The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln

by Phillip Shaw Paludan

Abraham Lincoln's life and work have inspired more books than any other historical figure except Jesus and Shakespeare and attracted some of America's most renowned writers. But few know him as well as Phillip Paludan, one of our nation's foremost authorities on Lincoln and the Civil War.

In this long-awaited study, Paludan offers us Lincoln in whole—a complex, even contradictory personality who found greatness without seeking it and who felt deeply troubled about what he perceived as his failings as a president and person.

Opinion has been divided about the real Lincoln. A conservative. A liberal. The great emancipator. A Union preservationist at all cost. But Paludan's Lincoln is both a constitutionalist and a liberal egalitarian who ultimately saw his efforts to preserve the Union and free the slaves as inseparably linked.

Lincoln, Paludan contends, proved himself a truly great leader in a highly combustible situation. True, he was no saint and could rule with political expediency and a heavy hand. But no other president faced such awesome challenges, and none showed better how the nation could meet them and move toward "a more perfect union."

Filled with new insights and fresh interpretations, Paludan's study presents a genuinely new and compelling portrait of a president and nation at war. It will change the way we look at such things as Lincoln's evolving reconstruction plans, his civil liberties restrictions, and his handling of foreign affairs and enlarge our understanding of the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural, which linked the president's personal feelings with the needs of the nation. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Lincoln, the presidency, and the Civil War.

Genres: History, Biography, Civil War, Politics, American Civil War, 19th Century, Us Presidents

408 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

A leading authority on the life and presidency of Abraham Lincoln, Phillip Shaw Paludan was a professor of Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield.

Reviews

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lincoln scholar James M. McPherson famously said that more things have been written about Lincoln than anyone other than Jesus and Shakespeare. Based on that, why would you ever want to read a book about Lincoln that was written more than 20 years ago?

Because this one is so highly readable. This is the book you give someone who wants a super-focused look at the Lincoln presidency and the personality of the man. It’s the book you open to gain a better understanding of Lincoln and his time.

Read about chaos in the House of Representatives that make today’s kerfuffle over a speaker seem tame and silly by comparison. To listen to the talking heads, you’d think the constitutional sky is falling where our current turbulent search for a House speaker is concerned. Indeed, one of the reasons you pick up this book is to gain a better perspective on history. Did I mention this is so highly readable that you’ll completely forget you’re reading history?

Incidentally, this book has a tremendous amount of credibility with current Civil War scholars. Gerry Prokopovicz at East Carolina University, host of Civil War Talk Radio, one of the truly excellent Civil War podcasts currently available, speaks highly of this book. Indeed, it is because he referenced it a few times in his podcast that I decided to give it a go. It’s a book that’s part of a series written about various presidents by scholars who had expertise in the lives of those presidents.

Paludan points out here areas where he disagrees with one scholar or another, and he always gives you good reasons for his disagreements.

This is not a Civil War battle history; it’s not a compendium of generals, their successes or failings. Instead, it’s a history of the president and his thinking and the reasons he made some of the decisions he made. This is not a biography of Lincoln; instead, it’s a biography of the Lincoln presidency.

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paludan provides an excellent overview of the Lincoln administration. Beginning with the obvious, he notes that "No president had larger challenges than Abraham Lincoln," and that Lincoln met those challenges with two "enormous accomplishments," saving the Union and freeing the slaves.

Paludan recounts Lincoln's efforts to create a cabinet and harness the talents of its disparate individuals, the challenge of leading the largest war effort in the nation's history to that point and of finding military officers who could carry the war to a successful conclusion.

The author argues that the goals of saving the Union and freeing the slaves were inextricably linked in Lincoln's mind and he demonstrates how the President utilized his great political skills and his power as an orator to secure these objectives, often working against what seemed like very long odds.

Without Abraham Lincoln, it is entirely possible that the United States would have shattered irreparably in the 1860s, with unimaginable consequences for the people who would later inhabit the North American continent and the world beyond. Looking back with the perspective of 145 years, we take for granted the rise of the United States to the pre-eminent position it holds in the world today. Phillip Shaw Paludan reminds us that, but for Abraham Lincoln, it might never have happened.

[Maryk · Rating 4 out of 5]

People throughout the world associate Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States of America, with both saving the nation and abolishing slavery. Lincoln’s bold use of presidential powers and his interpretation and defense of the constitution as a means to hold the nation together set the standard for all future presidents to follow. According to Phillip Shaw Paludan, professor of Lincoln studies at the University of Illinois, “No president had larger challenges than Abraham Lincoln, and the testimony to his greatness rests in his keeping of that oath, which led him to be responsible for two enormous accomplishments that are part of folk legend as well as fact” (p. xiii). In his Lincoln Prize winning book, The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln, Paludan makes the case that, “the political-constitutional system, conceived of and operated at its best, inescapably leads to equality. Lincoln operated on that premise and through his presidency tried to achieve that goal.” (p. xv).
Abraham Lincoln’s presidency occurred during a time of volatile change in the nation. The culmination of violently different political, ethical, and economical ideologies in the Northern and Southern United States challenged the nation to produce a new kind of leader. Lincoln took his oath of office in March of 1861. He was not the kind of man that most people envisioned as a leader. His strengths, however, equaled the depth of the task. Lincoln was quiet, reflective and reserved. He thought long and hard before committing to action, but once committed stayed his course. His inexperience in certain aspects of administration worked in his favor as he was able to assign tasks without the burden of micromanagement. He selected a balanced cabinet of advisors and relied on the expertise of the men that counseled him. A master in negotiations as well as debate, he wielded his skills of persuasion to soothe both Northern and Southern discomfort concerning the issues of slavery and secession, exhausting all possibilities of peaceful and gradual change to policies. Though he delayed initial responses to Southern aggression in the hopes of a peaceful solution, when the time came to act, Lincoln used presidential powers in a way that expanded upon anything that had ever been done before. To start, he declared a rebellion, called up 75,000 men for the national militia, suspended the writ of habeas corpus, and instituted a blockade of seven Southern ports. (All of this was done prior to the July 4th emergency congressional session.) Then, with the approval of congress, the creation of “green backs” or paper money, a national banking system, a national income tax, and the expansion of the railroad not only helped fund and supply the war, but also laid the foundation for future economic growth and industrial expansion. In the end, the war justified the acts of presidential power because, according to Paludan, “This more perfect Union was achieved through an extraordinary outreach of national authority” (p. 316).
Paludan’s book, The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln, bursts with informative and exciting details concerning much of the known aspects of Lincoln’s persona, his presidency, and Civil War strategy. He shows how one man ultimately forged not only his own destiny, but that of a nation. His writing exposes Lincoln’s steely resolve to hold on to the reigns of a wildly bucking nation and to ensure the success of the “political-constitutional system”. Some unexpected highlights were the humanistic insights written by John Hay (p. 257) and Walt Whitman (p. 295) which showed the softer, more endearing side of Lincoln. Anyone interested in history, politics, the Civil War, the issue of equality, or in human rights would greatly benefit from the wealth of information contained in this book. The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln is an excellent source on Lincoln and the Civil War that will please and enlighten all who endeavor to read it.

[Mark Singer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography of Abraham Lincoln that focuses on his Presidency. Although I liked the book, I was irritated at times by the authors somewhat dull writing style and his late twentieth century perspective. I used this as a source for a term paper that I wrote comparing the leadership of Lincoln and Jefferson Davis in the Fall of 2009 for a class on The American Civil War at Temple University - Ambler.
(Edited) This book has been superceded by "Lincoln by David Herbert Donald.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all the history books my lawyer/professor made us read in the Civil War history classes I took this was by far the best one, it really gets to the meat of what was happening during Lincolns Presidentcy and his views on reconstruction, Kevin

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent study of Lincoln's presidency

[Dick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad effort by the author who did not know Lincoln on a personal level - either politically or in person. He did a decent job of researching via interviews. Good read.