Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is the sixteenth president of the United States. Infamously born in a Kentucky log cabin, Lincoln was a self-educated man who trained himself in the law. Lincoln taught himself the Bible, Euclid, Shakespeare, Blackstone, and classical economic theory, among other subjects. A surveyor and lawyer, he served in the Illinois state legislature for eight years, and then served for a single term as a Whig congressman from 1847 to 1849. After the collapse of the Whigs, he became a Republican. In 1858, he ran against incumbent Democrat Stephen Douglas for Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat. He lost the election, but earned national attention for his debates against Douglas. He was the Republican Party’s nominee for president in 1860. He won the Election of 1860 in a four-way race with a clear Electoral College victory, but with only 39% of the popular vote. After his election, the Confederate states began to secede. Lincoln guided the Union during the American Civil War, won the Election of 1864, and championed the legislative passage of the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, just a few days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Lincoln is an important figure in Classical and civic education due to his sweeping defense of natural rights, constitutionalism, national sovereignty, the rule of law, and abolitionism.
In this video, Dr. Daniel Hutchinson of the History Department provides an illuminating overview of Lincoln’s thought.
In this video, Professor Paul Weisser provides an examination of Lincoln’s thought on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Preferred Editions:
Abraham Lincoln, Selected Speeches and Writings, ed. Gore Vidal (New York: Library of America, 2009).
Abraham Lincoln, The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Don E. Fehrenbacher (New York: Library of America, 2018).
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, ed. Rodney O. Davis and Douglas L. Wilson (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2008).
Insightful Secondary Literature:
Allen C. Guelzo, Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President, 2nd Edition (Eerdmans, 2022).
Harry Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided, 50th Anniversary Edition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012).
Harry Jaffa, A New Birth of Freedom (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).
Useful External Links:
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s AbrahamLincoln.org