Many African Americans of the Civil War era felt a personal connection to Abraham Lincoln. For the first time in their lives, an occupant of the White House seemed concerned about the welfare of their race. Indeed, despite the tremendous injustice and discrimination that they faced, African Americans now had confidence to write to the president and to seek redress of their grievances. Their letters express the dilemmas, doubts, and dreams of both recently enslaved and free people in the throes of dramatic change. For many, writing Lincoln was a last resort. Yet their letters were often full of determination, making explicit claims to the rights of U.S. citizenship in a wide range of circumstances. This compelling collection presents more than 120 letters from African Americans to Lincoln, most of which have never before been published. They offer unflinching, intimate, and often heart-wrenching portraits of Black soldiers' and civilians' experiences in wartime. As readers continue to think critically about Lincoln's image as the "Great Emancipator," this book centers African Americans' own voices to explore how they felt about the president and how they understood the possibilities and limits of the power vested in the federal government.
WINNER, Russell P. Strange Memorial Book of the Year Award from the Illinois State Historical Society, 2020! A vital lifeline to home during the Civil War, the letters of soldiers to their families and friends remain a treasure for those seeking to connect with and understand the most turbulent period of American history. Rather than focus on the experiences of a few witnesses, this impressively researched book documents 165 Illinois Civil War soldiers’ and sailors’ lives through the lens of their personal letters. Editor Mark Flotow chose a variety of letter writers who hailed from counties throughout the state, served in different branches of the military at different ranks, and represented the gamut of social experiences and war outcomes. Flotow provides extensive quotations from the letters. By allowing the soldiers to speak for themselves, he captures what mattered most to them. Illinois soldiers wrote about their reasons for enlisting; the nature of training and duties; necessities like eating, sleeping, marching, and making the best of often harsh and chaotic circumstances; Southern culture; slavery; their opinions of commanding officers and the president; disease, medicine, and hospitals; their prisoner-of-war experiences; and the ways they left the army. Through letters from afar, many soldiers sought to manage their homes and farms, while some single men attempted to woo their sweethearts. Flotow includes brief biographies for each soldier quoted in the book, weaves historical context and analysis with the letters, and organizes them by topic. Thus, intimate details cited in individual letters reveal their significance for those who lived and shaped this tumultuous era. The result is not only insightful history but also compelling reading.
Despite the most meager of formal educations, Lincoln had a tremendous intellectual curiosity that drove him into the circle of Enlightenment philosophy and democratic political ideology. And from these, Lincoln developed a set of political convictions that guided him throughout his life and his presidency. This compilation of ten essays from Lincoln scholar Allen C. Guelzo uncovers the hidden sources of Lincoln’s ideas and examines the beliefs that directed his career and brought an end to slavery and the Civil War.
Excerpt from Letter to Abraham Lincoln This reprint of Mr. Manton marble's letter to the late President of the United States is made entirely Without the author's knowledge, being undertaken at the instance and expense of gentlemen, two-thirds of whom do not belong to the political party with which Mr. Marble is connected, and who do not even enjoy the pleasure of his acquaintance. As a frank, fearless and manly protest against a gross act of tyranny, it deserves to be read by the descendants of those men who forced a king of England to respect the rights and liberties of his people; as a calm, forcible and logical argument against oppression, it is worthy to be placed side by side with Mr. John Stuart Mill's essay on liberty; as a model of English composition, it is fit to be studied by all those who wish to use their native language courteously, but yet with the vigor which a righteous cause is so well calculated to give. 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.
Despite the most meager of formal educations, Lincoln had a tremendous intellectual curiosity that drove him into the circle of Enlightenment philosophy and democratic political ideology. And from these, Lincoln developed a set of political convictions that guided him throughout his life and his presidency. This compilation of ten essays from Lincoln scholar Allen C. Guelzo uncovers the hidden sources of Lincoln’s ideas and examines the beliefs that directed his career and brought an end to slavery and the Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln can be a challenging exercise for, from a historical perspective, he emerges as an extraordinary individual--one who was clearly many things to many people. The most comprehensive portrait of noteworthy public figures can generally be seen in their personal letters and journal entries. Lincoln's wartime correspondence is no exception, and the letters he penned to his Civil War generals--through one of the most critical episodes in American history--are of singular importance. While Abraham Lincoln is responsible for a significant body of correspondence, this is the first time an editor has focused principally on the strategic and analytical comments to His Generals during the course of the American Civil War. Interpreting the thoughts and actions of Abraham Lincoln can be a challenging exercise, for he was clearly many things to many people. Precisely because of this complexity, he has become so much a part of America's ongoing search for itself, so deeply entwined in the tapestry of American history, that in many instances succeeding generations have been largely unable to picture him clearly and objectively in his own life and times. The selected pieces are specifically directed to Lincoln's observations on command and military operations, topics that have not been singularly addressed in previous Lincoln books. My intention is twofold: first, to add to the body of literature exploring leadership and governance during the American Civil War; and, secondly, and perhaps more importantly, to provide an additional glimpse into the character and thought processes of Abraham Lincoln as president and commander-in-chief. The letters collectively provide a unique glimpse into the character and thought processes of Lincoln as a military commander. Lincoln was not a natural strategist. He worked hard to master the subject, just as he had done to become a lawyer. Still, despite being forced to learn the functions of a commander-in-chief on the job, he demonstrates an oftentimes striking understanding of the issues. And, whether the subject might be a general memorandum of military policy, a reflection on the sentencing of a deserter, or pressing the attack on Confederate forces, he writes with remarkable clarity, insight, and concise eloquence. This text is both a comprehensive reference resource and a unique supplement to the existing literature. The original written communications, which succeeding generations of historians have repeatedly cited as the basis for the interpretation of events or conclusions of fact, are reproduced in their entirety. While more recent Lincoln books--Generals in Blue and Gray (Jones); Lincoln's Generals (Boritt); Lincoln and his Generals (Williams); and Lincoln on War (Holzer); among others--offer either general or specific examinations of selected aspects of Lincoln's presidency, any correspondence is usually treated as brief excerpts that may be cited out of context, or incorrectly interpreted by the reader. Here, by contrast, the format of the selected letters, as Lincoln wrote them, is preserved whenever possible, and they are presented for the interest of a general readership as well as for students of military, cultural, or political history. The addressees are identified, particularly those who have been lost to history, and, where indicated, explanatory notes are provided to assist the reader in placing the correspondence in its particular historical, political, or conceptual context. Readers are encouraged to arrive at their own conclusions as to the intention of a specific piece of correspondence.
Widely considered in his own time as a genial but provincial lightweight who was out of place in the presidency, Abraham Lincoln astonished his allies and confounded his adversaries by producing a series of speeches and public letters so provocative that they helped revolutionize public opinion on such critical issues as civil liberties, the use of black soldiers, and the emancipation of slaves. This is a brilliant and unprecedented examination of how Lincoln used the power of words to not only build his political career but to keep the country united during the Civil War.
