The rural one-room school is an important part of our past. It has become a part of our history and today has entered into "Americana" because it is fondly remembered by our generation. We, who attended these schools, pass the community spirit it engendered on to our children along with the stories of fun and pranks played on the unsuspecting teachers and sometimes the students.
Most of the great leaders of the past attended these schools. Abraham Lincoln is one such example. His mother, during her brief life, taught him the alphabet before he went to school. She knew that her children needed to be able to read and write if they were ever to have a better life than the poverty-stricken area where they lived could provide. Abraham, as a child, attended school when it was available and stayed at the head of the class even though school was commonly held only three or four months of the year.
An author of the19th and early 20th centuries, James Baldwin, wrote a biography of Abraham Lincoln which he titled ABRAHAM LINCOLN; A TRUE LIFE. This book was published in 1904 for the use of school children because much that had been written before was not suitable for young people with limited reading and comprehension. This book has long been out of print but I found one in my Father's keepsakes after he passed away in 2005. He was given the book for a Christmas gift in 1926 when he was 15 years old and kept it all those years.
James Baldwin dedicated this book to school children and I have republished his dedication below.
TO THE SCHOOLBOYS OF AMERICA
This book is dedicated to you. It is the story of a hero greater than any of the heroes of fairy tale or romance. For while the latter were for the most part ideal and imaginary the man of whom I shall tell you was a real person who lived a true life and did noble things.
Concerning no other American has so much been written. Of books about Lincoln there are already scores, even hundreds. Why then should I presume to write another? Why, when it is plainly impossible to relate any new facts regarding our hero, should I venture to add this volume to the multitude of existing biographies?
My answer and apology is this: While I cannot tell anything that has not already been told, yet I may be able to repeat some well known facts in a manner particularly agreeable and understandable to boys and girls, thus producing a book adapted to school reading, free from wearisome details as well as political bias or sectional prejudice. Then, again, it is my aim in this book to trace, as briefly as may be, the progress of our government from the time of its organization to the end of the great civil war; and more particularly to make plain the causes and motives which brought about the tremendous crisis in which Abraham Lincoln bore so conspicuous a part. For to you, the schoolboys of America, the political history that centers around the life of our hero should have more than a passing interest. Although the chief issues then at stake have ceased to exist, yet the lessons of that history remain as beacon lights to guide and warn you, the future rulers and lawmakers of our country. Other issues may arise, other jealousies may cause discord, other mistaken theories may threaten the peace of the nation,--the salvation of this great republic will depend upon your unselfish patriotism. It is with the hope that this book may help to inspire you with such patriotism that I dedicate it to you.
JAMES BALDWIN
Today the interest in Abraham Lincoln is greater than ever and I plan to share more of the book on this blog in coming days. He truly lead a fascinating life from the time he was born in 1809 until his death in 1865.
