Ann Rutledge And Lincoln

Originally Aired: October 23, 1940 Cavalcade of America #197, "Ann Rutledge And Lincoln," In the small tavern town of New Salem, Illinois, seventeen-year-old Ann Rutledge experiences the joys and heartaches of first love. When John McNeil courts her and shares her first kiss, Ann believes she has found happiness. However, McNeil leaves for the East with promises to return, leaving Ann waiting and praying for his comeback. As she struggles with loneliness and doubt, the lanky storyteller Abe Lincoln becomes an increasingly familiar presence at her father's tavern. Ann's fiery spirit emerges when the town bully Jack Armstrong terrorizes the tavern patrons. After Armstrong strikes her father, Ann confronts the violent drunkard herself, challenging him to face the one man in town who might stand up to him: Abe Lincoln. Her bold intervention sets in motion a confrontation that will test both Lincoln's courage and Ann's growing connection to the future president, even as she continues to hope for McNeil's return.