This is a narrative of Abraham Lincoln's bid for the White House from 1858 through 1860. Lincoln seemed like a long shot from the beginning--a one term congressmen, he'd never served as a judge or governor or in any statewide office, and he had lost two campaigns for the U.S. Senate. How, then, did he overtake several seemingly better-qualified candidates to ultimately defeat William Seward for his young party's nomination? This work offers a day-by-day account that demonstrates how Lincoln's character, and his upholding of the Declaration of Independence's bold statement of human equality, helped him triumph. Those traits, it is argued, were far more important than any political machinations or backroom deals at the convention.

This book is a sequel to The Lincoln-Douglas Debates and the Making of a President by the same author (McFarland, 2007).