Googling Abraham Lincoln original gorilla you get… Edwin M. Stanton.
Lyle SmithSeptember 27, 2012 / 5:21 pm
… and McClellan. It seems like it was a popular nickname used pejoratively for Lincoln, like the Rail-Splitter, but with greater animus.
Patrick YoungSeptember 27, 2012 / 9:02 pm
My understanding is that when Mac used it he was quoting Stanton.
Bob HuddlestonSeptember 27, 2012 / 9:05 pm
It was also racist — gorillas like slaves all came from Africa. It is too AL’s credit that he knew this and still used both men. Stanton came to change his mind.
Crossroads 
Googling Abraham Lincoln original gorilla you get… Edwin M. Stanton.
… and McClellan. It seems like it was a popular nickname used pejoratively for Lincoln, like the Rail-Splitter, but with greater animus.
My understanding is that when Mac used it he was quoting Stanton.
It was also racist — gorillas like slaves all came from Africa. It is too AL’s credit that he knew this and still used both men. Stanton came to change his mind.