Remembering Honest Abe in Long Beach

On April 15, the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s death, the Robert Redford film The Conspirator, about Mary Surratt, the only female charged as a co-conspirator in the president’s assassination, will be released. Call it another sign of the continued interests in Lincoln, whose birthday we recognize today, nationwide and in Long  Beach.  

The 16^th President is the subject of more than 16,000 books, according to Frank Williams, chairman of the Lincoln Forum, a national assembly of Lincoln and Civil War devotees. On Lincoln’s bicentennial two years ago, several new books on him appeared at bookstores and libraries as the media highlighted this historical milestone. Throughout February 2009, the Long Beach Library displayed its entire collection of books on Lincoln, which included some 90 biographies and histories published over the previous 24 months.

“It’s like trying to choose between A and A,” library Director George Trepp said about the many new titles then.

On Presidents’ Day that year, the library booked actor David Houston to don a stovepipe hat and read, with radio-style drama, from Lincoln’s letters, essays and speeches. Houston, who has performed multiple shows spotlighting a variety of historical figures, described this production as “lighthearted,” focusing on Lincoln’s wit and drawing parallels between his era and today, but avoiding mention of slavery or the Civil War.

While studying for the part, Houston said, he found Lincoln to be “very human.”

“He admitted mistakes,” the actor said, “and he had a reputation for being almost a stand-up comedian, as being the funniest of all the politicians of his day.”

Yet despite these signs that Lincoln’s legacy is alive and well, some believe the recognized historical importance of Lincoln is fading. Among them is Rev. Tom Donohoe, pastor of St. Mary's of the Isle Church on East Park Avenue for nearly 30 years and a Civil War buff who often visits battlefields such as Antietam and Gettysburg.

“Lincoln is important because he got us through a war that divided the nation, and saved our country,” said Donohoe, who resides at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church in Point Lookout. “We tend to forget now our founding fathers like Washington, as well as Lincoln. It’s important to take days to remember them.”

On Lincoln’s bicentennial, the elementary schools in Long Beach School District touched on Lincoln through biographies some students had written, and they read Lincoln-related poems and riddles. Now, as character education has become an emphasized part of the curriculum, most or all teachers underscore Lincoln’s honesty, hard work and perseverance, said Sean Hurley, the district’s director of social studies.

Two years ago, teachers revisited Lincoln’s role in and view on the important issues of his day — slavery and emancipation — and discussed links between Lincoln and President Obama, a former senator from Illinois. At the time, the comparisons between the two as individuals and political figures were more of a hot topic, Hurley said.

“I would frame it now more [as] comparing the presidencies of the two, not just the men,” Hurley said. “Also, what would Lincoln say or do regarding the issues of today: revolution in Egypt, economic issues, freedom vs. security.”

The district’s social studies curriculum, Hurley explained, takes a neutral approach toward historical figures.

“You present the facts: We had a division in the country, and it was based on this issue of slavery and race and the economic issues tied to that,” he said. “It’s easy to sit back now and look at it from a 21^st century perspective, but try and put yourself in his shoes, and do you think you could have made the same difficult decisions?”

At Long Beach Catholic Regional School, Marie Palmieri, a seventh- and eighth-grade social studies teacher, said she constantly stresses the presidents when teaching American history — and Honest Abe is her favorite.

“He was honest, and I highlight his success story: He was born into nothing, so how did he get to be president?” Palmieri said. “He worked hard and was able to see how valuable education was. He was passionate about education, which made him extremely unusual in his time, especially coming from a rural environment.”

Palmieri most admires Lincoln’s integrity when it came to saving the Union and abolishing slavery. “He wouldn’t fall away from our core values,” she said, “that all people are created equal.”

Jennifer Fleischner, an English professor at Adelphi University and the author of Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly, said today’s scholars generally view Lincoln as a complex man who lifted himself from poverty and a limited education, and focus on his views on race and slavery.

“Lincoln was always against slavery, but he was not an advocate early on of abolition or equal rights for African-Americans,” said Fleischner, who two years ago drove to Washington, D.C., to attend Lincoln bicentennial ceremonies. “... But what’s important to recognize about Lincoln was the difference between him and practically everyone around him, which was that he was capable of being educated and growing.”

Long Beach historian Roberta Fiore said she knows of no connections between Lincoln and Long Beach, which during the Civil War was part of Queens County, as was the present-day Town of Hempstead, which sent many soldiers into battle.

“After Lincoln was assassinated,” Fiore said, “Mary Todd Lincoln did visit the famous Hog Island Hotel in Rockaway Beach.”