The culmination of years of work on Abraham Lincoln’s political thought, Michael Zuckert’s A Nation So Conceived argues for a coherent centre to Lincoln’s political ideology, a core idea that unifies his thought and thus illuminates his deeds as a political actor. That core idea is captured in the term ‘democratic sovereignty’.

ForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. The “Perpetuation” Address: The Tragedy of America2. The “Temperance” Address: Playing with FireTransition: February 1842–December 18473. Mr. Lincoln Goes to Washington: Popular Sovereignty and the War with MexicoTransition: 1849–18514. Giant with Feet of ClayTransition: August 1852–September 18545. “:The Faith of Our Fathers”: Lincoln’s Case for the Declaration6. Legality and Legitimacy in the Dred Scott Case7. The Concept of Dred: Facing the Abyss of Dred Scott v. Sandford8. Man the Miner, Man the Farmer9. Dividing the House?10. In the Shadow of the House Divided: The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858Transition: From the Illinois Debates to the Harper’s Essay11. In the Shadow of the Harper’s Essay: The Lincoln-Dougals Debates of 1859–1860Transition: February 1860–February 186112. Secession and Democratic Sovereignty13. And the War Came14. Lincoln’ Constitutionalism15. De(a)dication16. On the Second Inaugural AddressConclusionNotesIndex

"It is not often that one comes across a book that is profound and well-written. This is such a book. It deserves recognition as a significant contribution to Lincoln studies and the study of American political thought."--Law & Liberty "Michael Zuckert has ventured a sequential survey of Lincoln’s speeches and supporting texts that no other Lincoln scholar has attempted on such a scale and with such success. Zuckert concentrates on Lincoln’s decisive response to the problem of democratic sovereignty: the difficulty of sustaining a self-governing constitutional republic that emerges from a rights-centered revolution. When the volatile tension between the two breaks into a fever over slavery, Lincoln addresses it throughout his career with an art of persuasion based on enduring principles. Zuckert shows how thoroughly Lincoln examines this dilemma and gradually—sometimes decisively—works it toward a sustainable and liberating resolution."—John Briggs, professor of English, University of California, Riverside"Michael Zuckert has brilliantly plumbed the depths of Lincoln’s political thought and related it to his actions, beginning with his ‘Perpetuation Address’ in January 1838 and ending with his second inaugural address. Zuckert provides a masterful analysis of the tension that existed in Lincoln’s mind regarding the perceived dangers that confronted the young republic and its enlightenment ideals. His penetrating revisionist treatment of the ‘House Divided’ speech alone is a tour de force in Lincoln scholarship."—William C. Harris, author of Lincoln and the Border States: Preserving the Union and Lincoln and Congress"A Nation So Conceived is a top-notch study of a master statesmen by a master scholar. Michael Zuckert’s careful, in-depth analysis of Abraham Lincoln sheds new light on the nation’s most consequential president. Zuckert shows us how Lincoln’s core concern—for democratic sovereignty—evolved and deepened over time, centering on an enduring paradox: that the same principle that enables free government also engenders threats to free institutions. This is a must-read book for students of Lincoln but more profoundly for all students of the American republic."—Susan McWilliams Barndt, professor of politics at Pomona College and coeditor of the journal American Political Thought