Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861

by Harold Holzer

Book Overview

One of our most eminent Lincoln scholars, winner of a Lincoln Prize for hisLincoln 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 first demonstrated his determination and leadership in the Great Secession...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743289471
• ISBN13: 9780743289474
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 623 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Excellent

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

Lincoln President Elect is an excellent book on a little explored popular chapter in the history of

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 by: 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 e

first-rate in every way; highest recommendation

Harold Holzer has produced a wonderful biography of Abraham Lincoln, probably our greatest President, during the critical months between his November 1860 election and his March 1861 inauguration. Using many new sources, Holzer paints a picture of Lincoln as a strong determined leader, who, while remaining quiet publicly as the South seceded amid vitriol and threats towards Lincoln far greater than that any other President has faced. Lincoln wrote letters to his allies, which they circulated, and powerful letters to the newspapers, which purported to be anonymous but which many recognized as coming from his pen. Of course, the cornpone Lincoln, who loved to stand back to back with other tall men for measurement, and who relished corny old fashioned dialect stories and jokes, is also here. Holzer proves that Lincoln was also not only a great writer, but an even greater editor, as with the last paragraph of his brilliant First Inaugural Address, which William Seward first wrote and Lincoln then polished into a gem. Holzer also tells about Lincoln's sojourn on his way from Springfield to Washington, D.C., by train, through the Northern cities and villages, where people turned out in huge enthusiastic crowds, in order to see and hear a President-elect for the first time in American history. There are also humorous asides, such as the fact that the Lincolns kept dropping in on President Buchanan at the White House unannounced, due to the lack of telephones, Mary's shopping trip from Springfield to New York City for a new wardrobe, and Lincoln's unannounced trip to the Capitol to meet with the Senators and Representatives, and Lincoln's nemesis, the ancient Chief Justice Roger Tawny, author of the Dred Scott decision, at the Supreme Court chambers in the lower part of the Capitol. Ironically, Tawny was the one who gave Lincoln the oath of office. It is particularly fitting that our new President-Elect, Obama, a great admirer of Lincoln's writings and example, began his campaign in February 2007 outside the old State House in Springfield, where Lincoln used the Governor's office during his transition, and ended it in Grant Park, near the magnificent statue of Abraham Lincoln.

Holzer's best effort

Harold Holzer is one of America's finest historians -- a man celebrated for both his vast knowledge of Civil War-era events, as well as his fluid and readable writing style. His latest effort, Lincoln, President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-61, is perhaps his finest work of recent vintage. He focuses on the crucial four-month period between the Election of 1860 and the inauguration of the 16th President -- four months that forever changed the fundamental fabric of America. Lincoln's controversial decision to take a hard line with the Southern states, refusing to compromise on key issues such as states' rights, secession, and the right to maintain the institution of slavery. Holzer paints Lincoln as a strong-willed, decisive politician who has a clear vision of what he wants to accomplish and shrewdly manuevers support for his ambitions and objectives. Written in a fast-paced style that keeps the reader both informed and anticipating Lincoln's next move, this is a book that both presents the facts as they are known from the historical record and, more importantly, interprets the decisions, deals, and moves Lincoln made as he prepared for his presidency during perhaps the most turbulent four-month period in U.S. history. Divided into two major sections, Holzer's book first deals with "the promise of something better," a phrase that caught fire after the disappointments of the nearly impotent Buchanan Administration. Interspersed with Lincoln's wry humor and stories are details of the political and social issues facing the President-Elect, issues that may have overwhelmed a weaker man. Some authors over the years have portrayed Lincoln as indecisive and full of self-doubt during the crisis, but Holzer, perhaps the best Lincoln scholar of modern times, takes no such position. Instead, his Lincoln is resolute, determined, and sure of himself. His confidence came from his quick grasp of the realities of the situation, coupled with his plans of action. In the second part, Holzer examines "the momentous issue of civil war," a daunting task that had been festering for a generation but had now boiled over with the election results and the Illinois rail-splitter's non-majority victory. Lincoln weighs his options, forms his plans, and executes them as best he can before taking office. Holzer looks at Lincoln the man, the husband, and the politician turned president-elect, and evaluates him in the light of the times, as well as with the judgement of the known outcomes of his decisions. All in all, this is without a doubt the best book specifically dealing with Lincoln's four-month transition period where me moves from president-elect to chief executive of a divided United States. Holzer challenges the reader with ideas, concepts, and analysis that is fresh and vital, and, at times, controversial and open to debate and conjecture. Most importantly, Holzer makes the reader think and examine Lincoln for himself.

Interregnum

A close review of the months in Abraham Lincoln's life starting with the presidential election of 1860 and ending with his swearing into office on March 4 of 1861. Harold Holzer knows his subject both wide and deep. Here he delivers a fresh and accurate account of such matters as the lack of much comment by the newly-elected president on the pending political issues of the day; the long train ride to Washington, D.C. from Springfield (this area of coverage is detailed to a fault); the incessant but necessary handling of patronage; the deft formation of the first cabinet; and the inspired drafting of the First Inaugural Address. This is not a general biography or history but a very focused look at the period when Mr. Lincoln changed from being a mere candidate for office to one who would lead the United States through its greatest trial.