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MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
NEW YORK CITY

LIFE

OF

ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

PRESENTING

HIS EARLY HISTORY, POLITICAL CAREER, AND SPEECHES IN AND OUT
OF CONGRESS; ALSO A GENERAL VIEW OF HIS POLICY

AS

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES;

WITH HIS

MESSAGES, PROCLAMATIONS, LETTERS, ETC.,

AND A CONCISE

HISTORY OF THE WAR.

BY

JOSEPH H. BARRETT.

CINCINNATI:

MOORE, WILSTACH & BALDWIN,

25 WEST FOURTH STREET.

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by

MOORE, WILSTACH & BALDWIN,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio.

PREFACE.

THE first part of the sketch of Mr. Lincoln's life, herewith presented to the public, was prepared for the press in June, 1860-only slight modifications having been made, and brief additions, so as to embrace the period terminating with his inauguration. This portion of the work embodies a condensed view of Mr. Lincoln's speeches, which can not fail to interest the attentive student, who seeks for information concerning his early political life. The second part, after a summary of National events immediately preceding March 4, 1861, gives a condensed history of Mr. Lincoln's Administration, including a narrative of military operations, down to the present time. The most important public papers, addresses and occasional letters of the President, will also be found in the following pages.

It has been the fortune of Mr. Lincoln to be called to the Chief Magistracy, at an epoch when a long-maturing conspiracy for the dismemberment of the Union has culminated in a war of unprecedented magnitude. The President, tried as none of his predecessors ever were, has so wisely.exercised his power as to command the hearty support of all loyal men at home, and the admiration of enlightened thinkers, inperverted by anti-democratic prejudice in Europe. It was late member of the British Parliament who pointed out single passages from an address of Mr. Lincoln, as worth "all that Burke ever wrote." His able statesmanship has justified the confidence of the people, while his sterling qualities of heart, his humane sympa

thies, his purity of life, and his power of winning the love and trust of his countrymen, have contributed to deepen the earnestness of the popular wish for his continuance, during another term, in the high office he providentially fills.

It is hardly to be hoped that the present attempt to treat so wide a subject, within so small a compass, will satisfy all readers. Many minor details, of special interest to individuals, have necessarily been omitted. Some accounts of military and naval undertakings, which might, of themselves, have filled an entire volume, have been given with perhaps a disappointing brevity. It must suffice to say, here, that no pains have been spared-as no requisite facilities for obtaining correct data have been lacking to make the work not only trustworthy and complete in regard to matters of salient interest, but also as acceptable as possible to all classes of loyal readers.

WASHINGTON, D. C., May 14, 1864.

J. H. B.

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