Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns
Regular price
€19.99
A01=Ferenc Morton Szasz
Author_Ferenc Morton Szasz
awareness of growing stature
belief in the common man
birth on poor farms
Category=NH
Category=NHD
Category=NHWR
Category=NHWR3
disdain for inherited power
distrust of wealth
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
fans of Burns
fascinating read
great bibliography
influences on American freedom
key historical figures
Lincoln's mind
nineteenth century
passion for liberty and equality
philosophical independence
poetry
reads like a novel
research behind ideas
Scotland
Scots and English
Scottish political philosophy
voice of the common people
Product details
- ISBN 9780809337651
- Weight: 340g
- Dimensions: 139 x 213mm
- Publication Date: 20 Nov 2019
- Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
Today the images of Robert Burns and Abraham Lincoln are recognized worldwide, yet few are aware of the connection between the two. In Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns: Connected Lives and Legends, author Ferenc Morton Szasz reveals how famed Scots poet Robert Burns—and Scotland in general—influenced the life and thought of one of the most beloved and important U.S. presidents and how the legends of the two men became intertwined after their deaths. This is the first extensive work to link the influence, philosophy, and artistry of these two larger-than-life figures.
Lacking a major national poet of their own in the early nineteenth century, Americans in the fledgling frontier country ardently adopted the poignant verses and songs of Scotland’s Robert Burns. Lincoln, too, was fascinated by Scotland’s favorite son and enthusiastically quoted the Scottish bard from his teenage years to the end of his life. Szasz explores the ways in which Burns’s portrayal of the foibles of human nature, his scorn for religious hypocrisy, his plea for nonjudgmental tolerance, and his commitment to social equality helped shape Lincoln’s own philosophy of life. The volume also traces how Burns’s lyrics helped Lincoln develop his own powerful sense of oratorical rhythm, from his casual anecdotal stories to his major state addresses.
Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns connects the poor-farm-boy upbringings, the quasi-deistic religious views, the shared senses of destiny, the extraordinary gifts for words, and the quests for social equality of two respected and beloved world figures. This book is enhanced by twelve illustrations and two appendixes, which include Burns poems Lincoln particularly admired and Lincoln writings especially admired in Scotland.
Lacking a major national poet of their own in the early nineteenth century, Americans in the fledgling frontier country ardently adopted the poignant verses and songs of Scotland’s Robert Burns. Lincoln, too, was fascinated by Scotland’s favorite son and enthusiastically quoted the Scottish bard from his teenage years to the end of his life. Szasz explores the ways in which Burns’s portrayal of the foibles of human nature, his scorn for religious hypocrisy, his plea for nonjudgmental tolerance, and his commitment to social equality helped shape Lincoln’s own philosophy of life. The volume also traces how Burns’s lyrics helped Lincoln develop his own powerful sense of oratorical rhythm, from his casual anecdotal stories to his major state addresses.
Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns connects the poor-farm-boy upbringings, the quasi-deistic religious views, the shared senses of destiny, the extraordinary gifts for words, and the quests for social equality of two respected and beloved world figures. This book is enhanced by twelve illustrations and two appendixes, which include Burns poems Lincoln particularly admired and Lincoln writings especially admired in Scotland.
Ferenc Morton Szasz was Regents’ Professor of History at the University of New Mexico and on appointment as Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Divinity, History, and Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He wrote or edited eleven books, including Scots in the North American West, 1790–1917, The Day the Sun Rose Twice, The Story of the Trinity Site Nuclear Explosion, July 16, 1945, and The Divided Mind of Protestant America:1880–1930. For a commemoration of his life see Ferenc Morton Szasz: A Celebration and Selected Writings, edited by Mark T. Banker.
