"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 36
Page 1
... Confederate States of America stood proud and defiant as an indepen- dent nation whose existence flouted the pretense of Union . Most Euro- pean statesmen assumed that it was merely a matter of time until Lincoln recognized the ...
... Confederate States of America stood proud and defiant as an indepen- dent nation whose existence flouted the pretense of Union . Most Euro- pean statesmen assumed that it was merely a matter of time until Lincoln recognized the ...
Page 2
... Confederate rebellion succeeded in its effort to sever the United States , popular government would be swept into the dustbin of history . The next time a disaffected minority lost a presidential election , as Southern Rights Democrats ...
... Confederate rebellion succeeded in its effort to sever the United States , popular government would be swept into the dustbin of history . The next time a disaffected minority lost a presidential election , as Southern Rights Democrats ...
Page 5
... Confederate cause . " 7 We must not overgeneralize from such examples . A simple dichotomy between British liberals who admired American democracy and supported the Union , and conservatives who detested both , simplifies a complex ...
... Confederate cause . " 7 We must not overgeneralize from such examples . A simple dichotomy between British liberals who admired American democracy and supported the Union , and conservatives who detested both , simplifies a complex ...
Page 6
... Confederacy . The French liberal Edgar Quinet exaggerated only slightly when he wrote from exile in Switzerland in 1862 that Napo- leon's purpose was " to weaken or destroy Democracy in the United States because in order for Napoleonic ...
... Confederacy . The French liberal Edgar Quinet exaggerated only slightly when he wrote from exile in Switzerland in 1862 that Napo- leon's purpose was " to weaken or destroy Democracy in the United States because in order for Napoleonic ...
Page 7
... Confederate success " would be a victory for the powers of evil which would give courage to the enemies of progress and damp the spirits of its friends all over the civilized world .... [ The American war ] is destined to be a turning ...
... Confederate success " would be a victory for the powers of evil which would give courage to the enemies of progress and damp the spirits of its friends all over the civilized world .... [ The American war ] is destined to be a turning ...
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 |
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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.