Benjamin Platt Thomas

Part one of this book is devoted to the history of New Salem. It tells who the inhabitants were, how they lived, and how they looked on life. Since many of those most active in the village lived in outlying settlements the account is not limited to the village, but provides a picture of ther whole community. In Part Two, Lincoln's activities are discussed, and the meaning of the New Salem years in his development is appraised. Part Three explains the growth of the Lincoln legend around the site of the lost town, and the changing conception of the significance of the frontier as a factor in Lincoln's life. It explains how New Salem came to be restored, the manner in which the fact about the old cabins were secured, how the furnishings were acquired, and the problems that had to be solved in the restoration. --from the forward.

The present writer hopes that this first published biography of Theodore Weld will not only depict him as the appealing and extraordinary man that he was, but will also give the reader a new conception of the abolitionists. For we need a reappraisal of these people. It has too long been the fashion to scoff at them, to write them off as humorless fanatics, to ignore their rich humanity, and to minimize the tremendous impact of the moral convictions they avowed. -- Foreword.

A centennial biography focused on the war years.

This volume contains a listing and an index of bulletins 1-50.