Abraham Lincoln to George C. Latham encouraging him to reapply to Harvard - American History 1493-1945 - Adam Matthew Digital

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Field name	Value
Collection Reference Number	GLC03876
From Archive Folder	Documents Relating to the 1860s
Title	Abraham Lincoln to George C. Latham encouraging him to reapply to Harvard
Date	22 July 1860
Author	Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865)
Recipient	Lantham, George C.
Document Type	Correspondence
Content Description	Lincoln writes to his son's friend, who had been rejected by Harvard. He writes a letter of encouragement: "It is a certain truth, that you can enter, and graduate in, Harvard University; and having made the attempt, you must succeed in it. 'Must' is the word. [....] In your temporary failure there is no evidence that you may not yet be a better scholar, and a more successful man in the great struggle of life, than many others, who have entered college more easily. Again I say let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed." According the Lincoln's editor, Roy P. Basler, this document is Lincoln's greatest personal letter. Basler, Roy P. The Collected Works Of Abraham Lincoln. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), Vol. IV 1860 - 1861, p. 87.
Subjects	President Education Philosophy Children and Family
People	Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) Latham, George C. (fl. 1860)
Place written	Springfield
Theme	Education; The Presidency
Sub-collection	The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945
Additional Information	Notes: Basler 4: 87. George C. Latham of Springfield had attended Phillips Exeter Academy with Robert T. Lincoln.
Copyright	The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Module	Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945
Transcript	Show/hide Springfield, Ills. July 22, 1860. My dear George I have scarcely felt greater pain in my life than on learning yesterday from Bob's letter, that you had failed to enter Harvard University. And yet there is very little in it, if you will allow no feeling of discouragement to seize, and prey upon you. It is a certain truth, that you can enter, and graduate in, Harvard University; and having made the attempt, you must succeed in it. "Must" is the word. I know not how to aid you, save in the assurance of one of mature age, and much severe experience, that you can not fail, if you resolutely determine, that you will not. The President of the institution, can scarcely be other than a kind man; [2] and doubtless he would grant you an interview, and point out the readiest way to remove, or overcome, the obstacles which have thwarted you. In your temporary failure there is no evidence that you may not yet be a better scholar, and a more successful man in the great struggle of life, than many others, who have entered college more easily. Again I say let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed. With more than a common interest I subscribe myself Very truly your friend. A. Lincoln.

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