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Speeches and Letters of Abraham Lincoln, 1832-1865
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227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1949
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About the author
Abraham Lincoln
2,422 books1,994 followersAbraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States from 1861 and led the country during the Civil War.
Lincoln, a moderate, navigated a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from the Democratic Party and Republican Party. He exploited mutual enmity of the factions, carefully distributing political patronage, and appealed to the American people.
Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the war effort, including the selection of generals, and implemented a naval blockade of the trade. He suspended habeas corpus in Maryland and elsewhere, and averted British intervention by defusing the Trent Affair. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared free all enslaved persons in states "in rebellion against the United States." It also directed the Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons" and to receive them "into the armed service." Lincoln promoted the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime.
Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign and sought to heal the war-torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just five days after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, he attended a play at theater of Ford in Washington, District of Columbia, with Mary Todd Lincoln, his wife, when Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Boothe fatally assassinated him.
Lincoln is remembered as a martyr and a national hero for for his efforts to preserve the union and abolish slavery. Popular and scholarly polls often rank Lincoln as the greatest president in American history.
Lincoln, a moderate, navigated a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from the Democratic Party and Republican Party. He exploited mutual enmity of the factions, carefully distributing political patronage, and appealed to the American people.
Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the war effort, including the selection of generals, and implemented a naval blockade of the trade. He suspended habeas corpus in Maryland and elsewhere, and averted British intervention by defusing the Trent Affair. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared free all enslaved persons in states "in rebellion against the United States." It also directed the Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons" and to receive them "into the armed service." Lincoln promoted the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime.
Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign and sought to heal the war-torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just five days after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, he attended a play at theater of Ford in Washington, District of Columbia, with Mary Todd Lincoln, his wife, when Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Boothe fatally assassinated him.
Lincoln is remembered as a martyr and a national hero for for his efforts to preserve the union and abolish slavery. Popular and scholarly polls often rank Lincoln as the greatest president in American history.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 26, 2008
I was reading this through daily lit but I fell behind quite a bit and I don't plan to catch up! I LOVE Abraham Lincoln and I was really excited to learn more about him through this book, however (I really should have figured this out from the title) this is just a compilation of speeches that he gave through out his life and not exactly what I was looking for. If you want to learn more about some of his viewpoints and different subjects that he addressed then this book is great, but if you want to learn more about his life or stories of things that he did, try a biography. Even though I didn't finish it I'm giving this 4 stars if for no other reason than one letter that was included. It was written by Lincoln on April fool's day. I recommend you just google it and skip the rest of the book. It is hilarious!!! (I know, Lincoln/hilarious???...but it really is!)
October 7, 2017
Truth
This collection, critically read, can give you an insight into the man Lincoln. Note the context of situations. Where he must be a politician and work to be heard or effective, versus where he can express his true opinions. See the conflict between his great sense of duty to country and Constitution and his personal sense of what is truly write. Leave behind hero worship and see that a man, truly dedicated against slavery would, in modern context, be considered so far behind, and remember the historical context so you can see how much we should all examine what we so readily accept in our modern attitudes.
This collection, critically read, can give you an insight into the man Lincoln. Note the context of situations. Where he must be a politician and work to be heard or effective, versus where he can express his true opinions. See the conflict between his great sense of duty to country and Constitution and his personal sense of what is truly write. Leave behind hero worship and see that a man, truly dedicated against slavery would, in modern context, be considered so far behind, and remember the historical context so you can see how much we should all examine what we so readily accept in our modern attitudes.
July 19, 2021
Must Read
For anyone who has an interest in history, politics writing, speaking or social development, these “best of” Lincoln speeches and letters provide insights into both the man and his times. A brilliant communicator, the humility and wisdom is evident in each sentence. A great read and one that every American should take the time to digest.
For anyone who has an interest in history, politics writing, speaking or social development, these “best of” Lincoln speeches and letters provide insights into both the man and his times. A brilliant communicator, the humility and wisdom is evident in each sentence. A great read and one that every American should take the time to digest.
January 2, 2022
this man does rhetorical circles around anyone i've ever read. I will remember him starting all of his address to "my fellow citizens" we've fallen pretty far.
Currently reading
May 10, 2024
March 31, 2013
I read the last half of this book on March 31st...the author's mother's birthday. Will Schwalbe tells the story of his mother's last couple of years going through treatment for stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He, a former editor, and she a world traveler, volunteer worker for women refugee causes, previous board Meyerbeer and admission head of formidable universities discussed books always, but became even closer as they formed their own private book club during her last years.
Sometimes I felt the writing wasn't tight enough...yet at the end of every chapter he left a zinger, a poignant moment...something to stop and think about. And because he was writing about something so personal, so heartfelt, so emotional, I can give him a break about the style. It's worth the read, because you will come across some marvelous books to add to your very own "must read lists."
I wish Will and his family well as they move through their new reality. I know the feeling of wanting to call and realizing you no longer can. I'm sure writing this book, which she knew about, helped him work through a lot of those first lost feelings. But still...he will always miss her.
I'm glad he shared her with us. She was an amazing woman.
Sometimes I felt the writing wasn't tight enough...yet at the end of every chapter he left a zinger, a poignant moment...something to stop and think about. And because he was writing about something so personal, so heartfelt, so emotional, I can give him a break about the style. It's worth the read, because you will come across some marvelous books to add to your very own "must read lists."
I wish Will and his family well as they move through their new reality. I know the feeling of wanting to call and realizing you no longer can. I'm sure writing this book, which she knew about, helped him work through a lot of those first lost feelings. But still...he will always miss her.
I'm glad he shared her with us. She was an amazing woman.
June 30, 2009
"Their ambition aspired to display before an admiring world a practical demonstration of the truth of a proposition which had hitherto been considered at best no better than problematical--namely, the capability of a people to govern themselves. If they succeeded they were to be immortalized; their names were to be transferred to counties, and cities, and rivers, and mountains; and to be revered and sung, toasted through all time. If they failed, they were to be called knaves, and fools, and fanatics for a fleeting hour; then to sink and be forgotten. They succeeded. The experiment is successful, and thousands have won their deathless names in making it so."
Tingles? Just one example of many in a book that once again proves Lincoln's prowess as one of the greatest orators this country has ever produced. And this was without the internet or the army of speechwriters that modern presidents have at their disposal. More than a bit awe-some, really.
Tingles? Just one example of many in a book that once again proves Lincoln's prowess as one of the greatest orators this country has ever produced. And this was without the internet or the army of speechwriters that modern presidents have at their disposal. More than a bit awe-some, really.
January 11, 2015
The title of the book is exactly what this book is. There is no introductory narrative or commentary; it is just straight Lincoln. And I loved the whole thing. Those who want to criticize Lincoln are certainly free to do so, but the fact remains that he will forever be one of this nation's truly great leaders, statesmen, and thinkers who has shaped us into a stable persistent democratic republic. What was truly remarkable to me while reading this was just how relevant Lincoln's thinking is for political, cultural, and social issues of our day. I would call him a prophetic politician, if there can be such a thing. Although he didn't seem to believe in direct revelation per se, he received more inspiration than he realized. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the thinking and the soul behind the preservation of the United States of America through its greatest crisis - the Civil War.
January 31, 2016
A must read to all interested in the making of America and one of the few great leaders in History. The style and the vocabulary are exceptional. It is hard not to get drawn back into that era and the circumstances surrounding the events when he wrote those speeches and letters, some of which bring up in us so much empathy for the mental ordeal he went through.
June 18, 2014
Well worth the time to read!
November 13, 2015
Again amazing
These short speeches and letters, anecdotes and news accounts, present Lincoln as a shrewd, humble, passionate, amazing man. Glad I read it.
These short speeches and letters, anecdotes and news accounts, present Lincoln as a shrewd, humble, passionate, amazing man. Glad I read it.
October 2, 2018
Se quelli raccolti qui sono i migliori... mmm... Non oso immaginare gli altri (testo in inglese)
April 10, 2014
Actual primary source material-excellent. Just missing contextual clarification on each piece.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews