Harold Holzer Quote
James M. McPherson spoke for a later generation of scholars when he asserted in 1988 that Lincoln’s entire, public inaugural journey might have been a mistake, because in his effort to avoid a careless remark or slip of the tongue that might inflame the crisis further, the president-elect indulged in platitudes and trivia, producing an unfavorable impression on those who were already disposed to regard the ungainly president-elect as a commonplace prairie lawyer.
Harold Holzer
James M. McPherson spoke for a later generation of scholars when he asserted in 1988 that Lincoln’s entire, public inaugural journey might have been a mistake, because in his effort to avoid a careless remark or slip of the tongue that might inflame the crisis further, the president-elect indulged in platitudes and trivia, producing an unfavorable impression on those who were already disposed to regard the ungainly president-elect as a commonplace prairie lawyer.