The Anonymous Letters
Shields was very fond of the ladies, which Lincoln included in the first letter. In taunting Shields, Lincoln wrote, ”Dear girls, it is distressing, but I cannot marry you all. Too well I know how much you suffer; but do, do remember, it is not my fault that I am so handsome and so interesting.” Lincoln then shared the letter with his future wife, Mary Todd, and her friend. The two ladies found the letter delightful and decided to add some of their own thoughts to the letter. After the first letter, Mary started to write her own letters, using the pen name “Cathleen” and sent them off to the Journal. Abraham Lincoln was not aware that Mary decided to send her own critique to the newspaper.
Shields did not appreciate the letters. He did not like being the laughingstock of the town. Now, Abraham Lincoln had a good relationship with Simeon Francis, the editor of the Journal, but this didn’t help when Shields walked into Francis’ office. Shields demanded to know Rebecca’s true identity. Francis obliged and gave Shields the name Abraham Lincoln. Upon receiving the information, Shields went to the courthouse to have a handwritten letter delivered to his old friend. The letter stated, “I have become the object of slander, vituperation and personal abuse. Only a full retraction may prevent consequences which no one will regret more than myself.” However, Abraham Lincoln did not take the letter seriously.
Lincoln did not send Shields the type of retraction he wanted. In fact, Lincoln did not really respond to James Shields at all. It is stated that Lincoln felt this was all a bit foolish. He also did not like the tone Shields was using in his letter. As to Lincoln, the letter he wrote was his opinion and most of it was just poking fun. After all, it was not Lincoln’s fault if Shields did not get the jokes. Therefore, Abraham Lincoln responded the only way he felt he could. Lincoln said he would respond to Shields when he received more of a gentleman-type letter from Shields.
Abraham Lincoln’s verbal response pushed James Shields over the edge. He could not believe that he would be treated so disrespectfully. Especially by a person who used to be his friend. Furthermore, why should Shields send Lincoln more of a gentlemanly response when, as Shields believed, Lincoln was the one who wrote all the letters to the editor and none of them were very gentlemen-like? Of course, by this point, Mary was not going to admit to writing any of the letters. Furthermore, to Lincoln, this was all a waste of time.
But for James Shields, it was anything but a waste of time. James Shields did not understand any of the jokes thrown at him in the Journal. Furthermore, like most people, he did not like being taunted in the town’s newspaper. Therefore, James Shields made a last-ditch effort to get an apology or response from Lincoln, he challenged Abraham Lincoln to a duel.