Lincoln & Liberty: Wisdom for the Ages

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Lucas E. Morel
University Press of Kentucky, Jan 20, 2015 - Political Science - 392 pages
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Essays exploring the sixteenth president’s political philosophy.

Generations of Americans have studied Abraham Lincoln’s life, presidency, and leadership, often remaking him into a figure suited to the needs and interests of their own time. This illuminating volume takes a different approach to his political thought and practice. Here, a distinguished group of contributors argue that Lincoln’s relevance today is best expressed by rendering an accurate portrait of him in his own era. They seek to understand Lincoln as he understood himself and as he attempted to make his ideas clear to his contemporaries. What emerges is a portrait of a prudent leader who is driven to return the country to its original principles in order to conserve it.

The contributors demonstrate that, far from advocating an expansion of government beyond its constitutional limits, Lincoln defended both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. In his introduction, Justice Clarence Thomas discusses how Lincoln used the ideological and structural underpinnings of those founding documents to defeat slavery and secure the liberties that the Republic was established to protect. Other chapters reveal how Lincoln upheld the principle of limited government even as he employed unprecedented war powers.

Featuring contributions from leading scholars such as Michael Burlingame, Allen C. Guelzo, Fred Kaplan, and Matthew Pinsker, this innovative collection presents fresh perspectives on Lincoln both as a political thinker and a practical politician. Taken together, these essays decisively demonstrate that the most iconic American president still has much to teach the modern-day student of politics.

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Contents

Lincoln Dred Scott and the Preservation
3
Lincoln and Literature
Lincoln Shakespeare and Tyranny
Michael Burlingame
from Grievance to Gratitude
Diana J Schaub
Lincoln and Political Principles
Lincoln Liberty and the American Constitutional Union
The Democratic Statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln and the Lessons of Party Leadership
Lincolns Theology of Labor
Practical Wisdom
The Preservation
Lincoln and the Progressives
Copyright

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About the author (2015)

Lucas E. Morel, the Class of 1960 Professor of Ethics and Politics at Washington and Lee University, is the author of Lincoln's Sacred Effort: Defining Religion's Role in American Self-Government.

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