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Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery
W. W. Norton & Company
October 2010
On Sale: October 4, 2010
448 pages
ISBN: 0393066185
EAN: 9780393066180
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction History
From a master historian, the story of Lincoln'sβand the nation'sβtransformation through the crucible of slavery and emancipation. In this landmark work of deep scholarship and insight, Eric Foner gives us the definitive history of Lincoln and the end of slavery in America. Foner begins with Lincoln's youth in Indiana and Illinois and follows the trajectory of his career across an increasingly tense and shifting political terrain from Illinois to Washington, D.C. Although βnaturally anti-slaveryβ for as long as he can remember, Lincoln scrupulously holds to the position that the Constitution protects the institution in the original slave states. But the political landscape is transformed in 1854 when the Kansas-Nebraska Act makes the expansion of slavery a national issue. A man of considered words and deliberate actions, Lincoln navigates the dynamic politics deftly, taking measured steps, often along a path forged by abolitionists and radicals in his party. Lincoln rises to leadership in the new Republican Party by calibrating his politics to the broadest possible antislavery coalition. As president of a divided nation and commander in chief at war, displaying a similar compound of pragmatism and principle, Lincoln finally embraces what he calls the Civil War's βfundamental and astoundingβ result: the immediate, uncompensated abolition of slavery and recognition of blacks as American citizens. Foner's Lincoln emerges as a leader, one whose greatness lies in his capacity for moral and political growth through real engagement with allies and critics alike. This powerful work will transform our understanding of the nation's greatest president and the issue that mattered most. 16 pages black-and-white illustrations and 3 maps
 Media BuzzMorning Edition - November 19, 2013
Fresh Air - NPR - February 21, 2011
Daily Show with Jon Stewart - February 16, 2011
Fresh Air - NPR - October 11, 2010
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