Lincoln's Speeches ReconsideredOriginally published in 2005. Throughout the fractious years of the mid-nineteenth century, Abraham Lincoln's speeches imparted reason and guidance to a troubled nation. Lincoln's words were never universally praised. But they resonated with fellow legislators and the public, especially when he spoke on such volatile subjects as mob rule, temperance, the Mexican War, slavery and its expansion, and the justice of a war for freedom and union. In this close examination, John Channing Briggs reveals how the process of studying, writing, and delivering speeches helped Lincoln develop the ideas with which he would so profoundly change history. Briggs follows Lincoln's thought process through a careful chronological reading of his oratory, ranging from Lincoln's 1838 speech to the Springfield Lyceum to his second inaugural address. Recalling David Herbert Donald's celebrated revisionist essays (Lincoln Reconsidered, 1947), Briggs's study provides students of Lincoln with new insight into his words, intentions, and image. |
From inside the book
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... never universally praised . But they resonated with fellow legislators and more and more with the public as he spoke on such volatile subjects as mob rule , temperance , the Mexican War , slavery and its expansion , and the justice of a ...
... never, at any time, did anything for dramatic effect, and his mental processes were furtive and secret.”6 Lincoln devoted himself to making good arguments that eschewed mere show; but he did not display his deeper purposes: “Mr. Lincoln ...
... never , at any time , did anything for dramatic effect , and his mental processes were furtive and secret ... never sawed the air nor rent space into tatters and rags as some orators do . He never acted for stage effect . He was cool ...
... never a class that has charged its representatives with asserting its interests , it is always to the whole nation in the name of the whole nation that one speaks . That enlarges thought and elevates language . As precedents have little ...
... never dishonest " and to wonder " how honesty can be useful . " New rules of effective political speech would have to be discovered . Orators would need to find a new way to speak to their audiences ' convictions and self - interest ...
Contents
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29 | |
The Temperance Address | 58 |
The Speech on the War with Mexico | 82 |
The Eulogy for Henry Clay | 113 |
The KansasNebraska Speech | 134 |
The House Divided Speech | 164 |
The Milwaukee Address | 195 |
Thorough Farming and SelfGovernment | 221 |
The Cooper Union Address | 237 |
Presidential Eloquence and Political Religion | 257 |
The Farewell Address | 281 |
The First Inaugural the Gettysburg Address | 297 |
POSTSCRIPT The Letter to Mrs Bixby | 328 |
Index | 363 |