Lincoln's Virtues

1. The striking disparity between Lincoln's rustic exterior and his intellectual depth

Throughout the life of that extraordinary hired hand whose name was Abraham Lincoln, there would be a recurrent pattern: an initial impression of the boy or the lad or the man, derived from externals and superficialities, would then be overthrown by the shock of recognition of his intellectual power.

Deceptive physical appearance. Lincoln's physical presence constantly misled observers who equated his awkward, towering frame and ill-fitting clothes with intellectual mediocrity. From his bare shins in buckskin trousers to his famous faded blue cotton umbrella, his external presentation screamed "backwoods greenhorn." Yet, this caricature was repeatedly shattered the moment he began to speak, revealing a mind of astonishing clarity and logical precision.

Shock of recognition. Observers from all walks of life—ranging from the frontier preacher Peter Cartwright to sophisticated Eastern intellectuals at Cooper Union—experienced a profound transformation in their estimation of him. They initially felt pity or amusement, which quickly turned into reverence as his intellect transfigured his homely features. Key elements of this deceptive persona included:

• His ungainly, six-foot-four physical stature and unusually long limbs.
• A persistent carelessness regarding personal attire and formal grooming.
• A thick western accent and rustic, farmyard figures of speech.

Intellectual self-confidence. Despite his lack of formal schooling, Lincoln possessed an unshakeable confidence in his own mental powers. He was slow to learn but possessed a steel-like memory that retained impressions permanently once they were etched. This unique cognitive style allowed him to bypass superficial debates and plow directly down to first principles, surprising both friends and foes.

2. Deliberate self-education as a tool for moral and mental empowerment

To immancipate the mind from this false and under estimate of itself, is the great task which printing came into the world to perform.

Active mental liberation. Lincoln did not wait for knowledge to be presented to him; he actively sought it out through an intense, self-directed program of reading. In a frontier environment with "absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education," he used the printed word as a lifeline to connect with the broader Western civilization. This solitary communion with great minds allowed him to escape the intellectual limitations of his immediate surroundings.

Immersive reading habits. Rather than skimming a vast library, Lincoln deeply internalized a select few masterworks that shaped his logic, rhetoric, and moral worldview. He read in every posture imaginable—lying on the floor, balanced on haystacks, or walking down the street. His intellectual foundation was built upon:

• The King James Bible, which infused his prose with majestic, rhythmic cadences.
• The plays of Shakespeare, which deepened his understanding of human nature and tragedy.
• Euclid's geometry, which he studied as an adult to master the art of logical demonstration.
• Standard legal and grammatical texts, which he mastered entirely through personal discipline.

Overcoming educational defects. Lincoln frequently deprecated his own formal schooling, noting that the aggregate of his instruction did not amount to a single year. Yet, this self-deprecation masked a profound pride in his ability to master complex subjects under the pressure of necessity. By teaching himself grammar, surveying, and the law, he proved that intellectual culture could be achieved independently of institutional privilege.

3. The conscious rejection of frontier vices and cultural norms

Young Lincoln, growing up in “unpromising” Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois settings, would accomplish a remarkable work of independent self-definition.

Deliberate personal nonconformity. Growing up in the rough, masculine culture of the American frontier, Lincoln engaged in a striking series of personal rejections. While his peers and family participated in the standard pastimes of the wilderness, Lincoln quietly withdrew from them to preserve his own moral and physical autonomy. He did not hunt, fish, or participate in the casual cruelty toward animals that was common among frontier boys.

Abstinence and moderation. In a society saturated with whiskey, tobacco, and profanity, Lincoln remained remarkably temperate. He did not drink, smoke, chew, or gamble, yet he managed to avoid the self-righteousness often associated with moral reformers. His nonconformity was characterized by:

• A total abstinence from alcohol, despite running a store that sold spirits.
• A refusal to use profanity or engage in vulgar, aggressive behavior.
• An active role as a peacemaker, using humor to defuse physical fights.
• A compassionate defense of animals, once writing a school essay against cruelty.

Independent political choices. This pattern of independent self-definition extended directly into his political and social alignments. Surrounded by ardent Jacksonian Democrats, including his own family, Lincoln chose to align himself with Henry Clay and the Whig Party. He rejected the pervasive racial and nativist prejudices of his neighbors, maintaining a lifelong commitment to the universal principles of human dignity.

4. The ethical integration of politics and morality

The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject any thing, is not whether it have any evil in it; but whether it have more of evil, than of good.

Pragmatic moral reasoning. Lincoln rejected the perfectionist moralism that demanded absolute purity at the expense of practical results. He understood that in the messy arena of collective action, good and evil are almost always inextricably mixed. A responsible politician must therefore exercise discriminate judgment, weighing the foreseeable consequences of their actions to achieve the greatest possible good.

The ethics of responsibility. This approach set him apart from both the unprincipled opportunist and the politically inactive moralist. Lincoln believed that holding a moral conviction required working through established political machinery, such as parties and legislatures, to give that conviction practical effect. His political realism was defined by:

• A willingness to make compromises on secondary issues to preserve essential goals.
• A rejection of the "do nothing lest you do wrong" mentality of political purists.
• An insistence on analyzing the concrete, real-world fruits of any policy.

The limits of compromise. While Lincoln was a master of political calculation, he recognized that certain fundamental principles could never be compromised. When the moral core of the nation was at stake, he abandoned his usual pragmatism for an unyielding stance. This delicate balance between flexibility and resolution allowed him to navigate the treacherous waters of the sectional crisis without losing his ethical compass.

5. The "turn about is fair play" principle and political magnanimity

He was certainly a very poor hater.

Uncommon political generosity. Throughout his rise to power, Lincoln demonstrated a rare capacity to subordinate his personal ego and resentments to the larger interests of his party and cause. He operated on the principle of "turn about is fair play," respecting the ambitions of his rivals and abiding by the rules of party organization even when they worked against his immediate self-interest. This magnanimity became a defining feature of his leadership style.

Subordinating the ego. In his dealings with political rivals like Edward Baker, John J. Hardin, and Lyman Trumbull, Lincoln consistently chose cooperation over conflict. When his own senatorial ambitions were thwarted in 1855, he famously instructed his supporters to vote for Trumbull to prevent a pro-Nebraska Democrat from winning. Key examples of this magnanimous behavior include:

• Declining to hold grudges against the anti-Nebraska Democrats who blocked his election.
• Actively campaigning for rivals who had previously defeated him for nominations.
• Appointing his chief presidential competitors to the most powerful cabinet posts.

The appointment of Stanton. The ultimate test of this virtue was his appointment of Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War. Stanton had brutally humiliated Lincoln during the Manny reaper case, treating him with public contempt and calling him a "long-armed creature." Yet, recognizing Stanton's immense ability and devotion to the Union, President Lincoln cast aside his personal pride and entrusted him with the nation's military administration.

6. The moral foundation of the anti-Nebraska struggle

I think, and shall try to show, that it is wrong; wrong in its direct effect, letting slavery into Kansas and Nebraska—and wrong in its prospective principle, allowing it to spread to every other part of the wide world, where men can be found inclined to take it.

Aroused by injustice. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, which repealed the Missouri Compromise, shattered Lincoln's political indifference and brought his antislavery convictions to the center of his life. He was "thunderstruck and stunned" by this aggressive effort to expand the territory open to human bondage. For Lincoln, this was not a mere policy dispute, but a radical alteration of the nation's moral foundation.

The core moral wrong. Lincoln's opposition to the act was grounded in his absolute conviction that slavery was a monstrous injustice. He hated the "declared indifference" of Stephen Douglas's popular sovereignty, which treated the expansion of slavery as a matter of moral par with freedom. His critique of the act focused on:

• The direct effect of allowing the physical spread of human bondage into free territories.
• The prospective principle that assumed there could be a moral right in enslaving others.
• The erosion of the nation's moral standing and republican example in the world.

A non-denunciatory approach. While Lincoln's moral condemnation of slavery was absolute, his rhetorical style remained remarkably free of personal malice. He did not vilify the Southern people, famously declaring that "they are just what we would be in their situation." By combining a rigorous moral argument with a sympathetic understanding of the slaveholders' historical predicament, he created a powerful, persuasive, and non-moralistic antislavery consensus.

7. The defense of the Declaration of Independence as a universal moral standard

Allow ALL the governed an equal voice in the government, and that, and that only is self government.

The sheet anchor of republicanism. Lincoln made the Declaration of Independence the constant reference point for his political and moral arguments. He insisted that the proposition "all men are created equal" was a universal truth that applied to all human beings, including black Americans. To deny this, as Stephen Douglas did, was to mutilate the nation's charter of freedom and reduce it to a "self-evident lie."

Combating the dehumanization of the Negro. Lincoln waged a relentless intellectual battle against the efforts of his opponents to "dehumanize" and "brutalize" black people in the public mind. He argued that Douglas's indifferentism prepared the public to treat the Negro as mere property, no different from a horse or a crocodile. His defense of the Declaration's universal scope included:

• An insistence that the Negro was a man, endowed with the natural right to the fruits of his own labor.
• A rejection of the claim that the Founders intended to exclude black people from the Declaration.
• An appeal to the universal sense of justice and human sympathy inherent in all people.

The Declaration as a beacon. For Lincoln, the Declaration was not a description of a present reality, but a progressive ideal to be constantly approximated. He understood that while the Founders could not immediately establish perfect equality, they set up a standard for all time to come. By readopting the Declaration, the nation could repurify its "republican robe" and keep its institutions worthy of the saving.

8. The preservation of the Union as a perpetual, constitutional duty

I hold, that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution, the Union of these states is perpetual.

The perpetuity of the nation. As president-elect during the secession winter of 1860-61, Lincoln faced the ultimate test of his constitutional and moral convictions. He rejected the idea that any state could lawfully secede from the Union on its own motion, declaring that the central idea of secession was the "essence of anarchy." For Lincoln, the Union was a permanent national government, not a temporary contractual association to be broken at will.

An oath registered in heaven. Lincoln's resolve to preserve the Union was bound by the solemn oath he was about to take. He believed that while the secessionists had no oath to destroy the government, he held a sacred obligation to preserve, protect, and defend it. His constitutional duty required him to:

• Ensure that the laws of the Union were faithfully executed in all the states.
• Hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the federal government.
• Reject any compromise that would permit the further expansion of slavery.

Firmness without malice. Even as he prepared for the impending conflict, Lincoln sought to avoid any appearance of boasting or threat. He placed the momentous issue of civil war entirely in the hands of his "dissatisfied countrymen," promising that the government would not be the aggressor. By combining an inflexible devotion to his constitutional duty with an appeal to the "better angels of our nature," he prepared to save the Union in a way that would keep it forever worthy of the saving.