#3142 Lincoln’s Mentors

Abraham Lincoln is generally accepted by historians as our mostinspiring leader (although some would argue that he should be placed second in this regard, next to Washington), our most eloquent writer, and our most philosophically minded president. But how he acquired these attributes remains something of a mystery. Lincoln had practically no formal education, was raised in poverty and squalor, and had no insider connections that could set the table for his ascension to power. This course will attempt to explain that seemingly inexplicable rise from humble obscurity to our greatest and most beloved statesman. The guiding theme for our analysis of Lincoln’s life will be that he was obsessively determined to remedy the deficiencies in his formal schooling, and relentlessly sought out teachers wherever he could find them to help him on his journey to greatness. Some of these teachers were living men and women in his immediate surroundings, and others were the great thinkers of history long since departed, but still alive for Lincoln through the written word (he was an indefatigable reader.) Taken collectively, these people were “Lincoln’s Mentors.”