| Preface | | v | |
| Introduction | | xiii | |
| Entering Politics: Communication to the People of Sangamo County, March 9, 1832 |
| | 31 | (1) |
| Running For Reelection: Letter to the Editor of the Sangamo Journal, June 13, 1836 |
| | 32 | (1) |
| The Slavery Problem: Protest Presented in the Illinois Legislature, March 3, 1837 |
| | 33 | (1) |
| Political Philosophy: Speech to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, January 27, 1838 |
| | 34 | (9) |
| A Personal Crisis: Letter to John T. Stuart, January 23, 1841 |
| | 43 | (2) |
| A Glimpse of Slavery: Letter to Mary Speed, September 27, 1841 |
| | 45 | (1) |
| The Liquor Problem: Address to the Washington Temperance Society of Springfield, February 22, 1842 |
| | 46 | (5) |
| Legal Fees: Letter to James S. Irwin, November 2, 1842 |
| | 51 | (1) |
| Texas and Slavery: Letter to Williamson Durley, October 3, 1845 |
| | 51 | (3) |
| Candidate for Congress: Letter to Robert Boal, January 7, 1846 |
| | 54 | (1) |
| Religion and Politics: Handbill Addressed to the Voters of the Seventh Congressional District, July 31, 1846 |
| | 55 | (1) |
| The Mexican War: Lincoln's ``Spot Resolutions'' in the House of Representatives, December 22, 1847 |
| | 56 | (2) |
| Presidential Power: Letter to William H. Herndon, February 15, 1848 |
| | 58 | (2) |
| Family Affairs: Letter to Mary Lincoln, April 16, 1848 |
| | 60 | (2) |
| Presidential Politics: Letter to William H. Herndon, June 12, 1848 |
| | 62 | (1) |
| A Patronage Battle: Letter to William B. Preston, May 16, 1849 |
| | 63 | (2) |
| Death in the Family: Letter to John D. Johnston, January 12, 1851 |
| | 65 | (1) |
| Portrait of a Statesman: Eulogy on Henry Clay, July 6, 1852 |
| | 66 | (3) |
| Government and Slavery: Two Undated Fragments from Lincoln's Hand |
| | 69 | (2) |
| The Kansas-Nebraska Act: Speech at Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854 |
| | 71 | (7) |
| Almost a Senator: Letter to William H. Henderson, February 21, 1855 |
| | 78 | (1) |
| Fusionists and Nativists: Letter to Owen Lovejoy, August 11, 1855 |
| | 79 | (2) |
| A Farewell to Whiggery: Letter to Joshua F. Speed, August 24, 1855 |
| | 81 | (3) |
| Campaigning for Fremont: Form Letter to Fillmore Men, September, October, 1856 |
| | 84 | (2) |
| The Central Idea of the Republic: Speech at a Republican Banquet in Chicago, December 10, 1856 |
| | 86 | (2) |
| The Dred Scott Decision: Speech at Springfield, Illinois, June 26, 1857 |
| | 88 | (5) |
| Douglas in Revolt: Letter to Lyman Trumbull, December 28, 1857 |
| | 93 | (1) |
| Senatorial Candidate: The House Divided Speech, June 16, 1858 |
| | 94 | (9) |
| The Negro Question: Extracts from the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, August to October, 1858 |
| | 103 | (9) |
| The Freeport Doctrine: Extracts from the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, August to October, 1858 |
| | 112 | (6) |
| Illegal Voters: Letter to Norman B. Judd, October 20, 1858 |
| | 118 | (1) |
| The Principles of Jefferson: Letter to Henry L. Pierce and Others, April 6, 1859 |
| | 119 | (2) |
| Insidious Popular Sovereignty: Speech at Columbus, Ohio, September 16, 1859 |
| | 121 | (8) |
| The Emerging Candidate: Letter to William E. Frazer, November 1, 1859 |
| | 129 | (1) |
| Autobiography: Letter to Jesse W. Fell, December 20, 1859 |
| | 130 | (2) |
| Oratorical Climax: The Cooper Institute Address, February 27, 1860 |
| | 132 | (11) |
| Convention Strategy: Letter to Samuel Galloway, March 24, 1860 |
| | 143 | (1) |
| Presidential Nominee: Letter to George Ashmun, May 23, 1860 |
| | 144 | (1) |
| On Growing A Beard: Letter to Grace Bedell, October 19, 1860 |
| | 145 | (1) |
| No Compromise: Letter to Lyman Trumbull, December 10, 1860 |
| | 146 | (1) |
| On Reassuring the South: Letter to John A. Gilmer, December 15, 1860 |
| | 146 | (2) |
| Departure: Farewell Address at Springfield, Febuary 11, 1861 |
| | 148 | (1) |
| En Route: Speech at Cleveland, Ohio, February 15, 1861 |
| | 149 | (1) |
| President Lincoln: First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861 |
| | 150 | (10) |
| The War Begins: Presidential Proclamation, April 15, 1861 |
| | 160 | (2) |
| A Friend Lost: Letter to Ephraim D. and Phoebe Ellsworth, May 25, 1861 |
| | 162 | (1) |
| Mobilizing the National Will: Message to Congress in Special Session, July 4, 1861 |
| | 163 | (7) |
| Becoming A Strategist: Memoranda Written after the Defeat at Bull Run, July, 1861 |
| | 170 | (2) |
| A Troublesome General: Letter to John C. Fremont, September 2, 1861 |
| | 172 | (1) |
| The Fremont Episode Continued: Letter to Orville H. Browning, September 22, 1861 |
| | 173 | (3) |
| Ends and Means: Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1861 |
| | 176 | (5) |
| Blunt Words for a Malcontent: Letter to David Hunter, December 31, 1861 |
| | 181 | (2) |
| Eastern Tennessee: Letter to Don C. Buell, January 6, 1862 |
| | 183 | (1) |
| The Fundamental Problem: Letter to Don C. Buell, January 13, 1862 |
| | 184 | (1) |
| The Way to Richmond: Letter to George B. McClellan, February 3, 1862 |
| | 184 | (1) |
| The Peninsular Campaign: Letter to George B. McClellan, April 9, 1862 |
| | 185 | (3) |
| Emancipation Again: Presidential Proclamation, May 19, 1862 |
| | 188 | (1) |
| The Seven Days: Letter to George B. McClellan, June 28, 1862 |
| | 189 | (1) |
| New Orleans Under Occupation: Letter to Reverdy Johnson, July 26, 1862 |
| | 190 | (2) |
| The Paramount Object: Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862 |
| | 192 | (1) |
| After Another Defeat: Meditation on the Divine Will, September, 1862 |
| | 193 | (1) |
| An Historic Step: The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, September 22, 1862 |
| | 194 | (2) |
| Anxious Afterthoughts: Letter to Hannibal Hamlin, September 28, 1862 |
| | 196 | (1) |
| Inertia Again: Letter to George B. McClellan, October 13, 1862 |
| | 197 | (3) |
| Defeat at the Polls: Letter to Carl Schurz, November 10, 1862 |
| | 200 | (2) |
| Last Best Hope of Earth: Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862 |
| | 202 | (7) |
| This SAD World of Ours: Letter to Fanny McCullough, December 23, 1862 |
| | 209 | (1) |
| The Day of Liberation: Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863 |
| | 210 | (2) |
| Emancipation Defended: Letter to John A. McClernand, January 8, 1863 |
| | 212 | (2) |
| Encouragement From Abroad: Reply to the Workingmen of Manchester, January 19, 1863 |
| | 214 | (2) |
| Portrait of a New Commander: Letter to Joseph Hooker, January 26, 1863 |
| | 216 | (1) |
| Strategy for Hooker: Memorandum, April, 1863 |
| | 217 | (1) |
| Failure of a Weather Prophet: Endorsement, April 28, 1863, on Letter from Francis L. Capen |
| | 218 | (1) |
| Another Critic Answered: Letter to Isaac N. Arnold, May 26, 1863 |
| | 219 | (2) |
| The Missouri Nuisance: Letter to John M. Schofield, May 27, 1863 |
| | 221 | (1) |
| On the Defensive: Telegram to Joseph Hooker, June 10, 1863 |
| | 222 | (1) |
| Arbitrary Arrests and Constitutional Rights: Letter to Erastus Corning and Others, June 12, 1863 |
| | 223 | (5) |
| An Untimely Feud: Letter to Joseph Hooker, June 16, 1863 |
| | 228 | (2) |
| War Profiteering: Letter to William P. Kellogg, June 29, 1863 |
| | 230 | (1) |
| Victory in the West: Letter to Ulysses S. Grant, July 13, 1863 |
| | 231 | (1) |
| Gettysburg and After: Letter to George G. Meade, July 14, 1863 |
| | 232 | (1) |
| Threats and Counterthreats: Presidential Order, July 30, 1863 |
| | 233 | (1) |
| Thoughts on Reconstruction: Letter to Nathaniel P. Banks, August 5, 1863 |
| | 234 | (2) |
| Lincoln on Shakespeare: Letters to James H. Hackett, August 17, November 2, 1863 |
| | 236 | (2) |
| Pleading His Own Case: Letter to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863 |
| | 238 | (4) |
| Stalemate on the Rapidan: Letter to Henry W. Halleck, September 19, 1863 |
| | 242 | (2) |
| Immortal Words: The Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863 |
| | 244 | (1) |
| A Plan of Reconstruction: Presidential Proclamation, December 8, 1863 |
| | 245 | (4) |
| The Reconstruction Program Explained: Annual Message to Congress, December 8, 1863 |
| | 249 | (5) |
| A Time for Real Patriots: Letter to Thomas Cottman, December 15, 1863 |
| | 254 | (1) |
| Negro Suffrage: Letter to Michael Hahn, March 13, 1864 |
| | 255 | (1) |
| On Emancipation and Negro Soldiers: Letter to Albert G. Hodges, April 4, 1864 |
| | 256 | (3) |
| A Change of Command: Letter to Ulysses S. Grant, April 30, 1864 |
| | 259 | (1) |
| Nominated for a Second Term: Reply to a Delegation from the National Union League, June 9, 1864 |
| | 260 | (1) |
| The Genesis of Radical Reconstruction: Presidential Proclamation, July 8, 1864 |
| | 261 | (1) |
| Peace Talk and Politics: Draft of a Letter to Isaac M. Schermerhorn, September 12, 1864 |
| | 262 | (2) |
| The Soldiers' Vote: Letter to William T. Sherman, September 19, 1864 |
| | 264 | (1) |
| Calm Words in a Crisis: Response to a Serenade, October 19, 1864 |
| | 265 | (2) |
| Victory at the Polls: Response to a Serenade, November 10, 1864 |
| | 267 | (1) |
| So Costly a Sacrifice: Letter to Lydia Bixby, November 21, 1864 |
| | 268 | (1) |
| The War Continues: Annual Message to Congress, December 6, 1864 |
| | 269 | (5) |
| Savannah Taken: Letter to William T. Sherman, December 26, 1864 |
| | 274 | (1) |
| A Family Problem: Letter to Ulysses S. Grant, January 19, 1865 |
| | 275 | (1) |
| The Second Term: Reply to a Notification Committee, March 1, 1865 |
| | 276 | (1) |
| With Malice Toward None: Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865 |
| | 277 | (2) |
| Evaluation: Letter to Thurlow Weed, March 15, 1865 |
| | 279 | (1) |
| Celebrating Victory: Response to a Serenade, April 10, 1865 |
| | 280 | (1) |
| And Now Reconstruction: Last Public Address, April 11, 1865 |
| | 281 | (5) |
| Bibliography | | 286 | |
