{"product_id":"9780809336432","title":"Sixteenth President-in-Waiting: Abraham Lincoln and the Springfield Dispatches of Henry Villard, 1860-1861","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBetween Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860 and his departure for Washington three months later, journalist Henry Villard sent scores of dispatches from Springfield, Illinois, to various newspapers describing the president-elect’s doings, quoting or paraphrasing his statements, chronicling events in the Illinois capital, and analyzing the city’s mood. With \u003ci\u003eSixteenth President-in-Waiting\u003c\/i\u003e Michael Burlingame has collected all of these dispatches in one insightful and informative volume.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Best known as a successful nineteenth-century railroad promoter and financier, German-born Henry Villard (1835–1900) was also among the most conscientious and able journalists of the 1860s. The dispatches gathered in this volume constitute the most intensive journalistic coverage that Lincoln ever received, for Villard filed stories from the Illinois capital almost daily to the \u003ci\u003eNew York Herald\u003c\/i\u003e, slightly less often to the \u003ci\u003eCincinnati Commercial\u003c\/i\u003e, and occasionally to the \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Bulletin\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Lincoln welcomed Villard and encouraged him to ask questions, as he was the only full-time correspondent for out-of-town papers. He spoke with inside sources, such as Lincoln’s private secretaries John G. Nicolay and John Hay, devoted friends like Jesse K. Dubois and Stephen T. Logan, political leaders like Governor Richard Yates, and journalists like William M. Springer and Robert R. Hitt.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Villard boasted that he did Lincoln a service by scaring off would-be office seekers who, fearing to see their names published in newspapers, gave up plans to visit the Illinois capital to badger the president-elect. Villard may have done an even greater service by publicizing Lincoln’s views on the secession crisis.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e His little-known coverage of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas Senate race, translated from the German for the first time, is included as an appendix. At the time Villard was an ardent Douglas supporter, and his reports criticized Lincoln.\u003cbr\u003e Not only informative but also highly readable, Villard’s vivid descriptions of Lincoln’s appearance, daily routine, and visitors, combined with fresh information about Springfielders, state political leaders, and the capital, constitute an invaluable resource. ","brand":"Southern Illinois University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47026401968368,"sku":"9780809336432","price":45.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780809336432_p0.jpg?v=1763740997","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780809336432","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}