The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948 Page: 203
406 p. : ill., ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Texas Newspapers and Lincoln
knell. In the plentitude of his power and arrogance he was struck
down, and his soul ushered into eternity, with innumerable crimes
and sins to answer for. . In the height of his fame and success,
retributive justice demanded an account of his stewardship and took
his soul to the bar of the Most High. We accept the result as one
of the inscrutable decrees of Providence. ...
It does look to us, however, as if an avenging Nemesis had brought
swift and inevitable retribution upon a man stained with so many
bloody crimes. He had not only gloated over our suffering, but was
preparing new measures of vengeance to mete out to us. In the
very midst of his headlong career he was arrested by the imperious
hand of fate. He sowed the wind and has reaped the whirlwind.s8
Having thus placed Lincoln before the bar of justice, the
Texas newspapers ignored him for three decades. In the 189o's
the papers began carrying brief news stories concerning Lincoln
birthday celebrations in the North, and within a short while
most of the papers found an opportunity to use the word "mar-
tyr" in their stories of these memorial services. The Galveston
News, whose editor had been so bitter in 1865, was one of the
first to carry these stories and one of the first to speak of Lincoln
in terms of kindness. In 1895 this paper mentioned the cele-
brations in the North, and in the subhead to the story said:
"Anniversary of the Martyr President fittingly and lovingly cele-
brated."4 The News did not, however, admit Lincoln to its
editorial columns until 1923, at a time when he had become
one of the favorite subjects of many Texas editors. There were
occasional Lincoln birthday gatherings in Texas around the turn
of the century, and these were also reported by the papers. Most
of these celebrations were sponsored by Republican party or-
ganizations or by local chapters of the GAR."5
The dedication of the Lincoln farm near Hodgenville, Ken-
tucky, on February 12, 190o9, the centennial of his birth, was
given much space in Texas newspapers. The fact that President
Theodore Roosevelt delivered the chief address of the day added
a good deal to the newsworthiness of the event. The Galveston
News gave the story space and headlines on the front page. The
1sGalveston News, April 28, 1865.
14Galveston News, February 13, 1895.
15Dallas News, February ig, 19oo, February 13, 190o.2o3
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948, periodical, 1948; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101119/m1/271/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.