Thoughts on Lincoln

OK, a bit of shameless self-promotion: Here is a link to an op-ed I wrote on the legacy of Lincoln which appears in today's Raleigh News & Observer. Happy 200th Birthday, Mr. President, and to Mr. Darwin, too.

Eric Foner's Lincoln Recommendations

Last night, Eric Foner, one of the nation's most important scholars of nineteenth century America, offered his suggestions for book on Lincoln on NPR. Take a listen...

His suggestions:

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
Lincoln : A Life of Purpose and Power by Richard Carwardine
The Radical and the Republican by James Oakes

I would add Foner's own Our Lincoln: New Perspectives on Lincoln and His World.

A Guide to Writings About Lincoln

I found this essay by Fred Kaplan in the Washington Post a useful layman's guide to the deluge of writings about Abraham Lincoln. If you don't have the five years Kaplan estimates it would take to get through the books about the 16th President, take a look at his recommendations.

Lincoln and the Survivial of the Union

As this is the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, there has been an outpouring of tributes and memorials of the 16th President. Here's one I found particularly interesting.

Lincoln and Obama

The Presidential campaign and the inauguration were alive with reference to the Lincoln legacy. The train trip retracing Lincoln's journey to Washington, the rhetorical references, and the constant comparison in the press between Lincoln and Obama. In the days leading up to the election, the First Family even made a nighttime visit to the Lincoln Memorial, an act that seemed to solidify the link between the two men from Illinois. In the New York Times, Henry Louis Gates and John Stauffer offer an interesting op-ed speculating on what Lincoln might think about a black president. Interesting and thought-provoking.