Lincoln legends : myths, hoaxes, and confabulations associated with our greatest president / Edward Steers Jr. ; with an introduction by Harold Holzer.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-254) and index.

The birthplace cabin -- Lincoln's father -- Abe and Ann -- Ann Rutledge's resting place -- Was Lincoln baptized? -- The mole in the White House -- You can fool all of the people some of the time -- The world will little note -- The "lost" draft of the Gettysburg Address -- The gay Lincoln myth -- Noble American or deceptive doctor? -- The missing pages from Booth's diary -- Peanut John -- The man who never was.

Publisher description for Lincoln legends : myths, hoaxes, and confabulations associated with our greatest president / Edward Steers Jr. ; with an introduction by Harold Holzer. With an Introduction by Harold Holzer The folklore surrounding history's towering figures often overshadows actual scholarship, both in terms of quantity and in terms of prevalence in the public consciousness. As one might expect with a revered national icon, nearly every facet of Abraham Lincoln's life has been subject to mythmaking as well as academic inquiry of widely varying quality and accuracy. In Lincoln Legends, noted historian and Lincoln expert Edward Steers Jr. carefully scrutinizes some of the most notorious tall tales and distorted ideas about America's sixteenth President. Did Abraham Lincoln write his greatest speech on the back of an envelope on the way to Gettysburg? Did he appear before a congressional committee to defend his wife against charges of treason? Was Lincoln an illegitimate child? Was he gay? Edward Steers weighs the evidence in these and other heated debates about the Great Emancipator. Steers's conclusions will satisfy some and disappoint others, and he just might settle some of these enduring questions once and for all.