All the Powers of Earth: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln Vol. III, 1856-1860 (3)

"A multi-volume history of Lincoln as a political genius--from his obscure beginnings to his presidency, assassination, and the overthrow of his post-Civil War dreams of Reconstruction. The first volume traces Lincoln from his painful youth, describing himself as 'a slave, ' to his emergence as the man we recognize as Abraham Lincoln. From his youth as a 'newsboy, ' a voracious newspaper reader, Lincoln became a free thinker, reading Tom Paine, as well as Shakespeare and the Bible, and studying Euclid to sharpen his arguments as a lawyer. Lincoln's anti-slavery thinking began in his childhood amidst the Primitive Baptist antislavery dissidents in backwoods Kentucky and Indiana, the roots of his repudiation of Southern Christian pro-slavery theology. Intensely ambitious, he held political aspirations from his earliest years. Obsessed with Stephen Douglas, his political rival, he battled him for decades. Successful as a circuit lawyer, Lincoln built his team of loyalists. Blumenthal reveals how Douglas and Jefferson Davis acting together made possible Lincoln's rise. Blumenthal describes a socially awkward suitor who had a nervous breakdown over his inability to deal with the opposite sex. His marriage to the upper class Mary Todd was crucial to his social aspirations and his political career. Blumenthal portrays Mary as an asset to her husband, a rare woman of her day with strong political opinions. He discloses the impact on Lincoln's anti-slavery convictions when handling his wife's legal case to recover her father's fortune in which he discovered her cousin was a slave. Blumenthal's robust portrayal is based on prodigious research of Lincoln's record and of the period and its main players. It reflects both Lincoln's time and the struggle that consumes our own political debate"--;Volume 1. 1809-1849. A self made man. -- Volume 2. 1849-1856. Wrestling with his angel. -- Volume 3. 1856-1860. All the powers of Earth.;v.3. Timeline of Major Events ; Cast of Major Characters ; Things fall apart ; Vaulting ambition ; The spirit of violence ; War to the knife ; The puritan as prophet ; Cyclops ; A voice from the grave ; The harlot slavery ; The assassination of Charles Sumner ; Arguments of the chivalry ; Exterminating angel ; Democracy in America ; Creation ; Miss Fancy ; The forbidden word ; Vice president Lincoln ; The birther campaign ; The great awakening ; The white man ; All the powers of Earth ; The wizard of Mississippi ; The unmasking of the president ; A house divided ; The higher object ; The moral lights ; The phoenix ; Icarus ; This guilty land ; Witch Hunt ; Right makes might ; Walpurgisnacht ; The railsplitter ; The wigwam ; A fallen star ; Wide-awake.;v. 2. Timeline of Major Events ; Cast of Major Characters ; Wrestling with His Angel ; White Negroes ; The Civil War of Old Rough and Ready ; The Art of the Deal ; The Consequences of Peace ; What Is to Be Done? ; A Hero's Welcome ; The Making of a Dark Horse ; The Victory March of Old Fuss and Feathers ; The Death of Henry Clay ; The Waterloo of the Whigs ; The Acting President of the United States ; I, Thomas Hart Benton ; The Triumph of the F Street Mess ; A Self-Evident Lie ; Citizen Know Nothing ; The Conquest of Kansas ; Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Slavery ; Armed Liberty ; The Failure of Free Society ; The Blood of the Revolution ; Senator Lincoln ; The Republican ; Destiny and Power.;v. 1. Timeline of Major Events ; Cast of Major Characters ; The Slave ; The Reader ; The Age of Reason ; The Slasher ; Paradise Lost ; Old Man Eloquent ; The Springfield Lyceum ; The Rivals ; The Romance ; The Prophet ; The Duelist ; Coup d'État ; Infidels ; Great Expectations ; Ranchero Spotty ; The Hayseed ; The Firm ; The Spoils ; A Hundred Keys Volume 1. 1809-1849. A self made man. -- Volume 2. 1849-1856. Wrestling with his angel. -- Volume 3. 1856-1860. All the powers of Earth. v. 1. Timeline of Major Events Cast of Major Characters The Slave The Reader The Age of Reason The Slasher Paradise Lost Old Man Eloquent The Springfield Lyceum The Rivals The Romance The Prophet The Duelist Coup d'État Infidels Great Expectations Ranchero Spotty The Hayseed The Firm The Spoils A Hundred Keys v. 2. Timeline of Major Events Cast of Major Characters Wrestling with His Angel White Negroes The Civil War of Old Rough and Ready The Art of the Deal The Consequences of Peace What Is to Be Done? A Hero's Welcome The Making of a Dark Horse The Victory March of Old Fuss and Feathers The Death of Henry Clay The Waterloo of the Whigs The Acting President of the United States I, Thomas Hart Benton The Triumph of the F Street Mess A Self-Evident Lie Citizen Know Nothing The Conquest of Kansas Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Slavery Armed Liberty The Failure of Free Society The Blood of the Revolution Senator Lincoln The Republican Destiny and Power. v.3. Timeline of Major Events Cast of Major Characters Things fall apart Vaulting ambition The spirit of violence War to the knife The puritan as prophet Cyclops A voice from the grave The harlot slavery The assassination of Charles Sumner Arguments of the chivalry Exterminating angel Democracy in America Creation Miss Fancy The forbidden word Vice president Lincoln The birther campaign The great awakening The white man All the powers of Earth The wizard of Mississippi The unmasking of the president A house divided The higher object The moral lights The phoenix Icarus This guilty land Witch Hunt Right makes might Walpurgisnacht The railsplitter The wigwam A fallen star Wide-awake. Volume III of Sidney Blumenthal's "magisterial" and "masterful" biography, The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, brings the prairie lawyer out of his wilderness into the presidency. Lincoln rises from defeat and obscurity to become the Commander-in-Chief who strikes down slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation. Following the award winning A Self-Made Man and Wrestling with His Angel, Volume III, All the Powers of Earth, is a stunning achievement. Beginning alone, without any resources but ability, vision and self-discipline, Lincoln creates his own power every step of his way. His old party has collapsed and the opposition cracks up. Lincoln enlists his friends in a new political party built at the center of the chaos to take on "all the powers of earth" in the country's greatest crisis. The master politician wins the trust of ambitious personalities and warring factions and welds them together in a common cause, declaring "a house divided against itself cannot stand." President Lincoln now faces the forces that tore apart the Union. Lincoln stands firm in the secession crisis, refuses fatal compromises, and puts together a cabinet of strong political men who often act as if they and not he is president. He must create an army, cope with terrible early defeats, and find worthy commanders. He must deal with the contempt of his top general George B. McClellan, the suspicion of the Radical Republicans in the Congress, and the threat that the slave border states will defect to the Confederacy. He comes at last to his most daring act and forges his most powerful weapon, the Emancipation Proclamation Lincoln's incredible ascent to power in a world of chaos is newly revealed in this " compelling, original, and elegantly written" (Michael Beschloss, New York Times bestselling author) third volume of the "magisterial" ( The New York Times Book Review ) Political Life of Abraham Lincoln series, following A Self-Made Man and Wrestling with His Angel . After a period of depression that he would ever find his way to greatness, Lincoln takes on the most powerful demagogue in the country, Stephen Douglas, in the debates for a senate seat. He sidelines the frontrunner William Seward, a former governor and senator for New York, to cinch the new Republican Party's nomination. All the Powers of Earth is the political story of all time. Lincoln achieves the presidency by force of strategy, of political savvy and determination. This is Abraham Lincoln, who indisputably becomes the greatest president and moral leader in the nation's history. But he must first build a new political party, brilliantly state the anti-slavery case and overcome shattering defeat to win the presidency. In the years of civil war to follow, he will show mightily that the nation was right to bet on him. He was its preserver, a politician of moral integrity. All the Powers of Earth is "as essential as any political biography is likely to be" and Sidney Bluementhal is "the definitive chronicler of Lincoln's political career" ( Kirkus Reviews , starred review). In All the Powers of Earth , Lincoln's incredible ascent to power in a world of chaos is newly revealed through the great biographer's extraordinary research and literary style. After a period of depression that he would ever find his way to greatness, Lincoln takes on the most powerful demagogue in the country, Stephen Douglas, in the debates for a senate seat. He sidelines the frontrunner William Seward, a former governor and senator for New York, to cinch the new Republican Partys nomination. All the Powers of Earth is the political story of all time. Lincoln achieves the presidency by force of strategy, of political savvy and determination. This is Abraham Lincoln, who indisputably becomes the greatest president and moral leader in the nations history. But he must first build a new political party, brilliantly state the anti-slavery case and overcome shattering defeat to win the presidency. In the years of civil war to follow, he will show mightily that the nation was right to bet on him. He was its preserver, a politician of moral integrity. All the Powers of Earth cements Sidney Blumenthal as the definitive Lincoln biographer. "After a period of depression that he would ever find his way to greatness, Lincoln takes on the most powerful demagogue in the country, Stephen Douglas, in the debates for a senate seat. He sidelines the frontrunner William Seward, a former governor and senator for New York, to cinch the new Republican Party's nomination. All the Powers of Earth is the political story of all time. Lincoln achieves the presidency by force of strategy, of political savvy and determination. This is Abraham Lincoln, who indisputably becomes the greatest president and moral leader in the nation's history. But he must first build a new political party, brilliantly state the anti-slavery case and overcome shattering defeat to win the presidency. In the years of civil war to follow, he will show mightily that the nation was right to bet on him. He was its preserver, a politician of moral integrity." -- Amazon.com