Lincoln: A Team of Rivals

Lincoln: A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

First thing’s first: This is not, contrary to what many people believe, the companion piece to the Steven Spielberg movie that came out not too long ago.  Spielberg gives acknowledgements to the author, Doris Kearns Goodwin, in the movie’s credits, and the cover of the some of the book releases is a shot of Lincoln from the movie, but the similarities, strangely, end there.  I’m thinking Spielberg was probably so heavily influenced by this wonderful work, that he felt he needed to recognize Goodwin for the inspiration.  If you haven’t seen the film, it really isn’t a retrospective of the 16th president, but only focuses on the politics behind the Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery that was pushed through in the final days of the Civil War.  This book touches on this particular event, but only slightly.  In fact, if your mind ever wanders while reading a book, you’re likely to miss that event entirely.

Neither is this book a detailed biography of Abraham Lincoln.  As the title implies, this book mainly focuses on several members of Lincoln’s cabinet that were, at one point or another, rivals with one and other for the presidential office during the primaries of 1860, and how Lincoln was a brilliant leader who put all egos aside, mended the differences, and successfully lead the country through arguably the worst point of our nation’s history.  It’s no mistake that this man is often regarded as the greatest president ever of the United States.

Initially, the book begins by focusing on Abraham Lincoln’s candidacy for President in the 1860 election.  His rivals for the Republican nomination are all future members of his cabinet; New York’s Henry Seward, Ohio’s Salmon Chase, and Missouri’s Edward Bates.  The author spends the bulk of the first quarter of this volume detailing all of these characters - not just Lincoln.  We are provided with a detailed overview of their lives, their families, their ambitions and their political comings and goings in lengthy detail.  This was a minor distraction for me, as I felt at times I was reading four separate biographies, and it was a bit hard to keep my focus.  Because of the nature of the relationship between these four individuals throughout Lincoln’s presidency, however, such an in depth background was, in fact, necessary.

Interestingly, of these four characters, Lincoln was the dark horse candidate.  Surprisingly, what propels him to the top is his calm, non-aggressive nature.  Unlike just about any other political candidate (in history?), Lincoln masters what Jesus Christ told us about retaliation - simply turn the other cheek.  He never gets sucked in to name calling, mud slinging, or character assassination, so unlike his political rivals, he can’t possibly put a political foot in his mouth.  After the other candidates embarrass themselves out of being front runners, the humble, gangly Illinois lawyer manages to win the nomination, and then eventually, to everyone’s surprise, the election of President of the United States.

Of course, any book that details Lincoln’s presidency will deal heavily with slavery, the threat of secession, and the inevitable bloody Civil War.  All of that is covered in detail here, yet even if you are very familiar with the people, places and events during this tumultuous time, you never feel as though you are bored from “hearing it all over again”.  Goodwin has the incredible ability to tell a detailed, yet very interesting story (I’ve never read any of her other pieces yet, but I’ve seen her on many television documentaries).  Also, these events are all told through the eyes and heart of Abraham Lincoln himself.

Again, the man was a political genius.  Humble throughout his entire life, he manages to always come out ahead of his rivals by simply being a calm, respectful steward of his office.  There are a lot of political back-stabbing amongst the cabinet, the generals, the senators, and the other movers and shakers, yet Lincoln always knows what buttons to push on all of these individuals to never alienate or humiliate them.  As his presidency progresses, some of the characters shift in and out of focus.  Bates, who becomes Lincoln’s Attorney General, basically falls out of the picture, but other key cabinet members, such as Secretary of War Edwin Stanton are featured more prolifically.  

So with all of the major events taking place during the four years of Lincoln’s presidency,  the main theme here is the president’s character, and his ability to lead his cabinet - a cabinet that didn’t always see eye to eye, and could be quite disrespectful towards their Commander in Chief at times.  Upon conclusion of reading this satisfying work, you can’t help but thank God in heaven that we had arguably the best president in the history of our country during the time when we desperately needed one the most.