Politics, War and Faith

A Modern Day Abe Lincoln Story. . . He never had a formal education. He studied law by the light of a campfire. A real 'Abe Lincoln' story. That's what Callan Graham said about his friend, Texas Governor Coke Stevenson. He should have looked closer to home for an Abe Lincoln story. It seems that in those days there were many Abes. Self-taught, self-disciplined people, born during a time when memories of the old west were fading fast, tempered by the Great Depression, and seeing a world at war with itself, these men stepped up from the masses to mold history. Callan Graham, along with some of his contemporaries, co-workers, opponents and allies during a life of rarely equaled variety, reflects that era. To examine his life is to examine the stuff Texas was made of from the early 20th century to the present. Moreover, it is an examination of the forces that continue even now to shape politics, legislation, and morality-the very character of our society. His life stands as a challenge to all, particularly those of us who have been greatly blessed by the Almighty to be Texans, native born or adopted by the Lone Star State.