Lincoln of Kentucky

Front Cover
University Press of Kentucky, Jan 1, 2000 - History - 305 pages
"Young Abraham Lincoln and his family joined the migration over the Ohio River, but it was Kentucky--the state of his birth--that shaped his personality and continued to affect his life. His wife was from the commonwealth, as were each of the other women with whom he had romantic relationships. Henry Clay was his political idol; Joshua Speed of Farmington, near Louisville, was his lifelong best friend; and all three of his law partners were Kentuckians. During the Civil War, Lincoln is reputed to have said, ""I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky."" He recognized Kentucky's importance as the bellwether of the four loyal slave states and accepted the commonwealth's illegal neutrality until Unionists secured firm control of the state government. Lowell Harrison emphasizes the particular skill and delicacy with which Lincoln handled the problems of a loyal slave state populated by a large number of Confederate sympathizers. It was not until decades later that Kentuckians fully recognized Lincoln's greatness and paid homage to their native son.

From inside the book

Contents

Lincoln in Kentuckys Memory
1
A Kentucky Boyhood
16
Kentuckians in Indiana
26
Kentuckians in Illinois
40
Lincoln and Romance
59
Lincoln and Slavery to 1854
78
The Gathering Storm
93
An Election a War and Kentuckys Neutrality
111
Lincoln and Military Operations in Kentucky
155
Wartime Politics in Kentucky
176
Lincoln and Wartime Issues in Kentucky
194
Lincoln Slavery and Kentucky
221
Notes
247
Bibliographical Essay
277
Index
287
Copyright

The War Enters Kentucky
139

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information