Abraham Lincoln

The novel's protagonist, Abraham Lincoln, is introduced as tall, thin, awkward, with a prominent nose, high cheekbones, and tight yellow skin. A successful railroad lawyer and one-term Congressman twelve years earlier, his nomination and election as President are a political miracle. He garners just under 40% of the popular vote against three rivals. Before the election, Southern governors threaten to secede if he wins and are making good the threat as he arrives, incognito in Washington to avoid assassination. He has been portrayed during the election as a "cautious vacillator" and "Western Jesuit." He is regularly referred to as "Ancient" or "Tycoon" after being nicknamed by secretaries John George Nicolay and John Hay.

Lincoln is a teetotaler and averse to food in general. He suffers chronic constipation but looks healthy and is strong as an ox. His health disintegrates as the story moves along. Lincoln tells long, cumulative...