Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

(Please forgive me resorting to a tired trick and leading off with a definition from the dictionary, but there is a point to it.)

pol-i-ti-cian

1: a person experienced in the art or science of government; especially : one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government

2A : a person engaged in party politics as a profession

2B: a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow usually short-sighted reasons

Americans these days seem to think that 2B is the only definition for the word, and even the first meaning is considered an insult because if you actually know how the government works, then you’re guilty by association. Hell, politicians now deny being politicians as they try to get reelected to political office while screaming about how all politicians suck. (Or the Tea Party just finds the angriest moron around to run.)

It’s weird that it’s become such a dirty word because one of the greatest Americans by almost any sane person’s standard was Abraham Lincoln. While the myth may be that he was just this humble log splitter and backwoods lawyer who bumbled into the White House during one of the country’s darkest hours and fortunately turned out to be the perfect leader for the time, the truth is that Abe was one super bad-ass politician in the sense of definitions #1 and #2A, but luckily 2B didn’t apply at all.

All American kids hear about Abe in school. We learn about the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address and the 13th Amendment, but they never really tell you how Abe managed to win a war that should have permanently split the country and end an evil institution that even the Founding Fathers had just left as some future generation’s problem.

Reading Team of Rivals gives you an understanding of how Lincoln accomplished this, and the simple answer is that he was a politician of uncanny skill. He had a great sense of timing as well as being empathetic enough to see the other side of any argument while never swaying once he had fully committed himself to a course of action he thought right or necessary. The thing that made him unique was the almost inhuman way he could put his own ego and anger aside to find ways to work with people he had every reason to distrust or even hate.

As this book details, Lincoln’s selection and handling of his own cabinet highlight what made him such a great president. He managed to convince some of the biggest power brokers and politicians of his day, many of whom he had beaten out for the presidency, to work for the common good as members of his administration. Even though this meant dealing with constant bickering and political intrigue, Lincoln still got outstanding achievements from all of them, and most of the men who once saw him as an overmatched fool eventually came to regard him as one of the smartest and most honorable men of the age.

Well researched and written in an entertaining style, this book also shows how little has changed in American politics. The tactics of the kind of people who would defend slavery and smear Lincoln seem familiar in many ways. They just used newspapers instead of a cable news channel and talk radio.

One odd thing: I started this after seeing the Spielberg movie, and I knew that only a small part of the book was actually about the passage of the 13th Amendment that the movie centers on. However, there’s not nearly as much as I thought there would be. It seems like only a few pages are spent on it, so it’s a little weird that the movie would cite it so heavily. On the other hand, the details of Lincoln's personality in here are all over Daniel Day-Lewis’s great performance.

What a sweeping work. Its a monstrous biography over 900 pages of Lincoln and his Civil War Cabinet. I'm not much for long books but Goodwin does an excellent job of providing details that help the reader understand why Lincoln acted the way he did. A little dry in the beginning and I thought I would never keep the characters straight. Yet, it all comes to together as they work together complementing each other, often helped along by Lincoln's decisions during the turmoil of the succession and the civil war. If you like reading about Lincoln this novel is well written and a excellent edition to anyone's library of Lincoln.

Team of Rivals

Team of Rivals refers to Abraham Lincoln’s choice of prior adversaries as his presidential cabinet. The first was the most famous Republican candidate for the 1860 presidential race. This was William Seward, the Governor of New York. Seward was a very bright, good story teller and ardently opposed to slavery. He was, in all likelihood, too liberal to get the Republican nomination. The Republican Party was made up of former Whig party, Know-Nothing party and anti-slavery democrats. The know nothings were against immigration. This hurt Seward because he was very pro-immigration.

The second rival is former Ohio Senator and Governor Salmon P. Chase. He made a lot of enemies in Ohio with a shady political deal to obtain a Senate seat. The third was Edward Bates. Bates was a Missouri Judge. One of the reasons that Lincoln defeated these three is because he was a relatively unknown former congressman and lawyer. Lincoln was however a very hard working, great debater, great speech giver and writer as well as a magnificent story teller. He also had a hard dedicated team which worked tirelessly to ensure Lincoln’s victory. They were so dedicated because Lincoln was such a nice fellow as well as great story teller.

When Lincoln won the nomination the South began secession talks and quickly seceded. One of Lincoln’s most important decisions was to pick all of his former rivals for top cabinet positions. Seward was picked for Secretary of State, Chase for Treasury and Bates for Attorney General. He did this with full knowledge that each rival considered himself more qualified than him to be president. He also knew that there would be internal strife amongst such big personalities.

When confederate forces struck Fort Sumter the Civil War began. This is where Lincoln made his only major mistake. The mistake was picking George McClellan to head the Union Army and his delay in replacing him. McClellan’s delays in engaging confederate forces are well documented and may very well have prevented a quick Union victory.

Lincoln’s wife Mary is discussed a lot in this book as is Treasury Secretary Chase’s daughter Kate. Mary was a very driven woman who loved the big fancy balls that she would host. She enjoyed flirting with men and Abe never minded. However after the death of their son she fell into deep depression. When she finally pulled herself out she devoted herself to secretly caring for wounded soldiers in the hospital. Kate Chase was known as the prettiest lady in Washington and she hosted elaborate balls on behalf of her father. She married the wealthy William Sprague, owner of A.& W. Sprague Manufacturing Company. Although they seemed like the all American couple she had a miserable married life which ended in divorce.

Kate’s father however actively pursued the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1864 while being the acting Treasury Secretary. He did a stellar job financing the war and Lincoln appreciated that. So after confronting him without malice he offered him the recent Supreme Court justice position vacated by Judge Roger Taney.

Lincoln was often criticized by the anti-slavery radicals as being overly cautious but history tells us that Lincoln seemed to understand the mood of the country and make decisions based on that. For example, the Emancipation Proclamation was not enacted until he felt that it would be acceptable in the Border States.

When the war ended everything looked rosy in a way. We had a great President who planned a lenient approach to Southern reintegration while guaranteeing colored equality.

That was stymied when John Wilkes Booth pulled the trigger in Ford’s Theater and killed the 16th President.

Don't get me wrong. This is a good book, but it's not as good as I thought it would be or had heard it would be. I expected more from Doris Kearns Goodwin. It didn't go into the political genius as much as I wanted. It details the four men in Lincoln's cabinet that play a major role. It's more about them and their interactions than it is about Lincoln's political moves. There is a lot of interesting descriptions of the generals, but I got tired of the McClennan drama being detailed. I definitely didn't enjoy the pleasure that Ms. Goodwin got from detailing Kate Chase's every move. I just wish this book had been a little shorter and concise about events. It needed in my opinion to be more about Lincoln's political thoughts and why he did what he did. However, I did enjoy the background of Seward, Chase, Stanton and Cameron. I would only recommend this book to amateur historians and not the general public who are picking it up because President Obama mentioned it.

This is the book that the film “Lincoln” is somewhat based on. President Obama has said that he looks to Lincoln as a model leader. He should. In TEAM OF RIVALS Lincoln brings genius to the adage “friends close, enemies closer.”

Writing a review of this book is a very difficult chore. What am I to say about a book that is almost universally acclaimed and is written by one of my favorite historians? I have read most of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s books, although they mostly deal with the twentieth century and historical figures in which I am more interested and familiar, this book introduced some historical figures about whom I would like to learn more.

The title Team of Rivals can refer to the fact that Lincoln invited his rivals for the Republican Presidential nomination, Bates, Chase, and Seward, into his cabinet. But it also can refer to the rivalries that existed within the Cabinet. Chase and Seward were frequently at odds along with several others. There were several letters of resignation submitted to Lincoln which he handled smoothly and the letters were withdrawn. As the time went on the rivalries became more intense, especially with Salmon Chase pursuing his ambition to be President. Lincoln handled the Chase controversy graciously. Lincoln was able to look beyond the pettiness of Chase when he eventually selects him to replace Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney.

The early biographical information I found rather dull. The Wives, and their families, and the courtships are described and then the woman largely disappear except for Mary Todd Lincoln and the “lovely” Kate Chase. Compare this to Goodwin’s Pulitzer Prize winner,
No Ordinary Time, where Eleanor Roosevelt is perhaps the major figure.

There is a flattering description of Grant. In addition to Lincoln he is a figure I would like to read about.

n  Everything Grant did during his four-day stay in Washington, from his unheralded entrance to his early departure, “was done exactly right,” the historian William McFeely concludes. “He was consummately modest and quietly confident; the image held for the rest of his political career—and beyond, into history.”n

When it became apparent that Lincoln would be the party’s nominee for President in the 1864 election

n  A visitor to the White House at this time told Lincoln that “nothing could defeat him but Grant’s capture of Richmond, to be followed by [the general’s] nomination at Chicago” — where the Democratic Convention was scheduled to take place later that summer. “Well,” said Lincoln, “I feel very much like the man who said he didn’t want to die particularly but if he had got to die, that was precisely the disease he would like to die of.”n

There is a section describing Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. Everyone is taught and probably had to recite this address, but it’s presentation gave me a thrill. Lincoln was not able to devote as much time as he wanted to this address and was working on it until the very day, and then

n  Edward Everett delivered a memorized speech for two hours “Seldom has a man talked so long and said so little.”n

Lincoln listened intently during Everett’s speech and then stepped forward to deliver his remarks.

n  When Lincoln finished, “the assemblage stood motionless and silent,”
The extreme brevity of the address together with its abrupt close had so astonished the hearers that they stood transfixed. Had not Lincoln turned and moved toward his chair, the audience would very likely have remained voiceless for several moments more. Finally there came applause,” Lincoln may have initially interpreted the audience’s surprise as disapproval. As soon as he finished, he turned to Ward Lamon. “Lamon, that speech won’t scour! It is a flat failure, and the people are disappointed.” Edward Everett knew better, and expressed his wonder and respect the following day. “I should be glad,” he wrote Lincoln, “if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”n

This book is an example of why I like reading history. A good historian (Goodwin) takes a historical event (the Civil War) and deals with it from a different perspective. The Civil War here is in the background. The important battles, Bulls Run, Antietam, and Gettysburg are all mentioned, but the War is only a backdrop to this book. It is Lincoln’s management of the government and the Cabinet that take center stage.

n  Perhaps the most surprising contemporaneous evaluation of Lincoln’ leadership appeared in the extreme secessionist paper the Charleston Mercury. “He has called around him in counsel,” the Mercury marveled, “the ablest and most earnest men of his country. Where he lacked in individual ability, learning, experience or statesmanship, he has sought it, and found it. … Force, energy, brains, earnestness, he has collected around him in every department.”n

The Civil War has a rich and deep library of books. My reading this year only skims the surface, but I am glad I included this book. However, the next 2 history books I plan to read involve the War itself, then I plan on reading a couple of books on the Reconstruction. I think this book would have been better positioned prior to the Reconstruction books because here Lincoln is proposing some policies that lead to that period.

Even before Lee’s surrender Lincoln and his cabinet had thought about how to handle the secessionist states once the conflict had ended. Lincoln wanted the confederates dealt with compassion. After the surrender he proposed that the states could continue their legislative governments. The cabinet universally objected to this. By leaving in power the people who had originally seceded from the union the “Lost Cause” was probably born, and we suffer from that to this day; these Southern “Yellow Dog Democrats” would impede any progress on Civil Rights. However, had Lincoln lived we cannot know how things may have worked out. General Grant noted that

n  “The President was inclined to be kind and magnanimous, and his death at this time is an irreparable loss to the South, which now needs so much both his tenderness and magnanimity.”n

The Lincoln described in this book is a president with intelligence, benevolent statesmanship, lacking vindictiveness, and an outstanding orator. He was a giant, both physically and politically. He truly deserves his spot on Mt. Rushmore.

Reading this book has not changed my opinion that Doris Kearns Goodwin is one of my favorite historians and it deserves all its acclaim.

I wanted so desperately to like this book especially since everyone I know loved it. I couldn't even finish it. I got to page 169 and had to quit. Lincoln's three rivals for presidency seemed so interchangeable I couldn't keep them straight. I found the writing ponderous. I was bringing it on the bus so I would have to read it but once I got home at night I was picking up something else. Maybe it gets better once he's elected but I just don't care enough to force myself to read further.

http://bestpresidentialbios.com/2014/...

“Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” is, by almost any measure, the most popular biography of Abraham Lincoln. Written by Doris Kearns Goodwin, “Team of Rivals” has been widely read and revered since its publication in 2005. Goodwin is a Pulitzer-Prize winning author and historian who has also written notable biographies of Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.

Although focused on Abraham Lincoln, this book is a skillfully-crafted multiple biography of Lincoln and his three key rivals for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 1860. William Seward, Edward Bates and Salmon Chase each became key members of Lincoln’s cabinet, and each contributed greatly to both the strength and the dissonance which infused his administration. How Lincoln harnessed the capabilities of this unique coalition of talented, but fiercely competitive, voices is the subject of much of Goodwin’s analysis.

Goodwin’s focus on Lincoln’s willingness to incorporate rivals into his administration, and on how he dealt with their often enormous egos, sets this book apart from the large roster of Lincoln-focused biographies. This interesting angle proves to be the book’s raison d’etre as well as one of its minor weaknesses.

Lost to the reader due to the need to jump between the early lives of the four main characters is a more comprehensive exploration of Lincoln’s scrappy frontier upbringing and his intense desire for self-improvement. While benefitting from time spent with Seward, Chase and Bates, it comes at the expense of a richer, more vibrant understanding of Lincoln’s evolution from unskilled laborer to budding lawyer to astute politician and master-of-leader.

Those who have not yet read a more comprehensive account of Lincoln’s early life (by Burlingame, White, Donald, Oates or others) will be largely unaware of the missing color. But for a Lincoln aficionado, Goodwin’s description of Lincoln’s early decades of life may seem slightly rushed or flat.

Also disappointing for me was Goodwin’s too-efficient handling of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Where other biographers highlight these debates as the crucial pivot-point in Lincoln’s political progression, Goodwin provides a less enthralling account and seems to underemphasize their significance somewhat.

However, after introducing each of the four main characters, Goodwin’s story begins to shine with Lincoln’s election as president. She provides as dramatic and interesting an account of events between Lincoln’s election and inauguration as I can recall seeing. And she presents the best review of the drafting and editing of Lincoln’s inaugural address I’ve read (providing an early but important glimpse into the relationship between Lincoln and Seward, who served as his Secretary of State).

Goodwin’s treatment of the volatile Mary Lincoln is the most balanced I have encountered – she is portrayed as a pathologic villain in some biographies and is barely mentioned in others. And as part of Goodwin’s account of the self-absorbed and overly ambitious Secretary of the Treasury, she often (arguably too frequently) highlights the side-roles played by Salmon Chase’s tantalizing and acutely intelligent daughter, Kate.

But the most valuable service performed by “Team of Rivals” is its analysis of Lincoln’s relationships with his cabinet members – and their relationships with each other. Rather than diluting the comprehensibility of Lincoln’s presidency, Goodwin’s frequent focus on this group of men enhances the reader’s understanding of events. Where some biographies describe a dizzying array of failed Union generals and unsuccessful military tactics, this biography maintains its focus on the decision-making process in Washington – while not ignoring the battlefield.

Although Goodwin spends comparatively little time in pursuit of Lincoln’s assassin once he flees Washington, she describes the audacious plot to simultaneously assassinate Lincoln, his vice president and Secretary of State Seward far better than any other biography I’ve read. And while Goodwin provides few of her own reflections on Lincoln’s legacy, she leaves the reader with a fascinating glimpse into the lives of each of the book’s major characters following his death.

Overall, Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals” is an interesting and thoughtful exploration of Lincoln’s life with a slightly different focus than is offered by most biographies. This book take a few chapters to build a full head of steam, but in full flight it is enormously captivating. Probably most valuable to someone already acquainted with Lincoln, it can also serve as an excellent introduction for the Lincoln novice. “Team of Rivals” is both an entertaining story and a valuable source of insight into Lincoln - and not to be missed.

Overall rating: 4½ stars