Navigate the vast Lincoln historiography with 33 authoritative scholarly essays
No American has generated more historical writing than Abraham Lincoln, yet navigating that voluminous literature remains a formidable challenge. A Companion to Abraham Lincoln assembles 33 historiographical essays by contributors ranging from senior scholars to graduate students. Together they survey the scholarship that has shaped past and present understandings of the sixteenth president and chart where the field is headed.
Organized into five sections—Personal Life and Character, The Political Lincoln, Leadership and Sectionalism, Slavery, Race, and Emancipation, and Public Life and Cultural Memory—each essay examines what scholars have argued about its particular topic. The volume addresses some of the most well-known and hotly contested debates in Lincoln studies, offering readers a clear map of existing research.
The book also includes:
- Historiographical analysis covering depictions of Lincoln as emancipator, conservative, radical, military strategist, politician, and constitutional steward
- Coverage of contested topics including Lincoln's views on race, religion, marriage, and the expansion of executive power
- An authoritative overview connecting past interpretations to current scholarly directions and emerging lines of inquiry in the field
- Essays accessible to specialists, graduate students, and informed general readers seeking orientation within Lincoln scholarship
- Contributions examining Lincoln's enduring cultural memory, public legacy, and evolving legend from 1865 to the present day
Designed as a reference volume for historians, graduate students, librarians, archivists, and members of organizations such as the Lincoln Forum and Civil War Round Tables, A Companion to Abraham Lincoln provides the most current analysis of existing research on Lincoln's life, times, and lasting significance.