The Practical Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Conclusion

The reaction of Lincoln’s closest colleagues to his assassination stands as an irrefutable testament to the greatness of his character. Bates, who had originally thought Lincoln a “well meaning but incompetent administrator” 50 concluded instead that he was “very near being a perfect man.” 51 Similarly Stanton declared upon Lincoln’s demise that he had been “the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever seen.” 52 Years later, an awe-struck novelist would write, with perhaps the most memorable pathos of all, “The greatness of Napoleon, Caesar or Washington is only moonlight by the sun of Lincoln.” 53

Aside from these, a million other voices cry witness both to Lincoln’s remarkable strength of character and his ineffable tenacity in pursuit of true liberty, the quintessential motif of America’s long and arduous history. Lincoln threw everything he had into the War, declaring upon his election “I am now public property” 54. He was willing to tackle the greatest of problems with no prior experience or support from those around him. He proved more than capable in dealing with the seemingly insurmountable challenges of his day, and yet he was just as willing to involve himself in the minutiae of any and every affair. No challenge was too great or too small. Nothing was beyond the parameters of his duty. Thus may we say without any reservation that Lincoln dealt with every significant challenge of his day with superlative ability and attentiveness in equal measure.

Citations

1. Leo Tolstoy, The World (New York , 1909),quoted in Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Simon &Schuster, 2006) pp. ix

Introduction

2. Judgements on History and Historians by Jacob Burckhardt (Routledge Classics, 2007) pp. 214

3. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson (Penguin Books LTD, 1990) pp. 865

4. Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches, Messages, and Letters, compiled by T. Harry Williams (Rinehart Editions, 1957) pp. 207

5. James McPherson Lincoln, the War President edited by Gabor Boritt (Oxford University Press, 1994) pp. 32

6. Ibid. pp. 31

Chapter 1

7. Collected Works of Lincoln, 9 volumes, by Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy Prentice Basler et al. (Rutgers University Press, 1990) volume 4 pp. 264

8. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. in Lincoln, the War President edited by Gabor Boritt (Oxford University Press, 1994) pp. 149

9. To Chain the Dog of War: The War Power of Congress in History and Law by F.D. Wormuth and E.B. Firmage, quoted in Lincoln, the War President edited by Gabor Boritt (Oxford University Press, 1994) pp. 30

10. Constitutional Problems under Lincoln by James G. Randall (University of Illinois Press, 1964) pp. 513