President Lincoln's Cabinet

[STS Lincolnite]

In another thread, Rogerm mentioned how he was re-reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals. "I think it would have been fascinating to sit in on some of Lincoln's cabinet sessions." I agree. I would have loved to see how Lincoln ran one of the meetings.

On that note, I found an interesting passage in Gideon Welles diary...one I would not have expected to see in regards to Lincoln's vs. Johnson's cabinet meetings.

"June 20, [1865] Tuesday
Mr. Seward was absent from the Cabinet-meeting. All others were present. The meetings are better and more punctually attended than under Mr. Lincoln’s administration, and measures are more generally discussed, which undoubtedly tends to better administration.”

"Better administration" are not words I would think to use when looking back at Johnson's presidency as compared to Lincoln's. Of course this was written only a couple of month's into Johnson's tenure as President.