Four men were in the running for the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1860. Three of them were certain they would be the candidate. The fourth was Abraham Lincoln.
And when it was all over and Lincoln was chosen he talked to each of the others and convinced them to become members of his cabinet.
All four were upright, honest, and deeply patriotic Americans. And along with Edwin Stanton, a Democrat, they helped Lincoln win the war for the union and free the slaves. Would that we had that kind of cooperation in politics today.
Would that we had so many men of honor and rectitude in politics.
Once I started the book I had trouble tearing myself away, though eventually self-discipline encouraged me not to set aside four or five full days to do nothing but read this 900-page collective biography. I'm going to take it more slowly.
Lincoln's team were William Seward, Edwin Stanton, Salmon Chase, and Edward Bates.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin, published in 2005.