Abraham Lincoln (12 Feb 1809 - 15th April 1865) was without any doubt the greatest leader of America. Born in a very humble family and without any formal education he went on to become the greatest President of United States of America. 'Lincoln' is a biography of this great man written by Pulitzer awardee David Herbert Donald.
Lincoln started his career as a woodcutter/rail maker and also in transporting goods across rivers in Illinois. His tenacious attitude to learning new things and to achieve goodness made him a popular Whig leader in Illinois. He was admitted to bar and became a hugely successful lawyer in Springfield though he did not have any formal education. He was elected to the local legislature multiple times and was also elected to US house of Representatives from Illinois from 1847 to 1849.
Dischanted with failure of Whigs to stop the extension of Slavery in new states many Whig leaders along with him founded Republican Party of US in 1854. He fought a great battle for election to US Senate from Illinois against the popular democrat Stephen Douglas and he lost by a narrow margin in 1858. The seven debates that they had are still considered iconic in US history. These debates made him immensely popular in Republican and abolitionist circles. He believed in equality of races in terms of natural rights though he did not consider Blacks as equal to Whites in terms of intellect.
He got Republican Party ticket for Presidential election in 1860 (defeating William Seward) and the division of Democratic Party helped him in winning the much heated US Presidential election of 1860. Before he was sworn in the southern states seceded from the Union and threatened Fort Sumter. He took office at the most perilous time and he fumbled and struggled a lot to assert his authority in the cabinet. He was the first US President born west of Appalachian mountains and was considered uncivilized by many Northners. He was considered kind of barbarian.
His cabinet was also a mix of seemingly opposite poles. His Secretary of State William Seward and Secretary of Treasury Salmon P Chase were arch rivals. His cabinet is generally considered a Team of rivals and Barrack Obama tried to repeat this by appointing Hillary Clinton his secretary of State. Lincoln was a great story teller and many a times he defused complex situations by cracking stories and anecdotes. This book is full of those.
His cabinet was also a mix of seemingly opposite poles. His Secretary of State William Seward and Secretary of Treasury Salmon P Chase were arch rivals. His cabinet is generally considered a Team of rivals and Barrack Obama tried to repeat this by appointing Hillary Clinton his secretary of State. Lincoln was a great story teller and many a times he defused complex situations by cracking stories and anecdotes. This book is full of those.
The Civil War persisted for more than 4 years and resulted in death of more than 1 million people. His proclamation of emancipation of slaves in January 1863 and the Union victory over Confederacy at Gettysberg in July 1863 sealed the fate of Confederates though the war straggled on for another 18 months. He had to balance the conservative faction, ultra radicals like Stevens and soft on slavery factions and he handled all with great tact. After interfering unsuccessfully in military matters he left all decisions to General Grant and others and they did not let him down. Lincoln was immensely praised and loved by his people for his honesty, availability and humility though his opponents called him 'Abraham Africanus the First', Tyrant and Caesar but the remained focused on his goal and in the end we all know who is right.
Its a great book and a must read though in between it is full of political intrigues in between.
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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