59 pages • 1 hour read
Doris Kearns GoodwinTeam of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Parts 1-2, Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “The Rivals”- Part 2: “Master Among Men”
Chapter 10 Summary: “‘An Intensified Crossword Puzzle’”
Lincoln’s first task after being elected president is to construct his cabinet. Part of his strategy is to solidify his position by bringing in former rivals whose egos he could flatter. Seward was nominated Secretary of State; Bates Attorney General; and Chase Secretary of the Treasury, as Lincoln knows “he would not accept a subordinate position” (290).
At the same time, Lincoln needs to manage the discontent that his election has wrought on the South and “the growing rancor splitting his own party” (296) regarding the slavery issue. Many have begun to distort Lincoln’s position, naming him as a staunch abolitionist, but this is not the case since Lincoln’s foremost intention is to preserve the Union. However, this mission is soon threatened by events in South Carolina: the state attempts to seize all three of the federal forts within its borders (297). Before Lincoln even has a chance to take oath of office, he finds himself at the whims of what James Buchanan will do in his last days in office and in an “increasingly chaotic and potentially devasting situation” (304).
Chapter 11 Summary: “‘I Am Now Public Property’”
Due to many death threats, Lincoln travels through Baltimore under darkness, and for some his arrival in Washington, D.C., is seen as inauspicious and cowardly. He finalizes his cabinet, securing Gideon Welles as Secretary of the Navy; Lincoln believes his cabinet contains “the strongest men of the party” (319).
Chapter 12 Summary: “‘Mystic Chords of Memory’: Spring 1861”
Lincoln realizes that much depends on the first impression that he makes to the country, and he spends a great deal of time trying to craft the perfect inaugural address that will allow him to portray himself as a staunch defender of the Union and as someone who will not antagonize the South. He does not want to give them an excuse to blame whatever they may do on a president overstepping his bounds and given them cause to say that he violated the Constitution. With Seward’s help, Lincoln devotes himself to writing his speech while simultaneously dealing with the issue of Fort Sumter, where Union troops have been boxed in by Southern state forces. Lincoln could have the Union troops try to fight their way out, or he could reinforce them, but he fears that both of these measures might provoke the South. If the South is to resort to war, Lincoln wants to be sure that they are the aggressor.
With the divided support of his cabinet, Lincoln debates what it is that he should do. He decides to see if the fort can be reinforced, though he does not allow for the ships to be given a gunboat escort, which renders them all but powerless against the Southern forces, and they are turned back. Ultimately, Southern forces, led by P. T. Beauregard fire on Fort Sumter, which falls. The action signals the beginning of the Civil War. Kearns Goodwin writes of the war, “[N]o one imagined [it] would last four years and cost greater than six hundred thousand lives” (346).
Parts 1-2, Chapters 10-12 Analysis
Now that Kearns Goodwin has nearly come to the end of the first part of Team of Rivals, she begins to focus on Lincoln primarily, and use all of his colleagues to relate back to him regarding policy and position. Before Lincoln even has a chance to take office, he must worry about what will occur in the final days of the Buchanan White House. Historically, Buchanan is viewed as a weak President, who was very beholden to members of his cabinet and to the will of the Southern Democratic Party, as such, it was feared that Buchanan might compromise on certain issues of slavery before the Republicans even got into office, thus making their jobs that much more difficult. However, through the machinations of Edwin Stanton, who will later become Lincoln’s Secretary of War, Buchanan does literally nothing. He just stays the course.
Because of this, Lincoln is very concerned with how he will be perceived by those in the South. He spends much time drafting his first inaugural address, where he must be strong, yet tactful. Lincoln is one who has great respect for the Constitution, and he does not want to over step his bounds as President. He fears doing so will ignite the wrath of the South, and of Democrats, who favor stronger government at the local level and do not want Federal meddling in their affairs. As such, Lincoln must walk a fine line when South Carolina moves to take possession of the Forts, while it would make sense in modern terms for Lincoln to act forcefully, doing so would only give South Carolina cause to leave the Union, and Lincoln wants to make sure that he has the moral and legal high ground. If states leave, it will not be because the Union caused them to. Rather, Lincoln wishes to extend an olive branch to the Southern states. Whether or not they will accept it is up to them.
The beginning of the Civil War finds Lincoln in a no-win position. In his inaugural address he states that he will defend any federal territory if it comes under attack, but he fears that reinforcing these forts will be seen as an aggressive act by the South. Therefore, Lincoln agrees to supply them, but he does not send in the means necessary to defend the supply ships. Technically, he is putting his forces in an untenable situation in Fort Sumter. They have the means to resist, but in a way, they are a sacrificial lamb. Lincoln cannot begin the war, or he will lose much of his credibility in the North and he will give the South something to rally around.
The fact that the South begins the war cedes the moral high ground to Lincoln. He can continue to state that his was a goal of reconciliation, but as that has not happened, it is now his obligation to defend the Union. In theory, no one believes that the war will last long. The Union has all of the country’s industry, but what Lincoln fails to realize is that he will lose many of his generals to the South, as a good chunk of the federal army is composed of men from southern states.
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