Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were interesting
characters. Exactly the type of characters a novelist needs to carry a story. In
writing Maelstrom, I had a scene where Lincoln addresses Congress after
a recess. (As customary at the time, his address was read by a clerk.) Not much
has happened during the recess. Eleven states had seceded from the Union, Fort
Sumter had been bombarded and surrendered, a piece of Virginia had been
occupied, and Lincoln had exceeded his executive powers to spend unauthorized
money, build an army, and suspend habeas corpus among other things.
He desperately needed Congress to backfill behind him.
This was a crucial address. Important for Lincoln and the
country. The address was not one of his well-known speeches, but I was struck
by the clarity and simplicity of the explanation of why he took these actions.
Lincoln said it was a struggle for maintaining a form of
government “whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men—to lift
artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit
for all—to afford all an unfettered start, and a fair chance in the race of
life.”
On the cusp of war, Lincoln repeatedly used the word “all.”
He had previously stated that this was the most important word in the preamble to the
Declaration of Independence and had reputedly written that word over and over
again on pieces of paper.
I cannot think of a loftier goal for government. Perhaps in
this age of divisiveness, we should all write the word “all” over and over
again.
