Chapter 35 Learn How to Criticize From President Lincoln

On April 15, 1865, a Saturday morning, in a humble apartment across from Ford's Theater, the assassinated Lincoln was lying weak on his bed, where he was shot at the theater.Because the bed was too small, Lincoln's slender body could only lie reclined.Above the bed hung a reproduction of Bonnarn's famous painting "The Horse Market," and a gas lamp in the room cast a pale yellow halo. Just as Lincoln was about to die, Secretary of War Stanton said: "here lies the most perfect man who ever lived." Why is Lincoln so popular?I once wrote a book called "Lincoln Unknown".I believe that I have done my best to know Lincoln's character and family life well; and I have carried out specific research on Lincoln's way of dealing with the world.

Did Lincoln never criticize others?no.When he was younger, he lived in Indiana.At that time, he not only liked to criticize others, but also liked to write letters to mock others.He often throws these written things on the street so that people can easily find them.One of the letters aroused the disgust of many people against him.Moreover, after Lincoln became a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, he often published articles in newspapers publicly attacking his opponents. At one point, he published an anonymous letter in the Springfield Gazette mocking a pompous Irish politician named James Shields.Everyone who read the letter laughed out loud, and it caused a lot of trouble in the city.Shields was furious.When he found out that Lincoln had written the letter, he immediately jumped on his horse to find Lincoln and offered to fight him.

When it came time for the duel, Lincoln and Shields faced off on a beach on the Mississippi River.Just at the last minute when the duel was about to start, fortunately the guardians of both sides arrived, and under their mediation, this "war" was brought to an end.It was an event that Lincoln would never forget, and taught him a valuable lesson in life.From then on, he never wrote any letters insulting others, and never laughed at others again.And since then, he never criticizes anyone for anything. During the American Civil War, Lincoln repeatedly appointed new generals to lead the Northern Army to fight on the front lines, but they were all defeated one after another.This made Lincoln extremely distressed, and he walked up and down the room disappointed.At that time, half of the people in the country were accusing these incompetent generals, but Lincoln never said a word, still maintaining a peaceful attitude.One of his favorite quotes is: "Don't criticize others so they won't criticize you."

When Lincoln's wife and others were harshly criticizing the Southerners, Lincoln always said, "Don't criticize them. If I were in the same situation as them, I would be in the same situation as them." However, if anyone is qualified to criticize others, it is undoubtedly Lincoln.Why do you say that?Let's look at the following example: From July 1st to 3rd, 1863, at Gettysburg, a fierce battle between the Northern and Southern armies took place. On the evening of the 4th, General Lee led the Southern Army to begin the retreat.At that time, the clouds were thick and the rain was pouring down.When General Lee led the defeated army to retreat to the Potomac, he was blocked by a big river; and behind him was the relentless pursuit of the Northern Army.General Lee was besieged and there was no escape.

Lincoln believed that this was a godsend opportunity to reverse the situation, so he decisively ordered General Meade to cancel the military conference and attack General Lee immediately.Lincoln also sent a telegram and sent an envoy demanding immediate action from Meade. And how did General Meade do it?On the contrary, he not only disobeyed Lincoln's order, but also held a military meeting according to the original plan, which repeatedly delayed the war opportunity, and found various excuses to refuse to attack.Finally, the river receded and General Lee and his army marched away. Lincoln was furious when he learned of this. "God! What does this mean?" Lincoln yelled at his son Robert. "The enemy army is within our reach. We only need to reach out and they will be finished! But no matter what I say or do, our army But I can't move forward. In this situation, anyone can defeat General Lee. If it was me, I would have caught him long ago!"

Disappointed and furious, Lincoln wrote a letter to General Meade.I would like to add one more sentence here: Lincoln was already very restrained during this period, so this letter written in 1863 can be said to be the most severe rebuke.Lincoln wrote this letter: Dear reader, what do you think General Meade's reaction will be when he reads this letter?However, General Meade never saw the letter because Lincoln did not send it.The letter was recovered from Lincoln's files after his assassination.It is my guess—and this is only my own—that Lincoln, after writing this letter, looked out of the window, and said to himself:

"Wait, maybe I shouldn't have been in such a hurry. It would be easy for me to order Meade to attack, sitting here in the quiet of the White House; but if I had been in Gettysburg, if I had seen the same There was blood everywhere, and I heard the wailing and groaning of wounded soldiers in my ears, maybe I would not rush to attack General Lee... If my character was as indecisive as Mead, then I might make the same decision as him. The same move. Anyway, now that the matter is over, if I send this letter, although I can vent my dissatisfaction, won't Mead feel wronged and defend himself? It is only a small matter to cause discomfort, in case he is in Wouldn't it be worse to resign in a fit of rage?"

So, as I guessed above, Lincoln did not send the letter in the end.Because he has learned from painful experience in the past that harsh criticism is never helpful. President Roosevelt once said that during his presidency, whenever he encountered difficult problems, he always leaned back in his seat, looked up at the huge portrait of Lincoln hanging on the wall of the White House office, and asked himself : "What would Lincoln do if he were in the situation I am in?" So, the next time you feel like criticizing an employee or subordinate, pull out a $5 bill from your pocket, look at the portrait of Lincoln on it, and ask yourself, "If Lincoln had this kind of problem, what would he do?" How will it be handled?"