Berlin Public Library

The political life of Abraham Lincoln, Sidney Blumenthal

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

individual biography

illustrations

index present

non fiction

The political life of Abraham Lincoln

bibliography

883146704

Sidney Blumenthal

"A multi-volume history of Lincoln as a political genius; from his obscure beginnings to his presidency, assassination, and the overthrow of his post-Civil War dreams of Reconstruction. The first volume traces Lincoln from his painful youth, describing himself as 'a slave,' to his emergence as the man we recognize as Abraham Lincoln. From his youth as a 'newsboy,' a voracious newspaper reader, Lincoln became a free thinker, reading Tom Paine, as well as Shakespeare and the Bible, and studying Euclid to sharpen his arguments as a lawyer. Lincoln's anti-slavery thinking began in his childhood amidst the Primitive Baptist antislavery dissidents in backwoods Kentucky and Indiana, the roots of his repudiation of Southern Christian pro-slavery theology. Intensely ambitious, he held political aspirations from his earliest years. Obsessed with Stephen Douglas, his political rival, he battled him for decades. Successful as a circuit lawyer, Lincoln built his team of loyalists. Blumenthal reveals how Douglas and Jefferson Davis acting together made possible Lincoln's rise. Blumenthal describes a socially awkward suitor who had a nervous breakdown over his inability to deal with the opposite sex. His marriage to the upper class Mary Todd was crucial to his social aspirations and his political career. Blumenthal portrays Mary as an asset to her husband, a rare woman of her day with strong political opinions. He discloses the impact on Lincoln's anti-slavery convictions when handling his wife's legal case to recover her father's fortune in which he discovered her cousin was a slave. Blumenthal's robust portrayal is based on prodigious research of Lincoln's record and of the period and its main players. It reflects both Lincoln's time and the struggle that consumes our own political debate";, Provided by publisher

Volume 1. 1809-1849. A self made man -- Volume 2. 1849-1856. Wrestling with his angel -- Volume 3. 1856-1860. All the powers of Earth --v. 1. A self-made man. Timeline ; Cast of characters ; The slave ; The reader ; The age of reason ; The slasher ; Paradise lost ; Old man eloquent ; The Springfield Lyceum ; The rivals ; The romance ; The prophet ; The duelist ; Coup d'état ; Infidels ; Great expectations ; Ranchero Spotty ; The hayseed ; The firm ; The spoils ; A hundred keys -- v. 2. Wrestling with his angel. White Negroes ; The Civil War of Old Rough and Ready ; The art of the deal ; The consequence of peace ; What is to be done ; A hero's welcome ; The making of a dark horse ; The victory march of Old Fuss and Feathers ; The death of Henry Clay ; The waterloo of the Whigs ; The acting President of the United States ; I, Thomas Hart Benton ; The triumph of the F Street mess ; A self-evident lie ; Citizen know nothing ; The conquest of Kansas ; Imperialism, the highest stage of slavery ; Armed liberty ; The failure of free society ; The blood of the Revolution ; Senator Lincoln ; The Republican ; Destiny and power --v.3. All the powers of Earth. Timeline of major events ; Cast of major characters ; Things fall apart ; Vaulting ambition ; The spirit of violence ; War to the knife ; The puritan as prophet ; Cyclops ; A voice from the grave ; The harlot slavery ; The assassination of Charles Sumner ; Arguments of the chivalry ; Exterminating angel ; Democracy in America ; Creation ; Miss Fancy ; The forbidden word ; Vice President Lincoln ; The birther campaign ; The great awakening ; The white man ; All the powers of Earth ; The wizard of Mississippi ; The unmasking of the president ; A house divided ; The higher object ; The moral lights ; The phoenix ; Icarus ; This guilty land ; Witch Hunt ; Right makes might ; Walpurgisnacht ; The railsplitter ; The wigwam ; A fallen star ; Wide-awake