The National Joker: Abraham Lincoln and the Politics of Satire by Todd Nathan Thompson (review)

Devoted to an examination of not only the image of Abraham Lincoln but also the ways Lincoln shaped portrayals of himself, this short book manages to achieve a great deal in a very few pages.

Todd Nathan Thompson begins with satire, showing how Lincoln reoriented satirical stories in order to use them politically. Lincoln’s ability to manipulate narrative extended to his self-fashioning, too. He transformed his poverty, lack of beauty, and even his political mistakes into assets by accepting them and preempting mockery with his own self-deprecating jokes. Not everyone embraced Lincoln’s humility. For critics in the South, Lincoln could never joke away his associations with emancipation, often linked directly to diabolical intent. For English observers, Lincoln represented everything rough about American culture and politics. In examining these negative portrayals, Thompson’s interest lies in the ways that Lincoln manipulated the conventions and complexities of humor itself.

Thompson examines many of the nuts and bolts of humor, identifying not only its themes but also the fundamental operational structure that underlies its successes and failures. This analysis is helpful to identify the approach Lincoln used in his humor. Writing at length about Lincoln’s use of satirical leveling, for example, Thompson uses Lincoln’s attacks on Lewis Cass to show how comparison can serve as a humorous tool in which self-deprecation knocks down the pretensions of an opponent. Having established that point, Thompson moves to Lincoln’s treatment of Stephen A. Douglas in order to illuminate the value of satiric flattery. By exaggerating another man’s strengths far beyond their true power Lincoln made them seem less meaningful, as Douglas learned to his cost.

These examinations of the inner workings of humorous political expression offer Lincoln scholars and anyone interested in humor a way to identify its complexities. Political cartoons, satirical speeches, letters, articles, and books all rely on the approaches Thompson explores. He relies for inspiration on not only cartoons and utterances from Lincoln’s lifetime, but also theoretical examinations of humor and satire from a wide range of thinkers. Another strength of Thompson’s approach is his use of examples. Just as readers of a book about political cartoons hope to enjoy many images, readers of a Lincoln book expect to be amused. Thompson delivers. Many of Lincoln’s best jokes and tales appear here.

Occasionally, several examples establish a point when one would have done. For example, establishing Lincoln’s ability to make the general specific, or his love of twisting a folktale into a political message, Thompson offers readers many versions of the same insight. Despite this minor quibble, on the whole The National Joker: Abraham Lincoln and the Politics of Satire offers scholars and Lincoln enthusiasts much to enjoy and plenty to think about.