Final answer:
To distinguish between Lincoln's roles, the author focuses on his public leadership and parallel secret actions to maintain national security during the Civil War, using his cabinet appointments and executive powers effectively to manage both overt political and covert intelligence operations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The author distinguishes between Lincoln's roles by emphasizing how Lincoln led the American people in public while authorizing the country's undercover operations in secret. As President during the Civil War, Lincoln was involved in both overt political maneuvers and covert actions necessary for national security.
In his public role, he carefully crafted messages to maintain the Union and manage the varying factions within his own government and the nation at large. His Cabinet appointments represented a strategic balance between different political views, aiming to both stand firm on the issue of slavery and entertain compromise to preserve the Union.
Meanwhile, Lincoln used executive powers, such as suspending the writ of habeas corpus, to counteract the Confederate effort and maintain national security, which also involved overseeing secret surveillance and intelligence efforts.
Lincoln's public guise as a modest 'prairie lawyer' often contrasted with the extraordinary power he wielded behind the scenes, navigating assassination threats and exercising sweeping wartime powers. His actions during the war, such as the Emancipation Proclamation, reflect his dual role as both a public leader and a clandestine director of spy networks, ensuring the stability and unity of the country.
Despite criticism, particularly from the Peace Democrats, for his extraordinary use of presidential powers, he maintained an important balance between exerting control and preserving civil liberties, as far as possible in wartime circumstances.