Lincoln before Washington
Subtitle: new perspectives on the Illinois years
By: Douglas L. Wilson.
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Urbana
Language: eng
Number of pages: 190
Subjects: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Political career before 1861; Herndon, William Henry, 1818-1891; Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Friends and associates; Legislators -- Illinois -- Biography; Illinois -- Politics and government -- To 1865
Description: The provocative selections in this book address topics as disparate as William H. Herndon's informants, Lincoln's favorite poem, his mysterious broken engagement, the text of his debates with Douglas, and a previously unknown assault on Peter Cartwright.

Although Abraham Lincoln's early years have come to be regarded as the wrong end of his life, Douglas L. Wilson's original and pathbreaking work makes the case that his prepresidential years offer bright prospects for investigation. Collectively, these essays challenge the general view of Lincoln scholars that William H. Herndon, Lincoln's law partner, is an unreliable source. They also provide a fresh look at some of the affinities between Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The frigate and the frugal chariot : Jefferson and Lincoln as readers; title: Herndon's legacy; title: William H. Herndon and the "necessary truth"; title: Abraham Lincoln versus Peter Cartwright; title: Abraham Lincoln, Ann Rutledge, and the evidence of Herndon's informants; title: Abraham Lincoln and "that fatal first of January"; title: Abraham Lincoln and the spirit of mortal; title: The Lincoln-Douglas debates : an unfinished text; title: Lincoln's declaration.