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From the Founder of the
Lincoln Institute
Lincoln "by littles"
by Lewis E. Lehrman |
Excerpts from Lincoln "by littles":
"Abraham Lincoln seldom got the chance to go to school. He went to school "by littles," he said, and received fewer than 12 months of schooling."
"In the untrammeled interior of the mind s eye, young Lincoln followed his unrestrained desire to explore new intellectual worlds, even the world of American history, of politics, of law. There, in the frictionless world of thought and fantasy, young Abraham Lincoln found the freedom, the vocation, the solace he yearned for, unshackled from the irremediable, unrequited, hard labor of farmer and village artisan."
"Mr. Lincoln made American politics not only a struggle for personal power and prestige, but instead, a campaign of just ideas, a battle of first principles, a vindication of right-minded policy."
"The self-tutored lawyer from Illinois could not understand those 'don't care' politicians, such as Senator Stephen A. Douglas, who pretended indifference to involuntary servitude."
"For Lincoln, there could be no retreat from the fundamental principles of the Declaration of Independence."
"Lincoln was ambitious to use government to good effect. Government, he said, should enable men and women to do the things they cannot do, or do so well, for themselves in order to develop their freedom, their future, and their country."
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From the Founder of the Lincoln Institute
Lincoln at Peoria
The Turning Point
by Lewis E. Lehrman |
Book review from author Jay Winik, from The National Review —
"Throughout Lincoln at Peoria, Lehrman shows a journalist's eye for the telling detail. [Stephen A] Douglas spoke with 'polished elegance' while Lincoln spoke with a 'thin, high-pitched' voice. Lehrman also demonstrates a scholar's appreciation for the ambiguities surrounding Lincoln. He quotes one womam's asking upon Lincoln's election, 'Is it certain Mr. Lincoln is an uncompromising anti-slavery man?' And finally, Lehrman keenly appreciates the poignancy of his story: We see Lincoln strolling in Springfield with a colleague in 1849, when the friend ruefully observes, 'Lincoln the time is coming when You & I would have to be Democrats or Abolitionists'.
"Lincoln at Peoria is a marvelous hybrid of a book. Beyond the narrative and an extensive analysis of the speech itself, Lehrman draws out the rest of Lincoln's career, his political resurrection and America's political realignment, the coming of the war and Lincoln's surprise election as president, and his presidency itself, never losing sight of that magical moment at Peoria when Lincoln became Lincoln. Lehrman's editorial hand is light, and he is careful to judge Lincoln by the standards of his own day, rather than of ours. He also goes to great lengths to quote succeeding generations of distinguished Lincoln scholars. In this sense, more than simply a fascinating exegesis, Lincoln at Peoria stands as a rich resource for scholars."
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