However, many argue that one of his weaknesses was his struggle with depression. His dark depressions often changed his character, but fortunately this did not negatively affect his profession as president, but it was undoubtedly a weakness he had to deal with. Something that would trigger his depression was the devastating passing of his son in the White House and the mental instability of his wife. Lincoln took care of these issues quite well. However, he was weakened by more than just civil war during his presidency. Another weakness was that he was a poor administrator whose lack of official experience before the presidency regularly emerged. One of Lincoln's major weaknesses as a wartime leader was that he was unable to recognize good military authority. Lincoln had to choose his commanders. He often chose several terrible ones and stayed with them too long. For example, he stayed with George McClellan even though McClellan's lack of aggression frustrated him. Overall, Tried by War conveys an in-depth examination of Lincoln's performance as commander in chief. . It is unmistakable that Abraham Lincoln was truly an extraordinary president with numerous qualities. It was incredibly difficult to pick out his weaknesses. . Obviously he made mistakes, but making mistakes doesn't mean you're inexorably weak. It's almost as if his weaknesses aren't worth discussing because his strengths are completely overpowered