Leadership Style Made Abraham Lincoln

¶ … Leadership Style Made Abraham Lincoln a Great Leader?

I have chosen Abraham Lincoln as the subject of this research for several reasons: one, he is one of the most revered and respected leaders in the history of the country; two, he is the man who emancipated the slaves and led America through the bloody, destructive Civil War; and three, Barack Obama has said on many occasions that he looks up to Lincoln and admires Lincoln for not just his accomplishments but for his leadership in desperate times. I have a high opinion for Obama, the enormous problems and challenges he faces and hence his respect for Lincoln stimulates a renewed interest for me in my studies.

As to the kind of leadership that Lincoln exhibited, it would appear that Lincoln was an achievement-motivated political leader. Achievement-motivated leaders are usually "rational negotiators" and they are apt to seek "information and help from technical experts" (Winter, 2002, p. 26). They are known to be "moderate risk-takers" and they use feedback to "modify" their performance in political office. The success that a U.S. President achieves -- and his capacity to lead -- is based in part on his ability "to influence others" and to "energetically pursue objectives" that will have a lasting and profound effect on the functioning of American life (Deluga, 1998, p. 265). In other words, if a president is motivated to be proactive and has charisma to help drive his goals, he will likely be "unconstrained by situational pressures" and will persevere "until goals are realized," writes Ronald Deluga, Professor of Applied Psychology at Bryant University (p. 266). This very aptly describes Abraham Lincoln. The substance of this paper will bear out consistently that Lincoln was a rational negotiator and proactive.

Brief Biography of Lincoln -- The White House & Congress Sources

In Lincoln's Inaugural Address he warned the South: "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war." He went on, diplomatically but firmly, saying "The government will not assail you…You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it" (www.whitehouse.gov).

Lincoln made clear that he preferred not to go to war with the South, but it was his duty to protect the Union through the use of federal law. Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, the son of a frontiersman from Kentucky and had a struggle in his formative years to make a living. His mother died when he was ten years old and he grew up with his father in Indiana where they had "many bears and other wild animals still in the woods" (White House).

He said that he "didn't know much" when he reached young manhood but he could read, write, and "cipher…but that was all." And so me made an "extraordinary effort" to learn whatever he could whenever he could. He was good at splitting rails for fences and he served in the Black Hawk War as a captain. His education in a log cabin school at "short intervals" and he was "self instructed in elementary branches" (U.S. Congress). He studied the principles of law and works on surveying which later led him to become an attorney. He served in the Illinois legislature for eight years and held several other positions: postmaster of New Salem, Illinois; deputy county surveyor; a businessman as a "general merchant in New Salem"; admitted to the Illinois State Bar in 1836 and moved to Springfield Illinois to practice law in 1847; tried several times (but failed) to win election as Republican U.S. Senate; elected as President of the United States in 1860 -- reelected as president in 1864; assassinated on April 14, 1865, which happened to be Good Friday (U.S. Congress).

The White House biography on Lincoln reports that he married Mary Todd and had four boys but only one of the children lived to adulthood. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves.

Obama and Lincoln -- Parallels That Offer Greater Understanding of Lincoln

An article in Newsweek (Thomas, et al., 2008) points out that the two men were both "thin," hailed from "rude beginnings," were very new to Washington "but wise to the world" and sought to bring the nation together "to face a crisis." Just as Lincoln did, Obama writes his own speeches and pens them on "yellow legal paper" (Thomas). But as to matters of more substance, both men tried to bring divided parties together; in fact Obama used a quote from Lincoln for his victory speech that he gave in Grant Park in Chicago: "We are not enemies, but friends…Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection" (Thomas).

Obama has never made his fondness for Lincoln a secret; indeed, he has taken some flack for it. In The Audacity of Hope Obama quoted from his piece in Time magazine: "In Lincoln's rise from poverty, his ultimate mastery of language and law, his capacity to overcome personal loss and remain determined in the face of repeated defeat -- in all this, he reminded me not just of my own struggles" (Thomas). That passage was blasted by columnist Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal; Noonan wrote that the "previously careful Sen. Barack Obama" is now "flapping his wings in Time magazine and explaining that he's a lot like Abraham Lincoln, only sort of better" (Thomas). "Ouch!" Obama wrote in his book, recalling that attack. Of course if one reads his book, they quickly realize that Obama was not trying to portray himself as Lincoln -- and certainly not saying he was better than Lincoln. But attacks go with the territory, and Obama, like Lincoln, absorbed his bumps and bruises fairly well.

One day Obama was speaking at the dedication of the Lincoln presidential library in Springfield, Illinois; he writes in his book how ironic and yet fitting it was that a black man should speak at the dedication of a Lincoln library.

When Katie Couric of CBS asked Obama which book -- aside from the Holy Bible -- that he would "find essential" in the Oval Office, Obama responded, "Team of Rivals" (Thomas). He chose that book because he wanted to surround himself with high quality people like Lincoln did. Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, reports on Lincoln actually brought in people better educated and "more experienced and who made no secret of coveting Lincoln's job" (Thomas).

Indeed Obama in time chose his main -- and sometimes bitter -- rival in the long and brutal Democratic Primary, Hillary Clinton, as his Secretary of State; it was certainly the case that Clinton coveted Obama's job, but following in the policies of Lincoln, the president turned to Clinton anyway. In Goodwin's book Lincoln was able to "brilliantly manage his team of rivals," including Secretary of State, William Seward (Thomas). Seward came into Lincoln's cabinet "thinking he would actually be controlling Lincoln," Goodwin wrote in her book (quoted by Thomas).

But Lincoln sat down with Seward and "reminded him who was president" and eventually the two became "close" friends, Thomas paraphrases from the book. In Lincoln's day, secretaries of state or other cabinet members did not just step out on the White House lawn and hold court with talking heads from cable news networks of course; but given the opportunity to speak with Goodwin, Obama said he has "absorbed the deeper meaning of Lincoln's leadership style." (Thomas).

Goodwin told Newsweek that Obama "…has got a temperamental set of qualities that have some resemblance to Lincoln's emotional intelligence" (Thomas). The quality of staying cool under enormous pressure is certainly part of Obama's strength, as was evident during the long campaign -- especially during the debates. When John McCain and Sara Palin attacked Obama repeatedly for "paling around with terrorists" Obama rebutted the charge but remained cool-headed.

Likewise, Lincoln stayed calm during the primary campaign that led to his nomination in 1860. Goodwin (p. 224) explains that Lincoln was "Not hindered by the hubris, delusions, and inconsistencies that plagued his three chief rivals," William Seward and Edward Bates. And while both Seward and Bates "felt compelled in the final months to reposition themselves toward the center of the party, Lincoln never changes his basic stance" (Goodwin, p. 224). This paper is not wholly intended to compare Lincoln and Obama, but the fact that Obama has made so many public pronouncements about his deep reverence for Lincoln's leadership -- and the fact that Obama took the oath of office using Lincoln's Bible -- the Obama -- Lincoln link is valid and worth exploring to some degree.

For example, when Lincoln ran for president, he was an "unlikely" candidate who had "long odds" -- according to Goodwin's book -- precisely the kind of challenge that Obama faced when he launched his campaign in Springfield Illinois, where Lincoln launched his own campaigns for public office, including the presidency. Interestingly, and not well-known, is the fact that as a method of "methodically" shortening the long odds against him, Lincoln arranged to have transcripts of his debates with Douglas published. The publishing of those debates greatly improved his visibility and he began to receive invitations to speak at Republican gatherings. Goodwin explains that he gave speeches in Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Iowa and Ohio in the four months between August and December 1859.

It is not true that Obama published books to emulate the Lincoln success story albeit Obama's books Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope certainly helped drive interest him as a candidate. Here was Obama, an unlikely candidate who hitherto was a first term U.S. Senator from Illinois and not well-known outside Washington D.C. And Illinois. Again, a link to Lincoln emerges from the literature.

The Janesville Gazette reported "The high order of [his] intellect left a permanent impact upon his listeners, who would remember his tall, gaunt form" and his "points and his hits" for "many a day" (Goodwin, p. 224). There is little doubt -- except perhaps by those who attacked Obama during the campaigns as a "community organizer" who was unworthy of the presidency -- that Obama's intellect and soaring rhetoric made the same kind of impression on his audiences in 2007-2008 as Lincoln did in 1859-1860.

In summary, Professor Winter asserts that it is difficult to study the motives of political leaders -- because they are not readily accessible to researchers -- but he believes that psychologists can assess a politician's motives by studying speeches, interviews, letters and other writings. Winter embraces the idea that there are three motives that drive a political leader: power, achievement and affiliation. In his essay Winter explains that power-motivated politicians exhibit behaviors that seek "impact" and "prestige"; if the individual is "high in responsibility" the power he seeks is "pro-social and involves successful leadership" (p. 26). Power-motivation certainly seems to fit the personalities of Lincoln and Obama.

Lincoln's Campaign Style

To fully understand the measure of a man running for high office, examining his style of campaigning is a good beginning. In the presidential campaign, Lincoln showed tremendous skill and patience in his oratory, since he was running at a time when the nation was about to be torn apart by civil war. Instead of telling his audiences what they might want to hear in Cincinnati, Ohio, Lincoln told Kentuckians -- who had crossed the Ohio River to listen to him -- that he thought they (meaning Southerners) "…are as gallant and as brave men as live" (Goodwin, p. 225). But, he went on, "man for man, you are not better than we are and there are not so many of you as there are of us. You will never make much of a hand at whipping us" (Goodwin, p. 225).

The audacity of Lincoln's remarks -- even in hindsight some one hundred and fifty years later -- seemed to make people even more interested in him. He went on: "If we were fewer in numbers than you, I think that you could whip us; if we were equal it would likely be a drawn battle; but being inferior in numbers, you will make nothing by attempting to master us" (Goodwin, p. 225). The following day the Cincinnati Gazette reviewed his speech with glowing narrative. For example, the paper said the speech was "…an effort remarkable for its clear statement, powerful argument and massive common sense" (Goodwin, p. 225). Here is an obvious example of Lincoln's use of charisma to help drive his goals, and he was "unconstrained by situational pressures" -- again, demonstrating achievement-motivated leadership.

The Gazette went on: His speech was possessed "…of such dignity and power as to have impressed some of our ablest lawyers with the conclusion that it was superior to any political effort they had ever heard" (Goodwin, p. 225). The growth of Lincoln's popularity was such that at some point in the campaign he became a "national spokesman for the fledgling Republican Party" and in doing so, he was able to put out some fires that were building in the party in Massachusetts. Indeed, an anti-immigrant movement received Lincoln's attention. He wrote to Schuyler Colfax (Speaker of the House of Representatives at that time) that those fostering the anti-immigrant movement "failed to see that tilting against foreigners would ruin us in the whole North-West" (Goodwin, p. 226).

Not only that, Lincoln went on, if Ohio and New Hampshire tried to thwart enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law (a law that runaway slaves must be returned to their "masters") it might "utterly overwhelm us in Illinois with the charge of enmity to the constitution itself." Though he would later of course oppose slavery and even free the slaves, Lincoln was politically astute enough to realize that his Republican campaign colleagues should "look beyond our noses and at least say nothing on points where it is probably we shall disagree" (Goodwin, p. 226).

Lincoln Prior to the Presidency -- Legal Work, Marriage, Domesticity

Author Allen C. Guelzo (who wrote Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President) describes the young man -- recently married to Mary Todd -- who passed the Illinois State Bar Exam and began practicing law; "The look is confident, almost cocky, the hair is slicked glisteningly into place, the shirt and silk tie and vest are immaculate" (Guelzo, p. 102). The "broad-lapelled frock coat appears fresh and uncreased" which was appropriate because he was now in partnership with Stephen Logan, and hence he was linked to "another influential Whig politician" which brought Lincoln "a generous share of state supreme court appeals cases" (Guelzo, p. 102). That is what a young ambitious lawyer needs is high-profile legal cases to try, and in fact there was a new federal bankruptcy law in place that brought Lincoln and Logan seventy-seven cases. Those cases allowed them to buy foreclosed property that was fortuitous for Lincoln because he was recently married and had debts in New Salem to pay off.

One thing Lincoln was certainly not was an affiliation-motivated leader. Professor Winter describes affiliation-motivated leader as "cooperative and friendly" if they feel "secure and safe" (p. 26). But when threatened or challenged they are known to become "prickly and defensive, even hostile" (Winter, p. 26).

Speaking of his relationship with Mary Todd, Lincoln is reported (at age 30) to have walked up to twenty-year-old Mary and said, "Miss Todd, I want to Dance with you in the worst way," according to Abraham Lincoln Research Site (ALRS). The two were engaged and a few years later they broke up, were separated for a time and eventually began seeing one another again. They decided to be married in the fall of 1842 but they wanted a small wedding and Lincoln wanted it in the home of Reverend Charles N. Dresser, an Episcopal minister.

That did not sit well with Mary's guardian, Ninian Edwards, who insisted that they be married in her house (ALRS). The wedding featured some folly; standing behind Lincoln during the ceremony was Judge Thomas C. Browne of the Illinois Supreme Court. According to ALRS, Browne was "blunt" and "not accustomed to wedding dynamics. So when Lincoln placed the ring on Mary Todd's finger and he spoke the words, "With this ring I thee endow with all my goods, chattels, lands and tenements," Browne shouted out, "God Almighty, Lincoln, the statute fixes all that" (ALRS). The rain poured down outside and after the interruption the wedding continues. Lincoln later was asked about his marriage. He said "Nothing is new except my marrying, which to me is a matter of profound wonder" (Guelzo, p. 104).