Abraham Lincoln's Political Faith

At Gettysburg, Lincoln resolved that "this nation, under God," would not perish, and in his Second Inaugural he called for "firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right." Fornieri shows that Lincoln presented a comprehensive and compelling interpretation of political order founded upon American democratic and religious traditions. He also demonstrates the sincerity of Lincoln's belief and reveals the remarkable consistency between his public and private religious views. Fornieri casts Lincoln's unique combination of politics and piety as "biblical republicanism" - a merging of Judeo-Christian beliefs and the founders' tradition of self-government. In a time of unprecedented crisis and upheaval, biblical republicanism provided Lincoln with a moral justification for difficult political choices. "Abraham Lincoln's Political Faith" sheds new light on how the Great Emancipator's personal trust in a living God shaped his vision for a new America.