Contrasting his three rivals, Lincoln had served only briefly in elected office-and he had steered clear of committing himself on slavery apart from asserting that America could not persist under the circumstances. Chase (he never stopped scheming politically against Lincoln,) and Secretary of State William H. Three of Lincoln’s prominent cabinet members were better-known political foes who had campaigned against him in the 1860 election: Attorney General Edward Bates, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Nonetheless, he was determined to bring together a team of the absolute best people, lead the nation through the Civil War, and put an end to slavery.Īnd he did precisely that-no matter that those people held very different views or even disliked him personally. The country couldn’t be in worse straits. Lincoln was a genius for putting his political foes in his cabinetĪfter Lincoln was elected president in 1860, he knew that people doubted his ability. President Barack Obama, who never shies away from comparisons to Lincoln, was so impressed with the book that he famously created his own “team of rivals”-a cabinet with Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Tom Vilsack. However, Goodwin’s focus is on Lincoln’s presidency. In this Pulitzer Prize-winning work, Goodwin chronicles Lincoln’s early life and his surprising rise to the top of the political world. There’s no better rendering of his leadership approach than historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s fascinating Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (2005.) Abraham Lincoln is one of history’s most admired leaders.

Team of rivals