Top Three Rivals Of Abraham Lincoln

One of our most revered presidents, Abraham Lincoln lived a
quintessentially American life, rising from log cabin poverty to
unparalleled prestige as leader of an emerging, troubled nation.
Author Doris Kearns Goodwin — who comes to talk at UCSB’s Campbell
Hall on Friday, February 9 at 8 p.m. — is an expert on Lincoln, and
in her new book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham
Lincoln, she explains how he made the most of his term by enlisting
the help of his enemies. Here are three of those rivals turned
friends. 1) William H. Seward: So sure was this
New York senator of his presidential nomination in 1860, he had
already written a sayonara speech. Instead, Lincoln named Seward
Secretary of State, a position he’d use to buy Alaska, which became
known as Seward’s Folly.

2) Edwin M. Stanton: Though this attorney once
demeaned Lincoln by calling him a “long-armed ape,” Abe granted him
the Secretary of War post, and Stanton grew to love the president,
grieving for weeks after his assassination.

3) Edward Bates: This longtime politician lost
to Lincoln in 1860, then accepted the president’s offer to be
Attorney General. Initially, Bates thought Lincoln to be
incompetent, but he later said that Lincoln was “very near being a
perfect man.”