By Brian R. Dirck
Abraham Lincoln, born in Kentucky in 1809, moved with his
parents, Thomas and Nancy Lincoln, and his older sister, Sarah, to the Pigeon
Creek area of southern Indiana in 1816. There Lincoln spent more than a quarter
of his life. It was in Indiana that he developed a complicated and often
troubled relationship with his father, exhibited his now-famous penchant for
self-education, and formed a restless ambition to rise above his origins. Although
some questions about these years are unanswerable due to a scarcity of reliable
sources, Brian R. Dirck’s fascinating account of Lincoln’s boyhood sets what is
known about the relationships, values, and environment that fundamentally
shaped Lincoln’s character within the context of frontier and farm life in
early nineteenth-century midwestern America.
Lincoln in Indiana tells the story of Lincoln’s life
in Indiana, from his family’s arrival to their departure. Dirck explains the
Lincoln family’s ancestry and how they and their relatives came to settle near
Pigeon Creek. He shows how frontier families like the Lincolns created complex
farms out of wooded areas, fashioned rough livelihoods, and developed
tight-knit communities in the unforgiving Indiana wilderness. With evocative
prose, he describes the youthful Lincoln’s relationship with members of his
immediate and extended family. Dirck illuminates Thomas Lincoln by setting him
into his era, revealing the concept of frontier manhood, and showing the increasingly
strained relationship between father and son. He illustrates how pioneer women
faced difficulties as he explores Nancy Lincoln’s work and her death from milk
sickness; how Lincoln’s stepmother, Sarah Bush, fit into the family; and how
Lincoln’s sister died in childbirth. Dirck examines Abraham’s education and
reading habits, showing how a farming community could see him as lazy for
preferring book learning over farmwork. While explaining how he was both
similar to and different from his peers, Dirck includes stories of Lincoln’s
occasional rash behavior toward those who offended him. As Lincoln grew up, his
ambitions led him away from the family farm, and Dirck tells how Lincoln chafed
at his father’s restrictions, why the Lincolns decided to leave Indiana in
1830, and how Lincoln eventually broke away from his family.
In a triumph of research, Dirck cuts through the myths about Lincoln’s early life, and along the way he explores the social, cultural, and economic issues of early nineteenth-century Indiana. The result is a realistic portrait of the youthful Lincoln set against the backdrop of American frontier culture.
About the Author
Brian R. Dirck is a professor of history at Anderson
University in Indiana. He is the author of eight books, including Lincoln
and the Constitution, another Concise Lincoln Library book, and Lincoln
the Lawyer, which won the Barondess/Lincoln Award.
ISBN 978-0809335657, Southern Illinois University Press, ©
2017, Hardcover, 152 pages, Photographs, End Notes, Bibliography & Index.
$24.95. To purchase this book click HERE.
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