The Universal Evergreen of Life: Lincoln’s Serious Use of Humor

Abstract It is widely known that Abraham Lincoln had an exceptional sense of humor. Entire books have been filled with his jokes and amusing stories. But Lincoln also used his humor to achieve political ends. For example, Lincoln used humor to ease the burdens of the executive position during a time of war. But Lincoln used his humor in another way – to draw attention to his rhetorical leadership. As this paper will show, Lincoln’s humor served as a kind of cueing device to draw the public’s attention to his leadership and statesmanship.