Lincoln as Self-Made Man

Introduction by Catherine Clinton

Lincoln has become the quintessential American self-made man, a symbol of the vitality of the frontier and of the unequaled opportunities offered by American democracy. The selections in this booklet show how writers have engaged the questions regarding ambition and achievement inherent in Lincoln's rise.

Contents

• Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Abraham Lincoln" (1864).
• Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Remarks at the Services Held in Concord" (1865).
• James Russell Lowell, from "Ode Recited at the Harvard Commemoration" (1865).
• Woodrow Wilson, "Address at Hodgenville, Kentucky" (1916).
• Edmund Wilson, from Patriotic Gore (1962).
• Richard Slotkin, from Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln (2000).

Catherine Clinton is professor of American history at Queen's College in Belfast, Northern Ireland, having taught previously at Union College, Brandeis University, and Harvard University. She serves on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Bicentennial Commission and is the author, most recently, of Mrs. Lincoln (2009).