This Fiery Trial The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln

by Gienapp, William E.

• ISBN13: 9780195151015
• ISBN10: 0195151011
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780190287917
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-10-17
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The most eloquent president in our history, Abraham Lincoln's literary ability was extraordinary. In This Fiery Trial, William Gienapp has brought together more than one hundred pieces by Lincoln, ranging from his first published political statement, printed in the Sangamo Journal in 1832, to his final public address, delivered just before his assassination. Here are some of the greatest speeches in American history, including the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address. Other pieces include Lincoln's "A House Divided" speech to the Republican State convention in 1858, excerpts from his famed debates with Stephen Douglas, and the text of the Emancipation Proclamation. The writings provide a documentary account of Lincoln's thought and how it evolved over time. Students can trace, for instance, how his thoughts on slavery and emancipation changed through the course of the war, from a rather limited view (free slaves for military purposes only) to his ringing endorsement of the Thirteenth Amendment, which ended slavery forever. Gienapp has provided detailed introductory headnotes for each piece, and the book includes an extensive chronology of Lincoln's life. Often eloquent, frequently amusing, and occasionally profound, these writings offer an intimate portrait of Lincoln--in his own words.

Author Biography

William E. Gienapp is Professor of History at Harvard University

Table of Contents

Preface	xv
Prologue: ``Not much of me,'' Autobiography, December 20, 1859	1	(4)
I. ``PECULIAR AMBITION,'' 1831--1853
``I am young and unknown,'' Communication to the People of Sangamo County, March 9, 1832	5	(2)
``I shall be governed by their will,'' Letter to the Editor of the Sangamo Journal, June 13, 1836	7	(1)
``Founded on both injustice and bad policy,'' Protest in the Illinois Legislature on Slavery, March 3, 1837	8	(1)
``Cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason,'' Speech to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, January 27, 1838	9	(4)
``Bow to it I never will,'' Speech on the Subtreasury, December 26, 1839	13	(2)
``The most miserable man living,'' Letter to John T. Stuart, January 23, 1841	15	(1)
``An evil tree can not bring forth good fruit,'' Letter to Williamson Durley, October 3, 1845	16	(2)
``I am not a member of any ... Church,'' Handbill Addressed to the Voters of the Seventh Congressional District, July 31, 1846	18	(1)
``No one man should hold the power,'' Letter to William Herndon, February 15, 1848	19	(1)
``I like the letters very much,'' Letter to Mary Todd Lincoln, April 16, 1848	20	(2)
``Resolve to be honest,'' Notes for a law lecture, July 1, 1850?	22	(2)
``More painful than pleasant,'' Letter to John D. Johnston, January 12, 1851	24	(3)
II. ``HALF SLAVE AND HALF FREE,'' 1854--1860
``The legitimate object of government,'' Fragment on government, July 1, 1854?	27	(1)
``Our republican robe is soiled,'' Speech at Peoria, October 16, 1854	28	(6)
``Where I now stand,'' Letter to Joshua Speed, August 24, 1855	34	(3)
``Can we not come together, for the future,'' Speech at a Republican banquet, December 10, 1856	37	(2)
``All the powers of earth seem rapidly combining against him,'' Speech in Springfield, June 26, 1857	39	(3)
``A question of interest,'' Fragment on slavery, 1857--1858?	42	(1)
``A house divided,'' Speech to the Republican state convention, June 16, 1858	43	(8)
``Construed so differently from any thing intended by me,'' Letter to John L. Scripps, June 23, 1858	51	(1)
``Public sentiment is every thing,'' Notes for speeches, August 1858	52	(3)
``Blowing out the moral lights around us,'' First debate, at Ottawa, August 21, 1858	55	(2)
``The social and political equality of the ... races,'' Fourth debate, at Charleston, September 18, 1858	57	(1)
``A moral, a social and a political wrong,'' Sixth debate, at Quincy, October 13, 1858	58	(2)
``The eternal struggle between ... right and wrong,'' Seventh debate, at Alton, October 15, 1858	60	(7)
``For, and not against the Union,'' Last speech of the campaign, October 30, 1858	67	(1)
``Opens the way for all,'' Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, September 30, 1859	68	(3)
``Right makes might,'' Speech at the Cooper Union, February 27, 1860	71	(10)
``I am not the first choice of ... many,'' Letter to Samuel Galloway, March 24, 1860	81	(1)
``The taste is in my mouth,'' Letter to Lyman Trumbull, April 29, 1860	82	(1)
``I accept the nomination,'' Letter to George Ashmun, May 23, 1860	83	(1)
``A piece of silly affection,'' Letter to Grace Bedell, October 19, 1860	84	(1)
III. ``THE PERPETUITY OF POPULAR GOVERNMENT,'' 1860--1861
``The tug has to come,'' Letter to Lyman Trumbull, December 10, 1860	85	(1)
``There is no cause for such fears,'' Letter to Alexander H. Stephens, December 22, 1860	86	(1)
``It is the end of us,'' Letter to James T. Hale, January 11, 1861	86	(1)
``An affectionate farewell,'' Farewell Address at Springfield, February II, 1861	87	(1)
``The Union ... is perpetual,'' First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861	88	(9)
``To suppress said combinations,'' Proclamation calling the militia, April 15, 1861	97	(1)
``The most prompt, and efficient means,'' Letter to Winfield Scott, April 25, 1861	98	(1)
``A People's contest,'' Message to Congress, July 4, 1861	99	(8)
``Constantly drilled, disciplined, and instructed,'' Memoranda of military policy suggested by the Bull Run defeat, July 23, 27, 1861	107	(1)
``To conform to ... the act of Congress,'' Letter to John C. Fremont, September 2, 1861	108	(1)
``I cannot assume this reckless position,'' Letter to Orville H. Browning, September 22, 1861	109	(2)
``For a vast future also,'' Message to Congress, December 3, 1861	111	(4)
``Grumbling despatches and letters,'' Letter to David Hunter, December 31, 1861	115	(2)
IV. ``WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY,'' 1862
``Making our advantage an over-match for his,'' Letter to Don Carlos Buell, January 13, 1862	117	(1)
``Gradual ... emancipation, is better for all,'' Message to Congress, March 6, 1862	118	(2)
``But you must act,'' Letter to George McClellan, April 9, 1862	120	(2)
``Questions ... I reserve to myself,'' Proclamation revoking General Hunter's order of emancipation, May 19, 1862	122	(2)
``I expect to maintain this contest,'' Letter to William H. Seward, June 28, 1862	124	(1)
``The incidents of the war can not be avoided,'' Appeal to the border state representatives, July 12, 1862	125	(2)
``Leaving any available card unplayed,'' Letter to Reverdy Johnson, July 26, 1862	127	(1)
``A single half-defeat,'' Letter to Agenor-Etienne de Gasparin, August 4, 1862	128	(2)
``The ban is still upon you,'' Address on colonization, August 14, 1862	130	(4)
``I would save the Union,'' Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862	134	(1)
``The will of God prevails,'' Meditation on divine will, September 27, 1862	135	(1)
``Shall be ... thenceforward, and forever free,'' Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, September 22, 1862	136	(1)
``The Writ of Habeas Corpus is suspended,'' Proclamation, September 24, 1862	137	(1)
``Breath alone kills no rebels,'' Letter to Hannibal Hamlin, September 28, 1862	138	(1)
``If we never try, we shall never succeed,'' Letter to George McClellan, October 13, 1862	139	(2)
``I do not see that their superiority of success has been so marked,'' Letter to Carl Schurz, November 10, 1862	141	(2)
``The last best, hope of earth,'' Message to Congress, December I, 1862	143	(7)
``In this sad world of ours,'' Letter to Fanny McCullough, December 23, 1862	150	(1)
V. ``A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM,'' 1863
``Are, and henceforth shall be free,'' Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863	151	(2)
``Broken eggs can not be mended,'' Letter to John A. McClernand, January 8, 1863	153	(1)
``I will risk the dictatorship,'' Letter to Joseph Hooker, January 26, 1863	154	(1)
``There is no eligible route for us into Richmond,'' Memorandum on Joseph Hooker's plan of campaign against Richmond, ca. April 6--10, 1863	155	(1)
``Constantly denounced and opposed,'' Letter to Isaac Arnold, May 26, 1863	156	(1)
``Lee's Army ... is your true objective point,'' Letter to Joseph Hooker, June 10, 1863	157	(1)
``Indispensable to the public Safety,'' Letter to Erastus Corning, June 12, 1863	158	(7)
``Few things are so troublesome,'' Letter to William Kellogg, June 29, 1863	165	(1)
``You were right, and I was wrong,'' Letter to Ulysses S. Grant, July 13, 1863	166	(1)
``I am distressed immeasureably,'' Letter to George G. Meade, July 14, 1863	167	(2)
``The same protection to all its soldiers,'' Order, July 30, 1863	169	(1)
``I can not consent to suspend the draft,'' Letter to Horatio Seymour, August 7, 1863	170	(1)
``It works doubly,'' Letter to Ulysses S. Grant, August 9, 1863	171	(1)
``I am not watching you with an evil-eye,'' Letter to William S. Rosecrans, August 10, 1863	172	(2)
``A fair specimen of what has occurred to me through life,'' Letters to James H. Hackett, August 17, November 2, 1863	174	(1)
``The heaviest blow yet dealt to the rebellion,'' Letter to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863	175	(4)
``Give up all footing upon constitution or law,'' Letter to Salmon P. Chase, September 2, 1863	179	(1)
``An idea I have been trying to repudiate for quite a year,'' Letter to Henry W. Halleck, September 19, 1863	180	(1)
``Quarrel not at all,'' Letter to James M. Cutts, Jr., October 26, 1863	181	(1)
``Give me a tangible nucleus,'' Letter to Nathaniel P. Banks, November 5, 1863	182	(1)
``A new birth of freedom,'' Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863	183	(2)
VI. ``EVENTS HAVE CONTROLLED ME,'' 1863-1864
``The new reckoning,'' Message to Congress, December 8, 1863	185	(4)
``A full pardon,'' Proclamation of amnesty and reconstruction, December 8, 1863	189	(4)
``The jewel of liberty,'' Letter to Michael Hahn, March 13, 1864	193	(1)
``If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong,'' Letter to Albert G. Hodges, April 4, 1864	193	(3)
``The world has never had a good definition of ... liberty,'' Address at Sanitary Fair, April 18, 1864	196	(2)
``I wish not to obtrude any constraints ... upon you,'' Letter to Ulysses S. Grant, April 30, 1864	198	(1)
``Not best to swap horses when crossing streams,'' Reply to delegation from the National Union League, June 9, 1864	199	(1)
``Unprepared ... to be inflexibly committed to any single plan,'' Proclamation concerning reconstruction, July 8, 1864	199	(2)
``Will be received and considered,'' Letter ``To Whom it may concern,'' July 18, 1864	201	(1)
``Not ... an entirely impartial judge,'' Letter to John McMahon, August 6, 1864	201	(1)
``Hold on with a bull-dog gripe,'' Telegram to Ulysses S. Grant, August 17, 1864	202	(1)
``The curses of Heaven,'' Letter to Charles D. Robinson, August 17, 1864	202	(2)
``Equal privileges in the race of life,'' Speech to One Hundred Sixty-sixth Ohio Regiment, August 22, 1864	204	(1)
``This Administration will not be re-elected,'' Memorandum, August 23, 1864	205	(1)
``Go far towards losing the whole Union cause,'' Letter to William T. Sherman, September 19, 1864	206	(1)
``I am struggling to maintain the government, not to overthrow it,'' Response to a serenade, October 19, 1864	206	(2)
``The election was a necessity,'' Response to a serenade, November 10, 1864	208	(3)
VII. ``TO BIND UP THE NATION'S WOUNDS,'' 1864-1865
``So costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom,'' Letter to Lydia Bixby, November 21, 1864	211	(1)
``An issue which can only be ... decided by victory,'' Message to Congress, December 6, 1864	212	(4)
``The honor is all yours,'' Letter to William T. Sherman, December 26, 1864	216	(1)
``Time ... is more important than ever before,'' Letter to Edwin Stanton, January 5, 1865	217	(1)
``My son ... wishes to see something of the war,'' Letter to Ulysses S. Grant, January 19, 1865	217	(1)
``Three things are indispensable,'' Letter to William H. Seward, January 31, 1865	218	(1)
``A King's cure for all the evils,'' Response to a serenade, February I, 1865	219	(1)
``With charity for all,'' Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865	220	(2)
``A truth which I thought needed to be told,'' Letter to Thurlow Weed, March 15, 1865	222	(1)
``Let the thing be pressed,'' Telegram to Ulysses S. Grant, April 7, 1865	222	(1)
``No exclusive, and inflexible plan can safely be prescribed,'' Speech, April 11, 1865	223	(6)
Chronology of Abraham Lincoln	229	(4)
Selected Bibliography	233