LINCOLN

Passion for Learning

 Ron Johnson
Assignment #4

In Philip Cusick’s Passion for Learning, the author delves into a portrait narrative of
seven distinct individuals and highlights several common “pillars” that lead to an educational
evolution propelling each to prominence in American History. Of these eminent Americans,
Abraham Lincoln’s propensity to draw from his experience and principles through the pillar of
Work Actualizing Earlier Ideals, led to policy and social change in the country and ultimately
the end of slavery.

Lincoln’s relentless ambition, an ideal possibly derived from growing up poor and
witnessing his father’s lack of success, fueled his rise to the Oval Office. He failed throughout
his life, yet possessed a strong will to continue his pursuits. Per Abrahamlincolnonline, these
failures included losing his job, being defeated in his bid for the state legislature, and failing in
business during the early 1830’s, but bouncing back to be elected company captain of the Illinois
militia in the Black Hawk War and being appointed as postmaster. The 1840’s saw more failure,
as Lincoln was defeated during a run for Congress, but persevered and established a law practice.
He was also rejected for land officer but was promptly admitted to practice law in the U.S.
Supreme Court. The following decade he lost on his runs for multiple Senate seats and Vice
President but continued his politically ambitious path and was elected President in 1860.

Autodidactism, the act of being self-taught, was a staple of Lincoln’s upbringing and
proved an important ideal that assisted his thinking as an adult as he demonstrated the aptitude to
use independent thought to figure out how to manipulate the political system. Lincoln’s ability to
hunt his own ideas, combined with his work experience shaped his political strategies to gain
power and significantly impact society. Lincoln/Net details that Lincoln was elected to Congress
in 1847, but quickly got on the wrong side of the voters by opposing the Mexican War and
challenging President Polk's assertion that the Mexicans had fired the first shot, an overly
aggressive position costing a political appointment the following year. Howard Gardner theorizes
that "extraordinary minds" and the lives of individuals who have them, exhibit essential features,
one being the art of reflecting, or "regular, conscious consideration of the events of daily life, in
the light of longer-term aspirations". During his presidential campaign, Lincoln learned from
political missteps; he continued to explicitly oppose slavery but appeased the union by
supporting its continuance while simultaneously placating abolitionists by preventing its
expansion into free territories. His reflection on how to win political support allowed him to play
both sides of the aisle and appeal to the masses.
 Growing up the son of a commoner, Lincoln developed the principle of strong work ethic
from his father, who taught him that manual labor was noble and essential to existence. Although
Lincoln did not envision a life working as a laborer, he managed to learn about the importance of
working hard as part of daily life. This trait served him well in later work, as he addressed in law
lecture notes from the 1850’s (from Abraham Lincoln Research Site):

“I am not an accomplished lawyer. I find quite as much material for a lecture in those
points wherein I have failed, as in those wherein I have been moderately successful. The
leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence. Leave
nothing for to-morrow which can be done to-day. Never let your correspondence fall
behind. Whatever piece of business you have in hand, before stopping, do all the labor
pertaining to it which can then be done.”

In Extraordinary Minds, Gardner also references leveraging, or "the capacity of certain

individuals to ignore areas of weakness and, in effect, to ask 'In which ways can I use my own
strengths in order to gain a competitive advantage in the domain in which I have chosen to
work?'" Lincoln leveraged his inexperience as a lawyer with an ability to be prepared via strong
work ethic when arguing cases. It’s obvious Lincoln’s early labor work taught him valuable
lessons to attain success in the field of law, as his influence as a poor, working man with a desire
to better his circumstances led to the statement “I want every man to have a chance, and I believe
a black man’s entitled to it”. These early lessons humbled Lincoln, ultimately leading to a pursuit
to be President in order to end slavery and promote the creation of a better self for all.

http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/education/failures.htm
http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/message/lincoln

http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln91.html