Abraham Lincoln: A History from Within

Description

This magisterial biography of one of America's best-known presidents is a definitive source on the man and his time. Written by John G. Nicolay and John Hay, two of the president's ever-loyal private secretaries, the 10-volume set offers a comprehensive, detailed and engaging account that presents a rich and revealing treatment of the figures and problems of the period. It is regarded as one of the best historical works on Lincoln and is an essential reference point for scholars and students of the 16th President. This edition includes a new introduction by Jonathan W. White (Christopher Newport University), a leading scholar of Lincoln.

John G. Nicolay was private secretary to Abraham Lincoln. He held the post up until the president's assassination in 1865, after which he was appointed United States Consul in Paris. On his return to the USA he became editor of the Chicago Republican. He was Marshall of the United States Supreme Court 1872-87. John Hay served as private secretary to Abraham Lincoln between 1861 and 1865, after which he held various diplomatic posts in Europe. He was Assistant Secretary of State (1879-81) and was Ambassador to Berlin (1897-8) during the presidency of William McKinley. As Secretary of State (1898-1905), he helped negotiate the end of the Spanish American War, supported the decision to retain the Philippines for the USA, and negotiated treaties that gave the United States an exclusive right to build the Panama Canal. Jonathan White is Associate Professor of American Studies, Christopher Newport University, USA. A leading scholar of the American Civil War, his books include Midnight in America: Darkness, Sleep and Dreams during the Civil War (2017), Lincoln on Law, Leadership and Life (2015), Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln (2014), and Abraham Lincoln and Treason in the Civil War: The Trials of John Merryman (2011). He is President of the Abraham Lincoln Institute and a board member of the Abraham Lincoln Association, the Lincoln Forum, and the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia.