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. |
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Page xviii
... wrote thousands of personal letters. A revealing section of his daughter Kate's diary also survives, along with dozens of letters from her husband, William Sprague. The unpublished section of the diary that Bates began in 1846 provides ...
... wrote thousands of personal letters. A revealing section of his daughter Kate's diary also survives, along with dozens of letters from her husband, William Sprague. The unpublished section of the diary that Bates began in 1846 provides ...
Page 29
... wrote Stephen Vincent Benét. “The stream uncrossed, the promise still untried/The metal sleeping in the mountainside.” In the South, pioneers moved through the Gulf States toward the Mississippi River, extending cotton cultivation and ...
... wrote Stephen Vincent Benét. “The stream uncrossed, the promise still untried/The metal sleeping in the mountainside.” In the South, pioneers moved through the Gulf States toward the Mississippi River, extending cotton cultivation and ...
Page 32
... wrote: “Need I say that we entered the great society without encountering the deadly blackball?” Seward began his senior year in good spirits. Without sacrificing his popularity with classmates, he was poised to graduate as ...
... wrote: “Need I say that we entered the great society without encountering the deadly blackball?” Seward began his senior year in good spirits. Without sacrificing his popularity with classmates, he was poised to graduate as ...
Page 40
... wrote breathlessly to Wirt in return, “God [prospering] my exertions, I will imitate your example.” As part of his self- designed course of preparation, Chase diligently took notes in the galleries of the House and Senate, practiced his ...
... wrote breathlessly to Wirt in return, “God [prospering] my exertions, I will imitate your example.” As part of his self- designed course of preparation, Chase diligently took notes in the galleries of the House and Senate, practiced his ...
Page 41
... wrote in his diary soon after settling in. “I will try to excel in all things.” Pondering the goals he had set for his new life in the West, Chase wrote: “I was fully aware that I must pass thro' a long period of probation. . . . That ...
... wrote in his diary soon after settling in. “I will try to excel in all things.” Pondering the goals he had set for his new life in the West, Chase wrote: “I was fully aware that I must pass thro' a long period of probation. . . . That ...
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