The author, a Lincoln scholar offers a fresh definition of Lincoln as a man of integrity--what today's commentators would call "authenticity"--whose moral compass holds the key to understanding his life. Through meticulous research of the newly completed Lincoln Legal Papers, as well as of recently discovered letters and photographs, he provides a portrait of Lincoln's personal, political, and moral evolution. He shows us Lincoln as a man who would...

As the United States marks the 150th anniversary of our defining national drama, the author, a historian presents an original account of how the Civil War began. 1861 is an epic of courage and heroism beyond the battlefields. Early in that fateful year, a second American revolution unfolded, inspiring a new generation to reject their parents' faith in compromise and appeasement, to do the unthinkable in the name of an ideal. It set Abraham Lincoln...

There is no greater symbol of the American presidency than Abraham Lincoln. Though, Lincoln himself, his personality, the sources of his dedication and his idealism, remains very much a mystery. The sudden rise to world stature of a hard-traveling lawyer from the frontier, with no prominent family or social connections to back him, was a wonder of the age. Well over a thousand books about Lincoln have been written and still the enigma remains, perhaps...

What did Abraham Lincoln envision when he talked about "reconstruction?" Assassinated in 1865, the president did not have a chance to begin the work of reconciling the North and South, nor to oversee Reconstruction as an official postwar strategy. Yet his final speech, given to thousands gathered in the rain outside the White House on April 11, 1865, gives a clear indication of what Lincoln's postwar policy might have looked like-one that differed...

Chronicles how Americans responded to the changes unleashed by the Civil War and the end of slavery.

In Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America, historian William Gienapp provides a remarkably concise, up-to-date, and vibrant biography of the most revered figure in United States history. While the heart of the book focuses on the Civil War, Gienapp begins with a finely etched portrait of Lincoln's early life, from pioneer farm boy to politician and lawyer in Springfield, to his stunning election as sixteenth president of the United States. Students...

Discover the clever plan behind Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and learn how it freed the first slaves.

At the beginning of 1864, the Civil War was far from won; terrible and bloody Union setbacks and casualties lay ahead. Abraham Lincoln was facing a re-election battle as some northern Democrats were ready to start peace talks that could leave the Confederacy a separate slaveholding American nation and as his secretary of the treasury, Salmon P. Chase, challenged him for the Republican nomination. But by the end of the year, the war's end was in sight,...

"Describes the life, presidency, and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Includes "Did You Know?" and "Issue Spotlight" features"-- Provided by publisher.