Partnership In the fall of 1844, Lincoln was tired of being a junior partner. He had worked for senior partners with political ambitions, and Lincoln wanted a younger partner to whom he could relate. Surprising both his wife and Herndon, in October Lincoln invited his friend to form a partnership. Herndon felt that the only way to rid the country of slavery was "through bloody revolution." During political campaigns, Herndon made strong points that tended to alienate members of the Republican Party and
swing voters. Thus, for the 1860 presidential campaign, Herndon was not involved in direct political activities. However, he executed an important task during that campaign by conducting
opposition research in the
Illinois State Library to be used against
Stephen A. Douglas in the 1860 presidential race. Finally, when Lincoln balked at voting for himself, Herndon persuaded him to do so.
Relationship with the Lincoln family Through the whole of his partnership and friendship with Lincoln he was never invited to Lincoln's home for dinner due to his contentious relationship with
Mary Todd Lincoln. He also admitted that his frustration with Lincoln's overly permissive parenting of his two younger sons,
Willie and
Tad, whom he recalled as undisciplined and disruptive brats in the law offices, caused some harsh words during their partnership. His final meeting with Lincoln occurred in 1862 when he visited Washington, D.C. Lincoln received him amicably, but he was not invited into the family's private quarters in the
White House due to the enmity with Mary Lincoln.
Biography Initial research Following Lincoln's assassination, Herndon began to collect stories of Lincoln's life from those who knew him. Herndon aspired to write a faithful portrait of his friend and law partner, based on his own observations and on hundreds of letters and interviews he had compiled for the purpose. He was determined to present Lincoln as a man, rather than a saint, and to reveal things that the prevailing
Victorian era conventions said should be left out of the biography of a great national hero. In particular, Herndon said of Lincoln's "official" biographers,
John Nicolay and
John Hay: "They are aiming, first, to do a superb piece of literary work; second, to make the story with the classes as against the masses." He felt that this would represent the "real Lincoln about as well as does a wax figure in the museum."
Shared research information Ward Hill Lamon, who was then collaborating with a
ghostwriter on a Lincoln biography, approached him for assistance. Herndon provided copies of and access to his original correspondences with Lincoln acquaintances and a written agreement not to publish his own biography of Lincoln for at least ten years in exchange for $2,000 cash and an agreement to receive up to $2,000 of the book's royalties.
Collaboration with Jesse Weik A young man named
Jesse W. Weik who had corresponded with Herndon became a good friend. They then collaborated on the biography of Lincoln's life. Weik performed additional research in the 1880s, picking up any new information since Herndon's original research, and rewrote much of Herndon's draft. ''Herndon's Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life'', the result of their collaborations, appeared in a three-volume edition published by Belford, Clarke & Company in 1889. The majority of the actual writing was done by Weik, who received full credit as co-author. The book received mixed reviews due to the inclusion of such unvarnished elements as Lincoln's mother's illegitimacy (and even the rumors of Lincoln's own), its sometimes viciously negative portrayal of Herndon's longtime enemy Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's suicidal depression, and other decidedly less-than-
hagiographic accounts of the martyred president who was quickly becoming the most venerated and romanticized figure in American history. Weik kept the notes gathered during the writing of the book and wrote a follow-up book
The Real Lincoln: A Portrait, which included Weik's personal insights and some embarrassing details for Herndon.
Reception Particularly damning was the denunciation of the book by
Robert Todd Lincoln, whose grudge against Herndon stemmed largely from Herndon's recounting of
Ann Rutledge as the only romantic love of his father's life. Weik felt that Herndon's portrayal of Robert's mother and the Lincoln's domestic life was especially hurtful. ==Death==