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Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850s
“ . . . [The] paperback edition of Professor Fehrenbacher’s study, first published in 1962, of Lincoln in the 1850s is a welcome reminder of what can be achieved by a fresh and searching investigation of often-asked questions. . . . The book is lucidly and soberly written, and full of carefully considered argument. It is one more major contribution to the work of putting the slavery issue back where it has always belonged—at the very centre—of any discussion of the origins of the Civil War.”—Journal of American Studies
“This is a brilliant book. With thorough research . . . and a fresh point of view, we have a study that will shape Lincoln scholarship for many years.”—The Journal of Southern History
220 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1962
78 people want to read
About the author
Don E. Fehrenbacher
41 books9 followersDon E. Fehrenbacher was William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University, where he taught form 1953 until his retirement in 1984. Fehrenbacher earned his BA from Cornell College in 1946, his master's and doctorate from the University of Chicago and a second master's from the University of Oxford.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 3, 2022
A magnificent and scholarly study of the events and maneuvers that made way for Abraham Lincoln's unanticipated rise from obscurity to the Presidency and ultimately, greatness. In a series of seven chronological essays, Don Fehrenbacher provides a forensic analysis of Lincoln's rise in the 1850s with the logical and argumentative touch of a judicial opinion.
After a five year hiatus following Lincoln's one and only term in Congress, Lincoln springboards back into the political arena with the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Drafted by soon to be chief rival and fellow Illinoisian Stephen A. Douglas and signed into law by President Franklin Pierce, the law removed the territorial restriction of slavery, which prohibited slavery in the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands north of the 36°30′ parallel. It formally introduced the idea of popular sovereignty, which allowed the citizens of each territory, rather than Congress, to determine whether slavery would be allowed. The law would galvanize the entire north and trigger a series of events that would lead to civil war.
Fehrenbacher follows Lincoln's pivotal moments step by step beginning in 1854 thru to Lincoln's nomination as the Republican candidate for President in 1860. Analysis of his failed Senate run of 1856 and loss to Lyman Trumbell, his significance in the formation of the Republican Party and influence of the Party's position on the restriction of slavery, his nomination for the Senate in 1858 and and eventual loss to Douglas, and his radical House Divided Speech and monumental debates with Douglas which catapulted Lincoln to the Republican national standard bearer are all reviewed with logic and precision.
Prelude to Greatness should be included in every Lincoln library and read by moderate and advanced students of Lincoln. Simply brilliant.
After a five year hiatus following Lincoln's one and only term in Congress, Lincoln springboards back into the political arena with the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Drafted by soon to be chief rival and fellow Illinoisian Stephen A. Douglas and signed into law by President Franklin Pierce, the law removed the territorial restriction of slavery, which prohibited slavery in the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands north of the 36°30′ parallel. It formally introduced the idea of popular sovereignty, which allowed the citizens of each territory, rather than Congress, to determine whether slavery would be allowed. The law would galvanize the entire north and trigger a series of events that would lead to civil war.
Fehrenbacher follows Lincoln's pivotal moments step by step beginning in 1854 thru to Lincoln's nomination as the Republican candidate for President in 1860. Analysis of his failed Senate run of 1856 and loss to Lyman Trumbell, his significance in the formation of the Republican Party and influence of the Party's position on the restriction of slavery, his nomination for the Senate in 1858 and and eventual loss to Douglas, and his radical House Divided Speech and monumental debates with Douglas which catapulted Lincoln to the Republican national standard bearer are all reviewed with logic and precision.
Prelude to Greatness should be included in every Lincoln library and read by moderate and advanced students of Lincoln. Simply brilliant.
October 15, 2017
This is technically a very good history of Lincoln in the 1850s. Fehrenbacher wrote it as an answer to the revisionist such as JG Randall who seemingly limited the moral greatness of Lincoln during the first four decades of the 20th century. Harry Jaffa, among others, wrote at the same time. The author stretches credulity at times to defend Lincoln, and in his attempts to explain why Lincoln wasn’t simply a partisan politician, Lincoln sometimes seems even more only a partisan politician.
January 5, 2020
Having first read this book in college during a seminar on Lincoln, I recently re-read it and am more than happy I did. This book is a reminder of what scholarly work can offer to a society that far too often would settle for mediocre analysis.
Fehrenbacher’s greatest contribution to this period of time is to probe the historiography itself – not as a revisionist, but as someone who both values contemporaneous sources but also recognizes the importance of placing them in context. This is exemplified by his treatment of the “Freeport Question.” Fehrenbacher upends the myth that Lincoln tricked Stephen Douglas into adopting a position during the debates that led to the Democratic Party split in 1860. Instead, Fehrenbacher notes that Douglas’ position was not only one he had already previously expressed on multiple occasions, but one very similar to that taken by Jefferson Davis a short time before Douglas. Fehrenbacher notes that the Southern split with Douglas over this issue reflected less the specific issue and more the general sense of isolation felt by Southerners – they “could see the walls closing in upon them, and the defection of Douglas vividly dramatized the growing isolation of slave society.”
This book is filled with similar insights into the history of Lincoln in the 1850s, and showcases how Lincoln’s nomination in 1860 was not so much of a surprise as one might initially assume. Rather than being simply a failed small-time politician, he was the state party’s unanimous choice for the 1858 nomination against Douglas – in a time when pre-election nominations did not occur. His House Divided speech was not an attempt to create a national profile at the expense of the 1858 senate race, but rather, a very deliberate opening to a hard-fought Senate race. Like other political moves by Lincoln during this time period, it was the result of years of deliberation and reflected both Lincoln’s political philosophy as well as the appropriate political strategy to combat Douglas after the latter’s opposition to the Lecompton Constitution.
Overall, for someone wishing to gain insight into Lincoln’s rise to power, as well as learn more about the ideology and principles that would guide his tenure as president, I would highly recommend this book.
Fehrenbacher’s greatest contribution to this period of time is to probe the historiography itself – not as a revisionist, but as someone who both values contemporaneous sources but also recognizes the importance of placing them in context. This is exemplified by his treatment of the “Freeport Question.” Fehrenbacher upends the myth that Lincoln tricked Stephen Douglas into adopting a position during the debates that led to the Democratic Party split in 1860. Instead, Fehrenbacher notes that Douglas’ position was not only one he had already previously expressed on multiple occasions, but one very similar to that taken by Jefferson Davis a short time before Douglas. Fehrenbacher notes that the Southern split with Douglas over this issue reflected less the specific issue and more the general sense of isolation felt by Southerners – they “could see the walls closing in upon them, and the defection of Douglas vividly dramatized the growing isolation of slave society.”
This book is filled with similar insights into the history of Lincoln in the 1850s, and showcases how Lincoln’s nomination in 1860 was not so much of a surprise as one might initially assume. Rather than being simply a failed small-time politician, he was the state party’s unanimous choice for the 1858 nomination against Douglas – in a time when pre-election nominations did not occur. His House Divided speech was not an attempt to create a national profile at the expense of the 1858 senate race, but rather, a very deliberate opening to a hard-fought Senate race. Like other political moves by Lincoln during this time period, it was the result of years of deliberation and reflected both Lincoln’s political philosophy as well as the appropriate political strategy to combat Douglas after the latter’s opposition to the Lecompton Constitution.
Overall, for someone wishing to gain insight into Lincoln’s rise to power, as well as learn more about the ideology and principles that would guide his tenure as president, I would highly recommend this book.
January 3, 2009
Well this is not so much a biography as an analysis of Lincoln's political positions in the 1850s....I just don't want to create another category! The book is very well done and presents a more clear-eyed vision of Lincoln than many. Fehrenbacher is able to criticize Lincoln's political positions as well as to indicate where he was not as influential as the myth would have us believe. Breaking the myth, taking the marble statue down off of the pedestal, is necessary if we are really going to understand and appreciate Lincoln for what he was and what he did.
Regarding the 1858 Senate election, p. 115: "the three most common complaints [were that] Lincoln had been victimized by dishonesty at the polls, treachery from abroad, and an unfair apportionment of legislative seats." Fehrenbacher reduces the significance of all three complaints.
p. 144: "It is enough, perhaps, to point out and briefly examine three aspects of Lincoln's spectacular rise to power: his own skillful work in building upon the reputation acquired from the debates with Douglas; the firm and united support that he managed to obtain from Illinois Republicans; and the peculiar political conditions that made him, on the eve of the national convention, something more than a favorite son.
Never forget what Herndon said of Lincoln: His ambition was like a little engine which knew no rest.
Regarding the 1858 Senate election, p. 115: "the three most common complaints [were that] Lincoln had been victimized by dishonesty at the polls, treachery from abroad, and an unfair apportionment of legislative seats." Fehrenbacher reduces the significance of all three complaints.
p. 144: "It is enough, perhaps, to point out and briefly examine three aspects of Lincoln's spectacular rise to power: his own skillful work in building upon the reputation acquired from the debates with Douglas; the firm and united support that he managed to obtain from Illinois Republicans; and the peculiar political conditions that made him, on the eve of the national convention, something more than a favorite son.
Never forget what Herndon said of Lincoln: His ambition was like a little engine which knew no rest.
October 16, 2025
Excellent book on Lincoln before he was president, alot of insight on the who, what, and why, including background on the Douglas debates..
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December 16, 2016* Understanding Oppression: African American Rights (Then and Now)
Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850’s #civilwar
Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850’s #civilwar
October 12, 2012
It's fifty years old, but still a good read that closely examines Lincoln's reentry into public life in the 1850s, his slow movement to the Republican party, his political speeches, his opposition to Stephen Douglas, and the machinations that took him to the presidency. Clear-eyed about Lincoln's political realism, but also about his ability and his centrality to political events in the 1850s. Occasionally bogged down in either historical detail from the period or in historical debates from the early 1960s, it is mostly just sensible argument and clear management of detail that provides a wonderful entrance into Lincoln's political life and thought in the 1850s.
February 6, 2016
Reread this for my ongoing Lincoln podcast. As good or better than I remembered; Fehrenbacher is a keen analyst who really picked up on some important things that were being missed at the time. Still an essential book, five decades after publication.
July 13, 2012
The author packs an exceptional amount of knowledge and careful thought into so small a book. He is generous and respectful of other scholars, but does not hesitate to criticize even the best of them. The book clarifies several major features of the Lincoln of the 1850s. Useful and well-written.
October 11, 2010
Fehrenbacher breaks Lincoln down like few others.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews