His Greatest Speeches

September 6, 2021
In this astute blend of history and textual analysis, Schaub (Erotic Liberalism), a professor of political science at Loyola University Maryland, painstakingly analyzes three of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches for his thoughts on the “meaning of America” and insights into how he attempted to heal the country’s partisan divides. In line-by-line breakdowns of the 1838 Lyceum Address, the 1863 Gettysburg Address, and the 1865 Second Inaugural address, Schaub reveals how each speech was pegged to a specific landmark in U.S. history (respectively, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the arrival of the first African slaves) and furthered Lincoln’s larger goal of bridging the divide between America’s ideals and its practices. Throughout, Schaub highlights Lincoln’s deliberate word choices (he refers to “the Southern part” of the Union, rather than simply “the South” in the Second Inaugural) and defiance of rhetorical and political conventions. She notes, for instance, that the Gettysburg Address is a “war speech” that “never mentions the enemy,” and that the Second Inaugural studiously—and somewhat awkwardly—avoids first-person singular pronouns. Schaub also draws incisive comparisons to addresses by George Washington, Daniel Webster, and Frederick Douglass, among others, and skillfully unearths biblical and literary allusions studded throughout the texts. Lincolnophiles with a literary bent will savor this rewarding deep dive.

Starred review from November 1, 2021

In a compelling book that is at once probing, provocative, profound, and sometimes problematic, Schaub (political science, Loyola Univ. Maryland; Erotic Liberalism) parses three of Abraham Lincoln's most revealing speeches to explain how they informed political thought and spurred action. She closely exegetes the speeches in chronological order to show Lincoln's recourse to scripture and history when he wanted to make a case for the promise of the nation or the character and demands of securing democratic freedom. Especially insightful is the analysis of Lincoln's Lyceum speech of 1838, in which he argued that American democracy and destiny hinged on grounding all public action in the Constitution and respect for the law. Schaub also offers an original reading of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address of 1863, in which he reminded the nation that only fealty to the principles of the Declaration of Independence could save the great experiment in self-government. And she adds to the large body of literature on Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address of 1865 by emphasizing Lincoln's focus on the long history of slavery, which she says called on all Americans to reckon with that crime. VERDICT An essential work on the purpose, poetry, and power of Lincoln's words.--Randall M. Miller, St. Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia

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