Description: "The culmination of years of work on Abraham Lincoln's political thought, Michael Zuckert's A Nation So Conceived argues for a coherent center to Lincoln's political thought, a core idea that unifies his thought and thus illuminates his deeds as a political actor. That core thought is captured in the term "democratic sovereignty." America, the new nation according to his speech at Gettysburg, was new precisely because it was born in dedication to the first premise of the theory of democratic sovereignty, that all men are created equal. Lincoln's thought consisted in an ever-deepening meditation on the grounds and implications of that proposition, both in its constructive and in its destructive potential. The goodness of the American regime derived from that ground and the chief dangers to the regime derived from the very same ground. Covering all significant speeches and writings of Lincoln both in his pre-presidential and in his presidential days, A Nation So Conceived is devoted to exploring the paradoxical duality of "created equal." In a nearly comprehensive study of Lincoln's thought, Zuckert reveals how Lincoln understood both its truth and its pathological consequences"--
Brief description:
Michael Zuckert is Nancy R. Dreux Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame.
Review Quotes:
"Readers will be rewarded with fresh thinking on Lincoln's embrace of foundational American democracy as a bedrock source for his literary inspiration, his political growth, and his core value system."--Harold Holzer in Journal of the Civil War Era
"Zuckert has written an impressive book on Lincoln."--Perspectives on Politics
"Zuckert presents a powerful analysis of the political thought of Abraham Lincoln. Highly recommended."--Choice
"It is not often that one comes across a book that is profound and well-written. This is such a book. It deserves recognition as a significant contribution to Lincoln studies and the study of American political thought."--Law & Liberty