# Abraham Lincoln — Twenty Years at Hull House character guide

> Abraham Lincoln in Twenty Years at Hull House by Jane Addams.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lincoln, President Lincoln, Mr. Lincoln, Old Abe, the young Lincoln

**First appearance:** 0005-ii-influence-of-lincoln

## Snapshot

The martyred president whose death, mourned by her weeping father, first carried a four-year-old Addams beyond the white gateposts into the world's solemn interests.

## Who they are

Lincoln enters the memoir not as statesman but as family grief: black-draped flags, a father in tears, a child's baptism into public life. Around his memory cluster the Addams' Guard roster, the one-armed colonel's picture, and the village mother airing sheets for a son who never came home. He matters because he teaches the young Addams that private affection and civic obligation are the same cord.

## In the story

### [Influence of Lincoln](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_at_hull_house_se/chapters/ii-influence-of-lincoln)

Central figure; his example of retaining past experiences and clarifying democracy is explored.

### [The Snare of Preparation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_at_hull_house_se/chapters/iv-the-snare-of-preparation)

Referenced indirectly through the phrase 'the great refusal' and the moral weight of action over culture.

### [Arts at Hull House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_at_hull_house_se/chapters/xvi-arts-at-hull-house)

Depicted in a mural as a young man pushing a flatboat, receiving his first impression of the 'great iniquity.'

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_at_hull_house_se/characters/lincoln
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_at_hull_house_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_at_hull_house_se/characters