Sovereign of a free people : Abraham Lincoln, majority rule, and slavery / James H. Read.

Author/creator Read, James H., 1958- author.
Format Book
PublicationLawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2023]
Description400 pages : map ; 24 cm.
Subjects

Portion of title Abraham Lincoln, majority rule, and slavery
SeriesAmerican political thought
American political thought. ^A252954
Contents The only true sovereign of a free people -- "We divide into majorities and minorities" -- "The capability of a people to govern themselves" -- From Kansas-Nebraska to house divided -- "Of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements" : building an antislavery electoral majority -- "The plank is large enough" : Lincoln on race, colonization, and coexistence -- "In course of ultimate extinction" : strategy and obstacles to peacefully ending slavery -- "To declare the right, so that enforcement might follow" : Lincoln's reconstruction of natural right.
Abstract "Sovereign of a Free People examines Lincoln's defense of majority rule, his understanding of its capabilities and limitations, and his hope that slavery could be peacefully and gradually extinguished through the action of a committed national majority. James Read argues that Lincoln offered an innovative account of the interplay between majorities and minorities in the context of crosscutting issues and shifting public opinion-an account that is particularly timely today, with a new minority threatening violence in response to a valid election with which it was dissatisfied"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Issued in other formOnline version: Read, James H., 1958- Sovereign of a free people Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, 2023 9780700634781
Genre/formHistory.
LCCN 2022042591
ISBN9780700634774
ISBN0700634770 hardcover
ISBNelectronic book