Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham LincolnOne of the most influential books of the past fifty years, Team of Rivals is Pulitzer Prize–winning author and esteemed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s modern classic about the political genius of Abraham Lincoln, his unlikely presidency, and his cabinet of former political foes. Winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize and the inspiration for the Oscar Award winning–film Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Tony Kushner. On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded, Goodwin demonstrates, was the result of a character that had been forged by experiences that raised him above his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because he possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives and desires. It was this capacity that enabled Lincoln as president to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to the task of preserving the Union and winning the war. We view the long, horrifying struggle from the vantage of the White House as Lincoln copes with incompetent generals, hostile congressmen, and his raucous cabinet. He overcomes these obstacles by winning the respect of his former competitors, and in the case of Seward, finds a loyal and crucial friend to see him through. This brilliant multiple biography is centered on Lincoln's mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation's history. |
From inside the book
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Page 62
... north of the latitude 36°30'. That line ran across the southern border of Missouri, making Missouri itself an exception to the new division. Later that spring, Bates campaigned successfully for a place among the forty-one delegates ...
... north of the latitude 36°30'. That line ran across the southern border of Missouri, making Missouri itself an exception to the new division. Later that spring, Bates campaigned successfully for a place among the forty-one delegates ...
Page 77
... North of this period “teemed with bustling, restless men and women who believed passionately in 'progress' and equated it with growth and change; the air was filled with the excitement of intellectual ferment and with the schemes of ...
... North of this period “teemed with bustling, restless men and women who believed passionately in 'progress' and equated it with growth and change; the air was filled with the excitement of intellectual ferment and with the schemes of ...
Page 83
... North warned that the governor's stance would compromise highly profitable New York trade connections with Virginia and 84 TEAM OF RIVALS other slave states. Seward was branded 26213 ch 01-ch 04 9/1/05 4:13 PM Page 83.
... North warned that the governor's stance would compromise highly profitable New York trade connections with Virginia and 84 TEAM OF RIVALS other slave states. Seward was branded 26213 ch 01-ch 04 9/1/05 4:13 PM Page 83.
Page 84
... North and South. Though few slaves actually escaped to the North each year—an estimated one or two hundred out of the millions held in bondage—the issue exacerbated rancor on both sides. In the North, William Lloyd Garrison's newspaper ...
... North and South. Though few slaves actually escaped to the North each year—an estimated one or two hundred out of the millions held in bondage—the issue exacerbated rancor on both sides. In the North, William Lloyd Garrison's newspaper ...
Page 85
... North. Members of the new Liberty Party bandied about his name in their search for a presidential candidate in 1844. Organized in 1840, the Liberty Party was born of frustration with the failure of either major party to deal head-on ...
... North. Members of the new Liberty Party bandied about his name in their search for a presidential candidate in 1844. Organized in 1840, the Liberty Party was born of frustration with the failure of either major party to deal head-on ...
Contents
2 | |
Political Map of the United States circa 1856 | 138 |
MASTER AMONG MEN | 321 |
CONTENTS | 330 |
Epilogue | 751 |
Notes | 759 |
Illustration Credits | 881 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abraham Lincoln antislavery April army August battle Blair Browning cabinet Cameron campaign Charles Charles Francis Adams Chase Papers Chicago Civil coln Confederate confidence Congress convention crowd Davis Democrats diary Douglas Douglass Edward Bates election emancipation Fanny father February field finally find first five floor Frances Frederick Douglass Frémont Grant ibid Illinois influence January John July June Kate later letter Lincoln Papers March Mary Mary Todd Lincoln Mary’s McClellan Missouri nation never Nicolay night nomination North NYTrib office officers official Ohio Orville Hickman Browning political president president’s proclamation radical rebel recalled reel Republican Party Salmon secretary Senate September Seward at Washington Seward Papers Simon Cameron slavery slaves soldiers South speech Sprague Springfield Stanton Sumner TEAM OF RIVALS Thurlow Weed tion told troops Union victory vote Whig White House William Henry Seward William Sprague wrote York young