Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words

Lincoln's Sword illuminates the power and clarity of Lincoln's words. Even if the reader is not a Lincoln devotee or scholar, this book's treatment of Lincoln's speeches are clear, concise and pleasureable. This is a book that anyone would enjoy reading.

Lincoln has become one of those tests where someone can tell you their thoughts about him and you can often tell where they are on any number of issues. The problem is that much of what people think they know about Lincoln is only a bumper sticker or sound byte version of what went on. We try to judge Lincoln (and most of our great historical figures) by our lights rather than seeing him in the context of his own time. Of course, it takes some work to learn what happened and why rather than wringing our hands over, say, the suspension of habeas corpus. This excellent book can be a great contribution to your education about the real Abraham Lincoln and how he conducted himself as President. He came into office with the elite dismissing him as crude and hopelessly unsophisticated. This book shows us how carefully he worked on his public speeches and the letters and articles that were published during his time in office. Sometimes we forget that by the time Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861 that the movement for secession was well underway and the firing on Fort Sumter was on April 12, 1861, just a few weeks later. His second inaugural address was given on March 4, 1865, Lee's Surrender at Appomattox was on April 9th, and Lincoln was shot by Booth on April 14th. He died the next day. So, his entire service as President was bounded by that terrible war. Douglas Wilson takes several of the addresses and letters central to Lincoln's Presidency and shows us what the extant drafts reveal to us about Lincoln's purposes, approach, and the political realities he faced. He also brings in testimony by those who were involved with those documents, worked with Lincoln, and contemporaries who wrote about them. It is all quite fascinating, especially because it is focused on what was happening and what was thought at the time rather than imposing anachronistic views from our day on those events. However, Wilson does spend some time examining what some contemporary critics have said about these documents and events. For example, he uses a few apt quotes from Garry Wills' wonderful book (one you may want to read) on the Gettysburg address because they are among the best things said about it in our time. While other documents are considered in passing, the central documents examined in this book are: Lincoln's farewell from Springfield for Washington, his First Inaugural, the July 4, 1861 address, the Emancipation Proclamation (and its antecedents), a letter to Greeley, the Corning letter, the Gettysburg Address, and the Second Inaugural. I would suggest that you get a copy of Lincoln's addresses or get them from the Web and read the documents along with the book (most are not provided in the book because of their length and their wide availability). I recommend the two volume set of Lincoln's "Speeches and Writings" from the Library of America (only the second volume is needed for this book). Reading what Lincoln actually wrote and said

Lincoln was a great writer but his handwriting was awful. With meticulous attention to Lincoln's handwritten drafts and his corrections on printers' proofsheets, Douglas Wilson reassesses just how great a writer Lincoln was. As a documentary scholar, Wilson cannot be surpassed: he properly acknowledges prior scholars who celebrated the high quality of Lincoln's prose--Jacques Barzun and Don Fehrenbacher, among others. Wilson examines not only Lincoln's own papers, but also relevant correspondence, news reports, and testimony. Lincoln sometimes showed drafts to colleagues, friends, and secretaries, then revised to respond to their criticisms. Wilson takes care to distinguish Lincoln's public oratory from the printed records of it, and shows how--in case after case--Lincoln was sensitive to and took advantage of differences in media. Lincoln knew when his writing should be formal or folksy, terse or expansive, tacit or explicit, congenial or hortatory. No less important, he knew how to seize an opportunity and when to create one. Modern presidents rely on television to reach the citizenry; Lincoln wrote highly influential editorials and public letters. He wrote his own speeches. Then he rewrote them. Wilson shows that Lincoln was a relentless reviser. No matter how well he spoke and how well a speech was received, he would guide it into print with alterations to make it work as well on the page as possible. Wilson probes whether the Gettysburg Address that millions have memorized is what Lincoln actually said. Wilson does not ask us to take him on faith: he includes facsimile reproductions of many key documents as evidence of Lincoln's attentive labor. Readers can see the cross-outs, scribbles, and additions for themselves. Finally, Wilson reminds us of the immense literary work--reading, writing, and revising--that Lincoln did in the course of his presidency. Getting the general sense across was not enough for Lincoln: he sought precision. For any parent or educator who wishes proof of the importance of good writing for good judgment and good effect, there are few better examples than the Lincoln shown here.

While those deeply interested in writing as a political tool to convince and lead are urged to read this book, it is not for the casually interested person who simply wants a general biography of President Lincoln. Many other authors over the years have mined the rich lode of speeches and other texts left by this great man for insights related to the art of writing--- the noted scholar Douglas Wilson's present effort on this specific topic will rank among the best.

An amazing piece of detective work. Douglas Wilson uncovers the mind of Abraham Lincoln by analyzing how he edited his presidential writings. Wilson peels back the layers of some of Lincoln's dramatic speeches, including his Springfield Farewell Address, First Inaugural, Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural. Lincoln kept fine-tuning the words for greater force and clarity. Wilson shows how Lincoln's editing continued even after his speeches were delivered, as he carefully finalized the works for publication, translating from the spoken word to the written word. We gain new appreciation for Lincoln's final words when we see the drafting process underlying them. This may be as close as we will ever get to reconstructing the thoughts of our greatest President.