Abraham Lincoln : Contemporary: An American Legacy

by Frank J. Williams, William D. Pederson

According to Lincoln scholar, David E. Long( The Jewel of Abraham Lincoldn's Reelection and the End of Slavery ), history has thrown up precious few individuals who have “reshaped the landscape of human experience and potential.” Of all the great national leaders of the previous century, “the individual who stands like a colossus astride the nineteenth century—the champion of democratic government and the common person at a time when the rest of the world had rejected such notions in favor of monarchs and despots—is Abraham Lincoldn, and he is at the center of “American history.” “Lincoln,” writes Lang, “has been a source of inspiration for every generation of Americans since the Civil War, and every president since Lincoln has had the unenviable task of attempting to conduct his administration against the measuring stick left by our sixteenth chief executive.” As demonstrated by this wide range of essays, his influence is indeed pervasive. These papers, written by many of today's leading presidential scholars and social historians, contribute significantly to our understanding and appreciation of Lincoln the president, emancipator, constitutionalist, and role model. Some of the topics a fascinating examination of Lincoln's quarrelsome yet capable cabinet; a trio of insightful essays on his impact on successors Rutherford Hayes, FDR, and Gerald Ford; two sharply contrasting opinions regarding Lincoln's contentious relations with the Supreme Court and his assumption and exercise of extraordinary (if not unconstitutional) powers; and an engrossing discussion of the visions, dreams and premonitions that haunted Lincoln until his death by an assassin's bullet. Just as Lincoln himself was a benchmark for presidential successors, Abraham Contemporary, will be the benchmark against which future collections of essays will be measured.

228 pages, Hardcover

First published July 21, 1995

Reviews

[J. Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of essays edited by LSUS's Dr. Bill Pederson!