The Living Lincoln: The Man & His Times in His Own Words

by Abraham Lincoln, Paul M. Angle (editor)

Culled from the 9-volume Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, this book assembles the best of Lincoln's writings on himself and the issues of his day, creating in effect an engrossing autobiography of our greatest president. Skillful editing shapes this volume comprised of letters, speeches, and documents into an intimate self-portrait of Lincoln, from his early years in Springfield to the day before he died. A fine addition to any American history library.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Presidents, American History, Politics, Civil War

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Abraham 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.

Reviews

[Trisha Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

My number one hero is Abraham Lincoln. No man gains my respect like this one. In this book by Paul M. Angle and Earl Schenck Miers, Lincoln speaks in his own words, through a myriad of documents, letters, and speeches. From his early life in Springfield to his last moments on earth, and all of the turmoil, defeats, and obstacles that Lincoln and the Nation faced, it is covered in this lengthy volume of work. Lincolns own words make this book worth the read. Known as the "Great Emancipator", and the "Great Campaigner", he bore unspeakable torment before, during, and after the Civil War, along with the monumental after-effects of Reconstruction in the South. Yet he prevailed. If you are a history buff, this compilation of letters, etc. is a must-read.

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been wanting to read a biography on Abraham Lincoln for several years. By the time I got around to it I owned three different biographies about him. This inspired the idea that everyone would chose a different biography about Abraham Lincoln and we would discussed them all at one book club. I loved the one I read "The Living Lincoln" a biography using his own writings and words.

[Dick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book - lots of personal views, experiences and impressions of Lincoln from social, associates and political folks.