Abraham Lincoln in the post-heroic era : history and memory in late twentieth-century America / Barry Schwartz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schwartz, Barry, 1938-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.

Lincoln, Abraham.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Public opinion.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Influence.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

Presidents.

Multiculturalism--United States.

Multiculturalism.

United States--History--20th century.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (411 p.)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

By the 1920's, Abraham Lincoln had transcended the lingering controversies of the Civil War to become a secular saint, honored in North and South alike for his steadfast leadership in crisis. Throughout the Great Depression and World War II, Lincoln was invoked countless times as a reminder of America's strength and wisdom, a commanding ideal against which weary citizens could see their own hardships in perspective. But as Barry Schwartz reveals in Abraham Lincoln in the Post-Heroic Era, those years represent the apogee of Lincoln's prestige. The decades following World War II brought radical changes to American culture, changes that led to the diminishing of all heroes-Lincoln not least among them. As Schwartz explains, growing sympathy for the plight of racial minorities, disenchantment with the American state, the lessening of patriotism in the wake of the Vietnam War, and an intensifying celebration of diversity, all contributed to a culture in which neither Lincoln nor any single person could be a heroic symbol for all Americans. Paradoxically, however, the very culture that made Lincoln an object of indifference, questioning, criticism, and even ridicule was a culture of unprecedented beneficence and inclusion, where racial, ethnic, and religious groups treated one another more fairly and justly than ever before. Thus, as the prestige of the Great Emancipator shrank, his legacy of equality continued to flourish. Drawing on a stunning range of sources-including films, cartoons, advertisements, surveys, shrine visitations, public commemorations, and more-Schwartz documents the decline of Lincoln's public standing, asking throughout whether there is any path back from this post-heroic era. Can a new generation of Americans embrace again their epic past, including great leaders whom they know to be flawed? As the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial approaches, readers will discover here a stirring reminder that Lincoln, as a man, still has much to say to us-about our past, our present, and our possible futures.

Contents:

Ascension : Lincoln in the Great Depression

Apex : Lincoln in the Second World War

Transition : Cold War, racial conflict, and contested images of Lincoln

Transfiguration : civil rights movement, vanishing savior of the Union

Erosion : fading prestige, benign ridicule

Post-heroic era : acids of equality and the waning of greatness

Inertia : the enduring Lincoln.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [305]-370) and index.

ISBN:

9786611966393

9781281966391

1281966398

9780226741901

0226741907

OCLC:

309103065