Abraham Lincoln: The Gettysburg Speech A

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Cosimo, Inc., Dec 1, 2005 - History - 196 pages
Old as history is, and manifold as are its tragedies, I doubt if any death has caused so much pain to mankind as this has caused, or will cause, on its announcement; and this, not so much because nations are by modern arts brought so closely together, as because of the mysterious hopes and fears which, in the present day, are connected with the name and institutions of America.-from Ralph Waldo Emerson's remarks at Lincoln's funeral, April 19, 1865Here, in one compact volume, is an extraordinary tribute to the life and legacy of one of the greatest presidents in United States history. Abraham Lincoln's (1809-1865) own words stand as powerful testimony to his wisdom and leadership: here you'll find his famous Gettysburg Address, both inaugural addresses, the Emancipation Proclamation, a selection of correspondence, his last public speech, and other notable papers. Also included are: .an 1891 essay by Carl Schurz (1829-1906), a prominent and trusted member of the Lincoln administration, a loving but un-idealized acclamation of the man and his work that delves into the deep sense of morality and prodigious intellect that informed his presidency.a stirring and emotional 1864 defense of Lincoln's prosecution of the Civil War by his friend, poet James Russell Lowell (1819-1891).Ralph Waldo Emerson's (1803-1882) eulogy of Lincoln.poetry in honor of the fallen president by Lowell, John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver Wendall Holmes, and Walt Whitman.Written by those who knew him, loved him, and witnessed his dramatic impact on United States during its most perilous crisis, this collection offers us the invaluable perspective of his contemporaries and the beginnings of the towering image we have of Abraham Lincoln today.

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Contents

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CARL SCHURZ
5
ABRAHAM LINCOLN BY CARL SCHURZ 蠱
11
ABRAHAM LINCOLN REMARKS AT THE FUNERAL SERVICES
77
THE EMANCIPATION GROUP BY JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER 84
86
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Page 42 - I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.
Page 45 - Again, if the United States be not a government proper, but an association of States in the nature of contract merely, can it as a contract be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who made it? One party to a contract may violate it — break it, so to speak; but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it...
Page 78 - Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented.
Page 36 - I do not expect the Union to be dissolved, I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in...
Page 78 - On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it — all sought to avert it.
Page 80 - Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth...
Page 78 - The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.
Page 91 - Nature, they say,. doth dote, And cannot make a man Save on some worn-out plan, Repeating us by rote: For him her Old- World moulds aside she threw, And, choosing sweet clay from the breast Of the unexhausted West, With stuff untainted shaped a hero new, Wise, steadfast in the strength of God, and true.
Page 82 - Now, my friends, can this country be saved upon that basis? If it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest men in the world if I can help to save it. If it cannot be saved upon that principle, it will be truly awful. But if this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle, I was about to say I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it Now, in my view of the present aspect of affairs, there need be no bloodshed or war.

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