Abraham Lincoln and American Political Religion

"There are now significant elements in both political science and history that have rejected the 'debunker's' view of speech. The development of an opposing view has been led by Leo Strauss and his students in political science and by the 'New England' school in history--Perry Miller, Bernard Bailyn, Gordon Wood, and others.

"Although these two groups of scholars have written in almost complete independence of one another, and although there are significant differences between them, they are agreed in believing that one must look to men's thoughts--to their speeches and writings--in order to understand their actions. These men have opened again the study of statesmanship.

"This work is a study of the thought of Abraham Lincoln as found in his speeches and writings. Its motivation is not unreflecting reverence for great men nor curiosity about historical contingencies, but concern with an aspect of the problem that was central to Lincoln's thought: the capacity of a people to govern themselves.

"Lincoln's thought is not looked upon as a cover for, or rationalization of, his other deeds. Nor is it measured by its influence on subsequent generations, though Lincoln's great influence is not denied, and provides a motive for interest in Lincoln. Rather this study aims to examine Lincoln's opinions and the reasoning supporting them, explicit and implicit. It does not seek to debunk because it regard Lincoln's thought as sufficiently good to merit serious examination; it cannot worship because it seeks to understand. Its author's view is that the deepest grounds for both praise and criticism of Lincoln are to be found through his speeches and writings.

"The problem of this book is the problem of political religion as it appears in Abraham Lincoln…Lincoln's religion, as we know it, is part of his political rhetoric and cannot be divorced from it. In this sense, at least, Lincoln's religion is political religion." (pp. xi-xii)