Gore Vidal’s “Lincoln”
Gore Vidal’s “Lincoln” was an excellent narrative of the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Through Vidal’s portrayal of the personality of Lincoln and the people surrounding him it was easy to get an idea of the leadership role that Lincoln played during presidency. After reading many accounts of Lincoln during my research for my paper, I found that Vidals account was extremely accurate. Most interesting was the commanding yet passive relationship that Lincoln had with the members of his cabinet and his generals. Vidal also gave a portrayal of the capitol during the 1860’s that is seldom mentioned in any of the Literature that I have read. These accounts really help to get a feel for the environment in which Lincoln made his decisions. Lincoln’s family life was also revealed in some detail in the novel which helps us to see the personal dilemmas and tragedies that Lincoln had to overcome while he was president. Overall Vidal’s portrait of Lincoln was interesting and accurate to my knowledge. It gives an extraordinary view of the leadership of President Abraham Lincoln.
In the book Vidal shows us a picture of the capitol at the time. It seemed as it the entire town was unfinished. The capitol building was without the dome and the streets had just been paved. From the accounts of Mary Lincoln in the book, it seemed if the White House was hardly a luxurious mansion and was barley fit for a president. Also in the atmosphere in Washington D.C. at the time was the Attitude of the place itself. Since Washington was a neutral state much of the population was against Lincoln and sided with the confederacy.
Lincoln cabinet was strategically chosen by Lincoln, he chose those in his party who ran against him in the election or were close to the Republican Party. Vidal’s Lincoln reveals Lincolns thinking about these people and how he places them in. I have read in other readings including, The Unfinished Nation, byAlan Brinkley, that Lincoln picked these people to have a diversety of ideas in his cabinet. He wanted to keep these people close to him so that they would be working for him and not against him.
The fictional character Lincoln in Vidal’s book in regards to to Salmon P.
...ere given to any former confederate (excluding military and governing officials) and states were allowed to meet after 10 percent of the voters pledged allegiance to the Union. The death of Lincoln changed all of that. Some historians even argue that his death instigated the future power struggle in the government thus lowering the quality of American politics for the next few decades. 8Andrew Johnson, vice president under Lincoln, was a born southerner while the current congress was filled with radical republicans. Polar opposites indeed. All in all, I enjoyed reading Killing Lincoln. My only criticism of the book is the unnecessary chapters. I felt there were points in the book where the authors could have made their point sooner but instead dragged it out. I would recommend this book to any history student looking for an interesting yet simple read. It’s perfect!
Dilorenzo, Thomas J.. The Real Lincoln: a new look at Abraham Lincoln, his agenda, and an unnecessary war. Roseville, Calif: Prima, 2002
The mystery of how John Wilkes Booth pulled off the most influential and notorious assassinations in history is revealed in Killing Lincoln. The author of this book, Bill O’Reilly, built up the plot of the story through vivid historical details and pieced them together like a thriller. He tries to explain all of what happened on one of the most interesting and sad days in American history. Many conspiracies and Civil War ideals are on full display in the book. I agree with most of O’Reilly’s ideas but there are some that I am not really sure about because of his point of view like many of the conspiracy theories. Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly was a very compelling read which described the Civil War, lives of the conspirators, and the eventual assassination of the sixteenth president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln.
Williams portrays Lincoln in a very positive light, allowing the reader to realize the greatness of Lincoln, in his compassion, strategy, statesmanship and lack of ego. Williams has provided numerous instances wherein he provides ample support to his arguments and facts. In spite of the unnecessary detail and verbosity that Williams sometimes uses, there is no doubt that this book is a remarkable insight into Lincoln’s persona.
Thus, the information expresses personal opinions from the point of view of Lincoln and the writers who contributed to the article. Similar to Lincoln’s views, a section in the article goes against the Confederacy because they have disrupted the peace within the Union. For example, the men of the Border States fear their welfare while trying to ward off the fear of a possible great disaster (New York Tribune, 9 March 186, p.6). On the other hand, the views from the south in the article saw Lincoln and his Cabinet as enemies to the Institution of Slavery. Salmon P. Chase is seen to be one of the most offensive man to the south because of his power and influence to command and humiliate sections of where slavery exists (New York Tribune, 9 March 186, p.6). Finally, Lincolns speech is geared towards the Union as a whole rather than the article, where it’s focused on subsections of the
Wilentz, Sean. "WHO LINCOLN WAS. (Cover story)." New Republic 240, no. 12/13 (July 15, 2009): 24-47. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 26, 2011).
DiLorenzo, Thomas. The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War. Three Rivers Press, 2003.
leading up to and surrounding President Abraham Lincoln’s death. The purpose of this book is to
He did not have the luxury of creating intellectually cohesive, internally consistent methods in the midst of the very messy business of civil war. Driven by circumstances and his own background to more or less improvise an approach to presidential warmaking [sic], Lincoln was above all else pragmatic and realistic, blending caution and boldness as circumstances required. (26)
... easier, because Lincoln was moderate and liked to worked things out with his political party no matter their views moderate or radical. Nevertheless we can say that Lincoln was already willing to take the first step towards equality between whites and African Americans, since he already had said that he was in favor of limited black suffrage, maybe with the combined forces of the President and Congress; people would have seen that blacks were equal, by doing this they could of taken the first steps towards an interracial government and maybe saved some time instead of leaving this civil rights movement for later.
Abraham Lincoln is perhaps one of the most interesting characters to have ever graced the American political arena and presidency. He is most noteworthy, obviously, for his role in saving the United States from its own destruction and the eradication of the vile Southern tradition of slavery. However, upon deeper inspection, one finds there was much more to Lincoln than his political achievements. Throughout his years as a politician, there's a noticeable shift in terms of his character, and political persona. He seems to go from ambitious and boisterous to being more solemn and reserved. Also, it should be noted that some remark that Lincoln was, quite ironically, both America’s most democratic and autocratic President to have ever held office. However, it seems that though there is abundant evidence for his democratic values, there are little to suggest his autocratic intentions. As though some lines revealing such intent can be found, many are also directly rebutted by powerful democratic rhetoric. All of this can be found in Lincoln’s four main speeches; “A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand”, his Inaugural Addresses and the Gettysburg Address. Basically, in order to properly analyze Lincoln it may be best to look at Lincoln’s personal and political changes within the terms of his antebellum and Civil War “personalities”, as well as to examine his democratic and autocratic leanings; all through scrutinizing Lincoln’s major speeches.
David Herbert Donald's Lincoln is a biography of our sixteenth President, Abraham Lincoln. At the age of twenty one, he was sure he did not want to be like his father Thomas Lincoln, an uneducated farmer, so he left his fathers house permanently. He had many jobs, learned many lessons, and made both friends and enemies, all which helped him to become one of the greatest presidents of the United States of America during the time the country had split, the Civil War. Thoroughly researched and excellently written, this biography comes alive and shows us what really happened during the early to mid-nineteenth century and it still puts us in the point of view of our former president, using the information and ideas available to him.
One of Lincoln’s most famous quotes is “A House divided against itself cannot stand.” This describes his presidency well- focusing on maintaining the Union. In the beginning, Lincoln tried to stay out of sensitive affairs involving the North and South in an attempt to keep them together, promising the South little interference. Despite this, he played a key role in passing the Thirteenth Amendment, doing whatever it takes to end slavery for good and ending the Civil War.
...ecause of so many sectional differences, each region of America had its own intended President, creating a situation in which the losers of the election would already be organized for revolt. However, given that the parties were what they were, President Lincoln could have proposed a quick but strong compromise, right after he won the election, which would keep the Southerners and other non-supporters satisfied with the new political situation. Unfortunately, slavery-issues had been brewing for far too long for this situation to have an easy way out.
An important element to analyze is Nast’s Cartoon of Lincolns. The way Nast’s cartoon portrays Lincoln are in two extremes, the first image to the left shows the North’s reaction to the President’s inaugural speech showing him holding palm branches and garlands of peace. The second frame however shows how the South viewed Lincoln, as a Roman garb and a helmeted warrior standing on a vanquished foe which represents the South. The expressions of the second image on both Lincolns face and the man laying on the floor shows a sense of hate and aggression towards one