The failed deal crushed McClure, precipitating a nervous breakdown in April 1900 that propelled him to Europe to undergo the celebrated rest-cure devised by an American physician, S. Weir Mitchell. Pr...
The art of communication, Lincoln advised newcomers to the bar, is the lawyer’s avenue to the public. Yet, Lincoln warned, the lawyer must not rely on rhetorical glibness or persuasiveness alone. What...
The United States paid $7.5 million for the lands, which were divided into small parcels and sold to natives, creating a new landowning class.
THE SUMMER OF 1863 marked a crucial transformation in the Union war effort—the organization and deployment of black regiments that would eventually amount to 180,000 soldiers, a substantial proportion...
Spring had come to Washington. The cherry blossoms were in bloom. Yet the glacial mood of the capital refused to melt. Accusations
Simon Cameron: I loved my brother, as only the poor and lonely can love those with whom they have toiled and struggled up the rugged hill of life’s success—but he died bravely in the discharge of his...
She could be affectionate, generous, and optimistic one day; vengeful, depressed, and irritable the next. In the colloquial language of her friends, she was either in the garret or cellar. In either m...
Scholars who have studied the development of leaders have situated resilience, the ability to sustain ambition in the face of frustration, at the heart of potential leadership growth.
Roosevelt repeatedly brought his clenched fist down on the palm of his other hand.
One evening, Lincoln listened as Stanton worked himself into a fury against one of the generals. I would like to tell him what I think of him, Stanton stormed. Why don’t you, suggested Lincoln. Write...
On the morning of June 20, at a hastily arranged conference at New York’s Gramercy Park Hotel, a new umbrella organization was born with Eleanor as honorary chair—the U.S. Committee for the Care of Eu...
Moreover, he objected, I have never done an official act with a view to promote my own personal aggrandizement, and I don’t like to begin now.
Moreover, Lincoln possessed an uncanny understanding of his shifting moods, a profound self-awareness that enabled him to find constructive ways to alleviate sadness and stress. Indeed, when he is com...
Momentum is not a mysterious mistress, Johnson liked to say. It is a controllable fact of political life that depends on nothing more exotic than preparation.
Modernizing the postal service was particularly important for the soldiers, who relied on letters, newspapers, and magazines from home to sustain morale.
Lincoln understood that the greatest challenge for a leader in a democratic society is to educate public opinion.
Johnson insisted, I don’t want this symposium to come here and spend two days talking about what we have done, the progress has been much too small. We haven’t done nearly enough. I’m kind of ashamed...
I hated to have us take the Philippines, but I don’t see how in the world we can give them up.
He would blanket someone with generosity, care, and affection, but in recompense, expect total loyalty and sterling achievement. Failing this standard was perceived by him as a betrayal. His affection...
Early on, Abraham revealed a keystone attribute essential to success in any field—the motivation and willpower to develop every talent he possessed to the fullest.