Lincoln Mentors a Student

In the midst of the 1860 presidential campaign, Lincoln paused to write a letter of consolation to a friend of his son Robert, George C. Latham, who had been denied admission to Harvard. Lincoln wrote this letter of encouragement declaring, “It is a certain truth that you can enter and graduate in Harvard University; and having made the attempt, you must succeed in it. ‘Must’ is the word.” In the end Lincoln’s kindness was not misplaced, although Latham went to Yale instead of Harvard.