A New York Times Bestseller -- Basis for the movie Lincoln On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited for the results from the Republican National Convention. Lincoln won, Goodwin demonstrates, because of his extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men. It was this capacity that enabled Lincoln as president to bring his disgruntled opponents together and marshal their talents to the task of preserving the union and winning the war.