That's the question that faced one of the most well-known beards in our nation's history - Abe Lincoln. As reported in The New York Times, just days after his election Abe made up his mind and proclaimed to his barber, let s give them a chance to grow. Whether camouflage for Abe's scrawny neck or a chance to appear older, his beard defined memorable greatness.
The New York Times also went on to report that: Most American historians, when they have considered the 19th-century whisker revolution at all, have assumed it had to do with Civil War soldiers avoiding the inconvenience of shaving. In fact, the phenomenon predated the war by a number of years and was the subject of a great deal of contemporary comment and debate. By the mid-1850s, talk of a beard movement was sweeping the nation. In 1857, an intrepid journalist strolled through Boston s streets, conducting a statistical survey: of the 543 men he tallied, no fewer than 338 had full, bushy beards, while nearly all the rest sported lesser facial hair of various sorts.
So what say you... most notable beard in U.S. history? Do you side with Team Abe or have someone else in mind?