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REGION: North America

TOPIC: U.S. Presidency

Online NewsHour

Posted: December 2, 2008

Lessons From Presidents Past

Forum Introduction

		As President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office amid an economic crisis and conflicts overseas, the experiences of former presidents Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt are being regularly recalled, including by Mr. Obama himself.

Was the national debt as large when FDR took office as is today?

FDR used the fireside chat to gain trust and credibility. What can Obama do?

What was Europe's reaction to the election of President Lincoln?

Even though the country was in turmoil, why didn't FDR or Lincoln use more influence during their transition periods?

What do you think it is about this country or its character that brings leaders to the presidency when they are most needed?


	Rob of Hartsdale, N.Y., asks:

	What was the reaction to the election of President Lincoln in Europe and the rest of the world? Was it anything like that of Obama?

Harold Holzer responds:

Thanks, Rob. This is another good question. Europe hardly erupted in celebration at Lincoln's election the way it has at Obama's. One British MP famously observed, after studying photos of Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, that Davis looked presidential, but not old Abe.

In time, however, Lincoln became a useful symbol for antislavery Englishmen and anti-Napoleon III Frenchmen -- the personification of the right of the common man to rise.

Main: Obama's Transition to Power

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Lessons From Presidents Past


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