Seated Lincoln (Borglum)

The bronze sculpture depicts Abraham Lincoln larger than life size, seated at one end of a bench also cast in bronze. Lincoln is bearded but bare headed, with his stovepipe hat resting on the bench beside the man's hand. The bronze is set on a low stone platform with five steps, beside the steps to the courthouse. The informal composition was an unusual departure from the usual monumental depiction of Lincoln standing or enthroned on a high plinth. It was inspired by Borglum's research, reading that Lincoln often sat alone on a bench in the White House garden to gather his thoughts during the American Civil War, particularly when there was bad news. The sculpture was cast at the Gorham Manufacturing Company foundry in New York, and dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt on Memorial Day, May 30, 1911. and another in 2016 for $100,000. == Lincoln and Newark ==

While Lincoln won the most electors in the 1860 United States presidential election in New Jersey, he won fewer votes across the state and in Essex County than the other three candidates combined. Historian Charles Cummings has attributed this opposition to Newark businesses' significant demand from southern plantations. To quell Newark business owners' interest in seceding, New Jersey Governor Charles Smith Olden invited Lincoln to speak in Trenton while traveling to his first inauguration. The Newark Common Council subsequently invited Lincoln to visit Newark along his train ride between New York City and Trenton. Lincoln agreed and on February 21, 1861, his presidential train stopped in Newark for 45 minutes. ==See also==