"We Cannot Escape History": Lincoln and the Last Best Hope of EarthJames M. McPherson In "We Cannot Escape History" a remarkable group of top Lincoln and Civil War scholars come together to explore the meaning of Lincoln for the destiny of the United States. They focus on Lincoln's view of American history and on his legacy - for Americans and for the world. In the process they deepen the reader's understanding of and appreciation for the complexity of the problems Lincoln faced and for the genius of his leadership, which surmounted these obstacles and preserved the United States as one nation indivisible while purging it of slavery, which had marred the democratic and egalitarian promise of America from the beginning. The contributors develop themes including Lincoln's conception of the United States as the last best hope for the preservation of democratic government and a republican polity, his view of American history and its meaning, his international impact, Lincoln and slavery, Lincoln and the uses of political power, and Lincoln as commander-in-chief in time of war. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 67
Page
... government - 1849-1861 . 3. United States - Politics and government- Civil War , 1861-1865 . I. McPherson , James M. E457.8.W38 1995 973.7'092 - dc20 95-2279 CIP Contents Preface vii Introduction : Last Best Hope for What.
... government - 1849-1861 . 3. United States - Politics and government- Civil War , 1861-1865 . I. McPherson , James M. E457.8.W38 1995 973.7'092 - dc20 95-2279 CIP Contents Preface vii Introduction : Last Best Hope for What.
Page
... . GIENAPP 5 . The Civil War and the Two - Party System 86 MARK E. NEELY , JR . 6 . Avoid Saying " Foolish Things " : The Legacy of Lincoln's Impromptu Oratory 105 HAROLD HOLZER PART 3 : LINCOLN'S LEGACY 7 . What Is an.
... . GIENAPP 5 . The Civil War and the Two - Party System 86 MARK E. NEELY , JR . 6 . Avoid Saying " Foolish Things " : The Legacy of Lincoln's Impromptu Oratory 105 HAROLD HOLZER PART 3 : LINCOLN'S LEGACY 7 . What Is an.
Page 1
... Civil War re - United the States . This Introduction bookends Peterson's essay by analyzing the international impact of Lincoln and of America's internecine conflict during the 1860s . The Civil War shaped the destiny not only of ...
... Civil War re - United the States . This Introduction bookends Peterson's essay by analyzing the international impact of Lincoln and of America's internecine conflict during the 1860s . The Civil War shaped the destiny not only of ...
Page 3
... Civil War . That passion sustained them through four years of the bloodiest war in the Western world between 1815 and 1914. " We must fight , " insisted the Indianapolis Daily Journal on April 27 , 1861 , two weeks after the firing on ...
... Civil War . That passion sustained them through four years of the bloodiest war in the Western world between 1815 and 1914. " We must fight , " insisted the Indianapolis Daily Journal on April 27 , 1861 , two weeks after the firing on ...
Page 5
... Civil War in other countries . What we do know , however , finds conservatives outside Britain also expressing satisfaction with the failure of democracy . In 1862 a royal- ist Spanish journal , the Pansiemento Espanol , found it ...
... Civil War in other countries . What we do know , however , finds conservatives outside Britain also expressing satisfaction with the failure of democracy . In 1862 a royal- ist Spanish journal , the Pansiemento Espanol , found it ...
Contents
Lincoins History | 17 |
Lincolns Narrative of American Exceptionalism | 33 |
Emancipating the Republic Lincoln and the Means and Ends of Antislavery | 45 |
LINCOLNS LEADERSHIP | 61 |
Abraham Lincoln and Presidential Leadership | 63 |
The Civil War and the TwoParty System | 86 |
Avoid Saying Foolish Things The Legacy of Lincolns Impromptu Oratory | 105 |
LINCOLNS LEGACY | 125 |
What Is an American? Abraham Lincoln and Multiculturalism | 127 |
Abraham Lincoln Our EverPresent Contemporary | 139 |
The International Lincoln | 158 |
Contributors | 175 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Papers African Americans American Civil American Civil War American exceptionalism Boston Globe British cabinet coln Confederacy Confederate conflict Congress Constitution created equal crisis criticism culture Declaration of Independence delivered democracy Democrats Douglas Dred Scott effort election Emancipation Proclamation ethnic federal Francis Lieber George Gettysburg Address historians hope of earth House Divided Ibid idea ideals Illinois impromptu institutions issue James Jefferson Jefferson Davis June Kansas-Nebraska Act last best hope leaders leadership legislature liberals liberty Lincoln-Douglas Debates ment military Missouri multiculturalism narrative nation never North northern opinion Oxford University Press party political politicians popular president presidential principles quoted regiments Republic Republican resolutions role Seward slave slavery society southern speech Springfield Stampp Stephen Douglas Taney territories tion two-party system Union United victory Virginia Williams Collection vols voting Washington White House words wrote York
Popular passages
Page 2 - Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation.