Vote Lincoln! The Presidential Campaign Biography of Abraham Lincoln, 1860

VOTE LINCOLN!
The Presidential Campaign Biography of Abraham Lincoln, 1860
 Restored and Annotated
by John Locke Scripps & Abraham Lincoln; David W. Bradford editor
(211 pages, Boston Hill Press, 2010)

In a major publishing event, this fascinating volume restores and explains the most decisive campaign biography in U.S. history. In 1860, the original book catapulted Abraham Lincoln to the White House by dramatically warning of slavery's threat to American democracy. More than a century later, the New York Times still praised the original campaign biography as “most authoritative and influential.” The book spawned an enduring legend: From poverty and tragic loss, a small boy rises to become a mighty crusader for justice.

In this radiant expanded edition, Boston Hill Press skillfully restores and illustrates Mr. Lincoln's only major autobiographical effort. (He secretly wrote the initial manuscript. Under his direction, John Locke Scripps, a founder of the Chicago Tribune, polished and expanded it into a national bestseller.) This restored edition reveals the potent political messages and campaign strategies that the candidate slyly wove into the story of his life. This is no dusty reprint; pithy modern commentary provides often breathtaking insights. Dramatic campaign speeches reverberate again. Rare photographs and posters depict an intense, clean-shaven youthful candidate, as he was then, before he became the bearded sage of our history books. Readers gain fresh perspective on a heartbreaking childhood and an early career as a fearless moral crusader. (Of exceptional interest is a jaw-dropping campaign appearance before a potentially hostile crowd of 12,000 people. Against all odds, Mr. Lincoln brazenly defies incendiary race-baiting by his opponent, the formidable incumbent U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas.)

Above all this remarkable book reminds us that Abraham Lincoln was a living legend well before his presidential deeds. He was the American experience incarnate: humble birth in a log cabin; Huck Finn boyhood; self-made man; proverbial country lawyer; passionate antiwar protester; hopelessly idealistic reformer; and hardened crusader for justice. This book implicitly addresses the central question of all elections: How do we recognize a great statesman, before the glory? As such, Vote Lincoln! is still mandatory reading for modern voters seeking “the next Abraham Lincoln.”

This is a revised and expanded edition of the first restored edition released for the Lincoln Bicentennial Year of 2009. This 2010 expanded edition contains more commentary and illustrations. The volume has over 75 black-and-white photographs, engravings, lithographs, and other illustrations. Several images depict Abraham Lincoln's famous tanned complexion, earned by riding horses as a country lawyer. Other images depict family, friends, opponents, and historical events.


EXCERPT  OF THE “INSIDE FLAP” OF THE HARDCOVER EDITION OF VOTE LINCOLN!:

Lincoln for President!

Abraham Lincoln's authorized biography was the most influential
campaign book in American history. In 1860, it catapulted him to the
White House and was secretly coauthored by the candidate with John
Locke Scripps, a founder of the Chicago Tribune. Their book is
discreetly Lincoln on Lincoln and often presents the candidate in
remarkably modern terms. He defends his antiwar past; critiques the
Supreme Court on civil liberties; supports big government programs;
and favors American workers and industry over foreign-made products.
Nevertheless, Mr. Lincoln's campaign biography is a unique product
of his time, not ours. Within its pages, an eternal legend comes to
life: From a troubled childhood of tragic loss and grinding poverty,
a small boy rises to become a mighty crusader for justice. Beginning
in his 20s, the adult Lincoln doggedly protests the enslavement of
black people and endures a series of political defeats for it.
Decades later, as the presidential contest of 1860 looms, he stuns
the nation by warning that slavery for some Americans will
soon threaten the freedom of all Americans.

Abraham Lincoln's campaign biography ultimately inspired thousands
of books about him. It remains among the best of the campaign genre,
and an enduring moral beacon. This restored and expanded edition of
Mr. Lincoln's campaign biography annotates and explains the book in
modern terms. It provides fresh insight into his heartbreaking
childhood, as well as his career as a fearless moral crusader. Of
great interest is a stunning campaign appearance before a potentially
hostile crowd of 12,000 people. Mr. Lincoln not only survives the
daring encounter, but brazenly defies incendiary race-baiting by his
opponent.

This restored text is based on an 1860 edition at the Library of
Congress and is a valuable contribution to Lincoln literature.
General readers and scholars will find it fascinating. This much
awaited book restores the Lincoln story as he wanted it to be
told.
(Copyrighted material. Format modified for this excerpt. May be

quoted with attribution. Only the hardcover edition has "inside flap” text. The paperback edition has a cover without an “inside flap.”)

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