Book: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Author: Doris Keane Goodwin
Pages: 754
Date: 2/20/25
I chose this book because it was strongly recommended to my by my friend, Gayle Packer. It was a bit of a hard read, not because of the vocabulary or style of writing, but because of the immense amount of detail regarding Lincoln’s life, from a young age until his death. This is one of the best & most detailed books I have read in awhile.
Important Characters
Secretary of State William Henry Seward – originating from New York
Secretary of Treasury Salmon Chase – originating from Ohio
Attorney General Edward Bates – originating from St. Louis
Secretary of War Simon Cameron/Edwin Stanton
Secretary of Navy Gideon Weles
Postmaster General Montgomery Blair
Secretary of Interior John Usher
Vice President Hannibal Hamlin/Andrew Johnson
Wife Mary Todd Lincoln
Generals of the Potomac McClellan/Burnside/Hooker/Meade/US Grant – it took five generals before Lincoln found the one that could fight Robert Lee’s Confederate Army and win. I was surprised how long Lincoln stuck with McClellan before dismissing him.
Personal secretaries John Nicolay & John Hay – after Lincoln’s first term, they both became part of the delegation to France.
What I learned from this book and was that it was interesting to me that the first three people on the above list were the three candidates for the Republican nomination for President and they all came from different parts of the country. Lincoln was the dark-horse candidate that won. He offered Cabinet positions to all three and became particularly good friends with Seward and all Cabinet members came from the Republican, Democrat, former Whig and Free Soil political parties in order to build a strong national team. Chase turned out to be an excellent Secretary of the Treasury during the difficult times right after Lincoln’s election and during the run-up to the war, but had desires to become president himselt and as a result of this, was asked to resign before Lincoln’s second term. He was later nominated by Lincoln to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Bates was a strong supporter, but Lincoln had to ask for his resignation as well in order to get the votes needed to win a second term. This is just a small part showing Lincoln’s excellent political skills.
Two other interesting things were how many people died of typhoid & childbirth. Chase lost three wives to these two ailments as did many other characters in the book. Lincoln & his wife lost their son Willie to typhoid and there were many secondary & tertiary characters who died of typhoid throughout the book. In fact, only one child of Abe & Mary Lincoln reached the age of 18: Robert Todd Lincoln. Tad Lincoln died of a heart ailment at the age of 17. Willie died at age 11 of typhoid and another boy died at the age of 3. All of this death caused great depression for Mary and she was even institutionalized for 3 months later in life for mental illness.
There was one statement in the book that summarized how Lincoln felt about the Union & slavery: “My paramount objective in this struggle is to save the Union; and is not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do it because it helps to save the Union.”
What I learned from this book that will increase my prospects for success after prison are:
1) Abe Lincoln believed in selecting the right people for the team at hand and then supporting them wholeheartedly. Only in rare cases did he counteract their leadership and guidance; and this was either when he saw the bigger picture or when he was pardoning someone in the Army for what he saw as unnecessary punishment. When I get out, I need to rely on my friends, seek out their guidance and abide by it.
2) Even during really bad times or in the face of negative news, Lincoln rarely showed his depression or sadness to the public. Although in private, he may appear to be sad; in public he projected a positive image, smiling and demonstrating excellent leadership. I am now attempting to do this in prison so that when I get out, I can refine it even more as I suspect there will be more positive news after my release. While in prison, I will deal with negative news in the most positive way possible.
3) Lincoln said, “I think it cannot be shown that when I have once taken a position, I have never retreated from it.” Although this may seem to be in direct opposition to #1 above, it is not. He would seek all kinds of information and guidance, but once he decided on the appropriate course of action, he approached it like a bulldog. I think that once a course of action has been decided on, it is good to follow through 100%. For instance, I now know that I have camp points and I am seeking transfer to a minimum security prison camp with all of my being & hope that it will come to fruition by July or August.
recondite – hidden from sight; impossible for one of ordinary understanding/knowledge to comprehend.
peptone – various water soluble products of partial hydrolysis of proteins
precocious – exceptionally early in development or occurrence; exhibiting mature qualities at an early age.
saturnine – cold steady in mood; slow to act or change; gloomy or surly disposition
chivvy – to tease or annoy with persistent petty attacks; to move or obtain by small maneuvers.
curiate – a clergyman in charge of a parish
efficacious – having the power to produce a desired effect
halcyon – calm, peaceful, happy, golden, prosperous, affluent
ameliorate – to make better or more tolerable, to grow better, to improve
badinage – playful banter
venial – favor, indulgence, pardon
