I recently took a solo trip to Kansas from my home in South Dakota and so an audiobook was in high order. Being in the mood for some non-fiction about history, I found a book about Abraham Lincoln called Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

I’ve long been an admirer of Lincoln and his leadership through perhaps the most harrowing time in U.S. history which began before he was even inaugurated as president. He was not a perfect man but he seems to have had a rare gifting of leadership that, upon reflecting on our current moment, we could certainly learn from.

Team of Rivals, written by Doris Kearns Goodwin, focuses on Lincoln’s confounding and audacious move to appoint all three of his Republican presidential rivals to top posts in his cabinet. To run for president requires a rare combination and capacity, ambition and ego and while there are political reasons to appoint one’s rival to a cabinet position, something Lincoln understood only too well, it seems he appointed them for a far more important reason. Later, as the war raged on, he would appoint Edwin M. Stanton, one of his harshest public critics, to the post of Secretary of War. It seems that beyond the politics, Lincoln believed that in order to lead well, he would need to welcome and depend on the debate of ideas within his cabinet to ensure that he came to the very best decisions for the country.

Lincoln did not want yes men. He wanted the best men.

The book highlights as well the deft touch with which Lincoln was able to work with each of these men’s egos, finding their strengths and depending on them while earning their trust and admiration. William H. Seward was devastated by his 1860 loss to Lincoln but jumped at the chance to serve as Secretary of State, assuming wrongly that he would be able to guide other cabinet choices and lead the country with Lincoln as a sort of figurehead president. His disdain for Lincoln slowly but surly changed to deep admiration and respect and in the end he became one of Lincoln’s staunchest supporters even as he continued to offer fierce debate in all major decision – just as Lincoln wanted.

Of the others appointed to his cabinet, only Salmon P. Chase never came around to loyalty and respect for the president. He continued to harbor a deep sense of superiority as well as a deep ambition to be the Republican nominee in 1964. As another example of Lincoln’s tremendous leadership, he kept Chase in his position as Secretary of the Treasury, a position he excelled at, far longer than anyone else would have put up with the secretary’s shenanigans. He chose to endure the thorn in his side in order to capitalize on Chase’s unique skills with managing and finding ways to raise money for the Union cause. It was a fitting end to Chase when, in June of 1864, he sent Lincoln a letter of resignation over some perceived slight – something he’d done three times prior – with the smug confidence that Lincoln would beg him to stay. Lincoln, much to Chase’s surprise, did not respond but rather replaced him with a new Secretary of the Treasurer and allowed Chase to find out through the grapevine of gossip and news.

Goodwin does a masterful job of winding through the story of the primary and into those first heady days of the new cabinet, the new presidency and the new and terrible war. She writes with deep attention to historical detail, an insight into the character of Lincoln and these men and with a strong storytelling ability that makes this book intriguing, insightful and easy to read.

It is helpful to read history when wading through the turmoil of our current experience. The rancor, doomsaying and fear mongering of today’s politicians and pundits trying to convince us that democracy as we know it will end if their opponent wins, seems laughable in light of all that Lincoln faced in 1860. This book brings a kind of levity to our current partisan atmosphere but also gives us an example of what true leadership really looks like. We would all do well to read Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln for it’s lessons on leadership and grounding in reality.

by Aaron G Myers

If you found this article helpful, share it with a friend.

(I originally posted this review at my other blog, Cobbled Together)