Chorus of the Union : how Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas set aside their rivalry to save the nation / Edward Robert McClelland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McClelland, Ted, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.

Lincoln, Abraham.

Douglas, Stephen A. (Stephen Arnold), 1813-1861.

Douglas, Stephen A.

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

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

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

United States.

United States--Politics and government--1857-1861.

United States--Politics and government--1783-1865.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

344 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Pegasus Books cloth edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Pegasus Books, 2024.

Summary:

An impassioned and timely exploration of Abraham Lincoln's long-time rivalry--and eventual alliance--with Stephen Douglas. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas are a misunderstood duo. History remembers them as antagonists, and for most of the years the two men knew each other, they were. In the 1830s, they debated politics around the stove in the back of Joshua Speed's store in Springfield, Illinois. In the 1850s, they disagreed over the Kansas-Nebraska Act and debated slavery as opponents for a Senate seat. In 1860, they both ran for president. Lincoln and Douglas ended as allies, though, against the greatest threat--slavery--that our country has ever faced. When Douglas realized he was going to lose the 1860 election, he stopped campaigning for himself and went South to persuade the slave states to accept Lincoln as president. After that effort failed, and the newly formed Confederate States of America bombed Fort Sumter, Douglas met with Lincoln to discuss raising an army. The story of how Lincoln and Douglas put aside their rivalry to work together for the preservation of the Union has important lessons for our time. We have just been through a presidential election where the loser refused to concede defeat, with violent consequences. Not only did Douglas accept his loss, he spent the final days of his campaign barnstorming the country to build support for his opponent's impending victory, setting aside his long-held desire for the presidency for the higher principle of national unity.

Contents:

The homecoming

Lincoln's challenge

"All prairiedom has broken loose"

The Ohio campaign

Charleston : prelude to disunion

Chicago : everybody's second choice

"You will have to go to Illinois for your next President"

This glorious union

The secession winter

Patriots or traitors.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 309-333) and index.

ISBN:

9781639366378

1639366377

OCLC:

1405188636

Publisher Number:

99996660378