Team of Rivals

The Civil War is a captivating affair. The injustice of slavery, the thrill of rebellion, the bloodied battlefields of war—all creating the most tragic and memorable piece of American history. Standing prominent in this history is, of course, Abraham Lincoln, the lanky lawyer from Illinois. Doris Goodwin’s Team of Rivals reverently recreates Lincoln’s life, as well as the lives of his Cabinet officers. In this book, Lincoln’s cabinet officers serve as a prism through which Lincoln’s virtues profusely shine. The officers’ lives are also interesting in their own right, making for a book that draws you closer not only to Lincoln but also his world.

This is a book very much about men, not women. In addition to Lincoln, William Seward, Salmon Chase, Edward Bates, and Edwin Stanton occupy many pages of text. The wives and daughters of these men, in particular Mary Lincoln and Kate Chase, do occasionally grace us with their presence. But they serve as merely a unique perspective on the men to whom they are attached. These men were politicians and lawyers, great statesmen of their age. They were brilliant and admirable, but too often pathetic in their vanity and yearnings for power. Three of the men campaigned to become the Republican candidate for President in 1860, only to be surreptitiously defeated by Lincoln. The men were rivals of Lincoln, who nonetheless brought them together as a team.

Lincoln’s greatness shines brightly in contrast to these men. He was not a man to hold a grudge. He recognized his rivals’ talents and used them to his advantage. Even when Salmon Chase publicly derided Lincoln in an attempt to obtain the presidency in 1864, Lincoln forgave. He even awarded Chase with a seat on the Supreme Court. Above all, Lincoln was a consummate leader. For example, rather than rushing to emancipate the slaves as the abolitionists wanted, Lincoln carefully calculated the timing and rationale of his Emancipation Proclamation so as to make it palatable to the public.

This book is not a complete history of the civil war. Certain battles are ignored and the Southern point of view is conspicuously absent. But as a biography of Lincoln and his Cabinet, this book amply succeeds. I found myself loving Lincoln with his deep reservoir of jokes and hare-brained stories—a characteristic that often infuriated his oh-so-serious colleagues. I also appreciated the other men who, despite their foibles, came to love Lincoln as well. Kudos to Goodwin, who writes all this with elegance and wisdom.