"John Patrick Diggins offers a reassessment of American history, emphasizing the foundational role of Abraham Lincoln's moral and political theory. Distressed by the divisive impact of modern identity politics, Diggins argues persuasively that in the central tenets of Lincoln's political faith - the redeeming value of labor and the rights to property and self-determination - we find the purest expression of the values that have united Americans and guided American history."--BOOK JACKET.