It would astonish, if not amuse, the older citizens to learn that I (a stranger, friendless, uneducated, penniless boy, working on a flatboat at ten dollars per month) have been put down here as the candidate of pride, wealth, and aristocratic family distinction.
In a personal letter, Lincoln reflects on the irony of his political opponents portraying him as a candidate of wealth and aristocracy despite his humble beginnings.
Share
More from Abraham Lincoln
As a general rule I abstain from reading the reports of attacks upon myself, wishing not to be provoked by that to which I cannot properly offer an answer.
Unlike a case of war between independent nations, there is no organized organ for us to treat with,--no one man has authority to give up the rebellion for any other man.
If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business.
Other voices in this conversation
