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Article: Lincoln's first principles: Lincoln's career proved that moral strength can legitimize politics.(Features)(Books)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- February 7, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: David Horn
How did Abraham Lincoln, a 19th-century rail-splitter from America's heartland, evolve into a mature politician and national hero? In "Lincoln's Virtues," William Lee Miller attributes the transformation to moral backbone, which developed during Honest Abe's frontier boyhood. It kept his heart pure as his mind matured, enabling him to stand ethically erect in the maelstrom of adult public life.
Lincoln's greatness and goodness are widely known. This book seeks to explain how he got that way. Eulogizing the 16th president as he lay in state in Philadelphia, Phillips Brooks said Lincoln "vindicated the greatness of real goodness, ...