First among Equals: Abraham Lincoln’s Reputation During His Administration

One hundred and forty years after his assassination on April 14, 1865, Abraham

Lincoln towers more than ever above the landscape of American politics. In

myth and memory, he is always the Great Emancipator and savior of the Union,

second in stature only to George Washington.

But was Lincoln always so exalted?Was he, as some historians argue, a poor

President, deeply disliked, whose legacy was ennobled only by John Wilkes

Booth’s bullet?

In this fascinating book, a leading historian finally takes the full measure of

Lincoln’s reputation. Drawing on a remarkable range of primary documents-

speeches, newspaper accounts and editorials, private letters, memoirs, and

other sources-Hans L. Trefousse gives us the voices of Lincoln’s own time. From

North and South, at home and abroad, here are politicians and ordinary people,

soldiers and statesmen, abolitionists and slaveholders alike, in a rich chorus of

American opinion. The result is a masterly portrait of Lincoln the President in

the eyes of his fellow Americans.