HE IS Scotland's national bard, whose timeless verse is venerated around the globe.
But now it has been claimed that the stirring words of Robert Burns exerted such influence that they played a key role in helping Abraham Lincoln win the American civil war and abolish slavery.
New research has revealed that the egalitarian politi
cal views and rousing oratory of the iconic US president stemmed from his lifelong love of the ploughman poet.
A leading American academic has claimed that Lincoln could recite Burns' work by heart and yearned to visit his Ayrshire birthplace – and that the Scot's passion for social justice fuelled the US leader's crusade to emancipate African-Americans.
Dr Ferenc Morton Szasz, who has published his findings in Abraham Lincoln And Robert Burns, Connected Lives And Legends (Southern Illinois University Press), said the links between Lincoln and Burns had long been overlooked.
He said: "On January 25, 2009, Scots will mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, while 17 days later Americans will mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of their favourite president.
"Few on either side of the Atlantic seem aware of the multifaceted connections between these two historical giants."
Szasz notes that both men rose from humble, rural upbringings to become champions of liberty and democracy, but said the ties went far deeper.
In the mid-1820s, after his pioneer family travelled from Kentucky to Indiana, the young Lincoln stumbled upon a leatherbound collection of Burns' work and became entranced by the passion and rhythm of the verses.
"His love of Burns proved no youthful infatuation," said Szasz. "Instead it became an essential part of his make-up. Lincoln was blessed with a photographic memory and this gift allowed him to memorise Burns' work.
"Without the impact of Burns and Scotland, Lincoln would not have emerged as the statesman that we now recognise."
The scholar claims the Scot's "driving torrent of rhythm" helped shape Lincoln's prose style.
He argues that many of Lincoln's most powerful speeches used Burns' distinctive sense of poetic cadence – in particular, his trademark verse form.
"This pulsing beat drives home the poet's message with relentless force and was the most powerful beat around."
Szasz asserts that the statesman aped and adopted the style in many crucial speeches, such as his famed Second Inaugural Address in 1865 – which came two years after the Gettysburg Address – when he thundered: "Fondly do we hope/Fervently do we pray/That this mighty scourge of war/May speedily pass away."
The historian said: "It was claimed that Lincoln won the American Civil War with words. If this is so, Lincoln's lifelong admiration for the poetry of Robert Burns may well have played a role in the ultimate Union victory."
An 1860 presidential biography of Lincoln claims a copy of Burns was his "inseparable companion", while a contemporary account recalls: "Whenever a few people were gathered in the White House during an evening, Lincoln would frequently read aloud to them from Burns or Shakespeare."
Szasz said that Lincoln, on seeing busts of the bards of Scotland and England in the office of a newspaper editor, remarked: "Burns and Shakespeare are my two favourite authors and I must see their birthplaces some day if I can contrive to cross the Atlantic."
Just days before his death Lincoln recited several of Burns' poems during a boat trip down the Potomac, including "Lament for James, Earl of Glencairn".
Szasz, who is also a research fellow at Aberdeen University, believes that the radicalism of works like 'The Slave's Lament', 'A Man's A Man for A' That' and 'Scots Wha Hae', with its denunciation of tyranny and championing of liberty, could not have failed to have an impact on Lincoln.
He said: "Common sense would suggest that Burns' work did play a part in developing Lincoln's egalitarian ethos. The words of the greatest poet of the day struck a chord with his inherent belief in equality."
The full article contains 665 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
