Team of Rivals
LC Class | E457.45 .G66 2005 |
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln is a 2005 book by
Goodwin's sixth book, Team of Rivals was well received by critics and won the 2006 Lincoln Prize and the inaugural Book Prize for American History of the New-York Historical Society. US President Barack Obama cited it as one of his favorite books and was said to have used it as a model for constructing his own cabinet, although he later wrote this was not the reason he chose Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State. In 2012, a Steven Spielberg film based on the book was released to critical acclaim.
Background
Team of Rivals is the sixth book by American historian
Goodwin spent ten years on the research and writing of Team of Rivals.[3] She stated that she had been inspired to tell the stories of the four men (Seward, Chase, Bates, and Lincoln) together when realizing that the cabinet members had written extensive diaries and letters that might provide a "new angle" in Lincoln studies.[4]
During Goodwin's work on Team of Rivals, a plagiarism scandal erupted over unmarked quotations in Goodwin's 1987 book The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys. Goodwin stated that in dealing with the scandal, during which she had to apologize and make an out-of-court settlement to author Lynne McTaggart, she found Lincoln a consolation, particularly his philosophy "not to waste precious energies on recriminations about the past".[3] In a 2012 interview, Goodwin cited early 20th-century muckraker Ida Tarbell on the pleasures of writing about Lincoln: "Somebody asked her, why do so many people write about Lincoln? And she said, because he's so companionable. And I think somehow that's been true for me."[5]
Contents
The book begins with an introduction where Goodwin explains how she plans to illuminate Lincoln's life: "In my own effort to illuminate the character and career of Abraham Lincoln, I have coupled the account of his life with the stories of the remarkable men who were his rivals for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination—New York senator William H. Seward, Ohio governor Salmon P. Chase, and Missouri's distinguished elder statesman Edward Bates."[6] The book is organised in two parts: Part 1 called "The Rivals" and Part 2 called "Master Among Men". The first part of the book chronicles the rise of Lincoln and each of his political rivals' journeys and how Lincoln ended up with the Presidency and ends with the inauguration of Lincoln in 1861. In the second part, Goodwin describes Lincoln's years as President of the Union through the civil war and until his eventual assassination in 1865.
The first chapter of Team of Rivals portrays four major contenders for the 1860
At the Chicago Republican Convention of 1860, Seward was the favourite, as he was the most widely recognised political figure and almost had a majority of pledges. Seward's detractors who thought that he was too radical on slavery and too liberal on immigration, were worried that if the opposition could not be united behind one man, he would be elected as the candidate - "Murat Halstead of the Cincinnati Commercial telegraphed the same message to his paper at the same time, reporting that "every one of the forty thousand men in attendance upon the Chicago Convention will testify that at midnight of Thursday–Friday night, the universal impression was that Seward's success was certain."[7] However, it was a concern that even if Seward was elected as candidate, he would not be able to carry all the Northern States in the elections because of his abolitionist views against slavery and that would mean a Democratic win in the election.
Similarly, Edward Bates could not represent the middle-line of the Republican party: "He was much too conservative for liberal Republicans, who might welcome him into their party but would never accord him chief command of an army in which he had never officially enlisted. At the same time, the letter he had written to prove his credentials to the Republicans had diminished the previous enthusiasm of conservatives and former Know Nothings"[7] Salmon Chase's candidature was hampered by attacks from Ohio politicians like Judge McLean or Ben Wade and could not mount a serious challenge. Lincoln emerged as the more palatable choice for these important delegates. Lincoln was ultimately the victor at the 1860 convention through a superior political operation and by making himself the unobjectionable second choice of all Republican factions, and proceeded to win the presidency.
We need the strongest men of the party in the Cabinet. We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services.
-- Abraham Lincoln[8]
Determined both to hold the party together and to recruit the ablest men for his cabinet, Lincoln then persuaded each of his former rivals to join his cabinet. Seward assumed the post of
During the war, Seward comes to respect and collaborate with Lincoln. Chase, on the other hand, schemes against Lincoln from within the cabinet, hoping to replace him as the Republican nominee in the
Lincoln oversees the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolishes slavery, and sees the war to its successful conclusion. During the battle for the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, Lincoln uses all kinds of persuasion and incentives to get the required number of votes for ratification: "I am President of the United States, clothed with great power. The abolition of slavery by constitutional provision settles the fate, for all coming time, not only of the millions now in bondage, but of unborn millions to come—a measure of such importance that those two votes must be procured. I leave it to you to determine how it shall be done; but remember that I am President of the United States, clothed with immense power, and I expect you to procure those votes."[9] He also appoints Chase as the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, believing him the best man to secure the rights of newly freed black citizens.
Team of Rivals closes with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. Seward is also attacked by a knife-wielding assailant, though he survives. An epilogue traces the later lives and deaths of Seward, Stanton, Bates, Chase, Mary Lincoln, and others.
Reception
Team of Rivals was generally well received by critics. Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War historian
In 2006, the book was awarded the Lincoln Prize, "awarded annually for the finest scholarly work in English on Abraham Lincoln, the American Civil War soldier, or a subject relating to their era".[14][15] On March 29, 2006, Goodwin was announced as the winner of the $50,000 Book Prize for American History of the New-York Historical Society.[16] Team of Rivals was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.[17]
U.S. President Barack Obama named Team of Rivals as the one book he would want on a desert island.[5] As a senator, he met with Goodwin in Washington to discuss the book.[18] After his election in 2008, Obama reached out to previous rivals including Hillary Clinton, who became his Secretary of State, drawing comparisons to Lincoln's "Team of Rivals" approach.[18][19][20][21]
Film adaptation
While consulting on a project for director
Filming began on October 17, 2011,[28] and ended on December 19, 2011.[29] Goodwin consulted with Kushner on various drafts of the screenplay and took Day-Lewis on a tour of Lincoln's home and law office in Springfield, Illinois.[30] The film was released nationwide on November 16, 2012, to commercial success and wide critical acclaim.[31][32] Day-Lewis won the 2012 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.[33]
References
- ^ Joseph P. Kahn (April 19, 1995). "Globe writer wins a Pulitzer Goodwin also cited for Roosevelt book". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b James M. McPherson (November 6, 2005). "'Team of Rivals': Friends of Abe". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Thomas Mallon (November 1, 2005). "No Ordinary Tome". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on October 28, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Linda Wertheimer (November 5, 2005). "'Team of Rivals': Lincoln's Political Prowess". Weekend Edition. NPR. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Lillian Cunningham (November 28, 2012). "Doris Kearns Goodwin on life, death and the presidency". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 6, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Goodwin 2005.
- ^ a b Goodwin 2005, pp. 220–230.
- ^ Goodwin 2005, p. 319.
- ^ Goodwin 2005, pp. 620–630.
- ^ Allen C. Guelzo (November 6, 2005). "Who's the Boss?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett (November 18, 2005). ""Team of Rivals": Lincoln's political genius". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Randy Dotinga (November 2005). "A leader of grit and generosity". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Sanford D. Horwitt (November 27, 2005). "Lincoln's rough roads to greatness". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ "Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize". Gettysburg College. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ "Previous Winners". Gettysburg College. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ "Arts, Briefly". The New York Times. March 29, 2006. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Goodwin 2005, p. i.
- ^ a b Philip Rucker (November 19, 2008). "A Familiar Precedent For a President-Elect". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Joseph Williams (November 21, 2008). "Will Lincoln's 'team of rivals' play today? Some historians say Obama may be making error". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Lanny Davis (November 24, 2009). "Clinton-Richardson: Benefits of a 'Team of Rivals'". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ISBN 9781524763169.
- ^ Ruben V. Nepales (May 18, 2008). "Spielberg may co-direct next with Peter Jackson". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2008.
- ^ Michael Fleming (January 11, 2005). "Lincoln logs in at DreamWorks: Spielberg, Neeson eye Abe pic". Variety. Retrieved January 24, 2007.
- ^ Melena Ryzik (February 6, 2013). "It Took a Village to Film 'Lincoln'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 7, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Anthony Breznican (April 13, 2011). "Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' gets its Mary Todd: Sally Field". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 15, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ "Daniel Day-Lewis to play President Lincoln in Steven Spielberg biopic". Internet Movie Database. November 19, 2010. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Timothy Noah (January 10, 2013). "Tony Kushner's Real Source For "Lincoln"?". New Republic. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
- ^ "Participant Media Boarding Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. October 12, 2011. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ "Filmmakers really liked Petersburg". Progress Index. Archived from the original on November 25, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Erik Spanberg (January 1, 2013). "Doris Kearns Goodwin on her bestselling books and the movie adaptation of 'Lincoln'". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on March 20, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ "Lincoln". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 9, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
- ^ "Lincoln". Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Melena Ryzik (February 27, 2013). "Oscar-Winning Lessons in History and Hard Sell". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 2, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
Bibliography
- Goodwin, Doris Kearns (2005). Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-7075-5. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
External links
- Team of Rivals at doriskearnsgoodwin.com
- Lincoln at IMDb