| Edition |
First edition. |
|
First Grove Atlantic hardcover edition. |
| Description |
xxxvi, 376 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Note |
Subtitle from pre-publication: Hatred and healing at Lincoln's second inauguration. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-321) and index. |
| Contents |
Bloody Gashes on the Face of Heaven -- One and a Half Times Bigger -- A Message from Grant -- The Real Precious and Royal Ones -- Meditation on the Divine Will -- Public Sentiment Is Everything -- Indefinable Fascination -- The Blighting Pestilence -- There Was Murder in the Air -- A Future with Hope in It -- Andy Ain't a Drunkard -- An Excellent Chance to Kill the President -- With Malice toward None -- A Truth That Needed to Be Told -- A Sacred Effort -- Epilogue: The Stuff to Carry Them Through. |
| Summary |
"By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had slaughtered more than 700,000 Americans and left intractable wounds on the nation. That day, after a morning of rain-drenched fury, tens of thousands crowded Washington's Capitol grounds to see Abraham Lincoln take the oath for a second term. As the sun emerged, Lincoln rose to give perhaps the greatest inaugural address in American history, stunning the nation by arguing, in a brief 701 words, that both sides had been wrong, and that the war's unimaginable horrors-every drop of blood spilled-might well have been God's just verdict on the national sin of slavery. Edward Achorn reveals the nation's capital on that momentous day-with its mud, sewage, and saloons, its prostitutes, spies, reporters, social-climbing spouses, and power-hungry politicians-as a microcosm of all the opposing forces that had driven the country apart. Achorn weaves together the stories of the host of characters, unknown and famous, that had converged on Washington-from grievously wounded Union colonel Selden Connor in a Washington hospital, embarrassingly drunk new vice president Andrew Johnson, and poet-journalist Walt Whitman, to soldiers' advocate Clara Barton, African American leader Frederick Douglass (who called the speech "a sacred effort"), and conflicted actor John Wilkes Booth-all swirling around the complex figure of Lincoln. In indelible scenes, Achorn vividly captures the frenzy in the nation's capital at this crucial moment in America's history and the tension-filled hope and despair afflicting the country as a whole, soon to be heightened by Lincoln's assassination. His story offers new understanding of our great national crisis, and echoes down the decades to resonate in our own time"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Subject |
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Inaugurations.
|
|
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Influence.
|
|
Washington (D.C.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century.
|
|
Washington (D.C.) -- Politics and government -- 19th century.
|
|
Washington (D.C.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
|
|
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865. (OCoLC)fst00030184
|
|
American Civil War (1861-1865) (OCoLC)fst01351658
|
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Inauguration. (OCoLC)fst01198743
|
|
Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.) (OCoLC)fst00972484
|
|
Manners and customs. (OCoLC)fst01007815
|
|
Politics and government. (OCoLC)fst01919741
|
|
Washington (D.C.) (OCoLC)fst01204505
|
| Chronological Term |
1800-1899
|
| Genre/Form |
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
|
| Added Title |
Momentous second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln |
| ISBN |
9780802148742 (hardcover) |
|
0802148743 (hardcover) |
|
9780802148766 (ebook) |
|
