The biography follows Lincoln through his hardscrabble youth in Indiana and Illinois, his rise as a Whig and then Republican, the pivotal Lincoln-Douglas debates, and the crisis of secession. It examines the critical decisions of his presidency—the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, the search for effective generals, and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment—while exploring the personal and political pressures that shaped him. The volume closes with his assassination and the enduring legacy of the man who redefined American democracy.
This volume in the Presidents of the United States series offers readers an accessible yet substantive account of Lincoln’s life and the Civil War era he dominated.