What Lincoln Believed: The Values and Convictions of America's Greatest President (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "IN 1863 THE democratic republic as a form of government was rare-and in danger of extinction..." (more)
Key Phrases: Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

People from across the political spectrum are embracing Lincoln in the ongoing debate over our 16th president's political philosophy. Several months after Mario Cuomo's Why Lincoln Matters: Today More Than Ever, political commentator Lind (The Next American Nation) endeavors with some success to disassemble Lincoln as a liberal icon and reclaim him as a hero for American conservatives. Lind argues that a raft of biographies written by left-wingers during FDR's New Deal identified Lincoln with a progressivism he would have found abhorrent. As Lind cogently points out, Lincoln repeatedly identified himself as a Henry Clay Whig. "Henry Clay had helped organize the Whig Party in opposition to Jackson, the hero of New Deal Democrats.... Cut off from his political predecessors, Lincoln was also separated from the Republican presidents who succeeded him, such as William McKinley and Herbert Hoover." Likewise, Lind quite correctly places Lincoln in the conservative Federalist tradition of Hamilton, Jay and Adams: men who worried about the tyranny of the majority and the risk to property inherent in democracy, and therefore sought to maintain democracy by building in limitations. Thus Lincoln as shown here remains the champion of government of the people, by the people and for the people—but with a few major asterisks.
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From Booklist

Liberal political writer Lind contributes a provocative viewpoint to the body of Lincoln commentary. Yet Lind's conclusions about the Great Emancipator's politics are not entirely novel: it's not news that Lincoln modeled himself after Henry Clay. Lind parses Lincoln's oeuvre and synthesizes his selections to shape Lincoln not as an original but as a legatee, albeit an exceptionally articulate one, of Clay's constitutional and economic vision of America. Clay's "American System" promoted protectionism, central banking, and subsidized transportation improvements. Lind maintains that dividing Lincoln from the Gilded Age that followed his death, including the imposition of racial segregation, is a misinterpretation of Lincoln's entire career. Lind's Lincoln is a white supremacist. Lind supports his theory by quoting Lincoln on colonizing American blacks abroad and, although he regards Lincoln's opposition to slavery as genuine, minimizes any sentiments indicating Lincoln was favorable toward civil rights for blacks. Ready for inevitable attacks from upholders of an "evolving" Lincoln, Lind presents his critics with evidence they must overcome. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (May 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385507399
• ISBN-13: 978-0385507394
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #426,417 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An unique view of Lincoln, June 26, 2005

By	John M. Lyons "Baseball Pack Rat" (Downingtown, Pa United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I enjoyed this book. The attempt to describe the character of Lincln in the context of his era was excellent, though I thought Lind at times got on his own soap box about race and how we as a country have been dealing with it. He does take Abe apart and bashs "historians" on their descriptions of him - who ever these "historians" are, but he also describes Abe in the global context on government theory - at the end Lind admits we were better off with Abe and with the diffcult situations he faced, the world and democracy couldn't have been in better hands.

This should be a must read for anyone who is studing Abe or political science. It provides an overview of Abe, his era, and the impact his decisions had on the world.

An excellent book - if the writer was able to avoid his soap book - I would have given it 5 stars.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-opening Analysis of Abe's Views on Race, October 2, 2005

By	Neil Cotiaux (North Canton, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"What Lincoln Believed" is part of a line of recent presidential biographies (Jefferson, Jackson) taking what some readers think is a hypercritical look at some of this country's leading political personalities. It's no exaggeration to say that "What Lincoln Believed" will, for many, be an eye-opener, especially those who haven't focused on our greatest president since high school.

While I had been familiar with some of Lincoln's motivations for the Emancipation Proclamation as well as his Free-Soil views, this remarkable work brought to light numerous other facets of Abe's views on slavery including the relative rights of "free" slaves (his support of the Black Laws) and various details of his support for black colonization in both Africa and the Caribbean.

While some reviewers believe author Lind went out of his way to excoriate Lincoln based on 20th Century views of race, my own belief is that he has very honestly widened the historical record on this shrewd, passionate and courageous man, ultimately paying him the highest tribute by comparing him to the leading figures of his day and explaining how Lincoln was the right man at the right time to preserve the Union and perpetuate the philosophical seeds of democratic republicanism - seeds that could easily have been cast aside as our nation continued to enter the world stage.

"What Lincoln Believed" will make you rethink some of your assumptions about a legendary figure, but you will close the book still knowing that our sixteenth president was the person America needed at its darkest hour.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lincoln As He Was, July 11, 2005

By	John R. Roberts - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Michael Lind's masterful political biography gives us the real Lincoln. No saint, he was a man whose views on race mirrored the Social Darwinism of his times. But Lincoln also believed deeply in American democracy. As Lind notes, without Lincoln the world would be a far different, and probably far worse, place than it is today. Lind's book is a great work of historical interpretation.