The Chronicles Of Grant County:
President Abraham Lincoln

May 27, 2020

(This image was provided courtesy of the Library of Congress.)

President Abraham Lincoln is known by many people as the man who led the United States during the American Civil War.

Many Americans, though, may not know some aspects of the leadership of our 16th President.

He took no salary for at least one year.

According to The Adams Sentinel in Gettysburg on August 4, 1863, President Lincoln had not taken his salary as President for the preceding year. The newspaper indicated that the President had been quoted by a friend as saying that the United States needed the use of the money as much as any person. To put this date in context, President Lincoln issued his Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.

The birthday of President Lincoln – the actual date of his birth, not the date of Presidents Day – has itself impacted the United States of America in ways beyond a national holiday.

What we call “Black History Month” began as “Negro History Week” in 1926. Dr. Carter Woodson, an American educator who was the son of former slaves, created this week to recognize the contributions of Negroes. The week chosen by Dr. Woodson was the second week of February to correspond to the birthday of Abraham Lincoln – February 12th – and the birthday of Frederick Douglass – February 14th.

Mr. Douglass was among prominent as well as ordinary folk who spoke out against slavery at Abolition Hall in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. The national significance of Abolition Hall was recognized by the Federal Government on February 18, 1971, when Abolition Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Through the years, the week-long activities had expanded into a month-long celebration. It was through another President that what began as a civic initiative as Negro History Week became a national celebration as Black History Month. It was President Gerald Ford – our 38th President – who, on behalf of the United States, first officially proclaimed Black History Month in 1976.

In Grant County, President Lincoln is remembered today with Lincoln Street in Santa Clara. In addition, for more than 44 years, a public school in Silver City was named after President Lincoln.

The Abraham Lincoln School was opened in 1915; the school closed as learning center for children in 1959. The building was utilized for other purposes by Silver Consolidated Schools from 1959 to 1970. The local school district sold the building in 1974.

According to a previous news article written by Stephen Fox in the Grant County Beat, the Abraham Lincoln School was established as the first segregated school in Grant County. Mr. Fox detailed that children with Mexican heritage were sent to this school. Mr. Fox reported that the school closed five years after the Brown vs. Board of Education by the United States Supreme Court. Through this landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled that what was then called “separate, but equal education” was unconstitutional – that segregation of education by race was no longer acceptable in our nation. You can read more about segregation and discrimination against Hispanics in Grant County by clicking here.

This photograph shows the statue of President Abraham Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, District
of Columbia. “From the chamber of the memorial, one can appreciate the different stones used in its construction,”
according to a statement from the National Park Service. “The terrace walls and lower steps comprise granite blocks
from Massachusetts - the upper steps, outside facade, and columns contain marble blocks from Colorado - the interior
walls and columns are Indiana limestone - the floor is pink Tennessee marble - the ceiling tiles are Alabama
marble – and the Lincoln statue comprises 28 pieces of Georgia marble. These building materials may seem random,
but Henry Bacon specifically chose each one to tell a very specific story. A country torn apart by war can come together,
not only to build something beautiful, but also explain the reunification of the states.”
(This photograph was produced by Carol Highsmith and provided through the Library of Congress.)

Do you have questions about communities in Grant County?

A street name?  A building?

Your questions may be used in a future news column.

 Contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofgrantcounty@mail.com.

© 2020 Richard McDonough