Lincoln’s Legacy: Ethics and Politics ed. by Phillip S. Paludan (review)

BOOK REVIEWS The War of 1812 briefly enhanced national unity and directed attention away from the regions economic difficulties . Although James Winchester suffered a miserable defeat at the River Raisin in the Northwest Territory,Jackson' s success in the southern theater brought the state prominence. His campaign also addressed the Indian problem;Jackson marched into Creek territory with surveyors. But the Panic of 1819 caused new debtrelated hardships for middle Tennessee farmers, who blamed banks for fueling specrilation. Jackson took up the farmers cause, writing in 1820 that the imprudent speculator may be en·abled to extricate himself... but the burthen must ultimately fall upon the honest farmer and industrious tradesman 130). Jackson's c: impaign against speculators and bankers later led many in middle Tennessee,home to the highest concentration ofindustry and commerce in the state, to join the Whigs. The book has a few weaknesses. Most notably,the epilogue, " Slavery and Transition to Jacksonian Politics, reads as ati afterthought and its content would be better incorporated into the book's main chapters. In addition, · a discussion of the role played by secret societies such as the Masons as a power base of the elite would have been helpful. Among the book' s strengths is an extensive and useful bibliography on the period and ample endnotes. Ray makes particularly good use ofTrevor Smith's 2003 dissertation on the Tennessee militia system and Cynthia Cumfer's Separate Peoples, One Land 2007), an intellectual history of early Tennessee. Rayarguesthat" StudyingJeffersonian lennessee is critical because the democratic political culture that emerged during these years established a foundation for the explosion in voting and contested ideological perspectives that 11 defined life in J, icisoni, in Teniiessee 139).In early Tennessee, one can see the roots of- .] acksonian Indian removal policy,the battle against the Bank of the United States, and the lessons of military chieftaincy. Ann Toplovich Tennessee Historical Society Phillip S. Paludan,ed. Lincoln' s Legacy: Ethics and Politics. Urbana: University of Illinois Press,2008. 96 pp. ISBN: 9780252032233 ( cloth), $ 30.00. In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that the late Phil Paludan was my advisor and mentor in the Ph.D. program at the University of Kansas. 1[ his volume of essays is one of the final published works 111 Professor Paludan' s long and distinguished career. As such, I have approached it with a high degree of respect. Lincoln' s Legacy identifies themes in Lincoln' s life and career possessing particular relevance fc, r the modern world. While due caution is necessary to avoid misapplying Lincoln' s thought to modern problems, Paludan and the other three essayists in this volume nevertheless believe that,with due caution,he can teach current generations valuable lessons about equality,democracy,the rule of law, leadership in a political and constitutional democracy,and the nation' s place in the world" ( viii). Paludan' s own essay challenges the belief that Lincoln was an unabashed SUMMER 2008 91 BOOK REVIEWS booster of democracy. ' The modern world resounds with cries that the people must be heard," Paludan notes, and " because his name carries almost religious authority ,Lincoln is often the model for such declarations" ( x).But Lincoln' s love for democracy can be exaggerated. While he did believe in government " by the people, Paludan argues, he tempered that belief with a profound respect for the nation' s legal and constitutional institutions,which often have acted as a restraint on excessive populism and mindless mob action. Lincoln worried about the interplay between values of democracy and equality ,for example, and he worried about the effect of an untrammeled people's will" on the pursuit of justice and, during the war, the pursuit of military victory. " He still had some faith in the people,but it was a faith that ebbed and flowed" ( 10). William Lee Miller,author of Lincolni Virtues:An Ethical Biography,follows the general approach he adopted in that book by outlining the basic moral virtues he believes are present in Lincoln' s thought and most relevant to today' s Americans. First among these was Lincoln' s commitment to the moral content of his own oath as president, which for him was a personal...