Ronald C. White, Jr.

Reflections from addressing the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference

I have returned from one of the highlights of my extended speaking tour.  On Friday morning, June 26, I delivered the Keynote Address at the 76th Judicial Conference of the Fourth Circuit Court meeting at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.  The Fourth Circuit comprises the states of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  The judges, lawyers, and their guests comprised the one thousand people present for the event. 

On Friday evening Chief Justice John Roberts addressed the event.  The Chief Justice is, by tradition, a member of the Fourth Circuit.  After his address we spoke together about Abraham Lincoln and the law.  The next morning, in an interview broadcast by C-SPAN, the Chief Justice offered an insightful reflection on some of the highlights and lowlights of the history of the Supreme Court.  [You can see the video of the interview with John Roberts by clicking here.]  In the course of his remarks he mentioned that many conferees were telling him about a new biography of Lincoln that he intended to read. 

Ad for "A. Lincoln" in the Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal for February 27th featured an ad for A.  Lincoln. 

A. Lincoln is History Book-of-the-Month-Club's Main Selection

A. Lincoln was the History Book Club's Main Selection for January 2009, and they published the following review by William C. Davis on the Book Club's site.  You can the History Book Club by signing up here. 

"What is there to say about Lincoln that has not been said in the thousands of books about him that have appeared since his death in 1865? Historians seem to slice the Lincoln pie thinner and thinner in order to find subject matter. Years ago one conceived the idea—as yet unrealized—of writing a book just about what Lincoln did on Sundays.  Confronted with the rather limited focus of such a conceit, he responded “My God, man, that was one-seventh of his life!”

Nevertheless, we still prefer Lincoln in his entirety, and it is hardly surprising that in this, his bicentennial year, we should have a bumper crop of new “lives.” Arguably the finest is Ronald C. White, Jr.’s new A. Lincoln, A Biography. The title is more than an understatement. Lincoln never signed or saw himself as “Abe” and rarely as “Abraham” except on formal documents. Left to his preferences, he was always “A. Lincoln.” In that simple signature lay his humility, yet it was also a cloak that covered the deep complexity of the man, as White discovers. This is not the diffident Lincoln of David Donald's 1994 biography, nor the homespun caricature of Carl Sandburg. White’s Lincoln is a man of deep integrity, often unsure of his course, but generally comfortable with it. This Lincoln understands nuance and diversity in policy and opinion, and is able to chart his path with a sure hand through the maze he inherited when he took office.

Throughout this fine biography White also shows just how well Lincoln demonstrates the most recent and thoughtful evaluations of the qualities of presidential greatness—integrity, intellect, collegiality, humility and curiosity. Lincoln fit all of those better than any other incumbent before or after. White gives special scope to Lincoln’s insatiable desire to learn, to engage with ideas, even those he did not like. White, who has written two fine earlier works on Lincoln’s speeches and writings, knows how to pull Lincoln's inner debates with himself out of them, and in this he has been helped further by this being the first major biography to benefit from hundreds of new Lincoln documents uncovered in the last generation.

The basic outline of the Lincoln story remains unchanged. It is in the subtext, the subtleties that made up the man and informed his decisions, that White reveals a newer and better understood Lincoln. As a result, there is every reason to expect that A. Lincoln will be the landmark biography of the bicentennial, and the benchmark Lincoln for the next generation to come."

Learning While Leading

My essay from the special Inaugural issue of Newsweek, on news stands now:

Learning While Leading

The most important lesson Lincoln could teach Obama is that he will need to school himself.

By Ronald C. White Jr.

At the risk of disabusing the messianic comparisons of the qualities that Lincoln and Obama brought full-blown to the presidency, what is being missed is how much Lincoln taught himself to be president on the job. Painfully aware of his own shortcomings - in administrative abilities and military understanding, to name but two - the success of Lincoln's presidency lay not simply in the nature of his political genius, nurtured as both a politician and lawyer in Illinois, but in the hard work he expended day after wearing day in the White House. In the years after his death, Lincoln's Illinois friends formed a harmonious chorus - "we knew it all the time" - but in truth many were surprised at how fast and far "Old Abe" grew into being president.

Lincoln came to the presidency, as does Obama, with a lack of executive familiarity, and Lincoln's first few weeks in office did not inspire confidence that he could launch and run a new administration. Lincoln was well aware of his own administrative inexperience. At first he tried to carry out everything by himself. He acknowledged to an old Illinois friend his initial floundering. "When [I] first commenced doing the duties, [I] was entirely ignorant not only of the duties, but of the manner of doing the business" of the presidency. His young secretary John Hay remembered, "There was little order or system about it." He reported, "Those around him strove from beginning to end to erect barriers to defend him against constant interruption, but the President himself was always the first to break them down." Sen. Henry Wilson of Massachusetts once tried to counsel the president about his availability to people: "You will wear yourself out." Lincoln replied, "They don't want much; they get but little, and I must see them."

Lincoln learned to be a more than competent administrator. He continued to hold frequent public hours where he could hear the points of view of ordinary people - what he called his "public opinion baths" - but he became skilled at prioritizing his most important tasks. After an initial tussle over who would be king of the hill, he and Secretary of State William Seward developed an amiable and productive working relationship. As the chief lawyer in the White House, Lincoln often asked his cabinet members, almost all lawyers, to submit written briefs in response to critical questions to be decided. He gained the respect of his colleagues by listening to and learning from their opinions, even when their ideas differed from his. He became well aware that Salmon P. Chase, one of his rivals for the Republican nomination in 1860, was criticizing him behind his back, but Lincoln said he had "determined to shut his eyes to all these performances" because he believed Chase to be quite good at his job as secretary of the Treasury. Although Lincoln endured complaints that the cabinet did not meet often enough, Lincoln more than made up for this by his leadership style of walking around -visiting cabinet officials as well as Gen. George McClellan at their offices and even their homes.

Second, Lincoln came to the presidency keenly conscious of his limited military experience.  In the Black Hawk War in 1832 he served for three months as a private and a captain.  Obama brings no military experience.  By contrast, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, had graduated from West Point, commanded a regiment in the Mexican War and served with distinction as secretary of war from 1853 to 1857.

As commander in chief Lincoln understood that he faced a steep learning curve. Yet his whole adult life had consisted of self-education. and he welcomed the challenge. Just as he had become a self-taught lawyer in rural Illinois, he now set out to teach himself military theory and strategy. Following the humiliating defeat at the Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, Lincoln turned his full attention to the military strategy that would carry out his national policy. A day after Bull Run, Lincoln wrote out the lessons to be learned from defeat. As summer turned into fall he began to assume responsibilities that had never been wielded before by an American president. By November Hay wrote, "The President is himself a man of great aptitude for military studies." By now Lincoln was so present at the War Department that "many of the orders issuing from the War Department are penned by the hand of the President." In December his secretary John G. Nicolay observed that Lincoln "gave himself, night and day, to the study of the military situation. He read a large number of strategical works. He pored over the reports from the various departments and districts of the field of war. He held long conferences with eminent generals and admirals, and astonished them by the extent of his special knowledge." Increasingly the books piling up on the long cabinet table in his office became military books. By early 1862 he would become a knowledgeable, hands-on commander in chief determined that military strategy and generals would serve the larger ends of national policy.

In predicting how a president-elect will perform as a president, there are many indicators that can be gleaned from the past. James Buchanan, Lincoln's immediate predecessor, who served 20 years in the House and Senate and had been both secretary of state and minister to Russia, brought enormous political experience, but he failed to grow into the job and proved to be a weak and ineffectual president.

Toward the conclusion of his reflection on the Constitution in "The Audacity of Hope," Obama states, "I am left then with Lincoln." The remarkable personal tether that Obama has long felt toward Abraham Lincoln blossomed into public view at the beginning of his candidacy in Springfield, Ill., on a cold day in February 2007, and at the conclusion of the presidential campaign in his victory speech at Grant Park in Chicago on Nov. 4, 2008. Since then their parallel personal traits, seen most visibly in their eloquent speaking abilities, have become well known. In this year of the Lincoln bicentennial, Lincoln continues to fascinate Obama and us because he eludes simple definitions and final judgments. If one had made a judgment on Lincoln as administrator in 1862, or commander in chief in 1863, the verdict would have been negative by many, including leaders of his own party, and mixed at best. But Lincoln was still learning his job. The jury is about to be seated that will hear the evidence about lawyer and legislator Obama as administrator and commander in chief. He knows more than anyone else there is much yet to learn from Lincoln.

Ronald C. White, Jr. is the author "A. Lincoln: A Biography" and a visiting professor of history at UCLA. His previous books include "Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural" and "The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words."

Click (here) to preview and order Newsweek’s limited edition commemorative issue celebrating the Inaugural.  Be sure to check out the special slideshow of photos included in this special edition preview.

Lincoln Bicentennial Virtual Book Signing

I'll be joining Catherine Clinton, the author of Mrs. Lincoln: A Life for a Virtual Book Signing™ on Saturday, February 14th at 12 noon Central time.  You can join Catherine and I in person at the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, 357 W. Chicago Avenue in Chicago, or watch live online at the Virtual Book Signing website. You can interact with me during the Book Signing via email.  Order a book and watch it being signed online, and in a few days your book will arrive at your doorstep.

Virtual Book Signings were introduced by Daniel Weinberg, the proprietor of the Abraham Lincoln Book Store in Chicago. “Traditionally, book signings mean leaving home and then waiting in line in order to meet an author for a few seconds to get a book signed,” says Weinberg. “Virtual Book Signing™ permits you to attend an in-shop booksigning without leaving home. You see an author speak via a streaming webcast. Then you may place an order and see the book signed while you watch.”

Order your book in advance online by clicking here, or call (312) 944-3085. You can learn more about virtual book signings by clicking here. 

Obama and Lincoln: Linked by a Bible

My Op Ed from the January 17, 2009 Los Angeles Times:

Linked by a Bible:

Barack Obama's use of Abraham Lincoln's Bible serves to connect the presidents by religion.

By Ronald C. White Jr.
January 17, 2009

Barack Obama's decision to select the same Bible for his inauguration that Abraham Lincoln used at his first inauguration in 1861 forges an intriguing connection between these two presidents. It's the latest in a series of purposeful associations, from Obama announcing his run for the White House from the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., (where Lincoln gave his "House Divided" speech), to a photo-op last week at the Lincoln Memorial.

As with all symbols, the use of the Lincoln Bible -- gilt-edged, covered in burgundy-colored velvet -- does much more than physically link two administrations. Lincoln made surprising and controversial use of the Bible and faith as president. Will Obama, whose religious beliefs have already played a role in American politics, do the same?

Lincoln's reliance on the Bible is surprising in a way not generally known to most Americans today. Lincoln was the only president who never joined a church. Yet Lincoln arguably wrote and spoke more profoundly on faith and religion in American politics than any other president in our history.

The range of his words includes his emotional farewell address at Springfield in 1861, in which he offered a compelling statement on the omnipresence of God; the Gettysburg Address, where on the spot he inserted the phrase "under God" in his written text; and his second inaugural address, where, in only 701 words, Lincoln quoted the Bible four times, named God 14 times and invoked prayer three times.

With the way religion is commonly cited by all of our recent presidents, I was startled to discover that, until Lincoln, only one other president -- John Quincy Adams -- quoted the Bible in his inaugural address. God, the Almighty or the Supreme Deity made an appearance in the first 18 inaugural addresses, but mostly in a "God bless America" sort of way. That was true even in Lincoln's first inaugural.

By his second inaugural, however, Lincoln's biblical references -- two from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament -- occur in the central paragraph, not as decoration but as the speech's integral foundation. In quoting "Let us judge not, that we be not judged," Lincoln uses Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:5) as the pivot that turns his address in the direction of reconciliation: "With malice toward none, with charity for all."

Lincoln's employment of the Bible was controversial in his day for many of the same reasons the employment of the Bible in public speech can be contentious in ours. After the second inaugural, Lincoln was accused of crossing the line between church and state. The New York World indicted Lincoln for "abandoning all pretense of statesmanship" by taking "refuge in piety."

So far, Obama's soaring oratory has been associated more with the Bible-quoting Martin Luther King Jr. than the Bible itself. But Obama has made no secret of his religious leanings. And, like Lincoln, he has been criticized for it -- from his choice of a Chicago church to his invitation to evangelical pastor Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation.

Both Lincoln and Obama are also on record as being sensitive to the misuse of the Bible.

In Illinois, Lincoln was deeply troubled by those who tried to use the Bible to support slavery. In Washington, he grew weary of Union ministers and politicians who came regularly to the White House to tell him that God was on their side. In his second inaugural, he upbraided those who would turn God into a narrow tribal deity who takes sides ("each invokes his aid against the other") rather than a universal, inscrutable God ("the Almighty has his own purposes").

Obama, though critical of what he sees as misuses of the Bible by conservatives, also has questioned the failure of liberals to join the conversation about values that, he contends, cannot be separated from religious values. "To say that men and women should not inject their 'personal morality' into public-policy debates is a practical absurdity," he wrote in "The Audacity of Hope." "Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition."

Multiple witnesses mention the private Lincoln reading from his well-worn Bible. He memorized whole sections, especially the Psalms. In the summer of 1864, Lincoln invited Joshua Speed, his best friend, to spend an evening at the Soldiers' Home, the Lincolns' summer residence. When Speed arrived, he found Lincoln reading the Bible.

Speed remarked: "I am glad to see you profitably engaged."

"Yes," said Lincoln, "I am profitably engaged."

"Well," Speed continued, "if you have recovered from your skepticism, I am sorry to say that I have not."

Then, according to Speed's account, Lincoln rose, placed his hand on Speed's shoulder and said: "You are wrong, Speed. Take all of this book upon reason that you can and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man."

As for Obama, on the campaign trail he too referenced the Sermon on the Mount. While Lincoln refers to God as the "Living God," Obama identifies the Bible as the "Living Word." Transparent in his own wrestling with religious questions, he is, as was Lincoln, appreciative of differing points of view. Both men in various ways reveal a strong internal religious compass. Both, it would seem, "read the same Bible."

On Tuesday, President-elect Barack Obama will put his hand on the same Bible as his 19th century model. The question now is how Obama's private and public use of the Bible will help guide the moral outcomes he hopes will grow from the theme of his inauguration, which yet again echoes Father Abraham: "A new birth of freedom."

Ronald C. White Jr., a Huntington Library fellow and a visiting professor at UCLA, is the author of the just-published "A. Lincoln: A Biography."

Click (here) to go to the article at LA Times.com.

National Journal, Hotline Blog Interview

On December 8, I was interviewed by Jennifer Skalka, Editor of the Hotline Blog of the National Journal on the fascinating linkage between President-Elect Obama and Abraham Lincoln. 

Q: Many comparisons have been made between Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln. From their long, lanky physiques to their Illinois roots to their lawyer backgrounds to the great, sweeping challenges Lincoln faced and Obama will tackle in the near future. As Obama assembles a ‘Team of Rivals’ Cabinet modeled on Lincoln’s advisers, which of these many linkages are valid? And are there other connections between the two men that you see that we in the media might be missing?

A: The focus on Barack Obama’s intention to appoint a “Team of Rivals” is valid in so far as it lifts up Obama’s desire to emulate the political spirit of Abraham Lincoln. But Lincoln, it appears, went even further. In his first cabinet he appointed four former Democrats.

Apart from the “Team of Rivals,” the press has largely focused on Obama’s invocation of Lincoln’s words. Many recent politicians have quoted Lincoln in campaign speeches. In reading Obama's "The Audacity of Hope," however, published in 2006, I am struck by how deeply Obama has immersed himself in Lincoln’s ideas. In discussing the Constitution, Obama says, “I’m left then with Lincoln, who like no man before or since understood both the deliberative function of our democracy and the limits of such deliberation.”

What has not been mentioned in the many comparisons of the men are the ways, much as Lincoln did, that Obama understands the relationship between politics and religion. Lincoln, who never joined a church, offered in his Second Inaugural Address a most profound statement on the activity of God and the role of faith in American life: “The Almighty has His own purposes.”

Likewise, Obama, in his chapter on faith in "The Audacity of Hope, challenges his fellow Democrats: “I think Democrats are wrong to run away from a debate about values.” If the Bill of Rights codifies the separation of church and state, Obama affirms that America, “as a religious people,” has never divided politics and religion. He couples the story of his own journey from skepticism to “embrace the Christian faith” with his admonition “to acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people.”

Click (here) for the complete interview. 

CNN Interview "Can Lincoln's playbook help Obama in the years ahead?"

Ed Hornick of CNN recently interviewed me in connection with a story comparing President-Elect Obama and President Lincoln.  Here's an excerpt:

...Historians and political pundits have pointed out that both Lincoln and Obama share the gift of eloquence, speechwriting and oration.

Lincoln historian and author Ronald White said that both had a "tremendous trust in words and the power of language."

"And I think today, we come with a real kind of cynicism. ... It's only words. And yet I think underneath the words are the public's perception of looking for someone with integrity and authenticity and not someone simply playing a role," White said.

White, author of the upcoming book "A. Lincoln: A Biography," has lectured on Lincoln at the White House and the Library of Congress.

"Both of them rose, in a sense, beyond their inexperience and in spite of their relative youth, the wings of their ability to use public language," he added. [continued...]

Click (here) for the complete article on CNN.com. 

Additional Publications

I wanted to take a moment to let you know about some other publications to which I've contributed chapters/essays:

Foreword for Levenger Books edition of 1893 biography On Becoming Abraham Lincoln by John T. Morse, Jr.  It's quite a unique edition and available only from Levenger. 

“War and the Will of God,” an essay on Abraham Lincoln in Christian History and Biography, Summer 2008, 18-22.

“The Words That Moved A Nation,” a chapter in a book on Abraham Lincoln to be published in February, 2009, by the United States Department of State for distribution overseas.

Photos from the Congressional Prelude Program to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial

Diane Liesman, Ron White, Jennifer Rosenfeld, Fr. Clete Kiley


Ron White signing copies of Lincoln's Greatest Speech

The Abraham Lincoln Bicentenial began in Kentucky in February. Although the event at Lincoln's birthplace on February 12 was snowed out -- Laura Bush was to be the speaker -- I appreciated the opportunity to speak about "Abraham Lincoln's Journey of Faith" in Louisville.  The event was jointly sponsored by the Faith and Politics Institute and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.  On February 10, I spoke about the public Lincoln as we explored the meaning of his Second Inaugural Address.  On February 11, I spoke on the private Lincoln by exploring the meaning of his "Meditation on the Divine Will," a private memo he wrote for his eyes only that was discovered after his death.  The photos above give a sense of the two meetings.  To see additional photos from the event click (here).