--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Washington was a typical American…" description: "\"Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a typical Frenchman, but Lincoln was a humanitarian as broad as the world. He was bigger than his count..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_beam_washington-was-a-typical-american-napole_2392768.jpg" --- # Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a typical… ![“Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a typical Frenchman, but Lincoln was a humanitarian as broad as the world. He was bigger than his country - bigger than all the Presidents together. We are still too near to his greatness,' (Leo) Tolstoy (in 1908) concluded, 'but after a few…” quote by Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_beam_washington-was-a-typical-american-napole_2392768.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_beam_washington-was-a-typical-american-napole_2392768.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_beam_washington-was-a-typical-american-napole_2392768.jpg) > “Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a typical Frenchman, but Lincoln was a humanitarian as broad as the world. He was bigger than his country - bigger than all the Presidents together. We are still too near to his greatness,' (Leo) Tolstoy (in 1908) concluded, 'but after a few centuries more our posterity will find him considerably bigger than we do. His genius is still too strong and powerful for the common understanding, just as the sun is too hot when its light beams directly on us.' (748)” [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lincoln’s moral vision and leadership far exceeded typical political roles, making his impact timeless and profound. **In simple terms:** Lincoln’s greatness outshines ordinary presidents. Key Takeaway Recognize and emulate Lincoln’s humanitarian leadership. Themes leadership humanitarianism legacy greatness Mood reverent inspirational reflective Type historical inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - political decisionmaking - public speaking - ethical leadership - education - policy making Key Concepts moral authority historical impact visionary leadership Questions to Reflect On - How can modern leaders embody Lincoln’s humanitarian values? - What aspects of Lincoln’s policies are still relevant today? A Different Perspective His legacy may be idealized, overlooking his political flaws and controversies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Humanitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanitarian/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a typical Frenchman, but Lincoln was a humanitarian as broad as the world. He was bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/washington-was-a-typical-american-napoleon-was-a-typical-frenchman/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“Tolstoy went on to observe,"This little incident proves how largely the name of Lincoln is worshipped throughout the world and how legendary his personality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/tolstoy-went-on-to-observe-this-little-incident-proves-how-largely/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [The typical American citizen is the business man. The typical business man is a bad citizen; he is busy. If he is a 'big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-steffens/the-typical-american-citizen-is-the-business-man-the-typical-business/) [Lincoln Steffens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-steffens/) > [“The typical American, after he has lost the foundations of his existence, works for new foundations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/the-typical-american-after-he-has-lost-the-foundations-of-his/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [If my life has had a theme, I suppose it has been a typical American theme in that, for most of it, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/if-my-life-has-had-a-theme-i-suppose-it-has-been-a-typical-american/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [In 1900, the typical American was a boy, not yet a teenager, named John. He lived with his parents and his sisters, Mary and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-dedman/in-1900-the-typical-american-was-a-boy-not-yet-a-teenager-named-john/) [Bill Dedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-dedman/) > [The British have their own conception of what constitutes the typical American. He must have a flavor of the Wild West about him. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/the-british-have-their-own-conception-of-what-constitutes-the-typical/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [I was a typical American boy. I did a lot of outdoor activities, played a lot outside with my friends, loved to go the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-g-poindexter/i-was-a-typical-american-boy-i-did-a-lot-of-outdoor-activities-played/) [Alan G. Poindexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-g-poindexter/) > [The Typical American? He is sent to school Little or much, where he imbibes the rule Of safety first and comfort; in his youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-lee-masters/the-typical-american-he-is-sent-to-school-little-or-much-where-he/) [Edgar Lee Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-lee-masters/) > [I'm not trying to say I'm a big tough guy... I'm a typical American-waist deep in this violent culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-m-not-trying-to-say-i-m-a-big-tough-guy-i-m-a-typical-american/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I think young people ought to seek that differential experience that is going to knock them off dead center. I was a typical American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/i-think-young-people-ought-to-seek-that-differential-experience-that/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rockwell/without-thinking-too-much-about-it-in-specific-terms-i-was-showing/) [Norman Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rockwell/) > [I had a very normal, very typical American childhood. My father worked for the government at the Pentagon and my mother was an educator,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-had-a-very-normal-very-typical-american-childhood-my-father-worked/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [“It was typical of the American to identify the one unfinished strand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-bunn/it-was-typical-of-the-american-to-identify-the-one-unfinished-strand/) [Davis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davis-bunn/) > [New York is the meeting place of the peoples, the only city where you can hardly find a typical American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/new-york-is-the-meeting-place-of-the-peoples-the-only-city-where-you/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) ## More by Doris Kearns Goodwin > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [What I think I've learned is that you're never going to get it all right, and you can't obsess about having a fact wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/what-i-think-i-ve-learned-is-that-you-re-never-going-to-get-it-all/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [I wish we could go back to the time when the private lives of our public figures were relevant only if they directly affected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-wish-we-could-go-back-to-the-time-when-the-private-lives-of-our/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [People will love him (Theodore Roosevelt) for the enemies he has made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/people-will-love-him-theodore-roosevelt-for-the-enemies-he-has-made/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“This extreme treatment was among the proliferating regimens developed in response to the stunning increase in nervous disorders diagnosed around the turn of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/this-extreme-treatment-was-among-the-proliferating-regimens-developed/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“I could carve out of a banana a judge with more backbone than that,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-could-carve-out-of-a-banana-a-judge-with-more-backbone-than-that/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“And Lincoln, as would be evidenced throughout his presidency, was a master of timing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/and-lincoln-as-would-be-evidenced-throughout-his-presidency-was-a/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“Don’t hit till you have to; but, when you do hit, hit hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/don-t-hit-till-you-have-to-but-when-you-do-hit-hit-hard/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“After ministering each day to the hundreds of young men who had endured ghastly wounds, submitted to amputations without anesthesia, and often died without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/after-ministering-each-day-to-the-hundreds-of-young-men-who-had/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [The value that I found in interviewing was for an educational experience, just to know that history itself is subjective, that you can't say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/the-value-that-i-found-in-interviewing-was-for-an-educational/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [Excitement about things became a habit, a part of my personality, and the expectation that I should enjoy new experiences often engendered the enjoyment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/excitement-about-things-became-a-habit-a-part-of-my-personality-and/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“All the cartoonists at heart liked him, and there was seldom or never anything bitter or really unfriendly in their portrayals of him; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/all-the-cartoonists-at-heart-liked-him-and-there-was-seldom-or-never/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [I think that's still what the American Dream means: that with perseverance, with hard work, you can become something, that the classes won't prevent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-think-that-s-still-what-the-american-dream-means-that-with/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [I shall always be grateful for this curious love of history, allowing me to spend a lifetime looking back into the past, allowing me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-shall-always-be-grateful-for-this-curious-love-of-history-allowing/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“Simon Cameron: “I loved my brother, as only the poor and lonely can love those with whom they have toiled and struggled up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/simon-cameron-i-loved-my-brother-as-only-the-poor-and-lonely-can-love/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) [Explore all 196 Doris Kearns Goodwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) ## More Beam quotes > [I've said it before, good people are forced to do bad things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-cloud/i-ve-said-it-before-good-people-are-forced-to-do-bad-things/) [Angus Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-cloud/) > [Letters crossing in the post, unfamiliar tunes heard three times in one day, the way that blows of fate descend upon the same bowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/letters-crossing-in-the-post-unfamiliar-tunes-heard-three-times-in/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I was really interested in this ability for others to create virtual memories for us. In "The Cartographers" I explore this through Adam Woods,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/i-was-really-interested-in-this-ability-for-others-to-create-virtual/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [Order is the sanity of the mind, the health of the body, the peace of the city, the security of the state. As the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/order-is-the-sanity-of-the-mind-the-health-of-the-body-the-peace-of/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [“Sometimes good people do bad things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gilmore/sometimes-good-people-do-bad-things/) Andrew Gilmore > [See with what force yon river's crystal stream Resists the weight of many a massy beam. To sink the wood the more we vainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/see-with-what-force-yon-river-s-crystal-stream-resists-the-weight-of/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [Let her alone,' said the enkanto, 'or I will curse you blind, lame, and worse.' The old man laughed. 'I'm a curse breaker, fool.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/let-her-alone-said-the-enkanto-or-i-will-curse-you-blind-lame-and/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [The closer the source of light is to a subject, the broader the beams are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-hall/the-closer-the-source-of-light-is-to-a-subject-the-broader-the-beams/) [Conrad Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-hall/) > [Raise high the roof beam, carpenters. Like Ares comes the bridegroom, taller far than a tall man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sappho/raise-high-the-roof-beam-carpenters-like-ares-comes-the-bridegroom/) [Sappho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sappho/) > [I would love to see what's going to happen with science fiction with peoples' heads, because we still have people running around in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-nielsen/i-would-love-to-see-what-s-going-to-happen-with-science-fiction-with/) [Leslie Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-nielsen/) > [The House ...She lays her beams in music, In music everyone, To the cadence of the whirling world Which dances around the sun- That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-house-she-lays-her-beams-in-music-in-music-everyone-to-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nothing to me is more distasteful than that entire complacency and satisfaction which beam in the countenances of a new married couple; in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/nothing-to-me-is-more-distasteful-than-that-entire-complacency-and/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [“Bad people very often do one good thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/bad-people-very-often-do-one-good-thing/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [I had a constant fear, a constant little doubt in my mind: 'OK, I'm getting ready to do my standing back full on beam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-johnson/i-had-a-constant-fear-a-constant-little-doubt-in-my-mind-ok-i-m/) [Shawn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-johnson/) Browse all 396 Beam quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a typical Frenchman, but Lincoln was a humanitarian as broad as the world. He was bigger than his country - bigger than all the Presidents together. We are still too near to his greatness,' (Leo) Tolstoy (in 1908) concluded, 'but after a few centuries more our posterity will find him considerably bigger than we do. His genius is still too strong and powerful for the common understanding, just as the sun is too hot when its light beams directly on us.' 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