Lincoln's speeches reconsidered / John Channing Briggs.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 337-361) and index

Introduction : The mind of the persuader -- Rhetorical contexts -- The Lyceum address : "On the perpetuation of our political institutions" -- The temperance address : moral reform and emancipation-- The speech on the War with Mexico and the eulogy for Zachary Taylor : " injustice and heroic virtue " -- The eulogy for Henry Clay : persuasion and/or principle -- The Kansas-Nebraska speech : popular sovereignty and self-government -- The "house divided" speech : the logic of hopeful resolve -- Lecture on discoveries and inventions : self-government and inventions : self-government and arts of literacy -- The Milwaukee address : thorough farming and self-government -- The Cooper Union address : the empirical wager -- Presidential eloquence and political religion : governing "in the providence of God" -- The farewell address : "Let us confidently hope" -- The first inaugural , the Gettysburg address, and the second inaugural : providence and persuasion -- Postscript. The letter to Mrs. Bixby : secular scripture.