Michael Burlingame

The 'Rail Splitter' Fights For and Wins the Republican Nomination (1859-1860) "That Presidential Grub Gnaws Deep" - Pursuing the Republican Nomination (1859-1860) Lincoln's speeches were being published and widely circulated, as he began to practice law again as a means of income. When John...

Building a New Party, a House Divided and the Lincoln Douglas Debates (1855-1858) "Unite With Us and Help Us to Triumph" - Building the Illinois Republican Party (1855-1857) Lincoln struggles to form a new party to take the place of the defunct Whig party. He has strong doubts that a...

A Mid-Life Crisis and a Re-Entry to Politics (1849-1855) "I was losing interest in politics and went to the practice of law with greater earnestness than ever before" - Mid-life Crises (1849-1854) This point in Lincoln's life is marked by a sudden return to the practice of law. Highly moral and...

A Win in Congress and a Battle Against Slavery (1843-1849) "I have got the preacher by the balls" - Pursuing a Seat in Congress (1843-1847) This chapter begins with Lincoln's fight for a seat in congress against two other Whig candidates. This part of his life is notably marked by domestic...

A Righteous Lawyer Deals With an Unhappy Marriage (1837-1842) "We must fight the devil with fire" - Slasher Gaff Politico in Springfield (1837-1841) Lincoln's studies lead to him becoming a successful lawyer in Illinois. He is often published anonymously during the political campaign of 1837 and...

"Hold On with a Bulldog Grip and Chew and Choke as Much as Possible": The Grand Offensive: (May–August 1864): The Spring Offensive is launched. A bogus presidential proclamation calling for volunteers and prayers causes panic throughout the North. Grant and Lee battle for six weeks until...

In a little-noted eulogy delivered after Lincoln's assassination, Frederick Douglass called the president "emphatically the black man's president," the "first to show any respect for their rights as men." Douglass pointed not just to Lincoln's official acts and utterances, like the Emancipation...

An enlightening narrative exploring an oft-overlooked aspect of the 16th president's life, An American Marriage reveals the tragic story of Abraham Lincoln's marriage to Mary Todd. Based on 30 years of research, An American Marriage describes and analyzes why Lincoln had good reason to regret...

In the first multivolume biography of Abraham Lincoln to be published in decades, Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame offers a fresh look at the life of one of America's greatest presidents. Incorporating the field notes of earlier biographers along with decades of research in multiple manuscript...

In the first multivolume biography of Abraham Lincoln to be published in decades, Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame offers a fresh look at the life of one of America's greatest presidents. Incorporating the field notes of earlier biographers along with decades of research in multiple manuscript...