And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle

For those predisposed to admire Abraham Lincoln, this book is like a warm, cozy blanket. It can be appreciated as a reassuring “Great Man of History” Dad book, which makes it destined to appear under many a Christmas tree this year. <br /><br />But Meacham has a bigger purpose here than simply telling a comforting civic bedtime story. While the book is a throwback of sorts in its veneration of Lincoln, in many ways, this is the Lincoln book that our current times demand - it's a corrective that aims to restore Lincoln to his exalted status, quietly rebuking those on the far left who explicitly reject him, and those on the far right who more implicitly do so.<br /><br />Much of the book is an argument against the newly-fashionable assertion that Lincoln was really a racist who cared far more about Union than abolition, and whose name and likeness should therefore be removed from places of public prominence. Meacham encourages these critics to understand Lincoln rather than cancel him, by emphasizing his morality, pointing out just how much he was able to accomplish, and how much better off we are today because of it.<br /><br />“To chart Lincoln's lifelong moral and political course on slavery and equality is not to sing his praises as if he were the hero of an epic poem," Meacham acknowledges. Lincoln was not "otherworldly, or saintly, or savior-like, but... an imperfect man seeking to bring a more perfect Union into being."<br /><br />After getting these necessary caveats out of the way, though, Meacham doesn’t actually spend much time examining Lincoln’s imperfections. Instead, he confronts and explains Lincoln's most problematic positions, one by one, such as:<br /><br />● His comments on race that offend our modern sensibilities (these raise “difficult questions,” Meacham allows, before ultimately arguing that Lincoln was a man of his times who sometimes said unfortunate things about racial equality in order to make his antislavery views more palatable to a white, racist public).<br /><br />● His support for colonizing freed slaves overseas (not because he wanted to be rid of them, but because he feared the races would never be able to peacefully coexist).<br /><br />● His famous letter to Horace Greeley, in which he seemed to suggest he’d be fine with slavery if it meant the Union would be preserved (the letter “might seem callous but was in fact well calibrated," Meacham writes, since "without Union there could be no emancipation").<br /><br />● And the selection of the racist Andrew Johnson as his re-election running mate (not Lincoln’s choice, Meacham points out, and it was a purely political calculation and not an endorsement of Johnson’s integrity).<br /><br />Regardless of Lincoln’s personal views on race or the way he expressed himself, Meacham emphasizes that Lincoln stuck to his antislavery convictions, resisted compromise, and his determination never wavered, only his tactics did in the service of winning the war and preserving the Union.<br /><br />So there you have it, Lincoln-statue-puller-downers.<br /><br />But what of those on the other far end of the political spectrum, who lay claim to the party of Lincoln but reject his egalitarianism, embrace the Lost Cause and project a Christian nationalist view of politics and history? Meacham’s response to them is less explicit but no less potent, as he makes the case that such a worldview is, well, not very Christian at all. <br /><br />While Lincoln was averse to organized religion and expressed skepticism of Christianity, Meacham points out (albeit repeatedly, and perhaps at more length than necessary) that he was a man of faith nonetheless, whose moralism was rooted in the Christian tradition and who increasingly used Biblical allusions to make his moral arguments. It was his moral opposition to slavery that fueled his rise to the presidency. And emancipation, the high point of his presidency, was the epitome of turning those moral beliefs into policy, of “doing the right thing, for practical reasons.”<br /><br />Those who might turn to religion today to reject what Lincoln stood for - just as many Confederates did at the time - are, Meacham suggests, simply mistaken.<br /><br />Throughout the book, whether he’s defending Lincoln from the left or from the right, the common thread is an emphasis on the morality behind Lincoln’s decision making. The political, legal and pragmatic calculations that he had to consider are not given as much attention. Generally, Meacham is more interested in Lincoln’s motives than his tactics. <br /><br />So he’s quick to glide over parts of Lincoln’s life story that don’t directly support his thesis. Stories of Lincoln's youth come straight from William Herndon's telling and are recounted without caveats or question. Lincoln’s entire legal career is summarized in a couple of paragraphs. Meacham touches very lightly on Mary Lincoln’s moods and misdeeds, and only in the context of portraying Lincoln as having the patience of Job and the compassion of Christ himself in dealing with her. And Lincoln’s rise to the presidency is so swift, it ends up appearing inevitable - in one paragraph, he’s considered a dark horse for the Republican nomination; two paragraphs later, he’s the nominee. <br /><br />This might be more forgiveable if the book’s narrower focus was more apparent up front. Instead, it’s rather less sweeping than its heft and description might suggest. The book does technically fulfill its promise to “chronicle the life of Abraham Lincoln,” in the sense that it hits all the highlights of a standard Lincoln biography, but it does so in a concise and fairly conventional way. That’s partly because the book’s 700+ pages contain only 400+ pages of narrative. Yes, that means there are about 300 pages of end notes and bibliographical material. Which is a lot! So it's certainly thoroughly-researched and well-documented, but that may be the largest source notes-to-narrative page count ratio I’ve ever seen in a book, even for Meacham. All of which is to say, the book is much shorter and more specific in the treatment of its subject than it may first appear. <br /><br />The book’s introduction states that Lincoln "has much to teach us in a twenty-first-century moment of polarization, passionate disagreement, and differing understandings of reality." I suppose linking historical narratives to modern times is de rigueur for a work of popular history, so as to appeal to a mass readership who might otherwise be turned off by stories about a bunch of old dead guys from dusty old history books. But Meacham avoids making too many then-and-now comparisons, or offering “don’t worry, we’ve come through tough times before and we can do it again” platitudes. <br /><br />But he does circle back to modern times in his conclusion, with a caution against “politics divorced from conscience.” We are living in very different times today than Lincoln did. But if this book helps to refute and drown out some of the noise from the anti-Lincoln extremes, perhaps there is something our modern-day leaders can learn from Lincoln after all. <br /><br />Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for providing an advance copy of this book for review, ahead of its October 25th release.

“Lincoln’s acceptance of the moral case against slavery and his rejection of the passivity of Calvinistic predestination would help determine the course of his life, and of the nation’s.” <br /><br />“In life, Lincoln’s motives were moral as well as political – a reminder that our finest presidents are those committed to bringing a flawed nation closer to the light, a mission that requires an understanding that politics divorced from conscience is fatal to the American experiment in liberty under law.”<br /><br />This is an extensively researched account of an American president faced with a polarized nation. It explores how he grew as a man as his principles, conscience and religious beliefs coalesced. I have read other Lincoln biographies so I was familiar with a lot of this material, but this book took a slightly different approach to Lincoln’s complicated story. He was melancholy, shy, brilliant, ambitious, tender hearted and (fortunately for the country) amazingly steadfast in the face of opposition. “The world shall know that I will keep my faith to friends &amp; enemies, come what will.”<br /><br />I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher. I also listened to the audiobook (excellently narrated by the author), which ended at about the 41% point of the ebook. The rest of the ebook contains Source Notes and a Bibliography.

<a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/3041.Jon_Meacham" title="Jon Meacham" rel="noopener">Jon Meacham</a> brings us an important story about Abraham Lincoln in these polarized times. I have read many books about Lincoln but I did not know that there were fears that an attempt would be made to prevent the counting of the electoral votes and the declaration of Lincoln’s presidency. Federal troops were deployed to prevent such a disruption. The outgoing vice president, John C. Breckinridge, was a member of the opposing party and a loyal Southerner. Would he act with integrity and fulfill his Constitutional duties?<br /><br />This book is well researched and documented and takes the reader from his birth in 1809 on the on the Kentucky frontier to his tragic assassination at Ford’s Theater on Good Friday in 1865. We learn about his relationship with his father and mother, his self-education through reading, his bouts of depression, and the women in his life. There were other women before he met and married Mary Todd.<br /><br />This book was an eye opener. He supported colonizing freed slaves overseas because he feared the races would never be able to peacefully coexist. He was against slavery and never wavered or compromised. To preserve the Union the war must be won. How Lincoln dealt with the polarization in the country at his time was fascinating and gives the reader hope today.

<i>And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle</i> was such an engaging book by one of my favorite historians, Jon Meacham. There were certain parallels to the fragile state of our democracy today and withstanding many assaults on this experiment. Abraham Lincoln has long been thought to be one our best presidents leading the country basically through four long years of the Civil War that had pitted our nation's citizens, one against the other. This was a president who led a divided country where the slaveholding South believed that it had God and history on its side. In the poignant words of Jon Meacham: <i>"The fate of the Union, the possibilities of democracy, and the future of slavery, then, were the stake of a war that Abraham Lincoln chose to wage to total victory--or to defeat."</i><br /><br />Abraham Linoln's story began in the forested interior of the nation in Kentucky in the first years of the nineteenth century on the American frontier. The Lincoln family later moved to Indiana where, as in Kentucky, the themes of antislavery were presented as religious arguments and sermons. A young Abraham Lincoln was steeped in the notions about the wrong of slavery and the rights of man as explained by Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine. It was clear that young Lincoln had accepted the moral case against slavery from a young age. As a young boy, Lincoln's stepmother raised him to be <i>a slender well behaved quiet boy. . . She was doubtless the first person that ever treated him like a human being."</i> Formal schooling was sparse but young Abraham had a thirst for learning and an innate curiosity. Books were his means of escape and transcendance. <br /><br />As a young man, Abraham Lincoln announced his candidacy for the Illinois state legislature. However, his disappointment in his loss was understandable but he vowed to return. Newly admitted to the bar, he moved to Springfield, Illinois. He and Mary Todd Lincoln had their first son, soon followed by a second son. As a personal aside, I loved the next years of Abraham Lincoln as he was a circuit lawyer and traveled throughout Illinois. Several years ago we spent a delightful week just meandering through Abraham Lincoln's judicial circuit and all of the places he frequented, including his law offices with William Herndon and the Springfield Courthouse and the home that he and Mary and his children loved in Springfield, Illinois. It was a humbling experience. But Lincoln longed for greater things as he had his expectations set on Washington, D.C.<br /><br />On Monday, March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln emerged from the Presidential carriage with the text of his inaugural address in his hands as he gazed out upon a large audience. In this first Inaugaral Lincoln made his closing appeal:<br /><br /><i> <blockquote>"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."</blockquote> </i><br /><br />As the the battles of the Civil War raged on, Lincoln won his second election. And Lincoln left no doubt that slavery must, and on his watch, would die. <br /><br /><i> <blockquote>"In the fourth year of war, two hundred forty-five years after the arrival of the enslaved at Jamestown, eighty-eight years after the Declaration of Independence, and seventy-six years after the ratification of the Constitution, an American president insisted that a core moral commitment to liberty must survive the vicissitudes of politics, the prejudices of race, and the contests of interest. This is not to separate Lincoln's moral vision from his moral sensibilities--an impossibility--but to underscore that he was acting not only for the moment, not only for dominion in the arena, but for all time. His achievement is remarkable not only because he was otherworldly, or saintly, or savior-like, but because he was what he was--an imperfect man seeking to bring a more perfect Union into being."</blockquote> </i><br /><br />And as we lived through the first few months of Lincoln's second term, we knew what the future held. Meacham takes us to Washington on Friday, April 14, 1865, as Lincoln is having coffee as he prepares to depart for Ford's Theatre, Lincoln carried his china cup placing it on the window sill.<br /><br /><i> <blockquote>"In that tumultuous spring of 1865, the mortal Lincoln would never return to claim his china cup in the bedroom window, nor would he peruse anew the clippings in his wallet. The world moved on, turning over again and again and again, for worse and for better. Now the immortal Lincoln sits not far from the room, and from the house, in which he proved that right does make might. There, in the heart of the capital on the National Mall, Abraham Lincoln remains, at once elevated and proximate, historic and humble, a source of strength for the struggle that seems to have no end."</blockquote> </i>

“In 1908, in a wild and remote area of the North Caucasus, Leo Tolstoy, the greatest writer of the age, was the guest of a tribal chief “living far away from civilized life in the mountains.” Gathering his family and neighbors, the chief asked Tolstoy to tell stories about the famous men of history. Tolstoy told how he entertained the eager crowd for hours with tales of Alexander, Caesar, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon. When he was winding to a close, the chief stood and said, “But you have not told us a syllable about the greatest general and greatest ruler of the world. We want to know something about him. He was a hero. He spoke with a voice of thunder; he laughed like the sunrise and his deeds were strong as the rock….His name was Lincoln and the country in which he lived is called America, which is so far away that if a youth should journey to reach it he would be an old man when he arrived. Tell us of that man.”<br /><br />The above quote is taken from Doris Kearns Goodwin's, "Team of Rivals:The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln." In my opinion one of the greatest biographies on the Sixteen President of the United States. It is telling tale of how famous President Lincoln had become, but unlike the other men Tolstoy told the chief about, Lincoln's "deeds were strong as the rock."<br /><br />Jon Meacham's "And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle," is more like a memoir, a diary, written by this flawed but greatest of all presidents. It is so personal, that it left me shaken and next to tears. The research that went into this book is a testimony to Mr. Meacham's love and awe of this one of a kind president, leader, and commander. 260 pages of this book are simply reference and index notes.<br /><br />Unlike any book I have read on Lincoln, this book explores the inner workings and beliefs of Lincoln. He possessed a moral compass that might sway occasionally, but in the end it always landed on the righteous and virtuous nature of the man... righteous and virtuous nature we wish in all our leaders and find in so, so few. That is not to say that Lincoln was not an acute politician and depending on the audience swayed from some of his profound beliefs. He understood politics as well as anyone.<br /><br />He was a man profoundly influenced by the Bible and Christianity, and often quoted from the Bible when making speeches, yet one could not for a fact say that he believed in a God, yet it was passages from the Bible and the Declaration of Independence that formed the foundation of his humanity: That all men are created equal, and in the eyes of a all forgiven God that all men regardless of race, religion, and education deserved to be treated the same and should never to be shackled and involuntarily detained as property.<br /><br />When greeting the famous, once enslaved, Frederick Douglass at the White House, Mr Douglass said, "That President Lincoln stood up and shook my hand as an equal."<br /><br />While reading this great biography, I seriously wondered if any presidents of the United States even came close to the moral convictions of President Lincoln, or was he simply one of a kind like Babe Ruth. The only presidents that I could think of that even came close to Mr. Lincoln, were Presidents Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, and Joe Biden. Sadly, nearly 160 years after the death of President Lincoln, President Biden is facing a nation divided and like President Lincoln he believes that our country is strongest as a 'united country' not as a 'divided one.'<br /><br />Mr. Meachan's biography of President Lincoln is a treasure.

It is said that there are more books written about Abraham Lincoln than anyone but Jesus. I don't know if this is still true, but every time a new Lincoln biography is published it seems that some new angle has been discovered. Jon Meacham is an excellent historian and biographer. Given his interest in religion and spirituality, Meacham takes time to look at Lincoln through this lens. Lincoln believed in God, but never formally affliated with any religious sect. His final cause, to preserve the Union AND free the slaves, was a moral requirement for him. Lincoln believed the arc of history bent toward justice and put his life on the line to bend that arc just a bit more.<br /><br />

4.5 Stars<br /><br />I'm trying to remember if I've read a book about Abraham Lincoln but I don't think I have since elementary school. A couple years ago I read book about John Wilkes Booth which was very good but not Abraham Lincoln. I obviously know alot about him and I've watched countless documentaries about him. I even watched that boring movie starring Daniel Day Lewis. <br /><br />So since it appears I've been slacking on old honest Abe, what better book to read than one written by Pulitzer Prize winning historian Jon Meacham. I know Mr Meacham through his many appearances on MSNBC and in Ken Burns documentaries. I've also read his biography of George HW Bush. Since I'm planning on reading at least 1 book about every President and im trying to read up the Founding Fathers Jon Meacham's work is a great place to start. <br /><br />Whenever I hear our current political climate in the US described as the worst or most dangerous I always wonder if people have forgotten that 4 out 46 Presidents were assassinated and this country fought an actual war with itself. War you know with bullets and bombs. Not mean words on Twitter or Fox News. Now I know to some people January 6th 2021 was the worst thing ever but once again it was literally a bunch of white people(lots of them cops) throwing a temper tantrum. Now I don't doubt that the worst may be ahead of us but at the end of the day, this country has been through worse. <br /><br />Things I Learned: <br /><br />1. Abraham Lincoln's father may not have been his father <br /><br />2. Arlington National Cemetery was built during the Civil War(I had never thought about when it was created)<br /><br />3. After Lincoln's first win as President, many Southern states considered not certifying the election( why does sound familiar??)<br /><br />4. People were really out here calling Abe ugly to his face. Unnecessary. <br /><br />5. Abe was petty as fuck. I support that! <br /><br />6. Lincoln only won reelection because of mail in voting...interesting. <br /><br />I learned more things but I want yall to read this book so I can't tell yall the thing that shocked me. <br /><br />And There Was Light is partly a Lincoln biography but it mostly focuses on his thoughts about Slavery. His family upbringing and how his father and the church he attended shaped his abolitionists leanings...even if Lincoln was always in favor 100% ending slavery. It also talks about discussions he had about sending freed slaves to places like Haiti or Liberia, because it was believed that white folks and Black folks just would be unable to live together( I think we're still trying to figure out if it's possible). <br /><br />I'm obviously a fake history lover. I mean the fact that this the first Abraham Lincoln book I've read in probably 20 years. I'm a fraud and I'm turning in my history lover card. I'm a phony. I'm joking but I am sure that I've read an Abraham Lincoln book I just need to go through my shelves....but I need to read more. Team of Rivals is definitely on my tbr but if you know any great Lincoln biographies then drop them in the comments or send me a recommendation. <br /><br />If you don't normally read books about History, I would not start with this one. It's dense and it's written in a way that supposes you already know alot about the Civil War and Lincoln. Most of the stuff I know about the Civil War, I learned from Ken Burns. <br /><br />I'll probably read another Trump book but what President do you think I read about next? <br /><br />Jon Meacham is a legend so I don't need to recommend his books but if you already love History than pick this book up.

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://wp.me/p302YQ-64U">https://wp.me/p302YQ-64U</a><br /><br />Published last fall, "And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle" is Jon Meacham's review of the 16th president's antislavery commitment. Meacham is a presidential historian and author who has written biographies of Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Roosevelt and George H.W. Bush and earned a Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Andrew Jackson.<br /><br />This book is implicitly, if not quite explicitly, marketed as a biography. And because its narrative incorporates all the major events in Lincoln's life, that label is not entirely inappropriate. But this book is far better described as an intellectual exploration of Lincoln's moral, religious and political views and the evolution of his attitude toward slavery.<br /><br />Readers familiar with Meacham's previous books will quickly recognize his unique literary voice which infuses the narrative. Soaring rhetoric, grand declarations and astute observations all appear in abundance. And clever one-liners, though occasionally too grandiloquent, punctuate the landscape liberally.<br /><br />Immediately obvious is that Meacham's book is impressively researched. With more than 1,000 sources, few stones remain unturned in his search for insight into Lincoln's moral evolution, religious conviction and political philosophies. The narrative's 421 pages are fortified with more than 200 pages of end notes and bibliography. But one consequence is that as much as half the narrative consists of embedded quotes - from the diaries of Lincoln and his contemporaries, letters, speeches and a wide variety of periodicals. As a result, the narrative is less mellifluous than it would have been if Meacham's own verse dominated.<br /><br />What results, though, is a deeply thoughtful and perceptive analysis of Lincoln's moral tenets and actions. While Meacham doesn't feel the need to rescue his subject's reputation, he does explore the apparent contradictions in some of Lincoln's thoughts, words and efforts relating to Black Americans.  And, in the end, Meacham demonstrates how Lincoln maintained a firm anti-slavery resolve, refused to compromise in critical moments and still held onto support from the most radical sympathizers of his cause.<br /><br />But much of Lincoln's life consisted of experiences that did not involve the issue of slavery or "equal rights." And Meacham can be quick to pass over events that do not directly support his thesis. Lincoln's childhood, legal career and early legislative service, for example, receive relatively little attention and his political campaigns are generally dispatched with regrettable efficiency. And important supporting characters, including several whose testimony helps shape much of the narrative, are never animated in a meaningful way.<br /><br />As a result, readers in search of a traditional biography are likely to find this book more ponderous and philosophical than expected. Its twenty-eight chapters do closely follow the contours of Lincoln's life, but its mission is far less sweeping than one might expect for a book which purportedly "chronicles the life of Abraham Lincoln."<br /><br />Overall, though, Jon Meacham's "And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle" is a marvelous exploration of Lincoln's moral evolution and actions on behalf of Black Americans. Combining Meacham's own analysis with wisdom gleaned from a wide range of sources, it proves perceptive, thought-provoking and deeply insightful. Excellent for experienced fans of Lincoln, this book is not ideal for readers seeking a comprehensive introduction to Lincoln's life and legacy.<br /><br />Overall Rating: 4½ stars but “Unrated” as Biography

― “In the fourth year of war, two hundred forty-five years after the arrival of the enslaved at Jamestown, eighty-eight years after the Declaration of Independence, and seventy-six years after the ratification of the Constitution, an American president insisted that a core moral commitment to liberty must survive the vicissitudes of politics, the prejudices of race, and the contests of interest. This is not to separate Lincoln’s moral vision from his political sensibilities—an impossibility—but to underscore that he was acting not only for the moment, not only for dominion in the arena, but for all time.”<br />― Jon Meacham, <i>And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle</i><br /><br />There has been no shortage of biographies about Abraham Lincoln, a man often regarded as the greatest of America’s presidents. He has been one of the most studied and written-about figures in history. With <i>And There Was Light</i>, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jon Meacham has given us a revealing new biography of a very human Lincoln that focuses on Lincoln’s moral evolution on the issue of slavery, paying close attention to the many influences on his ideas and values. Nevertheless, Meacham’s biography includes the story of Lincoln from his birth on the Kentucky frontier to his bookish boyhood, his studies for the law, his engagement to Ann Rutledge, his marriage to the irascible Mary Todd Lincoln, the childhood deaths of two of his sons, his bouts of depression, the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, his one term in Congress, his failed candidacy for the U.S. Senate, his presidency, and his assassination.<br /><br />Meacham shows that, from early in his life, Lincoln believed that slavery was wrong. “If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong,” he wrote during his presidency. “I cannot remember when I did not so think, and feel.”<br /><br />― “He had long ago made the moral decision that slavery was wrong and could have no place in a nation truly devoted to the principles of the Declaration of Independence.” <br />― Jon Meacham, <i>And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle</i><br /><br />Nevertheless, Meacham shows how Lincoln’s thoughts on the issues of slavery and the status of African Americans continued to evolve throughout his life, even during his presidency. In the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, Stephen Douglas maintained that slavery was a civilized and Christian institution. He claimed Black people were incapable of self-government and considered them mere property rather than people. He called for opening new Western states to slavery if White voters in those states so chose. While Lincoln positioned himself against the expansion of slavery into the new territories, he also positioned himself as against racial equality, telling the audience: “I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and black races.” He further stated, “I will say…that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters of jurors of negroes, nor qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people.” Clearly, at this time, Lincoln was advocating racial separatism. Doubting that Whites and Blacks could live together, Lincoln endorsed “separation of the races” and even considered colonization schemes to send emancipated slaves to Africa, the Caribbean, or South America.<br /><br />― “The colonization proposals underscored a tragic reality. One could—and many white Americans did—oppose slavery while failing to engage the prospective creation of a multiracial democracy.”<br />― Jon Meacham, <i>And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle</i><br /><br />After the Missouri Compromise put the federal government on record against the unchecked spread of slavery across the continent, the slave-owning interest grew ever more defensive and ever more strident. They would not be satisfied with the expansion of slavery into new territories, it seemed clear that they planned to expand the institution into “Mexico, the Caribbean and other parts of Latin America.” In fact, “expansionists” had already “raised money, arms and men to acquire” additional “slave territory.”<br /><br />― “That those debating the future of slavery were thinking of the white American South as the beginning of slave territory, not the end, casts the arguments of Lincoln’s time in a stark light. An armed and emboldened slave-owning South was not just a problem to be endured, but a hemispheric threat to confront.” <br />― Jon Meacham, <i>And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle</i><br /><br />Lincoln became both hated and revered. For the slaveholders, this was a clash of visions bound up with money, race, and even faith. And Lincoln was maturing and his vision was expanding. “Once, when a Republican congressman from Massachusetts accused Lincoln of having changed his mind, Lincoln replied, ‘Yes, I have; and I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.’”<br /><br />But Lincoln disappointed abolitionists time and again. In his first inaugural address, Lincoln stated that “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.’ The abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who had been so recently hopeful, was unhappy, stating “The speech was little better than our worst fears.” Lincoln deferred emancipation until the third year of the war. When he finally issued his Emancipation Proclamation five days after the Union victory at Antietam, it was military necessity rather than justice that drove the matter. The army’s telegraph superintendent wrote: “…then for the first time he told me that he had been writing an order giving freedom to the slaves in the South, for the purpose of hastening the end of the war.”<br /><br />Yet, as the next presidential election approached, Lincoln risked his political future for his moral convictions, intending to preserve both democracy and the Union. Meacham puts it this way: “To end slavery, Lincoln risked defeat and banishment to Springfield—the highest prices for a political man to pay.” He then adds: “But he was ready to pay. He would rise or fall on emancipation. He thought it was right.” <br /><br />― “If the image of Lincoln as Father Abraham, the Great Emancipator, is sometimes overdrawn, Lincoln courageously resisted compromising on slavery in an hour when such compromise was within the realm of acceptable opinion. The president-elect’s steadfastness in the winter of 1860-61 helped make the end of slavery possible.”<br />― Jon Meacham, <i>And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle</i><br /><br />Jon Meacham’s biography is a biography for our times, a time in America when divisions are deeper than at any time since the Civil War. His thoroughly researched and highly readable account of Lincoln’s moral evolution highlights a type of political leadership that would serve our country well today. With nearly 250 pages of endnotes and bibliography, the actual text runs about 440 pages—fairly reasonable as far as presidential biographies go. Meacham not only gives readers a full understanding of the fractured state of the Union in mid-19th century America, he gives us hope for the future.<br /><br />― “In life, Lincoln’s motives were moral as well as political—a reminder that our finest presidents are those committed to bringing a flawed nation closer to the light, a mission that requires an understanding that politics divorced from conscience is fatal to the American experiment in liberty under law. In years of peril, he pointed the country toward a future that was superior to the past and to the present; in years of strife he held steady. Lincoln’s life shows us that progress can be made by fallible and fallen presidents and peoples—which, in a fallible and fallen world, should give us hope.”<br />― Jon Meacham, <i>And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle</i>

I have read several of Meacham's books and this is by far, the best. He oftentimes examines spirituality in America; has argued that for most presidents, what they "preach" is more a civic religion than one based in any particular sect. Lincoln would be the best example of this and the best example is his Second Inaugural Address- probably the best speech in American history- in my humble opinion. But I digress.<br /><br />I have read many books on Lincoln and I was not sure if I would gain much by reading another. I found out fairly quickly that I gained a great deal by reading this book. Meacham delves more deeply in the decisions Lincoln took and made the case, very convincingly, that they tended to be based on morality. At the same time, Lincoln's political decisions were called out- he is not made out to be a saint. That being said on the issue of race, although he was racist, sometimes he made comments for political reasons- not necessarily because he believed them. Specifically, during the Lincoln-Douglas debates, he said things knowing that he was ahead of many people in terms of his views on slavery and understood that people needed to be educated or led along until they did understand. He was also able to alter his opinions when he learned more. <br /><br />I highly recommend the book.