The Mind and Art of Abraham Lincoln, Philosopher Statesman: Texts and Interpretations of Twenty Great Speeches

By analyzing many of Lincoln's most important speeches, The Mind and Art of Abraham Lincoln, Philosopher Statesman shows him to be a profound and systematic thinker who tries to get at the root of issues, not all of them strictly political. Lowenthal emphasizes Lincoln's manner of writing, which enables him to conceal his most radical thoughts, and pays special attention to the reasoning and artfulness with which he treats a wide variety of subjects. The book follows Lincoln from his Perpetuation or Lyceum address in 1838 to his last speech just after Lee's surrender, as he confronts the great issues of the day and lays out the fundamentals of American politics. Along the way, Lowenthal's careful analysis frees Lincoln of the charge of racial prejudice with which he has been saddled in recent years.

Table of Contents:
Preface I. Early Speeches 1. The Perpetuation Address, January 27, 1838 Text Interpretation 2. The Temperance Address February 22, 1842 Text Interpretation 3. The Handbill on Infidelity August 11, 1846 Text Interpretation 4. The War with Mexico January 12, 1848 Text Interpretation 5. The Eulogy on Henry Clay July 6, 1852 Text Interpretation II. Pre-Civil War Speeches 6. The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise October 16, 1854 Text Interpretation 7. The Dred Scott Decision, June 26, 1857 Text Interpretation 8. The House Divided Speech, June 16, 1858 Text Interpretation 9. The First Lincoln-Douglas Debate, August 21, 1858 Text Interpretation 10.Second Lecture on Discoveries and Inventions, February 11, 1859 Text Interpretation 11. The Address on Agriculture, September 30, 1859 Text Interpretation 12. The Cooper Union Address, Feb. 27, 1860 Text Interpretation III.Civil War Speeches 13. The First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861 Text Interpretation 14. Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862 Text Interpretation 15. The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863 Text Interpretation 16. Letter to Erastus Corning, June 12, 1863 Text Interpretation 17. Letter to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863 Text Interpretation 18. The Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863 Text Interpretation 19. The Second Inaugural, March 4, 1865 Text Interpretation 20. The Last Public Address April 11, 1865 Text Interpretation Index

About the Author :
David Lowenthal is professor emeritus of political science at Boston College.

Review :
In David Lowenthal’s Lincoln, we encounter a statesman whose fierce intellectual independence was matched by a deep sympathy for political friends and foes alike. His Lincoln displays a strikingly free and agile mind long before he was elevated to the presidency. Lowenthal’s fresh interpretations of both familiar and obscure writings of Lincoln force us to pay attention to aspects of Lincoln’s political and philosophical thought, especially regarding religion, long overlooked or simply not noticed. He demonstrates that Lincoln’s insights about the American regime derived from a profound analysis of the premises of self-government and challenges of living as a free people. Along the way, the reader learns what is entailed in choosing to live as a self-governing people—what it takes to be free and to maintain that freedom from generation to generation. Plato may have thought that a philosopher-king was impossible, except in the conversational utopia of his Republic. He didn’t live to see Abraham Lincoln, Philosopher-Statesman. In this marvelous collection of Lincoln’s speeches, we witness how deep wisdom and democratic rule can indeed coexist. Each speech is followed by David Lowenthal’s illuminating response. Instead of the polemical debate between Lincoln and Douglas, we are treated to a friendly, truth-seeking dialogue between Lincoln and Lowenthal. This book achieves its high purpose: revealing both Lincoln’s daring mind and his prudent political art. The greatness of Lincoln is here analyzed with exceeding care, and confirmed, in David Lowenthal's searching examination of Lincoln's words and arguments. This is a splendid effort and display of political philosophy, offering new matter for appreciation and showing how Lincoln's thoughtfulness was the crown of all his great qualities.