The Power of Gratitude

Lincoln exerted an uncanny pull on those he led, and one reason was simple gratitude.

Take the military. For Lincoln gratitude was no big deal! After all, these men were interrupting their lives in a rather profound way to fight over what simple farm boys probably viewed as a relatively esoteric set of ideas, and some of them were going to die in the process.

That required, for example, that Lincoln personally visit every regiment that passed through Washington, DC in 1861 to thank them personally – and as it happened every regiment in the US Army in 1861 passed through Washington, DC.

Needless to say, the troops recognized the bed-rock sincerity of the man. As one veteran said when asked about the soldier vote in the up-coming 1864 election, “Father Abraham mustered us in and we’ll be damned if he doesn’t stay at his post until he’s mustered us out!”

Would you believe, the evidence indicates that he won reelection in 1864 largely because of the soldier vote.

So, when you hear about Lincoln's uncanny political acumen bear in mind that we're not talking "esoteric" - gratitude cuts through a lot!