Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

n   “I happen to temporarily occupy this big White House. I am a living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father’s child has. It is in order [...] that you may all have equal privileges in the race of life, with all its desirable human aspirations. It is for this the struggle should be maintained, that we may not lose our birthright [...]”n 4.25

In Team of Rivals, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illustrates Lincoln’s political success as a one-term congressman who rose from obscurity to secure the presidential nomination over three distinguished rivals of national prominence and devise “the most unusual cabinet in the history of the country,” one that was undoubtedly a significant factor in the successes of the tumultuous Civil War era.

Goodwin constantly emphasizes Lincoln’s political genius, not only in his ability to read the national environment and the mood of various factions within his own party, but in his profound ability to alleviate political tensions by creating a cabinet of adversaries who were largely not enthusiastic about his presidential upset. To some he was a lanky, no-name “prairie lawyer” with a disheveled appearance. To others he simply represented the wrong kind of politician – either too moderate or too radical. But Goodwin illustrates a man who was able to transcend society’s deep personal qualms if it meant restoring and preserving the union. He found little value in holding grudges against those who he deemed indispensable to this singular aspiration of his presidency.

n  “In order to ‘win a man to your cause,’ you must first reach his heart, ‘the great high road to his reason.’”n

Goodwin argues that amid the turbulent 1850s with the threat of secession and civil war growing ever more fervent, the fact that the relatively unknown politician was able to succeed is a testament to a modest life that influenced him more profoundly than the privileged lives of his rivals. The fact that Lincoln incorporated better educated and more experienced former rivals and opposition party members into his political family indicated a profound sense of self-confidence and humility. The fact that he was the one to dispel his colleagues’ anxieties and sustain their determinations with his gifted storytelling ability and humor, and refused to provoke petty criticisms, indicated an uncanny self-awareness that enabled him to remain constructive towards his vision of a more perfect union.

Through Goodwin’s correspondences of thousands of historical letters, hundred-page diaries, much too lengthy journal entries, passionate unpublished memoirs, Lincoln’s determined, sympathetic, whole-hearted personality comes to life. Goodwin develops each of the main figures critical to Lincoln’s cabinet, touching upon their early childhoods, political careers, distinct personalities, and ambitions leading up to the 1860 convention. From there, their respective interactions and relationships with Lincoln throughout his presidency are given deeper meaning – Lincoln and Edwin Stanton’s shared tension while awaiting news from the battlefield, Lincoln’s admiration of Salmon Chase as a man worthy of the court, the growing uplifting friendship between Lincoln and William Seward that would prove invaluable throughout the rest of their lives, etc.

n  [Seward] “Lincoln always got the advantage of me, but I never envied in him anything but his death.”n

I learned a lot of inspirational things about Lincoln and his closest contemporaries, perhaps more than I would have ever wanted to know for the simple reason that I will now always be attached to this small piece of history for what it has taught me about ambitious leadership, indispensable companionship, and undying conviction. Whatever is it, I know I’ll never forget the way in which a great leader inspired such strong emotions in those who once used to be his adversaries at the time of his death. Perhaps that was the microcosm of his timelessness as a figure of the world.

Something that I must add here
Frederick Douglass on Lincoln:

Lincoln was “the first great man that I talked with in the United States freely, who in no single instance reminded me of the difference between himself and myself.”

A monumental brilliantly written work. I have read many history books about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. This is without a doubt one of the best. The book focuses on Lincoln and his cabinet using mostly primary sources and therefore gives the reader an insight not only into the events of the time but of the individuals involved in shaping those events. It makes one yearn that our country could have leaders like this again. Particularly Lincoln, but unfortunately a man like him comes along perhaps once in a millennium. Highly recommended.

If you are a fan of Lincoln, this book is a must. More than just a recitation of Lincoln's life, Goodwin spends equal amounts of time on Seward, Chase, Stanton et al in order to give the reader a great feel for just how amazing Lincoln was.

Put aside whatever you're reading now--yes, even those compelling vampire/romance books--and pick up this book. It's that good. Even though Goodwin is writing about Lincoln's cabinet, her work is eerily contemporary, given Obama's situation. Everyone but a handful of people thought Lincoln had risen too fast and was too untried to take charge of a desperate crises facing the country. Goodwin uses the main characters' diaries, letters, journals, and speeches to show how that opinion gradually changed. If Obama has half of Lincoln's greatness of heart, we are in good hands.

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.

As a schoolboy, Lincoln was a divine figure to me, along with Mahatma Gandhi - an avatar of God who ended slavery and liberated thousands from a life of misery. As I grew up, I began to lose trust in the blown-up hagiographies about larger-than-life historical figures. There were no saints, I realised: only flawed people.

That is why I liked this book by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It talks about Lincoln as an ordinary human being with some extraordinary qualities, who slowly grew into the heroic image that destiny had designed for him.

The book's original name is Team of Rivals (Lincoln is the movie directed by Steven Spielberg based on a minuscule part of it); and in my opinion, that is the apt name. This is the tale of a small-time lawyer and one-time "railsplitter" from Springfield, Illinois, who became the president of the USA, defying everyone's expectations, and carried with him a bickering team of individuals as cabinet members (which included all his rivals for the presidency) into a country riven by civil war. Not only did he win the war, he managed to abolish slavery once and forever, and also win a second term as president.

The Republican Party during Lincoln's time was a hotch-potch affair, created out of bits and pieces of other political outfits. If Lincoln's nomination was a surprise, his win was a bigger one. And he went on to surprise all people more and more, winning the grudging respect of even his most bitter critics, until he became the towering figure he is today.

How did Lincoln manage this seemingly impossible feat? That is what Goodwin tells us. Digging into an unbelievable number of historical records, she paints a picture of an extraordinary politician who never carried any grudges, never let his personal likes and dislikes interfere with his judgement of a person's professional capability, and who had an almost unearthly knack for compromising where required without betraying his core ideals. Also, the book shows Lincoln as a person who had the courage to change his opinions when he was convinced that they were wrong. And lastly, it presents the president as a warm human being with a subtle sense of humour which never left him, even in the midst of great personal tragedies.

This book is not only about Abe Lincoln, however. It is about a lot of other extraordinary individuals too who were part of this turbulent period of American history. The author has taken great pains to illuminate each person in detail so that each and every one of them stands out.

This ponderous tome weighs in at 900+ pages. But the writing style is so engaging, and never does the pace flag, so that once started, one will find difficult to put the book down!

How many political leaders would select some of those who had been competitors for power to serve with them? This book explores just that question--with Abraham Loncoln as the leader who seated some of his top opponents for the Republican nomination for President in 1860 in his Cabinet. This is a multiple biography, demanding a well organized volume to keep the five key characters' lives and actions in focus. The key players who served on Lincoln's Cabinet whom Goodwin examines include Edwin Stanton, Salmon Chase, William Seward, and Edward Bates--as well as Lincoln himself.

The chemistry among these players was sometimes problematic. Chase's ambitions sometimes drove him to near mutiny against Lincoln. Seward began by thinking that Lincoln should, in essence, defer to him. Bates was an elder statesman who had some presidential ambitions in 1860. And, of course, the workaholic Edwin Stanton.

The book revolves around the interaction of these characters in what is akin to a fine drama. It also displays Lincoln's ability to get the most out of this set of powerful political actors, to keep them moving forward as a team (even when there were clear differences and tensions). It made good political sense for Lincoln to reach out to this disparate group of people--but it also brought some of the most capable leaders into his Cabinet.

In short, an illuminating volume that informs the reader in some detail about the unique set of characters who had to work together to maintain the Union.

Absolutely brilliant nonfiction for American History buffs! The book focuses on Lincoln's decision making processes during his presidency and the interactions he had with his cabinet and closest political advisors, most of whom were his rivals for the 1860 Republican Presidential nomination.