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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.7092
EAN num: 9780743289474
ISBN number: 0743289471
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 640
Printing Date: October 21, 2008
Publishing house: Simon & Schuster
Sale Popularity Level: 10648
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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One of our most eminent Lincoln scholars, winner of a Lincoln Prize for his Lincoln at Cooper Union, examines the four months between Lincoln's election and inauguration, when the president-elect made the most important decision of his coming presidency -- there would be no compromise on slavery or secession of the slaveholding states, even at the cost of civil war.
Abraham Lincoln very first demonstrated his determination and leadership in the Great Secession Winter -- the four months between his election in November 1860 and his inauguration in March 1861 -- when he rejected compromises urged on him by Republicans and Democrats, Northerners and Southerners, that might have preserved the Union a little longer but would have enshrined slavery for generations. Though Lincoln has been criticized by many historians for failing to appreciate the severity of the secession crisis that greeted his victory, Harold Holzer shows that the presidentelect waged a shrewd and complex campaign to prevent the expansion of slavery while vainly trying to limit secession to a few Deep South states.
During this most dangerous White House transition in American history, the country had two presidents: one powerless (the president-elect, possessing no constitutional authority), the other paralyzed (the incumbent who refused to act). Through limited, brilliantly timed and crafted public statements, determined private letters, tough political pressure, and personal persuasion, Lincoln guaranteed the integrity of the American political process of majority rule, sounded the death knell of slavery, and transformed not only his own image but that of the presidency, even while making inevitable the war that would be necessary to make these achievements permanent.
Lincoln President-Elect is the very first book to concentrate on Lincoln's public stance and private agony during these months and on the momentous consequences when he very first demonstrated his determination and leadership. Holzer recasts Lincoln from an isolated prairie politician yet to establish his greatness, to a skillful shaper of men and opinion and an immovable friend of freedom at a decisive moment when allegiance to the founding credo 'all men are created equal' might well have been sacrificed.
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Rated by buyers -
This book, among the plethora of recent Lincoln books, stands out for focusing on a critical time in our history and precisely how Lincoln handled it.
Rated by buyers 
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I liked this book, but I did not love it. Holzer reports the results of his vast research in this account of Lincoln's activities during the four months from his election until his inauguration. The book contains innumerable details about Lincoln's daily activities: besieged by office seekers, crafting a cabinet, cleverly navigating the climactic political struggle between the states, and carefully writing and editing his every word. Lincoln emerges as keenly attentive and actively involved in political affairs even though his status as president-elect denied him any official power. Perhaps the best part of the book follows Lincoln's efforts to write his very first inaugural address, which Holzer justly praises as one of Lincoln's underappreciated masterpieces. As usual, one finishes the book with a greater regard for Lincoln, though Holzer recounts Lincoln's errors as well (including the fall-out from his rushed trip to Washington to avoid an assassination threat in Baltimore).
Yet the whole of the book does not quite rise to the level of the sum of its detailed parts. The detail obscures the fact that Lincoln did not have much that he could do during the lame-duck period. Indeed, Holzer quotes Lincoln's assertion that he "would willingly take out of my life a period in years equal to the two months which intervene between now and my inauguration to take the oath of office now." The disintegration of the United States that occurred while Lincoln was president-elect and his inability to do anything about it is more damning of our lengthy lame-duck periods than it is of Lincoln himself. But Lincoln's absence of power strips his activities as president-elect of much meaning. The attention to Lincoln's daily activities is unaccompanied by a parallel reminder of what other actors were doing that time. Holzer's discusion of the seceding southern states tails off after a while, and there is little explanation of President Buchanan and the lame-duck Congress were doing during the same time. It is not fair to expect Holzer to fully address each of those actors in the same detail as Lincoln, but Lincoln's activities would become more meaningful if more context were provided.
Rated by buyers -
Superb, very detailed accounts. almost day by day of Lincoln's activities just before the election and 4 months after. A must read by serious Lincoln readers.
Walter Wolodkin
Rolling Meadows, Illinois
Rated by buyers -
Holzer's work is thoroughly researched, thoughtfully structured and highly readable. Both lay and academic
audiences will find this volume to be a true delight. Many studies of Lincoln will appear during the bicentennial year of his birth. This volume sets the bar at level that is likely not to be exceeded. It is an outstanding piece
that all Lincoln scholars will cherish.
D. Duane Cummins
Rated by buyers -
There he gazes at us from the serenity of Mount Rushmore; the copper visage on the penny and his seat at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) has become an American Icon. Rare is the historian who can bring Lincoln alive with verve, wit, anecdotal gems and a smooth narrative flow. Such an author is the peerless Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer. Holzer has written or edited over thirty books on our sixteenth president and is a familiar face on C-Span or other networks when the topic is Abraham Lincoln.
In this new book Holzer explores the life of Lincoln from the night he won the presidency in November 1860 until he rose his right hand to take the oath of office on March 4, 1861. Lincoln was sworn in by Justice Roger Taney, ancient Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,who presided over that court during the Dred Scott Decision of 1857.
Lincoln had defeated his old Senate foe Stephen A. Douglas the Northern Democrat, John Breckinridge the Vice President under Buchanan and Southern Democrat Standard bearer and John Bell of the Unionist party.
While he received less than 50% of the popular vote he won a substantial margin i the electoral college.
Lincoln had not campaigned for this was an age when candidates stayed at home. Following his election he was visited Author name:
a. countless persons visiting Lincoln in his Springfield home to win jobs in the new administration. The spoils system was in full flood. These visits often wore Lincoln out as he had to meet with his assortment of oddballs and pests eager to get on the Republican gravy train.
b. Lincoln received men eager to be named to the cabinet. He took his time in selecting his cabinet officers. The notable selections included men who had themselves wanted to be elected chief executive in 1861: Salmon P. Chase of Ohio named Secretary of the Treasury; William Seward who became Secretary of State; E. Bates of Missouri as Attorney General
c . Answer voluminous mail. Lincoln had a staff of 2! John Nicolay and John Hay. Lincoln wrote his own speeches and was a workaholic!
d. Wrap up his law business in Springfield and prepare to move with his wife Mary and sons Willie and Tad to the White House. Oldest son Robert was a Harvard student.Lincoln grew a beard to look more hirsute and statesman-like and to follow the advice of Grace Bedell a young girl who came to one of his New York state rallies.
e. Lincoln refused to state his course of action in the "great secession winter" when South Carolina and six other deep south states seceded from the Union.
f. Lincoln made a poignant visit to the Illinois home of his stepmother Sarah Johnson and his relatives. He never saw her again.
The most iteresting part of the book is the journey Lincoln and Mary took from Springfield to Washington which transpired in eighteen days in February 1861, Lincoln addressed large crowds in such cities as Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, Albany and New York City.
The trip was exhausting filled with countless speeches, dinners, receptions and gladhanding supporters. The mode of railroad travel and accomodations in hotels was uncomfortable. Few modern politicians could have stood this experience!
Lincoln proceeded with care through rebel loving Baltimore taking a passenger train instead of the offical train. This was an exciting episode in which he learned of plots against his life. These plots were reported to him through the office of General Winfield Scott and the Pinkerton Detective agency. Lincoln would be the target of editiorial criticism and cartoons for "sneaking through Baltimore like a coward."
This reviewer found, on the contrary, a cool, calm and collected Lincoln who realistically faced danger and dealt with it in a exemplary manner.
The four months of the president-elect status of Lincoln were crucial in his planning to lead the nation through its most trying hours. Lincoln was a genius with words and political acumen. Lincoln worked hard on his very first inagural address which has become a classic speech in history. In t he sought reconciliation with the seceded states.
Harold Hozer's book will become a classic. In this time when our nation again prepares for a new president Barack Obama who, like his hero Lincoln, comes from Illinois this book is a joy to read and ponder.
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