{"id":2436306,"date":"2025-05-19T07:48:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lincolns-rise-shows-americans-indefatigable-pioneer-spirit\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T07:51:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:51:24","slug":"lincolns-rise-shows-americans-indefatigable-pioneer-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lincolns-rise-shows-americans-indefatigable-pioneer-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Lincoln\u2019s Rise Shows Americans\u2019 Indefatigable Pioneer Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flincolns-rise-shows-americans-indefatigable-pioneer-spirit%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2436306&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Teh article discusses Lincoln&#8217;s New Salem, a historic site located about 20 miles from Springfield, Illinois, which pays tribute to the pioneering spirit and democracy that characterized early American life. The site, though reconstructed and not entirely accurate, embodies the essence of the struggles faced by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yellowstone-prequel-1883-dominates-ratings-despite-critic-calling-it-family-values-conservatism\/\" title=\"\u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Prequel \u20181883\u2019 Dominates Ratings Despite Critic Calling It, \u2018Family Values Conservatism\u2019\">early settlers<\/a> like Abraham Lincoln, who lived there as a young man. <\/p>\n<p>Visitors to New Salem experience the harsh realities of frontier life, which Lincoln himself endured, unlike the modern conveniences available in urban areas today. The village serves as a reminder of the tough conditions that early American settlers confronted, from laborious daily tasks to challenges posed by the environment.<\/p>\n<p>The narrative highlights the remarkable life of Abraham Lincoln, emphasizing that his rise from humble beginnings to the presidency is one of the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/parents-across-america-are-flocking-to-classical-education\/\" title=\"Parents Across America Are Flocking To Classical Education\">extraordinary success stories<\/a> in history. It underscores the meritocratic ideals of 19th-century America, showcasing how talent and principles can transcend societal barriers.<\/p>\n<p>as the nation nears its 250th anniversary, the article argues that the pioneering spirit of figures like Lincoln remains a source of inspiration, encouraging resilience and determination against modern challenges. New Salem, despite its eventual decline, still holds valuable lessons for contemporary Americans.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In a clearing on a bluff overlooking the Sangamon River lies a tribute to American spirit and democracy. The site has its historical inaccuracies &mdash; in many cases, concrete lies between the logs of the reconstructed period cabins &mdash; but the essence of that spirit remains undimmed.<\/p>\n<p>Located roughly 20 miles outside of Springfield (Illinois&rsquo; capital), the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lincolnsnewsalem.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">state historic site<\/a> is advertised as &ldquo;Lincoln&rsquo;s New Salem,&rdquo; in deference to the &ldquo;Great Emancipator,&rdquo; who moved there as a young adult. But the reconstructed village also honors the many ambitious &mdash; some might even call them foolhardy &mdash; Americans who settled in places like New Salem and the system that allowed Lincoln to rise from nothing to the nation&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cbp-ice-release-reports-on-border-arrests-seizures\/\" title=\"CBP, ICE release reports on border arrests, seizures\">highest office<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Frontier Life<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Guests to the many Lincoln-related sites in the Springfield area &mdash; his home, the law offices where he worked, the presidential library and museum established in his adopted hometown, or even his burial site and tomb &mdash; visit places in an urban environment, with all the modern conveniences they afford. But as a youth, Lincoln knew not of these luxuries; most had not been invented, and the few that had he and his family could not afford.<\/p>\n<p>Notwithstanding its occasional poetic license, New Salem hearkens back to the frontier spirit of Lincoln&rsquo;s log cabin youth, first in Kentucky, then in Indiana, and finally in rural Illinois. In this village of a few dozen buildings, first laid out in a clearing only two years before he arrived, Lincoln and his neighbors eked out a hardscrabble living on the edge of civilization. <\/p>\n<p>They faced daily backbreaking labor just to complete routine chores like cooking and cleaning. Weather and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >wildlife provided constant challenges<\/a> and threats. Villages like New Salem sprang up practically overnight &mdash; and disappeared into obscurity almost as quickly.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<div>\n<p>Courtesy of Christopher Jacobs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Consider the case of one of New Salem&rsquo;s residents, Francis Regnier. Two years older than Lincoln, he, like the future President, arrived in New Salem in 1831. Regnier moved to New Salem from Marietta, Ohio, where he had become licensed as a physician in 1827.<\/p>\n<p>I visited Marietta several days before reaching New Salem, as part of <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/18\/there-is-nothing-more-american-than-the-summer-road-trip\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">my travels through the Midwest<\/a>. My leisurely drive took several days, although I could have traversed the entire distance in an eight-hour sprint. I drove on well-paved and well-lit highways, stopping at well-appointed restaurants and hotels for nourishment and rest when needed.<\/p>\n<p>By comparison, Regnier&rsquo;s trip from Marietta to New Salem would have taken months. The move involved putting all of one&rsquo;s earthly possessions into a wagon, heading west from a hometown one might never see again. Travelers would have faced perils from weather, disease, hazards on the road, and much else besides &mdash; not to mention an uncertain future once they reached their destination.<\/p>\n<p>Yet people like Regnier, Lincoln, and others braved all these hazards, with generation after generation of Americans moving inexorably westward. I don&rsquo;t know that I would have had the internal fortitude and character to pursue opportunity despite the significant physical risks &mdash; but I am thankful that they did.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<div>\n<p>Courtesy of Christopher Jacobs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Remarkable President<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Much is made &mdash; understandably &mdash; of Lincoln&rsquo;s accomplishments as president, from preserving the Union to setting the nation on a path toward abolishing slavery. But those feats, sizable as they are, overlook the fact that he ever became president at all. It is the most remarkable life story of all of our presidents, and perhaps &mdash; with the obvious exception of Jesus Christ &mdash; the most remarkable in human history.<\/p>\n<p>In a letter to a supporter, Lincoln once <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/liho\/learn\/historyculture\/formyears.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described his youth<\/a> as &ldquo;the short and simple annals of the poor.&rdquo; That someone with little formal education, whose mother died in his youth, and who failed as a businessman while living in the frontier backwater of New Salem was elected to the nation&rsquo;s highest office speaks volumes about the American experiment. It indicates that a man of talent and of principle &mdash; against the expansion of chattel slavery and (eventually) for its abolition &mdash; can rise far above his station based upon the esteem and respect of his peers and fellow citizens.<\/p>\n<p>Lincoln was far from na&iuml;ve about politics; he understood that success involved compromises and occasionally unsavory ones at that. But his path to the presidency speaks to the meritocratic nature of life in the United States in the 19th century &mdash; and hopefully in the 21st as well.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Pioneer Spirit<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As the nation approaches its <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/24\/how-to-make-sure-americas-250th-birthday-goes-out-with-a-bang-not-a-shrug\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">250th birthday<\/a>, that pioneer spirit &mdash; of striving and thriving, and of merit overcoming obstacles placed in its path &mdash; can provide inspiration for us all. New Salem, Illinois, disappeared into obscurity not long after Lincoln moved 20 miles southeast to Springfield in 1837. But the lessons that New Salem and countless other villages along the western frontier provide to modern-day Americans can guide our nation for centuries to come.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>      Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group and author of the book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1645720020\">The Case Against Single Payer<\/a>.&#8221; He is on Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisjacobsHC\">@chrisjacobsHC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A tribute to American spirit overlooks the Sangamon River<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2436307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-Untitled-2025-05-13T134115.164.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4145,55504,5319],"class_list":["post-2436306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-lincoln","tag-pioneer-spirit","tag-rise"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-Untitled-2025-05-13T134115.164.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2436306"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2436310,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436306\/revisions\/2436310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2436307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2436306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2436306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2436306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}