Abraham Lincoln and the First-Person Plural
A Study in Language and Leadership
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16769367 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter S Field (0000-0002-3351-4281, University of Canterbury, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 49-75 |
| Publication date | 2011-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Nineteenth Century History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1466-4658 • E-ISSN: 1743-7903 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14664658.2011.559748 |
| OpenAlex | W1964567091 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 19 |
The 2009 bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth brought forth an outpouring of fresh studies of the man and his times. The new scholarship largely affirmed the longstanding consensus about the sixteenth president and his greatness. His was an almost superhuman achievement in holding the Union together, emancipating the slaves, and ultimately leading the North to victory. This study offers a novel evaluation of one key element of Lincoln's leadership. It details how Lincoln frequently and surprisingly substituted “we” for “I” in his famous addresses, as no political leader had done before him, and explores how his preference for the plural over singular first-person pronoun enabled his political ascendency in the 1850s and sustained his presidency during the war. His syntax offers a linguistic window into understanding his timely, unique, and uniquely self-conscious, style of leadership. Although not exactly a man of letters, Lincoln proved to be a great leader in large measure because of his steadfast beliefs about a union and an inclusive vision of American nationhood so powerfully expressed in his exceptional use of the first-person plural
Art · Greatness · Linguistics · Literature · Plural · Political science · Politics · Presidency · Scholarship · Victory · Classics · Cultural, Psychoanalytic, and Sociopolitical Reflections · Education, Leadership, and Health Research · History · Law · Military, Security, and Education Studies · Philosophy
The political culture of the American Whigs
The Politics
We-intentions
The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Our Character is Our Fate
Lincoln and His Party in the Secession Crisis
Writings of John Quincy Adams
We Will Do It
Lincoln and Black Freedom
Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln
North over South
Making the American Self
Making the American self
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,2 |
| Citation span | 2011 - 2013 (3) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |