The November 1860 presidential election catapulted Illinois lawyer and politician Abraham Lincoln to his place in American history, but if it were not for the tireless machinations of loyal Lincoln allies at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, there may never have been a President Lincoln. In The Lincoln Miracle, historian Edward Achorn (Every Drop of Blood; The Summer of Beer and Whiskey) delivers an exhaustively researched and detailed narrative of the "Lincoln miracle" that upset then-favorite New York Senator William Seward for the top spot on the Republican ticket. Lincoln, considered "the darkest of the dark horses" to win the nomination, lacked the political influence and deep pockets of his rivals. But what he possessed, according to Achorn, were "the efforts of a cadre of loyal colleagues, the fruit of his gift for making friends." This cadre of "savvy and pragmatic operators," well-tested in local elections and prairie courtrooms, was led by the indefatigable Judge David Davis, Illinois circuit court judge and longtime friend of Lincoln. Thousands descended on the grand wooden hall erected for the convention, affectionately termed "the Wigwam," to engage in the fierce partisan battles. This included preeminent power broker Thurlow Weed, committed to engineering Seward's victory, and the famously dyspeptic journalist Horace Greeley, set on defeating him.
Achorn writes seamlessly of the discordant elements vexing the fledgling party and points to the influence of emerging immigrant voting blocs, primarily German American. Packed with primary sources and eyewitness accounts, The Lincoln Miracle should stand as the definitive account of this epochal political moment in American history. --Peggy Kurkowski, book reviewer and copywriter in Denver