Lincoln in American Memory

This is a great book on the many different historiographies (historical interpretations) of Lincoln's life and career. Although considering the enormous volume of Lincoln literature, it's almost certainly not the only one. I already knew Lincoln was one of the most written-about figures in history, but did you know there have been tens of thousands (if not more) of books written on him since his death? They inevitably became quite redundant at some point, as this book points out.

What conclusions did I draw from it? Two things.

Between the huge number of conflicting, competing interpretations and the nineteenth-century's relative lack of ability to record information with veracity, any attempt to understand "the real Lincoln" is largely show more hopeless. My conclusion, not the book's.

The number of different groups and individuals who have used Lincoln as a pawn to represent their cause is astonishing. Even the Communist Party of America has claimed to solely represent the spirit of Lincoln, and that's only the most ridiculous example. (Their rationale was that they considered Lincoln essentially a working-class hero, which is one of the major interpretations.) Others have stronger, even if uncertain, support for exploiting Lincoln in death: the temperance movement, because Lincoln avoided alcohol; Christians, because even though Mrs. Lincoln explicitly stated her husband was "not a technical Christian" (whatever that meant--she apparently didn't explain), Lincoln did tell someone he believed Christ is God; atheists, because Lincoln's law partner William Herndon always insisted Lincoln was a "freethinker"; and Spiritualists, because...I have no idea. I would say that Lincoln's exact religious or spiritual beliefs are the most impossible to exactly answer of any questions concerning him; and the historiography has reached both extremes (devout Christian and atheistic freethinker) and a middle ground (an atheist who eventually found faith) at various times.

Other wildly differing interpretations:

Position on slavery and racial issues. Except for Southern partisans, there seems a clear consensus that Lincoln opposed slavery--enough that people can say "everybody knows that!" Racial issues are a completely different thing. Lincoln supported voluntary emigration to Liberia, but there is frequent belief that he supported it because he believed racial harmony was impossible. Even if this was untrue, recent interpretations have criticized him for that; for not issuing the Emancipation Proclamation sooner; and especially for prioritizing the integrity of the Union above eliminating slavery. Finally, many African-American thinkers (including Frederick Douglass) were appreciative but skeptical of Lincoln from the beginning; and ever since the civil rights movement, Dr. King has replaced Lincoln as the "Moses" of African-Americans.

Poets vs. academics. This is one way to characterize the extremes of interpretation: the difference between the poetic and the putatively objective. The poets began mourning, celebrating, or depicting Lincoln in verse immediately after his assassination, and poetic interpretations remained popular until at least the mid-twentieth century. The outstanding or most famous of these is Carl Sandburg. The interpretive mode, and frankly the goal, of poets like Sandburg is to create and perpetuate two things: a myth of Lincoln (myth in the neutral sense), and a folk interpretation that saw Lincoln as a quintessential American figure (even "the first American") and as a rustic (possibly working-class) who proved that someone of low birth and humble circumstances can do anything. Sandburg's popular biographies of Lincoln took this view, obviously. Academics complained that Sandburg's biographies were un-objective, ignoring or not realizing that objectivity wasn't the goal of poets.

Any good history bookshelf needs to contain this book, because although it doesn't make lists, it mentions so many titles on Lincoln (although only a few of the thousands), and opines on which are the most worthy, that the reader will inevitably add a few more titles to their reading list or movie list. I'm annoyed at myself for getting rid of my copy, and will buy another eventually. show less

2826 Lincoln in American Memory, by Merrill D. Peterson (read 21 Jan 1996) (Book of the Year) This exceptionally interesting book considers how Lincoln was viewed from his death till today. I found all of the chapters except the last one--which indicates interest in Lincoln is now fading some--exceptionally attention-holding. This book is undoubtedly one of the best books I have read on Lincoln and is the best book I read in 1996.