Lincoln and His Contemporaries
Edited by Charles Hubbard
The essays in this book are about Abraham Lincoln and the response of three indentifiable, yet very different, groups of his contemporaries to the president's wartime politics. The essayists explore the motivation for and the implications of many of Lincoln's strategies and policies. The reaction by individuals, often leaders, within each of these indentifiable groups reveals the ideological foundations that are a part of the post-Civil War American experience. An examination of the interaction of Abraham Lincoln with his contemporaries also contributes to our understanding of this extraordinary complex man who was the sixteenth president of the United States.
The book is organized into three sections that follow generally in chronological order and reflect the level of activity at various periods. Although the constituencies under consideration are continually involved throughout the war, the influence of each is more pronounced at different times. The interaction between Lincoln and his generals is examined first, followed by the African-American experience.
Contributors include Charles M. Hubbard, Frank Williams, Harold Holzer, John Y. Simon, Hans L. Trefousse, Edna Greene Medford, Terry Alford, William Hanchett, and Thomas R. Turner.
Charles Hubbard is the dean of Lincolniana at the Abraham Lincoln Museum, Lincoln Memorial University, and is the author of The Burden of Confederate Diplomacy.
"Part of the delight of Lincoln and his Contemporaries is that the eight thoughtful and knowledgeable essays that compose the book encompass three very different groups’ views of Abraham Lincoln, his policies, and his assassination. Three of the essays describe the relationship between the president and his generals. Two have to do with African Americans’ perceptions of Lincoln. The remaining three essays concern
various views of the assassination. They essays often support different perceptions and interpretations of similar events. The reader therefore becomes aware of some of the debates that still rage over Lincoln and the Civil War."
David B. Chesebrough
in The Journal of Southern History, vol. 67, no. 1
Titles of related interest
When the Bells Tolled for Lincoln
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