Adopting a new approach to an American icon, an award-winning
scholar reexamines the life of Abraham Lincoln to demonstrate how
his remarkable political acumen and leadership skills evolved
during the intense partisan conflict in pre-Civil War Illinois. By
describing Lincoln's rise from obscurity to the presidency, William
Harris shows that Lincoln's road to political success was far from
easy--and that his reaction to events wasn't always wise or his
racial attitudes free of prejudice.
Although most scholars have labeled Lincoln a moderate, Harris
reveals that he was by his own admission a conservative who revered
the Founders and advocated "adherence to the old and tried." By
emphasizing the conservative bent that guided Lincoln's political
evolution-his background as a Henry Clay Whig, his rural ties, his
cautious nature, and the racial and political realities of central
Illinois--Harris provides fresh insight into Lincoln's political
ideas and activities and portrays him as morally opposed to slavery
but fundamentally conservative in his political strategy against
it.
Interweaving aspects of Lincoln's life and character that were
an integral part of his rise to prominence, Harris provides
in-depth coverage of Lincoln's controversial term in Congress, his
re-emergence as the leader of the antislavery coalition in
Illinois, and his Senate campaign against Stephen A.Douglas. He
particularly describes how Lincoln organized the antislavery
coalition into the Republican Party while retaining the support of
its diverse elements, and sheds new light on Lincoln's ongoing
efforts to bring Know Nothing nativists into the coalition without
alienating ethnic groups. He also provides new information and
analysis regarding Lincoln's nomination and election to the
presidency, the selection of his cabinet, and his important role as
president-elect during the secession crisis of 1860-1861.
Challenging prevailing views, Harris portrays Lincoln as
increasingly driven not so much by his own ambitions as by his
antislavery sentiments and his fear for the republic in the hands
of Douglas Democrats, and he shows how the unique political skills
Lincoln developed in Illinois shaped his wartime leadership
abilities. By doing so, he opens a window on his political ideas
and influences and offers a fresh understanding of this complex
figure.
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