FYI - not written by Lincoln

Info below from: A father’s letter to his son’s teacher–II

Friday, July 07, 2006

ENGLISH PLAIN AND SIMPLE By Jose A. Carillo A father’s letter to his son’s teacher–II

In my previous column, I presented a letter supposedly written by Abraham Lincoln to his son’s teacher. The letter, contained in a poster displayed in the library of my sixth-grader son’s school, expressed in felicitous English some values that many parents devoutly wish their children would learn in school. As I found out to my dismay, however, Lincoln had not written that letter at all. An enterprising person had falsely appropriated the great man’s name to give more weight to the inspirational thoughts of some unknown writer.

I became suspicious because the letter’s language patterns sounded too modern for comfort. Their English certainly didn’t have the 1860s feel of Lincoln’s “Get­tysburg Address,” a high school recitation piece that I had memorized long, long ago. I therefore decided to check the letter’s authenticity with people knowledgeable about the American president and his writings.

Roger Norton, a retired American history teacher who maintains a very comprehensive web site on Lincoln, gave me this assessment: “I have been asked about this letter before, particularly from folks in India where the letter seems to have the widest circulation. There is no source for it. It is bogus. I have over 280 Abraham Lincoln books, including ‘The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln,’ and this letter is in none of them. It’s a thoughtful letter but it wasn’t really Lincoln who wrote it.”

James Gindlesperger, author of two American Civil War books, Fire on the Water and Escape from Libby Prison, made this appraisal: “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like this is one of those things falsely attributed to Lincoln. Most historians agree that this letter was never written by Lincoln. The style of writing is not Lincoln’s and there is no record anywhere that indicates that he could have written this. Its real author is unknown.”

Cindy VanHorn, registrar of the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, gave a similar appraisal: “Thank you for verifying this before publishing it. Abraham Lincoln did NOT write or speak these words. These phrases are not 19th century phrasing and definitely not Lincoln’s language patterns.”

The letter being decidedly spurious, how come that it had been memorialized into an educational poster? How come that it ended up on display unchallenged in the library of my son’s school and perhaps in many other places around the world?

As far as I can gather, the letter’s first recorded appearance was in the web site of the National Council for Teachers Education in New Delhi, India. This was reported by Thomas E. Scwartz in a bylined article, “Lincoln Never Said That,” for the Winter 2001 issue of For the People, the newsletter of the Abraham Lincoln Association. That web site no longer carries the letter, but its appearance there must have conferred legitimacy to it in education circles, for two years later, on January 22, 2003, The Tribune of India reported that a university vice-chancellor in the Punjab region, in a circular to teachers and students, had quoted extensively from the letter to justify a controversial amendment of a language usage rule. Among the quotes he invoked in Lincoln’s name: “Teach him to have faith in his own ideas even if everyone tells him they are wrong. Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd.”

So what do we do with this untenable state of affairs?

I think we have to decisively put an end to the spurious authorship attribution. I suggest that all copies of the poster be removed from educational or public display. Its very sensible advice need not be consigned to total oblivion, however, so the publishers of the piece can perhaps reissue it simply as “An Anonymous Father’s Letter to His Son’s Teacher.” After all, its timeless words of wisdom about educating children could very well stand on their own without guile or Lincoln.

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Thanks for updating info on your website. Mauri

Oh, that's interesting. Thanks so much for sharing that. I'll have a look.

Ohhhhh.....i love this poem and even recited this in tha assembly in my high school....!!!! even if it has not been penned by Abraham Lincoln I still love it and would want to know who wrote it...after all the credit must go the the right owner!!!!

You are so right...it's a great poem--whoever wrote it.

i love this

THIS WORK IS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION TO MY DAILY LIFE

HE IS SUCH AN INSPIRATIONAL ICON THAT CAN'T BE FORGOTTEN

The authencity of the author is irrelevant but the illumination of truth beamed by this letter. All teenagers should read this.

Yeah, the words should not be ignored...though I'd like to know where credit should be given.

the work done by annonymous person is remarkable and will prove source of encouragement for both parents and children for generations to come.

I recited this poem for a recitation contest when i was 13 years old.....it was my first competition ever.....and i won the first prize.....To the real author.....great words to be told to kids early in life.......!!!!Bravo.....

The code of Good leadership is to over come crowd, the less you're adviced, the more good leader you make.It doesn't mater who wrote it, but what maters is that its making impacte in peoples life for both the young and the aged.

i have never seen a man whose words hit my heart as lincoln.he's my icon.he is a natural speech maker.

its an inspirational saying and advice to the 20th century youth.take it as an advice irrespective of the writer.thanks

Many quotes are atributed to Lincoln on the internet were never said by him. This one is clearly not Abraham Lincoln's style.

I love the letter from Abraham Lincoln,i wil show it to my son.

 I may agree whoever wrote it had the interligence of Lincoln.its fabulous,My kids are going to learn this.

he is great hero,which every one will like to be like him

It's irrelevant, if it inspires then it should be. I actually once read this letter about a decade ago. Coincindentally and thanks to the power of the Internet I was able to do a search and can't wait to get it out and give my friend a copy. So, the author's identity is irrelevant, the message it passes should not be loss on such trifles.

Waoh! What a wonderful writeup from a brave man which is so marvelous and encouraging for young ones like me