Lincoln

Chapter One

Preface

Abraham Lincoln understood the value of a well-judged disclaimer, so it may be as well to begin by stating what this book does not purport to be. It is not a personal biography of the sixteenth president of the United States. Rather, it is a study of Lincoln’s political career, one which explores the sources and characteristics of his political authority, both before and after he won national recognition.

To study Lincoln involves peering through a veil of myth and iconography. Any president who successfully steers a nation through a civil war can expect to be decked with the victor’s laurels, but in Lincoln’s case garlands for the Union’s Savior and Great Emancipator have been interwoven with
wreaths for its First Martyr. The nature and timing of Lincoln’s death, personal and public tragedy though it was, proved perfect for his historical canonization. Legions of Lincoln scholars have recognized this, of course, and have tussled to reveal the enigmatic human being and unvarnished politician encased within the marble figure of national memory. After all, the Union’s war president was scarcely a revered national hero at the time: e ... read full excerpt from Lincoln ebook