The eloquent president : a portrait of Lincoln through his words / Ronald C. White, Jr.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [403]-426) and indexes

Historian Ronald White examines Lincoln's astonishing oratory and explores his growth as a leader, a communicator, and a man of deepening spiritual conviction. Examining a different speech, address, or public letter in each chapter, White tracks the evolution of Lincoln's rhetoric from the measured, lawyerly tones of the First Inaugural to the haunting, immortal poetry of the Gettysburg Address. As a speaker who appealed not to intellect alone, but also to the hearts and souls of citizens, Lincoln persuaded the nation to follow him during the darkest years of the Civil War. Through the speeches and what surrounded them, we see the full sweep and meaning of the Lincoln presidency.--Publisher.

"With a task before me greater than ... Washington" : farewell address at Springfield, February 11, 1861 -- "This, his almost chosen people" : speeches and remarks train trip from Springfield to Washington, February 11-23, 1861 -- "The mystic chords of memory" : first inaugural address, March 4, 1861-- "This is ... a people's contest" : message to Congress in special session, July 4, 1861-- My paramount object in this struggle" : reply to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862 -- "God wills this contest" : meditation on the divine will, September 2(?), 1862 -- "We cannot escape history" : annual message to Congress, December 1, 1862 -- "You say you will not fight to free Negroes" : letter to the rally at Springfield, August 26, 1863 -- "This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom" : Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863 -- "I claim not to have controlled events" : little speech" to Albert Hodges, April 4, 1864 -- With malice toward none: with charity for all." (second inaugural address, March 4, 1865.