Lincoln on the Verge
- 624pages
- 22 heures de lecture
Drawing on new research, Ted Widmer reveals President-Elect Abraham Lincoln as a work in progress, showing him on the verge of greatness.
Ted Widmer Livres
Edward Widmer est un historien et écrivain dont l'œuvre plonge profondément dans l'histoire et la culture américaines. Ses expériences de son passage à la Maison Blanche, où il s'est concentré sur la rédaction de discours et les projets historiques, éclairent son exploration et sa présentation de l'expérience américaine. Sa formation académique et son rôle de bibliothécaire lui permettent d'analyser et d'interpréter de manière critique les événements historiques et leur impact sur le présent.
The history of American oratory exhibits, in the words of William F. Buckley, “powerful ignition points for hot flashes of indignation, contempt, rage, veneration and yearning.” This volume (the second of an unprecedented two-volume collection) gathers the unabridged texts of 83 eloquent and dramatic speeches delivered by 45 American public figures between 1865 and 1997, beginning with Abraham Lincoln’s last speech on Reconstruction and ending with Bill Clinton’s heartfelt tribute to the Little Rock Nine. During this period American political oratory continued to evolve, as a more conversational style, influenced by the intimacy of radio and television, emerged alongside traditional forms of rhetoric.Included are speeches on Reconstruction by Thaddeus Stevens and African-American congressman Robert Brown Elliott, Frederick Douglass’s brilliant oration on Abraham Lincoln, and Oliver Wendell Holmes’s “touched with fire” Memorial Day Address. Speeches by Robert Ingersoll and William Jennings Bryan capture the fervor of 19th-century political conventions, while Theodore Roosevelt and Carl Schurz offer opposing views on imperialism. Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell denounce the cruelty of lynching and the injustice of Jim Crow; Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Carrie Chapman Catt advocate the enfranchisement of women; and Woodrow Wilson and Henry Cabot Lodge present conflicting visions of the League of Nations.Also included are wartime speeches by George Patton and Dwight Eisenhower; an address on the atomic bomb by J. Robert Oppenheimer; Richard Nixon’s “Checkers Speech;” Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet;” Barry Goldwater’s speech to the 1964 Republican convention; Mario Savio urging Berkeley students to stop “the machine;” Barbara Jordan defending the Constitution during Watergate; and an extensive selection of speeches by Franklin Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.Each volume contains biographical and explanatory notes, and an indexLIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.
Exploring America's historical journey, the narrative delves into the nation's aspiration to act as a global protector of freedom over centuries. Ted Widmer examines key events and figures that shaped this ambition, highlighting the complexities and contradictions inherent in the pursuit of liberty. The book offers a comprehensive perspective on how the idea of freedom has evolved and influenced both domestic and international landscapes throughout American history.