War of Words: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War Press [Hardcover]

Harry J. Maihafer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001

A shrewd politician, Abraham Lincoln recognized the power of the press. He knew that, at most, a few thousand people might hear one of his speeches in person, but countless readers across the nation would absorb his message through newspapers. While he was always under fire by some hostile portion of the openly partisan nineteenth-century media, through the careful cultivation of relationships Lincoln successfully wooed numerous prominent newspapermen into aiding his agenda. Whether he was editing his own speech in a newspaper office or inviting reporters to the White House to leak a story, the President skillfully steered the Union through the perils of war by playing his own version of the public relations game.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Modern politicians are quite aware that the support of the press can make or break their careers. Here, Maihafer, a West Point graduate, retired U.S. Army officer, and author of The General and the Journalists: Ulysses S. Grant, Horace Greeley, and Charles Dana, examines the media savvy of Abraham Lincoln, long recognized as a masterly politician. Tracing the evolution of Lincoln's political career and his relationship with the press, he demonstrates how Lincoln, who was not as highly regarded in his day as he would become later, worked with this important group to promote himself and his agenda and build support for the Union cause. This engagingly written book would be enjoyed by the general reader, but because so much has been written on Lincoln, libraries that already own, for example, Michael Burlingame's Lincoln's Journalist: John Hay's Anonymous Writings for the Press, 1860-1864 or Lincoln Observed: The Civil War Dispatches of Noah Brooks, which examines Lincoln's relationship with individual writers, may wish to think twice about buying it. Theresa R. McDevitt, Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

The late Harry J. Maihafer, a West Point graduate and retired U.S. Army colonel, held a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. He authored War of Words: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War Press; The General and the Journalists: Ulysses S. Grant, Horace Greeley,and Charles Dana; Oblivion: The Mystery of West Point Cadet Richard Cox; and Brave Decisions: Moral Courage From the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.; 1 edition (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574883054
• ISBN-13: 978-1574883053
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,520,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reveals Lincoln as an Original "Spin Doctor", December 23, 2001

By 

Roy E. Perry "amateur philosopher" (Nolensville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: War of Words: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War Press (Hardcover)

Spin.--the calculated interpretation of a statement or event from a particular or partisan viewpoint.

Spin doctor.--a person employed by a government, political ty, or company to present or interpret facts or events in a favorable light.

Spin control.--the manipulation of news, especially political news; slanting the news from a certain perspective so that it will be interpreted favorably (or unfavorably, if so desired) by the public.

Nowadays the word media includes newspapers, radio, television, and the internet. During the Civil War, however, the most important (and virtually, the only) source of information was the press: newspapers, journals, and magazines.

In WAR OF WORDS: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE CIVIL WAR PRESS, Harry J. Maihafer has written an engaging, reader-friendly account of how our 16th president (1861-1865) dealt with the press, putting a "spin" on events from his perspective as commander-in chief, so that the public would interpret the news in the most favorable light.

The most influential Northern newspapers in Lincoln's day were in New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Three newspapers in New York--the Tribune, the Times, and the Herald--were of supreme importance in shaping Union sentiment.

Maihafer describes in fascinating detail Lincoln's relationship with five "movers and shakers" of the Fourth Estate:

o Horace Greeley, the volatile New York Tribune editor who often waxed hot and waned cold, swinging back and forth from Lincoln supporter to Lincoln critic.

o Henry Jarvis Raymond, the editor of the New York Times, who was generally supportive of Lincoln and his administration.

o James Gordon Bennett, Sr., editor of the New York Herald, an obnoxious Lincoln critic who described the president as a "joke," "a buffoon," and a "pigmy."

o Joseph Medill, editor of the Chicago Tribune and solid Lincoln supporter.

o Wilbur F. Storey, editor of the Chicago Times, whose criticism of the Lincoln administration often included vicious personal attacks on the president.

Lincoln once remarked that Horace Greeley's constant criticisms and misrepresentations [in the New York Tribune] annoyed him "probably more than anything which happened during his administration." As a consummate politician, however, Lincoln shrewdly wooed and courted newspaper editors and journalists, always seeking to put the best "spin" on his administration's policies and programs.

"In waging war against the South," write Maihafer, "it must be admitted that Lincoln was willing to trample on civil liberties. Suspending the right of habeas corpus in September of 1863, and leaving it that way throughout the war, may have been his worst mistake."

Nevertheless, Maihafer realizes that desperate times call for desperate measures, and his portrait of Lincoln is essentially a lionizing description of a man who was the right man for the right time--the helmsman who guided the ship of state through a treacherous storm--a bloody and brutal civil war.

WAR ON WORDS is an impressive overview of a tragic era in our nation's history. Maihafer not only introduces us to a president who was a statesman of the first rank and a decent human being, but also takes us into the inner workings of the White House. Moreover, he presents a masterful bird's-eye view of the progress of military events: key battles, strategies, and tactics.

WAR ON WORDS is a model of concise, cut-to-the-chase writing. In its less than 300 pages, Maihafer says more than other volumes that are two or three times its size--and does so with class and style. This volume is first-rate.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Power of Words, August 13, 2008

By 

Gerald R. Hibbs "gerbear" (Edmond, Oklahoma United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: War of Words: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War Press (Paperback)

This book is interesting, but not compelling. It illustrates Lincoln's use of the printed word to influence the tide of history, but is not told in a compelling manner. The reader will have to dig for its importance.