Lincoln: And the American Manifesto

In this thorough examination of Abraham Lincoln's ideology, Jayne argues that Lincoln's greatest accomplishments-including his Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address-were heavily influenced by his unbending belief in the Declaration of Independence's primacy among the trappings of United States democracy. Tracing Lincoln's evolving and often contradictory views on slavery and race through pivotal historical moments such as the Dred Scott decision, Jayne demonstrates that Lincoln possessed a complex understanding of the ways slavery was entrenched in his nation, as well as a natural tendency toward prudence. Something of a ""religious radical"" himself, Lincoln's personal Christian theology-heavily influenced by deist thinkers like Theodore Parker-emphasized God above Jesus and placed great confidence in man's moral capacity; in Lincoln's eyes, that moral capacity formed the bedrock of democracy. Lincoln regarded the Declaration of Independence itself as a kind of national ""ancient faith"" and looked to it reverently, ultimately concluding that ""those who deny freedom for others deserve it not for themselves,"" and, conversely, ""In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free."" This volume will appeal as much to Civil War history buffs as to those who simply admire Lincoln as a singular leader and thinker.