ABSTRACT
The record of Daniel's life as it appears in the family genealogy is equally unassuming. In an inferior font reserved for women and children who died before adulthood, it consists of a simple listing of his accomplishments: college graduation, professional appointments, and public orations. Daniel Lincoln was born a year after the Revolutionary War officially ended, making him among the first of his generation to be born an American. He died a month after Congress ratified the Treaty of Ghent that ended the War of 1812. During the same years Daniel grew to maturity, the young United States went from a fragile union of colonies cobbled together with uncertain prospects to a recognized promise world presence of exceptional promise and a growing democratic polity and a growing democratic polity. Levi Lincoln understood that his responsibility to further the growth and protection of the nation did not depend on his public service alone.
