"This superb [essay] collection enables readers of Invisible Man to appreciate the subtleties of its cultural and political commentary." —Journal of American StudiesAn important collection of original essays that examine how Ellison's landmark novel, Invisible Man (1952), addresses the social, cultural, political, economic, and racial contradictions of America. Commenting on the significance of Mark Twain's writings, Ralph Ellison wrote th...

"Emancipation at 150: The Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation" is a scholarly anthology on the Emancipation Proclamation with contributions from leading Lincoln historians and government officials. Topics covered in the anthology range from views of the Proclamation through the eyes of enslaved people to human trafficking and slavery in the United States today. This publication was produced by President Lincoln's Cottage, a Site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in honor...

Essays exploring the sixteenth president's political philosophy.Generations of Americans have studied Abraham Lincoln's life, presidency, and leadership, often remaking him into a figure suited to the needs and interests of their own time. This illuminating volume takes a different approach to his political thought and practice. Here, a distinguished group of contributors argue that Lincoln's relevance today is best expressed by rendering an accurate portrait of him...

Lucas Morel examines what the public life of Abraham Lincoln teaches about the role of religion in a self-governing society. Lincoln's understanding of the requirements of republican government led him to accommodate and direct religious sentiment toward responsible self-government. As a successful republic requires a moral or self-controlled people, Lincoln believed, the moral and religious sensibilities of a society should be nurtured.

In this persuasive work of intellectual history, Lucas E. Morel argues that the most important influence on Abraham Lincoln’s political thought and practice was what he learned from the leading figures of and documents from the birth of the United States. In this systematic account of those principles, Morel compellingly demonstrates that to know Lincoln well is to understand thoroughly the founding of America.With each chapter describing a particular influence, Morel leads readers...

Contributions by Herman Beavers, Robert Butler, John Callahan, Marc C. Conner, Bryan Crable, Steven D. Ealy, Lena Hill, Lucas E. Morel, Timothy Parrish, Ross Posnock, Patrice Rankine, Grant Shreve, Eric J. Sundquist, and Steven E. TracyRalph Ellison once said, “We’re only a partially achieved nation.” In The New Territory, scholars show how clearly Ellison foresaw and articulated both the challenges and the possibilities of America in the twenty-first century. Indeed, Elli...

Revised and updated, this long-awaited second edition provides a comprehensive introduction to what the most thoughtful Americans have said about the American experience from the colonial period to the present. The book examines the political thought of the most important American statesmen, activists, and writers across era and ideologies, helping another generation of students, scholars, and citizens to understand more fully the meaning of America.This new second edition of the b...

As a defender of national unity, a leader in war, and the emancipator of slaves, Abraham Lincoln lays ample claim to being the greatest of our presidents. But the story of his rise to greatness is as complex as it is compelling. In this superb, prize-winning biography, acclaimed historian Richard Carwardine examines Lincoln’s dramatic political journey, from his early years in the Illinois legislature to his nation-shaping years in the White House. Here, Carwardine combines a new perspecti...

Most Americans hold basic misconceptions about the Confederacy, the Civil War, and the actions of subsequent neo-Confederates. For example, two thirds of Americans—including most history teachers—think the Confederate States seceded for “states' rights.” This error persists because most have never read the key documents about the Confederacy.These documents have always been there. When South Carolina seceded, it published “Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justif...

**“If you read one book about Lincoln, make it A. Lincoln.”—**USA Today**NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYThe Washington Post • The Philadelphia Inquirer • The Christian Science Monitor • St. Louis Post-Dispatch.NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE CHRISTOPHER AWARD**Everyone wants to define the man who signed his name “A. Lincoln.” In his lifetime and ever since, friend...

Founder of the largest indigenous Christian church in American history, Joseph Smith published the 584-page Book of Mormon when he was twenty-three and went on to organize a church, found cities, and attract thousands of followers before his violent death at age thirty-eight. Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received ...

This study is intended both for first-time readers of The Sound and the Fury andsince it offers new scholarship and critical argument on Faulknerfor established critics and scholars. Chapter 1 provides some general context about Faulkner's life and work in the American South and 'Yoknapatawpha County', and introduces the form and style of Faulkner's novel. Chapter 2 provides a discussion of the contexts of Southern history and Faulkner's family history. Chapter 3 is a discussion of the inf...