Lincoln at Cooper Union : The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable read!
Review: A treat for any Lincoln fan. Mr. Holzer has a smooth, dramatic writing style. The author is well suited to the task of unraveling this important Lincoln speech.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent analysis on all counts
Review: Harold Holzer's excellent analysis of the Cooper Union speech is a model of historical and rhetorical scholarship. Written with clarity and unpretentiousness, it offers a wonderful view of the political world of 1859-1860, of Lincoln as a would-be candidate for president seeking to make his first big venture in the East, of the turbulent and anti-Republican metropolis of New York City, of the ordeal of railroad travel, of the growing power of photographic images in politics, and of the interactions of newspapers and politics. Holzer more than proves his case that the Cooper Union speech was vital to making Lincoln President, and that it was one of his greatest and most intellectually formidable speeches. Highly recommended as a book that belongs with Garry Wills's LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG and Ronald White's LINCOLN'S GREATEST SPEECH: THE SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS. Now if Holzer would only tackle Lincoln's First Inaugural Address and his 1838 Young Men's Lyceum speech in the same way....

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Summary: A Landmark in Lincoln Studies
Review: Harold Holzer's new book further cements Lincoln's reputation as the United States' greatest president. Lincoln's speech at Cooper Union in New York City early in 1860 was designed as a rebuttal to Stephen A. Douglas's doctrine of Popular Sovereignty, which would have allowed the spread of slavery into the territories. It was also meant to define the Republican Party and, by extension, Lincoln himself, countering the South's contention that the Republicans were nothing more than a sectional party. Holzer does a masterful job in relating Lincoln's research in crafting the Cooper Union speech, the long, tiring journey from Illinois to New York, his performance, and the long, winding trip back to Springfield. Holzer's book will stand for quite some time as the definitive study of "The Speech that Made Lincoln President".

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Summary: A Brilliant Accomplishment
Review: I am awed by this remarkable study. The author, with brilliant style, takes us not only into the story of Lincoln's famous address at Cooper Union delivered in early 1860, but also carries us, with remarkable narrative style, into the complexities of the political situation at the start of the 1860 presidential campaign and the eve of the Civil War. In addition, with a technique that rivals that of many a good novelist, he paints a wonderful picture of life at that time, with beautiful vignettes of personalities, the streets of New York, grueling train trips (and those of us stuck in airports think we have it bad!) and above all else the subtle persona of Lincoln on the edge of greatness.

I teach a college level course on the American Civil War and like so many others, have neglected the pivotal role of the Cooper Union speech in favor of the 1858 debates, the Gettysburg Address (and Garry Wills fabulous book on that subject) and of course the poetic, biblical sounding Second Inaugural. Holzer's book will be a standard text in my class from now on and it is a book I know my students will gain from and read with enthusiasm.

As a I professor of history I am dazzled by the depth of Holzer's research. Hundreds of footnotes, which I know to the average reader might be boring, but are a wealth of references to explore and demonstrate, as well, the dedication of Holzer to get the story down right.

I would recommend this work to students of Lincoln and the Civil War, but also to the general reading public.
Congratulations Dr. Holzer, you stand forth as a scholar and writer of unsurpassed skill.