The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery

by Foner, Eric

• ISBN13: 9780393340662
• ISBN10: 039334066X
• Edition: 00
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-09-26
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Eric Foner's major works have reshaped the fields of Civil War and Reconstruction history and won the Pulitzer, Bancroft, Parkman, Lincoln, and Los Angeles Times Book prizes. He is the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University.

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Illustrations	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
"I Am Naturally Anti-Slaver)": Young Abraham Lincoln and Slavery	p. 3
"Always a Whig": Lincoln, the Law, and the Second Party System	p. 33
"The Monstrous Injustice": Becoming a Republican	p. 63
"A House Divided': Slavery and Race in the Late 1850$	p. 92
"The Only Substantial Difference": Secession and Civil War	p. 132
"I Must Have Kentucky": The Border Strategy	p. 166
"Forever Free": The Coming of Emancipation	p. 206
"A New Birth of Freedom": Securing Emancipation	p. 248
"A Fitting, and Necessary Conclusion": Abolition, Reelection, and the Challenge of Reconstruction	p. 290
Epilogue"Every Drop of Blood": The Meaning of the War	p. 323
Acknowledgments	p. 337
Chronology of Lincoln, Slavery, and Emancipation	p. 339
Abbreviations Used in Notes	p. 347
Notes	p. 349
Index	p. 407
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.