Abraham Lincoln: The Writer

Paper Summary:

This paper, after relating the life of Abraham Lincoln, states that he is another Romantic age writer just like Emerson. The author points out that Lincoln's writings uses language as if he were talking to people. The paper stresses that the biggest difference between Lincoln and the other great writers of his day is that Lincoln wrote about politics and his writings still stand today not only as literary works but also as moral guideposts for our country's leaders. The author concludes that both the "Gettysburg Address" and "A House Divided" were delivered relatively quickly for the time period. The paper suggests that Lincoln's writings not only changed the future of American attitudes, but also influenced the style in which written laws would be interpreted.

From the Paper:

"Lincoln wrote this speech at the time not to win the election but instead to voice his opinion about slavery at this setting. Clearly, this was not the best time to make such statements that would be considered outlandish. There was a greater purpose though in this speech. D. Fehrenbacher says that instead of wanting to create a new radical stance for the Republican Party, Lincoln simply wanted to prevent the party from giving up its position. This position he was talking about was the fact that if you stopped the spread of slavery you could eliminate it all together with time."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Abraham Lincoln." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed Nina Baym. London: Norton. 1608-1609
• Fehrenbacher, Don. "The Origins and Purpose of Lincoln's "House-Divided" Speech." The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 1960. 27 October 2007. <www.jstor.org>
• Leddy, Chuck. "Gettysburg Address as 'civic gospel'; Why Lincoln's 9 sentences matter." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 3 December 2006. C04
• Lincoln, Abraham. "A House Divided: Speech Delivered at Springfield, Illinois, at the Close of the Republican State Convention, June 16, 1858." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed Nina Baym. London: Norton.1609-15
• Lincoln, Abraham. "Address Delivered at the Dedication of the Cemetery at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed Nina Baym. London: Norton. 1616.

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