And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle

Jon Meacham’s biography of Abraham Lincoln, And There Was Light (2002), traces the complicated development of Lincoln’s character from his humble upbringing on a Kentucky homestead to his infamous assassination in the Ford Theater. Meacham describes Lincoln’s moral and political development as he grappled with slavery, democracy, and the duties of his office. In Meacham’s lens, Lincoln was troubled by grief and personal insecurities; he was also dedicated to moral improvement and his faith, commitments that deepened as the war between the states progressed. And There Was Light was written with an eye on growing polarization in 21st-century America. According to John Fabian Witt’s review of the book in The Washington Post, Meacham crafts a “usable mythology of Lincoln” at a time when America is again riven with conflict.

This guide references the Random House hardback edition published in 2022.

Although the primary focus is on the inner Lincoln, And There Was Light also documents the variegated political climate of the United States from the 1840s through the 1860s by quoting materials from across the political spectrum that reveal the tenor of the nation. Other material contextualizes the president’s ideas with reference to important influences on him, from the Hebrew Bible to Ralph Waldo Emerson.