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The Resource Lincoln in American memory, Merrill D. Peterson

Lincoln in American memory, Merrill D. Peterson

Creator
Summary
Lincoln's death, like his life, was an event of epic proportions. When the president was struck down at his moment of triumph, writes Merrill Peterson, "sorrow--indescribable sorrow" swept the nation. After lying in state in Washington, Lincoln's body was carried by a special funeral train to Springfield, Illinois, stopping in major cities along the way; perhaps a million people viewed the remains as memorial orations rang out and the world chorused its praise. It was the apotheosis of the martyred president--the beginning of the transformation of a man into a mythic hero. In Lincoln in American Memory, historian Merrill Peterson provides a fascinating history of Lincoln's place in American thought and imagination from the hour of his death to the present. In tracing the changing image of Lincoln through time, this wide-ranging account offers insight into the evolution and the struggles of American politics and society--and into the character of Lincoln himself. Westerners, Easterners, even Southerners were caught up in the idealization of the late president, reshaping his memory and laying claim to his mantle, as his widow, son, memorial builders, and memorabilia collectors fought over his visible legacy. Peterson also looks at the complex responses of blacks to the memory of Lincoln, as they moved from exultation at the end of slavery to the harsh reality of free life amid deep poverty and segregation; at more than one memorial event for the great emancipator, the author notes, blacks were excluded. He makes an engaging examination of the flood of reminiscences and biographies, from Lincoln's old law partner William H. Herndon to the poet Carl Sandburg and beyond. Serious historians were late in coming to the topic; for decades the myth-makers sought to shape the image of the hero president to suit their own agendas. He was made a voice of prohibition, a saloon-keeper, an infidel, a devout Christian, the first Bull Moose Progressive, a military blunderer and (after the First World War) a military genius, a white supremacist (according to D.W. Griffith and other Southern admirers), and a touchstone for the civil rights movement. Through it all, Peterson traces five principal images of Lincoln: the savior of the Union, the great emancipator, man of the people, first American, and self-made man. In identifying these archetypes, he tells us much not only of Lincoln but of our own identity as a people. This absorbing book leads us on a revealing tour through our changing image of our greatest president--and our changing image of ourselves
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
viii, 482 p.
Contents
  • 1. Apotheosis
  • 2. Shapings in the postwar years. Lincoln, Reconstruction, and the South ; Book, portraits, and monuments ; The early biographers : Herndon and others
  • 3. Filling up the image. The flood of reminiscence ; Aspects of character ; First culmination : Nicolay and Hay and others
  • 4. To the afterwar generation. Lincolniana : the collectors and Ida Tarbell ; The political Lincoln ; The negroes' Lincoln ; The centennial
  • 5. Themes and variations. The international Lincoln ; Temple and icon ; Religion ; Ancestry ; Controversies old and new
  • 6. From memory to history. Organizing the Lincoln enterprise ; Second culmination : Sandburg, Beveridge, and others ; The Minor affair ; The historians' Lincoln
  • 7. Zenith. "What would Lincoln do?" ; Historians' encounters ; Civil rights and civil religion ; Lincoln at 150
  • 8. Lincoln everlasting
Isbn
9780195096453
Link
Instance
Label
Lincoln in American memory
Title
Lincoln in American memory
Statement of responsibility
Merrill D. Peterson
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
Lincoln's death, like his life, was an event of epic proportions. When the president was struck down at his moment of triumph, writes Merrill Peterson, "sorrow--indescribable sorrow" swept the nation. After lying in state in Washington, Lincoln's body was carried by a special funeral train to Springfield, Illinois, stopping in major cities along the way; perhaps a million people viewed the remains as memorial orations rang out and the world chorused its praise. It was the apotheosis of the martyred president--the beginning of the transformation of a man into a mythic hero. In Lincoln in American Memory, historian Merrill Peterson provides a fascinating history of Lincoln's place in American thought and imagination from the hour of his death to the present. In tracing the changing image of Lincoln through time, this wide-ranging account offers insight into the evolution and the struggles of American politics and society--and into the character of Lincoln himself. Westerners, Easterners, even Southerners were caught up in the idealization of the late president, reshaping his memory and laying claim to his mantle, as his widow, son, memorial builders, and memorabilia collectors fought over his visible legacy. Peterson also looks at the complex responses of blacks to the memory of Lincoln, as they moved from exultation at the end of slavery to the harsh reality of free life amid deep poverty and segregation; at more than one memorial event for the great emancipator, the author notes, blacks were excluded. He makes an engaging examination of the flood of reminiscences and biographies, from Lincoln's old law partner William H. Herndon to the poet Carl Sandburg and beyond. Serious historians were late in coming to the topic; for decades the myth-makers sought to shape the image of the hero president to suit their own agendas. He was made a voice of prohibition, a saloon-keeper, an infidel, a devout Christian, the first Bull Moose Progressive, a military blunderer and (after the First World War) a military genius, a white supremacist (according to D.W. Griffith and other Southern admirers), and a touchstone for the civil rights movement. Through it all, Peterson traces five principal images of Lincoln: the savior of the Union, the great emancipator, man of the people, first American, and self-made man. In identifying these archetypes, he tells us much not only of Lincoln but of our own identity as a people. This absorbing book leads us on a revealing tour through our changing image of our greatest president--and our changing image of ourselves
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Peterson, Merrill D
Dewey number
  • 973.7/092
  • B
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
E457.2
LC item number
.P484 1994
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Lincoln, Abraham
  • Lincoln, Abraham
  • Lincoln, Abraham
  • Lincoln, Abraham
  • Lincoln, Abraham
  • Lincoln, Abraham
  • History (North America)
  • Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.)
  • Gedachtenis
  • Rezeption
  • Mémoire collective
Label
Lincoln in American memory, Merrill D. Peterson
Link
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
1. Apotheosis -- 2. Shapings in the postwar years. Lincoln, Reconstruction, and the South ; Book, portraits, and monuments ; The early biographers : Herndon and others -- 3. Filling up the image. The flood of reminiscence ; Aspects of character ; First culmination : Nicolay and Hay and others -- 4. To the afterwar generation. Lincolniana : the collectors and Ida Tarbell ; The political Lincoln ; The negroes' Lincoln ; The centennial -- 5. Themes and variations. The international Lincoln ; Temple and icon ; Religion ; Ancestry ; Controversies old and new -- 6. From memory to history. Organizing the Lincoln enterprise ; Second culmination : Sandburg, Beveridge, and others ; The Minor affair ; The historians' Lincoln -- 7. Zenith. "What would Lincoln do?" ; Historians' encounters ; Civil rights and civil religion ; Lincoln at 150 -- 8. Lincoln everlasting
Control code
ocm27769147
Dimensions
24 cm.
Extent
viii, 482 p.
Isbn
9780195096453
Lccn
93001675
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
ill.
System control number
  • (Sirsi) o27769147
  • (OCoLC)27769147
Label
Lincoln in American memory, Merrill D. Peterson
Link
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
1. Apotheosis -- 2. Shapings in the postwar years. Lincoln, Reconstruction, and the South ; Book, portraits, and monuments ; The early biographers : Herndon and others -- 3. Filling up the image. The flood of reminiscence ; Aspects of character ; First culmination : Nicolay and Hay and others -- 4. To the afterwar generation. Lincolniana : the collectors and Ida Tarbell ; The political Lincoln ; The negroes' Lincoln ; The centennial -- 5. Themes and variations. The international Lincoln ; Temple and icon ; Religion ; Ancestry ; Controversies old and new -- 6. From memory to history. Organizing the Lincoln enterprise ; Second culmination : Sandburg, Beveridge, and others ; The Minor affair ; The historians' Lincoln -- 7. Zenith. "What would Lincoln do?" ; Historians' encounters ; Civil rights and civil religion ; Lincoln at 150 -- 8. Lincoln everlasting
Control code
ocm27769147
Dimensions
24 cm.
Extent
viii, 482 p.
Isbn
9780195096453
Lccn
93001675
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
ill.
System control number
  • (Sirsi) o27769147
  • (OCoLC)27769147

Subject

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