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Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words
Abraham Lincoln now occupies an unparalleled place in American history, but when he was first elected president, a skeptical writer asked, “Who will write this ignorant man’s state papers?” Literary ability was, indeed, the last thing the public expected from the folksy, self-educated “rail-splitter,” but the forceful qualities of Lincoln’s writing eventually surprised his supporters and confounded his many critics. Since his assassination in 1865, no American’s words have become more familiar or more admired, and their enduring power has established him as one of our greatest writers. Now, in a groundbreaking study, the distinguished Lincoln scholar Douglas L. Wilson demonstrates that exploring Lincoln’s presidential writing provides a window onto his presidency and a key to his accomplishments.
Lincoln’s Sword tells the story of how Lincoln developed his writing skills, how they served him for a time as a hidden presidential asset, how it gradually became clear that he possessed a formidable literary talent, and it reveals how writing came to play an increasingly important role in his presidency. “By the time he came to write the Gettysburg Address,” Wilson says, “Lincoln was attempting to help put the horrific carnage of the Civil War in a positive light, and at the same time to do it in a way that would have constructive implications for the future. By the time he came to write the Second Inaugural Address, fifteen months later, he was quite consciously in the business of interpreting the war and its deeper meaning, not just for his contemporaries but for what he elsewhere called the ‘vast future.’ ”
Illustrated with reproductions of Lincoln’s original manuscripts, Lincoln’s Sword affords an unprecedented look at a distinctively American writer.
Lincoln’s Sword tells the story of how Lincoln developed his writing skills, how they served him for a time as a hidden presidential asset, how it gradually became clear that he possessed a formidable literary talent, and it reveals how writing came to play an increasingly important role in his presidency. “By the time he came to write the Gettysburg Address,” Wilson says, “Lincoln was attempting to help put the horrific carnage of the Civil War in a positive light, and at the same time to do it in a way that would have constructive implications for the future. By the time he came to write the Second Inaugural Address, fifteen months later, he was quite consciously in the business of interpreting the war and its deeper meaning, not just for his contemporaries but for what he elsewhere called the ‘vast future.’ ”
Illustrated with reproductions of Lincoln’s original manuscripts, Lincoln’s Sword affords an unprecedented look at a distinctively American writer.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published November 14, 2006
36 people are currently reading
1200 people want to read
About the author
Douglas L. Wilson
27 books7 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Douglas Lawson Wilson, born 1935
Douglas Lawson Wilson, born 1935
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 9, 2022
I put off reading this book for a while, because I wasn’t sure how much I really wanted to examine every unrevealed meaning, every literary influence and every word choice of Lincoln’s every document and speech. It can be effective and interesting in small doses, as in books that dig into a specific speech, or in parts of Ronald White’s A. Lincoln. But as the basis for an entire book?
Thankfully, this book, which focuses on Lincoln’s skills as a writer by reviewing a selection of his greatest works, engages in granular analysis of those works only sparingly. Instead of parsing and analyzing Lincoln’s writings word by word, phrase by phrase, Wilson’s goal is “exploring the circumstances associated with the creation of certain documents and illuminating, wherever possible, the role such writing played in Lincoln's presidency."
So Lincoln’s major (and some lesser-known) writings serve as signposts in the book, as examples that Wilson holds up in telling the story of Lincoln’s development and growing effectiveness as a writer. He analyzes the goals, the strategies and the context of each of the letters and speeches he highlights, and not just their content and style.
Despite his lack of formal education, Lincoln always showed a knack for writing. But he first attempted to conform to what was expected of a writer at that time - dabbling in styles like poetry and informational lectures, rather unsuccessfully. Over time though, Wilson observes, Lincoln stood out by refusing to conform to contemporary conventions. He discovered that his direct, succinct, informal style was suited to law and politics, to argument and persuasion, even though it was initially seen as unsophisticated, at a time when writing and speechifying were more formal and flowery.
Consider, as Wilson does, Lincoln’s political idol Henry Clay, who was hailed as one of the most riveting and influential political speechmakers of his time. Quick, name a famous quote from one of Clay’s famous speeches. In contrast, consider just how many quotes from Lincoln’s famous speeches ring down through the ages. His style may have been jarring to some at the time, but his words were no less carefully considered, and they speak to us today in a way that the ornate language of many of his contemporaries and predecessors do not.
Wilson shows how Lincoln came to write in a specific style that was designed to be read aloud - then, after delivering a prepared speech, he’d often revise it to best adapt his words into written form. Throughout, Wilson illustrates Lincoln’s process of crafting and refining his writing, by comparing different drafts of his major addresses.
There are times in the book when, inevitably, Wilson has to focus on the content and the style and the word choices and the alliteration and the other literary devices Lincoln used in specific writings. While it’s sometimes effective, it can also sometimes get about as dry as diagramming sentences.
But in general, the book builds and gets better as it goes along, as it traces Lincoln’s growth and increasing strength as a writer and communicator. By the time we get to the Gettysburg Address, we know enough about Lincoln’s style to appreciate just how different that address really was. Not only was it unusual for Lincoln to give public speeches, but this one wasn’t political in nature and he also had to travel outside Washington to deliver it. Wilson largely defers to Garry Wills’s Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America for a detailed analysis of the speech, but he positions the address as the culmination of all the ideas Lincoln had long stood for and all the arguments he had long made, styled in a brief and effective format for maximum impact - not, perhaps, for the benefit of the subdued crowd who heard it delivered, but for the lasting benefit of those who would read published versions of it afterward.
The book culminates with the Second Inaugural Address, which Wilson considers to be Lincoln the writer at his greatest. "Lincoln was a talented writer when he assumed the presidency, but discharging the obligations of the office made him a far better one,” he writes. “It is no accident that his last great effort has often been considered his best."
By ending on this high note, Wilson ably illustrates how Lincoln the politician came to master the power of words. But it also somehow leaves you with a lingering sense of loss - if, after all, every major Lincoln address was better than the last, and his last was his best, it’s enough to make you wonder what further heights Lincoln the writer could have reached had his life not been cut short.
Thankfully, this book, which focuses on Lincoln’s skills as a writer by reviewing a selection of his greatest works, engages in granular analysis of those works only sparingly. Instead of parsing and analyzing Lincoln’s writings word by word, phrase by phrase, Wilson’s goal is “exploring the circumstances associated with the creation of certain documents and illuminating, wherever possible, the role such writing played in Lincoln's presidency."
So Lincoln’s major (and some lesser-known) writings serve as signposts in the book, as examples that Wilson holds up in telling the story of Lincoln’s development and growing effectiveness as a writer. He analyzes the goals, the strategies and the context of each of the letters and speeches he highlights, and not just their content and style.
Despite his lack of formal education, Lincoln always showed a knack for writing. But he first attempted to conform to what was expected of a writer at that time - dabbling in styles like poetry and informational lectures, rather unsuccessfully. Over time though, Wilson observes, Lincoln stood out by refusing to conform to contemporary conventions. He discovered that his direct, succinct, informal style was suited to law and politics, to argument and persuasion, even though it was initially seen as unsophisticated, at a time when writing and speechifying were more formal and flowery.
Consider, as Wilson does, Lincoln’s political idol Henry Clay, who was hailed as one of the most riveting and influential political speechmakers of his time. Quick, name a famous quote from one of Clay’s famous speeches. In contrast, consider just how many quotes from Lincoln’s famous speeches ring down through the ages. His style may have been jarring to some at the time, but his words were no less carefully considered, and they speak to us today in a way that the ornate language of many of his contemporaries and predecessors do not.
Wilson shows how Lincoln came to write in a specific style that was designed to be read aloud - then, after delivering a prepared speech, he’d often revise it to best adapt his words into written form. Throughout, Wilson illustrates Lincoln’s process of crafting and refining his writing, by comparing different drafts of his major addresses.
There are times in the book when, inevitably, Wilson has to focus on the content and the style and the word choices and the alliteration and the other literary devices Lincoln used in specific writings. While it’s sometimes effective, it can also sometimes get about as dry as diagramming sentences.
But in general, the book builds and gets better as it goes along, as it traces Lincoln’s growth and increasing strength as a writer and communicator. By the time we get to the Gettysburg Address, we know enough about Lincoln’s style to appreciate just how different that address really was. Not only was it unusual for Lincoln to give public speeches, but this one wasn’t political in nature and he also had to travel outside Washington to deliver it. Wilson largely defers to Garry Wills’s Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America for a detailed analysis of the speech, but he positions the address as the culmination of all the ideas Lincoln had long stood for and all the arguments he had long made, styled in a brief and effective format for maximum impact - not, perhaps, for the benefit of the subdued crowd who heard it delivered, but for the lasting benefit of those who would read published versions of it afterward.
The book culminates with the Second Inaugural Address, which Wilson considers to be Lincoln the writer at his greatest. "Lincoln was a talented writer when he assumed the presidency, but discharging the obligations of the office made him a far better one,” he writes. “It is no accident that his last great effort has often been considered his best."
By ending on this high note, Wilson ably illustrates how Lincoln the politician came to master the power of words. But it also somehow leaves you with a lingering sense of loss - if, after all, every major Lincoln address was better than the last, and his last was his best, it’s enough to make you wonder what further heights Lincoln the writer could have reached had his life not been cut short.
December 27, 2015
One might think that parsing Abraham Lincoln's writing - sometimes literally line-by-line - would be less than enthralling. But not so with Douglas Wilson's book. He manages to keep Lincoln fresh and hits on several different speeches and letters; it is not an all-inclusive list. The usual suspects are here: both Inaugural Addresses, the Gettysburg Address, and the Emancipation Proclamation. But also included are Lincoln's seemingly off-the-cuff remarks to his friends in Springfield as he embarks on his journey to Washington in February 1861. Also included are important letters written (sometimes via newspapers) to Horace Greeley and others.
Throughout the book, Douglas points out the disparity in how Lincoln was viewed during his own time as compared to how he is viewed now. Those two viewpoints are far apart. Lincoln was considered by many, including famed poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, as a backwoods, uncouth hillbilly who had no business being president. One hundred fifty years later, Lincoln's speeches and writings are cherished and memorized. Wilson comments that, despite others such as Henry Clay who were considered the greatest statesmen and orators of their day, Lincoln is the only one who is remembered through the years, and the only one whose writings still seem to hold a place in Americans' hearts.
Throughout the book, Douglas points out the disparity in how Lincoln was viewed during his own time as compared to how he is viewed now. Those two viewpoints are far apart. Lincoln was considered by many, including famed poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, as a backwoods, uncouth hillbilly who had no business being president. One hundred fifty years later, Lincoln's speeches and writings are cherished and memorized. Wilson comments that, despite others such as Henry Clay who were considered the greatest statesmen and orators of their day, Lincoln is the only one who is remembered through the years, and the only one whose writings still seem to hold a place in Americans' hearts.
November 21, 2023
A masterpiece in Lincoln scholarship.
June 8, 2016
Though academic and occasionally dry, Lincoln's Sword is remarkably fascinating. No one expected the country-bumpkin president to be a literary master, yet that is exactly what he proved to be. Wilson looks at Lincoln's evolving ability as a writer and the way he influenced America during the Civil War with his words.
Not an 'easy' read, but worth the time, especially as a study on Lincoln and the use of words and writing styles during this time.
Not an 'easy' read, but worth the time, especially as a study on Lincoln and the use of words and writing styles during this time.
July 15, 2017
In light of today's presidential practice of communicating via impulsive, shallow and boorish "tweets" it is inspiring to study the magnificent writing skill of our greatest president. This book is a deep analysis of Lincoln's approach to writing and his mastery of communicating complex ideas to the general public in an accessible fashion.
Lincoln used writing to crystallize and communicate his thinking on the principles and values that defined and gave meaning to the purposes of the war. For Lincoln the main issue of the war was not slavery (although for Lincoln slavery was morally repulsive), it was the preservation of the union; not only for its own sake, but for the guiding light the American example of self-governance offered to the world. One must always remember that while Lincoln was deeply committed to the Constitution and the rule of law, to him the under girding principle at the foundation of the polity was the principle enunciated in the Declaration that "All men are created equal." As the war progressed, Lincoln saw that the perpetuation of slavery in a reunited nation would be inimical to long-term sustainable union. Hence, he surely realized, the Emancipation Proclamation, overtly intended as a war measure, opened the inevitable prospect of permanent emancipation.
The author tells us that Lincoln spent hours in deep contemplation as he wrote, often making multiple revisions to speeches or letters. He also made use of "pre-writing" where he would jot down ideas and concepts for later inclusion in written works. Lincoln was not formally educated in the rhetorical styles of the 19th century, and his writing was sometimes criticized by the literary elite for its "homespun" structure, but it can be said that he reformed the nature of writing style in ways that created an authentic American voice. This is not to suggest that the ideas he sought to convey were unsophisticated, quite the contrary, but the accessibility of these ideas made his written communications so powerful an influence on the public mind.
The book analyzes Lincoln's writing through several of its notable modes. It discusses the "Farewell Address" to his followers as he departed Springfield for Washington to take the oath of office. Here what might have been a spontaneous and extemporaneous expression of thanks was actually a deeply thought out view of the challenges facing the nation. The First Inaugural Address and his July 4, 1861 address to Congress are similarly analyzed, particularly in terms of the pitch perfect tone and careful attention to meaning Lincoln sought to convey to various audiences. Lincoln did seek and made use of opinions of others as he went through the drafting process and he often read his speeches or letters aloud to get the sense of how they would be perceived by the listener and reader -- indeed Lincoln was somewhat of an "aural" writer and this shaped the reception he wished the formal structure to elicit. (His "overuse" of commas was actually a purposeful phrasing means to structure how the oral message would be heard.)
The Emancipation Proclamation went through a series of drafts over many months. Here Lincoln was exceedingly careful and cautious about the message in the context of his political aims. He knew that he must tread lightly on the fears of the border slave states even though emancipation did not pertain there. He was aware that Northern sentiments were far from comfortable with abolition as a purpose of the war. He also knew that the proclamation would be highly vulnerable to Constitutional challenges if not narrowly justified as a necessary war measure, the authority to impose he had as commander-in-chief during rebellion. The proclamation also included his intention to recruit blacks into the union army. Lincoln certainly knew that once the gates of freedom were opened, and the war effort supported by blacks, they could never be closed.
Lincoln initiated a new approach to educating the general public. He wrote letters to prominent newspapers and to individuals that he expected would be published widely. His unorthodoxy raised some eyebrows among the political establishment, but his letters were so compelling and so powerful that even his detractors acknowledged how public opinion was being shaped by them. The Greeley letter, the Corning letter and the Conkling letter are examined in close detail. In a sense this method of communicating directly with the public is mirrored in our current president's use of social media, but the substance, content and aims of the two could not stand in greater contrast.
The Gettysburg Address is explored in great depth including an examination of the facts and myths of its preparation. While the reviews of the speech were initially mixed, it soon dawned on all that the dedication and consecration of a battlefield cemetery was actually a powerful consecration of a new conception of the meaning of freedom in a self-governed nation. It has been said, quite aptly, that the republic's tripod of liberty is the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Gettysburg Address.
The book concludes with an in-depth look at the Second Inaugural Address, arguably the finest speech in American history. In it Lincoln boldly focuses the nation on moral responsibility for the war. Lincoln had by this time taken a view that the mystery of Providence's will that a war of such horror and suffering should be fought meant that responsibility resided not solely on the South. Rather, both North and South shared in the "offense" of perpetuating two hundred and fifty years of slavery; hence, both must jointly bear the burdens of rebuilding a unified nation. Opening a path for reconciliation could not have been more compellingly stated.
We think today about the nature of populism in American politics and the kinds of leaders populist sentiment produces. Lincoln surely was a populist president. He frequently was disparaged by the intellectual elite as a man without education who was known for risque story telling; a man of little substance and depth. While Lincoln was unquestionably a man for the common man, he was a genius in divining the great depths of meanings about the American experience and expressing these meanings so clearly and powerfully.
Lincoln used writing to crystallize and communicate his thinking on the principles and values that defined and gave meaning to the purposes of the war. For Lincoln the main issue of the war was not slavery (although for Lincoln slavery was morally repulsive), it was the preservation of the union; not only for its own sake, but for the guiding light the American example of self-governance offered to the world. One must always remember that while Lincoln was deeply committed to the Constitution and the rule of law, to him the under girding principle at the foundation of the polity was the principle enunciated in the Declaration that "All men are created equal." As the war progressed, Lincoln saw that the perpetuation of slavery in a reunited nation would be inimical to long-term sustainable union. Hence, he surely realized, the Emancipation Proclamation, overtly intended as a war measure, opened the inevitable prospect of permanent emancipation.
The author tells us that Lincoln spent hours in deep contemplation as he wrote, often making multiple revisions to speeches or letters. He also made use of "pre-writing" where he would jot down ideas and concepts for later inclusion in written works. Lincoln was not formally educated in the rhetorical styles of the 19th century, and his writing was sometimes criticized by the literary elite for its "homespun" structure, but it can be said that he reformed the nature of writing style in ways that created an authentic American voice. This is not to suggest that the ideas he sought to convey were unsophisticated, quite the contrary, but the accessibility of these ideas made his written communications so powerful an influence on the public mind.
The book analyzes Lincoln's writing through several of its notable modes. It discusses the "Farewell Address" to his followers as he departed Springfield for Washington to take the oath of office. Here what might have been a spontaneous and extemporaneous expression of thanks was actually a deeply thought out view of the challenges facing the nation. The First Inaugural Address and his July 4, 1861 address to Congress are similarly analyzed, particularly in terms of the pitch perfect tone and careful attention to meaning Lincoln sought to convey to various audiences. Lincoln did seek and made use of opinions of others as he went through the drafting process and he often read his speeches or letters aloud to get the sense of how they would be perceived by the listener and reader -- indeed Lincoln was somewhat of an "aural" writer and this shaped the reception he wished the formal structure to elicit. (His "overuse" of commas was actually a purposeful phrasing means to structure how the oral message would be heard.)
The Emancipation Proclamation went through a series of drafts over many months. Here Lincoln was exceedingly careful and cautious about the message in the context of his political aims. He knew that he must tread lightly on the fears of the border slave states even though emancipation did not pertain there. He was aware that Northern sentiments were far from comfortable with abolition as a purpose of the war. He also knew that the proclamation would be highly vulnerable to Constitutional challenges if not narrowly justified as a necessary war measure, the authority to impose he had as commander-in-chief during rebellion. The proclamation also included his intention to recruit blacks into the union army. Lincoln certainly knew that once the gates of freedom were opened, and the war effort supported by blacks, they could never be closed.
Lincoln initiated a new approach to educating the general public. He wrote letters to prominent newspapers and to individuals that he expected would be published widely. His unorthodoxy raised some eyebrows among the political establishment, but his letters were so compelling and so powerful that even his detractors acknowledged how public opinion was being shaped by them. The Greeley letter, the Corning letter and the Conkling letter are examined in close detail. In a sense this method of communicating directly with the public is mirrored in our current president's use of social media, but the substance, content and aims of the two could not stand in greater contrast.
The Gettysburg Address is explored in great depth including an examination of the facts and myths of its preparation. While the reviews of the speech were initially mixed, it soon dawned on all that the dedication and consecration of a battlefield cemetery was actually a powerful consecration of a new conception of the meaning of freedom in a self-governed nation. It has been said, quite aptly, that the republic's tripod of liberty is the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Gettysburg Address.
The book concludes with an in-depth look at the Second Inaugural Address, arguably the finest speech in American history. In it Lincoln boldly focuses the nation on moral responsibility for the war. Lincoln had by this time taken a view that the mystery of Providence's will that a war of such horror and suffering should be fought meant that responsibility resided not solely on the South. Rather, both North and South shared in the "offense" of perpetuating two hundred and fifty years of slavery; hence, both must jointly bear the burdens of rebuilding a unified nation. Opening a path for reconciliation could not have been more compellingly stated.
We think today about the nature of populism in American politics and the kinds of leaders populist sentiment produces. Lincoln surely was a populist president. He frequently was disparaged by the intellectual elite as a man without education who was known for risque story telling; a man of little substance and depth. While Lincoln was unquestionably a man for the common man, he was a genius in divining the great depths of meanings about the American experience and expressing these meanings so clearly and powerfully.
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November 29, 2023231129: 295 - 60 = 235 / 5 = 47
1. 231107: Lincoln did almost all his own writing, seldom dictating.
2. 231114: “It is an old and true maxim, that a ‘drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.’ So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great high road to his reason.” _Abraham Lincoln
• Wilson gives the background for this quote: “…given in an 1842 speech to the Washingtonians, a group of reformed drunkards that was gaining public visibility by reason of its conspicuous success in helping fellow sufferers, and he (Lincoln) took the occasion to contrast the humane and supportive approach of the Washingtonians with the traditional scourging of drunkards by the clergy as sinful and wicked men." Well-intentioned ministers fall for this same error today. :(
1. 231107: Lincoln did almost all his own writing, seldom dictating.
2. 231114: “It is an old and true maxim, that a ‘drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.’ So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great high road to his reason.” _Abraham Lincoln
• Wilson gives the background for this quote: “…given in an 1842 speech to the Washingtonians, a group of reformed drunkards that was gaining public visibility by reason of its conspicuous success in helping fellow sufferers, and he (Lincoln) took the occasion to contrast the humane and supportive approach of the Washingtonians with the traditional scourging of drunkards by the clergy as sinful and wicked men." Well-intentioned ministers fall for this same error today. :(
November 16, 2009
Lincoln’s Sword tells the story of how Lincoln developed his writing skills, how they served him for a time as a hidden presidential asset, how it gradually became clear that he possessed a formidable literary talent, and it reveals how writing came to play an increasingly important role in his presidency. “By the time he came to write the Gettysburg Address,” Wilson says, “Lincoln was attempting to help put the horrific carnage of the Civil War in a positive light, and at the same time to do it in a way that would have constructive implications for the future. By the time he came to write the Second Inaugural Address, fifteen months later, he was quite consciously in the business of interpreting the war and its deeper meaning, not just for his contemporaries but for what he elsewhere called the ‘vast future.’ ” The English major in me really enjoyed Lincoln's Sword. There are a lot of tidbits about Lincoln in here, too, that I found quite amusing. Lincoln apparently believed that to be well written, a piece had to sound good out loud. He therefore had a habit of speaking his written words aloud, a habit that annoyed his law partner! A great read.
August 9, 2012
Sword is such a strong example of compelling writing -- clear, insightful, particular, judicious, and passionate -- that I'd like to use a portion of it in my two high school courses as a model for my students. With every chapter, I found myself more impressed by Wilson's ability to take what, for some, would be a relatively dry subject (the rewrite re: diction, syntactical arrangement, etc.) and fashion from it such a compelling intellectual narrative. Sword effectively caused me to reevaluate and re-appreciate the genius of Abraham Lincoln.
July 23, 2016
Writing – the art of communicating thoughts to the mind, through the eye – is the great invention of the world." -Lincoln
Every once in a while, a human being comes along that the planet wasn't expecting – Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Newton, Einstein – Lincoln was that person in US history.
The greatest case for American exceptionalism is Abraham Lincoln. At exactly the most crucial time in our nation's history, the greatest thinker to be elected president is elected president. And the greatest thinker to ever be president received one year of formal school. Underestimated at the time, Lincoln saved the country and redefined the why behind the American experience.
Lincoln's sword is a moving, powerful, and fascinating examination of how Lincoln used writing to change the nation. Lincoln's writings are "widely admired and even venerated" so I think it bears asking if that veneration is well deserved. The answer is yes. He crystallized the arguments for abolishing slavery, logically laid out the path to do so through public opinion, and along the way reinvented how Americans spoke. And no one saw it coming.
Lincoln's presidency is also proof of the power of deep thinking. He pondered issues with a depth and search for truth that is utterly admirable. Kierkegaard said, "truth always rests with the minority" and Lincoln is living proof. Never rushing to an opinion, never simply following into the status quo belief, always crafting a unique and powerful perspective that he would then share with others. He also evolved in his views, in the early days of the Civil War he viewed the war as a way to protect representative government. By the end, he knew the root cause was slavery and inequality and changed the mind of this country to come to this conclusion as well.
How Lincoln wrote
Brainstorming on scraps of paper
Writing out responses to issues he knew would happen before they happened so he was prepared
Obsessively iterated over multiple drafts
Incorporated the feedback of others
Read aloud to ensure the words conveyed the right meaning while also sounding right
Would write a final draft after delivering the speech, changing minor parts for effect and acoustic resonance
-Note, it's a process that takes time. Writing is organized thought, so there's two levels to fine tune- the depth of the message (what you're saying) and the construction of the passage (how you're saying it). The best thinkers fine tune both.
Quotes
Eventually it began to be recognized that Lincoln's unsuspected literary talent was having a decisive effect in shaping public attitudes and was a telling factor in the success of his politics. Only with his death, however, did it begin to dawn on his contemporaries that Abraham Lincoln's words were destined to find a permanent place in the American imagination. 1
His writings were an important part of his effort to respond to pressure. His achievement is all the more remarkable when we consider that many of the president writings for which Lincoln is best known were formulations of ideas and positions that were not immediately popular. That they eventually came to be widely admired and even venerated is a tribute to Lincoln's rare combination of leadership and literary ability. 7
Springfield Farewell - [when he left Springfield to become president] "I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return [did he have a premonition of death similar to MLK?]...Without the assistance of that Divine Being, who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail." 11
"It is an old and true maxim, that a 'drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.' So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great high road to his reason." 29
With the writings of Lincoln, sound always matters...he continued into maturity to do most of his reading aloud, much to the annoyance of his law partner. Lincoln explained to a long suffering Herndon that it enabled him to "catch the idea by two senses," by hearing and sight. It also served to give him a feel for the sounds and combinations of sounds that tend to gratify listeners and favorably dispose them toward the author's or speaker's ideas. This kind of aural awareness helps to explain how Lincoln was able to eventually become a master of language and to excel at what Robert Bruce has called "the shapipng of words to ideas, of sounds to sense." 30
"Writing – the art of communicating thoughts to the mind, through the eye – is the great invention of the world." 41
All in all, the evidence of the surviving drafts indicates a painstaking process that resulted in a very throughout and deliberated crafting of the text contained in the final printing. 54
[Lincoln convened an emergency session of Congress on July 4, 1881] Lincoln decided early on that he was going to prepare his own message to Congress and that it would be something much more ambitious than a utilitarian document...Far from being a waste of time, Lincoln clearly regarded the writings of his Message to Congress as a prime presidential opportunity..."I consider the central idea pervaind this struggle is the necessity that is upon us, of proving that popular government is not an absurdity. We must settle this question now, whether in a free government the minority have the right to break up the government if they choose." 74 [note that early in the war he speaks about protecting a representative democracy and shifts over time to eliminating slavery]
Lincoln held a peculiar habit of his own life from his earliest manhood, he habitually studied the opposite side of every disputed question, of every law case, of every political issue, more exhaustively, if possible, than his own side. [Reminds me of the JS Mill quote that "a person who knows only their side of the argument knows little of that."] 126
[Unafraid to do the right thing, during the Minnesota frontier uprising] He defied public outcry for revenue by personally reviewing the charges against the 303 Sioux men condemned to be hanged, and commuting the sentences of all but 39. 135
"The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country." 136
[Lincoln wrote a newspaper response to a newspaper article] "It is important to recognize that Lincoln's public response to Greenly was unprecedented...it was considered undignified for a chief executive to do so and had, so far as contemporary commentators were aware, never been done. Thomas Jefferson, the only president whose writing ability rivaled Lincoln's, had, in fact, composed at least one such letter, but he had done it entirely in secret and under the fictitious guise of a concerned citizen. 150
Saving the Union had become more than an end in itself. It was also the indispensible means of achieving emancipation. But Lincoln, for reasons of political strategy, had to put it the other way around, viewing emancipation as a means, and very likely a necessary means of saving the Union. 158
[Lincoln's secretary called his writing style] The process of cumulative thought...[while describing the style to a contemporary] "I never let one of those ideas escape me, but write it on a scrap of paper and put it in that drawer. In that way I save my best thoughts on the subject, and you know, such things often come in a kind of intuitive way more clearly than if one were to sit down and deliberately reason them out." 166
One gets the impression that this illustrates a significant aspect of Lincoln's method, to let the energized language flow as much as possible in drafting (or, as with brief notes, predrafting), knowing that it can always be reconsidered and toned down, if necessary, in revision. 170
"Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wiley agitator who induces him to desert?" 173
As an Illinois attorney, Lincoln had been a successful advocate at the bar, but he had the reputation of being stragely ineffective when he thought his client was in the wrong. As his second law partner, Stephen T. Logan, paraphrased it, Lincoln "had this one peculiarity: he couldn't fight in a bad case." [talk about being committed to the truth] 177
"Shall we shrink from the necessary means to maintain our free government, which our grandfathers employed to establish it, and our fathers have already employed once to maintain it? Are we degenerate? Has the manhood of our race run out?" -Lincoln's letter to Conkling 1863. 184
I believe the declaration that "all men are created equal" is the great fundamental principle upon which our free institutions rest. 199
Lincoln had a theory about public opinion. He told a meeting of his fellow Republicans in 1856 that public opinion "always has a central idea from which all its minor thoughts radiate. That 'central idea' in our political public opinion at the beginning was, an until recently has continued to be 'the equality of men.' And although it has always submitted patiently to whatever of inequality there seemed to be as matter of actual necessity, its constant working has been a steady progress towards the practical equality of all men." -Lincoln [King's the moral arc of the universe metaphor is a less wordy description of the same idea] 202
"'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,' and then they feel that that moral sentiment taught in that day evidences their relation to those men, that it is the father of all moral principle in them, and that they have a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh of the men who wrote that Declaration, and so they are. That is the electric cord in that Declaration that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together, that will link those patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists in the minds of men throughout the world." 203
Every once in a while, a human being comes along that the planet wasn't expecting – Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Newton, Einstein – Lincoln was that person in US history.
The greatest case for American exceptionalism is Abraham Lincoln. At exactly the most crucial time in our nation's history, the greatest thinker to be elected president is elected president. And the greatest thinker to ever be president received one year of formal school. Underestimated at the time, Lincoln saved the country and redefined the why behind the American experience.
Lincoln's sword is a moving, powerful, and fascinating examination of how Lincoln used writing to change the nation. Lincoln's writings are "widely admired and even venerated" so I think it bears asking if that veneration is well deserved. The answer is yes. He crystallized the arguments for abolishing slavery, logically laid out the path to do so through public opinion, and along the way reinvented how Americans spoke. And no one saw it coming.
Lincoln's presidency is also proof of the power of deep thinking. He pondered issues with a depth and search for truth that is utterly admirable. Kierkegaard said, "truth always rests with the minority" and Lincoln is living proof. Never rushing to an opinion, never simply following into the status quo belief, always crafting a unique and powerful perspective that he would then share with others. He also evolved in his views, in the early days of the Civil War he viewed the war as a way to protect representative government. By the end, he knew the root cause was slavery and inequality and changed the mind of this country to come to this conclusion as well.
How Lincoln wrote
Brainstorming on scraps of paper
Writing out responses to issues he knew would happen before they happened so he was prepared
Obsessively iterated over multiple drafts
Incorporated the feedback of others
Read aloud to ensure the words conveyed the right meaning while also sounding right
Would write a final draft after delivering the speech, changing minor parts for effect and acoustic resonance
-Note, it's a process that takes time. Writing is organized thought, so there's two levels to fine tune- the depth of the message (what you're saying) and the construction of the passage (how you're saying it). The best thinkers fine tune both.
Quotes
Eventually it began to be recognized that Lincoln's unsuspected literary talent was having a decisive effect in shaping public attitudes and was a telling factor in the success of his politics. Only with his death, however, did it begin to dawn on his contemporaries that Abraham Lincoln's words were destined to find a permanent place in the American imagination. 1
His writings were an important part of his effort to respond to pressure. His achievement is all the more remarkable when we consider that many of the president writings for which Lincoln is best known were formulations of ideas and positions that were not immediately popular. That they eventually came to be widely admired and even venerated is a tribute to Lincoln's rare combination of leadership and literary ability. 7
Springfield Farewell - [when he left Springfield to become president] "I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return [did he have a premonition of death similar to MLK?]...Without the assistance of that Divine Being, who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail." 11
"It is an old and true maxim, that a 'drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.' So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great high road to his reason." 29
With the writings of Lincoln, sound always matters...he continued into maturity to do most of his reading aloud, much to the annoyance of his law partner. Lincoln explained to a long suffering Herndon that it enabled him to "catch the idea by two senses," by hearing and sight. It also served to give him a feel for the sounds and combinations of sounds that tend to gratify listeners and favorably dispose them toward the author's or speaker's ideas. This kind of aural awareness helps to explain how Lincoln was able to eventually become a master of language and to excel at what Robert Bruce has called "the shapipng of words to ideas, of sounds to sense." 30
"Writing – the art of communicating thoughts to the mind, through the eye – is the great invention of the world." 41
All in all, the evidence of the surviving drafts indicates a painstaking process that resulted in a very throughout and deliberated crafting of the text contained in the final printing. 54
[Lincoln convened an emergency session of Congress on July 4, 1881] Lincoln decided early on that he was going to prepare his own message to Congress and that it would be something much more ambitious than a utilitarian document...Far from being a waste of time, Lincoln clearly regarded the writings of his Message to Congress as a prime presidential opportunity..."I consider the central idea pervaind this struggle is the necessity that is upon us, of proving that popular government is not an absurdity. We must settle this question now, whether in a free government the minority have the right to break up the government if they choose." 74 [note that early in the war he speaks about protecting a representative democracy and shifts over time to eliminating slavery]
Lincoln held a peculiar habit of his own life from his earliest manhood, he habitually studied the opposite side of every disputed question, of every law case, of every political issue, more exhaustively, if possible, than his own side. [Reminds me of the JS Mill quote that "a person who knows only their side of the argument knows little of that."] 126
[Unafraid to do the right thing, during the Minnesota frontier uprising] He defied public outcry for revenue by personally reviewing the charges against the 303 Sioux men condemned to be hanged, and commuting the sentences of all but 39. 135
"The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country." 136
[Lincoln wrote a newspaper response to a newspaper article] "It is important to recognize that Lincoln's public response to Greenly was unprecedented...it was considered undignified for a chief executive to do so and had, so far as contemporary commentators were aware, never been done. Thomas Jefferson, the only president whose writing ability rivaled Lincoln's, had, in fact, composed at least one such letter, but he had done it entirely in secret and under the fictitious guise of a concerned citizen. 150
Saving the Union had become more than an end in itself. It was also the indispensible means of achieving emancipation. But Lincoln, for reasons of political strategy, had to put it the other way around, viewing emancipation as a means, and very likely a necessary means of saving the Union. 158
[Lincoln's secretary called his writing style] The process of cumulative thought...[while describing the style to a contemporary] "I never let one of those ideas escape me, but write it on a scrap of paper and put it in that drawer. In that way I save my best thoughts on the subject, and you know, such things often come in a kind of intuitive way more clearly than if one were to sit down and deliberately reason them out." 166
One gets the impression that this illustrates a significant aspect of Lincoln's method, to let the energized language flow as much as possible in drafting (or, as with brief notes, predrafting), knowing that it can always be reconsidered and toned down, if necessary, in revision. 170
"Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wiley agitator who induces him to desert?" 173
As an Illinois attorney, Lincoln had been a successful advocate at the bar, but he had the reputation of being stragely ineffective when he thought his client was in the wrong. As his second law partner, Stephen T. Logan, paraphrased it, Lincoln "had this one peculiarity: he couldn't fight in a bad case." [talk about being committed to the truth] 177
"Shall we shrink from the necessary means to maintain our free government, which our grandfathers employed to establish it, and our fathers have already employed once to maintain it? Are we degenerate? Has the manhood of our race run out?" -Lincoln's letter to Conkling 1863. 184
I believe the declaration that "all men are created equal" is the great fundamental principle upon which our free institutions rest. 199
Lincoln had a theory about public opinion. He told a meeting of his fellow Republicans in 1856 that public opinion "always has a central idea from which all its minor thoughts radiate. That 'central idea' in our political public opinion at the beginning was, an until recently has continued to be 'the equality of men.' And although it has always submitted patiently to whatever of inequality there seemed to be as matter of actual necessity, its constant working has been a steady progress towards the practical equality of all men." -Lincoln [King's the moral arc of the universe metaphor is a less wordy description of the same idea] 202
"'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,' and then they feel that that moral sentiment taught in that day evidences their relation to those men, that it is the father of all moral principle in them, and that they have a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh of the men who wrote that Declaration, and so they are. That is the electric cord in that Declaration that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together, that will link those patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists in the minds of men throughout the world." 203
December 11, 2008
Persuasion it is said, resembles a two-edged sword: the one side sharpened by reason, the other by emotion; and in the hands of a master there is no obstacle that can resist its force. If this is right, then it will do as a bridge between Douglas Wilson's book title "Lincoln's Sword" and the book's theme of Lincoln's writing and persuasive force. There are many areas that deserve comment, but I will restrict myself to a few only: the consistency of this theme; Wilson's ability to draw it out; the insights he discovers; and some other miscellanea.
The intent of Wilson's book, if I have read it right, is to explore the writings of Lincoln, both to get a better view of the man, but especially of the man's writing style and rhetorical signature. The latter is really the main focus, and Wilson returns to Lincoln the man only in relief, as intermission between acts of a dramatic production. The detailed study in the book, and the subjects that orient the attention of each chapter are Lincoln's writings, not the epochs of his life. It is a slight annoyance then that the book turns away from Lincoln's writing on several occasions; and more and more it seems as the book progresses. To add to it, Wilson but twice quotes the passages he is examining in full; and they do not appear even at the end of the book. Best would have been to place them in an appendix to their respective chapters. But whatever the remedy, we are offered only little goblets of Lincoln's prose, which at times leave the reader with a grumpy appetite for something more than a snack.
That much said, I would mostly complement Douglas in his rhetorical analysis: it isn't full but it is pulpy, on point, and fun to read. Let me elaborate some more on that. If one were to read Dionysius and his critique of Thucydides, there you have an examination in full. Not every passage or paragraph, but a complete review of the major elements of rhetorical composition, and arranged in a simple linear order. You might, for example, first study his diction: whether it is general, specific, referential, emotive, etc.; next consider his sentence composition: is it simple, complex, loose, periodic, economic; his use of figures, tropes, pace, emphasis; the shape of his arguments, the kinds of appeals; then the nature of his introductions, proofs, reproofs, conclusions, and so forth. Something like this is what you would do if the study were to be rigorous. But Wilson does not unravel Lincoln in this manner and instead studies a passage here, another there, especially where the force of Lincoln's words is near their apogee, and then makes a single point or two to mark the spot. This micro-examination is fine as it is, and Wilson I think usually fixes onto the most salient features; but the whole undertaking feels narrow and confined--and limited mostly to the very highest textual events--moments of supreme eloquence--which, though certainly beautiful also feel a little partial as Lincoln can also be faulted for writing with an excess of flower, inverted sentences, or bizarre use of notation. It also misses the contrast accomplished by routine writing, and the transition to an elevated style; it also ignores the careful accumulation of rhetorical inertia as it builds to the final height. But I don't carry this criticism too far since this book is meant to be casual and move along the narrative of Lincoln's career, which are aims that are not congruent with a scrupulous rhetorical exam of the classical kind.
The rhetorical reviews are Wilson's best moments in the book, aside from a few good anecdotes (like the Gettysberg Address, which was not first received by great applause and accolades), and I wouldn't want to leave a misimpression. His commentary of Lincoln's habit of composition--writing phrases out of order as they struck him, or reading aloud to hear the sentence, rather than only see it--were extremely interesting to discover and a well deserved addition to the study of the text itself. Also, the comparison of Lincoln's final drafts to earlier was also very effective in illuminating his conscious effort to create rhetorical effect.
Strangely, for an author who clearly understands language, and is himself an expert in rhetoric, there are a few instances of awkward expressions that I can only describe by quoting, such as "ingenious jujitsu" or "precedent-breaking", which are both laborious to pronounce, and have meaning discordant with the imagery that they evoke. My real frustration with Wilson however is the insert of images of Lincoln's had written papers into the space of the text itself, which is disruptive to the read and adds no aesthetic value. The first time an image appeared I necessarily excused it because of the novelty of its introduction as well as bringing me a little closer to the subject matter. But Wilson and his editor repeat this practice in every chapter. This was far from appropriate since the images themself add nothing to the narrative, are not so interesting as real photographs to look at, and can't be explained as needed evidence in support of the discussion. And if they were needed, that level of historical detail was not fit for a book of this type, and if by chance it were, it belongs in the back of the book or in some collection, bound and separated from the rest of the text.
[Wilson reviews the following speeches and letters of Lincoln: the Farewell Address at Springfield; First Inaugural; Speech to the Congress, 4th July 1861; Emancipation Proclamation; editorial in response to Horace Greeley; letters to Corning and Conkling; Gettysburg Address; Second Inaugural.]
The intent of Wilson's book, if I have read it right, is to explore the writings of Lincoln, both to get a better view of the man, but especially of the man's writing style and rhetorical signature. The latter is really the main focus, and Wilson returns to Lincoln the man only in relief, as intermission between acts of a dramatic production. The detailed study in the book, and the subjects that orient the attention of each chapter are Lincoln's writings, not the epochs of his life. It is a slight annoyance then that the book turns away from Lincoln's writing on several occasions; and more and more it seems as the book progresses. To add to it, Wilson but twice quotes the passages he is examining in full; and they do not appear even at the end of the book. Best would have been to place them in an appendix to their respective chapters. But whatever the remedy, we are offered only little goblets of Lincoln's prose, which at times leave the reader with a grumpy appetite for something more than a snack.
That much said, I would mostly complement Douglas in his rhetorical analysis: it isn't full but it is pulpy, on point, and fun to read. Let me elaborate some more on that. If one were to read Dionysius and his critique of Thucydides, there you have an examination in full. Not every passage or paragraph, but a complete review of the major elements of rhetorical composition, and arranged in a simple linear order. You might, for example, first study his diction: whether it is general, specific, referential, emotive, etc.; next consider his sentence composition: is it simple, complex, loose, periodic, economic; his use of figures, tropes, pace, emphasis; the shape of his arguments, the kinds of appeals; then the nature of his introductions, proofs, reproofs, conclusions, and so forth. Something like this is what you would do if the study were to be rigorous. But Wilson does not unravel Lincoln in this manner and instead studies a passage here, another there, especially where the force of Lincoln's words is near their apogee, and then makes a single point or two to mark the spot. This micro-examination is fine as it is, and Wilson I think usually fixes onto the most salient features; but the whole undertaking feels narrow and confined--and limited mostly to the very highest textual events--moments of supreme eloquence--which, though certainly beautiful also feel a little partial as Lincoln can also be faulted for writing with an excess of flower, inverted sentences, or bizarre use of notation. It also misses the contrast accomplished by routine writing, and the transition to an elevated style; it also ignores the careful accumulation of rhetorical inertia as it builds to the final height. But I don't carry this criticism too far since this book is meant to be casual and move along the narrative of Lincoln's career, which are aims that are not congruent with a scrupulous rhetorical exam of the classical kind.
The rhetorical reviews are Wilson's best moments in the book, aside from a few good anecdotes (like the Gettysberg Address, which was not first received by great applause and accolades), and I wouldn't want to leave a misimpression. His commentary of Lincoln's habit of composition--writing phrases out of order as they struck him, or reading aloud to hear the sentence, rather than only see it--were extremely interesting to discover and a well deserved addition to the study of the text itself. Also, the comparison of Lincoln's final drafts to earlier was also very effective in illuminating his conscious effort to create rhetorical effect.
Strangely, for an author who clearly understands language, and is himself an expert in rhetoric, there are a few instances of awkward expressions that I can only describe by quoting, such as "ingenious jujitsu" or "precedent-breaking", which are both laborious to pronounce, and have meaning discordant with the imagery that they evoke. My real frustration with Wilson however is the insert of images of Lincoln's had written papers into the space of the text itself, which is disruptive to the read and adds no aesthetic value. The first time an image appeared I necessarily excused it because of the novelty of its introduction as well as bringing me a little closer to the subject matter. But Wilson and his editor repeat this practice in every chapter. This was far from appropriate since the images themself add nothing to the narrative, are not so interesting as real photographs to look at, and can't be explained as needed evidence in support of the discussion. And if they were needed, that level of historical detail was not fit for a book of this type, and if by chance it were, it belongs in the back of the book or in some collection, bound and separated from the rest of the text.
[Wilson reviews the following speeches and letters of Lincoln: the Farewell Address at Springfield; First Inaugural; Speech to the Congress, 4th July 1861; Emancipation Proclamation; editorial in response to Horace Greeley; letters to Corning and Conkling; Gettysburg Address; Second Inaugural.]
August 10, 2017
Amazing insight and analysis of Lincoln's best known speeches and writing I was less familiar with. I never thought a book on syntax, tone, and writing would be this engaging!
Read
February 5, 2009Douglas L. Wilson, codirector of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and 1999 Lincoln Prize winner for Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln, has again won the Lincoln Prize for Lincoln's Sword. Wilson says the book resulted from his work transcribing Lincoln's most famous writings for the Library of Congress, where he was struck by Lincoln's literary craftsmanship and penchant for revision. While a few reviewers criticize Wilson's academic prose style and reiteration of Lincoln material (he breaks no new ground), most admire his scholarship and inside look at Lincoln's writing process and find the book an insightful and revelatory study of our 16th president.
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
August 1, 2016
enjoyed this immensely. my copy of the book was marked up by a great man who read it before me. a spiritual descendant of lincoln himself, i read this book through his eyes as well as my own.
story of lincoln's presidency seen through the lens of his writing process. he spent countless hours developing his different speeches and public communiques. he edited them to death and took great care to say exactly what he meant.
lincoln carefully considered his position regarding the secession of the several states, and how what the constitution had to say about it. why was it illegal for the states to leave the union? why did that give the us govt the right to use force to preserve the union? how did slavery figure in?
lincoln disregarded his personal feelings on all these matters - he defended the constitution with only the powers that it gave him.
story of lincoln's presidency seen through the lens of his writing process. he spent countless hours developing his different speeches and public communiques. he edited them to death and took great care to say exactly what he meant.
lincoln carefully considered his position regarding the secession of the several states, and how what the constitution had to say about it. why was it illegal for the states to leave the union? why did that give the us govt the right to use force to preserve the union? how did slavery figure in?
lincoln disregarded his personal feelings on all these matters - he defended the constitution with only the powers that it gave him.
Read
July 24, 2011Most of my reviews are positive, but this is an unusually good book. It shows how Lincoln used his writing both to shape and to show his thinking. For him, his first response on an issue, no matter how critical or emotional it was, was to get his thoughts down in writing. From there, he could gain an objective perspective and shift his own thinking by degrees as he changed his wording. The author is able to show this by comparing the various drafts Lincoln went through and then his insistence on having them HEARD by other people before he was sure enough of his finished product. This book is in this will look at the presidential mind as well as presidential rhetoric.
January 16, 2008
This book deals with the writings and writing style of Lincoln. This is an area that has been neglected or entirely overlooked. It is very informative, and brings out the nuances of diction that one would tend to overlook if they were not pointed out, simply because his works read so easily. The book shines a new light on one of Lincoln's real talents, while at the same time telling us more about him as a person and politician.
May 23, 2020
It was an interesting look into Lincoln's writing and how he used many tools of the trade to make his point. I'm studying this kind of work in many of my English classes and it was fun seeing how the elements of writing that I was taught in school are reflected in works like Lincoln's.
December 8, 2009
I liked this book. Lincoln was a gifted man. The enduring nature of his words is a testimony to his understanding and skill.
March 27, 2018
Interesting look at the processes Lincoln followed in his writing. Unlike what's done today, he was very hands on with all of his major addresses other key documents. I found this book fascinating.
August 15, 2025
This book was impressively researched and I enjoyed reading about how Lincoln's writing style developed throughout his life and how it evolved during his presidency. It was interesting to learn about Lincoln's writing strategies, which were very punctuated and gradual and often involved writing down "light bulb" thoughts on scraps of paper which he would then collect and synthesize into prose. Lincoln also paid particular attention to the verbal effect of writing and how the words would sound when spoken aloud, a nuance which is often lost on us today.
Abraham Lincoln, the minimally-educated rail-splitter, managed to craft such noble and lifting prose that it continues to inspire Americans to this very day. It turns out that the world in fact did not "little note" what Lincoln said at Gettysburg in November 1863!
Abraham Lincoln, the minimally-educated rail-splitter, managed to craft such noble and lifting prose that it continues to inspire Americans to this very day. It turns out that the world in fact did not "little note" what Lincoln said at Gettysburg in November 1863!
April 25, 2021
I’ve read quite a few books about Lincoln, and this is one of my favorites. The book uses Lincoln’s writings and revisions to explore his psychology and historical surroundings. The chapters on the Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural could stand on their own as brilliant essays. Highly recommended.
June 8, 2017
A testament to Knox College scholarship. Proud to be an alum! Great job, Professor Wilson!
February 4, 2022
An exquisite examination of Lincoln and his attention to the documents he created.
Read
October 31, 2024Nov 14, 2006
March 17, 2018
Drafts, letters, speeches, and the reactions of the public are all in here. Amazing research & scholarship. Every rhetoric student should read this. The author goes a little too far in picking apart the effects of individual words (especially in the Appendix) and marveling at Lincoln's abilities, but Lincoln is the premier American writer and this book drives the point home.
Read
January 28, 2009One of a spate of books out recently -- no big surprise, given Obama's Illinoisness and studious evocation of Lincoln -- about the 16th president's ability as a writer and rhetorician. I haven't read the others, but I can say that there's a great 2005 article in the "American Scholar" about the subject that backs up Wilson's analysis of Lincoln's inaugurals, and the overall thesis: that Lincoln was a writer of extraordinary acuity.
This book can be a bit heavy going at times, but it's a terrific analysis of Lincoln's history and writing. The commentary on the Second Inaugural is especially instructive; Wilson's display and analysis of Lincoln's drafts and process added considerably to my appreciation of his speeches and other writings.
Overall: a very well-written and perceptive book, very much worth reading for any fan of Lincoln, history, or, especially, written rhetoric.
This book can be a bit heavy going at times, but it's a terrific analysis of Lincoln's history and writing. The commentary on the Second Inaugural is especially instructive; Wilson's display and analysis of Lincoln's drafts and process added considerably to my appreciation of his speeches and other writings.
Overall: a very well-written and perceptive book, very much worth reading for any fan of Lincoln, history, or, especially, written rhetoric.
August 1, 2012
This plooding book seems to me to leave out the more intersting personal interactions that so shaped many of these documents. Wilson does disucss who helped Lincoln by making suggesions, but the context comes across as missing.
The material on the Emancipation Proclamation was interesting, but seemed to be missing something.
In short, the book concentrated on comparing various versions of Lincoln's various manuscripts. For those whowant a study of various versions of documents, this is their text.
The material on the Emancipation Proclamation was interesting, but seemed to be missing something.
In short, the book concentrated on comparing various versions of Lincoln's various manuscripts. For those whowant a study of various versions of documents, this is their text.
August 2, 2015
For all Lincoln enthusiasts, this is a must-read book! Mr. Wilson does a great job outlining Lincoln's under appreciated talent as an extraordinary writer. In addition, Mr. Wilson describes how methodical and detailed Lincoln was, often going through numerous drafts, meticulously re-writing passages, and reading his writing aloud in order to assess the impact each word had on an audience. I have never given much thought to Lincoln's writing abilities; in fact, I took his talent for granted. After reading Lincoln's Sword, I am in awe of this great man and great leader.
August 17, 2015
First read this when it came out in 06. Decided to reread this as I develop a unit on Lincoln's writings. I love books about process and I love books about craft (see The Noble Approach and Geek Sublime, which I read earlier this year). Everything anyone wants to know about the craft of writing can be found in this book. And Wilson lets us know in uncertain terms that not only was Lincoln a great president, but also one of the bets writers the U.S. has ever produced.
February 9, 2016
Phenomenal praise for Lincoln's brilliance as a writer ... examines how his prose persuaded, educated and inspired the American public ... explores in great detail Lincoln's process of writing his letters and speeches, and the impact they had on American Literature, especially the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural ... relies heavily on the magnificent collection of Lincoln papers in the Library of Congress ... a magnificent book ...
January 30, 2009
I put this down, probably mostly because I'd just read Team of Rivals and was thoroughly Lincolned. The sustained focus on his writings is revealing & rich, but takes some tenacity. I would like to finish this some time when I've had a longer break between Lincoln books.
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