A nation so conceived : Abraham Lincoln and the paradox of democratic sovereignty / Michael P. Zuckert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zuckert, Michael P., 1942- author.

Series:

Constitutional thinking

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Lincoln, Abraham.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Oratory.

Equality--United States--History--19th century.

Equality.

Democracy--Philosophy.

Democracy.

Sovereignty--Philosophy.

Sovereignty.

United States--Politics and government--1815-1861.

United States.

United States--Politics and government--1861-1865.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.

Oratory.

Political and social views.

Politics and government.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 397 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2023]

Summary:

"The culmination of years of work on Abraham Lincoln's political thought, Michael Zuckert's A Nation So Conceived argues for a coherent center to Lincoln's political thought, a core idea that unifies his thought and thus illuminates his deeds as a political actor. That core thought is captured in the term "democratic sovereignty." America, the new nation according to his speech at Gettysburg, was new precisely because it was born in dedication to the first premise of the theory of democratic sovereignty, that all men are created equal. Lincoln's thought consisted in an ever-deepening meditation on the grounds and implications of that proposition, both in its constructive and in its destructive potential. The goodness of the American regime derived from that ground and the chief dangers to the regime derived from the very same ground. Covering all significant speeches and writings of Lincoln both in his pre-presidential and in his presidential days, A Nation So Conceived is devoted to exploring the paradoxical duality of "created equal." In a nearly comprehensive study of Lincoln's thought, Zuckert reveals how Lincoln understood both its truth and its pathological consequences"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. The "Perpetuation" Address: The Tragedy of America

2. The "Temperance" Address: Playing with Fire

Transition: February 1842

December 1847

3. Mr. Lincoln Goes to Washington: Popular Sovereignty and the War with Mexico

Transition: 1849

1851

4. A Giant with Feet of Clay

Transition: August 1852

September 1854

5. "The Faith of Our Fathers": Lincoln's Case for the Declaration

6. Legality and Legitimacy in the Dred Scott Case

7. The Concept of Dred: Facing the Abyss of Dred Scott v. Sandford

8. Man the Miner, Man the Farmer

9. Dividing the House?

10. In the Shadow of the House Divided: The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858

Transition: From the Illinois Debates to the Harper's Essay

11. In the Shadow of the Harper's Essay: The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1859

1860

Transition: February 1860

February 1861

12. Secession and Democratic Sovereignty

13. And the War Came

14. Lincoln's Constitutionalism

15. De(a)dication

16. On the Second Inaugural Address.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Zuckert, Michael P., 1942- Nation so conceived

ISBN:

9780700633920

0700633928

OCLC:

1337564113