Posted February 18, 2009

The Claremont Institute takes the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth to honor his memory. Many strands of contemporary liberalism make it difficult to honor the great political men of America's past. Greatness, politics, America, the past, and even men are suspect categories to many of our liberal elites. For some, relativism reduces any notion of greatness to a value-that is to say, nothing. For others, political history is no longer merely replaced by social and economic history; it has been reduced to gender, racial, and ethnic studies. Most profoundly, a vague but nearly irresistible notion of Progress insists that in the decisive respect—and with no effort on our part!—we are superior to all who have come before. The American conservatism of the Claremont Institute holds that the greatest hope for America's future lies in understanding and cherishing what is wisest and noblest in our past.

The Winter 2008/09 issue of the Claremont Review of Books features:

• Christopher Flannery on Lincoln's character

• Diana Schaub on the Lincoln-Douglas debates

• Mackubin T. Owens on Lincoln as war leader

• Peter W. Schramm on Lincoln's friendship with Frederick Douglass

• John Channing Briggs on Lincoln's love of Shakespeare

• Martha Bayles on some of the portrayals of Lincoln in film

We are also proud to make available several articles from our archives:

• The Speech that Changed The World, by Harry V. Jaffa

• Lincoln's Audition, by Allen C. Guelzo (Fall 2004)
  A review of Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President, by Harold Holzer.

• Statecraft and Wordcraft, by John Channing Briggs (Summer 2007)
  A review of Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words, by Douglas L.Wilson; and The Gettysburg Gospel: The Speech that Nobody Knows, by Gabor Boritt.

• One Last Card to Play, by Peter W. Schramm (Spring 2004)
  A review of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, by Allen C. Guelzo.

• How the Confederates Won, by Mackubin T. Owens (Winter 2002)
  A review of a Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, by David W. Blight.

• Forced into Gory Lincoln Revisionism, by Lucas E. Morel (Fall 2000)
  A review of Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream, by Lerone Bennett,

• Dishonest About Abe, by Thomas L. Krannawitter (Spring 2002)
  A review of The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War, by Thomas DiLorenzo.

• The Measure of Greatness, by Glen E. Thurow (Fall 2005)
  A review of What Lincoln Believed: The Values and Convictions of America's Greatest President, by Michael Lind and Lincoln's Speeches Reconsidered, by John Channing Briggs.

• Washing Mud from Marble, by Allen C. Guelzo (Summer 2008)
  A review of Vindicating Lincoln: Defending the Politics of Our Greatest President, by Thomas L. Krannawitter.