Team of Rivals (123 page)

A
NYONE WRITING
on Abraham Lincoln stands on the shoulders of a monumental body of work, including classic volumes by some of our country’s finest historians. I am immensely grateful to the many Lincoln scholars who generously welcomed me into their field, sharing sources, discussing ideas, inviting me to their homes, reading parts of my manuscript, and offering access to their rare collections of Lincolniana. They include David Herbert Donald, Douglas L. Wilson, Thomas F. Schwartz, Frank J. Williams, Harold Holzer, John R. Sellers, Virginia Laas, Michael A. Burlingame, Gabor S. Boritt, James O. Hall, Harold M. Hyman, Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Kuhnhardt, and Louise Taper.

In the course of the last ten years, I have been guided in my search for primary materials by superb staffs at thirty different libraries. I especially wish to thank the remarkably generous Thomas F. Schwartz, Kim Matthew Bauer, Mary Michals, and John Marruffo at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

I owe thanks as well to the following: in California, John Rhodehamel and the staff of the Huntington Library. In Illinois, the Chicago Historical Society; the Newberry Library; the University of Chicago’s Special Collections Research Center and Harper Memorial Library; Daniel Weinberg and the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop. In Indiana, the Lincoln Museum. In Iowa, the State Historical Society of Iowa and the University of Iowa Library. In Kentucky, the Eastern Kentucky University Archives. In Louisiana, Judy Bolton and the staff of the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections of the Louisiana State University Library. In Maryland, the Maryland Historical Society.

In Massachusetts, the Boston Public Library’s Rare Book and Manuscript Collections; the Concord Public Library; Harvard University’s Government Documents and Microfilm Collection, the Houghton Library, the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, and Widener Library; and the Massachusetts Historical Society. In Missouri, Dennis Northcott and the staff of the Missouri Historical Society; the St. Louis Art Museum; and the State Historical Society of Missouri. In New Jersey, Don C. Skemer and Anna Lee Pauls at Princeton University’s Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.

In New York, the New York State Library; Betty Mae Lewis and Peter A. Wisbey of the Seward House, Auburn; Mary M. Huth and the staff of the University of Rochester Library’s Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. In Ohio, the Cincinnati Historical Society; John Haas and the staff of the Ohio Historical Society; the Ohio State House; and the Western Reserve Historical Society. In Pennsylvania, the Dauphin County Historical Society and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. In Rhode Island, Mary-Jo Kline and Ann Morgan Dodge of Brown University’s John Hay Library. In Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society. In Washington, D.C., John Sellers, Clark Evans, and the staff of the Library of Congress; Michael Musick and the staff of the National Archives and Records Administration; James C. Hewes at the Willard Hotel; and the staff at the Blair House. And last, Michael Burlingame, who is for all Lincoln scholars a library unto himself, generously sharing his unparalled knowledge of Lincoln while writing his own monumental Lincoln biography.

I owe an immense debt once again to my great friend and indefatigable assistant, Linda Vandegrift, who has worked at my side on all my projects for the past twenty years.

I am grateful to Nora Titone (currently writing what I am certain will be an extraordinary biography of Edwin Booth, actor and brother to Lincoln’s assassin), who did research at Harvard University and in Illinois, the Land of Lincoln. Through our many discussions, she provided invaluable insights into the social, intellectual, and literary milieu of nineteenth-century America.

In Washington, Dr. Michelle Krowl, a brilliant Civil War historian who has published numerous scholarly articles and teaches at Northern Virginia Community College, displayed remarkable energy, intuition, and intelligence in digging through archives and checking source materials at both the Library of Congress and the National Archives.

There are many others who read portions of the manuscript and helped in various ways, including Judith Arnold, Beth Laski, Erik Owens, Louisa Thomas, Chad Callaghan, Michael Goodwin, Lindsay Hosmer, J. Wayne Lee, Phyllis Grann, John Logan, Paul Webb, Kathleen Krowl, Brad Gernand, Karen Needles, and John Hill, and all our good friends at our two favorite watering holes in Concord, Massachusetts—Serafina Ristorante and Walden Grille. To Michael Kushakji, who came to our house day and night when our computers failed, I owe a special debt.

As always, I am grateful to my supportive and enthusiastic literary agent, Binky Urban, and to the men and women at Simon & Schuster who have become almost like family after more than twenty-five years of collaboration: David Rosenthal, Carolyn Reidy, Irene Kheradi, Jackie Seow, George Turianski, Linda Dingler, Ellen Sasahara, Lisa Healy, Victoria Meyer, and Elizabeth Hayes. For a superb job in copyediting the manuscript, I thank Ann Adelman and Emily Beth Thomas. I owe a special thanks to Roger Labrie, who displayed extraordinary grace under pressure while shepherding the book to meet various deadlines in the final stages.

I have long depended on my incomparable editor, Alice E. Mayhew, but never did her massive contributions weigh more heavily than on this book. No editor has a more profound knowledge of Abraham Lincoln. No editor could have given me better advice from start to finish on structure, tone, and language. She is the absolute best in her profession. I shall be forever grateful to her.

Finally, I owe more than I can ever express to my husband, Richard Goodwin, to whom this book is dedicated. He read and edited every single page, from the earliest drafts to the finished product. His passion for the subject of Abraham Lincoln matches my own. I argued with him, debated with him, and ended up usually following his advice. He has thought as deeply about Lincoln as anyone. This book is his creation as much as mine.

Concord, Massachusetts

July 2005

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BBREVIATIONS
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NOTE TO READERS
: When quoting from primary documents, original spelling and grammar have been kept.

INTRODUCTION

“there is little…of Abraham Lincoln”: Frederick Douglass, “Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln,” April 14, 1876, in
Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings,
ed. Philip S. Foner, abridged by Yuval Taylor (Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 1999), pp. 620–21.

“comparatively unknown…such anxious times”: Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Abraham Lincoln,” in
Miscellanies
(Cambridge, Mass.: Riverside Press, 1904), pp. 330–31.

“very near…perfect man”: EB, quoted in F. B. Carpenter,
Six Months at the White House with Abraham Lincoln
(New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1866), p. 68.

“field of glory”: AL, “Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois,” January 27, 1838, in
CW,
I, p. 113.

“a new birth of freedom”: AL, “Address Delivered at the Dedication of the Cemetery at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863; Edward Everett Copy,” in
CW,
VII, p. 21.

CHAPTER 1: FOUR MEN WAITING

Lincoln was up early: Henry B. Rankin,
Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln
(New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916), p. 187.

Chenery House: Paul M. Angle,
“Here I Have Lived”: A History of Lincoln’s Springfield, 1821–1865
(Springfield, Ill.: Abraham Lincoln Association, 1935), p. 175.

Springfield businesses: See advertisements in
Illinois State Journal,
Springfield, Ill., May 18, 1860.

first ballot was not due to be called until 10 a.m.:
Press and Tribune,
Chicago, May 19, 1860;
Star,
May 19, 1860. visibly “nervous, fidgety…excited”: Christopher C. Brown interview, 1865–1866, in Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis, eds.,
Herndon’s Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln
(Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1998), p. 438 [hereafter
HI
].

the untidy office: William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik,
Herndon’s Life of Lincoln,
introduction and notes by Paul M. Angle, new introduction by Henry Steele Commager (Cleveland, Ohio: World Publishing Co., 1942; New York: Da Capo Press, 1983), pp. 254–55.

The editorial room: Paul Angle,
Lincoln in Springfield: A Guide to the Places in Springfield which were Associated with the Life of Abraham Lincoln
(Springfield, Ill.: Lincoln Centennial Association, 1927), p. 2.

a “complimentary” gesture: Entry of May 19, 1860, in Edward Bates,
The Diary of Edward Bates, 1859–1866,
ed. Howard K. Beale. Vol. IV of the Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1930 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1933), p. 130.

the town clock:
Illinois State Journal,
Springfield, Ill., January 17, 1860.

James Conkling: Clinton L. Conkling, “How Mr. Lincoln Received the News of His First Nomination,”
Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society
(1909), p. 64.

his singular way of walking…needed oiling: Herndon and Weik,
Herndon’s Life of Lincoln,
p. 471.

“His legs…a hard day’s work”: William E. Doster,
Lincoln and Episodes of the Civil War
(New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1915), p. 15.

His features…“as belong to a handsome man”:
Press and Tribune,
Chicago, May 23, 1860.

“so overspread with sadness…capital of Illinois”: Horace White,
Abraham Lincoln in 1854: An Address delivered before the Illinois State Historical Society, at its 9th Annual Meeting at Springfield, Illinois, Jan. 30, 1908
(Springfield, Ill.: Illinois State Historical Society, 1908), p. 19.

“this expression…true friendship”: Ibid.

“his winning manner…and gentleness”:
NYTrib,
November 10, 1860.

“you cease to think…awkward”:
Utica Morning Herald,
reprinted in
NYTrib,
July 9, 1860.

“on a borrowed horse…a few clothes”: Joshua F. Speed,
Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln and Notes of a Visit to California
(Louisville, Ky.: John P. Morton & Co., 1884), p. 21.

population of Springfield: Harry E. Pratt,
Lincoln’s Springfield
(Springfield, Ill.: Abraham Lincoln Association, 1938), p. 2; Octavia Roberts,
Lincoln in Illinois
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1918), p. 94.

number of hotels, saloons, etc.: C.S. Williams, comp.,
Williams’ Springfield Directory City Guide, and Business Mirror, for 1860–61. To Which is Appended a List of Post Offices in the United States and Territories, Corrected up to Date
(Springfield, Ill.: Johnson & Bradford, 1860).

“the belle of the town”: “Lincoln and Mary Todd,” [c. 1880s], reel 11, Herndon-Weik Collection of Lincolniana, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress [hereafter Herndon-Weik Collection, DLC].

Mary’s education: Ruth Painter Randall,
Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage
(Boston: Little, Brown, 1953), pp. 23, 25, 27, 28; Jean H. Baker,
Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography
(New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1987), pp. 37–42, 44–45.

“I want to dance…he certainly did”: Katherine Helm,
The True Story of Mary, Wife of Lincoln
(New York and London: Harper & Bros., 1928), p. 74.

children born, and one buried in Springfield: AL, “Farewell Address at Springfield, Illinois,” February 11, 1861, in
The Collected Works of Lincoln,
Vol. IV, ed. Roy P. Basler (8 vols., New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1953), p. 190.

“two-story”…no garden:
New York Evening Post,
reprinted in
Albany Evening Journal,
May 24, 1860 (quote);
Utica Morning Herald,
reprinted in
NYTrib,
July 9, 1860; Frances Todd Wallace interview, [1865–1866], in
HI,
p. 486.

“The adornments…chastely appropriate”:
Utica Morning Herald,
reprinted in
NYTrib,
July 9, 1860.

“the customary little table”: Carl Schurz,
The Reminiscences of Carl Schurz. Vol. II: 1852–1863
(New York: McClure Co., 1907), p. 188.

“Everything tended to represent…showy display”:
Springfield
[
Mass.
]
Republican,
May 23, 1860.

“moving heaven & Earth”: David Davis and Jesse K. Dubois to AL, May 15, 1860, Lincoln Papers.

“a big brain and a big heart”: Mrs. John A. Logan, quoted by Allan Nevins in foreword to Willard L. King,
Lincoln’s Manager: David Davis
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1960), p. xi.

Norman Judd: Ibid., pp. 128–29.

he knew Lincoln “as intimately”: Leonard Swett, quoted in Osborn H. Oldroyd,
Lincoln’s Campaign, or The Political Revolution of 1860
(Chicago: Laird & Lee, 1896), p. 70.

the “circuit”: Henry Clay Whitney,
Life on the Circuit with Lincoln,
introduction and notes by Paul M. Angle (Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxon Printers, 1940), pp. 61–88; see “Travelling on the Circuit,” chapter 15 in Ida M. Tarbell,
The Life of Abraham Lincoln,
Vol. I (New York: S. S. McClure Co., 1895; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1917), pp. 241–56.

Lincoln…the center of attention: Henry C. Whitney,
Lincoln the Citizen. Vol. I of A Life of Lincoln
(1892; New York: Baker & Taylor Co., 1908), pp. 190–91; William H. Herndon,
A Letter from William H. Herndon to Isaac N. Arnold Relating to Abraham Lincoln, His Wife, and Their Life in Springfield
(privately printed, 1937).

crowds of villagers: Francis Fisher Browne,
The Every-Day Life of Abraham Lincoln
(New York: N. D. Thompson Publishing Co., 1886; Lincoln, Nebr., and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1995), p. 158.

emboldened his quest for office: David Herbert Donald,
Lincoln
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995), p. 106.

“broke down…mutual trust”: Robert H. Wiebe, “Lincoln’s Fraternal Democracy,” in John L. Thomas, ed.,
Abraham Lincoln and the American Political Tradition
(Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1986), p. 19.

disparate elements of…Republican Party: Theodore Clarke Smith,
The Liberty and Free Soil Parties in the Old Northwest. Harvard Historical Studies,
Vol. VI (New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1897; New York: Russell & Russell, 1967), p. 1; William Lee Miller,
Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002), p. 317.

“Of
strange, discordant…
fought the battle through”: AL, “A House Divided”: Speech at Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858, in
CW,
II, p. 468.

when speech-making prowess: Lawrence W. Levine,
Highbrow / Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988), p. 36.

“from sun-up til sun-down”: Christine Ann Fidler, “Young Limbs of the Law: Law Students, Legal Education and the Occupational Culture of Attorneys, 1820–1860.” Ph.D. diss., University of California, Berkeley, 1996, p. 165.