Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln PresidentWinner of the Lincoln Prize Lincoln at Cooper Union explores Lincoln's most influential and widely reported pre-presidential address -- an extraordinary appeal by the western politician to the eastern elite that propelled him toward the Republican nomination for president. Delivered in New York in February 1860, the Cooper Union speech dispelled doubts about Lincoln's suitability for the presidency and reassured conservatives of his moderation while reaffirming his opposition to slavery to Republican progressives. Award-winning Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer places Lincoln and his speech in the context of the times -- an era of racism, politicized journalism, and public oratory as entertainment -- and shows how the candidate framed the speech as an opportunity to continue his famous "debates" with his archrival Democrat Stephen A. Douglas on the question of slavery. Holzer describes the enormous risk Lincoln took by appearing in New York, where he exposed himself to the country's most critical audience and took on Republican Senator William Henry Seward of New York, the front runner, in his own backyard. Then he recounts a brilliant and innovative public relations campaign, as Lincoln took the speech "on the road" in his successful quest for the presidency. |
From inside the book
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... James A. Briggs wrote in the letter that accompanied his fee for lecturing at Cooper Union: Enclosed please find “check” for $200. I would that it were $200,000. for you are worthy of it. You “hit the nail on the head” here; & long ...
... James A. Briggs wrote in the letter that accompanied his fee for lecturing at Cooper Union: Enclosed please find “check” for $200. I would that it were $200,000. for you are worthy of it. You “hit the nail on the head” here; & long ...
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... James A. Briggs to Abraham Lincoln, February 29, 1860, Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress. I am grateful to the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, for providing the authoritative transcription, and ...
... James A. Briggs to Abraham Lincoln, February 29, 1860, Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress. I am grateful to the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, for providing the authoritative transcription, and ...
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... James H. Hackett on August 17, 1863, in which the president came close to boasting that “Some of Shakespeare's plays . . . I have gone over perhaps as frequently as any unprofessional reader.” See Collected Works, 6:392. 7. Noah Brooks ...
... James H. Hackett on August 17, 1863, in which the president came close to boasting that “Some of Shakespeare's plays . . . I have gone over perhaps as frequently as any unprofessional reader.” See Collected Works, 6:392. 7. Noah Brooks ...
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... James A. Briggs, one of a growing number of easterners convinced that the only way the party could win the White House was by nominating a westerner who could attract votes from both sides of the country. The overwhelming favorite for ...
... James A. Briggs, one of a growing number of easterners convinced that the only way the party could win the White House was by nominating a westerner who could attract votes from both sides of the country. The overwhelming favorite for ...
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... James A. Briggs, had written him once before, in the heat of the 1858 Illinois Senate race, and it is possible that Lincoln—blessed with a politician's best weapon, a superb memory—recalled the name. Concerned at that earlier date that ...
... James A. Briggs, had written him once before, in the heat of the 1858 Illinois Senate race, and it is possible that Lincoln—blessed with a politician's best weapon, a superb memory—recalled the name. Concerned at that earlier date that ...
Contents
Chapter Three Some Confusion in the Arrangements | |
Chapter Four Much the Best Portrait | |
Chapter Five Nothing Impressive About Him | |
Chapter Six The Strength of Absolute Simplicity | |
Epilogue | |
Acknowledgments | |
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Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech that Made Abraham Lincoln President Harold Holzer Limited preview - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
Abraham Lincoln Papers antislavery appearance applause Astor House audience Beecher believed Bowen Brady Brady’s Briggs Brooklyn campaign candidate Charles Chicago Collected Constitution convention Cooper Institute Cooper Union address Cooper Union speech copy crowd declared deliver Democrats Douglas Douglas’s East editor election Exeter fathers who framed February 27 federal territories framed the Government Frémont friends George George Haven Putnam Hall Hampshire Harper’s Harper’s Ferry Haven Henry Herndon Herndon’s Lincoln Ibid Illinois insisted invitation James John Brown Journal later lecture letter Library of Congress Lincoln-Douglas debates Lincoln’s Cooper Union Lincoln’s speech March Mason Brayman Mathew Brady McCormick never New-York newspaper nomination Nott orator original pamphlet photograph political popular sovereignty president presidential Press and Tribune printed prohibition published reported reprints Republican party Republican Union Robert Senate Seward slavery slaves South Southern speak speaker Springfield trip votes Ward Hill Lamon Washington White William H words York Tribune