Lincoln's Speechwriter

“Jan Hartman’s writing will excite all readers. Her evidence cannot be ignored, since she has scoured John Hay’s archival record more than anyone else has done.” -- Richard M. Wagaman, MD
“Abraham Lincoln’s legendary addresses and writings are central to America’s once clear understanding of itself as a paragon of democracy and defender of transcendent moral values. But did the famously plain-spoken Illinoisan write alone or benefit from the sophisticated word-smithing of a speechwriter in the shadows, as US presidents both before and after him did? Jan Hartman delves deeply into this provocative, controversial question in her new book, Lincoln’s Speechwriter: John Hay and the Friendship that Inspired American Eloquence.” -- Blair Kamin, former Chicago Tribune architecture critic
“In Lincoln’s Speechwriter, Jan Cigliano Hartman makes a strong case that John Hay had a greater role not only in writing Lincoln’s Cooper Union speech and those that followed until the assassination, but that the literary quality of the language in the speeches— such as the two inaugural addresses, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gettysburg Address—which is generally attributed to Lincoln himself, largely came from Hay. Hartman’s careful comparison of Hay’s own writings, beginning with those from his undergraduate years, with the language attributed to Lincoln, establishes Hay’s central role in several of the most important speeches in American history.” -- Robert Wilson, author of biographies for Mathew Brady, P. T. Barnum, and Clarence King, is a former editor of The American Scholar
“Lincoln’s legacy summons us to see democracy by the people as a collective project. Jan Hartman’s compelling exploration reveals that this was also true of the language President Lincoln wielded to hallow that essential American ideal—deepening rather than diminishing our affection for his moral leadership, our appreciation of John Hay’s poetic gifts, and our devotion to the work their words call us to continue in our own divided day.” -- Stephen Krupin, senior speechwriter to President Barack Obama