A Disjointed Work on Lincoln and the ‘Theological-Political Question’

In ‘Prophetic Statesmanship,’ Edward Erler’s effort to conclude Harry Jaffa’s thoughts on Lincoln’s politics falls flat for many reasons.

'Prophetic Statesmanship' by Edward J. Erler tries to address an important question about Lincoln's policies but fails to achieve the author's ends.

Harry Jaffa died 10 years ago. A political philosopher and a Lincoln historian, he was one of the more influential conservative voices during the latter part of the 20th century. His two greatest works “Crisis of the House Divided” (1959) and “A New Birth of Freedom” (2000) were a personal chronicle of the author’s expanding Lincolnian political perspective.

According to Edward J. Erler, the author of the new work “Prophetic Statesmanship: Harry Jaffa, Abraham Lincoln, and the Gettysburg Address,” he was tasked by Jaffa to conclude what apparently was to be a trilogy on Lincolnian statesmanship and American politics. After reading Erler’s book, it may have been best to let Jaffa’s philosophical-political examinations conclude with “A New Birth of Freedom.”

The Theological-Political Question

Erler work seeks to examine what he terms Jaffa’s “theological-political question.” This examination is a worthy one. There are three figures referenced early in the book, and they provide the basis for the investigation: Plato, Thomas Jefferson, and Jaffa.