Lincoln Alone

From award-winning Lincoln expert Edward Achorn, the vivid, behind-the-scenes story of one of the most consequential periods in American history—Abraham Lincoln’s first 120 days as president

No American president has ever taken office at a moment of crisis such as Abraham Lincoln faced when sworn in on March 4, 1861. Seven southern states had seceded to form the Confederacy. The U.S. government was practically bankrupt. Lincoln was excoriated by newspapers as weak, dithering, and hopelessly inexperienced. His hand-picked Cabinet was contentious, especially his Secretary of State William Seward. And above all, the two federal bastions not yet seized by the South—Forts Pickens in Florida and Sumter in South Carolina—were under imminent threat. Whether to defend them or let them go would determine the country’s future.

In propulsive prose, Edward Achorn captures this extraordinary moment in our history, chronicling how Lincoln, largely alone, navigated the dramatic first four months of his presidency—from his inaugural address to his dramatic July 4 speech to Congress. Achorn brings to life heretofore little-known details: Herman Melville, a decade on from Moby-Dick, seeking a consulship in Florence; young Ulysses Grant striving to join the staff of young General George McClellan; the intense dramas as Lincoln strove to keep the border states in the Union. Above all, Achorn presents an unforgettable portrait of Lincoln himself: weeping over the death of the first Union officer killed, a dear family friend; diplomatically over-ruling Seward without alienating him; forcing the South to strike the first blow at Sumter; steadfastly hewing to the oath he took to defend the Constitution.

“We must settle this question now,” Lincoln insisted, “whether in a free government the minority have the right to break up the government whenever they choose.” Drawing on newspaper accounts, letters, diaries, and other accounts from both North and South, Lincoln Alone reveals how, with the Union on a knife edge, the first four months of Lincoln’s presidency led to the Civil War but preserved the nation.