Location: The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium
On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward
Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the
results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When
Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and
angry.
Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the
Presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to
secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded, acclaimed
historian Doris Kearns Goodwin demonstrates, was the result of a
character that had been forged by experiences that raised him above
his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because he
possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of
other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand
their motives and desires. It was this capacity that enabled
Lincoln as President to bring his disgruntled opponents together,
create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their
talents to the task of preserving the Union and winning the war.
This multiple biography centers on Lincoln's mastery of men and how
it shaped the most significant Presidency in the nation's
history.
More About the Speakers
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Author and Acclaimed Historian
Hosted By
![James Swanson]()
James Swanson
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