f you had read his résumé just before he became President,
you might not have hired him. He had moved around a lot early in
life, from profession to profession. Although he had great success
as a lawyer and some success as a legislator, his professional career
had more losses in it than it did victories. And the losses were
pretty impressive–two businesses and eight elections. His
only leadership experience had been as a Congressman in the United
States House of Representatives. But his fierce competence as an
attorney, his towering moral stature, and a piercing political vision
made him a force to be reckoned with. These qualities would win
him the White House in 1860. During his first term, the bold, young
political experiment that was the United States of America would
be on the verge of complete collapse. It would be his to save or
lose.
Abraham Lincoln had not become the 16th President of the United
States to lose the union that he held so dear. He recognized the
historic moment for what it was, and battled back against the forces
of anarchy that were threatening the country’s survival with
every talent he possessed and in every moment that would be his.
In the face of what seemed insurmountable conflict, he wrote with
the power of Jefferson, stood with the force of Washington, and
thought with the precision of Franklin. His persistence was legendary,
powered by a faith in the strength of people to sustain themselves
through the worst crises and circumstances....
