In a clearing on a bluff overlooking the Sangamon River lies a tribute to American spirit and democracy. The site has its historical inaccuracies — in many cases, concrete lies between the logs of the reconstructed period cabins — but the essence of that spirit remains undimmed.
Located roughly 20 miles outside of Springfield (Illinois’ capital), the state historic site is advertised as “Lincoln’s New Salem,” in deference to the “Great Emancipator,” who moved there as a young adult. But the reconstructed village also honors the many ambitious — some might even call them foolhardy — Americans who settled in places like New Salem and the system that allowed Lincoln to rise from nothing to the nation’s highest office.
Frontier Life
Guests to the many Lincoln-related sites in the Springfield area — his home, the law offices where he worked, the presidential library and museum established in his adopted hometown, or even his burial site and tomb — visit places in an urban environment, with all the modern conveniences they afford. But as a youth, Lincoln knew not of these luxuries; most had not been invented, and the few that had he and his family could not afford.
Notwithstanding its occasional poetic license, New Salem hearkens back to the frontier spirit of Lincoln’s log cabin youth, first in Kentucky, then in Indiana, and finally in rural Illinois. In this village of a few dozen buildings, first laid out in a clearing only two years before he arrived, Lincoln and his neighbors eked out a hardscrabble living on the edge of civilization.
They faced daily backbreaking labor just to complete routine chores like cooking and cleaning. Weather and wildlife provided constant challenges and threats. Villages like New Salem sprang up practically overnight — and disappeared into obscurity almost as quickly.
Courtesy of Christopher Jacobs
Consider the case of one of New Salem’s residents, Francis Regnier. Two years older than Lincoln, he, like the future President, arrived in New Salem in 1831. Regnier moved to New Salem from Marietta, Ohio, where he had become licensed as a physician in 1827.
I visited Marietta several days before reaching New Salem, as part of my travels through the Midwest. My leisurely drive took several days, although I could have traversed the entire distance in an eight-hour sprint. I drove on well-paved and well-lit highways, stopping at well-appointed restaurants and hotels for nourishment and rest when needed.
By comparison, Regnier’s trip from Marietta to New Salem would have taken months. The move involved putting all of one’s earthly possessions into a wagon, heading west from a hometown one might never see again. Travelers would have faced perils from weather, disease, hazards on the road, and much else besides — not to mention an uncertain future once they reached their destination.
Yet people like Regnier, Lincoln, and others braved all these hazards, with generation after generation of Americans moving inexorably westward. I don’t know that I would have had the internal fortitude and character to pursue opportunity despite the significant physical risks — but I am thankful that they did.
Courtesy of Christopher Jacobs
Remarkable President
Much is made — understandably — of Lincoln’s accomplishments as president, from preserving the Union to setting the nation on a path toward abolishing slavery. But those feats, sizable as they are, overlook the fact that he ever became president at all. It is the most remarkable life story of all of our presidents, and perhaps — with the obvious exception of Jesus Christ — the most remarkable in human history.
In a letter to a supporter, Lincoln once described his youth as “the short and simple annals of the poor.” That someone with little formal education, whose mother died in his youth, and who failed as a businessman while living in the frontier backwater of New Salem was elected to the nation’s highest office speaks volumes about the American experiment. It indicates that a man of talent and of principle — against the expansion of chattel slavery and (eventually) for its abolition — can rise far above his station based upon the esteem and respect of his peers and fellow citizens.
Lincoln was far from naïve about politics; he understood that success involved compromises and occasionally unsavory ones at that. But his path to the presidency speaks to the meritocratic nature of life in the United States in the 19th century — and hopefully in the 21st as well.
Pioneer Spirit
As the nation approaches its 250th birthday, that pioneer spirit — of striving and thriving, and of merit overcoming obstacles placed in its path — can provide inspiration for us all. New Salem, Illinois, disappeared into obscurity not long after Lincoln moved 20 miles southeast to Springfield in 1837. But the lessons that New Salem and countless other villages along the western frontier provide to modern-day Americans can guide our nation for centuries to come.
Jesus Christ is King
