With the recent federal government shutdown, America is in a state of economic and political crisis. Yet crises are nothing new to American history.
In 1858, a then-future president stood before the state Republican convention in Illinois and proclaimed, “[Agitation] will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached…a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Two years later, after the election of Abraham Lincoln, America entered her greatest crisis — a people divided and a nation rent by civil war.
In his recent book “Lincoln Unbound: How an Ambitious Young Rail-Splitter Saved the American Dream—And How We Can Do It Again,” National Review Editor Rich Lowry uses Lincoln’s example as the solution to our nation’s current problems. He argues that, just as our political and economic system desperately needs reform, so does the very character of the American people.
Family stability and “bourgeois virtues” are increasingly rare in the lesser-educated segments of the population, causing greater division between the classes, both social and economic. Lowry’s solution to America’s current crisis lies in understanding and emulating the principles of our 16th president: namely, Lincoln’s channeled ambition, indomitable work ethic, and drive for self-improvement.
From a political and historical viewpoint, Lowry traces Lincoln’s rise from an impoverished farm boy to one-term congressman to President of the United States. Throughout his work, Lowry intentionally redeems Lincoln from the prevailing negative views, particularly the conservative interpretation that he was a proto-New Dealer and the progressive belief that he was a Great Society liberal. Lowry explains, “so much else [written] about Lincoln is the how or what. This is the why.”
Lowry accentuates lesser-known facets of Lincoln’s personality, namely his quick-witted humor and ambition. Yet, “it wasn’t just that he was ambitious. Plenty of people were ambitious. It was how he was ambitious and for what.” Ultimately, this ambition drove not only his self-education and political rise, but also his efforts to help others do the same.
As a Whig and later a Republican, Lincoln advocated the virtues of self-improvement, discipline, and hard work, both by his own example and through his promotion of a society of “equal opportunity for all.” Every person is created equal, thus all ought to have the same opportunity to fulfill their potential and to own the fruits of their labor. This belief, Lowry argues, is at the very core of the American character. In order to understand our identity as a people, we must understand Lincoln’s character and story.
With this and his conservative audience in mind, Lowry presents an updated platform for the Republican Party, with specific policy proposals focused on the economy and individual advancement. He proposes that the American people and the party follow Lincoln’s example and implement his ideals.
Lowry successfully captures Lincoln’s character and the urgency with which America must return to it. As a people, we can learn from and emulate our 16th president. For, in the words of the Great Emancipator, “We are a great empire … and we must enquire what it is that has given us so much prosperity … [T]o give up that one thing, would be to give up all future prosperity. This cause is that every man can make himself.”
