For someone who claimed he had been educated by “littles”--a little now and a little then-- Abraham Lincoln displayed a remarkable facility in his use of the written word. The simple yet memorable eloquence of his speeches, proclamations and personal correspondence is recorded here in a representative collection of 16 documents.This volume contains, complete and unabridged, the Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois (1838),which emphasized a theme Lincoln was to return to repeatedly,namely, the capacity of a people to govern themselves; the“House Divided”speech at the Republican State Convention in Illinois (1858); the First Inaugural Address (1861)...

For someone who claimed he had been educated by "littles"--a little now and a little then-- Abraham Lincoln displayed a remarkable facility in his use of the written word. The simple yet memorable eloquence of his speeches, proclamations and personal correspondence is recorded here in a representative collection of 16 documents.

This volume contains, complete and unabridged, the Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois (1838),which emphasized a theme Lincoln was to return to repeatedly,namely, the capacity of a people to govern themselves; the "House Divided" speech at the Republican State Convention in Illinois (1858); the First Inaugural Address (1861), in which he appealed to the people of an already divided union for sectional harmony; the Gettysburg Address (1863), a speech delivered at ceremonies dedicating a part of the Gettysburg battlefield as a cemetery; the Letter to Mrs. Bixby (1864), expressing Lincoln’s regrets over the wartime deaths of her five sons; the Second Inaugural Address (March 1865), urging a post-war nation to "bind up its wounds" and show "charity for all"; and his Last Public Address (April 11, 1865). New notes place the speeches and other documents in their respective historical contexts.

An invaluable reference for history students, this important volume will also fascinate admirers of Abraham Lincoln,Americana enthusiasts, Civil War buffs and any lover of the finely crafted phrase.

The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions:

Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of

Springfield, Illinois, January 27, 1838

The Presidential Question: Speech in the United

States House of Representatives, July 27, 1848

A House Divided: Speech Delivered at Spring-

field, Illinois, at the Close of the Republican State

Convention, June 16, 1858

Last Speech in Springfield, Illinois, in the 1858

Campaign, October 30, 1858

Address at Cooper Institute, New York,

February 27, 1860

Farewell Address at Springfield, Illinois,

February 11, 1861

First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861

Message to Congress in Special Session,

July 4, 1861

Proclamation of a National Fast-Day,

August 12, 1861

Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862

Final Emancipation Proclamation,

January 1, 1863

Proclamation for Thanksgiving, October 3, 1863

Address Delivered at the Dedication of the

Cemetery at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863

Letter to Mrs. Bixby, November 21, 1864

Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865

Last Public Address, April 11, 1865