Abraham Lincoln

My biography is about the one and only Abraham Lincoln and how we contributed to society in general. Allen C. Guezlo has so far done an extremely good job with illustrating how society has evolved during the early years of America and how this influenced Lincoln. In the introduction he also compared him to Jefferson and how he differed from his supposed idol. Jefferson believed heavily in an agrarian society. It also showed how there is actually tons of literature and ideas being spread in the early days of America. After all, "republicanism infected Americans with the conviction that everyone should have access to learning"(22). This is counter-intuitive to ones image of the early days of America. You think of Daniel Boone, and frontiersmen, instead of a pursuit for ideals that infected the country. This really presents a better view of Lincoln as someone of his time, instead of a rare scholar, in a time of hillbillies. As the book says, Lincoln " is not often thought as an intellectual in an era which, unfortunately, is not often thought of as an arena for ideas"(24-25). This really shows how much of a misconception we have about this time period and how stereotyped it has become. As we think of America it goes from rebellious intellectuals and heroes, to pioneers. There was not obviously this big of a drop off, and the intellectualism of Jefferson and Washington was just not just a one-time event in American history.
The second chapter deals more with how he grew up, as a farm laborer, a character familiar to most Americans. His humble roots is one of the great stories of America and still celebrated today. There are even toys about it, namely, Lincoln Logs. However this book shows how not only did he overcome that, but he also overcame a father is at best unwilling to educate his son. At worst, he flatly prevented it. "Thomas Lincoln was easily irritated when Abraham began to bestow on reading time that his father might have better wanted to see him spend on hire-out labor"(35). However threw some inner desire Lincoln still managed to pursue a career in politics, and managed to self-educate. For all the foibles that most biographies discover about their subject, in an effort to sell books, this just seems to show how great of a man Lincoln was. He was amiable to all, and believed truly that liberty was a gift to be given to all.

Guelzo, Allen C. Abraham Lincoln : Redeemer President. Boston: William B. Eerdmans Company, 2002.