Table Of ContentABRAHAM LINCOLN
PoliticalWritingsandSpeeches
AbrahamLincolnoccupiesauniqueplaceintheAmericanpantheon.Symbol,
sage, myth, and martyr, he is an American icon – Honest Abe and The
GreatEmancipator,aJanus-faceddemigodsculptedinmarble.Butthisisthe
post-assassinationLincoln.DuringhislifetimeLincolnelicitedverydifferent
reactions. The writings and speeches presented in this scholarly edition
illuminate Lincoln as a political thinker in the context of his own time and
politicalsituation.Openingwithaconciseyetrichintroduction,thetextsthat
followarecompleteandcarefullyedited,withextensiveannotationandfoot-
notestoprovideaclearerinsightintoLincolntheman,thepolitician,andthe
politicalthinker.Hisviewsonraceandslavery,onsecessionandcivilwar,and
onthecontradiction(ashesawit)betweentheDeclarationofIndependence
(“allmenarecreatedequal”)andtheoriginalConstitution(whichcondones
slavery)arelaidoutinLincoln’sownwell-craftedwords.
terenceball is Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Arizona
StateUniversity.Heistheauthorofseveralbooks,includingTransforming
PoliticalDiscourse(1988),ReappraisingPoliticalTheory(1995),andamystery
novel,Rousseau’sGhost(1998),andiscoeditor(withRichardBellamy)ofThe
Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought, among other
works. He has previously edited The Federalist and coedited (with Joyce
Appleby) Jefferson:PoliticalWritingsfortheCambridgeTextsseries.
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Fudan University, on 05 Dec 2020 at 01:36:31, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034784
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Fudan University, on 05 Dec 2020 at 01:36:31, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034784
CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY
OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Fudan University, on 05 Dec 2020 at 01:36:31, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034784
CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY
OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Series editors
RAYMOND GEUSS, ProfessorinPhilosophy,Universityof
Cambridge
QUENTIN SKINNER, BarberBeaumontProfessorofthe
Humanities,DepartmentofHistory,QueenMary,University
ofLondon
Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought is now firmly estab-
lishedasthemajorstudenttextbookseriesinpoliticaltheory.Itaimstomake
available tostudentsallthemostimportanttexts inthehistoryof Western
politicalthought,fromancientGreecetotheearlytwentiethcentury.Allthe
familiarclassictextswillbeincluded,buttheseriesseeksatthesametimeto
enlarge the conventional canon by incorporating an extensive range of less
well-knownworks,manyofthemneverbeforeavailableinamodernEnglish
edition.Whereverpossible,textsarepublishedincompleteandunabridged
form,andtranslationsarespeciallycommissionedfortheseries.Eachvolume
contains a critical introduction together with chronologies, biographical
sketches,aguidetofurtherreadingandanynecessaryglossariesandtextual
apparatus.Whencompletedtheserieswillaimtoofferanoutlineoftheentire
evolutionofWesternpoliticalthought.
Foralistoftitlespublishedintheseries,pleaseseeendofbook
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Fudan University, on 05 Dec 2020 at 01:36:31, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034784
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
POLITICAL WRITINGS AND
SPEECHES
EDITED BY
TERENCE BALL
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Fudan University, on 05 Dec 2020 at 01:36:31, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034784
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,
Singapore,SãoPaulo,Delhi,MexicoCity
CambridgeUniversityPress
TheEdinburghBuilding,Cambridgecb28ru,UK
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521897280
©intheselection,introductionandeditorialmatterCambridgeUniversityPress2013
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2013
PrintedandboundintheUnitedKingdombytheMPGBooksGroup
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Lincoln,Abraham,1809–1865.
[Selections.2013]
AbrahamLincoln:politicalwritingsandspeeches/editedbyTerenceBall.
p. cm.–(Cambridgetextsinthehistoryofpoliticalthought)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-0-521-89728-0(hardback)–isbn978-1-521-72226-1
(paperback) 1. Lincoln,Abraham,1809–1865. 2. Presidents–
UnitedStates–Biography. 3. UnitedStates–Politicsandgovernment–1815–1861.
4. UnitedStates–Politicsandgovernment–1861–1865. 5. Speeches,addresses,
etc.,American–19thcentury. I. Ball,Terence. II. Title.
e457.92 2012c
973.7092–dc23
[B]
2012023157
isbn978-0-521-89728-0Hardback
isbn978-0-521-72226-1Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor
accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto
inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Fudan University, on 05 Dec 2020 at 01:36:31, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034784
ForMaryDietz
and
JamesFarr
Infriendship
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Fudan University, on 05 Dec 2020 at 01:36:31, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034784
TheGettysburgAddress,Bancroftcopy.
CourtesyoftheDivisionofRareandManuscriptCollections,Cornell
UniversityLibrary.
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Fudan University, on 05 Dec 2020 at 01:36:31, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034784
Contents
Preface pagexiii
Introduction xv
Chronology xxxviii
Biographicalsynopses xlii
Anoteonsourcesandabbreviations l
Bibliographicalnote lii
I PoliticalWritingsandSpeeches 1
1. Autobiographicalsketch(c.June1860) 3
2. “ThePerpetuationofOurPoliticalInstitutions”:Addressto
theSpringfieldYoungMen’sLyceum(January27,1838) 11
3. LimitsofPresidentialPower:ToWilliamH.Herndon
(February15,1848) 20
4. SpeechontheKansas–NebraskaAct(October16,1854) 22
5. ToJoshuaF.Speed(August24,1855) 36
6. SpeechontheDredScottDecision(June26,1857) 41
7. “AHouseDivided”Speech:AcceptanceSpeechforthe
RepublicanSenatorialNomination(June16,1858) 54
8. PortionofaSpeechatEdwardsville,Illinois(September11,
1858) 63
9. SeventhLincoln–DouglasDebate:Lincoln’sReply
(October15,1858) 68
10. OnThomasJefferson:ToHenryL.PierceandOthers
(April6,1859) 89
11. CooperUnionAddress(February27,1860) 92
ix
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Fudan University, on 05 Dec 2020 at 01:36:07, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034784
Contents
12. SpeechatIndianapolis,Indiana(February11,1861) 111
13. SpeechatIndependenceHall,Philadelphia(February22,
1861) 113
14. FirstInauguralAddress(March4,1861) 115
15. MessagetoCongressinSpecialSession(July4,1861) 124
16. AppealtoBorder-StateRepresentativesforCompensated
Emancipation(July12,1862) 139
17. AddressonColonizationtoaCommitteeofColoredMen
(August14,1862) 142
18. ToHoraceGreeley(August22,1862) 147
19. PreliminaryEmancipationProclamation(September22,
1862) 149
20. ProclamationSuspendingtheWritofHabeasCorpus
(September24,1862) 153
21. SecondAnnualMessagetoCongress(December1,1862) 155
22. FinalEmancipationProclamation(January1,1863) 167
23. ToGeneralJohnA.McClernand(January8,1863) 170
24. ToErastusCorningandOthers(June12,1863) 172
25. ToMatthewBirchardandOthers:ReplytotheOhio
DemocraticConvention(June29,1863) 181
26. ToJamesC.Conkling(August26,1863) 186
27. TheGettysburgAddress(November19,1863) 191
28. ThirdAnnualMessagetoCongress(December8,1863) 193
29. ProclamationofAmnestyandReconstruction(December8,
1863) 197
30. ReplytotheNewYorkWorking-men’sDemocratic
RepublicanAssociation(March21,1864) 201
31. ToAlbertG.Hodges(April4,1864) 203
32. ToCharlesD.Robinson(August17,1864) 206
33. ReplytoaSouthernWoman(December6[?],1864) 209
34. “WithMalicetowardNone”:SecondInauguralAddress
(March4,1865) 210
35. SpeechonReconstruction(Lincoln’slastspeech)(April11,
1865) 213
II NotesandFragments 219
36. OnGovernment(1854?) 221
37. OnSlavery(1854?) 223
x
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Fudan University, on 05 Dec 2020 at 01:36:07, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034784
