Bibliography of Abraham Lincoln
Encyclopedia
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, preserving the Union and ending slavery
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
. Before his election in 1860 as the first Republican
History of the United States Republican Party
The United States Republican Party is the second oldest currently existing political party in the United States after its great rival, the Democratic Party. It emerged in 1854 to combat the Kansas Nebraska Act which threatened to extend slavery into the territories, and to promote more vigorous...
president, Lincoln had been a country lawyer
Country Lawyer
In the United States, a country lawyer, or county-seat lawyer, is an attorney who has completed little or no formal legal training and has become a member of a county bar or a state bar after "reading law"; traditionally, these lawyers practiced general law in a rural setting, or on the frontier...
, an Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
state legislator
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
, a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, and twice an unsuccessful candidate for election to the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. As an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery in the United States,
Lincoln won the Republican Party nomination in 1860 and was elected president
United States presidential election, 1860
The United States presidential election of 1860 was a quadrennial election, held on November 6, 1860, for the office of President of the United States and the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout the 1850s on questions surrounding the...
later that year. His tenure in office was occupied primarily with the defeat of the secessionist
Secession in the United States
Secession in the United States can refer to secession of a state from the United States, secession of part of a state from that state to form a new state, or secession of an area from a city or county....
Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
in the American Civil War. He introduced measures that resulted in the abolition
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, issuing his Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
in 1863 and promoting the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, passed by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865. On...
to the Constitution. As the civil war was drawing to a close, Lincoln became the first American president to be assassinated
Abraham Lincoln assassination
The assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, and his battered Army of...
; he had the largest funeral in the nation's history and his legacy became iconic for American nationalism and freedom.
In terms of primary sources containing Lincoln's letters and writings, scholars rely on The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy Basler, and others. It only includes writings by Lincoln, and omits incoming correspondence. In the six decades since Basler completed his work, some new documents written by Lincoln have been discovered. Currently, a project is underway at the Papers of Abraham Lincoln to provide "a freely accessible comprehensive electronic edition of documents written by and to Abraham Lincoln". The Papers of Abraham Lincoln completed Series I of their project The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln in 2000. They electronically launched The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln, Second Edition in 2009 , and published a selective print edition of this series. At present they are engaged in locating, digitizing, and transcribing documents for Series II (non-legal, pre-presidential materials) and Series III (presidential materials).
There have been 16,000 books published on Lincoln--125 on the assassination alone--more than any other American. This listing is therefore highly selective and is based on the reviews in the scholarly journals, and recommended readings compiled by scholars.
Biographies
- Beveridge, Albert J. Abraham Lincoln: 1809-1858 (1928). 2 vol. to 1858; notable for strong, political coverage that tends to favor Stephen Douglas online edition
- Burlingame, Michael. Abraham Lincoln: A Life (2 vol 2008); 2024pp; the most highly detailed life except and text search
- Carwardine, Richard. Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power (2003), prize winning
- Donald, David Herbert. Lincoln (1999) The most useful scholarly biography. excerpt and text search
- Gienapp, William E. Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography (2002), short bio by scholar, online edition
- Guelzo, Allen C. Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President (1999) online edition
- Harris William C. Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency (2007) conservative author argues Lincoln was basically conservative excerpt and text search
- Nicolay, John George and John Hay. Abraham Lincoln: a History (1890); online at Volume 1 and Volume 2 vol 6 10 volumes in all; highly detailed narrative of era written by Lincoln's top aides
- Luthin, Reinhard H. The Real Abraham Lincoln (1960), emphasis on politics
- McPherson, James M. Abraham Lincoln (2009), short excerpt and text search
- Neely, Mark E. The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia (1984), detailed articles on many men and movements associated with AL
- Neely, Mark E. The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America (1993), Pulitzer prize winning author
- Oates, Stephen B. With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln (1994) excerpt and text search
- Randall, James G. Lincoln the President (4 vol., 1945–55; reprint 2000.) by prize winning scholar
- Mr. Lincoln excerpts ed. by Richard N. Current (1957) online edition
- Sandburg, Carl. Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years (2 vol 1926); The War Years (4 vol 1939). Pulitzer Prize winning biography by famous poet vol. 1 online vol 2 online
- Thomas, Benjamin P. Abraham Lincoln: A Biography (1952; 2nd ed. 2008) online edition
Specialty topics
- Angle, Paul M., Here I Have Lived: A History of Lincoln's Springfield, 1821–1865, (1935) online edition
- Belz, Herman. Abraham Lincoln, Constitutionalism, and Equal Rights in the Civil War Era (1998)
- Boritt, Gabor S. Lincoln and the Economics of the American Dream (1994). Lincoln's economic theory and policies
- Boritt, Gabor S. ed. Lincoln the War President (1994)
- Bruce, Robert V. Lincoln and the Tools of War (1956) on weapons development during the war online edition
- Bush, Bryan S. Lincoln and the Speeds: The Untold Story of a Devoted and Enduring Friendship (2008) ISBN 978-0-9798802-6-1
- Chittenden, Lucius E.Lucius E. ChittendenLucius Eugene Chittenden was a Vermont author, banker, lawyer, politician and peace advocate who served as Register of the Treasury during the Lincoln administration.-Early life:...
, Recollections of President Lincoln and His Administration, (1891). – Google BooksGoogle Book SearchGoogle Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition, and stored in its digital database. The service was formerly known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October... - Donald, David HerbertDavid Herbert Donald- Career :Majoring in history and sociology, Donald earned his bachelor degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned his PhD in 1946 under the eminent, leading Lincoln scholar, James G. Randall at the University of Illinois...
. Lincoln Reconsidered: Essays on the Civil War Era (1960) - Donald, David HerbertDavid Herbert Donald- Career :Majoring in history and sociology, Donald earned his bachelor degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned his PhD in 1946 under the eminent, leading Lincoln scholar, James G. Randall at the University of Illinois...
. We Are Lincoln Men: Abraham Lincoln and His Friends Simon & Schuster, (2003). - Emerson, James (2007). The Madness of Mary Lincoln. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 9780809327713.
- Foner, Eric. The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (2011); Pulitzer Prize excerpt and text search
- Guelzo, Allen C., Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, Simon & Schuster (2004). ISBN 0743221826
- Guelzo, Allen C., Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates that Defined America, Simon & Schuster (2008). ISBN 978-0743273206
- Harris, William C. With Charity for All: Lincoln and the Restoration of the Union (1997). AL's plans for Reconstruction
- Hendrick, Burton J. Lincoln's War Cabinet (1946) online edition
- Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It (1948) ch 5: "Abraham Lincoln and the Self-Made Myth"
- Howe, Daniel Walker, Why Abraham Lincoln Was a Whig. Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association 16.1 (1995)
- Kunhardt Jr., Phillip B., Kunhardt III, Phillip, and Kunhardt, Peter W. Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography. Gramercy Books, New York, 1992. ISBN 0-517-20715-X
- McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988). Pulitzer Prize winner surveys all aspects of the war
- Morgenthau, Hans J., and David Hein. Essays on Lincoln's Faith and Politics. White Burkett Miller Center of Public Affairs at the U of Virginia, 1983.
- Neely, Mark E. The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties (1992). Pulitzer Prize winner. online version
- Oakes, James. The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2007. ISBN 0-39306194-9
- Ostendorf, Lloyd, and Hamilton, Charles, Lincoln in Photographs: An Album of Every Known Pose, Morningside House Inc., 1963, ISBN 089029-087-3.
- Paludan, Philip S. The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln (1994), thorough treatment of Lincoln's administration
- Polsky, Andrew J. "'Mr. Lincoln's Army' Revisited: Partisanship, Institutional Position, and Union Army Command, 1861–1865." Studies in American Political Development (2002), 16: 176–207
- Randall, James G. Lincoln the Liberal Statesman (1947)
- Richardson, Heather Cox. The Greatest Nation of the Earth: Republican Economic Policies during the Civil War (1997)
- Shenk, Joshua Wolf. Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness (2005)
- Kenneth P. Williams. Lincoln Finds a General: A Military Study of the Civil War (1959) 5 volumes on Lincoln's control of the war
- Williams, T. Harry. Lincoln and His Generals (1967).
- Wilson, Douglas L. Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words(2006) ISBN 1-4000-4039-6.
Historiography and memory
- Boritt, Gabor S., ed. The Historian's Lincoln U. of Illinois Press, 1988
- Burkhimer, Michael. One hundred essential Lincoln books (2003), examines the major books
- Foner, Eric, ed. Our Lincoln: New Perspectives on Lincoln and His World (2009), essays by scholars excerpt and text search
- Kunhardt III, Philip B. et al. Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American Icon (2011)
- Peterson, Merrill D. Lincoln in American Memory (1994). how Lincoln was remembered after 1865
- Schwartz, Barry. Abraham Lincoln and the Forge of National Memory (2003) excerpt and text search
- Schwartz, Barry. Abraham Lincoln in the post-heroic era: history and memory in late twentieth-century America (2008) excerpt and text search
Lincoln in art and popular culture
- Ferguson, Andrew (2008). Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America. Grove Press. ISBN9780802143617.
Primary sources
- Angle, Paul McClelland; Earl Schenck Miers (1992). The Living Lincoln: the Man, his Mind, his Times, and the War He Fought, Reconstructed from his Own Writings. Barnes & Noble Publishing. ISBN 9781566190435.
- Basler, Roy P. et al., eds. (1953). The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. 9 vols. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813501727.
- Fehrenbacher, Don E., ed. Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832–1858 (Library of AmericaLibrary of AmericaThe Library of America is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature.- Overview and history :Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LoA has published over 200 volumes by a wide range of authors from Mark Twain to Philip...
, ed. 1989) ISBN 978-0-94045043-1 - Fehrenbacher, Don E., ed. Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859–1865 (Library of AmericaLibrary of AmericaThe Library of America is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature.- Overview and history :Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LoA has published over 200 volumes by a wide range of authors from Mark Twain to Philip...
, ed. 1989) ISBN 978-0-94045063-9 - Stowell, Daniel W., et al, eds. The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases. (4 vols.) University of Virginia Press, 2008
Attacks on Lincoln
- Marshall, John A., American Bastille (1870) Fifth edition: A History of the Illegal Arrests and Imprisonment of American Citizens in the Northern and Border States on Account of Their political opinions during the late Civil War. Part 1
- Masters, Edgar LeeEdgar Lee MastersEdgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist...
. Lincoln: The Man (1931)