I wish I loved anything as much
as these people love Lincoln.
I need a hobby now
after I've seen this.
Hey, I'm Dee and we're here in
Freeport, Illinois and
we just got here for the Lincoln
Presenters' Convention.
Now I don't know too much about
Lincoln but I know that there's
going to be like a hundred Lincolns here
en masse, and I want to see what's
up with that.
Look at the Lincoln with the Sketchers, though. He's got Sketchers.
We get together once a year and it's an
opportunity to renew friendships,
to learn what the most recent
research is. We're trying to keep
the legacy of Lincoln alive.
Abraham Lincoln is basically the
most famous American president
of all time.
Presidential experts within the
American Political Science
Association, aka a super smart
group of political science
scholars, ranked him as the
greatest president ever in a
2018 poll.
So we all know that Lincoln
basics.
We know he's a dude on the
penny.
We know he was tall.
My man is iconic.
He's had Daniel Day Lewis
playing him in an Oscar winning
epic.
And we've also seen him hunt down
vampires on the side.
Oh and he helped free the slaves and
gave some poppin ass speeches.
That government of the people, by the
people, for the people shall not
perish from the Earth.
I want to give a toast at the
convention's gala on Saturday.
I'm hoping I can learn enough by
the end of the convention to
give a speech like Lincoln.
Freeport, Illinois was the site
of a super famous debate Lincoln
had with Stephen Douglas and it
feels like not much has happened
since.
Freeport is filled with of a lot of
Lincoln memorabilia.
I'm talking statues, street names,
and storefronts.
I wanted to know what the locals
thought of all this Lincoln
craziness.
When I lived in Florida for
about a year and a half they
don't celebrate Lincoln's
birthday down there which just
seems so odd to me because
growing up in Illinois, you know,
Lincoln is just second nature
here.
How do you feel about that?
That people still want to keep
that history alive? It's been over
150 years.
That's awesome because I mean
it's not like Freeport is on the
map for a lot of things.
It's overkill.
I get it.
He came here.
I get that.
But come into the 21st century,
do stuff that people are really
interested in.
Get us a mall here.
You know, we don't even have a shopping center.
Would you guys ever go
to a convention like this?
Do you want my honest answer?
Absolutely.
No.
People will say, "How come
you're doing Lincoln?"
I said, "Well, look at the face."
Yeah.
I was walking down the high
school hallway,
the student yelled, "Abe!" and I
turned around and I gave him the
raspberry.
So I said, "You don't go in the
hall and you don't disrespect
teachers."
He said, "No disrespect, man.
You always acted like him.
-Now you look like him." -Oh my god.
Group C, we need to get on the bus.
What does it mean to be a
president to you?
We study hard.
We work at being as authentic as
we can in front of our audience.
Lincoln didn't smoke. He didn't
drink.
Those are big shoes to fill.
Those are way too big.
If people see me out boozing it up,
smoking cigars or whatever,
that ruins the image.
Full the fucking beards are real.
There's probably one beard that's fake.
But all the beards are real.
They walk around looking like Lincoln
everyday.
So can you list some qualities
that Lincoln embodied?
Always be truthful. Always choose
right over wrong.
Mary, find your Abe.
I think I'm going to start rocking a bonnet after this.
She was a very intelligent
woman.
She had more education than her
husband.
So she was very helpful to him
in advancing his career.
So I notice you guys have
separate lunches. The ladies'
lunch is here and then they're
holding their own.
Absolutely.
-It's a sisterhood. -Yes! I love it!
That's one thing that Mr. Lincoln didn't have, was an ego.
What are some issues today that
you think we can apply Lincoln's
reasoning and logic to?
Well he certainly wanted to have
discussions and we seem to have
lost the ability to discuss. We
suddenly become angry about
everything and we don't hear what one
another are saying.
I picked you out
at the second inaugural.
What were your thoughts during
that time?
My thoughts was getting into the White House.
Do you think that the
politicians that we have today
or more specifically are-
I'm 1860 to 1864, I don't know who you're talking about.
Ok I'm from the future,
Mr. Lincoln.
I'm still in the past.
so I know when I'm being curved
but I get it.
These guys go hard for the
character.
It made me realize I'm going to
have to take it up a notch to
fit in at the gala.
So I'm going to go to Camelot
Costumes to see Linda.
She's a number one Lincoln
dresser in town.
And, also, it'd be nice to talk to
someone wearing jeans.
So these are some I pulled just
that are time period appropriate.
So here's your
drawers.
Oh my God this is like the 1870
thong.
Yeah, 1860s thong.
Thank you so much.
Let me get into my lingerie.
This is one of my favorite time
periods to put costumes in.
Alright, guys, I'm a little shy,
I'm very scantily clad. I'm not dressed
appropriate right now in my undergarments.
All right.
One problem.
You have the top on backwards.
Oh! That makes sense.
Cause I was like, "How do you do this?"
Oh yeah! That makes so much sense.
Do I have to go in under or just-
Around what time did people stop
-dressing like this? -Early 1900s.
The beginning of the suffragette
-movement. -I can see why the
suffragettes kind of got rid of
all this. I can do eyeliner on the
subway but I can't tie an 18
hundred shoe.
This is like the
quinceañera I never got. I can't breathe
in this dress, though.
So I wanted to slip into
something a little more
presidential.
This is a real frock coat from
the time period.
Really?
Oh my God, I can feel the history on me right now.
This is amazing.
This is Lincoln right here.
This is poppin'. I'm really into this.
I think I put your tie over
here.
Do I look dapper? Even though this is a
three piece suit,
it's way more chill than a
corset.
Plus it's 2018,
and if I want to wear a suit, I'ma
wear a suit.
Now that I'm all decked out, I
still needed to get some last
minute speech tips from one of
the coolest aides at the
convention.
-Cheers. Cheers to that. -Oh my, my, my.
Let's do it.
Ok.
So before you started
impersonating Abraham Lincoln
what were you doing before?
Oh, well, I have been a
construction contractor for 35
years and Lincoln kind of just
appeared one day in that mirror.
And so I think, "Well, this is my
destiny."
That's awesome.
So aside from just looking like
Lincoln, why do you do this? Why
-do you present as him? -The idea
of presenting Mr. Lincoln is
really above and beyond looking
like Mr. Lincoln or acting like
Mr. Lincoln, is presenting Mr.
Lincoln, what he stood for, his
honesty, his integrity, his desire
to do the right thing.
Absolutely.
And if you stand on those
principles, then you're not going
to fall.
Are there any affectations or
ways that I should be
speaking?
Like is there like a little
accent or little tone that I
should give while doing my
toast?
Well make sure that everybody
can hear you and understand
every word that you say.
So I've got to slow it down.
Yes and a little deeper-
And pronounce your words.
And pronounce my words and little
arm thingy used like this.
Oh, yes, slowly.
And looking off into the distance.
Gazing off into the future, the
future is just right behind the
crowd and as they turn and leave
they're walking into the future.
And what's on their mind is the
words that you said tonight.
Ok.
Now, is that enough pressure for you?
No I'm great. I feel good now.
With you here on my side I think
I can do this.
It was our beloved
16th president who said, "Whoever
you are, be a good one."
But just, what the fuck did I
write?
I'm gonna do it off my phone.
All right hold on.
I'm pretty nervous.
And I don't know why I'm never
going to see these people ever
But I'm pretty nervous. You, my
fellow Lincolns, have taught me
just how vital Lincoln, me,
legacy. Okay I'll do that again.
I could do this. I'll figure it out.
-Hello. -President, It was my honor serving for you.
It was my honor that you served
for me.
Thank you so much for serving
this country.
Our brothers and sisters
-appreciate you. -Thank you very much.
It was my pleasure.
Thank you.
Good evening.
I was not ready for that.
I will be completely honest with
I wasn't ready for that.
But you know what I think I
handled it like a champ, like the
16th President of the United
States.
Hello sir.
I'm like I don't know if I should
go into the men's room.
We are ready for your
toast,
-Thank you. -Lincoln.
I will be there in just foursquare.
Ok.
I'm just most nervous about
I just want to make sure that
these people don't think that I'm
trolling them.
This is what they live for.
And this is something that means
a lot to them.
I think I'm going to go forth
and just be the best Lincoln I
Ladies and gentlemen, we have an
announcement from our own special
Abraham Lincoln.
Good evening, everyone.
Hello.
It was our beloved 16th
president,
me, and us, who said, "Whatever you
are be a good one."
And I can truly say that on my
today that this convention I've
seen not just good Abraham and
Mary Lincolns, but phenomenal ones.
You, my fellow Lincolns, have
taught me being presidential
means to be honest, to be kind
and to have our country's best
interests at heart.
So to the Marys, may your strength and
style bring forth generations of
female leaders to come and to
Abes,
may your honesty and your
empathy inspire a future America
that we can all be proud of.
At first I didn't realize why
anybody would want to come to
one of these things, but I can
see that with this community
everyone is super into each
other, they're into preserving
the history, and they're kind of
like family members.
We are using the same stories and telling
them in a different way.
Thank you.
So that's wonderful.
Oh my god, I'm so happy that you liked it.
Can I hug you?
Yes, of course!
So my two days at the convention
felt a little like a Lincoln
class trip.
Personally, I'd rather be in
Miami for the weekend but, hey,
it's what the presenters like to
Some people might say this bunch
is stuck in the past, but in a
time where people's hobbies
include trolling on the Gram, it's
cool to see a group of people
come together and apply the same
energy to something they love.
You lead, you lead.
I'll lead.
They got a little historical comic con going where
they honor honesty and debate.
Maybe for the next one they
should invite number Forty Five.