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A review by jmdaly95
Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln by Richard Brookhiser
4.0
Book 7 of 40
There are more books out there about Lincoln then pollen in Atlanta in the spring. In Founders' Son Richard Brookhiser writes about Lincoln's political philosophy and its development and how it figured into his actions in the presidency.
Lincoln was a believer in the Founders and was aware that the Founders were anti-slavery but at the same time rational about how far they could go in destroying slavery because they need to have a unified country. Lincoln's core sources for his philosophy were Washington, Thomas Pain, Henry Clay, Thomas Jefferson/Declaration of Independence, The Preamble to the Constitution/Gouverneur Morris, and God.
Brookhiser devotes chapter to each and then shows how that persons ideals get incorporated into Lincoln's speeches and governing actions. Washington is self explanatory being the first to create the executive. Lincoln believed strongly in the language and philosophy of the Declaration but like myself Lincoln feels that Jefferson is a hypocrite and fails to live and govern my his greatest work.
Lincoln does feel that Gouverneur Morris was the driving force of the Constitutions Preamble not Madison. Morris was a strong abolitionist from Pennsylvania who pushed to have slavery limited by the new government but was limited by needing a unified 13 states and already having 2 hold outs.
Brookhiser also spends time talking about Lincoln's relationship with religion which is a complicated one that has been well documented before. But Brookhiser looks past Lincoln's personal's beliefs and focuses how Lincoln uses the Bible to further his arguments against first the expansion of slavery but then to the abolition of slavery.
Overall an excellent book that sticks to its goal of attempting to define and examine the roots of Lincoln's political philosophy.
There are more books out there about Lincoln then pollen in Atlanta in the spring. In Founders' Son Richard Brookhiser writes about Lincoln's political philosophy and its development and how it figured into his actions in the presidency.
Lincoln was a believer in the Founders and was aware that the Founders were anti-slavery but at the same time rational about how far they could go in destroying slavery because they need to have a unified country. Lincoln's core sources for his philosophy were Washington, Thomas Pain, Henry Clay, Thomas Jefferson/Declaration of Independence, The Preamble to the Constitution/Gouverneur Morris, and God.
Brookhiser devotes chapter to each and then shows how that persons ideals get incorporated into Lincoln's speeches and governing actions. Washington is self explanatory being the first to create the executive. Lincoln believed strongly in the language and philosophy of the Declaration but like myself Lincoln feels that Jefferson is a hypocrite and fails to live and govern my his greatest work.
Lincoln does feel that Gouverneur Morris was the driving force of the Constitutions Preamble not Madison. Morris was a strong abolitionist from Pennsylvania who pushed to have slavery limited by the new government but was limited by needing a unified 13 states and already having 2 hold outs.
Brookhiser also spends time talking about Lincoln's relationship with religion which is a complicated one that has been well documented before. But Brookhiser looks past Lincoln's personal's beliefs and focuses how Lincoln uses the Bible to further his arguments against first the expansion of slavery but then to the abolition of slavery.
Overall an excellent book that sticks to its goal of attempting to define and examine the roots of Lincoln's political philosophy.