• History

Another Similarity Between Lincoln and Obama: They Polarized the Nation

5 minute read

Americans yearn for an end to political polarization and partisanship, and many today fault President Obama for failing to achieve consensus on his major initiatives: health care, immigration reform, foreign policy and so on. But consider Abraham Lincoln. From their state of origin to their legal backgrounds, the two presidents have drawn many comparisons, and here’s another: Despite his various efforts at outreach, our sixteenth president was, in life, an intensely polarizing and partisan figure, every bit as polarizing and partisan as our current president.

Lincoln’s presidency, which ended exactly 150 years ago today, sharply differed from the experience of his predecessors. Before Lincoln, five presidents had won a second term: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and Andrew Jackson. Each had carried both North and South in at least one of his presidential bids. By contrast, Lincoln was purely a regional candidate, despised by intense majorities in a large chunk of the country. In 1860, he received zero popular votes south of Virginia, and in 1864, none of the 11 states in Dixie held a valid presidential election, thanks to sectional war precipitated by Lincoln’s prior election. Even Lincoln’s assassination was related to regional differences: John Wilkes Booth was an intense southern partisan.

In the ensuing century and a half, many of America’s most successful presidents have managed to achieve considerable popularity in both North and South. Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton all outdid Lincoln in this regard. But our current president won, twice, by following a more emphatically Lincolnian path to power—that is, a distinctly northern route: Of the 11 states in the former confederacy, Obama lost eight twice, and lost a ninth (North Carolina) once, prevailing twice only in Virginia and Florida.

In our era, as in Lincoln’s, regional polarization is on the upswing. Prior to 1850, the winning presidential candidate typically carried both North and South. But that pattern broke down in the 1850s, even before Lincoln rose to national prominence; and a similar fate has befallen Obama. At the presidential level the North and the South have backed different candidates in every one of the six most recent elections; and many states are becoming increasingly red or blue, presidentially. In 2012, only four swing states—Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia—were close enough to be decided by fewer than five points.

See the American Civil War in Color Photographs

Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Allan Pinkerton, President Lincoln, and Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand; at the main eastern theater of the war, Battle of Antietam, Sept.-Oct., 1862.Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Allan Pinkerton, President Lincoln, and Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand; at the main eastern theater of the war, Battle of Antietam, Sept.-Oct., 1862.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Surgeons of the 3rd Division before hospital tent in Petersburg, Va., Aug. 1864.Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Surgeons of the 3rd Division before hospital tent in Petersburg, Va., Aug. 1864.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
John L. Burns, the "old hero of Gettysburg," with gun and crutches in Gettysburg, Penn., July, 1863.Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
John L. Burns, the "old hero of Gettysburg," with gun and crutches in Gettysburg, Penn., July, 1863.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Washington, District of Columbia. Tent life of the 31st Penn. Inf. at Queen's farm, vicinity of Fort Slocum in Washington, DC, 1861.Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Washington, District of Columbia. Tent life of the 31st Penn. Inf. at Queen's farm, vicinity of Fort Slocum in Washington, DC, 1861.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Allan Pinkerton ("E. J. Allen") of the Secret Service on horseback in Antietam, Md., Oct. 1862.Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Allan Pinkerton ("E. J. Allen") of the Secret Service on horseback in Antietam, Md., Oct. 1862.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Cock fighting at Gen. Orlando B. Willcox's headquarters in Petersburg, Va., 1864.David Knox—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Cock fighting at Gen. Orlando B. Willcox's headquarters in Petersburg, Va., 1864.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: David Knox—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Camp of Captain [John J.] Hoff., in Gettysburg, Penn., July, 1865William Morris Smith—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Camp of Captain [John J.] Hoff., in Gettysburg, Penn., July, 1865Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: William Morris Smith—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
African American legislator Robert Smalls of South Carolina. Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
African American legislator Robert Smalls of South Carolina. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Portrait of Rear Adm. David D. Porter, officer of the Federal Navy, 1860.Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Portrait of Rear Adm. David D. Porter, officer of the Federal Navy, 1860.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Portrait of Maj. Gen. George A. Custer, officer of the Federal Army, 1865.Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Portrait of Maj. Gen. George A. Custer, officer of the Federal Army, 1865.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Portrait of President Abraham Lincoln, 1863. Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Portrait of President Abraham Lincoln, 1863. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
President Lincoln on the battlefieldLibrary of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
President Lincoln on the battlefieldPhoto colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
President Lincoln and Gen. George B. McClellan in the general's tent, Antietam, Md., Sept. - Oct. 1862.Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
President Lincoln and Gen. George B. McClellan in the general's tent, Antietam, Md., Sept. - Oct. 1862.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Capt. Custer of the 5th Cavalry is seen with Lt. Washington, a prisoner and former classmate.Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Capt. Custer of the 5th Cavalry is seen with Lt. Washington, a prisoner and former classmate.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Officer's mess, Company E, 93rd New York Volunteers, in Bealeton, Va., Aug., 1863Timothy H. O'Sullivan—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Officer's mess, Company E, 93rd New York Volunteers, in Bealeton, Va., Aug., 1863Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Timothy H. O'Sullivan—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Three Confederate prisoners in Gettysburg, Penn., June-July, 1863.Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Three Confederate prisoners in Gettysburg, Penn., June-July, 1863.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Dead on battlefield at 1st Bull Run, 1862-1865Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Dead on battlefield at 1st Bull Run, 1862-1865Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Dead Confederate sharpshooter at foot of Little Round Top on the battlefield at Gettysburg, July, 1863Timothy H. O'Sullivan—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Dead Confederate sharpshooter at foot of Little Round Top on the battlefield at Gettysburg, July, 1863Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Timothy H. O'Sullivan—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Remembering the dead at Sudley Church near Bull Run, Va. March 1862.George N. Barnard—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Remembering the dead at Sudley Church near Bull Run, Va. March 1862.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: George N. Barnard—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
A surgical photo from the Surgeon General's War Department shows an injured soldier with both arms amputated. Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
A surgical photo from the Surgeon General's War Department shows an injured soldier with both arms amputated. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Powder boy by gun of U.S.S. New Hampshire off the coast of Charleston, S.C., 1860.Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Powder boy by gun of U.S.S. New Hampshire off the coast of Charleston, S.C., 1860.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Unidentified African American soldier in Union uniform with wife and two daughters, 1863-1865.Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Unidentified African American soldier in Union uniform with wife and two daughters, 1863-1865.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Mary Todd LincolnMathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Mary Todd LincolnPhoto colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Abraham Lincoln in a reflective pose, in Washington, DC, May 16, 1861. Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Abraham Lincoln in a reflective pose, in Washington, DC, May 16, 1861. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Lewis Payne, a conspirator in the assassination of President Lincoln, in the Washington Navy Yard, April-July 1865. Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Lewis Payne, a conspirator in the assassination of President Lincoln, in the Washington Navy Yard, April-July 1865. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
David E. Herold, a conspirator in the assassination of President Lincoln, in the Washington Navy Yard, April-July 1865. Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
David E. Herold, a conspirator in the assassination of President Lincoln, in the Washington Navy Yard, April-July 1865. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Alexander Gardner—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Frederick DouglassLibrary of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Frederick DouglassPhoto colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Portrait of Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, officer of the Federal Army, 1860-1865.Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Portrait of Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, officer of the Federal Army, 1860-1865.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Mathew Brady—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
The staff of Gen. Fitz-John Porter, Lieutenant William G. Jones and George A. Custer reclining at Falmouth, Va., 1863Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
The staff of Gen. Fitz-John Porter, Lieutenant William G. Jones and George A. Custer reclining at Falmouth, Va., 1863Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Soldiers bathing near the ruins of a railroad bridge, North Anna River, Va, May, 1864.Timothy H. O'Sullivan—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Soldiers bathing near the ruins of a railroad bridge, North Anna River, Va, May, 1864.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Timothy H. O'Sullivan—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Alfred R. Waud, artist of Harper's Weekly, sketching on battlefield in Gettysburg, Penn., July 1863.Timothy H. O'Sullivan—Library of Congress
Civil War in Color Lincoln Sana Dullaway
Alfred R. Waud, artist of Harper's Weekly, sketching on battlefield in Gettysburg, Penn., July 1863.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME; Original image: Timothy H. O'Sullivan—Library of Congress

If we shift gears from regional polarization to political polarization, Lincoln and Obama once again appear as political doubles. Both made efforts to reach across the aisle. For example, Lincoln, a Republican, chose a former Democrat, Edwin Stanton, to serve as Secretary of War. Democrat Obama has symmetrically chosen Republicans Robert Gates and Chuck Hagel to fill the same slot, now renamed the Secretary of Defense. Still, Lincoln’s signature executive accomplishments were at risk in a judiciary dominated by appointees of the opposite political party; the same remains true for Obama. Shortly after Lincoln’s death, every single congressional Democrat voted against the Fourteenth Amendment, which codified Lincoln’s dream of birthright equality of all citizens; almost never before had America seen such 100% polarization. In our era, every single congressional Republican likewise opposed Obama’s signature health care plan.

But even on the topics where his proposals were most radical, Lincoln’s opponents’ arguments have not aged well. Shortly before his death, he signed a proposed constitutional amendment providing for an end to American slavery—immediately and with no financial compensation to slaveholders. Nothing like this had ever happened in any American jurisdiction where slavery was widespread. In 1860, less than 1% of America’s black population voted on equal terms. In 1870, all racial disfranchisement was constitutionally forbidden, building on another suggestion made by Lincoln himself in his last public speech, just days before he died.

That level of equality had been a new public stance for Lincoln, a break from his more cautious early views, much as Obama has only recently evolved to a position of open embrace of same-sex marriage. If the Supreme Court later this year constitutionalizes this egalitarian vision, following the lead of the latest lanky lawyer from Illinois to occupy the Oval Office, the decision will likely trigger howls of protest. These howls are likely to be loudest in those regions that hated Lincoln and all that he stood for when he was still standing. But Lincoln’s example should remind us that contemporary controversy does not necessarily mean that the judgment of history will be equivocal. Lincoln’s vision of racial equality has been vindicated by posterity; and the same seems highly likely for Obama’ vision of sexual-orientation equality. As Mark Twain is said to have noted, history never repeats itself—but it sometimes rhymes.

The Long View

Historians explain how the past informs the present

Akhil Reed Amar is a professor of law at Yale and author of the newly released book, The Law of the Land: A Grand Tour of our Constitutional Republic.

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