{"id":184,"date":"2013-06-10T12:51:12","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T12:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/?p=184"},"modified":"2020-09-21T14:32:21","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T14:32:21","slug":"letter-to-grace-bedell-october-19-1860","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/letter-to-grace-bedell-october-19-1860\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter to Grace Bedell (October 19, 1860)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Ranking<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: 36px;\">#10<\/span> on the list of 150 Most Teachable Lincoln Documents<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Annotated Transcript<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu\/node\/25339\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;My dear little Miss&#8230;.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Audio Version<\/strong><\/h3>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F98689742&visual=true\"><\/iframe>\n<h3>On This Date<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu\/panel\/this_date\/1860-10-19\">HD Daily Report, October 19, 1860<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>I<\/strong><strong>mage Gallery<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-184 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/letter-to-grace-bedell-october-19-1860\/grace-bedell-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Grace-Bedell1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Grace Bedell\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-754\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-754'>\n\t\t\t\tGrace Bedell\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/letter-to-grace-bedell-october-19-1860\/letter-to-grace-bedell\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Letter-to-Grace-Bedell-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Letter to Grace Bedell\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-755\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-755'>\n\t\t\t\tImage of 1860 letter from Lincoln\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/letter-to-grace-bedell-october-19-1860\/linclon-in-1860-without-beard\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Linclon-in-1860-Without-Beard-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Linclon in  Without Beard\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-756\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-756'>\n\t\t\t\tLincoln in 1860 without beard \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/letter-to-grace-bedell-october-19-1860\/lincoln-in-1860-with-beard\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Lincoln-in-1860-with-beard-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Lincoln in  with beard\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-757\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-757'>\n\t\t\t\tLincoln in 1860 with beard\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/letter-to-grace-bedell-october-19-1860\/letter-by-grace-bedell\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Letter-by-Grace-Bedell-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Letter by Grace Bedell\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-758\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-758'>\n\t\t\t\tImage of 1860 letter to Lincoln \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3><strong>Close Readings<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eri5jZl1zW0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/vimeo.com\/69627821\">Matthew Pinsker: Understanding Lincoln: Letter to Grace Bedell (1860)<\/a> from <a href=\"http:\/\/vimeo.com\/gilderlehrman\">The Gilder Lehrman Institute<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\">Vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Custom Map<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps\/ms?msid=214923210427089848626.0004def4e79e2ae545ca4&amp;msa=0&amp;ll=42.334629,-79.573202&amp;spn=0.041495,0.059996&amp;iwloc=0004df09646e7ae4f5780\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-533\" src=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Grace.png\" alt=\"Grace\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps\/ms?msid=214923210427089848626.0004def4e79e2ae545ca4&amp;msa=0&amp;ll=42.336088,-79.573116&amp;spn=0.090348,0.165653&amp;iwloc=lyrftr:msid:214923210427089848626.0004def4e79e2ae545ca4,0004df09646e7ae4f5780,,,0,-63\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">View in Larger Map<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Other Primary Sources<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=NMt-yrjVE50C&amp;pg=PA154&amp;dq=Allow+a+number+of+very+earnest+Republicans+to+intimate+to+you&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=Y6O4UZfBAZWt4AONv4HoDw&amp;ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\">Letter from &#8220;True Republicans&#8221; to Abraham Lincoln, October 12, 1860<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu\/node\/25340\">Letter from Grace Bedell to Abraham Lincoln, October 15, 1860<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/archive.olivesoftware.com\/Default\/Scripting\/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&amp;Source=Page&amp;Skin=CivilWarNB&amp;BaseHref=PHQ\/1861\/02\/20&amp;PageLabelPrint=2&amp;EntityId=Ar00202&amp;ViewMode=GIF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Philadelphia Inquirer <\/em>article from February 20, 1861<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/quod.lib.umich.edu\/l\/lincoln\/lincoln4\/1:217?hi=0;rgn=div1;singlegenre=All;size=25;sort=occur;start=1;subview=detail;type=simple;view=fulltext;q1=November+22%2C+1860\">Lexington <em>Weekly Globe\u00a0<\/em>remarks from November 22, 1860 found in <em>The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln<\/em> volume 4, pg. 144<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.loc.gov\/exhibits\/lincoln\/candidate-lincoln.html#obj4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grace Bedell, recollection of Abraham Lincoln encounter, 1918<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How Historians Interpret<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;Visitors did not know what to make of this President-elect. He surprised even his old friends by growing a beard. During the campaign some New York &#8216;True Republicans,&#8217; worried that Lincoln&#8217;s unflattering photographs would cost the party votes, suggested that he &#8216;would be much improved in appearance, provided you would cultivate whiskers, and wear standing collars.&#8217; A letter from an eleven-year-old girl in Westfield, New York, named Grace Bedell promised to get her brothers to vote for Lincoln if he let his beard grow. &#8216;you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin,&#8217; she suggested. &#8216;All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husband&#8217;s to vote for you and then you would be President.&#8217; Amused, Lincoln replied, &#8216;As to the whiskers, having never worn any, do you not think people would call it a piece of silly affec[ta]tion if I were to begin it now?&#8217; He answered his own question and by the end of November was sporting a half beard, which he initially kept closely cropped. No one knew just what to make of the change. Perhaps it suggested that he was hiding his face because he knew he was not ready to be President. Or maybe it demonstrated the supreme self-confidence of a man who was willing to risk the inevitable ridicule and unavoidable puns like &#8216;Old Abe is&#8230;puttin&#8217; on (h)airs.&#8217; Or possibly it hinted that the President-elect wanted to present a new face to the public, a more authoritative and elderly bearded visage. Or maybe the beard signified nothing more than that the President-elect was bored during the long months of inaction between his nomination and his inauguration.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=lTQSlhUUEOQC&amp;lpg=PA258&amp;dq=david%20donald%20Visitors%20did%20not%20know%20what%20to%20make%20of%20this%20President-elect.%20He%20surprised%20even%20his%20old%20friends%20by%20growing%20a%20beard.&amp;pg=PA258#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\">David Herbert Donald,\u00a0<em>Lincoln\u00a0<\/em>(New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 1995), 258-259<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Further Reading<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.loc.gov\/exhibits\/lincoln\/candidate-lincoln.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;Candidate Lincoln,&#8221; Library of Congress online exhibit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Lincolns-Daughter.pdf\">Lincoln&#8217;s Daughter?<\/a> (Essay by Matthew Pinsker)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">Searchable Text<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\"><em>Private<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">Miss. Grace Bedell Springfield, Ills.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">My dear little Miss. Oct 19. 1860<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">Your very agreeable letter of the 15th. is received.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">I regret the necessity of saying I have no daughters. I have three sons&#8212;one seventeen, one nine, and one seven, years of age. They, with their mother, constitute my whole family.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">As to the whiskers, having never worn any, do you not think people would call it a piece of silly affection if I were to begin it now? Your very sincere well-wisher A. LINCOLN.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ranking #10 on the list of 150 Most Teachable Lincoln Documents Annotated Transcript &#8220;My dear little Miss&#8230;.&#8221; Audio Version On This Date HD Daily Report, October 19, 1860 Image Gallery &nbsp; Close Readings Matthew Pinsker: Understanding Lincoln: Letter to Grace Bedell (1860) from The Gilder Lehrman Institute on Vimeo. Custom Map View in Larger Map [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10857],"tags":[10866,11628,10881,10879,11638,6088,10865,10876],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-father-abraham","tag-antebellum","tag-appearance","tag-autobiographical","tag-family","tag-female-correspondent","tag-letter","tag-private","tag-younger-readers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4650,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions\/4650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}