In Their Own Words

An unprecedented close reading of Lincoln's most revealing pre-war speeches, leading up to an analysis of the presidential speeches in the light of--not as a full departure from--his pre-presidential oratory. The book discusses (and in some cases discovers, on the basis of new material) a number of striking continuities. The book ends with an extended consideration of Lincoln's understanding of Providence and human instrumentality, both as ideas offering various means of persuasion and yet also as ideas participating profoundly in Lincoln's worldview.