by Richard Carwardine
Abraham Lincoln was the first president to make
storytelling, jokes, and laughter tools of the office, and his natural sense of
humor has become legendary. Lincoln’s Sense of Humor registers the
variety, complexity of purpose, and ethical dimension of Lincoln’s humor and
pinpoints the political risks Lincoln ran in telling jokes while the nation was
engaged in a bloody struggle for existence.
Complete with amusing anecdotes, this book shows how Lincoln’s uses of humor
evolved as he matured and explores its versatility, range of expressions, and
multiple sources: western tall tales, morality stories, bawdy jokes, linguistic
tricks, absurdities, political satire, and sharp wit. While Lincoln excelled at
self-mockery, nothing gave him greater pleasure than satirical work lampooning
hypocrisy and ethical double standards. He particularly enjoyed David R.
Locke’s satiric writings by Petroleum V. Nasby, a fictional bigoted
secessionist preacher, and the book explores the nuances of Lincoln’s
enthusiasm for what he called Locke’s genius, showing the moral springs of
Lincoln’s humor.
Richard Carwardine methodically demonstrates that Lincoln’s funny stories were
the means of securing political or personal advantage, sometimes by frontal
assault on opponents but more often by depiction through parable, obfuscation
through hilarity, refusal through wit, and diversion through cunning.
Throughout his life Lincoln worked to develop the humorist’s craft and hone the
art of storytelling. His jokes were valuable in advancing his careers as
politician and lawyer and in navigating his course during a storm-tossed
presidency. His merriness, however, coexisted with self-absorbed contemplation
and melancholy. Humor was his lifeline; dark levity acted as a tonic, giving
Lincoln strength to tackle the severe challenges he faced. At the same time, a
reputation for unrestrained, uncontrollable humor gave welcome ammunition to
his political foes. In fact, Lincoln’s jocularity elicited waves of criticism
during his presidency. He was dismissed as a “smutty joker,” a “first rate second
rate man,” and a “joke incarnated.”
Since his death, Lincoln’s anecdotes and jokes have become detached from the
context that had given them their political and cultural bite, losing much of
the ironic and satiric meaning that he had intended. With incisive analysis and
laugh-inducing examples, Carwardine helps to recapture a strong component of
Lincoln’s character and reanimates the good humor of our sixteenth president.
About the Author
Richard Carwardine is a professor emeritus at Oxford
University, where he served as Rhodes Professor of American History from 2002
to 2009 and as president of Corpus Christi College from 2010 to 2016. His
analytical biography Lincoln won the Lincoln Prize in 2004 and was
subsequently published in the United States as Lincoln: A Life of Purpose
and Power. His other work includes Transatlantic Revivalism: Popular
Evangelicalism in Britain and America, 1790–1865; Evangelicals and
Politics in Antebellum America; and (with Jay Sexton) The Global Lincoln.
ISBN 978-0809336142, Southern Illinois University Press, ©
2017, Hardcover, 184 pages, Illustrations, End Notes, and Index. $24.93. To
purchase this book click HERE.
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