Lincoln the Learner
Stitch up a copybook, write with a quill, practice spelling and ciphering, and read the books young Abraham read.
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Making a Copybook |
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The earliest-known sample of Lincoln’s writing is in a copybook he probably made at about age fifteen. Constructed from several sheets of paper folded in half and stitched together, the booklet contains math problems from a popular text of the times by Thomas Dilworth and one of Lincoln’s earliest verses:
“Abraham Lincoln, hand and pen
He will be good, but God knows when.”
As a child, Lincoln learned to write with a quill pen—an activity that makes modern-day penmanship practice seem simple!
Supplies for each copybook
• 3 sheets of buff Manila paper, 9 x 12 inches
• Pencil
• Embroidery needle with a large eye
• Heavy-weight thread or yarn
Equipment
• Ruler
• Hole punch
• Scissors
Directions
1. Stack the paper and fold in half to make a booklet.
2. Place the ruler along the folded edge and make a small pencil mark every half inch.
3. Punch holes along the fold line on the pencil marks.
4. Thread the needle and stitch the copybook together.
Resources
Quill pens can be purchased from Historic America Quill & Document Company.
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Frontier Schooling |
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In an autobiographical account written in 1860, Lincoln wrote that his formal schooling taught him to read, write, and “cipher to the rule of three.” Other sources note that his first schoolbooks included spelling and math books by Thomas Dilworth. The following exercises are similar to those Lincoln might have practiced.
Exercises
Recite, then copy these “Words of Three Letters” from Dilworth’s speller. Can you think of other one-syllable words that rhyme?
Dab nab. Web. Bib fib rib. Bob fob job mob rob fob. Cub rub tub. Bad had lad mad fad. Bed fed led red wed. Bed did hid kid lid rid. God nod rod. Bud cud mud.
Hold a spelling bee.
Cipher to the rule of three by predicting the third number in the sequence.
1 2 ____
2 4 ____
3 6 ____
5 10 ____
3 2 ____
10 9 ____
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What Abraham Read |
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There were not a lot of books in most frontier communities. Abraham Lincoln’s stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston, brought books when she moved into the Lincoln home in Indiana. Neighbors may have owned books Abraham could borrow.
Friends and family members recalled that Abraham enjoyed these books when he was growing up:
• Aesop’s fables
• Arabian Nights
• Robinson Crusoe
Lincoln may have read Aesop’s fables in a Dilworth speller, which included a dozen stories. View an example of a Dilworth speller.
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