“A masterwork [by] the preeminent historian of the Civil War era.”—Boston Globe Selected as a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review, this landmark work gives us a definitive account of Lincoln's lifelong engagement with the nation's critical issue: American slavery. A master historian, Eric Foner draws Lincoln and the broader history of the period into perfect balance. We see Lincoln, a pragmatic politician grounded in principle, deftly navigating the dynamic politics of antislavery, secession, and civil war. Lincoln's greatness emerges from his capacity for moral and political growth.
"This guide lists the numerous examples of government documents, manuscripts, books, photographs, recordings and films in the collections of the Library of Congress which examine African-American life. Works by and about African-Americans on the topics of slavery, music, art, literature, the military, sports, civil rights and other pertinent subjects are discussed"--
Ladies and Gentlemen: An earnest espousal of the Anti-Slavery cause for a quarter of a century, under circumstances which have served in a special manner to identify my name and labours with it, will shield me from the charge of egotism, in assuming to be its exponent—at least for myself—on this occasion. All that I can compress within the limits of a single lecture, by way of its elucidation, it shall be my aim to accomplish. I will make a clean breast of it. You shall know all that is in my heart pertaining to Slavery, its supporters, and apologists.
'I am a woman's rights. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I am as strong as any man that is now' A former slave and one of the most powerful orators of her time, Sojourner Truth fought for the equal rights of Black women throughout her life. This selection of her impassioned speeches is accompanied by the words of other inspiring African-American female campaigners from the nineteenth century. One of twenty new books in the bestselling Penguin Great Ideas series. This new selection showcases a diverse list of thinkers who have helped shape our world today, from anarchists to stoics, feminists to prophets, satirists to Zen Buddhists.
Winner 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.
Excerpt from No Slave-Hunting in the Old Bay State: Speech of Wendell Phillips, Esq., Before the Committee on Federal Relation, in Support of the Petitions Asking for a Law to Prevent the Recapture of Fugitive Slaves, in the Hall of the House of Representatives, Thursday, February 17, 1859 As to the doubt whether that petition represents the public sentiment of the State, you know, gentle men, as well as I do, that it does represent it. You know as well as I do - and you do not need our evi dence to assure you of the fact - that you cannot find one respectable man in a hundred who is ready to look his fellow-citizens in the face, and declare, 'i mean to help the slave-hunter in catching his slave.' Let some trading othee-seeker or shameless hound say so, and the universal shrinking and loathing of the community show in what an infinite minority he stands. You know that when, bolstered by office, tempted by salary, or bribed by ambition, here and there one man can be found ready to say, I should like to see a slave-hunt, and join in it; the Fugitive Slave Bill ought to be executed - you know well that, bred in Massachusetts, and vaunting himself as loud ly as he may, not one in ten can stand fire, but when you bring him face to face with a fugitive slave, he shrinks from his own principles. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Dismantling Slavery addresses two giants of abolition, Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. While underscoring the evolution of abolitionist discourse, Dismantling Slavery unveils the true nature of the friendship between Douglass and Garrison, a key ingredient often overlooked by scholars. Drawing on the writings, speeches, and experiences that shaped the two as abolitionists, Nilgün Anadolu-Okur investigates the ways in which abolitionist discourse was shaped and put to the purposes of moral and democratic reforms. Anadolu-Okur also details significant developments that occurred in tandem among other abolitionists and activists of the era, making for a compelling account of this pivotal decade in American history, up until the dissolution of Garrison and Douglass's partnership. -- Adapted from the publisher's description.
