Abraham Lincoln and the American Experiment in Self-Government revisits the most pressing question of the republic's past and present: Can a nation founded on the principles of liberty and equality sustain itself through crisis? Leveraging an interdisciplinary group of senior and emerging scholars, this book offers a sweeping re-examination of Lincoln's political thought and statesmanship. Through probing analyses of his rhetoric, constitutionalism, moral philosophy, and wartime leadership, the collection reveals Lincoln's enduring insights into how free societies can preserve themselves. Together, these essays illuminate how Lincoln's example can guide Americans seeking to sustain self-government in the twenty-first century.

Provides an interdisciplinary analysis of Lincoln's political thought Sheds light on Lincoln's understanding of self-government and how this impacted his political philosophy Provides a readable analysis that makes Lincoln relevant in contemporary politics

Autorentext

Jason W. Stevens is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Master of Arts in American History and Government at Ashland University, where he also serves as co-director of the Ashbrook Scholar Program. He is the editor of Causes of the Civil War: Core Documents (2019).

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Lincoln Thomas Jeffersons Heir.- Chapter 2: Lincolns Hushed Critique of the Founding: The Role of Reverence in Perpetuating the Republic.- Chapter 3: Lincoln and Jacksonism.- Chapter 4: Lincoln on Progress, History, and the American Regime.- Chapter 5: When Americans Could Not Escape History The Intellectual Origins of a New Birth of Freedom.- Chapter 6: Be Ye Perfect What is Perfect Lincoln and the Challenge of Perfection.- Chapter 7: The Declaration of Independence and Lincoln's War Strategy.- Chapter 8: Energy's Scaffold Edward Bates on Separation of Powers in the Lincoln Administration.- Chapter 9: The Gettysburg Address as Civic Education.- Chapter 10: Flexible Plans, Inflexible Principles Lincoln's Constitutional Statesmanship on Reconstruction.- Chapter 11: Gettysburg, Temperance, and the American Mythos.- Chapter 12: Teaching America Equality President Lincoln's Wartime Homily about Reason and Revelation in his Sanitary Fair Address of April 18, 1864.- Chapter 13: Abraham Lincoln's Campaign Against the Malignant Heart.- Chapter 14: That Nation or Any Nation.