Lincoln and the Power of the Press

September 15, 2014

Holzer, a Lincoln historian and senior vice president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, examines the critical and at times contentious relationship between Lincoln and the press throughout the president's political career, but especially during his years in the White House. An autodidact, Lincoln devoured newspapers throughout his life, and, at one point, even bought a German-language newspaper in Illinois. As Holzer demonstrates, Lincoln believed that public opinion counted for everything in politics and he courted and manipulated the New-York Tribune, the New York Herald, and the New York Times as he sought and attained national prominence. Holzer analyzes the connection between politicians and the press during the 19th century and presents Lincoln as a chief executive who instinctively grasped the power of print. The author persuasively illustrates the manner in which each used the other to influence citizen thought, public policy, and eventually the outcome of the Civil War. In Holzer's work, Lincoln comes off as persistently seeking to manage public opinion while also realizing that some events were beyond his control. VERDICT A must-read that is accessible and well researched for anyone interested in Lincoln, the media, and public opinion in our democracy.--Stephen Kent Shaw, Northwest Nazarene Coll., Nampa, ID

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Starred review from September 1, 2014
Although the majority of the American population was probably illiterate at the end of the eighteenth century, even the Founders recognized the power of the press and tried to manipulate, embrace, and sometimes completely control journals of opinion. Journals influenced or controlled by Federalists and anti-Federalists waged war over ratification of the Constitution; Jefferson, Hamilton, and Adams used surrogates in the press to savage their political opponents. Holzer, the acclaimed Lincoln scholar, illustrates that the often symbiotic relationship between the press and various politicians and parties had reached an unprecedented level during the era of the Civil War. He tracks these relationships by highlighting the activities of Lincoln, his political opponent Stephen Douglas, and journalistic power brokers, especially Horace Greeley and James Gordon Bennett. Well before he was known nationally, Lincoln knew how to cultivate Illinois pundits and even covertly purchased a German-language newspaper, hoping to garner support from the immigrant population. Greeley, like Lincoln, came from humble origins; was convinced he had a special destiny; and saw his close association with the Republican Party as a way to achieve it. Bennett was flamboyant, bigoted, but a brilliant entrepreneur who played both ends of the political street to further his ambitions. This is a well-written reminder that the independence of the press, then as now, has its limits.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)