Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln saved the Union. But there was much more to this iconic American figure than the Civil War and Slavery. Born in the frontier of Kentucky, losing a beloved mother but blessed with a saintly step-mother, the son of a devout Calvinist father rebeled both against religion and his father as a young adult, took his leave of the family to forge his way in life. Faced with slavery on the block in New Orleans the young man determined to make a difference. Becoming a successful lawyer and moving to the prairie town of Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln settled down with Mary Todd one of the promienent Southern families and became a circuit riding lawyer, then state representative. He took on his acquaintance Stephen Douglas rousing the interest of the public with his stunning oratory regarding the question of Union. National interests drew him into the Presidential race in 1960 which he only barely won. By the time he reached Washington in March of 1861 to be sworn in, the nation had been ripped apart by secessionists. A bloody civil conflict would be laid at his door. Determined to keep the Union together, Lincoln prosecuted the war with determination. But his conduct of the war wasn't without controversy. In this introduction to Lincoln, historian Keith Pruitt will take the reader on a rather non-traditional view of Lincoln's life. Complete with remarkable photographs, this book will just start the journey of a remarkable life.