President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

William Lee Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2008

The American president has come to be the most powerful figure in the world—and back in the nineteenth century a great man held that office. William Lee Miller’s new book closely examines that great man in that hugely important office: Abraham Lincoln as president.

Wars waged by American presidents have come to be pivotal historical events. Here Miller analyzes the commander in chief who coped with the profound moral dilemmas of America’s bloodiest war.

In his acclaimed book Lincoln’s Virtues (“A fascinating account, sensitively written, rich in insight” —Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.), Miller explored Abraham Lincoln’s intellectual and moral development. Now he completes his “ethical biography,” showing the amiable and inexperienced backcountry politician transformed by constitutional alchemy into an oath-bound head of state, slapped in the face from the first minute of his presidency by decisions of the utmost gravity and confronted by the radical moral contradiction left by the nation’s Founders: universal ideals of Equality and Liberty and the monstrous injustice of human slavery.

With wit and penetrating sensitivity, Miller shows us a Lincoln with unusual intellectual power, as he brings together the great themes that will be his legend—preserving the United States of America while ending the odious institution that corrupted the nation’s meaning. Miller finds in this superb politician a remarkable presidential combination: an indomitable resolve, combined with the judgment that keeps it from being mindless stubbornness; and a supreme magnanimity, combined with the discriminating judgment that keeps it from being sentimentality. Here is the realistic war leader persisting after multiple defeats, pressing his generals to take the battle to the enemy, insisting that the objective was the destruction of Lee’s army and not the capture of territory, saying that breath alone kills no rebels, remarking that he regretted war does not admit of holy days, asking whether one could believe that he would strike lighter blows rather than heavier ones, or leave any card unplayed. And here is the pardoner, finding every excuse to keep from shooting the simple soldier boy who deserts. Here too is the eloquent leader who describes the national task in matchless prose, and who rises above vindictiveness and triumphalism as he guides the nation to a new birth of freedom.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Subtle and nuanced, this study is something of a sequel to Miller's Lincoln's Virtues. Here he examines Honest Abe's moral and intellectual life while in the White House, prosecuting a bloody war. Miller finds that early in his presidency, Lincoln balanced two strong ethical imperatives—his duty to preserve the union and his determination not to fire the first shots. Of course, Miller also addresses that other great moral challenge: slavery. In short, says Miller, Lincoln believed slavery was not only profoundly wrong but profoundly wrong specifically as measured by this nation's moral essence, and he used a terrific amount of political savvy to push through emancipation. But more original is Miller's discussion of what Lincoln thought was at stake in the war. Through a close reading of the president's papers, Miller persuasively argues that Lincoln believed secession would not merely diminish or damage the United States but would destroy it. That, in turn, was an issue of global import, for if the American experiment failed, free government would not be secure anywhere. Miller has given us one of the most insightful accounts of Lincoln published in recent years. (Feb. 5)
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From Booklist

Miller’s Lincoln’s Virtues (2002) extolled the qualities of the future president; this companion volume considers Lincoln’s character in exercising the powers of the presidency. Largely laudatory, Miller treats illustrative Lincoln decisions in the context of Lincoln’s frequent reference to his duties under the oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” One set of decisions pertains to the pardon power, Lincoln’s application of which was usually lenient (sparing army deserters) but on occasion stern (hanging a slave trader). But the presidency can be more powerful than its enumerated powers, and in areas where Lincoln dipped into constitutionally murky waters, such as the suspension of habeas corpus or his issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, Miller shows Lincoln’s dedication to his oath, that is, to preserve the Union against the Confederacy. Historically, this lodestar for Lincoln stokes criticism for his slow pace toward abolishing slavery, but Miller stints no plaudits in defending Lincoln for politically practical rectitude. Also praiseworthy of Lincoln as diplomat and commander-in-chief, Miller’s examination will hearten Lincoln admirers everywhere. --Gilbert Taylor

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400041031
• ISBN-13: 978-1400041039
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.6 x 9.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Insights Elegantly Presented, March 3, 2008

By 

JMB1014 "JMB1014" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman (Hardcover)

William Lee Miller is one of the most readable and thoughtful of modern American historians. His utterly captivating "Arguing About Slavery," concerning John Quincy Adams' battle against the Gag Rule in Congress, made me a committed fan of both Adams and Miller. Miller followed with "Lincoln's Virtues," a penetrating meditation on the decency and moral character of Lincoln that focussed mainly on his life before 1861.

"President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman," is a delight. As the title reflects, this volume deals with Lincoln's years as President. Miller is well-versed in the vast reaches of Lincoln scholarship. Unlike the best-selling "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kerns Goodwin, however, Miller actually provides new and revelatory insights that further enhance Lincoln's reputation. Of the current coterie of authors on Lincoln, I have yet to find one who has spent the time Miller does on addressing the substance of Lincoln's critical July 4, 1861 message to Congress, where Lincoln denounced the "farcical" pretence of secession and demolished the myth of state sovereignty as he asked Congress for money and men to fight a war that had become much fiercer than almost anyone had imagined. Douglas Wilson, in "Lincoln's Sword," provides an excellent and in-depth discussion of the drafting of this document but he skirts much of the real substance - which remains controversial in some quarters. Miller shows how Lincoln carefully maneuvered between Union and emancipation. He does not avoid controversy. The message to Congress emerges as a central document in Lincoln's development and in the ongoing debate over "states' rights."

One intriguing episode Miller describes concerns the cashiering of Major John J. Key, who was the brother of one of General McClellan's top aides. David Herbert Donald merely asserts, without attribution, that McClellan was not disloyal. The question is not so lightly to be disposed of. According to Major Key's "silly treasonable talk" (in Lincon's phrase), the "game" was to let both the Union and Confederate armies contend in the field until they were exhausted, making compromise inevitable and thereby saving slavery. McClellan is quoted as asserting his distinct preference for a principled, Christian war that would leave inviolate Confederates' property rights - including their "rights" in slaves. While there is no direct evidence presented of McClellan's disloyalty, certainly these facts, coupled with his notorious reluctance to fight, his constant insistence that he was drastically outnumbered when he was often in charge of superior numbers himself, and his platform when he ran against Lincoln for President in 1864, suggest the need to consider that McClellan's agenda as a general was indeed to subvert the war effort and let slavery prevail. The fact that Major Key became a candidate for clemency shortly after Lincoln sacked him only makes Miller's point more acutely: Lincoln refused to reinstate Key.

Miller also gives some substantial scope to the accounts of how much time Lincoln spent reviewing charges against Union soliders who had been sentenced to die, and how his reputation for leniency misses the fact that he did indeed allow executions to proceed when they were warranted. One fascinating case concerns an American officer who was apprehended in the act of transporting more than 800 slaves from Africa. A Republican prosecutor pursued the case aggressively with the result that this man became the first, last, and only slave-trader in all of American history to be executed under American law. Lincoln refused to commute the sentence to life, despite the tears of the prospective widow and child and the intervention of many worthy citizens - 11,000 at least - on behalf of the condemned man.

This volume is not a comprehensive history or biography. While it is more than an extended scholarly essay or meditation on our greatest President, in many respects it reads like one. Miller's scholarship is substantial and he has a fine set of notes, not referenced in the text. They are arranged in the back according to the page number in the main text where the reference arises. The result is a book a lay-person can read for sheer pleasure, or which specialists can peruse for new nuggets. Miller is a master prose stylist, not impervious to humor. And, not unlike his subject, he presents powerful ideas simply. Though the story has been told a myriad of times, it gains new richness, depth and subtlety from Miller's telling of it, his selection of different issues to highlight, and his juxtaposition of materials. I recommend it highly.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book by William Miller on our greatest President's tumultous and defining term of office, March 25, 2008

By 

C. M Mills "Michael Mills" (Knoxville Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman (Hardcover)

Wlliam Lee Miller's new book on US President Abraham Lincoln focuses entirely on the 1861-1865 period when Lincoln was chief executive and the nation suffered through a horrendous Civil War. Miller is an eloquent author and an expert on Lincoln. His book is a combination of narrative laced with a detailed study of several of the moral issues the Kentucky railsplitter faced in office. Among these Gordian Knot problems upon which Lincoln had to decide were:
1. Whether to supply Fort Sumter by sea or allow the Charleston SC.fort to be surrendered to the new Confederate government without a shot being fired? Lincoln had promised to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution in his inaugural address on March 4, 1861. He believed the President of the United States should defend our territory so refused to give up on Sumter. The Confederates fired on the fort leading to a declaration of war with the United States. The Civil War would cost over
600,000 lives-2/3 of them because of disease and insanitary conditions.
2. Lincoln made the decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in Confederate controlled areas as of January 1, 1863. As a wily politician this act did not apply to slaves held in Union held but slave states. All African-Americans in bondage would be freed by the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution following the great emancipator's death
by assassination on April 15, 1865.
3. Miller cites several examples of Lincoln's mercy to soldiers convicted by court martial. He could be tough refusing to save the life of Nathaniel Gordon a slave ship owner and a man who shot a white officer leading a parade of black soldiers in Norfolk, Va. Lincoln was a kind and merciful man who was without hubris or self-glorification.
4. Lincoln showed mercy to most of the Indians who had been involved in the war launched against white settlers in Minnesota in 1863.
5. Lincoln was a great war leader getting rid of poor generals such as George McClellan and choosing fighters like Grant, Sherman and Sheridan to lead the north to victory. He favored a tolerant policy to the South following the war. Unfortunately he died before Reconstruction which proved to be harsh under Andrew Johnson.
6. The Civil War, says Miller, was not total war as civilians were not targeted for death although their property was destoyed by armies. This especially occurred during Sherman's March to the Sea.
7. Lincoln expressed the highest aspirations of republican government in his great speeches. He was in favor of the common person and had no tolerance for rulership by an aristocratic elite.
Lincoln saw his purpose as President to be dominated by two major themes: 1. The preservation of the United States governed by the Constitution 2. The elimination of chattel slavery and the granting of citizenship to the four million Africa-Americans who lived in America. Lincoln was not a racist but a friend of blacks. He welcomed the black leader Frederick Douglass to the White House.
William Lee Miller's book should be required reading in any course dealing with the American Civil War, Presidential Leadership or the life of Lincoln. This great and good man shows us that morality in high office can be practiced by a skillful politician.
This books should be read in tandem with Miller's earlier book on Lincoln's virtues which takes our sixteenth president through his career up until election as President of the United States.
A book to treasure!

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Presidential Honor, February 20, 2008

By 

Christian Schlect (Yakima, Washington/USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman (Hardcover)

Will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in our greatest president and his time in office. Professor Miller is a wonderful master of his subject.

Abraham Lincoln is rightfully remembered here for the actions he took during the short time he actually served in the White House. This is not a book about Mr. Lincoln's youth, his career in Illinois, or his family life. How this statesman balanced power, people, and ethics in reaching his twin noble objectives is laid out in a most compelling way by William Lee Miller.

(I especially found interesting the material presented on President Lincoln's use of the pardoning power.)

Purchase this book for yourself, or a friend who may question why the world still celebrates a politician who was born almost two hundred years ago.