It was only when he came up with the understanding that emancipating the slaves was a military necessity that he could legitimately author the proclamation. First, he was conscious that even as president he did not have the power to free the slaves because the Constitution protected slavery. 1, 1863?ĭKG: Two things kept him from speaking out directly about emancipation earlier. What influenced his thinking about abolition leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation of Jan. As it turned out, they all did an extraordinary job in their cabinet positions.ĪP: Lincoln always believed that slavery was a moral wrong, but he didn’t call for abolition in his public statements early on. He said that he needed the strongest people that he could find to be on his side. He knew the country was in one of the most difficult places in its history, because the Southern states were already seceding and war might be on the horizon. Why did he do that?ĭKG: The most important quality that it took to be able to do that was confidence in himself, because it would seem that by putting your former rivals into positions of power, you’re creating an opportunity for them to run against you later.

In an interview with American Profile, Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the new book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, spoke about how the choices Lincoln made shaped the nation and continue to define its future.ĪP: The title of your book, Team of Rivals, refers to the fact that after Lincoln was elected president in 1860, he chose former political opponents-including three who had run against him for the Republican Party nomination-to serve in his cabinet. Abraham Lincoln was one of our nation’s greatest political minds, and many of the decisions he made during his presidency have had an enduring influence on the country.

The political genius of abraham lincoln