Lincoln Dialogue

James A. Rawley (1916–2005) was the Carol Adolph Happold Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His many books include The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History, revised edition (Nebraska, 2009), and Abraham Lincoln and a Nation Worth Fighting For (Nebraska, 2003). William G. Thomas is the John and Catherine Angle Chair in the Humanities and a professor of history at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is the author of several books, including The Iron Way: Railroads, the Civil War, and the Making of Modern America.

"[A Lincoln Dialogue] is a unique look at Abraham Lincoln's presidency."-James E. Potter, Nebraska History "Thomas has done devotees of Abraham Lincoln a service by bringing Rawley's manuscript to publication."-John F. Marszalek, Journal of Southern History "Innovative and refreshing. . . . Rawley highlights Lincoln's evolutionary tack toward emancipation, leadership skills over his cabinet and fractured party, questions concerning the expansion of presidential war powers, and overall maturation during his four years in office."-John A. Lupton, Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association "There is no [other] work that provides the extensive and complete documents selected for this book. Rawley's unique approach will make a significant contribution to the existing literature."—Charles M. Hubbard, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Institute for the Study of Leadership and Public Policy at Lincoln Memorial University"This is a truly remarkable, one-of-a-kind, book. The product of decades of passionate work, A Lincoln Dialogue somehow feels as current as the newest social media. Interweaving powerful documents with eloquent commentary, the story here evokes the tumultuous years of Lincoln's presidency in ways more conventional books simply cannot. The story unfolds before us with surprises at every turn, familiar events suddenly made unfamiliar by new voices and new angles of vision."—Edward L. Ayers, president of the University of Richmond and author of In the Presence of Mine Enemies: Civil War in the Heart of America

• ForewordIntroducing Abraham Lincoln1. Lincoln Is Nominated2. The Campaign of 18603. Interregnum4. From Springfield to Washington5. Lincoln Frames a Cabinet6. The First Inaugural7. Fort Sumter Crisis8. The First Civil War Congress9. The Loyalty Question in Border Slave States10. Missouri, an Unruly Union Partner11. FrÉmont Proclaims Freedom in Missouri12. First Bull Run13. Enter McClellan14. The Thirty-Seventh Congress, Second Session15. Grant and the War in the West16. Exit McClellan, Enter Pope, and Another Bull Run17. Antietam and Another McClellan Exit18. Emancipation19. The Fall of 186220. A Winter of Discontent21. The Supreme Court and Lincoln’s War Powers22. Hooker and Chancellorsville23. Vallandigham and Civil Liberties24. Arming Black Soldiers25. Gibraltar of the West26. Gettysburg27. Lincoln vs. Seymour28. The Emergence of Grant29. Thirty-Eighth Congress, First Session30. Reconstruction31. Grant Moves South32. Presidential Nomination Saga33. The Election of 186434. The Last Civil War Congress35. The Hampton Roads Peace Conference36. Death of LincolnNotesIndex