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The Writings of Abraham Lincoln - Volume 1: 1832-1843
The first volume of Abraham Lincoln's writings is introduced by President Theodore Roosevelt and the renowned historian and Lincoln scholar Carl Shurz.
The introductory itself offers meaningful praise and instruction on the profitable study of Abe Lincoln. The first, by Teddy Roosevelt, is an eloquent tribute to a man he treated as a role model for holders of high office and for individuals in general. The second introduction, by Shurz, offers an substantial, in-depth discussion on how best enthusiasts, historians and biographers of Lincoln may ascertain and grasp his character.
In his essay introducing the first volume, Shurz notes that a great starting point for study of Lincoln is his personal letters, speeches and other writings. It is by reading these accounts sequentially that we gain an insight into the mind of a man who was to become arguably the greatest President the United States has seen to date. We come to realize that Lincoln was - contrary to his portrait as a near-infallible and towering figure - a human being with emotions, strengths and weaknesses.
This record of Lincoln's personal correspondences is complete and unabridged, offering readers a chronologically arranged account of the man's early life. We join Lincoln as a young man in 1832, making his initial public addresses which reveal a man wise beyond his years and with a rare stubborn eagerness to perform as a public servant to the best of his capacity.
Lincoln's early political opinions, and his ambition to rise through the political ranks are revealed in this collection. Capable of offering counsel and comfort to those he considered friends, many of his letters concern not politics, but matters such as contentious criminal cases which Lincoln, as a lawyer, could claim authority on.
Volume One brings us to 1843, the year in which Lincoln sought nomination to Congress as a Whig.
The introductory itself offers meaningful praise and instruction on the profitable study of Abe Lincoln. The first, by Teddy Roosevelt, is an eloquent tribute to a man he treated as a role model for holders of high office and for individuals in general. The second introduction, by Shurz, offers an substantial, in-depth discussion on how best enthusiasts, historians and biographers of Lincoln may ascertain and grasp his character.
In his essay introducing the first volume, Shurz notes that a great starting point for study of Lincoln is his personal letters, speeches and other writings. It is by reading these accounts sequentially that we gain an insight into the mind of a man who was to become arguably the greatest President the United States has seen to date. We come to realize that Lincoln was - contrary to his portrait as a near-infallible and towering figure - a human being with emotions, strengths and weaknesses.
This record of Lincoln's personal correspondences is complete and unabridged, offering readers a chronologically arranged account of the man's early life. We join Lincoln as a young man in 1832, making his initial public addresses which reveal a man wise beyond his years and with a rare stubborn eagerness to perform as a public servant to the best of his capacity.
Lincoln's early political opinions, and his ambition to rise through the political ranks are revealed in this collection. Capable of offering counsel and comfort to those he considered friends, many of his letters concern not politics, but matters such as contentious criminal cases which Lincoln, as a lawyer, could claim authority on.
Volume One brings us to 1843, the year in which Lincoln sought nomination to Congress as a Whig.
164 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2004
About the author
Abraham Lincoln
2,515 books2,030 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 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 20, 2020
This book contains the writings of Abraham Lincoln from 1832 to 1843, when he married. These are fascinating works, some of which will likely be familiar to the avid Lincoln reader as a great many of the personal letters as well as speeches have been picked over considerably often. In these pages we can see the development of Lincoln's political skill, philosophy, and even maturity. Combined in these collected writings are three great Lincoln speeches, some minutes of his behavior as a state congressman in Illinois who struggled against the blind anti-bank partisanship of his state, and some very intriguing personal letters as well that show him to be awkward in dealing with women and skilled in the art of political invective. For the reader who wants to know about Lincoln's young adulthood these writings are a great place to look since most of what one will find otherwise is less reliable memories from others who wanted to make themselves seem particularly important. After all, at this particular time Lincoln was not a very important figure at all and that lack of importance is part of what makes this book such an intriguing one for the reader.
After an introduction by Theodore Roosevelt, this book contains a preface by the editor, an essay on Abraham Lincoln by Carl Schurz, as well as a memorial address by Joseph Choate. These materials take up about a third of the volume as a whole and likely serve as introductory material for the whole entire series of Lincoln's writings (which I hope to get to in time) rather than just for this volume in particular. After that the material is organized in chronological fashion by year. In 1832 we see Lincoln's unsuccessful address to the people of his county for election to the state legislature. In the next year we see a couple of letters, one relating to business in the Black Hawk War. From 1836 we see another announcement of political reviews, as well as a couple of personal letters. In 1837 we see Lincoln in the legislature, as well as more personal letters and a message to the people. 1839 shows him dealing with politics in the legislature as well as legal business, while 1840 finds him mostly involved in politics, and 1841 finds him struggling with personal business. In 1842 he writes a lot of letters to Speed, gives the famous Temperance Address and gets himself involved in a near duel with Shields. 1843 ends the book with personal letters and a resolution from a Whig meeting.
In looking at the chronological basis of this book, it is fascinating how complex of a life that Lincoln was living as a young adult even before he became an accomplished lawyer. On the one hand, Lincoln will write letters filled with existential despair while helping his friends out with their own personal drama, while at the same time sparking a duel with a cutting story that insinuates that it cannot be determined if one of his political rivals is a Whig or a Democrat and also making fun of his failed gallantry towards women. On the one hand Lincoln writes an elegant invitation to Henry Clay for a speech and helps his state's Whigs organize themselves and ensure candidates in every state race, while on the other hand Lincoln finds himself engaged in a public battle with someone over some land deed shenanigans. The end result is that one sees a varied and complex picture of Lincoln's political education and also his maturity in growing into a person who could be respected even by political foes who did not like him. The real shocker here is Lincoln's letter of advice to a young George E. Pickett, who later became famous for shad bakes and a failed charge in Pennsylvania, and who appears not to have taken Lincoln's insight to heart.
After an introduction by Theodore Roosevelt, this book contains a preface by the editor, an essay on Abraham Lincoln by Carl Schurz, as well as a memorial address by Joseph Choate. These materials take up about a third of the volume as a whole and likely serve as introductory material for the whole entire series of Lincoln's writings (which I hope to get to in time) rather than just for this volume in particular. After that the material is organized in chronological fashion by year. In 1832 we see Lincoln's unsuccessful address to the people of his county for election to the state legislature. In the next year we see a couple of letters, one relating to business in the Black Hawk War. From 1836 we see another announcement of political reviews, as well as a couple of personal letters. In 1837 we see Lincoln in the legislature, as well as more personal letters and a message to the people. 1839 shows him dealing with politics in the legislature as well as legal business, while 1840 finds him mostly involved in politics, and 1841 finds him struggling with personal business. In 1842 he writes a lot of letters to Speed, gives the famous Temperance Address and gets himself involved in a near duel with Shields. 1843 ends the book with personal letters and a resolution from a Whig meeting.
In looking at the chronological basis of this book, it is fascinating how complex of a life that Lincoln was living as a young adult even before he became an accomplished lawyer. On the one hand, Lincoln will write letters filled with existential despair while helping his friends out with their own personal drama, while at the same time sparking a duel with a cutting story that insinuates that it cannot be determined if one of his political rivals is a Whig or a Democrat and also making fun of his failed gallantry towards women. On the one hand Lincoln writes an elegant invitation to Henry Clay for a speech and helps his state's Whigs organize themselves and ensure candidates in every state race, while on the other hand Lincoln finds himself engaged in a public battle with someone over some land deed shenanigans. The end result is that one sees a varied and complex picture of Lincoln's political education and also his maturity in growing into a person who could be respected even by political foes who did not like him. The real shocker here is Lincoln's letter of advice to a young George E. Pickett, who later became famous for shad bakes and a failed charge in Pennsylvania, and who appears not to have taken Lincoln's insight to heart.
March 2, 2022
There's a lot of short legal inanities built in as filler. I've never read a book analyzing Lincoln's various legal dealings. There was a long speech in here against the Mexican-American war where Lincoln is against the president's actions. I thought it was a mostly a good speech, but much too long (Lincoln said later it took him 45 minutes to give the speech).
I basically read this because whenever I've read a quote from Lincoln I liked his style, the way he phrased things. There are a lot of nice little phrasings in this collection; Lincoln seemed to write and speak with patience and a careful lawyer's weighing of words. Sometimes his arguments were a pleasure to read and sometimes not. Sometimes I wonder if I didn't know these writings were from Lincoln, and didn't know who Lincoln was, would I find them worth reading? Most of the entries: no. Like, who cares what Lincoln thought about banks and the post office? He also had a long essay on temperance which I found to be too full of low-grade flourish, a Lincoln anomaly.
Read this if you want, you may enjoy it, or you may not, it's up to you as to why you want to read this. I read it because the last book on Lincoln I read contained very few quotes and speeches by him and I realized what I really wanted from Lincoln at this point in my life is to read his own words. Now that I have begun that process I am scratching my itch and finding the itch to be disappearing.
I basically read this because whenever I've read a quote from Lincoln I liked his style, the way he phrased things. There are a lot of nice little phrasings in this collection; Lincoln seemed to write and speak with patience and a careful lawyer's weighing of words. Sometimes his arguments were a pleasure to read and sometimes not. Sometimes I wonder if I didn't know these writings were from Lincoln, and didn't know who Lincoln was, would I find them worth reading? Most of the entries: no. Like, who cares what Lincoln thought about banks and the post office? He also had a long essay on temperance which I found to be too full of low-grade flourish, a Lincoln anomaly.
Read this if you want, you may enjoy it, or you may not, it's up to you as to why you want to read this. I read it because the last book on Lincoln I read contained very few quotes and speeches by him and I realized what I really wanted from Lincoln at this point in my life is to read his own words. Now that I have begun that process I am scratching my itch and finding the itch to be disappearing.
November 5, 2018
Great
Great collection for discerning fact and fiction. Seeking the truth via primary sources in this day and age is critical
Great collection for discerning fact and fiction. Seeking the truth via primary sources in this day and age is critical
December 11, 2014
When I realized that speeches were written not only to be heard, but to be read by those unable to attend in person, I decided to read what Lincoln wrote. This book is a collection of works that demonstrate a masterful blend of composition and rhetoric. His early writings are short due, I believe, to his obscurity, but I look forward to longer pieces by this master of the use of the English language.
September 26, 2012
Raw Lincoln, literally. I just wish there had been more detail from his earlier years, and more letters from his best friend Speed.
June 6, 2013
Lincoln was a very intelligent and wise man. His letters showed both.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews