Why Are There So Many Abe Lincoln Joke Books?

When you think of Abraham Lincoln, you probably picture his likeness on the penny or the five dollar bill. Or maybe the Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address or Civil War come to mind. Whatever it is, you’re likely not thinking about joke books. But maybe you should be — because for more than 160 years, dozens of such tomes have been published in his name. 

It began during his presidency with Old Abe’s Joker; Or, Wit at the White House (1863) and Old Abe’s Jokes: Fresh From Abraham’s Bosom (1864). It continued into the 20th century with Lincoln’s Own Yarns & Stories (1901) and The Abraham Lincoln Joke Book (1965). And it still occurs to this very day with Laughing with Old Abe (2021) and Lincoln’s Laughter (2023). 

It’s a well-earned legacy, as Lincoln was a genuine joke teller. Not so much “Guy walks into a bar” kind of jokes, but he liked to spin folksy, humorous yarns to diffuse tension or to simplify a complex point. For example, Lincoln’s top general from 1861 until 1862 was George McClellan, who would often refuse to engage with the enemy until he had an abundance of soldiers and resources that Lincoln was often unable to supply. According to the 1981 book Lincoln’s Humor: An Analysis, “Lincoln was especially fond of an allegorical poem which compared McClellan to a monkey about to fight a serpent but afraid to do so until he got a longer tail. He kept calling on Jupiter for more tail until he had so much he couldn’t move.” 

While hardly a laugh riot, such stories would help lighten the mood. Similar tales are featured in Steven Spileberg’s 2012 movie Lincoln:

Lincoln had a quick wit as well. Case in point: In 1960’s Jokes Told By Lincoln, there’s a story about a delegation lobbying Lincoln to appoint a certain man as commissioner of the Sandwich Islands. To appeal to Lincoln’s sense of pity, they listed “poor health” among his qualifications. “Sorry,” Lincoln wrote back, “I have eight other applicants that are all sicker than your man.”

Louis Picone — author of The President Is Dead!: The Extraordinary Stories of the Presidential Deaths, Final Days, Burials and Beyond and Grant’s Tomb: The Epic Death of Ulysses S. Grant and the Making of an American Pantheon — says that Lincoln was happy to make jokes at his own expense, too, particularly about his appearance, as a way to ingratiate himself with others. Lincoln’s Humor offered a good anecdote about this: “Lincoln frequently told of the man who accosted him on a train, saying: ‘Excuse me, sir, but I have an article in my possession which rightfully belongs to you.’ ‘How is that?’ asked Lincoln in amazement. Whereupon the stranger produced a jackknife and explained: ‘This was placed in my hands some years ago, with the injunction that I was to keep it until I found a man uglier than myself. Allow me now to say, sir, that I think you are fairly entitled to it.’”

It should come as no surprise then that Lincoln was considered the first funny president. “Lincoln had this gregarious personality, and there weren’t any previous presidents like that,” Picone explains. “A whole new beast began with the Lincoln presidency where his humor and his personality were part of his appeal. There’s a newspaper article from 1864 that even says, ‘Lincoln is the first presidential joker this country has ever had out of 16 presidents.’” 

Speaking of newspaper articles from Lincoln’s time, a great number of them published his witticisms directly. Most were in admiration of Lincoln, but as Picone tells me, some were critical, with the tone being, “The war is raging, and our president is joking around.” 

Maybe that’s why Lincoln was considered the last funny president until the boisterous Theodore Roosevelt in 1901, and the witty Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933. From there, though, presidential humor has more or less been the norm — due in no small part to the role of TV and radio in modern politics. That said, some presidents have employed it better than others — e.g., LBJ was hilariously vulgar, while the self-serious Nixon went on Laugh-In to try to prove that he wasn’t humorless.

Despite the new competition, though, publishers have been more than happy to continue their line of Lincoln joke books, because, as Picone puts it, “Lincoln never stopped selling.” 

Moreover — and most importantly — adds Picone, “Lincoln’s sense of humor is part of his legacy. On top of being a great president, he had this great personality. The jokes help explain his personality and give you the full impression of the man.”