During the summer of 1864, with America more than three years into a civil war that had killed or maimed hundreds of thousands of citizens, President Abraham Lincoln was under enormous pressure to cancel the looming presidential election.
Lincoln expected to lose his bid for a second term, and some in his party urged him to postpone the elections, using the rebellion as justification. Lincoln refused.
"Suspending elections was wrong in principle, even in the midst of a civil war, even if the election would have resulted in Lincoln's defeat and imperiled the cause of emancipation in which he so deeply believed," writes Yale political scientist and philosopher Steven B. Smith in his new book, "On Statesmanship" (Yale University Press). "To his infinite credit, Lincoln realized that free elections should not, even in principle, be sacrificed."
This example of selfless ethical restraint, Smith says, illustrates one of the key qualities of a true statesman. These oft-heroic figures live up to an ideal of public service that goes beyond the ordinary requirements of political office, commit to protecting one's country during times of peril, and fight for what is right, even if not popular, Smith says.
