My latest book (8-24): Lincoln's Rise to Eloquence

[D. Leigh Henson]

Many publications variously trace Abraham Lincoln’s rise to the presidency, and some comment on his presidential, literary distinction—his eloquence and statesmanship—but none of the 16,000+ Lincoln books especially emphasize that his prepresidential compositions—speeches and other writings—were a crucial factor in the political/rhetorical growth that led to his presidential nomination and prepared him for literary distinction as president. I wrote Lincoln’s Rise to Eloquence: How He Gained the Presidential Nomination in an attempt to fill that void. An anonymous Lincoln expert who participated in the book’s multi-year critical review and revision process wrote: “Finding a compelling rationale for another Lincoln book can be tricky. I am happy to say that the author of this book has found such a rationale.”

This book’s central argument is that over time Lincoln developed a powerful and ethical rhetoric, gaining credibility and political capital by deploying rational and emotional appeals through historical, legalistic, and moral argumentation, while sometimes using demagogic and satirical methods.

I am pleased and humbled that the University of Illinois Press (UIP) is publishing Lincoln’s Rise to Eloquence, with a release date of August 20, 2024. UIP offers this book in hardbound, paper, EPUB, and PDF formats. UIP’s website for the book has a tab to click for a free preview: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p088032 . The book is also available at Barnes and Noble, and Amazon, including its Kindle format. Pre-ordering the book is available at these booksellers, with Amazon offering a reduced, pre-order price of $9.99 for its Kindle version: https://www.amazon.com/Lincolns-Rise-Elo...0252045947 . Amazon says that a pre-ordered Kindle version of this book will be automatically delivered on its first day of publication, again 8-20-24. The book is dedicated to my devoted wife, Pat Hartman, MBA, for her encouragement and the several technical tasks she performed so well in its development.

More about this book: with a background in literature, language, and rhetoric, I systematically discuss thirty-one of Lincoln’s main compositions and numerous lesser ones that tell the story of his rhetorical/political growth. My discussions cite the limitations of previous analyses of a particular Lincoln composition that point to the need for fresh analysis. I then examine a composition’s political/rhetorical purposes; sources of influence; structure/organization; methods of argumentation; appeals to reason, emotion, and credibility; and language (grammatical, literary, and rhetorical qualities).

Many of Lincoln’s compositions show how he handled the demagogic methods of his political opponents, especially the lying, race-baiting, and personal attacks of his decades-long rival, Stephen A. Douglas. This book shows how Lincoln wrestled with whether and how to use personal attacks in retaliation to Douglas’s. The book also explains how Lincoln used his literary ability to weave humor into his main compositions—not so much with jokes and anecdotes—but with satire focusing on Douglas’s political positions, policies, and rhetoric. As arguably the most extensive rhetorical study of one of the greatest political/rhetorical rivalries in American history, this book should resonate with today’s readers, given the intensely demagogic rhetoric of some of our current politicians—their personal attacks, false assertions, and appeals to racial bias.

This book should find a notable place in the vast Lincoln literature. The reviewer quoted above wrote: “I commend the author for his attention to detail. Henson carefully traces the way Lincoln’s moral and demagogic appeals intersected and shifted across the decades-long prepresidential career. Because of Henson’s work, we now have important pieces of the puzzle for understanding Lincoln’s leadership, eloquence, and effectiveness.” A second Lincoln expert who also anonymously participated in the multi-year review and revision process observed: this book is “substantial, coherent, and in-depth”; it is “well-structured, well-reasoned, highly readable, and supported by the relevant evidence.”

Lincoln’s Rise to Eloquence is the third Lincoln-related book I have published in retirement from two teaching careers. The other books are The Town Abraham Lincoln Warned: The Living Namesake Heritage of Lincoln, Illinois, https://findinglincolnillinois.com/townabewarned.html , and Inventing Lincoln: Approaches to His Rhetoric, https://findinglincolnillinois.com/inven...ncoln.html . I have also published Lincoln-related articles in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, The Lincoln Herald, and Lincoln Lore. For more than twenty years, I have continually developed a collaborative, pictorial history website about the first Lincoln namesake town (my hometown), https://findinglincolnillinois.com/ . My curriculum vita documents the scope and history of my professional life: https://findinglincolnillinois.com/DLHensoncv7-23.pdf

[David Lockmiller]

(08-17-2024 02:15 PM)D. Leigh Henson Wrote:  I am pleased and humbled that the University of Illinois Press (UIP) is publishing Lincoln’s Rise to Eloquence, with a release date of August 20, 2024.

If you please, what would you say (or, have already written) about the following letter that President Lincoln wrote to General Grant? I made this post two days ago.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, in her book Team of Rivals at pages 683-84, wrote:

After Willie's death, Mary had been determined not to allow her oldest son, Robert, to risk his life in the army. But after his graduation form Harvard, she could no longer detain him.

In January 1865, [President] Lincoln wrote to General Grant:

"Please read and answer this letter as though I was not President, but only a friend. My son, now in his twenty second year, having graduated at Harvard, wishes to see something of the war before it ends. I do not wish to put him in the ranks, nor yet to give him a commission, to which those who have already served long, are better entitled, and better qualified to hold. Could he, without embarrassment to you, or detriment to the service, go into your Military family with some nominal rank, I, and not the public, furnishing his necessary means? If no, say so without the least hesitation, because I am as anxious, and as deeply interested, that you shall not be encumbered."

Grant replied two days later. "I will be most happy to have him in my Military family," he wrote. He suggested the rank of captain would be most appropriate.

So, Robert's wish to join the army was granted.

[David Lockmiller]

From Ulysses S. Grant to Abraham Lincoln, January 21, 1865

Annapolis Junction, Md.

Jan,y 21st 1865

Sir:

Your favor of this date in relation to your son serving in some military capacity is received. I will be most happy to have him in my military family in the manner you propose. The nominal rank given him is immaterial but I would suggest that of Capt. as I have three staff officers now, of considerable service, in no higher grade. Indeed I have one officer with only the rank of Lieut. who has been in the service from the beginning of the war. This however will make no difference and I would still say give the rank of Capt. Please excuse my writing on a half sheet. I had no resource but to take the blank half of your letter.

Very respectfully

Your obt. svt,

U. S. Grant, Lt. Gen

Robert Lincoln was made assistant adjutant general of volunteers with the rank of captain, to date from February 11, 1865. He resigned on June 10.

[D. Leigh Henson]

(08-17-2024 10:53 PM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  

(08-17-2024 02:15 PM)D. Leigh Henson Wrote:  I am pleased and humbled that the University of Illinois Press (UIP) is publishing Lincoln’s Rise to Eloquence, with a release date of August 20, 2024.

If you please, what would you say (or, have already written) about the following letter that President Lincoln wrote to General Grant? I made this post two days ago.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, in her book Team of Rivals at pages 683-84, wrote:

After Willie's death, Mary had been determined not to allow her oldest son, Robert, to risk his life in the army. But after his graduation form Harvard, she could no longer detain him.

In January 1865, [President] Lincoln wrote to General Grant:

"Please read and answer this letter as though I was not President, but only a friend. My son, now in his twenty second year, having graduated at Harvard, wishes to see something of the war before it ends. I do not wish to put him in the ranks, nor yet to give him a commission, to which those who have already served long, are better entitled, and better qualified to hold. Could he, without embarrassment to you, or detriment to the service, go into your Military family with some nominal rank, I, and not the public, furnishing his necessary means? If no, say so without the least hesitation, because I am as anxious, and as deeply interested, that you shall not be encumbered."

Grant replied two days later. "I will be most happy to have him in my Military family," he wrote. He suggested the rank of captain would be most appropriate.

So, Robert's wish to join the army was granted.

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Regrets for delayed response, and sorry I have no relevant information.

[Steve]

I didn't see this post when it originally came out, but I will definitely check out your book!

[D. Leigh Henson]

(03-07-2025 02:27 AM)Steve Wrote:  I didn't see this post when it originally came out, but I will definitely check out your book!

Thank you.

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D. Leigh Henson to ChatGPT (12-16-25): Identify and rank books from most to least informative that explain how Lincoln's growth and development as a writer prepared him for presidential discourse and literary distinction.

Response:
Below is a ranked, “most-to-least informative” list of books that explain how Lincoln’s growth as a writer (habits, models, revision practices, genres, and rhetorical aims) prepared him for presidential discourse and—ultimately—literary distinction. I am weighting explanatory power about development over general Lincoln biography or simple anthologizing.

1. D. Leigh Henson, Lincoln’s Rise to Eloquence: How He Gained the Presidential Nomination (University of Illinois Press, 2024). Most directly organized around pre-presidential rhetorical formation—how Lincoln’s speeches and writings functioned as deliberate instruments of political ascent, with attention to method, purpose, and the rhetorical process that culminates in national leadership discourse. University of Illinois Press+1

2. Douglas L. Wilson, Lincoln’s Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words (2006). A sustained argument that Lincoln’s presidency cannot be understood apart from his maturity as a working writer—treating writing as a “presidential asset,” and closely attending to how Lincoln composed and deployed key texts as instruments of governance. PenguinRandomhouse.com+1

3. Daniel Kilham Dodge (intro. James Hurt), Abraham Lincoln: The Evolution of His Literary Style (University of Illinois Press ed., 2000). A compact but conceptually focused study that explicitly tracks “evolution” in Lincoln’s style by identifying the literary sources and reading-world that shaped his writing across forms (law, politics, poetry, print culture). Among the most “developmental” books in the strict sense. Google Books+1

4. Douglas L. Wilson, Honor’s Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln (1998). While broader than “writerly development” alone, it is unusually strong on formation—how Lincoln becomes the sort of person who can speak (and write) with authority, and how that authority is inseparable from voice, discipline, and self-making (a key bridge between growth and later presidential discourse). PenguinRandomhouse.com+1

5. • Ronald C. White Jr., Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural (2002).
A deep dive into Lincoln’s mature literary-religious artistry through the Second Inaugural, with an explicit concern for “development” and influences—excellent for showing what Lincoln’s writerly growth produced at its highest level, even though the lens is one primary text. Ronald C. White+1

6. • Garry Wills, Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America (1992). Not chiefly a “growth narrative,” but extremely informative on literary distinction—why the Gettysburg Address works as language, how it re-situates national meaning, and why Lincoln’s rhetoric becomes culturally canonical (a strong “literary achievement” book). Amazon+1

7. • Harold Holzer, Lincoln and the Power of the Press: The War for Public Opinion (2014). Less about stylistic evolution per se, more about the communications ecosystem in which Lincoln wrote—how he leveraged (and sometimes supplied) print journalism to shape public sentiment. Valuable for understanding the infrastructural conditions that made presidential discourse effective. simonandschuster.com+1

8. • Harold Holzer, Abraham Lincoln, the Writer: A Treasury of His Greatest Speeches and Letters (2000). Useful as a guided “Lincoln-as-writer” presentation with contextual framing, but it is primarily a curated treasury rather than an analytic account of development; best used alongside the explanatory studies above. Biblioguides+1