Lincoln at Peoria : the turning point : getting right with the Declaration of Independence [Lewis E. Lehrman]

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lehrman, Lewis E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Political career before 1861.

Lincoln, Abraham.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Oratory.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Political and social views.

Slavery--Political aspects--United States--History--19th century.

Slavery.

United States. Kansas-Nebraska Act.

United States.

Douglas, Stephen A. (Stephen Arnold), 1813-1861--Political and social views.

Douglas, Stephen A.

Speeches, addresses, etc., American--Illinois--Peoria.

Speeches, addresses, etc., American.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Travel--Illinois--Peoria.

Peoria (Ill.)--History--19th century.

Peoria (Ill.).

Physical Description:

xix, 412 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Mechanicsburg, PA : Stackpole Books, c2008.

Summary:

To understand Abraham Lincoln, one must understand the extraordinary antislavery speech he delivered at Peoria on October 16, 1854. This three-hour address marked the turning point in Lincoln's political pilgrimage, dramatically altering his political career and, as a result, American history. Here, historian Levis E. Lehrman examines the seminal speech and its historical context, arguing that the divide between the statecraft of Lincoln's presidential years and his early legislative years originates with the speech at Peoria. Lincoln had substantially withdrawn from politics between 1849 and 1854, developing his Springfield law practice. Then in May 1854 Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, repealing the prohibition on slavery in that section of the Louisiana Territory--a restriction agreed by North and South in the Missouri Compromise of 1820. In response to this, Lincoln launched his antislavery campaign, delivering speeches in Springfield and Peoria, which catapulted him into national politics.--From publisher description.

Contents:

1. ON THE ROAD TO THE SPRINGFIELD SPEECH. Lincoln and Douglas: the early years

Helping Congressman Yates

Preparation to fight Kansas-Nebraska

Senator Douglas returns to Illinois

Speeches and debates

Campaigning for free-soil

2. SPRINGFIELD, PEORIA, AND BEYOND. On to Peoria

Peoria speech

The end of the 1854 debates

The end of the campaign

3. THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT: THE CONTEXT. Douglas's motives

Insertion of "inoperative and void"

The Chase appeal

The opposition

The Whigs

Pushing passage

Protesting passage

4. THE PEORIA SPEECH: THE IDEAS AND ARGUMENTS. The Founders and the Declaration of Independence

National expansion and compromise

The Compromise of 1850

Popular sovereignty and slavery

Race and prejudice

Nationhood and Union

Principle and policy

5. THE ROAD FROM PEORIA. Unintended consequences of Kansas-Nebraska

Election results and realignment in Illinois

The 1854-1855 Senate campaign

Realignment and the Republican Party

Bleeding Kansas

The 1856 Bloomington Convention

6. CHALLENGING "DRED SCOTT", THE SUPREME COURT, AND DOUGLAS

The Republican reaction

The 1858 senate campaign

The Lincoln-Douglas debates

The Presidential campaign

7. PEORIA CHARACTERIZES THE LINCOLN PRESIDENCY. Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

Preserving the Union

Slavery and equality

Union, morality, and reality

The South

Douglas and Lincoln

The Bible and the world

8. CODA

9. THE PEORIA SPEECH AND THE HISTORIANS' RECORD

Full text of speech at Peoria, Illinois

Milestones in the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 352-395) and index.

ISBN:

9780811703611 (hbk.)

0811703614 (hbk.)

OCLC:

185021472

Online:

Table of contents