Lincoln’s Sense of Humor

Concise Lincoln Library

by Richard J. Carwardine

Abraham Lincoln was the first president to make storytelling, jokes, and laughter tools of the office, and his natural sense of humor has become legendary. Lincoln’s Sense of Humor registers the variety, complexity of purpose, and ethical dimension of Lincoln’s humor and pinpoints the political risks Lincoln ran in telling jokes while the nation was engaged in a bloody struggle for existence.
 
Complete with amusing anecdotes, this book shows how Lincoln’s uses of humor evolved as he matured and explores its versatility, range of expressions, and multiple sources: western tall tales, morality stories, bawdy jokes, linguistic tricks, absurdities, political satire, and sharp wit. While Lincoln excelled at self-mockery, nothing gave him greater pleasure than satirical work lampooning hypocrisy and ethical double standards. He particularly enjoyed David R. Locke’s satiric writings by Petroleum V. Nasby, a fictional bigoted secessionist preacher, and the book explores the nuances of Lincoln’s enthusiasm for what he called Locke’s genius, showing the moral springs of Lincoln’s humor.
 
Richard Carwardine methodically demonstrates that Lincoln’s funny stories were the means of securing political or personal advantage, sometimes by frontal assault on opponents but more often by depiction through parable, obfuscation through hilarity, refusal through wit, and diversion through cunning. Throughout his life Lincoln worked to develop the humorist’s craft and hone the art of storytelling. His jokes were valuable in advancing his careers as politician and lawyer and in navigating his course during a storm-tossed presidency. His merriness, however, coexisted with self-absorbed contemplation and melancholy. Humor was his lifeline; dark levity acted as a tonic, giving Lincoln strength to tackle the severe challenges he faced. At the same time, a reputation for unrestrained, uncontrollable humor gave welcome ammunition to his political foes. In fact, Lincoln’s jocularity elicited waves of criticism during his presidency. He was dismissed as a “smutty joker,” a “first rate second rate man,” and a “joke incarnated.”
 
Since his death, Lincoln’s anecdotes and jokes have become detached from the context that had given them their political and cultural bite, losing much of the ironic and satiric meaning that he had intended. With incisive analysis and laugh-inducing examples, Carwardine helps to recapture a strong component of Lincoln’s character and reanimates the good humor of our sixteenth president.
 

186 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Richard Carwardine is Rhodes Professor of American History emeritus and the former President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford University.

Reviews

[David Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent deep dive into Lincoln's use of humor. Part of the Concise Lincoln Library series produced by Southern Illinois University Press, this book is jam-packed with information despite its brevity. Noted historian Richard Carwardine examines in a scholarly way the development of Lincoln's humor, jokes, and stories over his lifetime. He parses out the sources and subjects of his humor, shows how even his early tendency to sarcasm related to his moral side and delves into the purposes for which he employed humor. We find, for example, that Lincoln's humor remained rather coarse even throughout his presidency, a fact that was used against him by political opponents and during the 1864 campaign. Carwardine has produced a stellar work of scholarship about a subject that has in the past been largely left to compilations of parables and stories.

Carwardine's earlier book, "Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power" won the prestigious Lincoln Prize, and this current work on Lincoln's humor has won the Abraham Lincoln Institute Book Award.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Carwardine’s book is an entertaining and perceptive look at the role that humor played in the life of the 16th president. That Lincoln enjoyed telling jokes and stories is hardly new, as it was part of his appeal to his contemporaries. What Carwardine does is analyze the various ways in which he used humor and the insights it provides into his personality. Thanks to an extraordinarily retentive memory, Lincoln had a seemingly inexhaustible fund of anecdotes, tall tales, and jokes which he used throughout his career. Telling jokes drew people to Lincoln, making him a popular figure on the legal circuit and on the stump. How Lincoln used humor evolved over time, as he toned down the sometimes harsh satirical attacks of his youth to develop a broader and less insulting form by the time he reached the presidency. Carwardine sees Lincoln’s love of humor as a tool for coping with depression, though his frequent resort to it became a point of criticism during the Civil War as many – including members of his own administration – often interpreted it as a lack of seriousness about his responsibilities. Readers of Carwardine’s book have a more sophisticated understanding of the subject thanks to this discerning study, which with its frequent recounting of the jokes Lincoln employed is a pleasure to read.

[Gordon Leidner · Rating 5 out of 5]

With "Lincoln’s Sense of Humor," Richard Carwardine proves again why he is considered one of the preeminent Lincoln scholars of our day. As with his previous work "Abraham Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power," Carwardine--professor emeritus at Oxford University—demonstrates his unique understanding of the heart and mind of America’s Sixteenth president. Exhaustively researched, Carwardine provides insight into the reasons for Lincoln’s lifelong use of humorous anecdotes and stories—as well as a very entertaining read along the way. You cannot understand Lincoln without an appreciation of his use of humor, and with this book Richard Carwardine gives us a greater appreciation of the extraordinary character of one of the world’s greatest leaders.

[Curtis Hu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lincoln was a deeply pensive comedian. Humor flowed through him in all aspects of his life. A device to break tension. A way to entertain crowds and guests. A method of finding common ground with common folk, despite his immense reputation. A yearning for a sense of power and authority among peers. A tool to humiliate political opponent and win political debates. A coping mechanism during his depressive episodes and the Union's most darkest times. He didn't care that comedians had a low reputation and pursued all forms of jokes relentlessly.

Comedy was his political tool he understood deeply. Lincoln used humor in paradoxical ways - sometimes we attribute humor to "good" and "bad" but Lincoln blurred the lines when he used them masterfully in the right context. He used comedy as a tool to create division or to unite crowds; comedy as a tool to show vulnerable honesty or to mask oneself or divert subjects; comedy as a way to find common ground or to alienate others; comedy as the laughter in his desperate depression or as the sprinkle of sunshine when in good spirits.

His depression and humor was intertwined. His depression and ambition intertwined.

Lincoln is my ultimate human being.