Ronald C. White Jr. - A. Lincoln: A Biography

N WRITING A BIOGRAPHY of Abraham Lincoln, I have been conscious at every moment of being supported by a community of scholars, friends, and institutions. I am privileged to do research and writing as a Fellow at the incomparable Huntington Library in San Marino, California. I wish to thank Steven Koblik, president; Robert C. Ritchie, W. M. Keck director of research; and David S. Zeidberg, Avery director of the library. Special thanks go to the Readers Services Department, especially Christopher J. S. Adde, Jill Cogan, and Barbara Quinn.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, is a treasure trove of manuscripts and people. From the beginning of my journey with Mr. Lincoln, Illinois state historian Tom Schwartz, always willing to answer any query, has generously shared his vast knowledge of Lincoln. Daniel W. Stowell, director and editor of the Lincoln Papers, has offered his friendship and counsel, as well as early admission to the manuscript versions of the Lincoln Legal Papers published by the University of Virginia Press in 2008. Stowell and his excellent team of editors also provided access to their massive project of collecting and annotating the Abraham Lincoln Papers, which, unlike the Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln published in the 1950s, will include all of the incoming correspondence to Lincoln. I also thank James M. Cornelius, curator of the Henry Hoerner Lincoln Collection, and Cheryl Schnirring, director of the Manuscripts Division. Tim Town-send, National Park Service historian for the Abraham Lincoln home in Springfield, guided me through the home and answered innumerable questions in succeeding years.

At the Library of Congress, John Sellers, historical specialist for the Civil War and Reconstruction, has been a resource and sounding board for all things Lincoln. Clark Evans, director, Rare Books Division, and Mary Ison, head of the Photography and Prints Division, have, again, rendered valuable assistance.

I wish to thank the staffs of the John Hay Collection at Brown University, the Chicago History Museum, and the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for their help during research visits.

I am grateful to President George W. Bush for his invitation to Cynthia and me to meet with him and to explore firsthand Lincolns White House. Mr. Peter Wehner, deputy assistant to the president and director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives, coordinated our visit. William G. Allman, White House curator, provided us an extensive tour of the White House, including the upstairs living quarters, and spoke with us about how this great house functioned in Lincolns time. It is one thing to read about the White House; it is another to meander through its rooms and imagine where Abraham, Mary, Tad, Willie, and secretaries John Nicolay and John Hay lived and worked. We appreciated seeing the marvelous George P. A. Healey portrait of Lincoln in the White House state dining room.

Jim McPherson generously shared with me Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief while still in manuscript form. Catherine Clinton kindly allowed me to read an early draft of her new book, Mrs. Lincoln: A Life.

I am indebted to friends who read parts or all of the manuscript. Tom Schwartz read an early version of the Illinois portion of the manuscript. Huntington colleagues Jack Rogers and Paul Zall provided me their seasoned insights. Douglas Wilson and Daniel Howe read parts of the manuscript and offered both critical questions and critical insights. Gary Gallagher, Jim McPherson, and Richard Wightman Fox deserve full thanks for reading the full manuscript.

Karen Needles, director of the Lincolnarchives Digital Project (www.lincolnarchives.us), tirelessly assisted me in searching the Library of Congress, National Archives, and other repositories for texts, photographs, illustrations, and cartoons. Annie Russell, a former Ph.D. student, both offered her own critical reading of the manuscript and helped organize the notes and the bibliography. Nancy Macky, a dear friend and Huntington reader, offered her enthusiastic help at a timely moment toward the end of the project.

So many friends, old and new, have offered encouragement, hospitality, and insight along this journey. I can only mention a few: Herb and Roberta Ludwig, Gordon and Sandy Hess, Don and Deanda Roberts, John and Lois Harrison, and Dale Soden.

Mary Evans, my literary agent, has once again been a thoughtful editor, counselor, and cheerleader for this, our third book together.

The greatest privilege and joy has been working with my editor, David Ebershoff, at Random House. A brilliant novelist, David worked with me chapter by chapter as he brought his perceptive counsel and penetrating questions, always ending every interchange with encouragement. I thank Lindsey Schwoeri and many others at Random House for their support. I am grateful to Michelle Daniel for her excellent skills in copy editing.

Finally, and foremost, my best reader has been my wife, Cynthia, who read every page, in many versions, with wisdom and questions born of her own love of reading. Her good humor in relation to my insatiable curiosity about Mr. Lincoln became more than matched by her affirmation of every facet of the long-distance journey of writing this biography. I dedicate this book to Cynthia.