Lincoln as Hero

3. Lincoln's Introduction to Politics

24 c h a p t e r t h r e e Lincoln’s Introduction to Politics Success does not always come easy for all heroes, but the failures that many incur have often only made them stronger and more determined. Undeterred by his loss at the age of twenty-three in his bid for a seat as a representative in the Illinois General Assembly, he exemplified the same persistence with which he approached his studies when he campaigned again two years later and won election as a representative to the Illinois House of Representatives. Lincoln learned a great deal about politics during his eventual four terms in the state house and one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. This experience was invaluable in preparing for his subsequent senatorial campaign against Stephen A. Douglas in 1858 and his successful bid for president two years later. Among the most important lessons that Lincoln drew from his early political career were an extraordinary sense of timing and an ability to listen to others. He learned to discern when to seize the initiative and when to bide his time. His sense of political timing served him well later during the Civil War, when he decided to wait for a Union victory before delivering his controversial Emancipation Proclamation. Such a victory—albeit a costly one—occurred at the Battle of Antietam. Five days later, on January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation promising to free all slaves in Southern states or parts of states not yet under Union control, so as not to alienate the Border States, which were critical to the Union war effort. Lincoln’s Introduction to Politics | 25 Lincoln’s political success would not have been possible, however, without his exceptional oratorical skills, which owed to his wellearned command of the English language and profound sense of history and philosophy. It also came from his study of The Columbian Orator, which exposed him to the classical works of rhetorical giants such as Socrates and Cicero, and an essay on effective public speaking . Lincoln’s speeches, which are among the finest pieces of oration, were carefully crafted, reflecting the same thoroughness with which he approached learning. For instance, Lincoln spoke about the issue of equality with passion and conviction. Take this letter to a friend: “When we were the political slaves of King George, and wanted to be free, we called the maxim that ‘all men are created equal’ a self-evident truth, but now when we have grown fat, and have lost all dread of being slaves ourselves, we have become so greedy to be masters that we call the same maxim ‘a self-evident lie.’”1 Perhaps the most convincing example of Lincoln’s rhetorical skill is the Gettysburg Address. Lasting a mere two minutes and spanning less than three hundred words, his address to an audience at the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg is the most famous speech delivered by any American president. His eloquent tribute to the fallen soldiers captured the sacred spot: “[W]e can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.”2 When Lincoln gave his address amid the graves that lie in Gettysburg row upon row, he did not believe that his words would enter the fabric of American democracy for eternity, but his words struck a chord in America’s collective heart. A New England reporter—one of the first to comment on the Gettysburg Address—lauded Lincoln’s eloquent brevity: “It is often said that the hardest thing in the world to do is to make a five minutes’ speech. But could the most elaborate and studied oration be more beautiful, more touching, more inspiring , than those few thrilling words of the President?”3 Apart from demonstrating his exceptional oratory skills, the Gettysburg address also reflected his strong convictions about the 26 | Lincoln’s Introduction to Politics country and its ability to thrive and prosper.4 In fact, if there was one trait that Lincoln carried with him from the practice of law into the practice of politics, it was his strong conviction. In a nation that had made upward mobility possible for him, he favored a transformed Constitution in tune with the natural-rights jurisprudence of the Declaration...