"In the fall of 1864, an exhausted president sought to end the seemingly intractable Civil War. After four years in the White House, Lincoln struggled to save his presidency, almost losing the election because of military stalemate and his commitment to end slavery. Lincoln's re-election not only ensured the success of his agenda but led to his transformation from a cautious, often hesitant president into a distinguished statesman. He moved quickly...

Although Reconstruction is usually associated with the period after the Civil War, it may be said to have begun when Abraham Lincoln, in his 1861 inaugural address, announced his intention to preserve the Union. The first comprehensive examination of wartime Reconstruction, With Charity for All offers a bold new interpretation of Lincoln's efforts to restore the seceded Southern states to the Union while the Civil War raged. Based in part upon his...

"By describing Lincoln's rise from obscurity to the presidency, William Harris shows that Lincoln's road to political success was far from easy - and that his reaction to events wasn't always wise or his racial attitudes free of prejudice. Although most scholars have labeled Lincoln a moderate, Harris reveals that he was by his own admission a conservative who revered the Founders and advocated 'adherence to the old and tried.' By emphasizing the...