Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

by Doris Kearns Goodwin
I love history books that let the reader get to know some of the most fascinating characters in history. For that reason, I really enjoyed Team of Rivals. Not only does it explore the character and strategies of President Lincoln, it also explores the personalities and traits of some of the other great men of that generation.

When Lincoln was running for the presidency, he was the long-shot, darkhorse candidate. Most people thought William Henry Seward would easily get the nomination of the new Republican Party, and if not him, then Salmon Chase or Edward Bates. But Lincoln cleverly positioned himself, from the frontier of America, to swoop in and clinch the nomination when Seward faltered in the end. But that wouldn't be very remarkable, if he didn't immediately thereafter bring all of his former rivals into his cabinet. Some of them came kicking and screaming; others came out of a sense of duty; still others came because they saw a chance to grab the next presidential nomination. But in the end, they call came to respect and admire the man whom they initially thought was a simple, unrefined country lawyer.

Throughout the course of the book I came to appreciate the roles these men played during the crucial period of the American Civil War. I admired Secretary of State William Seward's selfless willingness to support the man who had the position Seward should have won. I appreciated the dogmatic hard work and gruff exterior of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. I was impressed by Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles' transformation of the American Navy from a few dozen dilapidated ships to a modern superpower. I was somewhat disgusted by Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase's perpetual back-stabbing and self-righteousness as he tried (unsuccessfully) to outmaneuver Lincoln politically. And I was touched by the sacrifice of Attorney General Edward Bates as he was separated from his family and worked hard until he was over 70.

However, even though there are many great men and women with important roles in this period of American history, the book's view of the other men merely serves to reinforce the monolithic character of Lincoln himself. We usually think of him as Honest Abe, but that doesn't mean he was simple. He managed to cobble together an enormously talented cabinet during a time when traitors and Southern sympathizers literally threatened to tear the government and military apart. He played his rivals off each other and held together the newly formed Republican Party, which threatened to split at any moment. His unshakable faith in the Union and his own abilities was contagious, bolstering his cabinet members and the soldiers he repeatedly visited in the field. And his refusal to hold grudges diffused many situations and allowed him to win over many of his most bitter critics. As his formal rivals, who quickly became his colleagues and supporters, came to know Abraham Lincoln, they reached the same conclusion that I reached: that Lincoln was the best (and perhaps only) man to bring the country safely through that crisis. Doris Kearns Goodwin is a fine historical writer. She is obviously a Lincoln fan, and after reading Team of Rivals, I have to agree.