"I happen temporarily to occupy this big White House. I am living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father's child has. It is in order that each of you may have through this free government which we have enjoyed, an open field and a fair chance for your industry, enterprise and intelligence; 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...The nation is worth fighting for, to secure such an inestimable jewel."
-Abraham Lincoln to an Ohio regiment returning home in 1864, from Team of Rivals, page 653
I waited a long time to receive this book from our local library but it was most certainly worth waiting for! I am a confessed history buff and have long considered Abraham Lincoln a hero. After seeing the movie "Lincoln" in December, with its wonderful portrayal by Daniel Day Lewis, and hearing that it was based partly on this book by Goodwin, I felt it was a must-read for me. I enjoyed it immensely though at times it seemed as if I would never get to the end of its 757 pages.
The title refers to the men Lincoln chose for his cabinet, men who had been rivals for the presidency. The author provides very thorough background information mainly on William H. Seward, Secretary of State; Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War; Edward Bates, U.S. Attorney General; and Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury. I found it quite fascinating how Lincoln made a "team of rivals" into a formidable team to keep the country together during the worst of times. They all became great believers in Lincoln and even friends, with the exception of Chase, who never stopped being a rival.
The sub-title of the book is "The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln." He certainly was a political genius, but I couldn't help but notice the amazing number of positive adjectives used to describe him. Here are some that I noted: honest, sympathetic, good-humored, confident, diplomatic, cunning, good-natured, forgiving, unruffled, calm, kind, fair, logical, candid, subtle, progressive, earnest, shrewd, magnamimous, wise, inspiring and gracious. It was said that he kept his promises, he had a felicity of speech and thought, he was "one of the most sagacious men of modern times," and a "great man of the century [who] sees more widely and more clearly than anybody." It was also said that he was "the great guiding intellect of the age" and a cabinet member, Edward Bates, said he "comes very near being a perfect man."
I was delighted to be reminded of a children's picture book called Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco in which people of color are so impressed by "touching the hand that touched the hand" of Lincoln. Goodwin writes that Walt Whitman "fancied that at some commemoration of those earlier days, an 'ancient soldier' would sit surrounded by a group of young men whose eyes and 'eager questions' would betray their sense of wonder. 'What! have you seen Abraham Lincoln---and heard him speak---and touch'd his hand?' Whitman was also quoted as saying "Abraham Lincoln seems to me the grandest figure yet, on all the crowded canvas of the Nineteenth Century." High praise, indeed!
I was greatly impressed by Lincoln's ability to use figurative language to illustrate his thinking. For example, on page 233 in describing the danger of the expansion of slavery into the territories and new states, he uses a metaphor of putting a snake into a child's bed. Many people of the day, and the author, seemed to think this kind of speech was helpful in convincing the masses of the merit of his ideas. Lincoln was also well-known for his story-telling and sense of humor. Many times during the reading of the book, his witty responses and stories made me laugh out loud.
In a couple of months, I will be visiting Washington, D.C. and I am bound to be more awed by the sight of the Lincoln Memorial than ever before. I am SO glad I read this book! A rating of 5 for sure!
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