Ethan Allen Story as Told by Abraham Lincoln
I always felt a special affinity and affection for our 16th President. The contrast between the 16th and the 45th could not be more stark. Lincoln loved to use stories to tell his truths and persuade people to leave their fears. He often used his stories to help people believe in something that they could not see for all the horror around them. He lead our country from just the most terrible of times to truly become one nation. It has been and continues to be a messily, stormy, imperfectly stumbling country that is still on its way to becoming the greatest democracy ever created. I do not think American’s citizens today, appreciate how tremendous was Lincoln’s feat of leadership. He lead a nation steeped in the most absolute and blatant affront to democracy – Slavery – to become a nation where all men really could be equal under the rule of law. Truly this must be the most magnificent act of leadership ever!
But this is about Lincoln’s story telling. Those who know me, know that I am an avid story teller. I love sharing the beautiful and even brutal bits of life that have taught me over the years. I also try (but not always succeeding) to make my stories funny when I can. If you love history as Lincoln and I do, there is no shortage of funny events to call upon to make a point clearer. I will have to defer to others to see if the lesson learned was worth the time to hear the story.
This is one of my favorite Lincoln stories. Acted out in the film, “Lincoln“. The scene is the War Department Telegraph Room where everyone is on edge waiting for news from a key battle. Daniel Day Lewis does an amazing job throughout this film bringing my boyhood hero president to life.
Again, many of you know my deep love and affection for a book written by a former EDSer, Donald T. Phillips, entitled, “Lincoln on Leadership” as I have recommended it to people who worked for me, or that I worked for or that I just cared for as fellow thinking people. I imagine that. over the years, I have purchased well over 100 copies to give to people. I am pleased to tell you that this great book is available to you now for free. You may either read it online in your browser or download it as a .pdf file to your device. There is no cost to join and you can check out this other books through something called Internet Archive’s Open Library. They also provide links to Amazon and other sources should you wish to purchase this book. Just follow the link below. Happy Reading!
Lincoln On Leadership by Donald T. Phillips