As "Savior of the Union" and the "Great Emancipator," Abraham Lincoln has been lauded for his courage, wisdom, and moral fiber. Yet Frederick Douglass's assertion that Lincoln was the "white man's president" has been used by some detractors as proof of his fundamentally racist character. Viewed objectively, Lincoln was a white man's president by virtue of his own whiteness and that of the culture that produced him. Until now, however, historians have rarely explored just what this means for our understanding of the man and his actions. Writing at the vanguard of "whiteness studies," Brian Dirck considers Lincoln as a typical American white man of his time who bore the multiple assumptions, prejudices, and limitations of his own racial identity. He shows us a Lincoln less willing or able to transcend those limitations than his more heroic persona might suggest but also contends that Lincoln's understanding and approach to racial bigotry was more enlightened than those of most of his white contemporaries. Blazing a new trail in Lincoln studies, Dirck reveals that Lincoln was well aware of and sympathetic to white fears, especially that of descending into "white trash," a notion that gnawed at a man eager to distance himself from his own coarse origins. But he also shows that after Lincoln crossed the Rubicon of black emancipation, he continued to grow beyond such cultural constraints, as seen in his seven recorded encounters with nonwhites. Dirck probes more deeply into what "white" meant in Lincoln's time and what it meant to Lincoln himself, and from this perspective he proposes a new understanding of how Lincoln viewed whiteness as a distinct racial category that influenced his policies. As Dirck ably demonstrates, Lincoln rose far enough above the confines of his culture to accomplish deeds still worthy of our admiration, and he calls for a more critically informed admiration of Lincoln that allows us to celebrate his considerable accomplishments while simultaneously recognizing his limitations. When Douglass observed that Lincoln was the white man's president, he may not have intended it as a serious analytical category. But, as Dirck shows, perhaps we should do so—the better to understand not just the Lincoln presidency, but the man himself.

Examines the childhood and youth, education, law career, family life, and presidency of Abraham Lincoln.

New York Times bestselling author James L. Swanson brings to life the fast-paced, suspense-filled story of Abraham Lincoln's and Jefferson Davis's final journeys through our wounded nation following the Civil War. This middle grade nonfiction book is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 7 to 8, especially during homeschooling. It’s a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom. This suspense-filled true-crime thriller—the young readers’ adaptation of Swanson’s BloodyCrimes—explores two epic events of the Civil War era: the manhunt to apprehend Confederate president Jefferson Davis in the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the momentous 20-day funeral pageant that brought President Lincoln’s body from Washington, DC to his home in Springfield. Full of fascinating twists and turns, and lavishly illustrated with dozens of rare historical images, Bloody Times captures the riveting stories of these two fallen leaders who changed the course of history. It’s perfect for young readers who enjoy dramatic nonfiction tales from the likes of Steve Sheinkin and Patricia McCormick. This book contains a note from the author, a glossary, a list of important Civil War figures, and a guide to visiting the historic sites mentioned within. A companion to the bestselling and highly acclaimed Chasing Lincoln's Killer.

This work is a biography of Lincoln, written by his law partner and close associate William Herndon.

One day, Joseph Davis discovered that his father, Samuel Davis, was having an adulterous affair with Nancy Lincoln. Samuel and Nancy had a baby. Nancy ‘s husband, Thomas Lincoln, named the baby Abraham Lincoln. Joseph Davis was a promising young lawyer and a scandal was one thing he didn’t want to have to deal with. To protect his family from embarrassment and to save his family’s reputation, he felt that he needed to take charge of the situation. This book tells you of the actions he took to rid his family of this embarrassment.

In a meticulously researched and engagingly written narrative, Brian McGinty rescues the story of Abraham Lincoln and the Supreme Court from long and undeserved neglect, recounting the compelling history of the Civil War president's relations with the nation's highest tribunal and the role it played in resolving the agonizing issues raised by the conflict. Lincoln was, more than any other president in the nation's history, a "lawyerly" president, the veteran of thousands of courtroom battles, where victories were won, not by raw strength or superior numbers, but by appeals to reason, citations of precedent, and invocations of justice. He brought his nearly twenty-five years of experience as a practicing lawyer to bear on his presidential duties to nominate Supreme Court justices, preside over a major reorganization of the federal court system, and respond to Supreme Court decisions--some of which gravely threatened the Union cause. The Civil War was, on one level, a struggle between competing visions of constitutional law, represented on the one side by Lincoln's insistence that the United States was a permanent Union of one people united by a "supreme law," and on the other by Jefferson Davis's argument that the United States was a compact of sovereign states whose legal ties could be dissolved at any time and for any reason, subject only to the judgment of the dissolving states that the cause for dissolution was sufficient. Alternately opposed and supported by the justices of the Supreme Court, Lincoln steered the war-torn nation on a sometimes uncertain, but ultimately triumphant, path to victory, saving the Union, freeing the slaves, and preserving the Constitution for future generations.

"I would never presume to know God's will or speak God's words."-Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's Story: The wayfarer sets out to answer many questions surrounding Abraham Lincoln and history. *Who is the Great Emancipator? * Did Lincoln believe in God? *Did he look for a sign when he was desperate? *Did he follow the Divine Will? *What was the necessity for two Emancipation Proclamations? *What was the root cause of the Civil War? *Could the Civil War be avoided? *Could the slaves be freed without war as British had done? * Who were responsible for the Lost Cause? Lincoln's Story: The Wayfarer is a biography all about Lincoln and an outline of the Civil War in a nutshell. Reading it is like drinking from a fire-hose. www.lulu.com/spotlight/nirmalvel