One reason that this speech is referred to by the place where it was delivered rather than by its title is that there is little agreement on just what that title should be. Contemporary editions of the speech use titles such as: The Address Of The Hon. Abraham Lincoln, In Vindication Of The Policy Of The Framers Of The Constitution And The Principles Of The Republican Party and National Politics: Speech Of Abraham Lincoln, Of Illinois, Delivered At The Cooper Institute, Monday, February 27, 1860.

And, if you’re using a library catalogue to find various printings of the speech, you’ll find that its “standard title” is the “Cooper Institute Speech,” not the “Cooper Union Speech.” (italics added)

Both the Cooper Union and Gettysburg addresses appear in Basler’s edition of Lincoln’s Writings. For online texts, go to these pages in Abraham Lincoln Online:

Cooper Union speech:

http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/cooper.htm

Gettysburg Address:

http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm

Your best source on the background of the speech is Harold Holzer’s book-length study:

Holzer, Harold. Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.

The following books on Lincoln as a literary craftsman of speeches and of other published work may also be of use:

Einhorn, Lois J. Abraham Lincoln The Orator: Penetrating the Lincoln Legend. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992.

Gienapp, William E., ed. This Fiery Trial: The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. A useful selection with good editorial comments.

For accounts of the “sandbar” case and other aspects of Lincoln’s career as a lawyer, see:

Spiegel, Allen D. A. Lincoln, Esquire: A Shrewd, Sophisticated Lawyer in His Time. Macon, GA.: Mercer University Press, 2002.

Harold Holzer has provided a helpful online article on the history of Leonard Volk’s bust:

http://www.abrahamlincolnartgallery.com/referenceholzerpg2.htm

For more information on the Gettysburg Address and the myths surrounding that speech, see:

Holzer, Harold. “Lincoln's ‘Flat Failure?’: The Gettysburg Myth Revisited,” in Simon, John Y., Harold Holzer, and W.D. Pederson, eds. The Lincoln Forum -- Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg and the Civil War. Mason City, IA: Savas, 1999. Distributed to the trade by Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA.

Wills, Garry. F. Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.

For a very brief account of the founding of Cooper Union and the opening of its Great Hall, go to this website:

http://www.cooper.edu/administration/about/history.html

This site provides an interesting collection of images of the Union and its founder, Peter Cooper:

http://www.trussel.com/f_coop.htm

For more information on the New York stage in 1860 and performers mentioned in Holzer’s article:

Bryan, Vernanne. Laura Keene: A British Actress on the American Stage, 1826-1873. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1997.

Henderson, Mary C. The City and The Theatre: The History of New York Playhouses: A 250-Year Journey from Bowling Green to Times Square. New York: Back Stage Books, 2004.

Henneke, Ben Graf. Laura Keene: A Biography. Tulsa, OK: Council Oak Books, 1990.

Maude, Jenny, and Jenny Maria Catherine Goldschmidt. The Life of Jenny Lind. New York: Arno Press, 1977.

Odell, George Clinton Densmore. Annals of the New York Stage. New York, Columbia University Press, 1927.

Cassius Marcellus Clay is a fascinating figure in the history of American politics and reform. Here’s a convenient reprint of his works:

The Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay: Memoirs, Writings, and Speeches, Showing His Conduct in the Overthrow of American Slavery, the Salvation of the Union, and the Restoration of the Autonomy of the States. New York, Negro Universities Press, [1969].

http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=662

The Gilder Lehrman Collection offers these materials related to the Cooper Union and Gettysburg Addresses:

GLC00533 Pamphlet. The address of the Hon. Abraham Lincoln [Cooper Institute address] http://www.gilderlehrman.org/search/display_results.php?id=GLC00533

GLC02812 Pamphlet. Speech delivered at the Cooper Institute, New York (Tribune Tracts no. 4) http://www.gilderlehrman.org/search/display_results.php?id=GLC02812

GLC04436.02 Pamphlet. The Address of... delivered at Cooper Institute [ed. by C.C. Nott & C. Brainerd] http://www.gilderlehrman.org/search/display_results.php?id= GLC04436.02

GLC04436.01 Autograph letter signed to Charles C. Nott re: publishing Cooper Institute address (for 1860 election) http://www.gilderlehrman.org/search/display_results.php?id=GLC04436.01