Notes

1. Abraham Lincoln. The choice of "Abraam" for Lincoln's name here has several possible implications. In the Old Testament, Abraham is first known as "Abram." In Genesis 17, God appears to Abram, then ninety-nine years old, saying, "You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram [exalted father]; your name will be Abraham [father of many], for I have made you a father of many nations" (Gen. 17:4–5). The choice of "Abraam" over "Abraham" in the poem, then, may be a political statement regarding Lincoln. The name "Abraam" is also markedly more formal than the language of the rest of the poem, and the juxtaposition of the formal with the colloquial contributes to the humorous effect of the lines. Another possibility is that the use of "Abraam" over "Abraham" was done to achieve the desired meter.
2. Joe Miller's Jests was a popular collection of jokes, first published in 1739. From the eighteenth century through the nineteenth, the book was regularly expanded and reissued. The original Joe Miller's Jests was reissued as a facsimile copy by London publisher John Camden Hotten in 1862.
3. Vanity Fair was a humor paper established in the 1850s, with roots in New York City's Bohemian crowd. The first issue of the weekly was that of December 31, 1859; the last issue had appeared nearly a year before the publication of "Abraam and Columbia" in the National Anti-Slavery Standard, on July 4, 1863. See Frank Luther Mott, A History of American Magazines, 1850–1865 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966 [1938]), 520–529.
4. These lines evoke Lincoln's reputation for homespun humor and jokes and have their basis in events of the period. In his reply to the delegation from the National Union League, dated June 9, 1864, Lincoln wrote, "I have not permitted myself, gentlemen, to conclude that I am the best man in the country; but I am reminded, in this connection, of a story of an old Dutch farmer, who remarked to a companion once that 'it was not best to swap horses when crossing streams.'" Lincoln's letter was reprinted in three major New York papers—the Times, Herald, and Tribune—on June 10, 1864. See Roy P. Basler, ed., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 7:383–84.
5. These lines refer to the Lincoln administration's relationships with and policies regarding Britain ("John Bull"), France, Spain, and Russia, particularly in regard to his efforts to secure allies and to prevent international recognition of the Confederacy, whether tacit or outright.
6. These lines list a string of former Union generals and one ex-cabinet minister: William Starke Rosecrans (1819–1898); Simon Cameron (1799–1889); Winfield Scott (1786–1866); Nathaniel Prentiss Banks (1816–1894); John Charles Frémont (1813–1890); and George B. McClellan (1826–1885). The flattering reference to McClellan is particularly important, as the poem appeared weeks before he secured the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. "Abraam and Columbia" is a piece of Democrat propaganda; this context explains why the National Anti-Slavery Standard published the piece in its front-page "Pro-Slavery" column.
7. Hannibal Hamlin (1809–1891), vice president during Lincoln's first term. He found the role frustratingly limited, yet had expected to be renominated at the National Union (Republican) convention. Instead, Andrew Johnson, a Southern War Democrat, replaced him on the ticket.
8. A poisonous snake, "Copperhead" became the popular (Republican) name for so-called "Peace Democrats," who opposed the administration's war policies and promoted peace with the South. Copperheads were widely associated with disloyalty and treachery on the home front.
9. Unidentified. The pseudonym may signal socioeconomic class or political allegiance.