History is made by dreamers
In celebration of Lincoln's birthday, today I follow a line of dreamers, right up to the present.
The first paragraph in the first chapter of a book about Abraham Lincoln’s assassin begins with dreams—both in the sense of aspirational dreams, and night-time dreams.
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson starts with a dream shattered:
“John Wilkes Booth awoke Good Friday morning, April 14, 1865, hungover and depressed. His cause was lost and his dreams of glory over.”
Booth was responding to news that Richmond had fallen to the Union, and President Abraham Lincoln had publicly professed his support for giving some African Americans the right to vote.
Meanwhile, Lincoln was having dreams of the midnight sort.
Optimistically anticipating meetings with General Ulysses S. Grant and his cabinet, Lincoln attributed his buoyant mood to a recurring dream in which he was moving swiftly on water. Whenever he had such a dream, he said, victory would follow. According to Swanson, a record of the meeting included a description of Lincoln’s dream and the fact that:
“… he had this dream preceding Sumpter, Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, Stone River, Vicksburg, Wilmington, etc.”
Not only that, but historians also note that Lincoln was known to take his dreams seriously, and even had a dream that foretold his assassination.
I was pleased to see Lincoln’s relationship to his dreams featured so prominently in Swanson’s account because all too often dreams are written out of history.
Following a trail of leaders who dream …
Swanson, who also wrote Chasing King’s Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King Jr.’s Assassin, highlights the connections between Lincoln and King. Notably, King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, and he was assassinated six years later. In an interview with Publishers Weekly, Swanson said:
“King was very much a prophet, and took up Lincoln’s work, but like Lincoln, he was killed so young that the country did not get the benefits of what he would have achieved if he had lived longer.”1
John F. Kennedy Jr. was also the subject of one of Swanson’s books about leaders who were assassinated. (The President Has Been Shot!: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy.)
In his address before the Irish Parliament in June of 1963, Kennedy, referencing George Bernard Shaw, said:
“We need men who can dream of things that never were.”2
… to a dreamer who writes
As a dreamer myself, I like to highlight associations between things. And it’s not difficult for me to find the connections between these three leaders (all dreamers, each in their own way) who were also each the subject of one of Swanson’s books.
Another reason I’m thinking about my connections to these men this week is that I was born:
🕊️ Several months before Kennedy was assassinated,
🌈 in the year that King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech,
🥳 on Lincoln’s birthday.
♒︎ I was also born under the sun sign of Aquarius, which makes me an idealist, too. Like Lincoln, I believe in the power of our night-time dreams to guide us, and sometimes to warn us when danger is close.
And like Swanson, I believe that:
"History is not just made by kings and presidents; it is made by ordinary people who dare to dream of a better world …”
Monday is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Which also happens to be my birthday! Celebrate with me by honoring your dreams.
Lincoln’s (& Tzivia’s) Birthday Sale
Become a paid subscriber to this newsletter in February and get 20% off PLUS a free copy of my book, Dreaming on the Page.
Come dream and write with me
I’m offering events online, in-person, and in the Bahamas.
I’m dreaming with you,
“Q & A with James L. Swanson, “ by Sally Lodge, Publishers Weekly, Dec 21, 2017 https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/75702-q-a-with-james-l-swanson.html
Address Before the Irish Parliament 28, 1963, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/irish-parliament-19630628