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The Speeches & Writings of Abraham Lincoln: A Library of America Boxed Set
The definitive Library of America edition of Lincoln's essential writings, now in a deluxe two-volume boxed set
Abraham Lincoln, America's heroic Civil War president, was also the greatest writer ever to occupy the White House. His addresses at Gettysburg and at his inaugurals, his presidential messages and public lectures, are an essential record of the war and have forever shaped the nation's memories of it. This deluxe two-volume boxed set gathers Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832-1858 and Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, first published in 1990, which together have been hailed as "the best selection of Lincoln's writings available today, perhaps the best ever" (Christian Science Monitor). Edited by the late historian Don E. Fehrenbacher, these two books include all Lincoln's significant works from the entirety of his public life, including both sides of the complete Lincoln-Douglas debates, dozens of speeches, hundreds of personal and political letters, communications to the generals in the field, presidential messages and proclamations, poems, and private reflections on democracy, slavery, and the meaning of the Civil War's immense suffering. This is the definitive Lincoln for the general reader, "a momentous and thrilling addition to any private library" in the words of the great literary critic Alfred Kazin.
Abraham Lincoln, America's heroic Civil War president, was also the greatest writer ever to occupy the White House. His addresses at Gettysburg and at his inaugurals, his presidential messages and public lectures, are an essential record of the war and have forever shaped the nation's memories of it. This deluxe two-volume boxed set gathers Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832-1858 and Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, first published in 1990, which together have been hailed as "the best selection of Lincoln's writings available today, perhaps the best ever" (Christian Science Monitor). Edited by the late historian Don E. Fehrenbacher, these two books include all Lincoln's significant works from the entirety of his public life, including both sides of the complete Lincoln-Douglas debates, dozens of speeches, hundreds of personal and political letters, communications to the generals in the field, presidential messages and proclamations, poems, and private reflections on democracy, slavery, and the meaning of the Civil War's immense suffering. This is the definitive Lincoln for the general reader, "a momentous and thrilling addition to any private library" in the words of the great literary critic Alfred Kazin.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
1686 pages, Hardcover
Published January 9, 2018
60 people want to read
About the author
Abraham Lincoln
2,364 books1,966 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 26, 2023
The Title Says it All
I learned a bit more about Lincoln Everyytime I hear his voice. He was a bit of a conflicted fellow and some of these writings will come across as racist but I think he was a man conflicted, caught in politics and trying to remain true to his own morality. It is hard being a person who is true to yourself and to all those around you.
It is so easy to Judge and times were so different back then. I still think he was a man of terrific character regardless of what he said. I get the feeling if I had a chance to speak with him today he would listen to what I had to say. I don't know where I am going with this review but if you read this book you will understand.
Being an American is tough work. Abraham really put his time in and his neck on the line.
I learned a bit more about Lincoln Everyytime I hear his voice. He was a bit of a conflicted fellow and some of these writings will come across as racist but I think he was a man conflicted, caught in politics and trying to remain true to his own morality. It is hard being a person who is true to yourself and to all those around you.
It is so easy to Judge and times were so different back then. I still think he was a man of terrific character regardless of what he said. I get the feeling if I had a chance to speak with him today he would listen to what I had to say. I don't know where I am going with this review but if you read this book you will understand.
Being an American is tough work. Abraham really put his time in and his neck on the line.
July 26, 2024
I learned much from reading this first book in a trilogy. Lincoln has always been my favorite President and he was such a statesman. Much of the book however was a lot of repetition because it covered the debates between him and Stephen A. Douglas. I am going to read the other two volumes but I need a little break.
December 17, 2025
Speeches good; debates provocative. Narrator of audio version used a distracting tone.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews