Lincoln's Melancholy: Exploring the Role of Depression in Shaping a President's Legacy

Gettysburg Farm: “His melancholy dripped from him as he walked,” wrote Abraham Lincoln’s law partner in Illinois.
His colleague Henry Whitney said, “No element of Mr. Lincoln’s character was so marked, obvious and ingrained as his mysterious and profound melancholy.”
In 1841 Lincoln himself wrote, “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I felt were distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one happy face on the earth. I must die or be better it appears to me.”
Though considered our greatest President, Lincoln was troubled by a lifelong sadness and bouts of major depression. Twice he was on suicide watch by his friends, and for a week he submitted to a physician’s treatment for melancholy: bloodletting and purging to get the “black bile” out of his veins. Lincoln struggled with thoughts of failure and for years refused to carry a knife for fear of what he might do with it.
In a 2005 book by Joshua Wolf Shenk, Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled his Greatness, the author noted three stages in his illness: Fear, engagement, and transcendence.
During his early years, he was searching for some purpose in...

United States on Jan 25, 2022

Alexander McKay: This is a deep and detailed study of the depression-ridden Old Abe and his struggles to overcome the illness over the years. I found it intriguing.

United Kingdom on Nov 21, 2018

Vijay: I have read this book after I got fascinated with persona of Abraham Lincoln. This book dwells into the emotional life of Lincoln. How he overcome his melancholy to become a legend.

India on Jan 30, 2017

Sherrybaby: If you are a history buff and suffer from depression you will enjoy this book. It inspired me to rise above this depression I have.

Canada on Sep 03, 2016

RB: For someone with an academic interest in Lincoln's struggles with what appears to have been depression, this book fills a particular niche with flair and careful research. For someone with a personal interest in the struggle with depression, it is even more: an inspiring account of how Lincoln managed to accomplish so much despite his pain, and indeed how his ways of managing that pain contributed to his excellence. I found it perceptive and very helpful in adopting specific and effective strategies. Informative and very much recommended.

Canada on May 28, 2013

Slue: There are literally hundreds of books on Abraham Lincoln. Most of them deal, at least in some small way, with his long bouts with depression. The reason this book is important is that it dives deeper in to his lifelong wrestling match with the disease and helps us to understand not only our different and relatively intolerant reaction to the condition but also helps us see how depression moulded Lincoln in some very important ways. In particular, it shows how battling depression and overcoming its effects gave Lincoln strength he later drew upon to get through the many dark and difficult chapters of his presidency. Without this strength and emotional capability, our country may have been a very different place.

Depression most often effects strong but sensitive types who are suddenly overwhelmed circumstances. That combination of strength and sensitivity (ability to understand the human condition) is important in all leadership roles. It is therefore important for us to understand how depressions plays a role, not only to inform our management of the disease, but also to help us properly understand the qualities of those who suffer and the potential benefits of coming...

United Kingdom on May 19, 2011

P. B. Sharp: William Herndon, Lincoln's law partner, once said of him "He dripped melancholy as he walked." Oddly, a cheerful, joke- telling Lincoln is less appealing than his sad persona, and although he was melancholic long before he became president the sad and careworn face seemed to be an echo of the weight of the Civil War resting on Lincoln's shoulders In fact, melancholy is in itself appealing. Can you imagine a gleeful Lord Byron or a laughing Hamlet? Author Shenk quotes Edgar Allen Poe: "A fitful strain of melancholy will ever be found inseparable from the perfection of the beautiful." Can you even imagine Poe smiling let alone telling a joke? We can easily imagine Lincoln finding melancholy in the beautiful and he loved Poe's "Raven."

Shenk's biography is revealing and you may see Lincoln as you've never seen him before, because Lincoln has not been examined as a chronic depressive. The observations by the people who rubbed elbows with Lincoln all along the way are vital because they reveal Lincoln on a day to day basis .We see Lincoln as a boy, annoying his illiterate father by reading books instead of doing the chores. Then Abe the rail-splitter, Abe the strong- armed man...

United States on Nov 04, 2010