Lincoln's political thought PDF
Preview Lincoln's political thought
LINCOLN’S PO LITI CAL THOUGHT LINCOLN’S PO LITI CAL THOUGHT George Kateb HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, Massachusetts London, En gland 2015 Copyright © 2015 by George Kateb All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America First printing Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Kateb, George. Lincoln’s po liti cal thought / George Kateb. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978- 0- 674- 36816- 3 (alkaline paper) 1. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809– 1865—Political and social views. 2. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809– 1865—Philosophy. 3. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809– 1865—Oratory. 4. United States— Politics and government— 1861– 1865. 5. United States— History—Civil War, 1861– 1865. 6. Slavery— Political aspects— United States— History—19th century. 7. Po liti cal science— United States— History—19th century. I. Title. E457.2.K37 2015 973.7092—dc23 2014005879 To the memory of my sister, Jeanette Farage Contents Preface ix Ac know ledg ments xv 1 The Period of Lincoln 1 2 Lincoln as a Writer 36 3 Lincoln’s Po liti cal Religion of Human Equality 53 4 Race and Human Equality 87 5 Lincoln and the Constitution 105 6 Lincoln’s Doctrine of Military Necessity in the Civil War 132 7 Lincoln’s World Outlook 179 Abbreviations 221 Bibliography 223 Index 227 Preface My aim in this work is to try to understand Lincoln’s words. The prem- ise is that his thought can be diffi cult to take in. My approach is that of a student of pol itic al theory. At the risk of disproportion and unex- pected emphases, I have therefore concentrated on those many occa- sions when Lincoln spoke or wrote words of lasting theoretical inter- est; in what ever form, they often have the weight of writings in the canon. His thought was dominated by a commitment to human equality and the fate imposed on it by the existence of institutionalized slavery, the worst antithesis to human equality. I largely exclude Lincoln’s views on a wide range of matters of public policy and party politics as not essential to my effort, no matter how important they w ere to Lincoln, his party, and the country. I must admit that the cumulative effect of his words leads me to a less unmixed Lincoln than I began with. My intense admiration re- mains, but is now joined to some dismay. Despite the dismay, I believe with many others that he was a great man, a good man, and a great writer. There is no need to apologize for thinking that as president he made all the difference, if ever one person of politics could. In the
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