Lincoln: A Life Of Purpose And Power (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
An excellent political biography of Lincoln that focuses on his development as a Whig in central Illinois, his movement into the new Republican party in the 1850s due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and his efforts to keep the diverse new party together whether in late 1850s Illinois or in the White House. It covers other events in his life mainly in passing, but shows Lincoln as a principled and canny political realist, wedded firmly to the Declaration and Constitution and the party's to which he publically committed himself. As a Whig he fought for government support of internal improvements, including roads and canals, as well as a state and federal bank. As a Republican leader he worked to keep the coalition of conservative former Whigs, anti-slavery Democrats (meaning those unwilling to see slavery's expansion), Free-soilers, Know-Nothings, and radical abolitionists, together. Carwardine knows the political landscapes and analyzes Lincoln's speeches and correspondence with care whether Lincoln is in Illinois or is a national figure. The sections on the Lincoln-Douglas debates and on Lincoln's nomination for the presidency were particularly excellent. tCarwardine also draws in the religious connection to Lincoln and politics, as is appropriate from a historian who has written about both revivalism and the connection between religion and politics in antebellum America. Lincoln has been claimed by many religious groups in history, but he never formerly joined any church. The Calvinist fatalism of his hard-shell Baptist upbring followed him throughout his life and only became more overt during the grimmer days of his presidency. Carwardine is more interested in Lincoln's interaction with evangelicals (the largest group of Protestants and the ones who will move wholesale into the Republican party), whether the organization building descendants of Yankees or the frontier revivalists. In the past those two groups might have broken between Whigs and Democrats, but the slavery issue (among many - there was not uniformity in this group) led most of them into the Republican party. Lincoln needed their support and got it, even if it meant having to deal with many visits from ministerial parties during the Civil War. tCarwardine's coverage of the war is topical, especially focusing on slavery and African-Americans and on the use of power, persuasion and coercion. Other books will cover the military history, this attempts to show the ups and downs of political life. Carwardine obviously likes Lincoln and works to put his decisions into historical context. Constrained by his own attitudes and a knowledge of Northern racism, Lincoln moved gradually away from colonization schemes and towards full emancipation for slaves. Still, to maintain border states in the Union and convince southern unionists of his intents, he initially constrained military attempts at immediate emancipation and tried to convince border states to accept compensated emancipation. Later in the war, with the border states more firmly in the Union, he moved deliberately to offer emancipation as a war aim. The last chapter deals with Lincoln's use of power. It covers complaints of abuse of power during war, but is also about Lincoln's use of party politics and personal appeals in letters, newspapers, and visits to keep the North together during the war. I have always thought Lincoln the greatest American president and this book only reinforced that view. Certainly not hagiography, it shows Lincoln's political acumen and his understanding of the public he felt called to serve. An excellent and deep book.
All right. I read this book for a book challenge, and am supposed to tell what I thought Lincoln's greatest accomplishments and scandals were. So here's what I came up with:This book was EXTREMELY pro-Lincoln.... In fact, I think the author may be the president of the Abraham Lincoln fan-club... I don't know much about Lincoln (at ALL) other than what I read, so I tried to take it and draw my own conclusions. So, I'm just going to call it as I see it:Accomplishments: Freeing the slaves (of course), and giving Blacks the opportunity to serve in the military. Also, I was impressed by his ability to read people and situations him and act accordingly. He was accused of not acting quickly enough (probably true), but I think part of it was that he would try to figure out the "mood" of a certain state or person and then figure out what the best method to approach them would be. He crashed and burned with Missouri, but it worked in a lot of other instances. He was QUITE good at manipulating situations into his favor. I thought he did a great job encouraging the military and used the press quite effectively. Also, the author spent a lot of time talking about the religious aspects of Lincoln's life. Lincoln really seemed to be trying to do what God wanted him to do (more so as the war went on), and I was very impressed by that.Scandals: I think that Lincoln probably could have made different decisions that would have brought the war to a close more quickly... But I hesitate saying that because the author made it VERY clear that Lincoln was relying heavily on "signs" from God, and who am I to doubt God's will, you know? I don't know how much of that was true (thanks biased author!).... So yeah....Also, I was very surprised that Lincoln's position regarding freeing the slaves was not decided from the very beginning.... For quite a while, his position was that he wasn't going to stop southern states from practicing slavery, he just didn’t want slavery to expand into new states. Then, he wanted people to gradually stop slavery and had high hopes for "relocating" freed slaves to some island in the Caribbean after the war was over, etc. It almost seemed like he fell into the Emancipation Proclamation... The idea was some other guy's VERY UNPOPULAR idea first (I can't remember which guy it was, sorry... there were SO many names and it was an audiobook...), and he sorta came around to the idea. Of course, once he decided that freeing the slaves was the right thing to do, he NEVER backed down, which was great.But personally, I think the biggest "scandal" was Lincoln's creation of FEDERAL INCOME TAX (to finance the Civil War). When I heard that (audiobook), I was like, "NO! LINCOLN! SAY IT’S NOT TRUE!!" *sigh* I mean, man! That STILL affects us today in the WORST way!
What do You think about Lincoln: A Life Of Purpose And Power (2006)?
This book was a pleasure for me to read on many different levels. Richard Carwardine was the professor who encouraged me to study American History at University. This book brought back happy memories of his carefully crafted lectures in which he would combine his extensive knowledge of history with a masterful storytelling technique and a wry sense of humor. All of which is evident in this book. As an undergraduate I only wrote two first class essays and one of them focused on comparing Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis as war time leaders. In researching my essay I found both men were religious men, who spent many a night during the Civil War soul searching, but ultimately it was Lincoln's ability to consult and work with others that led to the Union's victory. In this book Dr. Carwardine examines how religious movements of the time influenced Lincoln's thoughts , but that ultimately Lincoln's wrestle with his own beliefs shaped his character. Dr. Carwardine describes how Lincoln's conviction that slavery must end interwoven with his adeptness for connecting with the populace made Lincoln a very successful politician. It is however his rhetoric on freedom and human rights that we revere Lincoln for. This book is a dense and complex read, and without doubt it is helpful to have some background knowledge on Lincoln and the Civil War before reading it. The book includes copies of many annotated photographs and lithographs from Lincoln's lifetime which are helpful for understanding both the politics of the time and politics today. An extensive bibliography (some things never change) is helpful for those who wish to learn more.
—Elizabeth Finnegan
Detailed journey of life, Founders abolished slave trade and within new territories, opposed as evil, Douglas and dems desired to change the path of the Founders and allow new states to choose slavery or not, slavery is trying to control others without consent as Lincoln described, politicians are either a leader follower or agitator, Lincoln was clearly a leader, cabinet of dems whigs repubs, SC secession similar to 1830, imperialist ambitions of dems on Cuba and others, wonderful self reliance, awareness of the sins of pride, a poor hater, refusing to adopt the enemies of his friends, mostly Macbeth story and heads of state, with malice toward none.
—Don Weidinger
Of the three lincoln books I have read this is by far the best. I like the fact that it is written by a Brit so I know I am not getting an American triumphalist bias though this author certainly admires Lincoln a great deal . Carwardine has a keen sense of faith coming from non-conformist British roots which also appeals to me a great deal especially in studying Lincoln who is so enigmatic in his personal faith. In the end the portrayal is sufficient sympathetic to elicit a tear at the despicable treachery of John Wilkes Booth as it intersects this great man's life so tragically. This book will temper extreme reactionaries as you read of his continual compromise politically while never waivering in personal conviction of the repugnancy of slavery. Ultimately the work leaves me more convinced than ever that this man who held so strongly to the providence of God without embracing Jesus as Christ to our knowledge was used as the instrument to hold our Union together .I can not imagine my joy if I can only meet this man in heaven .
—Doug May
