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Abraham Lincoln, A History, Volume 2
Abraham Lincoln, A History, Volume 2, has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have represented this book in a print format as the same form as it was originally first published. Hence any marks or annotations seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.
392 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1890
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 8, 2020
This is the second of ten volumes about the life and times of Abraham Lincoln written by John Nicolay and John Hay, his private secretaries during his presidency. Given that, some of my review has to cover the same ground as my review for Volume I, so bear with me. Better yet, read my earlier review and double back to this…
As I mentioned in my other review, this is less of a biography and more of a history of the United States in which Abraham Lincoln appears as the principal character. And once again, there are entire chapters in which Lincoln does not appear at all. The second volume details the time from "Bleeding Kansas (1856) to the eve of secession (December 1860) and other than the Illinois senatorial campaign of 1858, the Lincoln speeches of 1858 and 1859, and the presidential election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln appears only as a minor character.
However, Mssrs. Nicolay and Hay provide an excellent account of the slow and steady march towards secession, centering on the split of the Democratic Party between the respective supporters of Stephen Douglas and James Buchanan. Neither comes out with any kind of positive reputation, although Buchanan gets the worst of it as an ineffective chief executive with a cabinet full of traitors to the Union (John Floyd, I'm looking at you). John Brown is also singled out for particular scorn, and Hay's and Nicolay's descriptions provide an excellent window into how Brown was viewed by his post-contemporaries of the late 19th century.
All of this so completely contradicts the "Lost Cause" narrative and deserves extra consideration because of its close proximity in time to the actual events. As such, the second volume continued to live up to — and exceed — my expectations and I will repeat my fervent recommendation for anyone who is passionate about American history to include this in her/his readings.
As I mentioned in my other review, this is less of a biography and more of a history of the United States in which Abraham Lincoln appears as the principal character. And once again, there are entire chapters in which Lincoln does not appear at all. The second volume details the time from "Bleeding Kansas (1856) to the eve of secession (December 1860) and other than the Illinois senatorial campaign of 1858, the Lincoln speeches of 1858 and 1859, and the presidential election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln appears only as a minor character.
However, Mssrs. Nicolay and Hay provide an excellent account of the slow and steady march towards secession, centering on the split of the Democratic Party between the respective supporters of Stephen Douglas and James Buchanan. Neither comes out with any kind of positive reputation, although Buchanan gets the worst of it as an ineffective chief executive with a cabinet full of traitors to the Union (John Floyd, I'm looking at you). John Brown is also singled out for particular scorn, and Hay's and Nicolay's descriptions provide an excellent window into how Brown was viewed by his post-contemporaries of the late 19th century.
All of this so completely contradicts the "Lost Cause" narrative and deserves extra consideration because of its close proximity in time to the actual events. As such, the second volume continued to live up to — and exceed — my expectations and I will repeat my fervent recommendation for anyone who is passionate about American history to include this in her/his readings.
May 9, 2016
AUDIOBOOK. I recently got an mp3 player so I will be posting mostly audiobooks. I am working on several hardcopy books but this audiobook from Librivox only took maybe a handful of days. Pretty much each chapter was a different voice over talent, which helped break up the monotony every 30 or 40ish minutes so that helped I believe. The story was what was going on in Congress pre-Civil War, and Lincoln's rivalry with Douglas. By the end of it my mind was glossed over so I am not exactly sure how it ends, but ball parking it was right as South Carolina was succeeding the Union. I loved how I got so many speeches and letters not only from Lincoln but also his allies and his enemies. While most of the names were foreign to me, some I recognized such as Douglas, John Calhoun, and Jefferson Davis. This audiobook served it's purpose to me; it laid a foundation for further study, introducing me to the ideology of the time period. If you like history then I would consider listening to this one free on Librivox.
May 14, 2021
This book continues the amazing story of Lincoln’s election and the conspiracy of disunion and the treachery of political leaders in the South, in the Buchanan administration, and in the Democrat party as a whole. The applications to our contemporary situation is startling. Can’t wait to start Volume Three!
March 21, 2026
Interesting history and perspective on Southern secession.
September 5, 2011
The last few chapters is an excellent look at the Buchanan administration in the months leading up to secession.
March 23, 2016
This was an audio book from LibriVox.
http://librivox.org/abraham-lincoln-a...
http://librivox.org/abraham-lincoln-a...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews