Lincoln is the single most compelling figure in our history, but also one of the most enigmatic. Was he the Great Emancipator, a man of deep convictions who ended slavery in the United States, or simply a reluctant politician compelled by the force of events to free the slaves? In Father Abraham, Richard Striner offers a fresh portrait of Lincoln, one that helps us make sense of his many contradictions. Striner shows first that, if you examine the speeches that Lincoln made in the 1850s, you will have no doubt of his passion to end slavery. These speeches illuminate the anger, vehemence, and sheer brilliance of candidate Lincoln, who worked up crowds with charismatic fervor as he gathered a national following. But if he felt so passionately about abolition, why did he wait so long to release the Emancipation Proclamation? As Striner points out, politics is the art of the possible, and Lincoln was a consummate politician, a shrewd manipulator who cloaked his visionary ethics in the more pragmatic garb of the coalition-builder. He was at bottom a Machiavellian prince for a democratic age. When secession began, Lincoln used the battle cry of saving the Union to build a power base, one that would eventually break the slave-holding states forever. Striner argues that Lincoln was a rare man indeed: a fervent idealist and a crafty politician with a remarkable gift for strategy. It was the harmonious blend of these two qualities, Striner concludes, that made Lincoln's role in ending slavery so fundamental. Father Abraham challenges recent portraits of Lincoln as an essentially passive politician and reluctant abolitionist. Exhaustively researched and crisply argued, this superb book gives us a new appreciation of Lincoln as moral leader.

Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle to End Slavery

Biographies & Memoirs

Striner, Richard

Community & Culture

Oxford University Press

Lincoln is the single most compelling figure in our history, but also one of the most enigmatic. Was he the Great Emancipator, a man of deep convictions who ended slavery in the United States, or simply a reluctant politician compelled by the force of events to free the slaves? In Father Abraham, Richard Striner offers a fresh portrait of Lincoln, one that helps us make sense of his many contradictions. Striner shows first that, if you examine the speeches that Lincoln made in the 1850s, you will have no doubt of his passion to end slavery. These speeches illuminate the anger, vehemence, and sheer brilliance of candidate Lincoln, who worked up crowds with charismatic fervor as he gathered a national following. But if he felt so passionately about abolition, why did he wait so long to release the Emancipation Proclamation? As Striner points out, politics is the art of the possible, and Lincoln was a consummate politician, a shrewd manipulator who cloaked his visionary ethics in the more pragmatic garb of the coalition-builder. He was at bottom a Machiavellian prince for a democratic age. When secession began, Lincoln used the battle cry of saving the Union to build a power base, one that would eventually break the slave-holding states forever. Striner argues that Lincoln was a rare man indeed: a fervent idealist and a crafty politician with a remarkable gift for strategy. It was the harmonious blend of these two qualities, Striner concludes, that made Lincoln's role in ending slavery so fundamental.

Historical

Abraham Lincoln is known as the Great Emancipator, yet his personal views on race have long been debated. Since his death, his legend has been shadowed by the mystery of his true stance toward non-whites. While Lincoln took many actions to fight slavery throughout his political career, his famously crafted speeches can be interpreted in different ways: at times his words suggest personal bigotry, but at other times he sounds like an enemy of racists. In Lincoln and Race, Richard Striner takes on one of the most sensitive subjects of Abraham Lincoln’s legacy, exploring in depth Lincoln’s mixed record and writings on the issue of race.
Striner gives fair hearing to two prevailing theories about Lincoln’s seemingly contradictory words and actions: Did Lincoln fight a long-term struggle to overcome his personal racism? Or were his racist comments a calculated act of political deception? Beginning with an exploration of the historical context of Lincoln’s attitudes toward race in the years before his presidency, Striner details the ambiguity surrounding the politician’s participation in the Free Soil Movement and his fight to keep slavery from expanding into the West. He explores Lincoln’s espousal of colonization—the controversial idea that freed slaves should be resettled in a foreign land—as a voluntary measure for black people who found the prospect attractive. The author analyzes some of Lincoln’s most racially charged speeches and details Lincoln’s presidential words and policies on race and the hotbed issue of voting rights for African Americans during the last years of the president’s life.\
A brief but comprehensive look into one of the most contentious quandaries about Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln and Race invites readers to delve into the mind, heart, and motives of one of America’s most fascinating and complex leaders. Univeristy Press Books for Public and Secondary Schools 2013 edition

Lincoln and Race (Concise Lincoln Library)

Southern Illinois University Press

<div> <div> Named on the 2013 list of&nbsp;University Press Books for Public and Secondary Schools Abraham Lincoln is known as the Great Emancipator, yet his personal views on race have long been debated. Since his death, his legend has been shadowed by the mystery of his true stance toward non-whites. While Lincoln took many actions to fight slavery throughout his political career, his famously crafted speeches can be interpreted in different ways: at times his words suggest personal bigotry, but at other times he sounds like an enemy of racists. In Lincoln and Race, Richard Striner takes on one of the most sensitive subjects of Abraham Lincoln's legacy, exploring in depth Lincoln's mixed record and writings on the issue of race. Striner gives fair hearing to two prevailing theories about Lincoln's seemingly contradictory words and actions: Did Lincoln fight a long-term struggle to overcome his personal racism? Or were his racist comments a calculated act of political deception? Beginning with an exploration of the historical context of Lincoln's attitudes toward race in the years before his presidency, Striner details the ambiguity surrounding the politician's participation in the Free Soil Movement and his fight to keep slavery from expanding into the West. He explores Lincoln's espousal of colonization--the controversial idea that freed slaves should be resettled in a foreign land--as a voluntary measure for black people who found the prospect attractive. The author analyzes some of Lincoln's most racially charged speeches and details Lincoln's presidential words and policies on race and the hotbed issue of voting rights for African Americans during the last years of the president's life.\ A brief but comprehensive look into one of the most contentious quandaries about Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln and Race invites readers to delve into the mind, heart, and motives of one of America's most&nbsp; fascinating and complex leaders. Univeristy Press Books for Public and Secondary Schools 2013 edition </div> </div>

Here at last is an authoritative, readable, and eye-catching book on Art Deco design in the Nation's Capital. During the era of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the glass blocks, aluminum, and Vitrolite of Art Deco, along with its sleek, zigzag, streamlined designs, merged with the austere neoclassical style of government buildings to create a unique synthesis. Beyond the federal enclave, the spirit of Art Deco spread outward as far as the suburbs in hundreds of stylish apartment buildings, restaurants, cinemas, banks, warehouses, and stores. Basing their scholarly research on an inventory-survey of more than 400 structures, Hans Wirz and Richard Steiner show how Washington architects such as Alvin Aubinoe, George T. Santmyers, and John Joseph Earley - whose polychrome process of concrete mosaic was a work of genius - made notable contributions to Art Deco design, some examples of which are only found in this city. Washington Deco is an invaluable book for general readers as well as for students, historians, historic preservationists, and real-estate appraisers and developers. Residents of Greater Washington are likely to find some surprises among the often unnoticed and overlooked examples of a rich and unique legacy.

WASHINGTON DECO: Art Deco Design in the Nation's Capital

Arts & Photography

Wirz, Hans

Architecture

Smithsonian Institution Press

Mostly Moderne: Views Form America's Past (Past-Age Postcard Series)

Natl Trust for Historic

Washington Past and Present: A Guide to the Nation's Capital

Kennon, Donald R.

Science & Math

United States Capitol

Striner's book, The Civic Deal, is a spirited challenge to the current anti-government fad. An academic historian, Striner argues that American history has been shaped by a strong and bipartisan legacy of successful governmental stewardship -- a legacy in which some of our greatest presidents, such as Lincoln and both of the Roosevelts, participated. It argues that the rediscovery of this lost heritage is vital to American public life -- vital to our future greatness.

The Civic Deal: Re-Empowering Our Great Republic

History

Americas

Pericles Pr

Striner's book, The Civic Deal, is a spirited challenge to the current anti-government fad. An academic historian, Striner argues that American history has been shaped by a strong and bipartisan legacy of successful governmental stewardship -- a legacy in which some of our greatest presidents, such as Lincoln and both of the Roosevelts, participated. It argues that the rediscovery of this lost heritage is vital to American public life -- vital to our future greatness.

The Civic Deal

Art Deco buildings still lift their modernist principles and streamlined chrome into the skies of Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Second Place Winner of the Design and Effectiveness Award of the Washington Publishers
The bold lines and decorative details of Art Deco have stood the test of time since one of its first appearances in the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925. Reflecting the confidence of modern mentality―streamlined, chrome, and glossy black―along with simple elegance, sharp lines, and cosmopolitan aspirations, Art Deco carried surprises, juxtaposing designs growing out of speed (racecars and airplanes) with ancient Egyptian and Mexican details, visual references to Russian ballet, and allusions to Asian art.
While most often associated with such masterworks as New York’s Chrysler Building, Art Deco is evident in the architecture of many U.S. cities, including Washington and Baltimore. By updating the findings of two regional studies from the 1980s with new research, Richard Striner and Melissa Blair explore the most significant Art Deco buildings still standing and mourn those that have been lost.
This comparative study illuminates contrasts between the white-collar New Deal capital and the blue-collar industrial port city, while noting such striking commonalities as the regional patterns of Baltimore’s John Jacob Zinc, who designed Art Deco cinemas in both cities.
Uneven preservation efforts have allowed significant losses, but surviving examples of Art Deco architecture include the Bank of America building in Baltimore (now better known as 10 Light Street) and the Uptown Theater on Connecticut Avenue NW in Washington. Although possibly less glamorous or flamboyant than exemplars in New York or Miami, the authors find these structures―along with apartment houses and government buildings―typical of the Deco architecture found throughout the United States and well worth preserving.
Demonstrating how an international design movement found its way into ordinary places, this study will appeal to architectural historians, as well as regional residents interested in developing a greater appreciation of Art Deco architecture in the mid-Atlantic region.

Washington and Baltimore Art Deco: A Design History of Neighboring Cities

Blair, Melissa

History & Criticism

Johns Hopkins University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Striner, Richard. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Striner, Richard

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Striner, Richard. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle to End Slavery

Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle to End Slavery

Lincoln and Race (Concise Lincoln Library)

Lincoln and Race (Concise Lincoln Library)

WASHINGTON DECO: Art Deco Design in the Nation's Capital

Mostly Moderne: Views Form America's Past (Past-Age Postcard Series)

Washington Past and Present: A Guide to the Nation's Capital

The Civic Deal: Re-Empowering Our Great Republic

The Civic Deal

Washington and Baltimore Art Deco: A Design History of Neighboring Cities