The Papers and Writings of Abraham Lincoln — Volume 6: 1862-1863

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.5
Word count
585K words
Chapters
59

Tags

English Originals World HistoryMilitaryPolitics Civil War DocumentsMilitary StrategyPolitical SpeechesAmerican HistoryCivic AwarenessEpistolary Form

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Papers and Writings of Abraham Lincoln — Volume 6: 1862-1863 by Abraham LincolnAuthor: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865,Language: English, Class: E456: History: America: Civil War period (1861-1865), Release Date: Sep 30, 2004

Editor's review

This volume collects Lincoln's papers and writings from 1862 to 1863, at a critical stage of the American Civil War. Readers can engage directly with the letters, manuscripts, and public texts of the period and sense the decision-maker's mode of expression and the atmosphere of the age. As a public-domain eBook, it preserves the original documents and suits close reading of historical sources rather than serving as an introduction to general history. Its strength lies in the immediacy of the primary texts, which can be read alongside historical narratives to help understand the language and context of mid-war political and military issues. Read in chronological order, note the background annotations and personal relationships, or select entries related to major battles and emancipation policy for close reading. Overall it is better suited to readers with a foundation in American history who wish to study the volume carefully, rather than to general readers seeking a coherent plot.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. First read a concise timeline of the American Civil War, then proceed entry by entry in the volume's chronological order.
  2. Mark separately the entries concerning military and emancipation policy, and read them alongside related historical accounts.
  3. After each group of documents, write a hundred-word summary to sort out the people, events, and changes in Lincoln's wording.
  4. Make marginal notes on unfamiliar people and places first, so gaps in background do not interrupt the reading rhythm.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
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  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59

FAQ

Is this Volume 6 suitable for readers with no background in American history at all? Not very. This volume is a compilation of primary documents and assumes readers have a basic knowledge of the Civil War background, major generals, and political figures; without that background, it is easy to read it as scattered pieces. It is advisable to read a concise general history of the Civil War first and then return to this volume, which will make understanding much smoother.
How difficult is the English original, and what tools are needed? The text is nineteenth-century English with fairly formal syntax, and some documents involve the political and military terminology of the time. University-level English reading ability is enough to make progress, but it is advisable to have a dictionary and notes on people and places at hand. For long sentences, grasp the main structure first rather than struggling over every word, and give priority to overall understanding.
Should one read the whole volume or selected key entries? Either approach works. Reading through lets you appreciate the continuous changes in the situation and wording from 1862 to 1863; selective reading suits readers with limited time, who should focus first on texts related to major battles and emancipation policy. For a first encounter, it is advisable to skim the table of contents, choose three to five entries for close reading, and then decide whether to read the volume systematically.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 Author

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was an American political figure, best known for leading the nation through the Civil War and for advancing the abolition of slavery during his presidency. This site holds 23 of his works, including the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, and several volumes of his papers and writings, many of which center on the Lincoln-Douglas debates, wartime political decisions, and his speeches. These texts are marked by clear, restrained, and forceful expression, offering both a sense of the historical moment and Lincoln's commitment to Union and freedom. Public information is limited; this note draws only on the works in the collection to outline his subjects and influence, without unverified personal details.