The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln: The Triumph of Freedom and Unity

By Don Nardo

Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War are forever linked. The bloody conflict began in 1861, the year Lincoln was elected president. It ended in 1865, the year he was struck down by an assassin's bullet. During those years the admired and despised 16th president served as a brilliant commander in chief, ultimately keeping the nation together and freeing thousands of its enslaved people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Dec 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9780756554712

Don Nardo

Noted historian and award-winning author Don Nardo has written many books for young people about American history. Nardo lives with his wife, Christine, in Massachusetts.

Book preview

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One

RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT

Chapter Two

SAVING THE UNION

Chapter Three

FREEING THE SLAVES

Chapter Four

EXPANDING THE NATION

Chapter Five

BELONGING TO THE AGES

Timeline

Glossary

Additional Resources

Source Notes

Select Bibliography

Index

Chapter One

Running for

PRESIDENT

A tall, lanky man with strong, bony facial features entered a small lecture hall at Cooper Union, a New York City private college, on February 27, 1860. His name was Abraham Lincoln. Well-dressed in a long jacket and black tie, he did not yet sport the beard that would later become one of his physical trademarks.

At the time Lincoln, a Republican lawyer and former Illinois congressman, was unofficially campaigning for president. The national election was still about eight months away. But he did not want to waste any time getting the influential men in the Republican Party on his side. A large number of those Republican power brokers were in the audience that evening. Lincoln realized how important it was to make as good an impression as possible.

Abraham Lincoln credited a photo taken the day of his Cooper Union speech for helping him become president. The photographer, Mathew Brady, is famous for his Civil War images.

The subject of the speech was slavery. More specifically, Lincoln dealt with the question of whether slavery should be allowed to expand. It had long existed in the southern U.S. states. And many southerners wanted to see the institution spread into recently formed U.S. territories in the West.

A political button from the 1860 presidential campaign showing Lincoln (left) on the front and vice presidential candidate Hannibal Hamlin on the back

Like many other northerners, Lincoln was against such expansion. Wrong as we think slavery is, he said to the Cooper Union spectators, we can yet afford to let it alone where it is, that is, in the South. He continued: But can we, while our votes will prevent it, allow it to spread into the National Territories, and to overrun us here in these Free [northern] States? If our sense of duty forbids this, then let us stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively.

At first Lincoln’s delivery was fairly quiet and straightforward. But as he continued speaking, his tone became more and more emotional and intense, and his listeners became increasingly spellbound. His face lighted as with an inward fire, a reporter later wrote. "The whole man was transfigured. I forgot his clothes, his personal appearance, and his individual peculiarities. Presently, forgetting myself, I was on my feet with the rest ... cheering this wonderful man ... When he reached his climax, the thunders of applause were terrific."

The speech gave many of its listeners their first glimpse of the charisma and