If you think about it, the historian's task is like that of the detective. David Herbert Donald detectivehistoriantask Change image and share on social
I think, with the gay liberation movement has had need for heroes and heroines, and it would be rather nice to have Abraham Lincoln as your poster boy, wouldn't it? David Herbert Donald abrahamboygay Change image and share on social
What I thought we ought to try to do in a book like this is to focus closely on Lincoln, himself, to see what he knew, how he knew it, how he came to make the decisions that he did, and how he implemented them. David Herbert Donald bookcloselydecision share on social
But I have tried to go over it very carefully, not merely what the evidence is, but with psychoanalysts and psychologists, and I think we're just about all agreed that Lincoln and Speed did not have a homosexual relationship. David Herbert Donald agreecarefullyevidence share on social
I was able to sit at Lincoln's side and see how he thought and how he acted, and how he felt about what was going on around him. I felt the pressures that were on him. You can see what people were writing to him, how they were nudging him. David Herbert Donald actfeltlincoln share on social
In Lincoln's day a President's religion was a very private affair. There were no public prayer meetings, no attempts to woo the Religious Right. Few of Lincoln's countrymen knew anything at all of his religious beliefs. David Herbert Donald affairattemptbelief share on social
The more I have studied Lincoln, the more I have followed his thought processes, the more I am convinced that he understood leadership better than any other American president. David Herbert Donald americanconvinceleadership Change image and share on social
Lincoln had no such person that he could talk with. Often, as a result, he debated with himself, and he would draw up a kind of list of the pros and cons of an argument, and carefully figure them out, and he might test them in public. David Herbert Donald argumentcarefullyconn share on social
Well, it seems to me Lincoln, I suppose, is kind of a model of a particular sort of presidency, a presidency that first of all is elected by a minority of the votes. David Herbert Donald electkindlincoln Change image and share on social
I'm not sure Lincoln would fare well if he were a presidential candidate today. David Herbert Donald candidatefarelincoln Change image and share on social
