Lincoln

Russell Freedman presents Abraham Lincoln by contrasting the legendary folk hero with the historical politician. The narrative follows Lincoln from his childhood in the Kentucky backwoods through his legal career in Illinois and his eventual presidency during the American Civil War. Freedman utilizes specific archival photographs, political cartoons, and personal letters to document Lincoln’s shifting views on slavery and the preservation of the Union. The text details his bouts of clinical depression, the loss of his children, and the tactical decisions made within his cabinet before his assassination at Ford’s Theatre.

Middle-grade students and young adults read this book to understand the human reality behind a national icon. It serves as a visual and biographical introduction to nineteenth-century American governance and the transition from agrarian life to the industrial era. Readers walk away with a factual timeline of the Civil War and a clear sense of Lincoln's actual personality, stripped of mythical embellishments. The inclusion of primary source imagery helps historical learners connect physical evidence to the written record.