首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Five myths about Abraham Lincoln No American hero, with the possible exception of George "I Cannot Tell a Lie" Washington, h
Five myths about Abraham Lincoln No American hero, with the possible exception of George "I Cannot Tell a Lie" Washington, h
admin
2013-10-22
44
问题
Five myths about Abraham Lincoln
No American hero, with the possible exception of George "I Cannot Tell a Lie" Washington, has been more set with myth than Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln did boast virtues that required few words to glamorize. He rose from obscurity(默默无闻)through hard work, self-education and honesty. He endured severe criticism to save the Union and end slavery. He died shortly after his greatest triumph at the hands of an assassin. But tall-tale-tellers have never hesitated to rewrite Lincoln’s biography. On Presidents’ Day, it’s well worth dispelling some repeated misconceptions about the man on the $ 5 bill.
1. Lincoln was a simple country lawyer.
This durable legend, personified by short-spoken Henry Fonda in John Ford’s film " Young Mr. Lincoln," dies hard. Lincoln’s law partner William H. Herndon, looking to boost his own reputation, introduced the rumor that Lincoln cared little about his legal practice, did scant research, joked around with juries and judges, and sometimes failed to collect fees. Lincoln himself may have compromised his legal reputation with his oft-quoted warning "Discourage litigation(诉讼)."
True, politics became lawyer Lincoln’s chief ambition. Still, in the 1850s he ably(and profitably)represented the Illinois Central Railroad and the Rock Island Bridge Co. —the company that built the first railroad bridge over the Mississippi River—and earned a solid reputation as one of his home state’s top appeals lawyers.
Lincoln’s legal papers testify to a diverse and profitable practice. Had he not been "aroused," as he put it, to speak out in 1854 against the pro-slavery Kansas-Nebraska Act before seeking a Senate seat, he likely would have remained a full-time lawyer and earned fame and fortune at the bar.
2. Lincoln was gay.
Gay rights activist Larry Kramer has long speculated that Lincoln was gay, claiming in 1999 that he’d discovered Lincoln’s love letters to onetime roommate Joshua Speed. The claim is reportedly featured in Kramer’s forthcoming history of homosexuality, "The American People," but historian Gabor Boritt called Kramer’s assertion "almost certainly. . . a hoax. "
Still, the idea persists. In 2005, "The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln," written by queer theory professor C. A. Tripp—a colleague of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey—alleged to prove that Lincoln was an active homosexual who married only to conform to 19th-century convention and continued flirting and sleeping with young men throughout his presidency. Tripp went so far as to suggest that Lincoln’s sexual indifference is what contributed to his wife’s mental illness.
Is it true? And if it is, does it matter? According to Herndon, Lincoln exhibited a "powerful" attraction to women and was a regular customer of prostitutes before his marriage at age 33. His first son was born just nine months after his marriage, which suggests enthusiasm if not experience. Then again, proving that a man loves women isn’t the same as proving that he doesn’t love men. Maybe it’s best to throw up our hands— and remember that Lincoln’s sexual orientation is but a small part of his historical legacy.
3. Lincoln was depressed.
Four generations of biographers attest(证明)that Lincoln was often depressed, but Washington College’s Joshua Wolf Shenk made the case in his recent book, "Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled his Greatness," that the 16th president was clinically depressed. Lincoln certainly had moments of what he called the "hypo," most notably when his first serious crush, Ann Rutledge, died in 1835, and again when he broke up with fiancee Mary Todd on the eve of their wedding in 1841.(They reconciled the next year.)
Though I co-edited a collection of Lincoln papers with Shenk, we disagree on this point. Genuine depression was untreatable in the 19th century, and its victims often descended into madness or took their own lives. It is impossible to reconcile this debilitating disease with the Lincoln who labored tirelessly and effectively during his demanding presidency. Clinically depressed people often can’t get out of bed, let alone command an army.
4. Lincoln was too compassionate.
Much has been made by poet and Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg and other historians over the notion that Lincoln was a serial pardoner. This is untrue—Lincoln not only approved the execution of deserters, but 38 alleged Indian raiders were hanged by his order in Mankato, Minn, on Dec. 26, 1862, still the largest mass execution on US soil.
Meanwhile, Lincoln conducted the bloodiest war in American history to preserve the Union, authorized the deployment of deadly new weaponry such as mines, ironclad warships and niter(硝酸钾), and accepted unprecedented casualties for his chosen cause.
The recent scandal over an altered National Archives pardon—a document allegedly changed by historian Thomas P. Lowry in 1998 to make it appear that Lincoln spent his final hours pardoning a soldier for desertion—gives us the opportunity to reconsider the chronic oversimplification of Lincoln’s soft touch. In light of the Archives melee(混乱), historians should re-examine the thousands of pardons Lincoln issued to weigh their authenticity and balance them against the death sentences he did allow.
5. Lincoln was mortally ill.
No shortage of armchair physicians are ready to diagnose Lincoln 150 years after his death. He had cardiovascular(心血管的)disease, some say. Or he had the rare genetic disorder Marfan’s Syndrome. Or he had the fatal cancer MEN2B. Had Lincoln not been assassinated on April 14, 1865, medical historians like John Sotos imply, he would have died soon enough without John Wilkes Booth’s help.
If any of these illnesses wracked Lincoln’s body during his presidency, how do we explain his inexhaustible physical constitution? Or the rarity of his wartime illnesses, limited to a mild bout of smallpox which killed his valet(贴身男仆)? How do we explain the ease with which the 56-year-old demonstrated his favorite frontier feat of strength—holding a heavy ax at arm’s length between his fingers—just a few days before his death?
Like many presidents, Lincoln grew visibly haggard during his presidency. He also lost weight. But the physicians who attended him on his deathbed marveled at his muscular arms and chest. A weaker man, they concluded, would have died the minute he was shot. Lincoln fought off death for nine hours—hardly within the ability of a man with a pre-existing condition.
What changed Lincoln’s occupational path before seeking a Senate seat?
选项
A、The profit earned from legal cases.
B、The pressure from his conscience.
C、The protest against the pro-slavery act.
D、The failure of becoming a full-time lawyer.
答案
C
解析
细节辨认题。由定位句可知,在寻求参议院职位之前,要不是林肯站出来反对支持奴隶制的《堪萨斯一内布拉斯加法案》,他可能会一直当律师。由此可知,反对奴隶制是林肯从政参选议员的契机,也是改变他职业道路的契机,故答案为C)。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/j7c7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Howoldis"old"?Theanswerhaschangedovertheyears.Twohundredyearsago,youwereoldat35.Thatwastheaveragelifeex
Thefirstmanwhocookedhisfood,insteadofeatingitraw,livedsolongagothatwehavenoideawhohewasorwherehelived
Thefirstmanwhocookedhisfood,insteadofeatingitraw,livedsolongagothatwehavenoideawhohewasorwherehelived
Thefirstmanwhocookedhisfood,insteadofeatingitraw,livedsolongagothatwehavenoideawhohewasorwherehelived
TheWhiteHouseCouncilonEnvironmentalQualityadvisestheClinton-Goreadministrationonhowtoachievesustainabledevelopme
Sleepisveryancient.Intheelectroencephalographic(脑电图仪的)senseweshareitwithalltheprimates(灵长类动物)andalmostalltheoth
Itpays______tobuygoodsofhighquality.
A、Degreesineconomics.B、Addedeffort.C、Medicalschools.D、Lawschools.A综合推断题。短文中提到,经济学学位非常受欢迎,因为它能让毕业生获得高薪且不需像医学院或法学院的学生那样付出
WhowontheWorldCup1994footballgame?WhathappenedattheUnitedNations?Howdidthecritics【C1】______thenewplay?Just
A、Jointheteamthreeyearslater.B、Spendlesstimeonhomework.C、Giveupmusicforthemoment.D、Tryherbesttowinaprize.
随机试题
骨折的早期并发症?
A.眼脉B.颈脉C.带脉D.膝脉E.三江治疗马肠黄、中暑、冷痛宜选
组织生产物流的基本要求是物流过程的()。
某公司有总经理、副总经理等高层管理人员5人,高层管理人员、中层管理人员和基层管理人员的管理幅度分别为5人、6人、10人。现在该公司通过加强管理人员培训,改进管理方式,在管理上大胆放权,这样既调动了基层管理人员的工作积极性,又节省了高层人员的时间,同时,该公
根据《行政复议法》,我国的行政复议采取以()为主,其他方式为辅的复议方式。
Onesunnyafternoon,aseven-year-oldgirlwentforawalk.Shecrossedalargeareaofgrasslandintothewoods【C1】______shere
为了解决某地区长期严重的鼠害,一家公司生产了一种售价为2500元的激光捕鼠器,该产品的捕鼠效果及使用性能堪称一流,厂家为推出此产品又做了广泛的广告宣传,但结果是产品仍没有销路。由此可知这家公司开发该新产品失败的最主要原因可能是()
凄凄惨惨戚戚对于()相当于()对于豪放
“十二五”以来,浙江省花卉产业持续快速发展,到2015年年底,全省花卉生产面积233.93万亩,与上年基本持平,比2011年增长21.5%,占全国总面积的11.5%,位居全国首位。花卉产业总产值达522.54亿元,同比增长2.3%,是2011年的1.84倍
Itseemsoil______fromthispipeforsometime.We’llhavetotakethemachineaparttoputitright.
最新回复
(
0
)