The Life of Daniel Waldo Lincoln, 1784-1815: Letters from a Wayward Son (Perspectives on Early America)

Placed within a comprehensive contextual historical narrative, The Life of Daniel Waldo Lincoln, 1784–1815 offers a compelling portrait of one brilliant but compromised man’s perspective of his changing times. Daniel Waldo Lincoln, the second son of Levi Lincoln, a prominent Massachusetts Democratic-Republican, was destined to become a man of influence. Born in 1784, equipped with wealth, prestige, a Harvard education, powerful friends, and a distinguished family name, Lincoln ranked high among the inheritors of the Revolution whose purpose was to protect the ideals of the nation’s founders. In over 250 private letters, essays, and poems beginning with his first day at Harvard in 1801 and ending just weeks before his death in 1815, Lincoln brings to readers a portrait of privilege as it careened into disappointment. A young man active in Republican circles, an orator and attorney in Worcester, Portland, Maine, and Boston, Lincoln comments on the politics, honor, religion, the War of 1812, and his struggles with romance and alcohol. Written for private eyes, his letters are an unusually candid eyewitness account of early-nineteenth-century Massachusetts interwoven with his personal agonies. This volume is of great use for students and scholars interested in life, society, and politics in nineteenth-century America. The Life of Daniel Waldo Lincoln, 1784-1815 Cover -1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Figures 9 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 12 Notes 16 Bibliography 16 1. The Patriarch Levi Lincoln 1729-1800 18 Notes 31 Bibliography 34 Archival Sources 34 Other Printed Matter 34 2. The Republican Levi Lincoln 1800-1803 36 Notes 42 Bibliography 44 Archival Sources 44 Other Printed Matter 44 3. The Early Education of Daniel Lincoln 1784-1803 46 Notes 61 Bibliography 65 Archival Sources 65 Other Printed Matter 65 4. Triumph Then Tragedy in Worcester 1803-1806 68 Notes 76 Bibliography 79 Archival Sources 79 Other Printed Matter 79 5. Promises and Portland 1806-1807 81 Notes 93 Bibliography 96 Archival Sources 96 Other Printed Matter 97 6. Love and The Embargo 1807-1810 99 Notes 117 Bibliography 121 Archival Sources 121 Other Printed Matter 121 7. Brahmins and Boston 1810-1811 124 Notes 137 Bibliography 140 Archival Sources 140 Other Printed Matter 140 8. Lawyering and Lassitude 1811-1812 143 Notes 162 Bibliography 164 Archival Material 164 Other Printed Matter 164 9. War Zones 1811-1813 166 Notes 181 Bibliography 184 Archival Material 184 Other Printed Material 184 10. Providence Slept 1813-1815 187 Notes 198 Bibliography 200 Archival Matter 200 Other Printed Matter 200 Conclusion 203 Notes 209 Bibliography 211 Index 213 The patriarch Levi Lincoln 1729-1800 -- The Republican Levi Lincoln 1800-1803 -- The early education of Daniel Lincoln 1784-1803 -- Triumph then tragedy in Worcester 1803-1806 -- Promises and Portland 1806-1807 -- Love and the embargo 1807-1810 -- Brahmins and Boston 1810-1811 -- Lawyering and lassitude 1811-1812 -- War zones 1812-1813 -- Providence slept 1813-1815 "Placed within a comprehensive contextual historical narrative, The Life of Daniel Waldo Lincoln, 1784-1815 offers a compelling portrait of one brilliant but compromised man's perspective of his changing times. This volume is of great use for students and scholars interested in life, society, and politics in nineteenth-century America"-- Provided by publisher