auld Lang Syne. As the world celebrates Lincoln, it celebrates Burns, for the expressed hopes and wisdom of the Scottish Bard lived within Lincoln. Conversely, as the world rejoices Burns, it rejoices Lincoln, for Lincoln upheld the aspirations that Burns yearned for but never realized. The two figures are inseparately linked, like auld acquaintances never to be forgotten.
Ian Houston has spent his career in Washington, DC as a policy advocate for diplomatic engagement, global poverty alleviation, intercultural dialogue, and as an international non-profit leader and executive. He formerly worked in the U.S. Congress on policy staff. He currently serves as President of the Scottish Business Network (SBN) in the US and SBN Ambassador in Washington, DC. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of SBN.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel