Team of Rivals was written by Doris Goodwin in 2005. Although it was written in the past decade, it steps into the world of Abraham Lincoln and political regime. It is an outstanding biography that was great to read. Doris Goodwin, born January 4th, 1943, is an American biographer and historian. She has written numerous books outside of Team of Rivals that have also gained high popularity. Goodwin won the Pulitzer Prize in 1995 for her previous book, No Ordinary Time.
Team of Rivals takes an approach to Lincoln unlike that of any previous biography. Rather than looking at smaller aspects of his career, Goodwin has opened up Lincoln's life. This book shows us a president at the center of a vibrant political and social community. Goodwin, though, …show more content…
Following the lives of the four rivals for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination, she introduces us to the world of nineteenth-century politics. Republican spokesman William Henry Seward with the help of his friend Thurlow Weed, began to climb the political ladder in New York. Seward's on-going pursuit for politics pulls him away from his wife Frances, but stays in contact by writing letters. Missouri's Edward Bates reveals tensions of the antebellum years as well as the domestic contentment with his wife Julia and his children that curbed his love for politics. Salmon P. Chase, stance against slavery is what made join politics is the pompous representative of abolitionism. Having three wives before he was forty-five, he agreed to never marry again and focus on his daughter Kate. Unionist Edwin M. Stanton, who shows class distinctions with his negative attitude towards Lincoln in their older law days, enters the book as a main character when he replaces the cabinet's Simon Cameron. Edwin Stanton was committed to the Union and one of Lincon's best …show more content…
Team of Rivals recounts not only the warm letters between the Lincolns but also the numerous family deaths that unsettled Mrs. Lincoln and convinced her that misery was her lot. Not simply dismissed, or even as a mother grieving for her dead children, Mary Lincoln is explained as jealous of her husband's time and given credit for visits to wounded soldiers. The book also emphasizes the rivalry between Mrs. Lincoln and the intriguing Kate Chase, the belle of Washington society, who used her beauty and wit to advance her father's political career. Mrs. Lincoln's spending while in the White House was noted but, Mrs. Lincoln's obsession with clothing and fine appointments for the White House came from her determination to be Washington's true first lady despite Kate Chase's rival establishment. Newspapers verified Mrs. Lincoln as a spendthrift while admiring Chase, who matched Mrs. Lincoln's expenditures in full. It is noted that the Chase managed to avoid the same financial embarrassment as the Lincolns thanks only to the lavish gifts of banker Jay Cooke, whose friendliness with Chase won him a contract to sell Union bonds. Lincoln refused such questionable friendships. Doris uses the president's rivals to highlight some of the qualities that made Lincoln a great politician. Unlike any of them, he was willing to give the most powerful offices in the land
Team of Rivals takes an approach to Lincoln unlike that of any previous biography. Rather than looking at smaller aspects of his career, Goodwin has opened up Lincoln's life. This book shows us a president at the center of a vibrant political and social community. Goodwin, though, …show more content…
Following the lives of the four rivals for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination, she introduces us to the world of nineteenth-century politics. Republican spokesman William Henry Seward with the help of his friend Thurlow Weed, began to climb the political ladder in New York. Seward's on-going pursuit for politics pulls him away from his wife Frances, but stays in contact by writing letters. Missouri's Edward Bates reveals tensions of the antebellum years as well as the domestic contentment with his wife Julia and his children that curbed his love for politics. Salmon P. Chase, stance against slavery is what made join politics is the pompous representative of abolitionism. Having three wives before he was forty-five, he agreed to never marry again and focus on his daughter Kate. Unionist Edwin M. Stanton, who shows class distinctions with his negative attitude towards Lincoln in their older law days, enters the book as a main character when he replaces the cabinet's Simon Cameron. Edwin Stanton was committed to the Union and one of Lincon's best …show more content…
Team of Rivals recounts not only the warm letters between the Lincolns but also the numerous family deaths that unsettled Mrs. Lincoln and convinced her that misery was her lot. Not simply dismissed, or even as a mother grieving for her dead children, Mary Lincoln is explained as jealous of her husband's time and given credit for visits to wounded soldiers. The book also emphasizes the rivalry between Mrs. Lincoln and the intriguing Kate Chase, the belle of Washington society, who used her beauty and wit to advance her father's political career. Mrs. Lincoln's spending while in the White House was noted but, Mrs. Lincoln's obsession with clothing and fine appointments for the White House came from her determination to be Washington's true first lady despite Kate Chase's rival establishment. Newspapers verified Mrs. Lincoln as a spendthrift while admiring Chase, who matched Mrs. Lincoln's expenditures in full. It is noted that the Chase managed to avoid the same financial embarrassment as the Lincolns thanks only to the lavish gifts of banker Jay Cooke, whose friendliness with Chase won him a contract to sell Union bonds. Lincoln refused such questionable friendships. Doris uses the president's rivals to highlight some of the qualities that made Lincoln a great politician. Unlike any of them, he was willing to give the most powerful offices in the land