The Lincoln Miracle

November 1, 2022
In 1860, long before American political conventions became quadrennial television spectacles with carefully orchestrated foregone conclusions designed largely to whip up enthusiasm among party faithful, the nascent Republican Party convened in Chicago's Wigwam convention center with real business to conduct. Achorn (Every Drop of Blood, 2020) follows the drama of that convention day by day, from May 12 through May 19, building on suspense as state delegations wavered back and forth. New York Senator William Seward came to the convention with the most support, but as balloting for the Presidential nomination proceeded, Illinois' favorite son, Abraham Lincoln, gathered more and more votes. Delegates caucused in smoke-filled rooms listening to candidates' boosters and reading newspaper editorials. As ever, assorted governors and other officials offered orations that only some actually listened to. A Rules Committee certified delegates and a Platform Committee crafted positions on issues such as tariffs and whether the Declaration of Independence's assertions of equality really meant to include non-whites. Thanks to clever management by Lincoln partisans, Lincoln won the nomination. Achorn's deep and energetic reconstruction of this momentous convention helps put in perspective the present political struggles over the nation's future.

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Starred review from December 12, 2022
Lincoln’s victory at the 1860 Republican national convention was one of the most improbable in American political history, according to this comprehensive and often riveting account. Historian Achorn (Every Drop of Blood) offers sharp assessments of Lincoln’s rivals for the nomination, including front-runner William H. Seward, who would serve as Lincoln’s Secretary of State, and spotlights power brokers such as newspaper editor Horace Greeley, a staunch abolitionist whose “virile defenses of freedom stirred a nation.” Achorn also details how Lincoln stalked incumbent Illinois senator Stephen Douglas from campaign stop to campaign stop in 1858, forcing the “Little Giant” to debate him on issues of slavery. Though Lincoln lost that race, the debates caught the attention of the Republican Party’s moderate wing, giving him a long-shot chance to win the nomination. Achorn provides riveting details about the schemes and backroom deals made by Lincoln’s supporters and loads the account with dramatic set pieces, such as when Mary Todd Lincoln weighed in on a proposal to nominate her husband for the vice presidency: “If you cannot have the first place,” she told Lincoln, “you shall not have the second.” The result is a dramatic and well-informed study of political sausage-making. Agent: Lisa Adams, Garamond Agency.