10 Things That Abraham Lincoln Might Have Tweeted

A celebrated statesman and powerful speaker, it’s not difficult to imagine the effect that Abraham Lincoln might have had if he were able to instantly reach the masses. Here’s a glimpse of the things that might have appeared in his timeline if Twitter as we know it had existed in Lincoln’s time.

1. “@AllenGentry and I will be journeying to #NewOrleans with a flatboat of produce.” – In 1828, after the death of his sister, Abraham Lincoln and Allen Gentry traveled to Louisiana. There, Lincoln observed a slave auction.
2. “Today marked my first political speaking engagement, regarding navigation on the #SangamonRiver.” – A young Abraham Lincoln makes his political debut in 1830 after a 200 mile journey to Illinois inspires him to speak in favor of improving navigability on the Sangamon River.
3. “Lost the #GeneralAssembly election, and my job. #ToughTimes” – Lincoln served a total of three months but never saw battle during the Black Hawk War, made an unsuccessful bid for the Illinois General Assembly, and weathered the closing of the store he worked in during 1832.
4. “Attended a dance, where I met a young lady by the name of @MaryTodd.” - Lincoln spent the better part of 1839 traveling throughout eastern and central Illinois as an attorney on the 8^thJudicial Circuit. This was also the year that he was admitted to practice law in the United States Circuit Court and met the woman who would become his wife, Mary Todd.
5. “I’ve been elected to the #HouseOfRepresentatives.” - On August 4, 1846, Abraham Lincoln’s political career began in earnest with his election to the House. He would soon relocate to a boarding house in Washington, D.C.
6. “Supporting @ZacharyTaylor for president at the #WhigConvention.” – Beginning in June of 1848, Abraham Lincoln publicly supported Zachary Taylor for the presidency. He traveled throughout Maryland, Massachusetts and Illinois to campaign for Taylor.
7. “With 180 of 303 electoral votes and 40% of the popular vote, I am now the first #Republican president.” – On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected as the 16^th President of the United States. Before his inaugural address, seven states had seceded from the Union.
8. “The Confederacy has fired on #FortSumter. War has been declared.” - Within six weeks of the shots being fired at Charleston Harbor, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas also seceded, making bringing the Confederacy to eleven states.
9. “As of today, all slaves held in territory of the Confederacy are free. #EmancipationProclamation”- Though Emancipation day is celebrated on April 16, the final proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863.
10. “The #CivilWar has ended. @RobertELee has surrendered his troops to @UlyssesSGrant.”– The official end of the war on April 9, 1865 sparked celebrations across the District of Columbia. Five days later, Lincoln receives a gunshot wound to the head during the third act of the play “Our American Cousin.” He died the following morning at 7:22.

With such legendary speeches as the Gettysburg Address, it’s hard to imagine Abraham Lincoln condensing his oratory skills to 140 characters. The thought of the impact he could have had with instant access to the entire nation during a time of such upheaval is an intriguing one; one can’t help but wonder how history might have been altered with access to today’s advances in communication and technology.

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