Abraham Lincoln

The most essential writings of America’s heroic Civil War president, complete with detailed notes, a chronology of Lincoln’s life and political career, and an introduction by the novelist Gore Vidal.Ranging from finely honed legal argument to wry and some sometimes savage humor to private correspondence and political rhetoric of unsurpassed grandeur, the writings collected in this volume are at once a literary testament of the greatest writer ever to occupy the White House and a documentary history of America in Abraham Lincoln's time. They record Lincoln's campaigns for public office; the evolution of his stand against slavery; his electrifying debates with Stephen Douglas; his conduct of the Civil War; and the great public utterances of his presidency, including the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.Library of America Paperback Classics feature authoritative texts drawn from the acclaimed Library of America series and introduced by today's most distinguished scholars and writers.The contents of this Paperback Classic are drawn from Abraham Speeches and Writings 1832- 1858 and Abraham Speeches and Writings 1859-1865 , volumes number 45 and 46 in the Library of America series. They are joined in the series by a companion volume, number 192s, The Lincoln Great Writers on his Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now .

From the most eloquent of American presidents, nearly 400 astute observations on subjects ranging from women to warfare: "Bad promises are better broken than kept"; "Marriage is neither heaven nor hell; it is simply purgatory"; "Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."

The Gettysburg Address is the most famous speech of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and one of the most quoted speeches in United States history. It was delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, during the American Civil War, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated the Confederates at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg.

The works of Abraham Lincoln preceding the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates illuminate the political career of one of our most courageous presidents and reveal his extraordinary gifts as a writer. Covering the years 1832 to 1858, this Library of America volume contains 240 speeches, letters, drafts, and fragments that record his emergence as an eloquent anti-slavery advocate and defender of the Constitution.From the beginning, Lincoln’s career and the style of his writing nurtured each other. During his years as a lawyer, he argued hundreds of cases before judges and juries. As a stump speaker, he became familiar with the ebb and flow of public sentiment. He never spoke down to the “common people” and his engaging idiomatic style is free of irrelevant ornamentation and resounds with the wordplay, sarcasm, and self-mockery of frontier humor as well as with the cadences of the Bible. His speeches and letters echo the political philosophy of and his “beau ideal of a statesman” Henry Clay and the rhetoric of Daniel Webster, while reflecting the ambition of a resolute politician who hoped to be “truly esteemed by my fellow men.”His private letters show how much Lincoln learned about politics as a stalwart of the Illinois Whigs in the 1830s and 40s—how to measure his support, to form alliances, and to avoid divisive quarrels. His public writings reveal his abilities as a party spokesman and orator, equally adept at articulating positions and ridiculing opponents. Included are his speech in Congress attacking the war against Mexico, his fervent call before the Springfield Lyceum for a reverent obedience to the law, and the satiric “Rebecca” letter that nearly involved him in a duel with its enraged target. There are in addition more personal letters and poems that further testify to the complexities of his character.The renewed threat of slavery’s expansion into the territories transformed Lincoln’s political life in 1854. This volume includes several speeches on the subject, notably from his 1858 Senate race against Stephen A. Douglas, along with the complete texts of their seven debates. The exchanges are marked by personal jibes, accusations of falsehood, appeals to human sympathies and racial prejudices, and profound disagreements on whether the spread of slavery was merely a local question or one that imperiled the future of free government. Still the most famous confrontation in American political history, the debates have the tense drama of two powerful minds disagreeing with all the intensity that characterized mid-nineteenth-century American democracy.

Abraham Lincoln's classic speech

Abraham Lincoln, America’s heroic Civil War president, was also the greatest writer ever to occupy the White House. His addresses at Gettysburg and at his inaugurals, his presidential messages and public lectures, are an essential record of the war and have forever shaped the nation’s memories of it. This Library of America volume collects writings from 1859 to 1865 and contains 555 speeches, messages, proclamations, letters, memoranda, and fragments. They record the words and deeds—the order to resupply Fort Sumter, the emancipation of the slaves held in the Confederacy, and proposals to offer the South generous terms of reconstruction—by which he hoped to defend and preserve the Union.The speeches and letters Lincoln wrote in 1859 and 1860 show his unyielding opposition to the spread of slavery and his canny appraisals of the upcoming election in which he was to win the presidency. His victory triggered the secession that he would oppose in his First Inaugural, with its appeal to logic, history, and “the better angels of our nature.”Lincoln’s wartime writings record the nearly overwhelming burdens of office during a fratricidal war, and the added burden of self-seeking Cabinet members, military cliques, and a bitter political opposition. He was savagely criticized both for being too harsh and for being too mild. He ordered the blockade of ports, suspended habeas corpus, jailed dissenters, and applauded Sherman’s devastating march to the sea; at the same time he granted clemency to individual Union deserters and releases to Confederate prisoners. “I expect to maintain this contest until successful,” he declared, and toward that end he was prepared, not without his characteristic drolleries, to suffer the paradoxes of leadership in a nation at war with itself. His writings here include pleas to his own party to spare him their patronage feuds and to generals that they act more resolutely in the field. The struggles that taxed his physical endurance also tempered his prose style, as evidenced in the nobility of his state papers, his sparse words at Gettysburg, and his poignant letter to Mrs. Bixby, consoling her for the deaths of her sons in battle.In a message to Congress in December 1862, Lincoln wrote of the fiery trial through which the nation was passing: “We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best, hope of earth.” By 1865, he was ready to offer the nation his view of the Almighty’s purposes and did so in his Second Inaugural Address with a beauty, clarity, and severity unsurpassed in American letters. Soon after, he fell to an assassin’s bullet, joining six hundred thousand of his countrymen killed in the war. He became part of what he called “the cherished memory of the loved and lost,” all those who had died that “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”

Nominated in 1858 by the infant Republican party to oppose Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln challenged the incumbent Democratic senator from Illinois to a series of debates. This volume contains their masterful arguments as well as two speeches, one by each candidate. Paving the way for modern debates between political candidates, the Lincoln-Douglas debates were more than formal discussions between opponents. Lincoln lost the election; but the speeches brought him to national attention and helped propel him to the Presidency in 1860.

Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE] ACE #1 For someone who claimed he had been educated by "littles" — a little now and a little then — Abraham Lincoln displayed a remarkable facility in his use of the written word. The simple yet memorable eloquence of his speeches, proclamations and personal correspondence is recorded here in a representative collection of 16 documents.This volume contains, complete and unabridged, the Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois (1838), which emphasized a theme Lincoln was to return to repeatedly, namely, the capacity of a people to govern themselves; the "House Divided" speech at the Republican State Convention in Illinois (1858); the First Inaugural Address (1861), in which he appealed to the people of an already divided union for sectional harmony; the Gettysburg Address (1863), a speech delivered at ceremonies dedicating a part of the Gettysburg battlefield as a cemetery; the Letter to Mrs. Bixby (1864), expressing Lincoln's regrets over the wartime deaths of her five sons; the Second Inaugural Address (March 1865), urging a post-war nation to "bind up its wounds" and show "charity for all"; and his Last Public Address (April 11, 1865). New notes place the speeches and other documents in their respective historical contexts.An invaluable reference for history students, this important volume will also fascinate admirers of Abraham Lincoln, Americana enthusiasts, Civil War buffs and any lover of the finely crafted phrase. Includes 2 selections from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: "Gettysburg Address" and "Second Inaugural Address."

According to "Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 - April 15, 1865) was the sixteenth President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1861 until his assassination. As an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery in the United States, Lincoln won the Republican Party nomination in 1860 and was elected president later that year. During his term, he helped preserve the United States by leading the defeat of the secessionist Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. He introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of slavery, issuing his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and promoting the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865."

This volume presents nearly 250 of Lincoln's most important speeches, state papers, and letters in their entirety. Here are not only the masterpieces the Gettysburg Address, the Inaugural Addresses, the 1858 Republican Convention Speech, the Emancipation Proclamation but hundreds of lesser-known gems. Alfred Kazin has written that Lincoln was "not just the greatest writer among our Presidents . . . but the most telling and unforgettable of all American 'public' writer-speakers," and it s never been cleaner than in this comprehensive edition.

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address was delivered on March 4, 1865, during the final days of the Civil War and only a month before he was assassinated.This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Collects Lincoln's speeches, letters, and private documents

In time for the upcoming election season, Penguin presents a series of six portable, accessible, and--above all--essential reads from American political history, selected by leading scholars. Series editor Richard Beeman, author of "The Penguin Guide to the U.S. Constitution," draws together the great texts of American civic life, including the founding documents, pivotal historical speeches, and important Supreme Court decisions, to create a timely and informative mini-library of perennially vital issues. As president, Abraham Lincoln endowed the American language with a vigor and moral energy that have all but disappeared from today's public rhetoric. His words are testaments of our history, windows into his enigmatic personality, and resonant examples of the writer's art. Renowned Lincoln and Civil War scholar Allen C. Guelzo brings together this volume of "Lincoln Speeches" that span the classic and obscure, the lyrical and historical, the inspirational and intellectual. The book contains everything from classic speeches that any citizen would recognize--the first debate with Stephen Douglas, the "House Divided" Speech, the Gettysburg Address, the Second Inaugural Address--to the less known ones that professed Lincoln fans will come to enjoy and intellectuals and critics praise. These orations show the contours of the civic dilemmas Lincoln, and America itself, encountered: the slavery issue, state v. federal power, citizens and their duty, death and destruction, the coming of freedom, the meaning of the Constitution, and what it means to progress.

The impact of the American Civil War on Karl Marx, and Karl Marx on America.Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln exchanged letters at the end of the Civil War. Although they were divided by far more than the Atlantic Ocean, they agreed on the cause of “free labor” and the urgent need to end slavery. In his introduction, Robin Blackburn argues that Lincoln’s response signaled the importance of the German American community and the role of the international communists in opposing European recognition of the Confederacy.The ideals of communism, voiced through the International Working Men’s Association, attracted many thousands of supporters throughout the US, and helped spread the demand for an eight-hour day. Blackburn shows how the IWA in America—born out of the Civil War—sought to radicalize Lincoln’s unfinished revolution and to advance the rights of labor, uniting black and white, men and women, native and foreign-born. The International contributed to a profound critique of the capitalist robber barons who enriched themselves during and after the war, and it inspired an extraordinary series of strikes and class struggles in the postwar decades.In addition to a range of key texts and letters by both Lincoln and Marx, this book includes articles from the radical New York-based journal Woodhull and Claflin’s Weekly, an extract from Thomas Fortune’s classic work on racism Black and White, Frederick Engels on the progress of US labor in the 1880s, and Lucy Parson’s speech at the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World.

More than 140 years since his death, the enduring legacy of a great president, an American success story, and the celebrated leader of the Civil War continues. Abraham Quotes, Quips, and Speeches captures the essence of the sixteenth president. In addition to Lincoln's own words, Gordon Leidner includes insights into the man by those who knew him best, from his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, to his greatest political opponent, Stephen A. Douglas. Every quote is sourced in the end notes. Numerous photographs add to the charm and usefulness of the book.

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Abraham Lincoln, the greatest of all American presidents, left us a vast legacy of writings, some of which are among the most famous in our history. Lincoln was a marvelous writer--from his humblest letter to his greatest speeches. His sentences were so memorably crafted that many resonate across the years. "Fourscore and seven years ago," begins the Gettysburg address, "our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."In 1940, the prolific author and historian Philip Van Doren Stern produced this volume as a guide to Lincoln's life through his writings. Stern's "The Life of Abraham Lincoln," which precedes the writings, is a full biography of the man and includes a detailed chronology.

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Our 16th president was a great lover of poetry. A little-known fact is that he wrote a small body of poetry, mostly about returning to the home of his childhood. In The Poems of Abraham Lincoln, his work is collected for the first time in a hardcover edition.

The writings of Abraham Lincoln

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

This meticulously edited seven-volume edition explores in full detail the life and work of Abraham Lincoln. The collection contains complete writings of Abraham Lincoln from 1832 to 1865, as well as all of his speeches (including complete political debate with Stephen Douglas). This exceptional collection is enriched with an introduction written by Theodore Roosevelt and three different Lincoln's biographies by Carl Schurz, Joseph Choate and Francis F. Browne. Abraham Lincoln was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through the Civil War, its bloodiest war, and perhaps its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. In doing so, he preserved the country and abolished slavery. He had also strengthened the federal government and modernized the American economy. Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt Abraham Lincoln, Biography by Carl Shurz Abraham Lincoln, Biography by Joseph H. Choate The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln by Francis F. Browne Volume 1: The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, 1832-1843 Volume 2: The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, 1843-1858 Volume 3: The Lincoln-Douglas Debates I Volume 4: The Lincoln-Douglas Debates II Volume 5: The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, 1858-1862 Volume 6: The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, 1862-1863 Volume 7: The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, 1863-1865

From acclaimed scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the most comprehensive collection of Lincoln's writings on race and slaveryGenerations of Americans have debated the meaning of Abraham Lincoln's views on race and slavery. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation and supported a constitutional amendment to outlaw slavery, yet he also harbored grave doubts about the intellectual capacity of African Americans, publicly used the n-word until at least 1862, and favored permanent racial segregation. In this book―the first complete collection of Lincoln's important writings on both race and slavery―readers can explore these contradictions through Lincoln's own words. Acclaimed Harvard scholar and documentary filmmaker Henry Louis Gates, Jr., presents the full range of Lincoln's views, gathered from his private letters, speeches, official documents, and even race jokes, arranged chronologically from the late 1830s to the 1860s.Complete with definitive texts, rich historical notes, and an original introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., this book charts the progress of a war within Lincoln himself. We witness his struggles with conflicting aims and ideas―a hatred of slavery and a belief in the political equality of all men, but also anti-black prejudices and a determination to preserve the Union even at the cost of preserving slavery. We also watch the evolution of his racial views, especially in reaction to the heroic fighting of black Union troops.At turns inspiring and disturbing, Lincoln on Race and Slavery is indispensable for understanding what Lincoln's views meant for his generation―and what they mean for our own.

This meticulously edited collection contains a Pulitzer Prize awarded History of Civil War, as well as the memoirs of the two most important military commanders of the Union, Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, complete with biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee. Finally, this collection is enriched with pivotal historical documents which provide an explicit insight into this decisive period of the American past. History of the Civil War, 1861-1865 Leaders & Commanders of the Abraham Lincoln Ulysses S. Grant William T. Sherman Leaders & Commanders of the Jefferson Davis Robert E. Lee Civil War The Emancipation Proclamation Gettysburg Address Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution Presidential Actions and Addresses by Abraham 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865

Includes some 100 quotations about war and peace and faith and other consequential matters from America's 16th president. The series look features a classic portrait of the author on the front cover with his signature printed below in gold foil.

Barnes and Nobles Description : Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was the sixteenth president of the United States of America and one of the greatest statesmen in American history. Abraham Lincoln: Selected Writings collects more than fifty speeches, addresses, proclamations, and letters that Lincoln issued between 1838 and 1865. It includes the full texts of the Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation, both of Lincoln's inaugural addresses, and his famous "A House Divided" speech. This volume also features a complete transcription of Lincoln's series of seven debates with Stephen A. Douglas, conducted in 1858.