Winner of the Lincoln Prize
Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Abraham Lincoln's
political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term
congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail over
three gifted rivals of national reputation to become president.
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.
