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Lincoln Paperback – November 5, 1996
| David Herbert Donald (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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Donald brilliantly depicts Lincoln’s gradual ascent from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the ever-expanding political circles in Illinois, and finally to the presidency of a country divided by civil war. Donald goes beyond biography, illuminating the gradual development of Lincoln’s character, chronicling his tremendous capacity for evolution and growth, thus illustrating what made it possible for a man so inexperienced and so unprepared for the presidency to become a great moral leader. In the most troubled of times, here was a man who led the country out of slavery and preserved a shattered Union—in short, one of the greatest presidents this country has ever seen.
- Print length720 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSimon & Schuster
- Publication dateNovember 5, 1996
- Dimensions6.13 x 1.3 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-10068482535X
- ISBN-13978-0684825359
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From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Harold Holzer Chicago Tribune "Lincoln immediately takes its place among the best of the genre, and it is unlikely that it will be surpassed in elegance, incisiveness and originality in this century. . . . A book of investigative tenacity, interpretive boldness and almost acrobatic balance."
James M. McPherson The Atlantic Monthly "Eagerly awaited, Lincoln fulfills expectations. Donald writes with lucidity and elegance."
David W. Blight Los Angeles Times "A one-volume study of Lincoln's life that will augment and replace the previous modern standards by Benjamin Thomas (1953) and Stephen Oates (1977). Donald's Lincoln is a scholarly achievement."
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Product details
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster; 1st edition (November 5, 1996)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 720 pages
- ISBN-10 : 068482535X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0684825359
- Item Weight : 2.06 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.13 x 1.3 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #24,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Civil War Gettysburg History
- #17 in Theatre Biographies
- #17 in U.S. Abolition of Slavery History
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The fact of the matter is that, if you are a conservative today and your Great Great Grandfather was conservative 150 years ago, you are likely a Republican, but 150 years ago your conservative Grandpa was very likely a registered Democrat
Because strangely, after over a century, America's two major political parties gradually reversed identities, like the magnetic poles of Planet Earth switching direction.
When the Republican Party was formed in 1856, it was fiercely liberal, trusting of a bigger government, opposing the expansion of slavery, calling for more spending on public education, seeking more open immigration and the like. Compassionate Abraham Lincoln suited this new party's progressive agenda. Why, there are political cartoons from the days of Lincoln's administration depicting him as a week-kneed grandmotherly figure being hit upon for relief by every minority and underdog in the country, they all are lining up behind him and he is granting their every request; old Abe, the original bleeding heart sucker! This was the message of these cartoons, and the conservative cartoon-artist who drew it knew many people would see him this way also. (I have seen some modern political cartoons depicting President Obama in a very similar manner).
But in that era, Democrats were conservatives, partly dominated by the slave-holding South. Those old-style Democrats generally opposed any government action to create jobs or help underdogs.
Through the latter half of the 19th century, the pattern of Republicans as liberals, Democrats as conservatives, generally held true. In 1888, the GOP elected President Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) on a liberal platform seeking more social services.
Then in 1896, a reversal began when Democrats nominated populist firebrand William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), "the Great Commoner."
"He was the first liberal to win the Democratic Party presidential nomination," political scholar Rich Rubino wrote. "This represented a radical departure from the conservative roots of the Democratic Party."
Meanwhile, this progressive Republican party began shifting to a more conservative platform. Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) - a vice president who took the top office after William McKinley was assassinated in 1901 - was a "Republican" in a time when the two parties stood for many different things than they do today. He was a "Republican" who supported a "Square Deal" for working families. He broke up monopolistic trusts of rich corporations. He championed pure food and drugs. He created national parks and forests for the enjoyment of everyone. He won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for helping end war between Russia and Japan. His major Right wing position comes from his enthusiasm for America to go to war, to gain whatever territory or resource possible almost for the United States; he was a Hawk. But this was long ago, before either of the World Wars. It was not as strange for a progressive to have these feelings in those times, when we were still fairly low on the totem-pole.
After leaving office, Roosevelt felt that his successor, William Howard Taft (1857-1930), was leading America too far to the right. So T.R. challenged Taft for the Republican nomination in 1912, and lost. In rebellion, Roosevelt gathered his liberal delegates and formed the 'Progressive Party', with a bold platform bordering on socialism.
The new-formed party called for universal medical care under a National Health Service. It sought government pensions for retirees, plus compensation for the jobless and disabled. It demanded an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage for women. It sought a constitutional amendment to allow a federal income tax. It supported voting by women, more freedom for workers to organize and strike, inheritance tax on rich estates, worker's compensation for on-the-job injuries, and many other left-wing goals.
The Progressive platform attacked big-money influence in politics, vowing "to destroy this invisible government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics."
Roosevelt was a fiery orator and writer, saying: "I believe that there should be a very much heavier progressive tax on very large incomes, a tax which should increase in a very marked fashion for the gigantic incomes."
While Roosevelt was campaigning in Milwaukee in 1912, a crazed assassin, John Schrank - who claimed that the ghost of William McKinley asked him to avenge McKinley's death by killing Roosevelt - shot the Progressive candidate in the chest. The bullet was partly deflected by Roosevelt's 50-page speech and his steel eyeglasses case, but wounded him nonetheless. Bleeding, he continued to orate unfazed.
Later, when reporters asked if the wounding would deter his campaign, Roosevelt replied that he was "fit as a bull moose." Thereafter, his party was dubbed the 'Bull Moose Party'.
Progressives won about one-fourth of the 1912 popular vote, and Democrat Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) attained the presidency. In 1916, Roosevelt declined the Progressive nomination, and the liberal party he created soon disintegrated.
In a sense, Teddy Roosevelt was the last major Republican liberal. Ensuing decades saw the GOP grow steadily more conservative, and Democrats acquire the liberal mantle. When the Great Depression struck, the "New Deal" of Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), Theodore's nephew-in-law, achieved landmark progressive reforms.
In the 1960s, the "Great Society" of Democrat Lyndon Johnson (1908- 1973) vastly expanded the public safety net and gave legal equality to African-Americans - driving racist Dixie out of the Democratic Party, into the "GOP".
Then Republican President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) mobilized the "religious right" of white evangelicals for his party. Later, extreme white conservatives calling themselves "tea party" militants emerged in the "GOP".
All this outlines America's political flipflop - how the liberal, Civil War era Republican Party gradually turned conservative, and how the conservative Democratic Party turned liberal. It was a fascinating transition. The delicate balance of power demands that it happens from time to time, and it will probably happen yet again. And I am not insisting that this is all 100% accurate, but it is the way that I see that it happened. I may have been in error in some instances, but I am correct that Lincoln was a liberal (as were William Seward, Charles Sumner, Salmon Chase, etc) and that the parties have switched positions since the 1800s
Throughout the book, reputation of Lincoln as "Honest Abe" and fair minded person comes through again and again. One particular item I was not aware of during my years of reading on Lincoln is his handling of American Indian uprising in Minnesota. The book revels that military tribunal had condemned 303 captured Sioux to die. Lincoln tries to delegate state judicial system to takeover but is advised that power cannot be delegated. He asks for the entire list with detailed charges. He goes through each name in detail. He comes up with names of 39 of the 303 that should die. He writes each of their names in his own handwriting and telegraphs them to military. He warns the telegraph operator to be extra careful since a slight error can send the wrong man to his death. This illustrates a noble man with best of the human instincts.
Some minor suggestions for future edition. And epilogue covering may be 5 to 10 years after Lincoln's death would have been nice. As is the book abruptly ends with his death.
An appendix of may be 4 or 5 of the major Lincoln speeches or correspondences would complete the book.
I'd never realized the political tightrope he navigated during his first presidential term as he struggled to hold the union together while at the same time balancing the differing political priorities of his senior advisors and members of his cabinet.
For those today who insist that the Civil War was about state's rights, this book makes it absolutely clear that the root cause of the war was slavery.
It's fascinating to see how Lincoln's beliefs about African Americans evolved over the years. From his early years when he supported settling the freed slaves in their own independent country, to the end of his life when he came to believe that the freed men deserved to be fully franchised citizens of the United States, Herbert does an excellent job of showing how and why his beliefs evolved.
This is not a fast read, but it is a very interesting book. I strongly recommend it for anyone who is interested in the history of the USA or who follows national politics. It is very relevant today in light of all the political debate about Black Lives Matter.
This book will stay with me for a long time and has made me even more of an admirer of Lincoln, the president and the man.
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This deserves five stars for all aspects of this transaction.
Book arrived quite quickly ,it was well priced and in excellent condition ( Good as new ) .
Looking forward to read it and it is my collectable item and very pleased to have it .



