William E. Gienapp (1944–2003)
Autor(a) de Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography
About the Author
William E. Gienapp is Professor of History at Harvard University
Obras de William E. Gienapp
Associated Works
"We Cannot Escape History": Lincoln and the Last Best Hope of Earth (1995) — Contribuinte — 35 cópias
Etiquetado
Conhecimento Comum
- Data de nascimento
- 1944-02-27
- Data de falecimento
- 2003-10-29
- Sexo
- male
- Nacionalidade
- USA
- Local de nascimento
- Denton, Texas, USA
- Educação
- University of California, Berkeley (BA | History)
Yale University (MA)
University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D) - Ocupação
- historian
professor (History) - Organizações
- Harvard University
Membros
Resenhas
Prêmios
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Associated Authors
Estatísticas
- Obras
- 5
- Also by
- 1
- Membros
- 374
- Popularidade
- #64,496
- Avaliação
- 3.9
- Resenhas
- 5
- ISBNs
- 17
It was nice to learn that many of the legends surrounding Lincoln were essentially true. He did spend his early childhood living with his family in a log cabin. He did quickly become physically strong, able to wield an axe and cut wheat for hours, though he essentially disliked this sort of labor. He did become an almost unbeatable wrestler, and he was self-taught, taking any moment between farm labors to open a book. Also, he did, indeed, earn himself (and keep throughout his life), a reputation for honest dealings and personal integrity. And finally, he retained throughout his life a genuine humane touch and a desire to speak with and learn from farmers, laborers and merchants, men and women. Also, he was, indeed, afflicted with melancholy and depression throughout his life.
The second half of the book covers Lincoln's presidency and the war years. I already mostly knew the details of the progression of the war and Lincoln's struggles to get the commanders of the Army of the Potomac (from McClellan onward) to go on the offensive against the Confederate armies in the east, but Gienapp also did a fine job of filling in the political details of Lincoln's presidency, as he strove just as hard to hold together the coalition of extreme and moderate Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans wanted to press the war and were in favor of emancipation (gradually in the case of the moderates, immediately and fully in the case of the extremists). The other difference between the two were the degrees to which they believed the Southern states should be punished after the war's end. The Democrats believed in pressing the war only to keep the Southern state from seceding, but wanted to leave slavery in place. The extreme Democrats, who came to be known as Copperheads, were actually opposed to the war and wanted to begin negotiations to end it, allowing the Confederacy to remain in place. Though Lincoln, a mostly moderate Republican, had no patience for the Copperheads, he was skillful in keeping a mix of the rest in his cabinet and even in insisting on political appointments of generals of all political camps in order to ensure that all parties felt they had a stake in the outcome of the war. This ability to give his political rivals some ground, and the thick skin that enabled him to shrug off personal attacks and avoid grudge holding, Gienapp describes as among Lincoln's greatest strengths as a politician.… (mais)