Abe Lincoln Archives - Kowalski Heat Treating

Abe Lincoln. What a guy. Hey, in the bottom image, if you can tell me what the significance of the penny is to KHT, shoot me an email. You could win a nifty KHT prize! :)))

Each year about this time, we pause to honor and remember our past Presidents. For me, that best falls on George and Abe. Much has been written about these gentlemen – George’s time as a farmer, soldier and commander and his unlikely path to the presidency and Abe’s gradual climb to the top after so many setbacks. I enjoyed reading about both of them, their ability to overcome obstacles and yep … and you guessed it, solving those PIA (Pain In The @%$) Jobs! Like many people, I’m still amazed by Abe Lincoln – his upbringing, determination, and problem-solving ability. Stoic. Steadyhanded. Never give up or give in attitude. And still one of the best speechwriters ever. Here’s some fun info about him, a little history, and a whole lot of respect. Thanks to Wikipedia, Google, Microsoft and alamy.com for the insights and info. Enjoy.

Abraham Lincoln earned the nickname “Railsplitter” due to his early career as a rail-splitter. The term refers to the manual labor job of splitting wooden rails from logs, which were then used in the construction of fences.

The narrative of Lincoln as a rail-splitter was intended to highlight him as a hardworking, honest, and rugged individual who understood the challenges faced by ordinary Americans.

While Lincoln’s rail-splitting days were in his youth and represented a small part of his overall life experience, the symbolism became a powerful and enduring aspect of his political persona.
In 1858, Lincoln engaged in a series of famous debates with Stephen A. Douglas during their campaign for the U.S. Senate seat in Illinois. Although Lincoln lost the election, these debates raised his national profile and set the stage for his presidential run in 1860. Read more

On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected sixteenth president of the United States. He won as “The Railsplitter” candidate. He was the tallest President, at 6 feet, 4 inches and he had the largest feet of any President, at a size 14. Consequently, Lincoln’s political opponents frequently took absurd shots at his appearance:

Lincoln took it all with characteristic good humor and was not above the occasional self-deprecating joke. He once recounted a story in which someone called him a “self-made man,” to which he replied, “Well, all I’ve got to say is that it was a damned bad job.” And when Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas called him “two-faced” in a debate, Lincoln famously replied, “If I had another face, do you think I’d wear this one?”

In a letter from a supporter that led to him becoming the first fully bearded President, an 11-year-old named Grace Bedell saw a poster of a clean-shaven Lincoln that her father brought home from a county fair and decided she needed to encourage the candidate to go for a glow-up. Bedell wrote Lincoln, “I have yet got four brothers and part of them will vote for you any way and if you let your whiskers grow, I will try and get the rest of them to vote for you. He ultimately grew out his beard after being elected President in November 1860. Just a few months later, Lincoln met Bedell when his train tour stopped in New York and let her know that she was behind his makeover: “You see,” Lincoln told her, “I let these whiskers grow for you, Grace.”

The stovepipe hat was one of Lincoln’s signature accessories, and the final hat he ever wore is now kept at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The top hat helped the President tower over crowds even more than he naturally did, but the adornment wasn’t just used for looks: The President actually kept documents in the hat while he was wearing it. According to some historians, the phrase “keep it under your hat” — meaning to keep something secret — comes from Lincoln’s habit. (how cool -now you know!!).

In May 1849, right after the end of his term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Lincoln was granted a patent for “adjustable buoyant air chambers,” which were meant to help buoy boats over shoals. He got the idea from his time working as a ferryman, when on two different occasions he was on a riverboat that got stuck after running aground on the Mississippi River., Lincoln remains the only U.S. President ever to receive a patent.

Lincoln is probably best known for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which declared that all slaves in Confederate states “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” This was a significant step towards the abolition of slavery.

Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. He died the following day, making him the first U.S. president to be assassinated.

Throughout his political career, Lincoln adhered to a set of principles and beliefs, including a commitment to justice and equality, during his time as a lawyer and beyond. His stance on issues such as slavery reflected his moral convictions, and he maintained his honesty in advocating for these principles. His legacy as a leader, emancipator, and the preserver of the Union continues to be celebrated in American history.

Enjoy President’s Day.

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I. Love. My. Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good. :-))))
Have fun!!

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Does Abe Lincoln look better with a beard? Clearly, yes. What about those well-known actors? Michael Fassbender, Kristofer Hivju, Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, and Leonardo DiCaprio. I’d say Fassbender and Hivju, yes, better WITH a beard. The rest of those guys can go either way. If anyone disagrees, send me an email. But overall, beards work. And those eight guys at the bottom are really working their beards! Can you imagine them going out to dinner? Their wives are waiting and waiting, hollering to their husbands to hurry it up or we’ll be late. And they’re still upstairs doing their hair. Hahaha!!!

Sometimes a simple observation, and the power of the pen, can change a man, and change history. At 6ft 4in our 16th President Abraham Lincoln remains the tallest of America’s 46 presidents. He also stands as one of the highest in esteem, according to polls of historians, politicians, and the general public. Another noted physical feature was Lincoln’s beard (along with his extra tall top hat). He was the first president to have a beard – and we can thank an 11-year-old girl for that distinction. Now, I’ll admit, I’ve grown a beard (never thought of old Abe when I did it … and never ran for office) – it came in quite nicely if I do say so myself…until Jackie had enough of it and I shaved it off. I came across this great trivia story, written by Ray Setterfield for ??? and had to share. It’s what movies are made of – a little girl, a personal letter, a new look, and a remarkable President. And for all of my “facial hair” friends out there, please be sure to click the link below – it’s the latest Top “beard looks” (I attended a wedding over the weekend, and it seemed like more than half of the young men were sporting beards). See if you can find your look in the list (full, bushy, biker, viking??). Shoot me an email with your favorite “beard” story too skowalski@khtheat.com. Enjoy!!

Check Out These Cool Beard Styles

On this day, over 160 years ago, Grace Bedell of Westfield, New York, sent a letter to Abe Lincoln in 1860, just before the presidential election, urging him to improve his appearance by growing a beard. Her letter read:

Oct 15. 1860
Hon A B Lincoln

Dear Sir

My father has just home from the fair and brought home your picture. . . I am a little girl only eleven years old, but want you should be President of the United States very much so I hope you wont think me very bold to write to such a great man as you are. . . I have got 4 brother’s and part of them will vote for you any way and if you will let your whiskers grow I will try and get the rest of them to vote for you you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin. All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husband’s to vote for you and then you would be President. My father is a going to vote for you and if I was a man I would vote for you to but I will try and get every one to vote for you that I can. . . I must not write any more answer this letter right off

Good bye
Grace Bedell

Lincoln took Grace’s advice, grew out his beard and won the election. He thanked her in person when his train stopped at Westfield on February 16, 1861 on his way to Washington.
The New York World reported:
On reaching [Westfield, Mr Lincoln] said that if that young lady was in the crowd he should be glad to see her. There was a momentary commotion, in the midst of which an old man, struggling through the crowd, approached, leading his daughter . . . whom he introduced to Mr. Lincoln as his Westfield correspondent. Mr. Lincoln stooped down and kissed the child and talked with her for some minutes.
Her advice had not been thrown away upon the rugged chieftain. A beard of several months’ growth covers (perhaps adorns) the lower part of his face. The young girl’s peachy cheek must have been tickled with a stiff whisker, for the growth of which she was herself responsible.
Abraham Lincoln was born into poverty in a one-room log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky. His father, Thomas, a poor pioneer, was a farmer and carpenter, and his mother, Nancy, was a seamstress.
Lincoln spent much of his youth working as a farmhand, but later became a merchant, a postmaster, a county surveyor and a lawyer, although he had no formal qualifications for any of these posts. He was largely self-educated and his total schooling, given to him by traveling teachers, is estimated to total only around one year
But he was always a voracious reader and when he decided to become a lawyer, he simply taught himself the law, (now that’s a PIA (pain in the @%$) Job! for sure) then set up in practice at Springfield, Illinois, admitting later: “I studied with nobody.”
He sat in the Illinois state legislature from 1834 to 1842 and in 1846 was elected to Congress as a member of the Whig Party. In 1856, Lincoln joined the new Republican Party which had been formed two years earlier and in 1860 he was asked to run as their presidential candidate.
Lincoln won by electoral votes but was particularly unpopular in the South where it was (rightly) feared that he would attempt to abolish slavery. Before the new president took office, seven southern states left the Union to form the Confederate States of America, also known as the Confederacy. Four more joined later.
This ran counter to everything that Lincoln believed, and as many Unionists saw leaders of the breakaway states as traitors, civil war seemed inevitable.
Fighting began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate soldiers attacked the Union’s Fort Sumter at Charleston, South Carolina. The war continued for four years and cost the lives of between 620,000 and 850,000 men. On April 9, 1865, Confederate general Robert E Lee surrendered, effectively ending the war.
Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg Address later that year calling for “government of the people, by the people, for the people”. Months later he stood for re-election and won. In his second inaugural address he was, typically, conciliatory towards the southern states. The address ended:
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
Of course, as we know, Lincoln got to serve only one month and eleven days of his second term before being shot and killed while attending a theatre performance. His assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was a strong supporter of the Confederacy.
“Honest Abe” remains one of the most popular presidents in American history, consistently ranked in the top three alongside George Washington and Franklin D Roosevelt. His greatest achievements are seen as ending the Civil War, abolishing slavery and developing the economy.

Perhaps all because of a little girl and the power of a simple idea.

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Archive for category: Abe Lincoln