She presents him as a man of great decency and morality who handled stress well, despite his sadness.Ībraham Lincoln was a good man, but he became a great man because of the historical events that occurred in his lifetime. Kearns Goodwin begins the book with a brief overview of Lincoln’s political genius and personal qualities. He understood what people were thinking at the time and how best to position himself so that policies would have the least resistance while having the greatest positive effect on people. Goodwin emphasizes that he was able to handle men and politics well, which led him to be a great president during this tumultuous period. The second part of the book details Lincoln’s time in office from his first cabinet meeting to his death. It played a crucial role in Lincoln’s election and the South’s secession from the Union.

The most important of these was slavery, which became a divisive issue as new states were being formed. The book begins by outlining the forces that shaped America in the 19th century. Chase, and Edward Bates were more famous than Abraham Lincoln was at that time, she points out their shortcomings that kept them from getting the nomination. She then introduces Abraham Lincoln, as well as his rivals for the Republican nomination. The author describes the scene in Lincoln’s presidential campaign. The book was published in 2005, won the Lincoln Prize, and was made into a movie by Steven Spielberg in 2012. It also details his presidency, from 1861-1865. Barack Obama (who rightly calls it 'wonderful') famously used it as a manual in picking his own cabinet he may now find it also a source of comfort, showing that even Lincoln sometimes chose the wrong guy.1-Page Summary of Team Of Rivals Overall Summaryĭoris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals is about Abraham Lincoln and his nomination to the Republican Party. What makes Team of Rivals such a rich experience is that it's a team of books, combining an absorbing psychological study, a group biography of the four rivals and their families, a history of the civil war as viewed from the White House, and a vivid, West Wing-like portrayal of two presidential campaigns and Washington infighting.

This Pulitzer prize-winning life does ample justice to the 'moral power' the novelist admired, but also reflects the peerlessly eloquent orator the stoical head of a family afflicted by death and depression and, above all, the shrewd manager of men who riskily gave cabinet posts to the better-known trio he beat to the 1860 Republican nomination - William Seward, Salmon Chase and Edward Bates. T olstoy called Lincoln 'so great he overshadows all other national heroes'.

Team of rivals goodwin