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Abraham Lincoln: Great Speeches
For someone who claimed he had been educated by "littles" - a little now and a little then - Abraham Lincoln displayed a remarkable facility in his use of the written word. The simple yet memorable eloquence of his speeches, proclamations and personal correspondence is recorded here in a representative collection of 16 documents.
This volume contains, complete and unabridged, The Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois (1838), which emphasized a theme Lincoln was to return to repeatedly, namely, the capacity of a people to govern themselves; the "House Divided" speech at the Republican State Convention in Illinois (1858); the First Inaugural Address (1861), in which he appealed to the people of an already divided union for sectional harmony; the Gettysburg Address (1863), a speech delivered at ceremonies dedicating a part of the Gettysburg battlefield as a cemetery; the Letter to Mrs. Bixby (1864), expressing Lincoln's regrets over the wartime deaths of her five sons; the Second Inaugural Address (March 1865), urging a post-war nation to "bind up its wounds" and show "charity for all"; and his Last Public Address (April 11, 1865). New notes place the speeches and other documents in their respective historical contents.
An invaluable reference for history students, this important volume will also fascinate admirers of Abraham Lincoln, Americana enthusiasts, Civil War buffs and any lover of the finely crafted phrase
This volume contains, complete and unabridged, The Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois (1838), which emphasized a theme Lincoln was to return to repeatedly, namely, the capacity of a people to govern themselves; the "House Divided" speech at the Republican State Convention in Illinois (1858); the First Inaugural Address (1861), in which he appealed to the people of an already divided union for sectional harmony; the Gettysburg Address (1863), a speech delivered at ceremonies dedicating a part of the Gettysburg battlefield as a cemetery; the Letter to Mrs. Bixby (1864), expressing Lincoln's regrets over the wartime deaths of her five sons; the Second Inaugural Address (March 1865), urging a post-war nation to "bind up its wounds" and show "charity for all"; and his Last Public Address (April 11, 1865). New notes place the speeches and other documents in their respective historical contents.
An invaluable reference for history students, this important volume will also fascinate admirers of Abraham Lincoln, Americana enthusiasts, Civil War buffs and any lover of the finely crafted phrase
128 pages, Paperback
Published November 20, 1991
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About the author
Abraham Lincoln
2,370 books1,971 followersAbraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States from 1861, led during the Civil War, and emancipated slaves in the south in 1863; shortly after the end, John Wilkes Booth assassinated him.
Abraham Lincoln, an American lawyer, politician, and man, served until 1865. Lincoln defended the American constitutional nation, defeated the insurgent Confederacy, abolished, expanded the power of the Federal government, and modernized the economy.
A mother bore him into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky, and parents reared on the frontier, primarily in Indiana. He educated as a lawyer in Whig party, joined legislature, and represented Illinois. In 1849, he returned to his successful law practice in Springfield, Illinois.
The Kansas–Nebraska act in 1854 opened the territories, angered him, and caused him to re-enter politics. He quickly joined the new Republican Party. He reached a national audience in the campaign debates against Stephen Arnold Douglas for Senate in 1858. Lincoln ran in 1860 and swept the north to gain victory. Other elements viewed his election as a threat and from the nation began seceding. During this time, the newly formed Confederate of America began seizing Federal military bases. A little over one month after Lincoln assumed, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Following the bombardment, Lincoln mobilized forces to suppress the rebellion and restored.
Lincoln, a moderate, navigated a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from the Democratic Party and Republican Party. His allies, the Democrats, and the radical Republicans, demanded harsh treatment of the Confederates. He exploited mutual enmity of the factions, carefully distributing political patronage, and appealed to the American people. Democrats, called "Copperheads," despised Lincoln, and some irreconcilable pro-Confederate elements went so far as to plot. People came to see his greatest address at Gettysburg as a most influential statement of American national purpose. Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the 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 proclamation, which declared free those "in rebellion." It also directed the Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons" and to receive them "into the armed service." Lincoln pressured border to outlaw, and he promoted the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished, except as punishment for a crime.
Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign. He sought to heal the 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 fatally shot him. People remember Lincoln as a martyr and a national hero for his time and for his efforts to preserve and abolish. Popular and scholarly polls often rank Lincoln as the greatest president in American history.
Abraham Lincoln, an American lawyer, politician, and man, served until 1865. Lincoln defended the American constitutional nation, defeated the insurgent Confederacy, abolished, expanded the power of the Federal government, and modernized the economy.
A mother bore him into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky, and parents reared on the frontier, primarily in Indiana. He educated as a lawyer in Whig party, joined legislature, and represented Illinois. In 1849, he returned to his successful law practice in Springfield, Illinois.
The Kansas–Nebraska act in 1854 opened the territories, angered him, and caused him to re-enter politics. He quickly joined the new Republican Party. He reached a national audience in the campaign debates against Stephen Arnold Douglas for Senate in 1858. Lincoln ran in 1860 and swept the north to gain victory. Other elements viewed his election as a threat and from the nation began seceding. During this time, the newly formed Confederate of America began seizing Federal military bases. A little over one month after Lincoln assumed, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Following the bombardment, Lincoln mobilized forces to suppress the rebellion and restored.
Lincoln, a moderate, navigated a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from the Democratic Party and Republican Party. His allies, the Democrats, and the radical Republicans, demanded harsh treatment of the Confederates. He exploited mutual enmity of the factions, carefully distributing political patronage, and appealed to the American people. Democrats, called "Copperheads," despised Lincoln, and some irreconcilable pro-Confederate elements went so far as to plot. People came to see his greatest address at Gettysburg as a most influential statement of American national purpose. Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the 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 proclamation, which declared free those "in rebellion." It also directed the Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons" and to receive them "into the armed service." Lincoln pressured border to outlaw, and he promoted the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished, except as punishment for a crime.
Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign. He sought to heal the 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 fatally shot him. People remember Lincoln as a martyr and a national hero for his time and for his efforts to preserve and abolish. Popular and scholarly polls often rank Lincoln as the greatest president in American history.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 6, 2020
Ok ok, what can I say? I am in love with Lincoln. 3rd book down.
A guy that had no formal education, a melancholy disposition, tragedies plaguing him at home and ruthless rivals all around - this guy was thrust into the middle of the greatest problem of his times. The idealist in me recoils at the situations where Lincoln accepted compromises that felt like a bludgeoning of anti-slavery principles, but the pragmatist in me marvels at how he successfully handled an intransigent series of crises with his moral compass always pointing north, while being the most generous man in any situation. The oratory of Lincoln is inspiring and thrilling to read. You can see how he ducks and weaves, exhorts and inspires, touches and unites -- through his immensely powerful words.
A guy that had no formal education, a melancholy disposition, tragedies plaguing him at home and ruthless rivals all around - this guy was thrust into the middle of the greatest problem of his times. The idealist in me recoils at the situations where Lincoln accepted compromises that felt like a bludgeoning of anti-slavery principles, but the pragmatist in me marvels at how he successfully handled an intransigent series of crises with his moral compass always pointing north, while being the most generous man in any situation. The oratory of Lincoln is inspiring and thrilling to read. You can see how he ducks and weaves, exhorts and inspires, touches and unites -- through his immensely powerful words.
April 29, 2023
Things that have struck me before in reading Lincoln's statements, and struck me again now:
Lincoln was a lawyer, who valued a clear line of argumentation- evidence, warrant, conclusion, all that- and who appreciated the power of words. He could be long-winded and unnecessarily thorough, but the force of his thought was always very clear.
Lincoln was a master of what we would today call "PR" and "spin." He very precisely modulated his public image and messages, saying no more or less than he wanted to say- which could be more or less than he meant. He was a master of ambiguity, and knew that his audience would read into his remarks what they wanted to hear, if he left them room to do so; and he exploited this to maintain control of his party and of public and international opinion.
But he did so while remaining essentially honest. With Fort Sumter, he honorably maintained his obligations as he saw (or construed) them, while letting the rebels make the first overtly aggressive act. With the Emancipation Proclamation, he carefully laid the ground for his new policy by publicly seeming to equivocate about it, leaving presidential emancipation on the table, expressing doubts about it, while never disavowing it. As much as he was a moral man, Abraham Lincoln was a man who was very talented at seeming to be moral, and to represent moral causes.
Is this itself immoral? Should he not rather have merely striven to be moral, and let people think of that what they will? It's certainly frustrating; but this ability to mold public perceptions and turn oneself (or allow oneself to be turned) into a figurehead for a cause is, I think, itself essentially amoral, and actually necessary for a good politician in a democratic system. It's definitely a characteristic of America's greatest presidents- Washington and both Roosevelts, for example. It really comes down to the ends to which these means are applied- many tyrants and dictators have had similar talents, but applied them to infinitely more malicious ends.
The mismatch between what Lincoln thought, what he intended to do, what he said he was going to do, and what he actually did, must've made him very frustrating to work with at times, but he was also a master at using diplomacy, humor, and restraint to win over the goodwill of his colleagues and subordinates. I'm not sure he could've maintained the balancing act he was engaged in much longer, had he lived- it was hard enough to hold the Radicals, moderates, and conservatives in his party in a state of equilibrium during the war, and the situation only became more fraught and difficult during Reconstruction.
Lincoln was a man who framed his most radical acts in terms of maintaining or realizing the ideals of honored forebears. His arrogation of power to the federal government (and the executive in particular), and his moves to end slavery, were the most radical things a 19th century president ever did; yet he tended to cast them as sensible, conservative acts, necessary to preserve and burnish the Union handed down to him by his forebears. He was certainly right about the latter part, but maybe not about the former.
Lincoln was a lawyer, who valued a clear line of argumentation- evidence, warrant, conclusion, all that- and who appreciated the power of words. He could be long-winded and unnecessarily thorough, but the force of his thought was always very clear.
Lincoln was a master of what we would today call "PR" and "spin." He very precisely modulated his public image and messages, saying no more or less than he wanted to say- which could be more or less than he meant. He was a master of ambiguity, and knew that his audience would read into his remarks what they wanted to hear, if he left them room to do so; and he exploited this to maintain control of his party and of public and international opinion.
But he did so while remaining essentially honest. With Fort Sumter, he honorably maintained his obligations as he saw (or construed) them, while letting the rebels make the first overtly aggressive act. With the Emancipation Proclamation, he carefully laid the ground for his new policy by publicly seeming to equivocate about it, leaving presidential emancipation on the table, expressing doubts about it, while never disavowing it. As much as he was a moral man, Abraham Lincoln was a man who was very talented at seeming to be moral, and to represent moral causes.
Is this itself immoral? Should he not rather have merely striven to be moral, and let people think of that what they will? It's certainly frustrating; but this ability to mold public perceptions and turn oneself (or allow oneself to be turned) into a figurehead for a cause is, I think, itself essentially amoral, and actually necessary for a good politician in a democratic system. It's definitely a characteristic of America's greatest presidents- Washington and both Roosevelts, for example. It really comes down to the ends to which these means are applied- many tyrants and dictators have had similar talents, but applied them to infinitely more malicious ends.
The mismatch between what Lincoln thought, what he intended to do, what he said he was going to do, and what he actually did, must've made him very frustrating to work with at times, but he was also a master at using diplomacy, humor, and restraint to win over the goodwill of his colleagues and subordinates. I'm not sure he could've maintained the balancing act he was engaged in much longer, had he lived- it was hard enough to hold the Radicals, moderates, and conservatives in his party in a state of equilibrium during the war, and the situation only became more fraught and difficult during Reconstruction.
Lincoln was a man who framed his most radical acts in terms of maintaining or realizing the ideals of honored forebears. His arrogation of power to the federal government (and the executive in particular), and his moves to end slavery, were the most radical things a 19th century president ever did; yet he tended to cast them as sensible, conservative acts, necessary to preserve and burnish the Union handed down to him by his forebears. He was certainly right about the latter part, but maybe not about the former.
November 27, 2022
I'm even more impressed with the man after reading his speeches, which are presented in context.
Also, so much of his insight is applicable to today.
Also, so much of his insight is applicable to today.
September 29, 2024
The very first speech is very relevant for today. It was a good choice of speeches to include--short and a one day's read
May 23, 2014
If I want to learn the write like a master, then I must read the master. Simply reviewing this valuable compendium is en education in itself. I now understand how and where he uses old English words, how he put together concluding sentences, how to insult without denigration, how to impress an opinion on others. Besides for the writing lessons, I learned things I never knew, like how his handling of slavery involved and how inept he apparently was with the reconstruction part of the post-bellum era. For that alone I enjoyed the reading experience. Must now read "Lincoln's Greatest Speech" by Ronald C. White, Jr.
July 20, 2018
I really can't get enough of reading this guy's thoughts. He is extremely logical and able to think and communicate with great clarity. In a speech to Congress in 1862, he also makes the case for compensating from the US Treasury any state which freed its slaves voluntarily by 1900. Fascinating for its logic. Read it before commenting on this please if so inclined. That one didn't make it into the history books. Also loved the Cooper Union speech. Once again I find I can't dispose of a book once I've read it. This is one for my permanent reference library.
May 20, 2020
Boring as you'd expect any speech to be but the messages behind them are really good
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews