"I Have Been Driven Many Times Upon My Knees By The Overwhelming Conviction..."

"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day." (Written by Lincoln to a friend after the Second Battle of Manassas.)


Caption: "The man of the hour, the new President, Abraham Lincoln"

CREDIT: Gardner, Alexander, photographer. "Abraham Lincoln, Head-and-Shoulders Portrait, Facing Front." November 8, 1863. M.P. Rice, copyright 1900. By Popular Demand: Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies, 1789-Present, American Memory collections, Library of Congress.

This is how the poor chap really looked at the time of his inauguration. This this has been retouched so many times...