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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's—and the
nation's—transformation 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 “naturally anti-slavery” 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 “fundamental
and astounding” 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
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