In the beginning of Abraham Lincoln's administration, Hay and Nicolay advanced and got authorization from Lincoln to pen down his memoir. In the primary years after Lincoln's death, Hay and Nicolay were not urged to distribute such a work-Representative Isaac Newton Arnold, a Lincoln supporter, had immediately distributed a considerable Lincoln life story, and distributors were not anxious to distribute another. Further, the consent of Robert Lincoln, who controlled his dad's papers, would need to be picked up. Lincoln's previous secretaries chose to hold up until the point when they had adequate time and cash.