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diff --git a/1713-h/1713-h.htm b/1713-h/1713-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0bcf243 --- /dev/null +++ b/1713-h/1713-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14878 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" name="linkgenerator" /> + <title> + Abraham Lincoln, by Nathaniel Wright Stephenson + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lincoln, by Nathaniel Wright Stephenson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Lincoln + Lincoln; An Account of His Personal Life, Especially of + Its Springs of Action as Revealed and Deepened by the + Ordeal of War + +Author: Nathaniel Wright Stephenson + +Release Date: February 21, 2006 [EBook #1713] +Last Updated: January 26, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LINCOLN *** + + + + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + LINCOLN + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + Abraham Lincoln, <br /> An Account of His Personal Life, <br /> Especially + of Its Springs of Action as<br /> Revealed and Deepened by the Ordeal of + War + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Nathaniel Wright Stephenson + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + Authority for all important statements of facts in the following pages may + be found in the notes; the condensed references are expanded in the + bibliography. A few controversial matters are discussed in the notes. + </p> + <p> + I am very grateful to Mr. William Roscoe Thayer for enabling me to use the + manuscript diary of John Hay. Miss Helen Nicolay has graciously confirmed + some of the implications of the official biography. Lincoln's only + surviving secretary, Colonel W. O. Stoddard, has given considerate aid. + The curious incident of Lincoln as counsel in an action to recover slaves + was mentioned to me by Professor Henry Johnson, through whose good offices + it was confirmed and amplified by Judge John H. Marshall. Mr. Henry W. + Raymond has been very tolerant of a stranger's inquiries with regard to + his distinguished father. A futile attempt to discover documentary remains + of the Republican National Committee of 1864 has made it possible, through + the courtesy of Mr. Clarence B. Miller, at least to assert that there is + nothing of importance in possession of the present Committee. A search for + new light on Chandler drew forth generous assistance from Professor Ulrich + B. Phillips, Mr. Floyd B. Streeter and Mr. G. B. Krum. The latter caused + to be examined, for this particular purpose, the Blair manuscripts in the + Burton Historical Collection. Much illumination arose out of a systematic + resurvey of the Congressional Globe, for the war period, in which I had + the stimulating companionship of Professor John L. Hill, reinforced by + many conversations with Professor Dixon Ryan Fox and Professor David + Saville Muzzey. At the heart of the matter is the resolute criticism of + Mrs. Stephenson and of a long enduring friend, President Harrison + Randolph. The temper of the historical fraternity is such that any worker + in any field is always under a host of incidental obligations. There is + especial propriety in my acknowledging the kindness of Professor Albert + Bushnell Hart, Professor James A. Woodburn, Professor Herman V. Ames, + Professor St. George L. Sioussat and Professor Allen Johnson. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> I. </a> THE CHILD OF THE + FOREST <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> II. </a> THE + MYSTERIOUS YOUTH <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> III. </a> A + VILLAGE LEADER <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> IV. </a> REVELATIONS + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> V. </a> PROSPERITY <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> VI. </a> UNSATISFYING RECOGNITION + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> VII. </a> THE SECOND + START <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> VIII. </a> A + RETURN TO POLITICS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> IX. </a> THE + LITERARY STATESMAN <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> X. </a> THE + DARK HORSE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> XI. </a> SECESSION + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> XII. </a> THE CRISIS + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> XIII. </a> ECLIPSE <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> XIV. </a> THE STRANGE NEW MAN <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> XV. </a> PRESIDENT AND PREMIER + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> XVI. </a> "ON TO + RICHMOND!" <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> XVII. </a> DEFINING + THE ISSUE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> XVIII. </a> THE + JACOBIN CLUB <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> XIX. </a> THE + JACOBINS BECOME INQUISITORS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> XX. + </a> IS CONGRESS THE PRESIDENT'S MASTER? <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0021"> XXI. </a> THE STRUGGLE TO CONTROL THE + ARMY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> XXII. </a> LINCOLN + EMERGES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> XXIII. </a> THE + MYSTICAL STATESMAN <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> XXIV. </a> GAMBLING + IN GENERALS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> XXV. </a> A + WAR BEHIND THE SCENES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> XXVI. </a> THE + DICTATOR, THE MARPLOT AND THE LITTLE MEN <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0027"> XXVII. </a> THE TRIBUNE OF THE PEOPLE + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> XXVIII. </a> APPARENT + ASCENDENCY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0029"> XXIX. </a> CATASTROPHE + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0030"> XXX. </a> THE PRESIDENT + VERSUS THE VINDICTIVES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0031"> XXXI. </a> A + MENACING PAUSE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0032"> XXXII. </a> THE + AUGUST CONSPIRACY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0033"> XXXIII. </a> THE + RALLY TO THE PRESIDENT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0034"> XXXIV. </a> "FATHER + ABRAHAM" <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0035"> XXXV. </a> THE + MASTER OF THE MOMENT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0036"> XXXVI. </a> PREPARING + A DIFFERENT WAR <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0037"> XXXVII. </a> FATE + INTERPOSES + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL"> BIBLIOGRAPHY </a><br /> <br /> <a href="#link2H_NOTE"> + NOTES </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + ACKNOWLEDGMENT + </h4> + <blockquote> + <p> + The author and publisher make grateful acknowledgement to Ginn and <br /> + Company, Boston, for the photograph of St. Gaudens' Statue; to The <br /> + Century Company of New York for the Earliest Portrait of Lincoln, which + <br /> is from an engraving by Johnson after a daguerreotype in the + possession <br /> of the Honorable Robert T. Lincoln; and for Lincoln and + Tad, which is <br /> from the famous photograph by Brady; to The + Macmillan Company of New <br /> York for the portrait of Mrs. Lincoln and + also for The Review of the <br /> Army of the Potomac, both of which were + originally reproduced in Ida M. <br /> Tarbell's Life of Abraham Lincoln. + For the rare and interesting portrait <br /> entitled The Last Phase of + Lincoln acknowledgment is made to Robert <br /> Bruce, Esquire, Clinton, + Oneida County, New York. This photograph was <br /> taken by Alexander + Gardner, April 9, 1865, the glass plate of which is <br /> now in Mr. + Bruce's collection. <br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + I. THE CHILD OF THE FOREST + </h2> + <p> + Of first importance in the making of the American people is that great + forest which once extended its mysterious labyrinth from tide-water to the + prairies when the earliest colonists entered warily its sea-worn edges a + portion of the European race came again under a spell it had forgotten + centuries before, the spell of that untamed nature which created primitive + man. All the dim memories that lay deep in subconsciousness; all the vague + shadows hovering at the back of the civilized mind; the sense of + encompassing natural power, the need to struggle single-handed against it; + the danger lurking in the darkness of the forest; the brilliant treachery + of the forest sunshine glinted through leafy secrecies; the Strange voices + in its illimitable murmur; the ghostly shimmer of its glades at night; the + lovely beauty of the great gold moon; all the thousand wondering dreams + that evolved the elder gods, Pan, Cybele, Thor; all this waked again in + the soul of the Anglo-Saxon penetrating the great forest. And it was + intensified by the way he came,—singly, or with but wife and child, + or at best in very small company, a mere handful. And the surrounding + presences were not only of the spiritual world. Human enemies who were + soon as well armed as he, quicker of foot and eye, more perfectly + noiseless in their tread even than the wild beasts of the shadowy coverts, + the ruthless Indians whom he came to expel, these invisible presences were + watching him, in a fierce silence he knew not whence. Like as not the + first signs of that menace which was everywhere would be the hiss of the + Indian arrow, or the crack of the Indian rifle, and sharp and sudden + death. + </p> + <p> + Under these conditions he learned much and forgot much. His deadly need + made him both more and less individual than he had been, released him from + the dictation of his fellows in daily life while it enforced relentlessly + a uniform method of self-preservation. Though the unseen world became more + and more real, the understanding of it faded. It became chiefly a matter + of emotional perception, scarcely at all a matter of philosophy. The + morals of the forest Americans were those of audacious, visionary beings + loosely hound together by a comradeship in peril. Courage, cautiousness, + swiftness, endurance, faithfulness, secrecy,—these were the forest + virtues. Dreaming, companionship, humor,—these were the forest + luxuries. + </p> + <p> + From the first, all sorts and conditions were ensnared by that silent + land, where the trails they followed, their rifles in their hands, had + been trodden hard generation after generation by the feet of the Indian + warriors. The best and the worst of England went into that illimitable + resolvent, lost themselves, found themselves, and issued from its shadows, + or their children did, changed both for good and ill, Americans. Meanwhile + the great forest, during two hundred years, was slowly vanishing. This + parent of a new people gave its life to its offspring and passed away. In + the early nineteenth century it had withered backward far from the coast; + had lost its identity all along the north end of the eastern mountains; + had frayed out toward the sunset into lingering tentacles, into broken + minor forests, into shreds and patches. + </p> + <p> + Curiously, by a queer sort of natural selection, its people had + congregated into life communities not all of one pattern. There were + places as early as the beginning of the century where distinction had + appeared. At other places life was as rude and rough as could be imagined. + There were innumerable farms that were still mere "clearings," walled by + the forest. But there were other regions where for many a mile the timber + had been hewn away, had given place to a ragged continuity of farmland. In + such regions especially if the poorer elements of the forest, spiritually + speaking, had drifted thither—the straggling villages which had + appeared were but groups of log cabins huddled along a few neglected + lanes. In central Kentucky, a poor new village was Elizabethtown, unkempt, + chokingly dusty in the dry weather, with muddy streams instead of streets + during the rains, a stench of pig-sties at the back of its cabins, but + everywhere looking outward glimpses of a lovely meadow land. + </p> + <p> + At Elizabethtown in 1806 lived Joseph Hanks, a carpenter, also his niece + Nancy Hanks. Poor people they were, of the sort that had been sucked into + the forest in their weakness, or had been pushed into it by a social + pressure they could not resist; not the sort that had grimly adventured + its perils or gaily courted its lure. Their source was Virginia. They were + of a thriftless, unstable class; that vagrant peasantry which had drifted + westward to avoid competition with slave labor. The niece, Nancy, has been + reputed illegitimate. And though tradition derives her from the predatory + amour of an aristocrat, there is nothing to sustain the tale except her + own appearance. She had a bearing, a cast of feature, a tone, that seemed + to hint at higher social origins than those of her Hanks relatives. She + had a little schooling; was of a pious and emotional turn of mind; enjoyed + those amazing "revivals" which now and then gave an outlet to the pent-up + religiosity of the village; and she was almost handsome.(1) + </p> + <p> + History has preserved no clue why this girl who was rather the best of her + sort chose to marry an illiterate apprentice of her uncle's, Thomas + Lincoln, whose name in the forest was spelled "Linkhorn." He was a + shiftless fellow, never succeeding at anything, who could neither read nor + write. At the time of his birth, twenty-eight years before, his parents—drifting, + roaming people, struggling with poverty—were dwellers in the + Virginia mountains. As a mere lad, he had shot an Indian—one of the + few positive acts attributed to him—and his father had been killed + by Indians. There was a "vague tradition" that his grandfather had been a + Pennsylvania Quaker who had wandered southward through the forest + mountains. The tradition angered him. Though he appears to have had little + enough—at least in later years—of the fierce independence of + the forest, he resented a Quaker ancestry as an insult. He had no + suspicion that in after years the zeal of genealogists would track his + descent until they had linked him with a lost member of a distinguished + Puritan family, a certain Mordecai Lincoln who removed to New Jersey, + whose descendants became wanderers of the forest and sank speedily to the + bottom of the social scale, retaining not the slightest memory of their + New England origin.(2) Even in the worst of the forest villages, few + couples started married life in less auspicious circumstances than did + Nancy and Thomas. Their home in one of the alleys of Elizabethtown was a + shanty fourteen feet square.(3) Very soon after marriage, shiftless Thomas + gave up carpentering and took to farming. Land could be had almost + anywhere for almost nothing those days, and Thomas got a farm on credit + near where now stands Hodgenville. Today, it is a famous place, for there, + February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, second child, but first son of Nancy + and Thomas, was born.(4) + </p> + <p> + During most of eight years, Abraham lived in Kentucky. His father, always + adrift in heart, tried two farms before abandoning Kentucky altogether. A + shadowy figure, this Thomas; the few memories of him suggest a + superstitious nature in a superstitious community. He used to see visions + in the forest. Once, it is said, he came home, all excitement, to tell his + wife he had seen a giant riding on a lion, tearing up trees by the roots; + and thereupon, he took to his bed and kept it for several days. + </p> + <p> + His son Abraham told this story of the giant on the lion to a playmate of + his, and the two boys gravely discussed the existence of ghosts. Abraham + thought his father "didn't exactly believe in them," and seems to have + been in about the same state of mind himself. He was quite sure he was + "not much" afraid of the dark. This was due chiefly to the simple wisdom + of a good woman, a neighbor, who had taught him to think of the night as a + great room that God had darkened even as his friend darkened a room in her + house by hanging something over the window.(5) + </p> + <p> + The eight years of his childhood in Kentucky had few incidents. A hard, + patient, uncomplaining life both for old and young. The men found their + one deep joy in the hunt. In lesser degree, they enjoyed the revivals + which gave to the women their one escape out of themselves. A strange, + almost terrible recovery of the primitive, were those religious furies of + the days before the great forest had disappeared. What other figures in + our history are quite so remarkable as the itinerant frontier priests, the + circuit-riders as they are now called, who lived as Elijah did, whose + temper was very much the temper of Elijah, in whose exalted narrowness of + devotion, all that was stern, dark, foreboding—the very brood of the + forest's innermost heart—had found a voice. Their religion was + ecstasy in homespun, a glory of violent singing, the release of a frantic + emotion, formless but immeasurable, which at all other times, in the + severity of the forest routine, gave no sign of its existence. + </p> + <p> + A visitor remembered long afterward a handsome young woman who he thought + was Nancy Hanks, singing wildly, whirling about as may once have done the + ecstatic women of the woods of Thrace, making her way among equally + passionate worshipers, to the foot of the rude altar, and there casting + herself into the arms of the man she was to marry.(6) So did thousands of + forest women in those seasons when their communion with a mystic + loneliness was confessed, when they gave tongue as simply as wild + creatures to the nameless stirrings and promptings of that secret woodland + where Pan was still the lord. And the day following the revival, they were + again the silent, expressionless, much enduring, long-suffering forest + wives, mothers of many children, toilers of the cabins, who cooked and + swept and carried fuel by sunlight, and by firelight sewed and spun. + </p> + <p> + It can easily be understood how these women, as a rule, exerted little + influence on their sons. Their imaginative side was too deeply hidden, the + nature of their pleasures too secret, too mysterious. Male youth, + following its obvious pleasure, went with the men to the hunt. The women + remained outsiders. The boy who chose to do likewise, was the incredible + exception. In him had come to a head the deepest things in the forest + life: the darkly feminine things, its silence, its mysticism, its + secretiveness, its tragic patience. Abraham was such a boy. It is said + that he astounded his father by refusing to own a gun. He earned terrible + whippings by releasing animals caught in traps. Though he had in fullest + measure the forest passion for listening to stories, the ever-popular + tales of Indian warfare disgusted him. But let the tale take on any glint + of the mystery of the human soul—as of Robinson Crusoe alone on his + island, or of the lordliness of action, as in Columbus or Washington—and + he was quick with interest. The stories of talking animals out of Aesop + fascinated him. + </p> + <p> + In this thrilled curiosity about the animals was the side of him least + intelligible to men like his father. It lives in many anecdotes: of his + friendship with a poor dog he had which he called "Honey"; of pursuing a + snake through difficult thickets to prevent its swallowing a frog; of + loitering on errands at the risk of whippings to watch the squirrels in + the tree-tops; of the crowning offense of his childhood, which earned him + a mighty beating, the saving of a fawn's life by scaring it off just as a + hunter's gun was leveled. And by way of comment on all this, there is the + remark preserved in the memory of another boy to whom at the time it + appeared most singular, "God might think as much of that little fawn as of + some people." Of him as of another gentle soul it might have been said + that all the animals were his brothers and sisters.(7) + </p> + <p> + One might easily imagine this peculiar boy who chose to remain at home + while the men went out to slay, as the mere translation into masculinity + of his mother, and of her mothers, of all the converging processions of + forest women, who had passed from one to another the secret of their + mysticism, coloring it many ways in the dark vessels of their suppressed + lives, till it reached at last their concluding child. But this would only + in part explain him. Their mysticism, as after-time was to show, he had + undoubtedly inherited. So, too, from them, it may be, came another + characteristic—that instinct to endure, to wait, to abide the issue + of circumstance, which in the days of his power made him to the + politicians as unintelligible as once he had been to the forest huntsmen. + Nevertheless, the most distinctive part of those primitive women, the + sealed passionateness of their spirits, he never from childhood to the end + revealed. In the grown man appeared a quietude, a sort of tranced calm, + that was appalling. From what part of his heredity did this derive? Was it + the male gift of the forest? Did progenitors worthier than Thomas somehow + cast through him to his alien son that peace they had found in the utter + heart of danger, that apparent selflessness which is born of being ever + unfailingly on guard? + </p> + <p> + It is plain that from the first he was a natural stoic, taking his + whippings, of which there appear to have been plenty, in silence, without + anger. It was all in the day's round. Whippings, like other things, came + and went. What did it matter? And the daily round, though monotonous, had + even for the child a complement of labor. Especially there was much + patient journeying back and forth with meal bags between his father's + cabin and the local mill. There was a little schooling, very little, + partly from Nancy Lincoln, partly from another good woman, the miller's + kind old mother, partly at the crudest of wayside schools maintained very + briefly by a wandering teacher who soon wandered on; but out of this + schooling very little result beyond the mastery of the A B C.(8) And even + at this age, a pathetic eagerness to learn, to invade the wonder of the + printed book! Also a marked keenness of observation. He observed things + which his elders overlooked. He had a better sense of direction, as when + he corrected his father and others who were taking the wrong short-cut to + a burning house. Cool, unexcitable, he was capable of presence of mind. + Once at night when the door of the cabin was suddenly thrown open and a + monster appeared on the threshold, a spectral thing in the darkness, + furry, with the head of an ox, Thomas Lincoln shrank back aghast; little + Abraham, quicker-sighted and quicker-witted, slipped behind the creature, + pulled at its furry mantle, and revealed a forest Diana, a bold girl who + amused herself playing demon among the shadows of the moon. + </p> + <p> + Seven years passed and his eighth birthday approached. All this while + Thomas Lincoln had somehow kept his family in food, but never had he money + in his pocket. His successive farms, bought on credit, were never paid + for. An incurable vagrant, he came at last to the psychological moment + when he could no longer impose himself on his community. He must take to + the road in a hazard of new fortune. Indiana appeared to him the land of + promise. Most of his property—such as it was—except his + carpenter's tools, he traded for whisky, four hundred gallons. Somehow he + obtained a rattletrap wagon and two horses. + </p> + <p> + The family appear to have been loath to go. Nancy Lincoln had long been + ailing and in low spirits, thinking much of what might happen to her + children after her death. Abraham loved the country-side, and he had good + friends in the miller and his kind old mother. But the vagrant Thomas + would have his way. In the brilliancy of the Western autumn, with the + ruined woods flaming scarlet and gold, these poor people took their last + look at the cabin that had been their wretched shelter, and set forth into + the world.(9) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II THE MYSTERIOUS YOUTH + </h2> + <p> + Vagrants, or little better than vagrants, were Thomas Lincoln and his + family making their way to Indiana. For a year after they arrived they + were squatters, their home an "open-faced camp," that is, a shanty with + one wall missing, and instead of chimney, a fire built on the open side. + In that mere pretense of a house, Nancy Lincoln and her children spent the + winter of 1816-1817. Then Thomas resorted to his familiar practice of + taking land on credit. The Lincolns were now part of a "settlement" of + seven or eight families strung along a little stream known as Pigeon + Creek. Here Thomas entered a quarter-section of fair land, and in the + course of the next eleven years succeeded—wonderful to relate—in + paying down sufficient money to give him title to about half. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, poor fading Nancy went to her place. Pigeon Creek was an + out-of-the-way nook in the still unsettled West, and Nancy during the two + years she lived there could not have enjoyed much of the consolation of + her religion. Perhaps now and then she had ghostly council of some stray + circuit-rider. But for her the days of the ecstasies had gone by; no great + revival broke the seals of the spirit, stirred its deep waters, along + Pigeon Creek. There was no religious service when she was laid to rest in + a coffin made of green lumber and fashioned by her husband. Months passed, + the snow lay deep, before a passing circuit-rider held a burial service + over her grave. Tradition has it that the boy Abraham brought this about + very likely, at ten years old, he felt that her troubled spirit could not + have peace till this was done. Shadowy as she is, ghostlike across the + page of history, it is plain that she was a reality to her son. He not + only loved her but revered her. He believed that from her he had inherited + the better part of his genius. Many years after her death he said, "God + bless my mother; all that I am or ever hope to be I owe to her." + </p> + <p> + Nancy was not long without a successor. Thomas Lincoln, the next year, + journeyed back to Kentucky and returned in triumph to Indiana, bringing as + his wife, an old flame of his who had married, had been widowed, and was + of a mind for further adventures. This Sarah Bush Lincoln, of less + distinction than Nancy, appears to have been steadier-minded and + stronger-willed. Even before this, Thomas had left the half-faced camp and + moved into a cabin. But such a cabin! It had neither door, nor window, nor + floor. Sally Lincoln required her husband to make of it a proper house—by + the standards of Pigeon Creek. She had brought with her as her dowry a + wagonload of furniture. These comforts together with her strong will began + a new era of relative comfort in the Lincoln cabin.(1) + </p> + <p> + Sally Lincoln was a kind stepmother to Abraham who became strongly + attached to her. In the rough and nondescript community of Pigeon Creek, a + world of weedy farms, of miserable mud roads, of log farm-houses, the + family life that was at least tolerable. The sordid misery described + during her regime emerged from wretchedness to a state of by all the + recorders of Lincoln's early days seems to have ended about his twelfth + year. At least, the vagrant suggestion disappeared. Though the life that + succeeded was void of luxury, though it was rough, even brutal, dominated + by a coarse, peasant-like view of things, it was scarcely by peasant + standards a life of hardship. There was food sufficient, if not very good; + protection from wind and weather; fire in the winter time; steady labor; + and social acceptance by the community of the creekside. That the labor + was hard and long, went without saying. But as to that—as of the + whippings in Kentucky—what else, from the peasant point of view, + would you expect? Abraham took it all with the same stoicism with which he + had once taken the whippings. By the unwritten law of the creekside he was + his father's property, and so was his labor, until he came of age. Thomas + used him as a servant or hired him out to other farmers. Stray + recollections show us young Abraham working as a farm-hand for twenty-five + cents the day, probably with "keep" in addition; we glimpse him + slaughtering hogs skilfully at thirty-one cents a day, for this was "rough + work." He became noted as an axman. + </p> + <p> + In the crevices, so to speak, of his career as a farm-hand, Abraham got a + few months of schooling, less than a year in all. A story that has been + repeated a thousand times shows the raw youth by the cabin fire at night + doing sums on the back of a wooden shovel, and shaving off its surface + repeatedly to get a fresh page. He devoured every book that came his way, + only a few to be sure, but generally great ones—the Bible, of + course, and Aesop, Crusoe, Pilgrim's Progress, and a few histories, these + last unfortunately of the poorer sort. He early displayed a bent for + composition, scribbling verses that were very poor, and writing burlesque + tales about his acquaintances in what passed for a Biblical style.(2) + </p> + <p> + One great experience broke the monotony of the life on Pigeon Creek. He + made a trip to New Orleans as a "hand" on a flatboat. Of this trip little + is known though much may be surmised. To his deeply poetic nature what an + experience it must have been: the majesty of the vast river; the pageant + of its immense travel; the steamers heavily laden; the fleets of barges; + the many towns; the nights of stars over wide sweeps of water; the stately + plantation houses along the banks; the old French city with its crowds, + its bells, the shipping, the strange faces and the foreign speech; all the + bewildering evidence that there were other worlds besides Pigeon Creek! + </p> + <p> + What seed of new thinking was sown in his imagination by this Odyssey we + shall never know. The obvious effect in the ten years of his life in + Indiana was produced at Pigeon Creek. The "settlement" was within fifteen + miles of the Ohio. It lay in that southerly fringe of Indiana which + received early in the century many families of much the same estate, + character and origin as the Lincolns,—poor whites of the edges of + the great forest working outward toward the prairies. Located on good land + not far from a great highway, the Ohio, it illustrated in its rude + prosperity a transformation that went on unobserved in many such + settlements, the transformation of the wandering forester of the lower + class into a peasant farmer. Its life was of the earth, earthy; though it + retained the religious traditions of the forest, their significance was + evaporating; mysticism was fading into emotionalism; the camp-meeting was + degenerating into a picnic. The supreme social event, the wedding, was + attended by festivities that filled twenty-four hours: a race of male + guests in the forenoon with a bottle of whisky for a prize; an Homeric + dinner at midday; "an afternoon of rough games and outrageous practical + jokes; a supper and dance at night interrupted by the successive + withdrawals of the bride and groom, attended by ceremonies and jests of + more than Rabelaisian crudeness; and a noisy dispersal next day."(3) The + intensities of the forest survived in hard drinking, in the fury of the + fun-making, and in the hunt. The forest passion for storytelling had in no + way decreased. + </p> + <p> + In this atmosphere, about eighteen and nineteen, Abraham shot up suddenly + from a slender boy to a huge, raw-honed, ungainly man, six feet four + inches tall, of unusual muscular strength. His strength was one of the + fixed conditions of his development. It delivered him from all fear of his + fellows. He had plenty of peculiarities. He was ugly, awkward; he lacked + the wanton appetites of the average sensual man. And these peculiarities + without his great strength as his warrant might have brought him into + ridicule. As it was, whatever his peculiarities, in a society like that of + Pigeon Creek, the man who could beat all competitors, wrestling or boxing, + was free from molestation. But Lincoln instinctively had another aim in + life than mere freedom to be himself. Two characteristics that were so + significant in his childhood continued with growing vitality in his young + manhood: his placidity and his intense sense of comradeship. The latter, + however, had undergone a change. It was no longer the comradeship of the + wild creatures. That spurt of physical expansion, the swift rank growth to + his tremendous stature, swept him apparently across a dim dividing line, + out of the world of birds and beasts and into the world of men. He took + the new world with the same unfailing but also unexcitable curiosity with + which he had taken the other, the world of squirrels, flowers, fawns. + </p> + <p> + Here as there, the difference from his mother, deep though their + similarities may have been, was sharply evident. Had he been wholly at one + with her religiously, the gift of telling speech which he now began to + display might have led him into a course that would have rejoiced her + heart, might have made him a boy preacher, and later, a great revivalist. + His father and elder sister while on Pigeon Creek joined the local Baptist + Church. But Abraham did not follow them. Nor is there a single anecdote + linking him in any way with the fervors of camp meeting. On the contrary, + what little is remembered, is of a cool aloofness.(4) The inscrutability + of the forest was his—what it gave to the stealthy, cautious men who + were too intent on observing, too suspiciously watchful, to give vent to + their feelings. Therefore, in Lincoln there was always a double life, + outer and inner, the outer quietly companionable, the inner, solitary, + mysterious. + </p> + <p> + It was the outer life that assumed its first definite phase in the years + on Pigeon Creek. During those years, Lincoln discovered his gift of + story-telling. He also discovered humor. In the employment of both + talents, he accepted as a matter of course the tone of the young ruffians + among whom he dwelt. Very soon this powerful fellow, who could throw any + of them in a wrestle, won the central position among them by a surer + title, by the power to delight. And any one who knows how peasant schools + of art arise—for that matter, all schools of art that are vital—knows + how he did it. In this connection, his famous biographers, Nicolay and + Hay, reveal a certain externality by objecting that a story attributed to + him is ancient. All stories are ancient. Not the tale, but the telling, as + the proverb says, is the thing. In later years, Lincoln wrote down every + good story that he heard, and filed it.(5) When it reappeared it had + become his own. Who can doubt that this deliberate assimilation, the + typical artistic process, began on Pigeon Creek? Lincoln never would have + captured as he did his plowboy audience, set them roaring with laughter in + the intervals of labor, had he not given them back their own tales done + over into new forms brilliantly beyond their powers of conception. That + these tales were gross, even ribald, might have been taken for granted, + even had we not positive evidence of the fact. Otherwise none of that + uproarious laughter which we may be sure sounded often across shimmering + harvest fields while stalwart young pagans, ever ready to pause, leaned, + bellowing, on the handles of their scythes, Abe Lincoln having just then + finished a story. + </p> + <p> + Though the humor of these stories was Falstaffian, to say the least, + though Lincoln was cock of the walk among the plowboys of Pigeon Creek, a + significant fact with regard to him here comes into view. Not an anecdote + survives that in any way suggests personal licentiousness. Scrupulous men + who in after-time were offended by his coarseness of speech—for more + or less of the artist of Pigeon Creek stuck to him almost to the end; he + talked in fables, often in gross fables—these men, despite their + annoyance, felt no impulse to attribute to him personal habits in harmony + with his tales. On the other hand, they were puzzled by their own + impression, never wavering, that he was "pureminded." The clue which they + did not have lay in the nature of his double life. That part of him which, + in our modern jargon, we call his "reactions" obeyed a curious law. They + dwelt in his outer life without penetrating to the inner; but all his + impulses of personal action were securely seated deep within. Even at + nineteen, for any one attuned to spiritual meaning, he would have struck + the note of mystery, faintly, perhaps, but certainly. To be sure, no hint + of this reached the minds of his rollicking comrades of the harvest field. + It was not for such as they to perceive the problem of his character, to + suspect that he was a genius, or to guess that a time would come when + sincere men would form impressions of him as dissimilar as black and + white. And so far as it went the observation of the plowboys was correct. + The man they saw was indeed a reflection of themselves. But it was a + reflection only. Their influence entered into the real man no more than + the image in a mirror has entered into the glass. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III. A VILLAGE LEADER + </h2> + <p> + Though placid, this early Lincoln was not resigned. He differed from the + boors of Pigeon Creek in wanting some other sort of life. What it was he + wanted, he did not know. His reading had not as yet given him definite + ambitions. It may well be that New Orleans was the clue to such stirring + in him as there was of that discontent which fanciful people have called + divine. Remembering New Orleans, could any imaginative youth be content + with Pigeon Creek? + </p> + <p> + In the spring of 1830, shortly after he came of age, he agreed for once + with his father whose chronic vagrancy had reasserted itself. The whole + family set out again on their wanderings and made their way in an oxcart + to a new halting place on the Sangamon River in Illinois. There Abraham + helped his father clear another piece of land for another illusive "start" + in life. The following spring he parted with his family and struck out for + himself.(1) His next adventure was a second trip as a boatman to New + Orleans. Can one help suspecting there was vague hope in his heart that he + might be adventuring to the land of hearts' desire? If there was, the + yokels who were his fellow boatmen never suspected it. One of them long + afterward asserted that Lincoln returned from New Orleans fiercely + rebellious against its central institution, slavery, and determined to + "hit that thing" whenever he could. + </p> + <p> + The legend centers in his witnessing a slave auction and giving voice to + his horror in a style quite unlike any of his authentic utterances. The + authority for all this is doubtful.(2) Furthermore, the Lincoln of 1831 + was not yet awakened. That inner life in which such a reaction might take + place was still largely dormant. The outer life, the life of the harvest + clown, was still a thick insulation. Apparently, the waking of the inner + life, the termination of its dormant stage, was reserved for an incident + far more personal that fell upon him in desolating force a few years + later. + </p> + <p> + Following the New Orleans venture, came a period as storekeeper for a man + named Denton Offut, in perhaps the least desirable town in Illinois—a + dreary little huddle of houses gathered around Rutledge's Mill on the + Sangamon River and called New Salem.(3) Though a few of its people were of + a better sort than any Lincoln had yet known except, perhaps, the miller's + family in the old days in Kentucky—and still a smaller few were of + fine quality, the community for the most part was hopeless. A fatality for + unpromising neighborhoods overhangs like a doom the early part of this + strange life. All accounts of New Salem represent it as predominantly a + congregation of the worthless, flung together by unaccountable accident at + a spot where there was no genuine reason for a town's existence. A casual + town, created by drifters, and void of settled purpose. Small wonder that + ere long it vanished from the map; that after a few years its drifting + congregation dispersed to every corner of the horizon, and was no more. + But during its brief existence it staged an episode in the development of + Lincoln's character. However, this did not take place at once. And before + it happened, came another turn of his soul's highway scarcely less + important. He discovered, or thought he discovered, what he wanted. His + vague ambition took shape. He decided to try to be a politician. At + twenty-three, after living in New Salem less than a year, this audacious, + not to say impertinent, young man offered himself to the voters of + Sangamon County as a candidate for the Legislature. At this time that + humility which was eventually his characteristic had not appeared. It may + be dated as subsequent to New Salem—a further evidence that the deep + spiritual experience which closed this chapter formed a crisis. Before + then, at New Salem as at Pigeon Creek, he was but a variant, singularly + decent, of the boisterous, frolicking, impertinent type that instinctively + sought the laxer neighborhoods of the frontier. An echo of Pigeon Creek + informed the young storekeeper's first state paper, the announcement of + his candidacy, in the year 1832. His first political speech was in a + curious vein, glib, intimate and fantastic: "Fellow citizens, I presume + you all know who I am. I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited + by many friends to become a candidate for the Legislature. My politics are + short and sweet like the old woman's dance. I am in favor of a national + bank. I am in favor of the internal improvement system and a high + protective tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. If + elected, I shall be thankful; if not it will be all the same."(4) + </p> + <p> + However, this bold throw of the dice of fortune was not quite so + impertinent as it seems. During the months when he was in charge of + Offut's grocery store he had made a conquest of New Salem. The village + grocery in those days was the village club. It had its constant gathering + of loafers all of whom were endowed with votes. It was the one place + through which passed the whole population, in and out, one time or + another. To a clever storekeeper it gave a chance to establish a + following. Had he, as Lincoln had, the gift of story-telling, the gift of + humor, he was a made man. Pigeon Creek over again! Lincoln's wealth of + funny stories gave Offut's grocery somewhat the role of a vaudeville + theater and made the storekeeper as popular a man as there was in New + Salem. + </p> + <p> + In another way he repeated his conquest of Pigeon Creek. New Salem had its + local Alsatia known as Clary's Grove whose insolent young toughs led by + their chief, Jack Armstrong, were the terror of the neighborhood. The + groceries paid them tribute in free drinks. Any luckless storekeeper who + incurred their displeasure found his store some fine morning a total + wreck. Lincoln challenged Jack Armstrong to a duel with fists. It was + formally arranged. A ring was formed; the whole village was audience; and + Lincoln thrashed him to a finish. But this was only a small part of his + triumph. His physical prowess, joined with his humor and his + companionableness; entirely captivated Clary's Grove. Thereafter, it was + storekeeper Lincoln's pocket borough; its ruffians were his body-guard. + Woe to any one who made trouble for their hero. + </p> + <p> + There were still other causes for his quick rise to the position of + village leader. His unfailing kindness was one; his honesty was another. + Tales were related of his scrupulous dealings, such as walking a distance + of miles in order to correct a trifling error he had made, in selling a + poor woman less than the proper weight of tea. Then, too, by New Salem + standards, he was educated. Long practice on the shovel at Pigeon Creek + had given him a good handwriting, and one of the first things he did at + New Salem was to volunteer to be clerk of elections. And there was a + distinct moral superiority. Little as this would have signified unbacked + by his giant strength since it had that authority behind it his morality + set him apart from his followers, different, imposing. He seldom, if ever, + drank whisky. Sobriety was already the rule of his life, both outward and + inward. At the same time he was not censorious. He accepted the devotion + of Clary's Grove without the slightest attempt to make over its bravoes in + his own image. He sympathized with its ideas of sport. For all his + kindliness to humans of every sort much of his sensitiveness for animals + had passed away. He was not averse to cock fighting; he enjoyed a horse + race.(5) Altogether, in his outer life, before the catastrophe that + revealed him to himself, he was quite as much in the tone of New Salem as + ever in that of Pigeon Creek. When the election came he got every vote in + New Salem except three.(6) + </p> + <p> + But the village was a small part of Sangamon County. Though Lincoln + received a respectable number of votes elsewhere, his total was well down + in the running. He remained an inconspicuous minority candidate. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile Offut's grocery had failed. In the midst of the legislative + campaign, Offut's farmer storekeeper volunteered for the Indian War with + Black Hawk, but returned to New Salem shortly before the election without + having once smelled powder. Since his peers were not of a mind to give him + immediate occupation in governing, he turned again to business. He formed + a partnership with a man named Berry. They bought on credit the wreck of a + grocery that had been sacked by Lincoln's friends of Clary's Grove, and + started business as "General Merchants," under the style of Berry & + Lincoln. There followed a year of complete unsuccess. Lincoln demonstrated + that he was far more inclined to read any chance book that came his way + than to attend to business, and that he had "no money sense." The new firm + went the way of Offut's grocery, leaving nothing behind it but debt. The + debts did not trouble Berry; Lincoln assumed them all. They formed a + dreadful load which he bore with his usual patience and little by little + discharged. Fifteen years passed before again he was a free man + financially. + </p> + <p> + A new and powerful influence came into his life during the half idleness + of his unsuccessful storekeeping. It is worth repeating in his own words, + or what seems to be the fairly accurate recollection of his words: "One + day a man who was migrating to the West, drove up in front of my store + with a wagon which contained his family and household plunder. He asked me + if I would buy an old barrel for which he had no room in his wagon, and + which he said contained nothing of special value. I did not want it but to + oblige him I bought it and paid him, I think, a half a dollar for it. + Without further examination I put it away in the store and forgot all + about it Sometime after, in overhauling things, I came upon the barrel and + emptying it upon the floor to see what it contained, I found at the bottom + of the rubbish a complete edition of Blackstone's Commentaries. I began to + read those famous works, and I had plenty of time; for during the long + summer days when the farmers were busy with their crops, my customers were + few and far between. The more I read, the more intensely interested I + became. Never in my whole life was my mind so thoroughly absorbed. I read + until I devoured them."(7) + </p> + <p> + The majesty of the law at the bottom of a barrel of trash discovered at a + venture and taking instant possession of the discoverer's mind! Like the + genius issuing grandly in the smoke cloud from the vase drawn up out of + the sea by the fisher in the Arabian tale! But this great book was not the + only magic casket discovered by the idle store-keeper, the broken seals of + which released mighty presences. Both Shakespeare and Burns were revealed + to him in this period. Never after did either for a moment cease to be his + companion. These literary treasures were found at Springfield twenty miles + from New Salem, whither Lincoln went on foot many a time to borrow books. + </p> + <p> + His subsistence, after the failure of Berry & Lincoln, was derived + from the friendliness of the County Surveyor Calhoun, who was a Democrat, + while Lincoln called himself a Whig. Calhoun offered him the post of + assistant. In accepting, Lincoln again displayed the honesty that was + beginning to be known as his characteristic. He stipulated that he should + be perfectly free to express his opinions, that the office should not be + in any respect, a bribe. This being conceded, he went to work furiously on + a treatise upon surveying, and astonishingly soon, with the generous help + of the schoolmaster of New Salem, was able to take up his duties. His + first fee was "two buckskins which Hannah Armstrong 'fixed' on his pants + so the briers would not wear them out."(8) + </p> + <p> + Thus time passed until 1834 when he staked his only wealth, his + popularity, in the gamble of an election. This time he was successful. + During the following winter he sat in the Legislature of Illinois; a huge, + uncouth, mainly silent member, making apparently no impression whatever, + very probably striking the educated members as a nonentity in homespun.(9) + </p> + <p> + In the spring of 1835, he was back in New Salem, busy again with his + surveying. Kind friends had secured him the office of local postmaster. + The delivery of letters was now combined with going to and fro as a + surveyor. As the mail came but once a week, and as whatever he had to + deliver could generally be carried in his hat, and as payment was in + proportion to business done, his revenues continued small. Nevertheless, + in the view of New Salem, he was getting on. + </p> + <p> + And then suddenly misfortune overtook him. His great adventure, the first + of those spiritual agonies of which he was destined to endure so many, + approached. Hitherto, since childhood, women had played no part in his + story. All the recollections of his youth are vague in their references to + the feminine. As a boy at Pigeon Creek when old Thomas was hiring him out, + the women of the settlement liked to have him around, apparently because + he was kindly and ever ready to do odd jobs in addition to his regular + work. However, until 1835, his story is that of a man's man, possibly + because there was so much of the feminine in his own make-up. In 1835 came + a change. A girl of New Salem, a pretty village maiden, the best the poor + place could produce, revealed him to himself. Sweet Ann Rutledge, the + daughter of the tavern-keeper, was his first love. But destiny was against + them. A brief engagement was terminated by her sudden death late in the + summer of 1835. Of this shadowy love-affair very little is known,—though + much romantic fancy has been woven about it. Its significance for + after-time is in Lincoln's "reaction." There had been much sickness in New + Salem the summer in which Ann died. Lincoln had given himself freely as + nurse—the depth of his companionableness thus being proved—and + was in an overwrought condition when his sorrow struck him. A last + interview with the dying girl, at which no one was present, left him quite + unmanned. A period of violent agitation followed. For a time he seemed + completely transformed. The sunny Lincoln, the delight of Clary's Grove, + had vanished. In his place was a desolated soul—a brother to + dragons, in the terrible imagery of Job—a dweller in the dark places + of affliction. It was his mother reborn in him. It was all the shadowiness + of his mother's world; all that frantic reveling in the mysteries of woe + to which, hitherto, her son had been an alien. To the simple minds of the + villagers with their hard-headed, practical way of keeping all things, + especially love and grief, in the outer layer of consciousness, this + revelation of an emotional terror was past understanding. Some of them, + true to their type, pronounced him insane. He was watched with especial + vigilance during storms, fogs, damp gloomy weather, "for fear of an + accident." Surely, it was only a crazy man, in New Salem psychology, who + was heard to say, "I can never be reconciled to have the snow, rains and + storms beat upon her grave."(10) + </p> + <p> + In this crucial moment when the real base of his character had been + suddenly revealed—all the passionateness of the forest shadow, the + unfathomable gloom laid so deep at the bottom of his soul—he was + carried through his spiritual eclipse by the loving comprehension of two + fine friends. New Salem was not all of the sort of Clary's Grove. Near by + on a farm, in a lovely, restful landscape, lived two people who deserve to + be remembered, Bowlin Green and his wife. They drew Lincoln into the + seclusion of their home, and there in the gleaming days of autumn, when + everywhere in the near woods flickered downward, slowly, idly, the falling + leaves golden and scarlet, Lincoln recovered his equanimity.(11) But the + hero of Pigeon Creek, of Clary's Grove, did not quite come hack. In the + outward life, to be sure, a day came when the sunny story-teller, the + victor of Jack Armstrong, was once more what Jack would have called his + real self. In the inner life where alone was his reality, the temper which + affliction had revealed to him was established. Ever after, at heart, he + was to dwell alone, facing, silent, those inscrutable things which to the + primitive mind are things of every day. Always, he was to have for his + portion in his real self, the dimness of twilight, or at best, the night + with its stars, "never glad, confident morning again." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV. REVELATIONS + </h2> + <p> + From this time during many years almost all the men who saw beyond the + surface in Lincoln have indicated, in one way or another, their vision of + a constant quality. The observers of the surface did not see it. That is + to say, Lincoln did not at once cast off any of his previous + characteristics. It is doubtful if he ever did. His experience was + tenaciously cumulative. Everything he once acquired, he retained, both in + the outer life and the inner; and therefore, to those who did not have the + clue to him, he appeared increasingly contradictory, one thing on the + surface, another within. Clary's Grove and the evolutions from Clary's + Grove, continued to think of him as their leader. On the other hand, men + who had parted with the mere humanism of Clary's Grove, who were a bit + analytical, who thought themselves still more analytical, seeing somewhat + beneath the surface, reached conclusions similar to those of a shrewd + Congressman who long afterward said that Lincoln was not a leader of men + but a manager of men.(1) This astute distinction was not true of the + Lincoln the Congressman confronted; nevertheless, it betrays much both of + the observer and of the man he tried to observe. In the Congressman's day, + what he thought he saw was in reality the shadow of a Lincoln that had + passed away, passed so slowly, so imperceptibly that few people knew it + had passed. During many years following 1835, the distinction in the main + applied. So thought the men who, like Lincoln's latest law partner, + William H. Herndon, were not derivatives of Clary's Grove. The Lincoln of + these days was the only one Herndon knew. How deeply he understood Lincoln + is justly a matter of debate; but this, at least, he understood—that + Clary's Grove, in attributing to Lincoln its own idea of leadership, was + definitely wrong. He saw in Lincoln, in all the larger matters, a tendency + to wait on events, to take the lead indicated by events, to do what + shallow people would have called mere drifting. To explain this, he + labeled him a fatalist.(2) The label was only approximate, as most labels + are. But Herndon's effort to find one is significant. In these years, + Lincoln took the initiative—when he took it at all—in a way + that most people did not recognize. His spirit was ever aloof. It was only + the every-day, the external Lincoln that came into practical contact with + his fellows. + </p> + <p> + This is especially true of the growing politician. He served four + consecutive terms in the Legislature without doing anything that had the + stamp of true leadership. He was not like either of the two types of + politicians that generally made up the legislatures of those days—the + men who dealt in ideas as political counters, and the men who were + grafters without in their naive way knowing that they were grafters. As a + member of the Legislature, Lincoln did not deal in ideas. He was + instinctively incapable of graft A curiously routine politician, one who + had none of the earmarks familiar in such a person. Aloof, and yet, more + than ever companionable, the power he had in the Legislature—for he + had acquired a measure of power—was wholly personal. Though called a + Whig, it was not as a party man but as a personal friend that he was able + to carry through his legislative triumphs. His most signal achievement was + wholly a matter of personal politics. There was a general demand for the + removal of the capital from its early seat at Vandalia, and rivalry among + other towns was keen. Sangamon County was bent on winning the prize for + its own Springfield. Lincoln was put in charge of the Springfield + strategy. How he played his cards may be judged from the recollections of + another member who seems to have anticipated that noble political maxim, + "What's the Constitution between friends?" "Lincoln," he says, "made Webb + and me vote for the removal, though we belonged to the southern end of the + state. We defended our vote before our constituents by saying that + necessity would ultimately force the seat of government to a central + position; but in reality, we gave the vote to Lincoln because we liked + him, because we wanted to oblige our friend, and because we recognized him + as our leader."(3) + </p> + <p> + And yet on the great issues of the day he could not lead them. In 1837, + the movement of the militant abolitionists, still but a few years old, was + beginning to set the Union by the ears. The illegitimate child of + Calvinism and the rights of man, it damned with one anathema every holder + of slaves and also every opponent of slavery except its own uncompromising + adherents. Its animosity was trained particularly on every suggestion that + designed to uproot slavery without creating an economic crisis, that would + follow England's example, and terminate the "peculiar institution" by + purchase. The religious side of abolition came out in its fury against + such ideas. Slave-holders were Canaanites. The new cult were God's own + people who were appointed to feel anew the joy of Israel hewing Agag + asunder. Fanatics, terrible, heroic, unashamed, they made two sorts of + enemies—not only the partisans of slavery, but all those sane + reformers who, while hating slavery, hated also the blood-lust that would + make the hewing of Agag a respectable device of political science. Among + the partisans of slavery were the majority of the Illinois Legislature. + Early in 1837, they passed resolutions condemning abolitionism. Whereupon + it was revealed—not that anybody at the time cared to know the fact, + or took it to heart—that among the other sort of the enemies of + abolition was our good young friend, everybody's good friend, Abe Lincoln. + He drew up a protest against the Legislature's action; but for all his + personal influence in other affairs, he could persuade only one member to + sign with him. Not his to command at will those who "recognized him as + their leader" in the orthodox political game—so discreet, in that it + left principles for some one else to be troubled about! Lincoln's protest + was quite too far out of the ordinary for personal politics to endure it. + The signers were asked to proclaim their belief "that the institution of + slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy; but that the + promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to promote than to abate + its evils."(4) + </p> + <p> + The singular originality of this position, sweeping aside as vain both + participants in the new political duel, was quite lost on the little world + in which Lincoln lived. For after-time it has the interest of a bombshell + that failed to explode. It is the dawn of Lincoln's intellect. In his + lonely inner life, this crude youth, this lover of books in a village + where books were curiosities, had begun to think. The stages of his + transition from mere story-telling yokel—intellectual only as the + artist is intellectual, in his methods of handling—to the man of + ideas, are wholly lost. And in this fact we have a prophecy of all the + years to come. Always we shall seek in vain for the early stages of + Lincoln's ideas. His mind will never reveal itself until the moment at + which it engages the world. No wonder, in later times, his close + associates pronounced him the most secretive of men; that one of the + keenest of his observers said that the more you knew of Lincoln, the less + you knew of him.(5) + </p> + <p> + Except for the handicap of his surroundings, his intellectual start would + seem belated; even allowing for his handicap, it was certainly slow. He + was now twenty-eight. Pretty well on to reveal for the first time + intellectual power! Another characteristic here. His mind worked slowly. + But it is worth observing that the ideas of the protest were never + abandoned. Still a third characteristic, mental tenacity. To the end of + his days, he looked askance at the temper of abolitionism, regarded it + ever as one of the chief evils of political science. And quite as + significant was another idea of the protest which also had developed from + within, which also he never abandoned. + </p> + <p> + On the question of the power of the national government with regard to + slavery, he took a position not in accord with either of the political + creeds of his day. The Democrats had already formulated their doctrine + that the national government was a thing of extremely limited powers, the + "glorified policeman" of a certain school of publicists reduced almost to + a minus quantity. The Whigs, though amiably vague on most things except + money-making by state aid, were supposed to stand for a "strong central + government". Abolitionism had forced on both parties a troublesome + question, "What about slavery in the District of Columbia, where the + national government was supreme?" The Democrats were prompt in their + reply: Let the glorified policeman keep the peace and leave private + interests, such as slave-holding, alone. The Whigs evaded, tried not to + apply their theory of "strong" government; they were fearful lest they + offend one part of their membership if they asserted that the nation had + no right to abolish slavery in the District, fearful of offending others + if they did not. Lincoln's protest asserted that "the Congress of the + United States has the power, under the Constitution, to abolish slavery in + the District of Columbia but the power ought not to be exercised, unless + at the request of the District." In other words, Lincoln, when suddenly + out of the storm and stress that followed Ann's death his mentality + flashes forth, has an attitude toward political power that was not a + consequence of his environment, that sets him apart as a type of man rare + in the history of statesmanship. What other American politician of his day—indeed, + very few politicians of any day—would have dared to assert at once + the existence of a power and the moral obligation not to use it? The + instinctive American mode of limiting power is to deny its existence. Our + politicians so deeply distrust our temperament that whatever they may say + for rhetorical effect, they will not, whenever there is any danger of + their being taken at their word, trust anything to moral law. Their minds + are normally mechanical. The specific, statutory limitation is the only + one that for them has reality. The truth that temper in politics is as + great a factor as law was no more comprehensible to the politicians of + 1837 than, say Hamlet or The Last Judgment. But just this is what the + crude young Lincoln understood. Somehow he had found it in the depths of + his own nature. The explanation, if any, is to be found in his heredity. + Out of the shadowy parts of him, beyond the limits of his or any man's + conscious vision, dim, unexplored, but real and insistent as those forest + recesses from which his people came, arise the two ideas: the faith in a + mighty governing power; the equal faith that it should use its might with + infinite tenderness, that it should be slow to compel results, even the + result of righteousness, that it should be tolerant of human errors, that + it should transform them slowly, gradually, as do the gradual forces of + nature, as do the sun and the rain. + </p> + <p> + And such was to be the real Lincoln whenever he spoke out, to the end. His + tonic was struck by his first significant utterance at the age of + twenty-eight. How inevitable that it should have no significance to the + congregation of good fellows who thought of him merely as one of their own + sort, who put up with their friend's vagary, and speedily forgot it. + </p> + <p> + The moment was a dreary one in Lincoln's fortunes. By dint of much reading + of borrowed books, he had succeeded in obtaining from the easy-going + powers that were in those days, a license to practise law. In the spring + of 1837 he removed to Springfield. He had scarcely a dollar in his pocket. + Riding into Springfield on a borrowed horse, with all the property he + owned, including his law books, in two saddlebags, he went to the only + cabinet-maker in the town and ordered a single bedstead. He then went to + the store of Joshua F. Speed. The meeting, an immensely eventful one for + Lincoln, as well as a classic in the history of genius in poverty, is best + told in Speed's words: "He came into my store, set his saddle-bags on the + counter and inquired what the furnishings for a single bedstead would + cost. I took slate and pencil, made a calculation and found the sum for + furnishings complete, would amount to seventeen dollars in all. Said he: + 'It is probably cheap enough, but I want to say that, cheap as it is, I + have not the money to pay; but if you will credit me until Christmas, and + my experiment here as a lawyer is a success, I will pay you then. If I + fail in that I will probably never pay you at all.' The tone of his voice + was so melancholy that I felt for him. I looked up at him and I thought + then as I think now that I never saw so gloomy and melancholy a face in my + life. I said to him: 'So small a debt seems to affect you so deeply, I + think I can suggest a plan by which you will be able to attain your end + without incurring any debt. I have a very large room and a very large + double bed in it, which you are perfectly welcome to share with me if you + choose.' 'Where is your room?' he asked. 'Up-stairs,' said I, pointing to + the stairs leading from the store to my room. Without saying a word, he + took his saddle-bags on his arm, went upstairs, set them down on the + floor, came down again, and with a face beaming with pleasure and smiles + exclaimed, 'Well, Speed, I'm moved.'"(6) + </p> + <p> + This was the beginning of a friendship which appears to have been the only + one of its kind Lincoln ever had. Late in life, with his gifted private + secretaries, with one or two brilliant men whom he did not meet until + middle age, he had something like intimate comradeship. But even they did + not break the prevailing solitude of his inner life. His aloofness of soul + became a fixed condition. The one intruder in that lonely inner world was + Speed. In the great collection of Lincoln's letters none have the intimate + note except the letters to Speed. And even these are not truly intimate + with the exception of a single group inspired all by the same train of + events. The deep, instinctive reserve of Lincoln's nature was incurable. + The exceptional group of letters involve his final love-affair. Four years + after his removal to Springfield, Lincoln became engaged to Miss Mary + Todd. By that time he had got a start at the law and was no longer in + grinding poverty. If not yet prosperous, he had acquired "prospects"—the + strong likelihood of better things to come so dear to the buoyant heart of + the early West. + </p> + <p> + Hospitable Springfield, some of whose best men had known him in the + Legislature, opened its doors to him. His humble origin, his poor + condition, were forgiven. In true Western fashion, he was frankly put on + trial to show what was in him. If he could "make good" no further + questions would be asked. And in every-day matters, his companionableness + rose to the occasion. Male Springfield was captivated almost as easily as + New Salem. + </p> + <p> + But all this was of the outer life. If the ferment within was constant + between 1835 and 1840, the fact is lost in his taciturnity. But there is + some evidence of a restless emotional life. + </p> + <p> + In the rebound after the woe following Ann's death, he had gone questing + after happiness—such a real thing to him, now that he had discovered + the terror of unhappiness—in a foolish half-hearted courtship of a + bouncing, sensible girl named Mary Owens, who saw that he was not really + in earnest, decided that he was deficient in those "little links that make + up a woman's happiness," and sent him about his business—rather, on + the whole, to his relief.(7) The affair with Miss Todd had a different + tone from the other. The lady was of another world socially. The West in + those days swarmed with younger sons, or the equivalents of younger sons, + seeking their fortunes, whom sisters and cousins were frequently visiting. + Mary Todd was sister-in-law to a leading citizen of Springfield. Her + origin was of Kentucky and Virginia, with definite claims to distinction. + Though a family genealogy mounts as high as the sixth century, sober + history is content with a grandfather and great grandfather who were + military men of some repute, two great uncles who were governors, and + another who was a cabinet minister. Rather imposing contrasted with the + family tree of the child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks! Even more + significant was the lady's education. She had been to a school where young + ladies of similar social pretensions were allowed to speak only the French + language. She was keenly aware of the role marked out for her by destiny, + and quite convinced that she would always in every way live up to it. + </p> + <p> + The course of her affair with Lincoln did not run smooth. There were wide + differences of temperament; quarrels of some sort—just what, gossip + to this day has busied itself trying to discover—and on January 1, + 1841, the engagement was broken. Before the end of the month he wrote to + his law partner apologizing for his inability to be coherent on business + matters. "For not giving you a general summary of news, you must pardon + me; it is not in my power to do so. I am now the most miserable man + living. If what I feel were distributed to the whole human family, there + would not be one cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever be better, I + can not tell. I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is + impossible. I must die or be better, it appears to me . . . a change of + scene might help me." + </p> + <p> + His friend Speed became his salvation. Speed closed out his business and + carried Lincoln off to visit his own relations in Kentucky. It was the + devotion of Bowlin Green and his wife over again. But the psychology of + the event was much more singular. Lincoln, in the inner life, had + progressed a long way since the death of Ann, and the progress was mainly + in the way of introspection, of self-analysis. He had begun to brood. As + always, the change did not reveal itself until an event in the outward + life called it forth like a rising ghost from the abyss of his silences. + His friends had no suspicion that in his real self, beneath the thick + disguise of his external sunniness, he was forever brooding, questioning, + analyzing, searching after the hearts of things both within and without.. + </p> + <p> + "In the winter of 1840 and 1841," writes Speed, "he was unhappy about the + engagement to his wife—not being entirely satisfied that his heart + was going with his hand. How much he suffered then on that account, none + knew so well as myself; he disclosed his whole heart to me. In the summer + of 1841 I became engaged to my wife. He was here on a visit when I courted + her; and strange to say, something of the same feeling which I regarded as + so foolish in him took possession of me, and kept me very unhappy from the + time of my engagement until I was married. This will explain the deep + interest he manifested in his letters on my account.... One thing is + plainly discernible; if I had not been married and happy, far more happy + than I ever expected to be, he would not have married." + </p> + <p> + Whether or not Speed was entirely right in his final conclusion, it is + plain that he and Lincoln were remarkably alike in temperament; that + whatever had caused the break in Lincoln's engagement was repeated in his + friend's experience when the latter reached a certain degree of emotional + tension; that this paralleling of Lincoln's own experience in the + experience of the friend so like himself, broke tip for once the solitude + of his inner life and delivered him from some dire inward terror. Both men + were deeply introspective. Each had that overpowering sense of the + emotional responsibilities of marriage, which is bred in the bone of + certain hyper-sensitive types—at least in the Anglo-Saxon race. But + neither realized this trait in himself until, having blithely pursued his + impulse to the point of committal, his spiritual conscience suddenly + awakened and he asked of his heart, "Do I truly love her? Am I perfectly + sure the emotion is permanent?" + </p> + <p> + It is on this speculation that the unique group of the intimate letters to + Speed are developed. They were written after Lincoln's return to + Springfield, while Speed was wrestling with the demon of self-analysis. In + the period which they cover, Lincoln delivered himself from that same + demon and recovered Serenity. Before long he was writing: "I know what the + painful point with you is at all times when you are unhappy; it is an + apprehension that you do not love her as you should. What nonsense! How + came you to court her? Was it because you thought she deserved it and that + you had given her reason to expect it? If it was for that, why did not the + same reason make you court Ann Todd, and at least twenty others of whom + you can think, to whom it would apply with greater force than to her? Did + you court her for her wealth? Why, you said she had none. But you say you + reasoned yourself into it. What do you mean by that? Was it not that you + found yourself unable to reason yourself out of it?" And much more of the + same shrewd sensible sort,—a picture unintentionally of his own + state of mind no less than of his friend's. + </p> + <p> + This strange episode reveals also that amid Lincoln's silences, while the + outward man appeared engrossed in everyday matters, the inward man had + been seeking religion. His failure to accept the forms of his mother's + creed did not rest on any lack of the spiritual need. Though undefined, + his religion glimmers at intervals through the Speed letters. When Speed's + fiancee fell ill and her tortured lover was in a paroxysm of remorse and + grief, Lincoln wrote: "I hope and believe that your present anxiety and + distress about her health and her life must and will forever banish those + horrid doubts which I know you sometimes felt as to the truth of your + affection for her. If they can once and forever be removed (and I feel a + presentment that the Almighty has sent your present affliction expressly + for that object) surely nothing can come in their stead to fill their + immeasurable measure of misery. . . Should she, as you fear, be destined + to an early grave, it is indeed a great consolation to know she is so well + prepared to meet it." + </p> + <p> + Again he wrote: "I was always superstitious. I believe God made me one of + the instruments of bringing you and your Fanny together, which union I + have no doubt lie had foreordained. Whatever He designs He will do for me + yet. 'Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord' is my text now." + </p> + <p> + The duality in self-torture of these spiritual brethren endured in all + about a year and a half, and closed with Speed's marriage. Lincoln was now + entirely delivered from his demon. He wrote Speed a charming letter, + serene, affectionate, touched with gentle banter, valiant though with a + hint of disillusion as to their common type. "I tell you, Speed, our + forebodings (for which you and I are peculiar) are all the worst sort of + nonsense. . You say you much fear that that elysium of which you have + dreamed so much is never to be realized. Well, if it shall not, I dare + swear it will not be the fault of her who is now your wife. I have no + doubt that it is the peculiar misfortune of both you and me to dream + dreams of elysium far exceeding all that anything earthly can realize."(8) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V. PROSPERITY + </h2> + <p> + How Lincoln's engagement was patched up is as delicious an uncertainty, + from gossip's point of view, as how it had been broken off. Possibly, as + many people have asserted, it was brought about by an event of which, in + the irony of fate, Lincoln ever after felt ashamed.(1) An impulsive, not + overwise politician, James Shields, a man of many peculiarities, was + saucily lampooned in a Springfield paper by some jaunty girls, one of whom + was Miss Todd. + </p> + <p> + Somehow,—the whole affair is very dim,—Lincoln acted as their + literary adviser. Shields demanded the name of his detractor; Lincoln + assumed the responsibility; a challenge followed. Lincoln was in a + ridiculous position. He extricated himself by a device which he used more + than once thereafter; he gravely proposed the impossible. He demanded + conditions which would have made the duel a burlesque—a butcher's + match with cavalry broadswords. But Shields, who was flawlessly literal, + insisted. The two met and only on the dueling ground was the quarrel at + last talked into oblivion by the seconds. Whether this was the cause of + the reconciliation with Miss Todd, or a consequence, or had nothing to do + with it, remains for the lovers of the unimportant to decide. The only + sure fact in this connection is the marriage which took place November 4, + 1842.(2) + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Lincoln's character has been much discussed. Gossip, though with very + little to go on, has built up a tradition that the marriage was unhappy. + If one were to believe the half of what has been put in print, one would + have to conclude that the whole business was a wretched mistake; that + Lincoln found married life intolerable because of the fussily dictatorial + self-importance of his wife. But the authority for all these tales is + meager. Not one is traceable to the parties themselves. Probably it will + never be known till the end of time what is false in them, what true. + About all that can be disengaged from this cloud of illusive witnesses is + that Springfield wondered why Mary Todd married Lincoln. He was still + poor; so poor that after marriage they lived at the Globe Tavern on four + dollars a week. And the lady had been sought by prosperous men! The + lowliness of Lincoln's origin went ill with her high notions of her + family's importance. She was downright, high-tempered, dogmatic, but + social; he was devious, slow to wrath, tentative, solitary; his very + appearance, then as afterward, was against him. Though not the hideous man + he was later made out to be—the "gorilla" of enemy caricaturists—he + was rugged of feature, with a lower lip that tended to protrude. His + immense frame was thin and angular; his arms were inordinately long; + hands, feet and eyebrows were large; skin swarthy; hair coarse, black and + generally unkempt. Only the amazing, dreamful eyes, and a fineness in the + texture of the skin, redeemed the face and gave it distinction.(3) Why did + precise, complacent Miss Todd pick out so strange a man for her mate? The + story that she married him for ambition, divining what he was to be—like + Jane Welsh in the conventional story of Carlyle—argues too much of + the gift of prophecy. Whatever her motive, it is more than likely that she + was what the commercialism of to-day would call an "asset." She had + certain qualities that her husband lacked. For one, she had that intuition + for the main chance which shallow people confound with practical judgment. + Her soul inhabited the obvious; but within the horizon of the obvious she + was shrewd, courageous and stubborn. Not any danger that Mary Lincoln + would go wandering after dreams, visions, presences, such as were drifting + ever in a ghostly procession at the back of her husband's mind. There was + a danger in him that was to grow with the years, a danger that the outer + life might be swamped by the inner, that the ghosts within might carry him + away with them, away from fact—seeking-seeking. That this never + occurred may be fairly credited, or at least very plausibly credited, to + the firm-willed, the utterly matter-of-fact little person he had married. + How far he enjoyed the mode of his safe-guarding is a fruitless + speculation. + </p> + <p> + Another result that may, perhaps, be due to Mary Lincoln was the + improvement in his fortunes. However, this may have had no other source + than a distinguished lawyer whose keen eyes had been observing him since + his first appearance in politics. Stephen T. Logan "had that + old-fashioned, lawyer-like morality which was keenly intolerant of any + laxity or slovenliness of mind or character." He had, "as he deserved, the + reputation of being the best nisi prius lawyer in the state."(4) After + watching the gifted but ill-prepared young attorney during several years, + observing the power he had of simplification and convincingness in + statement, taking the measure of his scrupulous honesty—these were + ever Lincoln's strong cards as a lawyer—Logan made him the + surprising offer of a junior partnership, which was instantly accepted. + That was when his inner horizon was brightening, shortly before his + marriage. A period of great mental energy followed, about the years 1842 + and 1843. Lincoln threw himself into the task of becoming a real lawyer + under Logan's direction. However, his zeal flagged after a time, and when + the partnership ended four years later he had to some extent fallen back + into earlier, less strenuous habits. "He permitted his partner to do all + the studying in the preparation of cases, while he himself trusted to his + general knowledge of the law and the inspiration of the surroundings to + overcome the judge or the jury."(5) Though Lincoln was to undergo still + another stimulation of the scholarly conscience before finding himself as + a lawyer, the four years with Logan were his true student period. If the + enthusiasm of the first year did not hold out, none the less he issued + from that severe course of study a changed man, one who knew the + difference between the learned lawyer and the unlearned. His own methods, + to be sure, remained what they always continued to be, unsystematic, not + to say slipshod. Even after he became president his lack of system was at + times the despair of his secretaries.(6) Herndon, who succeeded Logan as + his partner, and who admired both men, has a broad hint that Logan and + Lincoln were not always an harmonious firm. A clash of political ambitions + is part explanation; business methods another. "Logan was scrupulously + exact and used extraordinary care in the preparation of papers. His words + were well chosen, and his style of composition was stately and formal."(7) + He was industrious and very thrifty, while Lincoln had "no money sense." + It must have annoyed, if it did not exasperate his learned and formal + partner, when Lincoln signed the firm name to such letters as this: "As to + real estate, we can not attend to it. We are not real estate agents, we + are lawyers. We recommend that you give the charge of it to Mr. Isaac S. + Britton, a trust-worthy man and one whom the Lord made on purpose for such + business."(8) + </p> + <p> + Superficial observers, then and afterward, drew the conclusion that + Lincoln was an idler. Long before, as a farm-hand, he had been called + "bone idle."(9) And of the outer Lincoln, except under stress of need, or + in spurts of enthusiasm, as in the earlier years with Logan, this reckless + comment had its base of fact. The mighty energy that was in Lincoln, a + tireless, inexhaustible energy, was inward, of the spirit; it did not + always ramify into the sensibilities and inform his outer life. The + connecting link of the two, his mere intelligence, though constantly + obedient to demands of the outer life, was not susceptible of great strain + except on demand of the spiritual vision. Hence his attitude toward the + study of the law. It thrilled and entranced him, called into play all his + powers—observation, reflection, intelligence—just so long as + it appeared in his imagination a vast creative effort of the spiritual + powers, of humanity struggling perilously to see justice done upon earth, + to let reason and the will of God prevail. It lost its hold upon him the + instant it became a thing of technicalities, of mere learning, of + statutory dialectics. + </p> + <p> + The restless, inward Lincoln, dwelling deep among spiritual shadows, found + other outlets for his energy during these years when he was establishing + himself at the bar. He continued to be a voracious reader. And his reading + had taken a skeptical turn. Volney and Paine were now his intimates. The + wave of ultra-rationalism that went over America in the 'forties did not + spare many corners of the land. In Springfield, as in so many small towns, + it had two effects: those who were not touched by it hardened into jealous + watchfulness, and their religion naturally enough became fiercely + combative; those who responded to the new influence became a little + affected philosophically, a bit effervescent. The young men, when of + serious mind, and all those who were reformers by temperament, tended to + exalt the new, to patronize, if not to ridicule the old. At Springfield, + as at many another frontier town wracked by its growing pains, a Young + Men's Lyceum confessed the world to be out of joint, and went to work + glibly to set it right. Lincoln had contributed to its achievements. An + oration of his on "Perpetuation of Our Free Institutions,"(10) a mere + rhetorical "stunt" in his worst vein now deservedly forgotten, so + delighted the young men that they asked to have it printed—quite as + the same sort of young men to-day print essays on cubism, or examples of + free verse read to poetry societies. Just what views he expressed on + things in general among the young men and others; how far he aired his + acquaintance with the skeptics, is imperfectly known.(11) However, a rumor + got abroad that he was an "unbeliever," which was the easy label for any + one who disagreed in religion with the person who applied it. The rumor + was based in part on a passage in an address on temperance. In 1842, + Lincoln, who had always been abstemious, joined that Washington Society + which aimed at a reformation in the use of alcohol. His address was + delivered at the request of the society. It contained this passage, very + illuminating in its light upon the generosity, the real humility of the + speaker, but scarcely tactful, considering the religious susceptibility of + the hour: "If they (the Christians) believe as they profess, that + Omnipotence condescended to take on himself the form of sinful man, and as + such die an ignominious death, surely they will not refuse submission to + the infinitely lesser condescension for the temporal and perhaps eternal + salvation of a large, erring and unfortunate class of their fellow + creatures! Nor is the condescension very great. In my judgment such of us + as have never fallen victims have been spared more from the absence of + appetite than from any mental or moral superiority over those who have. + Indeed, I believe, if we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads + and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any + other class."(12) How like that remark attributed to another great genius, + one whom Lincoln in some respects resembled, the founder of Methodism, + when he said of a passing drunkard: "There goes John Wesley, except for + the Grace of God." But the frontier zealots of the 'forties were not of + the Wesley type. The stories of Lincoln's skeptical interests, the + insinuations which were promptly read into this temperance address, the + fact that he was not a church-member, all these were seized upon by a good + but very narrow man, a devoted, illiterate evangelist, Peter Cartwright. + </p> + <p> + In 1846, this religious issue became a political issue. The Whigs + nominated Lincoln for Congress. It was another instance of personal + politics. The local Whig leaders had made some sort of private agreement, + the details of which appear to be lost, but according to which Lincoln now + became the inevitable candidate.(13) He was nominated without opposition. + The Democrats nominated Cartwright. + </p> + <p> + Two charges were brought against Lincoln: that he was an infidel, and that + he was—of all things in the world!—an aristocrat. On these + charges the campaign was fought. The small matter of what he would do at + Washington, or would not do, was brushed aside. Personal politics with a + vengeance! The second charge Lincoln humorously and abundantly disproved; + the first, he met with silence. + </p> + <p> + Remembering Lincoln's unfailing truthfulness, remembering also his + restless ambition, only one conclusion can be drawn from this silence. He + could not categorically deny Cartwright's accusation and at the same time + satisfy his own unsparing conception of honesty. That there was no real + truth in the charge of irreligion, the allusions in the Speed letters + abundantly prove. The tone is too sincere to be doubted; nevertheless, + they give no clue to his theology. And for men like Cartwright, religion + was tied up hand and foot in theology. Here was where Lincoln had parted + company from his mother's world, and from its derivatives. Though he held + tenaciously to all that was mystical in her bequest to him, he rejected + early its formulations. The evidence of later years reaffirms this double + fact. The sense of a spiritual world behind, beyond the world of + phenomena, grew on him with the years; the power to explain, to formulate + that world was denied him. He had no bent for dogma. Ethically, + mystically, he was always a Christian; dogmatically he knew not what he + was. Therefore, to the challenge to prove himself a Christian on purely + dogmatic grounds, he had no reply. To attempt to explain what separated + him from his accusers, to show how from his point of view they were all + Christian—although, remembering their point of view, he hesitated to + say so—to draw the line between mysticism and emotionalism, would + have resulted only in a worse confusion. Lincoln, the tentative mystic, + the child of the starlit forest, was as inexplicable to Cartwright with + his perfectly downright religion, his creed of heaven or hell—take + your choice and be quick about it!—as was Lincoln the spiritual + sufferer to New Salem, or Lincoln the political scientist to his friends + in the Legislature. + </p> + <p> + But he was not injured by his silence. The faith in him held by too many + people was too well established. Then, as always thereafter, whatever he + said or left unsaid, most thoughtful persons who came close to him sensed + him as a religious man. That was enough for healthy, generous young + Springfield. He and Cartwright might fight out their religious issues when + they pleased, Abe should have his term in Congress. He was elected by a + good majority.(14) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI. UNSATISFYING RECOGNITION + </h2> + <p> + Lincoln's career as a Congressman, 1847-1849, was just what might have + been expected—his career in the Illinois Legislature on a larger + scale. It was a pleasant, companionable, unfruitful episode, with no + political significance. The leaders of the party did not take him + seriously as a possible initiate to their ranks. His course was that of a + loyal member of the Whig mass. In the party strategy, during the debates + over the Mexican War and the Wilmot Proviso, he did his full party duty, + voting just as the others did. Only once did he attempt anything original—a + bill to emancipate the slaves of the District, which was little more than + a restatement of his protest of ten years before—and on this point + Congress was as indifferent as the Legislature had been. The bill was + denied a hearing and never came to a vote before the House.(1) + </p> + <p> + And yet Lincoln did not fail entirely to make an impression at Washington. + And again it was the Springfield experience repeated. His + companionableness was recognized, his modesty, his good nature; above all, + his story-telling. Men liked him. Plainly it was his humor, his droll + ways, that won them; together with instant recognition of his sterling + integrity. + </p> + <p> + "During the Christmas holidays," says Ben Perley Poore, "Mr. Lincoln found + his way into the small room used as the Post Office of the House, where a + few genial reconteurs used to meet almost every morning after the mail had + been distributed into the members' boxes, to exchange such new stories as + any of them might have acquired since they had last met. After modestly + standing at the door for several days, Mr. Lincoln was reminded of a + story, and by New Year's he was recognized as the champion story-teller of + the Capital. His favorite seat was at the left of the open fireplace, + tilted back in his chair with his long legs reaching over to the chimney + jamb."(2) + </p> + <p> + In the words of another contemporary, "Congressman Lincoln was very fond + of howling and would frequently. . . meet other members in a match game at + the alley of James Casparus. . . . He was an awkward bowler, but played + the game with great zest and spirit solely for exercise and amusement, and + greatly to the enjoyment and entertainment of the other players, and by + reason of his criticisms and funny illustrations. . . . When it was known + that he was in the alley, there would assemble numbers of people to + witness the fun which was anticipated by those who knew of his fund of + anecdotes and jokes. When in the alley, surrounded by a crowd of eager + listeners, he indulged with great freedom in the sport of narrative, some + of which were very broad."(3) + </p> + <p> + Once, at least, he entertained Congress with an exhibition of his humor, + and this, oddly enough, is almost the only display of it that has come + down to us, first hand. Lincoln's humor has become a tradition. Like + everything else in his outward life, it changed gradually with his slow + devious evolution from the story-teller of Pigeon Creek to the author of + the Gettysburg Oration. It is known chiefly through translation. The + "Lincoln Stories" are stories someone else has told who may or may not + have heard them told by Lincoln. They are like all translations, they + express the translator not the original—final evidence that + Lincoln's appeal as a humorist was in his manner, his method, not in his + substance. "His laugh was striking. Such awkward gestures belonged to no + other man. They attracted universal attention from the old sedate down to + the schoolboy."(4) He was a famous mimic. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln is himself the authority that he did not invent his stories. He + picked them up wherever he found them, and clothed them with the peculiar + drollery of his telling. He was a wag rather than a wit. All that lives in + the second-hand repetitions of his stories is the mere core, the original + appropriated thing from which the inimitable decoration has fallen off. + That is why the collections of his stories are such dreary reading,—like + Carey's Dante, or Bryant's Homer. And strange to say, there is no humor in + his letters. This man who was famous as a wag writes to his friends almost + always in perfect seriousness, often sadly. The bit of humor that has been + preserved in his one comic speech in Congress,—a burlesque of the + Democratic candidate of 1848, Lewis Cass,—shorn as it is of his + manner, his tricks of speech and gesture, is hardly worth repeating.(5) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln was deeply humiliated by his failure to make a serious impression + at Washington.(6) His eyes opened in a startled realization that there + were worlds he could not conquer. The Washington of the 'forties was far + indeed from a great capital; it was as friendly to conventional types of + politician as was Springfield or Vandalia. The man who could deal in ideas + as political counters, the other man who knew the subtleties of the art of + graft, both these were national as well as local figures. Personal + politics were also as vicious at Washington as anywhere; nevertheless, + there was a difference, and in that difference lay the secret of Lincoln's + failure. He was keen enough to grasp the difference, to perceive the clue + to his failure. In a thousand ways, large and small, the difference came + home to him. It may all be symbolized by a closing detail of his stay. An + odd bit of incongruity was the inclusion of his name in the list of + managers of the Inaugural Ball of 1849. Nothing of the sort had hitherto + entered into his experience. As Mrs. Lincoln was not with him he joined "a + small party of mutual friends" who attended the ball together. As one of + them relates, "he was greatly interested in all that was to be seen and we + did not take our departure until three or four o'clock in the morning."(7) + What an ironic picture—this worthy provincial, the last word for + awkwardness, socially as strange to such a scene as a little child, + spending the whole night gazing intently at everything he could see, at + the barbaric display of wealth, the sumptuous gowns, the brilliant + uniforms, the distinguished foreigners, and the leaders of America, men + like Webster and Clay, with their air of assured power, the men he had + failed to impress. This was his valedictory at Washington. He went home + and told Herndon that he had committed political suicide.(8) He had met + the world and the world was too strong for him. + </p> + <p> + And yet, what was wrong? He had been popular at Washington, in the same + way in which he had been popular at Springfield. Why had the same sort of + success inspired him at Springfield and humiliated him at Washington? The + answer was in the difference between the two worlds. Companionableness, + story-telling, at Springfield, led to influence; at Washington it led only + to applause. At Springfield it was a means; at Washington it was an end. + The narrow circle gave the good fellow an opportunity to reveal at his + leisure everything else that was in him; the larger circle ruthlessly put + him in his place as a good fellow and nothing more. The truth was that in + the Washington of the 'forties, neither the inner nor the outer Lincoln + could by itself find lodgment. Neither the lonely mystical thinker nor the + captivating buffoon could do more than ripple its surface. As superficial + as Springfield, it lacked Springfield's impulsive generosity. To the long + record of its obtuseness it had added another item. The gods had sent it a + great man and it had no eyes to see. It was destined to repeat the + performance. + </p> + <p> + And so Lincoln came home, disappointed, disillusioned. He had not + succeeded in establishing the slightest claim, either upon the country or + his party. Without such claim he had no ground for attempting reelection. + The frivolity of the Whig machine in the Sangamon region was evinced by + their rotation agreement. Out of such grossly personal politics Lincoln + had gone to Washington; into this essentially corrupt system he relapsed. + He faced, politically, a blank wall. And he had within him as yet, no + consciousness of any power that might cleave the wall asunder. What was he + to do next? + </p> + <p> + At this dangerous moment—so plainly the end of a chapter—he + was offered the governorship of the new Territory of Oregon. For the first + time he found himself at a definite parting of the ways, where a sheer act + of will was to decide things; where the pressure of circumstance was of + secondary importance. + </p> + <p> + In response to this crisis, an overlooked part of him appeared. The + inheritance from his mother, from the forest, had always been obvious. + But, after all, he was the son not only of Nancy and of the lonely stars, + but also of shifty, drifty Thomas the unstable. If it was not his paternal + inheritance that revived in him at this moment of confessed failure, it + was something of the same sort. Just as Thomas had always by way of + extricating himself from a failure taken to the road, now Abraham, at a + psychological crisis, felt the same wanderlust, and he threatened to go + adrift. Some of his friends urged him to accept. "You will capture the new + community," said they, "and when Oregon becomes a State, you will go to + Washington as its first Senator." What a glorified application of the true + Thomasian line of thought. Lincoln hesitated—hesitated— + </p> + <p> + And then the forcible little lady who had married him put her foot down. + Go out to that far-away backwoods, just when they were beginning to get on + in the world; when real prosperity at Springfield was surely within their + grasp; when they were at last becoming people of importance, who should be + able to keep their own carriage? Not much! + </p> + <p> + Her husband declined the appointment and resumed the practice of law in + Springfield.(9) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII. THE SECOND START + </h2> + <p> + Stung by his failure at Washington, Lincoln for a time put his whole soul + into the study of the law. He explained his failure to himself as a lack + of mental training.(1) There followed a repetition of his early years with + Logan, but with very much more determination, and with more abiding + result. + </p> + <p> + In those days in Illinois, as once in England, the judges held court in a + succession of towns which formed a circuit. Judge and lawyers moved from + town to town, "rode the circuit" in company,—sometimes on horseback, + sometimes in their own vehicles, sometimes by stage. Among the + reminiscences of Lincoln on the circuit, are his "poky" old horse and his + "ramshackle" old buggy. Many and many a mile, round and round the Eighth + Judicial Circuit, he traveled in that humble style. What thoughts he + brooded on in his lonely drives, he seldom told. During this period the + cloud over his inner life is especially dense. The outer life, in a + multitude of reminiscences, is well known. One of its salient details was + the large proportion of time he devoted to study. + </p> + <p> + "Frequently, I would go out on the circuit with him," writes Herndon. "We, + usually, at the little country inn, occupied the same bed. In most cases, + the beds were too short for him and his feet would hang over the + footboard, thus exposing a limited expanse of shin bone. Placing his + candle at the head of his bed he would read and study for hours. I have + known him to stay in this position until two o'clock in the morning. + Meanwhile, I and others who chanced to occupy the same room would be + safely and soundly asleep. On the circuit, in this way, he studied Euclid + until he could with ease demonstrate all the propositions in the six + books. How he could maintain his equilibrium or concentrate his thoughts + on an abstract mathematical problem, while Davis, Logan, Swett, Edwards + and I, so industriously and volubly filled the air with our interminable + snoring, was a problem none of, us—could ever solve."(2) + </p> + <p> + A well-worn copy of Shakespeare was also his constant companion. + </p> + <p> + He rose rapidly in the profession; and this in spite of his incorrigible + lack of system. The mechanical side of the lawyer's task, now, as in the + days with Logan, annoyed him; he left the preparation of papers to his + junior partner, as formerly he left it to his senior partner. But the + situation had changed in a very important way. In Herndon, Lincoln had for + a partner a talented young man who looked up to him, almost adored him, + who was quite willing to be his man Friday. Fortunately, for all his + adoration, Herndon had no desire to idealize his hero. He was not + disturbed by his grotesque or absurd sides. + </p> + <p> + "He was proverbially careless as to his habits," Herndon writes. "In a + letter to a fellow lawyer in another town, apologizing for his failure to + answer sooner, he explains: 'First, I have been very busy in the United + States Court; second, when I received the letter, I put it in my old hat, + and buying a new one the next day, the old one was set aside, so the + letter was lost sight of for the time.' This hat of Lincoln's—a silk + plug—was an extraordinary receptacle. It was his desk and his + memorandum book. In it he carried his bank-book and the bulk of his + letters. Whenever in his reading or researches, he wished to preserve an + idea, he jotted it down on an envelope or stray piece of paper and placed + it inside the lining; afterwards, when the memorandum was needed, there + was only one place to look for it." Herndon makes no bones about + confessing that their office was very dirty. So neglected was it that a + young man of neat habits who entered the office as a law student under + Lincoln could not refrain from cleaning it up, and the next visitor + exclaimed in astonishment, "What's happened here!"(3) + </p> + <p> + "The office," says that same law student, "was on the second floor of a + brick building on the public square opposite the courthouse. You went up a + flight of stairs and then passed along a hallway to the rear office which + was a medium sized room. There was one long table in the center of the + room, and a shorter one running in the opposite direction forming a T and + both were covered with green baize. There were two windows which looked + into the back yard. In one corner was an old-fashioned secretary with + pigeonholes and a drawer; and here Mr. Lincoln and his partner kept their + law papers. There was also a bookcase containing about two hundred volumes + of law and miscellaneous books." The same authority adds, "There was no + order in the office at all." Lincoln left all the money matters to + Herndon. "He never entered an item on the account book. If a fee was paid + to him and Herndon was not there, he would divide the money, wrap up one + part in paper and place it in his partner's desk with the inscription, + 'Case of Roe versus Doe, Herndon's half.' He had an odd habit of reading + aloud much to his partner's annoyance. He talked incessantly; a whole + forenoon would sometimes go by while Lincoln occupied the whole time + telling stories."(4) + </p> + <p> + On the circuit, his story-telling was an institution. Two other men, long + since forgotten, vied with him as rival artists in humorous narrative. + These three used to hold veritable tournaments. Herndon has seen "the + little country tavern where these three were wont to meet after an + adjournment of court, crowded almost to suffocation, with an audience of + men who had gathered to witness the contest among the members of the + strange triumvirate. The physicians of the town, all the lawyers, and not + infrequently a preacher, could be found in the crowd that filled the doors + and windows. The yarns they spun and the stories they told would not bear + repetition here, but many of them had morals which, while exposing the + weakness of mankind, stung like a whiplash. Some were, no doubt, a + thousand years old, with just enough of verbal varnish and alterations of + names and date to make them new and crisp. By virtue of the last named + application, Lincoln was enabled to draw from Balzac a 'droll story' and + locating it 'in Egypt' (Southern Illinois) or in Indiana, pass it off for + a purely original conception. . . I have seen Judge Treat, who was the + very impersonation of gravity itself, sit up till the last and laugh + until, as he often expressed it, 'he almost shook his ribs loose.' The + next day he would ascend the bench and listen to Lincoln in a murder trial + with all the seeming severity of an English judge in wig and gown."(5) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln enjoyed the life on the circuit. It was not that he was always in + a gale of spirits; a great deal of the time he brooded. His Homeric + nonsense alternated with fits of gloom. In spite of his late hours, + whether of study or of story-telling, he was an early riser. "He would sit + by the fire having uncovered the coals, and muse and ponder and + soliloquize."(6) Besides his favorite Shakespeare, he had a fondness for + poetry of a very different sort—Byron, for example. And he never + tired of a set of stanzas in the minor key beginning: "Oh, why should the + spirit of mortal be proud?"(7) + </p> + <p> + The hilarity of the circuit was not by any means the whole of its charm + for him. Part of that charm must have been the contrast with his recent + failure at Washington. This world he could master. Here his humor + increased his influence; and his influence grew rapidly. He was a favorite + of judges, jury and the bar. Then, too, it was a man's world. Though + Lincoln had a profound respect for women, he seems generally to have been + ill at ease in their company. In what his friends would have called + "general society" he did not shine. He was too awkward, too downright, too + lacking in the niceties. At home, though he now owned a house and was + making what seemed to him plenty of money, he was undoubtedly a trial to + Mrs. Lincoln's sense of propriety. He could not rise with his wife, + socially. He was still what he had become so long before, the favorite of + all the men—good old Abe Lincoln that you could tie to though it + rained cats and dogs. But as to the ladies! Fashionable people calling on + Mrs. Lincoln, had been received by her husband in his shirt-sleeves, and + he totally unabashed, as oblivious of discrepancy as if he were a nobleman + and not a nobody.(8) The dreadful tradition persists that he had been + known at table to put his own knife into the butter. + </p> + <p> + How safe to assume that many things were said commiserating poor Mrs. + Lincoln who had a bear for a husband. And some people noticed that Lincoln + did not come home at week-ends during term-time as often as he might. + Perhaps it meant something; perhaps it did not. But there could be no + doubt that the jovial itinerant life of the circuit was the life for him—at + least in the early 'fifties. That it was, and also that he was becoming + known as a lawyer, is evinced by his refusal of a flattering invitation to + enter a prosperous firm in Chicago. + </p> + <p> + Out of all this came a deepening of his power to reach and impress men + through words. The tournament of the story-tellers was a lawyers' + tournament. The central figure was reading, studying, thinking, as never + in his life before. Though his fables remained as broad as ever, the + merely boisterous character ceased to predominate. The ethical bent of his + mind came to the surface. His friends were agreed that what they + remembered chiefly of his stories was not the broad part of them, but the + moral that was in them.(9) And they had no squeamishness as critics of the + art of fable-making. + </p> + <p> + His ethical sense of things, his companionableness, the utterly + non-censorious cast of his mind, his power to evolve yarns into parables—all + these made him irresistible with a jury. It was a saying of his: "If I can + divest this case of technicalities and swing it to the jury, I'll win + it."(10) + </p> + <p> + But there was not a trace in him of that unscrupulousness usually + attributed to the "jury lawyer." Few things show more plainly the central + unmovableness of his character than his immunity to the lures of jury + speaking. To use his power over an audience for his own enjoyment, for an + interested purpose, for any purpose except to afford pleasure, or to see + justice done, was for him constitutionally impossible. Such a performance + was beyond the reach of his will. In a way, his nature, mysterious as it + was, was also the last word for simplicity, a terrible simplicity. The + exercise of his singular powers was irrevocably conditioned on his own + faith in the moral justification of what he was doing. He had no patience + with any conception of the lawyer's function that did not make him the + devoted instrument of justice. For the law as a game, for legal strategy, + he felt contempt. Never under any conditions would he attempt to get for a + client more than he was convinced the client in justice ought to have. The + first step in securing his services was always to persuade him that one's + cause was just He sometimes threw up a case in open court because the + course of it had revealed deception on the part of the client. At times he + expressed his disdain of the law's mere commercialism in a stinging irony. + </p> + <p> + "In a closely contested civil suit," writes his associate, Ward Hill + Lamon, "Lincoln proved an account for his client, who was, though he did + not know it at the time, a very slippery fellow. The opposing attorney + then proved a receipt clearly covering the entire cause of action. By the + time he was through Lincoln was missing. The court sent for him to the + hotel. 'Tell the Judge,' said he, 'that I can't come; my hands are dirty + and I came over to clean them.'"(11) + </p> + <p> + "Discourage litigation," he wrote. "Persuade your neighbors to compromise + whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real + loser, in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker, the lawyer + has a Superior Opportunity of being a good man. There will still be + business enough."(12) + </p> + <p> + He held his moral and professional views with the same inflexibility with + which he held his political views. Once he had settled upon a conviction + or an opinion, nothing could move him. He was singularly stubborn, and + yet, in all the minor matters of life, in all his merely personal + concerns, in everything except his basal ideas, he was pliable to a + degree. He could be talked into almost any concession of interest. He once + told Herndon he thanked God that he had not been born a woman because he + found it so hard to refuse any request made of him. His outer easiness, + his lack of self-assertion,—as most people understand + self-assertion,—persist in an amusing group of anecdotes of the + circuit. Though he was a favorite with the company at every tavern, those + little demagogues, the tavern-keepers, quickly found out that he could be + safely put upon. In the minute but important favoritism of tavern life, in + the choice of rooms, in the assignment of seats at table, in the + distribution of delicacies, easy-going Lincoln was ever the first one to + be ignored. "He never complained of the food, bed, or lodgings," says a + judge of the circuit, David Davis. "If every other fellow grumbled at the + bill of fare which greeted us at many of the dingy taverns, Lincoln said + nothing."(13) + </p> + <p> + But his complacency was of the surface only. His ideas were his own. He + held to them with dogged tenacity. Herndon was merely the first of several + who discerned on close familiarity Lincoln's inward inflexibility. "I was + never conscious," he writes, "of having made much of an impression on Mr. + Lincoln, nor do I believe I ever changed his views. I will go further and + say that from the profound nature of his conclusions and the labored + method by which he arrived at them, no man is entitled to the credit of + having either changed or greatly modified them."(14) + </p> + <p> + In these years of the early 'fifties, Herndon had much occasion to test + his partner's indifference to other men's views, his tenacious adherence + to his own. Herndon had become an Abolitionist. He labored to convert + Lincoln; but it was a lost labor. The Sphinx in a glimmer of sunshine was + as unassailable as the cheery, fable-loving, inflexible Lincoln. The + younger man would work himself up, and, flushed with ardor, warn Lincoln + against his apparent conservatism when the needs of the hour were so + great; but his only answer would be, "Billy, you are too rampant and + spontaneous."(15) + </p> + <p> + Nothing could move him from his fixed conviction that the temper of + Abolitionism made it pernicious. He persisted in classifying it with + slavery,—both of equal danger to free institutions. He took occasion + to reassert this belief in the one important utterance of a political + nature that commemorates this period. An oration on the death of Henry + Clay, contains the sentence: "Cast into life when slavery was already + widely spread and deeply sealed, he did not perceive, as I think no wise + man has perceived, how it could be at once eradicated without producing a + greater evil even to the cause of human liberty itself."(16) + </p> + <p> + It will be remembered that the Abolitionists were never strongly national + in sentiment. In certain respects they remind one of the extreme + "internationals" of to-day. Their allegiance was not first of all to + Society, nor to governments, but to abstract ideas. For all such attitudes + in political science, Lincoln had an instinctive aversion. He was + permeated always, by his sense of the community, of the obligation to work + in terms of the community. Even the prejudices, the shortsightedness of + the community were things to be considered, to be dealt with tenderly. + Hence his unwillingness to force reforms upon a community not ripe to + receive them. In one of his greatest speeches occurs the dictum: "A + universal feeling whether well or ill-founded, can not be safely + disregarded."(17) Anticipating such ideas, he made in his Clay oration, a + startling denunciation of both the extreme factions of + </p> + <p> + "Those (Abolitionists) who would shiver into fragments the union of these + States, tear to tatters its now 'venerated Constitution, and even burn the + last copy of the Bible rather than slavery should continue a single hour; + together with all their more halting sympathizers, have received and are + receiving their just execration; and the name and opinion and influence of + Mr. Clay are fully and, as I trust, effectually and enduringly arrayed + against them. But I would also if I could, array his name, opinion and + influence against the opposite extreme, against a few, but increasing + number of men who, for the sake of perpetuating slavery, are beginning to + assail and ridicule the white man's charter of freedom, the declaration + that 'all men are created free and equal.'"(18) + </p> + <p> + In another passage he stated what he conceived to be the central + inspiration of Clay. Had he been thinking of himself, he could not have + foreshadowed more exactly the basal drift of all his future as a + statesman: + </p> + <p> + "He loved his country partly because it was his own country, and mostly + because it was a free country; and he burned with a zeal for its + advancement, prosperity, and glory, because he saw in such the + advancement, prosperity and glory of human liberty, human right and human + nature."(19) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VIII. A RETURN TO POLITICS + </h2> + <p> + Meanwhile, great things were coming forward at Washington. They centered + about a remarkable man with whom Lincoln had hitherto formed a curious + parallel, by whom hitherto he had been completely overshadowed. Stephen + Arnold Douglas was prosecuting attorney at Springfield when Lincoln began + the practice of law. They were in the Legislature together. Both courted + Mary Todd. Soon afterward, Douglas had distanced his rival. When Lincoln + went to the House of Representatives as a Whig, Douglas went to the Senate + as a Democrat. While Lincoln was failing at Washington, Douglas was + building a national reputation. In the hubbub that followed the Compromise + of 1850, while Lincoln, abandoning politics, immersed himself in the law, + Douglas rendered a service to the country by defeating a movement in + Illinois to reject the Compromise. When the Democratic National Convention + assembled in 1852, he was sufficiently prominent to obtain a considerable + vote for the presidential nomination. + </p> + <p> + The dramatic contrast of these two began with their physical appearance. + Douglas was so small that he had been known to sit on a friend's knee + while arguing politics. But his energy of mind, his indomitable force of + character, made up for his tiny proportions. "The Little Giant" was a term + of endearment applied to him by his followers. The mental contrast was + equally marked. Scarcely a quality in Lincoln that was not reversed in + Douglas—deliberation, gradualness, introspection, tenacity, were the + characteristics of Lincoln's mind. The mind of Douglas was first of all + facile. He was extraordinarily quick. In political Strategy he could sense + a new situation, wheel to meet it, throw overboard well-established plans, + devise new ones, all in the twinkle of an eye. People who could not + understand such rapidity of judgment pronounced him insincere, or at + least, an opportunist. That he did not have the deep inflexibility of + Lincoln may be assumed; that his convictions, such as they were, did not + have an ethical cast may be safely asserted. Nevertheless, he was a great + force, an immense human power, that did not change its course without good + reason of its own sort. Far more than a mere opportunist. Politically, he + summed up a change that was coming over the Democratic party. Janus-like, + he had two faces, one for his constituents, one for his colleagues. To the + voter he was still a Jeffersonian, with whom the old phraseology of the + party, liberty, equality, and fraternity, were still the catch-words. To + his associates in the Senate he was essentially an aristocrat, laboring to + advance interests that were careless of the rights of man. A later age has + accused the Senate of the United States of being the citadel of Big + Business. Waiving the latter view, the historian may assert that something + suggestive of Big Business appeared in our politics in the 'fifties, and + was promptly made at home in the Senate. Perhaps its first definite + manifestation was a new activity on the part of the great slave-holders. + To invoke again the classifications of later points of view, certain of + our historians to-day think they can see in the 'fifties a virtual slavery + trust, a combine of slave interests controlled by the magnates of the + institution, and having as real, though informal, an existence as has the + Steel Trust or the Beef Trust in our own time. This powerful interest + allied itself with the capitalists of the Northeast. In modern + phraseology, they aimed to "finance" the slave interest from New York. And + for a time the alliance succeeded in doing this. The South went entirely + upon credit. It bought and borrowed heavily in the East New York furnished + the money. + </p> + <p> + Had there been nothing further to consider, the invasion of the Senate by + Big Business in the 'fifties might not have taken place. But there was + something else. Slavery's system of agriculture was excessively wasteful. + To be highly profitable it required virgin soil, and the financial + alliance demanded high profits. Early in the 'fifties, the problem of Big + Business was the acquisition of fresh soil for slavery. The problem + entered politics with the question how could this be brought about without + appearing to contradict democracy? The West also had its incipient Big + Business. It hinged upon railways. Now that California had been acquired, + with a steady stream of migration westward, with all America dazzled more + or less by gold-mines and Pacific trade, a transcontinental railway was a + Western dream. But what course should it take, what favored regions were + to become its immediate beneficiaries? Here was a chance for great + jockeying among business interests in Congress, for slave-holders, + money-lenders, railway promoters to manipulate deals to their hearts' + content. They had been doing so amid a high complication of squabbling, + while Douglas was traveling in Europe during 1853. When he returned late + in the year, the unity of the Democratic machine in Congress was + endangered by these disputes. Douglas at once attacked the problem of + party harmony. He threw himself into the task with all his characteristic + quickness, all his energy and resourcefulness. + </p> + <p> + By this time the problem contained five distinct factors: The upper + Northeast wanted a railroad starting at Chicago. The Central West wanted a + road from St. Louis. The Southwest wanted a road from New Orleans, or at + least, the frustration of the two Northern schemes. Big Business wanted + new soil for slavery. The Compromise of 1850 stood in the way of the + extension of slave territory. + </p> + <p> + If Douglas had had any serious convictions opposed to slavery the last of + the five factors would have brought him to a standstill. Fortunately for + him as a party strategist, he was indifferent. Then, too, he firmly + believed that slavery could never thrive in the West because of climatic + conditions. "Man might propose, but physical geography would dispose."(1) + On both counts it seemed to him immaterial what concessions be made to + slavery extension northwestward. Therefore, he dismissed this + consideration and applied himself to the harmonization of the four + business factors involved. The result was a famous compromise inside a + party. His Kansas-Nebraska Bill created two new territories, one lying + westward from Chicago; one lying westward from St. Louis. It also repealed + the Missouri Compromise and gave the inhabitants of each territory the + right to decide for themselves whether or not slavery should be permitted + in their midst. That is to say, both to the railway promoter and the + slavery financier, it extended equal governmental protection, but it + promised favors to none, and left each faction to rise or fall in the free + competition of private enterprise. Why—was not this, remembering + Douglas's assumptions, a master-stroke? + </p> + <p> + He had expected, of course, denunciation by the Abolitionists. He + considered it immaterial. But he was not in the least prepared for what + happened. A storm burst. It was fiercest in his own State. "Traitor," + "Arnold," "Judas," were the pleasant epithets fired at him in a + bewildering fusillade. He could not understand it. Something other than + mere Abolitionism had been aroused by his great stroke. But what was it? + Why did men who were not Abolitionists raise a hue and cry? Especially, + why did many Democrats do so? Amazed, puzzled, but as always furiously + valiant, Douglas hurried home to join battle with his assailants. He + entered on a campaign of speech-making. On October 3, 1854, he spoke at + Springfield. His enemies, looking about for the strongest popular speaker + they could find, chose Lincoln. The next day he replied to Douglas. + </p> + <p> + The Kansas-Nebraska Bill had not affected any change in Lincoln's + thinking. His steady, consistent development as a political thinker had + gone on chiefly in silence ever since his Protest seventeen years before. + He was still intolerant of Abolitionism, still resolved to leave slavery + to die a natural death in the States where it was established. He defended + the measure which most offended the Abolitionists, the Fugitive Slave Law. + He had appeared as counsel for a man who claimed a runaway slave as his + property.(2) None the less, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill had brought him to + his feet, wheeled him back from law into politics, begun a new chapter. + The springs of action in is case were the factor which Douglas had + overlooked, which in all his calculations he had failed to take into + account, which was destined to destroy him. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln, no less than Douglas, had sensed the fact that money was becoming + a power in American politics. He saw that money and slavery tended to + become allies with the inevitable result of a shift of gravity in the + American social system. "Humanity" had once been the American shibboleth; + it was giving place to a new shibboleth-"prosperity." And the people who + were to control and administer prosperity were the rich. The rights of man + were being superseded by the rights of wealth. Because of its place in + this new coalition of non-democratic influences, slavery, to Lincoln's + mind, was assuming a new role, "beginning," as he had said, in the Clay + oration, "to assail and ridicule the white man's charter of freedom, the + declaration that 'all men are created free and equal.'" + </p> + <p> + That phrase, "the white man's charter of freedom," had become Lincoln's + shibboleth. Various utterances and written fragments of the summer of + 1854, reveal the intensity of his preoccupation. + </p> + <p> + "Equality in society beats inequality, whether the latter be of the + British aristocratic sort or of the domestic slavery sort"(3) + </p> + <p> + "If A can prove, however conclusively, that he may of right enslave B, why + may not B snatch the same argument and prove equally that he may enslave + A? You say A is white and B is black. It is color then; the lighter having + the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule you are to be + slave to the first man you meet with a fairer skin than your own. You do + not mean color exactly? You mean the whites are intellectually the + superiors of the blacks, and therefore have the right to enslave them? + Take care again. By this rule you are to be slave to the first man you + meet with an intellect superior to your own. But, you say, it is a + question of interest, and if you make it your interest, you have the right + to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has + the right to enslave you."(4) + </p> + <p> + Speaking of slavery to a fellow lawyer, he said: "It is the most + glittering, ostentatious, and displaying property in the world; and now, + if a young man goes courting, the only inquiry is how many negroes he or + his lady love owns. The love of slave property is swallowing up every + other mercenary possession. Its ownership betokened not only the + possession of wealth, but indicated the gentleman of leisure who was above + and scorned labor."(5) + </p> + <p> + It was because of these views, because he saw slavery allying itself with + the spread of plutocratic ideals, that Lincoln entered the battle to + prevent its extension. He did so in his usual cool, determined way. + </p> + <p> + Though his first reply to Douglas was not recorded, his second, made at + Peoria twelve days later, still exists.(6) It is a landmark in his career. + It sums up all his long, slow development in political science, lays the + abiding foundation of everything he thought thereafter. In this great + speech, the end of his novitiate, he rings the changes on the white man's + charter of freedom. He argues that the extension of slavery tends to + discredit republican institutions, and to disappoint "the Liberal party + throughout the world." The heart of his argument is: + </p> + <p> + "Whether slavery shall go into Nebraska or other new Territories is not a + matter of exclusive concern to the people who may go there. The whole + nation is interested that the best use shall be made of these Territories. + We want them for homes for free white people. This they can not be to any + considerable extent, if slavery shall be planted within them. Slave States + are places for poor white people to remove from, not remove to. New Free + States are the places for poor people to go to and better their condition. + For this use the nation needs these Territories." + </p> + <p> + The speech was a masterpiece of simplicity, of lucidity. It showed the + great jury; lawyer at his best. Its temper was as admirable as its logic; + not a touch of anger nor of vituperation. + </p> + <p> + "I have no prejudice against the Southern people," said he. "They are just + what we would be in their situation. If slavery did not exist among them, + they would not introduce it. If it did now exist among us, we should not + instantly give it up. This I believe of the masses North and South. + </p> + <p> + "When Southern people tell us that they are no more responsible for the + origin of slavery than we are, I acknowledge the fact. When it is said + that the institution exists and that it is very difficult to get rid of in + any satisfactory way, I can understand and appreciate the saying. I surely + will not blame them for not doing what I should not know how to do myself. + If all earthly power were given me, I should not know what to do as to the + existing institution." + </p> + <p> + His instinctive aversion to fanaticism found expression in a plea for the + golden mean in politics. + </p> + <p> + "Some men, mostly Whigs, who condemn the repeal of the Missouri + Compromise, nevertheless hesitate to go for its restoration lest they be + thrown in company with the Abolitionists. Will they allow me as an old + Whig, to tell them good-humoredly that I think this is very silly. Stand + with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part + with him when he goes wrong. Stand with the Abolitionist in restoring the + Missouri Compromise, and stand against him when he attempts to repeal the + Fugitive Slave Law. In the latter case you stand with the Southern + dis-unionist. What of that? You are still right. In both cases you are + right. In both cases you expose the dangerous extremes. In both you stand + on middle ground and hold the ship level and steady. In both you are + national, and nothing less than national. This is the good old Whig + ground. To desert such ground because of any company is to be less than a + Whig-less than a man-less than an American." + </p> + <p> + These two speeches against Douglas made an immense impression Byron-like, + Lincoln waked up and found himself famous. Thereupon, his ambition + revived. A Senator was to be chosen that autumn. Why might not this be the + opportunity to retrieve his failure in Congress? Shortly after the Peoria + speech, he was sending out notes like this to prominent politicians: + </p> + <p> + "Dear Sir: You used to express a good deal of partiality for me, and if + you are still so, now is the time. Some friends here are really for me for + the United States Senate, and I should be very grateful if you could make + a mark for me among your members (of the Legislature)."(7) + </p> + <p> + When the Legislature assembled, it was found to comprise four groups: the + out-and-out Democrats who would stand by Douglas through thick and thin, + and vote only for his nominee; the bolting Democrats who would not vote + for a Douglas man, but whose party rancor was so great that they would + throw their votes away rather than give them to a Whig; such enemies of + Douglas as were willing to vote for a Whig; the remainder. + </p> + <p> + The Democrats supported Governor Matteson; the candidate of the second + group was Lyman Trumbull; the Whigs supported Lincoln. After nine exciting + ballots, Matteson had forty-seven votes, Trumbull thirty-five, Lincoln + fifteen. As the bolting Democrats were beyond compromise, Lincoln + determined to sacrifice himself in order to defeat Matteson. Though the + fifteen protested against deserting him, he required them to do so. On the + tenth ballot, they transferred their votes to Trumbull and he was + elected.(8) + </p> + <p> + Douglas had met his first important defeat. His policy had been repudiated + in his own State. And it was Lincoln who had formulated the argument + against him, who had held the balance of power, and had turned the scale. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IX. THE LITERARY STATESMAN + </h2> + <p> + Lincoln had found at last a mode and an opportunity for concentrating all + his powers in a way that could have results. He had discovered himself as + a man of letters. The great speeches of 1854 were not different in a way + from the previous speeches that were without results. And yet they were + wholly different. Just as Lincoln's version of an old tale made of that + tale a new thing, so Lincoln's version of an argument made of it a + different thing from other men's versions. The oratory of 1854 was not + state-craft in any ordinary sense. It was art Lincoln the artist, who had + slowly developed a great literary faculty, had chanced after so many + rebuffs on good fortune. His cause stood in urgent need of just what he + could give. It was one of those moments when a new political force, having + not as yet any opening for action, finds salvation in the phrase-maker, in + the literary artist who can embody it in words. + </p> + <p> + During the next five years and more, Lincoln was the recognized offset to + Douglas. His fame spread from Illinois in both directions. He was called + to Iowa and to Ohio as the advocate of all advocates who could undo the + effect of Douglas. His fame traveled eastward. The culmination of the + period of literary leadership was his famous speech at Cooper Union in + February, 1860. + </p> + <p> + It was inevitable that he should go along with the antislavery coalition + which adopted the name of the Republican party. But his natural + deliberation kept him from being one of its founders. An attempt of its + founders to appropriate him after the triumph at Springfield, in October, + 1854, met with a rebuff.(1) Nearly a year and a half went by before he + affiliated himself with the new party. But once having made up his mind, + he went forward wholeheartedly. At the State Convention of Illinois + Republicans in 1856 he made a speech that has not been recorded but which + is a tradition for moving oratory. That same year a considerable number of + votes were cast for Lincoln for Vice-President in the Republican National + Convention. + </p> + <p> + But all these were mere details. The great event of the years between 1854 + and 1860 was his contest with Douglas. It was a battle of wits, a great + literary duel. Fortunately for Lincoln, his part was played altogether on + his own soil, under conditions in which he was entirely at his ease, where + nothing conspired with his enemy to embarrass him. + </p> + <p> + Douglas had a far more difficult task. Unforeseen complications rapidly + forced him to change his policy, to meet desertion and betrayal in his own + ranks. These were terrible years when fierce events followed one another + in quick succession—the rush of both slave-holders and abolitionists + into Kansas; the cruel war along the Wakarusa River; the sack of Lawrence + by the pro-slavery party; the massacre by John Brown at Pottawatomie; the + diatribes of Sumner in the Senate; the assault on Sumner by Brooks. In the + midst of this carnival of ferocity came the Dred Scott decision, cutting + under the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, denying to the people of a Territory the + right to legislate on slavery, and giving to all slave-holders the right + to settle with their slaves anywhere they pleased outside a Free State. + This famous decision repudiated Douglas's policy of leaving all such + questions to local autonomy and to private enterprise. For a time Douglas + made no move to save his policy. But when President Buchanan decided to + throw the influence of the Administration on the side of the pro-slavery + party in Kansas, Douglas was up in arms. When it was proposed to admit + Kansas with a constitution favoring slavery, but which had not received + the votes of a majority of the inhabitants, Douglas voted with the + Republicans to defeat admission. Whereupon the Democratic party machine + and the Administration turned upon him without mercy. He stood alone in a + circle of enemies. At no other time did he show so many of the qualities + of a great leader. Battling with Lincoln in the popular forum on the one + hand, he was meeting daily on the other assaults by a crowd of brilliant + opponents in Congress. At the same time he was playing a consummate game + of political strategy, struggling against immense odds to recover his hold + on Illinois. The crisis would come in 1858 when he would have to go before + the Legislature for reelection. He knew well enough who his opponent would + be. At every turn there fell across his path the shadow of a cool sinister + figure, his relentless enemy. It was Lincoln. On the struggle with Lincoln + his whole battle turned. + </p> + <p> + Abandoned by his former allies, his one hope was the retention of his + constituency. To discredit Lincoln, to twist and discredit all his + arguments, was for Douglas a matter of life and death. He struck + frequently with great force, but sometimes with more fury than wisdom. + Many a time the unruffled coolness of Lincoln brought to nothing what was + meant for a deadly thrust. Douglas took counsel of despair and tried to + show that Lincoln was preaching the amalgamation of the white and black + races. "I protest," Lincoln replied, "against the counterfeit logic which + says that because I do not want a black woman for a slave, I must + necessarily want her for a wife. I need not have her for either. I can + just leave her alone. In some respects she certainly is not my equal; but + in her natural right to eat the bread she earns with her own hands without + asking leave of any one else, she is my equal and the equal of all + others."(2) Any false move made by Douglas, any rash assertion, was sure + to be seized upon by that watchful enemy in Illinois. In attempting to + defend himself on two fronts at once, defying both the Republicans and the + Democratic machine, Douglas made his reckless declaration that all he + wanted was a fair vote by the people of Kansas; that for himself he did + not care how they settled the matter, whether slavery was voted up or + voted down. With relentless skill, Lincoln developed the implications of + this admission, drawing forth from its confessed indifference to the + existence of slavery, a chain of conclusions that extended link by link to + a belief in reopening the African slave trade. This was done in his speech + accepting the Republican nomination for the Senate. In the same speech he + restated his general position in half a dozen sentences that became at + once a classic statement for the whole Republican party: "A house divided + against itself can not stand. I believe this government can not endure + permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be + dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will + cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either + the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it and place it + where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of + ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward till it shall + become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new, North as well + as South."(3) + </p> + <p> + The great duel was rapidly approaching its climax. What was in reality no + more than the last round has appropriated a label that ought to have a + wider meaning and is known as the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. The two + candidates made a joint tour of the State, debating their policies in + public at various places during the summer and autumn of 1858. + </p> + <p> + Properly considered, these famous speeches closed Lincoln's life as an + orator. The Cooper Union speech was an isolated aftermath in alien + conditions, a set performance not quite in his true vein. His brief + addresses of the later years were incidental; they had no combative + element. Never again was he to attempt to sway an audience for an + immediate stake through the use of the spoken word. "A brief description + of Mr. Lincoln's appearance on the stump and of his manner when speaking," + as Herndon aptly remarks, "may not be without interest. When standing + erect, he was six feet four inches high. He was lean in flesh and ungainly + in figure. Aside from his sad, pained look, due to habitual melancholy, + his face had no characteristic or fixed expression. He was thin through + the chest and hence slightly stoop-shouldered. . . . At first he was very + awkward and it seemed a real labor to adjust himself to his surroundings. + He struggled for a time under a feeling of apparent diffidence and + sensitiveness, and these only added to his awkwardness.... When he began + speaking his voice was shrill, piping and unpleasant. His manner, his + attitude, his dark yellow face, wrinkled and dry, his oddity of pose, his + diffident movements; everything seemed to be against him, but only for a + short time. . . . As he proceeded, he became somewhat more animated. . . . + He did not gesticulate as much with his hands as with his head. He used + the latter frequently, throwing it with him, this way and that. . . . He + never sawed the air nor rent space into tatters and rags, as some orators + do. He never acted for stage effect. He was cool, considerate, reflective—in + time, self-possessed and self-reliant. . . . As he moved along in his + speech he became freer and less uneasy in his movements; to that extent he + was graceful. He had a perfect naturalness, a strong individuality, and to + that extent he was dignified. . . . He spoke with effectiveness—and + to move the judgment as well as the emotion of men. There was a world of + meaning and emphasis in the long, bony finger of the right hand as he + dotted the ideas on the minds of his hearers. . . . He always stood + squarely on his feet. . . . He neither touched nor leaned on anything for + support. He never ranted, never walked backward and forward on the + platform. . . . As he proceeded with his speech, the exercise of his vocal + organs altered somewhat the pitch of his voice. It lost in a measure its + former acute and shrilling pitch and mellowed into a more harmonious and + pleasant sound. His form expanded, and notwithstanding the sunken breast, + he rose up a splendid and imposing figure. . . . His little gray eyes + flashed in a face aglow with the fire of his profound thoughts; and his + uneasy movements and diffident manner sunk themselves beneath the wave of + righteous indignation that came sweeping over him."(4) + </p> + <p> + A wonderful dramatic contrast were these two men, each in his way so + masterful, as they appeared in the famous debates. By good fortune we have + a portrait of Douglas the orator, from the pen of Mrs. Stowe, who had + observed him with reluctant admiration from the gallery of the Senate. + "This Douglas is the very ideal of vitality. Short, broad, thick-set, + every inch of him has its own alertness and motion. He has a good head, + thick black hair, heavy black brows, and a keen face. His figure would be + an unfortunate one were it not for the animation that constantly pervades + it. As it is it rather gives poignancy to his peculiar appearance; he has + a small handsome hand, moreover, and a graceful as well as forcible mode + of using it. . . . He has two requisites of a debater, a melodious voice + and clear, sharply defined enunciation. His forte in debating is his power + of mystifying the point. With the most offhand assured airs in the world, + and a certain appearance of honest superiority, like one who has a regard + for you and wishes to set you right on one or two little matters, he + proceeds to set up some point which is not that in question, but only a + family connection of it, and this point he attacks with the very best of + logic and language; he charges upon it, horse and foot, runs it down, + tramples it in the dust, and then turns upon you with 'See, there is your + argument. Did I not tell you so? You see it is all stuff.' And if you have + allowed yourself to be so dazzled by his quickness as to forget that the + routed point is not, after all, the one in question, you suppose all is + over with it. Moreover, he contrives to mingle up so many stinging + allusions, so many piquant personalities, that by the time he has done his + mystification, a dozen others are ready and burning to spring on their + feet to repel some direct or indirect attack all equally wide of the + point." + </p> + <p> + The mode of travel of the two contestants heightened the contrast. George + B. McClellan, a young engineer officer who had recently resigned from the + army and was now general superintendent of the Illinois Central Railroad, + gave Douglas his private car and a special train. Lincoln traveled any way + he could-in ordinary passenger trains, or even in the caboose of a freight + train. A curious symbolization of Lincoln's belief that the real conflict + was between the plain people and organized money! + </p> + <p> + The debates did not develop new ideas. It was a literary duel, each leader + aiming to restate himself in the most telling, popular way. For once that + superficial definition of art applied: "What oft was thought but ne'er so + well expressed." Nevertheless the debates contained an incident that + helped to make history. Though Douglas was at war with the Administration, + it was not certain that the quarrel might not be made up. There was no + other leader who would be so formidable at the head of a reunited + Democratic party. Lincoln pondered the question, how could the rift + between Douglas and the Democratic machine be made irrevocable? And now a + new phase of Lincoln appeared. It was the political strategist He saw that + if he would disregard his own chance of election-as he had done from a + simpler motive four years before—he could drive Douglas into a + dilemma from which there was no real escape. He confided his purpose to + his friends; they urged him not to do it. But he had made up his mind as + he generally did, without consultation, in the silence of his own + thoughts, and once having made it up, he was inflexible. + </p> + <p> + At Freeport, Lincoln made the move which probably lost him the + Senatorship. He asked a question which if Douglas answered it one way + would enable him to recover the favor of Illinois but would lose him + forever the favor of the slave-holders; but which, if he answered it + another way might enable him to make his peace at Washington but would + certainly lose him Illinois. The question was: "Can the people of a United + States Territory in any lawful way, against the wish of any citizen of the + United States, exclude slavery from its limits prior to the formation of a + State Constitution?"(5) In other words, is the Dred Scott decision good + law? Is it true that a slave-holder can take his slaves into Kansas if the + people of Kansas want to keep him out? + </p> + <p> + Douglas saw the trap. With his instantaneous facility he tried to cloud + the issue and extricate himself through evasion in the very manner Mrs. + Stowe has described. While dodging a denial of the court's authority, he + insisted that his doctrine of local autonomy was still secure because + through police regulation the local legislature could foster or strangle + slavery, just as they pleased, no matter "what way the Supreme Court may + hereafter decide as to the abstract question whether slavery may or may + not go into a Territory under the Constitution." + </p> + <p> + As Lincoln's friends had foreseen, this matchless performance of carrying + water on both shoulders caught the popular fancy; Douglas was reelected to + the Senate. As Lincoln had foreseen, it killed him as a Democratic leader; + it prevented the reunion of the Democratic party. The result appeared in + 1860 when the Republicans, though still a minority party, carried the day + because of the bitter divisions among the Democrats. That was what Lincoln + foresaw when he said to his fearful friends while they argued in vain to + prevent his asking the question at Free-port. "I am killing larger game; + the great battle of 1860 is worth a thousand of this senatorial race."(6) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + X. THE DARK HORSE + </h2> + <p> + One of the most curious things in Lincoln is the way his confidence in + himself came and went. He had none of Douglas's unwavering self-reliance. + Before the end, to be sure, he attained a type of self-reliance, higher + and more imperturbable. But this was not the fruit of a steadfast + unfolding. Rather, he was like a tree with its alternating periods of + growth and pause, now richly in leaf, now dormant. Equally applicable is + the other familiar image of the successive waves. + </p> + <p> + The clue seems to have been, in part at least, a matter of vitality. Just + as Douglas emanated vitality—so much so that his aura filled the + whole Senate chamber and forced an unwilling response in the gifted but + hostile woman who watched him from the gallery—Lincoln, conversely, + made no such overpowering impression. His observers, however much they + have to say about his humor, his seasons of Shakespearian mirth, never + forget their impression that at heart he is sad. His fondness for poetry + in the minor key has become a byword, especially the line "Oh, why should + the spirit of mortal be proud." + </p> + <p> + It is impossible to discover any law governing the succession of his + lapses in self-reliance. But they may be related very plausibly to his + sense of failure or at least to his sense of futility. He was one of those + intensely sensitive natures to whom the futilities of this world are its + most discouraging feature. Whenever such ideas were brought home to him + his energy flagged; his vitality, never high, sank. He was prone to turn + away from the outward life to lose himself in the inner. All this is part + of the phenomena which Herndon perceived more clearly than he comprehended + it, which led him to call Lincoln a fatalist. + </p> + <p> + A humbler but perhaps more accurate explanation is the reminder that he + was son to Thomas the unstable. What happened in Lincoln's mind when he + returned defeated from Washington, that ghost-like rising of the impulses + of old Thomas, recurred more than once thereafter. In fact there is a + period well-defined, a span of thirteen years terminating suddenly on a + day in 1862, during which the ghost of old Thomas is a thing to be + reckoned with in his son's life. It came and went, most of the time + fortunately far on the horizon. But now and then it drew near. Always it + was lurking somewhere, waiting to seize upon him in those moments when his + vitality sank, when his energies were in the ebb, when his thoughts were + possessed by a sense of futility. + </p> + <p> + The year 1859 was one of his ebb tides. In the previous year the rising + tide, which had mounted high during his success on the circuit, reached + its crest The memory of his failure at Washington was effaced. At Freeport + he was a more powerful genius, a more dominant personality, than he had + ever been. Gradually, in the months following, the high wave subsided. + During 1859 he gave most of his attention to his practice. Though + political speech-making continued, and though he did not impair his + reputation, he did nothing of a remarkable sort. The one literary fragment + of any value is a letter to a Boston committee that had invited him to + attend a "festival" in Boston on Jefferson's birthday. He avowed himself a + thoroughgoing disciple of Jefferson and pronounced the principles of + Jefferson "the definitions and axioms of free society." Without conditions + he identified his own cause with the cause of Jefferson, "the man who in + the concrete pressure of a struggle for national independence by a single + people, had the coolness, forecast and capacity to introduce into a merely + revolutionary document, an abstract truth, applicable to all men and all + times, and so to embalm it there that today and in all coming days, it + shall be a rebuke and a stumbling-block to the very harbingers of + reappearing tyranny and oppression."(1) + </p> + <p> + While the Boston committee were turning their eyes toward this great new + phrase-maker of the West, several politicians in Illinois had formed a + bold resolve. They would try to make him President. The movement had two + sources—the personal loyalty of his devoted friends of the circuit, + the shrewdness of the political managers who saw that his duel with + Douglas had made him a national figure. As one of them said to him, + "Douglas being so widely known, you are getting a national reputation + through him." Lincoln replied that he did not lack the ambition but lacked + altogether the confidence in the possibility of success.(2) + </p> + <p> + This was his attitude during most of 1859. The glow, the enthusiasm, of + the previous year was gone. "I must in candor say that I do not think + myself fit for the Presidency," he wrote to a newspaper editor in April. + He used the same words to another correspondent in July. As late as + November first, he wrote, "For my single self, I have enlisted for the + permanent success of the Republican cause, and for this object I shall + labor faithfully in the ranks, unless, as I think not probable, the + judgment of the party shall assign me a different position."(3) + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, both groups of supporters had labored unceasingly, regardless + of his approval. In his personal following, the companionableness of + twenty years had deepened into an almost romantic loyalty. The leaders of + this enthusiastic attachment, most of them lawyers, had no superiors for + influence in Illinois. The man who had such a following was a power in + politics whether he would or no. This the mere politicians saw. They also + saw that the next Republican nomination would rest on a delicate + calculation of probabilities. There were other Republicans more + conspicuous than Lincoln—Seward in New York, Sumner in + Massachusetts, Chase in Ohio—but all these had inveterate enemies. + Despite their importance would it be safe to nominate them? Would not the + party be compelled to take some relatively minor figure, some essentially + new man? In a word, what we know as a "dark horse." Believing that this + would happen, they built hopefully on their faith in Lincoln. + </p> + <p> + Toward the end of the year he was at last persuaded to take his candidacy + seriously. The local campaign for his nomination had gone so far that a + failure to go further would have the look of being discarded as the local + Republican leader. This argument decided him. Before the year's end he had + agreed to become a candidate before the convention. In his own words, "I + am not in a position where it would hurt much for me to not be nominated + on the national ticket; but I am where it would hurt some for me to not + get the Illinois delegates."(4) + </p> + <p> + It was shortly after this momentous decision that he went to New York by + invitation and made his most celebrated, though not in any respect his + greatest, oration.(5) A large audience filled Cooper Union, February 27, + 1860. William Cullen Bryant presided. David Dudley Field escorted Lincoln + to the platform. Horace Greeley was in the audience. Again, the + performance was purely literary. No formulation of new policies, no appeal + for any new departure. It was a masterly restatement of his position; of + the essence of the debates with Douglas. It cleansed the Republican + platform of all accidental accretions, as if a ship's hull were being + scraped of barnacles preparatory to a voyage; it gave the underlying + issues such inflexible definition that they could not be juggled with. + Again he showed a power of lucid statement not possessed by any of his + rivals. An incident of the speech was his unsparing condemnation of John + Brown whose raid and death were on every tongue. "You charge that we stir + up insurrections among your slaves," said he, apostrophizing the + slave-holders. "We deny it, and what is your proof? 'Harper's Ferry; John + Brown!' John Brown was no Republican; and you have failed to implicate a + single Republican in this Harper's Ferry enterprise. . . + </p> + <p> + "John Brown's effort was peculiar. It was not a slave insurrection. It was + an attempt by white men to get up a revolt among slaves, in which the + slaves refused to participate. In fact, it was so absurd that the slaves + with all their ignorance saw plainly enough that it could not succeed. + That affair in its philosophy corresponds with the many attempts related + in history at the assassination of kings and emperors. An enthusiast + broods over the oppression of the people until he fancies himself + commissioned by heaven to liberate them. He ventures the attempt which + ends in little else than his own execution. Orsini's attempt on Louis + Napoleon, and John Brown's attempt at Harper's Ferry were, in their + philosophy, precisely the same. The eagerness to cast blame on old England + in the one case and on New England in the other, does not disprove the + sameness of the two things." + </p> + <p> + The Cooper Union speech received extravagant praise from all the + Republican newspapers. Lincoln's ardent partisans assert that it took New + York "by storm." Rather too violent a way of putting it! But there can be + no doubt that the speech made a deep impression. Thereafter, many of the + Eastern managers were willing to consider Lincoln as a candidate, should + factional jealousies prove uncompromising. Any port in a storm, you know. + Obviously, there could be ports far more dangerous than this "favorite + son" of Illinois. + </p> + <p> + Many national conventions in the United States have decided upon a + compromise candidate, "a dark horse," through just such reasoning. The + most noted instance is the Republican Convention of 1860. When it + assembled at Chicago in June, the most imposing candidate was the + brilliant leader of the New York Republicans, Seward. But no man in the + country had more bitter enemies. Horace Greeley whose paper The Tribune + was by far the most influential Republican organ, went to Chicago obsessed + by one purpose: because of irreconcilable personal quarrels he would have + revenge upon Seward. Others who did not hate Seward were afraid of what + Greeley symbolized. And all of them knew that whatever else happened, the + West must be secured. + </p> + <p> + The Lincoln managers played upon the Eastern jealousies and the Eastern + fears with great skill. There was little sleep among the delegates the + night previous to the balloting. At just the right moment, the Lincoln + managers, though their chief had forbidden them to do so, offered promises + with regard to Cabinet appointments.(6) And they succeeded in packing the + galleries of the Convention Hall with a perfectly organized + claque-"rooters," the modern American would say. + </p> + <p> + The result on the third ballot was a rush to Lincoln of all the enemies of + Seward, and Lincoln's nomination amid a roaring frenzy of applause. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XI. SECESSION + </h2> + <p> + After twenty-three years of successive defeats, Lincoln, almost + fortuitously, was at the center of the political maelstrom. The clue to + what follows is in the way he had developed during that long discouraging + apprenticeship to greatness. Mentally, he had always been in isolation. + Socially, he had lived in a near horizon. The real tragedy of his failure + at Washington was in the closing against him of the opportunity to know + his country as a whole. Had it been Lincoln instead of Douglas to whom + destiny had given a residence at Washington during the 'fifties, it is + conceivable that things might have been different in the 'sixties. On the + other hand, America would have lost its greatest example of the artist in + politics. + </p> + <p> + And without that artist, without his extraordinary literary gift, his + party might not have consolidated in 1860. A very curious party it was. It + had sprung to life as a denial, as a device for halting Douglas. Lincoln's + doctrine of the golden mean, became for once a political power. Men of the + most diverse views on other issues accepted in their need the axiom: + "Stand with anybody so long as he stands right." And standing right, for + that moment in the minds of them all, meant keeping slavery and the money + power from devouring the territories. + </p> + <p> + The artist of the movement expressed them all in his declaration that the + nation needed the Territories to give home and opportunity to free white + people. Even the Abolitionists, who hitherto had refused to make common + cause with any other faction, entered the negative coalition of the new + party. So did Whigs, and anti-slavery Democrats, as well as other factions + then obscure which we should now label Socialists and Labormen. + </p> + <p> + However, this coalition, which in origin was purely negative, revealed, + the moment it coalesced, two positive features. To the man of the near + horizon in 1860 neither of these features seemed of first importance. To + the man outside that horizon, seeing them in perspective as related to the + sum total of American life, they had a significance he did not entirely + appreciate. + </p> + <p> + The first of these was the temper of the Abolitionists. Lincoln ignored + it. He was content with his ringing assertion of the golden mean. But + there spoke the man of letters rather than the statesman. Of temper in + politics as an abstract idea, he had been keenly conscious from the first; + but his lack of familiarity with political organizations kept him from + assigning full value to the temper of any one factor as affecting the + joint temper of the whole group. It was appointed for him to learn this in + a supremely hard way and to apply the lesson with wonderful audacity. But + in 1860 that stern experience still slept in the future. He had no + suspicion as yet that he might find it difficult to carry out his own + promise to stand with the Abolitionists in excluding slavery from the + Territories, and to stand against them in enforcing the Fugitive Slave + Law. He did not yet see why any one should doubt the validity of this + promise; why any one should be afraid to go along with him, afraid that + the temper of one element would infect the whole coalition. + </p> + <p> + But this fear that Lincoln did not allow for, possessed already a great + many minds. Thousands of Southerners, of the sort whom Lincoln credited + with good intentions about slavery, feared the Abolitionists Not because + the Abolitionists wanted to destroy slavery, but because they wanted to do + so fiercely, cruelly. Like Lincoln, these Southerners who were liberals in + thought and moderates in action, did not know what to do about slavery. + Like Lincoln, they had but one fixed idea with regard to it,—slavery + must not be terminated violently. Lincoln, despite his near horizon, + sensed them correctly as not being at one with the great plutocrats who + wished to exploit slavery. But when the Abolitionist poured out the same + fury of vituperation on every sort of slave-holder; when he promised his + soul that it should yet have the joy of exulting in the ruin of all such, + the moderate Southerners became as flint. When the Abolitionists + proclaimed their affiliation with the new party, the first step was taken + toward a general Southern coalition to stop the Republican advance. + </p> + <p> + There was another positive element blended into the negative coalition. In + 1857, the Republicans overruling the traditions of those members who had + once been Democrats, set their faces toward protection. To most of the + Northerners the fatefulness of the step was not obvious. Twenty years had + passed since a serious tariff controversy had shaken the North. Financial + difficulties in the 'fifties were more prevalent in the North than in the + South. Business was in a quandary. Labor was demanding better + opportunities. Protection as a solution, or at least as a palliative, + seemed to the mass of the Republican coalition, even to the former + Democrats for all their free trade traditions, not outrageous. To the + Southerners it was an alarm bell. The Southern world was agricultural; its + staple was cotton; the bulk of its market was in England. Ever since 1828, + the Southern mind had been constantly on guard with regard to tariff, + unceasingly fearful that protection would be imposed on it by Northern and + Western votes. To have to sell its cotton in England at free trade values, + but at the same time to have to buy its commodities at protected values + fixed by Northern manufacturers—what did that mean but the despotism + of one section over another? When the Republicans took up protection as + part of their creed, a general Southern coalition was rendered almost + inevitable. + </p> + <p> + This, Lincoln {Missing text}. Again it is to be accounted for in part by + his near horizon. Had he lived at Washington, had he met, frequently, + Southern men; had he passed those crucial years of the 'fifties in debates + with political leaders rather than in story-telling tournaments on the + circuit; perhaps all this would have been otherwise. But one can not be + quite sure. Finance never appealed to him. A wide application may be given + to Herndon's remark that "he had no money sense." All the rest of the + Republican doctrine finds its best statement in Lincoln. On the one + subject of its economic policy he is silent. Apparently it is to be + classified with the routine side of the law. To neither was he ever able + to give more than a perfunctory attention. As an artist in politics he had + the defect of his qualities. + </p> + <p> + What his qualities showed him were two things: the alliance of the + plutocratic slave power with the plutocratic money power, and the + essential rightness in impulse of the bulk of the Southern people. Hence + his conclusion which became his party's conclusion: that, in the South, a + political-financial ring was dominating a leaderless people, This was not + the truth. Lincoln's defects in 1860 limited his vision. Nevertheless, to + the solitary distant thinker, shut in by the near horizon of political + Springfield, there was every excuse for the error. The palpable evidence + all confirmed it. What might have contradicted it was a cloud of + witnesses, floating, incidental, casual, tacit. Just what a nature like + Lincoln's, if only he could have met them, would have perceived and + comprehended; what a nature like Douglas's, no matter how plainly they + were presented to him, could neither perceive nor comprehend. It was the + irony of fate that an opportunity to fathom his time was squandered upon + the unseeing Douglas, while to the seeing Lincoln it was denied. In a + word, the Southern reaction against the Republicans, like the Republican + movement itself, had both a positive and a negative side. It was the + positive side that could be seen and judged at long range. And this was + what Lincoln saw, which appeared to him to have created the dominant issue + in 1860. + </p> + <p> + The negative side of the Southern movement he did not see. He was too far + away to make out the details of the picture. Though he may have known from + the census of 1850 that only one-third of the Southern whites were members + of slave-holding families, he could scarcely have known that only a small + minority of the Southern families owned as many as five slaves; that those + who had fortunes in slaves were a mere handful—just as today those + who have fortunes in steel or beef are mere handfuls. But still less did + he know how entirely this vast majority which had so little, if any, + interest in slavery, had grown to fear and distrust the North. They, like + him, were suffering from a near horizon. They, too, were applying the + principle "Stand with anybody so long as he stands right" But for them, + standing right meant preventing a violent revolution in Southern life. + Indifferent as they were to slavery, they were willing to go along with + the "slave-barons" in the attempt to consolidate the South in a movement + of denial—a denial of the right of the North, either through + Abolitionism or through tariff, to dominate the South. + </p> + <p> + If only Lincoln with his subtle mind could have come into touch with the + negative side of the Southern agitation! It was the other side, the + positive side, that was vocal. With immense shrewdness the profiteers of + slavery saw and developed their opportunity. They organized the South. + They preached on all occasions, in all connections, the need of all + Southerners to stand together, no matter how great their disagreements, in + order to prevent the impoverishment of the South by hostile economic + legislation. During the late 'fifties their propaganda for an all-Southern + policy, made slow but constant headway. But even in 1859 these ideas were + still far from controlling the South. + </p> + <p> + And then came John Brown. The dread of slave insurrection was laid deep in + Southern recollection. Thirty years before, the Nat Turner Rebellion had + filled a portion of Virginia with burned plantation houses amid whose + ruins lay the dead bodies of white women. A little earlier, a negro + conspiracy at Charleston planned the murder of white men and the parceling + out of white women among the conspirators. And John Brown had come into + Virginia at the head of a band of strangers calling upon the slaves to + rise and arm. + </p> + <p> + Here was a supreme opportunity. The positive Southern force, the slave + profiteers, seized at once the attitude of champions of the South. It was + easy enough to enlist the negative force in a shocked and outraged + denunciation of everything Northern. And the Northern extremists did all + that was in their power to add fuel to the flame. Emerson called Brown + "this new saint who had made the gallows glorious as the cross." The + Southerners, hearing that, thought of the conspiracy to parcel out the + white women of Charleston. Early in 1860 it seemed as if the whole South + had but one idea-to part company with the North. + </p> + <p> + No wonder Lincoln threw all his influence into the scale to discredit the + memory of Brown. No wonder the Republicans in their platform carefully + repudiated him. They could not undo the impression made on the Southern + mind by two facts: the men who lauded Brown as a new saint were voting the + Republican ticket; the Republicans had committed themselves to the + anti-Southern policy of protection. + </p> + <p> + And yet, in spite of all the labors of pro-slavery extremists, the + movement for a breach with the North lost ground during 1860. When the + election came, the vote for President revealed a singular and unforeseen + situation. Four candidates were in the field. The Democrats, split into + two by the issue of slavery expansion, formed two parties. The slave + profiteers secured the nomination by one faction of John C. Breckinridge. + The moderate Democrats who would neither fight nor favor slavery, + nominated Douglas. The most peculiar group was the fourth. They included + all those who would not join the Republicans for fear of the temper of the + Abolition-members, but who were not promoters of slavery, and who + distrusted Douglas. They had no program but to restore the condition of + things that existed before the Nebraska Bill. About four million five + hundred thousand votes were cast. Lincoln had less than two million, and + all but about twenty-four thousand of these were in the Free States. + However, the disposition of Lincoln's vote gave him the electoral college. + He was chosen President by the votes of a minority of the nation. But + there was another minority vote which as events turned out, proved equally + significant. Breckinridge, the symbol of the slave profiteers, and of all + those whom they had persuaded to follow them, had not been able to carry + the popular vote of the South. They were definitely in the minority in + their own section. The majority of the Southerners had so far reacted from + the wild alarms of the beginning of the year that they refused to go along + with the candidates of the extremists. They were for giving the Union + another trial. The South itself had repudiated the slave profiteers. + </p> + <p> + This was the immensely significant fact of November, 1860. It made a great + impression on the whole country. For the moment it made the fierce talk of + the Southern extremists inconsequential. Buoyant Northerners, such as + Seward, felt that the crisis was over; that the South had voted for a + reconciliation; that only tact was needed to make everybody happy. When, a + few weeks after the election, Seward said that all would be merry again + inside of ninety days, his illusion had for its foundation the Southern + rejection of the slave profiteers. + </p> + <p> + Unfortunately, Seward did not understand the precise significance of the + thought of the moderate South. He did not understand that while the South + had voted to send Breckinridge and his sort about their business, it was + still deeply alarmed, deeply fearful that after all it might at any minute + be forced to call them back, to make common cause with them against what + it regarded as an alien and destructive political power, the Republicans. + This was the Southern reservation, the unspoken condition of the vote + which Seward—and for that matter, Lincoln, also,—failed to + comprehend. Because of these cross-purposes, because the Southern alarm + was based on another thing than the standing or falling of slavery, the + situation called for much more than tact, for profound psychological + statesmanship. + </p> + <p> + And now emerges out of the complexities of the Southern situation a + powerful personality whose ideas and point of view Lincoln did not + understand. Robert Barnwell Rhett had once been a man of might in + politics. Twice he had very nearly rent the Union asunder. In 1844, again + in 1851, he had come to the very edge of persuading South Carolina to + secede. In each case he sought to organize the general discontent of the + South,—its dread of a tariff, and of Northern domination. After his + second failure, his haughty nature took offense at fortune. He resigned + his seat in the Senate and withdrew to private life. But he was too large + and too bold a character to attain obscurity. Nor would his restless + genius permit him to rust in ease. During the troubled 'fifties, he + watched from a distance, but with ever increasing interest, that negative + Southern force which he, in the midst of it, comprehended, while it + drifted under the wing of the extremists. As he did so, the old arguments, + the old ambitions, the old hopes revived. In 1851 his cry to the South was + to assert itself as a Separate nation—not for any one reason, but + for many reasons—and to lead its own life apart from the North. It + was an age of brilliant though ill-fated revolutionary movements in + Europe. Kossuth and the gallant Hungarian attempt at independence had + captivated the American imagination. Rhett dreamed of seeing the South do + what Hungary had failed to do. He thought of the problem as a medieval + knight would have thought, in terms of individual prowess, with the modern + factors, economics and all their sort, left on one side. "Smaller nations + (than South Carolina)," he said in 1851, "have striven for freedom against + greater odds." + </p> + <p> + In 1860 he had concluded that his third chance had come. He would try once + more to bring about secession. To split the Union, he would play into the + hands of the slave-barons. He would aim to combine with their movement the + negative Southern movement and use the resulting coalition to crown with + success his third attempt. Issuing from his seclusion, he became at once + the overshadowing figure in South Carolina. Around him all the elements of + revolution crystallized. He was sixty years old; seasoned and + uncompromising in the pursuit of his one ideal, the independence of the + South. His arguments were the same which he had used in 1844, in 1851: the + North would impoverish the South; it threatens to impose a crushing + tribute in the shape of protection; it seeks to destroy slavery; it aims + to bring about economic collapse; in the wreck thus produced, everything + that is beautiful, charming, distinctive in Southern life will be lost; + let us fight! With such a leader, the forces of discontent were quickly, + effectively, organized. Even before the election of Lincoln, the + revolutionary leaders in South Carolina were corresponding with men of + like mind in other Southern States, especially Alabama, where was another + leader, Yancey, only second in intensity to Rhett. + </p> + <p> + The word from these Alabama revolutionists to South Carolina was to dare + all, to risk seceding alone, confident that the other States of the South + would follow. Rhett and his new associates took this perilous advice. The + election was followed by the call of a convention of delegates of the + people of South Carolina. This convention, on the twentieth of December, + 1860, repealed the laws which united South Carolina with the other States + and proclaimed their own independent. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XII. THE CRISIS + </h2> + <p> + Though Seward and other buoyant natures felt that the crisis had passed + with the election, less volatile people held the opposite view. Men who + had never before taken seriously the Southern threats of disunion had + waked suddenly to a terrified consciousness that they were in for it. In + their blindness to realities earlier in the year, they were like that + brilliant host of camp followers which, as Thackeray puts it, led the army + of Wellington dancing and feasting to the very brink of Waterloo. And now + the day of reckoning had come. An emotional reaction carried them from one + extreme to the other; from self-sufficient disregard of their adversaries + to an almost self-abasing regard. + </p> + <p> + The very type of these people and of their reaction was Horace Greeley. He + was destined many times to make plain that he lived mainly in his + sensibilities; that, in his kaleidoscopic vision, the pattern of the world + could be red and yellow and green today, and orange and purple and blue + tomorrow. To descend from a pinnacle of self-complacency into a desolating + abyss of panic, was as easy for Greeley as it is—in the vulgar but + pointed American phrase—to roll off a log. A few days after the + election, Greeley had rolled off his log. He was wallowing in panic. He + began to scream editorially. The Southern extremists were terribly in + earnest; if they wanted to go, go they would, and go they should. But + foolish Northerners would be sure to talk war and the retaining of the + South in the Union by force: it must not be; what was the Union compared + with bloodshed? There must be no war—no war. Such was Greeley's + terrified—appeal to the North. A few weeks after the election he + printed his famous editorial denouncing the idea of a Union pinned + together by bayonets. He followed up with another startling concession to + his fears: the South had as good cause for leaving the Union as the + colonies had for leaving the British Empire. A little later, he formulated + his ultimate conclusion,—which like many of his ultimates proved to + be transitory,—and declared that if any group of Southern States + "choose to form an independent nation, they have a clear moral right to do + so," and pledging himself and his followers to do "our best to forward + their views." + </p> + <p> + Greeley wielded through The Tribune more influence, perhaps, than was + possessed by any other Republican with the single exception of Lincoln. + His newspaper constituency was enormous, and the relation between the + leader and the led was unusually close. He was both oracle and barometer. + As a symptom of the Republican panic, as a cause increasing that panic, he + was of first importance. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile Congress had met. And at once, the most characteristic + peculiarity of the moment was again made emphatic. The popular majorities + and the political machines did not coincide. Both in the North and in the + South a minority held the situation in the hollow of its hand. The + Breckinridge Democrats, despite their repudiation in the presidential + vote, included so many of the Southern politicians, they were so well + organized, they had scored such a menacing victory with the aid of Rhett + in South Carolina, they had played so skilfully on the fears of the South + at large, their leaders were such skilled managers, that they were able to + continue for the moment the recognized spokesmen of the South at + Washington. They lost no time defining their position. If the Union were + not to be sundered, the Republicans must pledge themselves to a new and + extensive compromise; it must be far different from those historic + compromises that had preceded it. Three features must characterize any new + agreement: The South must be dealt with as a unit; it must be given a + "sphere of influence"—to use our modern term—which would fully + satisfy all its impulses of expansion; and in that sphere, every question + of slavery must be left entirely, forever, to local action. In a word, + they demanded for the South what today would be described as a "dominion" + status. Therefore, they insisted that the party which had captured the + Northern political machine should formulate its reply to these demands. + They gave notice that they would not discuss individual schemes, but only + such as the victorious Republicans might officially present. Thus the + national crisis became a party crisis. What could the Republicans among + themselves agree to propose? + </p> + <p> + The central figure of the crisis seemed at first to be the brilliant + Republican Senator from New York. Seward thought he understood the South, + and what was still more important, human nature. Though he echoed + Greeley's cry for peace—translating his passionate hysteria into the + polished cynicism of a diplomat who had been known to deny that he was + ever entirely serious—he scoffed at Greeley's fears. If the South + had not voted lack of confidence in the Breckinridge crowd, what had it + voted? If the Breckinridge leaders weren't maneuvering to save their + faces, what could they be accused of doing? If Seward, the Republican man + of genius, couldn't see through all that, couldn't devise a way to help + them save their faces, what was the use in being a brilliant politician? + </p> + <p> + Jauntily self-complacent, as confident of himself as if Rome were burning + and he the garlanded fiddler, Seward braced himself for the task of + recreating the Union. + </p> + <p> + But there was an obstacle in his path. It was Lincoln. Of course, it was + folly to propose a scheme which the incoming President would not sustain. + Lincoln and Seward must come to an understanding. To bring that about + Seward despatched a personal legate to Springfield. Thurlow Weed, editor, + man of the world, political wire-puller beyond compare, Seward's devoted + henchman, was the legate. One of the great events of American history was + the conversation between Weed and Lincoln in December, 1860. By a rare + propriety of dramatic effect, it occurred probably, on the very day South + Carolina brought to an end its campaign of menace and adopted its + Ordinance of Secession, December twentieth.(1) + </p> + <p> + Weed had brought to Springfield a definite proposal. The Crittenden + compromise was being hotly discussed in Congress and throughout the + country. All the Northern advocates of conciliation were eager to put it + through. There was some ground to believe that the Southern machine at + Washington would accept it. If Lincoln would agree, Seward would make it + the basis of his policy. + </p> + <p> + This Compromise would have restored the old line of the Missouri + Compromise and would have placed it under the protection of a + constitutional amendment. This, together with a guarantee against + congressional interference with slavery in the States where it existed, a + guarantee the Republicans had already offered, seemed to Seward, to Weed, + to Greeley, to the bulk of the party, a satisfactory means of preserving + the Union. What was it but a falling back on the original policy of the + party, the undoing of those measures of 1854 which had called the party + into being? Was it conceivable that Lincoln would balk the wishes of the + party by obstructing such a natural mode of extrication? But that was what + Lincoln did. His views had advanced since 1854. Then, he was merely for + restoring the old duality of the country, the two "dominions," Northern + and Southern, each with its own social order. He had advanced to the + belief that this duality could not permanently continue. Just how far + Lincoln realized what he was doing in refusing to compromise will never be + known. Three months afterward, he took a course which seems to imply that + his vision during the interim had expanded, had opened before him a new + revelation of the nature of his problem. At the earlier date Lincoln and + the Southern people—not the Southern machine—were looking at + the one problem from opposite points of view, and were locating the + significance of the problem in different features. To Lincoln, the heart + of the matter was slavery. To the Southerners, including the men who had + voted lack of confidence in Breckinridge, the heart of the matter was the + sphere of influence. What the Southern majority wanted was not the policy + of the slave profiteers but a secure future for expansion, a guarantee + that Southern life, social, economic, cultural, would not be merged with + the life of the opposite section: in a word, preservation of "dominion" + status. In Lincoln's mind, slavery being the main issue, this "dominion" + issue was incidental—a mere outgrowth of slavery that should begin + to pass away with slavery's restriction. In the Southern mind, a community + consciousness, the determination to be a people by themselves, nation + within the nation, was the issue, and slavery was the incident. To repeat, + it is impossible to say what Lincoln would have done had he comprehended + the Southern attitude. His near horizon which had kept him all along from + grasping the negative side of the Southern movement prevented his + perception of this tragic instance of cross-purposes. + </p> + <p> + Lacking this perception, his thoughts had centered themselves on a recent + activity of the slave profiteers. They had clamored for the annexation of + new territory to the south of us. Various attempts had been made to create + an international crisis looking toward the seizure of Cuba. Then, too, + bold adventurers had staked their heads, seeking to found slave-holding + communities in Central America. Why might not such attempts succeed? Why + might not new Slave States be created outside the Union, eventually to be + drawn in? Why not? said the slave profiteer, and gave money and assistance + to the filibusters in Nicaragua. Why not? said Lincoln, also. What + protection against such an extension of boundaries? Was the limitation of + slave area to be on one side only, the Northern side? And here at last, + for Lincoln, was what appeared to be the true issue of the moment. To + dualize the Union, assuming its boundaries to be fixed, was one thing. To + dualize the Union in the face of a movement for extension of boundaries + was another. Hence it was now vital, as Lincoln reasoned, to give slavery + a fixed boundary on all sides. Silently, while others fulminated, or + rhapsodized, or wailed, he had moved inexorably to a new position which + was nothing but a logical development of the old. The old position was—no + extension of slave territory; the new position was—no more Slave + States.(2) Because Crittenden's Compromise left it possible to have a new + Slave State in Cuba, a new Slave State in Nicaragua, perhaps a dozen such + new States, Lincoln refused to compromise.(3) + </p> + <p> + It was a terrible decision, carrying within it the possibility of civil + war. But Lincoln could not be moved. This was the first acquaintance of + the established political leaders with his inflexible side. In the + recesses of his own thoughts the decision had been reached. It was useless + to argue with him. Weed carried back his ultimatum. Seward abandoned + Crittenden's scheme. The only chance for compromise passed away. The + Southern leaders set about their plans for organizing a Southern + Confederacy. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIII. ECLIPSE + </h2> + <p> + Lincoln's ultimatum of December twentieth contained three proposals that + might be made to the Southern leaders: + </p> + <p> + That the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law which hitherto had been + left to State authorities should be taken over by Congress and supported + by the Republicans. + </p> + <p> + That the Republicans to the extent of their power should work for the + repeal of all those "Personal Liberty Laws" which had been established in + certain Northern States to defeat the operation of the Fugitive Slave Law. + </p> + <p> + That the Federal Union must be preserved.(1) + </p> + <p> + In presenting these proposals along with a refusal to consider the + Crittenden Compromise, Seward tampered with their clear-cut form. Fearful + of the effect on the extremists of the Republican group, he withheld + Lincoln's unconditional promise to maintain the Fugitive Slave Law and + instead of pledging his party to the repeal of Personal Liberty Laws he + promised only to have Congress request the States to repeal them. He + suppressed altogether the assertion that the Union must be preserved.(2) + About the same time, in a public speech, he said he was not going to be + "humbugged" by the bogy of secession, and gave his fatuous promise that + all the trouble would be ended inside ninety days. For all his brilliancy + of a sort, he was spiritually obtuse. On him, as on Douglas, Fate had + lavished opportunities to see life as it is, to understand the motives of + men; but it could not make him use them. He was incorrigibly cynical. He + could not divest himself of the idea that all this confusion was hubbub, + was but an ordinary political game, that his only cue was to assist his + adversaries in saving their faces. In spite of his rich experience,—in + spite of being an accomplished man of the world,—at least in his own + estimation—he was as blind to the real motives of that Southern + majority which had rejected Breckinridge as was the inexperienced Lincoln. + The coolness with which he modified Lincoln's proposals was evidence that + he considered himself the great Republican and Lincoln an accident. He was + to do the same again—to his own regret. + </p> + <p> + When Lincoln issued his ultimatum, he was approaching the summit, if not + at the very summit, of another of his successive waves of vitality, of + self-confidence. That depression which came upon him about the end of + 1858, which kept him undecided, in a mood of excessive caution during most + of 1859, had passed away. The presidential campaign with its thrilling + tension, its excitement, had charged him anew with confidence. Although + one more eclipse was in store for him—the darkest eclipse of all—he + was very nearly the definitive Lincoln of history. At least, he had the + courage which that Lincoln was to show. + </p> + <p> + He was now the target for a besieging army of politicians clamoring for + "spoils" in the shape of promises of preferment. It was a miserable and + disgraceful assault which profoundly offended him.(3) To his mind this was + not the same thing as the simple-hearted personal politics of his younger + days—friends standing together and helping one another along—but + a gross and monstrous rapacity. It was the first chill shadow that + followed the election day. + </p> + <p> + There were difficult intrigues over the Cabinet. Promises made by his + managers at Chicago were presented for redemption. Rival candidates + bidding for his favor, tried to cut each other's throats. For example, + there was the intrigue of the War Department. The Lincoln managers had + promised a Cabinet appointment to Pennsylvania; the followers of Simon + Cameron were a power; it had been necessary to win them over in order to + nominate Lincoln; they insisted that their leader was now entitled to the + Pennsylvania seat in the Cabinet; but there was an anti-Cameron faction + almost as potent in Pennsylvania as the Cameron faction. Both sent their + agents to Springfield to lay siege to Lincoln. In this duel, the Cameron + forces won the first round. Lincoln offered him the Secretaryship. + Subsequently, his enemies made so good a case that Lincoln was convinced + of the unwisdom of his decision and withdrew the offer. But Cameron had + not kept the offer confidential. The withdrawal would discredit him + politically and put a trump card into the hands of his enemies. A long + dispute followed. Not until Lincoln had reached Washington, immediately + before the inauguration, was the dispute ended, the withdrawal withdrawn, + and Cameron appointed.(4) + </p> + <p> + It was a dreary winter for the President-elect. It was also a brand-new + experience. For the first time he was a dispenser of favor on a grand + scale. Innumerable men showed their meanest side, either to advance + themselves or to injure others. As the weeks passed and the spectacle grew + in shamelessness, his friends became more and more conscious of his + peculiar melancholy. The elation of the campaign subsided into a deep + unhappiness over the vanity of this world. Other phases of the shadowy + side of his character also asserted themselves. Conspicuous was a certain + trend in his thinking that was part of Herndon's warrant for calling him a + fatalist. Lincoln's mysticism very early had taken a turn toward + predestination, coupled with a belief in dreams.(5) He did not in any way + believe in magic; he never had any faith in divinations, in the occult, in + any secret mode of alluring the unseen powers to take one's side. + Nevertheless, he made no bones about being superstitious. And he thought + that coming events cast their shadows before, that something, at least, of + the future was sometimes revealed through dreams. "Nature," he would say, + "is the workshop of the Almighty, and we form but links in the chain of + intellectual and material life."(6) Byron's Dream was one of his favorite + poems. He pondered those ancient, historical tales which make free use of + portents. There was a fascination for him in the story of Caracalla—how + his murder of Geta was foretold, how he was upbraided by the ghosts of his + father and brother. This dream-faith of his was as real as was a similar + faith held by the authors of the Old Testament. He had his theory of the + interpretation of dreams. Because they were a universal experience—as + he believed, the universal mode of communication between the unseen and + the seen—his beloved "plain people," the "children of Nature," the + most universal types of humanity, were their best interpreters. He also + believed in presentiment. As faithfully as the simplest of the brood of + the forest—those recreated primitives who regulated their farming by + the brightness or the darkness of the moon, who planted corn or + slaughtered hogs as Artemis directed—he trusted a presentiment if + once it really took possession of him. A presentiment which had been + formed before this time, we know not when, was clothed with authority by a + dream, or rather a vision, that came to him in the days of melancholy + disillusion during the last winter at Springfield. Looking into a mirror, + he saw two Lincolns,—one alive, the other dead. It was this vision + which clenched his pre-sentiment that he was born to a great career and to + a tragic end. He interpreted the vision that his administration would be + successful, but that it would close with his death.(7) + </p> + <p> + The record of his inner life during the last winter at Springfield is very + dim. But there can be no doubt that a desolating change attacked his + spirit. As late as the day of his ultimatum he was still in comparative + sunshine, or, at least his clouds were not close about him. His will was + steel, that day. Nevertheless, a friend who visited him in January, to + talk over their days together, found not only that "the old-time zest" was + lacking, but that it was replaced by "gloom and despondency."(8) The + ghosts that hovered so frequently at the back of his mind, the brooding + tendencies which fed upon his melancholy and made him at times irresolute, + were issuing from the shadows, trooping forward, to encompass him + roundabout. + </p> + <p> + In the midst of this spiritual reaction, he was further depressed by the + stern news from the South and from Washington. His refusal to compromise + was beginning to bear fruit. The Gulf States seceded. A Southern + Confederacy was formed. There is no evidence that he lost faith in his + course, but abundant evidence that he was terribly unhappy. He was preyed + upon by his sense of helplessness, while Buchanan through his weakness and + vacillation was "giving away the case." "Secession is being fostered," + said he, "rather than repressed, and if the doctrine meets with general + acceptance in the Border States, it will be a great blow to the + government."(9) He did not deceive himself upon the possible effect of his + ultimatum, and sent word to General Scott to be prepared to hold or to + "retake" the forts garrisoned by Federal troops in the Southern + States.(10) + </p> + <p> + All the while his premonition of the approach of doom grew more darkly + oppressive. The trail of the artist is discernible across his thoughts. In + his troubled imagination he identified his own situation with that of the + protagonist in tragedies on the theme of fate. He did not withhold his + thoughts from the supreme instance. That same friend who found him + possessed of gloom preserved these words of his: "I have read on my knees + the story of Gethsemane, when the Son of God prayed in vain that the cup + of bitterness might pass from him. I am in the Garden of Gethsemane now + and my cup of bitterness is full and overflowing now."(11) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Like some strong seer in a trance, + Seeing all his own mischance, + With a glassy countenance," +</pre> + <p> + he faced toward Washington, toward the glorious terror promised him by his + superstitions. + </p> + <p> + The last days before the departure were days of mingled gloom, + desperation, and the attempt to recover hope. He visited his old + stepmother and made a pilgrimage to his father's grave. His thoughts + fondly renewed the details of his past life, lingered upon this and that, + as if fearful that it was all slipping away from him forever. And then he + roused himself as if in sudden revolt against the Fates. The day before he + left Springfield forever Lincoln met his partner for the last time at + their law office to wind up the last of their unsettled business. "After + those things were all disposed of," says Herndon, "he crossed to the + opposite side of the room and threw himself down on the old office sofa. . + . . He lay there for some moments his face to the ceiling without either + of us speaking. Presently, he inquired: 'Billy'—he always called me + by that name—'how long have we been together?' 'Over sixteen years,' + I answered. 'We've never had a cross word during all that time, have we?' + . . . He gathered a bundle of papers and books he wished to take with him + and started to go, but before leaving, he made the strange request that + the sign board which swung on its rusty hinges at the foot of the stairway + would remain. 'Let it hang there undisturbed,' he said, with a significant + lowering of the voice. 'Give our clients to understand that the election + of a President makes no change in the firm of Lincoln & Herndon. If I + live, I am coming back some time, and then we'll go right on practising + law as if nothing had happened.' He lingered for a moment as if to take a + last look at the old quarters, and then passed through the door into the + narrow hallway."(12) + </p> + <p> + On a dreary day with a cold rain falling, he set forth. The railway + station was packed with friends. He made his way through the crowd slowly, + shaking hands. "Having finally reached the train, he ascended the rear + platform, and, facing about to the throng which had closed about him, drew + himself up to his full height, removed his hat and stood for several + seconds in profound silence. His eyes roved sadly over that sea of + upturned faces. . . There was an unusual quiver on his lips and a still + more unusual tear on his shriveled cheek. His solemn manner, his long + silence, were as full of melancholy eloquence as any words he could have + uttered."(13) At length, he spoke: "My friends, no one not in my situation + can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place and + the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a + quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my + children have been born and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when + or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that + which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being + who ever attended him, I can not succeed. With that assistance, I can not + fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me and remain with you, and be + everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To + His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I + bid you an affectionate farewell."(14) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIV. THE STRANGE NEW MAN + </h2> + <p> + There is a period of sixteen months—from February, 1861, to a day in + June, 1862,—when Lincoln is the most singular, the most problematic + of statesmen. Out of this period he issues with apparent abruptness, the + final Lincoln, with a place among the few consummate masters of + state-craft. During the sixteen months, his genius comes and goes. His + confidence, whether in himself or in others, is an uncertain quantity. At + times he is bold, even rash; at others, irresolute. The constant factor in + his mood all this while is his amazing humility. He seems to have + forgotten his own existence. As a person with likes and dislikes, with + personal hopes and fears, he has vanished. He is but an afflicted and + perplexed mind, struggling desperately to save his country. A selfless + man, he may be truly called through months of torment which made him over + from a theoretical to a practical statesman. He entered this period a + literary man who had been elevated almost by accident to the position of a + leader in politics. After many blunders, after doubt, hesitation and pain, + he came forth from this stern ordeal a powerful man of action. + </p> + <p> + The impression which he made on the country at the opening of this period + was unfortunate. The very power that had hitherto been the making of him—the + literary power, revealing to men in wonderfully convincing form the ideas + which they felt within them but could not utter—this had deserted + him. Explain the psychology of it any way you will, there is the fact! The + speeches Lincoln made on the way to Washington during the latter part of + February were appallingly unlike himself. His mind had suddenly fallen + dumb. He had nothing to say. The gloom, the desolation that had penetrated + his soul, somehow, for the moment, made him commonplace. When he talked—as + convention required him to do at all his stopping places—his words + were but faint echoes of the great political exponent he once had been. + His utterances were fatuous; mere exhortations to the country not to + worry. "There is no crisis but an artificial one," he said.(1) And the + country stood aghast! Amazement, bewilderment, indignation, was the course + of the reaction in many minds of his own party. Their verdict was + expressed in the angry language of Samuel Bowles, "Lincoln is a Simple + Susan."(2) + </p> + <p> + In private talk, Lincoln admitted that he was "more troubled about the + outlook than he thought it discreet to show." This remark was made to a + "Public Man," whose diary has been published but whose identity is still + secret. Though keenly alert for any touch of weakness or absurdity in the + new President, calling him "the most ill-favored son of Adam I ever saw," + the Public Man found him "crafty and sensible." In conversation, the old + Lincoln, the matchless phrase-maker, could still express himself. At New + York he was told of a wild scheme that was on foot to separate the city + from the North, form a city state such as Hamburg then was, and set up a + commercial alliance with the Confederacy. "As to the free city business," + said Lincoln, "well, I reckon it will be some time before the front door + sets up bookkeeping on its own account."(3) The formal round of + entertainment on his way to Washington wearied Lincoln intensely. Harassed + and preoccupied, he was generally ill at ease. And he was totally unused + to sumptuous living. Failures in social usage were inevitable. New York + was convulsed with amusement because at the opera he wore a pair of huge + black kid gloves which attracted the attention of the whole house, + "hanging as they did over the red velvet box front." At an informal + reception, between acts in the director's room, he looked terribly bored + and sat on the sofa at the end of the room with his hat pushed back on his + head. Caricatures filled the opposition papers. He was spoken of as the + "Illinois ape" and the "gorilla." Every rash remark, every "break" in + social form, every gaucherie was seized upon and ridiculed with-out mercy. + </p> + <p> + There is no denying that the oddities of Lincoln's manner though quickly + dismissed from thought by men of genius, seriously troubled even generous + men who lacked the intuitions of genius. And he never overcame these + oddities. During the period of his novitiate as a ruler, the critical + sixteen months, they were carried awkwardly, with embarrassment. Later + when he had found himself as a ruler, when his self-confidence had reached + its ultimate form and he knew what he really was, he forgot their + existence. None the less, they were always a part of him, his indelible + envelope. At the height of his power, he received visitors with his feet + in leather slippers.(4) He discussed great affairs of state with one of + those slippered feet flung up on to a corner of his desk. A favorite + attitude, even when debating vital matters with the great ones of the + nation, is described by his secretaries as "sitting on his shoulders"—he + would slide far down into his chair and stick up both slippers so high + above his head that they could rest with ease upon his mantelpiece.(5) No + wonder that his enemies made unlimited fun. And they professed to believe + that there was an issue here. When the elegant McClellan was moving heaven + and earth, as he fancied, to get the army out of its shirt-sleeves, the + President's manner was a cause of endless irritation. Still more serious + was the effect of his manner on many men who agreed with him otherwise. + Such a high-minded leader as Governor Andrew of Massachusetts never got + over the feeling that Lincoln was a rowdy. How could a rowdy be the + salvation of the country? In the dark days of 1864, when a rebellion + against his leadership was attempted, this merely accidental side of him + was an element of danger. The barrier it had created between himself and + the more formal types, made it hard for the men who finally saved him to + overcome their prejudice and nail his colors to the mast. Andrew's + biographer shows himself a shrewd observer when he insists on the + unexpressed but inexorable scale by which Andrew and his following + measured Lincoln. They had grown up in the faith that you could tell a + statesman by certain external signs, chiefly by a grandiose and commanding + aspect such as made overpowering the presence of Webster. And this idea + was not confined to any one locality. Everywhere, more or less, the + conservative portion in every party held this view. It was the view of + Washington in 1848 when Washington had failed to see the real Lincoln + through his surface peculiarities. It was again the view of Washington + when Lincoln returned to it. + </p> + <p> + Furthermore, his free way of talking, the broad stories he continued to + tell, were made counts in his indictment. One of the bequests of + Puritanism in America is the ideal, at least, of extreme scrupulousness in + talk. To many sincere men Lincoln's choice of fables was often a deadly + offense. Charles Francis Adams never got over the shock of their first + interview. Lincoln clenched a point with a broad story. Many professional + politicians who had no objection to such talk in itself, glared and + sneered when the President used it—because forsooth, it might + estrange a vote. + </p> + <p> + Then, too, Lincoln had none of the social finesse that might have adapted + his manner to various classes. He was always incorrigibly the democrat + pure and simple. He would have laughed uproariously over that + undergraduate humor, the joy of a famous American University, supposedly + strong on Democracy: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Where God speaks to Jones, in the very same tones, + That he uses to Hadley and Dwight." +</pre> + <p> + Though Lincoln's queer aplomb, his good-humored familiarity on first + acquaintance, delighted most of his visitors, it offended many. It was + lacking in tact. Often it was a clumsy attempt to be jovial too soon, as + when he addressed Greeley by the name of "Horace" almost on first sight. + His devices for putting men on the familiar footing lacked originality. + The frequency with which he called upon a tall visitor to measure up + against him reveals the poverty of his social invention. He applied this + device with equal thoughtlessness to the stately Sumner, who protested, + and to a nobody who grinned and was delighted. + </p> + <p> + It was this mere envelope of the genius that was deplorably evident on the + journey from Springfield to Washington. There was one detail of the + journey that gave his enemies a more definite ground for sneering. By the + irony of fate, the first clear instance of Lincoln's humility, his + reluctance to set up his own judgment against his advisers, was also his + first serious mistake. There is a distinction here that is vital. Lincoln + was entering on a new role, the role of the man of action. Hitherto all + the great decisions of his life had been speculative; they had developed + from within; they dealt with ideas. The inflexible side of him was + intellectual. Now, without any adequate apprenticeship, he was called upon + to make practical decisions, to decide on courses of action, at one step + to pass from the dream of statecraft to its application. Inevitably, for a + considerable time, he was two people; he passed back and forth from one to + the other; only by degrees did he bring the two together. Meanwhile, he + appeared contradictory. Inwardly, as a thinker, his development was + unbroken; he was still cool, inflexible, drawing all his conclusions out + of the depths of himself. Outwardly, in action, he was learning the new + task, hesitatingly, with vacillation, with excessive regard to the + advisers whom he treated as experts in action. It was no slight matter for + an extraordinarily sensitive man to take up a new role at fifty-two. + </p> + <p> + This first official mistake of Lincoln's was in giving way to the fears of + his retinue for his safety. The time had become hysterical. The wildest + sort of stories filled the air. Even before he left Springfield there were + rumors of plots to assassinate him.(6) On his arrival at Philadelphia + information was submitted to his companions which convinced them that his + life was in danger—an attempt would be made to kill him as he passed + through Baltimore. Seward at Washington had heard the same story and had + sent his son to Philadelphia to advise caution. Lincoln's friends insisted + that he leave his special train and proceed to Washington with only one + companion, on an ordinary night train. Railway officials were called in. + Elaborate precautions were arranged. The telegraph lines were all to be + disconnected for a number of hours so that even if the conspirators—assuming + there were any—should discover his change of plan, they would be + unable to communicate with Baltimore. The one soldier in the party, + Colonel Sumner, vehemently protested that these changes were all "a damned + piece of cowardice." But Lincoln acquiesced in the views of the majority + of his advisers. He passed through Baltimore virtually in disguise; + nothing happened; no certain evidence of a conspiracy was discovered. And + all his enemies took up the cry of cowardice and rang the changes upon + it.(7) + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, despite all this semblance of indecision, of feebleness, there + were signs that the real inner Lincoln, however clouded, was still alive. + By way of offset to his fatuous utterances, there might have been set, had + the Country been in a mood to weigh with care, several strong and clear + pronouncements. And these were not merely telling phrases like that + characteristic one about the bookkeeping of the front door. His mind was + struggling out of its shadow. And the mode of its reappearance was + significant. His reasoning upon the true meaning of the struggle he was + about to enter, reached a significant stage in the speech he made at + Harrisburg.(8) + </p> + <p> + "I have often inquired of myself," he said, "what great principle or idea + it was that kept this Confederacy (the United States) so long together. It + was not the mere matter of the separation of the colonies from the + motherland, but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which + gave liberty not alone to the people of the country but hope to all the + world for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time + the weights would be lifted from the shoulders of all men and that all + should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in the + Declaration of Independence. Now, my friends, can this country be saved on + that basis? If it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest men in + the world, if I can help to save it. If it can not be saved upon that + principle, it will be truly awful. But if this country can not be saved + without giving up that principle, I was about to say I would rather be + assassinated on this spot than surrender it. Now, in my view of the + present aspect of affairs, there is no need of bloodshed and war. There is + no necessity for it I am not in favor of such a course, and I may say in + advance that there will be no bloodshed unless it is forced upon the + government. The government will not use force unless force is used against + it." + </p> + <p> + The two ideas underlying this utterance had grown in his thought steadily, + consistently, ever since their first appearance in the Protest twenty-four + years previous. The great issue to which all else—slavery, "dominion + status," everything—was subservient, was the preservation of + democratic institutions; the means to that end was the preservation of the + Federal government. Now, as in 1852, his paramount object was not to + "disappoint the Liberal party throughout the world," to prove that + Democracy, when applied on a great scale, had yet sufficient coherence to + remain intact, no matter how powerful, nor how plausible, were the forces + of disintegration. + </p> + <p> + Dominated by this purpose he came to Washington. There he met Seward. It + was the stroke of fate for both men. Seward, indeed, did not know that it + was. He was still firmly based in the delusion that he, not Lincoln, was + the genius of the hour. And he had this excuse, that it was also the + country's delusion. There was pretty general belief both among friends and + foes that Lincoln would be ruled by his Cabinet. In a council that was + certain to include leaders of accepted influence—Seward, Chase, + Cameron—what chance for this untried newcomer, whose prestige had + been reared not on managing men, but on uttering words? In Seward's + thoughts the answer was as inevitable as the table of addition. Equally + mathematical was the conclusion that only one unit gave value to the + combination. And, of course, the leader of the Republicans in the Senate + was the unit. A severe experience had to be lived through before Seward + made his peace with destiny. Lincoln was the quicker to perceive when they + came together that something had happened. Almost from the minute of their + meeting, he began to lean upon Seward; but only in a certain way. This was + not the same thing as that yielding to the practical advisers which began + at Philadelphia, which was subsequently to be the cause of so much + confusion. His response to Seward was intellectual. It was of the inner + man and revealed itself in his style of writing. + </p> + <p> + Hitherto, Lincoln's progress in literature had been marked by the + development of two characteristics and by the lack of a third. The two + that he possessed were taste and rhythm. At the start he was free from the + prevalent vice of his time, rhetoricality. His "Address to the Voters of + Sangamon County" which was his first state paper, was as direct, as free + from bombast, as the greatest of his later achievements. Almost any other + youth who had as much of the sense of language as was there exhibited, + would have been led astray by the standards of the hour, would have + mounted the spread-eagle and flapped its wings in rhetorical clamor. But + Lincoln was not precocious. In art, as in everything else, he progressed + slowly; the literary part of him worked its way into the matter-of-fact + part of him with the gradualness of the daylight through a shadowy wood. + It was not constant in its development. For many years it was little more + than an irregular deepening of his two original characteristics, taste and + rhythm. His taste, fed on Blackstone, Shakespeare, and the Bible, led him + more and more exactingly to say just what he meant, to eschew the wiles of + decoration, to be utterly non-rhetorical. His sense of rhythm, beginning + simply, no more at first than a good ear for the sound of words, deepened + into keen perception of the character of the word-march, of that extra + significance which is added to an idea by the way it conducts itself, + moving grandly or feebly as the case may be, from the unknown into the + known, and thence across a perilous horizon, into memory. On the basis of + these two characteristics he had acquired a style that was a rich blend of + simplicity, directness, candor, joined with a clearness beyond praise, + with a delightful cadence, having always a splendidly ordered march of + ideas. + </p> + <p> + But there was the third thing in which the earlier style of Lincoln's was + wanting. Marvelously apt for the purpose of the moment, his writings + previous to 1861 are vanishing from the world's memory. The more notable + writings of his later years have become classics. And the difference does + not turn on subject-matter. All the ideas of his late writings had been + formulated in the earlier. The difference is purely literary. The earlier + writings were keen, powerful, full of character, melodious, impressive. + The later writings have all these qualities, and in addition, that + constant power to awaken the imagination, to carry an idea beyond its own + horizon into a boundless world of imperishable literary significance, + which power in argumentative prose is beauty. And how did Lincoln attain + this? That he had been maturing from within the power to do this, one is + compelled by the analogy of his other mental experiences to believe. At + the same time, there can be no doubt who taught him the trick, who touched + the secret spring and opened the new door to his mind. It was Seward. Long + since it had been agreed between them that Seward was to be Secretary of + State.(9) Lincoln asked him to criticize his inaugural. Seward did so, and + Lincoln, in the main, accepted his criticism. But Seward went further. He + proposed a new paragraph. He was not a great writer and yet he had + something of that third thing which Lincoln hitherto had not exhibited. + However, in pursuing beauty of statement, he often came dangerously near + to mere rhetoric; his taste was never sure; his sense of rhythm was + inferior; the defects of his qualities were evident. None the less, + Lincoln saw at a glance that if he could infuse into Seward's words his + own more robust qualities, the result—'would be a richer product + than had ever issued from his own qualities as hitherto he had known them. + He effected this transmutation and in doing so raised his style to a new + range of effectiveness. The great Lincoln of literature appeared in the + first inaugural and particularly in that noble passage which was the work + of Lincoln and Seward together. In a way it said only what Lincoln had + already said—especially in the speech at Harrisburg—but with + what a difference! + </p> + <p> + "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the + momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can + have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath + registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the + most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it. + </p> + <p> + "I am loath to close. We are not enemies but friends. Though passion may + have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords + of memory stretching from every battle-field and patriot grave, to every + living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the + chorus of the Union when again touched as surely they will be, by the + better angels of our nature."* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *Lincoln VI, 184; N. & H., III, 343. Seward advised the + omission of part of the original draft of the first of these + two paragraphs. After "defend it," Lincoln had written, "You + can forbear the assault upon it. I can not shrink from the + defense of it. With you and not with me is the solemn + question 'Shall it be peace or a sword?'" Having struck this + out, he accepted Seward's advice to add "some words of + affection—some of calm and cheerful confidence." +</pre> + <p> + The original version of the concluding paragraph was prepared by Seward + and read as follows: "I close. We are not, we must not he aliens or + enemies, but fellow-countrymen and brethren. Although passion has strained + our bonds of affection too hardly, they must not, I am sure, they will + not, be broken. The mystic chords which, proceeding from so many + battlefields and so many patriot graves, pass through all the hearts and + all hearths in this broad continent of ours, will yet again harmonize in + their ancient music when breathed upon by the guardian angel of the + nation." + </p> + <p> + These words, now so famous, were spoken in the east portico of the Capitol + on "one of our disagreeable, clear, windy, Washington spring days."(10) + Most of the participants were agitated; many were alarmed. Chief Justice + Taney who administered the oath could hardly speak, so near to + uncontrollable was his emotion. General Scott anxiously kept his eye upon + the crowd which was commanded by cannon. Cavalry were in readiness to + clear the streets in case of riot. Lincoln's carriage on the way to the + Capitol had been closely guarded. He made his way to the portico between + files of soldiers. So intent—overintent—were his guardians + upon his safety that they had been careless of the smaller matter of his + comfort. There was insufficient room for the large company that had been + invited to attend. The new President stood beside a rickety little table + and saw no place on which to put his hat. Senator Douglas stepped forward + and relieved him of the burden. Lincoln was "pale and very nervous," and + toward the close of his speech, visibly affected. Observers differ + point-blank as to the way the inaugural was received. The "Public Man" + says that there was little enthusiasm. The opposite version makes the + event an oratorical triumph, with the crowd, at the close, completely + under his spell.(11) + </p> + <p> + On the whole, the inauguration and the festivities that followed appear to + have formed a dismal event. While Lincoln spoke, the topmost peak of the + Capitol, far above his head, was an idle derrick; the present dome was in + process of construction; work on it had been arrested, and who could say + when, if ever, the work would be resumed? The day closed with an inaugural + ball that was anything but brilliant. "The great tawdry ballroom . . . not + half full—and such an assemblage of strange costumes, male and + female. Very few people of any consideration were there. The President + looked exhausted and uncomfortable, and most ungainly in his dress; and + Mrs. Lincoln all in blue, with a feather in her hair and a highly flushed + face."(12) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XV. PRESIDENT AND PREMIER + </h2> + <p> + The brilliant Secretary, who so promptly began to influence the President + had very sure foundations for that influence. He was inured to the role of + great man; he had a rich experience of public life; while Lincoln, + painfully conscious of his inexperience, was perhaps the humblest-minded + ruler that ever took the helm of a ship of state in perilous times. + Furthermore, Seward had some priceless qualities which, for Lincoln, were + still to seek. First of all, he had audacity—personally, + artistically, politically. Seward's instantaneous gift to Lincoln was by + way of throwing wide the door of his gathering literary audacity. There is + every reason to think that Seward's personal audacity went to Lincoln's + heart at once. To be sure, he was not yet capable of going along with it. + The basal contrast of the first month of his administration lies between + the President's caution and the boldness of the Secretary. Nevertheless, + to a sensitive mind, seeking guidance, surrounded by less original types + of politicians, the splendid fearlessness of Seward, whether wise or + foolish, must have rung like a trumpet peal soaring over the heads of a + crowd whose teeth were chattering. While the rest of the Cabinet pressed + their ears to the ground, Seward thought out a policy, made a forecast of + the future, and offered to stake his head on the correctness of his + reasoning. This may have been rashness; it may have been folly; but, + intellectually at least, it was valor. Among Lincoln's other advisers, + valor at that moment was lacking. Contrast, however, was not the sole, nor + the surest basis of Seward's appeal to Lincoln. Their characters had a + common factor. For all their immeasurable difference in externals, both at + bottom were void of malice. It was this characteristic above all others + that gave them spiritually common ground. In Seward, this quality had been + under fire for a long while. The political furies of "that iron time" had + failed to rouse echoes in his serene and smiling soul. Therefore, many men + who accepted him as leader because, indeed, they could not do without him—because + none other in their camp had his genius for management, for the + glorification of political intrigue—these same men followed him + doubtfully, with bad grace, willing to shift to some other leader whenever + he might arise. The clue to their distrust was Seward's amusement at the + furious. Could a man who laughed when you preached on the beauty of the + hewing of Agag, could such a man be sincere? And that Seward in some + respects was not sincere, history generally admits. He loved to poke fun + at his opponents by appearing to sneer at himself, by ridiculing the idea + that he was ever serious. His scale of political values was different from + that of most of his followers. Nineteen times out of twenty, he would + treat what they termed "principles" as mere political counters, as + legitimate subjects of bargain. If by any deal he could trade off any or + all of these nineteen in order to secure the twentieth, which for him was + the only vital one, he never scrupled to do so. Against a lurid background + of political ferocity, this amused, ironic figure came to be rated by the + extremists, both in his own and in the enemy camp as Mephistopheles. + </p> + <p> + No quality could have endeared him more certainly to Lincoln than the very + one which the bigots misunderstood. From his earliest youth Lincoln had + been governed by this same quality. With his non-censorious mind, which + accepted so much of life as he found it, which was forever stripping + principles of their accretions, what could be more inevitable than his + warming to the one great man at Washington who like him held that such a + point of view was the only rational one. Seward's ironic peacefulness in + the midst of the storm gained in luster because all about him raged a + tempest of ferocity, mitigated, at least so far as the distracted + President could see, only by self-interest or pacifism. + </p> + <p> + As Lincoln came into office, he could see and hear many signs of a rising + fierceness of sectional hatred. His secretary records with disgust a + proposal to conquer the Gulf States, expel their white population, and + reduce the region to a gigantic state preserve, where negroes should grow + cotton under national supervision.(1) "We of the North," said Senator + Baker of Oregon, "are a majority of the Union, and we will govern our + Union in our own way."(2) At the other extreme was the hysterical pacifism + of the Abolitionists. Part of Lincoln's abiding quarrel with the + Abolitionists was their lack of national feeling. Their peculiar form of + introspection had injected into politics the idea of personal sin. Their + personal responsibility for slavery—they being part of a country + that tolerated it—was their basal inspiration. Consequently, the + most distinctive Abolitionists welcomed this opportunity to cast off their + responsibility. If war had been proposed as a crusade to abolish slavery, + their attitude might have been different But in March, 1860, no one but + the few ultra-extremists, whom scarcely anybody heeded, dreamed of such a + war. A war to restore the Union was the only sort that was considered + seriously. Such a war, the Abolitionists bitterly condemned. They seized + upon pacifism as their defense. Said Whittier of the Seceding States: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + They break the links of Union: shall we light + The fires of hell to weld anew the chain, + On that red anvil where each blow is pain? +</pre> + <p> + The fury and the fear offended Lincoln in equal measure. After long years + opposing the political temper of the extremists, he was not the man now to + change front. To one who believed himself marked out for a tragic end, the + cowardice at the heart of the pacifism of his time was revolting. It was + fortunate for his own peace of mind that he could here count on the + Secretary of State. No argument based on fear of pain would meet in Seward + with anything but derision. "They tell us," he had once said, and the + words expressed his constant attitude, "that we are to encounter + opposition. Why, bless my soul, did anybody ever expect to reach a + fortune, or fame, or happiness on earth or a crown in heaven, without + encountering resistance and opposition? What are we made men for but to + encounter and overcome opposition arrayed against us in the line of our + duty?"(3) + </p> + <p> + But if the ferocity and the cowardice were offensive and disheartening, + there was something else that was beneath contempt. Never was + self-interest more shockingly displayed. It was revealed in many ways, but + impinged upon the new President in only one. A horde of office-seekers + besieged him in the White House. The parallel to this amazing picture can + hardly be found in history. It was taken for granted that the new party + would make a clean sweep of the whole civil list, that every government + employee down to the humblest messenger boy too young to have political + ideas was to bear the label of the victorious party. Every Congressman who + had made promises to his constituents, every politician of every grade who + thought he had the party in his debt, every adventurer who on any pretext + could make a showing of party service rendered, poured into Washington. It + was a motley horde. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Hark, hark, the dogs do bark, + The beggars are coming to town." +</pre> + <p> + They converted the White House into a leaguer. They swarmed into the + corridors and even the private passages. So dense was the swarm that it + was difficult to make one's way either in or out. Lincoln described + himself by the image of a man renting rooms at one end of his house while + the other end was on fire.(4) And all this while the existence of the + Republic was at stake! It did not occur to him that it was safe to defy + the horde, to send it about its business. Here again, the figure of Seward + stood out in brilliant light against the somber background. One of + Seward's faculties was his power to form devoted lieutenants. He had that + sure and nimble judgment which enables some men to inspire their + lieutenants rather than categorically to instruct them. All the sordid + side of his political games he managed in this way. He did not appear + himself as the bargainer. In the shameful eagerness of most of the + politicians to find offices for their retainers, Seward was conspicuous by + contrast. Even the Cabinet was not free from this vice of catering to the + thirsty horde.(5) Alone, at this juncture, Seward detached himself from + the petty affairs of the hour and gave his whole attention to statecraft. + </p> + <p> + He had a definite policy. Another point of contact with Lincoln was the + attitude of both toward the Union, supplemented as it was by their views + of the place of slavery in the problem they confronted. Both were + nationalists ready to make any sacrifices for the national idea. Both + regarded slavery as an issue of second importance. Both were prepared for + great concessions if convinced that, ultimately, their concessions would + strengthen the trend of American life toward a general exaltation of + nationality. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, their differences— + </p> + <p> + Seward approached the problem in the same temper, with the same + assumptions, that were his in the previous December. He still believed + that his main purpose was to enable a group of politicians to save their + faces by effecting a strategic retreat. Imputing to the Southern leaders + an attitude of pure self-interest, he believed that if allowed to play the + game as they desired, they would mark time until circumstances revealed to + them whether there was more profit for them in the Union or out; he also + believed that if sufficient time could be given, and if no armed clash + took place, it would be demonstrated first, that they did not have so + strong a hold on the South as they had thought they had; and second, that + on the whole, it was to their interests to patch up the quarrel and come + back into the Union. But he also saw that they had a serious problem of + leadership, which, if rudely handled, might make it impossible for them to + stand still. They had inflamed the sentiment of state-patriotism. In South + Carolina, particularly, the popular demand was for independence. With this + went the demand that Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, garrisoned by + Federal troops, should be surrendered, or if not surrendered, taken + forcibly from the United States. A few cannon shots at Sumter would mean + war. An article in Seward's creed of statecraft asserted that the populace + will always go wild over a war. To prevent a war fever in the North was + the first condition of his policy at home. Therefore, in order to prevent + it, the first step in saving his enemies' faces was to safeguard them + against the same danger in their own calm. He must help them to prevent a + war fever in the South. He saw but one way to do this. The conclusion + which became the bed rock of his policy was inevitable. Sumter must be + evacuated. + </p> + <p> + Even before the inauguration, he had broached this idea to Lincoln. He had + tried to keep Lincoln from inserting in the inaugural the words, "The + power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy and possess the property + and places belonging to the government." He had proposed instead, "The + power confided in me shall be used indeed with efficacy, but also with + discretion, in every case and exigency, according to the circumstances + actually existing, and with a view and a hope of a peaceful solution of + the national troubles, and the restoration of fraternal sympathies and + affections."(6) With the rejection of Seward's proffered revision, a + difference between them in policy began to develop. Lincoln, says one of + his secretaries, accepted Seward's main purpose but did not share his + "optimism."(7) It would be truer to say that in this stage of his + development, he was lacking in audacity. In his eager search for advice, + he had to strike a balance between the daring Seward who at this moment + built entirely on his own power of political devination, and the cautious + remainder of the Cabinet who had their ears to the ground trying their + best to catch the note of authority in the rumblings of vox populi. For + his own part, Lincoln began with two resolves: to go very cautiously,—and + not give something for nothing. Far from him, as yet, was that plunging + mood which in Seward pushed audacity to the verge of a gamble. However, + just previous to the inauguration, he took a cautious step in Seward's + direction. Virginia, like all the other States of the upper South, was + torn by the question which side to take. There was a "Union" party in + Virginia, and a "Secession" party. A committee of leading Unionists + conferred with Lincoln. They saw the immediate problem very much as Seward + did. They believed that if time were allowed, the crisis could be tided + over and the Union restored; but the first breath of war would wreck their + hopes. The condition of bringing about an adjustment was the evacuation of + Sumter. Lincoln told them that if Virginia could be kept in the Union by + the evacuation of Sumter, he would not hesitate to recall the garrison.(8) + A few days later, despite what he had said in the inaugural, he repeated + this offer. A convention was then sitting at Richmond in debate upon the + relations of Virginia to the Union. If it would drop the matter and + dissolve—so Lincoln told another committee—he would evacuate + Sumter and trust the recovery of the lower South to negotiation.(9) No + results, so far as is known, came of either of those offers. + </p> + <p> + During the first half of March, the Washington government marked time. The + office-seekers continued to besiege the President. South Carolina + continued to clamor for possession of Sumter. The Confederacy sent + commissioners to Washington whom Lincoln refused to recognize. The + Virginia Convention swayed this way and that. + </p> + <p> + Seward went serenely about his business, confident that everything was + certain to come his way soon or late. He went so far as to advise an + intermediary to tell the Confederate Commissioners that all they had to do + to get possession of Sumter was to wait. The rest of the Cabinet pressed + their ears more tightly than ever to the ground. The rumblings of vox + populi were hard to interpret. The North appeared to be in two minds. This + was revealed the day following the inauguration, when a Republican Club in + New York held a high debate upon the condition of the country. One faction + wanted Lincoln to declare for a war-policy; another wished the Club to + content itself with a vote of confidence in the Administration. Each + faction put its views into a resolution and as a happy device for + maintaining harmony, both resolutions were passed.(10) The fragmentary, + miscellaneous evidence of newspapers, political meetings, the talk of + leaders, local elections, formed a confused clamor which each listener + interpreted according to his predisposition. The members of the Cabinet in + their relative isolation at Washington found it exceedingly difficult to + make up their minds what the people were really saying. Of but one thing + they were certain, and that was that they represented a minority party. + Before committing themselves any way, it was life and death to know what + portion of the North would stand by them.(11) + </p> + <p> + At this point began a perplexity that was to torment the President almost + to the verge of distraction. How far could he trust his military advisers? + Old General Scott was at the head of the army. He had once been a + striking, if not a great figure. Should his military advice be accepted as + final? Scott informed Lincoln that Sumter was short of food and that any + attempt to relieve it would call for a much larger force than the + government could muster. Scott urged him to withdraw the garrison. Lincoln + submitted the matter to the Cabinet. He asked for their opinions in + writing.(12) Five advised taking Scott at his word and giving up all + thought of relieving Sumter. There were two dissenters. The Secretary of + the Treasury, Salmon Portland Chase, struck the key-note of his later + political career by an elaborate argument on expediency. If relieving + Sumter would lead to civil war, Chase was not in favor of relief; but on + the whole he did not think that civil war would result, and therefore, on + the whole, he favored a relief expedition. One member of the Cabinet, + Montgomery Blair, the Postmaster General, an impetuous, fierce man, was + vehement for relief at all costs. Lincoln wanted to agree with Chase and + Blair. He reasoned that if the fort was given up, the necessity under + which it was done would not be fully understood; that by many it would be + construed as part of a voluntary policy, that at home it would discourage + the friends of the Union, embolden its adversaries, and go far to insure + to the matter a recognition abroad. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, with the Cabinet five to two against him, with his military + adviser against him, Lincoln put aside his own views. The government went + on marking time and considering the credentials of applicants for country + post-offices. + </p> + <p> + By this time, Lincoln had thrown off the overpowering gloom which + possessed him in the latter days at Springfield. It is possible he had + reacted to a mood in which there was something of levity. His oscillation + of mood from a gloom that nothing penetrated to a sort of desperate mirth, + has been noted by various observers. And in 1861 he had not reached his + final poise, that firm holding of the middle way,—-which afterward + fused his moods and made of him, at least in action, a sustained + personality. + </p> + <p> + About the middle of the month he had a famous interview with Colonel W. T. + Sherman who had been President of the University of Louisiana and had + recently resigned. Senator John Sherman called at the White House with + regard to "some minor appointments in Ohio." The Colonel went with him. + When Colonel Sherman spoke of the seriousness of the Secession movement, + Lincoln replied, "Oh, we'll manage to keep house." The Colonel was so + offended by what seemed to him the flippancy of the President that he + abandoned his intention to resume the military life and withdrew from + Washington in disgust.(13) + </p> + <p> + Not yet had Lincoln attained a true appreciation of the real difficulty + before him. He had not got rid of the idea that a dispute over slavery had + widened accidentally into a needless sectional quarrel, and that as soon + as the South had time to think things over, it would see that it did not + really want the quarrel. He had a queer idea that meanwhile he could hold + a few points on the margin of the Seceded States, open custom houses on + ships at the mouths of harbors, but leave vacant all Federal appointments + within the Seceded States and ignore the absence of their representatives + from Washington.(14) This marginal policy did not seem to him a policy of + coercion; and though he was beginning to see that the situation from the + Southern point of view turned on the right of a State to resist coercion, + he was yet to learn that idealistic elements of emotion and of political + dogma were the larger part of his difficulty. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the upper South had been proclaiming its idealism. Its attitude + was creating a problem for the lower South as well as for the North. The + pro-slavery leaders had been startled out of a dream. The belief in a + Southern economic solidarity so complete that the secession of any one + Slave State would compel the secession of all the others, that belief had + been proved fallacious. It had been made plain that on the economic issue, + even as on the issue of sectional distrust, the upper South would not + follow the lower South into secession. When delegates from the Georgia + Secessionists visited the legislature of North Carolina, every courtesy + was shown to them; the Speaker of the House assured them of North + Carolina's sympathy and of her enduring friendliness; but he was careful + not to suggest an intention to secede, unless (the condition that was + destiny!) an attempt should be made to violate the sovereignty of the + State by marching troops across her soil to attack the Confederates. Then, + on the one issue of State sovereignty, North Carolina would leave the + Union.(15) The Unionists in Virginia took similar ground. They wished to + stay in the Union, and they were determined not to go out on the issue of + slavery. Therefore they laid their heads together to get that issue out of + the way. Their problem was to devise a compromise that would do three + things: lay the Southern dread of an inundation of sectional Northern + influence; silence the slave profiteers; meet the objections that had + induced Lincoln to wreck the Crittenden Compromise. They felt that the + first and second objectives would be reached easily enough by reviving the + line of the Missouri Compromise. But something more was needed, or again, + Lincoln would refuse to negotiate. They met their crucial difficulty by + boldly appealing to the South to be satisfied with the conservation of its + present life and renounce the dream of unlimited Southern expansion. Their + Compromise proposed a death blow to the filibuster and all he stood for. + It provided that no new territory other than naval stations should be + acquired by the United States on either side the Missouri Line without + consent of a majority of the Senators from the States on the opposite side + of that line.(16) + </p> + <p> + As a solution of the sectional quarrel, to the extent that it had been + definitely put into words, what could have been more astute? Lincoln + himself had said in the inaugural, "One section of our country believes + slavery is right and ought to be extended; while the other believes it is + wrong and ought not to be extended. That is the only substantial dispute." + In the same inaugural, he had pledged himself not to "interfere with the + institution of slavery in the States where it now exists;" and also had + urged a vigorous enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law. He never had + approved of any sort of emancipation other than purchase or the gradual + operation of economic conditions. It was well known that slavery could + flourish only on fresh land amid prodigal agricultural methods suited to + the most ignorant labor. The Virginia Compromise, by giving to slavery a + fixed area and abolishing its hopes of continual extensions into fresh + land, was the virtual fulfillment of Lincoln's demand. + </p> + <p> + The failure of the Virginia Compromise is one more proof that a great deal + of vital history never gets into words until after it is over. During the + second half of March, Unionists and Secessionists in the Virginia + Convention debated with deep emotion this searching new proposal. The + Unionists had a fatal weakness in their position. This was the feature of + the situation that had not hitherto been put into words. Lincoln had not + been accurate when he said that the slavery question was "the only + substantial dispute." He had taken for granted that the Southern + opposition to nationalism was not a real thing,—a mere device of the + politicians to work up excitement. All the compromises he was ready to + offer were addressed to that part of the South which was seeking to make + an issue on slavery. They had little meaning for that other and more + numerous part in whose thinking slavery was an incident. For this other + South, the ideas which Lincoln as late as the middle of March did not + bring into play were the whole story. Lincoln, willing to give all sorts + of guarantees for the noninterference with slavery, would not give a + single guarantee supporting the idea of State sovereignty against the idea + of the sovereign power of the national Union. The Virginians, willing to + go great lengths in making concessions with regard to slavery, would not + go one inch in the way of admitting that their State was not a sovereign + power included in the American Union of its own free will, and not the + legitimate subject of any sort of coercion. + </p> + <p> + The Virginia Compromise was really a profound new complication. The very + care with which it divided the issue of nationality from the issue of + slavery was a storm signal. For a thoroughgoing nationalist like Lincoln, + deep perplexities lay hidden in this full disclosure of the issue that was + vital to the moderate South. Lincoln's shifting of his mental ground, his + perception that hitherto he had been oblivious of his most formidable + opponent, the one with whom compromise was impossible, occurred in the + second half of the month. + </p> + <p> + As always, Lincoln kept his own counsel upon the maturing of a purpose in + his own mind. He listened to every adviser—opening his office doors + without reserve to all sorts and conditions—and silently, anxiously, + struggled with himself for a decision. He watched Virginia; he watched the + North; he listened—and waited. General Scott continued hopeless, + though minor military men gave encouragement. And whom should the + President trust-the tired old General who disagreed with him, or the eager + young men who held views he would like to hold? Many a time he was to ask + himself that question during the years to come. + </p> + <p> + On March twenty-ninth, he again consulted the Cabinet.(17) A great deal of + water had run under the mill since they gave their opinions on March + sixteenth. The voice of the people was still a bewildering roar, but out + of that roar most of the Cabinet seemed to hear definite words. They were + convinced that the North was veering toward a warlike mood. The phrase + "masterly inactivity," which had been applied to the government's course + admiringly a few weeks before, was now being applied satirically. + Republican extremists were demanding action. A subtle barometer was the + Secretary of the Treasury. Now, as on the sixteenth, he craftily said + something without saying it. After juggling the word "if," he assumed his + "if" to be a fact and concluded, "If war is to be the result, I perceive + no reason why it may not best be begun in consequence of military + resistance to the efforts of the Administration to sustain troops of the + Union, stationed under authority of the government in a fort of the Union, + in the ordinary course of service." + </p> + <p> + This elaborate equivocation, which had all the force of an assertion, was + Chase all over! Three other ministers agreed with him except that they did + not equivocate. One evaded. Of all those who had stood with Seward on the + sixteenth, only one was still in favor of evacuation. Seward stood fast. + This reversal of the Cabinet's position, jumping as it did with Lincoln's + desires, encouraged him to prepare for action. But just as he was about to + act his diffidence asserted itself. He authorized the preparation of a + relief expedition but withheld sailing orders until further notice.(18) + Oh, for Seward's audacity; for the ability to do one thing or another and + take the consequences! + </p> + <p> + Seward had not foreseen this turn of events. He had little respect for the + rest of the Cabinet, and had still to discover that the President, for all + his semblance of vacillation, was a great man. Seward was undeniably vain. + That the President with such a Secretary of State should judge the + strength of a Cabinet vote by counting noses—preposterous! But that + was just what this curiously simple-minded President had done. If he went + on in his weak, amiable way listening to the time-servers who were + listening to the bigots, what would become of the country? And of the + Secretary of State and his deep policies? The President must be pulled up + short—brought to his senses—taught a lesson or two. + </p> + <p> + Seward saw that new difficulties had arisen in the course of that fateful + March which those colleagues of his in the Cabinet—well-meaning, + inferior men, to be sure—had not the subtlety to comprehend. Of + course the matter of evacuation remained what it always had been, the + plain open road to an ultimate diplomatic triumph. Who but a president out + of the West, or a minor member of the Cabinet, would fail to see that! But + there were two other considerations which, also, his well-meaning + colleagues were failing to allow for. While all this talk about the + Virginia Unionists had been going on, while Washington and Richmond had + been trying to negotiate, neither really had any control of its own game. + They were card players with all the trumps out of their hands. Montgomery, + the Confederate Congress, held the trumps. At any minute it could + terminate all this make-believe of diplomatic independence, both at + Washington and at Richmond. A few cannon shots aimed at Sumter, the cry + for revenge in the North, the inevitable protest against coercion in + Virginia, the convention blown into the air, and there you are—War! + </p> + <p> + And after all that, who knows what next? And yet, Blair and Chase and the + rest would not consent to slip Montgomery's trumps out of her hands—the + easiest thing in the world to do!—by throwing Sumter into her lap + and thus destroying the pretext for the cannon shots. More than ever + before, Seward would insist firmly on the evacuation of Sumter. + </p> + <p> + But there was the other consideration, the really new turn of events. + Suppose Sumter is evacuated; suppose Montgomery has lost her chance to + force Virginia into war by precipitating the issue of coercion, what + follows? All along Seward had advocated a national convention to readjust + all the matters "in dispute between the sections." But what would such a + convention discuss? In his inaugural, Lincoln had advised an amendment to + the Constitution "to the effect that the Federal government shall never + interfere with the domestic institutions of the State, including that of + persons held to service." Very good! The convention might be expected to + accept this, and after this, of course, there would come up the Virginia + Compromise. Was it a practical scheme? Did it form a basis for drawing + back into the Union the lower South? + </p> + <p> + Seward's whole thought upon this subject has never been disclosed. It must + be inferred from the conclusion which he reached, which he put into a + paper entitled, Thoughts for the President's Consideration, and submitted + to Lincoln, April first. + </p> + <p> + The Thoughts outlined a scheme of policy, the most startling feature of + which was an instant, predatory, foreign war. There are two clues to this + astounding proposal. One was a political maxim in which Seward had + unwavering faith. "A fundamental principle of politics," he said, "is + always to be on the side of your country in a war. It kills any party to + oppose a war. When Mr. Buchanan got up his Mormon War, our people, Wade + and Fremont, and The Tribune, led off furiously against it. I supported it + to the immense disgust of enemies and friends. If you want to sicken your + opponents with their own war, go in for it till they give it up."(19) He + was not alone among the politicians of his time, and some other times, in + these cynical views. Lincoln has a story of a politician who was asked to + oppose the Mexican War, and who replied, "I opposed one war; that was + enough for me. I am now perpetually in favor of war, pestilence and + famine." + </p> + <p> + The second clue to Seward's new policy of international brigandage was the + need, as he conceived it, to propitiate those Southern expansionists who + in the lower South at least formed so large a part of the political + machine, who must somehow be lured back into the Union; to whom the + Virginia Compromise, as well as every other scheme of readjustment yet + suggested, offered no allurement. Like Lincoln defeating the Crittenden + Compromise, like the Virginians planning the last compromise, Seward + remembered the filibusters and the dreams of the expansionists, annexation + of Cuba, annexation of Nicaragua and all the rest, and he looked about for + a way to reach them along that line. Chance had played into his hands. + Already Napoleon III had begun his ill-fated interference with the affairs + of Mexico. A rebellion had just taken place in San Domingo and Spain was + supposed to have designs on the island. Here, for any one who believed in + predatory war as an infallible last recourse to rouse the patriotism of a + country, were pretexts enough. Along with these would go a raging + assertion of the Monroe Doctrine and a bellicose attitude toward other + European powers on less substantial grounds. And amid it all, between the + lines of it all, could not any one glimpse a scheme for the expansion of + the United States southward? War with Spain over San Domingo! And who, + pray, held the Island of Cuba! And what might not a defeated Spain be + willing to do with Cuba? And if France were driven out of Mexico by our + conquering arms, did not the shadows of the future veil but dimly a + grateful Mexico where American capital should find great opportunities? + And would not Southern capital in the nature of things, have a large share + in all that was to come? Surely, granting Seward's political creed, + remembering the problem he wished to solve, there is nothing to be + wondered at in his proposal to Lincoln: "I would demand explanations from + Spain and France, categorically, at once." . . . And if satisfactory + explanations were not received from Spain and France, "would convene + Congress and declare war against them." + </p> + <p> + His purpose, he said, was to change the question before the public, from + one upon slavery, or about slavery, for a question upon Union or Disunion. + Sumter was to be evacuated "as a safe means for changing the issue," but + at the same time, preparations were to be made for a blockade of the + Southern coast.(20) This extraordinary document administered mild but firm + correction to the President. He was told that he had no policy, although + under the circumstances, this was "not culpable"; that there must be a + single head to the government; that the President, if not equal to the + task, should devolve it upon some member of the Cabinet. The Thoughts + closed with these words, "I neither seek to evade nor assume + responsibility." + </p> + <p> + Like Seward's previous move, when he sent Weed to Springfield, this other + brought Lincoln to a point of crisis. For the second time he must render a + decision that would turn the scale, that would have for his country the + force of destiny. In one respect he did not hesitate. The most essential + part of the Thoughts was the predatory spirit. This clashed with Lincoln's + character. Serene unscrupulousness met unwavering integrity. Here was one + of those subjects on which Lincoln was not asking advice. As to ways and + means, he was pliable to a degree in the hands of richer and wider + experience; as to principles, he was a rock. Seward's whole scheme of + aggrandizement, his magnificent piracy, was calmly waved aside as a thing + of no concern. The most striking characteristic of Lincoln's reply was its + dignity. He did not, indeed, lay bare his purposes. He was content to + point out certain inconsistencies in Seward's argument; to protest that + whatever action might be taken with regard to the single fortress, Sumter, + the question before the public could not be changed by that one event; and + to say that while he expected advice from all his Cabinet, he was none the + less President, and in last resort he would himself direct the policy of + the government.(21) + </p> + <p> + Only a strong man could have put up with the patronizing condescension of + the Thoughts and betrayed no irritation. Not a word in Lincoln's reply + gives the least hint that condescension had been displayed. He is wholly + unruffled, distant, objective. There is also a quiet tone of finality, + almost the tone one might use in gently but firmly correcting a child. The + Olympian impertinence of the Thoughts had struck out of Lincoln the first + flash of that approaching masterfulness by means of which he was to ride + out successfully such furious storms. Seward was too much the man of the + world not to see what had happened. He never touched upon the Thoughts + again. Nor did Lincoln. The incident was secret until Lincoln's + secretaries twenty-five years afterward published it to the world. + </p> + <p> + But Lincoln's lofty dignity on the first of April was of a moment only. + When the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, that same day called on him + in his offices, he was the easy-going, jovial Lincoln who was always ready + half-humorously to take reproof from subordinates—as was evinced by + his greeting to the Secretary. Looking up from his writing, he said + cheerfully, "What have I done wrong?"(22) Gideon Welles was a pugnacious + man, and at that moment an angry man. There can be little doubt that his + lips were tightly shut, that a stern frown darkened his brows. Grimly + conscientious was Gideon Welles, likewise prosaic; a masterpiece of + literalness, the very opposite in almost every respect of the Secretary of + State whom he cordially detested. That he had already found occasion to + protest against the President's careless mode of conducting business may + be guessed—correctly—from the way he was received. Doubtless + the very cordiality, the whimsical admission of loose methods, irritated + the austere Secretary. Welles had in his hand a communication dated that + same day and signed by the President, making radical changes in the + program of the Navy Department. He had come to protest. + </p> + <p> + "The President," said Welles, "expressed as much surprise as I felt, that + he had sent me such a document. He said that Mr. Seward with two or three + young men had been there during the day on a subject which he (Seward) had + in hand and which he had been some time maturing; that it was Seward's + specialty, to which he, the President, had yielded, but as it involved + considerable details, he had left Mr. Seward to prepare the necessary + papers. These papers he had signed, many of them without reading, for he + had not time, and if he could not trust the Secretary of State, he knew + not whom he could trust. I asked who were associated with Mr. Seward. 'No + one,' said the President, 'but these young men who were here as clerks to + write down his plans and orders.' Most of the work was done, he said, in + the other room. + </p> + <p> + "The President reiterated that they (the changes in the Navy) were not his + instructions, though signed by him; that the paper was an improper one; + that he wished me to give it no more consideration than I thought proper; + to treat it as cancelled, or as if it had never been written. I could get + no satisfactory explanation from the President of the origin of this + strange interference which mystified him and which he censured and + condemned more severely than myself. . . . Although very much disturbed by + the disclosure, he was anxious to avoid difficulty, and to shield Mr. + Seward, took to himself the whole blame." + </p> + <p> + Thus Lincoln began a role that he never afterward abandoned. It was the + role of scapegoat Whatever went wrong anywhere could always be loaded upon + the President. He appeared to consider it a part of his duty to be the + scapegoat for the whole Administration. It was his way of maintaining + trust, courage, efficiency, among his subordinates. + </p> + <p> + Of those papers which he had signed without reading on April first, + Lincoln was to hear again in still more surprising fashion six days + thereafter. + </p> + <p> + He was now at the very edge of his second crucial decision. Though the + naval expedition was in preparation, he still hesitated over issuing + orders to sail. The reply to the Thoughts had not committed him to any + specific line of conduct. What was it that kept him wavering at this + eleventh hour? Again, that impenetrable taciturnity which always shrouded + his progress toward a conclusion, forbids dogmatic assertion. But two + things are obvious: his position as a minority president, of which he was + perhaps unduly conscious, caused him to delay, and to delay again and + again, seeking definite evidence how much support he could command in the + North; the change in his comprehension of the problem before him-his + perception that it was not an "artificial crisis" involving slavery alone, + but an irreconcilable clash of social-political idealism—this + disturbed his spirit, distressed, even appalled him. Having a truer + insight into human nature than Seward had, he saw that here was an issue + immeasurably less susceptible of compromise than was slavery. Whether, the + moment he perceived this, he at once lost hope of any peaceable solution, + we do not know. Just what he thought about the Virginia Compromise is + still to seek. However, the nature of his mind, the way it went straight + to the human element in a problem once his eyes were opened to the + problem's reality, forbid us to conclude that he took hope from Virginia. + He now saw what, had it not been for his near horizon, he would have seen + so long before, that, in vulgar parlance, he had been "barking up the + wrong tree." Now that he had located the right tree, had the knowledge + come too late? + </p> + <p> + It is known that Seward, possibly at Lincoln's request, made an attempt to + bring together the Virginia Unionists and the Administration. He sent a + special representative to Richmond urging the despatch of a committee to + confer with the President. + </p> + <p> + The strength of the party in the Convention was shown on April fourth when + a proposed Ordinance of Secession was voted down, eighty-nine to + forty-five. On the same day, the Convention by a still larger majority + formally denied the right of the Federal government to coerce a State. Two + days later, John B. Baldwin, representing the Virginia Unionists, had a + confidential talk with Lincoln. Only fragments of their talk, drawn forth + out of memory long afterward—some of the reporting being at second + hand, the recollections of the recollections of the participants—are + known to exist. The one fact clearly discernible is that Baldwin stated + fully the Virginia position: that her Unionists were not nationalists; + that the coercion of any State, by impugning the sovereignty of all, would + automatically drive Virginia out of the Union.(23) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln had now reached his decision. The fear that had dogged him all + along—the fear that in evacuating Sumter he would be giving + something for nothing, that "it would discourage the friends of the Union, + embolden its adversaries"—was in possession of his will. One may + hazard the guess that this fear would have determined Lincoln sooner than + it did, except for the fact that the Secretary of State, despite his + faults, was so incomparably the strongest personality in the Cabinet. We + have Lincoln's own word for the moment and the detail that formed the very + end of his period of vacillation. All along he had intended to relieve and + hold Fort Pickens, off the coast of Florida. To this, Seward saw no + objection. In fact, he urged the relief of Pickens, hoping, as + compensation, to get his way about Sumter. Assuming as he did that the + Southern leaders were opportunists, he believed that they would not make + an issue over Pickens, merely because it had not in the public eye become + a political symbol. Orders had been sent to a squadron in Southern waters + to relieve Pickens. Early in April news was received at Washington that + the attempt had failed due to misunderstandings among the Federal + commanders. Fearful that Pickens was about to fall, reasoning that + whatever happened he dared not lose both forts, Lincoln became peremptory + on the subject of the Sumter expedition. This was on April sixth. On the + night of April sixth, Lincoln's signatures to the unread despatches of the + first of April, came home to roost. And at last, Welles found out what + Seward was doing on the day of All Fools.(24) + </p> + <p> + While the Sumter expedition was being got ready, still without sailing + orders, a supplemental expedition was also preparing for the relief of + Pickens. This was the business that Seward was contriving, that Lincoln + would not explain, on April first. The order interfering with the Navy + Department was designed to checkmate the titular head of the department. + Furthermore, Seward had had the amazing coolness to assume that Lincoln + would certainly accept his Thoughts and that the simple President need not + hereinafter be consulted about details. He aimed to circumvent Welles and + to make sure that the Sumter expedition, whether sailing orders were + issued or not, should be rendered innocuous. The warship Powhatan, which + was being got ready for sea at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, was intended by + Welles for the Sumter expedition. One of those unread despatches signed by + Lincoln, assigned it to the Pickens expedition. When the sailing orders + from Welles were received, the commander of the Sumter fleet claimed the + Powhatan. The Pickens commander refused to give it up. The latter + telegraphed Seward that his expedition was "being retarded and + embarrassed" by "conflicting" orders from Welles. The result was a stormy + conference between Seward and Welles which was adjourned to the White + House and became a conference with Lincoln. And then the whole story came + out. Lincoln played the scapegoat, "took the whole blame upon himself, + said it was carelessness, heedlessness on his part; he ought to have been + more careful and attentive." But he insisted on immediate correction of + his error, on the restoration of the Powhatan to the Sumter fleet. Seward + struggled hard for his plan. Lincoln was inflexible. As Seward had + directed the preparation of the Pickens expedition, Lincoln required him + to telegraph to Brooklyn the change in orders. Seward, beaten by his enemy + Welles, was deeply chagrined. In his agitation he forgot to be formal, + forgot that the previous order had gone out in the President's name, and + wired curtly, "Give up the Powhatan. Seward." + </p> + <p> + This despatch was received just as the Pickens expedition was sailing. The + commander of the Powhatan had now before him, three orders. Naturally, he + held that the one signed by the President took precedence over the others. + He went on his way, with his great warship, to Florida. The Sumter + expedition sailed without any powerful ship of war. In this strange + fashion, chance executed Seward's design. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln had previously informed the Governor of South Carolina that due + notice would be given, should he decide to relieve Sumter. Word was now + sent that "an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumter with provisions + only; and that if such attempt be not resisted, no effort to throw in men, + arms or ammunition will be made without further notice, or in case of an + attack upon the fort."(25) Though the fleet was not intended to offer + battle, it was supposed to be strong enough to force its way into the + harbor, should the relief of Sumter be opposed. But the power to do so was + wholly conditioned on the presence in its midst of the Powhatan. And the + Powhatan was far out to sea on its way to Florida. + </p> + <p> + And now it was the turn of the Confederate government to confront a + crisis. It, no less than Washington, had passed through a period of + disillusion. The assumption upon which its chief politicians had built so + confidently had collapsed. The South was not really a unit. It was not + true that the secession of any one State, on any sort of issue, would + compel automatically the secession of all the Southern States. North + Carolina had exploded this illusion. Virginia had exploded it. The South + could not be united on the issue of slavery; it could not be united on the + issue of sectional dread. It could be united on but one issue-State + sovereignty, the denial of the right of the Federal Government to coerce a + State. The time had come to decide whether the cannon at Charleston should + fire. As Seward had foreseen, Montgomery held the trumps; but had + Montgomery the courage to play them? There was a momentous debate in the + Confederate Cabinet. Robert Toombs, the Secretary of State, whose rapid + growth in comprehension since December formed a parallel to Lincoln's + growth, threw his influence on the side of further delay. He would not + invoke that "final argument of kings," the shotted cannon. "Mr. + President," he exclaimed, "at this time, it is suicide, murder, and will + lose us every friend at the North. You will instantly strike a hornet's + nest which extends from mountain to ocean, and legions now quiet will + swarm out and sting us to death. It is unnecessary; it puts us in the + wrong; it is fatal." But Toombs stood alone in the Cabinet. Orders were + sent to Charleston to reduce Fort Sumter. Before dawn, April twelfth, the + first shot was fired. The flag of the United States was hauled down on the + afternoon of the thirteenth. Meanwhile the relieving fleet had arrived—without + the Powhatan. Bereft of its great ship, it could not pass the harbor + batteries and assist the fort. Its only service was to take off the + garrison which by the terms of surrender was allowed to withdraw. On the + fourteenth, Sumter was evacuated and the inglorious fleet sailed back to + the northward. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln at once accepted the gage of battle. On the fifteenth appeared his + proclamation calling for an army of seventy-five thousand volunteers. + Automatically, the upper South fulfilled its unhappy destiny. Challenged + at last, on the irreconcilable issue, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, + Arkansas, seceded. The final argument of kings was the only one remaining. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVI "ON TO RICHMOND!" + </h2> + <p> + It has been truly said that the Americans are an unmilitary but an + intensely warlike nation. Seward's belief that a war fury would sweep the + country at the first cannon shot was amply justified. Both North and South + appeared to rise as one man, crying fiercely to be led to battle. + </p> + <p> + The immediate effect on Washington had not been foreseen. That historic + clash at Baltimore between the city's mob and the Sixth Massachusetts en + route to the capital, was followed by an outburst of secession feeling in + Maryland; by an attempt to isolate Washington from the North. Railway + tracks were torn up; telegraph wires were cut. During several days Lincoln + was entirely ignorant of what the North was doing. Was there an efficient + general response to his call for troops? Or was precious time being + squandered in preparation? Was it conceivable that the war fury was only + talk? Looking forth from the White House, he was a prisoner of the + horizon; an impenetrable mystery, it shut the capital in a ring of silence + all but intolerable. Washington assumed the air of a beleaguered city. + General Scott hastily drew in the small forces which the government had + maintained in Maryland and Virginia. Government employees and loyal + Washingtonians were armed and began to drill. The White House became a + barracks. "Jim Lane," writes delightful John Hay in his diary, which is + always cool, rippling, sunny, no matter how acute the crisis, "Jim Lane + marshalled his Kansas warriors today at Williard's; tonight (they are in) + the East Room."(1) Hay's humor brightens the tragic hour. He felt it his + duty to report to Lincoln a "yarn" that had been told to him by some + charming women who had insisted on an interview; they had heard from "a + dashing Virginian" that inside forty-eight hours something would happen + which would ring through the world. The ladies thought this meant the + capture or assassination of the President. "Lincoln quietly grinned." But + Hay who plainly enjoyed the episode, charming women and all, had got + himself into trouble. He had to do "some very dexterous lying to calm the + awakened fears of Mrs. Lincoln in regard to the assassination suspicion." + Militia were quartered in the Capitol, and Pennsylvania Avenue was a drill + ground. At the President's reception, the distinguished politician C. C. + Clay, "wore with a sublimely unconscious air three pistols and an + 'Arkansas toothpick,' and looked like an admirable vignette to twenty-five + cents' worth of yellow covered romance." + </p> + <p> + But Hay's levity was all of the surface. Beneath it was intense anxiety. + General Scott reported that the Virginia militia, concentrating about + Washington, were a formidable menace, though he thought he was strong + enough to hold out until relief should come. As the days passed and + nothing appeared upon that inscrutable horizon while the telegraph + remained silent, Lincoln became moodily distressed. One afternoon, "the + business of the day being over, the executive office deserted, after + walking the floor alone in silent thought for nearly a half-hour, he + stopped and gazed long and wistfully out of the window down the Potomac in + the direction of the expected ships (bringing soldiers from New York); and + unconscious of other presence in the room, at length broke out with + irrepressible anguish in the repeated exclamation, 'Why don't they come! + Why don't they come!'"(2) + </p> + <p> + His unhappiness flashed into words while he was visiting those + Massachusetts soldiers who had been wounded on their way to Washington. "I + don't believe there is any North. . . " he exclaimed. "You are the only + Northern realities."(3) But even then relief was at hand. The Seventh New + York, which had marched down Broadway amid such an ovation as never before + was given any regiment in America, had come by sea to Annapolis. At noon + on April twenty-fifth, it reached Washington bringing, along with the + welcome sight of its own bayonets, the news that the North had risen, that + thousands more were on the march. + </p> + <p> + Hay who met them at the depot went at once to report to Lincoln. Already + the President had reacted to a "pleasant, hopeful mood." He began + outlining a tentative plan of action: blockade, maintenance of the safety + of Washington, holding Fortress Monroe, and then to "go down to Charleston + and pay her the little debt we are owing there."(4) But this was an + undigested plan. It had little resemblance to any of his later plans. And + immediately the chief difficulties that were to embarrass all his plans + appeared. He was a minority President; and he was the Executive of a + democracy. Many things were to happen; many mistakes were to be made; many + times the piper was to be paid, ere Lincoln felt sufficiently sure of his + support to enforce a policy of his own, defiant of opposition. Throughout + the spring of 1861 his imperative need was to secure the favor of the + Northern mass, to shape his policy with that end in view. At least, in his + own mind, this seemed to be his paramount obligation. And so it was in the + minds of his advisers. Lincoln was still in the pliable mood which was his + when he entered office, which continued to be in evidence, except for + sudden momentary disappearances when a different Lincoln flashed an + instant into view, until another year and more had gone by. Still he felt + himself the apprentice hand painfully learning the trade of man of action. + Still he was deeply sensitive to advice. + </p> + <p> + And what advice did the country give him? There was one roaring shout + dinning into his ears all round the Northern horizon-"On to Richmond!" + Following Virginia's secession, Richmond had become the Confederate + capital. It was expected that a session of the Confederate Congress would + open at Richmond in July. "On to Richmond! Forward to Richmond!" screamed + The Tribune. "The Rebel Congress must not be allowed to meet there on the + 20th of July. By that date the place must be held by the national army." + The Times advised the resignation of the Cabinet; it warned the President + that if he did not give prompt satisfaction he would be superseded. Though + Lincoln laughed at the threat of The Times to "depose" him, he took very + seriously all the swiftly accumulating evidence that the North was + becoming rashly impatient Newspaper correspondents at Washington talked to + his secretaries "impertinently."(5) Members of Congress, either carried + away by the excitement of the hour or with slavish regard to the hysteria + of their constituents, thronged to Washington clamoring for action. On + purely political grounds, if on no other, they demanded an immediate + advance into Virginia. Military men looked with irritation, if not with + contempt, on all this intemperate popular fury. That grim Sherman, who had + been offended by Lincoln's tone the month previous, put their feeling into + words. Declining the offer of a position in the War Department, he wrote + that he wished "the Administration all success in its almost impossible + task of governing this distracted and anarchial people."(6) + </p> + <p> + In the President's councils, General Scott urged delay, and the gathering + of the volunteers into camps of instruction, their deliberate + transformation into a genuine army. So inadequate were the resources of + the government; so loose and uncertain were the militia organizations + which were attempting to combine into an army; such discrepancies appeared + between the nominal and actual strength of commands, between the places + where men were supposed to be and the places where they actually were; + that Lincoln in his droll way compared the process of mobilization to + shoveling a bushel of fleas across a barn floor.(7) From the military + point of view it was no time to attempt an advance. Against the military + argument, three political arguments loomed dark in the minds of the + Cabinet; there was the clamor of the Northern majority; there were the + threats of the politicians who were to assemble in Congress, July fourth; + there was the term of service of the volunteers which had been limited by + the proclamation to three months. Late in June, the Cabinet decided upon + the political course, overruled the military advisers, and gave its voice + for an immediate advance into Virginia. Lincoln accepted this rash advice. + Scott yielded. General Irwin McDowell was ordered to strike a Confederate + force that had assembled at Manassas.(8) On the fourth of July, the day + Congress met, the government made use of a coup de theatre. It held a + review of what was then considered a "grand army" of twenty-five thousand + men. A few days later, the sensibilities of the Congressmen were further + exploited. Impressionable members were "deeply moved," when the same host + in marching order passed again through the city and wheeled southward + toward Virginia. Confident of victory, the Congressmen spent these days in + high debate upon anything that took their fancy. When, a fortnight later, + it was known that a battle was imminent, many of them treated the Occasion + as a picnic. They took horses, or hired vehicles, and away they went + southward for a jolly outing on the day the Confederacy was to collapse. + In the mind of the unfortunate General who commanded the expedition a + different mood prevailed. In depression, he said to a friend, "This is not + an army. It will take a long time to make an army. But his duty as a + soldier forbade him to oppose his superiors; the poor fellow could not + proclaim his distrust of his army in public."(9) Thoughtful observers at + Washington felt danger in the air, both military and political. + </p> + <p> + Sunday, July twenty-first, dawned clear. It was the day of the expected + battle. A noted Englishman, setting out for the front as war correspondent + of the London Times, observed "the calmness and silence of the streets of + Washington, this early morning." After crossing the Potomac, he felt that + "the promise of a lovely day given by the early dawn was likely to be + realized to the fullest"; and "the placid beauty of the scenery as we + drove through the woods below Arlington" delighted him. And then about + nine o'clock his thoughts abandoned the scenery. Through those beautiful + Virginia woods came the distant roar of cannon. + </p> + <p> + At the White House that day there was little if any alarm. Reports + received at various times were construed by military men as favorable. + These, with the rooted preconception that the army had to be successful, + established confidence in a victory before nightfall. Late in the + afternoon, the President relieved his tension by taking a drive. He had + not returned when, about six o'clock, Seward appeared and asked hoarsely + where he was. The secretaries told him. He begged them to find the + President as quickly as possible. "Tell no one," said he, "but the battle + is lost. The army is in full retreat." + </p> + <p> + The news of the rout at Bull Run did not spread through Washington until + close to midnight. It caused an instantaneous panic. In the small hours, + the space before the Treasury was "a moving mass of humanity. Every man + seemed to be asking every man he met for the latest news, while all sorts + of rumors filled the air. A feeling of mingled horror and despair appeared + to possess everybody. . . . Our soldiers came straggling into the city + covered with dust and many of them wounded, while the panic that led to + the disaster spread like a contagion through all classes." The President + did not share the panic. He "received the news quietly and without any + visible sign of perturbation or excitement"'(10) Now appeared in him the + quality which led Herndon to call him a fatalist. All night long he sat + unruffled in his office, while refugees from the stricken field—especially + those overconfident Senators and Representatives who had gone out to watch + the overthrow of the Confederates—poured into his ears their various + and conflicting accounts of the catastrophe. During that long night + Lincoln said almost nothing. Meanwhile, fragments of the routed army + continued to stream into the city. At dawn the next day Washington was + possessed by a swarm of demoralized soldiers while a dreary rain settled + over it. + </p> + <p> + The silent man in the White House had forgotten for the moment his + dependence upon his advisers. While the runaway Senators were talking + themselves out, while the rain was sheeting up the city, he had reached + two conclusions. Early in the morning, he formulated both. One conclusion + was a general outline for the conduct of a long war in which the first + move should be a call for volunteers to serve three years.(11) The other + conclusion was the choice of a conducting general. Scott was too old. + McDowell had failed. But there was a young officer, a West Pointer, who + had been put in command of the Ohio militia, who had entered the Virginia + mountains from the West, had engaged a small force there, and had won + several small but rather showy victories. Young as he was, he had served + in the Mexican War and was supposed to be highly accomplished. On the day + following Bull Run, Lincoln ordered McClellan to Washington to take + command.(12) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVII. DEFINING THE ISSUE + </h2> + <p> + While these startling events were taking place in the months between + Sumter and Bull Run, Lincoln passed through a searching intellectual + experience. The reconception of his problem, which took place in March, + necessitated a readjustment of his political attitude. He had prepared his + arsenal for the use of a strategy now obviously beside the mark. The vital + part of the first inaugural was its attempt to cut the ground from under + the slave profiteers. Its assertion that nothing else was important, the + idea that the crisis was "artificial," was sincere. Two discoveries had + revolutionized Lincoln's thought. The discovery that what the South was in + earnest about was not slavery but State sovereignty; the discovery that + the North was far from a unit upon nationalism. To meet the one, to + organize the other, was the double task precipitated by the fall of + Sumter. Not only as a line of attack, but also as a means of defense, + Lincoln had to raise to its highest power the argument for the sovereign + reality of the national government. The effort to do this formed the + silent inner experience behind the surging external events in the stormy + months between April and July. It was governed by a firmness not + paralleled in his outward course. As always, Lincoln the thinker asked no + advice. It was Lincoln the administrator, painfully learning a new trade, + who was timid, wavering, pliable in council. Behind the apprentice in + statecraft, the lonely thinker stood apart, inflexible as ever, impervious + to fear. The thinking which he formulated in the late spring and early + summer of 1861 obeyed his invariable law of mental gradualness. It arose + out of the deep places of his own past. He built up his new conclusion by + drawing together conclusions he had long held, by charging them with his + later experience, by giving to them a new turn, a new significance. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's was one of those natures in which ideas have to become latent + before they can be precipitated by outward circumstance into definite + form. Always with him the idea that was to become powerful at a crisis was + one that he had long held in solution, that had permeated him without his + formulating it, that had entwined itself with his heartstrings; never was + it merely a conscious act of the logical faculty. His characteristics as a + lawyer—preoccupation with basal ideas, with ethical significance, + with those emotions which form the ultimates of life—these always + determined his thought. His idea of nationalism was a typical case. He had + always believed in the reality of the national government as a sovereign + fact. But he had thought little about it; rather he had taken it for + granted. It was so close to his desire that he could not without an effort + acknowledge the sincerity of disbelief in it. That was why he was so slow + in forming a true comprehension of the real force opposing him. Disunion + had appeared to him a mere device of party strategy. That it was grounded + upon a genuine, a passionate conception of government, one irreconcilable + with his own, struck him, when at last he grasped it, as a deep offense. + The literary statesman sprang again to life. He threw all the strength of + his mind, the peculiar strength that had made him president, into a + statement of the case for nationalism. + </p> + <p> + His vehicle for publishing his case was the first message to Congress.(1) + It forms an amazing contrast with the first inaugural. The argument over + slavery that underlies the whole of the inaugural has vanished. The + message does not mention slavery. From the first word to the last, it is + an argument for the right of the central government to exercise sovereign + power, and for the duty of the American people—to give their lives + for the Union. No hint of compromise; nought of the cautious and + conciliatory tone of the inaugural. It is the blast of a trumpet—a + war trumpet. It is the voice of a stern mind confronting an adversary that + arouses in him no sympathy, no tolerance even, much less any thought of + concession. Needless to insist that this adversary is an idea. Toward + every human adversary, Lincoln was always unbelievably tender. Though + little of a theologian, he appreciated intuitively some metaphysical + ideas; he projected into politics the philosopher's distinction between + sin and the sinner. For all his hatred of the ideas which he held to be + treason, he never had a vindictive impulse directed toward the men who + accepted those ideas. Destruction for the idea, infinite clemency for the + person—such was his attitude. + </p> + <p> + It was the idea of disunion, involving as he believed, a misconception of + the American government, and by implication, a misconception of the true + function of all governments everywhere, against which he declared a war + without recourse. + </p> + <p> + The basis of his argument reaches back to his oration on Clay, to his + assertion that Clay loved his country, partly because it was his country, + even more because it was a free country. This idea ran through Lincoln's + thinking to the end. There was in him a suggestion of internationalism. At + the full height of his power, in his complete maturity as a political + thinker, he said that the most sacred bond in life should be the + brotherhood of the workers of all nations. No words of his are more + significant than his remarks to passing soldiers in 1863, such as, "There + is more involved in this contest than is realized by every one. There is + involved in this struggle the question whether your children and my + children shall enjoy the privileges we have enjoyed." And again, "I happen + temporarily to occupy this White House. I am a living witness that any one + of your children may look to come here as my father's child has."(2) + </p> + <p> + This idea, the idea that the "plain people" are the chief concern of + government was the bed rock of all his political thinking. The mature, + historic Lincoln is first of all a leader of the plain people—of the + mass—as truly as was Cleon, or Robespierre, or Andrew Jackson. His + gentleness does not remove him from that stern category. The latent + fanaticism that is in every man, or almost every man, was grounded in + Lincoln, on his faith—so whimsically expressed—that God must + have loved the plain people because he had made so many of them.(3) The + basal appeal of the first message was in the words: + </p> + <p> + "This is essentially a people's contest. On the side of the Union it is a + struggle for maintaining in the world that form and substance of + government whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men; to + lift artificial weights from all shoulders; to clear the paths of laudable + pursuit for all; to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance in + the race of life."(4) Not a war over slavery, not a war to preserve a + constitutional system, but a war to assert and maintain the sovereignty of—"We, + the People." + </p> + <p> + But how was it to be proved that this was, in fact, the true issue of the + moment? Here, between the lines of the first message, Lincoln's deepest + feelings are to be glimpsed. Out of the discovery that Virginia honestly + believed herself a sovereign power, he had developed in himself a deep, + slow-burning fervor that probably did much toward fusing him into the + great Lincoln of history. But why? What was there in that idea which + should strike so deep? Why was it not merely one view in a permissible + disagreement over the interpretation of the Constitution? Why did the + cause of the people inspire its champion to regard the doctrine of State + sovereignty as anti-christ? Lincoln has not revealed himself on these + points in so many words. But he has revealed himself plainly enough by + implication. + </p> + <p> + The clue is in that element of internationalism which lay at the back of + his mind. There must be no misunderstanding of this element. It was not + pointing along the way of the modern "international." Lincoln would have + fought Bolshevism to the death. Side by side with his assertion of the + sanctity of the international bond of labor, stands his assertion of a + sacred right in property and that capital is a necessity.(5) His + internationalism was ethical, not opportunistic. It grew, as all his ideas + grew, not out of a theorem, not from a constitutional interpretation, but + from his overpowering commiseration for the mass of mankind. It was a + practical matter. Here were poor people to be assisted, to be enriched in + their estate, to be enlarged in spirit. The mode of reaching the result + was not the thing. Any mode, all sorts of modes, might be used. What + counted was the purpose to work relief, and the willingness to throw + overboard whatever it might be that tended to defeat the purpose. His + internationalism was but a denial of "my country right or wrong." There + can be little doubt that, in last resort, he would have repudiated his + country rather than go along with it in opposition to what he regarded as + the true purpose of government. And that was, to advance the welfare of + the mass of mankind. + </p> + <p> + He thought upon this subject in the same manner in which he thought as a + lawyer, sweeping aside everything but what seemed to him the ethical + reality at the heart of the case. For him the "right" of a State to do + this or that was a constitutional question only so long as it did not + cross that other more universal "right," the paramount "charter of + liberty," by which, in his view, all other rights were conditioned. He + would impose on all mankind, as their basic moral obligation, the duty to + sacrifice all personal likes, personal ambitions, when these in their + permanent tendencies ran contrary to the tendency which he rated as + paramount. Such had always been, and was always to continue, his own + attitude toward slavery. No one ever loathed it more. But he never + permitted it to take the first place in his thoughts. If it could be + eradicated without in the process creating dangers for popular government + he would rejoice. But all the schemes of the Abolitionists, hitherto, he + had condemned as dangerous devices because they would strain too severely + the fabric of the popular state, would violate agreements which alone made + it possible. Therefore, being always relentless toward himself, he + required of himself the renunciation of this personal hope whenever, in + whatever way, it threatened to make less effective the great democratic + state which appeared to him the central fact of the world. + </p> + <p> + The enlargement of his reasoning led him inevitably to an unsparing + condemnation of the Virginian theory. One of his rare flashes of + irritation was an exclamation that Virginia loyalty always had an "if."(6) + At this point, to make him entirely plain, there is needed another basic + assumption which he has never quite formulated. However, it is so + obviously latent in his thinking that the main lines are to be made out + clearly enough. Building ever on that paramount obligation of all mankind + to consider first the welfare of God's plain people, he assumed that + whenever by any course of action any congregation of men were thrown + together and led to form any political unit, they were never thereafter + free to disregard in their attitude toward that unit its value in + supporting and advancing the general cause of the welfare of the plain + people. A sweeping, and in some contingencies, a terrible doctrine! + Certainly, as to individuals, classes, communities even, a doctrine that + might easily become destructive. But it formed the basis of all Lincoln's + thought about the "majority" in America. Upon it would have rested his + reply, had he ever made a reply, to the Virginia contention that while his + theory might apply to each individual State, it could not apply to the + group of States. He would have treated such a reply, whether fairly or + unfairly, as a legal technicality. He would have said in substance: here + is a congregation to be benefited, this great mass of all the inhabitants + of all the States of the Union; accident, or destiny, or what you will, + has brought them together, but here they are; they are moving forward, + haltingly, irregularly, but steadily, toward fuller and fuller democracy; + they are part of the universal democratic movement; their vast experiment + has an international significance; it is the hope of the "Liberal party + throughout the world"; to check that experiment, to break it into Separate + minor experiments; to reduce the imposing promise of its example by making + it seem unsuccessful, would be treason to mankind. Therefore, both on + South and North, both on the Seceders he meant to fight and on those + Northerners of whom he was not entirely sure, he aimed to impose the + supreme immediate duty of proving to the world that democracy on a great + scale could have sufficient vitality to maintain itself against any sort + of attack. Anticipating faintly the Gettysburg oration, the first message + contained these words: "And this issue embraces more than the fate of + these United States. It presents to the whole family of man the question + whether a constitutional republic, or democracy—a government of the + people by the same people—can or can not maintain its integrity + against its own domestic foes. . . . Must a government of necessity be too + strong for the liberties of its people or too weak to maintain its own + existence?"(7) He told Hay that "the crucial idea pervading this struggle + is the necessity that is upon us to prove that popular government is not + an absurdity"; "that the basal issue was whether or no the people could + govern themselves."(8) + </p> + <p> + But all this elaborate reasoning, if it went no further, lacked authority. + It was political speculation. To clothe itself with authority it had to + discover a foundation in historic fact. The real difficulty was not what + ought to have been established in America in the past, but what actually + had been. Where was the warrant for those bold proposition—who "we, + the people," really were; in what their sovereign power really consisted; + what was history's voice in the matter? To state an historic foundation + was the final aim of the message. To hit its mark it had to silence those + Northerners who denied the obligation to fight for the Union; it had to + oppose their "free love" ideas of political unity with the conception of + an established historic government, one which could not be overthrown + except through the nihilistic process of revolution. So much has been + written upon the exact location of sovereignty in the American federal + State that it is difficult to escape the legalistic attitude, and to treat + the matter purely as history. So various, so conflicting, and at times so + tenuous, are the theories, that a flippant person might be forgiven did he + turn from the whole discussion saying impatiently it was blind man's buff. + But on one thing, at least, we must all agree. Once there was a king over + this country, and now there is no king. Once the British Crown was the + sovereign, and now the Crown has receded into the distance beyond the deep + blue sea. When the Crown renounced its sovereignty in America, what became + of it? Did it break into fragments and pass peacemeal to the various + revolted colonies? Was it transferred somehow to the group collectively? + These are the obvious theories; but there are others. And the others give + rise to subtler speculations. Who was it that did the actual revolting + against the Crown—colonies, parties, individuals, the whole American + people, who? + </p> + <p> + Troublesome questions these, with which Lincoln and the men of his time + did not deal in the spirit of historical science. Their wishes fathered + their thoughts. Southerners, practically without exception, held the + theory of the disintegration of the Crown's prerogative, its distribution + among the States. The great leaders of Northern thought repudiated the + idea. Webster and Clay would have none of it. But their own theories were + not always consistent; and they differed among themselves. Lincoln did the + natural thing. He fastened upon the tendencies in Northern thought that + supported his own faith. Chief among these was the idea that sovereignty + passed to the general congregation of the inhabitants of the colonies—"we, + the people"—because we, the people, were the real power that + supported the revolt. He had accepted the idea that the American + Revolution was an uprising of the people, that its victory was in a + transfer of sovereign rights from an English Crown to an American nation; + that a new collective state, the Union, was created by this nation as the + first act of the struggle, and that it was to the Union that the Crown + succumbed, to the Union that its prerogative passed. To put this idea in + its boldest and its simplest terms was the crowning effort of the message. + </p> + <p> + "The States have their status in the Union and they have no other legal + status. If they break from this, they can only do so against law and by + revolution. The Union, and not themselves separately, procured their + independence and their liberty. By conquest or purchase, the Union gave + each of them whatever of independence and liberty it has. The Union is + older than any of the States, and in fact, it created them as States. + Originally some dependent colonies made the Union, and in turn, the Union + threw off this old dependence for them and made them States, such as they + are."(9) + </p> + <p> + This first message completes the evolution of Lincoln as a political + thinker. It is his third, his last great landmark. The Peoria speech, + which drew to a focus all the implications of his early life, laid the + basis of his political significance; the Cooper Union speech, summing up + his conflict with Douglas, applied his thinking to the new issue + precipitated by John Brown; but in both these he was still predominantly a + negative thinker, still the voice of an opposition. With the first + message, he became creative; he drew together what was latent in his + earlier thought; he discarded the negative; he laid the foundation of all + his subsequent policy. The breadth and depth of his thinking is revealed + by the fulness with which the message develops the implications of his + theory. In so doing, he anticipated the main issues that were to follow: + his determination to keep nationalism from being narrowed into mere + "Northernism"; his effort to create an all-parties government; his + stubborn insistence that he was suppressing an insurrection, not waging + external war; his doctrine that the Executive, having been chosen by the + entire people, was the one expression of the sovereignty of the people, + and therefore, the repository of all these exceptional "war powers" that + are dormant in time of peace. Upon each of those issues he was destined to + wage fierce battles with the politicians who controlled Congress, who + sought to make Congress his master, who thwarted, tormented and almost + defeated him. In the light of subsequent history the first message has + another aspect besides its significance as political science. In its clear + understanding of the implications of his attitude, it attains political + second sight. As Lincoln, immovable, gazes far into the future, his power + of vision makes him, yet again though in a widely different sense, the + "seer in a trance, Seeing all his own mischance." + </p> + <p> + His troubles with Congress began at once. The message was received on July + fourth, politely, but with scant response to its ideas. During two weeks, + while Congress in its fatuousness thought that the battle impending in + Virginia would settle things, the majority in Congress would not give + assent to Lincoln's view of what the war was about. And then came Bull + Run. In a flash the situation changed. Fatuousness was puffed out like a + candle in a wind. The rankest extremist saw that Congress must cease from + its debates and show its hand; must say what the war was about; must + inform the nation whether it did or did not agree with the President. + </p> + <p> + On the day following Bull Run, Crittenden introduced this resolution: + "That the present, deplorable civil war has been forced upon the country + by the Disunionists of the Southern States, now in arms against the + constitutional government, and in arms around the capital; that in this + national emergency, Congress, banishing all feelings of mere passion and + resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that this + war is not waged on their part in any spirit of oppression or for any + purpose of conquest or subjugation, or purpose of overthrowing or + interfering with the rights or established institutions of these States, + but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to + preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the + several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects are + accomplished, the war ought to cease." This Crittenden Resolution was + passed instantly by both Houses, without debate and almost without + opposition. (10) + </p> + <p> + Paradoxically, Bull Run had saved the day for Lincoln, had enabled him to + win his first victory as a statesman. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVIII. THE JACOBIN CLUB + </h2> + <p> + The keen Englishman who had observed the beauty of the Virginian woods on + "Bull Run Sunday," said, after the battle was lost, "I hope Senator Wilson + is satisfied." He was sneering at the whole group of intemperate Senators + none of whom had ever smelled powder, but who knew it all when it came to + war; who had done their great share in driving the President and the + generals into a premature advance. Senator Wilson was one of those who + went out to Manassas to see the Confederacy overthrown, that fateful + Sunday. He was one of the most precipitate among those who fled back to + Washington. On the way, driving furiously, amid a press of men and + vehicles, he passed a carriage containing four Congressmen who were taking + their time. Perhaps irritated by their coolness, he shouted to them to + make haste. "If we were in as big a hurry as you are," replied Congressman + Riddle, scornfully, "we would." + </p> + <p> + These four Congressmen played a curiously dramatic part before they got + back to Washington. So did a party of Senators with whom they joined + forces. This other party, at the start, also numbered four. They had + planned a jolly picnic—this day that was to prove them right in + hurrying the government into battle!—and being wise men who knew how + to take time by the forelock, they had taken their luncheon with them. + From what is known of Washington and Senators, then as now, one may risk a + good deal that the luncheon was worth while. Part of the tragedy of that + day was the accidental break-up of this party with the result amid the + confusion of a road crowded by pleasure-seekers, that two Senators went + one way carrying off the luncheon, while the other two, making the best of + the disaster, continued southward through those beautiful early hours when + Russell was admiring the scenery, their luncheon all to seek. The lucky + men with the luncheon were the Senators Benjamin Wade and Zachary + Chandler. Senator Trumbull and Senator Grimes, both on horseback, were + left to their own devices. However, fortune was with them. Several hours + later they had succeeded in getting food by the wayside and were resting + in a grove of trees some distance beyond the village of Centerville. + Suddenly, they suffered an appalling surprise; happening to look up, they + beheld emerging out of the distance, a stampede of men and horses which + came thundering down the country road, not a hundred yards from where they + sat. "We immediately mounted our horses," as Trumbull wrote to his wife + the next day, "and galloped to the road, by which time it was crowded, + hundreds being in advance on the way to Centerville and two guns of + Sherman's battery having already passed in full retreat. We kept on with + the crowd, not knowing what else to do. We fed our horses at Centerville + and left there at six o'clock.... Came on to Fairfax Court House where we + got supper and, leaving there at ten o'clock reached home at half past two + this morning. . . . I am dreadfully disappointed and mortified."(1) + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, what of those other gay picnickers, Senator Wade and Senator + Chandler? They drove in a carriage. Viewing the obligations of the hour + much as did C. C. Clay at the President's reception, they were armed. Wade + had "his famous rifle" which he had brought with him to Congress, which at + times in the fury of debate he had threatened to use, which had become a + byword. These Senators seem to have ventured nearer to the front than did + Trumbull and Grimes, and were a little later in the retreat At a + "choke-up," still on the far side of Centerville, their carriage passed + the carriage of the four Congressmen—who, by the way, were also + armed, having among them "four of the largest navy revolvers." + </p> + <p> + All these men, whatever their faults or absurdities, were intrepid. The + Congressmen, at least, were in no good humor, for they had driven through + a regiment of three months men whose time expired that day and who despite + the cannon in the distance were hurrying home. + </p> + <p> + The race of the fugitives continued. At Centerville, the Congressmen + passed Wade. Soon afterward Wade passed them for the second time. About a + mile out of Fairfax Court House, "at the foot of a long down grade, the + pike on the northerly side was fenced and ran along a farm. On the other + side for a considerable distance was a wood, utterly impenetrable for men + or animals, larger than cats or squirrels." Here the Wade carriage + stopped. The congressional carriage drove up beside it. The two blocked a + narrow way where as in the case of Horatius at the bridge, "a thousand + might well be stopped by three." And then "bluff Ben Wade" showed the + mettle that was in him. The "old Senator, his hat well back on his head," + sprang out of his carriage, his rifle in his hand, and called to the + others, "Boys, we'll stop this damned runaway." And they did it. Only six + of them, but they lined up across that narrow road; presented their + weapons and threatened to shoot; seized the bridles of horses and flung + the horses back on their haunches; checked a panic-stricken army; held it + at bay, until just when it seemed they were about to be overwhelmed, + military reserves hurrying out from Fairfax Court House, took command of + the road. Cool, unpretentious Riddle calls the episode "Wade's exploit," + and adds "it was much talked of." The newspapers dealt with it + extravagantly.(2) + </p> + <p> + Gallant as the incident was, it was all the military service that "Ben" + Wade and "Zach" Chandler—for thus they are known in history-over + saw. But one may believe that it had a lasting effect upon their point of + view and on that of their friend Lyman Trumbull. Certain it is that none + of the three thereafter had any doubts about putting the military men in + their place. All the error of their own view previous to Bull Run was + forgotten. Wade and Chandler, especially, when military questions were in + dispute, felt that no one possibly could know more of the subject than did + the men who stopped the rout in the narrow road beyond Fairfax. + </p> + <p> + Three of those picnickers who missed their guess on Bull Run Sunday, Wade, + Chandler and Trumbull, were destined to important parts in the stern years + that were to come. Before the close of the year 1861 the three made a + second visit to the army; and this time they kept together. To that second + visit momentous happenings may be traced. How it came about must be fully + understood. + </p> + <p> + Two of the three, Wade and Chandler, were temperamentally incapable of + understanding Lincoln. Both were men of fierce souls; each had but a very + limited experience. Wade had been a country lawyer in Ohio; Chandler, a + prosperous manufacturer in Michigan. They were party men by instinct, + blind to the faults of their own side, blind to the virtues of their + enemies. They were rabid for the control of the government by their own + organized machine. + </p> + <p> + Of Chandler, in Michigan, it was said that he "carried the Republican + organization in his breeches pocket"; partly through control of the + Federal patronage, which Lincoln frankly conceded to him, partly through a + "judicious use of money."(3) Chandler's first clash with Lincoln was upon + the place that the Republican machine was to hold in the conduct of the + war. + </p> + <p> + From the beginning Lincoln was resolved that the war should not be merely + a party struggle. Even before he was inaugurated, he said that he meant to + hold the Democrats "close to the Administration on the naked Union + issue."(4) He had added, "We must make it easy for them" to support the + government "because we can't live through the case without them." This was + the foundation of his attempt—so obvious between the lines of the + first message—to create an all-parties government. This, Chandler + violently opposed. Violence was always Chandler's note, so much so that a + scornful opponent once called him "Xantippe in pants." + </p> + <p> + Lincoln had given Chandler a cause of offense in McClellan's elevation to + the head of the army.* McClellan was a Democrat. There can be little doubt + that Lincoln took the fact into account in selecting him. Shortly before, + Lincoln had aimed to placate the Republicans by showing high honor to + their popular hero, Fremont. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Strictly speaking he did not become head of the army until + the retirement of Scott in November. Practically, he was + supreme almost from the moment of his arrival in Washington. +</pre> + <p> + When the catastrophe occurred at Bull Run, Fremont was a major-general + commanding the Western Department with headquarters at St. Louis. He was + one of the same violent root-and-branch wing of the Republicans—the + Radicals of a latter day—of which Chandler was a leader. The temper + of that wing had already been revealed by Senator Baker in his startling + pronouncement: "We of the North control the Union, and we are going to + govern our own Union in our own way." Chandler was soon to express it + still more exactly, saying, "A rebel has sacrificed all his rights. He has + no right to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness."(5) Here was that + purpose to narrowing nationalism into Northernism, even to radicalism, and + to make the war an outlet for a sectional ferocity, which Lincoln was so + firmly determined to prevent. All things considered, the fact that on the + day following Bull Run he did not summon the Republican hero to + Washington, that he did summon a Democrat, was significant. It opened his + long duel with the extremists. + </p> + <p> + The vindictive Spirit of the extremists had been rebuffed by Lincoln in + another way. Shortly after Bull Run, Wade and Chandler appealed to Lincoln + to call out negro soldiers. Chandler said that he did not care whether or + no this would produce a servile insurrection in the South. Lincoln's + refusal made another count in the score of the extremists against him.(6) + </p> + <p> + During the late summer of 1861, Chandler, Wade, Trumbull, were all busily + organizing their forces for an attack on the Administration. Trumbull, + indeed, seemed out of place in that terrible company. In time, he found + that he was out of place. At a crucial moment he came over to Lincoln. But + not until he had done yeoman service with Lincoln's bitterest enemies. The + clue to his earlier course was an honest conviction that Lincoln, though + well-intentioned, was weak.(7) Was this the nemesis of Lincoln's + pliability in action during the first stage of his Presidency? It may be. + The firm inner Lincoln, the unyielding thinker of the first message, was + not appreciated even by well-meaning men like Trumbull. The inner and the + outer Lincoln were still disconnected. And the outer, in his caution, in + his willingness to be instructed, in his opposition to extreme measures, + made the inevitable impression that temperance makes upon fury, caution + upon rashness. + </p> + <p> + Throughout the late summer, Lincoln was the target of many attacks, + chiefly from the Abolitionists. Somehow, in the previous spring, they had + got it into their heads that at heart he was one of them, that he waited + only for a victory to declare the war a crusade of abolition.(8) When the + crisis passed and a Democrat was put at the head of the army, while + Fremont was left in the relative obscurity of St. Louis, Abolition + bitterness became voluble. The Crittenden Resolution was scoffed at as an + "ill-timed revival of the policy of conciliation." Threats against the + Administration revived, taking the old form of demands for a wholly new + Cabinet The keener-sighted Abolitionists had been alarmed by the first + message, by what seemed to them its ominous silence as to slavery. Late in + July, Emerson said in conversation, "If the Union is incapable of securing + universal freedom, its disruption were as the breaking up of a + frog-pond."(9) An outcry was raised because Federal generals did not + declare free all the slaves who in any way came into their hands. The + Abolitionists found no solace in the First Confiscation Act which provided + that an owner should lose his claim to a slave, had the slave been used to + assist the Confederate government. They were enraged by an order, early in + August, informing generals that it was the President's desire "that all + existing rights in all the States be fully respected and maintained; in + cases of fugitives from the loyal Slave States, the enforcement of the + Fugitive Slave Law by the ordinary forms of judicial proceedings must be + respected by the military authorities; in the disloyal States the + Confiscation Act of Congress must be your guide."(10) Especially, the + Abolitionists were angered because of Lincoln's care for the forms of law + in those Slave States that had not seceded. They vented their bitterness + in a famous sneer—"The President would like to have God on his side, + but he must have Kentucky." + </p> + <p> + A new temper was forming throughout the land. It was not merely the old + Abolitionism. It was a blend of all those elements of violent feeling + which war inevitably releases; it was the concentration of all these + elements on the issue of Abolition as upon a terrible weapon; it was the + resurrection of that primitive blood-lust which lies dormant in every + peaceful nation like a sleeping beast. This dreadful power rose out of its + sleep and confronted, menacing, the statesman who of all our statesmen was + most keenly aware of its evil, most determined to put it under or to + perish in the attempt With its appearance, the deepest of all the issues + involved, according to Lincoln's way of thinking, was brought to a head. + Was the Republic to issue from the war a worthy or an unworthy nation? + That was pretty definitely a question of whether Abraham Lincoln or, say, + Zachary Chandler, was to control its policy. + </p> + <p> + A vain, weak man precipitated the inevitable struggle between these two. + Fremont had been flattered to the skies. He conceived himself a genius. He + was persuaded that the party of the new temper, the men who may fairly be + called the Vindictives, were lords of the ascendent. He mistook their + volubility for the voice of the nation. He determined to defy Lincoln. He + issued a proclamation freeing the slaves of all who had "taken an active + part" with the enemies of the United States in the field. He set up a + "bureau of abolition." + </p> + <p> + Lincoln first heard of Fremont's proclamation through the newspapers. His + instant action was taken in his own extraordinarily gentle way. "I think + there is great danger," he wrote, "that the closing paragraph (of + Fremont's proclamation) in relation to the confiscation of property and + the liberating of slaves of traitorous owners, will alarm our Southern + Union friends and turn them against us; perhaps ruin our rather fair + prospect for Kentucky. Allow me, therefore, to ask that you will, as of + your own motion, modify that paragraph so as to conform" to the + Confiscation Act. He added, "This letter is written in the Spirit of + caution, not of censure."(11) + </p> + <p> + Fremont was not the man to understand instruction of this sort. He would + make no compromise with the President. If Lincoln wished to go over his + head and rescind his order let him do so-and take the consequences. + Lincoln quietly did so. His battle with the Vindictives was on. For a + moment it seemed as if he had destroyed his cause. So loud was the outcry + of the voluble people, that any one might have been excused momentarily + for thinking that all the North had risen against him. Great meetings of + protest were held. Eminent men—even such fine natures as Bryant—condemned + his course. In the wake of the incident, when it was impossible to say how + significant the outcry really was, Chandler, who was staunch for Fremont, + began his active interference with the management of the army. McClellan + had insisted on plenty of time in which to drill the new three-year + recruits who were pouring into Washington. He did not propose to repeat + the experience of General McDowell. On the other hand, Chandler was bent + on forcing him into action. He, Wade and Trumbull combined, attempting to + bring things to pass in a way to suit themselves and their faction. To + these men and their followers, clever young Hay gave the apt name of "The + Jacobin Club." + </p> + <p> + They began their campaign by their second visit to the army. Wade was + their chief spokesman. He urged McClellan to advance at once; to risk an + unsuccessful battle rather than continue to stand still; the country + wanted something done; a defeat could easily be repaired by the swarming + recruits.(12) + </p> + <p> + This callous attitude got no response from the Commanding General. The + three Senators turned upon Lincoln. "This evening," writes Hay in his + diary on October twenty-sixth, "the Jacobin Club represented by Trumbull, + Chandler and Wade, came out to worry the Administration into a battle. The + agitation of the summer is to be renewed. The President defended + McClellan's deliberateness. The next night we went over to Seward's and + found Chandler and Wade there." They repeated their reckless talk; a + battle must be fought; defeat would be no worse than delay; "and a great + deal more trash." + </p> + <p> + But Lincoln was not to be moved. He and Hay called upon McClellan. The + President deprecated this new manifestation of popular impatience, but + said it was a reality and should be taken into account. "At the same time, + General," said he, "you must not fight until you are ready."(13) + </p> + <p> + At this moment of extreme tension occurred the famous incident of the + seizure of the Confederate envoys, Mason and Slidell, who were passengers + on the British merchant ship, the Trent. These men had run the blockade + which had now drawn its strangling line along the whole coast of the + Confederacy; they had boarded the Trent at Havana, and under the law of + nations were safe from capture. But Captain Wilkes of the United States + Navy, more zealous than discreet, overhauled the Trent and took off the + two Confederates. Every thoughtless Northerner went wild with joy. At last + the government had done something. Even the Secretary of the Navy so far + forgot himself as to telegraph to Wilkes "Congratulate you on the great + public service you have rendered in the capture of the rebel + emissaries."(14) Chandler promptly applauded the seizure and when it was + suggested that perhaps the envoys should be released he at once arrayed + himself in opposition.(15) With the truculent Jacobins ready to close + battle should the government do its duty, with the country still echoing + to cheers for Fremont and hisses for the President, with nothing to his + credit in the way of military success, Lincoln faced a crisis. He was + carried through the crisis by two strong men. Sumner, head and front of + Abolitionism but also a great lawyer, came at once to his assistance. And + what could a thinking Abolitionist say after that! Seward skilfully saved + the face of the government by his management of the negotiation. The + envoys were released and sent to England. + </p> + <p> + It was the only thing to do, but Chandler and all his sort had opposed it. + The Abolition fury against the government was at fever heat. Wendell + Phillips in a speech at New York denounced the Administration as having no + definite purpose in the war, and was interrupted by frantic cheers for + Fremont. McClellan, patiently drilling his army, was, in the eyes of the + Jacobins, doing nothing. Congress had assembled. There was every sign that + troubled waters lay just ahead. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIX. THE JACOBINS BECOME INQUISITORS + </h2> + <p> + The temper animating Hay's "Jacobins" formed a new and really formidable + danger which menaced Lincoln at the close of 1861. But had he been + anything of an opportunist, it would have offered him an unrivaled + opportunity. For a leader who sought personal power, this raging savagery, + with its triple alliance of an organized political machine, a devoted + fanaticism, and the war fury, was a chance in ten thousand. It led to his + door the steed of militarism, shod and bridled, champing upon the bit, and + invited him to leap into the saddle. Ten words of acquiescence in the + program of the Jacobins, and the dreaded role of the man on horseback was + his to command. + </p> + <p> + The fallacy that politics are primarily intellectual decisions upon stated + issues, the going forth of the popular mind to decide between programs + presented to it by circumstances, receives a brilliant refutation in the + course of the powerful minority that was concentrating around the three + great "Jacobins." The subjective side of politics, also the temperamental + side, here found expression. Statecraft is an art; creative statesmen are + like other artists. Just as the painter or the poet, seizing upon old + subjects, uses them as outlets for his particular temper, his particular + emotion, and as the temper, the emotion are what counts in his work, so + with statesmen, with Lincoln on the one hand, with Chandler at the + opposite extreme. + </p> + <p> + The Jacobins stood first of all for the sudden reaction of bold fierce + natures from a long political repression. They had fought their way to + leadership as captains of an opposition. They were artists who had been + denied an opportunity of expression. By a sudden turn of fortune, it had + seemed to come within their grasp. Temperamentally they were fighters. + Battle for them was an end in itself. The thought of Conquest sang to them + like the morning stars. Had they been literary men, their favorite poetry + would have been the sacking of Troy town. Furthermore, they were intensely + provincial. Undoubted as was their courage, they had also the valor of + ignorance. They had the provincial's disdain for the other side of the + horizon, his unbounded confidence in his ability to whip all creation. + Chandler, scornfully brushing aside a possible foreign war, typified their + mood. + </p> + <p> + And in quiet veto of all their hopes rose against them the apparently + easy-going, the smiling, story-telling, unrevengeful, new man at the White + House. It is not to be wondered that they spent the summer laboring to + build up a party against him, that they turned eagerly to the new session + of Congress, hoping to consolidate a faction opposed to Lincoln. + </p> + <p> + His second message (1), though without a word of obvious defiance, set him + squarely against them on all their vital contentions. The winter of + 1861-1862 is the strangest period of Lincoln's career. Although the two + phases of him, the outer and the inner, were, in point of fact, moving + rapidly toward their point of fusion, apparently they were further away + than ever before. Outwardly, his most conspicuous vacillations were in + this winter and in the following spring. Never before or after did he + allow himself to be overshadowed so darkly by his advisers in all the + concerns of action. In amazing contrast, in all the concerns of thought, + he was never more entirely himself. The second message, prepared when the + country rang with what seemed to be a general frenzy against him, did not + give ground one inch. This was all the more notable because his Secretary + of War had tried to force his hand. Cameron had the reputation of being + about the most astute politician in America. Few people attributed to him + the embarrassment of principles. And Cameron, in the late autumn, after + closely observing the drift of things, determined that Fremont had hit it + off correctly, that the crafty thing to do was to come out for Abolition + as a war policy. In a word, he decided to go over to the Jacobins. He put + into his annual report a recommendation of Chandler's plan for organizing + an army of freed slaves and sending it against the Confederacy. Advanced + copies of this report had been sent to the press before Lincoln knew of + it. He peremptorily ordered their recall, and the exclusion of this + suggestion from the text of the report.(2) + </p> + <p> + On the heels of this refusal to concede to Chandler one of his cherished + schemes, the second message was sent to Congress. The watchful and + exasperated Jacobins found abundant offense in its omissions. On the whole + great subject of possible emancipation it was blankly silent. The nearest + it came to this subject was one suggestion which applied only to those + captured slaves who had been forfeited by the disloyal owners through + being employed to assist the Confederate government Lincoln advised that + after receiving their freedom they be sent out of the country and + colonized "at some place, or places, in a climate congenial to them." + Beyond this there was nothing bearing on the slavery question except the + admonition—so unsatisfactory to Chandler and all his sort—that + while "the Union must be preserved, and hence all indispensable means must + be employed," Congress should "not be in haste to determine that radical + and extreme measures, which may reach the loyal as well as the disloyal, + are indispensable." + </p> + <p> + Lincoln was entirely clear in his own mind that there was but one way to + head off the passion of destruction that was rioting in the Jacobin + temper. "In considering the policy to be adopted in suppressing the + insurrection, I have been anxious and careful that the inevitable conflict + for this purpose shall not degenerate into a violent and remorseless + revolutionary struggle. I have, therefore, in every case, thought it + proper to keep the integrity of the Union prominent as the primary object + of the contest on our part, leaving all questions which are not of vital + military importance to the more deliberate action of the Legislature." He + persisted in regarding the war as an insurrection of the "disloyal portion + of the American people," not as an external struggle between the North and + the South. + </p> + <p> + Finally, the culmination of the message was a long elaborate argument upon + the significance of the war to the working classes. His aim was to show + that the whole trend of the Confederate movement was toward a conclusion + which would "place capital on an equal footing with, if not above, labor, + in the structure of government." Thus, as so often before, he insisted on + his own view of the significance in American politics of all issues + involving slavery—their bearing on the condition of the free + laborer. In a very striking passage, often overlooked, he ranked himself + once more, as first of all, a statesman of "the people," in the limited + class sense of the term. "Labor is prior to and independent of capital. + Capital is only the fruit of labor and could never have existed if labor + had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much + the higher consideration." But so far is he from any revolutionary + purpose, that he adds immediately, "Capital has its rights which are as + worthy of protection as any other rights." His crowning vision is not + communism. His ideal world is one of universal opportunity, with labor + freed of every hindrance, with all its deserving members acquiring more + and more of the benefits of property. + </p> + <p> + Such a message had no consolation for Chandler, Wade, or, as he then was, + for Trumbull. They looked about for a way to retaliate. And now two things + became plain. That "agitation of the summer" to which Hay refers, had + borne fruit, but not enough fruit. Many members of Congress who had been + swept along by the President's policy in July had been won over in the + reaction against him and were ripe for manipulation; but it was not yet + certain that they held the balance of power in Congress. To lock horns + with the Administration, in December, would have been so rash a move that + even such bold men as Chandler and Wade avoided it. Instead, they devised + an astute plan of campaign. Trumbull was Chairman of the Senate Judiciary + Committee, and in that important position would bide his time to bring + pressure to bear on the President through his influence upon legislation. + Wade and Chandler would go in for propaganda. But they would do so in + disguise. What more natural than that Congress should take an active + interest in the army, should wish to do all in its power to "assist" the + President in rendering the army-efficient. For that purpose it was + proposed to establish a joint committee of the two Houses having no + function but to look into military needs and report to Congress. The + proposal was at once accepted and its crafty backers secured a committee + dominated entirely by themselves. Chandler was a member; Wade became + Chairman.(3) This Committee on the Conduct of the War became at once an + inquisition. Though armed with no weapon but publicity, its close + connection with congressional intrigue, its hostility to the President, + the dramatic effect of any revelations it chose to make or any charges it + chose to bring, clothed it indirectly with immense power. Its inner + purpose may be stated in the words of one of its members, "A more vigorous + prosecution of the war and less tenderness toward slavery."(4) Its mode of + procedure was in constant interrogation of generals, in frequent advice to + the President, and on occasion in threatening to rouse Congress against + him.(5) A session of the Committee was likely to be followed by a call on + the President of either Chandler or Wade. + </p> + <p> + The Committee began immediately summoning generals before it to explain + what the army was doing. And every general was made to understand that + what the Committee wanted, what Congress wanted, what the country wanted, + was an advance—"something doing" as soon as possible. + </p> + <p> + And now appeared another characteristic of the mood of these furious men. + They had become suspicious, honestly suspicious. This suspiciousness grew + with their power and was rendered frantic by being crossed. Whoever + disagreed with them was instantly an object of distrust; any plan that + contradicted their views was at once an evidence of treason. + </p> + <p> + The earliest display of this eagerness to see traitors in every bush + concerned a skirmish that took place at Ball's Bluff in Virginia. It was + badly managed and the Federal loss, proportionately, was large. The + officer held responsible was General Stone. Unfortunately for him, he was + particularly obnoxious to the Abolitionists; he had returned fugitive + slaves; and when objection was made by such powerful Abolitionists as + Governor Andrew of Massachusetts, Stone gave reign to a sharp tongue. In + the early days of the session, Roscoe Conkling told the story of Ball's + Bluff for the benefit of Congress in a brilliant, harrowing speech. In a + flash the rumor spread that the dead at Ball's Bluff were killed by + design, that Stone was a traitor, that—perhaps!—who could say?—there + were bigger traitors higher up. Stone was summoned before the + Inquisition.(6) + </p> + <p> + While Stone was on the rack, metaphorically, while the Committee was + showing him every brutality in its power, refusing to acquaint him with + the evidence against him, intimating that they were able to convict him of + treason, between the fifth and the eleventh of January a crisis arose in + the War Office. Cameron had failed to ingratiate himself with the rising + powers. Old political enemies in Congress were implacable. Scandals in his + Department gave rise to sweeping charges of peculation. + </p> + <p> + There is scarcely another moment when Lincoln's power was so precarious. + In one respect, in their impatience, the Committee reflected faithfully + the country at large. And by the irony of fate McClellan at this crucial + hour, had fallen ill. After waiting for his recovery during several weeks, + Lincoln ventured with much hesitation to call a conference of generals.(7) + They were sitting during the Stone investigation, producing no result + except a distraction in councils, devising plans that were thrown over the + moment the Commanding General arose from his bed. A vote in Congress a few + days previous had amounted to a censure of the Administration. It was + taken upon the Crittenden Resolution which had been introduced a second + time. Of those who had voted for it in July, so many now abandoned the + Administration that this resolution, the clear embodiment of Lincoln's + policy, was laid on the table, seventy-one to sixty-five.(8) Lincoln's + hope for an all-parties government was receiving little encouragement The + Democrats were breaking into factions, while the control of their party + organization was falling into the hands of a group of inferior politicians + who were content to "play politics" in the most unscrupulous fashion. Both + the Secretary of War and the Secretary of State had authorized arbitrary + arrests. Men in New York and New England had been thrown into prison. The + privilege of the writ of habeas corpus had been denied them on the mere + belief of the government that they were conspiring with its enemies. + Because of these arrests, sharp criticism was being aimed at the + Administration both within and without Congress. + </p> + <p> + For all these reasons, the government at Washington appeared to be + tottering. Desperate remedies seemed imperative. Lincoln decided to make + every concession he could make without letting go his central purpose. + First, he threw over Cameron; he compelled him to resign though he saved + his face by appointing him minister to Russia. But who was to take his + place? At this critical moment, the choice of a new Secretary of War was a + political problem of exacting difficulty. Just why Lincoln chose a sullen, + dictatorial lawyer whose experience in no way prepared him for the office, + has never been disclosed. Two facts appear to explain it. Edwin M. Stanton + was temperamentally just the man to become a good brother to Chandler and + Wade. Both of them urged him upon Lincoln as successor to Cameron.(9) + Furthermore, Stanton hitherto had been a Democrat. His services in + Buchanan's Cabinet as Attorney-General had made him a national figure. Who + else linked the Democrats and the Jacobins? + </p> + <p> + However, for almost any one but Lincoln, there was an objection that it + would have been hard to overcome. No one has ever charged Stanton with + politeness. A gloomy excitable man, of uncertain health, temperamentally + an over-worker, chronically apprehensive, utterly without the saving grace + of humor, he was capable of insufferable rudeness—one reason, + perhaps, why Chandler liked him. He and Lincoln had met but once. As + associate council in a case at Cincinnati, three years before, Lincoln had + been treated so contemptuously by Stanton that he had returned home in + pained humiliation. Since his inauguration, Stanton had been one of his + most vituperative critics. Was this insolent scold to be invited into the + Cabinet? Had not Lincoln at this juncture been in the full tide of + selflessness, surely some compromise would have been made with the + Committee, a secretary found less offensive personally to the President. + Lincoln disregarded the personal consideration. The candidate of Chandler + and Wade became secretary. It was the beginning of an intimate alliance + between the Committee and the War Office. Lincoln had laid up for himself + much trouble that he did not foresee. + </p> + <p> + The day the new Secretary took office, he received from the Committee a + report upon General Stone:(10) Subsequently, in the Senate, Wade denied + that the Committee had advised the arrest of Stone.(11) Doubtless the + statement was technically correct. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt + that the inquisitors were wholly in sympathy with the Secretary when, + shortly afterward, Stone was seized upon Stanton's order, conveyed to a + fortress and imprisoned without trial. + </p> + <p> + This was the Dreyfus case of the Civil War. Stone was never tried and + never vindicated. He was eventually released upon parole and after many + tantalizing disappointments permitted to rejoin the army. What gives the + event significance is its evidence of the power, at that moment, of the + Committee, and of the relative weakness of the President. Lincoln's + eagerness to protect condemned soldiers survives in many anecdotes. Hay + confides to his diary that he was sometimes "amused at the eagerness with + which the President caught at any fact which would justify" clemency. And + yet, when Stanton informed him of the arrest of Stone, he gloomily + acquiesced. "I hope you have good reasons for it," he said. Later he + admitted that he knew very little about the case. But he did not order + Stone's release. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln had his own form of ruthlessness. The selfless man, by dealing + with others in the same extraordinary way in which he deals with himself, + may easily under the pressure of extreme conditions become impersonal in + his thinking upon duty. The morality of such a state of mind is a question + for the philosopher. The historian must content himself with pointing out + the only condition that redeems it—if anything redeems it The leader + who thinks impersonally about others and personally about himself-what + need among civilized people to characterize him? Borgia, Louis XIV, + Napoleon. If we are ever to pardon impersonal thinking it is only in the + cases of men who begin by effacing themselves. The Lincoln who accepted + Stanton as a Cabinet officer, who was always more or less overshadowed by + the belief that in saving the government he was himself to perish, is + explicable, at least, when individual men became for him, as at times they + did, impersonal factors in a terrible dream. + </p> + <p> + There are other considerations in the attempt to give a moral value to his + failure to interfere in behalf of Stone. The first four months of 1862 are + not only his feeblest period as a ruler, the period when he was barely + able to hold his own, but also the period when he was least definite as a + personality, when his courage and his vitality seemed ebbing tides. Again, + his spirit was in eclipse. Singularly enough, this was the darkness before + the dawn. June of 1862 saw the emergence, with a suddenness difficult to + explain, of the historic Lincoln. But in January of that year he was + facing downward into the mystery of his last eclipse. All the dark places + of his heredity must be searched for clues to this strange experience. + There are moments, especially under strain of a personal bereavement that + fell upon him in February, when his will seemed scarcely a reality; when, + as a directing force he may be said momentarily to have vanished; when he + is hardly more than a ghost among his advisers. The far-off existence of + weak old Thomas cast its parting shadow across his son's career. + </p> + <p> + However, even our Dreyfus case drew from Lincoln another display of that + settled conviction of his that part of his function was to be scapegoat. + "I serve," which in a way might be taken as his motto always, was + peculiarly his motto, and likewise his redemption, in this period of his + weakness. The enemies of the Committee in Congress took the matter up and + denounced Stanton. Thereupon, Wade flamed forth, criticizing Lincoln for + his leniency, venting his fury on all those who were tender of their + enemies, storming that "mercy to traitors is cruelty to loyal men."(12) + Lincoln replied neither to Wade nor to his antagonists; but, without + explaining the case, without a word upon the relation to it of the + Secretary and the Committee, he informed the Senate that the President was + alone responsible for the arrest and imprisonment of General Stone.(13) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XX. IS CONGRESS THE PRESIDENT'S MASTER? + </h2> + <p> + The period of Lincoln's last eclipse is a period of relative silence. But + his mind was not inactive. He did not cease thinking upon the deep + theoretical distinctions that were separating him by a steadily widening + chasm from the most powerful faction in Congress. In fact, his mental + powers were, if anything, more keen than ever before. Probably, it was the + very clearness of the mental vision that enfeebled him when it came to + action. He saw his difficulties with such crushing certainty. During this + trying period there is in him something of Hamlet. + </p> + <p> + The reaction to his ideas, to what is either expressed or implied, in the + first and second messages, was prompt to appear. The Jacobins did not + confine their activities within the scope of the terrible Committee. Wade + and Chandler worked assiduously undermining his strength in Congress. + Trumbull, though always less extreme than they, was still the victim of + his delusion that Lincoln was a poor creature, that the only way to save + the country was to go along with those grim men of strength who dominated + the Committee. In January, a formidable addition appeared in the ranks of + Lincoln's opponents. Thaddeus Stevens made a speech in the House that + marks a chapter. It brought to a head a cloud of floating opposition and + dearly defined an issue involving the central proposition in Lincoln's + theory of the government. The Constitution of the United States, in its + detailed provisions, is designed chiefly to meet the exigencies of peace. + With regard to the abnormal conditions of war, it is relatively silent. + Certain "war powers" are recognized but not clearly defined; nor is it + made perfectly plain what branch of the government possesses them. The + machinery for their execution is assumed but not described—as when + the Constitution provides that the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus + are to be suspended only in time of war, but does not specify by whom, or + in what way, the suspension is to be effected. Are those undefined "war + powers," which are the most sovereign functions of our government, vested + in Congress or in the President? Lincoln, from the moment he defined his + policy, held tenaciously to the theory that all these extraordinary powers + are vested in the President. By implication, at least, this idea is in the + first message. Throughout the latter part of 1861, he put the theory into + practice. Whatever seemed to him necessary in a state of war, he did, even + to the arresting of suspected persons, refusing them the privilege-of the + habeas corpus, and retaining them in prison without trial. During 1861, he + left the exercise of this sovereign authority to the discretion of the two + Secretaries of War and of State. + </p> + <p> + Naturally, the Abolitionists, the Jacobins, the Democratic machine, + conscientious believers in the congressional theory of the government, + every one who for any reason, wanted to hit the Administration, united in + a chorus of wrath over arbitrary arrests. The greatest orator of the time, + Wendell Phillips, the final voice of Abolition, flayed the government in + public speeches for reducing America to an absolute despotism. Trumbull + introduced into the Senate a resolution calling upon the President for a + statement of the facts as to what he had actually done.(1) + </p> + <p> + But the subject of arrests was but the prelude to the play. The real issue + was the theory of the government. Where in last analysis does the + Constitution place the ultimate powers of sovereignty, the war powers? In + Congress or in the President? Therefore, in concrete terms, is Congress + the President's master, or is it only one branch of the government with a + definite but united activity of its own, without that sweeping sovereign + authority which in course of time has been acquired by its parent body, + the Parliament of Great Britain? + </p> + <p> + On this point Lincoln never wavered. From first to last, he was determined + not to admit that Congress had the powers of Parliament. No sooner had the + politicians made out this attitude than their attack on it began. It did + not cease until Lincoln's death. It added a second constitutional question + to the issues of the war. Not only the issue whether a State had a right + to secede, but also the issue of the President's possession of the war + powers of the Constitution. Time and again the leaders of disaffection in + his own party, to say nothing of the violent Democrats, exhausted their + rhetoric denouncing Lincoln's position. They did not deny themselves the + delights of the sneer. Senator Grimes spoke of a call on the President as + an attempt "to approach the footstool of power enthroned at the other end + of the Avenue."(2) Wade expanded the idea: "We ought to have a committee + to wait on him whenever we send him a bill, to know what his royal + pleasure is with regard to it. . . . We are told that some gentlemen . . . + have been to see the President. Some gentlemen are very fortunate in that + respect. Nobody can see him, it seems, except some privileged gentlemen + who are charged with his constitutional conscience."(3) As Lincoln kept + his doors open to all the world, as no one came and went with greater + freedom than the Chairman of the Committee, the sneer was-what one might + expect of the Committee. Sumner said: "I claim for Congress all that + belongs to any government in the exercise of the rights of war." + Disagreement with him, he treated with unspeakable disdain: "Born in + ignorance and pernicious in consequence, it ought to be received with + hissings of contempt, and just in proportion as it obtains acceptance, + with execration."(4) Henry Wilson declared that, come what might, the + policy of the Administration would be shaped by the two Houses. "I had + rather give a policy to the President of the United States than take a + policy from the President of the United States."(5) Trumbull thundered + against the President's theory as the last word in despotism.(6) + </p> + <p> + Such is the mental perspective in which to regard the speech of Stevens of + January 22, 1862. With masterly clearness, he put his finger on the heart + of the matter: the exceptional problems of a time of war, problems that + can not be foreseen and prepared for by anticipatory legislation, may be + solved in but one way, by the temporary creation of the dictator; this is + as true of modern America as of ancient Rome; so far, most people are + agreed; but this extraordinary function must not be vested in the + Executive; on the contrary, it must be, it is, vested in the Legislature. + Stevens did not hesitate to push his theory to its limit. He was not + afraid of making the Legislature in time of war the irresponsible judge of + its own acts. Congress, said he, has all possible powers of government, + even the dictator's power; it could declare itself a dictator; under + certain circumstances he was willing that it should do so.(7) + </p> + <p> + The intellectual boldness of Lincoln was matched by an equal boldness. + Between them, he and Stevens had perfectly defined their issue. Granted + that a dictator was needed, which should it be—the President or + Congress? + </p> + <p> + In the hesitancy at the White House during the last eclipse, in the public + distress and the personal grief, Lincoln withheld himself from this + debate. No great utterances break the gloom of this period. Nevertheless, + what may be considered his reply to Stevens is to be found. Buried in the + forgotten portions of the Congressional Globe is a speech that surely was + inspired-or, if not directly inspired, so close a reflection of the + President's thinking that it comes to the same thing at the end. + </p> + <p> + Its author, or apparent author, was one of the few serene figures in that + Thirty-Seventh Congress which was swept so pitilessly by epidemics of + passion. When Douglas, after coming out valiantly for the Union and + holding up Lincoln's hands at the hour of crisis, suddenly died, the + Illinois Legislature named as his successor in the Senate, Orville Henry + Browning. The new Senator was Lincoln's intimate friend. Their points of + view, their temperaments were similar. Browning shared Lincoln's + magnanimity, his hatred of extremes, his eagerness not to allow the war to + degenerate into revolution. In the early part of 1862 he was Lincoln's + spokesman in the Senate. Now that the temper of Wade and Chandler, the + ruthlessness that dominated the Committee, had drawn unto itself such a + cohort of allies; now that all their thinking had been organized by a + fearless mind; there was urgent need for a masterly reply. Did Lincoln + feel unequal, at the moment, to this great task? Very probably he did. + Anyhow, it was Browning who made the reply,(8) a reply so exactly in his + friend's vein, that—there you are! + </p> + <p> + His aim was to explain the nature of those war powers of the government + "which lie dormant during time of peace," and therefore he frankly put the + question, "Is Congress the government?" Senator Fessenden, echoing Stevens + had said, "There is no limit on the powers of Congress; everything must + yield to the force of martial law as resolved by Congress." "There, sir," + said Browning, "is as broad and deep a foundation for absolute despotism + as was ever laid." He rang the changes on the need to "protect minorities + from the oppression and tyranny of excited majorities." + </p> + <p> + He went on to lay the basis of all Lincoln's subsequent defense of the + presidential theory as opposed to the congressional theory, by formulating + two propositions which reappear in some of Lincoln's most famous papers. + Congress is not a safe vessel for extraordinary powers, because in our + system we have difficulty in bringing it definitely to an account under + any sort of plebiscite. On the other hand the President, if he abuses the + war powers "when peace returns, is answerable to the civil power for that + abuse." + </p> + <p> + But Browning was not content to reason on generalities. Asserting that + Congress could no more command the army than it could adjudicate a case, + he further asserted that the Supreme Court had settled the matter and had + lodged the war powers in the President. He cited a decision called forth + by the legal question, "Can a Circuit Court of the United States inquire + whether a President had acted rightly in calling out the militia of a + State to suppress an insurrection?" "The elevated office of the + President," said the Court, "chosen as he is by the People of the United + States, and the high responsibility he could not fail to feel when acting + in a case of such moment, appear to furnish as strong safeguards against + the wilful abuse of power as human prudence and foresight could well + devise. At all events, it is conferred upon him by the Constitution and + the laws of the United States, and therefore, must be respected and + enforced in its judicial tribunals."(9) + </p> + <p> + Whether or not constitutional lawyers would agree with Browning in the + conclusion he drew from this decision, it was plainly the bed rock of his + thought. He believed that the President—whatever your mere historian + might have to say—was in point of fact the exponent of the people as + a whole, and therefore the proper vessel for the ultimate rights of a + sovereign, rights that only the people possess, that only the people can + delegate. And this was Lincoln's theory. Roughly speaking, he-conceived of + the presidential office about as if it were the office of Tribune of the + People. + </p> + <p> + There was still another reason why both Lincoln and Browning feared to + yield anything to the theory of congressional supremacy. It was, in their + minds, not only the general question of all Congresses but immediately of + this particular Congress. An assembly in which the temper of Wade and + Chandler, of Stevens and Sumner, was entering the ascendent, was an + assembly to be feared; its supremacy was to be denied, its power was to be + fought. + </p> + <p> + Browning did not close without a startling passage flung square in the + teeth of the apostles of fury. He summed up the opposite temper, Lincoln's + temper, in his description of "Our brethren of the South—for I am + willing to call them brethren; my heart yet yearns toward them with a + fervency of love which even their treason has not all extinguished, which + tempts me constantly to say in their behalf, 'Father, forgive them, for + they know not what they do.'" He pleaded with the Senate not to consider + them "as public enemies but as insurgent citizens only," and advocated an + Act of Amnesty restoring all political and property rights "instantly upon + their return to allegiance and submission to the authority of the + government." + </p> + <p> + Had this narrowly constitutional issue arisen in quiet times, who can say + how slight might have been its significance? But Fate had decreed that it + should arise in the stormiest moment of our history. Millions of men and + women who cared nothing for constitutional theories, who were governed by + that passion to see immediate results which the thoughtless ever confuse + with achievement, these were becoming hysterical over delay. Why did not + the government do something? Everywhere voices were raised accusing the + President of cowardice. The mania of suspicion was not confined to the + Committee. The thoughts of a multitude were expressed by Congressman + Hickman in his foolish words, "These are days of irresponsibility and + imbecility, and we are required to perform two offices—the office of + legislator and the office of President." The better part of a year had + passed since the day of Sumter, and still the government had no military + success to its credit. An impetuous people that lacked experience of war, + that had been accustomed in unusual measure to have its wishes speedily + gratified, must somehow be marshalled behind the government, unless the + alternative was the capture of power by the Congressional Cabal that was + forming against the President. + </p> + <p> + Entering upon the dark days of the first half of 1862, Lincoln had no + delusions about the task immediately before him. He must win battles; + otherwise, he saw no way of building up that popular support which alone + would enable him to keep the direction of policy in the hands of the + Executive, to keep it out of the hands of Congress. In a word, the + standing or falling of his power appeared to have been committed to the + keeping of the army. What the army would do with it, save his policy or + wreck his policy, was to no small degree a question of the character and + the abilities of the Commanding General. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXI. THE STRUGGLE TO CONTROL THE ARMY + </h2> + <p> + George Brinton McClellan, when at the age of thirty-four he was raised + suddenly to a dizzying height of fame and power, was generally looked upon + as a prodigy. Though he was not that, he had a real claim to distinction. + Had destiny been considerate, permitting him to rise gradually and to + mature as he rose, he might have earned a stable reputation high among + those who are not quite great. He had done well at West Point, and as a + very young officer in the Mexican War; he had represented his country as a + military observer with the allies in the Crimea; he was a good engineer, + and a capable man of business. His winning personality, until he went + wrong in the terrible days of 1862, inspired "a remarkable affection and + regard in every one from the President to the humblest orderly that waited + at his door."(1) He was at home among books; he could write to his wife + that Prince Napoleon "speaks English very much as the Frenchmen do in the + old English comedies";(2) he was able to converse in "French, Spanish, + Italian, German, in two Indian dialects and he knew a little Russian and + Turkish." Men like Wade and Chandler probably thought of him as a + "highbrow," and doubtless he irritated them by invariably addressing the + President as "Your Excellency." He had the impulses as well as the + traditions of an elder day. But he had three insidious defects. At the + back of his mind there was a vein of theatricality, hitherto unrevealed, + that might, under sufficient stimulus, transform him into a poseur. Though + physically brave, he had in his heart, unsuspected by himself or others, + the dread of responsibility. He was void of humor. These damaging + qualities, brought out and exaggerated by too swift a rise to apparent + greatness, eventually worked his ruin. As an organizer he was + unquestionably efficient. His great achievement which secures him a + creditable place in American history was the conversion in the autumn of + 1861 of a defeated rabble and a multitude of raw militia into a splendid + fighting machine. The very excellence of this achievement was part of his + undoing. It was so near to magical that it imposed on himself, gave him a + false estimate of himself, hid from him his own limitation. It imposed + also on his enemies. Crude, fierce men like the Vindictive leaders of + Congress, seeing this miracle take place so astoundingly soon, leaped at + once to the conclusion that he could, if he would, follow it by another + miracle. Having forged the thunderbolt, why could he not, if he chose, + instantly smite and destroy? All these hasty inexperienced zealots labored + that winter under the delusion that one great battle might end the war. + When McClellan, instead of rushing to the front, entered his second phase—the + one which he did not understand himself, which his enemies never + understood—when he entered upon his long course of procrastination, + the Jacobins, startled, dumfounded, casting about for reasons, could find + in their unanalytical vision, but one. When Jove did not strike, it must + be because Jove did not wish to strike. McClellan was delaying for a + purpose. Almost instantaneous was the whisper, followed quickly by the + outcry among the Jacobins, "Treachery! We are betrayed. He is in league + with the enemy." + </p> + <p> + Their distrust was not allayed by the manner in which he conducted + himself. His views of life and of the office of commanding general were + not those of frontier America. He believed in pomp, in display, in an + ordered routine. The fine weather of the autumn of 1861 was utilized at + Washington for frequent reviews. The flutter of flags, the glint of + marching bayonets, the perfectly ordered rhythm of marching feet, the + blare of trumpets, the silvery notes of the bugles, the stormily rolling + drums, all these filled with martial splendor the golden autumn air when + the woods were falling brown. And everywhere, it seemed, look where one + might, a sumptuously uniformed Commanding General, and a numerous and + sumptuous staff, were galloping past, mounted on beautiful horses. Plain, + blunt men like the Jacobins, caring nothing for this ritual of command, + sneered. They exchanged stories of the elaborate dinners he was said to + give daily, the several courses, the abundance of wine, the numerous + guests; and after these dinners, he and his gorgeous staff, "clattering up + and down the public streets" merely to show themselves off. All this + sneering was wildly exaggerated. The mania of exaggeration, the mania of + suspicion, saturated the mental air breathed by every politician at + Washington, that desperate winter, except the great and lonely President + and the cynical Secretary of State. + </p> + <p> + McClellan made no concessions to the temper of the hour. With Lincoln, his + relations at first were cordial. Always he was punctiliously respectful to + "His Excellency." It is plain that at first Lincoln liked him and that his + liking was worn away slowly. It is equally plain that Lincoln did not know + how to deal with him. The tendency to pose was so far from anything in + Lincoln's make-up that it remained for him, whether in McClellan or + another, unintelligible. That humility which was so conspicuous in this + first period of his rule, led him to assume with his General a modest, + even an appealing tone. The younger man began to ring false by failing to + appreciate it. He even complained of it in a letter to his wife. The + military ritualist would have liked a more Olympian superior. And there is + no denying that his head was getting turned. Perhaps he had excuse. The + newspapers printed nonsensical editorials praising "the young Napoleon." + His mail was filled with letters urging him to carry things with a high + hand; disregard, if necessary, the pusillanimous civil government, and + boldly "save the country." He had so little humor that he could take this + stuff seriously. Among all the foolish letters which the executors of + famous men have permitted to see the light of publicity, few outdo a + letter of McClellan's in which he confided to his wife that he was willing + to become dictator, should that be the only way out, and then, after + saving his country, to perish.(3) + </p> + <p> + In this lordly mood of the melodramatic, he gradually—probably + without knowing it—became inattentive to the President. Lincoln used + to go to his house to consult him, generally on foot, clad in very + ordinary clothes. He was known to sit in McClellan's library "rather + unnoticed" awaiting the General's pleasure.(4) + </p> + <p> + At last the growing coolness of McClellan went so far that an event + occurred which Hay indignantly set down in his diary: "I wish here to + record what I consider a portent of evil to come. The President, Governor + Seward and I went over to McClellan's house tonight. The servant at the + door said the General was at the wedding of Colonel Wheaton at General + Buell's and would soon return. We went in and after we had waited about an + hour, McClellan came in, and without paying particular attention to the + porter who told him the President was waiting to see him, went up-stairs, + passing the door of the room where the President and the Secretary of + State were seated. They waited about half an hour, and sent once more a + servant to tell the General they were there; and the answer came that the + General had gone to bed. + </p> + <p> + "I merely record this unparalleled insolence of epaulettes without comment + It is the first indication I have yet seen of the threatened supremacy of + the military authorities. Coming home, I spoke to the President about the + matter, but he seemed not to have noticed it specially, saying it were + better at this time not to be making points of etiquette and personal + dignity."(5) + </p> + <p> + Did ever a subordinate, even a general, administer to a superior a more + astounding snub? To Lincoln in his selfless temper, it was Only a detail + in his problem of getting the army into action. What room for personal + affronts however gross in a mood like his? To be sure he ceased going to + McClellan's house, and thereafter summoned McClellan to come to him, but + no change appeared in the tone of his intercourse with the General. "I + will hold McClellan's horse," said he, "if he will win me victories."(6) + </p> + <p> + All this while, the two were debating plans of campaign and McClellan was + revealing-as we now see, though no one saw it at the time-the deep dread + of responsibility that was destined to paralyze him as an active general. + He was never ready. Always, there must be more preparation, more men, more + this, more that. + </p> + <p> + In January, 1862, Lincoln, grown desperate because of hope deferred, made + the first move of a sort that was to be lamentably frequent the next six + months. He went over the head of the Commanding General, and, in order to + force a result, evoked a power not recognized in the military scheme of + things. By this time the popular adulation of McClellan was giving place + to a general imitation of the growling of the Jacobins, now well organized + in the terrible Committee and growing each day more and more hostile to + the Administration. Lincoln had besought McClellan to take into account + the seriousness of this rising tide of opposition.(7) His arguments made + no impression. McClellan would not recognize the political side of war. At + last, partly to allay the popular clamor, partly to force McClellan into a + corner, Lincoln published to the country a military program. He publicly + instructed the Commanding General to put all his forces in movement on all + fronts, on Washington's birthday.(8) + </p> + <p> + From this moment the debate between the President and the General with + regard to plans of campaign approached the nature of a dispute. McClellan + repeated his demand for more time in which to prepare. He objected to the + course of advance which the President wished him to pursue. Lincoln, + seeing the situation first of all as a political problem, grounded his + thought upon two ideas neither of which was shared by McClellan: the idea + that the supreme consideration was the safety of Washington; the resultant + idea that McClellan should move directly south, keeping his whole army + constantly between Washington and the enemy. McClellan wished to treat + Washington as but one important detail in his strategy; he had a grandiose + scheme for a wide flanking movement, for taking the bulk of his army by + sea to the coast of Virginia, and thus to draw the Confederate army + homeward for a duel to the death under the walls of Richmond. Lincoln, + neither then nor afterward more than an amateur in strategy, was deeply + alarmed by this bold mode of procedure. His political instinct told him + that if there was any slip and Washington was taken, even briefly, by the + Confederates, the game was up. He was still further alarmed when he found + that some of the eider generals held views resembling his own.(9) To his + modest, still groping mind, this was a trying situation. In the President + lay the ultimate responsibility for every move the army should make. And + whose advice should he accept as authoritative? The first time he asked + himself that question, such peace of mind as had survived the harassing + year 1861 left him, not to return for many a day. + </p> + <p> + At this moment of crises, occurred one of his keenest personal + afflictions. His little son Willie sickened and died. Lincoln's relation + to his children was very close, very tender. Many anecdotes show this boy + frolicking about the White House, a licensed intruder everywhere. Another + flood of anecdotes preserve the stupefying grief of his father after the + child's death. Of these latter, the most extreme which portray Lincoln + toward the close of February so unnerved as to be incapable of public + duty, may be dismissed as apocryphal. But there can be no doubt that his + unhappiness was too great for the vain measurement of descriptive words; + that it intensified the nervous mood which had already possessed him; that + anxiety, deepening at times into terrible alarm, became his constant + companion. + </p> + <p> + In his dread and sorrow, his dilemma grew daily more intolerable. + McClellan had opposed so stoutly the Washington birthday order that + Lincoln had permitted him to ignore it. He was still wavering which advice + to take, McClellan's or the elder generals'. To remove McClellan, to try + at this critical moment some other general, did not occur to him as a + rational possibility. But somehow he felt he must justify himself to + himself for yielding to McClellan' s views. In his zeal to secure some + judgment more authoritative than his own, he took a further step along the + dangerous road of going over the Commander's head, of bringing to bear + upon him influences not strictly included in the military system. He + required McClellan to submit his plan to a council of his general + officers. Lincoln attended this council and told the generals "he was not + a military man and therefore would be governed by the opinion of a + majority."(10) The council decided in McClellan's favor by a vote of eight + to four. This was a disappointment to Lincoln. So firm was his addiction + to the overland route that he could not rest content with the council's + decision. Stanton urged him to disregard it, sneering that the eight who + voted against him were McClellan's creatures, his "pets." But Lincoln + would not risk going against the majority of the council. "We are + civilians," said he, "we should justly be held responsible for any + disaster if we set up our opinions against those of experienced military + men in the practical management of a campaign."(11) + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, from this quandary, in which his reason forced him to do one + thing while all his sensibilities protested, he extricated himself in a + curious way. Throughout the late winter he had been the object of a + concerted attack from Stanton and the Committee. The Committee had tacitly + annexed Stanton. He conferred with them confidentially. At each important + turn of events, he and they always got together in a secret powwow. As + early as February twentieth, when Lincoln seemed to be breaking down with + grief and anxiety, one of those secret conferences of the high + conspirators ended in a determination to employ all their forces, direct + and indirect, to bring about McClellan's retirement. They were all victims + of that mania of suspicion which was the order of the day. "A majority of + the Committee," wrote its best member, long afterward when he had come to + see things in a different light, "strongly suspected that General + McClellan was a traitor." Wade vented his spleen in furious words about + "King McClellan." Unrestrained by Lincoln's anguish, the Committee + demanded a conference a few days after his son's death and threatened an + appeal from President to Congress if he did not quickly force McClellan to + advance.(12) + </p> + <p> + All this while the Committee was airing another grievance. They clamored + to have the twelve divisions of the army of the Potomac grouped into + corps. They gave as their motive, military efficiency. And perhaps they + thought they meant it. But there was a cat in the bag which they carefully + tried to conceal. The generals of divisions formed two distinct groups, + the elder ones who did not owe their elevation to McClellan and the + younger ones who did. The elder generals, it happened, sympathized + generally with the Committee in politics, or at least did not sympathize + with McClellan. The younger generals reflected the politics of their + patron. And McClellan was a Democrat, a hater of the Vindictives, + unsympathetic with Abolition. Therefore, the mania of suspicion being in + full flood, the Committee would believe no good of McClellan when he + opposed advancing the elder generals to the rank of corps commanders. His + explanation that he "wished to test them in the field," was poohpoohed. + Could not any good Jacobin see through that! Of course, it was but an + excuse to hold back the plums until he could drop them into the itching + palms of those wicked Democrats, his "pets." Why should not the good men + and true, elder and therefore better soldiers, whose righteousness was so + well attested by their political leanings, why should not they have the + places of power to which their rank entitled them? + </p> + <p> + Hitherto, however, Lincoln had held out against the Committee's demand and + bad refused to compel McClellan to reorganize his army against his will. + He now observed that in the council which cast the die against the + overland route, the division between the two groups of generals, what we + may call the Lincoln generals and the McClellan generals, was sharply + evident. The next day he issued a general order which organized the army + of the Potomac into corps, and promoted to the rank of corps commanders, + those elder generals whose point of view was similar to his own.(13) + Thereafter, any reference of crucial matters to a council of general + officers, would mean submitting it, not to a dozen commanders of divisions + with McClellan men in the majority, but to four or five commanders of + corps none of whom was definitely of the McClellan faction. Thus McClellan + was virtually put under surveillance of an informal war council + scrutinizing his course from the President's point of view. It was this + reduced council of the subordinates, as will presently appear, that made + the crucial decision of the campaign. + </p> + <p> + On the same day Lincoln issued another general order accepting McClellan's + plan for a flanking movement to the Virginia coast.(14) The Confederate + lines at this time ran through Manassas—the point Lincoln wished + McClellan to strike. It was to be known later that the Confederate General + gave to Lincoln's views the high endorsement of assuming that they were + the inevitable views that the Northern Commander, if he knew his business, + would act upon. Therefore, he had been quietly preparing to withdraw his + army to more defensible positions farther South. By a curious coincidence, + his "strategic retreat" occurred immediately after McClellan had been + given authority to do what he liked. On the ninth of March it was known at + Washington that Manassas had been evacuated. Whereupon, McClellan's fatal + lack of humor permitted him to make a great blunder. The man who had + refused to go to Manassas while the Confederates were there, marched an + army to Manassas the moment he heard that they were gone—and then + marched back again. This performance was instantly fixed upon for ridicule + as McClellan's "promenade to Manassas." + </p> + <p> + To Lincoln the news of the promenade seemed both a vindication of his own + plan and crushing evidence that if he had insisted on his plan, the + Confederate army would have been annihilated, the war in one cataclysm + brought to an end. He was ridden, as most men were, by the delusion of one + terrific battle that was to end all. In a bitterness of disappointment, + his slowly tortured spirit burst into rage. The Committee was delighted. + For once, they approved of him. The next act of this man, ordinarily so + gentle, seems hardly credible. By a stroke of his pen, he stripped + McClellan of the office of Commanding General, reduced him to the rank of + mere head of a local army, the army of the Potomac; furthermore, he + permitted him to hear of his degradation through the heartless medium of + the daily papers.(15) The functions of Commanding General were added to + the duties of the Secretary of War. Stanton, now utterly merciless toward + McClellan, instantly took possession of his office and seized his papers, + for all the world as if he were pouncing upon the effects of a malefactor. + That McClellan was not yet wholly spoiled was shown by the way he received + this blow. It was the McClellan of the old days, the gallant gentleman of + the year 1860, not the poseur of 1861, who wrote at once to Lincoln making + no complaint, saying that his services belonged to his country in whatever + capacity they might be required. + </p> + <p> + Again a council of subordinates was invoked to determine the next move. + McClellan called together the newly made corps commanders and obtained + their approval of a variation of his former plan. He now proposed to use + Fortress Monroe as a base, and thence conduct an attack upon Richmond. + Again, though with a touch of sullenness very rare in Lincoln, the + President acquiesced. But he added a condition to McClellan's plan by + issuing positive orders, March thirteenth, that it should not be carried + out unless sufficient force was left at Washington to render the city + impregnable. + </p> + <p> + During the next few days the Committee must have been quite satisfied with + the President. For him, he was savage. The normal Lincoln, the man of + immeasurable mercy, had temporarily vanished. McClellan's blunder had + touched the one spring that roused the tiger in Lincoln. By letting slip a + chance to terminate the war—as it seemed to that deluded Washington + of March, 1862—McClellan had converted Lincoln from a brooding + gentleness to an incarnation of the last judgment. He told Hay he thought + that in permitting McClellan to retain any command, he had shown him "very + great kindness."(16) Apparently, he had no consciousness that he had been + harsh in the mode of McClellan's abatement, no thought of the fine + manliness of McClellan's reply. + </p> + <p> + During this period of Lincoln's brief vengefulness, Stanton thought that + his time for clearing scores with McClellan had come. He even picked out + the man who was to be rushed over other men's heads to the command of the + army of the Potomac. General Hitchcock, an accomplished soldier of the + regular army, a grandson of Ethan Allen, who had grown old in honorable + service, was summoned to Washington, and was "amazed" by having plumped at + him the question, would he consent to succeed McClellan? Though General + Hitchcock was not without faults—and there is an episode in his + later relations with McClellan which his biographer discreetly omits—he + was a modest man. He refused to consider Stanton's offer. But he consented + to become the confidential adviser of the War Office. This was done after + an interview with Lincoln who impressed on Hitchcock his sense of a great + responsibility and of the fact that he "had no military knowledge" and + that he must have advice.(17) Out of this congested sense of helplessness + in Lincoln, joined with the new labors of the Secretary of War as + executive head of all the armies, grew quickly another of those + ill-omened, extra-constitutional war councils, one more wheel within the + wheels, that were all doing their part to make the whole machine + unworkable; distributing instead of concentrating power. This new council + which came to be known as the Army Board, was made up of the heads of the + Bureaus of the War Department with the addition of Hitchcock as "Advising + General." Of the temper of the Army Board, composed as it was entirely of + the satellites of Stanton, a confession in Hitchcock's diary speaks + volumes. On the evening of the first day of their new relation, Stanton + poured out to him such a quantity of oral evidence of McClellan's + "incompetency" as to make this new recruit for anti-McClellanism "feel + positively sick."(18) + </p> + <p> + By permitting this added source of confusion among his advisers, Lincoln + treated himself much as he had already treated McClellan. By going over + McClellan's head to take advice from his subordinates he had put the + General on a leash; now, by setting Hitchcock and the experts in the seat + of judgment, he virtually, for a short while, put himself on a leash. Thus + had come into tacit but real power three military councils none of which + was recognized as such by law—the Council of the Subordinates behind + McClellan; the Council of the Experts behind Lincoln; the Council of the + Jacobins, called The Committee, behind them all. + </p> + <p> + The political pressure on Lincoln now changed its tack. Its unfailing zeal + to discredit McClellan assumed the form of insisting that he had a secret + purpose in waiting to get his army away from Washington, that he was + scheming to leave the city open to the Confederates, to "uncover" it, as + the soldiers said. By way of focussing the matter on a definite issue, his + enemies demanded that he detach from his army and assign to the defense of + Washington, a division which was supposed to be peculiarly efficient + General Blenker had recruited a sort of "foreign legion," in which were + many daring adventurers who had seen service in European armies. Blenker's + was the division demanded. So determined was the pressure that Lincoln + yielded. However, his brief anger had blown itself out. To continue + vengeful any length of time was for Lincoln impossible. He was again the + normal Lincoln, passionless, tender, fearful of doing an injustice, + weighed down by the sense of responsibility. He broke the news about + Blenker in a personal note to McClellan that was almost apologetic. "I + write this to assure you that I did so with great pain, understanding that + you would wish it otherwise. If you could know the full pressure of the + case, I am confident you would justify it."(19) In conversation, he + assured McClellan that no other portion of his army should be taken from + him.(20) + </p> + <p> + The change in Lincoln's mood exasperated Stanton. He called on his pals in + the Committee for another of those secret confabulations in which both he + and they delighted. Speaking with scorn of Lincoln's return to + magnanimity, he told them that the President had "gone back to his first + love," the traitor McClellan. Probably all those men who wagged their + chins in that conference really believed that McClellan was aiming to + betray them. One indeed, Julian, long afterward had the largeness of mind + to confess his fault and recant. The rest died in their absurd delusion, + maniacs of suspicion to the very end. At the time all of them laid their + heads together—for what purpose? Was it to catch McClellan in a + trap? + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, in obedience to Lincoln's orders of March thirteenth, McClellan + drew up a plan for the defense of Washington. As Hitchcock was now in such + high feather, McClellan sent his plan to the new favorite of the War + Office, for criticism. Hitchcock refused to criticize, and when + McClellan's chief of staff pressed for "his opinion, as an old and + experienced officer," Hitchcock replied that McClellan had had ample + opportunity to know what was needed, and persisted in his refusal.(21) + McClellan asked no further advice and made his arrangements to suit + himself. On April first he took boat at Alexandria for the front. Part of + his army had preceded him. The remainder-except the force he had assigned + to the defense of Washington-was speedily to follow. + </p> + <p> + With McClellan's departure still another devotee of suspicion moves to the + front of the stage. This was General Wadsworth. Early in March, Stanton + had told McClellan that he wanted Wadsworth as commander of the defenses + of Washington. McClellan had protested. Wadsworth was not a military man. + He was a politician turned soldier who had tried to be senator from New + York and failed; tried to be governor and failed; and was destined to try + again to be governor, and again to fail. Why should such a person be + singled out to become responsible for the safety of the capital? Stanton's + only argument was that the appointment of Wadsworth was desirable for + political reasons. He added that it would be made whether McClellan liked + it or not. And made it was.(22) Furthermore, Wadsworth, who had previously + professed friendship for McClellan, promptly joined the ranks of his + enemies. Can any one doubt, Stanton being Stanton, mad with distrust of + McClellan, that Wadsworth was fully informed of McClellan's opposition to + his advancement? + </p> + <p> + On the second of April Wadsworth threw a bomb after the vanishing + McClellan, then aboard his steamer somewhere between Washington and + Fortress Monroe. Wadsworth informed Stanton that McClellan had not carried + out the orders of March thirteenth, that the force he had left at + Washington was inadequate to its safety, that the capital was "uncovered." + Here was a chance for Stanton to bring to bear on Lincoln both those + unofficial councils that were meddling so deeply in the control of the + army. He threw this firebrand of a report among his satellites of the Army + Board and into the midst of the Committee.2(3) + </p> + <p> + It is needless here to go into the furious disputes that ensued-the + accusations, the recriminations, the innuendoes! McClellan stoutly + insisted that he had obeyed both the spirit and the letter of March + thirteenth; that Washington was amply protected. His enemies shrieked that + his statements were based on juggled figures; that even if the number of + soldiers was adequate, the quality and equipment were wretched; in a word + that he lied. It is a shame-less controversy inconceivable were there not + many men in whom politics and prejudice far outweighed patriotism. In all + this, Hitchcock was Stanton's trump card. He who had refused to advise + McClellan, did not hesitate to denounce him. In response to a request from + Stanton, he made a report sustaining Wadsworth. The Committee summoned + Wadsworth before it; he read them his report to Stanton; reiterated its + charges, and treated them to some innuendoes after their own hearts, + plainly hinting that McClellan could have crushed the Confederates at + Manassas if he had wished to.(24) + </p> + <p> + A wave of hysteria swept the Committee and the War Office and beat + fiercely upon Lincoln. The Board charged him to save the day by mulcting + the army of the Potomac of an entire corps, retaining it at Washington. + Lincoln met the Board in a long and troubled conference. His anxious + desire to do all he could for McClellan was palpable.(25) But what, under + the circumstances, could he do? Here was this new device for the steadying + of his judgment, this Council of Experts, singing the same old tune, + assuring him that McClellan was not to be trusted. Although in the + reaction from his momentary vengefulness he had undoubtedly swung far back + toward recovering confidence in McClellan, did he dare—painfully + conscious as he was that he "had no military knowledge"—did he dare + go against the Board, disregard its warning that McClellan's arrangements + made of Washington a dangling plum for Confederate raiders to snatch + whenever they pleased. His bewilderment as to what McClellan was really + driving at came back upon him in full force. He reached at last the dreary + conclusion that there was nothing for it but to let the new wheel within + the wheels take its turn at running the machine. Accepting the view that + McClellan had not kept faith on the basis of the orders of March + thirteenth, Lincoln "after much consideration" set aside his own promise + to McClellan and authorized the Secretary of War to detain a full + corps.(26) + </p> + <p> + McClellan never forgave this mutilation of his army and in time fixed upon + it as the prime cause of his eventual failure on the Peninsula. It is + doubtful whether relations between him and Lincoln were ever again really + cordial. + </p> + <p> + In their rather full correspondence during the tense days of April, May + and June, the steady deterioration of McClellan's judgment bore him down + into amazing depths of fatuousness. In his own way he was as much appalled + by the growth of his responsibility as ever Lincoln had been. He moved + with incredible caution.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *Commenting on one of his moments of hesitation, J.S. + Johnston wrote to Lee: "No one but McClellan could have + hesitated to attack." 14 O. R., 416. +</pre> + <p> + His despatches were a continual wailing for more men. Whatever went wrong + was at once blamed on Washington. His ill-usage had made him bitter. And + he could not escape the fact that his actual performance did not come up + to expectation; that he was constantly out-generaled. His prevailing + temper during these days is shown in a letter to his wife. "I have raised + an awful row about McDowell's corps. The President very coolly telegraphed + me yesterday that he thought I ought to break the enemy's lines at once. I + was much tempted to reply that he had better come and do it himself." A + despatch to Stanton, in a moment of disaster, has become notorious: "If I + save this army now, I tell you plainly I owe no thanks to you or to any + other persons in Washington. You have done your best to sacrifice this + army."(27) + </p> + <p> + Throughout this preposterous correspondence, Lincoln maintained the even + tenor of his usual patient stoicism, "his sad lucidity of soul." He + explained; he reasoned; he promised, over and over, assistance to the + limit of his power; he never scolded; when complaint became too absurd to + be reasoned with, he passed it over in silence. Again, he was the selfless + man, his sensibilities lost in the purpose he sought to establish. + </p> + <p> + Once during this period, he acted suddenly, on the spur of the moment, in + a swift upflaring of his unconquerable fear for the safety of Washington. + Previously, he had consented to push the detained corps, McDowell's, + southward by land to cooperate with McClellan, who adapted his plans to + this arrangement. Scarcely had he done so, than Lincoln threw his plans + into confusion by ordering McDowell back to Washington.(28) Jackson, who + had begun his famous campaign of menace, was sweeping like a whirlwind + down the Shenandoah Valley, and in the eyes of panic-struck Washington + appeared to be a reincarnation of Southey's Napoleon,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "And the great Few-Faw-Fum, would presently come, + With a hop, skip and jump" +</pre> + <p> + into Pennsylvania Avenue. As Jackson's object was to bring McDowell back + to Washington and enable Johnston to deal with McClellan unreinforced, + Lincoln had fallen into a trap. But he had much company. Stanton was + well-nigh out of his head. Though Jackson's army was less than fifteen + thousand and the Union forces in front of him upward of sixty thousand, + Stanton telegraphed to Northern governors imploring them to hasten forward + militia because "the enemy in great force are marching on Washington."(29) + </p> + <p> + The moment Jackson had accomplished his purpose, having drawn a great army + northwestward away from McClellan, most of which should have been marching + southeastward to join McClellan, he slipped away, rushed his own army + across the whole width of Virginia, and joined Lee in the terrible + fighting of the Seven Days before Richmond. + </p> + <p> + In the midst of this furious confusion, the men surrounding Lincoln may be + excused for not observing a change in him. They have recorded his + appearance of indecision, his solicitude over McClellan, his worn and + haggard look. The changing light in those smoldering fires of his deeply + sunken eyes escaped their notice. Gradually, through profound unhappiness, + and as always in silence, Lincoln was working out of his last eclipse. No + certain record of his inner life during this transition, the most + important of his life, has survived. We can judge of it only by the + results. The outstanding fact with regard to it is a certain change of + attitude, an access of determination, late in June. What desperate + wrestling with the angel had taken place in the months of agony since his + son's death, even his private secretaries have not felt able to say. + Neither, apparently, did they perceive, until it flashed upon them + full-blown, the change that was coming over his resolution. Nor did the + Cabinet have any warning that the President was turning a corner, + developing a new phase of himself, something sterner, more powerful than + anything they had suspected. This was ever his way. His instinctive + reticence stood firm until the moment of the new birth. Not only the + Cabinet but the country was amazed and startled, when, late in June, the + President suddenly left Washington. He made a flying trip to West Point + where Scott was living in virtual retirement.(30) What passed between the + two, those few hours they spent together, that twenty-fourth of June, + 1862, has never been divulged. Did they have any eyes, that day, for the + wonderful prospect from the high terrace of the parade ground; for the + river so far below, flooring the valley with silver; for the mountains + pearl and blue? Did they talk of Stanton, of his waywardness, his furies? + Of the terrible Committee? Of the way Lincoln had tied his own hands, + brought his will to stalemate, through his recognition of the unofficial + councils? Who knows? + </p> + <p> + Lincoln was back in Washington the next day. Another day, and by a + sweeping order he created a new army for the protection of Washington, and + placed in command of it, a western general who was credited with a + brilliant stroke on the Mississippi.(31) No one will now defend the + military genius of John Pope. But when Lincoln sent for him, all the + evidence to date appeared to be in his favor. His follies were yet to + appear. And it is more than likely that in the development of Lincoln's + character, his appointment has a deep significance. It appears to mark the + moment when Lincoln broke out of the cocoon of advisement he had spun + unintentionally around his will. In the sorrows of the grim year, new + forces had been generated. New spiritual powers were coming to his + assistance. At last, relatively, he had found peace. Worn and torn as he + was, after his long inward struggle, few bore so calmly as he did the + distracting news from the front in the closing days of June and the + opening days of July, when Lee was driving his whole strength like a + superhuman battering-ram, straight at the heart of the wavering McClellan. + A visitor at the White House, in the midst of the terrible strain of the + Seven Days, found Lincoln "thin and haggard, but cheerful . . . quite as + placid as usual . . . his manner was so kindly and so free from the + ordinary cocksureness of the politician, and the vanity and + self-importance of official position that nothing but good will was + inspired by his presence."(32) + </p> + <p> + His serenity was all the more remarkable as his relations with Congress + and the Committee were fast approaching a crisis. If McClellan failed-and + by the showing of his own despatches, there was every reason to expect him + to fail, so besotted was he upon the idea that no one could prevail with + the force allowed him—the Committee who were leaders of the + congressional party against the presidential party might be expected + promptly to measure strength with the Administration. And McClellan + failed. At that moment Chandler, with the consent of the Committee, was + making use of its records preparing a Philippic against the government. + Lincoln, acting on his own initiative, without asking the Secretary of War + to accompany him, went immediately to the front. He passed two days + questioning McClellan and his generals.(33) But there was no council of + war. It was a different Lincoln from that other who, just four months + previous, had called together the general officers and promised them to + abide by their decisions. He returned to Washington without telling them + what he meant to do. + </p> + <p> + The next day closed a chapter and opened a chapter in the history of the + Federal army. Stanton's brief and inglorious career as head of the + national forces came to an end. He fell back into his rightful position, + the President's executive officer in military affairs. Lincoln telegraphed + another Western general, Halleck, ordering him to Washington as + General-in-Chief.(34) He then, for a season, turned his whole attention + from the army to politics. Five days after the telegram to Halleck, + Chandler in the Senate, loosed his insatiable temper in what ostensibly + was a denunciation of McClellan, what in point of fact was a sweeping + arraignment of the military efficiency of the government.(35) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXII. LINCOLN EMERGES + </h2> + <p> + While Lincoln was slowly struggling out of his last eclipse, giving most + of his attention to the army, the Congressional Cabal was laboring + assiduously to force the issue upon slavery. The keen politicians who + composed it saw with unerring vision where, for the moment, lay their + opportunity. They could not beat the President on any one issue then + before the country. No one faction was strong enough to be their stand-by. + Only by a combination of issues and a coalition of factions could they + build up an anti-Lincoln party, check-mate the Administration, and get + control of the government. They were greatly assisted by the fatuousness + of the Democrats. That party was in a peculiar situation. Its most + positive characters, naturally, had taken sides for or against the + government. The powerful Southerners who had been its chief leaders were + mainly in the Confederacy. Such Northerners as Douglas and Stanton, and + many more, had gone over to the Republicans. Suddenly the control of the + party organization had fallen into the hands of second-rate men. As by the + stroke of an enchanter's wand, men of small caliber who, had the old + conditions remained, would have lived and died of little consequence saw + opening before them the role of leadership. It was too much for their + mental poise. Again the subjective element in politics! The Democratic + party for the duration of the war became the organization of Little Men. + Had they possessed any great leaders, could they have refused to play + politics and responded to Lincoln's all-parties policy, history might have + been different. But they were not that sort. Neither did they have the + courage to go to the other extreme and become a resolute opposition party, + wholeheartedly and intelligently against the war. They equivocated, they + obstructed, they professed loyalty and they practised-it would be hard to + say what! So short-sighted was their political game that its effect + continually was to play into the hands of their most relentless enemies, + the grim Jacobins. + </p> + <p> + Though, for a brief time while the enthusiasm after Sumter was still at + its height they appeared to go along with the all-parties program, they + soon revealed their true course. In the autumn of 1861, Lincoln still had + sufficient hold upon all factions to make it seem likely that his + all-parties program would be given a chance. The Republicans generally + made overtures to the Democratic managers, offering to combine in a + coalition party with no platform but the support of the war and the + restoration of the Union. Here was the test of the organization of the + Little Men. The insignificant new managers, intoxicated by the suddenness + of their opportunity, rang false. They rejected the all-parties program + and insisted on maintaining their separate party formation.(1) This was a + turning point in Lincoln's career. Though nearly two years were to pass + before he admitted his defeat, the all-parties program was doomed from + that hour. Throughout the winter, the Democrats in Congress, though + steadily ambiguous in their statements of principle, were as steadily + hostile to Lincoln. If they had any settled policy, it was no more than an + attempt to hold the balance of power among the warring factions of the + Republicans. By springtime the game they were playing was obvious; also + its results. They had prevented the President from building up a strong + Administration group wherewith he might have counterbalanced the Jacobins. + Thus they had released the Jacobins from the one possible restraint that + might have kept them from pursuing their own devices. + </p> + <p> + The spring of 1862 saw a general realignment of factions. It was then that + the Congressional Cabal won its first significant triumph. Hitherto, all + the Republican platforms had been programs of denial. A brilliant new + member of the Senate, john Sherman, bluntly told his colleagues that the + Republican party had always stood on the defensive. That was its weakness. + "I do not know any measure on which it has taken an aggressive + position."(2) The clue to the psychology of the moment was in the raging + demand of the masses for a program of assertion, for aggressive measures. + The President was trying to meet this demand with his all-parties program, + with his policy of nationalism, exclusive of everything else. And recently + he had added that other assertion, his insistence that the executive in + certain respects was independent of the legislative. Of his three + assertions, one, the all-parties program, was already on the way to defeat + Another, nationalism, as the President interpreted it, had alienated the + Abolitionists. The third, his argument for himself as tribune, was just + what your crafty politician might twist, pervert, load with false meanings + to his heart's content. Men less astute than Chandler and Wade could not + have failed to see where fortune pointed. Their opportunity lay in a + combination of the two issues. Abolition and the resistance to executive + "usurpation." Their problem was to create an anti-Lincoln party that + should also be a war party. Their coalition of aggressive forces must + accept the Abolitionists as its backbone, but it must also include all + violent elements of whatever persuasion, and especially all those that + could be wrought into fury on the theme of the President as a despot. + Above all, their coalition must absorb and then express the furious temper + so dear to their own hearts which they fondly believed-mistakenly, they + were destined to discover-was the temper of the country. + </p> + <p> + It can not be said that this was the Republican program. The President's + program, fully as positive as that of the Cabal, had as good a right to + appropriate the party label—as events were to show, a better right. + But the power of the Cabal was very great, and the following it was able + to command in the country reached almost the proportions of the terrible. + A factional name is needed. For the Jacobins, their allies in Congress, + their followers in the country, from the time they acquired a positive + program, an accurate label is the Vindictives. + </p> + <p> + During the remainder of the session, Congress may be thought of as having—what + Congress seldom has—three definite groups, Right, Left and Center. + The Right was the Vindictives; the Left, the irreconcilable Democrats; the + Center was composed chiefly of liberal Republicans but included a few + Democrats, those who rebelled against the political chicanery of the + Little Men. + </p> + <p> + The policy of the Vindictives was to force upon the Administration the + double issue of emancipation and the supremacy of Congress. Therefore, + their aim was to pass a bill freeing the slaves on the sole authority of a + congressional act. Many resolutions, many bills, all having this end in + view, were introduced. Some were buried in committees; some were remade in + committees and subjected to long debate by the Houses; now and then one + was passed upon. But the spring wore through and the summer came, and + still the Vindictives were not certainly in control of Congress. No bill + to free slaves by congressional action secured a majority vote. At the + same time it was plain that the strength of the Vindictives was slowly, + steadily, growing. + </p> + <p> + Outside Congress, the Abolitionists took new hope. They had organized a + systematic propaganda. At Washington, weekly meetings were held in the + Smithsonian Institute, where all their most conspicuous leaders, Phillips, + Emerson, Brownson, Garret Smith, made addresses. Every Sunday a service + was held in the chamber of the House of Representatives and the sermon was + almost always a "terrific arrangement of slavery." Their watch-word was "A + Free Union or Disintegration." The treatment of fugitive slaves by + commanders in the field produced a clamor. Lincoln insisted on strict + obedience to the two laws, the Fugitive Slave Act and the First + Confiscation Act. Abolitionists sneered at "all this gabble about the + sacredness of the Constitution."(3) But Lincoln was not to be moved. When + General Hunter, taking a leaf from the book of Fremont, tried to force his + hand, he did not hesitate. Hunter had issued a proclamation by which the + slaves in the region where he commanded were "declared forever free." + </p> + <p> + This was in May when Lincoln's difficulties with McClellan were at their + height; when the Committee was zealously watching to catch him in any sort + of mistake; when the House was within four votes of a majority for + emancipation by act of Congress;(4) when there was no certainty whether + the country was with him or with the Vindictives. Perhaps that new courage + which definitely revealed itself the next month, may be first glimpsed in + the proclamation overruling Hunter: + </p> + <p> + "I further make known that whether it be competent for me, as + Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, to declare the slaves of any + State or States free, and whether at any time, in any case, it shall have + become a necessity indispensable to the maintenance of the government to + exercise such supposed power, are questions which, under my + responsibility, I reserve to myself, and which I can not feel justified in + leaving to the decision of commanders in the field."(5) + </p> + <p> + The revocation of Hunter's order infuriated the Abolitionists. It deeply + disappointed the growing number who, careless about slavery, wanted + emancipation as a war measure, as a blow at the South. Few of either of + these groups noticed the implied hint that emancipation might come by + executive action. Here was the matter of the war powers in a surprising + form. However, it was not unknown to Congress. Attempts had been made to + induce Congress to concede the war powers to the President and to ask, not + command, him to use them for the liberation of slaves in the Seceded + States. Long before, in a strangely different connection, such vehement + Abolitionists as Giddings and J. Q. Adams had pictured the freeing of + slaves as a natural incident of military occupation. + </p> + <p> + What induced Lincoln to throw out this hint of a possible surrender on the + subject of emancipation? Again, as so often, the silence as to his motives + is unbroken. However, there can be no doubt that his thinking on the + subject passed through several successive stages. But all his thinking was + ruled by one idea. Any policy he might accept, or any refusal of policy, + would be judged in his own mind by the degree to which it helped, or + hindered, the national cause. Nothing was more absurd than the sneer of + the Abolitionists that he was "tender" of slavery. Browning spoke for him + faithfully, "If slavery can survive the shock of war and secession, be it + so. If in the conflict for liberty, the Constitution and the Union, it + must necessarily perish, then let it perish." Browning refused to predict + which alternative would develop. His point was that slaves must be treated + like other property. But, if need be, he would sacrifice slavery as he + would sacrifice anything else, to save the Union. He had no intention to + "protect" slavery.(6) + </p> + <p> + In the first stage of Lincoln's thinking on this thorny subject, his chief + anxiety was to avoid scaring off from the national cause those Southern + Unionists who were not prepared to abandon slavery. This was the motive + behind his prompt suppression of Fremont. It was this that inspired the + Abolitionist sneer about his relative attitude toward God and Kentucky. As + a compromise, to cut the ground from under the Vindictives, he had urged + the loyal Slave States to endorse a program of compensated emancipation. + But these States were as unable to see the handwriting on the wall as were + the Little Men. In the same proclamation that overruled Hunter, while + hinting at what the Administration might feel driven to do, Lincoln + appealed again to the loyal Slave States to accept compensated + emancipation. "I do not argue," said he, "I beseech you to make the + argument for yourselves. You can not, if you would, be blind to the signs + of the times. . . . This proposal makes common cause for a common object, + casting no reproaches upon any. It acts not the Pharisee. The change it + contemplates would come gently as the dews of heaven, not rending or + wrecking anything."(7) + </p> + <p> + Though Lincoln, at this moment, was anxiously watching the movement in + Congress to force his hand, he was not apparently cast down. He was + emerging from his eclipse. June was approaching and with it the final + dawn. Furthermore, when he issued this proclamation on May nineteenth, he + had not lost faith in McClellan. He was still hoping for news of a + crushing victory; of McClellan's triumphal entry into Richmond. The next + two months embraced both those transformations which together + revolutionized his position. He emerged from his last eclipse; and + McClellan failed him. + </p> + <p> + When Lincoln returned to Washington after his two days at the front, he + knew that the fortunes of his Administration were at a low ebb. Never had + he been derided in Congress with more brazen injustice. The Committee, + waiting only for McClellan's failure, would now unmask their guns-as + Chandler did, seven days later. The line of Vindictive criticism could + easily be foreshadowed: the government had failed; it was responsible for + a colossal military catastrophe; but what could you expect of an + Administration that would not strike its enemies through emancipation; + what a shattering demonstration that the Executive was not a safe + repository of the war powers. + </p> + <p> + Was there any way to forestall or disarm the Vindictives? His silence + gives us no clue when or how the answer occurred to him—by + separating the two issues; by carrying out the hint in the May + proclamation; by yielding on emancipation while, in the very act, pushing + the war powers of the President to their limit, declaring slaves free by + an executive order. + </p> + <p> + The importance of preserving the war power of the President had become a + fixed condition of Lincoln's thought. Already, he was looking forward not + only to victory but to the great task that should come after victory. He + was determined, if it were humanly possible, to keep that task in the + hands of the President, and out of the hands of Congress. A first step had + already been taken. In portions of occupied territory, military governors + had been appointed. Simple as this seemed to the careless observer, it + focussed the whole issue. The powerful, legal mind of Sumner at once + perceived its significance. He denied in the Senate the right of the + President to make such appointments; he besought the Senate to demand the + cancellation of such appointment. He reasserted the absolute sovereignty + of Congress.(8) It would be a far-reaching stroke if Lincoln, in any way, + could extort from Congress acquiescence in his use of the war powers on a + vast scale. Freeing the slaves by executive order would be such a use. + </p> + <p> + Another train of thought also pointed to the same result. Lincoln's desire + to further the cause of "the Liberal party throughout the world," that + desire which dated back to his early life as a politician, had suffered a + disappointment. European Liberals, whose political vision was less + analytical than his, had failed to understand his policy. The Confederate + authorities had been quick to publish in Europe his official + pronouncements that the war had been undertaken not to abolish slavery but + to preserve the Union. As far back as September, 1861, Carl Schurz wrote + from Spain to Seward that the Liberals abroad were disappointed, that "the + impression gained ground that the war as waged by the Federal government, + far from being a war of principle, was merely a war of policy," and "that + from this point of view much might be said for the South."(9) In fact, + these hasty Europeans had found a definite ground for complaining that the + American war was a reactionary influence. The concentration of American + cruisers in the Southern blockade gave the African slave trade its last + lease of life. With no American war-ship among the West Indies, the + American flag became the safeguard of the slaver. Englishmen complained + that "the swift ships crammed with their human cargoes" had only to "hoist + the Stars and Stripes and pass under the bows of our cruisers."(10) Though + Seward scored a point by his treaty giving British cruisers the right to + search any ships carrying the American flag, the distrust of the foreign + Liberals was not removed. They inclined to stand aside and to allow the + commercial classes of France and England to dictate policy toward the + United States. The blockade, by shutting off the European supply of raw + cotton, on both sides the channel, was the cause of measureless + unemployment, of intolerable misery. There was talk in both countries of + intervention. Napoleon, especially, loomed large on the horizon as a + possible ally of the Confederacy. And yet, all this while, Lincoln had it + in his power at any minute to lay the specter of foreign intervention. A + pledge to the "Liberal party throughout the world" that the war would + bring about the destruction of slavery, and great political powers both in + England and in France would at once cross the paths of their governments + should they move toward intervention. Weighty as were all these reasons + for a change of policy—turning the flank of the Vindictives on the + war powers, committing the Abolitionists to the Administration, winning + over the European Liberals—there was a fourth reason which, very + probably, weighed upon Lincoln most powerfully of them all. Profound gloom + had settled upon the country. There was no enthusiasm for military + service. And Stanton, who lacked entirely the psychologic vision of the + statesman, had recently committed an astounding blunder. After a few + months in power he had concluded that the government had enough soldiers + and had closed the recruiting offices.(11) Why Lincoln permitted this + singular proceeding has never been satisfactorily explained.* Now he was + reaping the fruits. A defeated army, a hopeless country, and no prospect + of swift reinforcement! If a shift of ground on the question of + emancipation would arouse new enthusiasm, bring in a new stream of + recruits, Lincoln was prepared to shift. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *Stanton's motive was probably economy. Congress was + terrified by the expense of the war. The Committee was + deeply alarmed over the political effect of war taxation. + They and Stanton were all convinced that McClellan was amply + strong enough to crush the Confederacy. +</pre> + <p> + But even in this dire extremity, he would not give way without a last + attempt to save his earlier policy. On July twelfth, he called together + the Senators and Representatives of the Border States. He read to them a + written argument in favor of compensated emancipation, the Federal + government to assist the States in providing funds for the purpose. + </p> + <p> + "Let the States that are in rebellion," said he, "see definitely and + certainly that in no event will the States you represent ever join their + proposed Confederacy, and they can not much longer maintain the contest. + But you can not divest them of their hope to ultimately have you with them + so long as you show a determination to perpetuate the institution within + your own States. . . . If the war continues long, as it must if the object + be not sooner attained, the institution in your States will be + extinguished by mere friction and abrasion—by the mere incidents of + war. . . . Our common country is in great peril, demanding the loftiest + views and boldest action to bring it speedy relief. Once relieved its form + of government is saved to the world, its beloved history and cherished + memories are vindicated, and its happy future fully assured and rendered + inconceivably grand."(12) + </p> + <p> + He made no impression. They would commit themselves to nothing. Lincoln + abandoned his earlier policy. + </p> + <p> + Of what happened next, he said later, "It had got to be. . . . Things had + gone on from bad to worse until I felt that we had reached the end of our + rope on the plan of operations we had been pursuing; that we had about + played our last card and must change our tactics or lose the game. I now + determined upon the adoption of the emancipation policy. . . "(13) + </p> + <p> + The next day he confided his decision and his reasons to Seward and + Welles. Though "this was a new departure for the President," both these + Ministers agreed with him that the change of policy had become + inevitable.(14) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln was now entirely himself, astute in action as well as bold in + thought. He would not disclose his change of policy while Congress was in + session. Should he do so, there was no telling what attempt the Cabal + would make to pervert his intention, to twist his course into the + semblance of an acceptance of the congressional theory. He laid the matter + aside until Congress should be temporarily out of the way, until the long + recess between July and December should have begun. In this closing moment + of the second session of the Thirty-Seventh Congress, which is also the + opening moment of the great period of Lincoln, the feeling against him in + Congress was extravagantly bitter. It caught at anything with which to + make a point. A disregard of technicalities of procedure was magnified + into a serious breach of constitutional privilege. Reviving the question + of compensated emancipation, Lincoln had sent a special message to both + Houses, submitting the text of a compensation bill which he urged them to + consider. His enemies raised an uproar. The President had no right to + introduce a bill into Congress! Dictator Lincoln was trying in a new way + to put Congress under his thumb.(15) + </p> + <p> + In the last week of the session, Lincoln's new boldness brought the old + relation between himself and Congress to a dramatic close. The Second + Confiscation Bill had long been under discussion. Lincoln believed that + some of its provisions were inconsistent with the spirit at least of our + fundamental law. Though its passage was certain, he prepared a veto + message. He then permitted the congressional leaders to know what he + intended to do when the bill should reach him. Gall and wormwood are weak + terms for the bitterness that may be tasted in the speeches of the + Vindictives. When, in order to save the bill, a resolution was appended + purging it of the interpretation which Lincoln condemned, Trumbull + passionately declared that Congress was being "coerced" by the President. + "No one at a distance," is the deliberate conclusion of Julian who was + present, "could have formed any adequate conception of the hostility of + the Republican members toward Lincoln at the final adjournment, while it + was the belief of many that our last session of Congress had been held in + Washington. Mr. Wade said the country was going to hell, and that the + scenes witnessed in the French Revolution were nothing in comparison with + what we should see here."(16) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln endured the rage of Congress in unwavering serenity. On the last + day of the session, Congress surrendered and sent to him both the + Confiscation Act and the explanatory resolution. Thereupon, he indulged in + what must have seemed to those fierce hysterical enemies of his a wanton + stroke of irony. He sent them along with his approval of the bill the text + of the veto message he would have sent had they refused to do what he + wanted.(17) There could be no concealing the fact that the President had + matched his will against the will of Congress, and that the President had + had his way. + </p> + <p> + Out of this strange period of intolerable confusion, a gigantic figure had + at last emerged. The outer and the inner Lincoln had fused. He was now a + coherent personality, masterful in spite of his gentleness, with his own + peculiar fashion of self-reliance, having a policy of his own devising, + his colors nailed upon the masthead. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIII. THE MYSTICAL STATESMAN + </h2> + <p> + Lincoln's final emergence was a deeper thing than merely the consolidation + of a character, the transformation of a dreamer into a man of action. The + fusion of the outer and the inner person was the result of a profound + interior change. Those elements of mysticism which were in him from the + first, which had gleamed darkly through such deep overshadowing, were at + last established in their permanent form. The political tension had been + matched by a spiritual tension with personal sorrow as the connecting + link. In a word, he had found his religion. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's instinctive reticence was especially guarded, as any one might + expect, in the matter of his belief. Consequently, the precise nature of + it has been much discussed. As we have seen, the earliest current report + charged him with deism. The devoted Herndon, himself an agnostic, eagerly + claims his hero as a member of the noble army of doubters. Elaborate + arguments have been devised in rebuttal. The fault on both sides is in the + attempt to base an impression on detached remarks and in the further error + of treating all these fragments as of one time, or more truly, as of no + time, as if his soul were a philosopher of the absolute, speaking + oracularly out of a void. It is like the vicious reasoning that tortures + systems of theology out of disconnected texts. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's religious life reveals the same general divisions that are to be + found in his active life: from the beginning to about the time of his + election; from the close of 1860 to the middle of 1862; the remainder. + </p> + <p> + Of his religious experience in the first period, very little is definitely + known. What glimpses we have of it both fulfill and contradict the forest + religion that was about him in his youth. The superstition, the faith in + dreams, the dim sense of another world surrounding this, the belief in + communion between the two, these are the parts of him that are based + unchangeably in the forest shadows. But those other things, the spiritual + passions, the ecstacies, the vague sensing of the terribleness of the + creative powers,—to them always he made no response. And the crude + philosophizing of the forest theologians, their fiercely simple dualism—God + and Satan, thunder and lightning, the eternal war in the heavens, the + eternal lake of fire—it meant nothing to him. Like all the furious + things of life, evil appeared to him as mere negation, a mysterious + foolishness he could not explain. His aim was to forget it. Goodness and + pity were the active elements that roused him to think of the other world; + especially pity. The burden of men's tears, falling ever in the shadows at + the backs of things—this was the spiritual horizon from which he + could not escape. Out of the circle of that horizon he had to rise by + spiritual apprehension in order to be consoled. And there is no reason to + doubt that at times, if not invariably, in his early days, he did rise; he + found consolation. But it was all without form. It was a sentiment, a + mood,—philosophically bodiless. This indefinite mysticism was the + real heart of the forest world, closer than hands or feet, but elusive, + incapable of formulation, a presence, not an idea. Before the task of + expressing it, the forest mystic stood helpless. Just what it was that he + felt impinging upon him from every side he did not know. He was like a + sensitive man, neither scientist nor poet, in the midst of a night of + stars. The reality of his experience gave him no power either to explain + or to state it. + </p> + <p> + There is little reason to suppose that Lincoln's religious experience + previous to 1860 was more than a recurrent visitor in his daily life. He + has said as much himself. He told his friend Noah Brooks "he did not + remember any precise time when he passed through any special change of + purpose, or of heart, but he would say that his own election to office and + the crisis immediately following, influentially determined him in what he + called 'a process of crystallization' then going on in his mind."(1) + </p> + <p> + It was the terrible sense of need—the humility, the fear that he + might not be equal to the occasion—that searched his soul, that bred + in him the craving for a spiritual up-holding which should be constant. + And at this crucial moment came the death of his favorite son. "In the + lonely grave of the little one lay buried Mr. Lincoln's fondest hopes, and + strong as he was in the matter of self-control, he gave way to an + overmastering grief which became at length a serious menace to his + health."(2) Though firsthand accounts differ as to just how he struggled + forth out of this darkness, all agree that the ordeal was very severe. + Tradition makes the crisis a visit from the Reverend Francis Vinton, + rector of Trinity Church, New York, and his eloquent assertion of the + faith in immortality, his appeal to Lincoln to remember the sorrow of + Jacob over the loss of Joseph, and to rise by faith out of his own sorrow + even as the patriarch rose.(3) + </p> + <p> + Although Lincoln succeeded in putting his grief behind him, he never + forgot it. Long afterward, he called the attention of Colonel Cannon to + the lines in King John: + </p> + <p> + "And Father Cardinal, I have heard you say That we shall see and know our + friends in heaven; If that be true, I shall see my boy again." + </p> + <p> + "Colonel," said he, "did you ever dream of a lost friend, and feel that + you were holding sweet communion with that friend, and yet have a sad + consciousness that it was not a reality? Just so, I dream of my boy, + Willie." And he bent his head and burst into tears.(4) + </p> + <p> + As he rose in the sphere of statecraft with such apparent suddenness out + of the doubt, hesitation, self-distrust of the spring of 1862 and in the + summer found himself politically, so at the same time he found himself + religiously. During his later life though the evidences are slight, they + are convincing. And again, as always, it is not a violent change that + takes place, but merely a better harmonization of the outer and less + significant part of him with the inner and more significant. His religion + continues to resist intellectual formulation. He never accepted any + definite creed. To the problems of theology, he applied the same sort of + reasoning that he applied to the problems of the law. He made a + distinction, satisfactory to himself at least, between the essential and + the incidental, and rejected everything that did not seem to him + altogether essential. + </p> + <p> + In another negative way his basal part asserted itself. Just as in all his + official relations he was careless of ritual, so in religion he was not + drawn to its ritualistic forms. Again, the forest temper surviving, + changed, into such different conditions! Real and subtle as is the + ritualistic element, not only in religion but in life generally, one may + doubt whether it counts for much among those who have been formed mainly + by the influences of nature. It implies more distance between the emotion + and its source, more need of stimulus to arouse and organize emotion, than + the children of the forest are apt to be aware of. To invoke a + philosophical distinction, illumination rather than ritualism, the tense + but variable concentration on a result, not the ordered mode of an + approach, is what distinguishes such characters as Lincoln. It was this + that made him careless &f form in all the departments of life. It was + one reason why McClellan, born ritualist of the pomp of war, could never + overcome a certain dislike, or at least a doubt, of him. + </p> + <p> + Putting together his habit of thinking only in essentials and his + predisposition to neglect form, it is not strange that he said: "I have + never united myself to any church because I have found difficulty in + giving my assent, without mental reservation, to the long, complicated + statements of Christian doctrine which characterize their Articles of + Belief and Confessions of Faith. When any church will inscribe over its + altar, as its sole qualification for membership, the Savior's condensed + statement of the substance of both Law and Gospel, 'Thou shalt love the + Lord thy God, with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy + mind, and thy neighbor as thyself,' that church will I join with all my + heart and with all my soul."(5) + </p> + <p> + But it must not be supposed that his religion was mere ethics. It had + three cardinal possessions. The sense of God is through all his later + life. It appears incidentally in his state papers, clothed with language + which, in so deeply sincere a man, must be taken literally. He believed in + prayer, in the reality of communion with the Divine. His third article was + immortality. + </p> + <p> + At Washington, Lincoln was a regular attendant, though not a communicant, + of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. With the Pastor, the Reverend + P. D. Gurley, he formed a close friendship. Many hours they passed in + intimate talk upon religious subjects, especially upon the question of + immortality.(6) To another pious visitor he said earnestly, "I hope I am a + Christian."(7) Could anything but the most secure faith have written this + "Meditation on the Divine Will" which he set down in the autumn of 1862 + for no eye but his own: "The will of God prevails. In great contests each + party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and + one must be, wrong. God can not be for and against the same thing at the + same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's + purpose is something different from the purpose of either party; and yet + the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best + adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say that this is + probably true; that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not + end yet. By His mere great power on the minds of the now contestants, He + could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. + Yet the contest began. And, having begun, He could give the final victory + to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds."(8) + </p> + <p> + His religion flowered in his later temper. It did not, to be sure, + overcome his melancholy. That was too deeply laid. Furthermore, we fail to + discover in the surviving evidences any certainty that it was a glad phase + of religion. Neither the ecstatic joy of the wild women, which his mother + had; nor the placid joy of the ritualist, which he did not understand; nor + those other variants of the joy of faith, were included in his portion. It + was a lofty but grave religion that matured in his final stage. Was it due + to far-away Puritan ancestors? Had austere, reticent Iron-sides, sure of + the Lord, but taking no liberties with their souls, at last found out + their descendant? It may be. Cromwell, in some ways, was undeniably his + spiritual kinsman. In both, the same aloofness of soul, the same + indifference to the judgments of the world, the same courage, the same + fatalism, the same encompassment by the shadow of the Most High. Cromwell, + in his best mood, had he been gifted with Lincoln's literary power, could + have written the Fast Day Proclamation of 1863 which is Lincoln's most + distinctive religious fragment. + </p> + <p> + However, Lincoln's gloom had in it a correcting element which the old + Puritan gloom appears to have lacked. It placed no veto upon mirth. + Rather, it valued mirth as its only redeemer. And Lincoln's growth in the + religious sense was not the cause of any diminution of his surface + hilarity. He saved himself from what otherwise would have been intolerable + melancholy by seizing, regardless of the connection, anything whatsoever + that savored of the comic. + </p> + <p> + His religious security did not destroy his superstition. He continued to + believe that he would die violently at the end of his career as President. + But he carried that belief almost with gaiety. He refused to take + precautions for his safety. Long lonely rides in the dead of night; night + walks with a single companion, were constant anxieties to his intimates. + To the President, their fears were childish. Although in the sensibilities + he could suffer all he had ever suffered, and more; in the mind he had + attained that high serenity in which there can be no flagging of effort + because of the conviction that God has decreed one's work; no failure of + confidence because of the twin conviction that somehow, somewhere, all + things work together for good. "I am glad of this interview," he said in + reply to a deputation of visitors, in September, 1862, "and glad to know + that I have your sympathy and your prayers. . I happened to be placed, + being a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father, as I am, + and as we all are, to work out His great purpose. . . . I have sought His + aid; but if after endeavoring to do my best in the light He affords me, I + find my efforts fail, I must believe that for some purpose unknown to me + He wills it otherwise. If I had my way, this war would never have + commenced. If I had been allowed my way, this war would have been ended + before this; but it still continues and we must believe that He permits it + for some wise purpose of His own, mysterious and unknown to us; and though + with our limited understandings we may not be able to comprehend it, yet + we can not but believe that He who made the world still governs it."(9) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIV. GAMBLING IN GENERALS + </h2> + <p> + On July 22, 1862, there was a meeting of the Cabinet. The sessions of + Lincoln's Council were the last word for informality. The President and + the Ministers interspersed their great affairs with mere talk, + story-telling, gossip. With one exception they were all lovers of their + own voices, especially in the telling of tales. Stanton was the exception. + Gloomy, often in ill-health, innocent of humor, he glowered when the + others laughed. When the President, instead of proceeding at once to + business, would pull out of his pocket the latest volume of Artemus Ward, + the irate War Minister felt that the overthrow of the nation was + impending. But in this respect, the President was incorrigible. He had + been known to stop the line of his guests at a public levee, while he + talked for some five minutes in a whisper to an important personage; and + though all the room thought that jupiter was imparting state secrets, in + point of fact, he was making sure of a good story the great man had told + him a few days previous.(1) His Cabinet meetings were equally careless of + social form. The Reverend Robert Collyer was witness to this fact in a + curious way. Strolling through the White House grounds, "his attention was + suddenly arrested by the apparition of three pairs of feet resting on the + ledge of an open window in one of the apartments of the second story and + plainly visible from below." He asked a gardener for an explanation. The + brusk reply was: "Why, you old fool, that's the Cabinet that is a-settin', + and them thar big feet are ole Abe's."(2) + </p> + <p> + When the Ministers assembled on July twenty-second they had no intimation + that this was to be a record session. Imagine the astonishment when, in + his usual casual way, though with none of that hesitancy to which they had + grown accustomed, Lincoln announced his new policy, adding that he "wished + it understood that the question was settled in his own mind; that he had + decreed emancipation in a certain contingency and the responsibility of + the measure was his."(3) President and Cabinet talked it over in their + customary offhand way, and Seward made a suggestion that instantly riveted + Lincoln's attention. Seward thought the moment was ill-chosen. "If the + Proclamation were issued now, it would be received and considered as a + despairing cry—a shriek from and for the Administration, rather than + for freedom."(4) He added the picturesque phrase, "The government + stretching forth its hands to Ethiopia, instead of Ethiopia stretching + forth her hands to the government." This idea struck Lincoln with very + great force. It was an aspect of the case "which he had entirely + overlooked."(5) He accepted Seward's advice, laid aside the proclamation + he had drafted and turned again with all his energies to the organization + of victory. + </p> + <p> + The next day Halleck arrived at Washington. He was one of Lincoln's + mistakes. However, in his new mood, Lincoln was resolved to act on his own + opinion of the evidence before him, especially in estimating men. It is + just possible that this epoch of his audacities began in a reaction; that + after too much self-distrust, he went briefly to the other extreme, + indulging in too much self-confidence. Be that as it may, he had formed + exaggerated opinions of both these Western generals, Halleck and Pope. + Somehow, in the brilliant actions along the Mississippi they had absorbed + far more than their fair share of credit. Particularly, Lincoln went + astray with regard to Pope. Doubtless a main reason why he accepted the + plan of campaign suggested by Halleck was the opportunity which it offered + to Pope. Perhaps, too, the fatality in McClellan's character turned the + scale. He begged to be left where he was with his base on James River, and + to be allowed to renew the attack on Richmond.1 But he did not take the + initiative. The government must swiftly hurry up reinforcements, and then—the + old, old story! Obviously, it was a question at Washington either of + superseding McClellan and leaving the army where it was, or of shifting + the army to some other commander without in so many words disgracing + McClellan. Halleck's approval of the latter course jumped with two of + Lincoln's impulses—his trust in Pope, his reluctance to disgrace + McClellan. Orders were issued transferring the bulk of the army of the + Potomac to the new army of Virginia lying south of Washington under the + command of Pope. McClellan was instructed to withdraw his remaining forces + from the Peninsula and retrace his course up the Potomac.(6) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln had committed one of his worst blunders. Herndon has a curious, + rather subtle theory that while Lincoln's judgments of men in the + aggregate were uncannily sure, his judgments of men individually were + unreliable. It suggests the famous remark of Goethe that his views of + women did not derive from experience; that they antedated experience; and + that he corrected experience by them. Of the confessed artist this may be + true. The literary concept which the artist works with is often, + apparently, a more constant, more fundamental, more significant thing, + than is the broken, mixed, inconsequential impression out of which it has + been wrought. Which seems to explain why some of the writers who + understand human nature so well in their books, do not always understand + people similarly well in life. And always it is to be remembered that + Lincoln was made an artist by nature, and made over into a man of action + by circumstance. If Herndon's theory has any value it is in asserting his + occasional danger—by no means a constant danger—of forming in + his mind images of men that were more significant than it was possible for + the men themselves to be. John Pope was perhaps his worst instance. An + incompetent general, he was capable of things still less excusable. Just + after McClellan had so tragically failed in the Seven Days, when Lincoln + was at the front, Pope was busy with the Committee, assuring them + virtually that the war had been won in the West, and that only McClellan's + bungling had saved the Confederacy from speedy death.(7) But somehow + Lincoln trusted him, and continued to trust him even after he had proved + his incompetency in the catastrophe at Manassas. + </p> + <p> + During August, Pope marched gaily southward issuing orders that were shot + through with bad rhetoric, mixing up army routine and such irrelevant + matters as "the first blush of dawn." + </p> + <p> + Lincoln was confident of victory. And after victory would come the new + policy, the dissipation of the European storm-cloud, the break-up of the + vindictive coalition of Jacobins and Abolitionists, the new enthusiasm for + the war. But of all this, the incensed Abolitionists received no hint. The + country rang with their denunciations of the President. At length, Greeley + printed in The Tribune an open letter called "The Prayer of Twenty + Millions." It was an arraignment of what Greeley chose to regard as the + pro-slavery policy of the Administration. This was on August twentieth. + Lincoln, in high hope that a victory was at hand, seized the opportunity + both to hint to the country that he was about to change his policy, and to + state unconditionally his reason for changing. He replied to Greeley + through the newspapers: + </p> + <p> + "As to the policy I 'seem to be pursuing,' as you say, I have meant to + leave no one in doubt. + </p> + <p> + "I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the + Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored, the + nearer the Union will be 'the Union as it was' If there be those who would + not save the Union unless they could at the same time save Slavery, I do + not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union, + unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with + them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is + not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without + freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all + the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some of the + slaves and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about + slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it will help to save + the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would + help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe that what + I am doing hurts the cause; and I shall do more whenever I believe that + doing more will help the cause."(8) The effect of this on the + Abolitionists was only to increase their rage. The President was compared + to Douglas with his indifference whether slavery was voted "up or + down."(9) Lincoln, now so firmly hopeful, turned a deaf ear to these + railing accusations. He was intent upon watching the army. It was probably + at this time that he reached an unfortunate conclusion with regard to + McClellan. The transfer of forces from the James River to northern + Virginia had proceeded slowly. It gave rise to a new controversy, a new + crop of charges. McClellan was accused of being dilatory on purpose, of + aiming to cause the failure of Pope. Lincoln accepted, at last, the worst + view of him. He told Hay that "it really seemed that McClellan wanted Pope + defeated. . . . The President seemed to think him a little crazy."(10) + </p> + <p> + But still the confidence in Pope, marching so blithely through "the blush + of dawn," stood fast. If ever an Administration was in a fool's paradise, + it was Lincoln's, in the last few days of August, while Jackson was + stealthily carrying out his great flanking movement getting between Pope + and Washington. However, the Suspicious Stanton kept his eyes on + McClellan. He decided that troops were being held back from Pope; and he + appealed to other members of the Cabinet to join with him in a formal + demand upon the President for McClellan's dismissal from the army. While + the plan was being discussed, came the appalling news of Pope's downfall. + </p> + <p> + The meeting of the Cabinet, September second, was another revelation of + the new independence of the President. Three full days had passed since + Pope had telegraphed that the battle was lost and that he no longer had + control of his army. The Ministers, awaiting the arrival of the President, + talked excitedly, speculating what would happen next. "It was stated," + says Welles in his diary, "that Pope was falling back, intending to + retreat within the Washington entrenchments, Blair, who has known him + intimately, says he is a braggart and a liar, with some courage, perhaps, + but not much capacity. The general conviction is that he is a failure + here, and there is a belief . . . that he has not been seconded and + sustained as he should have been by McClellan . . ." Stanton entered; + terribly agitated. He had news that fell upon the Cabinet like a + bombshell. He said "in a suppressed voice, trembling with excitement, he + was informed that McClellan had been ordered to take command of the forces + in Washington." + </p> + <p> + Never was there a more tense moment in the Cabinet room than when Lincoln + entered that day. And all could see that he was in deep distress. But he + confirmed Stanton's information. That very morning he had gone himself to + McClellan's house and had asked him to resume command. Lincoln discussed + McClellan with the Cabinet quite simply, admitting all his bad qualities, + but finding two points in his favor—his power of organization, and + his popularity with the men.(11) + </p> + <p> + He was still more frank with his Secretaries. "'He has acted badly in this + matter,' Lincoln said to Hay, 'but we must use what tools we have. There + is no man in the army who can man these fortifications and lick these + troops of ours into shape half as well as he.' I spoke of the general + feeling against McClellan as evinced by the President's mail. He rejoined: + 'Unquestionably, he has acted badly toward Pope; he wanted him to fail. + That is unpardonable, but he is too useful now to sacrifice.'"(12) At + another time, he said: "'If he can't fight himself, he excels in making + others ready to fight.'"(13) + </p> + <p> + McClellan justified Lincoln's confidence. In this case, Herndon's theory + of Lincoln's powers of judgment does not apply. Though probably unfair on + the one point of McClellan's attitude to Pope, he knew his man otherwise. + Lincoln had also discovered that Halleck, the veriest martinet of a + general, was of little value at a crisis. During the next two months, + McClellan, under the direct oversight of the President, was the organizer + of victory. + </p> + <p> + Toward the middle of September, when Lee and McClellan were gradually + converging upon the fated line of Antietam Creek, Lincoln's new firmness + was put to the test. The immediate effect of Manassas was another, a still + more vehement outcry for an anti-slavery policy. A deputation of Chicago + clergymen went to Washington for the purpose of urging him to make an + anti-slavery pronouncement. The journey was a continuous ovation. If at + any time Lincoln was tempted to forget Seward's worldly wisdom, it was + when these influential zealots demanded of him to do the very thing he + intended to do. But it was one of the characteristics of this final + Lincoln that when once he had fully determined on a course of action, + nothing could deflect him. With consummate coolness he gave them no new + light on his purpose. Instead, he seized the opportunity to "feel" the + country. He played the role of advocate arguing the case against an + emancipation policy.(14) They met his argument with great Spirit and + resolution. Taking them as an index, there could be little question that + the country was ripe for the new policy. At the close of the interview + Lincoln allowed himself to jest. One of the clergymen dramatically charged + him to give heed to their message as to a direct commission from the + Almighty. "Is it not odd," said Lincoln, "that the only channel he could + send it was that roundabout route by the awfully wicked city of Chicago?"* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Reminiscences, 335. This retort is given by Schuyler + Colfax. There are various reports of what Lincoln said. In + another version, "I hope it will not be irreverent for me to + say that if it is probable that God would reveal His will to + others on a point so connected with my duty, it might be + supposed He would reveal it directly to me." Tarbell, II, + 12. +</pre> + <p> + Lincoln's pertinacity, holding fast the program he had accepted, came to + its reward. On the seventeenth occurred that furious carnage along the + Antietam known as the bloodiest single day of the whole war. Military men + have disagreed, calling it sometimes a victory, sometimes a drawn battle. + In Lincoln's political strategy the dispute is immaterial. + Psychologically, it was a Northern victory. The retreat of Lee was + regarded by the North as the turn of the tide. Lincoln's opportunity had + arrived. + </p> + <p> + Again, a unique event occurred in a Cabinet meeting. On the twenty-second + of September, with the cannon of Antietam still ringing in their + imagination, the Ministers were asked by the President whether they had + seen the new volume just published by Artemus Ward. As they had not, he + produced it and read aloud with evident relish one of those bits of + nonsense which, in the age of Dickens, seemed funny enough. Most of the + Cabinet joined in the merriment—Stanton, of course, as always, + excepted. Lincoln closed the book, pulled himself together, and became + serious. + </p> + <p> + "Gentlemen," said he, according to the diary of Secretary Chase, "I have, + as you are aware, thought a great deal about the relation of this war to + slavery; and you all remember that several weeks ago I read you an order I + had prepared on this subject, which, on account of objections made by some + of you, was not issued. Ever since, my mind has been much occupied with + this subject, and I have thought all along that the time for acting on it + might probably come. I think the time has come now. I wish it was a better + time. I wish that we were in a better condition. The action of the army + against the Rebels has not been quite what I should have best liked. But + they have been driven out of Maryland; and Pennsylvania is no longer in + danger of invasion. When the Rebel army was at Frederick, I determined, as + soon as it should be driven out of Maryland, to issue a proclamation of + emancipation, such as I thought most likely to be useful. I said nothing + to any one, but I made the promise to myself, and (hesitating a little) to + my Maker. The Rebel army is now driven out and I am going to fulfill that + promise. I have got you together to hear what I have written down. I do + not wish your advice about the main matter, for that I have determined for + myself. This, I say without intending anything but respect for any one of + you. But I already know the views of each on this question. They have been + heretofore expressed, and I have considered them as thoroughly and as + carefully as I can. What I have written is that which my reflections have + determined me to say. . . . I must do the best I can, and bear the + responsibility of taking the course which I feel I ought to take."(15) The + next day the Proclamation was published. + </p> + <p> + This famous document (16) is as remarkable for the parts of it that are + now forgotten as for the rest. The remembered portion is a warning that on + the first of January, one hundred days subsequent to the date of the + Proclamation—"all persons held as slaves within any State or + designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion + against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever + free." The forgotten portions include four other declarations of executive + policy. Lincoln promised that "the Executive will in due time recommend + that all citizens of the United States who have remained loyal thereto + shall be compensated for all losses by acts of the United States, + including the loss of slaves." He announced that he would again urge upon + Congress "the adoption of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid" to + all the loyal Slave States that would "voluntarily adopt immediate or + gradual abolishment of slavery within their limits." He would continue to + advise the colonization of free Africans abroad. There is still to be + mentioned a detail of the Proclamation which, except for its historical + setting in the general perspective of Lincoln's political strategy, would + appear inexplicable. One might expect in the opening statement, where the + author of the Proclamation boldly assumes dictatorial power, an immediate + linking of that assumption with the matter in hand. But this does not + happen. The Proclamation begins with the following paragraph: + </p> + <p> + "I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, and + Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and + declare that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the + object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the + United States and each of the States and the people thereof in which + States that relation is or may be suspended or disturbed." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXV. A WAR BEHIND THE SCENES + </h2> + <p> + By the autumn of 1862, Lincoln had acquired the same political method that + Seward had displayed in the spring of 1861. What a chasm separates the two + Lincolns! The cautious, contradictory, almost timid statesman of the + Sumter episode; the confident, unified, quietly masterful statesman of the + Emancipation Proclamation. Now, in action, he was capable of staking his + whole future on the soundness of his own thinking, on his own ability to + forecast the inevitable. Without waiting for the results of the + Proclamation to appear, but in full confidence that he had driven a wedge + between the Jacobins proper and the mere Abolitionists, he threw down the + gage of battle on the issue of a constitutional dictatorship. Two days + after issuing the Proclamation he virtually proclaimed himself dictator. + He did so by means of a proclamation which divested the whole American + people of the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus. The occasion was + the effort of State governments to establish conscription of their + militia. The Proclamation delivered any one impeding that attempt into the + hands of the military authorities without trial. + </p> + <p> + Here was Lincoln's final answer to Stevens; here, his audacious challenge + to the Jacobins. And now appeared the wisdom of his political strategy, + holding back emancipation until Congress was out of the way. Had Congress + been in session what a hubbub would have ensued! Chandler, Wade, Trumbull, + Sumner, Stevens, all hurrying to join issue on the dictatorship; to get it + before the country ahead of emancipation. Rather, one can not imagine + Lincoln daring to play this second card, so soon after the first, except + with abundant time for the two issues to disentangle themselves in the + public mind ere Congress met. And that was what happened. When the Houses + met in December, the Jacobins found their position revolutionized. The men + who, in July at the head of the Vindictive coalition, dominated Congress, + were now a minority faction biting their nails at the President amid the + ruins of their coalition. + </p> + <p> + There were three reasons for this collapse. First of all, the + Abolitionists, for the moment, were a faction by themselves. Six weeks had + sufficed to intoxicate them with their opportunity. The significance of + the Proclamation had had time to arise towering on their spiritual vision, + one of the gates of the New Jerusalem. + </p> + <p> + Limited as it was in application who could doubt that, with one condition, + it doomed slavery everywhere. The condition was a successful prosecution + of the war, the restoration of the Union. Consequently, at that moment, + nothing that made issue with the President, that threatened any limitation + of his efficiency, had the slightest chance of Abolitionist support. The + one dread that alarmed the whole Abolitionist group was a possible change + in the President's mood, a possible recantation on January first. In order + to hold him to his word, they were ready to humor him as one might cajole, + or try to cajole, a monster that one was afraid of. No time, this, to talk + to Abolitionists about strictly constitutional issues, or about questions + of party leadership. Away with all your "gabble" about such small things! + The Jacobins saw the moving hand—at least for this moment—in + the crumbling wall of the palace of their delusion. + </p> + <p> + Many men who were not Abolitionists perceived, before Congress met, that + Lincoln had made a great stroke internationally. The "Liberal party + throughout the world" gave a cry of delight, and rose instantly to his + support. John Bright declared that the Emancipation Proclamation "made it + impossible for England to intervene for the South" and derided "the silly + proposition of the French Emperor looking toward intervention."(1) + Bright's closest friend in America was Sumner and Sumner was chairman of + the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He understood the value of + international sentiment, its working importance, as good provincials like + Chandler did not. Furthermore, he was always an Abolitionist first and a + Jacobin second—if at all. From this time forward, the Jacobins were + never able to count on him, not even when they rebuilt the Vindictive + Coalition a year and a half later. In December, 1862, how did they dare—true + blue politicians that they were—how did they dare raise a + constitutional issue involving the right of the President to capture, in + the way he had, international security? + </p> + <p> + The crowning irony in the new situation of the Jacobins was the revelation + that they had played unwittingly into the hands of the Democrats. Their + short-sighted astuteness in tying up emancipation with the war powers was + matched by an equal astuteness equally short-sighted. The organization of + the Little Men, when it refused to endorse Lincoln's all-parties program, + had found itself in the absurd position of a party without an issue. It + contained, to be sure, a large proportion of the Northerners who were + opposed to emancipation. But how could it make an issue upon emancipation, + as long as the President, the object of its antagonism, also refused to + support emancipation? The sole argument in the Cabinet against Lincoln's + new policy was that it would give the Democrats an issue. Shrewd + Montgomery Blair prophesied that on this issue they could carry the autumn + elections for Congress. Lincoln had replied that he would take the risk. + He presented them with the issue. They promptly accepted it But they did + not stop there. They aimed to take over the whole of the position that had + been vacated by the collapse of the Vindictive Coalition. By an adroit bit + of political legerdemain they would steal their enemies' thunder, reunite + the emancipation issue with the issue of the war powers, reverse the + significance of the conjunction, and, armed with this double club, they + would advance from a new and unexpected angle and win the leadership of + the country by overthrowing the dictator. And this, they came very near + doing. On their double issue they rallied enough support to increase their + number in Congress by thirty-three. Had not the moment been so tragic, + nothing could have been more amusing than the helpless wrath of the + Jacobins caught in their own trap, compelled to gnaw their tongues in + silence, while the Democrats, paraphrasing their own arguments, hurled + defiant at Lincoln. + </p> + <p> + Men of intellectual courage might have broken their party ranks, daringly + applied Lincoln's own maxim "stand with any one who stands right," and + momentarily joined the Democrats in their battle against the two + proclamations. But in American politics, with a few glorious exceptions, + courage of this sort has never been the order of the day. The Jacobins + kept their party line; bowed their heads to the storm; and bided their + time. In the Senate, an indiscreet resolution commending the Emancipation + Proclamation was ordered to be printed, and laid on the table.(2) In the + House, party exigencies were more exacting. Despite the Democratic + successes, the Republicans still had a majority. When the Democrats made + the repudiation of the President a party issue, arguing on those very + grounds that had aroused the eloquence of Stevens and the rest—why, + what's the Constitution between friends! Or between political enemies? The + Democrats forced all the Republicans into one boat by introducing a + resolution "That the policy of emancipation as indicated in that + Proclamation is an assumption of powers dangerous to the rights of + citizens and to the perpetuity of a free people." The resolution was + rejected. Among those who voted NO was Stevens.(3) Indeed, the star of the + Jacobins was far down on the horizon. + </p> + <p> + But the Jacobins were not the men to give up the game until they were + certainly in the last ditch. Though their issues had been slipped out of + their hands; though for the moment at least, it was not good policy to + fight the President on a principle; it might still be possible to recover + their prestige on some other contention. The first of January was + approaching. The final proclamation of emancipation would bring to an end + the temporary alliance of the Administration and the Abolitionists. Who + could say what new pattern of affairs the political kaleidoscope might not + soon reveal? Surely the Jacobin cue was to busy themselves, straightway, + making trouble for the President. Principles being unavailable, practices + might do. And who was satisfied with the way the war was going? To rouse + the party against the Administration on the ground of inefficient + practices, of unsatisfactory military progress, might be the first step + toward regaining their former dominance. + </p> + <p> + There was a feather in the wind that gave them hope. The ominous first + paragraph of the Emancipation Proclamation was evidence that the President + was still stubbornly for his own policy; that he had not surrendered to + the opposite view. But this was not their only strategic hope. Lincoln's + dealings with the army between September and December might, especially if + anything in his course proved to be mistaken, deliver him into their + hands. + </p> + <p> + Following Antietam, Lincoln had urged upon McClellan swift pursuit of Lee. + His despatches were strikingly different from those of the preceding + spring. That half apologetic tone had disappeared. Though they did not + command, they gave advice freely. The tone was at least that of an equal + who, while not an authority in this particular matter, is entitled to + express his views and to have them taken seriously. + </p> + <p> + "You remember my speaking to you of what I called your overcautiousness? + Are you not over-cautious when you assume that you can not do what the + enemy is constantly doing? Should you not claim to be at least his equal + in prowess and act upon that claim . . . one of the standard maxims of + war, as you know, is to operate upon the enemy's communications as much as + possible without exposing your own. You seem to act as if this applies + against you, but can not apply in your favor. Change positions with the + enemy and think you not he would break your communications with Richmond + within the next twenty-four hours. . . . + </p> + <p> + "If he should move northward, I would follow him closely, holding his + communications. If he should prevent your seizing his communications and + move toward Richmond; I would press closely to him, fight him if a + favorable opportunity should present, and at least try to beat him to + Richmond on the inside track. I say 'try'; if we never try we shall never + succeed. . . . We should not operate so as to merely drive him away. . . . + This letter is in no sense an order."(4) + </p> + <p> + But once more the destiny that is in character intervened, and McClellan's + tragedy reached its climax. His dread of failure hypnotized his will. So + cautious were his movements that Lee regained Virginia with his army + intact. Lincoln was angry. Military amateur though he was, he had filled + his spare time reading books on strategy, Von Clausewitz and the rest, and + he had grasped the idea that war's aim is not to win technical victories, + nor to take cities, but to destroy armies. He felt that McClellan had + thrown away an opportunity of first magnitude. He removed him from + command.(5) + </p> + <p> + This was six weeks after the two proclamations. The country was ringing + with Abolition plaudits. The election had given the Democrats a new lease + of life. The anti-Lincoln Republicans were silent while their party + enemies with their stolen thunder rang the changes on the presidential + abuse of the war powers. It was a moment of crisis in party politics. + Where did the President stand? What was the outlook for those men who in + the words of Senator Wilson "would rather give a policy to the President + of the United States than take a policy from the President of the United + States." + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's situation was a close parallel to the situation of July, 1861, + when McDowell failed. Just as in choosing a successor to McDowell, he + revealed a political attitude, now, he would again make a revelation + choosing a successor to McClellan. By passing over Fremont and by + elevating a Democrat, he had spoken to the furious politicians in the + language they understood. Whatever appointment he now made would be + interpreted by those same politicians in the same way. In the atmosphere + of that time, there was but one way for Lincoln to rank himself as a + strict party man, to recant his earlier heresy of presidential + independence, and say to the Jacobins, "I am with you." He must appoint a + Republican to succeed McClellan. Let him do that and the Congressional + Cabal would forgive him. But he did not do it. He swept political + considerations aside and made a purely military appointment Burnside, on + whom he fixed, was the friend and admirer of McClellan and might fairly be + considered next to him in prestige. He was loved by his troops. In the + eyes of the army, his elevation represented "a legitimate succession + rather than the usurpation of a successful rival."(6) He was modest. He + did not want promotion. Nevertheless, Lincoln forced him to take + McClellan's place against his will, in spite of his protest that he had + not the ability to command so large an army.(7) + </p> + <p> + When Congress assembled and the Committee resumed its inquisition, + Burnside was moving South on his fated march to Fredericksburg. The + Committee watched him like hungry wolves. Woe to Burnside, woe to Lincoln, + if the General failed! Had the Little Men possessed any sort of vision + they would have seized their opportunity to become the President's + supporters. But they, like the Jacobins, were partisans first and patriots + second. In the division among the Republicans they saw, not a chance to + turn the scale in the President's favor, but a chance to play politics on + their own account. A picturesque Ohio politician known as "Sunset" Cox + opened the ball of their fatuousness with an elaborate argument in + Congress to the effect that the President was in honor bound to regard the + recent elections as strictly analogous to an appeal to the country in + England; that it was his duty to remodel his policy to suit the Democrats. + Between the Democrats and the Jacobins Lincoln was indeed between the + devil and the deep blue sea with no one certainly on his side except the + volatile Abolitionists whom he did not trust and who did not trust him. A + great victory might carry him over. But a great defeat—what might + not be the consequence! + </p> + <p> + On the thirteenth of December, through Burnside's stubborn incompetence, + thousands of American soldiers flung away their lives in a holocaust of + useless valor at Fredericksburg. Promptly the Jacobins acted. They set up + a shriek: the incompetent President, the all-parties dreamer, the man who + persists in coquetting with the Democrats, is blundering into destruction! + Burnside received the dreaded summons from the Committee. So staggering + was the shock of horror that even moderate Republicans were swept away in + a new whirlpool of doubt. + </p> + <p> + But even thus it was scarcely wise, the Abolitionists being still fearful + over the emancipation policy, to attack the President direct. + Nevertheless, the resourceful Jacobins found a way to begin their new + campaign. Seward, the symbol of moderation, the unforgivable enemy of the + Jacobins, had recently earned anew the hatred of the Abolitionists. + Letters of his to Charles Francis Adams had appeared in print. Some of + their expressions had roused a storm. For example: "extreme advocates of + African slavery and its most vehement exponents are acting in concert + together to precipitate a servile war."(8) To be sure, the date of this + letter was long since, before he and Lincoln had changed ground on + emancipation, but that did not matter. He had spoken evil of the cause; he + should suffer. All along, the large number that were incapable of + appreciating his lack of malice had wished him out of the Cabinet. As + Lincoln put it: "While they seemed to believe in my honesty, they also + appeared to think that when I had in me any good purpose or intention, + Seward contrived to suck it out of me unperceived."(9) + </p> + <p> + The Jacobins were skilful politicians. A caucus of Republican Senators was + stampeded by the cry that Seward was the master of the Administration, the + chief explanation of failure. It was Seward who had brought them to the + verge of despair. A committee was named to demand the reorganization of + the Cabinet Thereupon, Seward, informed of this action, resigned. The + Committee of the Senators called upon Lincoln. He listened; did not commit + himself; asked them to call again; and turned into his own thoughts for a + mode of saving the day. + </p> + <p> + During twenty months, since their clash in April, 1861, Seward and Lincoln + had become friends; not merely official associates, but genuine comrades. + Seward's earlier condescension had wholly disappeared. Perhaps his new + respect for Lincoln grew out of the President's silence after Sumter. A + few words revealing the strange meddling of the Secretary of State would + have turned upon Seward the full fury of suspicion that destroyed + McClellan. But Lincoln never spoke those words. Whatever blame there was + for the failure of the Sumter expedition, he quietly accepted as his own. + Seward, whatever his faults, was too large a nature, too genuinely a lover + of courage, of the nonvindictive temper, not to be struck with admiration. + Watching with keen eyes the unfolding of Lincoln, Seward advanced from + admiration to regard. After a while he could write, "The President is the + best of us." He warmed to him; he gave out the best of himself. Lincoln + responded. While the other secretaries were useful, Seward became + necessary. Lincoln, in these dark days, found comfort in his society.(10) + Lincoln was not going to allow Seward to be driven out of the Cabinet. But + how could he prevent it? He could not say. He was in a quandary. For the + moment, the Republican leaders were so nearly of one mind in their + antagonism to Seward, that it demanded the greatest courage to oppose + them. But Lincoln does not appear to have given a thought to surrender. + What puzzled him was the mode of resistance. + </p> + <p> + Now that he was wholly himself, having confidence in whatever mode of + procedure his own thought approved, he had begun using methods that the + politicians found disconcerting. The second conference with the Senators + was an instance. Returning in the same mood in which they had left him, + with no suspicion of a surprise in store, the Senators to their amazement + were confronted by the Cabinet—or most of it, Seward being + absent.(11) The Senators were put out. This simple maneuver by the + President was the beginning of their discomfiture. It changed their role + from the ambassadors of an ultimatum to the participants in a conference. + But even thus, they might have succeeded in dominating the event, though + it is hardly conceivable that they could have carried their point; they + might have driven Lincoln into a corner; had it not been for the make-up + of one man. Again, the destiny that is in character! Lincoln was delivered + from a quandary by the course which the Secretary of the Treasury could + not keep himself from pursuing. + </p> + <p> + Chase, previous to this hour, may truly be called an imposing figure. As a + leader of the extreme Republicans, he had earned much fame. Lincoln had + given him a free hand in the Treasury and all the financial measures of + the government were his. Hitherto, Vindictives of all sorts had loved him. + He was a critic of the President's mildness, and a severe critic of + Seward. But Chase was not candid. Though on the surface he scrupulously + avoided any hint of cynicism, any point of resemblance to Seward, he was + in fact far more devious, much more capable of self-deception. He had + little of Seward's courage, and none of his aplomb. His condemnation of + Seward had been confided privately to Vindictive brethren. + </p> + <p> + When the Cabinet and the Senators met, Chase was placed in a situation of + which he had an instinctive horror. His caution, his secretiveness, his + adroit confidences, his skilful silences, had created in these two groups + of men, two impressions of his character. The Cabinet knew him as the + faithful, plausible Minister who found the money for the President. The + Senators, or some of them, knew him as the discontented Minister who was + their secret ally. For the two groups to compare notes, to check up their + impressions, meant that Chase was going to be found out. And it was the + central characteristic of Chase that he had a horror of being found out. + </p> + <p> + The only definite result of the conference was Chase's realization when + the Senators departed that mischance was his portion. In the presence of + the Cabinet he had not the face to stick to his guns. He feebly defended + Seward. The Senators opened their eyes and stared. The ally they had + counted on had failed them. Chase bit his lips and was miserable. + </p> + <p> + The night that followed was one of deep anxiety for Lincoln. He was still + unable to see his way out. But all the while the predestination in Chase's + character was preparing the way of escape. Chase was desperately trying to + discover how to save his face. An element in him that approached the + melodramatic at last pointed the way. He would resign. What an admirable + mode of recapturing the confidence of his disappointed friends, carrying + out their aim to disrupt the Cabinet! But he could not do a bold thing + like this in Seward's way—at a stroke, without hesitation. When he + called on Lincoln the next day with the resignation in his hand, he + wavered. It happened that Welles was in the room. + </p> + <p> + "Chase said he had been painfully affected," is Welles' account, "by the + meeting last evening, which was a surprise, and after some not very + explicit remarks as to how he was affected, informed the President he had + prepared his resignation of the office of Secretary of the Treasury. + 'Where is it,' said the President, quickly, his eye lighting up in a + moment. 'I brought it with me,' said Chase, taking the paper from his + pocket. 'I wrote it this morning.' 'Let me have it,' said the President, + reaching his long arm and fingers toward Chase, who held on seemingly + reluctant to part with the letter which was sealed and which he apparently + hesitated to surrender. Something further he wished to say, but the + President was eager and did not perceive it, but took and hastily opened + the letter. + </p> + <p> + "'This,' said he, looking towards me with a triumphal laugh, 'cuts the + Gordian knot.' An air of satisfaction spread over his countenance such as + I had not seen for some time. 'I can dispose of this subject now without + difficulty,' he added, as he turned in his chair; 'I see my way + clear.'"(12) In Lincoln's distress during this episode, there was much + besides his anxiety for the fate of a trusted minister. He felt he must + not permit himself to be driven into the arms of the Vindictives by + disgracing Seward. Seward had a following which Lincoln needed. But to + proclaim to the world his confidence in Seward without at the same time + offsetting it by some display of confidence, equally significant in the + enemies of Seward, this would have amounted to committing himself to + Seward's following alone. And that would not do. Should either faction + appear to dominate him, Lincoln felt that "the whole government must cave + in. It could not stand, could not hold water; the bottom would be + out."(13) + </p> + <p> + The incredible stroke of luck, the sheer good fortune that Chase was Chase + and nobody else,—vain, devious, stagey and hypersensitive,—was + salvation. Lincoln promptly rejected both resignations and called upon + both Ministers to resume their portfolios. They did so. The incident was + closed. Neither faction could say that Lincoln had favored the other. He + had saved himself, or rather, Chase's character had saved him, by the + margin of a hair. + </p> + <p> + For the moment, a rebuilding of the Vindictive Coalition was impossible. + Nevertheless, the Jacobins, again balked of their prey, had it in their + power, through the terrible Committee, to do immense mischief. The history + of the war contains no other instance of party malice quite so fruitless + and therefore so inexcusable as their next move. After severely + interrogating Burnside, they published an exoneration of his motives and + revealed the fact that Lincoln had forced him into command against his + will. The implication was plain. + </p> + <p> + January came in. The Emancipation Proclamation was confirmed. The + jubilation of the Abolitionists became, almost at once, a propaganda for + another issue upon slavery. New troubles were gathering close about the + President The overwhelming benefit which had been anticipated from the new + policy had not clearly arrived. Even army enlistments were not + satisfactory. Conscription loomed on the horizon as an eventual necessity. + A bank of returning cloud was covering the political horizon, enshrouding + the White House in another depth of gloom. + </p> + <p> + However, out of all this gathering darkness, one clear light solaced + Lincoln's gaze. One of his chief purposes had been attained. In contrast + to the doubtful and factional response to his policy at home, the response + abroad was sweeping and unconditional. He had made himself the hero of the + "Liberal party throughout the world." Among the few cheery words that + reached him in January, 1863, were New Year greetings of trust and + sympathy sent by English working men, who, because of the blockade, were + on the verge of starvation. It was in response to one of these letters + from the working men of Manchester that Lincoln wrote: + </p> + <p> + "I have understood well that the duty of self-preservation rests solely + with the American people; but I have at the same time been aware that the + favor or disfavor of foreign nations might have a material influence in + enlarging or prolonging the struggle with disloyal men in which the + country is engaged. A fair examination of history has served to authorize + a belief that the past actions and influences of the United States were + generally regarded as having been beneficial toward mankind. I have + therefore reckoned upon the forbearance of nations. Circumstances—to + some of which you kindly allude—induce me especially to expect that + if justice and good faith should be practised by the United States they + would encounter no hostile influence on the part of Great Britain. It is + now a pleasant duty to acknowledge the demonstration you have given of + your desire that a spirit of amity and peace toward this country may + prevail in the councils of your Queen, who is respected and esteemed in + your own country only more than she is, by the kindred nation which has + its home on this side of the Atlantic. + </p> + <p> + "I know and deeply deplore the sufferings which the working men at + Manchester, and in all Europe, are called on to endure in this crisis. It + has been often and studiously represented that the attempt to overthrow + this government which was built upon the foundation of human rights, and + to substitute for it one which should rest exclusively on the basis of + human slavery, was likely to obtain the favor of Europe. Through the + action of our disloyal citizens, the working men of Europe have been + subjected to severe trials for the purpose of forcing their sanction to + that attempt. Under the circumstances, I can not but regard your decisive + utterances upon the question as an instance of sublime Christian heroism + which has not been surpassed in any age or in any country. It is indeed an + energetic and reinspiring assurance of the inherent power of the truth, + and of the ultimate and universal triumph of justice, humanity and + freedom. I do not doubt that the sentiments you have expressed will be + sustained by your great nation; and on the other hand, I have no + hesitation in assuring you that they will excite admiration, esteem, and + the most reciprocal feelings of friendship among the American people. I + hail this interchange of sentiment, therefore, as an augury that whatever + else may happen, whatever misfortune may befall your country or my own, + the peace and friendship which now exist between the two nations, will be, + as it shall be my desire to make them, perpetual."(14) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVI. THE DICTATOR, THE MARPLOT AND THE LITTLE MEN + </h2> + <p> + While the Jacobins were endeavoring to reorganize the Republican + antagonism to the President, Lincoln was taking thought how he could + offset still more effectually their influence. In taking up the + emancipation policy he had not abandoned his other policy of an + all-parties Administration, or of something similar to that. By this time + it was plain that a complete union of parties was impossible. In the + autumn of 1862, a movement of liberal Democrats in Michigan for the + purpose of a working agreement with the Republicans was frustrated by the + flinty opposition of Chandler.(1) However, it still seemed possible to + combine portions of parties in an Administration group that should + forswear the savagery of the extreme factions and maintain the war in a + merciful temper. The creation of such a group was Lincoln's aim at the + close of the year. + </p> + <p> + The Republicans were not in doubt what he was driving at. Smarting over + their losses in the election, there was angry talk that Lincoln and Seward + had "slaughtered the Republican party."(2) Even as sane a man as John + Sherman, writing to his brother on the causes of the apparent turn of the + tide could say "the first is that the Republican organization was + voluntarily abandoned by the President and his leading followers, and a + no-party union was formed to run against an old, well-drilled party + organization."(3) When Julian returned to Washington in December, he found + that the menace to the Republican machine was "generally admitted and + (his) earnest opposition to it fully justified in the opinion of the + Republican members of Congress."(4) How fully they perceived their danger + had been shown in their attempt to drive Lincoln into a corner on the + issue of a new Cabinet. + </p> + <p> + Even before that, Lincoln had decided on his next move. As in the + emancipation policy he had driven a wedge between the factions of the + Republicans, so now he would drive a wedge into the organization of the + Democrats. It had two parts which had little to hold them together except + their rooted partisan habit.(5) One branch, soon to receive the label + "Copperhead," accepted the secession principle and sympathized with the + Confederacy. The other, while rejecting secession and supporting the war, + denounced the emancipation policy as usurped authority, and felt personal + hostility to Lincoln. It was the latter faction that Lincoln still hoped + to win over. Its most important member was Horatio Seymour, who in the + autumn of 1862 was elected governor of New York. Lincoln decided to + operate on him by one of those astounding moves which to the selfless man + seemed natural enough, by which the ordinary politician was always + hopelessly mystified. He called in Thurlow Weed and authorized him to make + this proposal: if Seymour would bring his following into a composite Union + party with no platform but the vigorous prosecution of the war, Lincoln + would pledge all his influence to securing for Seymour the presidential + nomination in 1864. Weed delivered his message. Seymour was noncommittal + and Lincoln had to wait for his answer until the new Governor should show + his hand by his official acts. Meanwhile a new crisis had developed in the + army. Burnside's character appears to have been shattered by his defeat. + Previous to Fredericksburg, he had seemed to be a generous, high-minded + man. From Fredericksburg onward, he became more and more an impossible. A + reflection of McClellan in his earlier stage, he was somehow transformed + eventually into a reflection of vindictivism. His later character began to + appear in his first conference with the Committee subsequent to his + disaster. They visited him on the field and "his conversation disarmed all + criticism." This was because he struck their own note to perfection. "Our + soldiers," he said, "were not sufficiently fired by resentment, and he + exhorted me (Julian) if I could, to breathe into our people at home the + same spirit toward our enemies which inspired them toward us."(6) What a + transformation in McClellan's disciple! + </p> + <p> + But the country was not won over so easily as the Committee. There was + loud and general disapproval and of course, the habitual question, "Who + next?" The publication by the Committee of its insinuation that once more + the stubborn President was the real culprit did not stem the tide. + Burnside himself made his case steadily worse. His judgment, such as it + was, had collapsed. He seemed to be stubbornly bent on a virtual + repetition of his previous folly. Lincoln felt it necessary to command him + to make no forward move without consulting the President.(7) + </p> + <p> + Burnside's subordinates freely criticized their commander. General Hooker + was the most outspoken. It was known that a movement was afoot—an + intrigue, if you will-to disgrace Burnside and elevate Hooker. Chafing + under criticism and restraint, Burnside completely lost his sense of + propriety. On the twenty-fourth of January, 1863, when Henry W. Raymond, + the powerful editor of the New York Times, was on a visit to the camp, + Burnside took him into his tent and read him an order removing Hooker + because of his unfitness "to hold a command in a cause where so much + moderation, forbearance, and unselfish patriotism were required." Raymond, + aghast, inquired what he would do if Hooker resisted, if he raised his + troops in mutiny? "He said he would Swing him before sundown if he + attempted such a thing." + </p> + <p> + Raymond, though more than half in sympathy with Burnside, felt that the + situation was startling. He hurried off to Washington. "I immediately," he + writes, "called upon Secretary Chase and told him the whole story. He was + greatly surprised to hear such reports of Hooker, and said he had looked + upon him as the man best fitted to command the army of the Potomac. But no + man capable of so much and such unprincipled ambition was fit for so great + a trust, and he gave up all thought of him henceforth. He wished me to go + with him to his house and accompany him and his daughter to the + President's levee. I did so and found a great crowd surrounding President + Lincoln. I managed, however, to tell him in brief terms that I had been + with the army and that many things were occurring there which he ought to + know. I told him of the obstacles thrown in Burnside's way by his + subordinates and especially General Hooker's habitual conversation. He put + his hand on my shoulder and said in my ear as if desirous of not being + overheard, 'That is all true; Hooker talks badly; but the trouble is, he + is stronger with the country today than any other man.' I ventured to ask + how long he would retain that strength if his real conduct and character + should be understood. 'The country,' said he, 'would not believe it; they + would say it was all a lie.'"(8) + </p> + <p> + Whether Chase did what he said he would do and ceased to be Hooker's + advocate, may be questioned. Tradition preserves a deal between the + Secretary and the General—the Secretary to urge his advancement, the + General, if he reached his goal, to content himself with military honors + and to assist the Secretary in succeeding to the Presidency. Hooker was a + public favorite. The dashing, handsome figure of "Fighting Joe" captivated + the popular imagination. The terrible Committee were his friends. Military + men thought him full of promise. On the whole, Lincoln, who saw the wisdom + of following up his clash over the Cabinet by a concession to the + Jacobins, was willing to take his chances with Hooker. + </p> + <p> + His intimate advisers were not of the same mind. They knew that there was + much talk on the theme of a possible dictator-not the constitutional + dictator of Lincoln and Stevens, but the old-fashioned dictator of + historical melodrama. Hooker was reported to have encouraged such talk. + All this greatly alarmed one of Lincoln's most devoted henchmen—Lamon, + Marshal of the District of Columbia, who regarded himself as personally + responsible for Lincoln's safety. "In conversation with Mr. Lincoln," says + Lamon, "one night about the time General Burnside was relieved, I was + urging upon him the necessity of looking well to the fact that there was a + scheme on foot to depose him, and to appoint a military dictator in his + stead. He laughed and said, 'I think, for a man of accredited courage, you + are the most panicky person I ever knew; you can see more dangers to me + than all the other friends I have. You are all the time exercised about + somebody taking my life; murdering me; and now you have discovered a new + danger; now you think the people of this great government are likely to + turn me out of office. I do not fear this from the people any more than I + fear assassination from an individual. Now to show my appreciation of what + my French friends would call a coup d'etat, let me read you a letter I + have written to General Hooker whom I have just appointed to the command + of the army of the Potomac."(9) + </p> + <p> + Few letters of Lincoln's are better known, few reveal more exactly the + tone of his final period, than the remarkable communication he addressed + to Hooker two days after that whispered talk with Raymond at the White + House levee: + </p> + <p> + "General, I have placed you at the head of the army of the Potomac. Of + course I have done this upon what appear to me to be sufficient reasons, + and yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in + regard to which I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to be a + brave and skilful soldier, which of course I like. I also believe you do + not mix politics with your profession, in which you are right. You have + confidence in yourself, which is a valuable, if not an indispensable + quality. You are ambitious, which within reasonable bounds, does good + rather than harm; but I think that during General Burnside's command of + the army you have taken counsel of your ambition and thwarted him as much + as you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country and to a most + meritorious and honorable brother officer. I have heard in such a way as + to believe it, of your recently Saying that both the army and the + government needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite + of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain + successes can set up dictators. What I now ask you is military success, + and I will risk the dictatorship. The government will support you to the + utmost of its ability, which is neither more nor less than it has done and + will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have + aided to infuse into the army, of criticizing their commander and + withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist + you as far as I can to put it down. Neither you nor Napoleon, if he were + alive again, could get any good out of an army while such a Spirit + prevails in it; and now beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but with + energy and sleepless vigilance go forward and give us victories."(10) + </p> + <p> + The appointment of Hooker had the effect of quieting the Committee for the + time. Lincoln turned again to his political scheme, but not until he had + made another military appointment from which at the moment no one could + have guessed that trouble would ever come. He gave to Burnside what might + be called the sinecure position of Commander of the Department of the Ohio + with headquarters at Cincinnati.(11) + </p> + <p> + During the early part of 1863 Lincoln's political scheme received a + serious blow. Seymour ranked himself as an irreconcilable enemy of the + Administration. The anti-Lincoln Republicans struck at the President in + roundabout ways. Heralding a new attack, the best man on the Committee, + Julian, ironically urged his associates in Congress to "rescue" the + President from his false friends—those mere Unionists who were + luring him away from the party that had elected him, enticing him into a + vague new party that should include "Democrats." It was said that there + were only two Lincoln men in the House.(12) Greeley was coquetting with + Rosecrans, trying to induce him to come forward as Republican presidential + "timber." The Committee in April published an elaborate report which + portrayed the army of the Potomac as an army of heroes tragically + afflicted in the past by the incompetence of their commanders. The + Democrats continued their abuse of the dictator. + </p> + <p> + It was a moment of strained pause, everybody waiting upon circumstance. + And in Washington, every eye was turned Southward. How soon would they + glimpse the first messenger from that glorious victory which "Fighting + Joe" had promised them. "The enemy is in my power," said he, "and God + Almighty can not deprive me of them."(13) + </p> + <p> + Something of the difference between Hooker and Lincoln, between all the + Vindictives and Lincoln, may be felt by turning from these ribald words to + that Fast Day Proclamation which this strange statesman issued to his + people, that anxious spring,—that moment of trance as it were—when + all things seemed to tremble toward the last judgment: + </p> + <p> + "And whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their + dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and + transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine + repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime + truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that + those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord: + </p> + <p> + "And insomuch as we know that by His divine law nations, like individuals, + are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not + justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the + land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, + to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people. We have + been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been + preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in + numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have + forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in + peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly + imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings + were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated + with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the + necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God that + made us: + </p> + <p> + "It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to + confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. + </p> + <p> + "All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in + the hope authorized by the divine teachings, that the united cry of the + nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings no less than the + pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided and + suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace."(14) + </p> + <p> + Alas, for such men as Hooker! What seemed to him in his vainglory beyond + the reach of Omnipotence, was accomplished by Lee and Jackson and a + Confederate army at Chancellorsville. Profound gloom fell upon Washington. + Welles heard the terrible news from Sumner who came into his room "and + raising both hands exclaimed, 'Lost, lost, all is lost!'"(15) + </p> + <p> + The aftermath of Manassas was repeated. In the case of Pope, no effort had + been spared to save the friend of the Committee, to find some one else on + whom to load his incompetence. The course was now repeated. Again, the + Jacobins raised the cry, "We are betrayed!" Again, the stir to injure the + President. Very strange are the ironies of history! At this critical + moment, Lincoln's amiable mistake in sending Burnside to Cincinnati + demanded expiation. Along with the definite news of Hooker's overthrow, + came the news that Burnside had seized the Copperhead leader, + Vallandigham, and had cast him into prison; that a hubbub had ensued; + that, as the saying goes, the woods were burning in Ohio. + </p> + <p> + Vallandigham's offense was a public speech of which no accurate report + survives. However, the fragments recorded by "plain clothes" men in + Burnside's employ, when set in the perspective of Vallandigham's thinking + as displayed in Congress, make its tenor plain enough. It was an + out-and-out Copperhead harangue. If he was to be treated as hundreds of + others had been, the case against him was plain. But the Administration's + policy toward agitators had gradually changed. There was not the same fear + of them that had existed two years before. Now the tendency of the + Administration was to ignore them. + </p> + <p> + The Cabinet regretted what Burnside had done. Nevertheless, the Ministers + felt that it would not do to repudiate him. Lincoln took that view. He + wrote to Burnside deploring his action and sustaining his authority.(16) + And then, as a sort of grim practical joke, he commuted Vallandigham's + sentence from imprisonment to banishment. The agitator was sent across the + lines into the Confederacy. + </p> + <p> + Burnside had effectually played the marplot. Very little chance now of an + understanding between Lincoln and either wing of the Democrats. The + opportunity to make capital out of the war powers was quite too good to be + lost! Vallandigham was nominated for governor by the Ohio Democrats. In + all parts of the country Democratic committees resolved in furious protest + against the dictator. And yet, on the whole, perhaps, the incident played + into Lincoln's hands. At least, it silenced the Jacobins. With the + Democrats ringing the changes on the former doctrine of the supple + politicians, how certain that their only course for the moment was to lie + low. A time came, to be sure, when they thought it safe to resume their + own creed; but that was not yet. + </p> + <p> + The hubbub over Vallandigham called forth two letters addressed to + protesting committees, that have their place among Lincoln's most + important statements of political science. His argument is based on the + proposition which Browning developed a year before. The core of it is: + </p> + <p> + "You ask in substance whether I really claim that I may override all + guaranteed rights of individuals on the plea of conserving the public + safety, whenever I may choose to say the public safety requires it. This + question, divested of the phraseology calculated to represent me as + struggling for an arbitrary personal prerogative, is either simply a + question who shall decide, or an affirmation that no one shall decide, + what the public safety does require in cases of rebellion or invasion. + </p> + <p> + "The Constitution contemplates the question as likely to occur for + decision, but it does not expressly declare who is to decide it. By + necessary implication, when rebellion or invasion comes, the decision is + to be made from time to time; and I think the man whom, for the time, the + people have, under the Constitution, made the Commander-in-chief of their + army and navy, is the man who holds the power and bears the responsibility + of making it. If he uses the power justly, the same people will probably + justify him; if he abuses it, he is in their hands to be dealt with by all + the modes they have reserved to themselves in the Constitution."(17) + </p> + <p> + Browning's argument over again-the President can be brought to book by a + plebiscite, while Congress can not. But Lincoln did not rest, as Browning + did, on mere argument. The old-time jury lawyer revived. He was doing more + than arguing a theorem of political science. He was on trial before the + people, the great mass, which he understood so well. He must reach their + imaginations and touch their hearts. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Vallandigham avows his hostility to the war on the part of the Union, + and his arrest was made because he was laboring with some effect, to + prevent the raising of troops, to encourage desertions from the army, and + to leave the rebellion without an adequate military force to sup-press it. + He was not arrested because he was damaging the political prospects of the + Administration or the personal interests of the Commanding General, but + because he was damaging the army, upon the existence and vigor of which + the life of the nation depends. He was warring upon the military, and this + gave the military constitutional jurisdiction to lay hands upon him. + </p> + <p> + "I understand the meeting whose resolutions I am considering, to be in + favor of suppressing the rebellion by military force-by armies. Long + experience has shown that armies can not be maintained unless desertion + shall be punished by the severe penalty of death. The case requires, and + the Law and the Constitution sanction this punishment. Must I shoot a + simple-minded soldier boy who deserts while I must not touch a hair of a + wily agitator who induces him to desert?"(18) + </p> + <p> + Again, the ironical situation of the previous December; the wrathful + Jacobins, the most dangerous because the most sincere enemies of the + presidential dictatorship, silent, trapped, biding their time. But the + situation had for them a distinct consolation. A hundred to one it had + killed the hope of a Lincoln-Democratic alliance. + </p> + <p> + However, the President would not give up the Democrats without one last + attempt to get round the Little Men. Again, he could think of no mode of + negotiation except the one he had vainly attempted with Seymour. As + earnest of his own good faith, he would once more renounce his own + prospect of a second term. But since Seymour had failed him, who was there + that could serve his purpose? The popularity of McClellan among those + Democrats who were not Copperheads had grown with his misfortunes. There + had been a wide demand for his restoration after Fredericksburg, and again + after Chancellorsville. Lincoln justified his reputation for political + insight by concluding that McClellan, among the Democrats, was the coming + man. Again Weed was called in. Again he became an ambassador of + renunciation. Apparently he carried a message to the effect that if + McClellan would join forces with the Administration, Lincoln would support + him for president a year later. But McClellan was too inveterate a + partisan. Perhaps he thought that the future was his anyway.(19) + </p> + <p> + And so Lincoln's persistent attempt to win over the Democrats came to an + end. The final sealing of their antagonism was effected at a great + Democratic rally in New York on the Fourth of July. The day previous, a + manifesto had been circulated through the city beginning, "Freemen, awake! + In everything, and in most stupendous proportion, is this Administration + abominable!"(20) Seymour reaffirmed his position of out-and-out partisan + hostility to the Administration. Vallandigham's colleague, Pendleton of + Ohio, formulated the Democratic doctrine: that the Constitution was being + violated by the President's assumption of war powers. His cry was, "The + Constitution as it is and the Union as it was." He thundered that + "Congress can not, and no one else shall, interfere with free speech." The + question was not whether we were to have peace or war, but whether or not + we were to have free government; "if it be necessary to violate the + Constitution in order to carry on the war, the war ought instantly to be + stopped."(21) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's political program had ended apparently in a wreck. But Fortune + had not entirely deserted him. Hooker in a fit of irritation had offered + his resignation. Lincoln had accepted it. Under a new commander, the army + of the Potomac had moved against Lee. The orators at the Fourth of July + meeting had read in the papers that same day Lincoln's announcement of the + victory at Gettysburg.(22) Almost coincident with that announcement was + the surrender of Vicksburg. Difficult as was the political problem ahead + of him, the problem of finding some other plan for unifying his support + without participating in a Vindictive Coalition, Lincoln's mood was + cheerful. On the seventh of July he was serenaded. Serenades for the + President were a feature of war-time in Washington, and Lincoln utilized + the occasions to talk informally to the country. His remarks on the + seventh were not distinctive, except for their tone, quietly, joyfully + confident. His serene mood displayed itself a week later in a note to + Grant which is oddly characteristic. Who else would have had the impulse + to make this quaint little confession? But what, for a general who could + read between the lines, could have been more delightful?(23) + </p> + <p> + "My dear General: I do not remember that you and I ever met personally. I + write this now as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable + service you have done the country. I wish to say a word further. When you + first reached the vicinity of Vicksburg, I thought you should do what you + finally did-march the troops across the neck, run the batteries with the + transports, and thus go below; and I never had any faith except a general + hope that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo Pass expedition and the + like could succeed. When you got below and took Port Gibson, Grand Gulf + and the vicinity, I thought you should go down the river and join General + Banks, and when you turned Northward, east of the Big Black, I feared it + was a mistake. I now wish to make the personal acknowledgment that you + were right and I was wrong. + </p> + <p> + "Very truly, + </p> + <p> + "A. LINCOLN." <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVII. THE TRIBUNE OF THE PEOPLE + </h2> + <p> + Between March and December, 1863, Congress was not in session. Its members + were busy "taking the sense of the country" as they would have said: + "putting their ears to the ground," as other people would say. A startling + tale the ground told them. It was nothing less than that Lincoln was the + popular hero; that the people believed in him; that the politicians would + do well to shape their ways accordingly. When they reassembled, they were + in a sullen, disappointed frame of mind. They would have liked to ignore + the ground's mandate; but being politicians, they dared not. + </p> + <p> + What an ironical turn of events! Lincoln's well-laid plan for a coalition + of Moderates and Democrats had come to nothing. Logically, he ought now to + be at the mercy of the Republican leaders. But instead, those leaders were + beginning to be afraid of him, were perceiving that he had power whereof + they had not dreamed. Like Saul the son of Kish, who had set out to find + his father's asses, he had found instead a kingdom. How had he done it? + </p> + <p> + On a grand scale, it was the same sort of victory that had made him a + power, so long before, on the little stage at Springfield. It was personal + politics. His character had saved him. A multitude who saw nothing in the + fine drawn constitutional issue of the war powers, who sensed the war in + the most simple and elementary way, had formed, somehow, a compelling and + stimulating idea of the President. They were satisfied that "Old Abe," or + "Father Abraham," was the man for them. When, after one of his numerous + calls for fresh troops, their hearts went out to him, a new song sprang to + life, a ringing, vigorous, and yet a touching song with the refrain, + "We're coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more." + </p> + <p> + But how has he done it, asked the bewildered politicians, one of another. + How had he created this personal confidence? They, Wade, Chandler, + Stevens, Davis, could not do it; why could he? + </p> + <p> + Well, for one thing, he was a grand reality. They, relatively, were + shadows. The wind of destiny for him was the convictions arising out of + his own soul; for them it was vox populi. The genuineness of Lincoln, his + spiritual reality, had been perceived early by a class of men whom your + true politician seldom understands. The Intellectuals—"them literary + fellers," in the famous words of an American Senator—were quick to + see that the President was an extraordinary man; they were not long in + concluding that he was a genius. The subtlest intellect of the time, + Hawthorne, all of whose prejudices were enlisted against him, said in the + Atlantic of July, 1863: "He is evidently a man of keen faculties, and what + is still more to the purpose, of powerful character. As to his integrity, + the people have that intuition of it which is never deceived he has a + flexible mind capable of much expansion." And this when Trumbull chafed in + spirit because the President was too "weak" for his part and Wade railed + at him as a despot. As far back as 1860, Lowell, destined to become one of + his ablest defenders, had said that Lincoln had "proved both his ability + and his integrity; he . . . had experience enough in public affairs to + make him a statesman, and not enough to make him a politician." To be + sure, there were some Intellectuals who could not see straight nor think + clear. The world would have more confidence in the caliber of Bryant had + he been able to rank himself in the Lincoln following. But the greater + part of the best intelligence of the North could have subscribed to + Motley's words, "My respect for the character of the President increases + every day."(1) The impression he made on men of original mind is shadowed + in the words of Walt Whitman, who saw him often in the streets of + Washington: "None of the artists or pictures have caught the subtle and + indirect expression of this man's face. One of the great portrait painters + of two or three centuries ago is needed."(2) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's popular strength lay in a combination of the Intellectuals and + the plain people against the politicians. He reached the masses in three + ways: through his general receptions which any one might attend; through + the open-door policy of his office, to which all the world was permitted + access; through his visits to the army. Many thousand men and women, in + one or another of these ways, met the President face to face, often in the + high susceptibility of intense woe, and carried away an impression which + was immediately circulated among all their acquaintances. + </p> + <p> + It would be impossible to exaggerate the grotesque miscellany of the + stream of people flowing ever in and out of the President's open doors. + Patriots eager to serve their country but who could find no place in the + conventional requirements of the War Office; sharpers who wanted to + inveigle him into the traps of profiteers; widows with all their sons in + service, pleading for one to be exempted; other parents struggling with + the red tape that kept them from sons in hospitals; luxurious frauds + prating of their loyalty for the sake of property exemptions; inventors + with every imaginable strange device; politicians seeking to cajole him; + politicians bluntly threatening him; cashiered officers demanding justice; + men with grievances of a myriad sorts; nameless statesmen who sought to + teach him his duty; clergymen in large numbers, generally with the same + purpose; deputations from churches, societies, political organizations, + commissions, trades unions, with every sort of message from flattery to + denunciation; and best of all, simple, confiding people who wanted only to + say, "We trust you—God bless you!" + </p> + <p> + There was a method in this madness of accessibility. Its deepest + inspiration, to be sure, was kindness. In reply to a protest that he would + wear himself out listening to thousands of requests most of which could + not be granted, he replied with one of those smiles in which there was so + much sadness, "They don't want much; they get but little, and I must see + them."(3) + </p> + <p> + But there was another inspiration. His open doors enabled him to study the + American people, every phase of it, good and bad. "Men moving only in an + official circle," said he, "are apt to become merely official—not to + say arbitrary—in their ideas, and are apter and apter with each + passing day to forget that they only hold power in a representative + capacity. . . . Many of the matters brought to my notice are utterly + frivolous, but others are of more or less importance, and all serve to + renew in me a clearer and more vivid image of that great popular + assemblage out of which I sprung, and to which at the end of two years I + must return. . . . I call these receptions my public opinion baths; for I + have but little time to read the papers, and gather public opinion that + way; and though they may not be pleasant in all their particulars, the + effect as a whole, is renovating and invigorating to my perceptions of + responsibility and duty."(4) + </p> + <p> + He did not allow his patience to be abused with evil intent. He read his + suppliants swiftly. The profiteer, the shirk, the fraud of any sort, was + instantly unmasked. "I'll have nothing to do with this business," he burst + out after listening to a gentlemanly profiteer; "nor with any man who + comes to me with such degrading propositions. What! Do you take the + President of the United States to be a commission broker? You have come to + the wrong place, and for you and for every one who comes for the same + purpose, there is the door."(5) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln enjoyed this indiscriminate mixing with people. It was his chief + escape from care. He saw no reason why his friends should Commiserate him + because of the endless handshaking. That was a small matter compared with + the interest he took in the ever various stream of human types. Sometimes, + indeed, he would lapse into a brown study in the midst of a reception. + Then he "would shake hands with thousands of people, seemingly unconscious + of what he was doing, murmuring monotonous salutations as they went by, + his eye dim, his thoughts far withdrawn. . . . Suddenly, he would see some + familiar face—his memory for faces was very good-and his eye would + brighten and his whole form grow attentive; he would greet the visitor + with a hearty grasp and a ringing word and dismiss him with a cheery laugh + that filled the Blue Room with infectious good nature."(6) Carpenter, the + portrait painter, who for a time saw him daily, says that "his laugh stood + by itself. The neigh of a wild horse on his native prairie is not more + undisguised and hearty." An intimate friend called it his "life + preserver."(7) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's sense of humor delighted in any detail of an event which + suggested comedy. His genial awkwardness amused himself quite as much as + it amused the world. At his third public reception he wore a pair of white + kid gloves that were too small. An old friend approached. The President + shook hands so heartily that his glove burst with a popping sound. Holding + up his hand, Lincoln gazed at the ruined glove with a droll air while the + arrested procession came to a standstill. "Well, my old friend," said he, + "this is a general bustification; you and I were never intended to wear + these things. If they were stronger they might do to keep out the cold, + but they are a failure to shake hands with between old friends like us. + Stand aside, Captain, and I'll see you shortly."(8) + </p> + <p> + His complete freedom from pose, and from the sense of place, was glimpsed + by innumerable visitors. He would never allow a friend to address him by a + title. "Call me Lincoln," he would say; "Mr. President is entirely too + formal for us."(9) + </p> + <p> + In a mere politician, all this might have been questioned. But Hawthorne + was right as to the people's intuition of Lincoln's honesty. He hated the + parade of eminence. Jefferson was his patron saint, and "simplicity" was + part of his creed. Nothing could induce him to surround himself with pomp, + or even—as his friends thought—with mere security. Rumors of + plots against his life were heard almost from the beginning. His friends + begged long and hard before he consented to permit a cavalry guard at the + gates of the White House. Very soon he countermanded his consent. "It + would never do," said he, "for a president to have guards with drawn + sabers at his door, as if he fancied he were, or were trying to be, or + were assuming to be, an emperor."(10) + </p> + <p> + A military officer, alarmed for his safety, begged him to consider "the + fact that any assassin or maniac seeking his life, could enter his + presence without the interference of a single armed man to hold him back. + The entrance doors, and all doors on the official side of the building, + were open at all hours of the day and very late into the evening; and I + have many times entered the mansion and walked up to the rooms of the two + private secretaries as late as nine or ten o'clock at night, without + Seeing, or being challenged by a single soul." But the officer pleaded in + vain. Lincoln laughingly paraphrased Charles II, "Now as to political + assassination, do you think the Richmond people would like to have + Hannibal Hamlin here any more than myself? . . . As to the crazy folks, + Major, why I must only take my chances-the most crazy people at present, I + fear, being some of my own too zealous adherents."(11) With Carpenter, to + whom he seems to have taken a liking, he would ramble the streets of + Washington, late at night, "without escort or even the company of a + servant."(12) Though Halleck talked him into accepting an escort when + driving to and fro between Washington and his summer residence at the + Soldiers' Home, he would frequently give it the slip and make the journey + on horseback alone. In August of 1862 on one of these solitary rides, his + life was attempted. It was about eleven at night; he was "jogging along at + a slow gait immersed in deep thought" when some one fired at him with a + rifle from near at hand. The ball missed its aim and the President's + horse, as Lincoln confided to his familiars, "gave proof of decided + dissatisfaction at the racket, and with one reckless bound, he + unceremoniously separated me from my eight-dollar plug hat . . . At + break-neck speed we reached a haven of safety. Meanwhile, I was left in + doubt whether death was more desirable from being thrown from a runaway + Federal horse, or as the tragic result of a rifle ball fired by a disloyal + bushwhacker in the middle of the night"(13) + </p> + <p> + While carrying his life in his hands in this oddly reckless way, he belied + himself, as events were to show, by telling his friends that he fancied + himself "a great coward physically," that he felt sure he would make a + poor soldier. But he was sufficiently just to himself to add, "Moral + cowardice is something which I think I never had."(14) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's humor found expression in other ways besides telling stories and + laughing at himself. He seized every opportunity to convert a petition + into a joke, when this could be done without causing pain. One day, there + entered a great man with a long list of favors which he hoped to have + granted. Among these was "the case of Betsy Ann Dougherty, a good woman," + said the great man. "She lived in my county and did my washing for a long + time. Her husband went off and joined the Rebel army and I wish you would + give her a protection paper." The pompous gravity of the way the case was + presented struck Lincoln as very funny. His visitor had no humor. He + failed to see jokes while Lincoln quizzed him as to who and what was Betsy + Ann. At length the President wrote a line on a card and handed it to the + great man. "Tell Betsy Ann to put a string in this card and hang it round + her neck," said he. "When the officers (who may have doubted her + affiliations) see this they will keep their hands off your Betsy Ann." On + the card was written, "Let Betsy Ann Dougherty alone as long as she + behaves herself. A. Lincoln."(15) + </p> + <p> + This eagerness for a joke now and then gave offense. On one occasion, a + noted Congressman called on the President shortly after a disaster. + Lincoln began to tell a story. The Congressman jumped up. "Mr. President, + I did not come here this morning to hear stories. It is too serious a + time." Lincoln's face changed. "Ashley," said he, "sit down! I respect you + as an earnest, sincere man. You can not be more anxious than I have been + constantly since the beginning of the war; and I say to you now, that were + it not for this occasional vent, I should die."(16) Again he said, "When + the Peninsula Campaign terminated suddenly at Harrison's Landing, I was as + near inconsolable as I could be and live."(17) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's imaginative power, the ineradicable artist in him, made of + things unseen true realities to his sensibility. Reports of army suffering + bowed his spirit. "This was especially' the case when the noble victims + were of his own acquaintance, or of the narrower circle of his familiar + friends; and then he seemed for the moment possessed of a sense of + personal responsibility for their individual fate which was at once most + unreasonable and most pitiful." On hearing that two sons of an old friend + were desperately wounded and would probably die, he broke out with: "Here, + now, are these dear brave boys killed in this cursed war. My God! My God! + It is too bad! They worked hard to earn money to educate themselves and + this is the end! I loved them as if they were my own."(18) He was one of + the few who have ever written a beautiful letter of condolence. Several of + his letters attempting this all but impossible task, come as near their + mark as such things can. One has become a classic: + </p> + <p> + "I have been shown," he wrote to Mrs. Bixby, "in the files of the War + Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you + are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of + battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which + should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. + But I can not refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be + found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our + heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you + only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that + must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of + freedom."(19) + </p> + <p> + All these innumerable instances of his sympathy passed from mouth to + mouth; became part of a floating propaganda that was organizing the people + in his support. To these were added many anecdotes of his mercy. The + American people had not learned that war is a rigorous thing. Discipline + in the army was often hard to maintain. Impulsive young men who tired of + army life, or who quarreled with their officers, sometimes walked away. + There were many condemnations either for mutiny or desertion. In the + stream of suppliants pouring daily through the President's office, many + were parents imploring mercy for rash sons. As every death-warrant had to + be signed by the President, his generals were frequently enraged by his + refusal to carry out their decisions. "General," said he to an angry + commander who charged him with destroying discipline, "there are too many + weeping widows in the United States now.-For God's sake don't ask me to + add to the number; for I tell you plainly I won't do it."(20) + </p> + <p> + Here again, kindness was blended with statecraft, mercy with shrewdness. + The generals could not grasp the political side of war. Lincoln tried to + make them see it. When they could not, he quietly in the last resort + counteracted their influence. When some of them talked of European + experience, he shook his head; it would not do; they must work with the + tools they had; first of all with an untrained people, intensely sensitive + to the value of human life, impulsive, quick to forget offenses, + ultra-considerate of youth and its rashness. Whatever else the President + did, he must not allow the country to think of the army as an ogre + devouring its sons because of technicalities. The General saw only the + discipline, the morale, of the soldiers; the President saw the far more + difficult, the more roundabout matter, the discipline and the morale of + the citizens. The one believed that he could compel; the other with his + finger on the nation's pulse, knew that he had to persuade. + </p> + <p> + However, this flowing army of the propaganda did not always engage him on + the tragic note. One day a large fleshy man, of a stern but homely + countenance and a solemn and dignified carriage, immaculate dress—"swallow-tailed + coat, ruffled shirt of faultless fabric, white cravat and orange-colored + gloves"—entered with the throng. Looking at him Lincoln was somewhat + appalled. He expected some formidable demand. To his relief, the imposing + stranger delivered a brief harangue on the President's policy, closing + with, "I have watched you narrowly ever since your inauguration. . . . As + one of your constituents, I now say to you, do in future as you damn + please, and I will support you." "Sit down, my friend," said Lincoln, "sit + down. I am delighted to see you. Lunch with us today. Yes, you must stay + and lunch with us, my friend, for I have not seen enough of you yet."(21) + There were many of these informal ambassadors of the people assuring the + President of popular support. And this florid gentleman was not the only + one who lunched with the President on first acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + This casual way of inviting strangers to lunch with him was typical of his + mode of life, which was exceedingly simple. He slept lightly and rose + early. In summer when he used the Soldiers' Home as a residence, he was at + his desk in the White House at eight o'clock in the morning. His breakfast + was an egg and a cup of coffee; luncheon was rarely more than a glass of + milk and a biscuit with a plate of fruit in season; his dinner at six + o'clock, was always a light meal. Though he had not continued a total + abstainer, as in the early days at Springfield, he very seldom drank wine. + He never used tobacco. So careless was he with regard to food that when + Mrs. Lincoln was away from home, there was little regularity in his meals. + He described his habits on such occasions as "browsing around."(22) + </p> + <p> + Even when Mrs. Lincoln was in command at the White House, he was not + invariably dutiful. An amusing instance was observed by some high + officials. The luncheon hour arrived in the midst of an important + conference. Presently, a servant appeared reminding Mr. Lincoln of the + hour, but he took no notice. Another summons, and again no notice. After a + short interval, the door of the office flew open and the titular "First + Lady" flounced into the room, a ruffled, angry little figure, her eyes + flashing. With deliberate quiet, as if in a dream, Lincoln rose slowly, + took her calmly, firmly by the shoulders, lifted her, carried her through + the doorway, set her down, closed the door, and went on with the + conference as if unconscious of an interruption.(23) Mrs. Lincoln did not + return. The remainder of the incident is unknown. + </p> + <p> + The burden of many anecdotes that were included in the propaganda was his + kindness to children. It began with his own. His little rascal "Tad," + after Willie's death, was the apple of his eye. The boy romped in and out + of his office. Many a time he was perched on his father's knee while great + affairs of state were under discussion.(24) Lincoln could persuade any + child from the arms of its mother, nurse, or play fellow, there being a + "peculiar fascination in his voice and manner which the little one could + not resist."(25) + </p> + <p> + All impressionable, imaginative young people, brought into close + association with him, appear to have felt his spell. His private + secretaries were his sworn henchmen. Hay's diary rings with admiration—the + keen, discriminating, significant admiration of your real observer. Hay + refers to him by pet name-"The Ancient," "The Old Man," "The Tycoon." + Lincoln's entire relation with these gifted youngsters may be typified by + one of Hay's quaintest anecdotes. Lincoln had gone to bed, as so often he + did, with a book. "A little after midnight as I was writing, the President + came into the office laughing, with a volume of Hood's Works in his hand, + to show Nicolay and me the little caricature, 'An Unfortunate Being'; + seemingly utterly unconscious that he, with his short shirt hanging about + his long legs, and setting out behind like the tail feathers of an + enormous ostrich, was infinitely funnier than anything in the book he was + laughing at. What a man it is! occupied all day with matters of vast + moment, deeply anxious about the fate of the greatest army of the world, + with his own plans and future hanging on the events of the passing hour, + he yet has such a wealth of simple bonhomie and good fellowship that he + gets out of bed and perambulates the house in his shirt to find us that we + may share with him the fun of poor Hood's queer little conceits."(26) + </p> + <p> + In midsummer, 1863, "The Tycoon is in fine whack. I have rarely seen him + more serene and busy. He is managing this war, the draft, foreign + relations, and planning a reconstruction of the Union, all at once. I + never knew with what a tyrannous authority he rules the Cabinet, until + now. The most important things he decides and there is no cavil. I am + growing more convinced that the good of the country demands that he should + be kept where he is till this thing is over. There is no man in the + country so wise, so gentle, and so firm."(27) + </p> + <p> + And again, "You may talk as you please of the Abolition Cabal directing + affairs from Washington; some well-meaning newspapers advise the President + to keep his fingers out of the military pie, and all that sort of thing. + The truth is, if he did, the pie would be a sorry mess. The old man sits + here and wields, like a backwoods Jupiter, the bolts of war and the + machinery of government with a hand especially steady and equally firm. . + I do not know whether the nation is worthy of him for another term. I know + the people want him. There is no mistaking that fact. But the politicians + are strong yet, and he is not their 'kind of a cat.' I hope God won't see + fit to scourge us for our sins by any of the two or three most prominent + candidates on the ground."(28) This was the conclusion growing everywhere + among the bulk of the people. There is one more cause of it to be reckoned + with. Lincoln had not ceased to be the literary statesman. In fact, he was + that more effectively than ever. His genius for fable-making took a new + turn. Many a visitor who came to find fault, went home to disseminate the + apt fable with which the President had silenced his objections and + captured his agreement. His skill in narration also served him well. + Carpenter repeats a story about Andrew Johnson and his crude but stern + religion which in mere print is not remarkable. "I have elsewhere + insinuated," comments Carpenter, "that Mr. Lincoln was capable of much + dramatic power. . . . It was shown in his keen appreciation of + Shakespeare, and unrivaled faculty of Storytelling. The incident just + related, for example, was given with a thrilling effect which mentally + placed Johnson, for the time being, alongside Luther and Cromwell. + Profanity or irreverence was lost sight of in a fervid utterance of a + highly wrought and great-souled determination, united with a rare + exhibition of pathos and self-abnegation."(29) + </p> + <p> + In formal literature, he had done great things upon a far higher level + than any of his writings previous to that sudden change in his style in + 1860. For one, there was the Fast Day Proclamation. There was also a + description of his country, of the heritage of the nation, in the third + message. Its aim was to give imaginative reality to the national idea; + just as the second message had aimed to give argumentative reality. + </p> + <p> + "There is no line, straight or crooked, suitable for a national boundary + upon which to divide. Trace through from east to west, upon the line + between the free and the slave Country and we shall find a little more + than one-third of its length are rivers, easy to be crossed, and + populated, or soon to be populated, thickly upon both sides; while nearly + all its remaining length are merely surveyors' lines, over which people + may walk back and forth without any consciousness of their presence. No + part of this line can be made any more difficult to pass by writing it + down on paper or parchment as a national boundary. + </p> + <p> + "But there is another difficulty. The great interior region, bounded east + by the Alleghanies, north by the British dominions, west by the Rocky + Mountains, and south by the line along which the culture of corn and + cotton meets, and which includes part of Virginia, part of Tennessee, all + of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, + Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Territories of Dakota, Nebraska, and part + of Colorado, already has above ten millions of people, and will have fifty + millions within fifty years, if not prevented by any political folly or + mistake. It contains more than one-third of the Country owned by the + United States—certainly more than one million square miles. Once + half as populous as Massachusetts already is, it would have more than + seventy-five millions of people. A glance at the map shows that, + territorially speaking, it is the great body of the republic. The other + parts are but marginal borders to it, the magnificent region sloping west + from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific being the deepest and also the + richest in undeveloped resources. In the production of provisions, grains, + grasses, and all which proceed from them, this great interior region is + naturally one of the most important in the world. Ascertain from the + statistics the small proportion of the region which has, as yet, been + brought into cultivation, and also the large and rapidly increasing amount + of its products and we shall be overwhelmed with the magnitude of the + prospect presented; and yet, this region has no seacoast, touches no ocean + anywhere. As part of one nation, its people now find, and may forever + find, their way to Europe by New York, to South America and Africa by New + Orleans, and to Asia by San Francisco. But separate our common country + into two nations as designed by the present rebellion, and every man of + this great interior region is thereby cut off from some one or more of + these outlets-not, perhaps, by a physical barrier, but by embarrassing and + onerous trade regulations. + </p> + <p> + "And this is true wherever a dividing or boundary line may be fixed. Place + it between the now free and slave country, or place it south of Kentucky + or north of Ohio, and still the truth remains that none south of it can + trade to any port or place north of it, and none north of it can trade to + any port or place south of it, except upon terms dictated by a government + foreign to them. These outlets east, west, and south, are indispensable to + the well-being of the people inhabiting and to inhabit, this vast interior + region. Which of the three may be the best is no proper question. All are + better than either; and all of right belong to that people and to their + Successors forever. True to themselves, they will not ask where a line of + separation shall be, but will vow rather that there shall be no such line. + Nor are the marginal regions less interested in these communications to + and through them to the great outside world. They, too, and each of them, + must have access to this Egypt of the West without paying toll at the + crossing of any national boundary. + </p> + <p> + "Our national strife springs not from our permanent part, not from the + land we inhabit, not from our national homestead. There is no possible + severing of this but would multiply, and not mitigate, evils among us. In + all its adaptations and aptitudes it demands union and abhors separation. + In fact, it would ere long, force reunion, however much of blood and + treasure the separation might have cost."(30) + </p> + <p> + A third time he made a great literary stroke, gave utterance, in yet + another form, to his faith that the national idea was the one constant + issue for which he had asked his countrymen, and would continue to ask + them, to die. It was at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863, in consecration of + a military burying-ground, that he delivered, perhaps, his greatest + utterance: + </p> + <p> + "But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we + can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who + struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or + detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, + but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, + rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought + here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here + dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these + honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave + the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these + dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation under God, shall have a + new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, for the people, + by the people, shall not perish from the earth."(31) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVIII. APPARENT ASCENDENCY + </h2> + <p> + Toward the end of 1863, Lowell prepared an essay on "The President's + Policy." It might almost be regarded as a manifesto of the Intellectuals. + That there was now a prospect of winning the war "was mainly due to the + good sense, the good humor, the sagacity, the large-mindedness, and the + unselfish honesty of the unknown man whom a blind fortune, as it seemed, + had lifted from the crowd to the most dangerous and difficult eminence of + modern times." When the essay appeared in print, Lincoln was greatly + pleased. He wrote to the editors of the North American Review, "I am not + the most impartial judge; yet with due allowance for this, I venture to + hope that the article entitled 'The President's Policy' will be of value + to the country. I fear I am not quite worthy of all which is therein so + kindly said of me personally."(1) + </p> + <p> + This very able defense of his previous course appeared as he was + announcing to the country his final course. He was now satisfied that + winning the war was but a question of time. What would come after war was + now in his mind the overshadowing matter. He knew that the vindictive + temper had lost nothing of its violence. Chandler's savagery—his + belief that the Southerners had forfeited the right to life, liberty and + the pursuit of happiness—was still the Vindictive creed. 'Vae + victi'! When war ended, they meant to set their feet on the neck of the + vanquished foe. Furthermore, Lincoln was not deceived as to why they were + lying low at this particular minute. Ears had been flattened to the ground + and they were heeding what the ground had said. The President was too + popular for them to risk attacking him without an obvious issue. Their + former issue had been securely appropriated by the Democrats. Where could + they find another? With consummate boldness Lincoln presented them an + issue. It was reconstruction. When Congress met, he communicated the text + of a "Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction."(2) This great document + on which all his concluding policy was based, offered "a full pardon" with + "restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, or in + property cases, where rights of third persons shall have intervened" upon + subscribing to an oath of allegiance which required only a full acceptance + of the authority of the United States. This amnesty was to be extended to + all persons except a few groups, such as officers above the rank of + colonel and former officials of the United States. The Proclamation also + provided that whenever, in any Seceded State, the new oath should be taken + by ten per cent. of all those who were qualified to vote under the laws of + 1860, these ten per cent. should be empowered to set up a new State + government. + </p> + <p> + From the Vindictive point of view, here was a startling announcement. + Lincoln had declared for a degree of magnanimity that was as a red rag to + a bull. He had also carried to its ultimate his assumption of war powers. + No request was made for congressional cooperation. The message which the + Proclamation accompanied was informative only. + </p> + <p> + By this time, the Vindictive Coalition of 1861 was gradually coming + together again. Or, more truly, perhaps, various of its elements were + fusing into a sort of descendant of the old coalition. The leaders of the + new Vindictive group were much the same as the leaders of the earlier + group. There was one conspicuous addition. During the next six months, + Henry Winter Davis held for a time the questionable distinction of being + Lincoln's most inveterate enemy. He was a member of the House. In the + House many young and headstrong politicians rallied about him. The + Democrats at times craftily followed his lead. Despite the older and more + astute Vindictives of the Senate, Chandler, Wade and the rest who knew + that their time had not come, Davis, with his ardent followers, took up + the President's challenge. Davis brought in a bill designed to complete + the reorganization of the old Vindictive Coalition. It appealed to the + enemies of presidential prerogative, to all those who wanted the road to + reconstruction made as hard as possible, and to the Abolitionists. This + bill, in so many words, transferred the whole matter of reconstruction + from the President to Congress; it required a majority (instead of + one-tenth) of all the male citizens of a Seceded State as the basis of a + new government; it exacted of this majority a pledge never to pay any + State debt contracted during the Confederacy, and also the perpetual + prohibition of slavery in their State constitution. + </p> + <p> + Davis got his bill through the House, but his allies in the Senate laid it + aside. They understood the country too well not to see that they must wait + for something to happen. If the President made any mistake, if anything + went wrong with the army—they remembered the spring of 1862, + McClellan's failure, and how Chandler followed it up. And at this moment + no man was chafing more angrily because of what the ground was saying, no + man was watching the President more keenly, than Chandler. History is said + to repeat itself, and all things are supposed to come to him who waits. + While Davis's bill was before the House, Lincoln accepted battle with the + Vindictives in a way that was entirely unostentatious, but that burned his + bridges. He pressed forward the organization of a new State government in + Louisiana under Federal auspices. He wrote to Michael Hahn, the newly + chosen governor of this somewhat fictitious State: "I congratulate you on + having fixed your name in history as the first Free State governor of + Louisiana."(3) + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the hotheads of the House again followed Davis's lead and flung + defiance in Lincoln's face. Napoleon, who had all along coquetted + alarmingly with the Confederates, had also pushed ahead with his insolent + conquest of Mexico. Lincoln and Seward, determined to have but one war on + their hands at a time, had skilfully evaded committing themselves. The + United States had neither protested against the action of Napoleon, nor in + any way admitted its propriety. Other men besides the Vindictives were + biding their time. But here the hotheads thought they saw an opportunity. + Davis brought in a resolution which amounted to a censure of the + Administration for not demanding the retirement of the French from Mexico. + This was one of those times when the Democrats played politics and + followed Davis. The motion was carried unanimously.(4) It was so much of a + sensation that the 'American Minister at Paris, calling on the Imperial + Minister of Foreign Affairs, was met by the curt question, "Do you bring + peace or war?" + </p> + <p> + But it was not in the power of the House to draw Lincoln's fire until he + chose to be drawn. He ignored its action. The Imperial Government was + informed that the acts of the House of Representatives were not the acts + of the President, and that in relation to France, if the President should + change his policy, the imperial Government would be duly in formed.(5) + </p> + <p> + It was Lincoln's fate to see his policy once again at the mercy of his + Commanding General. That was his situation in the spring of 1862 when + everything hung on McClellan who failed him; again in the autumn of the + year when McClellan so narrowly saved him. The spring of 1864 paralleled, + in this respect, that other spring two years earlier. To be sure, + Lincoln's position was now much stronger; he had a great personal + following on which he relied. But just how strong it was he did not know. + He was taking a great risk forcing a policy high-handed in defiance of + Congress, where all his bitterest enemies were entrenched, glowering. If + his General failed him now— + </p> + <p> + The man on whom this huge responsibility rested was Grant. Lincoln had + summoned him from the West and placed him at the head of all the armies of + the Republic. As to Halleck who had long since proved himself perfectly + useless, he was allowed to lapse into obscurity. + </p> + <p> + Grant has preserved in his Memoirs his first confidential talk with + Lincoln: "He told me he did not want to know what I proposed to do. But he + submitted a plan of campaign of his own that he wanted me to hear and then + do as I pleased about. He brought out a map of Virginia on which he had + evidently marked every position occupied by the Federal and Confederate + armies up to that time. He pointed out on the map two streams which empty + into the Potomac, and suggested that an army might be moved on boats and + landed between the mouths of those streams. We would then have the Potomac + to bring our supplies, and the tributaries would protect our flanks while + we moved out. I listened respectfully, but did not suggest that the same + streams would protect Lee's flanks while he was shutting us up."(6) + </p> + <p> + Grant set out for the front in Virginia. Lincoln's parting words were this + note: "Not expecting to see you again before the spring campaign opens, I + wish to express in this way my entire satisfaction with what you have done + up to this time, so far as I understand it. The particulars of your plans + I neither know nor seek to know. You are vigilant and self-reliant; and, + pleased with this, I wish not to obtrude any constraints or restraints + upon you. While I am very anxious that any great disaster or capture of + our men in great numbers shall be avoided, I know these points are less + likely to escape your attention than they would be mine. If there is + anything wanting which is within my power to give, do not fail to let me + know it. And now, with a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain + you."(7) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0029" id="link2H_4_0029"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIX. CATASTROPHE + </h2> + <p> + If the politicians needed a definite warning, in addition to what the + ground was saying, it was given by an incident that centered upon Chase. A + few bold men whose sense of the crowd was not so acute as it might have + been, attempted to work up a Chase boom. At the instance of Senator + Pomeroy, a secret paper known to-day as the Pomeroy Circular, was started + on its travels. The Circular aimed to make Chase the Vindictive candidate. + Like all the other anti-Lincoln moves of the early part of 1864, it was + premature. The shrewd old Senators who were silently marshaling the + Vindictive forces, let it alone. + </p> + <p> + Chase's ambition was fully understood at the White House. During the + previous year, his irritable self-consciousness had led to quarrels with + the President, generally over patronage, and more than once he had offered + his resignation. On one occasion, Lincoln went to his house and begged him + to reconsider. Alone among the Cabinet, Chase had failed to take the + measure of Lincoln and still considered him a second-rate person, much his + inferior. He rated very high the services to his country of the Secretary + of the Treasury whom he considered the logical successor to the + Presidency. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln refused to see what Chase was after. "I have determined," he told + Hay, "to shut my eyes as far as possible to everything of the sort. Mr. + Chase makes a good secretary and I shall keep him where he is."(1) In + lighter vein, he said that Chase's presidential ambition was like a "chin + fly" pestering a horse; it led to his putting all the energy he had into + his work.(2) + </p> + <p> + When a copy of the Circular found its way to the White House, Lincoln + refused to read it.(3) Soon afterward it fell into the hands of an + unsympathetic or indiscreet editor and was printed. There was a hubbub. + Chase offered to resign. Lincoln wrote to him in reply: + </p> + <p> + "My knowledge of Mr. Pomeroy's letter having been made public came to me + only the day you wrote but I had, in Spite of myself, known of its + existence several days before. I have not yet read it, and I think I shall + not. I was not shocked or surprised by the appearance of the letter + because I had had knowledge of Mr. Pomeroy's committee, and of secret + issues which I supposed came from it, and of secret agents who I supposed + were sent out by it, for several weeks. I have known just as little of + these things as my friends have allowed me to know. They bring the + documents to me, but I do not read them; they tell me what they think fit + to tell me, but I do not inquire for more. I fully concur with you that + neither of us can be justly held responsible for what our respective + friends may do without our instigation or countenance; and I assure you, + as you have assured me, that no assault has been made upon you by my + instigation or with my countenance. Whether you shall remain at the head + of the Treasury Department is a question which I will not allow myself to + consider from any standpoint other than my judgment of the public service, + and in that view, I do not perceive occasion for a change."(4) But this + was not the end of the incident. The country promptly repudiated Chase. + His own state led the way. A caucus of Union members of the Ohio + Legislature resolved that the people and the soldiers of Ohio demanded the + reelection of Lincoln. In a host of similar resolutions, Legislative + caucuses, political conventions, dubs, societies, prominent individuals + not in the political machine, all ringingly declared for Lincoln, the one + proper candidate of the "Union party"-as the movement was labeled in a + last and relatively successful attempt to break party lines. + </p> + <p> + As the date of the "Union Convention" approached, Lincoln put aside an + opportunity to gratify the Vindictives. Following the Emancipation + Proclamation, the recruiting offices had been opened to negroes. Thereupon + the Confederate government threatened to treat black soldiers as brigands, + and to refuse to their white officers the protection of the laws of war. A + cry went up in the North for reprisal. It was not the first time the cry + had been raised. In 1862 Lincoln's spokesman in Congress, Browning, had + withstood a proposal for the trial of General Buckner by the civil + authorities of Kentucky. Browning opposed such a course on the ground that + it would lead to a policy of retaliation, and make of the war a + gratification of revenge.(5) The Confederate threat gave a new turn to the + discussion. Frederick Douglas, the most influential negro of the time, + obtained an audience with Lincoln and begged for reprisals. Lincoln would + not consent. So effective was his argument that even the ardent negro, + convinced that his race was about to suffer persecution, was satisfied. + </p> + <p> + "I shall never forget," Douglas wrote, "the benignant expression of his + face, the tearful look of his eye, the quiver in his voice, when he + deprecated a resort to retaliatory measures. 'Once begun,' said he, 'I do + not know where such a measure would stop.' He said he could not take men + out and kill them in cold blood for what was done by others. If he could + get hold of the persons who were guilty of killing the colored prisoners + in cold blood, the case would be different, but he could not kill the + innocent for the guilty."(6) + </p> + <p> + In April, 1864, the North was swept by a wild rumor of deliberate massacre + of prisoners at Fort Pillow. Here was an opportunity for Lincoln to + ingratiate himself with the Vindictives. The President was to make a + speech at a fair held in Baltimore, for the benefit of the Sanitary + Commission. The audience was keen to hear him denounce the reputed + massacre, and eager to applaud a promise of reprisal. Instead, he + deprecated hasty judgment; insisting that the rumor had not been verified; + that nothing should be done on the strength of mere report. + </p> + <p> + "It is a mistake to suppose the government is indifferent in this matter, + or is not doing the best it can in regard to it. We do not to-day know + that a colored soldier or white officer commanding colored soldiers has + been massacred by the Rebels when made a prisoner. We fear it—believe + it, I may say-but we do not know it To take the life of one of their + prisoners on the assumption that they murder ours, when it is short of + certainty that they do murder ours, might be too serious, too cruel a + mistake."(7) + </p> + <p> + What a tame, spiritless position in the eyes of the Vindictives! A + different opportunity to lay hold of public opinion he made the most of. + And yet, here also, he spoke in that carefully guarded way, making sure he + was not understood to say more than he meant, which most politicians would + have pronounced over-scrupulous. A deputation of working men from New York + were received at the White House. "The honorary membership in your + association," said he, "as generously tendered, is gratefully accepted. . + . . You comprehend, as your address shows, that the existing rebellion + means more, and tends to more, than the perpetuation of African + slavery-that it is, in fact, a war upon the rights of all working people." + </p> + <p> + After reviewing his own argument on this subject in the second message, he + concluded: + </p> + <p> + "The views then expressed now remain unchanged, nor have I much to add. + None are so deeply interested to resist the present rebellion as the + working people. Let them beware of prejudices, working division and + hostility among themselves. The most notable feature of a disturbance in + your city last summer was the hanging of some working people by other + working people. It should never be so. The strongest bond of human + sympathy outside of the family relation, should be one uniting all working + people, of all nations, and tongues, and kindreds. Nor should this lead to + a war upon property, or the owners of property. Property is the fruit of + labor; property is desirable; is a positive good in the world. That some + should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just + encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless + pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one + for himself, thus by example assuming that his own shall be safe from + violence when built."(8) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln was never more anxious than in this fateful spring when so many + issues were hanging in the balance. Nevertheless, in all his relations + with the world, his firm serenity was not broken. Though subject to + depression so deep that his associates could not penetrate it, he kept it + sternly to himself.(9) He showed the world a lighter, more graceful aspect + than ever before. 'A precious record of his later mood is the account of + him set down by Frank B. Carpenter, the portrait painter, a man of note in + his day, who was an inmate of the White House during the first half of + 1864. Carpenter was painting a picture of the "Signing of the Emancipation + Proclamation." He saw Lincoln informally at all sorts of odd times, under + all sorts of conditions. "All familiar with him," says Carpenter, "will + remember the weary air which became habitual during his last years. This + was more of the mind than of the body, and no rest and recreation which he + allowed himself could relieve it. As he sometimes expressed it, 'no remedy + seemed ever to reach the tired spot."(10) + </p> + <p> + A great shadow was darkening over him. He was more than ever convinced + that he had not long to live. None the less, his poise became more + conspicuous, his command over himself and others more distinguished, as + the months raced past. In truth he had worked through a slow but profound + transformation. The Lincoln of 1864 was so far removed from the Lincoln of + Pigeon Creek-but logically, naturally removed, through the absorption of + the outer man by the inner—that inevitably one thinks of + Shakespeare's change "into something rich and strange." + </p> + <p> + Along with the weakness, the contradictions of his earlier self, there had + also fallen away from him the mere grossness that had belonged to him as a + peasant. Carpenter is unconditional that in six months of close intimacy, + seeing him in company with all sorts of people, he never heard from + Lincoln an offensive story. He quotes Seward and Lincoln's family + physician to the same effect.(11) + </p> + <p> + The painter, like many others, was impressed by the tragic cast of his + expression, despite the surface mirth. + </p> + <p> + "His complexion, at this time, was inclined to sallowness his eyes were + bluish gray in color—always in deep shadow, however, from the upper + lids which were unusually heavy (reminding me in this respect of Stuart's + portrait of Washington) and the expression was remarkably pensive and + tender, often inexpressibly sad, as if the reservoir of tears lay very + near the surface—a fact proved not only by the response which + accounts of suffering and sorrow invariably drew forth, but by + circumstances which would ordinarily affect few men in his position."(12) + As a result of the great strain to which he was subjected "his demeanor + and disposition changed-so gradually that it would be impossible to say + when the change began. . . . He continued always the same kindly, genial, + and cordial spirit he had been at first; but the boisterous laughter + became less frequent, year by year; the eye grew veiled by constant + meditation on momentous subjects; the air of reserve and detachment from + his surroundings increased. He aged with great rapidity."(13) + </p> + <p> + Every Saturday afternoon the Marine Band gave an open-air concert in the + grounds of the White House. One afternoon Lincoln appeared upon the + portico. There was instant applause and cries for a speech. "Bowing his + thanks and excusing himself, he stepped back into the retirement of the + circular parlor, remarking (to Carpenter) with a disappointed air, as he + reclined on a sofa, 'I wish they would let me sit there quietly and enjoy + the music.' His kindness to others was unfailing. It was this harassed + statesman who came into the studio one day and found (Carpenter's) little + boy of two summers playing on the floor. A member of the Cabinet was with + him; but laying aside all restraint, he took the little fellow in his arms + and they were soon on the best of terms." While his younger son "Tad" was + with his mother on a journey, Lincoln telegraphed: "Tell Tad, father and + the goats are well, especially the goats."(14) He found time one bright + morning in May to review the Sunday-school children of Washington who + filed past "cheering as if their very lives depended upon it," while + Lincoln stood at a window "enjoying the scene... making pleasant remarks + about a face that now and then struck him."(15) Carpenter told him that no + other president except Washington had placed himself so securely in the + hearts of the people. "Homely, honest, ungainly Lincoln," said Asa Gray, + in a letter to Darwin, "is the representative man of the country." + </p> + <p> + However, two groups of men in his own party were sullenly opposed to him—the + relentless Vindictives and certain irresponsible free lances who named + themselves the "Radical Democracy." In the latter group, Fremont was the + hero; Wendell Phillips, the greatest advocate. They were extremists in all + things; many of them Agnostics. Furious against Lincoln, but unwilling to + go along with the waiting policy of the Vindictives, these visionaries + held a convention at Cleveland; voted down a resolution that recognized + God as an ally; and nominated Fremont for the Presidency. A witty comment + on the movement—one that greatly amused Lincoln—was the + citation of a verse in first Samuel: "And every one that was in distress, + and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, + gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them; and there + were with him about four hundred men." + </p> + <p> + If anything was needed to keep the dissatisfied Senators in the party + ranks, it was this rash "bolt." Though Fremont had been their man in the + past, he had thrown the fat in the fire by setting up an independent + ticket. Silently, the wise opportunists of the Senate and all their + henchmen, stood aside at the "Union convention"—which they called + the Republican Convention—June seventh, and took their medicine. + </p> + <p> + There was no doubt of the tempest of enthusiasm among the majority of the + delegates. It was a Lincoln ovation. + </p> + <p> + In responding the next day to a committee of congratulation, Lincoln said: + "I am not insensible at all to the personal compliment there is in this, + and yet I do not allow myself to believe that any but a small portion of + it is to be appropriated as a personal compliment. . . . I do not allow + myself to suppose that either the Convention or the (National Union) + League have concluded to decide that I am the greatest or best man in + America, but rather they have concluded that it is best not to swap horses + while crossing the river, and have further concluded that I am not so poor + a horse that they might not make a botch of it trying to swap."(16) + </p> + <p> + Carpenter records another sort of congratulation a few days later that + brought out the graceful side of this man whom most people still supposed + to be hopelessly awkward. It happened on a Saturday. Carpenter had invited + friends to sit in his painting room and oversee the crowd while listening + to the music. "Towards the close of the concert, the door suddenly opened, + and the President came in, as he was in the habit of doing, alone. Mr. and + Mrs. Cropsey had been presented to him in the course of the morning; and + as he came forward, half hesitatingly, Mrs. C., who held a bunch of + beautiful flowers in her hand, tripped forward playfully, and said: 'Allow + me, Mr. President, to present you with a bouquet!' The situation was + momentarily embarrassing; and I was puzzled to know how 'His Excellency' + would get out of it. With no appearance of discomposure, he stooped down, + took the flowers, and, looking from them into the sparkling eyes and + radiant face of the lady, said, with a gallantry I was unprepared for + 'Really, madam, if you give them to me, and they are mine, I think I can + not possibly make so good use of them as to present them to you, in + return!'"(17) + </p> + <p> + In gaining the nomination, Lincoln had not, as yet, attained security for + his plans. Grant was still to be reckoned with. By a curious irony, the + significance of his struggle with Lee during May, his steady advance by + the left flank, had been misapprehended in the North. Looking at the map, + the country saw that he was pushing southward, and again southward, on + Virginia soil. McClellan, Pope, Burnside, Hooker, with them it had been: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "He who fights and runs away + May live to fight another day." +</pre> + <p> + But Grant kept on. He struck Lee in the furious battle of the Wilderness, + and moved to the left, farther south. "Victory!" cried the Northern + newspapers, "Lee isn't able to stop him." The same delusion was repeated + after Spottsylvania where the soldiers, knowing more of war than did the + newspapers, pinned to their coats slips of paper bearing their names; + identification of the bodies might be difficult. The popular mistake + continued throughout that dreadful campaign. The Convention was still + under the delusion of victory. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln also appears to have stood firm until the last minute in the + common error. But the report of Grant's losses, more than the whole of + Lee's army, filled him with horror. During these days, Carpenter had + complete freedom of the President's office and "intently studied every + line and shade of expression in that furrowed face. In repose, it was the + saddest face I ever knew. There were days when I could scarcely look into + it without crying. During the first week of the battles of the Wilderness + he scarcely slept at all. Passing through the main hall of the domestic + apartment on one of these days, I met him, clad in a long, morning + wrapper, pacing back and forth a narrow passage leading to one of the + windows, his hands behind him, great black rings under his eyes, his head + bent forward upon his breast-altogether such a picture of the effects of + sorrow, care, and anxiety as would have melted the hearts of the worst of + his adversaries, who so mistakenly applied to him the epithets of tyrant + and usurper."(18) + </p> + <p> + Despite these sufferings, Lincoln had not the slightest thought of giving + way. Not in him any likeness to the sentimentalists, Greeley and all his + crew, who were exultant martyrs when things were going right, and + shrieking pacifists the moment anything went wrong. In one of the darkest + moments of the year, he made a brief address at a Sanitary Fair in + Philadelphia. + </p> + <p> + "Speaking of the present campaign," said he, "General Grant is reported to + have said, 'I am going to fight it out on this line if it takes all + summer.' This war has taken three years; it was begun or accepted upon the + line of restoring the national authority over the whole national domain, + and for the American people, as far as my knowledge enables me to speak, I + say we are going through on this line if it takes three years more."(19) + He made no attempt to affect Grant's course. He had put him in supreme + command and would leave everything to his judgment. And then came the + colossal blunder at Cold Harbor. Grant stood again where McClellan had + stood two years before. He stood there defeated. He could think of nothing + to do but just what McClellan had wanted to do—abandon the immediate + enterprise, make a great detour to the Southwest, and start a new campaign + on a different plan. Two years with all their terrible disasters, and this + was all that had come of it! Practically no gain, and a death-roll that + staggered the nation. A wail went over the North. After all, was the war + hopeless? Was Lee invincible? Was the best of the Northern manhood + perishing to no result? + </p> + <p> + Greeley, perhaps the most hysterical man of genius America has produced, + made his paper the organ of the wail. He wrote frantic appeals to the + government to cease fighting, do what could be done by negotiation, and if + nothing could be done—at least, stop "these rivers of human blood." + </p> + <p> + The Vindictives saw their opportunity. They would capitalize the wail. The + President should be dealt with yet. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXX. THE PRESIDENT VERSUS THE VINDICTIVES + </h2> + <p> + Now that the Vindictives had made up their minds to fight, an occasion was + at their hands. Virtually, they declared war on the President by refusing + to recognize a State government which he had set up in Arkansas. Congress + would not admit Senators or Representatives from the Reconstructed State. + But on this issue, Lincoln was as resolute to fight to a finish as were + any of his detractors. He wrote to General Steele, commanding in Arkansas: + </p> + <p> + "I understand that Congress declines to admit to seats the persons sent as + Senators and Representatives from Arkansas. These persons apprehend that, + in consequence, you may not support the new State government there as you + otherwise would. My wish is that you give that government and the people + there the same support and protection that you would if the members had + been admitted, because in no event, nor in any view of the case, can this + do harm, while it will be the best you can do toward suppressing the + rebellion."(1) + </p> + <p> + The same day Chase resigned. The reason he assigned was, again, the + squabble over patronage. He had insisted on an appointment of which the + President disapproved. Exactly what moved him may be questioned. Chase + never gave his complete confidence, not even to his diary. Whether he + thought that the Vindictives would now take him up as a rival of Lincoln, + continues doubtful. Many men were staggered by his action. Crittenden, the + Registrar of the Treasury, was thrown into a panic. "Mr. President," said + he, "this is worse than another Bull Run. Pray let me go to Secretary + Chase and see if I can not induce him to withdraw his resignation. Its + acceptance now might cause a financial panic." But Lincoln was in a + fighting mood. "Chase thinks he has become indispensable to the country," + he told Chittenden. "He also thinks he ought to be President; he has no + doubt whatever about that. He is an able financier, a great statesman, and + at the bottom a patriot . . he is never perfectly happy unless he is + thoroughly miserable and able to make everybody else just as uncomfortable + as he is himself. . He is either determined to annoy me or that I shall + pat him on the shoulder and coax him to stay. I don't think I ought to do + it. I will take him at his word."(2) + </p> + <p> + He accepted the resignation in a note that was almost curt: "Of all I have + said in commendation of your ability and fidelity, I have nothing to + unsay; and yet you and I have reached a point of mutual embarrassment in + our official relations which it seems can not be overcome or longer + sustained consistently with the public service."(3) + </p> + <p> + The selection of a successor to Chase was no easy matter. The Vindictives + were the leaders of the moment. What if they persuaded the Senate not to + confirm Lincoln's choice of Secretary. "I never saw the President," says + Carpenter, "under so much excitement as on the day following this event" + On the night of July first, Lincoln lay awake debating with himself the + merits of various candidates. At length, he selected his man and + immediately went to sleep. + </p> + <p> + "The next morning he went to his office and wrote the nomination. John + Hay, the assistant private secretary, had taken it from the President on + his way to the Capitol, when he encountered Senator Fessenden upon the + threshold of the room. As chairman of the Finance Committee, he also had + passed an anxious night, and called this early to consult with the + President, and offer some suggestions. After a few moments' conversation, + Mr. Lincoln turned to him with a smile and said: 'I am obliged to you, + Fessenden, but the fact is, I have just sent your own name to the Senate + for Secretary of the Treasury. Hay had just received the nomination from + my hand as you entered.' Mr. Fessenden was taken completely by surprise, + and, very much agitated, protested his inability to accept the position. + The state of his health, he said, if no other consideration, made it + impossible. Mr. Lincoln would not accept the refusal as final. He very + justly felt that with Mr. Fessenden's experience and known ability at the + head of the Finance Committee, his acceptance would go far toward + reestablishing a feeling of security. He said to him, very earnestly, + 'Fessenden, the Lord has not deserted me thus far, and He is not going to + now—you must accept!' + </p> + <p> + "They separated, the Senator in great anxiety of mind. Throughout the day, + Mr. Lincoln urged almost all who called to go and see Mr. Fessenden, and + press upon him the duty of accepting. Among these, was a delegation of New + York bankers, who, in the name of the banking community, expressed their + satisfaction at the nomination. This was especially gratifying to the + President; and in the strongest manner, he entreated them to 'see Mr. + Fessenden and assure him of their support.'"(4) + </p> + <p> + In justification of his choice, Lincoln said to Hay:—"Thinking over + the matter, two or three points occurred to me: first his thorough + acquaintance with the business; as chairman of the Senate Committee of + Finance, he knows as much of this special subject as Mr. Chase; he + possesses a national reputation and the confidence of the country; he is a + Radical without the petulance and fretfulness of many radicals."(5) In + other words, though he was not at heart one of them, he stood for the + moment so close to the Vindictives that they would not make an issue on + his confirmation. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln had scored a point in his game with the Vindictives. But the point + was of little value. The game's real concern was that Reconstruction Bill + which was now before the Senate with Wade as its particular sponsor. The + great twin brethren of the Vindictives were Wade and Chandler. Both were + furious for the passage of the bill. "The Executive," said Wade angrily, + "ought not to be allowed to handle this great question of his own liking." + </p> + <p> + On the last day of the session, Lincoln was in the President's room at the + Capitol Signing bills. The Reconstruction Bill, duly passed by both + Houses, was brought to him. Several Senators, friends of the bill and + deeply anxious, had come into the President's room hoping to see him affix + his signature. To their horror, he merely glanced at the bill and laid it + aside. Chandler, who was watching him, bluntly demanded what he meant to + do. "This bill," said Lincoln, "has been placed before me a few minutes + before Congress adjourns. It is a matter of too much importance to be + swallowed in that way." + </p> + <p> + "If it is vetoed," said Chandler, whose anger was mounting, "it will + damage us fearfully in the Northwest. The important point is that one + prohibiting slavery in the Reconstructed States." + </p> + <p> + "That is the point," replied the President, "on which I doubt the + authority of Congress to act." + </p> + <p> + "It is no more than you have done yourself," retorted Chandler. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln turned to him and said quietly but with finality: "I conceive that + I may in an emergency do things on military grounds which can not + constitutionally be done by Congress." + </p> + <p> + Chandler angrily left the room. To those who remained, Lincoln added: "I + do not see how any of us now can deny and contradict what we have always + said, that Congress has no constitutional power over slavery in the + States."(6) + </p> + <p> + In a way, he was begging the question. The real issue was not how a State + should be constitutionally reconstructed, but which, President or + Congress, had a right to assume dictatorial power. At last the true + Vindictive issue, lured out of their arms by the Democrats, had escaped + like a bird from a snare and was fluttering home. Here was the old issue + of the war powers in a new form that it was safe for them to press. And + the President had squarely defied them. It was civil war inside the Union + party. And for both sides, President and Vindictives, there could now be + nothing but rule or ruin. + </p> + <p> + In this crisis of factional politics, Lincoln was unmoved, self-contained, + lofty, deliberate. "If they (the Vindictives) choose to make a point on + this, I do not doubt that they can do harm. They have never been friendly + to me. At all events, I must keep some consciousness of being somewhere + near right. I must keep some standard of principle fixed within myself." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0031" id="link2H_4_0031"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXI A MENACING PAUSE + </h2> + <p> + Lincoln had now reached his final stature. In contact with the world his + note was an inscrutable serenity. The jokes which he continued to tell + were but transitory glimmerings. They crossed the surface of his mood like + quick flickers of golden light on a stormy March day,—witnesses that + the sun would yet prevail,—in a forest-among mountain shadows. Or, + they were lightning glimmers in a night sky; they revealed, they did not + dispel, the dark beyond. Over all his close associates his personal + ascendency was complete. Now that Chase was gone, the last callous spot in + the Cabinet had been amputated. Even Stanton, once so domineering, so + difficult to manage, had become as clay in his hands. + </p> + <p> + But Lincoln never used power for its own sake, never abused his + ascendency. Always he got his end if he could without evoking the note of + command. He would go to surprising lengths to avoid appearing peremptory. + A typical remark was his smiling reply to a Congressman whom he had armed + with a note to the Secretary, who had returned aghast, the Secretary + having refused to comply with the President's request and having decorated + his refusal with extraordinary language. + </p> + <p> + "Did Stanton say I was a damned fool?" asked Lincoln. "Then I dare say I + must be one, for Stanton is generally right and he always says what he + means." + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, the time had come when Lincoln had only to say the word and + Stanton, no matter how fierce his temper might' be, would acknowledge his + master. General Fry, the Provost Marshal, witnessed a scene between them + which is a curious commentary on the transformation of the Stanton of + 1862. Lincoln had issued an order relative to the disposition of certain + recruits. Stanton protested that it was unwarranted, that he would not put + it into effect. The Provost Marshal was called in and asked to state at + length all the facts involved. When he had finished Stanton broke out + excitedly— + </p> + <p> + "'Now, Mr. President, those are the facts and you must see that your order + can not be executed.' + </p> + <p> + "Lincoln sat upon a sofa with his legs crossed and did not say a word + until the Secretary's last remark. Then he said in a somewhat positive + tone, 'Mr. Secretary, I reckon you'll have to execute the order.' + </p> + <p> + "Stanton replied with asperity, 'Mr. President, I can not do it. The order + is an improper one, and I can not execute it'." + </p> + <p> + Lincoln fixed his eye upon Stanton, and in a firm voice with an accent + that clearly showed his determination, he said, "Mr. Secretary, it will + have to be done."(1) + </p> + <p> + At this point, General Fry discreetly left the room. A few moments later, + he received instructions from Stanton to execute the President's order. + </p> + <p> + In a public matter in the June of 1864 Lincoln gave a demonstration of his + original way of doing things. It displayed his final serenity in such + unexpected fashion that no routine politician, no dealer in the catchwords + of statecraft, could understand it. Since that grim joke, the deportation + of Vallandigham, the Copperhead leader had not had happy time. The + Confederacy did not want him. He had made his way to Canada. Thence, in + the spring of 1864 he served notice on his country that he would perform a + dramatic Part, play the role of a willing martyr—in a word, come + home and defy the government to do its worst. He came. But Lincoln did + nothing. The American sense of humor did the rest. If Vallandigham had not + advertised a theatrical exploit, ignoring him might have been dangerous. + But Lincoln knew his people. When the show did not come off, Vallandigham + was transformed in an instant from a martyr to an anticlimax. Though he + went busily to work, though he lived to attend the Democratic National + Convention and to write the resolution that was the heart of its platform, + his tale was told. + </p> + <p> + Turning from Vallandigham, partly in amusement, partly in contempt, + Lincoln grappled with the problem of reinforcing the army. Since the + Spring of 1863 the wastage of the army had been replaced by conscription. + But the system had not worked well. It contained a fatal provision. A + drafted man might escape service by paying three hundred dollars. Both the + Secretary of War and the Provost Marshal had urged the abolition of this + detail. Lincoln had communicated their arguments to Congress with his + approval and a new law had been drawn up accordingly. Nevertheless, late + in June, the House amended it by restoring the privilege of commuting + service for money.(2) Lincoln bestirred himself. The next day he called + together the Republican members of the House. "With a sad, mysterious + light in his melancholy eyes, as if they were familiar with things hidden + from mortals" he urged the Congressmen to reconsider their action. The + time of three hundred eighty thousand soldiers would expire in October. He + must have half a million to take their places. A Congressman objected that + elections were approaching; that the rigorous law he proposed would be + intensely unpopular; that it might mean the defeat, at the polls, of many + Republican Representatives; it might even mean the President's defeat. He + replied that he had thought of all that. + </p> + <p> + "My election is not necessary; I must put down the rebellion; I must have + five hundred thousand more men."(3) + </p> + <p> + He raised the timid politicians to his own level, inspired them with new + courage. Two days later a struggle began in the House for carrying out + Lincoln's purpose. On the last day of the session along with the offensive + Reconstruction Bill, he received the new Enrollment Act which provided + that "no payment of money shall be accepted or received by the Government + as commutation to release any enrolled or drafted man from personal + obligation to per-form military service." + </p> + <p> + Against this inflexible determination to fight to a finish, this + indifference to the political consequences of his determination, Lincoln + beheld arising like a portentous specter, a fury of pacifism. It found + expression in Greeley. Always the swift victim of his own affrighted hope, + Greeley had persuaded himself that both North and South had lost heart for + the war; that there was needed only a moving appeal, and they would throw + down their arms and the millennium would come. Furthermore, on the + flimsiest sort of evidence, he had fallen into a trap designed to place + the Northern government in the attitude of suing for peace. He wrote to + Lincoln demanding that he send an agent to confer with certain Confederate + officials who were reported to be then in Canada; he also suggested terms + of peace.(4) Greeley's terms were entirely acceptable to Lincoln; but he + had no faith in the Canadian mare's nest. However, he decided to give + Greeley the utmost benefit of the doubt, and also to teach him a lesson. + He commissioned Greeley himself to proceed to Canada, there to discover + "if there is or is not anything in the affair." He wrote to him, "I not + only intend a sincere effort for peace, but I intend that you shall be a + personal witness that it is made."(5) + </p> + <p> + Greeley, who did not want to have any responsibility for anything that + might ensue, whose joy was to storm and to find fault, accepted the duty + he could not well refuse, and set out in a bad humor. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile two other men had conceived an undertaking somewhat analogous + but in a temper widely different. These were Colonel Jaquess, a clergyman + turned soldier, a man of high simplicity of character, and J. R. Gilmore, + a writer, known by the pen name of Edmund Kirke. Jaquess had told Gilmore + of information he had received from friends in the Confederacy; he was + convinced that nothing would induce the Confederate government to consider + any terms of peace that embraced reunion, whether with or without + emancipation. "It at once occurred to me," says Gilmore, "that if this + declaration could be got in such a manner that it could be given to the + public, it would, if scattered broadcast over the North, destroy the + peace-party and reelect Mr. Lincoln." Gilmore went to Washington and + obtained an interview with the President. He assured him—and he was + a newspaper correspondent whose experience was worth considering—that + the new pacifism, the incipient "peace party," was schooling the country + in the belief that an offer of liberal terms would be followed by a + Southern surrender. The masses wanted peace on any terms that would + preserve the Union; and the Democrats were going to tell them in the next + election that Lincoln could save the Union by negotiation, if he would. + Unless the popular mind were disabused of this fictitious hope, the + Democrats would prevail and the Union would collapse. But if an offer to + negotiate should be made, and if "Davis should refuse to negotiate—as + he probably would, except on the basis of Southern independence—that + fact alone would reunite the North, reelect Lincoln, and thus save the + Union."(6) + </p> + <p> + "Then," said Lincoln, "you would fight the devil with fire. You would get + that declaration from Davis and use it against him." + </p> + <p> + Gilmore defended himself by proposing to offer extremely liberal terms. + There was a pause in the conversation. Lincoln who was seated at his desk + "leaned slightly forward looking directly into (Gilmore's) eyes, but with + an absent, far-away gaze as if unconscious of (his) presence." Suddenly, + relapsing into his usual badinage, he said, "God selects His own + instruments and some times they are queer ones: for instance, He chose me + to see the ship of state through a great crisis."(7) He went on to say + that Gilmore and Jaquess might be the very men to serve a great purpose at + this moment. Gilmore knew the world; and anybody could see at a glance + that Jaquess never told anything that wasn't true. If they would go to + Richmond on their own responsibility, make it plain to President Davis + that they were not official agents, even taking the chance of arrest and + imprisonment, they might go. This condition was accepted. Lincoln went on + to say that no advantage should be taken of Mr. Davis; that nothing should + be proposed which if accepted would not be made good. After considerable + further discussion he drew up a memorandum of the terms upon which he + would consent to peace. There were seven items: + </p> + <p> + 1. The immediate dissolution of the armies. + </p> + <p> + 2. The abolition of slavery. + </p> + <p> + 3. A general amnesty. + </p> + <p> + 4. The Seceded States to resume their functions as states in the Union as + if no secession had taken place. + </p> + <p> + 5. Four hundred million dollars to be appropriated by Congress as + compensation for loss of slave property; no slaveholder, however, to + receive more than one-half the former value of his slaves. + </p> + <p> + 6. A national convention to be called for readjustment of all other + difficulties. + </p> + <p> + 7. It to be understood that the purpose of negotiation was a full + restoration of the Union as of old.(8) + </p> + <p> + Gilmore and Jaquess might say to Davis that they had private but sure + knowledge that the President of the United States would agree to peace on + these terms. Thus provided, they set forth. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's thoughts were speedily claimed by an event which had no + Suggestion of peace. At no time since Jackson threw the government into a + panic in the spring of 1862, had Washington been in danger of capture. + Now, briefly, it appeared to be at the mercy of General Early. In the last + act of a daring raid above the Potomac, he came sweeping down on + Washington from the North. As Grant was now the active commander-in-chief, + responsible for all the Northern armies, Lincoln with a fatalistic calm + made no move to take the capital out of his hands. When Early was known to + be headed toward Washington, Lincoln drove out as usual to spend the night + at the Soldiers' Home beyond the fortifications. Stanton, in whom there + was a reminiscence at least of the hysterical Secretary of 1862, sent + after him post haste and insisted on his returning. The next day, the + eleventh of July, 1864, Washington was invested by the Confederate forces. + There was sharp firing in front of several forts. Lincoln—and for + that matter, Mrs. Lincoln also—made a tour of the defenses. While + Fort Stevens was under fire, he stood on the parapet, "apparently + unconscious of danger, watching with that grave and passive countenance + the progress of the fight, amid the whizzing bullets of the sharp + shooters, until an officer fell mortally wounded within three feet of him, + and General Wright peremptorily represented to him the needless risk he + was running." Hay recorded in his diary "the President in good feather + this evening . . . not concerned about Washington's safety . . . only + thought, can we bag or destroy the force in our front." He was much + disappointed when Early eluded the forces which Grant hurried to the + Capitol. Mrs. Lincoln was outspoken to the same effect. The doughty little + lady had also been under fire, her temper being every whit as bold as her + husband's. When Stanton with a monumental playfulness proposed to have her + portrait painted in a commanding attitude on the parapet of Fort Stevens, + she gave him the freedom of her tongue, because of the inadequacy of his + department.(9) + </p> + <p> + This incident had its aftermath. A country-place belonging to the + Postmaster General had been laid waste. Its owner thought that the + responsibility for permitting Early to come so near to Washington fell + chiefly on General Halleck. He made some sharp criticisms which became + public the General flew into a rage and wrote to the Secretary of War: + "The Postmaster General ought to be dismissed by the President from the + Cabinet." Stanton handed his letter to the President, from whom the next + day the General received this note: "Whether the remarks were made I do + not know, nor do I suppose such knowledge is necessary to a correct + response. If they were made, I do not approve them; and yet, under the + circumstances, I would not dismiss a member of the Cabinet therefor. I do + not consider what may have been hastily said in a moment of vexation at so + severe a loss is sufficient ground for so grave a step. Besides this, + truth is generally the best vindication against slander. I propose + continuing to be myself the judge as to when a member of the Cabinet shall + be dismissed." Lincoln spoke of the affair at his next conference with his + Ministers. "I must, myself, be the judge," said he, "how long to retain in + and when to remove any of you from his position. It would greatly pain me + to discover any of you endeavoring to procure another's removal, or in any + way to prejudice him before the public. Such an endeavor would be a wrong + to me, and much worse, a wrong to the country. My wish is that on this + subject no remark be made nor question asked by any of you, here or + elsewhere, now or hereafter."(10) + </p> + <p> + Not yet had anything resulted either from the Canadian mission of Greeley, + or from the Richmond adventure of Gilmore and Jaquess. There was a + singular ominous pause in events. Lincoln could not be blind to the storm + signals that had attended the close of Congress. What were the Vindictives + about? As yet they had made no Sign. But it was incredible that they could + pass over his defiance without a return blow. When would it come? What + would it be? + </p> + <p> + He spent his nights at the Soldiers' Home. As a rule, his family were with + him. Sometimes, however, Mrs. Lincoln and his sons would be absent and his + only companion was one of the ardent young secretaries. Then he would + indulge in reading Shakespeare aloud, it might be with such forgetfulness + of time that only the nodding of the tired young head recalled him to + himself and brought the reading to an end. A visitor has left this + charming picture of Lincoln at the Soldiers' Home in the sad sweetness of + a summer night: + </p> + <p> + "The Soldiers' Home is a few miles out of Washington on the Maryland side. + It is situated on a beautiful wooded hill, which you ascend by a winding + path, shaded on both sides by wide-spread branches, forming a green arcade + above you. When you reach the top you stand between two mansions, large, + handsome and substantial, but with nothing about them to indicate the + character of either. That on the left is the Presidential country house; + that directly before you, is the 'Rest,' for soldiers who are too old for + further service . . . In the graveyard near at hand there are numberless + graves—some without a spear of grass to hide their newness—that + hold the bodies of volunteers. + </p> + <p> + "While we stood in the soft evening air, watching the faint trembling of + the long tendrils of waving willow, and feeling the dewy coolness that was + flung out by the old oaks above us, Mr. Lincoln joined us, and stood + silent, too, taking in the scene. + </p> + <p> + "'How sleep the brave who sink to rest, By all their country's wishes + blest," he said, softly. . . + </p> + <p> + "Around the 'Home' grows every variety of tree, particularly of the + evergreen class. Their branches brushed into the carriage as we passed + along, and left us with that pleasant woody smell belonging to leaves. One + of the ladies, catching a bit of green from one of these intruding + branches, said it was cedar, and another thought it spruce. + </p> + <p> + "'Let me discourse on a theme I understand,' said the President. 'I know + all about trees in right of being a backwoodsman. I'll show you the + difference between spruce, pine and cedar, and this shred of green, which + is neither one nor the other, but a kind of illegitimate cypress. He then + proceeded to gather specimens of each, and explain the distinctive + formation of foliage belonging to each."(11) + </p> + <p> + Those summer nights of July, 1864, had many secrets which the tired + President musing in the shadows of the giant trees or finding solace with + the greatest of earthly minds would have given much to know. How were + Gilmore and Jaquess faring? What was really afoot in Canada? And that + unnatural silence of the Vindictives, what did that mean? And the two + great armies, Grant's in Virginia, Sherman's in Georgia, was there never + to be stirring news of either of these? The hush of the moment, the + atmosphere of suspense that seemed to envelop him, it was just what had + always for his imagination had such strange charm in the stories of fated + men. He turned again to Macbeth, or to Richard II, or to Hamlet. + Shakespeare, too, understood these mysterious pauses—who better! + </p> + <p> + The sense of the impending was strengthened by the alarms of some of his + best friends. They besought him to abandon his avowed purpose to call for + a draft of half a million under the new Enrollment Act. Many voices joined + the one chorus: the country is on the verge of despair; you will wreck the + cause by demanding another colossal sacrifice. But he would not listen. + When, in desperation, they struck precisely the wrong note, and hinted at + the ruin of his political prospects, he had his calm reply: "it matters + not what becomes of me. We must have men. If I go down, I intend to go + like the Cumberland, with my colors flying."(12) + </p> + <p> + Thus the days passed until the eighteenth of July. Meanwhile the + irresponsible Greeley had made a sad mess of his Canadian adventure. + Though Lincoln had given him definite instructions, requiring him to + negotiate only with agents who could produce written authority from Davis, + and who would treat on the basis of restoration of the Union and + abandonment of slavery, Greeley ignored both these unconditional + requirements.(13) He had found the Confederate agents at Niagara. They had + no credentials. Nevertheless, he invited them to come to Washington and + open negotiations. Of the President's two conditions, he said not a word. + This was just what the agents wanted. It could easily be twisted into the + semblance of an attempt by Lincoln to sue for peace. They accepted the + invitation. Greeley telegraphed to Lincoln reporting what he had done. Of + course, it was plain that he had misrepresented Lincoln; that he had far + exceeded his authority; and that his perverse unfaithfulness must be + repudiated. On July eighteenth, Hay set out for Niagara with this paper in + Lincoln's handwriting.(14) + </p> + <p> + "To whom it may concern: Any proposition which embraces the restoration of + peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the abandonment of slavery, + and which comes by and with an authority that can control the armies now + at war against the United States, will be received and considered by the + executive government of the United States, and will be met by liberal + terms on other substantial and collateral points and the bearer or bearers + thereof shall have, safe conduct both ways. ABRAHAM LINCOLN." + </p> + <p> + This was the end of the negotiation. The agents could not accept these + terms. Immediately, they published a version of what had happened: they + had been invited to come to Washington; subsequently, conditions had been + imposed which made it impossible for them to accept Was not the conclusion + plain? The Washington government was trying to open negotiations but it + was also in the fear of its own supporters playing craftily a double game. + These astute diplomats saw that there was a psychological crisis in the + North. By adding to the confusion of the hour they had well served their + cause. Greeley's fiasco was susceptible of a double interpretation. To the + pacifists it meant that the government, whatever may have been intended at + the start, had ended by setting impossible conditions of peace. To the + supporters of the war, it meant that whatever were the last thoughts of + the government, it had for a time contemplated peace without any + conditions at all. Lincoln was severely condemned, Greeley was ridiculed, + by both groups of interpreters. Why did not Greeley come out bravely and + tell the truth? Why did he not confess that he had suppressed Lincoln's + first set of instructions; that it was he, on his own responsibility, who + had led the Confederate agents astray; that he, not Lincoln was solely to + blame for the false impression that was now being used so adroitly to + injure the President? Lincoln proposed to publish their correspondence, + but made a condition that was characteristic. Greeley's letters rang with + cries of despair. He was by far the most influential Northern editor. + Lincoln asked him to strike out these hopeless passages. Greeley refused. + The correspondence must be published entire or not at all. Lincoln + suppressed it. He let the blame of himself go on; and he said nothing in + extenuation.(15) + </p> + <p> + He took some consolation in a "card" that appeared in the Boston + Transcript, July 22. It gave a brief account of the adventure of Gilmore + and Jaquess, and stated the answer given to them by the President of the + Confederacy. That answer, as restated by the Confederate Secretary of + State, was: "he had no authority to receive proposals for negotiations + except by virtue of his office as President of an independent Confederacy + and on this basis alone must proposals be made to him."(16) + </p> + <p> + There was another circumstance that may well have been Lincoln's + consolation in this tangle of cross-purposes. Only boldness could + extricate him from the mesh of his difficulties. The mesh was destined to + grow more and more of a snare; his boldness was to grow with his danger. + He struck the note that was to rule his conduct thereafter, when, on the + day he sent the final instructions to Greeley, in defiance of his timid + advisers, he issued a proclamation calling for a new draft of half a + million men.(17) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0032" id="link2H_4_0032"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXII. THE AUGUST CONSPIRACY + </h2> + <p> + Though the Vindictives kept a stealthy silence during July, they were + sharpening their claws and preparing for a tiger spring whenever the + psychological moment should arrive. Those two who had had charge of the + Reconstruction Bill prepared a paper, in some ways the most singular paper + of the war period, which has established itself in our history as the + Wade-Davis Manifesto. This was to be the deadly shot that should unmask + the Vindictive batteries, bring their war upon the President out of the + shadows into the open. + </p> + <p> + Greeley's fiasco and Greeley's mortification both played into their hands. + The fiasco contributed to depress still more the despairing North. By this + time, there was general appreciation of the immensity of Grant's failure, + not only at Cold Harbor, but in the subsequent slaughter of the futile + assault upon Petersburg. We have the word of a member of the Committee + that the despair over Grant translated itself into blame of the + Administration.(1) The Draft Proclamation; the swiftly traveling report + that the government had wilfully brought the peace negotiations to a + stand-still; the continued cry that the war was hopeless; all these + produced, about the first of August, an emotional crisis—just the + sort of occasion for which Lincoln's enemies were waiting. + </p> + <p> + Then, too, there was Greeley's mortification. The Administration papers + made him a target for sarcasm. The Times set the pace with scornful + demands for "No more back door diplomacy."(2) Greeley answered in a rage. + He permitted himself to imply that the President originated the Niagara + negotiation and that Greeley "reluctantly" became a party to it. That + "reluctantly" was the truth, in a sense, but how falsely true! Wade and + Davis had him where they wanted him. On the fifth of August, The Tribune + printed their manifesto. It was an appeal to "the supporters of the + Administration . . . to check the encroachment of the Executive on the + authority of Congress, and to require it to confine itself to its proper + sphere." It insinuated the basest motives for the President's interest in + reconstruction, and for rejecting their own bill. "The President by + preventing this bill from becoming a law, holds the electoral votes of the + Rebel States at the dictation of his personal ambition. . . . If electors + for President be allowed to be chosen in either of those States, a + sinister light will be cast on the motives which induced the President to + 'hold for naught' the will of Congress rather than his government in + Louisiana and Arkansas." + </p> + <p> + After a long discussion of his whole course with regard to reconstruction, + having heaped abuse upon him with shocking liberality, the Manifesto + concluded: + </p> + <p> + "Such are the fruits of this rash and fatal act of the President—a + blow at the friends of the Administration, at the rights of humanity, and + at the principles of Republican government The President has greatly + presumed on the forbearance which the supporters of his Administration + have so long practised in view of the arduous conflict in which we are + engaged, and the reckless ferocity of our political opponents. But he must + understand that our support is of a 'cause' and not of a man; that the + authority of Congress is paramount and must be respected; that the whole + body of the Union men in Congress will not submit to be impeached by him + of rash and unconstitutional legislation; and if he wishes our support he + must confine him-self to his executive duties—to obey and execute, + not make the laws—to suppress by arms, armed rebellion, and leave + political reorganization to Congress. If the supporters of the government + fail to insist on this they become responsible for the usurpations they + fail to rebuke and are justly liable to the indignation of the people + whose rights and security, committed to their keeping, they sacrifice. Let + them consider the remedy of these usurpations, and, having found it, + fearlessly execute it." + </p> + <p> + To these incredible charges, Lincoln made no reply. He knew, what some + statesmen never appear to know, the times when one should risk all upon + that French proverb, "who excuses, accuses." However, he made his futile + attempt to bring Greeley to reason, to induce him to tell the truth about + Niagara without confessing to the country the full measure of the despair + that had inspired his course. When Greeley refused to do so, Lincoln + turned to other matters, to preparation for the draft, and grimly left the + politicians to do their worst. They went about it with zest. Their + reliance was chiefly their power to infect the type of party man who is + easily swept from his moorings by the cry that the party is in danger, + that sacrifices must be made to preserve the party unity, that otherwise + the party will go to pieces. By the middle of August, six weeks after + Lincoln's defiance of them on the fourth of July, they were in high + feather, convinced that most things were coming their way. American + politicians have not always shown an ability to read clearly the American + people. Whether the politicians were in error on August 14, 1864, and + again on August twenty-third, two dates that were turning points, is a + matter of debate to this day. As to August fourteenth, they have this, at + least, in their defense. The country had no political observer more keen + than the Scotch free lance who edited The New York Herald. It was + Bennett's editorial view that Lincoln would do well to make a virtue of + necessity and withdraw his candidacy because "the dissatisfaction which + had long been felt by the great body of American citizens has spread even + to his own supporters."(3) Confident that a great reaction against Lincoln + was sweeping the country, that the Manifesto had been launched in the very + nick of time, a meeting of conspirators was held in New York, at the house + of David Dudley Field, August fourteenth. Though Wade was now at his home + in Ohio, Davis was present. So was Greeley. It was decided to ask Lincoln + to withdraw. Four days afterward, a "call" was drawn up and sent out + confidentially near and far to be signed by prominent politicians. The + "call" was craftily worded. It summoned a new Union Convention to meet in + Cincinnati, September twenty-eighth, for the purpose either of rousing the + party to whole-hearted support of Lincoln, or of uniting all factions on + some new candidate. Greeley who could not attend the committee which drew + up the "call" wrote that "Lincoln is already beaten."(4) + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the infection of dismay had spread fast among the Lincoln + managers. Even before the meeting of the conspirators on the fourteenth, + Weed told the President that he could not be reelected.(5) + </p> + <p> + One of his bravest supporters, Washburne, came to the dismal conclusion + that "were an election to be held now in Illinois, we should be beaten." + Cameron, who had returned from Russia and was working hard for Lincoln in + Pennsylvania, was equally discouraging. So was Governor Morton in Indiana. + From all his "stanchest friends," wrote his chief manager to Lincoln, + "there was but one report. The tide is setting strongly against us."(6) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln's managers believed that the great host of free voters who are the + balance of power in American politics, were going in a drove toward the + camp of the Democrats. It was the business of the managers to determine + which one, or which ones, among the voices of discontent, represented + truly this controlling body of voters. They thought they knew. Two cries, + at least, that rang loud out of the Babel of the hour, should be heeded. + One of these harked back to Niagara. In the anxious ears of the managers + it dinned this charge: "the Administration prevented negotiations for + peace by tying together two demands, the Union must be restored and + slavery must be abolished; if Lincoln had left out slavery, he could have + had peace in a restored Union." It was ridiculous, as every one who had + not gone off his head knew. But so many had gone off their heads. And some + of Lincoln's friends were meeting this cry in a way that was raising up + other enemies of a different sort. Even so faithful a friend as Raymond, + editor of The Times and Chairman of the Republican National Executive + Committee, labored hard in print to prove that because Lincoln said he + "would consider terms that embraced the integrity of the Union and the + abandonment of slavery, he did not say that he would not receive them + unless they embraced both these conditions."(7) What would Sumner and all + the Abolitionists say to that? As party strategy, in the moment when the + old Vindictive Coalition seemed on the highroad to complete revival, was + that exactly the tune to sing? Then too there was the other cry that also + made a fearful ringing in the ears of the much alarmed Executive + Committee. There was wild talk in the air of an armistice. The hysteric + Greeley had put it into a personal letter to Lincoln. "I know that + nine-tenths of the whole American people, North and South, are anxious for + peace—peace on any terms—and are utterly sick of human + slaughter and devastation. I know that, to the general eye, it now seems + that the Rebels are anxious to negotiate and that we repulse their + advances. . . . I beg you, I implore you to inaugurate or invite proposals + for peace forthwith. And in case peace can not now be made, consent to an + armistice for one year, each party to retain all it now holds, but the + Rebel ports to be opened. Meantime, let a national convention be held and + there will surely be no war at all events."(8) + </p> + <p> + This armistice movement was industriously advertised in the Democratic + papers. It was helped along by the Washington correspondent of The Herald + who sowed broadcast the most improbable stories with regard to it. Today, + Secretary Fessenden was a convert to the idea; another day, Senator Wilson + had taken it up; again, the President, himself, was for an armistice.(9) + </p> + <p> + A great many things came swiftly to a head within a few days before or + after the twentieth of August. Every day or two, rumor took a new turn; or + some startling new alignment was glimpsed; and every one reacted to the + news after his kind. And always the feverish question, what is the + strength of the faction that approves this? Or, how far will this go + toward creating a new element in the political kaleidoscope? About the + twentieth of August, Jaquess and Gilmore threw a splashing stone into + these troubled waters. They published in The Atlantic a full account of + their interview with Davis, who, in the clearest, most unfaltering way had + told them that the Southerners were fighting for independence and for + nothing else; that no compromise over slavery; nothing but the recognition + of the Confederacy as a separate nation would induce them to put up their + bright swords. As Lincoln subsequently, in his perfect clarity of speech, + represented Davis: "He would accept nothing short of severance of the + Union—precisely what we will not and can not give.... He does not + attempt to deceive us. He affords us no excuse to deceive ourselves. He + can not voluntarily reaccept the Union; we can not voluntarily yield + it"(10) + </p> + <p> + Whether without the intrusion of Jaquess and Gilmore, the Executive + Committee would have come to the conclusion they now reached, is a mere + speculation. They thought they were at the point of desperation. They + thought they saw a way out, a way that reminds one of Jaquess and Gilmore. + On the twenty-second, Raymond sent that letter to Lincoln about "the tide + setting strongly against us." He also proposed the Committee's way of + escape: nothing but to offer peace to Davis "on the sole condition of + acknowledging the supremacy of the Constitution—all other questions + to be settled in a convention of the people of all the States."(11) He + assumed the offer would be rejected. Thus the clamor for negotiation would + be met and brought to naught. Having sent off his letter, Raymond got his + committee together and started for Washington for a council of + desperation. + </p> + <p> + And this brings us to the twenty-third of August. On that day, pondering + Raymond's letter, Lincoln took thought with himself what he should say to + the Executive Committee. A mere opportunist would have met the situation + with some insincere proposal, by the formulation of terms that would have + certainly been rejected. We have seen how Lincoln reasoned in such a + connection when he drew up the memorandum for Jaquess and Gilmore. His + present problem involved nothing of this sort. What he was thinking out + was how best to induce the committee to accept his own attitude; to become + for the moment believers in destiny; to nail their colors; turn their + backs as he was doing on these devices of diplomacy; and as to the + rest-permit to heaven. + </p> + <p> + Whatever his managers might think, the serious matter in Lincoln's mind, + that twenty-third of August, was the draft. And back of the draft, a + tremendous matter which probably none of them at the time appreciated. + Assuming that they were right in their political forecast, assuming that + he was not to be reelected, what did it signify? For him, there was but + one answer: that he had only five months in which to end the war. And with + the tide running strong against him, what could he do? But one thing: use + the war powers while they remained in his hands in every conceivable way + that might force a conclusion on the field of battle. He recorded his + determination. A Cabinet meeting was held on the twenty-third. Lincoln + handed his Ministers a folded paper and asked them to write their initials + on the back. At the time he gave them no intimation what the paper + contained. It was the following memorandum: "This morning, as for some + days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not + be reelected. Then it will be my duty to so cooperate with the President + elect as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration, as + he will have secured his election on such ground that he can not possibly + save it afterward."(12) + </p> + <p> + He took into his confidence "the stronger half of the Cabinet, Seward, + Stanton and Fessenden," and together they assaulted the Committee.(13) It + was a reception amazingly different from what had been expected. Instead + of terrified party diplomats shaking in their shoes, trying to face all + points at once, morbid over possible political defeats in every quarter, + they found what may have seemed to them a man in a dream; one who was + intensely sad, but who gave no suggestion of panic, no solicitude about + his own fate, no doubt of his ultimate victory. Their practical astuteness + was disarmed by that higher astuteness attained only by peculiar minds + which can discern through some sure interior test the rare moment when it + is the part of wisdom not to be astute at all. + </p> + <p> + Backed by those strong Ministers, all entirely under his influence, + Lincoln fully persuaded the Committee that at this moment, any overture + for peace would be the worst of strategic blunders, "would be worse than + losing the presidential contest—it would be ignominiously + surrendering it in advance."(14) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln won a complete spiritual victory over the Committee. These + dispirited men, who had come to Washington to beg for a policy of + negotiation, went away in such a different temper that Bennett's + Washington correspondent jeered in print at the "silly report" of their + having assembled to discuss peace.(15) Obviously, they had merely held a + meeting of the Executive Committee. The Tribune correspondent telegraphed + that they were confident of Lincoln's reelection.(16) + </p> + <p> + On the day following the conference with Lincoln, The Times announced: + "You may rest assured that all reports attributing to the government any + movements looking toward negotiations for peace at present are utterly + without foundation. . . . The government has not entertained or discussed + the project of proposing an armistice with the Rebels nor has it any + intention of sending commissioners to Richmond . . . its sole and + undivided purpose is to prosecute the war until the rebellion is quelled. + . . ." Of equal significance was the announcement by The Times, fairly to + be considered the Administration organ: "The President stands firm against + every solicitation to postpone the draft."(17) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0033" id="link2H_4_0033"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXIII. THE RALLY TO THE PRESIDENT + </h2> + <p> + The question insists upon rising again: were the anti-Lincoln politicians + justified in their exultation, the Lincoln politicians justified in their + panic? Nobody will ever know; but it is worth considering that the shrewd + opportunist who expressed himself through The Herald changed his mind + during a fortnight in August. By one of those odd coincidences of which + history is full, it was on the twenty-third of the month that he warned + the Democrats and jeered at the Republicans in this insolent fashion: + </p> + <p> + "Many of our leading Republicans are now furious against Lincoln. . . . + Bryant of The Evening Post is very angry with Lincoln because Henderson, + The Post's publisher, has been arrested for defrauding the government. + </p> + <p> + "Raymond is a little shaky and has to make frequent journeys to Washington + for instructions. . . . + </p> + <p> + "Now, to what does all this amount? Our experience of politics convinces + us that it amounts to nothing. The sorehead Republicans complain that + Lincoln gives them either too little shoddy or too little nigger. What + candidate can they find who will give them more of either? + </p> + <p> + "The Chicago (Democratic) delegates must very emphatically comprehend that + they must beat the whole Re-publican party if they elect their candidate. + It is a strong party even yet and has a heavy army vote to draw upon. The + error of relying too greatly upon the weakness of the Republicans as + developed in the quarrels of the Republican leaders, may prove fatal . . . + the Republican leaders may have their personal quarrels, or their shoddy + quarrels, or their nigger quarrels with Old Abe; but he has the whip hand + of them and they will soon be bobbing back into the Republican fold, like + sheep who have gone astray. The most of the fuss some of them kick up now, + is simply to force Lincoln to give them their terms. . + </p> + <p> + "We have studied all classes of politicians in our day and we warn the + Chicago Convention to put no trust in the Republican soreheads. Furiously + as some of them denounce Lincoln now, and lukewarm as the rest of them are + in his cause, they will all be shouting for him as the only true Union + candidate as soon as the nominations have all been made and the chances + for bargains have passed. + </p> + <p> + "Whatever they say now, we venture to predict that Wade and his tail; and + Bryant and his tail; and Wendell Phillips and his tail; and Weed, Barney, + Chase and their tails; and Winter Davis, Raymond, Opdyke and Forney who + have no tails; will all make tracks for Old Abe's plantation, and will + soon be found crowing and blowing, and vowing and writing, and swearing + and stumping the state on his side, declaring that he and he alone, is the + hope of the nation, the bugaboo of Jeff Davis, the first of Conservatives, + the best of Abolitionists, the purest of patriots, the most gullible of + mankind, the easiest President to manage, and the person especially + predestined and foreordained by Providence to carry on the war, free the + niggers, and give all the faithful a fair share of the spoils. The + spectacle will be ridiculous; but it is inevitable."(1) + </p> + <p> + The cynic of The Herald had something to go upon besides his general + knowledge of politicians and elections. The Manifesto had not met with + universal acclaim. In the course of this month of surprises, there were + several things that an apprehensive observer might interpret as the shadow + of that hand of fate which was soon to appear upon the wall. In the + Republican Convention of the Nineteenth Ohio District, which included + Ashtabula County, Wade's county, there were fierce words and then with few + dissenting votes, a resolution, "That the recent attack upon the President + by Wade and Davis is, in our opinion, ill-timed, ill-tempered, and + ill-advised . . . and inasmuch as one of the authors of said protest is a + citizen of this Congressional District and indebted in no small degree to + our friendship for the position, we deem it a duty no less imperative than + disagreeable, to pronounce upon that disorganizing Manifesto our + unqualified disapproval and condemnation."(2) + </p> + <p> + To be sure there were plenty of other voices from Ohio and elsewhere + applauding "The War on the President." Nevertheless, there were signs of a + reluctance to join the movement, and some of these in quarters where they + had been least expected. Notably, the Abolitionist leaders were slow to + come forward. Sumner was particularly slow. He was ready, indeed, to admit + that a better candidate than Lincoln could be found, and there was a + whisper that the better candidate was himself. However, he was + unconditional that he would not participate in a fight against Lincoln. If + the President could be persuaded to withdraw, that was one thing. But + otherwise—no Sumner in the conspiracy.(3) + </p> + <p> + Was it possible that Chandler, Wade, Davis and the rest had jumped too + soon? To rebuild the Vindictive Coalition, the group in which Sumner had a + place was essential. This group was composed of Abolitionists, chiefly New + Englanders, and for present purpose their central figure was Andrew, the + Governor of Massachusetts. During the latter half of August, the fate of + the Conspiracy hung on the question, Can Andrew and his group be drawn in? + </p> + <p> + Andrew did not like the President. He was one of those who never got over + their first impression of the strange new man of 1861. He insisted that + Lincoln lacked the essential qualities of a leader. "To comprehend this + objection," says his frank biographer, "which to us seems so astoundingly + wide of the mark, we must realize that whenever the New Englander of that + generation uttered the word 'leader' his mind's eye was filled with the + image of Daniel Webster . . . his commanding presence, his lofty tone + about affairs of state, his sonorous profession of an ideal, his whole ex + cathedra attitude. All those characteristics supplied the aristocratic + connotation of the word 'leader' as required by a community in which a + considerable measure of aristocratic sympathy still lingered. Andrew and + his friends were like the men of old who having known Saul before time, + and beholding him prophesying, asked 'Is Saul also among the + prophets?'"(4) + </p> + <p> + But Andrew stood well outside the party cabals that were hatched at + Washington. He and his gave the conspirators a hearing from a reason + widely different from any of theirs. They distrusted the Executive + Committee. The argument that had swept the Committee for the moment off + its feet filled the stern New Englanders with scorn. They were prompt to + deny any sympathy with the armistice movement.(5) As Andrew put it, the + chief danger of the hour was the influence of the Executive Committee on + the President, whom he persisted in considering a weak man; the chief duty + of the hour was to "rescue" Lincoln, or in some other way to "check the + peace movement of the Republican managers."(6) if it were fairly certain + that this could be effected only by putting the conspiracy through, Andrew + would come in. But could he be clear in his own mind that this was the + thing to do? While he hesitated, Jaquess and Gilmore did their last small + part in American history and left the stage. They made a tour of the + Northern States explaining to the various governors the purposes of their + mission to Richmond, and reporting in full their audience with Davis and + the impressions they had formed.(7) This was a point in favor of Lincoln—as + Andrew thought. On the other hand, there were the editorials of The Times. + As late as the twenty-fourth of August, the day before the Washington + conference, The Times asserted that the President would waive all the + objects for which the war had been fought, including Abolition, if any + proposition of peace should come that embraced the integrity of the Union. + To be sure, this was not consistent with the report of Jaquess and Gilmore + and their statement of terms actually set down by Lincoln. And yet—it + came from the Administration organ edited by the chairman of the Executive + Committee. Was "rescue" of the President anything more than a dream? + </p> + <p> + It was just here that Lincoln intervened and revolutionized the whole + situation. With what tense interest Andrew must have waited for reports of + that conference held at Washington on the twenty-fifth. And with what + delight he must have received them! The publication on the twenty-sixth of + the sweeping repudiation of the negotiation policy; the reassertion that + the Administration's "sole and undivided purpose was to prosecute the + war." Simultaneous was another announcement, also in the minds of the New + Englanders, of first importance: "So far as there being any probability of + President Lincoln withdrawing from the canvass, as some have suggested, + the gentlemen comprising the Committee express themselves as confident of + his reelection."(8) + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the letters asking for signatures to the pro-posed "call" had + been circulated and the time had come to take stock of the result From + Ohio, Wade had written in a sanguine mood. He was for issuing the call the + moment the Democratic Convention had taken action.(9) On the twenty-ninth + that convention met. On the thirtieth, the conspirators reassembled—again + at the house of David Dudley Field—and Andrew attended. He had not + committed himself either way. + </p> + <p> + And now Lincoln's firmness with the Executive Committee had its reward. + The New Englanders had made up their minds. Personally, he was still + obnoxious to them; but in light of his recent pronouncement, they would + take their chances on "rescuing" him from the Committee; and since he + would not withdraw, they would not cooperate in splitting the Union party. + But they could not convince the conspirators. A long debate ended in an + agreement to disagree. The New Englanders withdrew, confessed partisans of + Lincoln.(10) It was the beginning of the end. + </p> + <p> + Andrew went back to Boston to organize New England for Lincoln. J. M. + Forbes remained to organize New York.(11) All this, ignoring the Executive + Committee. It was a new Lincoln propaganda, not in opposition to the + Committee but in frank rivalry: "Since, or if, we must have Lincoln," said + Andrew, "men of motive and ideas must get into the lead, must elect him, + get hold of 'the machine' and 'run it' themselves."(12) + </p> + <p> + The bottom was out of the conspiracy; but the leaders at New York were + slow to yield. Despite the New England secession, they thought the + Democratic platform, on which McClellan had been invited to stand as + candidate for the Presidency, gave them another chance, especially the + famous resolution: + </p> + <p> + "That this Convention does explicitly declare, as the sense of the + American people, after four years of failure to restore the Union by the + experiment of war, during which, under the pretense of a military + necessity, or war power higher than the Constitution, the Constitution + itself has been disregarded in every part, and the public liberty and the + private right alike trodden down and the material prosperity of the + country essentially impaired, justice, humanity, liberty and the public + welfare demand that immediate efforts be made for a cessation of + hostilities, with a view to an ultimate convention of the States, or other + peaceable means to the end that at the earliest practicable moment peace + may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union of the States." + </p> + <p> + Some of the outlying conspirators also suffered a revival of hope. The + Cincinnati Gazette came out flat foot for the withdrawal of Lincoln.(13) + So did The Cincinnati Times, pressing hard for the new convention.(14) On + the second of September, three New York editors, Greeley for The Tribune, + Parke Godwin for The Post, and Tilton for The Independent, were busily + concocting a circular letter to Governors of the States with a view to + saving the conspiracy.(15) + </p> + <p> + But other men were at work in a different fashion, that same day. + Lincoln's cause had been wrecked so frequently by his generals that + whenever a general advanced, the event seems boldly dramatic. While the + politicians at New York and Chicago thought they were loading the scales + of fate, long lines of men in blue were moving through broken woodland and + over neglected fields against the gray legions defending Atlanta. Said + General Hood, it was "evident that General Sherman was moving with his + main body to destroy the Macon road, and that the fate of Atlanta depended + on our ability to defeat this movement." During the fateful pow-pow at the + house of Dudley Field, Sherman's army like a colossal scythe was swinging + round Atlanta, from the west and south, across Flint River, through the + vital railway, on toward the city. On the second of September, the news + that Atlanta was taken "electrified the people of the North."(16) + </p> + <p> + The first thought of every political faction, when, on the third, the + newspapers were ringing with this great news, was either how to capitalize + it for themselves, or how to forestall its capitalization by some one + else. Forbes "dashed off" a letter to Andrew urging an immediate + demonstration for Lincoln.(17) He was sure the Raymond group would somehow + try to use the victory as a basis for recovering their leadership. Davis + was eager to issue the "call" at once.(18) But his fellows hesitated. And + while they hesitated, Andrew and the people acted. On the sixth, a huge + Lincoln rally was held at Faneul Hall. Andrew presided. Sumner spoke.(19) + That same day, Vermont held State elections and went Republican by a + rousing majority. On the day following occurred the Convention of the + Union party of New York. Enthusiastic applause was elicited by a telegram + from Vermont. "The first shell that was thrown by Sherman into Atlanta has + exploded in the Copperhead Camp in this State, and the Unionists have + poured in a salute with shotted guns."(20) The mixed metaphors did not + reduce the telegram's effect. The New York Convention formally endorsed + Lincoln as the candidate of the Union party for President. + </p> + <p> + So much for the serious side of the swiftly changing political + kaleidoscope. There was also a comic side. Only three days sufficed—from + Davis's eagerness to proceed on the fourth to letters and articles written + or printed on the seventh—only three days, and the leaders of the + conspiracy began turning their coats. A typical letter of the seventh at + Syracuse describes "an interview with Mr. Opdyke this morning, who told me + the result of his efforts to obtain signatures to our call which was by no + means encouraging. I have found the same sentiment prevailing here. A + belief that it is too late to make any effectual demonstration, and + therefore that it is not wise to attempt any. I presume that the new-born + enthusiasm created by the Atlanta news will so encourage Lincoln that he + can not be persuaded to withdraw."(21) Two days more and the anti-Lincoln + newspapers began to draw in their horns. That Independent, whose editor + had been one of the three in the last ditch but a week before, handsomely + recanted, scuttling across to what now seemed the winning side. "The + prospect of victory is brilliant. If a fortnight ago the prospect of Mr. + Lincoln's reelection seemed doubtful, the case is now changed. The odious + character of the Chicago platform, the sunshiny effect of the late + victories, have rekindled the old enthusiasm in loyal hearts."(22) One day + more, and Greeley sullenly took his medicine. The Tribune began printing + "The Union Ticket—for President, Abraham Lincoln." + </p> + <p> + There remains the most diverting instance of the haste with which coats + were turned. On the sixth of September, only three days after Atlanta!—the + very day of the great Lincoln rally, the crown of Andrew's generalship, at + Fanuel Hall—a report was sent out from Washington that "Senator Wade + is to take the stump for Mr. Lincoln."(23) Less than a week later The + Washington Chronicle had learned "with satisfaction, though not with + surprise, that Senator Wade, notwithstanding his signature to a celebrated + Manifesto, had enrolled himself among the Lincoln forces."(24) Exactly two + weeks after Atlanta, Wade made his first speech for Lincoln as President. + It was a "terrific assault upon the Copperhead policy."(25) + </p> + <p> + The ship of the conspiracy was sinking fast, and on every hand was heard a + scurrying patter of escaping politicians. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0034" id="link2H_4_0034"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXIV. "FATHER ABRAHAM" + </h2> + <p> + The key-notes of Lincoln's course with the Executive Committee, his + refusal to do anything that appeared to him to be futile, his firmness not + to cast about and experiment after a policy, his basing of all his plans + on the vision in his own mind of their sure fruitage—these continued + to be his key-notes throughout the campaign. They ruled his action in a + difficult matter with which he was quickly forced to deal. + </p> + <p> + Montgomery Blair, the Postmaster General, was widely and bitterly + disliked. Originally a radical Republican, he had quarreled with that wing + of the party. In 1863 the Union League of Philadelphia, which elected all + the rest of the Cabinet honorary members of its organization, omitted + Blair. A reference to the Cabinet in the Union platform of 1864 was + supposed to be a hint that the Postmaster General would serve his country, + if he resigned. During the dark days of the summer of 1864, the + President's mail was filled with supplications for the dismissal of + Blair.(1) He was described as an incubus that might cause the defeat of + the Administration. + </p> + <p> + If the President's secretaries were not prejudiced witnesses, Blair had + worn out his welcome in the Cabinet. He had grown suspicious. He tried to + make Lincoln believe that Seward was plotting with the Copperheads. + Nevertheless, Lincoln turned a deaf ear to the clamor against him. Merely + personal considerations were not compelling. If it was true, as for a + while he believed it was, that his election was already lost, he did not + propose to throw Blair over as a mere experiment. True to his principles + he would not become a juggler with futility. + </p> + <p> + The turn of the tide in his favor put the matter in a new light. All the + enemies of Blair renewed their attack on a slightly different line. One of + those powerful New Englanders who had come to Lincoln's aid at such an + opportune moment led off. On the second day following the news of Atlanta, + Henry Wilson wrote to him, "Blair, every one hates. Tens of thousands of + men will be lost to you, or will give you a reluctant vote because of the + Blairs."(2) + </p> + <p> + If this was really true, the selfless man would not hesitate to' require + of Blair the same sort of sacrifice he would, in other conditions, require + of himself. Lincoln debated this in his own mind nearly three weeks. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, various other politicians joined the hue and cry. An old friend + of Lincoln's, Ebenezer Peck, came east from Illinois to work upon him + against Blair.(3) Chandler, who like Wade was eager to get out of the + wrong ship, appeared at Washington as a friend of the Administration and + an enemy of Blair.(4) But still Lincoln did not respond. After all, was it + certain that one of these votes would change if Blair did not resign? + Would anything be accomplished, should Lincoln require his resignation, + except the humiliation of a friend, the gratification of a pack of + malcontents? And then some one thought of a mode for giving definite + political value to Blair's removal. Who did it? The anonymous author of + the only biography of Chandler claims this doubtful honor for the great + Jacobin. Lincoln's secretaries, including Colonel Stoddard who had charge + of his correspondence, are ignorant on the subject.(5) It may well have + been Chandler who negotiated a bargain with Fremont, if the story is to be + trusted, which concerned Blair. A long-standing, relentless quarrel + separated these two. That Fremont as a candidate was nobody had long been + apparent; and yet it was worth while to get rid of him. Chandler, or + another, extracted a promise from Fremont that if Blair were removed, he + would resign. On the strength of this promise, a last appeal was made to + Lincoln. Such is the legend. The known fact is that on September + twenty-second Fremont withdrew his candidacy. The next day Lincoln sent + this note to Blair: + </p> + <p> + "You have generously said to me more than once that whenever your + resignation could be a relief to me, it was at my disposal. The time has + come. You very well know that this proceeds from no dissatisfaction of + mine, with you personally or officially. Your uniform kindness has been + unsurpassed by that of any friend."(6) + </p> + <p> + No incident displays more clearly the hold which Lincoln had acquired on + the confidence and the affection of his immediate associates. Blair at + once tendered his resignation: "I can not take leave of you," said he, + "without renewing the expression of my gratitude for the uniform kindness + which has marked your course with regard to myself."(7) That he was not + perfunctory, that his great chief had acquired over him an ascendency + which was superior to any strain, was demonstrated a few days later in New + York. On the twenty-seventh, Cooper Institute was filled with an + enthusiastic Lincoln meeting. Blair was a speaker. He was received with + loud cheers and took occasion to touch upon his relations with the + President. "I retired," said he, "on the recommendation of my own father. + My father has passed that period of life when its honors or its rewards, + or its glories have any charm for him. He looks backward only, and forward + only, to the grandeur of this nation and the happiness of this great + people who have grown up under the prosperous condition of the Union; and + he would not permit a son of his to stand in the way of the glorious and + patriotic President who leads us on to success and to the final triumph + that is in store for us."(8) + </p> + <p> + It was characteristic of this ultimate Lincoln that he offered no + explanations, even in terminating the career of a minister; that he gave + no confidences. Gently inexorable, he imposed his will in apparent + unconsciousness that it might be questioned. Along with his overmastering + kindness, he had something of the objectivity of a natural force. It was + the mood attained by a few extraordinary men who have reached a point + where, without becoming egoists, they no longer distinguish between + themselves and circumstance; the mood of those creative artists who have + lost themselves, in the strange way which the dreamers have, who have also + found themselves. + </p> + <p> + Even in the new fascination of the probable turn of the tide, Lincoln did + not waver in his fixed purpose to give all his best energies, and the + country's best energies, to the war. In October, there was a new panic + over the draft. Cameron implored him to suspend it in Pennsylvania until + after the presidential election. An Ohio committee went to Washington with + the same request. Why should not the arguments that had prevailed with + him, or were supposed to have prevailed with him, for the removal of a + minister, prevail also in the way of a brief flagging of military + preparation? But Lincoln would not look upon the two cases in the same + spirit. "What is the Presidency worth to me," he asked the Ohio committee, + "if I have no country ?"(9) + </p> + <p> + From the active campaign he held himself aloof. He made no political + speeches. He wrote no political letters. The army received his constant + detailed attention. In his letters to Grant, he besought him to be + unwavering in a relentless persistency. + </p> + <p> + As Hay records, he was aging rapidly. The immense strain of his labor was + beginning to tell both in his features and his expression. He was moving + in a shadow. But his old habit of merriment had not left him; though it + was now, more often, a surface merriment. On the night of the October + elections, Lincoln sat in the telegraph room of the War Office while the + reports were coming in. "The President in a lull of despatches, took from + his pocket the Naseby Papers and read several chapters of the Saint and + Martyr, Petroleum V. They were immensely amusing. Stanton and Dana enjoyed + them scarcely less than the President, who read on, con amore, until nine + o'clock."(10) + </p> + <p> + The presidential election was held on the eighth of November. That night, + Lincoln with his Secretary was again in the War Office. The early returns + showed that the whole North was turning to him in enormous majorities. He + showed no exultation. When the Assistant Secretary of the Navy spoke + sharply of the complete effacement politically of Henry Winter Davis + against whom he had a grudge, Lincoln said, "You have more of that feeling + of personal resentment than I. Perhaps I have too little of it; but I + never thought it paid. A man has no time to spend half his life in + quarrels. If any man ceases to attack me I never remember the past against + him."(11) + </p> + <p> + "Towards midnight," says Hay in his diary, "we had supper. The President + went awkwardly and hospitably to work shovelling out the fried oysters. He + was most agreeable and genial all the evening. . . . Captain Thomas came + up with a band about half-past two and made some music. The President + answered from a window with rather unusual dignity and effect, and we came + home."(12) + </p> + <p> + "I am thankful to God," Lincoln said, in response to the serenade, "for + this approval of the people; but while grateful for this mark of their + confidence in me, if I know my heart, my gratitude is free from any taint + of personal triumph. I do not impugn the motives of any one opposed to me. + It is no pleasure to me to triumph over any one, but I give thanks to the + Almighty for this evidence of the people's resolution to stand by free + government and the rights of humanity."(13) + </p> + <p> + During the next few days a torrent of congratulations came pouring in. + What most impressed the secretaries was his complete freedom from elation. + "He seemed to deprecate his own triumph and sympathize rather with the + beaten than the victorious party." His formal recognition of the event was + a prepared reply to a serenade on the night of November tenth. A great + crowd filled the space in front of the north portico of the White House. + Lincoln appeared at a window. A secretary stood at his side holding a + lighted candle while he read from a manuscript. The brief address is + justly ranked among his ablest occasional utterances. As to the mode of + the deliverance, he said to Hay, "Not very graceful, but I am growing old + enough not to care much for the manner of doing things."(14) + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0035" id="link2H_4_0035"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXV. THE MASTER OF THE MOMENT + </h2> + <h3> + In Lincoln's life there are two great achievements. + </h3> + <p> + One he brought to pass in time for him to behold his own victory. The + other he saw only with the eyes of faith. The first was the drawing + together of all the elements of nationalism in the American people and + consolidating them into a driving force. The second was laying the + foundation of a political temper that made impossible a permanent victory + for the Vindictives. It was the sad fate of this nation, because Lincoln's + hand was struck from the tiller at the very instant of the crisis, to + suffer the temporary success of that faction he strove so hard to destroy. + The transitoriness of their evil triumph, the eventual rally of the nation + against them, was the final victory of the spirit of Lincoln. + </p> + <p> + The immediate victory he appreciated more fully and measured more exactly, + than did any one else. He put it into words in the fifth message. While + others were crowing with exaltation over a party triumph, he looked deeper + to the psychological triumph. Scarcely another saw that the most + significant detail of the hour was in the Democratic attitude. Even the + bitterest enemies of nationalism, even those who were believed by all + others to desire the breaking of the Union, had not thought it safe to say + so. They had veiled their intent in specious words. McClellan in accepting + the Democratic nomination had repudiated the idea of disunion. Whether the + Democratic politicians had agreed with him or not, they had not dared to + contradict him. This was what Lincoln put the emphasis on in his message: + "The purpose of the people within the loyal States to maintain the Union + was never more firm nor more nearly unanimous than now. . . . No candidate + for any office, high or low, has ventured to seek votes on the avowal that + he was for giving up the Union. There have been much impugning of motive + and much heated controversy as to the proper means and best mode of + advancing the Union cause; but on the distinct issue of Union or No Union + the politicians have shown their instinctive knowledge that there is no + diversity among the people. In affording the people the fair opportunity + of showing one to another and to the world, this firmness and unanimity of + purpose, the election has been of vast value to the national cause."(1) + </p> + <p> + This temper of the final Lincoln, his supreme detachment, the kind + impersonality of his intellectual approach, has no better illustration in + his state papers. He further revealed it in a more intimate way. The day + he sent the message to Congress, he also submitted to the Senate a + nomination to the great office of Chief Justice. When Taney died in the + previous September, there was an eager stir among the friends of Chase. + They had hopes but they felt embarrassed. Could they ask this great honor, + the highest it is in the power of the American President to be-stow, for a + man who had been so lacking in candor as Chase had been? Chase's course + during the summer had made things worse. He had played the time-server. No + one was more severe upon Lincoln in July; in August, he hesitated, would + not quite commit himself to the conspiracy but would not discourage it; + almost gave it his blessing; in September, but not until it was quite + plain that the conspiracy was failing, he came out for Lincoln. However, + his friends in the Senate overcame their embarrassment—how else + could it be with Senators?—and pressed his case. And when Senator + Wilson, alarmed at the President's silence, tried to apologize for Chase's + harsh remarks about the President, Lincoln cut him short. "Oh, as to that, + I care nothing," said he. The embarrassment of the Chase propaganda amused + him. When Chase himself took a hand and wrote him a letter, Lincoln said + to his secretary, "What is it about?" "Simply a kind and friendly letter," + replied the secretary. Lincoln smiled. "File it with the other + recommendations," said he.(2) + </p> + <p> + He regarded Chase as a great lawyer, Taney's logical successor. All the + slights the Secretary had put upon the President, the intrigues to + supplant him, the malicious sayings, were as if they had never occurred. + When Congress assembled, it was Chase's name that he sent to the Senate. + It was Chase who, as Chief Justice, administered the oath at Lincoln's + second inauguration. + </p> + <p> + Long since, Lincoln had seen that there had ceased to any half-way house + in the matter of emancipation. His thoughts were chiefly upon the future. + And as mere strategy, he saw that slavery had to be got out of the way. It + was no longer a question, who liked this, who did not. To him, the + ultimate issue was the restoration of harmony among the States. Those + States which had been defeated in the dread arbitrament of battle, would + in any event encounter difficulties, even deadly perils, in the narrow way + which must come after defeat and which might or might not lead to + rehabilitation. + </p> + <p> + Remembering the Vindictive temper, remembering the force and courage of + the Vindictive leaders, it was imperative to clear the field of the + slavery issue before the reconstruction issue was fairly launched. It was + highly desirable to commit to the support of the governments the whole + range of influences that were in earnest about emancipation. Furthermore, + the South itself was drifting in the same direction. In his interview with + Gilmore and Jaquess, Davis had said: "You have already emancipated nearly + two millions of our slaves; and if you will take care of them, you may + emancipate the rest. I had a few when the war began. I was of some use to + them; they never were of any to me."(3) + </p> + <p> + The Southern President had "felt" his constituency on the subject of + enrolling slaves as soldiers with a promise of emancipation as the reward + of military service. + </p> + <p> + The fifth message urged Congress to submit to the States an amendment to + the Constitution abolishing slavery. Such action had been considered in + the previous session, but nothing had been done. At Lincoln's suggestion, + it had been recommended in the platform of the Union party. Now, with the + President's powerful influence behind it, with his prestige at full + circle, the amendment was rapidly pushed forward. Before January ended, it + had been approved by both Houses. Lincoln had used all his personal + influence to strengthen its chances in Congress where, until the last + minute, the vote was still in doubt.(4) + </p> + <p> + While the amendment was taking its way through Congress, a shrewd old + politician who thought he knew the world better than most men, that + Montgomery Blair, Senior, who was father of the Postmaster General, had + been trying on his own responsibility to open negotiations between + Washington and Richmond. His visionary ideas, which were wholly without + the results he intended, have no place here. And yet this fanciful episode + had a significance of its own. Had it not occurred, the Confederate + government probably would not have appointed commissioners charged with + the hopeless task of approaching the Federal government for the purpose of + negotiating peace between "the two countries." + </p> + <p> + Now that Lincoln was entirely in the ascendent at home, and since the + Confederate arms had recently suffered terrible reverses, he was no longer + afraid that negotiation might appear to be the symptom of weakness. He + went so far as to consent to meet the Commissioners himself. On a steamer + in Hampton Roads, Lincoln and Seward had a long conference with three + members of the Confederate government, particularly the Vice-President, + Alexander H. Stephens. + </p> + <p> + It has become a tradition that Lincoln wrote at the top of a sheet of + paper the one word "Union"; that he pushed it across the table and said, + "Stephens, write under that anything you want" There appears to be no + foundation for the tale in this form. The amendment had committed the + North too definitely to emancipation. Lincoln could not have proposed + Union without requiring emancipation, also. And yet, with this limitation, + the spirit of the tradition is historic. There can be no doubt that he + presented to the commissioners about the terms which the year before he + had drawn up as a memorandum for Gilmore and Jaquess: Union, the + acceptance of emancipation, but also instantaneous restoration of + political autonomy to the Southern States, and all the influence of the + Administration in behalf of liberal compensation for the loss of slave + property. But the commissioners had no authority to consider terms that + did not recognize the existence of "two countries." However, this Hampton + Roads Conference gave Lincoln a new hope. He divined, if he did not + perceive, that the Confederates were on the verge of despair. If he had + been a Vindictive, this would have borne fruit in ferocious telegrams to + his generals to strike and spare not. What Lincoln did was to lay before + the Cabinet this proposal:—that they advise Congress to offer the + Confederate government the sum of four hundred million dollars, provided + the war end and the States in secession acknowledge the authority of the + Federal government previous to April 1, 1865. But the Cabinet, complete as + was his domination in some respects, were not ripe for such a move as + this. "'You are all against me,' said Lincoln sadly and in evident + surprise at the want of statesmanlike liberality on the part of the + executive council," to quote his Secretary, "folded and laid away the + draft of his message."(5) Nicolay believes that the idea continued vividly + in his mind and that it may be linked with his last public utterance—"it + may be my duty to make some new announcement to the people of the South. I + am considering and shall not fail to act when satisfied that action is + proper." + </p> + <p> + It was now obvious to every one outside the Confederacy that the war would + end speedily in a Northern victory. To Lincoln, therefore, the duty of the + moment, overshadowing all else, was the preparation for what should come + after. Reconstruction. More than ever it was of first importance to decide + whether the President or Congress should deal with this great matter. And + now occurred an event which bore witness at once to the beginning of + Lincoln's final struggle with the Vindictives and to that personal + ascendency which was steadily widening. One of those three original + Jacobins agreed to become his spokesman in the Senate. As the third person + of the Jacobin brotherhood, Lyman Trumbull had always been out of place. + He had gone wrong not from perversity of the soul but from a mental + failing, from the lack of inherent light, from intellectual + conventionality. But he was a good man. One might apply to him Mrs. + Browning's line: "Just a good man made a great man." And in his case, as + in so many others, sheer goodness had not been sufficient in the midst of + a revolution to save his soul. To quote one of the greatest of the + observers of human life: "More brains, O Lord, more brains." Though + Trumbull had the making of an Intellectual, politics had very nearly + ruined him. For all his good intentions it took him a long time to see + what Hawthorne saw at first sight-that Lincoln was both a powerful + character and an original mind. Still, because Trumbull was really a good + man, he found a way to recover his soul. What his insight was not equal to + perceiving in 1861, experience slowly made plain to him in the course of + the next three years. Before 1865 he had broken with the Vindictives; he + had come over to Lincoln. Trumbull still held the powerful office of + Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He now undertook to be the + President's captain in a battle on the floor of the Senate for the + recognition of Louisiana. + </p> + <p> + The new government in Louisiana had been in actual operation for nearly a + year. Though Congress had denounced it; though the Manifesto had held it + up to scorn as a monarchial outrage; Lincoln had quietly, steadily, + protected and supported it. It was discharging the function of a regular + State government. A governor had been elected and inaugurated-that + Governor Hahn whom Lincoln had congratulated as Louisiana's first Free + State Governor. He could say this because the new electorate which his + mandate had created had assembled a constitutional convention and had + abolished slavery. And it had also carried out the President's views with + regard to the political status of freedmen. Lincoln was not a believer in + general negro suffrage. He was as far as ever from the theorizing of the + Abolitionists. The most he would approve was the bestowal of suffrage on a + few Superior negroes, leaving the rest to be gradually educated into + citizenship. The Louisiana Convention had authorized the State Legislature + to make, when it felt prepared to do so, such a limited extension of + suffrage.(6) + </p> + <p> + In setting up this new government, Lincoln had created a political vessel + in which practically all the old electorate of Louisiana could find their + places the moment they gave up the war and accepted the two requisites, + union and emancipation. That electorate could proceed at once to rebuild + the social-political order of the State without any interval of + "expiation." All the power of the Administration would be with them in + their labors. That this was the wise as well as the generous way to + proceed, the best minds of the North had come to see. Witness the + conversion of Trumbull. But there were four groups of fanatics who were + dangerous: extreme Abolitionists who clamored for negro equality; men like + Wade and Chandler, still mad with the lust of conquest, raging at the + President who had stood so resolutely between them and their desire; the + machine politicians who could never understand the President's methods, + who regarded him as an officious amateur; and the Little Men who would + have tried to make political capital of the blowing of the last trump. All + these, each for a separate motive, attacked the President because of + Louisiana. + </p> + <p> + The new government had chosen Senators. Here was a specific issue over + which the Administration and its multiform opposition might engage in a + trial of strength. The Senate had it in its power to refuse to seat the + Louisiana Senators. Could the Vindictive leaders induce it to go to that + length? The question took its natural course of reference to the Judiciary + Committee. On the eighteenth of February, Trumbull opened what was + destined to be a terrible chapter in American history, the struggle + between light and darkness over reconstruction. Trumbull had ranged behind + Lincoln the majority of his committee. With its authority he moved a joint + resolution recognizing the new government of Louisiana. + </p> + <p> + And then began a battle royal. Trumbull's old associates were promptly + joined by Sumner. These three rallied against the resolution all the + malignancy, all the time-serving, all the stupidity, which the Senate + possessed. Bitter language was exchanged by men who had formerly been as + thick as thieves. + </p> + <p> + "You and I," thundered Wade, "did not differ formerly on this subject We + considered it a mockery, a miserable mockery, to recognize this Louisiana + organization as a State in the Union." He sneered fiercely, "Whence comes + this new-born zeal of the Senator from Illinois? . . . Sir, it is the most + miraculous conversion that has taken place since Saint Paul's time."(7) + </p> + <p> + Wade did not spare the President. Metaphorically speaking, he shook a fist + in his face, the fist of a merciless old giant "When the foundation of + this government is sought to be swept away by executive usurpation, it + will not do to turn around to me and say this comes from a President I + helped to elect. . . . If the President of the United States operating + through his major generals can initiate a State government, and can bring + it here and force us, compel us, to receive on this floor these mere + mockeries, these men of straw who represent nobody, your Republic is at an + end . . . talk not to me of your ten per cent. principle. A more absurd, + monarchial and anti-American principle was never announced on God's + earth."(8) + </p> + <p> + Amidst a rain of furious personalities, Lincoln's spokesman kept his + poise. It was sorely tried by two things: by Sumner's frank use of every + device of parliamentary obstruction with a view to wearing out the + patience of the Senate, and by the cynical alliance, in order to balk + Lincoln, of the Vindictives with the Democrats. What they would not risk + in 1862 when their principles had to wait upon party needs, they now + considered safe strategy. And if ever the Little Men deserved their label + it was when they played into the hands of the terrible Vindictives, thus + becoming responsible for the rejection of Lincoln's plan of + reconstruction. Trumbull upbraided Sumner for "associating himself with + those whom he so often denounced, for the purpose of calling the yeas and + nays and making dilatory motions" to postpone action until the press of + other business should compel the Senate to set the resolution aside. + Sumner's answer was that he would employ against the measure every + instrument he could find "in the arsenal of parliamentary warfare." + </p> + <p> + With the aid of the Democrats, the Vindictives carried the day. The + resolution was "dispensed with."(9) + </p> + <p> + As events turned out it was a catastrophe. But this was not apparent at + the time. Though Lincoln had been beaten for the moment, the opposition + was made up of so many and such irreconcilable elements that as long as he + could hold together his own following, there was no reason to suppose he + would not in the long run prevail. He was never in a firmer, more + self-contained mood than on the last night of the session.(10) Again, as + on that memorable fourth of July, eight months before, he was in his room + at the Capitol signing the last-minute bills. Stanton was with him. On + receiving a telegram from Grant, the Secretary handed it to the President + Grant reported that Lee had proposed a conference for the purpose of "a + satisfactory adjustment of the present unhappy difficulties by means of a + military convention." Without asking for the Secretary's opinion, Lincoln + wrote out a reply which he directed him to sign and despatch immediately. + "The President directs me to say that he wishes you to have no conference + with General Lee, unless it be for the capitulation of General Lee's army, + or on some minor or purely military matter. He instructs me to say that + you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political questions, + such questions the President holds in his own hands and will submit them + to no military conferences or conventions. Meanwhile, you are to press to + the utmost your military advantages."(11) + </p> + <p> + In the second inaugural (12) delivered the next day, there is not the + faintest shadow of anxiety. It breathes a lofty confidence as if his soul + was gazing meditatively downward upon life, and upon his own work, from a + secure height. The world has shown a sound instinct in fixing upon one + expression, "with malice toward none, with charity for all," as the + key-note of the final Lincoln. These words form the opening line of that + paragraph of unsurpassable prose in which the second inaugural culminates: + </p> + <p> + "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right + as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we + are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have + borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may + achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all + nations." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0036" id="link2H_4_0036"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXVI. PREPARING A DIFFERENT WAR + </h2> + <p> + During the five weeks which remained to Lincoln on earth, the army was his + most obvious concern. He watched eagerly the closing of the enormous trap + that had been slowly built up surrounding Lee. Toward the end of March he + went to the front, and for two weeks had his quarters on a steamer at City + Point. It was during Lincoln's visit that Sherman came up from North + Carolina for his flying conference with Grant, in which the President took + part. Lincoln was at City Point when Petersburg fell. Early on the morning + of April third, he joined Grant who gives a strange glimpse in his Memoirs + of their meeting in the deserted city which so recently had been the last + bulwark of the Confederacy.(1) The same day, Richmond fell. Lincoln had + returned to City Point, and on the following day when confusion reigned in + the burning city, he walked through its streets attended only by a few + sailors and by four friends. He visited Libby Prison; and when a member of + his party said that Davis ought to be hanged, Lincoln replied, "Judge not + that ye be not judged."(2) His deepest thoughts, however, were not with + the army. The time was at hand when his statesmanship was to be put to its + most severe test. He had not forgotten the anxious lesson of that success + of the Vindictives in balking momentarily the recognition of Louisiana. It + was war to the knife between him and them. Could he reconstruct the Union + in a wise and merciful fashion despite their desperate opposition? + </p> + <p> + He had some strong cards in his hand. First of all, he had time. Congress + was not in session. He had eight months in which to press forward his own + plans. If, when Congress assembled the following December, it should be + confronted by a group of reconciled Southern States, would it venture to + refuse them recognition? No one could have any illusions as to what the + Vindictives would try to do. They would continue the struggle they had + begun over Louisiana; and if their power permitted, they would rouse the + nation to join battle with the President on that old issue of the war + powers, of the dictatorship. + </p> + <p> + But in Lincoln's hand there were four other cards, all of which Wade and + Chandler would find it hard to match. He had the army. In the last + election the army had voted for him enthusiastically. And the army was + free from the spirit of revenge, the Spirit which Chandler built upon. + They had the plain people, the great mass whom the machine politicians had + failed to judge correctly in the August Conspiracy. Pretty generally, he + had the Intellectuals. Lastly, he had—or with skilful generalship he + could have—the Abolitionists. + </p> + <p> + The Thirteenth Amendment was not yet adopted. The question had been + raised, did it require three-fourths of all the States for its adoption, + or only three-fourths of those that were ranked as not in rebellion. Here + was the issue by means of which the Abolitionists might all be brought + into line. It was by no means certain that every Northern State would vote + for the amendment. In the smaller group of States, there was a chance that + the amendment might fail. But if it were submitted to the larger group; + and if every Reconstructed State, before Congress met, should adopt the + amendment; and if it was apparent that with these Southern adoptions the + amendment must prevail, all the great power of the anti-slavery sentiment + would be thrown on the side of the President in favor of recognizing the + new State governments and against the Vindictives. Lincoln held a hand of + trumps. Confidently, but not rashly, he looked forward to his peaceful war + with the Vindictives. + </p> + <p> + They were enemies not to be despised. To begin with, they were experienced + machine politicians; they had control of well-organized political rings. + They were past masters of the art of working up popular animosities. And + they were going to use this art in that dangerous moment of reaction which + invariably follows the heroic tension of a great war. The alignment in the + Senate revealed by the Louisiana battle had also a significance. The fact + that Sumner, who was not quite one of them, became their general on that + occasion, was something to remember. They had made or thought they had + made other powerful allies. The Vice President, Andrew Johnson-the new + president of the Senate-appeared at this time to be cheek by jowl with the + fiercest Vindictives of them all. It would be interesting to know when the + thought first occurred to them: "If anything should happen to Lincoln, his + successor would be one of us!" + </p> + <p> + The ninth of April arrived and the news of Lee's surrender. + </p> + <p> + "The popular excitement over the victory was such that on Monday, the + tenth, crowds gathered before the Executive Mansion several times during + the day and called out the President for speeches. Twice he responded by + coming to the window and saying a few words which, however, indicated that + his mind was more occupied with work than with exuberant rejoicing. As + briefly as he could he excused himself, but promised that on the following + evening for which a formal demonstration was being arranged, he would be + prepared to say something."(3) + </p> + <p> + The paper which he read to the crowd that thronged the grounds of the + White House on the night of April eleventh, was his last public utterance. + It was also one of his most remarkable ones. In a way, it was his + declaration of war against the Vindictives.(4) It is the final statement + of a policy toward helpless opponents—he refused to call them + enemies—which among the conquerors of history is hardly, if at all, + to be paralleled.(5) + </p> + <p> + "By these recent successes the reinauguration of the national authority—reconstruction—which + has had a large share of thought from the first, is pressed more closely + upon our attention. It is fraught with great difficulty. Unlike a case of + war between independent nations, there is no authorized organ for us to + treat with-no one man has authority to give up the rebellion for any other + man. We simply must begin with, and mould from, disorganized and + discordant elements. Nor is it a small additional embarrassment that we, + the loyal people, differ among ourselves as to the mode, manner and + measure of reconstruction. As a general rule, I abstain from reading the + reports of attacks upon myself, wishing not to be provoked by that to + which I can not properly offer an answer. In spite of this precaution, + however, it comes to my knowledge that I am much censured for some + supposed agency in setting up and seeking to sustain the new State + government of Louisiana." + </p> + <p> + He reviewed in full the history of the Louisiana experiment From that he + passed to the theories put forth by some of his enemies with regard to the + constitutional status of the Seceded States. His own theory that the + States never had been out of the Union because constitutionally they could + not go out, that their governmental functions had merely been temporarily + interrupted; this theory had always been roundly derided by the + Vindictives and even by a few who were not Vindictives. Sumner had + preached the idea that the Southern States by attempting to secede had + committed "State suicide" and should now be treated as Territories. + Stevens and the Vindictives generally, while avoiding Sumner's subtlety, + called them "conquered provinces." And all these wanted to take them from + under the protection of the President and place them helpless at the feet + of Congress. To prevent this is the purpose that shines between the lines + in the latter part of Lincoln's valedictory: + </p> + <p> + "We all agree that the Seceded States, so called, are out of their proper + practical relation with the Union, and that the sole object of the + government, civil and military, in regard to those States, is to again get + them into that proper practical relation. I believe that it is not only + possible, but in fact easier, to do this without deciding or even + considering whether these States have ever been out of the Union, than + with it Finding themselves safely at home, it would be utterly immaterial + whether they had ever been abroad. Let us all join in doing the acts + necessary to restoring the proper practical relations between these States + and the Union, and each forever after innocently indulge his own opinion + whether in doing the acts he brought the States from without into the + Union, or only gave them proper assistance, they never having been out of + it. The amount of constituency, so to speak, on which the new Louisiana + government rests would be more satisfactory to all if it contained 50,000 + or 30,000, or even 20,000 instead of only about 12,000, as it does. It is + also unsatisfactory to some that the elective franchise is not given to + the colored man. I would myself prefer that it were now conferred on the + very intelligent, and on those who served our cause as soldiers. + </p> + <p> + "Still, the question is not whether the Louisiana government, as it + stands, is quite all that is desirable. The question is, will it be wiser + to take it as it is and help to improve it, or to reject and disperse it? + Can Louisiana be brought into proper practical relation with the Union + sooner by sustaining or by discarding her new State government? Some + twelve thousand voters in the heretofore slave State of Louisiana have + sworn allegiance to the Union, assumed to be the rightful political power + of the State, held elections, organized a State government, adopted a free + State constitution, giving the benefit of public schools equally to black + and white and empowering the Legislature to confer the elective franchise + upon the colored man. Their Legislature has already voted to ratify the + constitutional amendment recently passed by Congress abolishing slavery + throughout the nation. These 12,000 persons are thus fully committed to + the Union and to perpetual freedom in the State—committed to the + very things, and nearly all the things, the nation wants—and they + ask the nation's recognition and its assistance to make good their + committal. + </p> + <p> + "Now, if we reject and spurn them, we do our utmost to disorganize and + disperse them. We, in effect, say to the white man: You are worthless or + worse; we will neither help you nor be helped by you. To the blacks we + say: This cup of liberty which these, your old masters, hold to your lips + we will dash from you and leave you to the chances of gathering the + spilled and scattered contents in some vague and undefined when, where and + how. If this course, discouraging and paralyzing both white and black, has + any tendency to bring Louisiana into proper practical relations with the + Union, I have so far been unable to perceive it. If, on the contrary, we + recognize and sustain the new government of Louisiana, the converse of all + this is made true. We encourage the hearts and nerve the arms of 12,000 to + adhere to their work, and argue for it, and proselyte for it, and fight + for it, and feed it, and grow it, and ripen it to a complete success. The + colored man, too, in seeing all united for him, is inspired with vigilance + and energy, and daring, to the same end. Grant that he desires the + elective franchise, will he not attain it sooner by saving the already + advanced steps toward it than by running backward over them? Concede that + the new government of Louisiana is only to what it should be as the egg is + to the fowl, we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than by + smashing it. + </p> + <p> + "Again, if we reject Louisiana, we also reject one vote in favor of the + proposed amendment to the national Constitution. To meet this proposition + it has been argued that no more than three-fourths of those States which + have not attempted secession are necessary to validly ratify the amendment + I do not commit myself against this further than to say that such a + ratification would be questionable, and sure to be persistently + questioned, while a ratification by three-fourths of all the States would + be unquestioned and unquestionable. I repeat the question: Can Louisiana + be brought into proper practical relation with the Union sooner by + sustaining or by discarding her new State government? What has been said + of Louisiana will apply generally to other States. And yet so great + peculiarities pertain to each State, and such important and sudden changes + occur in the same State, and with also new and unprecedented is the whole + case that no exclusive and inflexible plan can safely be prescribed as to + details and collaterals. Such exclusive and inflexible plan would surely + become a new entanglement. Important principles may and must be + inflexible. In the present situation, as the phrase goes, it may be my + duty to make some new announcement to the people of the South. I am + considering and shall not fail to act when satisfied that action will be + proper." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0037" id="link2H_4_0037"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXVII. FATE INTERPOSES + </h2> + <p> + There was an early spring on the Potomac in 1865. While April was still + young, the Judas trees became spheres of purply, pinkish bloom. The + Washington parks grew softly bright as the lilacs opened. Pendulous + willows veiled with green laces afloat in air the changing brown that was + winter's final shadow; in the Virginia woods the white blossoms of the + dogwood seemed to float and flicker among the windy trees like enormous + flocks of alighting butterflies. And over head such a glitter of turquoise + blue! As lovely in a different way as on that fateful Sun-day morning when + Russell drove through the same woods toward Bull Run so long, long ago. + Such was the background of the last few days of Lincoln's life. + </p> + <p> + Though tranquil, his thoughts dwelt much on death. While at City Point, he + drove one day with Mrs. Lincoln along the banks of the James. They passed + a country graveyard. "It was a retired place," said Mrs. Lincoln long + afterward, "shaded by trees, and early spring flowers were opening on + nearly every grave. It was so quiet and attractive that we stopped the + carriage and walked through it. Mr. Lincoln seemed thoughtful and + impressed. He said: 'Mary, you are younger than I; you will survive me. + When I am gone, lay my remains in some quiet place like this.'"(1) + </p> + <p> + His mood underwent a mysterious change. It was serene and yet charged with + a peculiar grave loftiness not quite like any phase of him his friends had + known hitherto. As always, his thoughts turned for their reflection to + Shakespeare. Sumner who was one of the party at City Point, was deeply + impressed by his reading aloud, a few days before his death, that passage + in Macbeth which describes the ultimate security of Duncan where nothing + evil "can touch him farther."(2) + </p> + <p> + There was something a little startling, as if it were not quite of this + world, in the tender lightness that seemed to come into his heart. "His + whole appearance, poise and bearing," says one of his observers, "had + marvelously changed. He was, in fact, transfigured. That indescribable + sadness which had previously seemed to be an adamantine element of his + very being, had been suddenly changed for an equally indescribable + expression of serene joy, as if conscious that the great purpose of his + life had been achieved."(3) + </p> + <p> + It was as if the seer in the trance had finally passed beyond his trance; + and had faced smiling toward his earthly comrades, imagining he was to + return to them; unaware that somehow his emergence was not in the ordinary + course of nature; that in it was an accent of the inexplicable, something + which the others caught and at which they trembled; though they knew not + why. And he, so beautifully at peace, and yet thrilled as never before by + the vision of the murdered Duncan at the end of life's fitful fever—what + was his real feeling, his real vision of himself? Was it something of what + the great modern poet strove so bravely to express— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "And yet Dauntless the slughorn to my lips I set, + And blew: Childe Roland to the dark tower came." +</pre> + <p> + Shortly before the end, he had a strange dream. Though he spoke of it + almost with levity, it would not leave his thoughts. He dreamed he was + wandering through the White House at night; all the rooms were brilliantly + lighted; but they were empty. However, through that unreal solitude + floated a sound of weeping. When he came to the East Room, it was + explained; there was a catafalque, the pomp of a military funeral, crowds + of people in tears; and a voice said to him, "The President has been + assassinated." + </p> + <p> + He told this dream to Lamon and to Mrs. Lincoln. He added that after it + had occurred, "the first time I opened the Bible, strange as it may + appear, it was at the twenty-eighth chapter of Genesis which relates the + wonderful dream Jacob had. I turned to other passages and seemed to + encounter a dream or a vision wherever I looked. I kept on turning the + leaves of the Old Book, and everywhere my eye fell upon passages recording + matters strangely in keeping with my own thoughts—supernatural + visitations, dreams, visions, etc." + </p> + <p> + But when Lamon seized upon this as text for his recurrent sermon on + precautions against assassination, Lincoln turned the matter into a joke. + He did not appear to interpret the dream as foreshadowing his own death. + He called Lamon's alarm "downright foolishness."(4) + </p> + <p> + Another dream in the last night of his life was a consolation. He narrated + it to the Cabinet when they met on April fourteenth, which happened to be + Good Friday. There was some anxiety with regard to Sherman's movements in + North Carolina. Lincoln bade the Cabinet set their minds at rest. His + dream of the night before was one that he had often had. It was a presage + of great events. In this dream he saw himself "in a singular and + indescribable vessel, but always the same... moving with great rapidity + toward a dark and indefinite shore." This dream had preceded all the great + events of the war. He believed it was a good omen.(5) + </p> + <p> + At this last Cabinet meeting, he talked freely of the one matter which in + his mind overshadowed all others. He urged his Ministers to put aside all + thoughts of hatred and revenge. "He hoped there would be no persecution, + no bloody work, after the war was over. None need expect him to take any + part in hanging or killing these men, even the worst of them. 'Frighten + them out of the country, let down the bars, scare them off,' said he, + throwing up his hands as if scaring sheep. Enough lives have been + sacrificed. We must extinguish our resentment if we expect harmony and + union. There was too much desire on the part of our very good friends to + be masters, to interfere and dictate to those States, to treat the people + not as fellow citizens; there was too little respect for their rights. He + didn't sympathize in these feelings."(6) + </p> + <p> + There was a touch of irony in his phase "our very good friends." Before + the end of the next day, the men he had in mind, the inner group of the + relentless Vindictives, were to meet in council, scarcely able to conceal + their inspiring conviction that Providence had intervened, had judged + between him and them.(7) And that allusion to the "rights" of the + vanquished! How abominable it was in the ears of the grim Chandler, the + inexorable Wade. Desperate these men and their followers were on the + fourteenth of April, but defiant. To the full measure of their power they + would fight the President to the last ditch. And always in their minds, + the tormenting thought-if only positions could be reversed, if only + Johnson, whom they believed to be one of them at heart, were in the first + instead of the second place! + </p> + <p> + While these unsparing sons of thunder were growling among themselves, the + lions that were being cheated of their prey, Lincoln was putting his + merciful temper into a playful form. General Creswell applied to him for + pardon for an old friend of his who had joined the Confederate Army. + </p> + <p> + "Creswell," said Lincoln, "you make me think of a lot of young folks who + once started out Maying. To reach their destination, they had to cross a + shallow stream and did so by means of an old flat boat when the time came + to return, they found to their dismay that the old scow had disappeared. + They were in sore trouble and thought over all manner of devices for + getting over the water, but without avail. After a time, one of the boys + proposed that each fellow should pick up the girl he liked best and wade + over with her. The masterly proposition was carried out until all that + were left upon the island was a little short chap and a great, long, + gothic-built, elderly lady. Now, Creswell, you are trying to leave me in + the same predicament. You fellows are all getting your own friends out of + this scrape, and you will succeed in carrying off one after another until + nobody but Jeff Davis and myself will be left on the island, and then I + won't know what to do—How should I feel? How should I look lugging + him over? I guess the way to avoid such an embarrassing situation is to + let all out at once."(8) + </p> + <p> + The President refused, this day, to open his doors to the throng of + visitors that sought admission. His eldest son, Robert, an officer in + Grant's army, had returned from the front unharmed. Lincoln wished to + reserve the day for his family and intimate friends. In the afternoon, + Mrs. Lincoln asked him if he cared to have company on their usual drive. + "No, Mary," said he, "I prefer that we ride by ourselves to-day."(9) They + took a long drive. His mood, as it had been all day, was singularly happy + and tender.(10) He talked much of the past and the future. It seemed to + Mrs. Lincoln that he never had appeared happier than during the drive. He + referred to past sorrows, to the anxieties of the war, to Willie's death, + and spoke of the necessity to be cheerful and happy in the days to come. + As Mrs. Lincoln remembered his words: "We have had a hard time since we + came to Washington; but the war is over, and with God's blessings, we may + hope for four years of peace and happiness, and then we will go back to + Illinois and pass the rest of our lives in quiet. We have laid by some + money, and during this time, we will save up more, but shall not have + enough to support us. We will go back to Illinois; I will open a law + office at Springfield or Chicago and practise law, and at least do enough + to help give us a livelihood."(11) + </p> + <p> + They returned from their drive and prepared for a theatre party which had + been fixed for that night. The management of the Ford's Theatre, where + Laura Keene was to close her season with a benefit performance of Our + American Cousin, had announced in the afternoon paper that "the President + and his lady" would attend. The President's box had been draped with + flags. The rest is a twice told tale—a thousandth told tale. + </p> + <p> + An actor, very handsome, a Byronic sort, both in beauty and temperament, + with a dash perhaps of insanity, John Wilkes Booth, had long meditated + killing the President. A violent secessionist, his morbid imagination had + made of Lincoln another Caesar. The occasion called for a Brutus. While + Lincoln was planning his peaceful war with the Vindictives, scheming how + to keep them from grinding the prostrate South beneath their heels, + devising modes of restoring happiness to the conquered region, Booth, at + an obscure boarding-house in Washington, was gathering about him a band of + adventurers, some of whom at least, like himself, were unbalanced. They + meditated a general assassination of the Cabinet. The unexpected theatre + party on the fourteenth gave Booth a sudden opportunity. He knew every + passage of Ford's Theatre. He knew, also, that Lincoln seldom surrounded + himself with guards. During the afternoon, he made his way unobserved into + the theatre and bored a hole in the door of the presidential box, so that + he might fire through it should there be any difficulty in getting the + door open. + </p> + <p> + About ten o'clock that night, the audience was laughing at the absurd + play; the President's party were as much amused as any. Suddenly, there + was a pistol shot. A moment more and a woman's voice rang out in a sharp + cry. An instant sense of disaster brought the audience startled to their + feet. Two men were glimpsed struggling toward the front of the President's + box. One broke away, leaped down on to the stage, flourished a knife and + shouted, "Sic semper tyrannis!" Then he vanished through the flies. It was + Booth, whose plans had been completely successful. He had made his way + without interruption to within a few feet of Lincoln. At point-blank + distance, he had shot him from behind, through the head. In the confusion + which ensued, he escaped from the theatre; fled from the city; was + pursued; and was himself shot and killed a few days later. + </p> + <p> + The bullet of the assassin had entered the brain, causing instant + unconsciousness. The dying President was removed to a house on Tenth + Street, No. 453, where he was laid on a bed in a small room at the rear of + the hall on the ground floor.(12) + </p> + <p> + Swift panic took possession of the city. "A crowd of people rushed + instinctively to the White House, and bursting through the doors, shouted + the dreadful news to Robert Lincoln and Major Hay who sat gossiping in an + upper room. . . . They ran down-stairs. Finding a carriage at the door, + they entered it and drove to Tenth Street."(13) + </p> + <p> + To right and left eddied whirls of excited figures, men and women + questioning, threatening, crying out for vengeance. Overhead amid driving + clouds, the moon, through successive mantlings of darkness, broke + periodically into sudden blazes of light; among the startled people below, + raced a witches' dance of the rapidly changing shadows.(14) + </p> + <p> + Lincoln did not regain consciousness. About dawn his pulse began to fail. + A little later, "a look of unspeakable peace came over his worn + features"(15), and at twenty-two minutes after seven on the morning of the + fifteenth of April, he died. + </p> + <p> + THE END <a name="link2H_BIBL" id="link2H_BIBL"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY + </h2> + <p> + It is said that a complete bibliography of Lincoln would include at least + five thousand titles. Therefore, any limited bibliography must appear more + or less arbitrary. The following is but a minimum list in which, with a + few exceptions such as the inescapable interpretative works of Mr. Rhodes + and of Professor Dunning, practically everything has to some extent the + character of a source. + </p> + <p> + Alexander. A Political History of the State of New York. By De Alva + Stanwood Alexander. 3 vols. 1909. + </p> + <p> + Arnold. History of Abraham Lincoln and the Overthrow of Slavery. By Isaac + N. Arnold. 1866. + </p> + <p> + Baldwin. Interview between President Lincoln and Colonel John B. Baldwin. + 1866. + </p> + <p> + Bancroft. Life of William H. Seward. By Frederick Bancroft. 2 vols. 1900. + </p> + <p> + Barnes. Memoir of Thurlow Weed. By Thurlow Weed Barnes. 1884. + </p> + <p> + Barton. The Soul of Abraham Lincoln. By William Eleazar Barton. 1920. + </p> + <p> + Bigelow. Retrospections of an Active Life. By John Bigelow. 2 vols. 1909. + </p> + <p> + Blaine. Twenty Years of Congress. By James G. Blaine. 2 vols. 1884. + </p> + <p> + Botts. The Great Rebellion. By John Minor Botts. 1866. + </p> + <p> + Boutwell. Reminiscences of Sixty Years in Public Affairs. By George S. + Boutwell 2 vols. 1902. + </p> + <p> + Bradford. Union Portraits. By Gamaliel Bradford. 1916. + </p> + <p> + Brooks. Washington in Lincoln's Time. By Noah Brooks, 1895. + </p> + <p> + Carpenter. Six Months at the White House with Abraham Lincoln. By F. B. + Carpenter. 1866. + </p> + <p> + Chandler. Life of Zachary Chandler. By the Detroit Post and Tribune. 1880. + </p> + <p> + Chapman. Latest Light on Abraham Lincoln. By Ervin Chapman. 1917. The + Charleston Mercury. + </p> + <p> + Chase. Diary and Correspondence of Salmon Chase. Report, American + Historical Association, 1902, Vol. II. + </p> + <p> + Chittenden. Recollections of President Lincoln and His Administration. By + L. Chittenden. 1891. + </p> + <p> + Coleman. Life of John J. Crittenden, with Selections from his + Correspondence and Speeches. By Ann Mary Coleman. 2 vols. 1871. + </p> + <p> + Conway. Autobiography, Memories and Experiences of Moncure Daniel Conway. + 2 vols. 1904. + </p> + <p> + Correspondence. The Correspondence of Robert Toombs, Alexander H. + Stephens, and Howell Cobb. Edited by U. B. Phillips. Report American + Historical Association, 1913, Vol. II. + </p> + <p> + Crawford. The Genesis of the Civil War. By Samuel Wylie Crawford. 1887. + </p> + <p> + C. W. Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. 1863. + </p> + <p> + Dabney. Memoir of a Narrative Received from Colonel John B. Baldwin, of + Staunton, touching the Origin of the War. By Reverend R. L. Dabney, D. D., + Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. 1. 1876. + </p> + <p> + Davis. Rise and Fail of the Confederate Government. By Jefferson Davis. 2 + vols. 1881. + </p> + <p> + Dunning. Essays on the Civil War and Reconstruction and Related Topics. By + William A. Dunning. 1898. + </p> + <p> + Field. Life of David Dudley Field. By Henry M. Field. 1898. + </p> + <p> + Flower. Edwin McMasters Stanton. By Frank Abial Flower. 1902. + </p> + <p> + Fry. Military Miscellanies. By James B. Fry. 1889. + </p> + <p> + Galaxy. The History of Emancipation. By Gideon Welles. The Galaxy, XIV, + 838-851. + </p> + <p> + Gilmore. Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. By + James R. Gilmore. 1899. + </p> + <p> + Gilmore, Atlantic. A Suppressed Chapter of History. By James R. Gilmore, + Atlantic Monthly, April, 1887. + </p> + <p> + Globe. Congressional Globe, Containing the Debates and Proceedings. + 1834-1873. + </p> + <p> + Godwin. Biography of William Cullen Bryant. By Parke Godwin. + </p> + <p> + 1883. Gore. The Boyhood of Abraham Lincoln. By J. Rogers Gore. 1921. + </p> + <p> + Gorham. Life and Public Services of Edwin M. Stanton. By George C. Gorham. + 2 vols. 1899. + </p> + <p> + Grant. Personal Memoirs. By Ulysses S. Grant. 2 vols. 1886. + </p> + <p> + Greeley. The American Conflict. By Horace Greeley. 2 vols. 1864-1867. + </p> + <p> + Gurowski. Diary from March 4, 1861, to November 12, 1862. By Adam + Gurowski. 1862. + </p> + <p> + Hanks. Nancy Hanks. By Caroline Hanks Hitchcock. 1900. + </p> + <p> + Harris. Public Life of Zachary Chandler. By W. C. Harris, Michigan + Historical Commission. 1917. + </p> + <p> + Hart. Salmon Portland Chase. By Albert Bushnell Hart. 1899. + </p> + <p> + Hay MS. Diary of John Hay. The war period is covered by three volumes of + manuscript. Photostat copies in the library of the Massachusetts + Historical Society, accessible only by special permission. + </p> + <p> + Hay, Century. Life in the White House in the Time of Lincoln. By John Hay, + Century Magazine, November, 1890. + </p> + <p> + The New York Herald. + </p> + <p> + Herndon. Herndon's Lincoln. The True Story of a Great Life: The History + and Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln. By W. H. Herndon and J. W. + Weik. 3 vols. (paged continuously). 1890. + </p> + <p> + Hill. Lincoln the Lawyer. By Frederick Trevers Hill 1906. + </p> + <p> + Hitchcock. Fifty Years in Camp and Field. Diary of Major-General Ethan + Allen Hitchcock, U. S. A. Edited by W. Croffut. 1909. + </p> + <p> + Johnson. Stephen A. Douglas. By Allen Johnson. 1908. + </p> + <p> + The Journal of the Virginia Convention. 1861. + </p> + <p> + Julian. Political Recollections 1840-1872. By George W. Julian. 1884. + </p> + <p> + Kelley. Lincoln and Stanton. By W. D. Kelley. 1885. + </p> + <p> + Lamon. The Life of Abraham Lincoln. By Ward H. Lamon. 1872. + </p> + <p> + Letters. Uncollected Letters of Abraham Lincoln. Now first brought + together by Gilbert A. Tracy. 1917. + </p> + <p> + Lieber. Life and Letters of Francis Lieber. Edited by Thomas S. Perry, + 1882. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln. Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln. Edited by John G. Nicolay and + John Hay. 2 vols. New and enlarged edition. 12 volumes. 1905. (All + references here are to the Colter edition.) + </p> + <p> + McCarthy. Lincoln's Plan of Reconstruction. By Charles M. McCarthy, 1901. + </p> + <p> + McClure. Abraham Lincoln and Men of War Times. By A. K. McClure. 1892. + </p> + <p> + Merriam. Life and Times of Samuel Bowles. By G. S. Merriam. 2 vols. 1885. + </p> + <p> + Munford. Virginia's Attitude toward Slavery and Secession. By Beverley B. + Munford. 1910. + </p> + <p> + Moore. A Digest of International Law. By John Bassett Moore. 8 vols. 1906. + </p> + <p> + Newton. Lincoln and Herndon. By Joseph Fort Newton. 1910. + </p> + <p> + Nicolay. A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln. By John G. Nicolay. 1902. + </p> + <p> + Nicolay, Cambridge. The Cambridge Modern History: Volume VII. + </p> + <p> + The United States. By various authors. 1903. + </p> + <p> + Miss Nicolay. Personal Traits of Abraham Lincoln. By Helen Nicolay. 1912. + </p> + <p> + N. and H. Abraham Lincoln: A History. By John G. Nicolay and John Hay. 10 + vols. 1890. + </p> + <p> + N. P. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies. First series. + 27 vols. 1895-1917. + </p> + <p> + O. P. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 128 vols. + 1880-1901. + </p> + <p> + Outbreak. The Outbreak of the Rebellion. By John G. Nicolay. 1881. + </p> + <p> + Own Story. McClellan's Own Story. By George B. McClellan. 1887. + </p> + <p> + Paternity. The Paternity of Abraham Lincoln. By William Eleazer Barton. + 1920. + </p> + <p> + Pearson. Life of John A. Andrew. By Henry G. Pearson. 2 vols. 1904. + </p> + <p> + Pierce. Memoirs and Letters of Charles Sumner. By Edward Lillie Pierce. 4 + vols. 1877-1893. + </p> + <p> + Porter. In Memory of General Charles P. Stone. By Fitz John Porter. 1887. + </p> + <p> + Public Man. Diary of a Public Man. Anonymous. North American Review. 1879. + </p> + <p> + Rankin. Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln. By Henry B. Rankin. + 1916. + </p> + <p> + Raymond. Journal of Henry J. Raymond. Edited by Henry W. Raymond. + Scribner's Magazine. 1879-1880. + </p> + <p> + Recollections. Recollections of Abraham Lincoln. By Ward Hill Lamon. 1911. + </p> + <p> + Reminiscences. Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln, by Distinguished + </p> + <p> + Men of his Time. Edited by Allen Thorndyke Rice. 1886. + </p> + <p> + Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, first session, + Thirty-Ninth Congress. + </p> + <p> + Rhodes. History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850. By James + Ford Rhodes. 8 vols. 1893-1920. + </p> + <p> + Riddle. Recollections of War Times. By A. G. Riddle. 1895. + </p> + <p> + Schrugham. The Peaceful Americans of 1860. By Mary Schrugham. 1922. + </p> + <p> + Schure. Speeches, Correspondence and Political Papers of Carl Schure. + Selected and edited by Frederick Bancroft. 1913. + </p> + <p> + Scott. Memoirs of Lieutenant General Scott, LL.D. Written by himself. 2 + vols. 1864. + </p> + <p> + Seward. Works of William H. Seward. 5 vols. 1884. + </p> + <p> + Sherman. Memoirs of William T. Sherman. By himself. 2 vols. 1886. Sherman + Letters. + </p> + <p> + Letters of John Sherman and W. T. Sherman. Edited by Rachel Sherman + Thorndike. 1894. + </p> + <p> + Southern Historical Society Papers. + </p> + <p> + Stephens. Constitutional View of the Late War between the States. By + Alexander H. Stephens. 2 vols. 1869-1870. + </p> + <p> + Stoddard. Inside the White House in War Times. By William O. Stoddard. + 1890. + </p> + <p> + Stories. "Abe" Lincoln's Yarns and Stories. With introduction and + anecdotes by Colonel Alexander McClure. 1901. + </p> + <p> + The New York Sun. + </p> + <p> + Swinton. Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac. By William Swinton. 1866. + </p> + <p> + Tarbell. The Life of Abraham Lincoln. By Ida M. Tarbell. New edition. 2 + vols. 1917. + </p> + <p> + Thayer. The Life and Letters of John Hay. By William Roscoe Thayer. 2 + vols. 1915. + </p> + <p> + The New York Times. + </p> + <p> + The New York Tribune. + </p> + <p> + Tyler. Letters and Times of the Tylers. By Lyon G. Tyler. 3 vols. + 1884-1896. + </p> + <p> + Van Santvoord. A Reception by President Lincoln. By C. J. Van Santvoord. + Century Magazine, Feb., 1883. + </p> + <p> + Villard. Memoirs of Henry Villard. 2 vols. 1902. + </p> + <p> + Wade. Life of Benjamin F. Wade. By A. G. Riddle. 1886. + </p> + <p> + Warden. Account of the Private Life and Public Services of Salmon Portland + Chase. By R. B. Warden. 1874. + </p> + <p> + Welles. Diary of Gideon Welles. Edited by J. T. Morse, Jr. 3 vols. 1911. + </p> + <p> + White. Life of Lyman Trumbull. By Horace White. 1913. + </p> + <p> + Woodburn. The Life of Thaddeus Stevens. By James Albert Woodburn. 1913. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_NOTE" id="link2H_NOTE"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NOTES + </h2> + <h3> + I. THE CHILD OF THE FOREST. + </h3> + <p> + 1. Herndon, 1-7, 11-14; 1, anon, 13; N. and H., 1, 23-27. This is the + version of his origin accepted by Lincoln. He believed that his mother was + the illegitimate daughter of a Virginia planter and traced to that + doubtful source "all the qualities that distinguished him from other + members" of his immediate family. Herndon, 3. His secretaries are silent + upon the subject. Recently the story has been challenged. Mrs. Caroline + Hanks Hitchcock, who identifies the Hanks family of Kentucky with a lost + branch of a New England family, has collected evidence which tends to show + that Nancy was the legitimate daughter of a certain Joseph H. Hanks, who + was father of Joseph the carpenter, and that Nancy was not the niece but + the younger sister of the "uncle" who figures in the older version, the + man with whom Thomas Lincoln worked. Nancy and Thomas appear to have been + cousins through their mothers. Mrs. Hitchcock argues the case with care + and ability in a little book entitled Nancy Hanks. However, she is not + altogether sustained by W. E. Barton, The Paternity of Abraham Lincoln. + </p> + <p> + Scandal has busied itself with the parents of Lincoln in another way. It + has been widely asserted that he was himself illegitimate. A variety of + shameful paternities have been assigned to him, some palpably absurd. The + chief argument of the lovers of this scandal was once the lack of a known + record of the marriage of his parents. Around this fact grew up the story + of a marriage of concealment with Thomas Lincoln as the easy-going + accomplice. The discovery of the marriage record fixing the date and + demonstrating that Abraham must have been the second child gave this + scandal its quietus. N. and H., 1, 23-24; Hanks, 59-67; Herndon, 5-6; + Lincoln and Herndon, 321. The last important book on the subject is + Barton, The Paternity of Abraham Lincoln. + </p> + <p> + 2. N. and H., 1-13. + </p> + <p> + 3. Lamon, 13; N. and H., 1, 25. + </p> + <p> + 4. N. and H., 1, 25. + </p> + <p> + 5. Gore, 221-225. + </p> + <p> + 6. Herndon, 15. + </p> + <p> + 7. Gore, 66, 70-74, 79, 83-84, 116, 151-154, 204, 226-230, for all this + group of anecdotes. + </p> + <p> + The evidence with regard to all the early part of Lincoln's life is + peculiar in this, that it is reminiscence not written down until the + subject had become famous. Dogmatic certainty with regard to the details + is scarcely possible. The best one can do in weighing any of the versions + of his early days is to inquire closely as to whether all its parts bang + naturally together, whether they really cohere. There is a body of + anecdotes told by an old mountaineer, Austin Gollaher, who knew Lincoln as + a boy, and these have been collected and recently put into print. Of + course, they are not "documented" evidence. Some students are for brushing + them aside. But there is one important argument in their favor. They are + coherent; the boy they describe is a real person and his personality is + sustained. If he is a fiction and not a memory, the old mountaineer was a + literary artist—far more the artist than one finds it easy to + believe. + </p> + <p> + 8. Gore, 84-95; Lamon, 16; Herndon, 16. + </p> + <p> + 9. Gore, 181-182, 296, 303-316; Lamon, 19-20; N. and H., I, 28-29. + </p> + <p> + II. THE MYSTERIOUS YOUTH. + </p> + <p> + 1. N. and H., I, 32-34. + </p> + <p> + 2. Lamon, 33-38, 51-52, 61-63; N. and H., 1, 34-36. + </p> + <p> + 3. N. and H., 1, 40. + </p> + <p> + 4. Lamon, 38, 40, 55. + </p> + <p> + 5. Reminiscences, 54, 428. + </p> + <p> + III. A VILLAGE LEADER. + </p> + <p> + 1. N. and H., 1, 45-46, 70-72; Herndon, 67, 69, 72. + </p> + <p> + 2. Lamon, 81-82; Herndon, 75-76. + </p> + <p> + 3. Lincoln, 1, 1-9. + </p> + <p> + 4. Lamon, 125-126; Herndon, 104. + </p> + <p> + 5. Herndon, 117-118. + </p> + <p> + 6. N. and H., 1, 109. + </p> + <p> + 7. Stories, 94. + </p> + <p> + 8. Herndon, 118-123. + </p> + <p> + 9. Lamon, 159-164; Herndon, 128-138; Rankin, 61-95. + </p> + <p> + 10. Lamon, 164. + </p> + <p> + 11. Lamon, 164-165; Rankin, 95. + </p> + <p> + IV. REVELATIONS. + </p> + <p> + 1. Riddle, 337. + </p> + <p> + 2. Herndon, 436. + </p> + <p> + 3. N. and H., I, 138. + </p> + <p> + 4. Lincoln, I, 51-52. + </p> + <p> + 5. McClure, 65. + </p> + <p> + 6. Herndon, 184.185. + </p> + <p> + 7. Anon, 172-183; Herndon, 143-150, 161; Lincoln, 1, 87-92. + </p> + <p> + 8. Gossip has preserved a melodramatic tale with regard to Lincoln's + marriage. It describes the bride to be, waiting, arrayed, in tense + expectation deepening into alarm; the guests assembled, wondering, while + the hour appointed passes by and the ceremony does not begin; the failure + of the prospective bridegroom to appear; the scattering of the company, + amazed, their tongues wagging. The explanation offered is an attack of + insanity. Herndon, 215; I,anon, 239-242. As might be expected Lincoln's + secretaries who see him always in a halo give no hint of such an event. It + has become a controversial scandal. Is it a fact or a myth? Miss Tarbell + made herself the champion of the mythical explanation and collected a + great deal of evidence that makes it hard to accept the story as a fact + Tarbell, I, Chap. XI. Still later a very sane memoirist, Henry B. Rankin, + who knew Lincoln, and is not at all an apologist, takes the same view. His + most effective argument is that such an event could not have occurred in + the little country town of Springfield without becoming at the time the + common property of all the gossips. The evidence is bewildering. I find + myself unable to accept the disappointed wedding guests as established + facts, even though the latest student of Herndon has no doubts. Lincoln + and Herndon, 321-322. But whether the broken marriage story is true or + false there is no doubt that Lincoln passed through a desolating inward + experience about "the fatal first of January"; that it was related to the + breaking of his engagement; and that for a time his sufferings were + intense. The letters to Speed are the sufficient evidence. Lincoln, I, + 175; 182-189; 210-219; 240; 261; 267-269. The prompt explanation of + insanity may be cast aside, one of those foolish delusions of shallow + people to whom all abnormal conditions are of the same nature as all + others. Lincoln wrote to a noted Western physician, Doctor Drake of + Cincinnati, with regard to his "case"—that is, his nervous breakdown—and + Doctor Drake replied but refused to prescribe without an interview. Lamon, + 244. + </p> + <p> + V. PROSPERITY. + </p> + <p> + 1. Carpenter, 304-305. + </p> + <p> + 2. Lamon, 243, 252-269; Herndon, 226-243, 248-251; N. and H., 201, 203-12. + </p> + <p> + 3. A great many recollections of Lincoln attempt to describe him. Except + in a large and general way most of them show that lack of definite + visualization which characterizes the memories of the careless observer. + His height, his bony figure, his awkwardness, the rudely chiseled + features, the mystery in his eyes, the kindliness of his expression, these + are the elements of the popular portrait. Now and then a closer observer + has added a detail. Witness the masterly comment of Walt Whitman. + Herndon's account of Lincoln speaking has the earmarks of accuracy. The + attempt by the portrait painter, Carpenter, to render him in words is + quoted later in this volume. Carpenter, 217-218. Unfortunately he was + never painted by an artist of great originality, by one who was equal to + his opportunity. My authority for the texture of his skin is a lady of + unusual closeness of observation, the late Mrs. M. T. W. Curwen of + Cincinnati, who saw him in 1861 in the private car of the president of the + Indianapolis and Cincinnati railroad. An exhaustive study of the portraits + of Lincoln is in preparation by Mr. Winfred Porter Truesdell, who has a + valuable paper on the subject in The Print Connoisseur, for March, 1921. + </p> + <p> + 4. Herndon, 264. + </p> + <p> + 5. Ibid. + </p> + <p> + 6. Ibid., 515. + </p> + <p> + 7. A vital question to the biographer of Lincoln is the credibility of + Herndon. He has been accused of capitalizing his relation with Lincoln and + producing a sensational image for commercial purposes. Though his Life did + not appear until 1890 when the official work of Nicolay and Hay was in + print, he had been lecturing and corresponding upon Lincoln for nearly + twenty-five years. The "sensational" first edition of his Life produced a + storm of protest. The book was promptly recalled, worked over, toned down, + and reissued "expurgated" in 1892. + </p> + <p> + Such biographers as Miss Tarbell appear to regard Herndon as a mere + romancer. The well poised Lincoln and Herndon recently published by Joseph + Fort Newton holds what I feel compelled to regard as a sounder view; + namely, that while Herndon was at times reckless and at times biased, + nevertheless he is in the main to be relied upon. + </p> + <p> + Three things are to be borne in mind: Herndon was a literary man by + nature; but he was not by training a developed artist; he was a romantic + of the full flood of American romanticism and there are traceable in him + the methods of romantic portraiture. Had he been an Elizabethan one can + imagine him laboring hard with great pride over an inferior "Tamburlane + the Great"—and perhaps not knowing that it was inferior. + Furthermore, he had not, before the storm broke on him, any realization of + the existence in America of another school of portraiture, the heroic—conventual, + that could not understand the romantic. If Herndon strengthened as much as + possible the contrasts of his subject—such as the contrast between + the sordidness of Lincoln's origin and the loftiness of his thought—he + felt that by so doing he was merely rendering his subject in its most + brilliant aspect, giving to it the largest degree of significance. A third + consideration is Herndon's enthusiasm for the agnostic deism that was + rampant in America in his day. Perhaps this causes his romanticism to slip + a cog, to run at times on a side-track, to become the servant of his + religious partisanship. In three words the faults of Herndon are + exaggeration, literalness and exploitiveness. + </p> + <p> + But all these are faults of degree which the careful student can allow + for. By "checking up" all the parts of Herndon that it is possible to + check up one can arrive at a pretty confident belief that one knows how to + divest the image he creates of its occasional unrealities. When one does + so, the strongest argument for relying cautiously, watchfully, upon + Herndon appears. The Lincoln thus revealed, though only a character + sketch, is coherent. And it stands the test of comparison in detail with + the Lincolns of other, less romantic, observers. That is to say, with all + his faults, Herndon has the inner something that will enable the diverse + impressions of Lincoln, always threatening to become irreconcilable, to + hang together and out of their very incongruity to invoke a person that is + not incongruous. And herein, in this touchstone so to speak is Herndon's + value. + </p> + <p> + 8. Herndon, 265. + </p> + <p> + 9. Lamon, 51. + </p> + <p> + 10. Lincoln, I, 35-SO. + </p> + <p> + 11. The reader who would know the argument against Herndon (436-446) and + Lamon (486-502) on the subject of Lincoln's early religion is referred to + The Soul of Abraham Lincoln, by William Eleazer Barton. It is to be + observed that the present study is never dogmatic about Lincoln's religion + in its early phases. And when Herndon and Lamon generalize about his + religious life, it must be remembered that they are thinking of him as + they knew him in Illinois. Herndon had no familiarity with him after he + went to Washington. Lamon could not have seen very much of him—no + one but his secretaries and his wife did. And his taciturnity must be + borne in mind. Nicolay has recorded that he did not know what Lincoln + believed. Lamon, 492. That Lincoln was vaguely a deist in the 'forties—so + far as he had any theology at all—may be true. But it is a rash leap + to a conclusion to assume that his state of mind even then was the same + thing as the impression it made on so practical, bard-headed, unpoetical a + character as Lamon; or on so combatively imaginative but wholly unmystical + a mind as Herndon's. Neither of them seems to have any understanding of + those agonies of spirit through which Lincoln subsequently passed which + will appear in the account of the year 1862. See also Miss Nicolay, + 384-386. There is a multitude of pronouncements on Lincoln's religion, + most of them superficial. + </p> + <p> + 12. Lincoln, I, 206. + </p> + <p> + 13. Nicolay, 73-74; N. and H., 1, 242; Lamon, 275-277. + </p> + <p> + 14. Lamon, 277-278; Herndon, 272-273; N. and H., 1, 245-249. + </p> + <p> + VI. UNSATISFYING RECOGNITION. + </p> + <p> + 1. N. and H., I, 28, 28& + </p> + <p> + 2. Tarbell, 1, 211. + </p> + <p> + 3. Ibid., 210-211. + </p> + <p> + 4. Herndon, 114. + </p> + <p> + 5. Lincoln, II, 28-48. + </p> + <p> + 6. Herndon, 306-308, 319; Newton, 4(141). + </p> + <p> + 7. Tarbell, I, 209-210. + </p> + <p> + 8. Herndon, 306. + </p> + <p> + 9. Lamon, 334; Herndon, 306; N. and H., I, 297. + </p> + <p> + VII. THE SECOND START. + </p> + <p> + 1. Herndon, 307, 319. + </p> + <p> + 2. Herndon, 319-321. + </p> + <p> + 3. Herndon, 314-317. + </p> + <p> + 4. Herndon, 332-333. + </p> + <p> + 5. Herndon, 311-312. + </p> + <p> + 6. Herndon, 319. + </p> + <p> + 7. Lamon, 165. + </p> + <p> + 8. Herndon, 309. + </p> + <p> + 9. Herndon, 113-114; Stories, 18~ + </p> + <p> + 10. Herndon, 338. + </p> + <p> + 11. Lamon, 324. + </p> + <p> + 12. Lincoln, 11, 142. + </p> + <p> + 13. Herndon, 347. + </p> + <p> + 14. Herndon, 363. + </p> + <p> + 15. Herndon, 362. + </p> + <p> + 16. Lincoln, II, 172. + </p> + <p> + 17. Lincoln, II, 207. + </p> + <p> + 18. Lincoln, II, 173. + </p> + <p> + 19. Lincoln, II, 165. + </p> + <p> + VIII. A RETURN TO POLITICS. + </p> + <p> + 1. Johnson, 234. + </p> + <p> + 2. I have permission to print the following letter from the Honorable John + H. Marshall, Judge Fifth Judicial Circuit, Charleston, Illinois: + </p> + <p> + "Your letter of the 24th inst. at hand referring to slave trial in which + Lincoln was interested, referred to by Professor Henry Johnson. + Twenty-five years ago, while I was secretary of the Coles County Bar + Association, a paper was read to the Association by the oldest member + concerning the trial referred to, and his paper was filed with rue. Some + years ago I spoke of the matter to Professor Johnson, and at the time was + unable to find the old manuscript, and decided that the same had been + inadvertently destroyed. However, quite recently I found this paper + crumpled up under some old book records. The author of this article is a + reputable member of the bar of this country of very advanced age, and at + that time quoted as his authority well-known and very substantial men of + the county, who had taken an active interest in the litigation. His paper + referred to incidents occurring in 1847, and there is now no living person + with any knowledge of it. The story in brief is as follows: + </p> + <p> + "In 1845, General Robert Matson, of Kentucky, being hard pressed + financially, in order to keep them from being sold in payment of his + debts, brought Jane Bryant, with her four small children to this county. + Her husband, Anthony Bryant, was a free negro, and a licensed exhorter in + the Methodist Church of Kentucky. But his wife and children were slaves of + Matson. In 1847, Matson, determined to take the Bryants back to Kentucky + as his slaves, caused to be issued by a justice of the peace of the county + a writ directed to Jane Bryant and her children to appear before him + forthwith and answer the claim of Robert Matson that their service was due + to him, etc. This action produced great excitement in this county. + Practically the entire community divided, largely on the lines of + pro-slavery and anti-slavery. Usher F. Linder, the most eloquent lawyer in + this vicinity, appeared for Matson, and Orlando B. Ficklin, twice a member + of Congress, appeared for the negroes. Under the practice the defendant + obtained a hearing from three justices instead of one, and a trial ensued + lasting several days, and attended by great excitement. Armed men made + demonstrations and bloodshed was narrowly averted. Two of the justices + were pro-slavery, and one anti-slavery. The trial was held in Charleston. + The decision of the justice was discreet. It was held that the court had + no jurisdiction to determine the right of property, but that Jane and her + children were of African descent and found in the state of Illinois + without a certificate of freedom, and that they be committed to the county + jail to be advertised and sold to pay the jail fees. + </p> + <p> + "At the next term of the circuit court, Ficklin obtained an order staying + proceedings until the further order of the court. Finally when the case + was heard in the circuit court Linder and Abraham Lincoln appeared for + Matson, who was insisting upon the execution of the judgment of the three + justices of the peace so that he could buy them at the proposed sale, and + Ficklin and Charles Constable, afterward a circuit judge of this circuit, + appeared for the negroes. The judgment was in favor of the negroes and + they were discharged. + </p> + <p> + "The above is a much abbreviated account of this occurrence, stripped of + its local coloring, giving however its salient points, and I have no doubt + of its substantial accuracy." + </p> + <p> + 3. Lincoln, II, 185. + </p> + <p> + 4. Lincoln, II, 186. + </p> + <p> + 5. Lamon, 347. + </p> + <p> + 6. Lincoln, II, 232-233. + </p> + <p> + 7. Lincoln, II, 190-262. + </p> + <p> + 8. Lincoln, 274-277. + </p> + <p> + IX. THE LITERARY STATESMAN. + </p> + <p> + 1. Herndon, 371-372. + </p> + <p> + 2. Lincoln, II, 329-330. + </p> + <p> + 3. Lincoln, III, 1-2. + </p> + <p> + 4. Herndon, 405-408. + </p> + <p> + 5. Lincoln. II, 279. + </p> + <p> + 6. Lamon, 416. + </p> + <p> + X. THE DARK HORSE. + </p> + <p> + 1. Lincoln, V, 127. + </p> + <p> + 2. Tarbell, I, 335. + </p> + <p> + 3. Lincoln, V, 127,138, 257-258. + </p> + <p> + 4. Lincoln, V, 290-291. He never entirely shook off his erratic use of + negatives. See, also, Lamon, 424; Tarbell, I, 338. + </p> + <p> + 5. Lincoln, V, 293-32&6. McClure, 23-29; Field, 126,137-138; Tarbell, + I, 342-357. + </p> + <p> + XII. THE CRISIS + </p> + <p> + 1. Letters, 172. + </p> + <p> + 2. Lincoln, VI, 77, 78, 79, 93. + </p> + <p> + 3. Bancroft, 11,10; Letters, 111. + </p> + <p> + XIII. ECLIPSE. + </p> + <p> + 1. Bancroft, II, 10; Letters, 172. + </p> + <p> + 2. Bancroft, II, 9-10. + </p> + <p> + 3. Herndon, 484. + </p> + <p> + 4. McClure, 140-145; Lincoln, VI, 91, 97. + </p> + <p> + 5. Recollections, 111. + </p> + <p> + 6. Recollections, 121. + </p> + <p> + 7. Recollections, 112-113; Tarbell, I, 404-415. + </p> + <p> + 8. Tarbell, 1, 406. + </p> + <p> + 9. Tarbell, I, 406. + </p> + <p> + 10. Lincoln, VI, 91. + </p> + <p> + 11. Tarbell, 1, 406. + </p> + <p> + 12. Herndon, 483-484 + </p> + <p> + 13. Lamon, 505; see also, Herndon, 485. + </p> + <p> + 14. Lincoln, VI, 110. + </p> + <p> + XIV. THE STRANGE NEW MAN. + </p> + <p> + 1. Lincoln, VI, 130. + </p> + <p> + 2. Merriam, I, 318. + </p> + <p> + 3. Public Man, 140. + </p> + <p> + 4. Van Santvoord. + </p> + <p> + 5. N. and H., I, 36; McClure, 179. + </p> + <p> + 6. Herndon, 492. + </p> + <p> + 7. Recollections, 39-41. + </p> + <p> + 8. Lincoln, VI, 162-164. + </p> + <p> + 9. Bancroft, II, 38-45. + </p> + <p> + 10. Public Man, 383. + </p> + <p> + 11. Chittenden, 89-90. + </p> + <p> + 12. Public Man, 387. + </p> + <p> + XV. PRESIDENT AND PREMIER. + </p> + <p> + 1. Hay MS, I, 64. + </p> + <p> + 2. Tyler, II, 565-566. + </p> + <p> + 3. Bradford, 208; Seward, IV, 416. + </p> + <p> + 4. Nicolay, 213. + </p> + <p> + 5. Chase offered to procure a commission for Henry Villard, "by way of + compliment to the Cincinnati Commercial" Villard, 1,177. + </p> + <p> + 6. N. and H., III, 333, note 12. + </p> + <p> + 7. Outbreak, 52. + </p> + <p> + 8. Hay MS, I, 91; Tyler, II, 633; Coleman, 1, 338. + </p> + <p> + 9. Hay MS, I, 91; Riddle, 5; Public Man, 487. + </p> + <p> + 10. Correspondence, 548-549. + </p> + <p> + 11. See Miss Schrugham's monograph for much important data with regard to + this moment. Valuable as her contribution is, I can not feel that the + conclusions invalidate the assumption of the text. + </p> + <p> + 12. Lincoln, VI, 192-220. + </p> + <p> + 13. Sherman, I, 195-1%. + </p> + <p> + 14. Lincoln, VI, 175-176. + </p> + <p> + 15. 127 0. R., 161. + </p> + <p> + 16. Munford, 274; Journal of the Virginia Convention, 1861. + </p> + <p> + 17. Lincoln, VI, 227-230. + </p> + <p> + 18. N. R., first series, IV, 227. + </p> + <p> + 19. Hay MS, I, 143. + </p> + <p> + 20. The great authority of Mr. Frederick Bancroft is still on the side of + the older interpretation of Seward's Thoughts, Bancroft, II, Chap. XXIX. + It must be remembered that following the war there was a reaction against + Seward. When Nicolay and Hay published the Thoughts they appeared to give + him the coup de grace. Of late years it has almost been the fashion to + treat him contemptuously. Even Mr. Bancroft has been very cautious in his + defense. This is not the place to discuss his genius or his political + morals. But on one thing I insist, Whatever else he was-unscrupulous or + what you will-he was not a fool. However reckless, at times, his + spread-eagleism there was shrewdness behind it. The idea that he proposed + a ridiculous foreign policy at a moment when all his other actions reveal + coolness and calculation; the idea that he proposed it merely as a + spectacular stroke in party management; this is too much to believe. A + motive must be found better than mere chicanery. + </p> + <p> + Furthermore, if there was one fixed purpose in Seward, during March and + early April, it was to avoid a domestic conflict; and the only way he + could see to accomplish that was to side-track Montgomery's expansive + all-Southern policy. Is it not fair, with so astute a politician as + Seward, to demand in explanation of any of his moves 'he uncovering of + some definite political force he was playing up to? The old interpretation + of the Thoughts offers no force to which they form a response. Especially + it is impossible to find in them any scheme to get around Montgomery. But + the old view looked upon the Virginia compromise with blind eyes. That was + no part of the mental prospect. In accounting for Seward's purposes it did + not exist. But the moment one's eyes are opened to its significance, + especially to the menace it had for the Montgomery program, is not the + entire scene transformed? Is not, under these new conditions, the purpose + intimated in the text, the purpose to open a new field of exploitation to + the Southern expansionists in order to reconcile them to the Virginia + scheme, is not this at least plausible? And it escapes making Seward a + fool. + </p> + <p> + 21. Lincoln, VI, 23~237. + </p> + <p> + 22. Welles, 1,17. + </p> + <p> + 23. There is still lacking a complete unriddling of the three-cornered + game of diplomacy played in America in March and April, 1861. Of the three + participants Richmond is the most fully revealed. It was playing + desperately for a compromise, any sort of compromise, that would save the + one principle of state sovereignty. For that, slavery would be sacrificed, + or at least allowed to be put in jeopardy. Munford, Virginia's Attitude + toward Slavery and Secession; Tyler, Letters and Times of the Tylers; + Journal of the Virginia Convention of 1861. However, practically no + Virginian would put himself in the position of forcing any Southern State + to abandon slavery against its will. Hence the Virginia compromise dealt + only with the expansion of slavery, would go no further than to give the + North a veto on that expansion. And its compensating requirement plainly + would be a virtual demand for the acknowledgment of state sovereignty. + </p> + <p> + Precisely what passed between Richmond and Washington is still something + of a mystery. John Hay quotes Lincoln as saying that he twice offered to + evacuate Sumter, once before and once after his inauguration, if the + Virginians "would break up their convention without any row or nonsense." + Hay MS, I, 91; Thayer, I, 118-119. From other sources we have knowledge of + at least two conferences subsequent to the inauguration and probably + three. One of the conferences mentioned by Lincoln seems pretty well + identified. Coleman II, 337-338. It was informal and may be set aside as + having little if any historic significance. When and to whom Lincoln's + second offer was made is not fully established. Riddle in his + Recollections says that he was present at an informal interview "with + loyal delegates of the Virginia State Convention," who were wholly + satisfied with Lincoln's position. Riddle, 25. Possibly, this was the + second conference mentioned by Lincoln. It has scarcely a feature in + common with the conference of April 4, which has become the subject of + acrimonious debate. N. and H., III, 422-428; Boutwell, II, 62-67; + Bancroft, II, 102-104; Munford, 270; Southern Historical Papers, 1, 449; + Botts, 195- 201; Crawford, 311; Report of the Joint Committee on + Reconstruction, first session, Thirty-Ninth Congress; Atlantic, April, + 1875. The date of this conference is variously given as the fourth, fifth + and sixth of April. Curiously enough Nicolay and Hay seem to have only an + external knowledge of It; their account is made up from documents and + lacks entirely the authoritative note. They do not refer to the passage in + the Hay MS, already quoted. + </p> + <p> + There are three versions of the interview between Lincoln and Baldwin. One + was given by Baldwin himself before the Committee on Reconstruction some + five years after; one comprises the recollections of Colonel Dabney, to + whom Baldwin narrated the incident in the latter part of the war; a third + is in the recollections of John Minor Botts of a conversation with Lincoln + April 7, 1862. No two of the versions entirely agree. Baldwin insists that + Lincoln made no offer of any sort; while' Botts in his testimony before + the Committee on Reconstruction says that Lincoln told him that he had + told Baldwin that he was so anxious "for the preservation of the peace of + this country and to save Virginia and the other Border States from going + out that (he would) take the responsibility of evacuating Fort Sumter, and + take the chances of negotiating with the Cotton States." Baldwin's + language before the committee is a little curious and has been thought + disingenuous. Boutwell, I, 66. However, practically no one in this + connection has considered the passage in the Hay MS or the statement in + Riddle. Putting these together and remembering the general situation of + the first week of April there arises a very plausible argument for + accepting the main fact in Baldwin's version of his conference and + concluding that Botts either misunderstood Lincoln (as Baldwin says he + did) or got the matter twisted in memory. A further bit of plausibility is + the guess that Lincoln talked with Botts not only of the interview with + Baldwin but also of the earlier interview mentioned by Riddle and that the + two became confused in recollection. + </p> + <p> + To venture on an assumption harmonizing these confusions. When Lincoln + came to Washington, being still in his delusion that slavery was the issue + and therefore that the crisis was "artificial," he was willing to make + almost any concession, and freely offered to evacuate Sumter if thereby he + could induce Virginia to drop the subject of secession. Even later, when + he was beginning to appreciate the real significance of the moment, he was + still willing to evacuate Sumter if the issue would not be pushed further + in the Border States, that is, if Virginia would not demand a definite + concession of the right of secession. Up to this point I can not think + that he had taken seriously Seward's proposed convention of the States and + the general discussion of permanent Federal relations that would be bound + to ensue. But now he makes his fateful discovery that the issue is not + slavery but sovereignty. He sees that Virginia is in dead earnest on this + issue and that a general convention will necessarily involve a final + discussion of sovereignty in the United States and that the price of the + Virginia Amendment will be the concession of the right of secession. On + this assumption it is hardly conceivable that he offered to evacuate + Sumter as late as the fourth of April. The significance therefore of the + Baldwin interview would consist in finally convincing Lincoln that he + could not effect any compromise without conceding the principle of state + sovereignty. As this was the one thing he was resolved never to concede + there was nothing left him but to consider what course would most + strategically renounce compromise. Therefore, when it was known at + Washington a day or two later that Port Pickens was in imminent danger of + being taken by the Confederates (see note 24), Lincoln instantly + concentrated all his energies on the relief of Sumter. All along he had + believed that one of the forts must be held for the purpose of "a clear + indication of policy," even if the other should be given up "as a military + necessity." Lincoln, VI, 301. His purpose, therefore, in deciding on the + ostentatious demonstration toward Sumter was to give notice to the whole + country that he made no concessions on the matter of sovereignty. In a way + it was his answer to the Virginia compromise. + </p> + <p> + At last the Union party in Virginia sent a delegation to confer with + Lincoln. It did not arrive until Sumter had been fired upon. Lincoln read + to them a prepared statement of policy which announced his resolution to + make war, if necessary, to assert the national sovereignty. Lincoln, VI, + 243-245. + </p> + <p> + The part of Montgomery in this tangled episode is least understood of the + three. With Washington Montgomery had no official communication. Both + Lincoln and Seward refused to recognize commissioners of the Confederate + government Whether Seward as an individual went behind the back of himself + as an official and personally deceived the commissioners is a problem of + his personal biography and his private morals that has no place in this + discussion. Between Montgomery and Richmond there was intimate and cordial + communication from the start. At first Montgomery appears to have taken + for granted that the Secessionist party at Richmond was so powerful that + there was little need for the new government to do anything but wait But a + surprise was in store for it During February and March its agents reported + a wide-spread desire in the South to compromise on pretty nearly any terms + that would not surrender the central Southern idea of state sovereignty. + Thus an illusion of that day—as of this—was exploded, namely + the irresistibility of economic solidarity. Sentimental and constitutional + forces were proving more powerful than economics. Thereupon Montgomery's + problem was transformed. Its purpose was to build a Southern nation and it + had believed hitherto that economic forces had put into its hands the + necessary tools. Now it must throw them aside and get possession of + others. It must evoke those sentimental and constitutional forces that so + many rash statesmen have always considered negligible. Consequently, for + the South no less than for the North, the issue was speedily shifted from + slavery to sovereignty. Just how this was brought about we do not yet + know. Whether altogether through foresight and statesmanlike deliberation, + or in part at least through what might almost be called accidental + influences, is still a little uncertain. The question narrows itself to + this: why was Sumter fired upon precisely when it was? There are at least + three possible answers. + </p> + <p> + (1) That the firing was dictated purely by military necessity. A belief + that Lincoln intended to reinforce as well as to supply Sumter, that if + not taken now it could never be taken, may have been the over-mastering + idea in the Confederate Cabinet. The reports of the Commissioners at + Washington were tinged throughout by the belief that Seward and Lincoln + were both double-dealers. Beauregard, in command at Charleston, reported + that pilots had come in from the sea and told him of Federal war-ships + sighted off the Carolina coast. O. R. 297, 300, 301, 304, 305. + </p> + <p> + (2) A political motive which to-day is not so generally intelligible as + once it was, had great weight in 1861. This was the sense of honor in + politics. Those historians who brush it aside as a figment lack historical + psychology. It is possible that both Governor Pickens and the Confederate + Cabinet were animated first of all by the belief that the honor of South + Carolina required them to withstand the attempt of what they held to be an + alien power. + </p> + <p> + (3) And yet, neither of these explanations, however much either or both + may have counted for in many minds, gives a convincing explanation of the + agitation of Toornbs in the Cabinet council which decided to fire upon + Sumter. Neither of these could well be matters of debate. Everybody had to + be either for or against, and that would be an end. The Toombs of that day + was a different man from the Toombs of three months earlier. Some radical + change had taken place in his thought What could it have been if it was + not the perception that the Virginia program had put the whole matter in a + new light, that the issue had indeed been changed from slavery to + sovereignty, and that to join battle on the latter issue was a far more + serious matter than to join battle on the former. And if Toombs reasoned + in this fearful way, it is easy to believe that the more buoyant natures + in that council may well have reasoned in precisely the opposite way. + Virginia had lifted the Southern cause to its highest plane. But there was + danger that the Virginia compromise might prevail. If that should happen + these enthusiasts for a separate Southern nationality might find all their + work undone at the eleventh hour. Virginians who shared Montgomery's + enthusiasms had seen this before then. That was why Roger Pryor, for + example, had gone to Charleston as a volunteer missionary. In a speech to + a Charleston crowd he besought them, as a way of precipitating Virginia + into the lists, to strike blow. Charleston Mercury, April 11, 1861. + </p> + <p> + The only way to get any clue to these diplomatic tangles is by discarding + the old notion that there were but two political ideals clashing together + in America in 1861. There were three. The Virginians with their devotion + to the idea of a league of nations in this country were scarcely further + away from Lincoln and his conception of a Federal unit than they were from + those Southerners who from one cause or another were possessed with the + desire to create a separate Southern nation. The Virginia program was as + deadly to one as to the other of these two forces which with the upper + South made up the triangle of the day. The real event of March, 1861, was + the perception both by Washington and Montgomery that the Virginia program + spelled ruin for its own. By the middle of April it would be difficult to + say which had the better reason to desire the defeat of that program, + Washington or Montgomery. + </p> + <p> + 24. Lincoln, VI, 240, 301, 302; N. R., first series, IV, 109, 235, 239; + Welles, I, 16, 22-23, 25; Bancroft, II, 127, 129-130,138,139, 144; N. and + H., III, Chap. XI, IV, Chap. I. Enemies of Lincoln have accused him of bad + faith with regard to the relief of Fort Pickens. The facts appear to be as + follows: In January, 1861, when Fort Pickens was in danger of being seized + by the forces of the State of Florida, Buchanan ordered a naval expedition + to proceed to its relief. Shortly afterward—January 2—Senator + Mallory on behalf of Florida persuaded him to order the relief expedition + not to land any troops so long as the Florida forces refrained from + attacking the fort. This understanding between Buchanan and Mallory is + some-times called "the Pickens truce," sometimes "the Pickens Armistice." + N. and H., III, Chap. XI; N. R., first series, 1, 74; Scott, II, 624-625. + The new Administration had no definite knowledge of it. Lincoln, VI, 302. + Lincoln despatched a messenger to the relief expedition, which was still + hovering off the Florida coast, and ordered its troops to be landed. The + commander replied that he felt bound by the previous orders which had been + issued in the name of the Secretary of the Navy while the new orders + issued from the Department of War; he added that relieving Pickens would + produce war and wished to be sure that such was the President's intention; + he also informed Lincoln's messenger of the terms of Buchanan's agreement + with Mallory. The messenger returned to Washington for ampler + instructions. N. and H., IV, Chap. I; N. R., first series, I, 109-110, + 110-111. + </p> + <p> + Two days before his arrival at Washington alarming news from Charleston + brought Lincoln very nearly, if not quite, to the point of issuing sailing + orders to the Sumter expedition. Lincoln, VI, 240. A day later, Welles + issued such orders. N. IL, first series, I, 235; Bancroft, II, 138-139. On + April sixth, the Pickens messenger returned to Washington. N. and H., IV, + 7. Lincoln was now in full possession of all the facts. In his own words, + "To now reinforce Fort Pickens before a crisis would be reached at Fort + Sumter was impossible, rendered so by the exhaustion of provisions at the + latter named fort. . . . The strongest anticipated case for using it (the + Sumter expedition) was now presented, and it was resolved to send it + forward." Lincoln, VI, 302. He also issued peremptory orders for the + Pickens expedition to land its force, which was done April twelfth. N. R., + first series, I, 110-111, 115. How he reasoned upon the question of a + moral obligation devolving, or not devolving, upon himself as a + consequence of the Buchanan-Mallory agreement, he did not make public. The + fact of the agreement was published in the first message. But when + Congress demanded information on the subject, Lincoln transmitted to it a + report from Welles declining to submit the information on account of the + state of the country. 10. IL, 440-441. + </p> + <p> + 25. Lincoln, VI, 241. + </p> + <p> + XVI. ON TO RICHMOND. + </p> + <p> + 1. May MS, I, 23. + </p> + <p> + 2. N. and H., IV, 152. + </p> + <p> + 3. Hay MS, I, 45. + </p> + <p> + 4. Hay MS, I, 46. + </p> + <p> + 5. Hay MS, I, 5~56. + </p> + <p> + 6. Sherman, I, 199. + </p> + <p> + 7. Nicolay, 213. + </p> + <p> + 8. N. and H., IV, 322-323, 360. + </p> + <p> + 9. Bigelow, I, 360. + </p> + <p> + 10. Nicolay, 229. + </p> + <p> + 11. Lincoln, VI, 331-333. + </p> + <p> + 12. Own Story, 55, 82. + </p> + <p> + XVII. DEFINING THE ISSUE. + </p> + <p> + 1. Lincoln, VI, 297-325. + </p> + <p> + 2. Lincoln, X, 199. + </p> + <p> + 3. Lincoln, X, 202-203. + </p> + <p> + 4. Lincoln, VI, 321. + </p> + <p> + 5. Lincoln, VII, 56-57. + </p> + <p> + 6. Bancroft, II, 121; Southern Historical Papers, I, 446. + </p> + <p> + 7. Lincoln, VI, 304. + </p> + <p> + 8. Hay MS, I, 65. + </p> + <p> + 9. Lincoln, VI, 315. + </p> + <p> + 10. 39 Globe, I, 222; N. and H., IV, 379. + </p> + <p> + XVIII. THE JACOBIN CLUB. + </p> + <p> + 1. White, 171. + </p> + <p> + 2. Riddle, 40-52. + </p> + <p> + 3. Harris, 62. + </p> + <p> + 4. Public Man, 139. + </p> + <p> + 5. 37 Globe, III, 1334. + </p> + <p> + 6. Chandler, 253. + </p> + <p> + 7. White, 171. + </p> + <p> + 8. Conway, II, 336. + </p> + <p> + 9. Conway, II, 329. + </p> + <p> + 10. Rhodes, III, 350. + </p> + <p> + 11. Lincoln, VI, 351. + </p> + <p> + 12. Hay MS, I, 93. + </p> + <p> + 13. Hay MS, 1, 93. + </p> + <p> + 14. Bigelow, I, 400. + </p> + <p> + 15. Chandler, 256. + </p> + <p> + XIX. THE JACOBINS BECOME INQUISITORS. + </p> + <p> + 1. Lincoln, VII, 28-60. + </p> + <p> + 2. Nicolay, 321. + </p> + <p> + 3. C. W. I 3 66 + </p> + <p> + 4. Julian, 201. + </p> + <p> + 5. Chandler, 228. + </p> + <p> + 6. 37 Globe, II, 189-191; Lincoln, VII, 151-152; O. R., 341-346; 114 0. + R., 786, 797; C. W., I, 5, 74, 79; Battles and Leaders, II, 132-134; + Blaine, I, 383-384, 392-393; Pearson, 1, 312-313; Chandler, 222; Porter. + </p> + <p> + 7. Swinton, 79-85, quoting General McDowell's memoranda of their + proceedings. + </p> + <p> + 8 37 Globe, II, 15. + </p> + <p> + 9 Riddle, 296; Wade, 316; Chandler, 187. + </p> + <p> + 10. C. W., 1, 74. + </p> + <p> + 11. 37 Globe, II, 1667. + </p> + <p> + 12. 37 Globe, II, 1662-1668, 1732-1742. + </p> + <p> + 13. Lincoln, VII, 151-152. + </p> + <p> + XX. IS CONGRESS THE PRESIDENT'S MASTER. + </p> + <p> + 1. 37 Globe, II, 67. + </p> + <p> + 2. Rhodes, III, 350. + </p> + <p> + 3. 37 Globe, II, 3328. + </p> + <p> + 4. 37 Globe, II, 2764. + </p> + <p> + 5. 37 Globe, II, 2734. + </p> + <p> + 6. 37 Globe II, 2972-2973. + </p> + <p> + 7. 37 Globe, II, 440. + </p> + <p> + 8. 37 Globe, II, 1136-1139. + </p> + <p> + 9. Quoting 7 Howard, 43-46. + </p> + <p> + XXI. THE STRUGGLE TO CONTROL THE ARMY. + </p> + <p> + 1. N. and H., IV, 444. + </p> + <p> + 2. Own Story, 84. + </p> + <p> + 3. Own Story, 85. + </p> + <p> + 4. Gurowski, 123. + </p> + <p> + 5. Hay MS, 1, 99; Thayer, 1,125. + </p> + <p> + 6. N. and H., IV, 469. + </p> + <p> + 7. Hay MS, I, 93. + </p> + <p> + 8. 5 0. R., 41. + </p> + <p> + 9. Swinton, 79-84; C. W., 1, 270. + </p> + <p> + 10. C. W., I, 270, 360, 387; Hay MS, II, 101. + </p> + <p> + 11. Gorham, I, 347-348; Kelly, 34. + </p> + <p> + 12. Chandler, 228; Julian, 205. + </p> + <p> + 13. Hay MS, I, 101; 5 0. R., 1~ + </p> + <p> + 14. 5 0. R., 50. + </p> + <p> + 15. 5 0. R., 54-55; Julian, 205. + </p> + <p> + 16. Hay MS, I, 103. + </p> + <p> + 17. Hitchcock, 439. + </p> + <p> + 18. Hitchcock, 440. The italics are his. + </p> + <p> + 19. 5 0. R., 58. 20. 5 0. R., 59. 21. 5 0. R, 63. + </p> + <p> + 22. Own Story, 226; 5 0. R., 18. + </p> + <p> + 23. C. W., I, 251-252. 24. C. W., 1, 251-253, 317-318. + </p> + <p> + 25. 15 0. R., 220; Hitchcock, 439, note. + </p> + <p> + 26. 14 0. R., 66. 27. 12 0. R., 61. 28. 17 0. R., 219. + </p> + <p> + 29. Rhodes, IV, 19. + </p> + <p> + 30. Nicolay, 306; McClure, 168. + </p> + <p> + 31. 17 0. R., 435. + </p> + <p> + 32. Julian, 218. + </p> + <p> + 33. N. and H., V, 453. + </p> + <p> + 34. Lincoln, VII, 266-267. + </p> + <p> + 35. 37 Globe, II, 3386-3392. + </p> + <p> + XXII. LINCOLN EMERGES. + </p> + <p> + 1. Alexander, III, 15-17. + </p> + <p> + 2. 37 Globe, II, 1493. + </p> + <p> + 3. Julian, 215; Conway, I, 344. + </p> + <p> + 4. 37 Globe II, 2363. + </p> + <p> + 5. Lincoln, VII, 171-172. + </p> + <p> + 6. 37 Globe, II, 1138. + </p> + <p> + 7. Lincoln, VII, 172-173. + </p> + <p> + 8. Pierce, IV, 78; 37 Globe, II, 25%. + </p> + <p> + 9. Schurz, I, 187. + </p> + <p> + 10. London Times, May 9, 1862, quoted in American papers. + </p> + <p> + 11. 128 0. R., 2-3. + </p> + <p> + 12. Lincoln, VII, 270-274. + </p> + <p> + 13. Carpenter, 2021. + </p> + <p> + 14. Galaxy, XIV, 842-843. + </p> + <p> + 15. Lincoln, VII, 270-277; 37 Globe, II, 3322-3324, 3333. + </p> + <p> + 16. Julian, 220; 37 Globe, II, 3286-3287. + </p> + <p> + 17. Lincoln, VII, 280-286. + </p> + <p> + XXIII. THE MYSTICAL STATESMAN. + </p> + <p> + 1. Carpenter, 189. + </p> + <p> + 2. Recollections, 161. + </p> + <p> + 3. Recollections, 161-164; Carpenter, 119. + </p> + <p> + 4. Carpenter, 116. + </p> + <p> + 5. Carpenter, 90. + </p> + <p> + 6. Chapman, 449-450. + </p> + <p> + 7. Carpenter, 187. + </p> + <p> + 8. Lincoln, VIII, 52-53. + </p> + <p> + 9. Lincoln, VIII, 50-51. + </p> + <p> + XXIV. GAMBLING IN GENERALS. + </p> + <p> + 1. Reminiscences, 434. + </p> + <p> + 2. Recollections, 261. + </p> + <p> + 3. Galaxy, 842. + </p> + <p> + 4. Galaxy, 845. + </p> + <p> + 5 Carpenter, 22. + </p> + <p> + 6. O. R., 80-81. 7. C. W., I, 282. + </p> + <p> + 8. Lincoln, VIII, 15. + </p> + <p> + 9. Julian, 221. + </p> + <p> + 10. Thayer, 1, 127. + </p> + <p> + 11. Welles, 1,104; Nicolay, 313. + </p> + <p> + 12. Thayer, 1,129. + </p> + <p> + 13. Thayer, 1, 161. + </p> + <p> + 14. Reminiscences, 334-335, 528; Tarbell, II, 118-120; Lincoln, VIII, + 28-33. + </p> + <p> + 15. Chase, 87-88. + </p> + <p> + 16. Lincoln, VII, 40. + </p> + <p> + XXV. A WAR BEHIND THE SCENES. + </p> + <p> + 1. Bigelow, I, 572. + </p> + <p> + 2. 37 Globe, III, 6. + </p> + <p> + 3. 37 Globe, III, 76. + </p> + <p> + 4. Lincoln, VII, 57-60. + </p> + <p> + 5. Lincoln, VII, 73. + </p> + <p> + 6. Swinton, 231. + </p> + <p> + 7. C. W., 1, 650. + </p> + <p> + 8. Bancroft, II, 365; Welles, 1, ~198. + </p> + <p> + 9. N. and H., VI, 265. + </p> + <p> + 10. Welles, I, 205; Alexander, III, 185. + </p> + <p> + 11. Welles, 1, 196-198. + </p> + <p> + 12. Welles, 1, 201-202. + </p> + <p> + 13. Welles, I, 200. + </p> + <p> + 14. Lincoln, VII, 195-197. + </p> + <p> + XXVI. THE DICTATOR, THE MARPLOT, AND THE LITTLE MEN. + </p> + <p> + 1. Harris, 64. + </p> + <p> + 2. Gurowski, 312. + </p> + <p> + 3. Sherman Letters, 167. + </p> + <p> + 4. Julian, 223. + </p> + <p> + 5. Recollections, 215; Barnes, 428; Reminiscences, XXXI, XXXI I, XXXVI II. + Nicolay and Hay allude to this story, but apparently doubt its + authenticity. They think that Weed "as is customary with elderly men + exaggerated the definiteness of the proposition." + </p> + <p> + 6. Jullan, 225. + </p> + <p> + 7. Lincoln, VIII, 154. + </p> + <p> + 8. Raymond, 704. + </p> + <p> + 9. Recollections, 193-194. + </p> + <p> + 10. Lincoln, VII I, 206207. + </p> + <p> + 11. 37 Globe, III, 1068. + </p> + <p> + 12. Riddle, 278. + </p> + <p> + 13. Welles, I, 336. + </p> + <p> + 14. Lincoln, VIII, 235-237. + </p> + <p> + 15. Welles, I, 293. + </p> + <p> + 16. Lincoln, VIII, 527. + </p> + <p> + 17. Lincoln, IX, 3A. + </p> + <p> + 18. Lincoln, VIII, 307-308. + </p> + <p> + 19. Barnes, 428; Reminiscences, XXX, XXXIII-XXXVIII. + </p> + <p> + This story is told on the authority of Weed with much circumstantial + detail including the full text of a letter written by McClellan. The + letter was produced because McClellan had said that no negotiations took + place. Though the letter plainly alludes to negotiations of some sort, it + does not mention the specific offer attributed to Lincoln. Nicolay and Hay + are silent on the subject. See also note five, above. + </p> + <p> + 20. Tribune, July 7, 1863. + </p> + <p> + 21. Tribune, July 6, 1863. + </p> + <p> + 22. Lincoln, IX, 17. + </p> + <p> + 23. Lincoln, IX, 20-21. + </p> + <p> + XXVII. THE TRIBUNE OF THE PEOPLE. + </p> + <p> + 1. Rhodes, III, 461; Motley's Letters, II, 146. + </p> + <p> + 2. Reminiscences, 470. + </p> + <p> + 3. Hay, Century.? + </p> + <p> + 4. Carpenter, 281-282. + </p> + <p> + 5. Van Santvoord. + </p> + <p> + 6. Hay, Century, 35. + </p> + <p> + 7. Carpenter, 150. + </p> + <p> + 8. Recollections, 97. + </p> + <p> + 9. Recollections, 80. + </p> + <p> + 10. Carpenter, 65. + </p> + <p> + 11. Carpenter, 65-67. + </p> + <p> + 12. Carpenter, 64. + </p> + <p> + 13. Recollections, 267. + </p> + <p> + 14. Carpenter, 64. + </p> + <p> + 15. Recollections, 83-84. + </p> + <p> + 16. Carpenter, 152. + </p> + <p> + 17. Carpenter, 219. + </p> + <p> + 18. Recollections, 103-105. + </p> + <p> + 19. Lincoln, X, 274-275. + </p> + <p> + 20. Recollections, 103. + </p> + <p> + 21. Recollections, 95-96. + </p> + <p> + 22. Hay, Century. + </p> + <p> + 23. Rankin, 177-179. + </p> + <p> + 24. Hay, Century, 35. + </p> + <p> + 25. Carpenter. + </p> + <p> + 26. Thayer, I, 198-190. + </p> + <p> + 27. Thayer, I, 196-197. + </p> + <p> + 28. Thayer, I, 199-200. + </p> + <p> + 29. Carpenter, 104. + </p> + <p> + 30. Lincoln, VIII, 112-115. + </p> + <p> + 31. Lincoln, IX, 210. + </p> + <p> + XXVIII. APPARENT ASCENDENCY. + </p> + <p> + 1. Lincoln, IX, 284. + </p> + <p> + 2. Lincoln, IX, 219-221. + </p> + <p> + 3. Lincoln, X, 38-39. + </p> + <p> + 4. 38 Globe, I, 1408. + </p> + <p> + 5. Bancroft, II, 429-430; Moore, VI, 497-498 + </p> + <p> + 6. Grant, II, 123. + </p> + <p> + 7. Lincoln, X, 90-91. + </p> + <p> + XXIX. CATASTROPHE. + </p> + <p> + 1. Nicolay, 440. + </p> + <p> + 2. Carpenter, 130; Hay MS. + </p> + <p> + 3. Nicolay, 440. + </p> + <p> + 4. Lincoln, X, 25-26. + </p> + <p> + 5. 37 Globe, II, 2674. + </p> + <p> + 6. Nicolay, 352. + </p> + <p> + 7. Lincoln, X, 49. + </p> + <p> + 8. Lincoln, X, 5~54. + </p> + <p> + 9. Rankin, 381-387; Hay, Century. + </p> + <p> + 10. Carpenter, 217. + </p> + <p> + 11. Carpenter, 81. + </p> + <p> + 12. Carpenter, 218. + </p> + <p> + 13. Hay, Century, 37. + </p> + <p> + 14. Lincoln, X, 89. + </p> + <p> + 15. Carpenter, 131. + </p> + <p> + 16. Lincoln, X, 122-123. + </p> + <p> + 17. Carpenter. 168-169. + </p> + <p> + 18. Carpenter, 30-31. + </p> + <p> + 19. Lincoln, X, 129. + </p> + <p> + XXX. THE PRESIDENT VERSUS THE VINDICTIVES. + </p> + <p> + 1. Lincoln, X, 139-140. + </p> + <p> + 2. Chittenden, 379. + </p> + <p> + 3. Lincoln, X, 140-141. + </p> + <p> + 4. Carpenter, 181-183.S. N. and H., X, 95-100. + </p> + <p> + 5. Hay MS, I, 1617; N. and H., IX, 120121. + </p> + <p> + XXXI. A MENACING PAUSE. + </p> + <p> + 1. Reminiscences, 398. + </p> + <p> + 2. Globe, I, 3148. + </p> + <p> + 3. Riddle, 254. + </p> + <p> + 4. Greeley, II, 664-666. + </p> + <p> + 5. N. and H., 186190. + </p> + <p> + 6. Gilmore, 240. + </p> + <p> + 7. Gilmore, Atlantic. & Gilmore, 243-244. + </p> + <p> + 9. Hay MS, I, 7677; N. and H., 167-173; Carpenter, 301-302. + </p> + <p> + 10. N. and H., IX, 338-339. + </p> + <p> + 11. Carpenter, 223-225. + </p> + <p> + 12. Carpenter, 282; also, N. and H., IX, 364. + </p> + <p> + 13. N. and H., IX, 188. + </p> + <p> + 14. N. and H., IX, 192. + </p> + <p> + 15. N. and H., IX, 195. + </p> + <p> + 16. N. and H IX, 212, note. + </p> + <p> + 17. Lincoln, X, 164-166. + </p> + <p> + XXXII. THE AUGUST CONSPIRACY. + </p> + <p> + 1. Julian, 247. + </p> + <p> + 2. Times, August 1, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 3. Herald, August 6, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 4. Sun, June 30, 1889. + </p> + <p> + 5. N. and H., IX, 250. + </p> + <p> + 6. N. and H., IX, 218. + </p> + <p> + 7. Times, August 18, 1864. & N. and H., IX, 197. + </p> + <p> + 9. Herald, August 18, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 10. Lincoln, X, 308. + </p> + <p> + 11. N. and H., IX, 250. + </p> + <p> + 12. Lincoln, X, 203-204. + </p> + <p> + 13. N. and H., IX, 221. + </p> + <p> + 14. Ibid. + </p> + <p> + 15. Herald, August 26, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 16. Tribune, August 27, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 17. Times, August 26, 1864. + </p> + <p> + XXXIII. THE RALLY TO THE PRESIDENT. + </p> + <p> + 1. Herald, August 24, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 2. Times, August 26, 1864~ + </p> + <p> + 3. Pierce, IV, 197-198. + </p> + <p> + 4. Pearson, 11,150-151. + </p> + <p> + 5. Herald, August 23, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 6. Pearson, II, 168. + </p> + <p> + 7. Ibid. The terms offered Davis were not stated in the Atlantic article. + See Gilmore, 289-290. + </p> + <p> + 8. Tribune, August 27', 1864. + </p> + <p> + 9. Sun, June 30, 1889. + </p> + <p> + 10. Sun, June 30, 1889; Pearson, II, 160-161. + </p> + <p> + 11. Pearson,, II, 164. + </p> + <p> + 12. Pearson, II, 166. + </p> + <p> + 13. Sun, June 30, 1889. + </p> + <p> + 14. Tribune, August 30, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 15. Pearson, II, 162. + </p> + <p> + 16. Tribune, September 3, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 17. Pearson, 11,165. + </p> + <p> + 18. Sun, June 30, 1889. + </p> + <p> + 19. Pearson, II, 167; Tribune, September 7, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 20. Tribune, September 6, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 21. Sun, June 30, 1889. + </p> + <p> + 22. Tribune, September 9, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 23. Tribune, September 7, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 24. Tribune, September 12, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 25. Tribune, September 22, 1864. + </p> + <p> + XXXIV. "FATHER ABRAHAM." + </p> + <p> + 1. N. and H., IX, 339. + </p> + <p> + 2. Ibid. + </p> + <p> + 3. Arnold, 390. + </p> + <p> + 4. Chandler, 274-276. + </p> + <p> + 5. The familiar version of the retirement of affair is contained in the + Life of Chandler issued by the Detroit Post and Tribune without an + author's name. This book throughout is an apology for Chandler. In + substance its story of this episode is as follows: Chandler beheld with + aching heart the estrangement between Lincoln and Wade; he set to work to + bring them together; at a conference which he had with Wade, in Ohio, a + working understanding was effected; Chandler hurried to Washington; with + infinite pains he accomplished a party deal, the three elements of which + were Lincoln's removal of Blair, Fremont's resignation, and Wade's + appearance in the Administration ranks. Whatever may be said of the + physical facts of this narrative, its mental facts, its tone and + atmosphere, are historical fiction. And I have to protest that the + significance of the episode has been greatly exaggerated. The series of + dates given in the text can not be reconciled with any theory which makes + the turn of the tide toward Lincoln at all dependent on a Blair-Fremont + deal. Speaking of the tradition that Chandler called upon Lincoln and made + a definite agreement with him looking toward the removal of Blair, Colonel + W. O. Stoddard writes me that his "opinion, or half memory, would be that + the tradition is a myth." See also, Welles, II, 156-158. + </p> + <p> + 6. Lincoln, X, 228-229. + </p> + <p> + 7. Times, September 24, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 8. Times, September 28, 1864. + </p> + <p> + 9. N. and H., IX, 364. + </p> + <p> + 10. Thayer, II, 214; Hay MS. + </p> + <p> + 11. N. and H., IX, 377. + </p> + <p> + 12. Thayer, II, 216; Hay MS, III, 29. + </p> + <p> + 13. Lincoln, X, 261. + </p> + <p> + 14. N. and H., IX, 378-379. + </p> + <p> + XXXV. THE MASTER OF THE MOMENT. + </p> + <p> + 1. Lincoln, X, 283. + </p> + <p> + 2. N. and H., IX, 392-394. + </p> + <p> + 3. N. and H., IX, 210-211. + </p> + <p> + 4. One of the traditions that has grown up around Lincoln makes the + passage of the Thirteenth Amendment a matter of threats. Two votes were + needed. It was discovered according to this simpleminded bit of art that + two members of the opposition had been guilty of illegal practices, the + precise nature of which is conveniently left vague. Lincoln, even in some + highly reputable biographies, sent for these secret criminals, told them + that the power of the President of the United States was very great, and + that he expected them to vote for the amendment. The authority for the + story appears to be a member of Congress, John B. Aley. Reminiscences, + 585-586; Lord Charnwood, Abraham Lincoln, 335-336. To a great many minds + it has always seemed out of key. Fortunately, there is a rival version. + Shrewd, careful Riddle has a vastly different tale in which Lincoln does + not figure at all, in which three necessary votes were bought for the + amendment by Ashley. Riddle is so careful to make plain just what he can + vouch for and just what he has at second hand that his mere mode of + narration creates confidence. Riddle, 324-325. Parts of his version are to + be found in various places. + </p> + <p> + 5. Nicolay, Cambridge, 601. + </p> + <p> + 6. Lincoln, X, 38-39, and note; XI, 89. + </p> + <p> + 7. 38 Globe, II, 903. + </p> + <p> + 8. 38 Globe, II, 1127. + </p> + <p> + 9. 38 Globe, 11,1129; Pierce, IV, 221-227. + </p> + <p> + 10. Recollections, 249. + </p> + <p> + 11. Nicolay, 503-504; Lincoln, XI, 43. + </p> + <p> + 12. Lincoln, XI, 4446. + </p> + <p> + XXXVI. PREPARING A DIFFERENT WAR. + </p> + <p> + 1. Grant, II, 459. + </p> + <p> + 2. Tarbell, II, 229. + </p> + <p> + 3. N. and H., IX, 457. + </p> + <p> + 4. Pierce, IV, 236. + </p> + <p> + 5. Lincoln, XI, 84-91. + </p> + <p> + XXXVII. FATE INTERPOSES. + </p> + <p> + 1. Tarbell, II, 231-232. + </p> + <p> + 2. Pierce, IV, 235. + </p> + <p> + 3. Tarbell, II, 232. + </p> + <p> + 4. Recollections, 116. + </p> + <p> + 5. Nicolay, 531. + </p> + <p> + 6. N. and H., X, 283-284. + </p> + <p> + 7. Julian, 255. + </p> + <p> + 8. Recollections, 249. + </p> + <p> + 9. Recollections, 119. + </p> + <p> + 10. Nicolay, 532. + </p> + <p> + 11. Recollections, 119-120; Carpenter, 293; Nicolay, 532; Tarbell, II, + 235. + </p> + <p> + 12. Nicolay, 539. + </p> + <p> + 13. Thayer, II, 219; Hay MS, + </p> + <p> + 14. Riddle, 332. + </p> + <p> + 15. Nicolay, 530. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lincoln, by Nathaniel Wright Stephenson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LINCOLN *** + +***** This file should be named 1713-h.htm or 1713-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/1/1713/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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