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diff --git a/38043.txt b/38043.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e7a1ac1 --- /dev/null +++ b/38043.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19497 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Lyman Trumbull, by Horace White + +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: The Life of Lyman Trumbull + +Author: Horace White + +Release Date: November 18, 2011 [EBook #38043] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF LYMAN TRUMBULL *** + + + + +Produced by Adam Buchbinder, Matthew Wheaton and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + + + + + THE LIFE OF LYMAN TRUMBULL + + BY + + HORACE WHITE + + + BOSTON AND NEW YORK + HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + The Riverside Press Cambridge + 1913 + + + COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY HORACE WHITE + + ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + + _Published October 1913_ + + + + +PREFACE + + +A few years since, the widow of Lyman Trumbull requested me to write a +biography of her husband, who was United States Senator from Illinois +during the three senatorial terms 1855-1873, or to recommend some +suitable person for the task. It had been a cause of surprise and regret +to me that the name of Trumbull had not yet found a place in the +swelling flood of biographical literature that embraces the Civil War +period. Everybody, North or South, who stood on the same elevation with +him, everybody who exercised influence and filled the public eye in +equal measure with him, had found his niche in the libraries of the +nation, and such place in the hearts of the people as his merits +warranted. Trumbull alone had been neglected. I reflected upon the +matter and came to the conclusion that, although better writers than +myself could be found for this kind of work, no one was likely to be +found who had been more intimate with him during his whole senatorial +career, or who had warmer sympathy for his aims or higher admiration for +his abilities and character. I reflected also that very soon there would +be no person living possessing these special qualifications. Accordingly +I decided to undertake the work. + +Mrs. Trumbull placed in my hands several thousand letters received by +Trumbull, and a few written by him, during his public career. All these +have been examined by me, and they are now in the Library of Congress. +He was not in the habit of keeping copies of letters written by himself +unless he deemed them important, and such copies were generally written +out by his own hand, not taken in a copying-press. Other letters +written by him have been sought with varying success in the hands of his +correspondents, or their heirs, in various parts of the country, but +nothing has been found in this way that can be considered of much +importance. + +During the Reconstruction era I had sustained the policy of Congress in +opposition to that of Andrew Johnson, but had revolted at the +carpetbaggery and misgovernment which had ensued, and had abhorred the +"Ku-Klux" bills and "Force" bills which the Union party for a long time +continued to enact or threaten. I was not quite prepared to find, +however, upon going over the whole ground again, that I had been wrong +from the beginning, and that Andrew Johnson's policy, which was +Lincoln's policy, was the true one, and ought never to have been +departed from. This is the conclusion to which I have come, after much +study, in the evening of a long life. This does not mean that all of the +doings and sayings of President Johnson were wise and good, but that I +believe him to have been an honest man, a true patriot, and a worthy +successor of Lincoln whose Reconstruction policy he followed. Lincoln +himself could not have carried that policy into effect without a fight, +and many persons familiar with the temper of the time think that even he +would have failed. All that we can now affirm is that he was armed with +the prestige of victory and the confidence of the North, and hence would +have been better prepared than Johnson was for meeting the difficulties +that sprang up at the end of the war. It must be admitted, however, that +Johnson honestly aimed to carry out that policy, both because it was +Lincoln's and because he himself, after careful consideration, esteemed +it sound. + +I acknowledge my indebtedness to the _Diary of Gideon Welles_, which I +regard as the most important contribution to the history of the period +of which it treats that has yet been given to the public. The history of +Mr. James Ford Rhodes I have found to be an invaluable guide, as to both +facts and judgments of men and things. I am indebted to Professor +William A. Dunning, of Columbia University, for valuable suggestions, +criticism, and encouragement, as well as for the assistance derived from +his admired writings on Reconstruction. Miss Katherine Mayo has +lightened my labors greatly by her intelligent and indefatigable search +of old letters and newspaper files and by interviews with persons still +living. My gratitude is due also to the late William H. Lambert, of +Philadelphia, for giving me access to his collection of manuscript +correspondence that passed between Lincoln and Trumbull prior to the +inauguration of the former as President; also to Dr. William Jayne, of +Springfield, Illinois, to Hon. J. H. Roberts, of Chicago, to the wife of +Walter Trumbull (now Mrs. L. C. Pardee, of Chicago), and to Mrs. Mary +Ingraham Trumbull, of Saybrook Point, Connecticut. + + H. W. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I + +ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE + + The Trumbulls from Newcastle-on-Tyne, England--Most illustrious + family in Colony of Connecticut--Lyman Trumbull born and + educated at Colchester--Begins his career as school-teacher in + Georgia in 1833--Studies law there in office of Hiram Warner--In + 1837 makes a journey on horseback to Shawneetown, + Illinois--Begins practice of law in office of Governor Reynolds + at Belleville--"Riding on the circuit" in the early days--In a + letter to his father describes the killing of Rev. Elijah P. + Lovejoy at Alton--Elected to the legislature from St. Clair + County in 1840--Appointed secretary of state in 1841 by Governor + Carlin--Removed from office in 1843 by Governor Ford--Political + disturbance in consequence--Belleville in 1842--Marriage of + Trumbull and Miss Julia Jayne--Their wedding journey--Political + campaign of 1848--Trumbull fails of nomination for governor--Is + elected judge of the supreme court in 1848--Removes his + residence to Alton--Reelected as judge in 1852, but resigns in + the following year. 1 + + +CHAPTER II + +SLAVERY IN ILLINOIS + + French adventurers from Canada the first whites in + Illinois--Followed by colonists from Louisiana--Slaves sent from + Santo Domingo by John Law's Company of the Indies--Thomas + Jefferson takes steps to exclude slavery from the Northwest + Territory--The Anti-Slavery Ordinance of 1787--The territorial + legislature authorizes the holding of "indentured servants" for + a limited time--Attempts to repeal the Ordinance defeated in + Congress by John Randolph of Roanoke--State constitution in 1818 + prohibits slavery--the pro-slavery men attempt to change the + constitution--Bitter contest in 1824 results in their + defeat--Slavery continues, nevertheless, under judicial + decisions--Trumbull wages war against it in the courts--His + final victory in the Jarrot case, in 1845 23 + + +CHAPTER III + +FIRST ELECTION AS SENATOR + + Senator Douglas and the repeal of the Missouri + Compromise--Disruption of political parties--Trumbull announces + himself a candidate for Congress in opposition to the Nebraska + Bill--Is elected in the Eighth Illinois District--Abraham + Lincoln takes the stump against Douglas--Their joint debate at + Springfield in October, 1854--An Anti-Nebraska legislature + elected--Lincoln a candidate for Senator in place of General + Shields--Five Anti-Nebraska Bill members vote for + Trumbull--Supporters of Shields transfer their votes to Governor + Matteson--Lincoln transfers his votes to Trumbull, who is + elected by a majority of one 32 + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE KANSAS WAR + + Trumbull takes his seat in the Senate--A protest is presented + declaring him not eligible--It is overruled after + debate--Disturbances in Kansas consequent upon the passage of + the Nebraska Bill--Trumbull makes a speech criticizing Douglas's + report thereon--Debate between the two Senators attracts wide + attention--Speeches of Seward, Sumner, Collamer, and + others--Trumbull's first appearance in debate is warmly welcomed + by the opponents of the Nebraska Bill 48 + + +CHAPTER V + +THE LECOMPTON FIGHT + + The national contest of 1856 results in the election of James + Buchanan as President--The Republicans of Illinois elect their + state ticket--The Kansas war continues--Buchanan appoints Robert + J. Walker governor of the territory--The Pro-Slavery party hold + a convention at the town of Lecompton to form a state + constitution--The Free State men decide not to participate, but + to vote against the constitution when submitted to the + people--The convention decides not to submit the constitution to + popular vote--President Buchanan agrees to this plan--Governor + Walker thereupon resigns his office and Senator Douglas opposes + the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution--Both + Trumbull and Douglas speak against the Lecompton measure and + Congress rejects it--Douglas contemplates joining the + Republicans 69 + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE CAMPAIGN OF 1858 AND THE JOHN BROWN RAID + + Popularity of Douglas among the Eastern Republicans growing out + of the Lecompton fight--Not shared by those of Illinois--The + latter choose Lincoln as their candidate for Senator--Some + letters from Lincoln to Trumbull in 1858--The campaign of 1858 + results in the reelection of Douglas, but the popular vote shows + a plurality for Lincoln--Douglas's doctrine of "Unfriendly + Legislation" in the territories in regard to slavery turns the + South against him--The John Brown raid at Harper's + Ferry--Trumbull's speech and debate thereon in the Senate 86 + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE ELECTION OF LINCOLN--SECESSION + + The National Republican Convention at Chicago in 1860--How + Lincoln was nominated in preference to Seward--the Secession + movement after the election--Trumbull makes a speech at + Springfield which includes a brief statement of Republican + policy written by Lincoln--Correspondence between Lincoln and + Trumbull before the inauguration--Trumbull advises his friends + in Chicago not to make concessions to those who threaten to + overthrow the Government--He has a debate in the Senate with + Jefferson Davis--Makes a speech at the night session, March 2, + 1861, against the Crittenden Compromise--The latter defeated in + the Senate by Yeas, 19; Nays, 20--Some items of Washington + society news from Mrs. Trumbull--Interview between President + Buchanan and Judge McLean--Text of Trumbull's Speech against the + Crittenden Compromise 102 + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CABINET-MAKING--THE DEATH OF DOUGLAS + + Trumbull's interview with William Cullen Bryant, and others, who + oppose William H. Seward as a member of Lincoln's Cabinet--They + consider Seward's coterie in New York corrupt and + dangerous--Trumbull communicates the objections to + Lincoln--Lincoln thinks that the forces which backed Seward at + the Chicago Convention must not be snubbed--He has already + offered a place to Seward--The question of Cameron more + difficult--David Davis's bargain with friends of Cameron and of + Caleb Smith--Cameron tries to procure an invitation to + Springfield, but Lincoln refuses--Leonard Swett gives invitation + without Lincoln's authority--Cameron visits Springfield and + secures promise of Cabinet position from Lincoln--A. K. McClure + protests against Cameron's appointment and Lincoln requests + Cameron to decline--Cameron does not decline--Trumbull advises + Lincoln not to appoint Cameron--Lincoln's Illinois friends + protest against Cameron--Trumbull urges appointment of + Judd--Seward and Weed support Cameron, who is finally appointed + Secretary of War--Trumbull, reelected as Senator, becomes + Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary--The last great + service of Senator Douglas to his country--His death and + Trumbull's tribute to his memory 139 + + +CHAPTER IX + +FORT SUMTER + + The Senate appoints a committee to ask the President to recall + the appointment of Harvey as Minister to Portugal--He had + notified Governor Pickens of the Government's intention to + relieve Fort Sumter--Trumbull a member of the committee--Seward + says that he did not know of Harvey's action till after the + appointment was made--In fact, Seward gave the information to + Harvey intending that he should send it to Pickens--John Hay's + Diary says that Lincoln, before his inauguration, offered to + evacuate Fort Sumter--Also that he repeated the offer after + inauguration--This confirms a narrative of John Minor Botts--The + controversy between Botts and J. B. Baldwin concerning the + latter's interview with Lincoln on April 5, 1861--Reasons for + believing that Botts's story is true--Remarkable interview + between Douglas and Seward as to Fort Sumter 155 + + +CHAPTER X + +BULL RUN--THE CONFISCATION ACT + + Trumbull makes an excursion with Senator Grimes to the battle of + Bull Run--Is caught by the retreating Union army and driven back + to Washington--His account of the panic and stampede says, "It + was the most shameful rout you can conceive of"--Sends a + telegram to Mrs. Trumbull, but the authorities suppress + it--Consternation at the Capital--General Fremont's doings at + St. Louis--His military order of emancipation--Lincoln considers + it premature and revokes it--Correspondence between Trumbull and + M. Carey Lea, of Philadelphia--Cameron follows Fremont's example + in his first Annual Report--Sends report to the newspapers + without the President's knowledge--Lincoln directs him to recall + it and strike out the part relating to slavery--General David + Hunter issues an order freeing all slaves in South Carolina, + Georgia, and Florida--The President revokes it--Trumbull reports + a bill from the Senate Judiciary Committee to confiscate the + property of rebels and to give freedom to all of their + slaves--Collamer opposes confiscation as both unconstitutional + and impolitic--He offers an amendment to substitute judicial + process for military confiscation--Collamer's views prevail--The + President objected, however, to the forfeiture of real estate + beyond the lifetime of the owner--This was the first bill passed + by Congress dealing a heavy blow at slavery 165 + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE EXPULSION OF CAMERON + + Cameron and Alexander Cummings--Two million dollars placed in + New York subject to Cummings's draft--The steamer Catiline + chartered and laden by Cummings and Thurlow Weed--The House + Committee on Government Contracts--Cummings's + testimony--Congressman Dawes's exposure of horse contracts--An + equine Golgotha around Washington City--The House censures + Cameron--Lincoln removes him and appoints Stanton in his + place--Cameron appointed Minister to Russia--Trumbull opposes + confirmation--Cameron is confirmed, six Republican Senators + voting in the negative 178 + + +CHAPTER XII + +ARBITRARY ARRESTS + + Lincoln's first suspension of the writ of _habeas + corpus_--Secretary Seward and John Hay give verbal instructions + thereunder--Senate debate on arbitrary arrests--Wide differences + of opinion as to legality thereof--Trumbull calls for + information--Debate between Trumbull, Dixon, and Wilson--Was + power to suspend the writ lodged in the executive or in the + legislative department?--Chief Justice Taney held that the writ + had not been lawfully suspended anywhere--Trumbull demands trial + by jury, without delay, of civilians arrested in loyal + states--Before Congress takes action the election of 1862 + results in victory for Democrats--Republican leaders + intimidated--Stanton discharges all civilian prisoners--Congress + passes Trumbull's bill authorizing President to suspend writ, + but requiring trial in civil courts and discharge of persons not + indicted--Bill to indemnify the President for previous acts + passed by both houses--Banishment of Vallandigham and + suppression of the Chicago _Times_--Trumbull opposes the latter 190 + + +CHAPTER XIII + +INCIDENTS OF THE YEARS 1863 AND 1864 + + The movement in the Senate for the retirement of Secretary + Seward--Letters from Gustave Koerner, Alfred Iverson, and Walter + B. Scates--The appointment of M. W. Delahay as judge of the U.S. + District Court of Kansas--His subsequent impeachment and + resignation--Letters of General John M. Palmer, Colonel Fred + Hecker, and Jesse K. Dubois--Trumbull doubts the expediency of + Lincoln's second nomination--He thinks that there is a lack of + efficiency in the prosecution of the war--This opinion shared by + Henry Wilson and by Congressmen generally in the beginning of + 1864--The people, however, were for Lincoln's renomination--The + Cleveland Convention, and nomination of General + Fremont--Simultaneous retirement of Fremont and + Postmaster-General Blair 210 + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION + + Scope of Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation--Amendment of + the Constitution to abolish slavery--First proposals by Wilson, + of Iowa, and Henderson, of Missouri--Trumbull reports the + Thirteenth Amendment from the Senate Judiciary Committee--His + argument thereon--Speeches of Senators Henderson and Reverdy + Johnson--Amendment passes the Senate, but fails in the + House--Second attempt in the House successful by a trade with + Democrats--Amendment ratified--Objections raised by Southern + States explained away by Seward 222 + + +CHAPTER XV + +RECONSTRUCTION + + Death of Lincoln--Conflict of opinions concerning the status of + the seceding states--Lincoln's proclamation of December, + 1863--Reconstruction of Louisiana in pursuance thereof--Trumbull + reports a joint resolution admitting that state--Sumner prevents + the Senate from voting on it--Lincoln's last speech on + Reconstruction--His plan indorsed by William Lloyd + Garrison--Andrew Johnson as President adopts it--Recognizes + Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas as restored to the + Union--Issues an executive order appointing a governor of North + Carolina to call a constitutional convention--Negroes not + included in the list of voters--Similar orders issued for the + other seceding states--Wendell Phillips sounds a blast against + President Johnson--Northern newspapers at first favorable to + Johnson--Desperate industrial condition of the South 231 + + +CHAPTER XVI + +ANDREW JOHNSON'S FIRST MESSAGE + + Excellent tone and temper of Johnson's first communication to + Congress--Written by George Bancroft--Eulogy of the New York + _Nation_--Johnson's early life and training--A first-rate + stump-speaker--Sumner attacks Johnson for "whitewashing" the + ex-slaveholders--Acts of Southern legislatures passed to keep + the negroes in order--Senator Wilson moves that all such acts + establishing inequality of civil rights be declared + invalid--Trumbull argues for postponement of such legislation + until the Thirteenth Amendment is ratified--Debate between + Trumbull and Saulsbury--Reports of General Grant and General + Carl Schurz on the condition and temper of the Southern + people--Letter from J. L. M. Curry on the same 244 + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU AND CIVIL RIGHTS BILLS + + Trumbull introduces two bills to protect the freedmen in the + states--Provisions of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill--Trumbull + contends that the Thirteenth Amendment authorized Congress to + abolish the incidents and disabilities of slavery--The + Freedmen's Bureau Bill passed by Congress and vetoed by the + President--The Senate fails to pass it over the veto--Struggle + in the Senate to obtain a two-thirds majority--Senator Stockton + (Democrat), of New Jersey, unseated--Trumbull's Civil Rights + Bill taken up--It does not deal with the right of + suffrage--Debate in the Senate on the constitutional + question--Bill passes Senate--Is opposed in the House by + Bingham, of Ohio--Is vetoed by the President--Exciting scene in + Senate when the bill is passed over the veto--Trumbull takes + the lead in the campaign of 1866 and is reelected to the + Senate--The Civil Rights Act in the courts--An echo from the + State of Georgia 257 + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT + + The Joint Committee on Reconstruction reports the Fourteenth + Amendment of the Constitution--It holds that the seceding states + cannot be restored to their former places in the Union by the + executive alone--Tennessee admitted to the Union by + Congress--The Arm-in-Arm Convention at Philadelphia--President + Johnson's unfortunate speech following that event--The Southern + States refuse to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment--This refusal + gives increased power to the radicals in the North 281 + + +CHAPTER XIX + +CROSSING THE RUBICON + + Decision of the Supreme Court in the Milligan case--It declares + all trials of civilians by military commissions unlawful--It + implies that Andrew Johnson's policy was preferable to that of + Congress--All the members of the Cabinet support the President's + policy--Stanton, however, secretly confers with the radicals to + undermine the President--Sumner and Stevens become the leaders + in Congress and pass bills annulling state governments in the + South--The Conservatives follow reluctantly, believing that the + negroes cannot be protected unless they have the right to + vote--Remarkable series of Reconstruction Acts passed in 1867 + and 1868--The case of Georgia--Trumbull overthrows Governor + Bullock and his senatorial supporters 288 + + +CHAPTER XX + +IMPEACHMENT + + The Tenure-of-Office Bill passed to curtail the President's + power to remove office-holders--It does not apply to members of + the Cabinet--The President vetoes it--The veto message written + by Seward and Stanton in conjunction--Bill repassed over + veto--First mutterings about impeachment--The Judiciary + Committee reports in favor of it--The House rejects the + report--The President requests Stanton's resignation--Stanton + refuses to resign--The President removes him and appoints Grant + Secretary of War _ad interim_--Stanton retires--The Senate + disapproves of the removal of Stanton--Grant retires and Stanton + resumes office--The President accuses Grant of bad faith, and + appoints Lorenzo Thomas Secretary of War--The House votes to + impeach the President and appoints managers therefor--The trial + begins March 5, 1868--The President is acquitted by vote of 35 + to 19, not two thirds--Seven Republican Senators including + Trumbull vote "Not Guilty"--Newspaper comments sustaining the + "Seven Traitors"--Trumbull's written opinion filed with the + record--Consequences of the impeachment trial--Death of + Fessenden--Death of Mrs. Lyman Trumbull 301 + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE McCARDLE CASE--GRANT'S CABINET--THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT + + W. H. McCardle, of Mississippi, arrested by General Ord for + seditious publications--Takes an appeal to the Supreme + Court--General Grant, as Secretary of War _ad interim_, retains + Trumbull to defend the military authorities--Congress passes a + law to deprive the Supreme Court of jurisdiction--Trumbull votes + for it--The Court rules that its jurisdiction has been withdrawn + by Congress--Secretary Stanton fixes Trumbull's compensation for + professional services at $10,000--Senator Chandler contends that + the payment is contrary to law--Trumbull shows that both law and + precedent are on his side--The facts in the case--President + Grant's mishaps in choosing his Cabinet--Washburne for the State + Department, Stewart for the Treasury, and Borie for the + Navy--They are succeeded by Fish, Boutwell, and Robeson--General + John A. Rawlins selected by himself for Secretary of War with + Grant's approval--General Jacob Cox and Rockwood Hoar, two men + of the highest type, appointed but soon resign--Adoption of the + Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution 327 + + +CHAPTER XXII + +CAUSES OF DISCONTENT + + Senator Grimes's estimate of the Republican party in + 1870--President Grant's methods of carrying on the + Government--His attempt to annex Santo Domingo--Senate rejects + the treaty of annexation--The President comes in conflict with + Charles Sumner, who is displaced as chairman of the Senate + Committee on Foreign Relations--Trumbull sustains + Sumner--Motley, Minister to Great Britain, is removed from + office and Trumbull is asked to take his place--He declines the + offer--First movement for civil service reform--Trumbull makes a + speech at Chicago advocating it--Secretary Cox and + Attorney-General Hoar cease to be members of Grant's Cabinet 341 + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE LIBERAL REPUBLICANS + + The Liberal Republican movement begins in Missouri--Its + leaders--Enfranchisement of the ex-Confederates, civil service + reform, and revenue reform, the issues--Meeting of revenue + reformers at New York, November 22, 1871--James G. Blaine, + Speaker of the House, offers them a majority of the Committee of + Ways and Means--The Missouri movement alarms the Republican + leaders--They pass the Ku-Klux Bill for the employment of + military force in the South--Trumbull and Schurz oppose the + Ku-Klux bill--Trumbull pronounces it an unconstitutional + measure--Schurz advocates the removal of all political + disabilities--Congress passes an act of universal amnesty after + the meeting of the Liberal Republican Convention 351 + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION + + General Grant's habits and training were not well adapted to + civil and political duties--He was nominated for President on + account of his military success--Rottenness in the New York + Custom-House--Trumbull moves a general investigation of the + waste of public money--The Senate decides in favor of a + committee to investigate only matters specifically referred to + it--The Leet and Stocking scandal--Colonel Leet found to be + receiving $50,000 per year from the "General Order" business of + the New York Custom-House--A Senate committee reports the facts + to Secretary of the Treasury, Boutwell--The Secretary makes a + new investigation and recommends that Collector Murphy + discontinue the "General Order" system--Murphy allows it to + continue indefinitely--A second Senate investigation + ordered--The Leet and Stocking mystery explained--President + Grant not a participant in the profits--The "General Order" + system broken up--Indignation among Republicans resulting from + the exposure 361 + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION + + The Liberal Republican Convention in Missouri calls national + convention at Cincinnati--Prompt and favorable response in Ohio + and other states--Cooeperation of leading Democrats--Springfield + _Republican_, Cincinnati _Commercial_, and Chicago _Tribune_, + Republican newspapers, support the movement--Henry Watterson, + Manton Marble, and August Belmont, Democrats, cooeperate--The + movement in Pennsylvania--William C. Bryant and others favor the + nomination of Trumbull for President--Great meeting at Cooper + Union, New York--Governor Palmer, of Illinois, favors the + movement--Charles Francis Adams, Horace Greeley, David Davis, B. + Gratz Brown, and A. G. Curtin mentioned for + President--Correspondence with Trumbull on the subject--The + editors' dinner at Murat Halstead's house--Platform + embarrassment--The tariff question referred to the congressional + districts--Frank Blair and Gratz Brown cause a commotion--Carl + Schurz made chairman of the convention--Balloting for + President--Brown withdraws his name and advises his friends to + vote for Greeley--Greeley nominated on the sixth + ballot--Consternation of the supporters of Adams and + Trumbull--Most of the Liberal Republican editors decide to + support Greeley--Carl Schurz is much distressed--Godkin and + Bryant reject Greeley--Correspondence between Bryant and + Trumbull--Charles Sumner's hesitating course--He finally decides + to support Greeley 372 + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE GREELEY CAMPAIGN + + How Trumbull received the news--Carl Schurz advises Greeley to + decline the nomination--Greeley decides to accept it--Meeting of + Liberal Republican leaders in New York to consider their + course--Trumbull and Schurz decide to support the Cincinnati + ticket--Correspondence between Schurz and Godkin--Parke Godwin + against Greeley--President Grant renominated by the Republicans + with Henry Wilson for Vice-President--The Democrats at Baltimore + adopt both nominees and platform of the Liberal Republicans--A + minority call a bolting convention, which nominates Charles + O'Conor--Trumbull's speech at Springfield, Illinois, in support + of the Cincinnati ticket--Greeley's campaign starts with the + prospect of victory--North Carolina election in August gives the + Grant ticket a small majority--The tide turns against + Greeley--Greeley takes the stump in September and makes a + favorable impression, but too late--The October elections, in + Pennsylvania and Ohio, go heavily Republican--Greeley and Brown + defeated--Death of Greeley following the election--State + election in Louisiana in 1872--Fraudulent returns in favor of + Kellogg exposed by Senators Carpenter and Trumbull--Kellogg + sustained by President Grant 389 + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +LATER YEARS + + Trumbull's senatorial term expires in 1873--Not reelected--He + resumes the practice of law in Chicago--The second Grant + administration worse than the first--The Republican party beaten + in the congressional elections of 1874--The Hayes-Tilden + campaign in 1876--Disputed returns in Louisiana, South Carolina, + and Florida--The Electoral Commission--"Visiting Statesmen" sent + to Louisiana to watch the count of the votes--Trumbull chosen as + one of them--Chosen also to support Tilden's claim before the + electoral commission--His argument thereon--E. W. Stoughton, in + behalf of Hayes, contends that the returns of election certified + by the governor of a state must be accepted--Also that the + status of a governor recognized by the President of the United + States cannot be questioned--Both these contentions are + sustained by the Electoral Commission--By a vote of 8 to 7 + Hayes is declared elected President--Trumbull's marriage to Miss + Mary Ingraham--He is nominated for governor of Illinois by the + Democrats in 1880--Is defeated by Shelby M. Cullom--My last + meeting with Trumbull at the World's Columbian + Exposition--Trumbull's professional services in the Debs + case--His public speech, after the case was decided--He sides + with the Populist party--Prepares their declaration of + principles in December, 1894--Text of the Declaration 407 + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +CONCLUSION + + Trumbull goes to Belleville to attend the funeral of Gustave + Koerner--Is taken with illness at hotel--On his return to his + home he is found to be suffering from an internal tumor--His + physicians decide that a surgical operation would be fatal--He + lingers till June 5, 1896--Dies in his eighty-third + year--Impressive funeral--His great qualities as a lawyer and + political debater--His conscientiousness and courage--His + generosity, and fondness for little children--His place in the + country's history--Eulogy by Joseph Medill, and other + contemporaries--Trumbull's estimate of Lincoln--His religious + views--His surviving family and descendants 418 + + +INDEX 433 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +Events in the year 1854 brought into the field of national politics two +members of the bar of southern Illinois who were destined to hold high +places in the public councils--Abraham Lincoln and Lyman Trumbull. They +were members of opposing parties, Lincoln a Whig, Trumbull a Democrat. +Both were supporters of the compromise measures of 1850. These measures +had been accepted by the great majority of the people, not as wholly +satisfactory, but as preferable to never-ending turmoil on the slavery +question. There had been a subsidence of anti-slavery propagandism in +the North, following the Free Soil campaign of 1848. Hale and Julian +received fewer votes in 1852 than Van Buren and Adams had received in +the previous election. Franklin Pierce (Democrat) had been elected +President of the United States by so large a majority that the Whig +party was practically killed. President Pierce in his first message to +Congress had alluded to the quieting of sectional agitation and had +said: "That this repose is to suffer no shock during my official term, +if I have the power to avert it, those who placed me here may be +assured." Doubtless the Civil War would have come, even if Pierce had +kept his promise instead of breaking it; for, as Lincoln said a little +later: "A house divided against itself cannot stand." + +It was not at variance with itself on the slavery question solely. In +fact, the North did not take up arms against slavery when the crisis +came. A few men foresaw that a war raging around that institution would +somehow and sometime give it its death-blow, but at the beginning the +Northern soldiers marched with no intention of that kind. They had an +eye single to the preservation of the Union. The uprising which followed +the firing upon Fort Sumter was a passionate protest against the insult +to the national flag. It betokened a fixed purpose to defend what the +flag symbolized, and it was only slowly and hesitatingly that the +abolition of slavery was admitted as a factor and potent issue in the +Northern mind. + +It is true that the South seceded in order to preserve and extend +slavery, but it was penetrated with the belief that it had a perfect +right to secede--not merely the right of revolution which our ancestors +exercised in separating from Great Britain, but a right under the +Constitution. + +The states under the Confederation, during the Revolutionary period and +later, were actually sovereign. The Articles of Confederation declared +them to be so. When the Constitution was formed, the habit of state +sovereignty was so strong that it was only with the greatest difficulty +that its ratification by the requisite number of states could be +obtained. John Quincy Adams said that it was "extorted from the grinding +necessity of a reluctant people." The instrument itself provided a +common tribunal (the Supreme Court) as arbiter for the decision of all +disputed questions arising under the Constitution and laws of the United +States. But it was not generally supposed that the jurisdiction of the +court included the power to extinguish state sovereignty.[1] + +The first division of political parties under the new government was the +outgrowth of emotions stirred by the French Revolution. The Republicans +of the period, led by Jefferson, were ardent sympathizers with the +uprising in France. The Federalists, who counted Washington, Hamilton, +and John Adams as their representative men, were opposed to any +connection with European strife, or to any fresh embroilment with +England, growing out of it. The Alien and Sedition Laws were passed in +order to suppress agitation tending to produce such embroilment. +Jefferson met these laws with the "Resolutions of '98," which were +adopted by the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky. These resolutions +affirmed the right of the separate states to judge of any infraction of +the Constitution by the Federal Government and also of the mode and +measure of redress--a claim which necessarily included the right to +secede from the Union if milder measures failed. The Alien and Sedition +Laws expired by their own limitation before any actual test of their +validity took place. + +The next assertion of the right of the states to nullify the acts of the +Federal Government came from a more northern latitude as a consequence +of the purchase of Louisiana. This act alarmed the New England States. +The Federalists feared lest the acquisition of this vast domain should +give the South a perpetual preponderance and control of the Government. +Since there was no clause in the Constitution providing for the +acquisition of new territory (as President Jefferson himself conceded), +they affirmed that the Union was a partnership and that a new partner +could not be taken in without the consent of all the old ones, and that +the taking in of a new one without such consent would release the old +ones. + +Controversy on this theme was superseded a few years later by more acute +sources of irritation--the Embargo and War of 1812. These events fell +with great severity on the commerce of the Northern States, and led to +the passage by the Massachusetts legislature of anti-Embargo +resolutions, declaring that "when the national compact is violated and +the citizens are oppressed by cruel and unauthorized law, this +legislature is bound to interpose its power and wrest from the oppressor +his victim." In this doctrine Daniel Webster concurred. In a speech in +the House of Representatives, December 9, 1814, on the Conscription +Bill, he said: + + The operation of measures thus unconstitutional and illegal + ought to be prevented by a resort to other measures which are + both constitutional and legal. It will be the solemn duty of + the State Governments to protect their own authority over their + own militia and to interpose between their own citizens and + arbitrary power.... With the same earnestness with which I now + exhort you to forbear from these measures I shall exhort them + to exercise their unquestionable right of providing for the + security of their own liberties.[2] + +The anti-Embargo resolutions were followed by the refusal of both +Massachusetts and Connecticut to allow federal officers to take command +of their militia and by the call for the Hartford Convention. The latter +body recommended to the states represented in it the adoption of +measures to protect their citizens against forcible drafts, +conscriptions, or impressments not authorized by the Constitution--a +phrase which certainly meant that the states were to judge of the +constitutionality of the measures referred to. The conclusion of peace +with Great Britain put an end to this crisis before it came to blows. + +On February 26, 1833, Mr. Calhoun, following the Resolutions of '98, +affirmed in the Senate the doctrine that the Government of the United +States was a compact, by which the separate states delegated to it +certain definite powers, reserving the rest; that whenever the general +Government should assume the exercise of powers not so delegated, its +acts would be void and of no effect; and that the said Government was +not the sole judge of the powers delegated to it, but that, as in all +other cases of compact among sovereign parties without any common judge, +each had an equal right to judge for itself, as well of the infraction +as of the mode and measures of redress. This was the stand which South +Carolina took in opposition to the Force Bill of President Jackson's +administration.[3] + +A state convention of South Carolina was called which passed an +ordinance nullifying the tariff law of the United States and declaring +that, if any attempt were made to collect customs duties under it by +force, that state would consider herself absolved from all allegiance to +the Union and would proceed at once to organize a separate government. +President Jackson was determined to exercise force, and would have done +so had not Congress, under the lead of Henry Clay, passed a compromise +tariff bill which enabled South Carolina to repeal her ordinance and say +that she had gained the substantial part of her contention. + +Despite the later speeches of Webster, the doctrine of nullification had +a new birth in Massachusetts in 1845, the note of discord having been +called forth by the proposed admission of Texas into the Union. In that +year the legislature passed and the governor approved resolutions +declaring that the powers of Congress did not embrace a case of the +admission of a foreign state or a foreign territory into the Union by an +act of legislation and "such an act would have no binding power whatever +on the people of Massachusetts." This was a fresh outcropping of the +bitterness which had prevailed in the New England States against the +acquisition of Louisiana. + +Thus it appears that, although the Constitution did create courts to +decide all disputes arising under it, the particularism which previously +prevailed continued to exist. Nationalism was an aftergrowth proceeding +from the habit into which the people fell of finding their common centre +of gravity at Washington City, and of viewing it as the place where the +American name and fame were embodied and emblazoned to the world. During +the first half-century the North and the South were changing coats from +time to time on the subject of state sovereignty, but meanwhile the +Constitution itself was working silently and imperceptibly in the North +to undermine particularism and to strengthen nationalism. It had +accomplished its educational work in the early thirties when it found +its complete expression in Webster's reply to Hayne. But the South +believed just as firmly that Hayne was the victor in that contest, as +the North believed that Webster was. Hayne's speech was not generally +read in the North either then or later. It was not inferior, in the +essential qualities of dignity, courtesy, legal lore, and oratorical +force, to that of his great antagonist. Webster here met a foeman worthy +of his steel. + +In the South the pecuniary interests bottomed on slavery offset and +neutralized the unifying process that was ripening in the North. The +slavery question entered into the debate between Webster and Calhoun in +1833 sufficiently to show that it lay underneath the other questions +discussed. Calhoun, in the speech referred to, reproached Forsyth, of +Georgia, for dullness in not seeing how state rights and slavery were +dovetailed together and how the latter depended on the former. + +That African slavery was the most direful curse that ever afflicted any +civilized country may now be safely affirmed. It had its beginning in +our country in the year 1619 at Jamestown, Virginia, where a Dutch +warship short of provisions exchanged fourteen negroes for a supply +thereof. Slavery of both Indians and negroes already existed in the West +Indies and was regarded with favor by the colonists and their home +governments. It began in Massachusetts in 1637 as a consequence of +hostilities with the aborigines, the slaves being captives taken in war. +They were looked upon by the whites as heathen and were treated +according to precedents found in the Old Testament for dealing with the +enemies of Jehovah. In order that they might not escape from servitude +they were sent to the West Indies to be exchanged for negroes, and this +slave trade was not restricted to captives taken in war, but was applied +to any red men who could be safely seized and shipped away. + +From these small beginnings slavery spread over all the colonies from +Massachusetts to Georgia and lasted in all of them for a century and a +half, i.e., until after the close of the Revolutionary War. Then it +began to lose ground in the Northern States. Public sentiment turned +against it in Massachusetts, but all attempts to abolish it there by act +of the legislature failed. Its death-blow was given by a judicial +decision in 1783 in a case where a master was prosecuted, convicted, and +fined forty shillings for beating a slave.[4] + +Public opinion sustained this judgment, although there had been no +change in the law since the time when the Pequot Indians were sent by +shiploads to the Bermudas to be exchanged for negroes. If masters could +not punish their slaves in their discretion,--if slaves had any rights +which white men were bound to respect,--slavery was virtually dead. No +law could kill it more effectually. + +In one way and another the emancipation movement extended southward to +and including Pennsylvania in the later years of the eighteenth century. +Nearly all the statesmen of the Revolution looked upon the institution +with disfavor and desired its extinction. Thomas Jefferson favored +gradual emancipation in Virginia, to be coupled with deportation of the +emancipated blacks, because he feared trouble if the two races were +placed upon an equality in the then slaveholding states. He labored to +prevent the extension of slavery into the new territories, and he very +nearly succeeded. In the year 1784 he reported an ordinance in the +Congress of the Confederation to organize all the unoccupied territory, +both north and south of the Ohio River, in ten subdivisions, in all of +which slavery should be forever prohibited, and this ordinance failed of +adoption by only one vote. Six states voted in the affirmative. Seven +were necessary. Only one representative of New Jersey happened to be +present, whereas two was the smallest number that could cast the vote of +any state. If one other member from New Jersey had been there, the +Jeffersonian ordinance of 1784 would have passed; slavery would have +been restricted to the seaboard states which it then occupied, and would +never have drawn the sword against the Union, and the Civil War would +not have taken place.[5] + +After the emancipation movement came to a pause, at the southern border +of Pennsylvania, the fact became apparent that there was a dividing line +between free states and slave states, and a feeling grew up in both +sections that neither of them ought to acquire a preponderance of power +and mastery over the other. The slavery question was not concerned with +this dispute, but a habit grew up of admitting new states to the Union +in pairs, in order to maintain a balance of power in the national +Senate. Thus Kentucky and Vermont offset each other, then Tennessee and +Ohio, then Louisiana and Indiana, then Mississippi and Illinois. + +In 1819, Alabama, a new slave state, was admitted to the Union and there +was no new free state to balance it. The Territory of Missouri, in which +slavery existed, was applying for admission also. While Congress was +considering the Missouri bill, Mr. Tallmadge, of New York, with a view +of preserving the balance of power, offered an amendment providing for +the gradual emancipation of slaves in the proposed state, and +prohibiting the introduction of additional slaves. This amendment was +adopted by the House by a sectional vote, nearly all the Northern +members voting for it and the Southern ones against it, but it was +rejected by the Senate. + +In the following year the Missouri question came up afresh, and Senator +Thomas, of Illinois, proposed, as a compromise, that Missouri should be +admitted to the Union with slavery, but that in all the remaining +territory north of 36 degrees and 30 minutes north latitude, slavery +should be forever prohibited. This amendment was adopted in the Senate +by 24 to 20, and in the House by 90 to 87. Of the affirmative votes in +the House only fourteen were from the North, and nearly all of these +fourteen members became so unpopular at home that they lost their seats +in the next election. The Missouri Compromise was generally considered a +victory for the South, but one great Southerner considered it the +death-knell of the Union. Thomas Jefferson was still living, at the age +of seventy-seven. He saw what this sectional rift portended, and he +wrote to John Holmes, one of his correspondents, under date of April 22, +1820: + + This momentous question, like a fire-bell in the night, + awakened me and filled me with terror. I considered it at once + as the knell of the Union. It is hushed, indeed, for the + moment. But this is a reprieve only, not a final sentence. A + geographical line, coinciding with a marked principle, moral + and political, once conceived and held up to the angry passions + of men, will never be obliterated, and every new irritation + will mark it deeper and deeper. + +Nearly all of the emancipationists, during the decade following the +adoption of the Compromise, were in the slaveholding states, since the +evil had its seat there. The Colonization Society's headquarters were +in Washington City. Its president, Bushrod Washington, was a Virginian, +and James Madison, Henry Clay, and John Randolph, leading Southerners, +were its active supporters. The only newspaper devoted specially to the +cause (the _Genius of Universal Emancipation_), edited by Benjamin Lundy +and William Lloyd Garrison, was published in the city of Baltimore. This +paper was started in 1829, but it was short-lived. Mr. Garrison soon +perceived that colonization, depending upon voluntary emancipation +alone, would never bring slavery to an end, since emancipation was +doubtful and sporadic, while the natural increase of slaves was certain +and vastly greater than their possible deportation. For this reason he +began to advocate emancipation without regard to colonization. This +policy was so unpopular in Maryland and Virginia that his subscription +list fell nearly to zero, and this compelled the discontinuance of the +paper and his removal to another sphere of activity. He returned to his +native state, Massachusetts, and there started another newspaper, +entitled the _Liberator_, in 1831. The first anti-slavery crusade in the +North thus had its beginning. It did not take the form of a political +party. It was an agitation, an awakening of the public conscience. Its +tocsin was immediate emancipation, as opposed to emancipation +conditioned upon deportation. + +The slaveholders were alarmed by this new movement at the North. They +thought that it aimed to incite slave insurrection. The governor of +South Carolina made it the subject of a special message. The legislature +of Georgia passed and the governor signed resolutions offering a reward +of $5000 to anybody who would bring Mr. Garrison to that state to be +tried for sedition. The mayor of Boston was urged by prominent men in +the South to suppress the _Liberator_, although the paper was then so +obscure at home that the mayor had never seen a copy of it, or even +heard of its existence. The fact that there was any organized expression +of anti-slavery thought anywhere was first made generally known at the +North by the extreme irritation of the South; and when the temper of the +latter became known, the vast majority of Northern people sided with +their Southern brethren. They were opposed to anything which seemed +likely to lead to slave insurrection or to a disruption of the Union. +The abolitionist agitation seemed to be a provocation to both. Hence +arose anger and mob violence against the abolitionists everywhere. This +feeling took the shape of a common understanding not to countenance any +discussion of the slavery question in any manner or anywhere. The +execution of this tacit agreement fell for the most part into the hands +of the disorderly element of society, but disapproval of the Garrisonian +crusade was expressed by men of the highest character in the New England +States, such as William Ellery Channing and Dr. Francis Wayland. The +latter declined to receive the _Liberator_, when it was sent to him +gratuitously. + + * * * * * + +What was going on in the South during the thirties and forties of the +last century? There were varying shades of opinion and mixed motives and +fluctuating political currents. In the first place cotton-growing had +been made profitable by the invention of the cotton-gin. This machine +for separating the seeds from the fibre of the cotton plant caused an +industrial revolution in the world, and its moral consequences were no +less sweeping. It changed the slaveholder's point of view of the whole +slavery question. The previously prevailing idea that slavery was +morally wrong, and an evil to both master and slave, gradually gave way +to the belief that it was beneficial to both, that it was an agency of +civilization and a means of bringing the blessings of Christianity to +the benighted African. This change of sentiment in the South, which +became very marked in the early thirties, has been ascribed to the bad +language of the abolitionists of the North. People said that the prime +cause of the trouble was that Garrison and his followers did not speak +easy. They were too vociferous. They used language calculated to make +Southerners angry and to stir up slave insurrection. But how could +anybody draw the line between different tones of voice and different +forms of expression? Thomas Jefferson was not a speak-easy. He said that +one hour of slavery was fraught with more misery than ages of that which +led us to take up arms against Great Britain. If Garrison ever said +anything more calculated to incite slaves to insurrection than that, I +cannot recall it. On the other hand, Elijah Lovejoy, at Alton, Illinois, +was a speak-easy. He did not use any violent language, but he was put to +death by a mob for making preparations to publish a newspaper in which +slavery should be discussed in a reasonable manner, if there was such a +manner. + +Nevertheless, the Garrisonian movement was erroneously interpreted at +the South as an attempt to incite slave insurrection with the attendant +horrors of rapine and bloodshed. There were no John Browns then, and +Garrison himself was a non-resistant, but since insurrection was a +possible consequence of agitation, the Southern people demanded that the +agitation should be put down by force. As that could not be done in any +lawful way, and since unlawful means were ineffective, they considered +themselves under a constant threat of social upheaval and destruction. +The repeated declaration of Northern statesmen that there never would +be any outside interference with slavery in the states where it existed, +did not have any quieting effect upon them. The fight over the Missouri +Compromise had convinced them that the North would prevent, if possible, +the extension of slavery to the new territories, and that this meant +confining the institution to a given space, where it would be eventually +smothered. It might last a long time in its then boundaries, but it +would finally reach a limit where its existence would depend upon the +forbearance of its enemies. Then the question which perplexed Thomas +Jefferson would come up afresh: "What shall be done with the blacks?" +Mr. Garrott Brown, of Alabama, a present-day writer of ability and +candor, thinks that the underlying question in the minds of the Southern +people in the forties and fifties of the last century was not chiefly +slavery, but the presence of Africans in large numbers, whether bond or +free. This included the slavery question as a dollar-and-cent +proposition and something more. Mrs. Fanny Kemble Butler, who lived on a +Georgia plantation in the thirties, said that the chief obstacle to +emancipation was the fact that every able-bodied negro could be sold for +a thousand dollars in the Charleston market. Both fear and cupidity were +actively at work in the Southern mind. + +In short, there was already an irrepressible conflict in our land, +although nobody had yet used those words. There was a fixed opinion in +the North that slavery was an evil which ought not to be extended and +enlarged; that the same reasons existed for curtailing it as for +stopping the African slave trade. There was a growing opinion in the +South that such extension was a vital necessity and that the South in +contending for it was contending for existence. The prevailing thought +in that quarter was that the Southern people were on the defensive, +that they were resisting aggression. In this feeling they were sincere +and they gave expression to it in very hot temper. + +General W. T. Sherman, who was at the head of an institution of learning +for boys in Louisiana in 1859, felt that he was treading on underground +fires. In December of that year he wrote to Thomas Ewing, Jr.: + + Negroes in the great numbers that exist here must of necessity + be slaves. Theoretical notions of humanity and religion cannot + shake the commercial fact that their labor is of great value + and cannot be dispensed with. Still, of course, I wish it never + had existed, for it does make mischief. No power on earth can + restrain opinion elsewhere and these opinions expressed beget a + vindictive feeling. The mere dread of revolt, sedition, or + external interference makes men, ordinarily calm, almost mad. + I, of course, do not debate the question, and moderate as my + views are, I feel that I am suspected, and if I do not actually + join in the praises of slavery I may be denounced as an + abolitionist.[6] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Mr. H. C. Lodge, in his _Life of Daniel Webster_, says, touching the +debate with Hayne in 1830: + +"When the Constitution was adopted by the votes of states at +Philadelphia, and accepted by the votes of states in popular +conventions, it is safe to say that there was not a man in the country, +from Washington and Hamilton, on the one side, to George Clinton and +George Mason, on the other, who regarded the new system as anything but +an experiment entered upon by the states, and from which each and every +state had the right to peaceably withdraw, a right which was very likely +to be exercised." + +Mr. Gaillard Hunt, author of the _Life of James Madison_, and editor of +his writings, has published recently a confidential memorandum dated May +11, 1794, written by John Taylor of Caroline for Mr. Madison's +information, giving an account of a long and solemn interview between +himself and Rufus King and Oliver Ellsworth, in which the two latter +affirmed that, by reason of differences of opinion between the East and +the South, as to the scope and functions of government, the Union could +not last long. Therefore they considered it best to have a dissolution +at once, by mutual consent, rather than by a less desirable mode. +Taylor, on the other hand, thought that the Union should be supported if +possible, but if not possible he agreed that an amicable separation was +preferable. Madison wrote at the bottom of this paper the words: "The +language of K and E probably _in terrorem_," and laid it away so +carefully that it never saw the light until the year 1905. + +[2] _Letters of Daniel Webster_, edited by C. W. Van Tyne, p. 67. Mr. +Van Tyne says that Webster "here advocated a doctrine hardly +distinguishable from nullification." + +[3] Referring to this speech of Calhoun and to Webster's reply, Mr. +Lodge says: + +"Whatever the people of the United States understood the Constitution to +mean in 1789, there can be no question that a majority in 1833 regarded +it as a fundamental law and not a compact,--an opinion which has now +become universal. But it was quite another thing to argue that what the +Constitution had come to mean was what it meant when it was adopted." + +See also Pendleton's _Life of Alexander H. Stephens_, chap. XI. + +[4] G. H. Moore's _History of Slavery in Massachusetts_, p. 215. + +[5] Jefferson was cut to the heart by this failure. Commenting on an +article entitled "Etats Unis" in the _Encylopedie_, written by M. de +Meusnier, referring to his proposed anti-slavery ordinance, he said: + +"The voice of a single individual of the State which was divided, or one +of those which were of the negative, would have prevented this +abominable crime from spreading itself over the new country. Thus we see +the fate of millions unborn hanging on the tongue of one man, and Heaven +was silent in that awful moment." + +[6] _General W. T. Sherman as College President_, p. 88. + + + + +THE LIFE OF LYMAN TRUMBULL + + + + +CHAPTER I + +ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE + + +The subject of this memoir was born in Colchester, Connecticut, October +12, 1813. The Trumbull family was the most illustrious in the state, +embracing three governors and other distinguished men. All were +descendants of John Trumbull (or rather "Trumble"[7]), a cooper by +trade, and his wife, Ellenor Chandler, of Newcastle, England, who +migrated to Massachusetts in 1639, and settled first in Roxbury and +removed to Rowley in the following year. Two sons were born to them in +Newcastle-on-Tyne: Beriah, 1637 (died in infancy), and John, 1639. + +The latter at the age of thirty-one removed to Suffield, Connecticut. He +married and had four sons: John, Joseph, Ammi, and Benoni. + +Captain Benoni Trumbull, married to Sarah Drake and settled in Lebanon, +Connecticut, had a son, Benjamin, born May 11, 1712. + +This Benjamin, married to Mary Brown of Hebron, Connecticut, had a son, +Benjamin, born December 19, 1735. + +This son was graduated at Yale College in 1759, and studied for the +ministry; he was ordained in 1760 at North Haven, Connecticut, where he +officiated nearly sixty years, his preaching being interrupted only by +the Revolutionary War, in which he served both as soldier and as +chaplain. He was the author of the standard colonial history of +Connecticut. He was married to Miss Martha Phelps in 1760. They had two +sons and five daughters. + +The elder son, Benjamin, born in North Haven, September 24, 1769, became +a lawyer and married Elizabeth Mather, of Saybrook, Connecticut, March +15, 1800, and settled in Colchester, Connecticut. The wife was a +descendant of Rev. Richard Mather, who migrated from Liverpool, England, +to Massachusetts in 1635, and was the father of Increase Mather and +grandfather of Cotton Mather, both celebrated in the church history of +New England. Eleven children were born to these parents, of whom Lyman +was the seventh. This Benjamin Trumbull was a graduate of Yale College, +representative in the legislature, judge for the probate districts of +East Haddam and Colchester, and died in Henrietta, Jackson County, +Michigan, June 14, 1850, aged eighty-one. His wife died October 20, +1828, in her forty-seventh year. Lyman Trumbull was thus in the seventh +generation of the Trumbulls in America.[8] + +Five brothers and two sisters of Lyman reached maturity. A family of +this size could not be supported by the fees earned by a country lawyer +in the early part of the nineteenth century. The only other resource +available was agriculture. Thus the Trumbull children began life on a +farm and drew their nourishment from the soil cultivated by their own +labor. It is recorded that, although the father and the grandfather of +Lyman were graduates of Yale College, chill penury prevented him from +having similar advantages of education. His schooling was obtained at +Bacon Academy, in Colchester, which was of high grade, and second only +to Yale among the educational institutions of the state. Here the boy +Lyman took the lessons in mathematics that were customary in the +academies of that period, and became conversant with Virgil and Cicero +in Latin and with Xenophon, Homer, and the New Testament in Greek. + +[Illustration: BIRTHPLACE OF LYMAN TRUMBULL, COLCHESTER, CONN.] + +The opportunities to put an end to one's existence are so common to +American youth that it is cause for wonder that so many of them reach +mature years. Young Trumbull was not lacking in such facilities. The +following incident is well authenticated, being narrated in part in his +own handwriting: + + When about thirteen years old he was playing ball one cold day + in the family yard. The well had a low curbing around it and + was covered by a round flat stone with a round hole in the top + of it. He ran towards the well for the ball, which he picked up + and threw quickly. As he did so his foot slipped on the ice and + he went head first down the well. His recollection of the + immediate details is vague, but he did not break his neck or + stun himself on the rocky sides, but appears to have gone down + like a diver, and somehow managed to turn in the narrow space + and come up head first. The well had an old-fashioned sweep + with a bucket on it, which his brothers promptly lowered and he + was hoisted out, drenched and cold, but apparently not + otherwise injured. + +He attended school and worked on the farm until he was eighteen years of +age when he earned some money by teaching the district school one year +at Portland, Connecticut. At the age of nineteen he taught school one +winter in New Jersey, returning to Colchester the following summer. He +had established a character for rectitude, industry, modesty, sobriety, +and good manners, so that when, in his twentieth year (1833), he decided +to go to the state of Georgia to seek employment as a school-teacher, +nearly all the people in the village assembled to wish him godspeed on +that long journey, which was made by schooner, sailing from the +Connecticut River to Charleston, South Carolina. The voyage was +tempestuous but safe, and he arrived at Charleston with one hundred +dollars in his pocket which his father had given him as a start in life. +This money he speedily returned out of his earnings because he thought +his father needed it more than himself. + +A memorandum made by himself records that "on the evening of the day +when he arrived at Charleston a nullification meeting was held in a +large warehouse. The building was crowded, so he climbed up on a beam +overhead and from that elevated position overlooked a Southern audience +and heard two of the most noted orators in the South, Governor Hayne, +and John C. Calhoun, then a United States Senator. He remembers little +of the impression they made upon a youth of twenty, except that he +thought Hayne an eloquent speaker." + +From Charleston he went by railroad (the first one he had ever seen and +one of the earliest put in operation in the United States) to a point on +the Savannah River opposite Augusta, Georgia, and thence by stage to +Milledgeville, which was then the capital of Georgia. From Milledgeville +he walked seventy-five miles to Pike County, where he had some hope of +finding employment. Being disappointed there he continued his journey +on foot to Greenville, Meriwether County, where he had more success even +than he had expected, for he obtained a position as principal of the +Greenville Academy at a salary of two hundred dollars per year in +addition to the fees paid by the pupils. This position he occupied for +three years. + +While at Greenville he employed his leisure hours reading law in the +office of Hiram Warner, judge of the superior court of Georgia, +afterwards judge of the supreme court of the state and member of +Congress. In this way he acquired the rudiments of the profession. As +soon as he had gained sufficient capital to make a start in life +elsewhere, he bought a horse, and, in March, 1837, took the trail +through the "Cherokee Tract" toward the Northwest. This trail was a +pathway formed by driving cattle and swine through the forest from +Kentucky and Tennessee to Georgia. Dr. Parks, of Greenville, accompanied +Trumbull during a portion of the journey. They traveled unarmed but +safely, although Trumbull carried a thousand dollars on his person, the +surplus earnings of his three years in Georgia. For a young man of +twenty-four years without a family this was affluence in those days. + +Through Kentucky, Trumbull continued his journey without any companion +and made his entrance into Illinois at Shawneetown, on the Ohio River, +where he presented letters of introduction from his friends in Georgia +and was cordially welcomed. After a brief stay at that place he +continued his journey to Belleville, St. Clair County, bearing letters +of introduction from his Shawneetown friends to Adam W. Snyder and +Alfred Cowles, prominent members of the bar at Belleville. Both received +him with kindness and encouraged him to make his home there. This he +decided to do, but he first made a visit to his parental home in +Colchester, going on horseback by way of Jackson, Michigan, near which +town three of his older brothers, David, Erastus, and John, had settled +as farmers. + +Returning to Belleville in August, 1837, he entered the law office of +Hon. John Reynolds, ex-governor of the state, who was then a +Representative in Congress and was familiarly known as the "Old Ranger." +Reynolds held, at one time and another, almost every office that the +people of Illinois could bestow, but his fame rests on historical +writings composed after he had withdrawn from public life.[9] + +For how long a time Trumbull's connection with Governor Reynolds +continued, our records do not say, but we know that he had an office of +his own in Belleville three years later, and that his younger brother +George had joined him as a student and subsequently became his partner. + +The practice of the legal profession in those days was accomplished by +"riding on the circuit," usually on horseback, from one county seat to +another, following the circuit judge, and trying such cases as could be +picked up by practitioners en route, or might be assigned to them by the +judge. Court week always brought together a crowd of litigants and +spectators, who came in from the surrounding country with their teams +and provisions, and often with their wives and children, and who lived +in their own covered wagons. The trial of causes was the principal +excitement of the year, and the opposing lawyers were "sized up" by +juries and audience with a pretty close approach to accuracy. After +adjournment for the day, the lawyers, judges, plaintiffs, defendants, +and leading citizens mingled together in the country tavern, talked +politics, made speeches or listened to them, cracked jokes and told +stories till bedtime, and took up the unfinished lawsuit, or a new one, +the next day. In short, court week was circus, theatre, concert, and +lyceum to the farming population, but still more was it a school of +politics, where they formed opinions on public affairs and on the mental +calibre of the principal actors therein. + +Two letters written by Trumbull in 1837 to his father in Colchester have +escaped the ravages of time. Neither envelopes nor stamps existed then. +Each letter consisted of four pages folded in such a manner that the +central part of the fourth page, which was left blank, received the +address on one side and a wafer or a daub of sealing wax on the other. +The rate of postage was twenty-five cents per letter, and the writers +generally sought to get their money's worth by taking a large sheet of +paper and filling all the available space. Prepayment of postage was +optional, but the privilege of paying in advance was seldom availed of, +the writers not incurring the risk of losing both letters and money. +Irregularity in the mails is noted by Trumbull, who mentions that a +letter from Colchester was fifteen days en route, while a newspaper made +the same distance in ten. + +In a letter dated October 9, 1837, he tells his father that he is +already engaged in a law case involving the ownership of a house. If he +finds that he can earn his living in the practice of law, he shall like +Belleville very much. In the same missive he tells his sister Julia that +balls and cotillions are frequent in Belleville, and that he had +attended one, but did not dance. It was the first time he had attended a +social gathering since he left home in 1833. He adds, "There are more +girls here than I was aware of. At the private party I attended, there +were about fifteen, all residing in town." The writer was then at the +susceptible age of twenty-four. + +The other letter gives an account of the Alton riot and the killing of +Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy. This is one of the few contemporary accounts we +have of that shocking event. Although he was not an eye-witness of the +riot, the facts as stated are substantially correct, and the comments +give us a view of the opinions of the writer at the age of twenty-four, +touching a subject in which he was destined to play an important part. +The letter is subjoined: + + BELLEVILLE, SUNDAY, Nov. 12, 1837. + + DEAR FATHER: Since my last to you there has been a mob to put + down Abolitionism, in Alton, thirty-five miles northwest of + this place, in which two persons were killed and six or seven + badly wounded. The immediate cause of the riot was the attempt + by a Mr. Lovejoy to establish at Alton a religious newspaper in + which the principles of slavery were sometimes discussed. Mr. + Lovejoy was a Presbyterian minister and formerly edited a + newspaper in St. Louis, but having published articles in his + paper in relation to slavery which were offensive to the people + of St. Louis, a mob collected, broke open his office, destroyed + his press and type and scattered it through the streets. + Immediately after this transaction, which was about a year + since, Mr. Lovejoy left St. Louis, and removed to Alton, where + he attempted to re-establish his press, but he had not been + there long before a mob assembled there also, broke into his + office and destroyed his press. In a short time Mr. Lovejoy + ordered another press which, soon after its arrival in Alton, + was taken from the warehouse (where it was deposited), by a + mob, and in like manner destroyed. Again he ordered still + another press, which arrived in Alton on the night of the 7th + inst., and was safely deposited in a large stone warehouse four + or five storeys high. + + Previous to the arrival of this press, the citizens of Alton + held several public meetings and requested Mr. L. to desist + from attempting to establish his press there, but he refused to + do so. Heretofore no resistance had ever been offered to the + mob, but on the night of the 8th inst., as it was supposed that + another attempt might possibly be made to destroy the press, + Mr. L. and some 18 or 20 of his friends armed themselves and + remained in the warehouse, where Mr. Gilman, one of the owners + of the house, addressed the mob from a window, and urged them + to desist, told them that there were several armed men in the + house and that they were determined to defend their property. + The mob demanded the press, which not being given them, they + commenced throwing stones at the house and attempted to get + into it. Those from within then fired and killed a man of the + name of Bishop. The mob then procured arms, but were unable to + get into the house. At last they determined on firing it, to + which end, as it was stone, they had to get on the roof, which + they did by means of a ladder. The firing during all this time, + said to be about an hour, was continued on both sides. Mr. + Lovejoy having made his appearance near one of the doors was + instantly shot down, receiving four balls at the same moment. + Those within agreed to surrender if their lives would be + protected, and soon threw open the doors and fled. Several + shots were afterward fired, but no one was seriously injured. + The fire was then extinguished and the press taken and + destroyed. + + So ended this awful catastrophe which, as you may well suppose, + has created great excitement through this section of the + country. Mr. Lovejoy is said to have been a very worthy man, + and both friends and foes bear testimony to the excellence of + his private character. Here, the course of the mob is almost + universally reprobated, for whatever may have been the + sentiments of Mr. Lovejoy, they certainly did not justify the + mob taking his life. It is understood here that Mr. L. was + never in the habit of publishing articles of an insurrectionary + character, but he reasoned against slavery as being sinful, as + a moral and political evil. + + His death and the manner in which he was slain will make + thousands of Abolitionists, and far more than his writings + would have made had he published his paper an hundred years. + This transaction is looked on here, as not only a disgrace to + Alton, but to the whole State. As much as I am opposed to the + immediate emancipation of the slaves and to the doctrine of + Abolitionism, yet I am more opposed to mob violence and + outrage, and had I been in Alton, I would have cheerfully + marched to the rescue of Mr. Lovejoy and his property. + + Yours very affectionately, + + LYMAN TRUMBULL. + +After three years of riding on the circuit, Trumbull was elected, in +1840, a member of the lower house of the state legislature from St. +Clair County. In politics he was a Democrat as was his father before +him. This was the twelfth general assembly of the state. Among his +fellow members were Abraham Lincoln, E. D. Baker, William A. Richardson, +John J. Hardin, John. A. McClernand, William H. Bissell, Thomas +Drummond, and Joseph Gillespie, all of whom were destined to higher +positions. + +Trumbull was now twenty-seven years of age. He soon attracted notice as +a debater. His style of speaking was devoid of ornament, but logical, +clear-cut, and dignified, and it bore the stamp of sincerity. He had a +well-furnished mind, and was never at loss for words. Nor was he ever +intimidated by the number or the prestige of his opponents. He possessed +calm intellectual courage, and he never declined a challenge to debate; +but his manner toward his opponents was always that of a high-bred +gentleman. + +On the 27th of February, 1841, Stephen A. Douglas, who was Trumbull's +senior by six months, resigned the office of secretary of state of +Illinois to take a seat on the supreme bench, and Trumbull was +appointed to the vacancy. There had been a great commotion in state +politics over this office before Trumbull was appointed to it. Under the +constitution of the state, the governor had the right to appoint the +secretary, but nothing was said in that instrument about the power of +removal. Alexander P. Field had been appointed secretary by Governor +Edwards in 1828, and had remained in office under Governors Reynolds and +Duncan. Originally a strong Jackson man, he was now a Whig. When +Governor Carlin (Democrat) was elected in 1838 he decided to make a new +appointment, but Field refused to resign and denied the governor's right +to remove him. The State Senate sided with Field by refusing to confirm +the new appointee, John A. McClernand. After the adjournment of the +legislature, the governor reappointed McClernand, who sued out a writ of +_quo warranto_ to oust Field. The supreme court, consisting of four +members, three of whom were Whigs, decided in favor of Field. The +Democrats then determined to reform the judiciary. They passed a bill in +the legislature adding five new judges to the supreme bench. "It was," +says historian Ford, "confessedly a violent and somewhat revolutionary +measure and could never have succeeded except in times of great party +excitement." In the mean time Field had retired and the governor had +appointed Douglas secretary of state, and Douglas was himself appointed +one of the five new members of the supreme court. Accordingly he +resigned, after holding the office only two months, and Trumbull was +appointed to the vacancy without his own solicitation or desire. + +Two letters written by Trumbull in 1842 acquaint us with the fact that +his brother Benjamin had removed with his family from Colchester to +Springfield and was performing routine duties in the office of the +secretary of state, while Trumbull occupied his own time for the most +part in the practice of law before the supreme court. He adds: "I make +use of one of the committee rooms in the State House as a sleeping-room, +so you see I almost live in the State House, and am the only person who +sleeps in it. The court meets here and all the business I do is within +the building." Not quite all, for in another letter (November 27, 1842) +he confides to his sister Julia that a certain young lady in Springfield +was as charming as ever, but that he had not offered her his hand in +marriage, and that even if he should do so, it was not certain that she +would accept it. + +Trumbull had held the office of secretary of state two years when his +resignation was requested by Governor Carlin's successor in office, +Thomas Ford, author of a _History of Illinois from 1814 to 1847_. In his +book Ford tells his reasons for asking Trumbull's resignation. They had +formed different opinions respecting an important question of public +policy, and Trumbull, although holding a subordinate office, had made a +public speech in opposition to the governor's views.[10] Of course he +did this on his own responsibility as a citizen and a member of the same +party as the governor. He acknowledged the governor's right to remove +him, and he made no complaint against the exercise of it. + +The question of public policy at issue between Ford and Trumbull related +to the State Bank, which had failed in February, 1842, and whose +circulating notes, amounting to nearly $3,000,000, had fallen to a +discount of fifty cents on the dollar. Acts legalizing the bank's +suspension had been passed from time to time and things had gone from +bad to worse. At this juncture a new bill legalizing the suspension for +six months longer was prepared by the governor and at his instance was +reported favorably by the finance committee of the House. Trumbull +opposed this measure, and made a public speech against it. He maintained +that it was disgraceful and futile to prolong the life of this bankrupt +concern. He demanded that the bank be put in liquidation without further +delay. + +When Trumbull's resignation as secretary became known, the Democratic +party at the state capital was rent in twain. Thirty-two of its most +prominent members, including Virgil Hickox, Samuel H. Treat, Ebenezer +Peck, Mason Brayman, and Robert Allen, took this occasion to tender him +a public dinner in a letter expressing their deep regret at his removal +and their desire to show the respect in which they held him for his +conduct of the office, and for his social and gentlemanly qualities. A +copy of this invitation was sent to the _State Register_, the party +organ, for publication. The publishers refused to insert it, on the +ground that it "would lead to a controversy out of which no good could +possibly arise, and probably much evil to _the cause_." Thereupon the +signers of the invitation started a new paper under the watchword "Fiat +Justitia, Ruat Coelum," entitled the _Independent Democrat_, of which +Number 1, Volume 1, was a broadside containing the correspondence +between Trumbull and the intending diners, together with sarcastic +reflections on the time-serving publishers of the _State Register_. +Trumbull's reply to the invitation, however, expressed his sincere +regret that he had made arrangements, which could not be changed, to +depart from Springfield before the time fixed for the dinner. He +returned to Belleville and resumed the practice of his profession. + +Charles Dickens was then making his first visit to the United States, +and he happened to pass through Belleville while making an excursion +from St. Louis to Looking Glass Prairie. His party had arranged +beforehand for a noonday meal at Belleville, of which place, as it +presented itself to the eye of a stranger in 1842, he gives the +following glimpse: + + Belleville was a small collection of wooden houses huddled + together in the very heart of the bush and swamp. Many of them + had singularly bright doors of red and yellow, for the place + had lately been visited by a traveling painter "who got along," + as I was told, "by eating his way." The criminal court was + sitting and was at that moment trying some criminals for + horse-stealing, with whom it would most likely go hard; for + live stock of all kinds, being necessarily much exposed in the + woods, is held by the community in rather higher value than + human life; and for this reason juries generally make a point + of finding all men indicted for cattle-stealing, guilty, + whether or no. The horses belonging to the bar, the judge and + witnesses, were tied to temporary racks set roughly in the + road, by which is to be understood a forest path nearly + knee-deep in mud and slime. + + There was an hotel in this place which, like all hotels in + America, had its large dining-room for a public table. It was + an odd, shambling, low-roofed outhouse, half cow-shed and half + kitchen, with a coarse brown canvas tablecloth, and tin + sconces stuck against the walls, to hold candles at + supper-time. The horseman had gone forward to have coffee and + some eatables prepared and they were by this time nearly ready. + He had ordered "wheat bread and chicken fixings" in preference + to "corn bread and common doings." The latter kind of refection + includes only pork and bacon. The former comprehends broiled + ham, sausages, veal cutlets, steaks, and such other viands of + that nature as may be supposed by a tolerably wide poetical + construction "to fix" a chicken comfortably in the digestive + organs of any lady or gentleman.[11] + +A few months later, Trumbull made another journey to Springfield to be +joined in marriage to Miss Julia M. Jayne, a daughter of Dr. Gershom +Jayne, a physician of that city--a young lady who had received her +education at Monticello Seminary, with whom he passed twenty-five years +of unalloyed happiness. The marriage took place on the 21st of June, +1843, and Norman B. Judd served as groomsman. Miss Jayne had served in +the capacity of bridesmaid to Mary Todd at her marriage to Abraham +Lincoln on the 4th of November preceding. There was a wedding journey to +Trumbull's old home in Connecticut, by steamboat from St. Louis to +Wheeling, Virginia, by stage over the mountains to Cumberland, Maryland, +and thence by rail via Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. After +visiting his own family, a journey was made to Mrs. Trumbull's relatives +at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, including her great-grandfather, a marvel +of industry and longevity, ninety-two years of age, a cooper by trade, +who was still making barrels with his own hands. This fact is mentioned +in a letter from Trumbull to his father, dated Barry, Michigan, August +20, 1843, at which place he had stopped on his homeward journey to visit +his brothers. One page of this letter is given up to glowing accounts +of the infant children of these brothers. And here it is fitting to say +that all these faded and time-stained epistles to his father and his +brothers and sisters, from first to last, are marked by tender +consideration and unvarying love and generosity. Not a shadow passed +between them. + +The return journey from Michigan to Belleville was made by stage-coach. +October 12, 1843, Mrs. Trumbull writes to her husband's sisters in +Colchester that she has arrived in her new home. "We are boarding in a +private family," she says, "have two rooms which Mrs. Blackwell, the +landlady, has furnished neatly, and for my part, I am anticipating a +very delightful winter. Lyman is now at court, which keeps him very much +engaged, and I am left to enjoy myself as best I may until G. comes +around this afternoon to play chess with me." + +May 4, 1844, the first child was born to Lyman and Julia Trumbull, a +son, who took the name of his father, but died in infancy. July 2, 1844, +Trumbull writes to his father that the most disastrous flood ever known, +since the settlement of the country by the whites, has devastated the +bottom lands of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers. He also +gives an account of the killing of Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, who +was murdered by a mob in the jail at Carthage, Hancock County, after he +had surrendered himself to the civil authorities on promise of a fair +trial and protection against violence; and says that he has rented a +house which he shall occupy soon, and invites his sister Julia to come +to Belleville and make her home in his family. + +In 1845, Benjamin Trumbull, Sr., sold his place in Colchester and +removed with his two daughters to Henrietta, Michigan, where three of +his sons were already settled as farmers. It appears from letters that +passed between the families that none of the brothers in Michigan kept +horses, the farm work being done by oxen exclusively. The nearest church +was in the town of Jackson, but the sisters were not able to attend the +services for want of a conveyance. They were prevented by the same +difficulty from forming acquaintances in their new habitat. In a letter +to his father, dated October 26, Trumbull delicately alludes to the +defect in the housekeeping arrangements in Michigan, and says that +anything needed to make his father and sisters comfortable and +contented, that he can supply, will never be withheld. His brother +George writes a few days later offering a contribution of fifty dollars +to buy a horse, saying that good ones can be bought in Illinois at that +price. George adds: "Our papers say considerable about running Lyman for +governor. No time is fixed for the convention yet, and I don't think he +has made up his mind whether to be a candidate or not." + +The greatest drawback of the Trumbull family at this time, and, indeed, +of all the inhabitants roundabout, was sickness. Almost every letter +opened tells either of a recovery from a fever, or of sufferings during +a recent one, or apprehensions of a new one and from these harassing +visitations no one was exempt. In a letter of October 26 we read: + + We have all been sick this fall and this whole region of + country has been more sickly than ever before known. George and + myself both had attacks of bilious fever early in September + which lasted about ten days. Since then Julia has had two + attacks, the last of which was quite severe and confined her to + the room nearly two weeks. I also have had a severe attack + about three weeks since, but it was slight. When I was sick we + sent over to St. Louis for Dr. Tiffany, and by some means the + news of our sending there, accompanied by a report that I was + much worse than was really the case, reached Springfield, and + Dr. and Mrs. Jayne came down post haste in about a day and a + half. When they got here, I was downstairs. They only staid + overnight and started back the next morning. They had heard + that I was not expected to live. + +In February, 1846, when Trumbull was in his thirty-third year, his +friends presented his name to the Democratic State Convention for the +office of governor of the state. A letter to his father gives the +details of the balloting in the convention. Six candidates were voted +for. On the first ballot he received 56 votes; the next highest +candidate, Augustus C. French, had 47; and the third, John Calhoun, had +44. The historian, John Moses, says that "the choice, in accordance with +a line of precedents which seemed almost to indicate a settled policy, +fell upon him who had achieved least prominence as a party leader, and +whose record had been least conspicuous--Augustus C. French." + +A letter from Trumbull to his father says that his defeat was due to the +influence of Governor Ford, whose first choice was Calhoun, but who +turned his following over to French in order to defeat Trumbull. French +was elected, and made a respectable governor. Calhoun subsequently went, +in an official capacity, to Kansas, where he became noted as the chief +ballot-box stuffer of the pro-slavery party in the exciting events of +1856-58. + +A letter from Mrs. Trumbull to her father-in-law, May 4, 1846, mentions +the birth of a second son (Walter), then two and a half months old. It +informs him also that her husband has been nominated for Congress by the +Democrats of the First District, the vote in the convention being, Lyman +Trumbull, 24; John Dougherty, 5; Robert Smith, 8. The political issues +in this campaign are obscure, but the result of the election was again +adverse. The supporters of Robert Smith nominated him as a bolting +candidate; the Whigs made no nomination, but supported Smith, who was +elected. + +A letter written by Mrs. Trumbull at Springfield, December 16, 1846, +mentions the first election of Stephen A. Douglas as United States +Senator. "A party is to be given in his name," she says, "at the State +House on Friday evening under the direction of Messrs. Webster and +Hickox. The tickets come in beautiful envelopes, and I understand that +Douglas has authorized the gentlemen to expend $50 in music, and +directed the most splendid entertainment that was ever prepared in +Springfield." + +A letter to Benjamin Trumbull, Sr., from his son of the same name, who +was cultivating a small farm near Springfield, gives another glimpse of +the family health record, saying that "both Lyman and George have had +chills and fever two or three days this spring"; also, that "Lyman's +child was feeble in consequence of the same malady; and that he +[Benjamin] has been sick so much of the time that he could not do his +Spring planting without hired help, for which Lyman had generously +contributed $20, and offered more." + +May 13, 1847, Trumbull writes to his father that he intends to go with +his family and make the latter a visit for the purpose of seeing the +members of the family in Michigan; also in the hope of escaping the +periodical sickness which has afflicted himself and wife and little boy, +and almost every one in Belleville, during several seasons past. As this +periodical sickness was chills and fever, we may assume that it was due +to the prevalence of mosquitoes, of the variety _anopheles_. Half a +century was still to pass ere medical science made this discovery, and +delivered civilized society from the scourge called "malaria." + +The journey to Michigan was made. An account (dated Springfield, August +1, 1847) of the return journey is interesting by way of contrast with +the facilities for traveling existing at the present time. + + We left Cassopolis Monday about ten o'clock and came the first + 48 miles, which brought us to within five miles of La Porte. + The second night we passed at Battstown 45 miles on the road + from La Porte towards Joliet. The third night we passed at + Joliet, distance 40 miles. The fourth night we passed at + Pontiac, having traveled 60 miles to get to a stopping place, + and finding but a poor one at that. The fifth night we were at + Bloomington, distance 40 miles. The sixth day we traveled 43 + miles and to within 18 miles of this place; the route we came + from Cassopolis to Springfield is 294 miles, and from Brother + David's about 386 miles. Our expenses for tavern bills from + David's to this place were $17.75. Pretty cheap, I think. + +Among other items of interest it may be noted that the rate of postage +had been reduced to ten cents per letter, but stamps had not yet come +into use. The earnings of the Trumbull law firm (Lyman and George) for +the year 1847 were $2300. + +In 1847, a new constitution was adopted by the state of Illinois which +reduced the number of judges of the supreme court from nine to three. +The state was divided into three grand divisions, or districts, each to +select one member of the court. After the first election one of the +judges was to serve three years, one six years, and one nine years, at a +compensation of $1200 per year each. These terms were to be decided by +lot, and thereafter the term of each judge should be nine years. +Trumbull was elected judge for the first or southern division in 1848. +His colleagues, chosen at the same time, were Samuel H. Treat and John +D. Caton. He drew the three years' term. + +In the year 1849, Trumbull bought a brick house and three acres of +ground, with an orchard of fruit-bearing trees, in the town of Alton, +Madison County, and removed thither with his family. In announcing this +fact to his father the only reason he assigns for his change of +residence is that the inhabitants of Alton are mostly from the Eastern +States. Its population at that time was about 3000; that of Upper Alton, +three miles distant, was 1000. The cost of house and ground, with some +additions and improvements, was $2500, all of which was paid in cash out +of his savings. Incidentally he remarks that he has never borrowed +money, never been in debt, never signed a promissory note, and that he +hopes to pass through life without incurring pecuniary liabilities.[12] + +From the tone of the letter in which his change of residence is +announced, the inference is drawn that Trumbull had abandoned his law +practice at Belleville with the expectation of remaining on the bench +for an indefinite period. He accepted a reelection as judge in 1852 for +a term of nine years, yet he resigned a year and a half later because +the salary was insufficient to support his family. Walter B. Scates was +chosen as his successor on the supreme bench. Nearly forty-five years +later, Chief Justice Magruder, of the Illinois supreme court, answering +John M. Palmer's address presenting the memorial of the Chicago Bar +Association on the life and services of Trumbull, recently deceased, +said that no lawyer could read the opinions handed down by the dead +statesman when on the bench, "without being satisfied that the writer +of them was an able, industrious, and fair-minded judge. All his +judicial utterances ... are characterized by clearness of expression, +accuracy of statement, and strength of reasoning. They breathe a spirit +of reverence for the standard authorities and abound in copious +reference to those authorities.... The decisions of the court, when he +spoke as its organ, are to-day regarded as among the most reliable of +its established precedents." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[7] Stuart's _Life of Jonathan Trumbull_ says that the family name was +spelled "Trumble" until 1766, when the second syllable was changed to +"bull." + +[8] Joseph, the second son of the John above mentioned, who had settled +in Suffield, Connecticut, in 1670, removed to Lebanon. He was the father +of Jonathan Trumbull (1710-1785), who was governor of Connecticut during +the Revolutionary War, and who was the original "Brother Jonathan," to +whom General Washington gave that endearing title, which afterwards came +to personify the United States as "John Bull" personifies England. +(Stuart's _Jonathan Trumbull_, p. 697.) His son Jonathan (1740-1809) was +a Representative in Congress, Speaker of the House, Senator of the +United States, and Governor of Connecticut. John Trumbull (1756-1843), +another son of "Brother Jonathan," was a distinguished painter of +historical scenes and of portraits. + +[9] Reynolds wrote a _Pioneer History of Illinois from 1637 to 1818_, +and also a larger volume entitled _My Own Times_. The latter is the more +important of the two. Although crabbed in style, it is an admirable +compendium of the social, political, and personal affairs of Illinois +from 1800 to 1850. Taking events at random, in short chapters, without +connection, circumlocution, or ornament, he says the first thing that +comes into his mind in the fewest possible words, makes mistakes of +syntax, but never goes back to correct anything, puts down small things +and great, tells about murders and lynchings, about footraces in which +he took part, and a hundred other things that are usually omitted in +histories, but which throw light on man in the social state, all +interspersed with sound and shrewd judgments on public men and events. + +[10] The following correspondence passed between them: + + SPRINGFIELD, March 4, 1843. + + LYMAN TRUMBULL, ESQ., + + DEAR SIR: It is my desire, in pursuance of the expressed wish of + the Democracy, to make a nomination of Secretary of State, and I + hope you will enable me to do so without embarrassing myself. I + am most respectfully, + + Your obedient servant, + + THOMAS FORD. + + SPRINGFIELD, March 4, 1843. + + TO HIS EXCELLENCY, THOMAS FORD: + + SIR,--In reply to your note of this date this moment handed me, + I have only to state that I recognize fully your right, at any + time, to make a nomination of Secretary of State. + + Yours respectfully, + + LYMAN TRUMBULL. + +[11] _American Notes_, chap. XIII. The reason why horses were more +precious than human life was that when the frontier farmer lost his +work-team, he faced starvation. Both murder and horse-stealing were then +capital offenses, the latter by the court of Judge Lynch. + +[12] Mr. Morris St. P. Thomas, a close friend of Trumbull in his latter +years, a member of his law office, and administrator of his estate, made +the following statement in an interview given at 107 Dearborn Street, +Chicago, June 13, 1910: "Judge Trumbull once told me that he had never +in his life given a promissory note. 'But you do not mean,' said I, +'that in every purchase of real estate you ever made you paid cash +down!' 'I do mean just that,' the Judge replied. 'I never in my life +gave a promissory note.'" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +SLAVERY IN ILLINOIS + + +When the territory comprising the state of Illinois passed under control +of the United States, negro slavery existed in the French villages +situated on the so-called American Bottom, a strip of fertile land +extending along the east bank of the Mississippi River from Cahokia on +the north to Kaskaskia on the south, embracing the present counties of +St. Clair, Monroe, and Randolph. The first European settlements had been +made here about 1718, by colonists coming up the great river from +Louisiana, under the auspices of John Law's Company of the Indies. + +The earlier occupation of the country by French explorers and Jesuit +priests from Canada had been in the nature of fur-trading and religious +propagandism, rather than permanent colonies, although marriages had +been solemnized in due form between French men and Indian women, and a +considerable number of half-breed children had been born. Five hundred +negro slaves from Santo Domingo were sent up the river in 1718, to work +any gold and silver mines that might be found in the Illinois country. +In fact, slavery of red men existed there to some extent, before the +Africans arrived, the slaves being captives taken in war. + +In 1784-85, Thomas Jefferson induced Rev. James Lemen, of Harper's +Ferry, Virginia, to migrate to Illinois in order to organize opposition +to slavery in the Northwest Territory and supplied him with money for +that purpose. Mr. Lemen came to Illinois in 1786 and settled in what is +now Monroe County. He was the founder of the first eight Baptist +churches in Illinois, all of which were pledged to oppose the doctrine +and practice of slavery. Governor William H. Harrison having forwarded +petitions to Congress to allow slavery in the Northwest Territory, +Jefferson wrote to Lemen to go, or send an agent, to Indiana, to get +petitions signed in opposition to Harrison. Lemen did so. A letter of +Lemen, dated Harper's Ferry, December 11, 1782, says that Jefferson then +had the purpose to dedicate the Northwest Territory to freedom.[13] + +In 1787, Congress passed an ordinance for the government of the +territory northwest of the river Ohio which had been ceded to the United +States by Virginia. The sixth article of this ordinance prohibited +slavery in said territory. Inasmuch as the rights of persons and +property had been guaranteed by treaties when this region had passed +from France to Great Britain and later to the United States, this +article was generally construed as meaning that no more slaves should be +introduced, and that all children born after the passage of the +ordinance should be free, but that slaves held there prior to 1787 +should continue in bondage. + +Immigration was mainly from the Southern States. Some of the immigrants +brought slaves with them, and the territorial legislature passed an act +in 1812 authorizing the relation of master and slave under other names. +It declared that it should be lawful for owners of negroes above fifteen +years of age to take them before the clerk of the court of common pleas, +and if a negro should agree to serve for a specified term of years, the +clerk should record him or her as an "indentured servant." If the negro +was under the age of fifteen, the owner might hold him without an +agreement till the age of thirty-five if male, or thirty-two if female. +Children born of negroes owing service by indenture should serve till +the age of thirty if male, and till twenty-eight if female. This was a +plain violation of the Ordinance of 1787 and was a glaring fraud in +other respects. The negroes generally did not understand what they were +agreeing to, and in cases where they did not agree the probable +alternative was a sale to somebody in an adjoining slave state, so that +they really had no choice. The state constitution, adopted in 1818, +prohibited slavery, but recognized the indenture system by providing +that male children born of indentured servants should be free at the age +of twenty-one and females at the age of eighteen. The upshot of the +matter was that there was just enough of the virus of slavery left to +keep the caldron bubbling there for two generations after 1787, although +the Congress of the Confederation supposed that they had then made an +end of it. + +This arrangement did not satisfy either the incoming slave-owners or +those already domiciled there. Persistent attempts were made while the +country was still under territorial government, to procure from Congress +a repeal of the sixth article of the Ordinance, but they were defeated +chiefly by the opposition of John Randolph, of Roanoke, Virginia. After +the state was admitted to the Union, the pro-slavery faction renewed +their efforts. They insisted that Illinois had all the rights of the +other states, and could lawfully introduce slavery by changing the +constitution. They proposed, therefore, to call a new convention for +this purpose. To do so would require a two-thirds vote of both branches +of the legislature, and a majority vote of the people at the next +regular election. A bill for this purpose was passed in the Senate by +the requisite majority, but it lacked one vote in the House. To obtain +this vote a member who had been elected and confirmed in his seat after +a contest, and had occupied it for ten weeks, was unseated, and the +contestant previously rejected was put in his place and gave the +necessary vote. Reynolds, who was himself a convention man, says that +"this outrage was a death-blow to the convention." He continues: + + The convention question gave rise to two years of the most + furious and boisterous excitement that ever was visited on + Illinois. Men, women, and children entered the arena of party + warfare and strife, and families and neighborhoods were so + divided and furious and bitter against one another that it + seemed a regular civil war might be the result. Many personal + combats were indulged in on the question, and the whole country + seemed to be, at times, ready and willing to resort to physical + force to decide the contest. All the means known to man to + convey ideas to one another were resorted to and practiced with + energy. The press teemed with publications on the subject. The + stump orators were invoked, and the pulpit thundered with + anathemas against the introduction of slavery. The religious + community coupled freedom and Christianity together, which was + one of the most powerful levers used in the contest. + +At this time all the frontier communities were anxious to gain additions +to their population. Immigration was eagerly sought. The arrivals were +mostly from the Southern States, the main channels of communication +being the converging rivers Ohio, Mississippi, Cumberland, and +Tennessee. Many of these brought slaves, and since there was no security +for such property in Illinois, they went onward to Missouri. One of the +strongest arguments used by the convention party was, that if slavery +were permitted, this tide of immigration would pour a stream of wealth +into Illinois. + +Most of the political leaders and office-holders were convention men, +but there were some notable exceptions, among whom were Edward Coles, +governor of the state, and Daniel P. Cook, Representative in Congress, +the former a native of Virginia, and the latter of Kentucky. Governor +Coles was one of the Virginia abolitionists of early days, who had +emancipated his own slaves and given them lands on which to earn their +living. The governor gave the entire salary of his term of office +($4000) for the expenses of the anti-convention contest, and his +unceasing personal efforts as a speaker and organizer. Mr. Cook was a +brilliant lawyer and orator, and the sole Representative of Illinois in +Congress, where he was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, and +where he cast the vote of Illinois for J. Q. Adams for President in +1824. Cook County, which contains the city of Chicago, takes its name +from him. He was indefatigable on the side of freedom in this campaign. +Another powerful reinforcement was found in the person of Rev. John M. +Peck, a Baptist preacher who went through the state like John the +Baptist crying in the wilderness. He made impassioned speeches, formed +anti-slavery societies, distributed tracts, raised money, held +prayer-meetings, addressed Sunday Schools, and organized the religious +sentiment of the state for freedom. He was ably seconded by Hooper +Warren, editor of the Edwardsville _Spectator_. The election took place +August 2, 1824, and the vote was 4972 for the convention, and 6640 +against it. In the counties of St. Clair and Randolph, which embraced +the bulk of the French population, the vote was almost equally +divided--765 for; 790 against. + +In 1850, both Henry Clay and Daniel Webster contended that Nature had +interposed a law stronger than any law of Congress against the +introduction of slavery into the territory north of Texas which we had +lately acquired from Mexico. From the foregoing facts, however, it is +clear that no law of Nature prevented Illinois from becoming a +slaveholding state, but only the fiercest kind of political fighting and +internal resistance. John Reynolds (and there was no better judge) said +in 1854: "I never had any doubt that slavery would now exist in Illinois +if it had not been prevented by the famous Ordinance" of 1787. The law +of human greed would have overcome every other law, including that of +Congress, but for the magnificent work of Edward Coles, Daniel P. Cook, +John Mason Peck, Hooper Warren, and their coadjutors in 1824. + +The snake was scotched, not killed, by this election. There were no more +attempts to legalize slavery by political agency, but persevering +efforts were made to perpetuate it by judicial decisions resting upon +old French law and the Territorial Indenture Act of 1812. Frequent law +suits were brought by negroes, who claimed the right of freedom on the +ground that their period of indenture had expired, or that they had +never signed an indenture, or that they had been born free, or that +their masters had brought them into Illinois after the state +constitution, which prohibited slavery, had been adopted. In this +litigation Trumbull was frequently engaged on the side of the colored +people. + +In 1842, a colored woman named Sarah Borders, with three children, who +was held under the indenture law by one Andrew Borders in Randolph +County, escaped and made her way north as far as Peoria County. She and +her children were there arrested and confined in a jail as fugitive +slaves. They were brought before a justice of the peace, who decided +that they were illegally detained and were entitled to their freedom. An +appeal was taken by Borders to the county court, which reversed the +action of the justice. The case eventually went to the supreme court, +where Lyman Trumbull and Gustave Koerner appeared for the negro woman in +December, 1843, and argued that slavery was unlawful in Illinois and had +been so ever since the enactment of the Ordinance of 1787. The court +decided against them.[14] + +Trumbull was not discouraged by the decision in this case. Shortly +afterward he appeared before the supreme court again in the case of +Jarrot _vs._ Jarrot, in which he won a victory which practically put an +end to slavery in the state. Joseph Jarrot, a negro, sued his mistress, +Julia Jarrot, for wages, alleging that he had been held in servitude +contrary to law. The plaintiff's grandmother had been the slave of a +Frenchman in the Illinois country before it passed under the +jurisdiction of the United States. His mother and himself had passed by +descent to Julia Jarrot, nobody objecting. Fifty-seven years had elapsed +since the passage of the Ordinance of 1787 and twenty-six since the +adoption of the state constitution, both of which had prohibited slavery +in Illinois. The previous decisions in the court of last resort had +generally sustained the claims of the owners of slaves held under the +French regime and their descendants, and also those held under the +so-called indenture system. Now, however, the court swept away the whole +basis of slavery in the state, of whatever kind or description, +declaring, as Trumbull had previously contended, that the Congress of +the Confederation had full power to pass the Ordinance of 1787, that no +person born since that date could be held as a slave in Illinois, and +that any slave brought into the state by his master, or with the +master's consent, since that date became at once free. It followed that +such persons could sue and recover wages for labor performed under +compulsion, as Joseph Jarrot did. + +This decision, which abolished slavery in Illinois _de facto_, was +received with great satisfaction by the substantial and sober-minded +citizens. Although the number of aggressive anti-slavery men in the +state was small and of out-and-out abolitionists still smaller, there +was a widespread belief that the lingering snaky presence of the +institution was a menace to the public peace and a blot upon the fair +fame of the state, and that it ought to be expunged once for all. The +growth of public opinion was undoubtedly potent in the minds of the +judges, but the untiring activity of the leading advocates in the cases +of Borders, Jarrot, etc., should not be overlooked. On this subject Mr. +Dwight Harris, in the book already cited, says: + + The period of greatest struggle and of greatest triumph for the + anti-slavery advocates was that from 1840 to 1845. The contest + during these five years was serious and stubbornly carried on. + It involved talent, ingenuity, determination, and perseverance + on both sides. The abolitionists are to be accredited with + stirring up considerable interest over the state in some of the + cases. Southern sympathizers and the holders of indentured + servants in the southern portion of the state were naturally + considerably concerned in the decisions of the supreme court. + Still there seems to have been no widespread interest or + universal agitation in the state over this contest in the + courts. It was carried on chiefly through the benevolence of a + comparatively small number of citizens who were actuated by a + firm belief in the evils of slavery; while the brunt of the + fray fell to a few able and devoted lawyers. + + Among these were G. T. M. Davis, of Alton, Nathaniel Niles, of + Belleville, Gustave Koerner, of Belleville, and Lyman Trumbull. + James H. Collins, a noted abolition lawyer of Chicago, should + also be highly praised for his work in the Lovejoy and Willard + cases, but to the other men the real victory is to be ascribed. + They were the most powerful friends of the negro, and lived + where their assistance could be readily secured. They told the + negroes repeatedly that they were free, urged them to leave + their masters, and fought their cases in the lower courts time + and time again, often without fees or remuneration. Chief among + them was Lyman Trumbull, whose name should be written large in + anti-slavery annals. + + He was a lawyer of rare intellectual endowments, and of great + ability. He had few equals before the bar in his day. In + politics he was an old-time Democrat, with no leanings toward + abolitionism, but possessing an honest desire to see justice + done the negro in Illinois. It was a thankless task, in those + days of prejudice and bitter partisan feelings, to assume the + role of defender of the indentured slaves. It was not often + unattended with great risk to one's person, as well as to one's + reputation and business. But Trumbull did not hesitate to + undertake the task, thankless, discouraging, unremunerative as + it was, and to his zeal, courage, and perseverance, as well as + to his ability, is to be ascribed the ultimate success of the + appeal to the supreme court. + + This disinterested and able effort, made in all sincerity of + purpose, and void of all appearance of self-elevation, rendered + him justly popular throughout the State, as well as in the + region of his home. The people of his district showed their + approval of his work and their confidence in his integrity by + electing him judge of the supreme court in 1848, and + Congressman from the Eighth District of Illinois by a handsome + majority in 1854, when it was well known that he was opposed to + the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[13] These facts are detailed in a paper contributed to the Illinois +State Historical Society in 1908 by Joseph B. Lemen, of O'Fallon, +Illinois. + +[14] _Negro Servitude in Illinois_, by N. Dwight Harris, p. 108. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +FIRST ELECTION AS SENATOR + + +The repeal of the Missouri Compromise was the cause of Trumbull's return +to an active participation in politics. The prime mover in that +disastrous adventure was Stephen A. Douglas, who had been Trumbull's +predecessor in the office of secretary of state and also one of his +predecessors on the supreme bench. He was now a Senator of the United +States, and a man of world-wide celebrity. Born at Brandon, Vermont, in +1813, he had lost his father before he was a year old. His mother +removed with him to Canandaigua, New York, where he attended an academy +and read law to some extent in the office of a local practitioner. At +the age of twenty, he set out for the West to seek his fortune, and he +found the beginnings of it at Winchester, Illinois, where he taught +school for a living and continued to study law, as Trumbull was doing at +the same time at Greenville, Georgia. He was admitted to the bar in +1834. In 1835, he was elected state's attorney. Two years later he was +elected a member of the legislature by the Democrats of Morgan County, +and resigned the office he then held in order to take the new one. In +1837, he was appointed by President Van Buren register of the land +office at Springfield. In the same year he was nominated for Congress in +the Springfield district before he had reached the legal age, but was +defeated by the Whig candidate, John T. Stuart, by 35 votes in a total +poll of 36,742.[15] In 1840, he was appointed secretary of state, and +in 1841, elected a judge of the supreme court under the circumstances +already mentioned. In 1843, he was elected to the lower house of +Congress and was reelected twice, but before taking his seat the third +time he was chosen by the legislature, in 1846, Senator of the United +States for the term beginning March 4, 1847, and was reelected in 1852. +In Congress he had taken an active part in the annexation of Texas, in +the war with Mexico, in the Oregon Boundary dispute, and in the Land +Grant for the Illinois Central Railway. In the Senate he held the +position of Chairman of the Committee on Territories. + +In the Democratic party he had forged to the front by virtue of boldness +in leadership, untiring industry, boundless ambition, and +self-confidence, and horse-power. He had a large head surmounted by an +abundant mane, which gave him the appearance of a lion prepared to roar +or to crush his prey, and not seldom the resemblance was confirmed when +he opened his mouth on the hustings or in the Senate Chamber. As stump +orator, senatorial debater, and party manager he never had a superior in +this country. Added to these gifts, he had a very attractive personality +and a wonderful gift for divining and anticipating the drift of public +opinion. The one thing lacking to make him a man "not for an age but for +all time," was a moral substratum. He was essentially an opportunist. +Although his private life was unstained, he had no conception of morals +in politics, and this defect was his undoing as a statesman. + +On the 4th of January, 1854, Douglas reported from the Senate Committee +on Territories a bill to organize the territory of Nebraska. It +provided that said territory, or any portion of it, when admitted as a +state or states, should be received into the Union with or without +slavery, as their constitution might prescribe at the time of their +admission. The Missouri Compromise Act of 1820, which applied to this +territory, was not repealed by this provision, and it must have been +plain to everybody that if slavery were excluded from the _territory_ it +would not be there when the people should come together to form a +_state_. + +Douglas did not at first propose to repeal the Missouri Compromise. He +intended to leave the question of slavery untouched. He did not want to +reopen the agitation, which had been mostly quieted by the Compromise of +1850; but it soon became evident that if he were willing to leave the +question in doubt, others were not. Dixon, of Kentucky, successor of +Henry Clay in the Senate and a Whig in politics, offered an amendment to +the bill proposing to repeal the Missouri Compromise outright. Douglas +was rather startled when this motion was made. He went to Dixon's seat +and begged him to withdraw his amendment, urging that it would reopen +the controversies settled by the Compromise of 1850 and delay, if not +prevent, the passage of any bill to organize the new territory. Dixon +was stubborn. He contended that the Southern people had a right to go +into the new territory equally with those of the North, and to take with +them anything that was recognized and protected as property in the +Southern States. Dixon's motion received immediate and warm support in +the South. + +Two or three days later, Douglas decided to embody Dixon's amendment in +his bill and take the consequences. His amended bill divided the +territory in two parts, Kansas and Nebraska. The apparent object of +this change was to give the Missourians a chance to make the +southernmost one a slave state; but this intention has been controverted +by Douglas's friends in recent years, who have brought forward a mass of +evidence to show that he had other sufficient reasons for thus dividing +the territory and hence that it must not be assumed that he intended +that one of them should be a slave state. The evidence consists of a +record of efforts put forth by citizens of western Iowa in 1853-54 to +secure a future state on the opposite side of the Missouri River +homogeneous with themselves, and to promote the building of a Pacific +railway from some point near Council Bluffs along the line of the Platte +River. These efforts were heartily seconded by Senators Dodge and Jones +and Representative Henn, of Iowa. They labored with Douglas and secured +his cooeperation. So Douglas himself said when he announced the change in +the bill dividing the territory into two parts. + +Most people at the present day, including myself, would be glad to +concur with this view, but we must interpret Douglas's acts not merely +by what he said in 1854, but also by what he said and did afterwards. In +1856 he made an unjustifiable assault upon the New England Emigrant Aid +Company, for sending settlers to Kansas, as they had a perfect right to +do under the terms of the bill; and he apologized for, if he did not +actually defend, the Missourian invaders who marched over the border in +military array, took possession of the ballot boxes, elected a +pro-slavery legislature, and then marched back boasting of their +victory. Troubles multiplied in Douglas's pathway rapidly after he +introduced his Nebraska Bill, and it is very likely that an equal +division of the territory between the North and South seemed to him the +safest way out of his difficulties. That was the customary way of +settling disputes of this kind. We need not assume, however, that he +intended to do more than give the Missourians a chance to make Kansas a +slave state if they could, for Douglas was not a pro-slavery man at +heart. + +Senator Thompson, of Kentucky, once alluded to the division of the +territory embraced in the original Nebraska Bill into two territories, +Kansas and Nebraska, showing that his understanding was that one should +be a free state and the other a slave state, if the South could make it +such. He said: + + When the bill was first introduced in 1854 it provided for the + organization of but one territory. Whence it came or how it + came scarcely anybody knows, but the senator from Illinois (Mr. + Douglas) has always had the credit of its paternity. I believe + he acted patriotically for what he thought best and right. In a + short time, however, we found a provision for a division--for + two territories--Nebraska, the larger one, to be a free state, + and as to Kansas, the smaller one, repealing the Missouri + Compromise, we of the South taking our chance for it. That was + certainly a beneficial arrangement to the North and the bill + was passed in that way.[16] + +What were Douglas's reasons for repealing the Missouri Compromise? It +was generally assumed that he did it in order to gain the support of the +South in the next national convention of the Democratic party. In the +absence of any other sufficient motive, this will probably be the +verdict of posterity, although he always repelled that charge with heat +and indignation. A more important question is whether there would have +been any attempt to repeal it if Douglas had not led the way. This may +be safely answered in the negative. The Southern Senators did not show +any haste to follow Douglas at first. They generally spoke of the +measure as a free-will offering of the North, both Douglas and Pierce +being Northern men, and both being indispensable to secure its passage. +Francis P. Blair, of Missouri, a competent witness, expressed the +opinion that a majority of the Southern senators were opposed to the +measure at first and were coerced into it by the fear that they would +not be sustained at home if they refused an advantage offered to them by +the North.[17] + +The Nebraska Bill passed the Senate by a majority of 22, and the House +by a majority of 13. The Democratic party of the North was cleft in +twain, as was shown by the division of their votes in the House: 44 to +43. The bill would have been defeated had not the administration plied +the party lash unmercifully, using the official patronage to coerce +unwilling members. In this way did President Pierce redeem his pledge to +prevent any revival of the slavery agitation during his term of office. + +When the bill actually passed there was an explosion in every Northern +State. The old parties were rent asunder and a new one began to +crystallize around the nucleus which had supported Birney, Van Buren, +and Hale in the elections of 1844, 1848, and 1852. Both Abraham Lincoln +and Lyman Trumbull were stirred to new activities. Both took the stump +in opposition to the Nebraska Bill. + +Trumbull was now forty-one years of age. He had gained the confidence of +the people among whom he lived to such a degree that his reelection to +the supreme bench in 1852 had been unanimous. He now joined with Gustave +Koerner and other Democrats in organizing the Eighth Congressional +District in opposition to Douglas and his Nebraska Bill. Although this +district had been originally a slaveholding region, it contained a large +infusion of German immigration, which had poured into it in the years +following the European uprising of 1848. Of the thirty thousand Germans +in Illinois in 1850, Reynolds estimated that fully eighteen thousand had +settled in St. Clair County. These immigrants had at first attached +themselves to the Democratic party, because its name signified +government by the people. When, however, it became apparent to them that +the Democratic party was the ally of slavery, they went over to the +opposition in shoals, under the lead of Koerner and Hecker. Koerner was +at that time lieutenant-governor of the state, and his separation from +the party which had elected him made a profound impression on his fellow +countrymen. Hecker was a fervid orator and political leader, and later a +valiant soldier in the Union army. + +The Eighth Congressional District then embraced the counties of Bond, +Clinton, Jefferson, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, and +Washington. It was the strongest Democratic district in the state, but +political parties had been thrown into such disorder by the Nebraska +Bill that no regular nominations for Congress were made by either Whigs +or Democrats. Trumbull announced himself as an anti-Nebraska Democratic +candidate. He had just recovered from the most severe and protracted +illness of his life and was in an enfeebled condition in consequence, +but he made a speaking campaign throughout the district, and was elected +by 7917 votes against 5306 cast for Philip B. Fouke, who ran +independently as a Douglas Democrat. This victory defeated so many of +the followers of Douglas who were candidates for the legislature that it +became possible to elect a Senator of the United States in opposition to +the regular Democracy. + +If political honors were awarded according to the rules of _quantum +meruit_, Abraham Lincoln would have been chosen Senator as the successor +of James Shields at this juncture, since he had contributed more than +any other person to the anti-Nebraska victory in the state. He had been +out of public life since his retirement from the lower house of Congress +in 1848. Since then he had been a country lawyer with a not very +lucrative practice, but a very popular story-teller. He belonged to the +Whig party, and had followed Clay and Webster in supporting the +Compromise measures of 1850, including the new Fugitive Slave Law, for, +although a hater of slavery himself, he believed that the Constitution +required the rendition of slaves escaping into the free states. He was +startled by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. Without that +awakening, he would doubtless have remained in comparative obscurity. He +would have continued riding the circuit in central Illinois, making a +scanty living as a lawyer, entertaining tavern loungers with funny +stories, and would have passed away unhonored and unsung. He was now +aroused to new activity, and when Douglas came to Springfield at the +beginning of October to defend his Nebraska Bill on the hustings, +Lincoln replied to him in a great speech, one of the world's +masterpieces of argumentative power and moral grandeur, which left +Douglas's edifice of "Popular Sovereignty" a heap of ruins. This was the +first speech made by him that gave a true measure of his qualities. It +was the first public occasion that laid a strong hold upon his +conscience and stirred the depths of his nature. It was also the first +speech of his that the writer of this book, then twenty years of age, +ever listened to. The impression made by it has lost nothing by the +lapse of time. In Lincoln's complete writings it is styled the Peoria +speech of October 16, 1854, as it was delivered at Peoria, after the +Springfield debate, and subsequently written out by Lincoln himself for +publication in the _Sangamon Journal_. The Peoria speech contained a few +passages of rejoinder to Douglas's reply to his Springfield speech. In +other respects they were the same.[18] + +It was this speech that drew upon Lincoln the eyes of the scattered +elements of opposition to Douglas. These elements were heterogeneous and +in part discordant. The dividing line between Whigs and Democrats still +ran through every county in the state, but there was a third element, +unorganized as yet, known as "Free-Soilers," who traced their lineage +back to James G. Birney and the campaign of 1844. These were numerous +and active in the northern counties, but south of the latitude of +Springfield they dwindled away rapidly. The Free-Soilers served as a +nucleus for the crystallization of the Republican party two years later, +but in 1854 the older organizations, although much demoralized, were +still unbroken. Probably three fourths of the Whigs were opposed to the +Nebraska Bill in principle, and half of the remainder were glad to avail +themselves of any rift in the Democratic party to get possession of the +offices. There was still a substantial fraction of the party, however, +which feared any taint of abolitionism and was likely to side with +Douglas in the new alignment. + +The legislature consisted of one hundred members--twenty-five senators +and seventy-five representatives. Twelve of the senators had been +elected in 1852 for a four years' term, and thirteen were elected in +1854. Among the former were N. B. Judd, of Chicago, John M. Palmer, of +Carlinville, and Burton C. Cook, of Ottawa, three Democrats who had +early declared their opposition to the Nebraska Bill. The full Senate +was composed of nine Whigs, thirteen regular Democrats, and three +anti-Nebraska Democrats. A fourth holding-over senator (Osgood, +Democrat) represented a district which had given an anti-Nebraska +majority in this election. One of the Whig members (J. L. D. Morrison) +of St. Clair County was elected simultaneously with Trumbull, but he was +a man of Southern affiliations and his vote on the senatorial question +was doubtful. + +At this time there was no law compelling the two branches of a state +legislature to unite in an election to fill a vacancy in the Senate of +the United States. Accordingly, when one party controlled one branch of +the legislature and the opposite party controlled the other, it was not +uncommon for the minority to refuse to go into joint convention. This +was the case now. In order to secure a joint meeting, it was necessary +for at least one Democrat to vote with the anti-Nebraska members. Mr. +Osgood did so. + +In the House were forty-six anti-Nebraska men of all descriptions and +twenty-eight Democrats. One member, Randolph Heath, of the Lawrence and +Crawford District, did not vote in the election for Senator at any time. +Two members from Madison County, Henry L. Baker and G. T. Allen, had +been elected on the anti-Nebraska ticket with Trumbull. + +In the chaotic condition of parties it was not to be expected that all +the opponents of Douglas would coalesce at once. The Whig party was held +together by the hope of reaping large gains from the division of the +Democrats on the Nebraska Bill. This was a vain hope, because the Whigs +were divided also; but while it existed it fanned the flame of old +enmities. Moreover, the anti-Nebraska Democrats in the campaign had +claimed that they were the true Democracy and that they were purifying +the party in order to preserve and strengthen it. They could not +instantly abandon that claim by voting for a Whig for the highest office +to be filled. + +The two houses met in the Hall of Representatives on February 8, 1855, +to choose a Senator. Every inch of space on the floor and lobby was +occupied by members and their political friends, and the gallery was +adorned by well-dressed women, including Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Matteson, +the governor's wife, and her fair daughters. The senatorial election had +been the topic of chief concern throughout the state for many months, +and now the interest was centred in a single room not more than one +hundred feet square. The excitement was intense, for everybody knew the +event was fraught with consequences of great pith and moment, far +transcending the fate of any individual. + +Mr. Lincoln had been designated as the choice of a caucus of about +forty-five members, including all the Whigs and most of the +Free-Soilers, with their leader, Rev. Owen Lovejoy, brother of the Alton +martyr. + +When the joint convention had been called to order, General James +Shields was nominated by Senator Benjamin Graham, Abraham Lincoln by +Representative Stephen T. Logan, and Lyman Trumbull by Senator John M. +Palmer. The first vote resulted as follows: + + Lincoln 45 + Shields 41 + Trumbull 5 + Scattering 8 + -- + Total 99 + +Several members of the House who had been elected as anti-Nebraska +Democrats voted for Lincoln and a few for Shields. The vote for Trumbull +consisted of Senators Palmer, Judd, and Cook and Representatives Baker +and Allen. + +On the second vote, Lincoln had 43 and Trumbull 6, and there were no +other changes. A third roll-call resulted like the second. Thereupon +Judge Logan moved an adjournment, but this was voted down by 42 to 56. +On the fourth call, Lincoln's vote fell to 38 and Trumbull's rose to 11. +On the sixth, Lincoln lost two more, and Trumbull dropped to 8. + +It now became apparent by the commotion on the Democratic side of the +chamber that a flank movement was taking place. There had been a rumor +on the streets that if the reelection of Shields was found to be +impossible, the Democrats would change to Governor Matteson, under the +belief that since he had never committed himself to the Nebraska Bill he +would be able, by reason of personal and social attachments, to win the +votes of several anti-Nebraska Democrats who had not voted for Shields. +This scheme was developed on the seventh call, which resulted as +follows: + + Matteson 44 + Lincoln 38 + Trumbull 9 + Scattering 7 + -- + Total 98 + +On the eighth call, Matteson gained two votes, Lincoln fell to 27, and +Trumbull received 18. On the ninth and tenth, Matteson had 47, Lincoln +dropped to 15, and Trumbull rose to 35. + +The excitement deepened, for it was believed that the next vote would be +decisive. Matteson wanted only three of a majority, and the only way to +prevent it was to turn Lincoln's fifteen to Trumbull, or Trumbull's +thirty-five to Lincoln. Obviously the former was the only safe move, for +none of Lincoln's men would go to Matteson in any kind of shuffle, +whereas three of Trumbull's men might easily be lost if an attempt were +made to transfer them to the Whig leader. Lincoln was the first to see +the imminent danger and the first to apply the remedy. In fact he was +the only one who could have done so, since the fifteen supporters who +still clung to him would never have left him except at his own request. +He now besought his friends to vote for Trumbull. Some natural tears +were shed by Judge Logan when he yielded to the appeal. He said that the +demands of principle were superior to those of personal attachment, and +he transferred his vote to Trumbull. All of the remaining fourteen +followed his example, and there was a gain of one vote that had been +previously cast for Archibald Williams. So the tenth and final +roll-call gave Trumbull fifty-one votes, and Matteson forty-seven. One +member still voted for Williams and one did not vote at all. Thus the +one hundred members of the joint convention were accounted for, and +Trumbull became Senator by a majority of one. + +This result astounded the Democrats. They were more disappointed by it +than they would have been by the election of Lincoln. They regarded +Trumbull as an arch traitor. That he and his fellow traitors Palmer, +Judd, and Cook should have carried off the great prize was an unexpected +dose; but they did not know how bitter it was until Trumbull took his +seat in the Senate and opened fire on the Nebraska Bill. + +Lincoln took his defeat in good part. Later in the evening there was a +reception given at the house of Mr. Ninian Edwards, whose wife was a +sister of Mrs. Lincoln. He had been much interested in Lincoln's success +and was greatly surprised to hear, just before the guests began to +arrive, that Trumbull had been elected. He and his family were easily +reconciled to the result, however, since Mrs. Trumbull had been from +girlhood a favorite among them. When she and Trumbull arrived, they were +naturally the centre of attraction. Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln came in a +little later. The hostess and her daughters greeted them most cordially, +saying that they had wished for his success, and that while he must be +disappointed, yet he should bear in mind that his principles had won. +Mr. Lincoln smiled, moved toward the newly elected Senator, and saying, +"Not _too_ disappointed to congratulate my friend Trumbull," warmly +shook his hand. + +Lincoln's account of this election, in a letter to Hon. E. B. Washburne, +concludes by saying: + + I regret my defeat moderately, but I am not nervous about it. + I could have headed off every combination and been elected had + it not been for Matteson's double game--and his defeat now + gives me more pleasure than my own gives me pain. On the whole, + it was perhaps as well for our general cause that Trumbull is + elected. The Nebraska men confess that they hate it worse than + anything that could have happened. It is a great consolation to + see them worse whipped than I am. I tell them it is their own + fault--that they had abundant opportunity to choose between him + and me, which they declined, and instead forced it on me to + decide between him and Matteson. + +There is no evidence that Trumbull took any steps whatever to secure his +own election in this contest.[19] + +If Lincoln had been chosen at this time, his campaign against Douglas +for the Senate in 1858 would not have taken place. Consequently he would +not have been the cynosure of all eyes in that spectacular contest. It +was Douglas's prestige and prowess that drew him into the limelight at +that important juncture, and made his nomination as President possible +in 1860. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[15] The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society for October, +1912, contains an autobiography of Stephen A. Douglas, of fifteen pages, +dated September, 1838, which was recently found in his own handwriting +by his son, Hon. Robert M. Douglas, of North Carolina. It terminates +just before his first campaign for Congress. + +[16] _Cong. Globe_, July, 1856, Appendix, p. 712. + +[17] Letter to the _Missouri Democrat_, dated March 1, 1856, quoted in +P. Ormon Ray's _Repeal of the Missouri Compromise_, p. 232. + +[18] Some testimony as to the effect produced upon Douglas himself by +this speech was supplied to me long afterwards from a trustworthy +quarter in the following letter:-- + + NEW YORK, Dec. 7, 1908. + + MY DEAR MR. WHITE: + + In 1891, at his office in Chicago, Mr. W. C. Gowdy told me that + Judge Douglas spent the night with him at his house preceding + his debate with Mr. Lincoln; that after the evening meal Judge + Douglas exhibited considerable restlessness, pacing back and + forth upon the floor of the room, evidently with mental + preoccupation. The attitude of Judge Douglas was so unusual that + Mr. Gowdy felt impelled to address him, and said: "Judge + Douglas, you appear to be ill at ease and under some mental + agitation; it cannot be that you have any anxiety with reference + to the outcome of the debate you are to have with Mr. Lincoln; + you cannot have any doubt of your ability to dispose of him." + + Whereupon Judge Douglas, stopping abruptly, turned to Mr. Gowdy + and said, with great emphasis: "Yes, Gowdy, I am troubled over + the progress and outcome of this debate. I have known Lincoln + for many years, and I have continually met him in debate. I + regard him as the most difficult and dangerous opponent that I + have ever met and I have serious misgivings as to what may be + the result of this joint debate." + + These in substance, and almost in exact phraseology, are the + words repeated to me by Mr. Gowdy. Faithfully yours, + + FRANCIS LYNDE STETSON. + +Mr. Gowdy was a state senator in 1854 and his home was at or near +Peoria. There was no joint debate between Lincoln and Douglas at or near +Gowdy's residence, except that of 1854. + +[19] The following manuscript, written by one of Lincoln's supporters +who was himself a member of the legislature, was found among the papers +of William H. Herndon: + + "In the contest for the United States Senate in the winter of + 1854-55 in the Illinois Legislature, nearly all the Whigs and + some of the '_anti-Nebraska Democrats_' preferred Mr. Lincoln to + any other man. Some of them (and myself among the number) had + been candidates and had been elected by the people for the + express purpose of doing all in their power for his election, + and a great deal of their time during the session was taken up, + both in caucus and out of it, in laboring to unite the + anti-Nebraska party on their favorite, but there was from the + first, as the result proved, an insuperable obstacle to their + success. Four of the anti-Nebraska Democrats had been elected in + part by Democrats, and they not only personally preferred Mr. + Trumbull, but considered his election necessary to consolidate + the union between all those who were opposed to repeal of the + Missouri Compromise and to the new policy upon the subject of + slavery which Mr. Douglas and his friends were laboring so hard + to inaugurate. They insisted that the election of Mr. Trumbull + to the Senate would secure thousands of Democratic votes to the + anti-Nebraska party who would be driven off by the election of + Mr. Lincoln--that the Whig party were nearly a unit in + opposition to Mr. Douglas, so that the election of the favorite + candidate of the majority would give no particular strength in + that quarter, and they manifested a fixed purpose to vote + steadily for Mr. Trumbull and not at all for Mr. Lincoln, and + thus compel the friends of Mr. Lincoln to vote for their man to + prevent the election of Governor Matteson, who, as was + ascertained, could, after the first few ballots, carry enough + anti-Nebraska men to elect him. These four men were Judd, of + Cook, Palmer, of Macoupin, Cook, of LaSalle, and Baker, of + Madison. Allen, of Madison, went with them, but was not + inflexible, and would have voted for Lincoln cheerfully, but did + not want to separate from his Democratic friends. These men kept + aloof from the caucus of both parties during the winter. They + would not act with the Democrats from principle, and would not + act with the Whigs from policy. + + "When the election came off, it was evident, after the first two + or three ballots, that Mr. Lincoln could not be elected, and it + was feared that if the balloting continued long, Governor + Matteson would be elected. Mr. Lincoln then advised his friends + to vote for Mr. Trumbull; they did so, and elected him. + + "Mr. Lincoln was very much disappointed, for I think that at + that time it was the height of his ambition to get into the + United States Senate. He manifested, however, no bitterness + towards Mr. Judd or the other anti-Nebraska Democrats, by whom + practically he was beaten, but evidently thought that their + motives were right. _He told me several times afterwards that + the election of Trumbull was the best thing that could have + happened._ + + "There was a great deal of dissatisfaction throughout the state + at the result of the election. The Whigs constituted a vast + majority of the anti-Nebraska party. They thought they were + entitled to the Senator and that Mr. Lincoln by his contest with + Mr. Douglas had caused the victory. Mr. Lincoln, however, + generously exonerated Mr. Trumbull and his friends from all + blame in the matter. Trumbull's first encounter with Douglas in + the Senate filled the people of Illinois with admiration for his + abilities, and the ill-feeling caused by his election gradually + faded away. + + "SAM C. PARKS." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE KANSAS WAR + + +Trumbull took his seat in the Senate at the first session of the +Thirty-fourth Congress, December 3, 1855. His credentials were presented +by Senator Crittenden, of Kentucky. Senator Cass, of Michigan, presented +a protest from certain members of the legislature of Illinois reciting +that the constitution of that state made the judges of the supreme and +circuit courts ineligible to any other office in the state, or in the +United States, during the terms for which they were elected and one year +thereafter; affirming that Trumbull was elected judge of the supreme +court June 7, 1852, for the term of nine years and entered upon the +duties of that office June 24, 1852; that the said term of office would +not expire until 1861; and that, therefore, he was not legally elected a +Senator of the United States. The papers were eventually referred to the +Committee on the Judiciary, but in the mean time Trumbull was sworn in. +Before the question of reference was disposed of, however, Senator +Seward contended that no state could fix or define the qualifications of +a Senator of the United States. He instanced the case of N. P. +Tallmadge, who had been elected a Senator from New York while serving as +a member of the legislature of that state, although the constitution of +New York disqualified him and all other members from such election. +Tallmadge was nevertheless admitted to the Senate and served his full +term. Trumbull's right to his seat was decided in accordance with that +precedent by a vote of 35 to 8, on the 5th of March, 1856. Senator +Douglas did not vote on this question, nor did he take part in the +argument on it. + +The subject of burning interest in Congress was the condition of affairs +in Kansas Territory. When the bill repealing the Missouri Compromise was +pending, the opinion had been generally expressed by its supporters that +slavery never would or could go into that region. Several Southern +Senators and most of the Northern Democrats had held this view. Hunter, +of Virginia, considered it utterly hopeless to expect that either Kansas +or Nebraska would ever be a slaveholding state. Badger, of North +Carolina, said that he had no more idea of seeing a slave population in +either of them than he had of seeing it in Massachusetts. Dixon, of +Kentucky, held a similar view. Nor is there any reason to doubt the +sincerity of these men. Apparently the only Southern Senator who then +cherished a different belief was Atchison, of Missouri, whose home was +on the border of Kansas and whose opinions were based upon personal +knowledge and backed by self-interest. + +President Pierce appointed Andrew H. Reeder, of Pennsylvania, governor +of Kansas Territory. Reeder was not unwilling to cooeperate with the +South in establishing slavery in an orderly way, but was quite +unprepared for the tactics which had been planned by others to expedite +his movements. He called an election for a delegate in Congress to be +held on the 29th of November, 1854. An organized army of Missourians +marched over the Kansas border, seized the polling-places, and cast 1749 +fraudulent votes for a pro-slavery man named Whitfield. This was a +gratuitous and unnecessary act of violence, since the bona-fide settlers +from Missouri outnumbered the Free State men and the latter were, as +yet, unorganized and unprepared. Governor Reeder confirmed the election +and thus gave encouragement to the invaders for their next attempt. + +A few immigrants had already gone into the territory from the New +England States, moved by the desire of bettering their condition in +life. Some of them had been assisted by the Emigrant Aid Company of +Worcester, Massachusetts, a society started by Eli Thayer for the +purpose of furnishing capital, by loans, to such persons for traveling +expenses and for the building of hotels, sawmills, private dwellings, +etc. These settlers from the East were as little prepared as Reeder +himself for the sudden swoop of Missourians, and although they wrote +letters to Northern Congressmen and newspapers protesting against the +election of Whitfield as an act of invasion and a barefaced fraud, +nothing was done to prevent him from taking his seat. + +The next election (for members of the territorial legislature) was fixed +for the 30th of March, 1855. What kind of preparations for it had been +made in the mean time in Missouri was plainly indicated by the following +letter, dated Brunswick, Missouri, April 20, 1855, published in the New +York _Herald_: + + From five to seven thousand men started from Missouri to attend + the election, some to remove, but most to return to their + families with an intention, if they liked the territory, to + make it their permanent home at the earliest moment + practicable. But they intended to vote. The Missourians were + many of them Douglas men. There were one hundred and fifty + voters from this county, one hundred and seventy-five from + Howard, one hundred from Cooper. Indeed, every county furnished + its quota, and when they set out it looked like an army. They + were armed. And as there were no houses in the territory they + carried tents. Their mission was a peaceable one--to vote, and + to drive down stakes for their future homes. + + After the election some 1500 of the voters sent a committee to + Mr. Reeder to ascertain if it was his purpose to ratify the + election. He answered that it was, and said that the majority + at an election must carry the day. But it is not to be denied + that the 1500, apprehending that the governor might attempt to + play the tyrant, since his conduct had already been insidious + and unjust, wore on their hats bunches of hemp. They were + resolved, if a tyrant attempted to trample on the rights of the + sovereign people, to hang him. + +It was not conscious brigandage that prompted this movement, but the +simplicity of minds tutored on the frontier and fashioned in the +environment of slavery. The fifteen hundred Missourians, who gave +Governor Reeder to understand that they would hang him on the nearest +tree if he did not ratify their invasion of Kansas, had homes, farms, +and families. They supported churches and schools of a certain kind and +considered themselves qualified to civilize Africans. They were types of +the best society that they had any conception of. Far from concealing +anything that they had done, they boasted of it openly in their +newspaper organ, the _Squatter Sovereign_, which published the following +under the date of April 1: + + INDEPENDENCE, MO., March 31, 1855.--Several hundred emigrants + from Kansas have just entered our city. They were preceded by + the Westport and Independence brass bands. They came in at the + west side of the public square and proceeded entirely around + it, the bands cheering us with fine music, and the emigrants + with good news. Immediately following the bands were about two + hundred horsemen in regular order. Following these were one + hundred and fifty wagons, carriages, etc. They gave repeated + cheers for Kansas and Missouri. They report that not an + anti-slavery man will be in the Legislature of Kansas. We have + made a clean sweep.[20] + +This invasion was as needless as the former one, since the Free State +men were still in the minority, counting actual settlers only; but the +pro-slavery party were determined to leave nothing to chance. Senator +Atchison, in a speech at Weston, Missouri, on the 9th of November, 1854, +had told his constituents how to secure the prize: + + When you reside in one day's journey of the territory, and when + your peace, your quiet, and your property depend upon your + action, you can, without an exertion, send five hundred of your + young men who will vote in favor of your institution. Should + each county in the state of Missouri only do its duty, the + question will be decided quietly and peaceably at the + ballot-box. If you are defeated, then Missouri and the other + Southern States will have shown themselves to be recreant to + their interests, and will deserve their fate.[21] + +A little later we find him writing letters like the following to a +friend in Atlanta, Georgia: + + Let your young men come forth to Missouri and Kansas. Let them + come well armed, with money enough to support them for twelve + months and determined to see this thing out! I do not see how + we are to avoid a civil war;--come it will. Twelve months will + not elapse before war--civil war of the fiercest kind--will be + upon us. We are arming and preparing for it. + +Atchison was constantly spurring others to deeds of lawlessness and +violence, but he always stopped short of committing any himself. He was +probably restrained by the fear of losing influence at Washington. It +was by no means certain that President Pierce would tolerate everything. +The sad fate of one of the companies recruited in the South for +immigration to Kansas is narrated in the following letter, addressed to +Senator Trumbull by John C. Underwood, of Culpeper Court House, +Virginia: + + Soon after the repeal of the Missouri Compromise in 1854, in + the neighborhood of Winchester and Harper's Ferry the project + of sending a company of young men to Kansas to make it a slave + state was much agitated. Subscriptions for that purpose were + asked, and the duty of strengthening our sectional interest of + slavery by adding two friendly Senators to your honorable body, + was urged with great zeal upon my neighbors. This was long + before I had heard of any movement of the New England Aid Co., + or of anybody on the part of freedom. It was my understanding + at the time that Senator Mason was the main adviser in the + project. This may not have been the case. The history of this + company will not be soon forgotten. Its taking the train on the + Baltimore and Ohio R. R. at Harper's Ferry, its exploits in + Kansas up to the fall of its leader (Sharrard) at the hands of + Jones, the friend of the Democratic Gov. Geary, are all still + well remembered. The return of the company with the dead body + of their leader, and the blasted hopes of its sanguine + originators, was a gloomy day in our beautiful valley, and + created a sensation throughout the country. + +Another letter among the Trumbull papers deserves a place here, the +author of which was Isaac T. Dement, who (writing from Hudson, Illinois, +January 10, 1857) says that he was living in Kansas the previous year +and had filed his intention on one hundred and sixty acres of land where +he had a small store and a dwelling-house: + + On the 3d of September last [he continues] a band of armed men + from Missouri came to my place, and after taking what they + wanted from the store, burned it and the house, and said that + if they could find me they would hang me. They said that they + had broken open a post-office and found a letter that I wrote + to Lane and Brown asking them to come and help us with a + company of Sharpe's rifles (this is a lie); and also that I had + furnished Lane and Brown's men with provisions (a lie), and + that I was a Free State man (that is so). + +Mr. Dement hoped that Congress would do something to compensate him for +his losses. + +Governor Reeder ought to have been prepared for the second invasion. He +had had sufficient warning. Unless he was ready to go all lengths with +Atchison and Stringfellow, he ought to have declared the entire election +invalid and reported the facts to President Pierce. But he did nothing +of the kind. He merely rejected the votes of seven election districts +where the most notorious frauds had been committed, and declared "duly +elected" the persons voted for in others. Eventually the members holding +certificates organized as a legislature and admitted the seven who had +been rejected by Reeder. The latter took an early opportunity to go to +Washington City to make a report to the President in person. He stopped +en route at his home in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he made a public +speech exposing the frauds in the election and confirming the reports of +the Free State settlers. Stringfellow warned him not to come back. In +the _Squatter Sovereign_ of May 29, 1855, he said: + + From reports received of Reeder he never intends returning to + our borders. Should he do so we, without hesitation, say that + our people ought to hang him by the neck like a traitorous dog, + as he is, so soon as he puts his unhallowed feet upon our + shores. Vindicate your characters and the territory; and should + the ungrateful dog dare to come among us again, hang him to the + first rotten tree. A military force to protect the ballot-box! + Let President Pierce or Governor Reeder, or any other power, + attempt such a course in this, or any portion of the Union, and + that day will never be forgotten. + +The "Border Ruffian" legislature proceeded to enact the entire slave +code of Missouri as laws of Kansas. It was made a criminal offense for +anybody to deny that slavery existed in Kansas, or to print anything, or +to introduce any printed matter, making such denial. Nobody could hold +any office, even that of notary public, who should make such denial. The +crime of enticing any slave to leave his master was made punishable with +death, or imprisonment for ten years. That of advising slaves, by +speaking, writing, or printing, to rebel, was punishable with death. + +Reeder was removed from office by President Pierce on the 15th of +August, and Wilson Shannon, a former governor of Ohio, was appointed as +his successor. + +The Free State men held a convention at Topeka in October, 1855, and +framed a state constitution, to be submitted to a popular vote, looking +to admission to the Union. This was equivalent merely to a petition to +Congress, but it was stigmatized as an act of rebellion by the +pro-slavery party. + +On the 24th of January, 1856, President Pierce sent a special message to +Congress on the subject of the disturbance in Kansas. He alluded to the +"angry accusations that illegal votes had been polled," and to the +"imputations of fraud and violence"; but he relied upon the fact that +the governor had admitted some members and rejected others and that each +legislative assembly had undoubted authority to determine, in the last +resort, the election and qualification of its own members. Thus a +principle intended to apply to a few exceptional cases of dispute was +stretched to cover a case where all the seats had been obtained by fraud +and usurpation. "For all present purposes," he added feebly, the +"legislative body thus constituted and elected was the legitimate +assembly of the Territory." + +This message was referred to the Senate Committee on Territories. On the +12th of March, Senator Douglas submitted a report from the committee, +and Senator Collamer, of Vermont, submitted a minority report. This was +the occasion of the first passage-at-arms between Douglas and his new +colleague. The report was not merely a general endorsement of President +Pierce's contention that it was impossible to go behind the returns of +the Kansas election, as certified by Governor Reeder, but it went much +further in the same direction, putting all the blame for the disorders +on the New England Emigrant Aid Company, and practically justifying the +Missourians as a people "protecting their own firesides from the +apprehended horrors of servile insurrection and intestine war." +Logically, from Douglas's new standpoint, the New Englanders had no +right to settle in Kansas at all, if they had the purpose to make it a +free state. To this complexion had the doctrine of "popular sovereignty" +come in the short space of two years. + +Two days after the presentation of this report, Mr. Trumbull made a +three hours' speech upon it without other preparation than a perusal of +it in a newspaper; it had not yet been printed by the Senate. This +speech was a part of one of the most exciting debates in the annals of +Congress. He began with a calm but searching review of the +Kansas-Nebraska Act, dwelling first on the failure of the measure to fix +any time when the people of a territory should exercise the right of +deciding whether they would have slavery or not. He illustrated his +point by citing some resolutions adopted by a handful of squatters in +Kansas as early as September, 1854, many months before any legislature +had been organized or elected, in which it was declared that the +squatters aforesaid "would exercise the right of expelling from the +territory, or otherwise punishing any individual, or individuals, who +may come among us and by act, conspiracy, or other illegal means, entice +away our slaves or clandestinely attempt in any way or form to affect +our rights of property in the same." These resolutions were passed +before any persons had arrived under the auspices, or by the aid, of the +New England Emigrant Aid Company; showing that, so far from being +aroused to violence by the threatening attitude of that organization, +the Missourians were giving notice beforehand that violence would be +used upon any intending settlers who might be opposed to the +introduction of slavery. + +Douglas had wonderful skill in introducing sophisms into a discussion so +deftly that his opponent would not be likely to notice them, or would +think them not worth answering, and then enlarging upon them and leading +the debate away upon a false scent, thus convincing the hearers that, as +his opponent was weak in this particular, he was probably weak +everywhere. It was Trumbull's forte that he never failed to detect these +tricks and turns and never neglected them, but exposed them instantly, +before proceeding on the main line of his argument. It was this faculty +that made his coming into the Senate a welcome reinforcement to the +Republican side of the chamber. + +The report under consideration abounded in these characteristic Douglas +pitfalls. It said, for example: + + Although the act of incorporation [of the Emigrant Aid Company] + does not distinctly declare that it was formed for the purpose + of controlling the domestic institutions of Kansas and forcing + it into the Union with a prohibition of slavery in her + constitution, _regardless of the rights and wishes of the + people as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States + and secured by their organic law_, yet the whole history of the + movement, the circumstances in which it had its origin, and the + professions and avowals of all engaged in it rendered it + certain and undeniable that such was its object. + +Here was a double sophistry: First, the implication that, if the +Emigrant Aid Company had boldly avowed that its purpose was to control +the domestic institutions of Kansas and bring it into the Union as a +free state, its heinousness would have been plain to all; second, that +the Constitution of the United States, and the organic act of the +territory itself, guaranteed the people against such an outrage. But the +declared object of the Nebraska Bill was to allow the people to do this +very thing by a majority vote. Mr. Trumbull brought his flail down upon +this pair of sophisms with resounding force. In debate with Senator +Hale, a few days earlier, Toombs, of Georgia, had had the manliness to +say: + + With reference to that portion of the Senator's argument + justifying the Emigrant Aid Societies,--whatever may be their + policy, whatever may be the tendency of that policy to produce + strife,--if they simply aid emigrants from Massachusetts to go + to Kansas and to become citizens of that territory, I am + prepared to say that they violate no law; and they had a right + to do it; and every attempt to prevent them from doing so + violated the law and ought not to be sustained.[22] + +By way of justifying the Border Ruffians the report said that when the +emigrants from New England were going through Missouri, the violence of +their language and behavior excited apprehensions that their object was +to "abolitionize Kansas as a means of prosecuting a relentless warfare +on the institution of slavery within the limits of Missouri." + + What! [said Trumbull,] abolitionize Kansas! It was said on all + sides of the Senate Chamber (when the Nebraska bill was + pending) that it was never meant to have slavery go into + Kansas. What is meant, then, by abolitionizing Kansas? Is it + abolitionizing a territory already free, and which was never + meant to be anything but free, for Free State men to settle in + it? I cannot understand the force of such language. But they + were to abolitionize Kansas, according to this report, and for + what purpose? As a means for prosecuting a relentless warfare + on the institution of slavery within the limits of Missouri. + Where is the evidence of such a design? I would like to see it. + It is not in this report, and if it exists I will go as far as + the gentleman to put it down. I will neither tolerate nor + countenance by my action here or elsewhere any society which + is resorting to means for prosecuting a relentless warfare upon + the institution of slavery within the limits of Missouri or any + other state. But there is not a particle of evidence of any + such intention in the document which professes to set forth the + acts of the Emigrant Aid Society, and which is incorporated in + this report.[23] + +Trumbull next took up the contention of the report that since Governor +Reeder had recognized the usurping legislature, he and all other +governmental authorities were estopped from inquiring into its validity. +No great effort of a trained legal mind was required to overthrow that +pretension. Trumbull demolished it thoroughly. After giving a calm and +lucid sketch of the existing condition of affairs in the territory, +Trumbull brought his speech to a conclusion. It fills six pages of the +_Congressional Globe_.[24] + +This was the prelude to a hot debate with Douglas, who immediately took +the floor. Trumbull had remarked in the course of his speech that the +only political party with which he had ever had any affiliations was the +Democratic. Douglas said that he should make a reply to his colleague's +speech as soon as it should be printed in the _Globe_, but that he +wished to take notice now of the statement that Trumbull claimed to be +a Democrat. This, he said, would be considered by every Democrat in +Illinois as a libel upon the party. + +Senator Crittenden called Douglas to order for using the word "libel," +which he said was unparliamentary, being equivalent to the word "lie." +Douglas insisted that he had not imputed untruth to his colleague, but +had only said that all the Democrats in Illinois would impute it to him +when they should read his speech. He then went into a general tirade +about "Black Republicans," "Know-Nothings," and "Abolitionists," who, he +said, had joined in making Trumbull a Senator, from which it was evident +that he was one of the same tribe, and not a Democrat. So far as the +people of Illinois were concerned, he said that his colleague did not +dare to go before them and take his chances in a general election, for +he (Douglas) had met him at Salem, Marion County, in the summer of 1855, +and had told him in the presence of thousands of people that, differing +as they did, they ought not both to represent the State at the same +time. Therefore, he proposed that they should both sign a paper +resigning their seats and appeal to the people, "and if I did not beat +him now with his Know-Nothingism, Abolitionism, and all other isms by a +majority of twenty thousand votes, he should take the seat without the +trouble of a contest." + +Neither Trumbull nor Douglas was gifted with the sense of humor, but +Trumbull turned the laugh on his antagonist by his comments on the +coolness of the proposal that both Senators should resign their seats, +which Governor Matteson would have the right to fill immediately, and +which the people could in no event fill by a majority vote, since the +people did not elect Senators under our system of government. The reason +why he did not answer the challenge at Salem was that his colleague did +not stay to hear the answer. After he had finished his speech it was +very convenient for him to be absent. "He cut immediately for his tavern +without waiting to hear me." Trumbull denominated the challenge "a bald +clap-trap declamation and nothing else." + +Douglas's charges about Know-Nothings and Abolitionists were well +calculated to make an impression in southern Illinois; hence Trumbull +did not choose to let them go unanswered. His reply was pitched upon a +higher plane, however, than his antagonist's tirade. He said: + + In my part of the state there are no Know-Nothing organizations + of whose members I have any knowledge. If they exist, they + exist secretly. There are no open avowed ones among us. These + general charges, as to matters of opinion, amount to but very + little. It is altogether probable that the gentleman and myself + will differ in opinion not only upon this slavery question, but + also as to the sentiments of the people of Illinois. The views + which I entertain are honest ones; they are the sincere + sentiments of my heart. I will not say that the views which he + entertains in reference to those matters are not equally + honest. I impute no such thing as insincerity to any Senator. + Claiming for myself to be honest and sincere, I am willing to + award to others the same sincerity that I claim for myself. As + to what views other men in Illinois may entertain we may + honestly differ. The views of the members of the legislature + may be ascertained from their votes on resolutions before them. + I do not know how to ascertain them in any other way. As for + Abolitionists I do not know one in our state--one who wishes to + interfere with slavery in the states. I have not the + acquaintance of any of that class. There are thousands who + oppose the breaking-down of a compromise set up by our fathers + to prevent the extension of slavery, and I know that the + gentleman himself once uttered on this floor the sentiment that + he did not know a man who wished to extend slavery to a free + territory. + +Douglas replied at length to Trumbull on the 20th of March, in his most +slippery and misleading style. If it were possible to admire the kind +of argument which makes the worse appear the better reason, this speech +would take high rank. It may be worth while to give a single sample. +Trumbull had said that in his opinion the words of the Missouri +Compromise, prohibiting slavery in certain territories "forever," meant +until the territory should be admitted into the Union as a state on +terms of equality with the other states. Douglas seized upon this as a +fatal admission, and asked why, if "forever" meant only a few years, +Trumbull and all his allies had been abusing him for repealing the +sacred compact. + + If so [he continued], what is meant by all the leaders of that + great party, of which he (Trumbull) has become so prominent a + member, when they charge me with violating a solemn compact--a + compact which they say consecrated that territory to freedom + forever? _They_ say it was a compact binding forever. _He_ says + that it was an unfounded assumption, for it was only a law + which would become void without even being repealed; it was a + mere legislative enactment like any other territorial law, and + the word "forever" meant no more than the word + "hereafter"--that it would expire by its own limitation. If + this assumption be true, it necessarily follows that what he + calls the Missouri Compromise was no compact--was not a + contract--not even a compromise, the repeal of which would + involve a breach of faith.[25] + +And he continued, ringing the changes on this alleged inconsistency +through two entire columns of the _Globe_, as though a compact could not +be made respecting a territory as well as for a state, and ignoring the +fact that if slaves were prevented from coming into the territory, the +material for forming a slave state would not exist when the people +should apply for admission to the Union. If the word "forever" had, as +Trumbull believed, applied only to the territory, it nevertheless +answered all practical purposes forever, by moulding the future state, +as the potter moulds the clay.[26] + +The remainder of Douglas's speech was founded upon the doings of +Governor Reeder, whom he first used to buttress and sustain the bogus +legislature in its acts, and then turned upon and rent in pitiable +fragments, calling him "your Governor," as though the Republicans and +not their opponents had appointed him. + +June 9, 1856, the two Senators drifted into debate on the Kansas +question again, and Trumbull put to Douglas the question which Lincoln +put to him with such momentous consequences in the Freeport debate two +years later: whether the people of a territory could lawfully exclude +slavery prior to the formation of a state constitution. Trumbull said +that the Democratic party was not harmonious on this point. He had heard +Brown, of Mississippi, argue on the floor of the Senate that slavery +could not be excluded from the territories, while in the formative +condition, by the territorial legislature, and he had heard Cass, of +Michigan, maintain exactly the opposite doctrine. He would like to know +what his colleague's views were upon that point: + + My colleague [he said] has no sort of difficulty in deciding + the constitutional question as to the right of the people of a + territory, when they form their constitution, to establish or + prohibit slavery. Now will he tell me whether they have the + right _before_ they form a state constitution?[27] + +Douglas did not answer this interrogatory. He insisted that it was +purely a judicial question, and that he and all good Democrats were in +harmony and would sustain the decision of the highest tribunal when it +should be rendered. The Dred Scott case was pending in the Supreme +Court, but that fact was not mentioned in the debate. The right of the +people of a territory to exclude slavery before arriving at statehood +was already the crux of the political situation, but its significance +was not generally perceived at that time. That Trumbull had grasped the +fact was shown by his concluding remarks in this debate, to wit: + + My colleague says that the persons with whom he is acting are + perfectly agreed on the questions at issue. Why, sir, all of + them in the South say that they have a right to take their + slaves into a territory and to hold them there as such, while + all in the North deny it. If that is an agreement, then I do + not know what Bedlam would be. + +Bedlam came at Charleston four years later. It is worthy of remark that +in this debate Douglas held that a negro could bring an action for +personal freedom in a territory and have it presented to the Supreme +Court of the United States for decision. In the Dred Scott case, +subsequently decided, the court held that a negro could not bring an +action in a court of the United States. + +The Senate debate on Kansas affairs in the first session of the +Thirty-fourth Congress was participated in by nearly all the members of +the body. The best speech on the Republican side was made by Seward. +This was a carefully prepared, farseeing philosophical oration, in which +the South was warned that the stars in their courses were fighting +against slavery and that the institution took a step toward perdition +when it appealed to lawless violence. Sumner's speech, which in its +consequences became more celebrated, was sophomorical and vituperative +and was not calculated to help the cause that its author espoused; but +the assault made upon him by Preston S. Brooks maddened the North and +drew attention away from its defects of taste and judgment. Collamer, of +Vermont, made a notable speech in addition to his notable minority +report from the Committee on Territories. Wilson, of Massachusetts, and +Hale, of New Hampshire, received well-earned plaudits for the +thoroughness with which they exposed the frauds and violence of the +Border Ruffians, and commented on the vacillation and stammering of +President Pierce. That Trumbull had the advantage of his wily antagonist +must be the conclusion of impartial readers at the present day. + +If a newcomer in the Senate to-day should plunge _in medias res_ and +deliver a three-hours' speech as soon as he could get the floor, he +would probably be made aware of the opinion of his elders that he had +been over-hasty. It was not so in the exciting times of the decade +before the Civil War. All help was eagerly welcomed. Moreover, +Trumbull's constituents would not have tolerated any delay on his part +in getting into the thickest of the fight. Any signs of hanging back +would have been construed as timidity. The anti-Nebraska Democrats of +Illinois required early proof that their Senator was not afraid of the +Little Giant, but was his match at cut-and-thrust debate as well as his +superior in dignity and moral power. The North rang with the praises of +Trumbull, and some persons, whose admiration of Lincoln was unbounded +and unchangeable, were heard to say that perhaps Providence had selected +the right man for Senator from Illinois. Although Lincoln's personality +was more magnetic, Trumbull's intellect was more alert, his diction the +more incisive, and his temper was the more combative of the two. + +From a mass of letters and newspapers commending Mr. Trumbull on his +first appearance on the floor of the Senate, a few are selected for +notice. + +The New York _Tribune_, March 15, 1856, Washington letter signed "H. +G.," p. 4, col. 5: + + Mr. Trumbull's review of Senator Douglas's pro-slavery Kansas + report is hailed with enthusiasm, as calculated to do honor to + the palmiest days of the Senate. Though three hours long, it + commanded full galleries, and the most fixed attention to the + close. It was searching as well as able, and was at once + dignified and convincing. + + When Mr. Trumbull closed, Mr. Douglas rose, in bad temper, to + complain that the attack had been commenced in his absence, and + to ask the Senate to fix a day for his reply. He said Mr. + Trumbull had claimed to be a Democrat; but that claim would be + considered a libel by the Democracy of Illinois. Here Mr. + Crittenden rose to a question of order, and a most exciting + passage ensued; the flash of the Kentuckian's eye and the + sternness of his bearing were such as are rarely seen in the + Senate. + +The New York _Daily Times_, Washington letter, dated June 9: + + Douglas was much disconcerted to-day by Senator Trumbull's keen + exposure of his Nebraska sophism. He was directly asked if he + believed that the people of the territories have the right to + exclude slavery before forming a state government, but he + refused to give his opinion, saying that it was a question to + be determined by the Supreme Court. Trumbull then exposed with + great force Douglas's equivocal platform of popular + sovereignty, which means one thing at the South and another at + the North. The "Little Giant" was fairly smoked out. + +Charles Sumner writes to E. L. Pierce, March 21: + + Trumbull is a hero, and more than a match for Douglas. + Illinois, in sending him, has done much to make me forget that + she sent Douglas. You will read the main speech which is able; + but you can hardly appreciate the ready courage and power with + which he grappled with his colleague and throttled him. We are + all proud of his work. + +S. P. Chase, Executive Office, Columbus, Ohio, April 14, 1856, writes: + + I have read your speech with great interest. It was + timely--exactly at the right moment and its logic and statement + are irresistible. How I rejoice that Illinois has sent you to + the Senate. + +John Johnson, Mount Vernon, Illinois, writes: + + I wish I could express the pleasure that I and many other of + your friends feel when we remember that we have such a man as + yourself in Congress, who loves liberty and truth and is not + ashamed or afraid to speak. Let me say that I thank the Ruler + of the Universe that we have got such a man into the Senate of + the United States.... Your influence will tell on the interests + of the nation in years to come. + +John H. Bryant, Princeton, writes: + + The expectations of those who elected Mr. Trumbull to the + Senate have been fully met by his course in that body, those of + Democratic antecedents being satisfied and the Whigs very + happily disappointed. For Mr. Lincoln the people have great + respect, and great confidence in his ability and integrity. + Still the feeling here is that you have filled the place at + this particular time better than he could have done.[28] + +At this time Trumbull received a letter from one of the Ohio River +counties which, by reason of the singularity of its contents as well as +of the subsequent distinction of the writer, merits preservation: + + Green B. Raum, Golconda, Pope Co., Feb. 9, '57, wishes Trumbull + to find out why he cannot get his pay for taking depositions at + the instance of the Secretary of the Interior in a lawsuit + involving the freedom of sixty negroes legally manumitted, but + still held in slavery in Crawford County, Arkansas. The + witnesses whose depositions were taken were living in Pope Co., + Ill. Raum advanced $43.25 for witness fees and costs and was + engaged one month in the work, for which he charged $300. This + was done in May, 1855, but he had never been paid even the + amount that he advanced out of his own pocket.[29] + +In April, 1857, Trumbull received an urgent appeal from Cyrus Aldrich, +George A. Nourse, and others in Minnesota asking him to come to that +territory and make speeches for one month to help the Republicans carry +the convention which had been called to frame a state constitution. He +responded to this call and took an active part in the campaign, which +resulted favorably to the Republican party. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[20] Edited by B. F. Stringfellow, author of _African Slavery no Evil_, +St. Louis, 1854. + +[21] Cited in Villard's _John Brown_, p. 94. + +[22] _Cong. Globe_, Appendix, 1856. p. 118. + +[23] The writer of this book was intimately acquainted with the doings +of the Emigrant Aid Societies of the country, having been connected with +the National Kansas Committee at Chicago. The emigrants usually went up +the Missouri River by rail from St. Louis to Jefferson City and thence +by steamboat to Kansas City, Wyandotte, or Leavenworth. They were +cautioned to conceal as much as possible their identity and destination, +in order to avoid trouble. Such caution was not necessary, however, +since the emigrants knew that their own success depended largely upon +keeping that avenue of approach to Kansas open. Later, in the summer of +1856, it was closed, not in consequence of any threatening language or +action on the part of the emigrants, but because the Border Ruffians +were determined to cut off reinforcements to the Free State men in +Kansas. The tide of travel then took the road through Iowa and Nebraska, +a longer, more circuitous, and more expensive route. + +[24] Appendix, p. 200. + +[25] _Cong. Globe_, 34th Congress, Appendix, p. 281. + +[26] In this debate Clayton, of Delaware, contended that the word +"forever" was meant to apply to any future political body, whether +territory or state, occupying the ground embraced in the defined limits. +Hence he considered the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, but he had +opposed the Nebraska Bill because he was not willing to reopen the +slavery agitation. _Cong. Globe_, 34th Congress, Appendix, p. 777. + +[27] _Cong. Globe_, 1856, p. 1371. + +[28] John H. Bryant, a man of large influence in central Illinois, +brother of William Cullen Bryant. + +[29] Green B. Raum, Lawyer, Democrat, brigadier-general in the Union +army in the Civil War. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE LECOMPTON FIGHT + + +In June, 1856, Lincoln wrote to Trumbull urging him to attend the +Republican National Convention which had been called to meet in +Philadelphia to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President and +suggesting that he labor for the nomination of a conservative man for +President. Trumbull went accordingly and cooeperated with N. B. Judd, +Leonard Swett, William B. Archer, and other delegates from Illinois in +the proceedings which led up to the futile nominations of Fremont and +Dayton. The only part of these proceedings which interests us now is the +fact that Abraham Lincoln, who was not a candidate for any place, +received one hundred and ten votes for Vice-President. This result was +brought about by Mr. William B. Archer, an Illinois Congressman, who +conceived the idea of proposing his name only a short time before the +voting began, and secured the cooeperation of Mr. Allison, of +Pennsylvania, to nominate him. Archer wrote to Lincoln that if this +bright idea had occurred to him a little earlier he could have obtained +a majority of the convention for him. When the news first reached +Lincoln at Urbana, Illinois, where he was attending court, he thought +that the one hundred and ten votes were cast for Mr. Lincoln, of +Massachusetts. + +He wrote to Trumbull on the 27th saying, "It would have been easier for +us, I think, had we got McLean" (instead of Fremont), but he was not +without high hopes of carrying the state. He was confident of electing +Bissell for governor at all events. In August, Lincoln wrote again +saying that he had just returned from a speaking tour in Edgar, Coles, +and Shelby counties, and that he had found the chief embarrassment in +the way of Republican success was the Fillmore ticket. "The great +difficulty," he says, "with anti-slavery-extension Fillmore men is that +they suppose Fillmore as good as Fremont on that question; and it is a +delicate point to argue them out of it, they are so ready to think you +are abusing Mr. Fillmore." The Fillmore vote in Illinois was 37,444. + +The Republican state ticket, headed by William H. Bissell for governor, +was elected, but Buchanan and Breckinridge, the Democratic nominees, +received the electoral vote of the state and were successful in the +country at large. The defeat of Fremont caused intense disappointment to +the Republicans at the time, but it was fortunate for the party and for +the country that he was beaten. He was not the man to deal with the +grave crisis impending. Disunion was a club already held in reserve to +greet any Republican President. Senator Mason, of Virginia, frankly said +so to Trumbull in a Senate debate (December 2, 1856), after the +election: + + MR. MASON: What I said was this, that if that [Republican] + party came into power avowing the purpose that it did avow, it + would necessarily result in the dissolution of the Union, + whether they desired it or not. It was utterly immaterial who + was their President; he might have been a man of straw. I + allude to the purposes of the party. + + MR. TRUMBULL: Why, sir, neither Colonel Fremont nor any other + person can be elected President of the United States except in + the constitutional mode, and if any individual is elected in + the mode prescribed in the Constitution, is that cause for + dissolution of the Union? Assuredly not. If it be, the + Constitution contains within itself the elements of its own + destruction.[30] + +Four years passed ere Mr. Mason's prediction was put to the test, and +the intervening time was mainly occupied by a continuation of the Kansas +strife. The prevailing gloom in the Northern mind was reflected in a +letter written by Trumbull to Professor J. B. Turner, of Jacksonville, +Illinois, dated Alton, October 19, 1857, from which the following is an +extract: + + Our free institutions are undergoing a fearful trial, nothing + less, as I can conceive, than a struggle with those now in + power, who are attempting to subvert the very basis upon which + they rest. Things are now being done in the name of the + Constitution which the framers of that instrument took special + pains to guard against, and which they did provide against as + plainly as human language could do it. The recent use of the + army in Kansas, to say nothing of the complicity of the + administration with the frauds and outrages which have been + committed in that territory, presents as clear a case of + usurpation as could well be imagined. Whether the people can be + waked up to the change which their government is undergoing in + time to prevent it, is the question. I believe they can. I will + not believe that the free people of this great country will + quietly suffer their government, established for the protection + of life and liberty, to be changed into a slaveholding + oligarchy whose chief object is the spread and perpetuation of + negro slavery and the degradation of free white labor. + +Soon after the inauguration of Buchanan, Robert J. Walker, of +Mississippi, was appointed by him governor of Kansas Territory. Walker +was a native of Pennsylvania and a man of good repute. He had been +Secretary of the Treasury under President Polk, and was the author of +the Tariff of 1846. When he arrived in Kansas steps had already been +taken by the territorial legislature for electing members of a +constitutional convention with a view to admission to the Union as a +state. Governor Walker urged the Free State men to participate in this +election, promising them fair treatment and an honest count of votes; +but they still feared treachery and violence and fraud in the election +returns. Moreover, voters were required to take a test oath that they +would support the Constitution as framed. As Walker had assured them +that the Constitution would be submitted to a vote of the people, they +decided to take no part in framing it, but to vote it down when it +should be submitted. + +The convention met in the territorial capital, Lecompton. While it was +in session a regular election of members of the territorial legislature +took place, and Governor Walker had so far won the confidence of the +Free State men that they took part in it and elected a majority of the +members of both branches. About one month later news came that the +constitutional convention had completed its labors and had decided not +to submit the constitution itself to a vote of the people, but only the +slavery clause. People could vote "For the constitution with slavery," +or "For the constitution with no slavery," but in no case should the +right of property in slaves already in the territory be questioned, nor +should the constitution itself be amended until 1864, and no amendment +should be made affecting the rights of property in such slaves. + +Senator Douglas was in Chicago when this news arrived. He at once +declared to his friends that this scheme had its origin in Buchanan's +Cabinet. Governor James W. Geary, Walker's predecessor in office, had +vetoed the bill calling the convention, because it contained no clause +requiring submission of the constitution to the people; but it had been +passed over his veto. He subsequently said, in a published letter, that +the committees of the legislature having the matter in charge informed +him that their friends in the South did not desire a submission clause. +It was proved later that a conspiracy with this aim existed in +Buchanan's Cabinet without his knowledge, and that the guiding spirit +was Jacob Thompson, of Mississippi, Secretary of the Interior. The chief +manager in Kansas was John Calhoun, the president of the convention, who +had been designated also as the canvassing officer of the election +returns under the submission clause. + +Buchanan was not admitted to the secret of the conspiracy until the deed +was done. He had committed himself both verbally and in writing to the +submission of the whole constitution to the people for ratification or +rejection. He had pledged himself in this behalf to Governor Walker, who +had pledged himself to the people of Kansas. Walker kept his pledge, but +Buchanan broke his. He surrendered to the Cabinet cabal and made the +admission of Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution the policy of his +administration. It proved to be his ruin, as an earlier breach of +promise had been the ruin of Pierce. + +Walker exposed and denounced the whole conspiracy and resigned the +governorship, the duties of which devolved upon F. P. Stanton, the +secretary of the territory, a man of ability and integrity, who had been +a member of Congress from Tennessee. Stanton called the legislature in +special session. The legislature declared for a clause for or against +the constitution as a whole, to be voted on at an election to be held +January 4, 1858. Stanton was forthwith removed from office by Buchanan, +and John A. Denver was appointed governor to fill Walker's place. + +The stand taken by Douglas in reference to the Lecompton Constitution +before the meeting of Congress, and the doubts and fears excited thereby +in the minds of the leading Republicans of Illinois, are indicated in +private letters received by Trumbull in that interval, a few of which +are here cited: + +E. Peck, Chicago, November 23, 1857, says: Judge Douglas takes the +ground openly that the _whole_ of the Kansas constitution must be +submitted to the people for approval. + +C. H. Ray, chief editor of the Chicago _Tribune_, writes that Douglas is +just starting for Washington; he says that he sent a man to the +_Tribune_ office to remonstrate against its course toward him "while he +is doing what we all want him to do." Dr. Ray had no faith in him. + +N. B. Judd, Chicago, November 24, says that Douglas took pains to get +leading Republicans into his room to tell them that he intended to fight +the administration on the Kansas issue. + +Judd, November 26, writes that Douglas tells his friends that "the whole +proceedings in Kansas were concocted by certain members of the Cabinet +to ruin him." He does not think that the President desires this, but he +cannot well help himself, and the conspirators intend to use Buchanan's +name again (for the Presidency). + +Lincoln wrote under date, Chicago, Nov. 30, 1857: ... What think you of +the probable "rumpus" among the Democracy over the Kansas constitution? +I think the Republicans should stand clear of it. In their view both the +President and Douglas are wrong; and they should not espouse the cause +of either because they may consider the other a little farther wrong of +the two. From what I am told here, Douglas tried before leaving to draw +off some Republicans on the dodge, and even succeeded in making some +impression on one or two. + +A. Jonas, Quincy, December 5, is unable to say whether Douglas is +sincere in the position he has lately taken. "Should he act right for +once on this question, it will be with some selfish motive." + +William H. Bissell, governor, Springfield, December 12, thinks Douglas's +course is dictated solely by his fears connected with the next +senatorial election. + +S. A. Hurlbut, Belvidere, December 14, thinks that as between Douglas +and the Southern politicians the latter have the advantage in point of +logic. "If the Lecompton Constitution prevails, no amount of party +discipline will hold more than one third of the Democratic voters in +Illinois." He predicts that the next Democratic National Convention will +endorse John C. Calhoun's doctrine that slavery exists in the +territories by virtue of the Constitution. + +Sam Galloway, Columbus, Ohio, December 12, asks: "What means the +movement of Douglas? Is it a ruse or a bona-fide patriotic effort? We +don't know whether to commend or censure, and we are without any +knowledge of the workings of his heart except as indicated in his +speeches." + +W. H. Herndon, Springfield, December 16, says: "Douglas is more of a man +than I took him to be. He has some nerve at least. I do not think he is +honest in any particular, yet in this difficulty he is right." + +C. H. Ray, Chicago, December 18, asks for Trumbull's views of Douglas's +real purposes: "We are almost confounded here by his anomalous position +and do not know how to treat him and his overtures to the Republican +party. Personally, I am inclined to give him the lash, but I want to do +nothing that will damage our cause or hinder the emancipation of +Kansas." + +John G. Nicolay, Springfield, December 20, has been canvassing the state +to procure subscribers for the St. Louis _Democrat_. He had very good +success until the "hard times" came. Then he found it necessary to +suspend operations. He says everybody is watching the political +developments in Washington, and he thinks that Douglas will be sustained +by nearly all his party in Illinois. "The Federal office-holders keep +mum and will not of course declare themselves until they are forced to +do so." + +Samuel C. Parks, Lincoln, Logan County, December 26, says: Douglas is no +better now than when he was the undisputed leader of the pro-slavery +party. He has done more to undermine the principles upon which this +Government was founded than any other man that ever lived. + +D. L. Phillips, Anna, Union County, March 2, 1858: "You need not pay any +attention to the silly statements of the _Missouri Republican_ and other +sheets respecting this part of the state being attached to Buchanan. It +is simply false. The Democracy here are led by the Allens, Marshall, +Logan, Parrish, Kuykendall, Simons, and others, and these are all for +Douglas. John Logan is bitter against Buchanan. I think we ought all to +be satisfied with the course of things. Let the worst come now. Better +far than defer it, for come it will and must." + +The first session of the Thirty-fifth Congress began on the 7th of +December, 1857. President Buchanan's first message was largely concerned +with the affairs of Kansas. He spoke of the framers of the Topeka +Constitution as a "revolutionary organization," and said that the +Lecompton Constitution was the work of the lawfully constituted +authorities. He conceded that the submission clause of the Lecompton +instrument fell short of his own intentions and expectations, but +insisted that the slavery question was the only matter of dispute and +that that was actually submitted to the popular vote. + +Trumbull was the first Senator to expose these unfounded assumptions, +and this he did in a brief argument as soon as the reading of the +message was finished. He showed, in the first place, that the Topeka +Constitution was no whit more "revolutionary" or irregular than the +Lecompton one, and one of the authorities whom he cited to sustain his +contention was Buchanan himself, who, in a parallel case, had contended +that the territorial legislature of Michigan had no authority to call a +convention to frame a state constitution, and that any such proceeding +was "an act of usurpation." This was not necessarily conclusive as to +anybody but Buchanan. Yet in another case cited, that of Arkansas, where +a territorial legislature was considering an act for the calling of a +convention to frame a state constitution and where the governor had +asked instructions from President Jackson as to his duty in the +premises, the Attorney-General had held that such an act of the +Legislature would be without authority and absolutely void. (This case +had been cited by Douglas the previous year, in an argument against the +Topeka Constitution.) The only regular proceeding was for Congress to +pass an enabling act, on such terms and conditions as it might +prescribe, under which the people might form a constitution preparatory +to admission to the Union. Any other mode of accomplishing the same +result, whether initiated by a popular assembly, as at Topeka, or by the +legislature, as at Lecompton, was in the nature of a petition which +Congress might respond to favorably, and thus legalize, or not. Neither +of these modes of beginning had any higher authority than the other. +Therefore, the underpinning of President Buchanan's first argument was +knocked out by two citations of authority which he could not controvert. + +His second argument, that the slavery clause in the Lecompton +Constitution, the only thing in controversy, was submitted to the +popular vote, was easily demolished. The submission clause, said Mr. +Trumbull, "amounts simply to giving the free white people of Kansas a +right to determine the condition of a few negroes hereafter to be +brought into the state, and nothing more; the condition of those now +there cannot be touched." + +On the following day, Senator Douglas made his speech against the +Lecompton Constitution. It had been eagerly expected, and the galleries +and floor were crowded. From his own standpoint it was a very strong +argument, and was received with vociferous applause, contrary to the +rules of the Senate. It left Buchanan with not a rag to cover him. It +was the first public speech Douglas had ever made which went counter to +the wishes of the Southern people. So when he said,--"I will go as far +as any of you to save the party. I have as much heart in the great cause +that binds us together as a party as any man living; I will sacrifice +anything short of principle and honor for the peace of the party; but if +the party will not stand by its principles, its faith, its pledges, I +will stand there and abide whatever consequences may result from the +position,"--we must believe that he was sincere and must respect him +for his courage. But his standpoint was that of one who "did not care +whether slavery was voted down or voted up." It represented no high +principle; the only right he contended for was the right of the people +to decide for themselves whether they would have a particular banking +system, or none at all; a Maine liquor law; or a railroad running this +way or that way; and finally whether they would have a slave code or +not. Great speeches are not kindled with such short stubble. + +One thing hinted at in this speech was that Buchanan had been so +frightened by the revolt in the party against the Lecompton Constitution +that he had taken steps to have the pro-slavery clause rejected at the +coming election, by the very people who had framed it. "I think I have +seen enough in the last three days," he said, "to make it certain that +it will be _returned out_, no matter how the vote may stand." In a later +debate, February 4, Douglas said: + + I made my objection [against the Lecompton Constitution] at a + time when the President of the United States told all his + friends that he was perfectly sure the pro-slavery clause would + be voted down. I did it at a time when all or nearly all the + Senators on this floor supposed the pro-slavery clause would be + stricken out. I assumed in my speech that it was to be returned + out, and that the constitution was to come here with that + article rejected.[31] + +If Buchanan had that intention he was not able to carry it into effect. + +Douglas at this time contemplated an alliance with the Republicans. His +state of mind is pictured in a letter written by Henry Wilson to Rev. +Theodore Parker, dated Washington, February 28, 1858, of which the +following is an extract:[32] + + I say to you in confidence that you are mistaken in regard to + Douglas. He is as sure to be with us in the future as Chase, + Seward, or Sumner. I leave motives to God, but he is to be with + us, and he is to-day of more weight to our cause than any ten + men in the country. I know men and I know their power, and I + know that Douglas will go for crushing the Slave Power to + atoms. To use his own words to several of our friends _this + day_ in a three-hours' consultation: "We must grind this + administration to powder; we must punish every man who supports + this crime, and _we must prostrate forever the Slave Power_, + which uses Presidents and dishonors and disgraces them." + +Similar testimony is found in the Trumbull correspondence, to wit: + + Jesse K. Dubois, state Auditor, Springfield, March 22, 1858, + says he has a letter from Ray, of the Chicago _Tribune_, who + says that Sheahan, of the _Times_, who has just returned to + Washington, says that (1) Lecompton will be defeated; (2) that + the Republicans shall have all the majority they like in the + next Illinois legislature, to favor which he wants to unite + with us in all doubtful counties or rather help us by running + Douglas legislative tickets "(N. B. I do not see the point of + this)"; (3) he concedes us the Senator, and says Douglas is + willing to go into private life for a brief period, but + protests that we must not sacrifice their Congressmen who run + again on the Lecompton issue, if any one of them desires to go + back; (4) they will run candidates for Congress in every + district, but without hope of electing one in the four northern + districts "(N. B. I should think this is an easy matter)"; (5) + Douglas is willing to retire, and if he beats Lecompton, to + take his chances by and by; (6) Douglas and his friends have + had a caucus in Washington and they agree so to shape matters, + if possible, with Republican aid, as to return to the next + Congress an unbroken phalanx of anti-Lecompton men, and break + down the administration by making it harmless at home and + abroad; (7) the fight is to the death, _a l'outrance_, and + cannot be discontinued, no matter what comes up. Ray seems to + think Sheahan is honest in what he says, and has no doubt that + he speaks for Douglas. + + A. Jonas, Quincy, April 11, says that letters have been + received from Chicago and Springfield implying that a + coalition is forming between a portion of the Republican party + on the one hand and Douglas and his followers on the other. He + protests strongly against any such coalition and declares it + can never be carried into effect. "To suppose that the + Republicans of this District can under any circumstances be + induced to support such a political demagogue and trickster as + Isaac N. Morris is to believe them capable of worshiping Satan + or submitting to the dictation of the slave oligarchy." + + W. H. Herndon, Springfield, April 12, has just returned from + the East. He speaks of Greeley's "puffs" of Douglas, which he + regards as demoralizing to the Republicans of Illinois. "I + heard Greeley handled quite roughly by the candidate for + lieutenant-governor of Wisconsin, a very intelligent German. He + spoke to Greeley in my presence and said that Wisconsin stood + by Illinois and was not for sale." + + E. Peck, Chicago, April 15: "Dr. Brainard has had a talk with + Dr. Ray, the substance of which was that we should consent to + run Douglas as our candidate for the House of Representatives + from this district. What does this mean? Can Brainard have any + authority to make such a proposition? Ray has been advising + with me, and we are both in the clouds. I requested permission + to write to you for your opinion before any opinions were + expressed here. Mr. Colfax may be able to tell you something of + the opinions of Douglas. I am shy in believing, and more shy in + confiding, ... yet Ray believes that Brainard was authorized by + Douglas to make the proposition." + + N. B. Judd, Chicago, April 19, says that if the Lecompton Bill + is passed, Douglas is laid on the shelf. The Buchanan party in + Chicago is of no consequence, "great cry and little wool." We + shall have to fight the Democratic party as a unit. "How + Douglas is to be the Democratic party in Illinois and the ally + of the Republicans outside of the state is a problem which + those, who are arranging with him, ought to know how to work + out." + +Overtures to the Republicans of Illinois did not come from Douglas only. +Here is one of a different hue: + + George T. Brown, Alton, February 24, urges the appointment of + J. E. Starr (Buchanan Democrat) as postmaster at Alton. + "Slidell opened the way for you to talk to him and you can + easily do so. The Administration is very desirous that you + should not oppose their appointments, and will give you + anything." + +The foregoing letter betokens a sudden change of mind in administration +circles at Washington, as is evidenced by the following communication +which Trumbull had received from one of his constituents a few weeks +earlier: + + B. Werner, Caseyville, January 4, refers to a former letter + enclosing a petition for the establishment of a post-office at + Caseyville. Hearing nothing of the matter, he went to see Mr. + Armstrong, the postmaster at St. Louis, narrated the facts, and + asked whether any order had been received by him respecting it. + "He asked me to whom I had sent the petition. I told him to + you. He replied if I had sent the petition to Robert Smith + (Dem. M.C.) the matter would have been attended to, but as Mr. + Trumbull was a Black Republican, the department would not pay + any attention to it." + +On the 2d of February, 1858, President Buchanan sent a special message +to Congress with a copy of the Lecompton Constitution, and recommended +that Kansas be admitted to the Union as a state under it. In this +message he made reference to the Dred Scott decision, which had been +pronounced by the Supreme Court in the previous March. On this point the +message said: + + It has been solemnly adjudged by the highest tribunal known to + our laws that slavery exists in Kansas by virtue of the + Constitution of the United States. Kansas is, therefore, at + this moment as much a slave state as Georgia, or South + Carolina. + +Trumbull made a speech on the special message as soon as the reading of +it was finished by the secretary. He reviewed the action of Governor +Walker, which, in the beginning, had been avowedly taken with the view +of creating and promoting a Free State Democratic party in Kansas, to +which end he had made use of the soldiers placed at his disposal by the +President. That this was an act of usurpation was conclusively shown by +Trumbull, although Walker claimed that it had served the desirable +purpose of preventing an armed collision between the contending +factions. Trumbull then touched upon the Dred Scott case and maintained +that the Supreme Court had likewise usurped authority by pronouncing an +opinion on a case not before it. The court had virtually dismissed the +case for want of jurisdiction. It had decided that Dred Scott was not a +citizen and had no right to bring this action. There was no longer any +case before the judges who so held. "Their opinions," said Trumbull, +"are worth just as much as, and no more than, the opinions of any other +gentlemen equally respectable in the country." Consequently, President +Buchanan's assertion that Kansas was then as much a slave state as +Georgia or South Carolina was unfounded and preposterous. Seward, +Fessenden, and the Republican Senators generally held to this doctrine, +but Senator Benjamin, of Louisiana, replied with considerable force that +it was competent for the court to decide on what grounds it would give +its decision, and that it did, in so many words, elect to decide the +question of slavery in the territories, which was the principal question +raised by the counsel of Dred Scott. That the decision had an aim +different from the settlement of Dred Scott's claim, and that this aim +was political, is now sufficiently established. It is also established +that Dred Scott never took any steps consciously to secure freedom, but +that the action was brought in his name by some speculating lawyers in +St. Louis to secure damages or wages from the widow of Scott's master, +Dr. Emerson.[33] One additional fact is supplied by a letter in the +Trumbull correspondence, showing how the money was collected to pay the +plaintiff's court costs. + + G. Bailey, Washington, May 12, 1857, writes, that when the case + of Dred Scott was first brought to the notice of Montgomery + Blair, he applied to him (Bailey) to know what to do. Blair + said he would freely give his services without charge if Bailey + would see to the necessary expenses of the case. Not having an + opportunity to confer with friends, Bailey replied that he + would become responsible. He had no doubt the necessary money + could be raised. On this assurance he proceeded, the case was + tried, and the result was before the country. Mr. Blair had + just rendered the bill of costs: $63.18 for writ of error and + $91.50 for printing briefs; total, $154.68. "May I be so bold, + my dear sir, as to ask you to contribute two dollars toward the + payment of this bill. I am now writing to seventy-five of the + Rep. Members of the late Congress, and if they will answer me + promptly, each enclosing the quota named, I can discharge the + bill by myself paying a double share." + + _Mem._: $2 sent by Trumbull June 20th, '57. + +The debate in the Senate on the Lecompton Bill continued till March 23. +The best speech on the Republican side was made by Fessenden, of Maine, +than whom a more consummate debater or more knightly character and +presence has not graced the Senate chamber in my time, if ever. On the +administration side the laboring oar was taken by Toombs, who spoke with +more truculence than he had shown in the Thirty-fourth Congress. +Jefferson Davis, who had been returned to the Senate after serving as +Secretary of War under Pierce, bore himself in this debate with decorum +and moderation. + +The Lecompton Bill passed the Senate, but was disagreed to by the House, +and a conference committee was appointed which adopted a bill proposed +by Congressman English, of Indiana, which offered a large bonus of lands +to Kansas, for schools, for a university, and for public buildings, if +she would vote to come into the Union under the Lecompton Constitution +now. If she would not so vote, she should not have the lands and should +not come into the Union until she should have a population sufficient +to elect one member of Congress on the ratio prescribed by law. The form +of submission to a popular vote was to be: "Proposition accepted," or +"Proposition rejected." If there was a majority of acceptances, the +territory should be admitted as a state at once. Senator Seward and +Representative Howard, Republican members of the conference committee, +dissented from the report. This bill passed the House. + +Douglas made a dignified speech against the English Bill, showing that +it was in the nature of a bribe to the people to vote in a particular +way. Although he did not think that the bribe would prevail, he could +not accept the principle. The bill nevertheless passed on the last day +of April, and on the 2d of August the English proposition was voted down +by the people of Kansas by an overwhelming majority. The Lecompton +Constitution thus disappeared from sublunary affairs, and John Calhoun +disappeared from Kansas as soon as steps were taken to look into the +returns of previous elections canvassed by him. + +The opinion of a man of high position on the attitude of President +Buchanan toward Lecomptonism is found in another letter to Trumbull: + + J. D. Caton, chief justice of the supreme court of Illinois, + Ottawa, March 6, 1858, does not think all the Presidents and + all the Cabinets and all the Congresses and all the supreme + courts and all the slaveholders on earth, with all the + constitutions that could be drawn, could ever make Kansas a + slave state. "No, there has been no such expectation, and I do + not believe desire on the part of the present administration to + make it a slave state, but as he [Buchanan] had already been + pestered to death with it, he resolved to make it a state as + soon as possible, and thus being rid of it, let them fight it + out as they liked. In this mood the Southern members of the + Cabinet found him when the news came of that Lecompton + Constitution being framed, and he committed himself, thinking, + no doubt, that Douglas would be hot for it and that there would + be no general opposition in his own party to it.... You say + that the slave trade will be established in every state in the + Union in five years if the Democratic party retains power! As + Butterfield told the Universalist preacher, who was proving + that all men would be saved, 'We hope for better things.'" + +FOOTNOTES: + +[30] _Cong. Globe_, vol. 42, p. 16. + +[31] _Cong. Globe_, 85th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 571. + +[32] Lincoln and Herndon, by Joseph Fort Newton, p. 148. + +[33] Frederick Trevor Hill in _Harper's Magazine_, July, 1907. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE CAMPAIGN OF 1858 AND THE JOHN BROWN RAID + + +The events described in the preceding chapter left Senator Douglas still +the towering figure in national politics. Although he had contributed +but a small part of the votes in the Senate and House by which the +Lecompton Bill had been defeated, he had furnished an indispensable +part. He had humbled the Buchanan administration. He had delivered +Kansas from the grasp of the Border Ruffians. What he might do for +freedom in the future, if properly encouraged, loomed large in the +imagination of the Eastern Republicans. Greeley, Seward, Banks, Bowles, +Burlingame, Henry Wilson, and scores of lesser lights were quoted as +desiring to see him returned to the Senate by Republican votes. Some +were even willing to support him for the Presidency. + +The Republicans of Illinois did not share this enthusiasm. Not only had +they fixed upon Lincoln as their choice for Senator, but they felt that +they could not trust Douglas. He still said that he cared not whether +slavery was voted down or voted up. That was the very thing they did +care about. Could they assume that, after being reelected by their votes +and made their standard-bearer, he would be a new man, different from +the one he had been before? And if he remained of the same opinions as +before, what would become of the Republican party? Who could answer for +the demoralizing effects of taking him for a leader? The views of the +party leaders in Illinois are set forth at considerable length in +letters received by Senator Trumbull, the first one from Lincoln +himself: + + BLOOMINGTON, December 28, 1857. + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL, + + DEAR SIR: What does the New York _Tribune_ mean by its constant + eulogizing and admiring and magnifying Douglas? Does it, in + this, speak the sentiments of the Republicans at Washington? + Have they concluded that the Republican cause generally can be + best promoted by sacrificing us here in Illinois? If so, we + would like to know it soon; it will save us a great deal of + labor to surrender at once. + + As yet I have heard of no Republican here going over to + Douglas, but if the _Tribune_ continues to din his praises into + the ears of its five or ten thousand readers in Illinois, it is + more than can be hoped that all will stand firm. I am not + complaining, I only wish for a fair understanding. Please write + me at Springfield. + + Your obt. servant, + + A. LINCOLN. + +C. H. Ray, Chicago, March 9, 1858, protests against any trading with +Douglas on the basis of reelecting him to the Senate by Republican +votes. The Republicans of Illinois are unanimous for Lincoln and will +not swerve from that purpose. Thinks that Douglas is coming to the +Republican camp and that the disposal of him will be a difficult problem +unless he will be content with a place in the Cabinet of the next +Republican President. + +J. K. Dubois, Springfield, April 8, says that Hatch (secretary of state) +and himself were in Chicago a few days since. Found every man there firm +and true--Judd, Peck, Ray, Scripps, W. H. Brown, etc. Herndon has just +come home; says that Wilson, Banks, Greeley, etc., are for returning +Douglas to the Senate. "God forbid! Are our friends crazy?" + +J. M. Palmer, Carlinville, May 25: + + We feel here that we have fought a strenuous and + well-maintained battle with Douglas, backed up by the whole + strength of the Federal patronage, and have won some prospect + of overthrowing him and placing Illinois permanently in the + ranks of the party of progress, whether called Republican or by + some other name, and now, by a "Wall street operation," + Lincoln, to whom we are all under great obligations, and all + our men who have borne the heat and burden of the day, are to + be kicked to one side and we are to throw up our caps for Judge + Douglas, and he very coolly tells us all the time that we are + Abolitionists and negro worshipers and that he accepts our + votes as a favor to us! Messrs. Greeley, Seward, Burlingame, + etc., are presumed to be able to estimate themselves properly, + and if they fix only that value on themselves, no one has a + right to complain, but if I vote for Douglas under such + circumstances, may I be ----. I don't swear, but you may fill + this blank as you please. Yet I have no personal feelings + against Douglas.... Lincoln and his friends were under no + obligation to us in that controversy [of 1855]. We had, though + but five, refused to vote for him under circumstances that we + thought, at the time, furnished good reason for our refusal. We + elected an anti-Nebraska Democrat to the Senate, by his aid + most magnanimously rendered, and that result placed us, through + you, on the highest possible ground in the new party. If you + had not been elected, we should have been a baffled faction at + the tail of an alien organization. We have, as a consequence, + an anti-Nebraska Democrat for governor, and our men are the + bone and sinew of the new organization, though we are in a + minority. In all these results Lincoln has contributed his + efforts and the Whig element have cooeperated. For myself, + therefore, I am unalterably determined to do all that I can to + elect Lincoln to the Senate. _I_ cannot elect him, but I can + give him and all his friends conclusive proof that I am + animated by honor and good faith, and will stand up for his + election until the Republican party, including himself and his + personal friends, say we have done enough. Hence no arrangement + that looks to the election of Douglas by Republican votes, that + does not meet the approval of Lincoln and his friends, can meet + my approval. + +The chief difficulty was that Douglas had never established for himself +a character for stability. People did not know what they could depend +upon in dealing with him. Other questions than Lecompton would soon come +up, as to which his course would be uncertain. Who could say whether he +would look northward or southward for the Presidency two years hence? + +Douglas knew that he need not look in either direction unless he could +first secure his reelection to the Senate. Bear-like, tied to a stake, +he must fight the course. His campaign against Lincoln for the +senatorship does not properly appertain to the Life of Trumbull, +although the latter took an active part in it. The author's +recollections and memoranda of that campaign were contributed to another +publication.[34] He recalls with pity the weary but undaunted look, +after nearly four months of incessant travel and speaking, of the Little +Giant, whose health was already much impaired. A letter from Fessenden +to Trumbull, dated November 16, 1856, spoke of him as "a dying man in +almost every sense, unless he mends speedily--of which, I take it, there +is little hope." In the Senate debates from 1855 on, he often spoke of +his bad health, and in one instance he got out of a sick-bed to vote on +the Lecompton Bill. The campaign of 1858 was a severe drain on his +remaining strength, but in manner and mien he gave no sign of the waste +and exhaustion within. + +The Trumbull papers contain some contemporary notes on the campaign of +1858. The Buchanan Democrats in Illinois gave themselves the +high-sounding title of the National Democracy. By the Douglas men they +were called "Danites," a name borrowed from the literature of Mormondom. +Traces of this sect are found in the following letters: + + D. L. Phillips, Anna, Union County, February 16, 1858, says + that Hon. John Dougherty will start in a few days for + Washington to console the President and look for an office for + himself. (He obtained the Marshalship of southern Illinois.) + + W. H. Herndon, Springfield, July 8: + + Mr. Lincoln was here a moment ago and told me that he had just + seen Col. Dougherty and had a conversation with him. He told + Lincoln that the National Democracy intended to run in every + county and district, a National Democrat for each and every + office. Lincoln replied, "If you do this the thing is settled." + ... Lincoln is very certain as to Miller's and Bateman's + election (on the state ticket), but is gloomy and rather + uncertain about his own success. + +Lincoln's own thoughts respecting the Danites are set forth incidentally +in the following letter: + + SPRINGFIELD, June 23, 1858. + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL, + + MY DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 16th reached me only yesterday. + We had already seen by telegraph a report of Douglas's + onslaught upon everybody but himself. I have this morning seen + the Washington _Union_, in which I think the Judge is rather + worsted in regard to the onslaught. + + In relation to the charge of an alliance between the + Republicans and the Buchanan men in the state, if being rather + pleased to see a division in the ranks of Democracy, and not + doing anything to prevent it, be such an alliance, then there + is such an alliance. At least, that is true of me. But if it be + intended to charge that there is any alliance by which there is + to be any concession of principle on either side, or furnishing + of sinews, or partition of offices, or swapping of votes to any + extent, or the doing of anything, great or small, on the one + side for a consideration expressed or implied on the other, no + such thing is true so far as I know or believe. + + Before this reaches you, you will have seen the proceedings of + our Republican State Convention. It was really a grand affair + and was in all respects all that our friends could desire. + + The resolution in effect nominating me for Senator was passed + more for the object of closing down upon the everlasting + croaking about Wentworth than anything else. The signs look + reasonably well. Our state ticket, I think, will be elected + without much difficulty. But with the advantages they have of + us, we shall be hard run to carry the legislature. We shall + greet your return home with great pleasure. + + Yours very truly, + + A. LINCOLN. + +The only counties in the state in which the Danites showed any vitality +were Union County in the south and Bureau County in the north. They +polled only 5079 votes in the whole state. + +The influence of the Eastern Republicans, who were inclined to support +Douglas at the beginning of the campaign, and especially that of the New +York _Tribune_, is noted by Judd and Herndon. + + N. B. Judd, Chicago, July 16: + + We have lost some Republicans in this region.... You may + attribute it to the course of the New York _Tribune_, which has + tended to loosen party ties and induce old Whigs to look upon + D.'s return to the Senate as rather desirable. You ought to + come to Illinois as soon as you can by way of New York and + straighten out the newspapers there. Even the _Evening Post_ + compares Douglas to Silas Wright. Bah! + +W. H. Herndon, Springfield, July 22: + + There were some Republicans here--more than we had any idea + of--who had been silently influenced by Greeley, and who + intended to go for Douglas or not take sides against him. His + speech here aroused the old fires and now they are his enemies. + Has received a letter from Greeley in which he says: "Now, + Herndon, I am going to do all I reasonably can to elect + Lincoln." + +N. B. Judd, Chicago, December 26 (after the election), says: + + Horace Greeley has been here lecturing and doing what mischief + he could. He took Tom Dyer [Democrat, ex-mayor] into his + confidence and told him all the party secrets that he knew, + such as that we had been East and endeavored to get money for + the canvass and that we failed, etc.;--a beautiful chap he is, + to be entrusted with the interests of a party. Lecturing is a + mere pretense. He is running around to our small towns with + that pretense, but really to head off the defection from his + paper. It is being stopped by hundreds. + +A. Jonas, Quincy, same date: + + H. Greeley delivered a lecture before our lyceum last + evening--a large crowd to hear him. John Wood, Browning, + myself, and others talked to him very freely about the course + of the _Tribune_ in the late campaign. He acknowledged we were + right. + +The Douglas men elected a majority of the legislature, but did not have +a majority, or even a plurality, of the popular vote. So it appears from +a letter to Trumbull, the existence of which the author himself had +forgotten. + + Horace White, Chicago, January 10, 1859, sends a table of votes + cast for members of the legislature in the election of 1858, + showing a plurality of 4191 for Republican candidates for the + House of Representatives. + + W. H. Herndon, Springfield, says that Lincoln was defeated in + the counties of Sangamon, Morgan, Madison, Logan, and Mason--a + group of counties within a radius of eighty miles from the + capital. They were men from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia + mainly, old-line Whigs, timid, but generally good men, + supporters of Fillmore in the election of 1856. "These men must + be reached in the coming election of 1860. Otherwise Trumbull + will be beaten also." + + SPRINGFIELD, January 29,1859. + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL, + + DEAR SIR: I have just received your late speech in pamphlet + form, sent me by yourself. I had seen and read it before in a + newspaper and I really think it a capital one. When you can + find leisure, write me your present impression of Douglas's + movements. + + Our friends here from different parts of the state, in and out + of the legislature, are united, resolute, and determined, and I + think it almost certain that we shall be far better organized + in 1860 than ever before. + + We shall get no just apportionment (of legislative districts) + and the best we can do--if we can do that--is to prevent one + being made worse than the present. + + Yours as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + +A letter from Lincoln following the campaign of 1858, is appended as +showing the cordial relations existing between himself and Trumbull. The +latter had written to him from Washington under date January 29, 1859, +saying that John Wentworth had written an article, intended for +publication in the Chicago _Journal_ (but which the editor of that paper +had refused to print), imputing bad faith toward Lincoln on the part of +N. B. Judd, B. C. Cook, and others, including Trumbull, in the last +senatorial campaign. Trumbull had received a copy of this article, and +as its object was to create enmity between friends, and as it would +probably be published somewhere, he wished to assure Lincoln that the +statements and insinuations contained in it were wholly false. To this +Lincoln replied as follows: + + SPRINGFIELD, February 3, 1859. + + HON. L. TRUMBULL, + + MY DEAR SIR: Yours of the 29th is received. The article + mentioned by you, prepared for the Chicago _Journal_, I have + not seen; nor do I wish to see it, though I heard of it a month + or more ago. Any effort to put enmity between you and me is as + idle as the wind. I do not for a moment doubt that you, Judd, + Cook, Palmer, and the Republicans generally coming from the old + Democratic ranks, were as sincerely anxious for my success in + the late contest as myself, and I beg to assure you beyond all + possible cavil that you can scarcely be more anxious to be + sustained two years hence than I am that you shall be + sustained. I cannot conceive it possible for me to be a rival + of yours or to take sides against you in favor of any rival. + Nor do I think there is much danger of the old Democratic and + Whig elements of our party breaking into opposing factions. + They certainly shall not if I can prevent it. + + Yours as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + +Twenty days after this letter was penned, there was a debate in the +Senate which was an echo of the Illinois campaign, which must have been +extremely interesting to both Lincoln and Trumbull. In a debate with +Douglas in 1856, as already noted, Trumbull had asked him whether, under +his doctrine of popular sovereignty, the people could prohibit slavery +in a territory before they came to form a state constitution. He replied +that that was a judicial question to be settled by the courts, and that +all good Democrats would bow to the decision of the Supreme Court +whenever it should be made. At Freeport, in the campaign of 1858, +Lincoln put the same question to him in a slightly different form. + +On the 23d of February, 1859, there was a Senate debate on this +question, in which Douglas contended that the Democratic party, by +supporting General Cass in 1848, had endorsed the same opinion that he +(Douglas) had maintained at Freeport, since Cass, in his so-called +"Nicholson Letter," had affirmed the doctrine of squatter sovereignty as +to slavery in the territories. Douglas now contended that every Southern +state that gave its electoral vote to Cass, including Mississippi, was +committed to the doctrine that the people of a territory could lawfully +exclude slavery while still in a territorial condition. Jefferson Davis +replied: + + The State of Mississippi voted [in 1848] under the belief that + that letter meant no more than that when the territory became a + state, it had authority to decide that question.... If it had + been known that the venerable candidate then of the Democratic + party, and now Secretary of State, held the opinion which he so + frankly avowed at a subsequent period on the floor of the + Senate, I tell you, sir [addressing Douglas], he would have had + no more chance to get the vote of Mississippi than you with + your opinions would have to-day.[35] + +On the 2d of February, 1860, Davis introduced a series of resolutions in +the Senate of a political character evidently intended to head off +Douglas at the coming Charleston Convention; or, failing that, to pave +the way for the withdrawal of the delegates of the cotton-growing +states. The fourth resolution was directed against the Douglas doctrine +of unfriendly legislation, thus: + + _Resolved_, That neither Congress nor a territorial + legislature, whether by direct legislation or legislation of + indirect and unfriendly nature, possesses the power to annul or + impair the constitutional right of any citizen of the United + States to take his slave property into the common territories; + but it is the duty of the Federal Government there to afford + for that, as for other species of property, the needful + protection; and if experience should at any time prove that the + judiciary does not possess power to insure adequate protection, + it will then become the duty of Congress to supply such + deficiency. + +The Senate debate between Douglas and his Southern antagonists was +resumed in May, after the explosion of the Charleston Convention. +Douglas made a two days' speech (May 15 and 16) occupying four hours +each day, but did not mention the subject of unfriendly legislation, or +show how a territorial legislature could nullify or circumvent the Dred +Scott decision. He was answered by Benjamin, of Louisiana, in a speech +which made a sensation throughout the country, and in which the +doctrine of unfriendly legislation was mauled to tatters. Benjamin was +the first Southern statesman to make his bow to the rising fame of +Lincoln. After examining the Freeport debate, he said: + + We accuse him [Douglas] for this, to-wit: that, having + bargained with us upon a point upon which we were at issue, + that it should be considered a judicial question; that he would + abide the decision; that he would act under the decision and + consider it a doctrine of the party; that, having said that to + us here in the Senate, he went home, and under the stress of a + local election his knees gave way; his whole person trembled. + His adversary stood upon principle and was beaten, and lo, he + is the candidate of a mighty party for Presidency of the United + States. The Senator from Illinois faltered; he got the prize + for which he faltered, but lo, the prize of his ambition slips + from his grasp, because of the faltering which he paid as the + price of the ignoble prize--ignoble under the circumstances + under which he obtained it.[36] + +There are scores of letters in Trumbull's correspondence calling for +copies of Benjamin's speech, yet it had no effect in Illinois, the +Danite vote being smaller in 1860 than it had been in 1858. Probably it +had influence in the National Democratic Convention at Charleston, from +which the delegates from ten Southern States seceded in whole or part +when the Douglas platform was adopted. This split was followed by an +adjournment to Baltimore, where a second split took place, Douglas being +nominated by one faction and Breckinridge, of Kentucky, by the other. + + * * * * * + +Fifty years have passed since John Brown, with twenty-one men, seized +the Government armory and arsenal at Harper's Ferry (October 16, 1859), +in an attempt to abolish slavery in the United States. As sinews of +war, he had about four thousand dollars, or dollars' worth of material +of one kind and another. With such resources he expected to do something +which the Government itself, with more than a million trained soldiers, +five hundred warships, and three billions of dollars, accomplished with +difficulty at the end of a four years' war, during which no negro +insurrection, large or small, took place. One might think that the +scheme itself was evidence of insanity. But to prove Brown insane on +this ground alone, we must convict also the persons who plotted and +cooeperated with him and who furnished him money and arms, knowing what +he intended to do with them. Some of these were men of high intelligence +who are still living without strait-jackets, and it is not conceivable +that they aided and abetted him without first estimating, as well as +they were able, the chances of success. Yet Brown refused to allow his +counsel to put in a plea of insanity on his trial, saying that he was no +more insane then than he had been all his life, which was probably true. +If he was not insane at the time of the Pottawatomie massacre, he was a +murderer who forfeited his own life five times in one night by taking +that number of lives of his fellow men in cold blood. + +I saw and talked with Brown perhaps half a dozen times at Chicago during +his journeys to and from Kansas. He impressed me then as a religious +zealot of the Old Testament type, believing in the plenary inspiration +of the Scriptures and in himself as a competent interpreter thereof. But +the text "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay," never +engaged his attention. He was oppressed with no doubts about anything, +least of all about his own mission in the world. His mission was to +bring slavery to an end, but that was a subject that he did not talk +about. He was a man of few words, and was extremely reticent about his +plans, even those of ordinary movements in daily life. He had a square +jaw, clean-shaven, and an air of calmness and self-confidence, which +attracted weaker intellects and gave him mastery over them. He had +steel-gray eyes, and steel-gray hair, close-cropped, that stood stiff on +his head like wool cards, giving him an aspect of invincibleness. When +he applied to the National Kansas Committee for the arms in their +possession after the Kansas war was ended, he was asked by Mr. H. B. +Hurd, the secretary, what use he intended to make of them. He refused to +answer, and his request was accordingly denied. The arms were voted back +to the Massachusetts men who had contributed them originally. Brown +obtained an order for them from the owners. + +The Thirty-sixth Congress met on the 5th of December, 1859. The first +business introduced in the Senate was a resolution from Mason, of +Virginia, calling for the appointment of a committee to inquire into the +facts attending John Brown's invasion and seizure of the arsenal at +Harper's Ferry. Trumbull offered an amendment proposing that a similar +inquiry be made in regard to the seizure in December, 1855, of the +United States Arsenal at Liberty, Missouri, and the pillage thereof by a +band of Missourians, who were marching to capture and control the +ballot-boxes in Kansas. On the following day Trumbull made a brief +speech in support of his amendment, in the course of which he commented +on the Harper's Ferry affair in words which have never faded from the +memory of the present writer. Nobody during the intervening half-century +has summed up the moral and legal aspects of the John Brown raid more +truly or more forcibly. He said: + + I hope this investigation will be thorough and complete. I + believe it will do good by disabusing the public mind, in that + portion of the Union which feels most sensitive upon this + subject, of the idea that the outbreak at Harper's Ferry + received any countenance or support from any considerable + number of persons in any portion of this Union. No man who is + not prepared to subvert the Constitution, destroy the + Government, and resolve society into its original elements, can + justify such an act. No matter what evils, either real or + imaginary, may exist in the body politic, if each individual, + or every set of twenty individuals, out of more than twenty + millions of people, is to be permitted, in his own way and in + defiance of the laws of the land, to undertake to correct those + evils, there is not a government on the face of the earth that + could last a day. And it seems to me, sir, that those persons + who reason only from abstract principles and believe themselves + justifiable on all occasions, and in every form, in combating + evil wherever it exists, forget that the right which they claim + for themselves exists equally in every other person. All + governments, the best which have been devised, encroach + necessarily more or less on the individual rights of man and to + that extent may be regarded as evils. Shall we, therefore, + destroy Government, dissolve society, destroy regulated and + constitutional liberty, and inaugurate in its stead anarchy--a + condition of things in which every man shall be permitted to + follow the instincts of his own passions, or prejudices, or + feelings, and where there will be no protection to the + physically weak against the encroachments of the strong? Till + we are prepared to inaugurate such a state as this, no man can + justify the deeds done at Harper's Ferry. In regard to the + misguided man who led the insurgents on that occasion, I have + no remarks to make. He has already expiated upon the gallows + the crime which he committed against the laws of his country; + and to answer for his errors, or his virtues, whatever they may + have been, he has gone fearlessly and willingly before that + Judge who cannot err; there let him rest. + +The debate continued several days and took a pretty wide range, the +leading Senators on both sides taking part in it. Trumbull bore the +brunt of it on the Republican side, and was cross-examined in courteous +but searching terms by Yulee, of Florida, Chesnut, of South Carolina, +and Clay, of Alabama, who conceived that the teachings of the Republican +party tended to produce such characters as John Brown. Trumbull answered +all their queries promptly, fully, and satisfactorily to his political +friends, if not to his questioners. Nothing in his senatorial career +brought him more cordial letters of approval than this debate. One such +came from Lincoln: + + SPRINGFIELD, December 25, 1859. + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL, + + DEAR SIR: I have carefully read your speech, and I judge that, + by the interruptions, it came out a much better speech than you + expected to make when you began. It really is an excellent one, + many of the points being most admirably made. + + I was in the inside of the post-office last evening when a mail + came bringing a considerable number of your documents, and the + postmaster said to me: "These will be put in the boxes, and + half will never be called for. If Trumbull would send them to + me, I would distribute a hundred where he will get ten + distributed this way." I said: "Shall I write this to + Trumbull?" He replied: "If you choose you may." I believe he + was sincere, but you will judge of that for yourself. + + Yours as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + +The next in chronological order of the letters of Lincoln to Trumbull is +the following: + + SPRINGFIELD, March 16, 1860. + + HON. L. TRUMBULL, + + MY DEAR SIR: When I first saw by the dispatches that Douglas + had run from the Senate while you were speaking, I did not + quite understand it; but seeing by the report that you were + cramming down his throat that infernal stereotyped lie of his + about "negro equality," the thing became plain. + + Another matter; our friend Delahay wants to be one of the + Senators from Kansas. Certainly it is not for outsiders to + obtrude their interference. Delahay has suffered a great deal + in our cause and been very faithful to it, as I understand. He + writes me that some of the members of the Kansas legislature + have written you in a way that your simple answer might help + him. I wish you would consider whether you cannot assist that + far, without impropriety. I know it is a delicate matter; and I + do not wish to press you beyond your own judgment. + + Yours as ever, + + A. Lincoln.[37] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[34] Herndon-Weik. _Life of Lincoln_, 2d edition, vol. II, chap. IV. + +[35] When Lincoln, at the Freeport debate, asked Douglas whether the +people of a territory could in any lawful way exclude slavery from their +limits prior to the formation of a state constitution, Douglas replied +that Lincoln had heard him answer that question "a hundred times from +every stump in Illinois." He certainly had answered it more than once, +and his answer had been published without attracting attention or +comment either North or South. On the 16th of July, 1858, six weeks +before the Freeport joint debate, he spoke at Bloomington, and there +announced and affirmed the doctrine of "unfriendly legislation" as a +means of excluding slavery from the territories. Lincoln was one of the +persons present when this speech was delivered. On the next day, Douglas +spoke at Springfield and repeated what he had said at Bloomington. Both +of these speeches were published in the Illinois _State Register_ of +July 19, yet the fact was not perceived, either by Lincoln himself, or +by any of the lynx-eyed editors and astute political friends who labored +to prevent him from asking Douglas the momentous question. Nor did the +Southern leaders seem to be aware of Douglas's views on this question +until they learned it from the Freeport debate. + +[36] _Cong. Globe_, 36th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 2241. + +[37] The manuscript of the foregoing letter is in the Lambert collection +of Lincolniana. The two following which relate also to Delahay's +senatorial aspirations, are in the collection of Jesse W. Weik, of +Greencastle, Ind.: + + SPRINGFIELD, October 17, 1859. + + DEAR DELAHAY: Your letter requesting me to drop a line in your + favor to Gen. Lane was duly received. I have thought it over, + and concluded it is not the best way. Any open attempt on my + part would injure you; and if the object merely be to assure + Gen. Lane of my friendship for you, show him the letter herewith + enclosed. I never saw him, or corresponded with him; so that a + letter directly from me to him, would run a great hazard of + doing harm to both you and me. + + As to the pecuniary matter, about which you formerly wrote me, I + again appealed to our friend Turner by letter, but he never + answered. I can but repeat to you that I am so pressed myself, + as to be unable to assist you, unless I could get it from him. + + Yours as ever, + + (Enclosure) A. LINCOLN. + + SPRINGFIELD, October 17, 1859. + + M. W. DELAHAY, ESQ., + + My dear Sir: I hear your name mentioned for one of the seats in + the U.S. Senate from your new state. I certainly would be + gratified with your success; and if there was any proper way for + me to give you a lift, I would certainly do it. But, as it is, I + can only wish you well. It would be improper for me to + interfere; and if I were to attempt it, it would do you harm. + + Your friend, as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + +P.S. Is not the election news glorious? + +We shall hear of Delahay again. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE ELECTION OF LINCOLN--SECESSION + + +The nomination of Lincoln for President by the Republican National +Convention in 1860 was a rather impromptu affair. In the years preceding +1858 he had not been accounted a party leader of importance in national +politics. The Republican party was still inchoate. Seward and Chase were +its foremost men. Next to them in rank were Sumner, Fessenden, Hale, +Collamer, Wade, Banks, and Sherman. Lincoln was not counted even in the +second rank until after the joint debates with Douglas. Attention was +riveted upon him because his antagonist was the most noted man of the +time. After the contest of 1858 was ended, although ended in defeat, +Lincoln was certainly elevated in public estimation to a good place in +the second rank of party leadership. It was not until the beginning of +1860, however, that certain persons in Illinois began to think of him as +a possible nominee for the Presidency. Lincoln did not think of himself +in that light until the month of March, about ten weeks before the +convention met. His estimate of his own chances was sufficiently modest, +and even that was shared by few. After the event his nomination was seen +to have been a natural consequence of preexisting facts. Seward was the +logical candidate of the party if, upon a comparison of views, it were +believed that he could be elected. One third of the delegates of +Illinois desired his nomination and intended to vote for him after a few +complimentary votes for Lincoln. + +There were some indispensable states, however, which, many people +believed, Seward could not carry. In Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Jersey, +Connecticut, and Rhode Island he was accounted too radical for the +temper of the electors. Illinois was reckoned by Trumbull and other +experienced politicians as doubtful if Seward should be the +standard-bearer. A conservative candidate of good repute, and +sufficiently well known to the public, seemed to be a desideratum. +Nobody had as yet thought of seeking a _radical_ candidate, who was +generally reputed to be a _conservative_. Bates, of Missouri, and +McLean, of Ohio, were the men most talked about by those who hesitated +to take Seward. McLean was a judge of the Supreme Court appointed by +President Jackson. He had been Postmaster-General under Monroe and John +Quincy Adams, and was now seventy-five years of age. Trumbull considered +him the safest candidate, for vote-getting purposes, as regarded +Illinois, if Lincoln were not nominated. In a letter dated April 7, +Lincoln had said that "if McLean were ten years younger he would be our +best candidate." Bates was regarded by both Lincoln and Trumbull as a +fairly good candidate, but Trumbull had been advised by Koerner, the +most influential German in Illinois, that Bates could not command the +German vote. Koerner had said also (in a letter dated March 15) that he +had made himself acquainted with the contents of more than fifty German +Republican newspapers in the United States and had found that they were +nearly unanimous for Seward, or Fremont, as first choice, but that they +would cordially support Lincoln or Chase. + +On the 24th of April, Trumbull wrote to Lincoln in reference to the +Chicago nomination. He said that his own impression was that, as between +Lincoln and Seward, the latter would have the larger number of delegates +and would be likely to succeed; and that this was the prevailing belief +in Washington, even among those who did not want Seward nominated. He +was also of the opinion that Seward could not be elected if nominated. +The Congressmen from the doubtful states were generally of that opinion, +and his own correspondence from central and southern Illinois pointed +the same way. The next question was whether the nomination of Seward +could be prevented. It was Trumbull's opinion that McLean was the only +man who could succeed in the convention as against Seward, and he could +do so only as a compromise candidate, beginning with a few votes, but +being the second choice of a sufficient number to outvote Seward in the +end. As to Lincoln's chances he said: + + Now I wish you to understand that I am for you first and + foremost, and want our state to send not only delegates + instructed in your favor, but your friends, who will stand by + you and nominate you if possible, never faltering unless you + yourself shall so advise. + +In conclusion he asked Lincoln's opinion about McLean. Lincoln replied +in the following letter: + + SPRINGFIELD, April 29, 1860. + + Hon. L. Trumbull, + + My dear Sir: Yours of the 24th was duly received, and I have + postponed answering it, hoping by the result at Charleston, to + know who is to lead our adversaries, before writing. But + Charleston hangs fire, and I wait no longer. + + As you request, I will be entirely frank. The taste _is_ in my + mouth a little; and this, no doubt, disqualifies me, to some + extent, to form correct opinions. You may confidently rely, + however, that by no advice or consent of mine shall my + pretensions be pressed to the point of endangering our common + cause. + + Now as to my opinion about the chances of others in Illinois, I + think neither Seward nor Bates can carry Illinois if Douglas + shall be on the track; and that either of them can, if he shall + not be. I rather think McLean could carry it, with Douglas on + or off. In other words, I think McLean is stronger in Illinois, + taking all sections of it, than either Seward or Bates, and I + think Seward the weakest of the three. I hear no objection to + McLean, except his age, but that objection seems to occur to + every one, and it is possible it might leave him no stronger + than the others. By the way, if we should nominate him, how + should we save ourselves the chance of filling his vacancy in + the court? Have him hold on up to the moment of his + inauguration? Would that course be no drawback upon us in the + canvass? + + Recurring to Illinois, we want something quite as much as, and + which is harder to get than, the electoral vote,--the + legislature,--and it is exactly on this point that Seward's + nomination would be hard on us. Suppose he should gain us a + thousand votes in Winnebago, it would not compensate for the + loss of fifty in Edgar. + + A word now for your own special benefit. You better write no + letter which can be distorted into opposition, or + _quasi_-opposition, to me. There are men on the constant watch + for such things, out of which to prejudice my peculiar friends + against you. While I have no more suspicion of you than I have + of my best friend living, I am kept in a constant struggle + against questions of this sort. I have hesitated some to write + this paragraph, lest you should suspect I do it for my own + benefit and not for yours, but on reflection I conclude you + will not suspect me. Let no eye but your own see this--not that + there is anything wrong or even ungenerous in it, but it would + be misconstrued. + + Your friend as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + +What happened in the Chicago Convention was widely different from the +conjectures of these writers, but the result seemed entirely reasonable +after it was reached. Lincoln was as radical as Seward--subsequent +events proved him to be more so--but his tone and temper had been more +conservative, more sedative, more sympathetic toward "our Southern +brethren," as he often called them. He had never endorsed the +"higher-law doctrine," with which Seward's name was associated; he +believed that the South was entitled, under the Constitution, to an +efficient Fugitive Slave Law; he had never incurred the enmity, as +Seward had, of the Fillmore men, or of the American party. + +These facts, coupled with some personal contact and neighborliness, +early attracted the conservative delegates of Indiana. Seward, with his +"irrepressible conflict" speech, had been too strong a dose for them, +but they were quite willing to take Lincoln, whose phrase, "the house +divided against itself," had preceded the irrepressible conflict speech +by some months. The example of Indiana bore immediate fruit in other +quarters, and especially in Pennsylvania. Curtin, the nominee for +governor, was early convinced that Seward could not carry that state, +but that Lincoln could. Curtin and Henry S. Lane, the nominee for +governor of Indiana, became active torch-bearers for Lincoln. + +When those states pronounced for Lincoln, the men of Vermont (the most +radical of the New England States), who had been waiting and watching in +the Babel of discord for some solid and assured fact, voting meantime +for Collamer, turned to Lincoln and gave him their entire vote. +Vermont's example was more important than her numerical strength, for it +disclosed the inmost thoughts of a group of intelligent, high-principled +men, who were moved by an unselfish purpose and a solemn responsibility. +Lincoln had now become the cynosure of the conservatives with a +first-class radical endorsement to boot, and he deserved both +distinctions. His nomination followed on the third ballot. + +Dr. William Jayne, Springfield, May 20, wrote to Trumbull: + + The National Convention is over and Lincoln is our + standard-bearer, much (I doubt not) to his own surprise; I know + to the surprise of his friends. They went to Chicago fearful + that Seward would be nominated, and ready to unite on any + other man, but anxious and zealous for Lincoln. Pennsylvania + could agree on no man of her own heartily. Ohio was for Chase + and Wade. Indiana was united on Lincoln. That fact made an + impression on the New England States. Seward's friends were + quite confident after the balloting commenced. Now, if Douglas + is not nominated, we will carry the state by thousands. If D. + is nominated, we will carry the state, but we will have a hard + fight to do it. + +Out of a large mass of letters in the Trumbull correspondence touching +the nomination of Lincoln, a half-dozen are selected as examples. + + Richard Yates, Jacksonville, May 24, 1860, says the Chicago + nominations were received with delight, and there is every + indication of success in Illinois. + + John Tillson, Quincy, May 28, writes that the nominations are + highly acceptable here to every one except the Douglas men, who + have just found out that Mr. Seward is the purest, ablest, and + most consistent statesman of the age. + + J. A. Mills, Atlanta, Logan County, June 4: "I have never seen + such enthusiasm, at least since 1840, as is now manifested for + Lincoln. Scores of Democrats are coming over to us." + + B. Lewis, Jacksonville, June 6: "The Charleston Convention has + struck the Democratic party with paralysis wherever Douglas was + popular as their leader (and that was pretty much all over the + free states), and we have now such an opportunity to make an + impression as I never saw before.... We are actually making + conversions here every day. The fact tells the whole story. In + 1858 I anxiously desired to hear of one occasionally, at least + as a sign, but I could never hear of a single one. Now it is + all gloriously changed." + + W. H. Herndon, Springfield, June 14: "Lincoln is well and doing + well. Has hundreds of letters daily. Many visitors every hour + from all sections. He is bored, _bored badly_. Good gracious! I + would not have his place and be bored as he is. I could not + endure it." + + H. G. McPike, Alton, June 29: "We have distributed a large + number of speeches as you are aware, the most effective, I + think, under all the circumstances, is that of Carl Schurz." + +In reply to letters of Trumbull, of which no copies were kept by him, +Lincoln wrote the following: + + SPRINGFIELD, May 26, 1860. + + HON. L. TRUMBULL, + + MY DEAR SIR: I have received your letter since the nomination, + for which I sincerely thank you. As you say, if we cannot get + our state up now, I do not see when we can. The nominations + start well here, and everywhere else as far as I have heard. We + may have a back-set yet. Give my respects to the Republican + Senators, and especially to Mr. Hamlin, Mr. Seward, Gen. + Cameron, and Mr. Wade. Also to your good wife. Write again, and + do not write so short letters as I do. + + Your friend as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + + SPRINGFIELD, ILL., June 5, 1860. + + HON. L. TRUMBULL, + + MY DEAR SIR: Yours of May 31, inclosing Judge R.'s[38] letter + is received. I see by the papers this morning, that Mr. + Fillmore refused to go with us. What do the New Yorkers at + Washington think of this? Governor Reeder was here last + evening, direct from Pennsylvania. He is entirely confident of + that state and of the general result. I do not remember to have + heard Gen. Cameron's opinion of Penn. Weed was here and saw us, + but he showed no signs whatever of the intriguer. He asked for + nothing and said N. Y. is safe without conditions. + + Remembering that Peter denied his Lord with an oath, after most + solemnly protesting that he never would, I will not swear I + will make no committals, but I do not think I will. + + Write me often. I look with great interest for your letters + now. + + Yours as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + +Notwithstanding the brilliant opening of the campaign, the contest in +Illinois was a very stiff one. Dr. Jayne's forecast was confirmed by the +result. Lincoln's plurality over Douglas in the state was 11,946, and +his majority over all was 4629. Dr. Jayne was himself elected State +Senator in the district composed of Sangamon and Morgan counties. The +Republican State Committee made extraordinary efforts to carry this +district, as they believed that the reelection of Senator Trumbull would +depend upon it. They obtained five thousand dollars as a special fund +from New York for this purpose. Jayne was elected by a majority of seven +votes, but Douglas received a plurality of one hundred and three over +Lincoln in the same district. By the election of Jayne, the Republicans +secured a majority of one in the State Senate. This insured the holding +of a joint convention of the legislature, at which Trumbull was +reelected Senator. + +At Springfield, Illinois, November 20, 1860, there was a grand +celebration of the election of Lincoln and Hamlin, at which speeches +were made by Trumbull, Palmer, and Yates. Lincoln had been urged to say +something at this meeting that would tend to quiet the rising surges of +disunion at the South, but he thought that the time for him to speak had +not yet come. He wished to let his record speak for him, and to see +whether the commotion in the slaveholding states would increase or +subside. Meanwhile he desired that the influence of this public meeting +at his home should be peaceful and not irritating. To this end he wrote +the following words, handed them to Trumbull and asked him to make them +a part of his speech: + + I have labored in and for the Republican organization with + entire confidence that, whenever it shall be in power, each and + all of the states will be left in as complete control of their + own affairs respectively, and at as perfect liberty to choose + and employ their own means of protecting property and + preserving peace and order within their respective limits, as + they have ever been under any administration. Those who have + voted for Mr. Lincoln have expected and still expect this; and + they would not have voted for him had they expected otherwise. + + I regard it as extremely fortunate for the peace of the whole + country that this point, upon which the Republicans have been + so long and so persistently misrepresented, is now brought to a + practical test and placed beyond the possibility of a doubt. + Disunionists _per se_ are now in hot haste to get out of the + Union, because they perceive they cannot much longer maintain + an apprehension among the Southern people that their homes and + firesides and their lives are to be endangered by the action of + the Federal Government. With such "Now or never" is the maxim. + I am rather glad of the military preparations in the South. It + will enable the people the more easily to suppress any + uprisings there, which those misrepresentations of purpose may + have encouraged. + +These words were incorporated in Mr. Trumbull's speech and were printed +in the newspapers, and the manuscript in Lincoln's handwriting is still +preserved.[39] + +But Mr. Lincoln's record neither hastened nor retarded the secession of +the Southern States. The words he had previously spoken or written were +as completely disregarded by the promoters of disunion as were those +uttered now by Trumbull. + +Jefferson Davis was not one of the hot-heads of secession. His speech in +the Senate on January 10, 1861, reads like that of a man who sincerely +regretted the step that South Carolina had taken, and deprecated that +which Mississippi was about to take, although he justified it afterward, +but he believed that the coercion of South Carolina would be the +death-knell of the Union. His remedy for the existing menace was not to +reinforce the garrison at Fort Sumter, but to withdraw it altogether, as +a preliminary step to negotiations with the seceding state. Yet he did +not say what terms South Carolina would agree to, or that she would +agree to any. That Lincoln was in no mood to offer terms to South +Carolina or to any seceding states which did not say what would satisfy +them, was made emphatic in a letter from Dr. William Jayne to Trumbull, +dated Springfield, January 28, saying that Governor Yates had received +telegraph dispatches from the governors of Ohio and Indiana, asking +whether Illinois would appoint peace commissioners in response to a call +sent out by the governor of Virginia to meet at Washington on the 4th of +February. "Lincoln," he continued, "advised Yates not to take any action +at present. He said he would rather be hanged by the neck till he was +dead on the steps of the Capitol than buy or beg a peaceful +inauguration." + +The following letters from Lincoln throw light on his attitude toward a +compromise at a somewhat earlier stage: + + _Private and Confidential_ + + SPRINGFIELD, ILL., December 10, 1860. + + HON. L. TRUMBULL, + + MY DEAR SIR: Let there be no compromise on the question of + _extending_ slavery. If there be, all our labor is lost, and + ere long must be done over again. The dangerous ground--that + into which some of our friends have a hankering to run--is Pop. + Sov. Have none of it. Stand firm. The tug has to come; and + better now than any time hereafter. + + Yours as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + + _Confidential_ + + SPRINGFIELD, ILL., December 17, 1860. + + HON. L. TRUMBULL, + + MY DEAR SIR: Yours enclosing Mr. Wade's letter, which I + herewith return, is received. If any of our friends do prove + false and fix up a compromise on the territorial question, I am + for fighting again--that is all. It is but a repetition for me + to say I am for an honest enforcement of the Constitution--the + fugitive slave clause included. + + Mr. Gilmore of N. C. wrote me, and I answered confidentially, + enclosing my letter to Gov. Corwin to be delivered or not as he + might deem prudent. I now enclose you a copy of it. + + Yours as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + + _Confidential_ + + SPRINGFIELD, ILL., December 21, 1860. + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL, + + MY DEAR SIR: Thurlow Weed was with me nearly all day yesterday, + and left last night with three short resolutions which I drew + up, and which, or the substance of which, I think, would do + much good if introduced and unanimously supported by our + friends. They do not touch the territorial question. Mr. Weed + goes to Washington with them; and says that he will first of + all confer with you and Mr. Hamlin. I think it would be best + for Mr. Seward to introduce them, and Mr. Weed will let him + know that I think so. Show this to Mr. Hamlin, but beyond him + do not let my name be known in the matter. + + Yours as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + +The first of the three resolutions named was to amend the Constitution +by providing that no future amendment should be made giving Congress the +power to interfere with slavery in the states where it existed by law. +The second was for a law of Congress providing that fugitive slaves +captured should have a jury trial. The third recommended that the +Northern States should "review" their personal liberty laws. + + SPRINGFIELD, ILL., December 24, 1860. + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL, + + MY DEAR SIR: I expect to be able to offer Mr. Blair a place in + the Cabinet, but I cannot as yet be committed on the matter to + any extent whatever. + + Dispatches have come here two days in succession that the forts + in South Carolina will be surrendered by order, or consent, at + least, of the President. I can scarcely believe this, but if it + prove true, I will, if our friends in Washington concur, + announce publicly at once that they are to be retaken after the + inauguration. This will give the Union men a rallying cry, and + preparations will proceed somewhat on this side as well as on + the other. + + Yours as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + +Trumbull's own opinions about compromise were set forth in a +correspondence with E. C. Larned, an eminent lawyer of Chicago. Under +date January 7, Larned sent him a series of resolutions written by +himself which were passed at a great Union meeting composed of +Republicans and Democrats in Metropolitan Hall. One of these resolutions +suggested "great concessions" to the South without specifying what they +should be. Larned asked Trumbull to read them and advise him whether +they met his approval. Trumbull replied under date January 16, at +considerable length, saying: + + In the present condition of things it is not advisable, in my + opinion, for Republicans to concede or talk of conceding + anything. The people of most of the Southern States are mad and + in no condition to listen to reasonable propositions. They + persist in misrepresenting the Republicans and many of them are + resolved on breaking up the Government before they will + consider what guarantees they want. To make or propose + concessions to such a people, only displays the weakness of the + Government. A Union which can be destroyed at the will of any + one state is hardly worth preserving. The first question to be + determined is whether we have a Government capable of + maintaining itself against a state rebellion. When that + question is effectually settled and the Republicans are + installed in power, I would willingly concede almost anything, + not involving principle, for the purpose of overcoming what I + regard the misapprehension and prejudice of the South, but to + propose concessions in advance of obtaining power looks to me + very much like a confession in advance that the principles on + which we carried the election are impracticable and wrong. Had + the Republican party from the start as one man refused to + entertain or talk compromises and concessions, and given it to + be understood that the Union was to be maintained and the laws + enforced at all hazards, I do not believe secession would ever + have obtained the strength it now has. + +The pages of the _Congressional Globe_ of 1860-61 make the two most +intensely interesting volumes in our country's history. They embrace the +last words that the North and South had to say to each other before the +doors of the temple of Janus were thrown open to the Civil War. As the +moment of parting approached, the language became plainer, and its most +marked characteristic was not anger, not hatred between disputants, but +failure to understand each other. It was as though the men on either +side were looking at an object through glasses of different color, or +arguing in different languages, or worshiping different gods. Typical of +the disputants were Davis and Trumbull, men of equally strong +convictions and high breeding, and moved equally by love of country as +they understood that term. Davis made three speeches, two of which were +on the general subject of debate, and one his farewell to the Senate. +The first, singularly enough, was called out by a resolution offered by +a fellow Southerner and Democrat, Green, of Missouri (December 10, +1860), who proposed that there should be an armed police force provided +by Federal authority to guard, where necessary, the boundary line +between the slaveholding and the non-slaveholding states, to preserve +the peace, prevent invasions, and execute the Fugitive Slave Law. This +scheme Davis considered a quack remedy, and he declared that he could +not give it his support because it looked to the employment of force to +bring about a condition of security which ought to exist without force. +The present want of security, he contended, could not be cured by an +armed patrol, but only by a change of sentiment in the majority section +of the Union toward the minority section. Upon this test he argued in a +dispassionate way for a considerable space, ending in these words: + + This Union is dear to me as a Union of fraternal states. It + would lose its value to me if I had to regard it as a Union + held together by physical force. I would be happy to know that + every state now felt that fraternity which made this Union + possible; and if that evidence could go out, if evidence + satisfactory to the people of the South could be given, that + _that_ feeling existed in the hearts of the Northern people, + you might burn your statute books and we would cling to the + Union still. But it is because of their conviction that + hostility and not fraternity now exists in the hearts of the + Northern people, that they are looking to their reserved rights + and to their independent powers for their own protection. If + there be any good, then, which we can do, it is by sending + evidence to them of that which I fear does not exist--the + purpose in your constituents to fulfill in the spirit of + justice and fraternity all their constitutional obligations. If + you can submit to them that evidence, I feel confidence that + with the evidence that aggression is henceforth to cease, will + terminate all the measures for defense. Upon you of the + majority section it depends to restore peace and perpetuate the + Union of equal states; upon us of the minority section rests + the duty to maintain our equality and community rights; and the + means in one case or the other must be such as each can + control.[40] + +This was the explicit confirmation of what Lincoln had said, in his +Cooper Institute speech a year earlier, was the chief difficulty of the +North: "We must not only let them (the South) alone, but we must somehow +convince them that we do let them alone." + +The best speech made on the Republican side of the chamber during this +momentous session of Congress was made by Trumbull on the night of March +2. It was a speech adverse to the Crittenden Compromise, and was a reply +to Crittenden's final speech in support of it. This measure was a joint +resolution proposing certain amendments to the Constitution, the first +of which proposed to apply the old Missouri Compromise line, of 36 deg. 30' +north latitude, to all the remaining territory of the United States, so +that in all territory north of it, then owned or thereafter acquired, +slavery should be prohibited, and that in all south of it, then owned or +thereafter acquired, slavery should be recognized as existing, and that +the right of property in slaves there should be protected by Federal +law. It was offered on the 18th of December, 1860, and debated till the +2d of March following, when it was defeated by yeas 19, nays 20, all the +Republicans voting against it except Seward, who did not vote and was +not paired.[41] + +Just before the vote was taken, Crittenden tried to amend his measure by +striking out the words "hereafter acquired" as to the territory south of +36 deg. 30', which he said was giving great offense in some parts of the +North. This was not in the measure as originally proposed by him, but he +had accepted it as an amendment offered by his colleague, Senator +Powell. It was then too late to amend except by unanimous consent, and +Hunter, of Virginia, objected. In this last debate, Mason drew attention +to the minimum demands of Virginia as expressed by her legislature. +These were the Crittenden Compromise, including territory "hereafter +acquired," and the right of slaveholders to pass with their slaves +through the free states with protection to their slave property in +transit. Mason intimated pretty plainly that even this would not satisfy +him, for which he received some castigation at the hands of Douglas. The +latter was a steady supporter of the Crittenden Compromise, but he +maintained throughout the debate that no cause for disunion would +exist, even if the measure were defeated, and that none would exist if +the Federal Government should attempt to compel a state or any number of +states to obey the Federal law. + +Simultaneously with the rejection of the Crittenden Compromise, the +Senate, by a two-thirds majority, passed a joint resolution to amend the +Constitution by adding to it the following article: + + Article XIII. No amendment shall be made to the Constitution + which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish + or interfere, within any state, with the domestic institutions + thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by + the laws of said state. + +This was a resolution introduced by Corwin, of Ohio. It had already +passed the House by a two-thirds majority, but it fell into the limbo of +forgotten things before sunrise of the 4th of March. + +During this crisis Trumbull was receiving hundreds of letters from his +constituents, nearly all exhorting him to stand firm. The only ones +counseling compromise were from the commercial classes in Chicago, and +of these there were fewer than might have been expected in view of the +threatened danger to trade and industry. The dwellers in the small towns +and on the farms were almost unanimously opposed to the Crittenden +Compromise. A few letters are here cited from representative men in +their respective localities: + + A. B. Barrett (Mount Vernon, January 5) has taken pains to + gather the opinions of Republicans in his neighborhood in + reference to the secession movement and finds them, without a + single exception, in favor of enforcing the laws and opposed to + any concession on the part of Congress which would recognize + slavery as right in principle, or as a national institution. + + J. H. Smith (Bushnell, January 7) contends that the Chicago + platform was a contract between the Republican voters and the + men elected to office by them, and the voters expect them to + live up to it, to the very letter. "If the South wants to fight + let them pitch in as soon as they please; we would rather fight + than allow slavery to go into any more territory." Encloses + resolutions to this purport passed by a public meeting of + citizens of his town. + + A. C. Harding (Monmouth, January 12) is pained to hear a rumor + that some Republicans in Washington are considering a bill to + make a slave state south of 36 deg. 30', thus sanctioning a slave + code by Congress. Any concessions that shall violate the + pledges of the Republican party will instantly turn the guns of + our truest friends upon those who thus give strength to the + Southern rebels. Neither Adams nor Seward nor Lincoln can for a + moment escape the fatal consequences if they yield their + principles at the threat of disunion. + + Wait Talcott (Rockford, January 17) has just finished reading + Seward's speech. It leads him to fear that yielding to the + South, and calling a national convention under their threat, + will embolden them, whenever the result of an election does not + suit them, to insist that the victors shall take the place of + the vanquished. + + G. Koerner (Belleville, January 21): The Democratic Convention + at Springfield has done some mischief by inflaming the lower + order of the Democracy and confirming them in their seditious + views. On the other hand, it has disgusted the better class of + Democrats. It was a sort of indignation meeting of all the + disappointed candidates, office-seekers, and losers of bets. A + few Republicans are giving way under the pressure, but upon the + whole the party stands firm. "Has secession culminated or is + worse to come? I am prepared for the application of force. In + fact, a collision is inevitable. Why ought not we to test our + Government instead of leaving it to our children?" + + H. G. McPike (Alton, January 24): "Our people believe the + Constitution to be good enough. Let it alone. A compromise of + any principle dissolves the Republican party, takes the great + moral heart out of it, and will in so far bring ruin on the + Government." + + J. M. Sturtevant, president of Illinois College (Jacksonville, + January 30), protests against the tone of Mr. Seward's speech. + Says that the solid phalanx of thoughtful, conscientious, + earnest, religious men who form the backbone of the Republican + party will never follow Mr. Seward, or any other man, in the + direction in which he seems to be leading. "We want the + Constitution as it is, the Union as the Fathers framed it, and + the Chicago platform. And we will support no man and no party + that surrenders these or any portion of them." + + Grant Goodrich (Chicago, January 31) is convinced by his + intercourse with the mass of Republicans, and with many + Democrats, that any concessions by which additional rights are + given to slavery will end the Republican party. There will be a + division of the Republicans; a new party will arise, which will + include the entire German element and which will be as hostile + to the "Union-saving" Republicans as to the Democrats, and much + more intolerant to their former allies. + + E. Peck (Springfield, February 1) says that the proposition to + send commissioners to Washington was passed by the legislature + as a matter of necessity, because, if the Republicans had not + taken the lead, the Democrats would have done so, and would + have obtained the help of a sufficient number of weak-kneed + Republicans to make a majority. Mr. Lincoln would have + preferred that commissioners be not appointed. + + W. H. Herndon (Springfield, February 9): "Are our Republican + friends going to concede away dignity, Constitution, Union, + laws, and justice? If they do, I am their enemy now and + forever. I may not have much influence, but I will help tear + down the Republican party and erect another in its stead. + Before I would buy the South, by compromises and concessions, + to get what is the people's due, I would die, rot, and be + forgotten, willingly." + + Samuel C. Parks (Lincoln, Logan County, February 11) is opposed + to the Crittenden Compromise, because the integrity of the + Republican party and the salvation of the country require that + this grand drama of secession, disunion, and treason be played + out entirely. Either slavery or freedom must rule this country, + or there must be a final separation of the free and the slave + states. No compromise will do any permanent good. On the + contrary, if the territorial question is compromised now, it + will but postpone, aggravate, and prolong the contest. + Considers it mean and cowardly to leave to our children a great + national trouble that we might settle ourselves. + +January 2, 1861, Trumbull wrote to Governor Yates advising that some +steps be taken in the way of military preparations, saying: + + The impression is very general here that Buchanan has waked up + at last to the sense of his condition and will make an effort + to enforce the laws and protect the public property. That this + was his determination two days ago, I have the best reasons for + knowing, but he is so feeble, vacillating, and irresolute, that + I fear he will not act efficiently; and some even say that he + has again fallen into the hands of the disunionists. This I + cannot believe. If he does his duty with tolerable efficiency, + even at this late day, there will be no serious difficulty. The + states which resolved themselves out of the Union would be + coming back before many months. But if he continues to side + with the disunionists, we cannot avoid serious trouble, for in + that event I think the traitors would be encouraged to attempt + to take possession here, and most of the public property and + munitions of war would be placed in the hands of the + disunionists before the 4th of March. In view of the present + condition of affairs and the uncertainty as to the future, I + think it no more than prudent that our state should be making + some preparations to organize its military, or get up volunteer + companies, so as to be ready to come to the support of the + Constitution and the laws if the occasion should require. I + think that there will be no occasion for troops here, and that + the inauguration will probably take place. But take place it + must, and at Washington, even though a hundred thousand men + have to come here to effect it. The Government is a failure + unless this is done. + +Governor Yates's reply, if any, is not found in the Trumbull papers, but +a letter from him dated Springfield, January 22, says that Frank P. +Blair, Jr., had just arrived from St. Louis with information that the +secessionists in Missouri had formed a plot to seize the United States +Arsenal at St. Louis, which was the only depot of arms west of +Pittsburg. If this should be attempted, Yates said it would lead to +serious complications and perhaps a collision between Illinois and +Missouri, since it could not be permitted that this great arsenal, +intended for the use of the entire West, should fall into the hands of +enemies of the Union. He asked Trumbull to see General Scott at once and +insist that something be done which would obviate the necessity of +action on the part of the state of Illinois. + +Some letters from Mrs. Trumbull to her son Walter, who was on a warship +in foreign parts during the month of January, 1861, supply a few items +of interest. + +January 21 she says: + + The Senators of Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida yesterday + took formal leave of the Senate. The speech of Clay, of + Alabama, was very ugly, but that of Davis was pathetic, and + even Republican ladies were moved to tears. Gov. Pickens of S. + C. sent for $300 due him as Minister to Russia, and the + Treasurer sent him a draft on the sub-treasury at Charleston + which the Rebels had seized. + +January 24: + + Called at Dr. Sunderland's[42] yesterday. He said that in + talking with a disunionist a few days ago he asked what the + South demanded and what would satisfy them. He replied that the + North must be uneducated, or educated differently; their + sentiments must be changed, and it can't be done in this + generation. + + Just before starting home, Toombs's coachman, strange to say, + deserted his kind master for a trip on the Underground + Railroad, greatly to the disgust of Mrs. Toombs. She was met by + Mrs. Judge McLean, who said to her, "Mrs. Toombs, are you going + to leave us?" "Yes," she replied, "I am glad enough to go; here + I am riding in a hack!" It was very hard, very disgusting, and + Mrs. McLean, instead of trying to hunt up her fugitive for her, + told her that when the South had all seceded, they would have + Canada right on their borders, and where one now escaped, there + would then be a hundred. + +January 26: + + The city begins to present a warlike appearance. Two companies + are stationed quite near us on E St. and others are placed in + Judiciary Square near the Capitol, and at the President's, + about 700 in all. A company of light artillery arrived + yesterday morning, soon after which cannonading was heard, + volley after volley. I supposed the thunder of the cannon was + meant to convey wholesome instruction to the revolutionists, + but I learned this evening that it was a salute for Kansas, + which is now a state. Thirty-four guns were fired. I understood + that some of the ladies at the National Hotel were so alarmed + that they began to pack their trunks so as to retreat promptly + with all their luggage. I believe that Gen. Scott intends to + have more troops here, but the O. P. F.[43] countermands most + of his orders. The Cabinet find him very troublesome even now; + he still listens to Slidell and others. + + A set of compromisers came here a few days since from New York + with a string of resolutions and explained them to Senator + King, hoping he would endorse them. Mr. King read them and + handed them back silently. Said the spokesman: "I trust they + meet your approval, they are good resolutions; you approve + them, do you not, Mr. King?" He answered in his good-humored, + laughing way, but withal very firmly: "I would resign my seat + first and I think I would rather die." The same men went to + your father urging him to support them, and stated that New + York would not defend the public property within her limits + unless Congress adopted some such action. Your father told them + that if that was to be the course of New York, we might as well + know it now as ever, and refused to have anything to do with + their resolutions. + +In the same letter she writes: + + Mrs. McLean called yesterday. She said they dined at the White + House once while the President was making up his mind whether + or not to recall Major Anderson. The judge took the President + aside to make some inquiries about the Major. Buchanan replied + that he had exceeded his instructions and must be recalled. The + Judge raised his hand with vehemence, almost in the President's + face, and asserted with emphasis: "You dare not do it, sir, you + dare not do it." And he did not. + +Probably this is the only instance on record where a Judge of the +Supreme Court shook his fist in the face of the President after dining +with him at the White House. It is not improbable that the vehemence of +the venerable Judge was one of the potent reasons deterring Buchanan +from ordering Anderson to return from Fort Sumter to Fort Moultrie.[44] + +TRUMBULL'S SPEECH AGAINST THE CRITTENDEN COMPROMISE + + [In the Senate, March 2, 1861.] + + MR. TRUMBULL. Mr. President, the long public service of the + Senator from Kentucky, his acknowledged patriotism and devotion + to the Union, give great importance to whatever he says; and in + all he has said in favor of the Union and its preservation, and + the maintenance of the Constitution, I most heartily concur. No + man shall exceed me in devotion to the Constitution and the + Union. But, while this is so, what the Senator says of those of + us who disagree with him as to the mode of preserving the Union + and maintaining the peace of the country is well calculated, in + consequence of the position he occupies, to mislead and + prejudice the public mind as to our true position. Does he + expect, or can he expect, that compromises will be made and + concessions yielded when he talks of the great party of this + country, constituting a majority of its people, as being wedded + to a dogma set up above the Constitution; when he talks of us + as usurping all the territories, as ostracizing all the people + of the South, and denying them their rights? Is that the way to + obtain compromises? Instead of turning his denunciation upon + those who violate the Constitution and trample the flag of the + country in the dust, he turns to us and talks to us of + usurpations, of our dogmas; tells us that for a straw we are + willing to dissolve the Union and involve the country in blood. + Why are not these appeals made and these rebukes administered + to the men who are involving the country in blood? If it is a + straw for us to yield, is it anything more than a straw for + them to demand? If it is a trifle for us to concede, is it any + larger than a trifle which the South demands, and to obtain + which it is willing to destroy this Union, which he has so + beautifully and so highly eulogized? + + Sir, I have heard this charge against the people of the North, + of a desire to usurp the whole of the common territories, till + I am tired of the accusation. It has been made and refuted ten + thousand times. Not a man in the North denies to every citizen + of the South the same right in a territory that he claims for + himself. And who are the people of the South? Slaveholders? Not + one white citizen in twenty of the population in the South owns + a slave. The nineteen twentieths of the non-slaveholding + population of the South are forgotten, while the one twentieth + is spoken of as "the South." The man who owns a slave in the + South has just as much right in the territory as a man in the + North who owns no slave. If the Southerner cannot take his + negro slave to the territory, neither can the Northern man. + + Again, sir, the Senator talks of the rights of the States to + the common territories. The territories do not belong to the + States; they are the property of the General Government; and + the state of Kentucky has no more right in a territory than has + the city of Washington, or any county in the state of Maryland. + As a state, Kentucky has no right in a territory, nor has + Illinois; but the territories belong to the Federal government, + and are disposed of to the citizens of the United States, + without regard to locality. + + But, sir, I propose to inquire what it is that has brought the + country to its present condition; what it is that has + occasioned this disruption, this revolution in a portion of the + country. Many years ago an attempt was made in the state of + South Carolina to disrupt this Government, at that time on + account of the revenue system. It failed. The disunionists of + 1832 were put down by General Jackson; and from that day to + this there have been secessionists _per se_, men who have been + struggling continuously and persistently to propagate their + doctrine wherever they could find followers; and, I am sorry to + say, they seem to have impressed the public mind of the South, + to a great extent, with their notions. In 1850, the effort to + break up the Government was renewed. It was then settled by + what were known as the compromise measures of that year. The + great men of that day--Clay, Webster, Cass, and others--took + part in that settlement, and it was then supposed that the + settlement would be permanent. The controversy of 1850 was not + in regard to a tariff, but in regard to the negro question; the + very question which General Jackson had prophesied, in the + nullification times, would be the one upon which the next + attempt would be made to destroy the Government. After a long + struggle, the compromise measures of 1850 were passed. Quiet + was given to the country; all parties in all sections of the + country acquiesced in the settlement then made. Resolutions + were offered in this body denouncing any person who should + attempt again to introduce the question of slavery into + Congress. Speeches were made, in which Senators declared that + they would never again speak upon the subject in the Congress + of the United States. It was said that the slavery question was + forever removed from the halls of Congress, and we then + supposed that the country would continue quiet on this exciting + subject. But, sir, in 1854, notwithstanding the pledges which + had been given in 1850, notwithstanding the quiet of the + country, when no man was agitating the slavery question; when + no petitions came from the states, counties, cities, or towns, + from villages or individuals, asking a disturbance of former + compromises; when all was quiet, of a sudden a proposition was + sprung in this chamber to unsettle the very questions which had + been put to rest by the compromises of 1850. A proposition was + then introduced to repeal one of the compromises which had been + recognized by the acts of 1850; for the Missouri Compromise, + which excluded slavery from Kansas and Nebraska, was, by + reference, directly and in express terms, reaffirmed by the + compromises of 1850. But, sir, in the beginning of 1854, that + fatal proposition was introduced and embodied in the + Kansas-Nebraska Act, which declared that the eighth section of + the act for the admission of Missouri into the Union, which had + passed in 1820, and which excluded slavery from Kansas and + Nebraska, should be repealed, it being declared to be "the true + intent and meaning of the act not to introduce slavery into any + state or territory, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave + the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their + domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the + Constitution of the United States"--a little stump speech, as + Colonel Benton denominated it, introduced into the body of the + bill, which has since become as familiar to all the children of + the land, from its frequent repetition, as Mother Goose's + stories. That was the fatal act which brought about the + agitation of the slavery question; and on the repeal of the + Missouri Compromise followed the disturbances in the settlement + of Kansas. That act led to civil war in Kansas, to the burning + of towns, to the invasion from Missouri, to all the horrors and + anarchy which reigned in that ill-fated territory for several + years, all of which is too fresh in the recollection of the + American people to require repetition. And, sir, from that day + to this, the doctrine which it is pretended was enunciated in + 1854 in the Kansas-Nebraska Act, of non-intervention, of + popular sovereignty, for it is known under various names, has + been preached all over the country, until in the election of + 1860, it was repudiated and scouted, North and South, by a + majority of the people in every state in the Union; and even at + this session, it has been thrust in here upon almost every + occasion, as the grand panacea that was to give peace to the + country; whereas it was the very thing which gave rise to all + the difficulties. The disunionists per se have seized hold of + the disturbances growing out of the slavery question, all + occasioned by this fatal step in 1854, to inflame the public + mind of the South, and bring about the state of things which + now exists. + + But, sir, the Union survived the disunion movement of 1832; it + survived the excitement upon the slavery question in 1850; it + survived the disturbances in Kansas in 1855 and 1856, + consequent upon the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. It + survived them all without an actual attempt at disruption, + until we came down to 1860, and Abraham Lincoln was elected + President; and even now, notwithstanding the dissatisfaction at + his election in some portions of the country, and all the + previous troubles, the laws to-day would have had force in + every part of the Union, and secession would have been checked + in its very origin, had the Government done its duty and not + acted in complicity with the men who had resolved to destroy + it. + + The secession movement, then, dates back several years. It + received an impetus in 1850; another in 1854; and in 1860, by + the connivance and the assistance of the Government itself, it + acquired the strength which it now has. What has been the + policy of the expiring administration? Its Cabinet officers + boasting of their complicity with the men who were plotting the + destruction of the Government; openly proclaiming in the face + of the world that they had used their official power, while + members of the Cabinet, and sworn to protect and preserve the + Government, to furnish the means for its destruction; openly + acknowledging before the world that they had used the power + which their positions gave them to discredit the Government, + and also to furnish arms and munitions of war to the men who + were conspiring together to assault its fortifications, and + seize its property; openly boasting that they had taken care, + during their public service, to see that the arms of the + Federal Government were placed in convenient positions for the + use of those who designed to employ them for its destruction. + More than this, members, while serving in the other branch of + Congress, go to the Executive of the United States, and tell + him, "Sir, we are taking steps in South Carolina to break up + this Government; you have forts and fortifications there; they + are but poorly manned; now if you will leave them in the + condition they are until the state of South Carolina gets ready + to take possession, we will wait until that time before we + seize them"; and the Executive of the nation asks that the + treasonable proposition be put in writing, and files it away. + Why, sir, is there another capital on the face of the globe, to + which men could come from state or province, and inform the + executive head that they were about to take steps to seize the + public property belonging to the Government, and warn the + Executive to leave it in its insecure and undefended state + until they should be prepared to take possession, and they be + permitted to depart? Is there another capital on the face of + the globe where commissioners coming to the Executive under + these circumstances would not have been arrested on the spot + for treason? But your Government, if it did not directly + promise not to arm its forts, certainly took no steps to + protect its public property; and this went on, until a gallant + officer who was in command of less than a hundred men in the + harbor of Charleston, acting upon his own responsibility, + thought proper to throw his little force into a fort where he + could protect himself; and then it was that these insurgents, + rebelling against the Government, demanded that he should be + withdrawn, and the Executive then was forced to take position. + Then his Cabinet officers who had been in conspiracy with the + plotters of treason, then the Chief Magistrate himself was + forced to take position. He must openly withdraw his forces, + and surrender the public property he was sworn to protect, + openly violate the oath he had taken to support the + Constitution of the United States, and execute the laws, and + take side with traitors; or else he must leave Major Anderson + where he was. Exposed to public view, brought to this dilemma, + I am glad to say that even then, at that late day, the + President of the United States concluded to take sides for the + Union; that even he came out, though feebly it was, on the part + of the United States, and his Secretary of War retired from his + Cabinet, not in disgrace, so far as its executive head was + concerned, for he parted pleasantly with the President of the + United States, but he retired because the President would not + carry out the policy which he understood to have been agreed + upon, which was to leave the fortifications in a position that + Carolina might take them whenever she thought proper. + + But, sir, notwithstanding this, the Executive of the nation, + disregarding the advice of the Lieutenant-General who commands + the armies of the United States, and who had warned him months + before of the movements which were taking place to seize the + public property at the South, still leaves the property + unprotected; and the insurgents go on in some of the states, + before even passing ordinances of secession, and continue to + seize the public property; to capture the troops of the United + States; to take possession of the forts; to fire into its + vessels; to take down its flag; until they have at this time in + their possession fortifications which have cost the Government + more than $5,000,000, and which mount more than a thousand + guns. + + All this has been done without any effort on the part of the + Government to protect the public property; and this is the + reason that secession has made the head it has. Why, sir, let + me ask, is it that the United States to-day has possession of + Fort Sumter? Can you tell me why is Fort Sumter in possession + of the United States? Because there are a hundred soldiers in + it--for no other reason. Why is Fort Moultrie in possession of + the insurgents? Because there were no men there to protect it; + and it is now matter of history that, had the Executive done + his duty, and placed a hundred men in Fort Moultrie, a hundred + in Castle Pinckney, and a hundred in Fort Sumter, Charleston + Harbor to-day would have been open, and your revenues would + have been collected there, as elsewhere throughout the United + States. + + Will it be said that Carolina would have attacked those forts, + thus garrisoned? She does not attack a hundred men in Fort + Sumter. It is a wonder that she does not. The little, feeble + garrison there is well calculated to invite attack; but this + thing of secession, under the policy of the Administration, has + been made a holiday affair in the South. This great Government, + one of the most powerful on the face of the globe, is falling + to pieces just from its own imbecility. + + MR. WIGFALL. Mr. President-- + + THE PRESIDING OFFICER (MR. BRIGHT). Does the Senator from + Illinois yield the floor? + + MR. TRUMBULL. I have some further observations to make. I will + yield for a single question; not for a speech. + + MR. WIGFALL. For a single question. I do not wish to interrupt + the Senator if it is not agreeable to him. I desire to ask a + single question. + + MR. TRUMBULL. I have no objection to the question. + + MR. WIGFALL. I understand the Senator to object to the course + that the present outgoing Administration has pursued in + reference to the forts. I know the Senator's candor, directness + of purpose, fairness, and boldness of statement; and I desire + to know whether the succeeding Administration will pursue the + same peace policy of leaving the forts in the possession of the + seceding states, or whether they will attempt to recapture + them? + + MR. TRUMBULL. The Senator will find out my opinions on this + subject before I conclude. The opinions of the incoming + Administration, I trust, he will learn to-morrow from the + eastern front of the capitol. + + MR. WIGFALL. I trust we shall, sir. + + MR. TRUMBULL. I speak for myself, without knowing what may be + said in the inaugural of to-morrow; but I apprehend that the + Senator will learn to-morrow that we have a Government; and + that will be the beginning of the maintenance of the Union. + + MR. WIGFALL. I hope we may. + + MR. TRUMBULL. While the forts in the South were left thus + unprotected, and to be seized by the first comers, where was + your army? Scattered beyond reach, and sent to the frontiers, + so as not to be made available when it was wanted. And where + was your navy? The navy of the United States, when it was known + that the secession movement was on foot, was sent to distant + seas, until there was not at the command of the Secretary of + the Navy a single vessel, except one carrying two guns, that + could enter Charleston Harbor--a small vessel destined, I + believe, to take supplies to the African squadron, which + carried two guns. Does anybody suppose this was accidental? If + it were a question of fact to be tried before an intelligent + jury in any part of Christendom, does any one doubt that the + Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy would both be + convicted of having purposely, and by design, removed the army + and navy out of reach, in order that the forts might be seized, + and that the secession movement might progress? And how has it + been from that day to this? Irresolution and indecision on the + part of the Executive--one day sending a vessel with troops to + Charleston, and the next countermanding the order; and the + Senator from Texas, with a taste which I cannot admire, spoke + in terms of derision of his country's flag, when it returned in + disgrace--"struck in the face," I think, was his + expression--from Charleston Harbor. I admit it was disgraceful; + but I am sorry it should have afforded the Senator from Texas, + a member of the Senate of the United States, as the eloquent + Senator from Kentucky said he was, any pleasure that such a + transaction should have occurred. + + This, then, briefly, is the reason that this secession movement + has acquired the strength it has. It is because this Government + has either favored it, or refused to do anything to check it. + Notwithstanding the mistake of 1854, the country would have + survived it all, had we had a Government to take care of and + preserve it. + + Now, sir, what are the remedies that are proposed for the + present condition of things, and what have they been from the + beginning? They have been propositions of compromise; and + Senators have spoken of peace, and of the horrors of civil war; + and gentlemen who have contended for the right of the people of + the territories to regulate their own affairs, and who have + been horrified at the idea of a geographical line dividing free + states from slave states, free territory from slave territory, + and who have proclaimed that the great principle upon which the + Revolution was fought was that of the right of the people to + govern themselves, and that it was monstrous doctrine for + Congress to interfere in any way with its own territories, come + forward here with propositions to divide the country on a + geographical line; and not only that, but to establish slavery + south of the line; and they call this the Missouri Compromise! + The proposition known as the "Crittenden Proposition" is no + more like the Missouri Compromise than is the Government of + Turkey like that of the United States. The Missouri Compromise + was a law declaring that in all the territory which we had + acquired from Louisiana, north of a certain line of latitude, + slavery or involuntary servitude should never exist. But it + said nothing about the establishment of slavery south of that + line. It was a compromise made in order to admit Missouri into + the Union as a slave state, in 1820. That was the consideration + for the exclusion of slavery from all the country north of 36 deg. + 30'. Now, sir, I have no objection to the restoration of the + Missouri Compromise as it stood in 1854, when the + Kansas-Nebraska Bill passed; and I have drawn up--and I intend + to offer it at the proper time as an amendment to some of these + propositions--a clause declaring that so much of the fourteenth + section of the act to organize the territories of Nebraska and + Kansas, approved the 30th of May, 1854, as repeals the Missouri + Compromise, and contains the little stump speech, shall be + repealed, and that we may hear no more of it, I trust, forever. + + Since its authors have repudiated it, and have come forward + with a proposition to establish not the Missouri Compromise, + but to establish a geographical line running through the + territory which we now have, establishing slavery south of it, + and prohibiting it north, and providing that, in the territory + we may hereafter acquire, slavery shall be established south of + that line, I suppose we shall hear no more about leaving the + people "perfectly free to regulate their own affairs in their + own way"! The proposition known as the "Crittenden Compromise" + declares not only that, "in the territory south of the said + line of latitude, slavery of the African race is hereby + recognized as existing, and shall not be interfered with by + Congress"; but it provides further, that, in the territory we + shall hereafter acquire south of that line, slavery shall be + recognized, and not interfered with by Congress; but "shall be + protected as property by all the departments of the territorial + government during its continuance"; so that, if we make + acquisitions on the south of territories now free, and where, + by the laws of the land, the footsteps of slavery have never + been, the moment we acquire jurisdiction over them, the moment + the stars and stripes of the Republic float over those free + territories, they carry with them African slavery, established + beyond the power of Congress, and beyond the power of any + territorial legislature, or of the people, to keep it out; and + we are told that this is the Missouri Compromise! We are told + that slavery now exists in New Mexico; and I was sorry to find + even my friend from Oregon [Mr. Baker] ready to vote for this + proposition, which establishes slavery. Why, sir, suppose + slavery does exist in New Mexico; are you for putting a clause + into your Constitution that the people of New Mexico shall not + drive it out? + + * * * * * + + But, sir, unlike the Senator from Oregon, I will never agree to + put into the Constitution of the country a clause establishing + or making perpetual slavery anywhere. No, sir; no human being + shall ever be made a slave by my vote. No foot of God's soil + shall ever be dedicated to African slavery by my act--never, + sir. I will not interfere with it where I have no authority by + the Constitution to interfere; but I never will consent, the + people of the great Northwest, numbering more in white + population than all your Southern States together, never will + consent by their act to establish African slavery anywhere. + Why, sir, the seven free states of the Northwest, at the late + presidential election, cast three hundred thousand more votes + than all the fifteen Southern States together. Senators talk + about the North and the South, and speak of having two + Presidents, a Northern President and a Southern President, as + if we had no such country as the Northwest, more populous with + freemen than all the South. The people of the South and the + people of the East both will, by and by, learn, if they have + not already learned, that we have a country, and a great and + growing country, in the Northwest; a free country--made free, + too, by the act of Virginia herself. I do not propose to + discuss the House Resolution. I have said on any and all proper + occasions, and am willing to say at any time, to our brethren + of the South, we have no disposition, and never had any, and + have no power, if we had the disposition, to interfere with + your domestic institutions. + + I think, then, sir, that none of these compromises will amount + to anything; but still I am willing to do this, and I think if + there is any difficulty it may be settled in this way: three of + the states of this Union, the state of Kentucky, the state of + New Jersey, and the State of Illinois, have called upon + Congress to call a convention of all the states for the purpose + of proposing amendments to the Constitution. I do not think the + Constitution needs amendment. In my judgment, the Constitution + as it is, is worthy to be lived up to and supported. I doubt if + we shall better it; but out of deference to those states, one + of which is my own state, I am willing to vote for the + resolution which has been introduced into this body + recommending to the various states to take into consideration + this proposition of calling a convention, in order to make such + amendments as may be deemed necessary by the states themselves + to this instrument. So far, I am willing to go. Would it not + have been better for the seceding states to have done that? Why + did they not propose, instead of attempting hastily to break up + the Government and seizing its public property, to call a + convention, in the constitutional form, of the various states, + and if the Federal Constitution needed amendment, amend it in + that way. No such proposition came from them; but Kentucky has + made the proposition for a convention, and I am willing to meet + her in the spirit in which it is made, and am ready, for one, + and would be glad if we could all unitedly pass the resolution + suggesting to the states to call a convention to make any and + all amendments to the Constitution which the exigencies of the + times may require. + + The Senator from Texas wants to know how we are going to + preserve the Union; how we are going to stop the states from + seceding? And our Southern friends sometimes ask us to give + them something to stand upon in the South. The best political + foundation ever laid by mortal man upon which to plant your + foot is the Constitution. Take the old Constitution as your + fathers made it, and go to the people on that; rally them + around it, and not suffer it to be kicked about, rolled in the + dust, spit upon, and their efforts to be wasted in vain efforts + to amend it. Why, sir, has that old instrument ceased to be of + any value? These gentlemen who are talking about amending it, + and talking about guarantees as a condition to remain in the + Union, claim to be _par excellence_ the Union men. Why, sir, I + conceive I am a much better Union man than they. I am for the + Union under the Constitution as it is. I am willing, however, + that a convention should be called out of deference to those + who may wish to alter it; but I am not one of those who declare + that unless this provision is made, and unless this guarantee + is given, I will unite to destroy the Union, and cease to + observe the Constitution as it is. + + Sir, the Southern States have been arming. The Senator from + Virginia [Mr. Mason] told us the other day that his state had + appropriated $1,500,000 to arm its citizens. For what? To arm + its citizens to fight against this Government; and then tell us + that, to a man, they will fight against this Government, if it + undertakes to enforce its laws, which they call coercion, the + coercion of a State! Why, sir, a government that has not the + power of coercing obedience to its laws is no government at + all. The very idea of a law without a sanction is an absurdity. + A government is not worth having that has not power to enforce + its laws. If the Senator from Texas wants to know my opinion, I + tell him yes, I am for enforcing the laws. Do you mean by that + you are going to march an army to coerce a state? No, sir; and + I do not mean the people of this country to be misled by this + confusion of terms about coercing a state. The Constitution of + the United States operates upon individuals; the laws operate + upon individuals; and whenever individuals make themselves + amenable to the laws, I would punish them according to the + laws. We may not always be able to do this. Why, sir, we have a + criminal code, and laws punishing larceny and murder and arson + and robbery and all these crimes; and yet murder is committed, + larcenies and robberies are committed, and the culprits are not + always punished and brought to justice. We may not be able, in + all instances, to punish those who conspire against the + Government. So far as it can be done, I am for executing the + laws; and I am for coercion. I am for settling, in the first + place, the question whether we have a government before making + compromises which leave us as powerless as before. + + Sir, if my friend from Kentucky would employ some of that + eloquence of his which he uses in appealing to Republicans--and + talking about compromise--in defense of the Constitution as it + is, and in favor of maintaining the laws and the Government, we + should see a very different state of things in the country. If, + instead of coming forward with compromises, instead of asking + guarantees, he had put the fault where it belongs; if he called + upon the Government to do its duty; if, instead of blaming the + North for not making concessions where there is nothing to + concede, and not making compromises where there was nothing to + compromise about, he had appealed to the South, which was in + rebellion against the Government, and painted before them, as + only he could do it, the hideousness of the crimes they were + committing, and called upon them to return to their allegiance, + and upon the Government to enforce its authority, we would have + a very different state of things in this country to-day from + what now exists. + + This, in my judgment, is the way to preserve the Union; and I + do not expect civil war to follow from it. You have only to put + the Government in a position to make itself respected, and it + will command respect. As I said before, five hundred troops in + Charleston would unquestionably have kept that port open; and + if you will arm the Government with sufficient authority to + maintain its laws and give us an honest Executive, I think you + will find the spread of secession soon checked; it will no + longer be a holiday affair. But while we submit to the disgrace + which is heaped upon us by those seceding states, while the + President of the United States says, "You have no right to + secede; but if you want to, you may, we cannot help it," you + may expect secession to spread. + + Why, sir, the resolutions of the legislature of the state of + New York, which were passed early in the session, tendering to + the Federal Government all the resources of the state in money + and men to maintain the Government, had a most salutary effect + when it was heard here. I saw the effect of it at once. It was + the first blow at secession. Let the people of the North + understand that their services are required to maintain this + Union, and let them make known to the people of the South, to + the Government, and to the country, that the Union shall be + maintained; and the object is accomplished. Then you will find + Union men in the South. But while this secession fever was + spreading, and the Union men of the South had no support from + their Government, it is no wonder that state after state + undertook to withdraw from a confederacy which manifested no + disposition to maintain itself. + + My remedy for existing difficulties is, to clothe the + Government with sufficient power to maintain itself; and when + that is done, and you have an Executive with the disposition to + maintain the authority of the Government, I do not believe that + a gun need be fired to stop the further spread of secession. I + believe, sir, after the new Administration goes into operation, + and the people of the South see, by its acts, that it is + resolved to maintain its authority, and, at the same time, to + make no encroachments whatever upon the rights of the people of + the South, the desire to secede will subside. When the people + of the Southern States, on the 5th of March, this year, and on + the 5th of March, 1862, shall find that, after a year has + transpired under a Republican administration, they are just as + safe in all their rights, just as little interfered with in + regard to their domestic institutions, as under any former + Administration, they will have no disposition to inaugurate + civil war and commence an attack upon the Federal Government. + + Why, sir, some Senators talk about the Federal Government + making war. Who proposes it? The Southern people affect to + abhor civil war, when they, themselves, have commenced it. + Inhabitants of the six seceding states have begun the war. What + is war? Is firing into your vessels war? Is investing your + forts war? Is seizing your arsenals war? They have done it all, + and more; and then have the effrontery to say to the United + States, "Do not defend yourselves; do not protect your + Government; let it fall to pieces; let us do as we please, or + else you will have war." The highwayman meets you on the + street, demands your purse, and tells you to deliver it up, or + you will have a fight. You can always escape a fight by + submission. If in the right--and which is far better than to + submit to degradation--you can often escape collision by being + prepared to meet it. The moment the highwayman discovers your + preparation and ability to meet him, he flees away. Let the + Government be prepared, and we shall have no collision. + + I cannot think the people of this country in the loyal states + would causelessly inaugurate civil war by attacking the + Government; and I regard all the states as loyal, which have + not undertaken to secede. I regard Kentucky and Tennessee and + Missouri as loyal states, just as much so as Illinois. Why, + sir, I live right upon the borders of Missouri, and I know that + the people across the river were, last fall, just as good Union + men as they were in Illinois. They never thought of secession + until the thing was started in South Carolina, and until some + persons here in Congress began to talk about guarantees, + instead of coming out for the Constitution and the Union as + they are. When Senators began to introduce propositions + demanding guarantees as a condition of continuing in the Union, + the real true Union men, in many instances, took sides with + them, and thus became, in fact, only conditional Unionists. I + am happy to say that they are getting over it, not only in + Missouri, but they are already cured of it in Tennessee, and I + trust in all the other states save those which, in their hurry, + and with inconsiderate zeal, have already taken measures, as + far as they could, to dissolve their connection with the + Government. Sir, I cannot think it possible that this great + Government is to go out without a struggle--a Government which + has been blessed so highly, and prospered so greatly. What + occasion is there for breaking it up? Are we not the happiest + people in the world? Do we not enjoy personal liberty and + religious freedom? What is it that the people of these Southern + States would have? Does anybody propose to interfere with their + domestic institutions? Nobody. Does anybody deny their equal + rights in the territories? Nobody. Why, sir, look at our + condition. We are one of the great nations of the world. At the + peace of 1783, we had, I think, something like three million + population; we have now more than thirty million. At that time + we had thirteen states; now we have thirty-four states; and our + territories have spread out until they extend across the + continent. The boundaries of the Republic embrace to-day a + greater extent of country than was contained within the Roman + Empire in the days of its greatest extent, or within the + empire of Alexander when he was said to have conquered the + world. + + Sir, I cannot believe that this mad and insane attempt to break + up such a Government is to succeed. If my voice could reach + them, I would call upon my Southern brethren to pause, to + reflect, to consider if this Republican party has yet done them + any wrong. What complaints have they to make against us? We + have never wielded the power of Government--not for a day. Have + you of the South suffered any wrong at the hands of the Federal + Government? If you have, you inflicted it yourselves. We have + not done it. Is it the apprehension that you are going to + suffer wrong at our hands? We tell you that we intend no such + thing. Will you, then, break up such a government as this, on + the apprehension that we are all hypocrites and deceivers, and + do not mean what we say? Wait, I beseech you, until the + Government is put into operation under this new administration; + wait until you hear the inaugural from the President-elect; + and, I doubt not, it will breathe as well a spirit of + conciliation and kindness towards the South as towards the + North. While I trust it will disclose a resolute purpose to + maintain the Government, I doubt not it will also declare, in + unequivocal terms, that no encroachments shall be made upon the + constitutional rights of any state while he who delivers it + remains in power. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[38] Presumably Judge Read, of Pennsylvania. + +[39] MS. in the collection of the late Major W. H. Lambert, +Philadelphia. + +[40] _Cong. Globe_, 1860-61, p. 30. + +[41] Trumbull's speech on the Crittenden Compromise, which was impromptu +and was delivered about midnight, is printed as an appendix to this +chapter. + +[42] Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. + +[43] "Old Public Functionary"--a name that Buchanan in one of his +messages had given to himself. + +[44] Jefferson Davis says, in his _Rise and Fall of the Confederate +States_, that Buchanan told him that "he thought it not impossible that +his homeward route would be lighted by burning effigies of himself and +that on reaching his home he would find it a heap of ashes." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CABINET-MAKING--THE DEATH OF DOUGLAS + + +During all this storm and stress the President-elect was at home +struggling with office-seekers. They came in swarms from all points of +the compass, and in the greatest numbers from Illinois. Judging from the +Trumbull papers alone it is safe to say that Illinois could have filled +every office in the national Blue Book without satisfying half the +demands. Every considerable town had several candidates for its own +post-office, and the applicants were generally men who had real claims +by reason of party service and personal character for the positions +which they sought. But there were exceptions, and Trumbull brought +trouble on his own head many times by taking part in the melee. Yet +there seemed to be no way of escape, even if he had wished to stand +aloof. The day of civil service reform had not yet dawned. Time has +kindly dropped its veil over those struggles except as relates to +Lincoln's Cabinet. The selection of the Cabinet will be considered +chronologically so far as the Trumbull papers throw light on it. + +On his journey to Washington for the coming session of Congress, +Trumbull stopped a few days in New York. While there he received a call +from three gentlemen, who were a sub-committee of a larger number who +had been chosen, by the opponents of the Weed overlordship in New York +politics, to call upon Lincoln and remonstrate against the appointment +of Seward as a member of his Cabinet. The three men were William C. +Bryant, William Curtis Noyes, and A. Mann, Jr. They said that finding +it impracticable to see Lincoln, they had decided to call upon Trumbull +and ask him to present their views to the President-elect. Although +Trumbull disclaimed any peculiar knowledge or influence in respect of +Cabinet appointments, they proceeded to make their wishes known. They +said that a division had taken place in the Republican party of New +York, growing out of corruption at Albany during the last session of the +legislature, in which many Republicans were implicated; that so strong +was the feeling against certain transactions there, that but for the +presidential election the Republicans would have lost the state in +November; and that unless the transactions were repudiated by the coming +legislature the party would be beaten next year. They did not connect +Governor Seward personally with these transactions, but said that +several of his particular and most intimate friends, whom they named, +were implicated, and that if he went into the Cabinet he would draw them +after him. + +Trumbull suggested to them that if Governor Seward went into the +Cabinet, as many people considered to be his due, it did not necessarily +follow that he would control the patronage of New York. Mr. Mann, +however, thought that this would be inevitable. He and Mr. Bryant and +Mr. Noyes expressed the opinion that Seward did not desire to go into +the Cabinet unless he could control the patronage and thus serve his +friends. They said they had no name to propose as a New York member of +the Cabinet, but they did not want the load of the Albany plunderers put +upon them, and that if it were so the party in New York would be ruined. + +The purport of this interview was communicated by Trumbull to Lincoln by +letter dated Washington, December 2, 1860. Lincoln replied as follows: + + _Private_ + + SPRINGFIELD, ILL., Dec. 8, 1860. + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL. + + MY DEAR SIR: Yours of the 2nd is received. I regret exceedingly + the anxiety of our friends in New York, of whom you write; but + it seems to me the sentiment in that State which sent a united + delegation to Chicago in favor of Gov. Seward ought not and + must not be snubbed, as it would be, by the omission to offer + Gov. S. a place in the Cabinet. _I will myself take care of the + question of "corrupt jobs"_ and see that justice is done to all + our friends of whom you wrote, as well as others. + + I have written to Mr. Hamlin on this very subject of Gov. S. + and requested him to consult fully with you. He will show you + my note and enclosures to him; and then please act as therein + requested. + + Yours as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + +The enclosures were a formal tender of the office of Secretary of State +to Seward and a private letter to him urging his acceptance of the +appointment. The note to Hamlin requested that if he and Trumbull +concurred in the step, the letters should be handed to Seward. They were +promptly delivered. + +As matters stood at that time it was certainly due to Seward that a +place in the Cabinet should be offered to him and that it should be the +foremost place. He was still the intellectual premier of the party and +nobody could impair his influence but himself. The principal scheme at +Albany, to which Bryant and his colleagues alluded, was a "gridiron" +street railroad bill for New York City, for which Weed was the political +engineer. + +Trumbull saw Horace Greeley at this time. The latter would not recommend +taking a Cabinet officer from New York at all, but he did suggest giving +the mission to France to John C. Fremont. If this advice had been +followed, and Fremont had been kept out of the country, Lincoln would +have been spared one of the most terrible thorns in the side of his +Administration; but fate ordained otherwise, for when Cameron was taken +into the Cabinet it became necessary to provide a place for Dayton, and +Paris was chosen for that purpose. + +The Cameron affair was the greatest embarrassment that Lincoln had to +deal with before his inauguration. It was a fact of evil omen that David +Davis, one of the delegates of Illinois to the Chicago Convention, +assuming to speak by authority, made promises that Simon Cameron, of +Pennsylvania, and Caleb Smith, of Indiana, should have places in the +Cabinet if Lincoln were elected. In so doing, Davis went counter to the +only instructions he had ever received from Lincoln on that subject. The +day before the nomination was made, the editor of the Springfield +_Journal_ arrived at the rooms of the Illinois delegation with a copy of +the _Missouri Democrat_, in which Lincoln had marked three passages and +made some of his own comments on the margin. Then he added, in words +underscored: "Make no contracts that will bind me." Herndon says that +this paper was read aloud to Davis, Judd, Logan, and himself. Davis then +argued that Lincoln, being at Springfield, could not judge of the +necessities of the situation in Chicago, and, acting upon that view of +the case, went ahead with his negotiations with the men of Pennsylvania +and Indiana, and made the promises as above stated.[45] + +Gideon Welles, in his book on Lincoln and Seward, says there was but one +member of the Cabinet appointed "on the special urgent recommendation +and advice of Seward and his friends, but that gentleman was soon, with +Seward's approval, transferred to Hyperborean regions in a way and for +reasons never publicly made known." That man was Cameron. + +The implication here is that Simon Cameron was appointed a member of +Lincoln's Cabinet in consequence of Seward's influence, and at his +desire. That Seward and Weed labored for Cameron's appointment, and that +Weed had private reasons for doing so, is true, but the controlling +factor was something of earlier date. David Davis had left his +comfortable home at Bloomington and gone to Springfield to redeem his +convention pledges. He camped alongside of Lincoln and laid siege to +him. He had a very strong case _prima facie_. He had not only worked for +Lincoln with all his might, but he had paid three hundred dollars out of +his own pocket for the rent of the Lincoln headquarters during the +convention. This seems like a small sum now, but it was three times as +much as Lincoln himself could have paid then for any political purpose. +Moreover, Davis had actually succeeded in what he had undertaken.[46] + +A. K. McClure says, in his book on "Lincoln and Men of War Times" (p. +139), that the men who immediately represented Cameron on that occasion +(John P. Sanderson and Alexander Cummings) really had little influence +with the Pennsylvania delegation, and that the change of votes from +Cameron to Lincoln was not due to this barter. + +Nicolay and Hay say that after the election Lincoln invited Cameron to +come to Springfield, but they produce no evidence to that effect. On the +other hand, Gideon Welles, quoting from an interview with Fogg, of New +Hampshire (a first-rate authority), says that Cameron tried to get an +invitation to Springfield, but that Lincoln would not give it; that a +little later Cameron invited Leonard Swett to his home at Lochiel, +Pennsylvania, and that while there Swett took upon himself to extend +such an invitation in Lincoln's name, and that Lincoln, although +surprised, was obliged to acquiesce in what Swett had done.[47] Swett, +it may be remarked, was the _Fidus Achates_ of David Davis at all times. + +Cameron came to Springfield with a troop of followers, and the result +was that, on the 31st of December, Lincoln handed him a brief note +saying that he intended to nominate him for Secretary of the Treasury, +or Secretary of War, at the proper time. + +Almost immediately thereafter he received a shock from A. K. McClure in +the form of a telegram saying that the appointment of Cameron would +split the party in Pennsylvania and do irreparable harm to the new +Administration. He invited McClure to come to Springfield and give him +the particular reasons, but McClure does not tell us what the reasons +were. Evidently they were graver and deeper than a mere faction fight in +the party, or a question whether Cameron or Curtin should have the +disposal of the patronage. They included personal as well as political +delinquencies, but McClure declined to put them in writing. + +After hearing them, Lincoln wrote another letter to Cameron dated +January 3, 1861, asking him to decline the appointment that had been +previously tendered to him, and to do so at once by telegraph. Cameron +did not decline. Consequently Lincoln repeated the request ten days +later, January 13. + +In the mean time Trumbull, having learned that a place in the +Cabinet--probably the Treasury--had been offered to Cameron, wrote a +letter to Lincoln, dated January 3, advising him not to appoint him. To +this letter Lincoln wrote the following reply: + + _Very Confidential_ + + SPRINGFIELD, ILL., Jan. 7, 1861. + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL, + + MY DEAR SIR: Yours of the 3d is just received.... Gen. C. has + not been offered the Treasury and I think will not be. It seems + to me not only highly proper but a _necessity_ that Gov. Chase + shall take that place. His ability, firmness, and purity of + character produce this propriety; and that he alone can + reconcile Mr. Bryant and his class to the appointment of Gov. + S. to the State Department produces the necessity. But then + comes the danger that the protectionists of Pennsylvania will + be dissatisfied; and to clear this difficulty Gen. C. must be + brought to cooeperate. He would readily do this for the War + Department. But then comes the fierce opposition to his having + any Department, threatening even to send charges into the + Senate to procure his rejection by that body. Now, what I would + most like, and what I think he should prefer too, under the + circumstances, would be to retain his place in the Senate, and + if that place has been promised to another let that other take + a respectable and reasonably lucrative place abroad. Also, let + Gen. C.'s friends be, with entire fairness, cared for in + Pennsylvania and elsewhere. I may mention before closing that + besides the very fixed opposition to Gen. C. he is more amply + recommended for a place in the Cabinet than any other man.... + + Yours as ever, + + A. LINCOLN. + +It is easy to read two facts between these lines: first, that although +Lincoln had written a letter four days earlier withdrawing his offer to +Cameron, some influence had intervened to cause new hesitations; second, +that Lincoln knew that Cameron ought not to be taken into the Cabinet at +all, and that he was now seeking some way to buy him off. The cause of +the new hesitation was that David Davis was clinging to him like a burr. +The last observation in the letter to Trumbull, that Cameron was more +amply recommended for a place in the Cabinet than any other man, points +to the activity of Seward and Weed in Cameron's behalf, of which Welles +gives details in the interview with Fogg above mentioned. + +Before Lincoln's letter of the 7th reached Trumbull, the latter wrote +the following, giving his objections to Cameron more in detail: + + WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 1861. + + HON. A. LINCOLN, + + MY DEAR SIR: My last to you was written in a hurry--in the + midst of business in the Senate, and I have not a precise + recollection of its terms--but I desire now to write you a + little more fully in regard to this Cameron movement, and in + doing so, I have no other desire than the success of our + Administration. Cameron is very generally regarded as a + trading, unscrupulous politician. He has not the confidence of + our best men. He is a great manager and by his schemes has for + the moment created an apparent public sentiment in Penna. in + his favor. Many of the persons who are most strenuously urging + his appointment are doubtless doing it in anticipation of a + compensation. It is rather an ungracious matter to interfere to + oppose his selection and hence those who believe him unfit and + unworthy of the place [Copy illegible] seems to me he is + totally unfit for the Treasury Department. You may perhaps ask, + how, if these things are true, does he have so many friends, + and such, to support him, and such representative men. I am + surprised at it, but the world is full of great examples of men + succeeding for a time by intrigue and management. Report says + that C. secured Wilmot in his favor by assurances of support + for the Senate, and then secured Cowan by abandoning W. at the + last. The men who make the charges against Cameron are not all, + I am sure, either his personal enemies, or governed by + prejudice. Another very serious objection to Cameron is his + connection with Gov. Seward. The Governor is a man who acts + through others and men believe that Cameron would be his + instrument in the Cabinet. It is my decided conviction that + C.'s selection would be a great mistake and it is a pity he is + [Copy illegible] Gov. Seward's appointment is acquiesced in by + all our friends. Some wish it were not so, but regard it rather + as a necessity, and are not disposed to complain. There is a + very general desire here to have Gov. Chase go into the Cabinet + and in that wish I most heartily concur. In my judgment you had + better put Chase in the Cabinet and leave Cameron out, even at + the risk of a rupture with the latter, but I am satisfied he + can be got along with. He is an exacting man, but in the end + will put up with what he can get. He cannot get along in + hostility to you, and when treated fairly, and as he ought to + be, will acquiesce. This letter is, of course, strictly + confidential. + + There is a reaction here and the danger of an attack on + Washington is, I think, over. + + Very truly your friend, + + LYMAN TRUMBULL. + +The newspapers soon got hold of the fact that a place in the Cabinet had +been offered to Cameron. They did not learn that he had been asked to +decline it. Letters began to reach Trumbull urging him to use his +influence to prevent such a calamity. For example: + + James H. Van Alen, New York, January 8, says honest men of all + parties were shocked by the rumor of Cameron's appointment to + the Treasury. This evening Judge Hogeboom and Mr. Opdycke leave + for Springfield and Messrs. D. D. Field and Barney for + Washington to make their urgent protest against the act. Says + he has written to Lincoln and forwarded extracts from + congressional documents in relation to Simon Cameron's actions + as commissioner to settle the claims of the half-breed + Winnebago Indians. Refers to the _Congressional Globe_, 25th + Congress, 3d Session, p. 194. + + E. Peck, Springfield, January 10, says all the Chicago members + of the legislature took such steps as they could to prevent the + appointment of Cameron, believing him not to be a proper man + for any place in the Cabinet. If he goes in, it will not be as + the head of the Treasury Department. Understands that Chase was + offered the Treasury, but did not accept. + + C. H. Ray, Springfield, January 16, thinks that the Cameron + business should be brought to a halt by some decisive action + among the Republicans in Senate and House. Says Lincoln sees + the error into which he has fallen, and would, most likely, be + glad to recede; but, except a dozen letters, he hears only from + the Cameron and Weed gang. + + E. Peck, Springfield, February 1, says David Davis is quite + "huffy" because of the objections raised to Cameron and because + Smith, of Indiana, is not at once admitted to the Cabinet. + + William Butler (state treasurer), Springfield, February 7, says + that last evening he had a confidential conversation with + Lincoln, who told him that the appointment of Cameron, or his + intimation to Cameron that he would offer him a place in the + Cabinet, had given him more trouble than anything else that he + had yet encountered. He had made up his mind that after + reaching Washington he would first send for Cameron and say to + him that he intended to submit the question of his appointment + to the Republican Senators; that he should call them together + for consultation, but would leave Cameron out, as the question + to be considered would be solely in reference to him; and that + he (Lincoln) wished to deal frankly and for the good of the + party. Butler thinks it would be disastrous to Cameron to go + into the Cabinet under such circumstances. + +Norman B. Judd, of Chicago, was also expecting a place in the Cabinet. +He was a lawyer by profession and general attorney of the Chicago and +Rock Island Railroad. He had been a member of the State Senate, where he +contributed largely to Trumbull's first election to the United States +Senate, after which he had been devoted to Trumbull's political +interests and no less to Lincoln's. He was chairman of the Republican +State Committee and a member of the National Committee. He had been a +delegate-at-large to the Chicago Convention, where he had worked +untiringly and effectively for Lincoln's nomination. He was not a man +of ideas, but was fertile in expedients. In politics he was a "trimmer," +sly, cat-like, and mysterious, and thus he came to be considered more +farseeing then he really was; but he was jovial, companionable, and +popular with the boys who looked after the primaries and the nominating +conventions. Both as a legislator and a party manager his reputation was +good, but his qualities were those of the politician rather than of the +statesman. He was certainly the equal of Caleb Smith and the superior of +Cameron. If he had been taken into the Cabinet, he would not have been +ejected without assignable reasons nine months later. It was known +immediately after the November election that he expected a Cabinet +position and that Trumbull favored him. + +January 3, 1861, Judd wrote to Trumbull that he had heard no word from +Lincoln, but he had heard indirectly from Butler (state treasurer) that +Lincoln "never had a truer friend than myself and there was no one in +whom he placed greater confidence; still circumstances embarrassed him +about a Cabinet appointment." Judd understood this to mean that he would +not be appointed and he took it very much to heart. Doubtless the +circumstance that most embarrassed Lincoln was the same that operated in +Cameron's case. David Davis was insisting that his pledge to the Indiana +delegates should be made good. + +January 6, Lincoln made an early call on Gustave Koerner at his hotel in +Springfield, before the latter was out of bed. Koerner gives the +following account of it in his "Memoirs":[48] + + I unbolted the door and in came Mr. Lincoln. "I want to see you + and Judd. Where is his room?" I gave him the number, and + presently he returned with Judd while I was dressing. + + "I am in a quandary," he said; "Pennsylvania is entitled to a + Cabinet office. But whom shall I appoint?" "Not Cameron," Judd + and myself spoke up simultaneously. "But whom else?" We + suggested Reeder or Wilmot. "Oh," said he, "they have no show. + There have been delegation after delegation from Pennsylvania, + hundreds of letters and the cry is Cameron, Cameron. Besides, + you know I have already fixed on Chase, Seward, and Bates, my + competitors at the convention. The Pennsylvania people say if + you leave out Cameron you disgrace him. Is there not something + in that?" I said, "Cameron cannot be trusted. He has the + reputation of being a tricky and corrupt politician." "I know, + I know," said Lincoln; "but can I get along if that State + should oppose my administration?" He was very much distressed. + We told him he would greatly regret his appointment. Our + interview ended in a protest on the part of Judd and myself + against the appointment. + +January 7, Trumbull wrote to Lincoln advising him to give a Cabinet +appointment to some person who could stand in a nearer and more +confidential relation to him than that which grew out of political +affinity, adding that he (Lincoln) knew whether Judd was the kind of man +who would meet such requirements, and enclosing a written recommendation +of Judd for such a position, signed by himself and Senators Grimes, +Chandler, Wade, Wilkinson, Durkee, Harlan, and Doolittle. These, he +said, were the only persons to whom the paper had been shown and the +only ones aware of its existence. + +Let it be said in passing that this was bad advice. Any man going into +the Cabinet as a more confidential friend of the President than the +others would have had all the others for his enemies. + +January 10, William Jayne and Ebenezer Peck (both members of the state +legislature) expressed the opinion that Judd would be appointed. +Evidently the Trumbull letter and enclosure had, for the time being, +produced the intended effect. Jayne said that Davis and Yates were +opposed to Judd, but that Butler and Judge Logan favored him. + +February 17, Judd wrote from Buffalo, New York, where he was +accompanying Lincoln on his journey to Washington, saying that he +believed the Treasury would be offered again to Chase, and if so he must +accept, although it might cause another "irrepressible conflict." He +said nothing about his own prospects.[49] + +Evidently Lincoln had not yet decided to take Cameron into the Cabinet, +but after he arrived in Washington the influence of Seward and Weed, +which Dr. Ray had prefigured in a letter to Trumbull, prevailed upon him +to do so. This was the opinion of Montgomery Blair, a high-minded man +and an acute observer, expressed to Gideon Welles in these words: + + Cameron had got into the War Department by the contrivance and + cunning of Seward who used him and other corruptionists as he + pleased with the assistance of Thurlow Weed; that Seward had + tried to get Cameron into the Treasury, but was unable to quite + accomplish that, and, after a hard underground quarrel against + Chase, it ended in the loss of Cameron, who went over to Chase + and left Seward.[50] + +When Cameron and Smith were appointed, the Berlin Mission was given to +Judd, as a salve to his wound. Gustave Koerner had been "slated" in the +newspapers for the Berlin Mission, although he had not applied for it. A +telegram had been sent out from Springfield to the effect that that +place had been reserved for him, and he erroneously supposed that it had +been done with Lincoln's consent. It had been published far and wide in +America and Europe without contradiction. Koerner's friends on both +sides of the water had written congratulatory letters to him, and +everybody seemed to think that the thing was done, and wisely done. Some +of his clients had notified him that, having observed in the newspapers +that he was going abroad for a few years, they had engaged other counsel +to attend to their law business. At this very time Koerner was laboring +for Judd's appointment as member of the Cabinet. + +The same telegram that announced failure in this attempt announced that +Judd had been designated as Minister to Prussia and had accepted. +Koerner felt humiliated, and he now applied for some other foreign +mission which might be awarded to the German element of the +party--preferably that of Switzerland; but it was now too late. The +other places had all been spoken for. At a later period he was appointed +Minister to Spain. + +On the 9th of January, 1861, Trumbull was reelected Senator of the +United States by the legislature of Illinois, by 54 votes against 46 for +S. S. Marshall (Democrat). His nomination in the Republican caucus was +without opposition. + +At the beginning of the special session of Congress called by President +Lincoln for July 4, 1861, Trumbull was appointed by his fellow Senators +Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, which place he occupied +during the succeeding twelve years. + +The first duty he was called to perform was to announce the death of his +colleague, Stephen A. Douglas. Douglas had placed himself at Lincoln's +service in all efforts to uphold the Constitution and enforce the laws +against the disunionists. He returned from Washington early in April and +got in touch with his constituents, ready to act promptly as events +might turn out. It turned out that the Confederates struck the first +blow in the Civil War by bombarding Fort Sumter. This was the signal +for Douglas's last and greatest political and oratorical effort. The +state legislature, then in session, invited him to address them on the +present crisis, and he responded on the 25th of April in a speech which +made Illinois solid for the Union. The writer was one of the listeners +to that speech and he cannot conceive that any orator of ancient or +modern times could have surpassed it. Douglas seized upon his hearers +with a kind of titanic grasp and held them captive, enthralled, +spellbound for an immortal hour. He was the only man who could have +saved southern Illinois from the danger of an internecine war. The +southern counties followed him now as faithfully and as unanimously as +they had followed him in previous years, and sent their sons into the +field to fight for the Union as numerously and bravely as those of any +other section of the state or of the country. Douglas had only a few +more days to live. He was now forty-eight years of age, but if he had +survived forty-eight more he could never have surpassed that eloquence +or exceeded that service to the nation, for he never could have found +another like occasion for the use of his astounding powers. + +He died at Chicago, June 3, 1861. Trumbull's eulogy was solemn, sincere, +pathetic, and impressive--a model of good taste in every way. He +retracted nothing, but, ignoring past differences, he gave an abounding +and heartfelt tribute of praise to the dead statesman for his matchless +service to his country in the hour of her greatest need. He concluded +with these words: + + On the 17th day of June last, all that remained of our departed + brother was interred near the city of Chicago, on the shore of + Lake Michigan, whose pure waters, often lashed into fury by + contending elements, are a fitting memento of the stormy and + boisterous political tumults through which the great popular + orator so often passed. There the people, whose idol he was, + will erect a monument to his memory; and there, in the soil of + the state which so long without interruption, and never to a + greater extent than at the moment of his death, gave him her + confidence, let his remains repose so long as free government + shall last and the Constitution he loved so well endure. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[45] _Life of Lincoln_, by Herndon-Weik, 2d edition, III, 172, 181. + +[46] David Davis's habit of coercing Lincoln was once complained of by +Lincoln himself, as related in a letter (now in the possession of Jesse +W. Weik) of Henry C. Whitney to Wm. H. Herndon. Whitney says: + +"On March 5, 1861, I saw Lincoln and requested him to appoint Jim Somers +of Champaign to a small clerkship. Lincoln was very impatient and said +abruptly: 'There is Davis, with that way of making a man do a thing +whether he wants to or not, who has forced me to appoint Archy Williams +judge in Kansas right off and John Jones to a place in the State +Department; and I have got a bushel of despatches from Kansas wanting to +know if I'm going to fill up all the offices from Illinois.'" + +[47] _Diary of Gideon Welles_, II, 390. + +[48] Vol. II, p. 114. + +[49] Fogg of New Hampshire says: "Mrs. Lincoln has the credit of +excluding Judd, of Chicago, from the Cabinet,"--which is not unlikely. +_Diary of Gideon Welles._ + +[50] _Diary of Gideon Welles_, I, 126. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +FORT SUMTER + + +Mrs. Trumbull did not accompany her husband to Washington at the special +session of Congress July 4, 1861. A few letters written to her by him +have been preserved. One of these revives the memory of an affair which +caused intense indignation throughout the loyal states. + +On the day when it was decided in Cabinet meeting to send supplies to +Major Anderson in Fort Sumter, a newspaper correspondent named Harvey, a +native of South Carolina, sent a telegram to Governor Pickens at +Charleston notifying him of the fact. Harvey was the only newspaper man +in Washington who had the news. He did not put his own name on the +telegram, but signed it "A Friend." He was afterward appointed, at +Secretary Seward's instance, as Minister to Portugal, although he was so +obscure in the political world that the other Washington correspondents +had to unearth and identify him to the public. It was said that he had +once been the editor of the Philadelphia _North American_. After he had +departed for his mission, there had been a seizure of telegrams by the +Government and this anonymous one to Governor Pickens was found. The +receiving-clerk testified that it had been sent by Harvey. The +Republicans in Congress, and especially the Senators who had voted to +confirm him, were boiling with indignation. A committee of the latter +was appointed to call upon the President and request him to recall +Harvey. A letter of Trumbull to his wife (July 14) says: + + The Republicans in caucus appointed a committee to express to + him their want of confidence in Harvey, Minister to Portugal. + Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward informed the committee that they + were aware of the worst dispatch to Governor Pickens before he + left the country, but not before he received the appointment, + and they did not think from their conversation with Harvey that + he had any criminal intent, and requested the committee to + report the facts to the caucus, Mr. Lincoln saying that he + would like to know whether Senators were as dissatisfied when + they came to know all the facts. The caucus will meet to-morrow + and I do not believe will be satisfied with the explanation. + +The inside history of this telegram was made public long afterward. +Shortly before Seward took office as Secretary of State there came to +Washington City three commissioners from Montgomery, Alabama, whose +purpose was to negotiate terms of peaceful separation of the Confederate +States of America from the United States, or to report to their own +Government the refusal of the latter to enter into such negotiation. +These men were Martin J. Crawford, John Forsyth, and A. B. Roman. They +arrived in Washington on the 27th of February, four days after Lincoln's +arrival and one week before his inauguration. They did not make their +errand known until after the inauguration. They then communicated with +Seward, by an intermediary, the nature of their mission, and the latter +replied verbally that it was the intention of the new Administration to +settle the dispute in an amicable manner. On the 15th of March, Seward +assured the Confederate envoys that Sumter would be evacuated before a +letter from them could reach Montgomery--that is, within five days. The +negotiations were protracted till a decision had been reached, contrary +to Seward's desires and promises, to send a fleet with provisions to +relieve the garrison at Fort Sumter. Then Seward gave this fact to +Harvey, knowing that he would transmit it to Governor Pickens and that +the probable effect would be to defeat the scheme of relieving the +garrison. This he evidently desired. He had already secretly detached +the steamer Powhatan, an indispensable part of the Sumter fleet, and +sent it on a useless expedition to Pensacola Harbor. + +Gideon Welles's account of the Harvey affair is as follows: + + Soon after President Lincoln had formed the resolution to + attempt the relief of Sumter, and whilst it was yet a secret, a + young man connected with the telegraph office in Washington, + with whom I was acquainted, a native of the same town with + myself, brought to me successively two telegrams conveying to + the rebel authorities information of the purposes and decisions + of the Administration. One of these telegrams was from Mr. + Harvey, a newspaper correspondent, who was soon after, and with + a full knowledge of his having communicated to the rebels the + movements of the Government, appointed Minister to Lisbon. I + had, on receiving these copies, handed them to the President. + Mr. Blair, who had also obtained a copy of one, perhaps both, + of these telegrams from another source, likewise informed him + of the treachery. The subject was once or twice alluded to in + Cabinet without eliciting any action, and when the nomination + of Mr. Harvey to the Portuguese Mission was announced--a + nomination made without the knowledge of any member of the + Cabinet but the Secretary of State and made at his special + request--there was general disapprobation except by the + President (who avoided the expression of any opinion) and by + Mr. Seward. The latter defended and justified the selection, + which he admitted was recommended by himself, but the President + was silent in regard to it.[51] + +Trumbull says in his letter that Lincoln and Seward told the committee +that they did not know that Harvey had sent the dispatch before he +received the appointment. Welles says that both of them knew it +beforehand, and that it was a matter of Cabinet discussion in which +Lincoln, however, took no part. How are we to explain this +contradiction? It was impossible for Lincoln to utter an untruth, but if +we may credit Gideon Welles, _passim_, it was not impossible for Seward +to do so and for Lincoln to remain silent while he did so, as he +remained silent while the Cabinet were discussing the appointment of +Harvey. If Seward, at the meeting of which Trumbull wrote, in this +private letter to his wife, took the lead in the conversation, as was +his habit, and said that there was no knowledge of Harvey's telegram to +Governor Pickens until after Harvey had been appointed as minister, and +Lincoln said nothing to the contrary, he would naturally have assumed +that Seward spoke for both. + +There is reason to believe that Seward had previously prevailed upon the +President to agree to surrender Fort Sumter, as a means of preventing +the secession of Virginia. Evidence of this fact is supplied by the +following entry in the diary of John Hay, under date October 22, 1861: + + At Seward's to-night the President talked about Secession, + Compromise, and other such. He spoke of a Committee of Southern + pseudo-unionists coming to him before inauguration for + guarantees, etc. _He promised to evacuate Sumter if they would + break up their Convention without any row, or nonsense._ They + demurred. Subsequently he renewed proposition to Summers, but + without any result. The President was most anxious to prevent + bloodshed.[52] + +Hay here speaks of two offers made by Lincoln to evacuate Sumter, one +before his inauguration and one after. Both were made on condition that +a certain convention should be adjourned. This was the convention of +Virginia, which had been called to consider the question of secession. +It had met in Richmond on the 18th of February, while Lincoln was _en +route_ for Washington. As Lincoln arrived in Washington on the 23d of +February, the first offer must have been made in the interval between +that day and the 4th of March. + +The History of Nicolay and Hay does not mention the first offer. It +speaks of the second one as a matter about which the facts are in +dispute, the disputants being John Minor Botts and J. B. Baldwin. Botts +was an ex-member of Congress from Virginia and a strong Union man. +Baldwin was a member of the Virginia Convention and a Union man. He had +come to Washington in response to an invitation which Lincoln had sent, +on or about the 20th of March, to George W. Summers, who was likewise a +member of the convention. Summers was not able to come at the time when +the invitation reached him, and he deputed Baldwin to go in his place. + +After the war ended, Botts wrote a book entitled "The Great Rebellion," +in which he gave the following account of an interview he had had with +President Lincoln on Sunday, April 7, 1861 (two days after Baldwin had +had his interview): + + About this time Mr. Lincoln sent a messenger to Richmond, + inviting a distinguished member of the Union party to come + immediately to Washington, and if he could not come himself, to + send some other prominent Union man, as he wanted to see him on + business of the first importance. The gentleman thus addressed, + Mr. Summers, did not go, but sent another, Mr. J. B. Baldwin, + who had distinguished himself by his zeal in the Union cause + during the session of the convention; but this gentleman was + slow in getting to Washington, and did not reach there for + something like a week after the time he was expected. He + reached Washington on Friday, the 5th of April, and, on calling + on Mr. Lincoln, the following conversation in substance took + place, as I learned from Mr. Lincoln himself. After expressing + some regret that he had not come sooner, Mr. Lincoln said, "My + object in desiring the presence of Mr. Summers, or some other + influential and leading member of the Union party in your + convention, was to submit a proposition by which I think the + peace of the country can be preserved; but I fear you are + almost too late. However, I will make it yet. + + "This afternoon," he said, "a fleet is to sail from the harbor + of New York for Charleston; your convention has been in session + for nearly two months, and you have done nothing but hold and + shake the rod over my head. You have just taken a vote, by + which it appears you have a majority of two to one against + secession. Now, so great is my desire to preserve the peace of + the country, and to save the border states to the Union, that + if you gentlemen of the Union party will adjourn without + passing an ordinance of secession, I will telegraph at once to + New York, arrest the sailing of the fleet, and take the + responsibility of EVACUATING FORT SUMTER!" + + The proposition was declined. On the following Sunday night I + was with Mr. Lincoln, and the greater part of the time alone, + when Mr. Lincoln related the above facts to me. I inquired, + "Well, Mr. Lincoln, what reply did Mr. Baldwin make?" "Oh," + said he, throwing up his hands, "he wouldn't listen to it at + all; scarcely treated me with civility; asked me what I meant + by an adjournment; was it an adjournment _sine die_?" "Of + course," said Mr. Lincoln, "I don't want you to adjourn, and, + after I have evacuated the fort, meet again to adopt an + ordinance of secession." I then said, "Mr. Lincoln, will you + authorize _me_ to make that proposition? For I will start + to-morrow morning, and have a meeting of the Union men + to-morrow night, who, I have no doubt, will gladly accept it." + To which he replied, "It's too late, now; the fleet sailed on + Friday evening." + +In 1866, the Reconstruction Committee of Congress got an inkling of this +interview between Lincoln and Baldwin, called Baldwin as a witness, and +questioned him about it. He testified that he had an interview with the +President at the date mentioned, but denied that Lincoln had offered to +evacuate Fort Sumter if the Virginia Convention would adjourn _sine +die_. Thereupon Botts collected and published a mass of collateral +evidence to show that Baldwin had testified falsely. + +Botts says in his book that he had confirmatory letters from Governor +Peirpoint, General Millson, of Virginia, Dr. Stone, of Washington, Hon. +Garrett Davis (Senator from Kentucky), Robert A. Gray, of Rockingham +(brother-in-law to Baldwin), Campbell Tarr, of Wheeling, and three +others, to whom Lincoln made the statement regarding his interview with +Baldwin, in almost the same language in which he made it to Botts +himself. Botts quotes from two letters written to him by John F. Lewis +in 1866, in which the latter says that Baldwin acknowledged to him +(Lewis) that Lincoln did offer to evacuate Fort Sumter on the condition +named. There are persons now living to whom Lewis made the same +statement, verbally. + +There is another piece of evidence, supplied by Rev. R. L. Dabney in the +Southern Historical Society Papers, in a communication entitled "Colonel +Baldwin's Interview with Mr. Lincoln." This purports to give the +writer's recollections of an interview with Baldwin in March, 1865, at +Petersburg, while the siege of that place was going on. Baldwin said +that Secretary Seward sent Allan B. Magruder as a messenger to Mr. +Janney, president of the Virginia Convention, urging that one of the +Union members come to Washington to confer with Lincoln. Baldwin was +called out of the convention by Summers on the 3d of April to see +Magruder, and the latter said that Seward had authorized him to say that +Fort Sumter would be evacuated on Friday of the ensuing week. The +gentlemen consulted urged Baldwin to go to Washington, and he consented +and did go promptly. Seward accompanied him to the White House and +Lincoln took him upstairs into his bedroom and locked the door. Lincoln +"took a seat on the edge of the bed, spitting from time to time on the +carpet." The two entered into a long dispute about the right of +secession. Baldwin insisted that coercion would lead to war, in which +case Virginia would join in behalf of the seceded states. + + Lincoln's native good sense [the narrative proceeds], with + Baldwin's evident sincerity, seemed now to open his eyes to the + truth. He slid off the edge of the bed and began to stalk in + his awkward manner across the chamber in great excitement and + perplexity. He clutched his shaggy hair as though he would jerk + out handfuls by the roots. He frowned and contorted his + features, exclaiming, "I ought to have known this sooner; you + are too late, sir, _too late_. Why did you not come here four + days ago and tell me all this?" Colonel Baldwin replied: "Why, + Mr. President, you did not ask our advice." + +The foregoing narrative involves the supposition that Lincoln, in the +midst of preparations for sending a fleet to Fort Sumter, dispatched a +messenger to Richmond to bring a man to Washington to discuss with him +the abstract question of the right of a state to secede, and that, +having procured the presence of such a person, he took him into a +bedroom, locked the door, and had the debate with him, taking care that +nobody else should hear a syllable of it. Not a word about Fort Sumter, +although Magruder, the messenger, had said that it would be evacuated on +the following Friday! Yet the Rev. Mr. Dabney did not see the +incongruity of the situation. + +Nicolay and Hay say that Lincoln did not make any offer to Baldwin to +evacuate Sumter, but did tell him what he had intended to say to +Summers, if the latter had come to Washington at the right time.[53] + +Douglas in combating the Rebels, in contrast to the futile diplomacy of +Seward: + +A marvelous incident is related in Welles's Diary immediately after his +narrative of the Harvey affair. It describes the activity and +earnestness of Stephen A. + + Two days preceding the attack on Sumter, I met Senator Douglas + in front of the Treasury Building. He was in a carriage with + Mrs. Douglas, driving rapidly up the street. When he saw me he + checked his driver, jumped from the carriage, and came to me on + the sidewalk, and in a very earnest and emphatic manner said + the rebels were determined on war and were about to make an + assault on Sumter. He thought immediate and decisive measures + should be taken; considered it a mistake that there had not + already been more energetic action; said the dilatory + proceedings of the Government would bring on a terrible civil + war; that the whole South was united and in earnest. Although + he had differed with the Administration on important questions + and would never be in accord with some of its members on + measures and principles that were fundamental, yet he had no + fellowship with traitors or disunionists. He was for the Union + and would stand by the Administration and all others in its + defense, regardless of party. [Welles proposed that they should + step into the State Department and consult with Seward.] The + look of mingled astonishment and incredulity which came over + him I can never forget. "Then you," he said, "have faith in + Seward! Have you made yourself acquainted with what has been + going on here all winter? Seward has had an understanding with + these men. If he has influence with them, why don't he use it?" + +Douglas considered it a waste of time and effort to talk to Seward, +considered him a dead weight and drag on the Administration; said that +Lincoln was honest and meant to do right, but was benumbed by Seward; +but finally yielded to Welles's desire that they should go into Seward's +office, in front of which they were standing. They went in and Douglas +told Seward what he had told Welles, that the rebels were determined on +war and were about to make an assault on Sumter, and that the +Administration ought not to delay another minute, but should make +instant preparations for war. All the reply they got from Seward was +that there were many rash and reckless men at Charleston and that if +they were determined to assault Sumter he did not know how they were to +be prevented from doing so. + +Seward's aims were patriotic but futile. He wished to save the Union +without bloodshed, but the steps which he took were almost suicidal. +What the country then needed was a jettison of compromises, and a +resolution of doubts. Providence supplied these. The bombardment of +Sumter accomplished the object as nothing else could have done. Nothing +could have been contrived so sure to awaken the volcanic forces that +ended in the destruction of slavery as the spectacle in Charleston +Harbor. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[51] _Diary of Gideon Welles_, I, 32. + +[52] _Letters and Diaries of John Hay_, 1, 47. + +[53] Nicolay and Hay, III, 428. Probably the entry in Hay's Diary had +been forgotten when the History was written, twenty-five years later. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +BULL RUN--THE CONFISCATION ACT + + +In company with other Senators, Trumbull went to the battle of Bull Run, +July 21, 1861. His experience there he communicated to his wife, first +by a brief telegram, and afterwards by letter. The telegram was +suppressed by the authorities in charge of the telegraph office, who +substituted one of their own in place of it and appended his name to it. +The letter follows: + + WASHINGTON, July 22nd, 1861. + + We started over into Virginia about 9 o'clock A.M., and drove + to Centreville, which is a high commanding position and a + village of perhaps fifty houses. Bull Run, where the battle + occurred, is South about 3 miles and the creek on the main + road, looking West, is about 4-1/2 miles distant. The country + is timbered for perhaps a mile West of the creek, between which + and Centreville there are a good many cleared fields. At + Centreville, Grimes and I got saddles and rode horseback down + the main road towards the creek about three miles toward a + hospital where were some few wounded soldiers and a few + prisoners who had been sent back. This was about half-past + three o'clock P.M. Here we met with Col. Vandever of Iowa, who + gave us a very clear account of the battle. He had been with + Gen. McDowell and Gen. Hunter, who with the strongest part of + the army, had gone early in the morning a few miles north of + the main road and crossed the creek to take the enemy in the + flank. His division had very serious fighting, but had driven + the enemy back and taken three of his batteries. At the + hospital we were about one and a half miles from Generals Tyler + and Schenck, Col. Sherman, etc., who were down the road in the + woods and out of sight, with several regiments and a number of + guns. Their troops, Vandever told us, were a good deal + demoralized, and he feared an attack from the South towards + Bull Run where the battle of a few days ago was fought. About + this time a battery, apparently not more than a mile and a half + distant and from the South, fired on the battery where Sherman + and Schenck were. The firing was not rapid. On the hill at + Centreville we could see quite beyond the timber of the creek + off towards Manassas and see the smoke and hear the report of + the artillery, but not very rapid as I thought. This we + observed before leaving Centreville, and were told it was our + main army driving the enemy back, but slowly and with great + difficulty. + + While at the hospital McDougall of California came up from the + neighborhood of Gen. Schenck and said he was going back towards + Centreville to a convenient place where he could get water and + take lunch. As Grimes and myself had got separated from Messrs. + Wade and Chandler and Brown, who had with them our supplies, we + concluded to go back with McD. and partake with him. We + returned on the road towards Centreville and turned up towards + a house fifty or a hundred yards from the road, where we + quietly took our lunch, the firing continuing about as before. + Just as we were putting away the things we heard a great noise, + and looking up towards the road saw it filled with wagons, + horsemen and footmen in full run towards Centreville. We + immediately mounted our horses and galloped to the road, by + which time it was crowded, hundreds being in advance on the way + to Centreville and two guns of the Sherman battery having + already passed in full retreat. We kept on with the crowd, not + knowing what else to do. On the way to Centreville many + soldiers threw away their guns, knapsacks, etc. Gov. Grimes and + I each picked up a gun. I soon came up to Senator Lane of + Indiana, and the gun being heavy to carry and he better able to + manage it, I gave it to him. Efforts were made to rally the men + by civilians and others on their way to Centreville, but all to + no purpose. Literally, three could have chased ten thousand. + All this stampede was occasioned, as I understand, by a charge + of not exceeding two hundred cavalry upon Schenck's column down + in the woods, which, instead of repulsing as they could easily + have done (having before become disordered and having lost some + of their officers), broke and ran, communicating the panic to + everybody they met. The rebel cavalry, or about one hundred of + them, charged up past the hospital where we had been and took + there some prisoners, as I am told, and released those we had. + It was the most shameful rout you can conceive of. I suppose + two thousand soldiers came rushing into Centreville in this + disorganized condition. The cavalry which made the charge I did + not see, but suppose they disappeared in double-quick time, not + dreaming that they had put a whole division to flight. Several + guns were left down in the woods, though I believe two were + brought off. What became of Schenck I do not know. Tyler, I + understand, was at Centreville when I got back there. Whether + other portions of our army were shamefully routed just at the + close of the day, after we had really won the battle, it seems + impossible for me to learn, though I was told that McDowell was + at Centreville when we were there and that his column had also + been driven back. If this be so it is a terrible defeat. At + Centreville there was a reserve of 8000 or 10,000 men under + Col. Miles who had not been in the action and they were formed + in line of battle when we left there, but the enemy did not, I + presume, advance to that point last night, as we heard no + firing. We fed our horses at Centreville and left there at six + o'clock last evening. 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, having had a sad day and witnessed + scenes I hope never to see again. Not very many baggage wagons, + perhaps not more than fifty, were advanced beyond Centreville. + From them the horses were mostly unhitched and the wagons left + standing in the road when the stampede took place. This side of + Centreville there were a great many wagons, and the alarm if + possible was greater than on the other. Thousands of shovels + were thrown out upon the road, also axes, boxes of provisions, + etc. In some instances wagons were upset to get them out of the + road, and the road was full of four-horse wagons retreating as + fast as possible, and also of flying soldiers who could not be + made to stop at Centreville. The officers stopped the wagons + and a good many of the retreating soldiers by putting a file of + men across the road and not allowing them to pass. In this way + all the teams were stopped, but a good many stragglers climbed + the fences and got by. I fear that a great, and, of course, a + terrible slaughter has overtaken the Union forces--God's ways + are inscrutable. I am dreadfully disappointed and mortified. + +Copy of telegram sent to Mrs. Lyman Trumbull, July 22, 1861: + + The battle resulted unfavorably to our cause. + + LYMAN T. + +When received by Mrs. Trumbull, it read: + + I came from near the battlefield last night. It was a + desperately bloody fight. + +The only bill of importance passed at the July session of Congress at +Trumbull's instance was one to declare free all slaves who might be +employed by their owners, or with their owners' consent, on any military +or naval work against the Government, and who might fall into our hands. +It was called a Confiscation Act, but it did not confiscate any other +than slave property. It was an entering wedge, however, for complete +emancipation which came by successive steps later. + +At the beginning of the regular session (December, 1861), I was sent to +Washington City as correspondent of the Chicago _Tribune_, and was, for +the first time, brought into close relations with Trumbull. He had +rented a house on G Street, near the Post-Office Department. + +Very few Senators at that period kept house in Washington. At Mrs. +Shipman's boarding-house on Seventh Street, lived Senators Fessenden, +Grimes, Foot, and Representatives Morrill, of Vermont, and Washburne, of +Illinois; and there I also found quarters. As this was only a block +distant from the Trumbulls', and as I had received a cordial welcome +from them, I was soon on terms of intimacy with the family. Mr. Trumbull +was then forty-eight-years of age, five feet ten and one half inches in +height, straight as an arrow, weighing one hundred and sixty-seven +pounds, of faultless physique, in perfect health, and in manners a +cultivated gentleman. Mrs. Trumbull was thirty-seven years old, of +winning features, gracious manners, and noble presence. Five children +had been born to them, all sons. Walter, fifteen years of age, the +eldest then living, had recently returned from an ocean voyage on the +warship Vandalia, under Commander S. Phillips Lee. A more attractive +family group, or one more charming in a social way or more kindly +affectioned one to another, I have never known. Civilization could show +no finer type. + +The Thirty-seventh Congress met in a state of great depression. Disaster +had befallen the armies of the Union, but the defeat at Bull Run was not +so disheartening as the subsequent inaction both east and west. +McClellan on the Potomac had done nothing but organize and parade. +Fremont on the Mississippi had done worse than nothing. He had +surrounded himself with a gang of thieves whose plundering threatened to +bankrupt the treasury, and when he saw exposure threatening he issued a +military order emancipating slaves, the revocation of which by the +President very nearly upset the Government. The popular demand for a +blow at slavery as the cause of the rebellion had increased in +proportion as the military operations had been disappointing. Lincoln +believed that the time had not yet come for using that weapon. He +revoked Fremont's order. He thereby saved Kentucky to the Union, and he +still held emancipation in reserve for a later day; but he incurred the +risk of alienating the radical element of the Republican party--an +honest, fiery, valiant, indispensable wing of the forces supporting the +Union. The explosion which took place in this division of the party was +almost but not quite fatal. Many letters received by Trumbull at this +juncture were angry and some mournful in the extreme. The following +written by Mr. M. Carey Lea, of Philadelphia, touches upon a danger +threatening the national finances, in consequence of this episode: + + PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 1, 1861. + + DEAR SIR: The ability of our Government to carry on this war + depends upon its being able to continue to obtain the enormous + amounts of money requisite. Of late, within a week or so, an + alarming falling off in the bond subscriptions has taken place. + Now it is upon these private subscriptions that the ability of + the banks to continue to lend the Government money depends, and + unless a change takes place they will be unable to take the + fifty millions remaining of the one hundred and fifty millions + loan. A member of the committee informed me lately that the + banks had positively declined to pledge themselves before the + 1st of December, notwithstanding Mr. Chase's desire that they + should do so. + + This sudden diminution of subscriptions arises from the course + taken by some of our friends in the West. Even suppose that + Gen. Fremont is treated unfairly by the Government (and I think + he is fairly termed incapable)--but suppose there should be + injustice done him--you might disapprove it, but the moment + there is any serious idea of _resisting_ the act of the + President, _this_ war is ended. For the bare suggestion of such + a thing has almost stopped subscriptions, and the serious + discussion, much more the attempt, would instantly put an end + to them. + + I beg to remind you that in what I say I have no prejudice + against Fremont. I voted for him and have always concurred in + opinions with the Republican party, but we have now reached a + point where, if we look to _men_ and not to _principles_, we + are shipwrecked. Fremont is not more anti-slavery in his views + than Lincoln and Seward, and if he were in their place would + adopt the same cautious policy. The state of affairs must be my + excuse for intruding upon you these views. We _all_ have _all_ + at stake and such a crisis leads those to speak who are + ordinarily silent. I remain, my dear Sir, + + Yours respectfully, + + M. CAREY LEA. + +To this weighty communication Trumbull made the following reply: + + WASHINGTON, Nov. 5th, 1861. + + MY DEAR SIR: Thanks for your kind letter just received. I was + not aware of a disposition in the West to resist the act of the + President in regard to Gen. Fremont; though I was aware that + there was very great dissatisfaction in that part of the + country at the want of enterprise and energy on that part of + our Grand Army of the Potomac. We are fighting to sustain + constitutional government and regulated liberty, and, of + course, to set up any military leader in opposition to the + constituted authorities would be utterly destructive of the + very purpose for which the people of the loyal states are now + so liberally contributing their blood and treasure, and could + only be justified in case those charged with the administration + of affairs were betraying their trusts or had shown themselves + utterly incompetent and unable to maintain the Government. In + my opinion this rebellion ought to and might have been crushed + before this. + + I have entire confidence in the integrity and patriotism of the + President. He means well and in ordinary times would have made + one of the best of Presidents, but he lacks confidence in + himself and the _will_ necessary in this great emergency, and + he is most miserably surrounded. Now that Gen. Scott has + retired, I hope for more activity and should confidently expect + it did I not know that there is still remaining an influence + almost if not quite controlling, which I fear is looking more + to some grand diplomatic move for the settlement of our + troubles than to the strengthening of our arms. It is only by + making this war terrible to traitors that our difficulties can + be permanently settled. War means desolation, and they who have + brought it on must be made to feel all its horrors, and our + armies must go forth using all the means which God and nature + have put in their hands to put down this wicked rebellion. This + in the end will be done, and if our armies are vigorously and + actively led will soon give us peace. I trust that Gen. + McClellan will now drive the enemy from the vicinity of the + Capital--that he has the means to do it, I have no doubt. If + the case were reversed and the South had our means and our arms + and men, and we theirs, they would before this have driven us + to the St. Lawrence. If our army should go into winter quarters + with the Capital besieged, I very much fear the result would be + a recognition of the Confederates by foreign Governments, the + demoralization of our own people, and of course an inability + to raise either men or money another season. Such must not be. + Action, action is what we want and must have. God grant that + McClellan may prove equal to the emergency. + + Yours very truly, + + LYMAN TRUMBULL. + +The "influence almost if not quite controlling" meant Seward. Secretary +Cameron went to St. Louis to investigate Fremont and found him guilty. +Two months later he followed Fremont's example.[54] In his report as +Secretary of War he inserted an argument in favor of the emancipation +and arming of slaves. This he sent to the newspapers in advance of its +delivery to the President and without his knowledge. The latter +discovered it in time to expunge the objectionable part and to prevent +its delivery to Congress, but not soon enough to recall it from the +press. The expunged part was published by some of the newspapers that +had received it and was reproduced in the _Congressional Globe_ +(December 12), by Representative Eliot, of Massachusetts. + +The next man to take upon himself the responsibility of declaring the +nation's policy on this momentous question was General David Hunter, who +then held sway over a small strip of ground on the coast of South +Carolina. In the month of May, 1862, he issued an order granting freedom +to all slaves in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Hunter's order +was promptly revoked by the President. + +Trumbull had been the pioneer, at the July session, in the way of +legislation for freeing the slaves. On the first day of the regular +session he took another step forward, by introducing a bill for the +confiscation of the property of the rebels and for giving freedom to +persons held as slaves by them. This came to be known as the +Confiscation Act. + +On the 5th of December, 1861, he reported the bill from the Committee on +the Judiciary and made a brief speech on it. It provided that all the +property, real and personal, situated within the limits of the United +States, belonging to persons who should bear arms against the +Government, or give aid and comfort to those in rebellion, which persons +should not be reachable by the ordinary process of law, should be +forfeited and confiscated to the United States and that the forfeiture +should take immediate effect; and that the slaves of all such persons +should be free. Also that no slaves escaping from servitude should be +delivered up unless the person claiming them should prove that he had +been at all times loyal to the Government. Also that no officer in the +military or naval service should assume to decide whether a claim made +by a master to an escaping slave was valid or not. + +This bill was the _piece de resistance_ of senatorial debate for the +whole session. Its confiscatory features were attacked on the 4th of +March by Senator Cowan, in a speech of great force. Cowan was a new +Senator from Pennsylvania, a Republican of conservative leanings, and a +great debater. He opposed the bill on grounds of both constitutionality +and expediency. On the 24th of April, Collamer, of Vermont, expressed +the sound opinions that private property could not be confiscated except +by judicial process, and that even if it could be done it would be bad +policy, since it would tend to prolong the war and would constitute a +barrier against future peace. + +The Confederate Government had led the way by passing a law (May 21, +1861) sequestrating all debts due to Northern individuals or +corporations and authorizing the payment of the same to the Confederate +Treasury. The whole subject was extremely complex. "There was commonly," +says a recent writer in the _American Historical Review_, "a failure in +the debates to discriminate between a general confiscation of property +within the jurisdiction of the confiscating government and the treatment +accorded by victorious armies to private property found within the +limits of military occupation. Thus the general rule exempting private +property on land from the sort of capture property must suffer at sea, +was erroneously appealed to as an inhibition upon the right of judicial +confiscation. That a military capture on land analogous to prize at sea +was not regarded as a legitimate war measure was so obvious and well +recognized a principle that it would hardly require a continual +reaffirmation. It was a very different matter, however, so far as the +law and practice of nations was concerned, for a belligerent to attack +through its courts whatever enemy's property might be available within +its limits."[55] + +Collamer offered an amendment to strike out the first section of the +bill and insert a clause providing that every person adjudged guilty of +the crime of treason should suffer death, or, at the discretion of the +court, be imprisoned not less than five years and fined not less than +ten thousand dollars, which fine should be levied on any property, real +or personal, of which he might be possessed. The fine was to be in lieu +of confiscation. The aim of the amendment was to substitute due process +of law in place of legislative forfeiture. Various other amendments were +offered. On the 6th of May, the Senate voted by 24 to 14 to refer the +bill and amendments to a select committee of nine. The House, which had +been waiting for the Senate bill, decided on the 14th of May to take up +a measure of its own, which it passed on the 26th. The select committee +of the Senate framed a measure regarding the emancipation of escaping +slaves. This and the House bill were sent to a conference committee, +which reported the bill which became a law July 17, 1862. + +This was not the end of it, however. Provision had been made in the bill +for the forfeiture, by judicial process, of the property, both real and +personal, of rebels, regardless of the clause of the Constitution which +declares that "no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, +or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted." No such +exception was made in the bill. The President considered it +unconstitutional in this particular, and he wrote a short message giving +his reasons for withholding his approval of the measure. A rumor of his +intention reached Senator Fessenden, who called at the White House to +inquire whether it was true. He had a frank conversation with the +President, the result of which was that both houses passed a joint +resolution providing that no punishment or proceedings under the +Confiscation Act should be so construed as to work a forfeiture of the +real estate of the offender beyond his natural life. Lincoln's intended +veto of the Confiscation Bill is printed on page 3406 of the +_Congressional Globe_. Touching confiscation in general he expressed the +golden opinion that "the severest justice may not always be the best +policy." But he would not have vetoed the bill on grounds of expediency +merely. The forfeiture of real estate in perpetuity was the insuperable +objection in his mind. And he here seems to me to have been entirely +right. Yet Trumbull had the support of Judge Harris, Seward's successor +in the Senate, than whom nobody stood higher as a lawyer at that day. + +The President then signed both the bill and the joint resolution. The +Confiscation Act remained, however, practically a dead letter, except as +to the freeing of the slaves. In the latter particular it was the first +great step toward complete emancipation, since it took effect upon +slaves within our lines, who could be reached and made free _de facto_. +It provided that all slaves of persons who should be thereafter engaged +in rebellion, escaping and taking refuge in the lines of the Union +forces, and all such slaves found in places captured by such forces, +should be declared free; that no slaves escaping should be delivered up +unless the owner should swear that he had not aided the rebellion; that +no officer of the United States should assume to decide on the validity +of the claim of any person to an escaping slave; that the President +should be authorized to employ negroes for the suppression of the +rebellion in any capacity he saw fit; and that he might colonize negroes +with their own consent and the consent of the foreign Government +receiving them. + +According to a report of the Solicitor of the Treasury dated Dec. 27, +1867, the total proceeds of confiscation actually paid into the Treasury +up to that time amounted to the insignificant sum of $129,680. + +The enforcement of the confiscation act was placed under the charge of +the Attorney-General. Practically, however, it was performed by officers +of the army, so far as it was enforced at all. General Lew Wallace, +while in command of the Middle Department at Baltimore, in 1864, issued +two orders declaring his intention to confiscate the property of +certain persons who were either serving in the rebel army or giving aid +to the Confederate cause. These orders, which were published in the +newspapers, came to the notice of Attorney-General Bates, who at once +wrote to Wallace to remind him that the execution of the confiscation +act devolved upon the Attorney-General, and that he (Bates) had not +given any orders which would warrant the Commander of the Middle +Department in seizing private property, and requesting him to withdraw +the orders. Wallace replied that his construction of the law differed +from that of the Attorney-General and that he should execute it +according to his own understanding of it. Thereupon Bates took the +orders, and the correspondence, to the President and declared his +intention to resign his office if his functions were usurped by military +men in the field, or by the War Department. Lincoln took the papers, and +directed Secretary Stanton to require Wallace to withdraw the two orders +and to desist from confiscation altogether. This was done by Stanton, +but the orders were never publicly withdrawn although action under them +was discontinued. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[54] Gideon Welles quotes Montgomery Blair as saying in conversation +(September 12, 1862): "Bedeviled with the belief that he might be a +candidate for the Presidency, Cameron was beguiled and led to mount the +nigger hobby, alarmed the President with his notions, and at the right +moment (B. says) he plainly and promptly told the President he ought to +get rid of C. at once, that he was not fit to remain in the Cabinet, and +was incompetent to manage the War Department, which he had undertaken to +run by the aid of Tom A. Scott, a corrupt lobby jobber from +Philadelphia." (_Diary_, I, 127.) + +[55] Article on "Some Legal Aspects of the Confiscation Acts of the +Civil War," by J. G. Randall. _Am. Hist. Review_, October, 1912. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE EXPULSION OF CAMERON + + +Early in the year 1862, it was found that the national credit was +sinking in consequence of frauds in the War Department. A Committee on +Government Contracts was appointed by the House, and the first man to +fall under its censure was Alexander Cummings, one of the two +Pennsylvania politicians with whom David Davis had made his bargain for +votes at the Chicago convention. + +The War Department was represented at New York by General Wool with a +suitable staff, Major Eaton being the commissary. There was also a Union +Defense Committee consisting of eminent citizens who had volunteered to +serve the Government in whatever capacity they might be needed. +Nevertheless, Secretary Cameron placed a fund of two million dollars in +the hands of General Dix, Mr. Opdycke, and Mr. Blatchford, to be +disbursed by E. D. Morgan and Alexander Cummings, or either of them, for +the purpose of forwarding troops and supplies to Washington. As E. D. +Morgan was Governor of the State and was busy at Albany, this +arrangement would be likely to devolve most of the purchases on Cummings +alone. Cameron wrote on April 2, to Cummings: + + The Department needs at this moment an intelligent, + experienced, and energetic man on whom it can rely, to assist + in pushing forward troops, munitions, and supplies. I am aware + that your private affairs may demand your time. I am sure your + patriotism will induce you to aid me even at some loss to + yourself. + +Major Eaton, the army commissary, distinctly informed Cummings that his +services were not needed in the purchase of supplies. Nevertheless, +Cummings drew $160,000 out of the two-million fund and proceeded to +disburse the same. He first appointed a certain Captain Comstock to +charter or purchase vessels. Captain Comstock went to Brooklyn, +accompanied by a friend, and inspected a steamer appropriately named the +Catiline, which he found could be bought for $18,000. Before he made his +report to Cummings, the friend who accompanied him suggested to another +friend named John E. Develin that there was a chance to make some money +"by good management." Comstock at the same time assured Colonel D. D. +Tompkins, of the Quartermaster's Department, that the ship was worth +$50,000. Comstock testified that he was sent for by Thurlow Weed to come +to the Astor House at the outbreak of the troubles, and that Weed stated +to him that he (Weed) was an agent of the Government to send troops and +munitions of war to Washington by way of the Chesapeake, and that he +wished to charter vessels for that purpose. Afterwards Cummings called +upon Comstock and showed him the same authority that Weed had shown. + +The Catiline was bought by Develin for $18,000. The seller of the ship +testified that he received, as security for the purchase money, four +notes of $4500 each executed by Thurlow Weed, John E. Develin, G. C. +Davidson, and O. B. Matteson. Matteson had been a member of a previous +Congress from Utica, New York, but had been expelled from the House. The +Catiline was chartered for the Government at the rate of $10,000 per +month for three months, with an agreement that if she were lost in the +service the owners should be paid $50,000. The title to the Catiline +was, for convenience, placed in the name of a Mr. Stetson. + +Cummings was examined by the Committee on Government Contracts. He +testified that he had formerly been the publisher of the Philadelphia +_Evening Bulletin_, and later publisher of the New York _World_, and +that he had resided in the latter city about eighteen months; his family +still residing in Philadelphia. The purchases made by him to be shipped +on the Catiline consisted mainly of groceries and provisions, including +twenty-five casks of Scotch ale, and twenty-five casks of London porter; +but he testified that he did not see any of the articles bought, nor did +he have any knowledge of their quality, nor did he see any of them put +on board the ship. The purchases, he said, were made from the firm of E. +Corning & Co., of Albany, through a member of the firm named Davidson, +whom Cummings met at the Astor House. Cummings assumed that Davidson was +a member of the firm because Davidson told him so; he had no other +evidence of the fact. He assumed also that Corning & Co. were dealers in +provisions, but had no absolute knowledge on that point.[56] He supposed +that the goods were shipped from Albany to be loaded on the Catiline, +but did not know that such was the fact. All these details he left to +his clerk, James Humphrey, who had been recommended as clerk by Thurlow +Weed. Cummings testified that he did not know Humphrey before; did not +know whether he had ever been in business in Albany or in New York; took +him on Weed's recommendation; made no bargain with him as to salary; did +not know where he could be found now. Bought a lot of hard bread from a +house in Boston. Questioned to whom he made payment for this bread, he +answered: "Directly to the party selling it, I suppose." "By you?" "By +my clerk, I suppose." Did not recollect who first suggested the purchase +of bread. Had no directions from the Government to purchase any +particular articles. Bought a quantity of straw hats and linen +pantaloons, thinking they would be needed by the troops in warm weather. +Did not personally know that any of the goods had been loaded on the +steamer or by whom they should have been so loaded. The cargo was +certified by Cummings to Cameron as shipped for the Government. Mr. +Barney, Collector of the Port, refused to give a clearance to the +Catiline to sail. Mr. Stetson, the owner, produced a letter from Thurlow +Weed requesting a clearance, but Barney still refused. Finally General +Wool gave a "pass" on which the Catiline sailed without a clearance. +General Wool revoked the pass on the following day, but the ship had +already departed.[57] + +The report says: "The Committee have no occasion to call in question the +integrity of Mr. Cummings." We must infer, therefore, that he was chosen +by Cameron to disburse Government money in this emergency because he was +an extraordinary simpleton, and likely to be guided by Thurlow Weed in +buying army supplies from a hardware firm in Albany, and an unknown +Boston house that furnished hard bread. + +Congressman Van Wyck of New York, a member of the Committee, said that +Mr. Weed's absence from home had prevented an examination into the +nature and extent of his agency in the matter of the Catiline.[58] At +the time when Weed's testimony was wanted he was in Europe acting as a +volunteer diplomat "assisting to counteract the machinations of the +agents of treason against the United States in that quarter," as appears +by a letter of Secretary Seward to Minister Adams, dated November 7, +1861. + +The Committee on Government Contracts were unable to determine whether +the cargo of the Catiline was a private speculation or a _bona-fide_ +purchase for the Government. The character of the goods purchased and +the mode of purchase pointed to the former conclusion. Scotch ale and +London porter were not embraced in any list of authorized rations, nor +were straw hats and linen pantaloons included in quartermaster's stores. +Congressman Van Wyck conjectured that it was a private speculation until +Collector Barney refused to grant a clearance, and that then it was +turned over to the Government. Mr. Stetson, who applied for the +clearance, first told the Collector that the ship was loaded with flour +and provisions belonging to several of his friends. When he called the +second time he testified that the cargo consisted of supplies for the +troops. The ship was destroyed by fire before the three months' charter +expired. + +On the 13th of January, Henry L. Dawes, of Massachusetts, another member +of the committee, alluded to certain purchases of cavalry horses, +saying: + + A regiment of cavalry has just reached Louisville one thousand + strong, and a board of army officers has condemned four hundred + and eighty-five of the one thousand horses as utterly + worthless. The man who examined those horses declared, upon his + oath, that there is not one of them worth twenty dollars. They + are blind, spavined, ring-boned, with the heaves, with the + glanders, and with every disease that horseflesh is heir to. + Those four hundred and eighty-five horses cost the Government, + before they were mustered into the service, $58,200, and it + cost the Government to transport them from Pennsylvania to + Louisville, $10,000 more before they were condemned and cast + off. + + There are, sir, eighty-three regiments of cavalry one thousand + strong now in or roundabout the army. It costs $250,000 to put + one of those regiments upon its feet before it marches a step. + Twenty millions of dollars have thus far been expended upon + these cavalry regiments before they left the encampments in + which they were gathered and mustered into the service. They + have come here and then some of them have been sent back to + Elmira; they have been sent back to Annapolis; they have been + sent here and they have been sent there to spend the winter; + and many of the horses that were sent back have been tied to + posts and to trees within the District of Columbia and there + left to starve to death. A guide can take you around the + District of Columbia to-day to hundreds of carcasses of horses + chained to trees where they have pined away, living on bark and + limbs till they starve and die; and the Committee for the + District of Columbia have been compelled to call for + legislation here to prevent the city wherein we are assembled + from becoming an equine Golgotha.[59] + +Horse contracts of this sort had been so plentiful that Government +officials had gone about the streets of Washington with their pockets +full of them. Some of these contracts had been used to pay Cameron's +political debts and to cure old political feuds, and banquets had been +given with the proceeds, "where the hatchet of political animosity," +said Dawes, "was buried in the grave of public confidence and the +national credit was crucified between malefactors." + +Dawes said also that there was "indubitable evidence that somebody has +plundered the public treasury well-nigh in a single year as much as the +entire current yearly expenses of the Government which the people hurled +from power because of its corruption"--meaning Buchanan's +Administration.[60] + +In the Senate on the 14th, Trumbull, quoting from the testimony of the +House Committee, said that Hall's carbines, originally owned by the +Government, but condemned and sold as useless at about $2 each, were +purchased back for the Government, in April or May, at $15 each. In +June, the Government sold them again at $3.50 each. Afterwards in +August, they were purchased by an agent of the Government at $12.50 each +and turned over to the Government at $22 each, and the Committee of the +House was then trying to prevent this last payment from being made, and +eventually succeeded in doing so. The beneficiary in this case was one +Simon Stevens, not a relative of Thaddeus Stevens, but a protege of his, +and an occupant of his law office. He operated through General Fremont, +not through Cameron. + +"Sir," said Dawes, "amid all these things is it strange that the public +treasury trembles and staggers like a strong man with a great burden +upon him? Sir, the man beneath an exhausted receiver gasping for breath +is not more helpless to-day than is the treasury of this Government +beneath the exhausting process to which it is subjected." + +Somewhat later Congressman Van Wyck showed, among other things, that +Thurlow Weed, by the favor of Cameron, had established himself between +the Government and the powder manufacturers in such a way as to pocket a +commission of five per cent on purchases of ammunition.[61] + +The committee visited severe censure on Thomas A. Scott, for acting as +Assistant Secretary of War, while holding the office of vice-president +of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad. Scott said that he ceased to draw +salary from the railroad when he became Assistant Secretary, but that +he had retained his railroad connection because he considered it of more +value to himself than the other position. The committee considered it +highly improper for him to hold the power to award large Government +contracts for transportation and to fix prices therefor while he had +personal railroad interests, and while Secretary Cameron, to whom he +owed his appointment, was interested in the Northern Central Railroad. +The latter was commonly called "Cameron's road." An order had been +issued by Scott, without consultation with the Quartermaster-General of +the army, fixing the rates to be paid for the transportation of troops, +baggage, and supplies. The Quartermaster-General testified that Scott's +order as to prices was addressed to one of his own subordinates and that +he first saw it in the hands of that subordinate. He construed it, +however, as an order from his superior officer and therefore as +governing himself. Officers of other railroads testified that the rates +fixed by Scott were much too high considering the magnitude and kind of +work to be done. Thus, the rate for transporting troops was fixed at two +cents per mile per man, whether carried in passenger cars or in box +cars, and whether taken as single passengers or by regiments. + +Nicolay and Hay tell us that Cameron's departure from the Cabinet was in +consequence of his disagreement with the President as to that part of +his report relating to the arming of slaves; that although nothing more +was said by either himself or Lincoln on that subject, "each of them +realized that the circumstance had created a situation of difficulty and +embarrassment which could not be indefinitely prolonged." Cameron, they +say, began to signify his weariness of the onerous labors of the War +Department, and hinted to the President that he would prefer the less +responsible duties of a foreign mission. To outsiders this affair +seemed to have completely blown over when, on January 11, 1862, Lincoln +wrote the following short note: + + MY DEAR SIR: As you have more than once expressed a desire for + a change of position, I can now gratify you consistently with + my view of the public interest. I, therefore, propose + nominating you to the Senate next Monday as Minister to Russia. + + Very sincerely your friend, + A. LINCOLN. + +The real facts were given to the world by A. K. McClure somewhat later +in his book on "Lincoln and Men of War-Time." He says that Cameron's +dismissal was due to the severe strain put upon the national credit, +which led to the severest criticisms of all manner of public profligacy, +culminating in a formal appeal to the President from leading financial +men of the country for an immediate change of the Secretary of War; that +Lincoln's letter of dismissal was sent to Cameron by the hand of +Secretary Chase, and that it was extremely curt, being almost, if not +quite, literally as follows: "I have this day nominated Hon. Edwin M. +Stanton to be Secretary of War and you to be Minister Plenipotentiary to +Russia"; that Cameron in great agitation brought this missive to the +room of Thomas A. Scott, Assistant Secretary of War, where Mr. McClure +happened to be dining and showed it to them; that he wept bitterly, and +said that it meant his personal degradation and political ruin. Scott +and McClure volunteered to see Lincoln and ask him to withdraw the +offensive letter and to permit Cameron to antedate a letter of +resignation, to which Lincoln consented. "The letter conveyed by Chase +was recalled; a new correspondence was prepared, and a month later given +to the public."[62] + +McClure palliates Cameron's conduct by saying that "contracts had to be +made with such haste as to forbid the exercise of sound discretion in +obtaining what the country needed; and Cameron, with his peculiar +political surroundings and a horde of partisans clamoring for spoils, +was compelled either to reject the confident expectation of his friends +or to submit to imminent peril from the grossest abuse of his delegated +authority." This is another way of saying that he was compelled either +to pay his political debts out of his own pocket, or give his henchmen +access to the public treasury, and that he chose the latter alternative. + +The House of Representatives passed a resolution of censure upon Cameron +for investing Alexander Cummings with the control of large sums of the +public money and authorizing him to purchase military supplies without +restriction when the services of competent public officers were +available. A few days later the President sent to the House a special +message, assuming for himself and the entire Cabinet the responsibility +for adopting that irregular mode of procuring supplies in the then +existing emergency, a message which, when read in the light of +Cummings's testimony, adds nothing to Lincoln's fame. + +There was a struggle in executive session of the Senate, lasting four +days, over the confirmation of Cameron as Minister to Russia. Trumbull +took the lead in opposition. He considered it an immoral act, like +giving to an unfaithful servant a "character" and exposing society to +new malfeasance at his hands. He believed and said that the new office +conferred upon him would serve simply as whitewash to enable him to +recover his seat in the Senate, and that that was the reason why he +wanted the mission to Russia. + +Sumner, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, had been +much impressed by Cameron's anti-slavery zeal. As soon as the nomination +came in, he moved that it be confirmed unanimously and without reference +to any committee, which was the usual custom in cases where ex-Senators +of good repute were nominated to office. Objection being made, the +nomination went over. This was the day on which Dawes made his speech in +the House. Sumner saw the speech, called Cameron's attention to it, and +asked what answer should be made to such accusations. Cameron replied +that he had never made a contract for any kind of army supplies since he +had been Secretary of War, but had left all such business to the heads +of bureaus charged with such duties, and had never interfered with them. +On the 15th he put this statement in writing and addressed it to +Vice-President Hamlin:-- + + I take this occasion to state that I have myself not made a + single contract for any purpose whatever, having always + interpreted the laws of Congress as contemplating that the + heads of bureaus, who are experienced and able officers of the + regular army, shall make all contracts for supplies for the + branches of the service under their care respectively. + + So far I have not found any occasion to interfere with them in + the discharge of this portion of their responsible duties. + + I have the honor to be, respectfully, your obedient servant, + + SIMON CAMERON. + + HON. H. HAMLIN, + President of the Senate of the United States. + +In reply Dawes produced documents to show that there were then +outstanding contracts, made by Cameron himself, for 1,836,900 muskets +and rifles, and for only 64,000 by the Chief of Ordnance, the officer +charged with that duty, and that on the very day when the letter to +Hamlin was written, Cameron made a contract, against the advice of the +Chief of Ordnance, for an unlimited number of swords and sabres--all +that a certain Philadelphia firm could produce in a given time. This was +done after he had resigned and before his successor, Stanton, had been +sworn in.[63] + +Cameron was confirmed as Minister to Russia on the 17th, by a vote of 28 +to 14. The Republican Senators who voted against confirmation were +Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, Trumbull, and Wilkinson. Trumbull handed +me this list of names for publication, saying that all of them desired +to have it published. + +Cameron remained abroad until time and more exciting events had cast a +kindly shadow on his record. He then came home and a few years later was +reelected to the Senate. When the attack was made on his dear friend +Sumner, which ended in displacing him from the chairmanship of the +Committee on Foreign Relations, which he had held ten years, Cameron +retreated to a Committee room, as to a cyclone cellar, where he remained +until the deed was done, leaving Trumbull, Schurz, and Wilson to fight +the battle for his dear friend. Then he returned and sat down in the +chair thus made vacant. He subsequently explained that he did so because +his name was the next one to Sumner's on the committee list.[64] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[56] E. Corning & Co., of Albany, were dealers in stoves and hardware. + +[57] House Report no. 2, 37th Congress, 2d Session, p. 390. Cummings +reappears in Welles's _Diary_, near the close of Andrew Johnson's +Administration, as a favored candidate for the office of Commissioner of +Internal Revenue. The report of the Committee on Government Contracts +had been forgotten or only vaguely remembered. Welles had a dim +recollection that Cummings had a spotted record, and he warned Johnson +against him. Seward indorsed him, however; said he was "a capital man +for the place--no better could be found." (_Diary of Gideon Wells_, III, +414.) + +[58] _Cong. Globe_, February, 1862, p. 710. + +[59] _Cong. Globe_, January. 1862, p. 208. + +[60] _Cong. Globe_, April, 1862, p. 1841. + +[61] _Cong. Globe_, February, 1862, p. 712. + +[62] _Lincoln and Men of War Time_, p. 165. + +[63] Dawes, _Cong. Globe_, April, 1862, p. 1841. + +[64] _Congressional Record_, 43d Cong., 1st Sess., p. 3434. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +ARBITRARY ARRESTS + + +The jaunty manner in which Secretary Seward administered the laws +respecting the liberty of the citizen in the earlier years of the war is +treated by John Hay with a humorous touch under date October 22, 1861: + + To-day Deputy Marshal came and asked what he should do with + process to be served on Porter in contempt business. I took him + over to Seward and Seward said: "The President instructs you + that the _habeas corpus_ is suspended in this city at present, + and forbids you to serve any process upon any officer here." + Turning to me: "That is what the President says, is it not, Mr. + Hay?" "Precisely his words," I replied; and the thing was + done.[65] + +Prior to the assembling of Congress in July, 1861, the President had +given to General Winfield Scott authority in writing to suspend the +privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ at any point on the line of the +movement of troops between Philadelphia and Washington City. Without +other authority Seward began to issue orders for the arrest and +imprisonment of persons suspected of disloyal acts or designs, not only +on the line between Philadelphia and Washington City, but in all parts +of the country. + +When the special session of Congress began, Senator Wilson, Chairman of +the Committee on Military Affairs, introduced a joint resolution to +declare these and other acts of the President "legal and valid to the +same intent and with the same effect as if they had been issued and +done under the previous express authority and direction of the Congress +of the United States." The clause of the Constitution which says that +the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall not be suspended +unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may +require it, does not say in what mode, or by what authority, it may be +suspended. + +Straightway there were differences of opinion as to the lodgment of the +power to suspend, whether it was in the executive or in the legislative +branch of the Government. Other differences cropped up as to the +phraseology of the Wilson Resolution and its legal intendment. It might +be construed as an affirmance by Congress that the President's act +suspending the writ was lawful at the time when he did it, or, on the +other hand, that it became lawful only after Congress had so voted, and +hence was unlawful before. These diversities of opinion were very +tenaciously held by different members of the Senate and House, of equal +standing in the legal profession. The result was that Wilson's joint +resolution was debated at great length, but did not pass. Instead of it +an amendment was added to one of the military bills declaring that all +acts, proclamations, and orders of the President after the 4th of March, +1861, respecting the army and navy, should stand approved and legalized +as if they had had the previous express authority of Congress; and the +bill was passed as amended. This was understood to be a mere makeshift +for the time being. + +The general question was again brought to the attention of Congress by +Trumbull, December 12, 1861, when he introduced in the Senate the +following resolution: + + Resolved, that the Secretary of State be directed to inform the + Senate whether, in the loyal states of the Union, any person or + persons have been arrested by orders from him or his + department; and if so, under what law said arrests have been + made and said persons imprisoned. + +When this resolution came up for consideration (December 16), Senator +Dixon, of Connecticut, objected strongly to it. He thought that it was +unnecessary and unwise, and that it could result in nothing advantageous +to the cause of the Union. Some of the persons referred to, he said, had +been arrested in his own state. They had manifested their treasonable +purposes by attempting to institute a series of peace meetings, +so-called, by which they hoped to debauch the public mind under false +pretense of restoring peaceful relations between the North and the +South. The Secretary of State had put a sudden stop to their treasonable +designs by arresting and imprisoning one or more of them. He contended +that the Secretary had done precisely the right thing, at precisely the +right time, and had nipped treason in Connecticut in the bud. The only +criticism which loyal citizens had to make of his doings was that he had +not arrested a greater number. If there had been any error on the part +of the Executive, it had been on the side of lenity and indulgence. He, +Dixon, would not vote for an inquiry into the legality of such arrests +because they found their justification in the dire necessity of the +time. + +Trumbull asked how the Senator knew that the persons arrested were +traitors. Who was to decide that question? If people were to be arrested +and imprisoned indefinitely, without any charges filed against them, +without examination, without an opportunity to reply, at the click of +the telegraph, in localities where the courts were open, far from the +theatre of war, such acts were the very essence of despotism. The only +purpose of making the inquiry was to regulate these proceedings by law. +If additional legislation was necessary to put down treason or punish +rebel sympathizers in Connecticut, or in any other loyal state, he +(Trumbull) was ready to give it, but he was not willing to sanction +lawlessness on the part of public officials on the plea of necessity. He +denied the necessity. The principle contended for by the Senator from +Connecticut would justify mobs, riots, anarchy. He understood that some +of the parties arrested had been discharged without trial and he asked +if Mr. Dixon justified that. Then the following ensued: + + MR. DIXON. I do. + + MR. TRUMBULL. Then the Senator justifies putting innocent men + in prison. Else why were they discharged? I take it that was + the reason for their discharge. I have heard of such cases. + + MR. DIXON. They ought to be discharged, then. + + MR. TRUMBULL. They ought to be discharged, and they ought to be + arrested, too. An innocent man ought to be arrested, put into + prison, and by and by discharged. Sir, that is not my idea of + individual or constitutional liberty. I am engaged, and the + people whom I represent are engaged, in the maintenance of the + Constitution and the rights of the citizens under it. We are + fighting for the Government as our fathers made it. The + Constitution is broad enough to put down this rebellion without + any violations of it. I do not apprehend that the present + Executive of the United States will assume despotic powers. He + is the last man to do it. I know that his whole heart is + engaged in endeavoring to crush this rebellion, and I know that + he would be the last man to overturn the Constitution in doing + it. But, sir, we may not always have the same person at the + head of our affairs. We may have a man of very different + character, and what we are doing to-day will become a precedent + upon which he will act. Suppose that when the trouble existed + in Kansas, a few years ago, the then President of the United + States had thought proper to arrest the Senator or myself, and + send him or me to prison without examination, without + opportunity to answer, because in his opinion we were dangerous + to the peace of the country, and the necessity justified it. + What would the Senator have thought of such action? + +The debate lasted the whole day. Senators Hale, Fessenden, Kennedy, and +Pearce, of Maryland, supported the resolution. Senators Wilson, of +Massachusetts, and Browning, of Illinois, opposed it. + +Read in the light of the present day the arguments of the opposition are +extremely flimsy. They said in effect: "We know that our rulers mean +well; if we ask them any questions, we shall cast a doubt upon their +acts and then the wicked will be encouraged in their wrongdoing, and +treason will multiply in the land." It was Trumbull's opinion that +arbitrary arrests were causing division and dissension among the loyal +people of the North, and were thus doing more harm than good, even from +the standpoint of their apologists. Democratic conventions censured +them. That of Indiana, for example, resolved: + + That the total disregard of the writ of _habeas corpus_ by the + authorities over us and the seizure and imprisonment of the + citizens of the loyal states where the judiciary is in full + operation, without warrant of law and without assigning any + cause, or giving the party arrested any opportunity of defense, + are flagrant violations of the Constitution, and most alarming + acts of usurpation of power, which should receive the stern + rebuke of every lover of his country, and of every man who + prizes the security and blessings of life, liberty, and + property. + +At the close of the debate, Senator Doolittle moved to refer the +resolutions to the Committee on the Judiciary, in order to have a report +on the question whether the right to suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ +appertains to the President or to Congress. This motion was opposed by +Trumbull, but it prevailed by a vote of 25 to 17, and the subject was +shelved for six months. + +The question upon which Senator Doolittle wanted information had already +been decided, so far as one eminent jurist could decide it, in the case +of John Merryman, a citizen of Maryland, who was arrested at his home +in the middle of the night on the 25th of May, 1861. He applied to Chief +Justice Taney for a writ directing General Cadwalader, the commandant of +Fort McHenry, to produce him in court, on the ground that he had been +arrested contrary to the Constitution and laws of the United States. He +stated that he had been taken from his bed at midnight by an armed force +pretending to act under military orders from some person to him unknown. + +The Chief Justice issued his writ and General Cadwalader sent his +regrets by Colonel Lee, saying that the prisoner was charged with +various acts of treason and that the arrest was made by order of General +Keim, who was not within the limits of his command. He said further that +he was authorized by the President of the United States to suspend the +writ of _habeas corpus_ for the public safety. He requested that further +action be postponed until he could receive additional instructions from +the President. + +Judge Taney thereupon issued an attachment against General Cadwalader +for disobedience to the high writ of the court. The next day United +States Marshal Bonifant certified that he sent in his name from the +outer gate of the fort, which he was not permitted to enter, and that +the messenger returned with the reply that there was no answer to his +card, and that he was thereupon unable to serve the writ. The Chief +Justice then read from manuscript as follows: + + 1. The President, under the Constitution and laws of the United + States, cannot suspend the privilege of the writ of _habeas + corpus_, nor authorize any military officer to do so. + + 2. A military officer has no right to arrest and detain a + person not subject to the rules and articles of war, for an + offense against the laws of the United States, except in aid of + the judicial authority and subject to its control, and if the + party is arrested by the military, it is the duty of the + officer to deliver him over immediately to the civil authority + to be dealt with according to law. + +The Chief Justice then remarked orally that if the party named in the +attachment were before the court he should fine and imprison him, but +that it was useless to attempt to enforce his legal authority, and he +should, therefore, call upon the President of the United States to +perform his constitutional duty and enforce the process of the court. + +July 8, 1862, the House, after a brief debate, passed a bill reported by +its Judiciary Committee directing the Secretaries of State and of War to +report to the judges of the courts of the United States the names of all +persons held as political prisoners, residing in the jurisdiction of +said judges, and providing for their prompt release unless the grand +jury should find indictments against them during the first term of court +thereafter. The bill also authorized the President, during any recess of +Congress, to suspend the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ +throughout the United States, or any part thereof, in cases of +rebellion, or invasion, where the public safety might require it, until +the meeting of Congress. Mr. Bingham, of Ohio, who reported the bill, +explained that the committee did not attempt to decide whether the right +to suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ was vested in the executive or in +the legislative branch of the Government. That was a matter of dispute, +and the bill was intended to settle doubts, not theoretically but +practically. If the right belonged to the Executive under the +Constitution the passage of the bill would do no harm; if it belonged to +Congress the bill would enable the President to exercise it legally. A +motion to lay the bill on the table was negatived by a vote of 29 to 89, +after which it was passed without a division. + +July 15, Trumbull reported this bill from the Judiciary Committee of the +Senate with a recommendation that it pass. It was opposed vigorously by +Wilson, of Massachusetts, who called it a general jail delivery for the +benefit of traitors. He moved to strike out all of it except the section +which authorized the President to suspend the privilege of the writ of +_habeas corpus_. This motion was rejected by a majority of one, but the +session came to an end on the following day without a final vote on the +passage of the bill. + +In the meantime President Lincoln had seen fit to transfer the license +of making arbitrary arrests from the Secretary of State to the Secretary +of War. The change was no betterment, however, for, where Seward had +previously chastised the suspected ones with whips, Stanton now +chastised them with scorpions. Arbitrary arrests became more numerous +and arbitrary than before. A special bureau was created for them under +charge of an officer styled the Provost Marshal of the War Department. + +In the ensuing political campaign the Democrats made the greatest +possible use of the issue thus presented, and they showed large gains in +the congressional elections in the autumn of 1862. They carried New +York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. +Horatio Seymour was elected governor of the Empire State, and William A. +Richardson (Democrat) was chosen by the legislature of Illinois as +Senator in place of Browning, who was filling the vacancy caused by the +death of Senator Douglas. It is impossible to say how much influence the +arbitrary arrests had in producing these results, but it is certain that +the Republican leaders were alarmed. Stanton fell into a panic. The +general jail delivery apprehended by Wilson took place by a stroke of +Stanton's pen on the 22d of November, without waiting for the final vote +on Trumbull's bill, and Wilson himself voted for the bill. + +In the House, Thaddeus Stevens introduced a bill to indemnify the +President and all persons acting under his authority for arrests and +imprisonments previously made. This was passed under the previous +question, December 8, unfairly and without debate. + +When Congress reassembled in December, Trumbull called up the House bill +and offered a substitute for it. He held that under the Constitution +Congress must authorize and regulate the suspension of the writ of +_habeas corpus_. He would not, however, limit the exercise of the +executive power to the time of meeting of the next Congress, as the +House bill provided. His substitute proposed that the suspension of the +writ should be left to the discretion of the President as to time and +place during the continuance of the rebellion, but that political +prisoners should not be held indefinitely without knowing the charges +against them. The second section provided that lists of all prisoners of +this class in the loyal states should be furnished, within twenty days, +to the courts of the respective districts and laid before the grand +juries with a statement of the charges against them, and if no +indictments should be found against them during that term of court they +should be discharged upon taking an oath of allegiance to the United +States, and (if required by the judge) giving a bond for good behavior. +Future arrests for political offenses were to be regulated in like +manner. Collamer moved to strike out the second section, but failed by +two votes. + +Republican resistance to this measure now ceased and the role of +opposition was taken up by the Democrats. Powell, of Kentucky, contended +that the power to suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ was lodged in +Congress exclusively and could not be delegated to the President. He +raised the objection also that there was no definition of the phrase +"political offenses." Trumbull agreed to strike out that phrase +altogether, in which case the President would have the power to suspend +the writ for all offenses, and could determine for himself which ones +were political and which were non-political. As to the right of Congress +to delegate its own powers to the President in analogous cases, he cited +the power to borrow money, the power to grant letters of marque and +reprisal, and the power to call forth the militia, all of which were +lodged in Congress, but which Congress never exercised directly, but +only by delegating its powers to the Executive. + +Senator Carlile, of Virginia, held that the writ of _habeas corpus_ +ought never to be suspended in places where the courts were open. +Trumbull replied that if it were not suspended in those places it could +never be suspended at all, for if there were no courts open, the writ +itself could not be issued. Yet the Constitution clearly contemplated +the necessity of suspending it in certain conditions where it actually +existed. + +February 23, 1863, Trumbull's substitute was agreed to by yeas 25, nays +12, and the bill was passed by 24 to 13. All of the negative votes, +except two, were cast by Democrats. + +February 27, the Senate took up the Stevens House bill to indemnify the +President and adopted a substitute proposed by Trumbull. The substitute +was not adopted by the House, but a conference was asked for and agreed +to by the Senate. The conferees decided to consolidate into one act the +Indemnity Bill and the _Habeas Corpus_ Bill, which was still pending +between the two houses. The report of the Conference Committee was +presented to the Senate by Trumbull on March 2, one day before the end +of the Thirty-seventh Congress. + +Except the financial bills, this was the most important measure of the +session, and the one about which the most heat had been engendered. On +the 24th of September, 1862, the President had proclaimed martial law +throughout the nation as to persons discouraging enlistments or +resisting the Conscription Act and had suspended the writ of _habeas +corpus_ as to such persons. On the 1st of January following, he had +issued the Emancipation Proclamation, of which he had given preliminary +notice one hundred days before. These measures were extremely +distasteful to the Democrats and especially so to those of the border +slave states. The pending measure was intended to condone all former +arbitrary arrests and to sanction an indefinite number in the future, +although providing for speedy trials. + +When the report was presented, Powell, of Kentucky, moved to postpone it +till the following day. Trumbull would not agree to any postponement +unless there was an understanding on both sides that a vote should be +taken within a limited time. It was finally agreed between himself and +Bayard, of Delaware, that it should be postponed until seven o'clock in +the evening, with the understanding that there should be no +filibustering on the measure. The postponement was to be for debate and +discussion only. "So far as I know, or can learn, or believe," said +Bayard, "it is delay for no other purpose." Powell was present when this +colloquy took place and he neither affirmed nor denied. Trumbull took it +to be an agreement between the two political parties. + +The debate began with a speech from Senator Wall (Democrat), of New +Jersey, who held the floor till midnight, when Saulsbury, of Delaware, +moved that the Senate adjourn. The motion was negatived by 5 to 31. +Powell moved that the bill be laid upon the table. This was negatived +without a division. Then Powell began a speech against the bill. At +12.40 A.M., Richardson moved that the Senate adjourn; negatived by 5 to +30. Powell continued his speech and became involved in a running debate +with Cowan, of Pennsylvania, who took the floor after Powell had +finished and made a speech, apparently unpremeditated, but nevertheless +a great speech, going to the foundation of things and showing that the +Administration must be sustained in this crisis, since otherwise the +fabric of self-government in the United States would perish. He did not +say that he approved of, or condoned, arbitrary arrests in the loyal +states. All his implications were to the contrary, but he insisted that +those who would save the country and ward off chaos and anarchy could +not pause now to contend with each other on the issue whether the +President had the right to suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ or +whether Congress had it. He said that he observed signs, on the +Democratic side, of filibustering against the bill, and he thought that +such tactics were unjustifiable and highly dangerous. His argument +carried the greater force because of his habitual conservatism. While it +did not, perhaps, change any votes, it probably dampened the resistance +of the Northern Democrats to the bill. + +When Cowan had concluded, Powell took the floor to reply. At 1.53 A.M., +Bayard interrupted him with a motion to adjourn, which was negatived by +4 to 35. Powell resumed his speech and made a much longer one than his +first, at the end of which he moved an adjournment, negatived by 4 to +32. Then Bayard made a long speech against the bill. He finished at 5 +o'clock and Powell made another motion to adjourn, which was negatived, +4 to 18, no quorum voting. + +Some confusion followed the disclosure of the absence of a quorum. +Several motions were made and withdrawn, and finally Fessenden called +for the yeas and nays on Powell's motion to adjourn. In the mean time a +quorum had been drummed up and the roll-call showed 4 yeas to 33 nays. +There was considerable noise and confusion on the floor when the result +was announced and the presiding officer (Pomeroy, of Kansas) said +quickly: + + The question is on concurring in the report of the Committee of + Conference. Those in favor of concurring in the report will say + "aye"; those opposed, "no." The ayes have it. It is a vote. The + report is concurred in. + +Trumbull instantly moved to take up a bill from the House relating to +public grounds in Washington City, and his motion was agreed to. Then +Powell wanted to go on with the Indemnity Bill and was informed by +Grimes that it had already passed. He denied that it had passed and +called for the yeas and nays. Trumbull claimed the floor and his claim +was sustained by the chair. Powell called it a piece of "jockeying." +After some further recrimination the Senate adjourned. + +On reassembling, the question whether the bill had passed or not was +again taken up. The Senate Journal showed that it had passed, and the +question arose on a motion to correct the Journal. In the debate which +ensued it was proved that the presiding officer did actually put the +motion in the words quoted above; that, of the four Democrats who voted +on the last roll-call, none heard it; that the Democrats were in fact +filibustering against the bill, or at all events that Powell was doing +so, for he avowed that he had intended to defeat it by any means in his +power. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the passage of the +bill was accomplished by the sharp practice of Pomeroy; but it was +_damnum absque injuria_, snap judgment being no worse than +filibustering. Moreover, there is evidence that of the thirteen +Democratic Senators, only four or five were really determined to kill +the bill at all hazards. All except that number absented themselves from +the night session, while all or nearly all the Republicans remained in +their places. + +The Conference Report was concurred in on the 2d of March and the bill +was approved by the President on the following day. We may infer, +therefore, that the power to suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ resides +in the legislative branch of the Government, of which the President is a +part, and that Congress may delegate its powers to the President and +prescribe conditions and limitations to its exercise. + +No legislation more wholesome was enacted during the war period. No act +of the period was more precise and lucid and less equivocal in its +terms. Yet within two months it was grossly violated by the banishment +of Clement L. Vallandigham, an ex-member of Congress from Ohio. + +Vallandigham was the incarnation of Copperheadism. I heard his speech of +January 14, 1863, in the House, in which he discharged all the +pro-slavery virus that he had been collecting from his boyhood days. As +a public speaker he had no attractions, but rather, as it seemed to me, +the tone and front of a fallen angel defying the Almighty. There was +neither humor nor persuasion nor conciliation in his make-up. He was +cold as ice and hard as iron. Although born and bred in a free state, he +avowed himself a pro-slavery man. In the speech referred to he took two +hours to prove the following propositions: (1) That the Southern +Confederacy never could be conquered; (2) that the Union never could be +restored by war; (3) that it could be restored by peace; (4) that +whatever else might happen, African slavery would be "fifty-fold +stronger" at the end of the war than it had been at the beginning. + +General Ambrose E. Burnside, after his defeat at Fredericksburg, had +been sent to take command of the Department of the Ohio. Vallandigham +was now seeking the nomination of his party for governor of Ohio, and +his chances of success were not flattering until Burnside caused him to +be arrested for alleged treasonable utterances in a speech delivered at +the town of Mount Vernon on the 1st day of May, 1863. He was taken out +of his bed at Dayton in the night and carried to Cincinnati, put in a +military prison, tried by a military commission, found guilty, and +sentenced to close confinement in Fort Warren during the continuance of +the war. President Lincoln commuted his sentence to banishment to the +Southern Confederacy. He was accordingly sent across the army lines and +handed over to his supposed friends, who did not, however, receive him +with any touching marks of affection. + +Under the Act of Congress approved March 3, 1863, it was the duty of the +Secretary of War within twenty days to report the arrest of Vallandigham +to the judge of the United States District Court for southern Ohio, with +a statement of the charges against him, in order that they might be laid +before the grand jury, and if an indictment were found against him, to +bring him to trial; and if no indictment were found during that term of +court, to discharge him from confinement. Any officer, civil or +military, holding a prisoner in contravention of that act was guilty of +a misdemeanor and liable to a fine of not less than five hundred dollars +and to imprisonment in the common jail not less than six months. +Accordingly, all the proceedings in the case of Vallandigham subsequent +to his arrest were unwarranted and lawless. The arrest itself was, +perhaps, permissible under the act, because the President had the right +to suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_. When Vallandigham applied for +the writ, Judge Leavitt refused it on that ground. The refusal of the +writ, however, did not justify the later proceedings. + +The military trial of Vallandigham and his subsequent banishment led to +vehement protests from Northern Democrats, which, in the light of the +present day, seem not unreasonable. President Lincoln replied at great +length and on the whole successfully to one such protest which came from +a committee of citizens of New York, of which Erastus Corning was +chairman. He did not fare so well in a later controversy with a +committee of the Ohio Democratic State Convention, who visited the +Executive Mansion and submitted their protest in writing under date of +June 26. In this communication they covered the same ground as the New +York men and added these words: + + And finally, the charge and the specifications on which Mr. + Vallandigham was tried entitled him to a trial before the civil + tribunals according to the express provisions of the late acts + of Congress approved by yourself July 17, 1862, and March 3, + 1863. + +Mr. Lincoln replied to everything in the protest of the Ohio men except +this paragraph. His failure to reply on this point gave them the +opportunity to retort that his answer was "a mere evasion of the grave +questions involved." This is the only instance in Mr. Lincoln's +controversial writings, so far as I can discover, where such a retort +seems justified. The correspondence is published in Appleton's Annual +Cyclopaedia, 1863. + +The New York _Tribune_ deprecated, in no querulous tone, but in +moderate and dignified language, the entire proceedings in +Vallandigham's case, and deemed them not helpful to the cause of the +Union, but the contrary. + +Vallandigham was not the kind of man to win public sympathy, even for +his misfortunes. Moreover, his transference to the society that he was +supposed to be most fond of (as an alternative to close confinement in +Fort Warren) had a flavor of jocularity that dulled the edge of +criticism; but his strength in his own party was vastly augmented by +these proceedings. He was nominated for governor by acclamation, and +would probably have been elected had not the victories at Gettysburg and +Vicksburg, two months later, withdrawn attention from him, inspired the +Unionists with new enthusiasm, and correspondingly depressed their +opponents. + +Burnside, finding himself sustained by his superiors in doctoring +Copperheadism in Ohio, enlarged the scope of his practice. On the 1st of +June he issued an order forbidding the circulation of the New York +_World_ in his department and stopping the publication of the Chicago +_Times_. Brigadier-General Ammen was charged with the execution of the +latter order. On the following day, Ammen notified Wilbur F. Storey, the +editor of the _Times_, that he would not be allowed to issue his paper +on the 3d of June. Storey appealed to the United States District Court +for protection. Shortly after midnight Judge Drummond issued a writ +directing the military authorities to take no further steps under +Burnside's order to suppress the _Times_ until the application for a +permanent writ of injunction could be heard in open court. The judge +said: + + I may be pardoned for saying that personally and officially I + desire to give every aid and assistance in my power to the + Government and the Administration in restoring the Union, but + I have always wished to treat the Government as a government + of law and a government of the Constitution, and not a + government of mere physical force. I personally have contended + and shall always contend for the right of free discussion and + the right of commenting under the law and under the + Constitution upon the acts of the officers of the Government. + +Notwithstanding the order of the judge, a body of troops broke into the +office of the _Times_ at half-past three o'clock in the morning, after +nearly the whole edition had been printed, and took possession of the +establishment. When daylight came there was great excitement in Chicago. +Although the _Times_ was a Copperhead sheet of an obnoxious type, many +loyal citizens were convinced that Burnside's order would produce vastly +more harm than good to the Union cause. A meeting was hastily called at +the circuit court room, at which Senator Trumbull and Congressman I. N. +Arnold were present. Hon. William B. Ogden, ex-mayor, president of the +Chicago and Northwestern Railway, a Republican in politics, offered for +adoption a resolution requesting President Lincoln to suspend or rescind +Burnside's order suppressing the _Times_. The resolution was adopted +unanimously by the meeting and a petition to that effect was drawn up, +signed, and sent around town for additional signatures. It was then +telegraphed to the President, and Trumbull and Arnold sent an additional +telegram asking that it might receive his prompt attention. + +Outside of the room, however, the utmost contrariety of opinion existed. +The streets were filled with heated disputants, and there was danger of +rioting throughout the day following the suppression of the newspaper. +In the evening of June 3, a great meeting of persons opposed to +Burnside's order was held in the Court-House Square, which was addressed +by General Singleton, Moses M. Strong, of Wisconsin, B. G. Caulfield, +and E. G. Asay, Democrats, and by Senator Trumbull and Wirt Dexter, +Republicans. + +In the mean time Judge Drummond was hearing the arguments of Storey's +lawyers on the question of making permanent the injunction that had +already been disobeyed. While the proceedings were going on, a telegram +came from Burnside to Ammen, dated Lexington, Kentucky, June 4, saying +that his order for the suppression of the Chicago _Times_ had been +revoked by order of the President of the United States. The soldiers +were accordingly withdrawn and Mr. Storey resumed possession of his +property. + +The Chicago _Evening Journal_ published the following outline of +Trumbull's speech on this event: + + The point of Judge Trumbull's speech was to show the importance + of adhering to the Constitution and laws in all measures + adopted for the suppression of the rebellion. He contended that + they furnished ample provisions for dealing with traitors in + our midst; that the Administration and its friends were + weakened by resort to measures of doubtful authority against + rebel sympathizers where the law furnished adequate remedies; + that while no one questioned the authority of military + commanders in the field and within their lines where the civil + authorities were overborne, to exercise supreme authority, the + right to do this in the loyal portions of the country, where + the judicial tribunals were in full operation, was very + questionable. He held that by its exercise in such localities + the enemies of the country were given a great advantage, by + alleging that their constitutional rights and privileges were + arbitrarily interfered with. He insisted that the Constitution + and laws were supreme in war as well as in peace, and that the + denial of this proposition was an acknowledgment that the + people were incapable of self-government--an admission that + constitutional liberty and the rights of the citizen, + guaranteed by fundamental laws, were of no value except in + peaceful times, so that in tumultuous times personal liberty + regulated by law, to establish which the Anglo-Saxon race had + been contending for centuries, must give way to the discretion + of any man who might happen at the time to be at the head of + the Government; that this, the American people are not prepared + to admit, nor was it necessary they should; that the right of + free speech and a free election should never be surrendered; + but that this freedom did not imply the right, in time of civil + war, to give aid and comfort to the enemies of the country, + either directly or indirectly, against which the laws made + ample provision. + +The legislature of Illinois was then in session and both houses passed +resolutions condemning the action of the military authorities in +suppressing the Chicago _Times_.[66] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[65] _Letters and Diaries_, I, 47. + +[66] The New York _Tribune_, June 6, said: "We trust the great majority +of considerate and loyal citizens share the relief and satisfaction we +feel in view of the President's course in revoking the order of General +Burnside which directs the suppression of the Chicago _Times_. And we +further trust that the zealous and impulsive minority, who would have +had General Burnside's order sustained, will, on calm reflection, +realize and admit that the President has taken the wiser and safer +course. We cannot reconcile the decision of the Executive in this case +with his action in regard to Vallandigham. Journalists have no special +license to commit treason, and Vallandigham's sympathy with the rebels +was neither more audacious nor more mischievous than that of the +_Times_. Yet it is better to be inconsistently right than consistently +wrong--better to be right to-day, though wrong yesterday, than to be +wrong both days alike." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +INCIDENTS OF THE YEARS 1863 AND 1864 + + +James W. White, of New York City, writes, March 6, to ask Trumbull, as a +member of the Seward Committee, whether it is a fact that President +Lincoln had knowledge of the dispatches written by Secretary Seward to +Minister Adams, dated April 10, 1861, and July 5, 1862, before they were +sent, and whether he approved the same. + +This refers to an event which very nearly upset President Lincoln's +Cabinet in the beginning of 1863. Secretary Seward had entered the +Cabinet under strong suspicions of lukewarmness toward the war policy of +the President, which suspicions were shared by the Republican Senators +generally. Consequently they were prepared to believe that the want of +success which attended the Union arms was due to a lack of earnestness +at headquarters, and that the man who paralyzed Lincoln was the +Secretary of State. While this feeling was rankling in many bosoms, and +especially among those who had considered the Executive remiss in +dealing with the slavery question, the official correspondence of the +State Department of the preceding year came from the press, containing, +among other letters, one from Seward to Minister Adams dated July 5, +1862, with the following words: + + It seems as if the extreme advocates of African slavery and its + most vehement opponents were acting in concert together to + precipitate a servile war--the former by making the most + desperate attempts to overthrow the Federal Union, the latter + by demanding an edict of universal emancipation as a lawful and + necessary, if not, as they say, the only legitimate way of + saving the Union. + +Probably this was a private note, which got into the published volume by +mistake, but it was oil on the flames in 1863, and it became public +simultaneously with the news of General Burnside's defeat at +Fredericksburg. These were among the darkest hours of the war. The +Republican Senators thought that the rebellion would never be put down +unless Seward were forced out of the Cabinet and that now was the time +to act. A caucus was held and a committee appointed, of which Senator +Collamer was chairman, to visit the President and express the opinion +that Mr. Seward had lost the confidence of Congress and the country, and +that his resignation was necessary to a successful prosecution of the +war. Trumbull was one of the members of the committee. + +Seward's unlucky letter, which formed the occasion of Judge White's +communication to Trumbull, was written shortly before Lincoln's +preliminary proclamation of emancipation as to slaves in the rebel +states was published. Senator Sumner took the letter to the President +and asked if he had ever given his sanction to it. He replied that he +had never seen it before. The newspapers got hold of this fact and made +it hot for Seward. The New York _Times_, however, denied, apparently by +authority, that Seward had ever sent any dispatch to a foreign minister +without first submitting it to the President and getting his approval of +it. Such a denial would be technically correct if this letter were a +private communication, not intended for the public archives. Judge +White, in a public letter, maintained that Seward never had submitted +this letter to his chief, thus raising a question of veracity with the +_Times_. So he wrote the foregoing letter to Trumbull hoping to find a +backer in him. Trumbull replied in the following terms: + + Pressing engagements and an indisposition to become involved + in the controversy to which your letter of the 6th alludes must + be my apology for not sooner replying to your inquiries. The + want of harmony, not to say the antagonism, between some of the + dispatches referred to and the avowed policy of the President + would seem to afford sufficient evidence to a discerning public + that both could not have emanated from the same mind. In view, + therefore, of the manner in which the information in my + possession was obtained, and not perceiving at this time that + the public good would be subserved by any disclosure I could + make, I must be excused for not undertaking to furnish + extraneous evidence in the matter. + +The accusations of the senatorial committee against Seward were +summarized by Lincoln truthfully and with a touch of humor. "While they +seemed to believe in my honesty," he said, "they also appeared to think +that whenever I had in me any good purpose Seward contrived to suck it +out unperceived." Seward was no more to blame for the ill success of the +Union armies than any other member of the Cabinet. The inefficiency in +our armies, according to Gideon Welles, resided in the President's chief +military adviser, General Halleck. However that may have been, it is +well that the errand of the Republican Senators to the White House +proved fruitless, since, if successful, it might have created a +precedent which would have upset our form of government. + +G. Koerner, Minister to Spain, writes from Madrid, March 22, 1863, that +he is very much discouraged about the prospects of the war. He trusts +more to the exhaustion of the South than to the victories of the North. + + My situation, under the circumstances, has been a very + unpleasant one. For days and weeks I have avoided meetings and + reunions where I would have had to answer questions, often + meant in a very friendly manner, but still embarrassing to me. + My family has also lived very retired, for the additional + reason that we are not able to return the many hospitalities to + which we are invited constantly. We have the greatest trouble + in the world to live here in the most modest manner within our + means. We forego many, very many, of the comforts we were + accustomed to at home. + +From Columbus, Georgia, October 26, 1863, Alfred Iverson (former +Senator), trusting that the difficulties in which the two sections are +involved may not have extinguished the feelings of courtesy and humanity +in the hearts of individual gentlemen, writes, at the instance of an +anxious mother, to make inquiries in reference to Charles G. Flournoy, +supposed to have been captured with other Confederate soldiers by +General Grant's forces in the vicinity of Vicksburg, and to be confined +in a military prison at Alton, Illinois. + +Walter B. Scates (former judge of the supreme court of Illinois, +Democrat, now serving as assistant adjutant-general in the Thirteenth +Army Corps) writes from New Orleans, November 14, 1863, that he is +thoroughly convinced of the propriety and necessity of destroying +slavery as a means of ending this most wicked war and preventing a +recurrence of a like misfortune; is ready to take an active part in the +organization of colored regiments, that they may assist in maintaining +the Government and winning their own freedom. + +From Topeka, Kansas, November 16, John T. Morton remonstrates against +the appointment of M. W. Delahay as judge of the United States District +Court, because he is utterly incompetent. Says he gave up the practice +of his profession in Illinois because he was so ignorant that nobody +would employ him. O. M. Hatch confirms Morton; says the appointment is +unfit to be made; has known Delahay personally for twenty years. Jesse +K. Dubois and D. L. Phillips confirm Hatch. + +Jackson Grimshaw writes from Quincy, December 3: + + Will the Senate confirm that miserable man Delahay for Judge + in Kansas? The appointment is disgraceful to the President, who + knew Delahay and all his faults, but the disgrace to the + Administration will be greater if the Senate confirms him. He + is no lawyer, could not try a case properly even in a Justice's + court and has no character. Mr. Buchanan in his worst days + never made so disgraceful an appointment to the bench. + +Herndon relates that Delahay's expenses to the Chicago nominating +convention, as an expected delegate from Kansas, were promised by +Lincoln. He was not a delegate and never had the remotest chance of +being one, but he came as a "hustler" and Lincoln paid his expenses all +the same. He was nevertheless appointed judge, was impeached by Congress +in 1872 under charges of incompetency, corruption, and drunkenness on +and off the bench, and resigned while the impeachment committee was +taking testimony. + +Major-General John M. Palmer writes from Chattanooga, December 18, 1863: + + The Illinois troops (now voters) are beginning to talk about + the Presidency. Mr. Lincoln is by far the strongest man with + the army, and no combination could be made which would impair + his strength with this army unless, perhaps, Grant's candidacy + would. The people of Tennessee would now vote for Lincoln, it + is thought by many. Andy Johnson is understood to be a + Presidential aspirant by most people in this state. He is not + as popular as I once thought he was, though if he will exert + himself to do so he can be Governor, or Senator, when the state + is reorganized. He is understood to favor emancipation, and the + people are prepared for it, but I fear personal questions will + complicate the matter. The truth is all these Southern + politicians are behind the times sadly. There is nothing + practical about them. Now, when the whole social and political + fabric is broken up, new foundations might be laid for + institutions which would in their effects within twenty years + compensate the State for all its losses, heavy as they are. But + not much will be done, I fear, because the politicians don't + seem to know what is required. One fourth of the people are + destitute, and yet the leaders have not humanity and energy + enough to induce them to organize for mutual assistance. There + are farms enough in middle Tennessee deserted by their rebel + owners to give temporary homes to thousands, and yet no one + will take the responsibility of putting them in possession, but + the leaders quietly suffer the poor to wander homeless all over + the country. + +Colonel Fred Hecker writes from Lookout Valley, Tennessee, December 21: + + Again we are encamped in Lookout Valley after heavy fighting + and marching from November 22 to December 16, stopping a + victorious march at the gates of Knoxville, returning with + barefooted, ragged men, but cheerful hearts. This was more than + a fight. It was a wild chase after an enemy making no stand, + leaving everywhere in our hands, muskets, cannon, ammunition, + provisions, stores, etc., and large numbers of prisoners. + These, as well as the populations, were unanimous in declaring + that the people of the South are tired of the war and rebellion + and are in earnest in the desire for peace and order. I + conversed much with men of different positions in life, + education, and political parties, from the enraged secessionist + to the unwavering Union man just returning from his + hiding-place, and I am fully convinced that most of the work is + done. A great many had no idea what war was till both armies, + passing over the country, had taught them the lesson, and there + is such a prevailing union feeling in North Carolina, northern + Alabama, and Georgia, as I have ascertained in a hundred + conversations with men of that section of the country, that the + result of the next campaign is not the least doubtful. You + remember what I told you about General Grant at a time when + this excellent man was pursued by malice and slander. I feel + greatly satisfied that his enemies are now forced to do him + justice. The battle of Chattanooga, with all its great + consequences, was a masterpiece of planning and manoeuvring, + and every man of us is proud to have been an actor in this ever + memorable action. Revolution and war sift men and consume + reputations with the voracity of Kronos, and it is good that it + is so. + +From Chattanooga, January 24, 1864, Major-General John M. Palmer writes: + + I saw Grant yesterday and had a conversation with him. + Peace-at-any-price men would have a hard bargain in him as + their candidate. He is a soldier and, of course, regards + negroes at their value as military materials. He has just + enough sentiment and humanity about him to make him a careful + general, and he esteems men, black or white, as too valuable to + be wasted. He does not desire to be a candidate for the + Presidency; prefers his present theatre of service to any + other. Nor will the officers of the army willingly give him up. + He has no enemies, and it is very difficult to understand how + he can have any. He is honest, brave, frank, and modest. Is + perfectly willing that his subordinates shall win all the + reputation and glory possible; will help them when he can, with + the most unselfish earnestness. He demands no adulation, and + gives credit for every honest effort, and if efforts are + unsuccessful he has the sense, and the sense of justice, to + understand the reasons for failure and to attach to them their + proper importance. Nobody is jealous of Grant and he is jealous + of no one. He is not a great man. He is precisely equal to his + situation. His success has been wonderful and must be + attributed, I think, to his fine common sense and the faculty + he possesses in a wonderful degree of making himself + understood. I do not think he will be anybody's candidate for + the Presidency this time, but after that his stock will be at a + premium for anything he wants. Mr. Lincoln is popular with the + army, and will, as far as the soldiers can vote, beat anything + the Copperheads can start. No civilian or mere book-making + general can get votes in the army against him. + +J. K. Dubois, Springfield, January 30, says: + + We are receiving daily old regiments who are reenlisting and + are sent home on furlough for thirty days to see their friends + and recruit. This is very damaging to the Copperhead crew of + our state. They swear and groan over this fact, for they have + preached and affirmed that the soldiers were held in subjection + by their officers, and that as soon as their time was up they + would show their officers and the President that they would + have nothing more to do with this Abolition crusade. And so + when these same men's time will have expired, commencing next + June, they say to rebels both front and rear: "We were at the + beginning of this fight and we intend also to be at the end." + All honor to these brave and loyal men. + +Israel B. Bigelow, Brownsville, Texas, May 5, 1864, says that before the +war it was commonly said that soil and climate would regulate slavery. + + In theory this was right if slavery was right, and whether + right or wrong, slavery is declining, and with my very hearty + concurrence--to my own astonishment. No man ever regarded a + Massachusetts Abolitionist with greater abhorrence than myself, + and yet I have subscribed to Mr. Lincoln's ironclad oath. Time + works wondrous changes in men's feelings, and there are + thousands of slaveholders in this state who, two years ago, + cursed Mr. Lincoln and his Government, who are now willing to + have their slaves freed if the war can be brought to an end. + +We now come upon the first evidence of any difference, of a personal +kind, existing between Senator Trumbull and President Lincoln. Opposing +views on questions of public policy, such as the Confiscation Bill and +arbitrary arrests, have already been noted. A difference of another kind +is disclosed in a letter from N. B. Judd, Minister to Prussia. Judd had +returned to his post after a visit to this country. He wrote to Trumbull +under date, Berlin, January, 1864: + + When I last saw you your conviction was that L. would be + reelected. I tell you combinations can't prevent it. Events + possibly may. But until some event occurs, is it wise or + prudent to give an impression of hostility for no earthly good? + Usually your judgment controls your feelings. Don't let the + case be reversed now. Although a severe thinker you are not + constitutionally a croaker. Excuse the freedom of my writing. I + have given you proofs that I am no holiday friend of yours. + +The next piece of evidence found is a letter from Trumbull himself to +H. G. McPike, of Alton, Illinois, one of the few letters of which he +kept a copy in his own handwriting: + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 1864. + + The feeling for Mr. Lincoln's reelection _seems_ to be very + general, but much of it I discover is only on the surface. You + would be surprised, in talking with public men we meet here, to + find how few, when you come to get at their real sentiments, + are for Mr. Lincoln's reelection. There is a distrust and fear + that he is too undecided and inefficient to put down the + rebellion. You need not be surprised if a reaction sets in + before the nomination, in favor of some man supposed to possess + more energy and less inclination to trust our brave boys in the + hands and under the leadership of generals who have no heart in + the war. The opposition to Mr. L. may not show itself at all, + but if it ever breaks out there will be more of it than now + appears. Congress will do its duty, and it is not improbable we + may pass a resolution to amend the Constitution so as to + abolish slavery forever throughout the United States. + +The third scrap is a letter from Governor Yates to Trumbull dated +Springfield, February 26, to whom, perhaps, McPike showed Trumbull's +letter quoted above. Yates writes: + + As you are a Senator from _Illinois_, the state of Mr. Lincoln, + please be cautious as to your course till I see you. I have + such strong regard for you personally that I do not wish either + enemies or friends on our side, who would like to supplant you, + to get any undue advantage over you. + +Trumbull believed there was a lack of efficiency in the use made, by the +executive branch of the Government, of the means placed at its disposal +for putting down the rebellion. That such was his opinion was made clear +by his participation in the anti-Seward movements of the previous year. +Whether the opinion was justified or not, it was so generally +entertained in Washington that if the nomination had rested in the hands +of the Senators and Representatives in Congress, Lincoln would have had +very few votes in the Baltimore Convention. Albert G. Riddle describes a +scene in the White House in February, 1864, illustrative of public +sentiment in Washington at that time. The reception room of the +Executive Mansion was filled with persons, most of whom were inveighing +against Lincoln, who was not present. The one most loud and bitter +against the President was Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts. His assaults +were so amazing that Riddle cautioned him to choose some other place +than the Executive Mansion for uttering them; advised him to make his +speeches in the Senate, or get himself elected to the coming National +Union Convention and then denounce Lincoln, where his words might have +some effect. Wilson replied that he knew the people were for Lincoln and +that nothing could prevent his renomination.[67] + +The opposition was based wholly upon charges of inefficiency and lack of +earnestness and vigor in the prosecution of the war. But the feeling, +both among the people at home and the soldiers in the field, was so +overwhelmingly for Lincoln, that when the delegates came together in +convention the opposition in Congress was silenced. After the +nominations of both parties had been made, however, the previous +distrust reappeared on a larger scale and became so pronounced that +Lincoln himself thought that he was about to be defeated and took steps +to turn the Government over to McClellan practically before the +constitutional period for his own retirement.[68] If Lincoln himself was +in despair, other persons who shared his gloom might be excused. + +The radicals who were opposed to Lincoln held a convention in the city +of Cleveland on the 31st of May, 1864, and nominated General John C. +Fremont for President and General John Cochrane for Vice-President. +Among the leaders in this movement were B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri, +Wendell Phillips, of Massachusetts, and Rev. George B. Cheever, of New +York. They had the sympathy of Ben Wade, of Ohio, and Henry Winter +Davis, of Maryland, and they reckoned upon the support of many radical +Germans of the fiery type, perhaps sufficiently numerous to turn the +votes of some important Western States. On the 21st of September, +Fremont withdrew as a candidate and on the 23d the President asked for +the resignation of Montgomery Blair as Postmaster-General, which the +latter immediately gave. The simultaneous retirement of Fremont and +Blair, who were known to be enemies to each other, led to a suspicion +that there was some connection between the two events. The account given +by Nicolay and Hay conveys no hint of this, but is confused and +self-contradictory. Evidence is available to indicate that Fremont made +his retirement conditional upon the removal of Blair from the Cabinet, +and that Lincoln, although reluctant to lose Blair from his official +family, deemed it a necessity to get the third ticket out of the +presidential contest, for public reasons.[69] + +In the Senatorial contest of 1867 the false accusation was made that +Trumbull had refused to make speeches in favor of Lincoln's reelection; +whereas he was the leading speaker at the great Union Mass Meeting at +Springfield on the 5th of October, 1864, which was addressed by +Doolittle, Yates, and Logan also. His correspondence shows that he +spoke at several other places during that month. + +But speech-making did not gain the victory in the election of 1864. That +fight was won by General Sherman at Atlanta, aided by General Sheridan +in the Valley of Virginia, and by Admiral Farragut at Mobile. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[67] Riddle's _Recollections of War-Time_, p. 267. + +[68] Nicolay & Hay, ix, 251. + +[69] A letter dated August 9, 1910, in my possession, from Mr. Gist +Blair, son of Montgomery Blair, says: "I have always understood that my +father retired from Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet in order to secure the +withdrawal of Fremont as a candidate against Mr. Lincoln. There are +letters which I cannot now put my hand on, which indicate that Mr. +Lincoln continued to consult my father practically the same as if he +were a member of the Cabinet, up to the time of Mr. Lincoln's death." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION + + +Donn Piatt, meeting William H. Seward on the street on the morning +immediately after the issuing of the preliminary proclamation of +emancipation, complimented him for his share in the act, whereupon the +following colloquy ensued: + +"Yes," said Seward, "we have let off a puff of wind over an accomplished +fact." + +"What do you mean, Mr. Seward?" + +"I mean that the emancipation proclamation was uttered in the first gun +fired at Sumter and we have been the last to hear it. As it is, we show +our sympathy with slavery by emancipating slaves where we cannot reach +them and holding them in bondage where we can set them free."[70] + +Seward did not say this in a censorious spirit, but what he did say was +true. The proclamation applied only to states and parts of states under +rebel control. It did not emancipate any slaves within the emancipator's +reach. Whether it freed anybody anywhere was a matter of dispute. What +its legal effect would be after the war should cease, no one could say. +Moreover, if the President had legal authority to issue the +proclamation, then he, or a successor in office, could revoke it. + +The Constitution had not given to the Federal Government power to +emancipate slaves. The proclamation did not purport to rest upon any +constitutional power, but upon war powers solely. But war powers last +only while war lasts, and when it comes to an end, all sorts of people +have all sorts of opinions as to the validity of acts done under them. + +Public opinion at the time was keenly alive to doubts regarding the +President's powers in this particular. Congress was flooded with +petitions calling for action to confirm and validate the proclamation, +but the way was beset with difficulties. Should the Constitution be +amended, or would an act of Congress suffice? If the Constitution should +be amended, should it abolish slavery everywhere or only in the places +designated by the President? Should loyal slave-owners be compensated, +as Lincoln desired? What were the chances of getting such an amendment +ratified by three fourths of the states? And for this purpose should the +rebel states be counted as still in the Union? If so, the requisite +number might not be obtained. + +The first resolution offered in Congress for such an amendment of the +Constitution was proposed in the House on the 14th of December, 1863, by +Representative James F. Wilson of Iowa, in these words: + + SECTION 1. Slavery being incompatible with a free government is + forever prohibited in the United States; and involuntary + servitude shall be permitted only as a punishment for crime. + + SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce the foregoing + section by appropriate legislation. + +On the 13th of January, 1864, Senator Henderson, of Missouri, offered a +resolution to amend the Constitution by adding thereto the following +article: + + Slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for + crime, shall not exist in the United States. + +These resolutions were referred to the Judiciary Committees of the +respective houses. + +On the 10th of February, Trumbull reported the Henderson Resolution from +the Committee on the Judiciary, with an amendment in the nature of a +substitute in the following terms: + + ARTICLE XIII + + SECTION 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as + a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly + convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place + subject to their jurisdiction. + + SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by + appropriate legislation. + +The phraseology followed pretty closely that of the Ordinance of 1787. +Trumbull adopted it because it was among the household words of the +nation. To become effective as a part of the Constitution, this article +required the votes of two thirds of each branch of Congress and +ratification by the legislatures of three fourths of the States. + +Presenting the resolution to the Senate, Trumbull said that nobody could +doubt that the conflict then raging, and all the desolation and death +consequent thereon, had their origin in the institution of slavery; that +even those who contended that the trouble was due to the agitators and +abolitionists of the North must admit that if there were no slavery +there would be no abolitionists. So also it must be admitted that if +there had been no slavery there would have been no secession and no +civil war. All the strife that had ever afflicted the nation, or all +that could be considered menacing to the country's peace, had had its +source in that institution. Various laws had been passed by Congress to +give freedom to slaves of rebel owners and even these laws had not been +executed properly. The President of the United States had issued a +preliminary proclamation in September, 1862, and a final one in January, +1863, declaring all slaves under rebel control free, but not those +under our control. The legal effect of such a proclamation had been a +matter of dispute. Some persons held that the President had the +constitutional power to issue it and that all the slaves designated were +free, or would become so whenever the rebellion should be crushed; while +others contended that it had no effect either _de jure_ or _de facto_. +It was the duty of the lawmaking power to put an end to this uncertainty +by some act more comprehensive than any that had yet been adopted. Would +a mere act of Congress suffice? It had been an axiom of all parties from +the beginning of the Government that Congress had no authority to +interfere with slavery in the states where it existed. We had authority, +of course, to put down the enemies of the country and the right to slay +them in battle; we had authority to confiscate their property; but did +that give us authority to slay the friends of the Union, to confiscate +their property, or to free their slaves? In his opinion the only +conclusive and irrepealable way to make an end of slavery was by an +amendment of the Constitution, and the only practical question remaining +was whether the resolution recommended by the committee could secure a +two-thirds vote in Congress and the concurrence of three fourths of the +states. There were thirty-five states, including those in rebellion, and +two territories about to become states. Presumably the affirmative votes +of twenty-eight states would be required for ratification. + +In this speech Trumbull gave public expression to his feelings regarding +the feeble prosecution of the war to which he had given private +expression in the letters to friends referred to in the preceding +chapter. He said: + + I trust that within a year, in less time than it will take to + make this constitutional amendment effective, our armies will + have put to flight the rebel armies. I think it ought to have + been done long ago. Hundreds of millions of treasure and a + hundred thousand lives would have been saved had the power of + this republic been concentrated under one mind and hurled in + masses upon the main rebel armies. This is what our patriotic + soldiers have wanted and what I trust is now soon to be done. + But instead of looking back and mourning over the errors of the + past, let us remember them only for the lessons they teach for + the future. Forgetting the things which are past, let us press + forward to the accomplishment of what is before. We have at + last placed at the head of our armies a man in whom the country + has confidence, a man who has won victories wherever he has + been, and I trust that his mind is to be permitted, + uninterfered with, to unite our forces, never before so + formidable as to-day, in one or two grand armies, and hurl them + upon the rebel force.[71] + +The feeling here expressed by Trumbull was the prevailing sentiment at +Washington at that time, even in President Lincoln's Cabinet. Both +Gideon Welles and Edward Bates shared it. Welles wrote: + + In this whole summer's campaign I have been unable to see or + hear or obtain evidence of power or will or talent or + originality on the part of General Halleck. He has suggested + nothing, decided nothing, done nothing but scold and smoke and + scratch his elbows. Is it possible that the energies of a + nation should be wasted by the incapacity of such a man? + +When Welles said to the President that he had observed the "inertness if +not incapacity of the General-in-Chief, and had hoped that he [the +President] who had better and more correct views would issue peremptory +orders," Lincoln replied that it was better that he, who was not a +military man, should defer to Halleck, rather than Halleck to him. + +Additional light is thrown by an entry in Hay's "Diaries"[72] under date +April 28, 1864, where Lincoln says: + + When it was proposed to station Halleck in general command, he + insisted, to use his own language, on the appointment of a + General-in-Chief who should be held responsible for results. We + appointed him, and all went well enough until after Pope's + defeat, when he broke down,--nerve and pluck all gone,--and has + ever since evaded all possible responsibility, little more, + since that, than a first-rate clerk. + +General Francis V. Greene, reviewing the war as a whole, says that + + If Lincoln had placed Grant in command of the Western armies in + July, 1862, when Halleck was made General-in-Chief, instead of + in October, 1863, it would have probably shortened the war by a + year.[73] + +This opinion is concurred in by General Grenville M. Dodge, one of the +surviving major-generals of the Civil War,[74] and I imagine that it +will not be disputed by any military man at the present day. These +citations show that the opinions held by Trumbull, as to the +inefficiency of the directing force of the Union armies, up to the time +when Grant was called to take command at Washington, were not those of a +mere fault-finder and backbiter. + +A notable speech in favor of the anti-slavery amendment was made by +Henderson, of Missouri, who was himself a slave-owner. The most +impressive speech made in either branch of Congress, however, was that +of Senator Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland. The fact that he represented a +slaveholding State could not fail to add force to any argument he might +make in support of the measure, but the argument itself, both in its +moral and its legal aspects, was of surpassing merit. It deserves a high +place in the annals of senatorial eloquence. + +The constitutional amendment was under debate in the Senate until the +8th of April, 1864, when it was passed by a vote of 38 to 6. The +negative votes were the two from Delaware, two from Kentucky, and those +of Hendricks, of Indiana, and McDougall, of California. It then went to +the House, where it was under consideration till the 15th of June, when +it failed of passage by a vote of 93 to 65, not two thirds. The +Democrats generally voted in the negative. A second attempt to pass it +was made in the House on February 1, 1865, this time successfully, the +yeas being 119 and the nays, 56. There was an extraordinary scene in the +House when the final vote was taken. It is described by George W. +Julian, in his "Recollections" (page 250), thus: + + The time for the momentous vote had now come, and no language + could describe the solemnity and impressiveness of the + spectacle pending the roll-call. The success of the measure had + been considered very doubtful, and depended upon certain + negotiations, the result of which was not fully assured, and + the particulars of which never reached the public.[75] The + anxiety and suspense during the balloting produced a deathly + stillness, but when it became certainly known that the measure + had prevailed, the cheering in the densely packed hall and + galleries surpassed all precedent and beggared all description. + Members joined in the general shouting, which was kept up for + several minutes, many embracing each other, and others + completely surrendering themselves to their tears of joy.... + +The ratification of the amendment was announced by the Secretary of +State on the 18th of December, 1865. Three states, South Carolina, +Alabama, and Florida, when they ratified it, passed resolutions +expressing their understanding that the second section did not authorize +Congress to legislate on the political status or civil relations of the +negroes, but merely to confirm and protect their freedom. On November 1, +1865, Governor Perry, of South Carolina, wrote to President Johnson, +saying that his state had abolished slavery in all good faith and never +would wish to restore it again, but that his people feared that the +second section might be construed to give Congress local power over +legislation respecting negroes and white men in the state of freedom. To +this letter Secretary Seward replied that the second section was "really +restraining in its effect instead of enlarging the powers of Congress." +By this he meant that it restrained Congress to the single subject of +slavery. It did not give citizenship or civil rights to the freedmen. +The legislature of South Carolina accordingly ratified the amendment on +the 13th of November, and put on record the letter of Seward as the +official interpretation of this clause by the Federal Executive. Alabama +did substantially the same on the 2d of December and Florida on the 28th +of December. Seward's interpretation of the second section of the +amendment turned out to be correct, but many years of doubt and gloom +were to pass before a decision upon it was reached in the Supreme Court. + +From what has gone before it appears doubtful whether President +Lincoln's proclamation of emancipation freed any slaves legally. Its +immediate value was not so much in its effect upon the blacks as upon +the whites. It liberated millions of the latter from bondage to a false +philosophy and a monstrous social creed and made possible and necessary +the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment. To Senator Trumbull belongs +the distinction of having traced its lines and this is his title to +immortality. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[70] _Memories of Men who Saved the Union_, by Donn Piatt, p. 150. + +[71] _Cong. Globe_, 1863-64, part 2, p. 1314. + +[72] Vol. I, p. 187. + +[73] _Scribner's Magazine_, July, 1909. + +[74] In a letter to the writer. + +[75] The particulars referred to by Julian were subsequently made public +by Mr. A. G. Riddle in his _Recollections of War-Time_, p. 325. Two +Democrats were induced to vote in the affirmative and one other to be +absent when the vote was taken. One of them was induced to vote right by +the promise of an office for his brother; another was facing an election +contest in the coming Congress where his own seat was claimed by a +Republican opponent. The Democrat was promised favorable consideration +by the Republicans before the testimony in the case was examined. The +third was counsel for a railroad against whose interests a bill was +about to be reported in the Senate, which bill was in the control of +Charles Sumner. The bill would not be reported, or not reported soon, if +the Congressman should be absent when the vote was taken. These +arrangements, Riddle says, were negotiated by James M. Ashley, of Ohio, +in whose hands the Republicans of the House had deposited their honor +for the time being. If the three Democrats had voted in the negative, +the result would have been 117 to 59, one less than the necessary two +thirds. But that would only have delayed the adoption of the amendment +till the next Congress. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +RECONSTRUCTION + + +The next event of world-wide concern was the assassination of President +Lincoln, which took place April 14, 1865. It does not come within the +scope of this work, except as it finds expression or comment in the +Trumbull papers. One such, found in a letter of Norman B. Judd, Minister +to Prussia, dated Berlin, May 7, ought to be preserved. + + At the present moment he [Lincoln] is deified in Europe. + History shows no similar outburst of grief and indignation. + Crowned heads and statesmen, parliaments and corporate bodies, + literary institutions and the people, all vie in pronouncing + the eulogy. The entire press of Europe has for the last ten + days been filled with nothing else. We have had a very + impressive and imposing funeral service. Kings, + Representatives, Ministers, and the Diplomatic Corps were + amongst the number present. The people assembled to three times + the capacity of the church. I told my colleagues to come + without uniform.--Something new under the sun at this Court of + Uniforms. + +When the work of Reconstruction began, two opposing ideas came in +conflict with each other respecting the status of the seceding states. +One was that the act of secession annihilated the State Governments and +put the inhabitants and their belongings in the condition of newly +acquired territories, subject in all things to the conquering power. +This opinion was held by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens. The other +view was that every act of secession was null and void; that state +sovereignty was suspended but not extinguished in the Confederacy; and +that when the rebellion was crushed, it became the duty of the General +Government to recognize the loyal men in each state, as the rightful +nucleus of sovereignty, to assist them to set the state Governments +going again; in harmony, however, with accomplished facts, including the +abolishment of slavery. + +The latter view had been adopted by President Lincoln in a proclamation +issued simultaneously with his annual message to Congress December 8, +1863. This proclamation declared that whenever the voters of any +seceding state, not less in number than one tenth of those who had voted +in the presidential election of 1860, should reestablish a loyal State +Government, it should be recognized as the true Government of the state. +The qualifications of voters should be those existing in the state +immediately before secession, "excluding all others," but it was +provided that all previous proclamations of the President and all acts +of Congress in reference to slavery should be held inviolable. It was +explained that the question of admitting to seats in Congress any +persons who might be elected by such states as members would rest with +the respective houses exclusively. It was added that while this plan of +Reconstruction was favored by the President he did not mean that no +other would be acceptable. + +In pursuance of the proclamation an election was held in February, 1864, +in that portion of Louisiana controlled by the Union army under command +of General Banks, at which election 11,411 votes were cast--the whole +vote of the state had usually been about 40,000. At this election, +Michael Hahn had been chosen governor and he was inaugurated as such on +the 4th of March, with impressive ceremonies, "in the presence of more +than 50,000 people," as General Banks announced. Writing to Governor +Hahn under date, March 13, 1864, Lincoln said: + + Now you are about to have a convention which, among other + things, will probably define the elective franchise. I barely + suggest for your private consideration whether some of the + colored people may not be let in, as, for instance, the very + intelligent and especially those who have fought gallantly in + our ranks. They will probably help, in some trying time to + come, to keep the jewel of liberty in the family of freedom. + But this is only a suggestion, not to the public but to you + alone. + +A constitutional convention of Louisiana was elected March 28, 1864; it +assembled April 6; adopted a free state constitution July 22, which was +ratified by popular vote September 5. Under this constitution a +legislature was elected by which two Senators were chosen to represent +the state at Washington. Their credentials were referred to the +Committee on the Judiciary, and on the 8th of January, 1865, Trumbull +called at the White House to consult with Lincoln respecting their +admission. One of the consequences of the interview was the unanimous +agreement of the Judiciary Committee in favor of a joint resolution +recognizing the Government of which Michael Hahn was the head. This +resolution was reported by Trumbull on the 23d of February. Sumner +objected to it because the constitution did not grant negro suffrage, +and he avowed the intention of using all parliamentary means to defeat +it. In this endeavor he had the cooeperation of Senators Chandler and +Wade and of most of the Democrats. The latter opposed the resolution +because the constitution was not the work of the majority of the white +people of the state. On the 24th, there was a debate of some bitterness +between Sumner and Doolittle. The latter contended that the vote of +Louisiana was needed to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment of the Federal +Constitution. To this Sumner replied that the so-called state of +Louisiana was a shadow, that no such state existed, and that its +ratification would be worthless if obtained. In this contention he was +sustained by Garrett Davis, of Kentucky. + +There were only seven working days remaining of the Thirty-eighth +Congress, and Sumner managed to stave off the vote, although there was a +large majority in favor of the resolution, as was shown by roll-calls on +various motions. There was a sharp passage-at-arms between Trumbull and +Sumner, which made a breach between them for a considerable time. + +On the 11th of April, five days before his assassination, Lincoln +delivered a carefully prepared address from the balcony of the White +House in response to a greeting of citizens who had assembled to welcome +him on his return from Richmond after the surrender of that city. He +embraced the occasion to call attention again to the question of +Reconstruction which was now becoming momentous. He referred to the plan +which he had recommended in his annual message of December, 1863, and +said that it had received the approval of every member of his Cabinet +(which then included Chase and Blair). It had not been objected to by +any professed emancipationist until after the news reached Washington +that the people of Louisiana were about to take action in accordance +with it. Then the question had been raised whether the seceded states +were in the Union or out of it. He did not consider that question a +material one, but rather a pernicious abstraction, having only the +mischievous effect of dividing loyal men. The question now uppermost was +how to get the seceded states again into their proper practical +relations with the Union. "Let us all join," he said, "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." The question was not whether the Louisiana Government as +reconstructed was quite all that was desirable, but whether it was wiser +to take it and help to improve it, or to reject and disperse it. +"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." He concluded by saying that his remarks +would apply generally to other states, but that there were peculiarities +pertaining to each state, and important and sudden changes occurring in +the same state, so that no exclusive and inflexible plan could safely be +prescribed as to details. Therefore, he held himself free to make some +new announcement to the people of the South when satisfied that such +action would be proper. + +This was, in a political sense, his last will and testament. No other +communication from him to his countrymen was more fraught with wisdom +and patriotism. It received the prompt endorsement of William Lloyd +Garrison, who defended it when attacked by Professor Newman, of London +University.[76] Garrison held not only that Lincoln had no right to +interfere with the voting laws of the states, but that it would be bad +policy to do so; for if negro suffrage were imposed upon the South +against the will of the people, then, "as soon as the State was +organized and left to manage its own affairs, the white population, with +their superior intelligence, wealth, and power, would unquestionably +alter the franchise in accordance with their prejudices and exclude +those thus summarily brought to the polls." + +Garrison saw further than Sumner, but nobody at the North then imagined +the tremendous consequences that were to follow the upsetting of +Lincoln's plan. If Trumbull's resolution had passed, it would have +served as a precedent for all the seceding states, in which case most of +the misery of the next fifteen years in the South, including the +carpet-bag governments and the Ku-Klux-Klan, would have been avoided. + +President Johnson at first had been rather more radical than the +majority of his party as to the measure of punishment to be visited upon +the leaders of the rebellion. He had several times talked about "making +treason odious," and had said that traitors should take back seats in +the work of Reconstruction, and had used language which implied that +some of the more prominent Confederates ought to be tried and executed +for treason. He had a sharp difference with General Grant as to the +inclusion of General Lee in that category, Grant insisting that no +officer or soldier who had observed the terms of capitulation at +Appomattox could be rightfully molested.[77] + +But this feeling of animosity on Johnson's part gradually passed away. +In an authorized interview with George L. Stearns, October 3, 1865, on +the subject of Reconstruction, and again in an interview with Frederick +Douglass and others, February 7, 1866, on the suffrage question, he said +nothing about making treason odious, but declared himself opposed to +unrestricted negro suffrage because he believed it would lead to a war +of races--a war between the non-slaveholding class (the poor whites) and +the negroes. The former hated and despised the latter, and this feeling +he thought would be intensified if the suffrage were granted to the +negroes. + +"The query comes up," said Johnson in his colloquy with Douglass, +"whether these two races, situated as they were before, without +preparation, without time for the slightest improvement, whether the one +should be turned loose upon the other, and be thrown together at the +ballot-box with this enmity and hate existing between them. The question +comes up right there, whether we don't commence a war of races. I think +I understand this thing, and especially is this the case when you force +it upon a people without their consent." + +Johnson had adopted not only Lincoln's plan of Reconstruction, but his +Cabinet also. At its first meeting, April 16, the unfinished project for +the establishment of civil government in Virginia, drafted by Secretary +Stanton at Lincoln's instance, was presented but not acted on. At a +subsequent meeting, May 8, it was considered and adopted, and was +promulgated as an Executive Order on the following day. It recognized +Francis M. Peirpoint, who had been nominal governor in Lincoln's time, +as actual governor, and declared that in order to guarantee to the state +of Virginia a republican form of government and to afford the advantage +and security of domestic laws, and the full and complete restoration of +peace, he would be aided by the Government of the United States in the +measures he might take to accomplish those ends. + +A loyal State Government of considerable scope and solidity, formed by +Johnson himself as military governor, already existed in Tennessee. This +was now recognized by the President as an accomplished fact. W. G. +Brownlow had been elected governor, and a legislature had been +constituted, which had passed a franchise act that limited the voting +privilege to whites and excluded rebels of a certain grade. The Lincoln +State Government of Louisiana and a similar one in Arkansas were allowed +to stand. + +On the 29th of May, the President issued an Executive Order appointing +W. W. Holden provisional governor of North Carolina, and prescribing +certain duties to be performed by him; among others that of calling a +convention to be chosen by the loyal people of the state for the purpose +of altering or amending the state constitution, and forming a government +fit to be recognized and defended by the Government of the United +States. Following the precedent made by Lincoln in the Louisiana case, +the qualifications of voters at the election of delegates to the +convention were fixed and declared to be those "prescribed by the +constitution and laws of North Carolina in force immediately before the +20th day of May, 1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of +secession," excepting, however, certain classes of whites. Similar +orders followed in rapid succession for reorganizing Mississippi, +Georgia, Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida, the last one +bearing date July 13, 1865. Before the form of the order was adopted, a +vote had been taken in the Cabinet on the question whether negroes +should be allowed to vote in the election of Delegates. Of the six +members present, three had voted in the affirmative and three in the +negative. Seward was not present, being still confined to his bed by the +wounds inflicted on him the night when Lincoln was assassinated. The +President then took the matter in his own hands, and at the next meeting +of the Cabinet read the North Carolina order and none of the members +offered any objection to it. + +Thus Reconstruction had been mapped out, so far as the executive branch +of the Government was concerned, before the Thirty-ninth Congress +assembled. + +Together with the order for Reconstruction in North Carolina, the +President issued a proclamation of amnesty for all persons who had +participated in the rebellion, excepting, however, certain specified +classes of offenders. This proclamation bore the same date, and was +published simultaneously with the North Carolina order; but the +newspapers of the day, while commenting upon and generally approving, +made little account of the fact that negroes were excluded from voting +at the election for delegates. The New York _Tribune_ of May 30 merely +said: "Of course no blacks can vote." The New York _Times_ made mention +of the same fact. + +The New York _Evening Post_ of the same date, however, after pointing +out that only white men and taxpayers could vote in the coming election +in North Carolina, said: + + Unless, in the process of the reorganization, we build upon the + principle laid down in the Declaration of Independence, that + all men are created free and equal, there is no assurance that + the different elements of which our social and political state + is composed will subsist in harmony and tranquil cooeperation. + In that direction lies our way to political safety. If we + attempt to build upon any foundation of inequality between + races and castes, we shall find a condition of things + prevailing similar to that which has been the source of so many + calamities to Ireland. + +The first blast against Andrew Johnson was sounded by Wendell Phillips +at the New England Anti-Slavery Convention, Boston, May 31, on a +resolution offered by himself affirming that + + The reconstruction of the rebel states without negro suffrage + is a practical surrender to the Confederacy and will make the + anti-slavery proclamation of the late President, and even the + expected amendment of the Constitution utterly inefficient for + the freedom and protection of the negro. + +This resolution was supported by Phillips in a spirit of blind fury. +Every life and every dollar that had been spent by the North had been +stolen, he contended, if this policy should prevail, and "there was but +one way in which the people could still hold the helm of affairs, and +that was by a repudiation of the entire war debt!" Such a party would +have his voice and vote until God called him home. "Better, far better, +would it have been for Grant to have surrendered to Lee, than for +Johnson to have surrendered to North Carolina." + +The New York _Tribune_, June 2, took notice of Phillips, and, after +adverting to his intemperate attacks on Salmon P. Chase and Abraham +Lincoln in the past, turned to his "like delicate attentions" to Mr. +Lincoln's successor. + + President Johnson [it said] believes in, and favors, the + extension of the elective franchise to blacks, but since he + holds that no state has gone out, or could go out, of the + Union, he believes that the Southern state constitutions stand + as before, and that the right of suffrage stands as before + until legally changed. We do not insist [it continued] that + this is the true doctrine--we do not admit an _unqualified_ + right in the enfranchised people of any state to do as they + will with the residue. Yet we insist that President Johnson's + view is one that a true man may honestly, conscientiously + hold--may hold it without being a hypocrite, a demagogue, or a + tool of the slave power. And we think few considerate persons + will deny that it is greatly desirable, _if_ the desired + reparation in the _status_ of the freedmen can be achieved + _through_ the several states rather than over them--that it + would be more stable, less grudging, more real, if thus + accomplished. In fact, we should prefer waiting a year or two, + or accepting a limited enfranchisement, to a full recognition + of the Equal Rights of Man by virtue only of a presidential + edict, or order from the War Department, or even an act of + Congress. + +The New York _Times_, June 21, concurred, saying: + + It is an open question whether the Government should or should + not attempt to secure suffrage to the Southern blacks; the best + men may differ about it. + +It scored Wendell Phillips for advocating repudiation of the national +debt as a cure for any other evil whatsoever. + + When Mr. Phillips says that if the Government and the people do + not accept his doctrine, he will turn scoundrel and join a + party of scoundrels, he does his doctrine the very worst injury + possible. + +Meanwhile there was a witches' caldron boiling in the South. The +Confederate States had been impoverished by the war. Their labor system +had been overturned under circumstances and in a mode that no other +people had ever experienced. The negroes knew nothing of the +responsibilities of freedom. They could not understand the meaning of a +contract. The ex-slaves, when hired for a specified time, might abandon +their work the next day or the next week, and return the following day +or week and run the risk of being flogged or shot, either for going away +or for coming back. The ex-masters, knowing only one way of getting work +out of the negro,--that of compulsion,--contended and believed that +there was no other way, or none that would serve the purpose during +_their_ lifetime; and since the crops of the present year could not wait +for the milder teachings of education and reason, they adopted the only +means that would secure immediate results. The planters, or the majority +of them, were still further crippled by having no money to pay wages. +All of their money had become filthy rags by the downfall of the +Confederacy. The only alternative was hiring labor on shares. This was +an embarrassment that the Northern men (carpet-baggers) who went to the +South directly after the war did not suffer from. Some of these, tempted +by the high price of cotton and the low price of land, hired or bought +plantations, and they had the pick of the labor market because they +could pay cash. Their example was a fresh irritation to the impecunious +native planter, who, in losing the Confederacy, had lost everything +except the clothes he stood in, which were much the worse for wear. + +If there was to be a crop of cotton, or of anything, in 1865, the +laboring population must be kept in some kind of order. Work days must +be continuous, and not alternative with hunting and fishing days and +play days. The planters looked to their legislatures in this emergency, +and the legislatures enacted laws as near to the old slave codes as the +condition of emancipation would allow,--if not nearer. These enactments +began to reach the North before the Thirty-ninth Congress assembled. +They were accompanied by tales of cruelty and outrage committed upon the +freedmen, and of disloyal utterances and threats on the part of the +unreconciled whites, male and female, who had been deprived of every +weapon except their tongues. Little account was made of the need of time +in which to become reconciled to these changes and to acquire admiration +for those who had brought them about. + +Among letters which reached Trumbull was one from Colonel J. W. Shaffer, +of the Union Army, dated New Orleans, December 25, 1865, who gave the +following account of what he had observed along the Gulf Coast: + + I have been to Mobile, spent a week there, have traveled around + in this state, talked much with friend and enemy, and I + unhesitatingly say that our President has been going too fast. + I am told by all Union men that after the surrender of the + rebel armies the men returned perfectly quiet, came to Southern + and Northern Union men, saying, "We don't know what is expected + of us by the Government, but one thing is certain, we are tired + of war and desire above all things to return to the quiet + pursuits of life and try to mend our fortune as best we can, + and cultivate a friendly feeling with all parts of the country + once more; now tell us how to do this." Soon, however, to their + surprise they found that the control of everything was to be + again put in their hands, and at once they became insolent, + abused the Government openly, and openly declared that Union + men and Yankees must leave as soon as the military is + withdrawn. Had they been given to understand that the + Government was going to continue to govern and control, and + that Union men alone would be trusted with the management of + affairs, these people would have been entirely satisfied, glad + to escape with their lives, and would at once have adapted + themselves to circumstances. Now they are drunk with power, + ruling and abusing every loyal man, white and black. + +Per contra, Dr. C. H. Ray wrote, under date September 29, 1865, on the +subject of Reconstruction: + + What are our Republican papers thinking of when they make war + upon the President as they are now doing? I see that there is + hardly one to stand up in his defense, and that he will be + fought out of our ranks into the arms of the Democracy. I do + not see that he is so guilty as he is said to be, and for one I + cannot join the cry against him. What do his assailants + expect--to carry the country on the Massachusetts idea of negro + suffrage, female suffrage, confiscation, and hanging? If so, + they will drive all moderate men out of the party and the + remainder straight to perdition. + +Only five Northern States at this time allowed negroes to vote at +elections, and one of these (New York) required a property qualification +from blacks but not from whites. The state of Illinois had an unrepealed +black code similar to that of Kentucky, and had added to it, as lately +as 1853, a law for imprisoning any black or mulatto person brought into, +or coming into, the state, for the purpose of residing there, whether +free or otherwise. Some litigation for the enforcement of this act was +begun in Cass County in 1863, while the Civil War was in progress.[78] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[76] _Life of Garrison_, by his sons, IV, 123. + +[77] Grant's testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary, July +18, 1867. McPherson, p. 303. + +[78] _Journal_ of the Illinois State Historical Society, vol. IV, no. 4. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +ANDREW JOHNSON'S FIRST MESSAGE + + +Said the New York _Times_, December 6, 1865: + + Probably no executive document was ever awaited with greater + interest than the message transmitted to Congress yesterday. It + is safe to say that none ever gave greater satisfaction when + received. Its views on the most momentous subjects, domestic + and foreign, that ever concerned the nation, are full of + wisdom, and are conveyed with great force and dignity. + +The original manuscript of the message thus eulogized was discovered +nearly half a century later by Professor Dunning, of Columbia +University, in the handwriting of George Bancroft, among the Johnson +papers in the Library of Congress. + +It remains a document creditable alike to the man who composed it and to +the one who made it his own by sending it as an official communication +to Congress. It breathed the spirit of peace and harmony, of justice +tempered with mercy, of human kindness and helpfulness, of +self-abnegation and self-restraint, all couched in the tone of high +statesmanship. It adhered, however, to the opinion previously expressed +by the President, that the Executive had no right to extend the suffrage +to persons to whom it had not been granted by state authority. + +A discriminating yet warm eulogium of the message was pronounced by the +New York _Nation_, which was then in the sixth month of its existence. +It had criticized the President's Reconstruction acts as too hasty. Two +or three months' time it considered too short to reconcile whites and +blacks and teach them to respect each other's rights. Nevertheless, +taken for all in all, the message was one which every American might +read with pride. + + We do not know [it continued] where to look in any other part + of the globe, for a statesman whom we could fix upon as likely + to seize the points of so great a question, and state them with + so much clearness and breadth, as this Tennessee tailor who was + toiling for his daily bread in the humblest of employments when + the chiefs of all other countries were reaping every advantage + which school, college, and social position could furnish. Those + who tremble over the future of democracy may well take heart + again when men like Lincoln and Johnson can at any great crisis + be drawn from the poorest ranks of society, and have the + destinies of the nation placed in their hands with the free + assurance that their very errors will be better and wiser than + the skill and wisdom of kings and nobles. For if the President + were to commit to-morrow every mistake or sin which his worst + enemies have ever feared, his plan of Reconstruction would + still remain the brightest example of humanity, self-restraint, + and sagacity ever witnessed--something to which the history of + no other country offers any approach, and which it is safe to + say none but a democratic society would be capable of carrying + out. + +The statesmanship of George Bancroft did not govern very long. The irony +of fate decreed that within two months of the time when such words as +the foregoing were uttered by the most competent critics in the land, +the President of whom they were spoken should be in bitter strife with +the majority of his own party, and within two years be facing trial by +impeachment. + +Andrew Johnson was born of a fighting race and in a region of fighters. +He shared the poverty and ignorance of the mountaineers of East +Tennessee. Hard labor was his portion in youth and early manhood. He was +a tailor by trade.[79] He could read, but could not write until he was +married, when the latter accomplishment was imparted to him by his wife. +With this kind of start he became, like Abraham Lincoln, and in much the +same way and facing the same difficulties, a public speaker, and +acquired by steady practice the faculty of making his meaning clear to +the commonest understanding. When he found himself in the Senate of the +United States, shortly before the outbreak of secession, he had few if +any superiors as a debater in that body, and the Union had not a more +unflinching defender, North or South. Alexander H. Stephens, a competent +judge, considered Johnson's speech against secession the best one made +in the Senate during the whole controversy. Secretary Seward, who +accompanied him in his "swing around the circle" in 1866, said that he +was then the best stump speaker in the country. Certainly the speech +with which he began that tour at New York on the 29th of August was a +great one. It fills five pages of McPherson's "History of +Reconstruction." It was extemporaneous, but faultless in manner and +matter; it was charged with the spirit of patriotism, and it will bear +comparison with anything in the annals of American polemics. If he had +made no other speech in that campaign the results might have been far +different, and the Union party which elected him might have avoided the +breach which soon became remediless. + +The first blow leading to this breach was struck by Sumner in the +Senate, December 19, 1865, when he referred to a message of the +President, of the previous day, on the condition of the South, as a +"whitewashing message" akin to that of President Pierce on the affairs +of Kansas. When Reverdy Johnson deprecated such an assault on the +President of the United States, Sumner replied that it was "no assault +at all," but after two other Senators (Doolittle and Dixon) had said +that it was the same as accusing the President of falsifying, he replied +that he did not so intend it, but he did not withdraw or modify it. + +Certain acts of Southern legislatures on the subjects of apprenticeship, +vagrancy, domicile, wages, patrols, idleness, disobedience of orders, +and violation of contracts on the part of laborers were early brought to +the attention of the Thirty-ninth Congress. Many of these acts betokened +an intention on the part of the lawmakers to reduce the freedmen to a +state of serfdom or peonage. The Virginia legislature, for example, +passed a vagrancy act, the ultimate effect of which, Major-General Terry +said, would be to "reduce the freedmen to a condition of servitude worse +than that from which they had been emancipated--a condition which will +be slavery in all but its name." Whereupon the general, being in command +of the military department, issued an order dated January 26, 1866, that +"no magistrate, civil officer, or other person, shall, in any way or +manner, apply or attempt to apply, the provisions of said statute to any +colored person in this department." President Johnson refused to +interfere with General Terry's order when it was brought to his +attention. + +On the 13th of December, Senator Wilson, of Massachusetts, introduced a +bill to declare invalid all acts, ordinances, rules, and regulations in +the states lately in insurrection, in which any inequality of civil +rights was established between persons on account of color, race, or +previous condition of servitude. The Natick cobbler was as keen and +fluent a debater as the Knoxville tailor. He had a Yankee drawl in his +pronunciation which detracted from the real merits of his argument, and +so it came to pass that, contrary to the usual fate of extempore +speaking, his speeches read better than they sounded. His speech in +support of his measure on the 21st of December was in his best style. It +was devoid of passion or invective. He cherished no ill-feeling toward +any person, high or low, who had been engaged in the rebellion. He did +not seek or desire to punish anybody. Least of all did he desire to +raise an issue with the President. He wanted only peace, order, +friendship, and brotherhood between North and South, as soon as +possible; but there could be no peace with these statutes staring us in +the face. Therefore, he demanded that they be swept into oblivion with +the slave codes that had preceded them. + +Wilson desired an immediate vote on his bill. Senator Sherman thought +that it ought to be referred to a committee and postponed until the +anti-slavery amendment of the Constitution should be officially +proclaimed. Trumbull concurred with Sherman. He said: + + I do not rise, sir, with a view of discussing the bill under + consideration: it is one relating to questions of a very grave + character, and ought not to pass without due consideration. The + Senator from Massachusetts tells us that it has been submitted + to distinguished lawyers, and they all conceded its propriety, + and nobody disputes the power of Congress to pass it. Doubtless + that was their opinion and is the opinion of the Senator from + Massachusetts. Perhaps it would be my opinion upon + investigation. I will not undertake to say, at this time, what + the powers of the Congress of the United States may be over the + people in the lately rebellious states. + + There was a time between the suppression of the rebellion and + the institution of any kind of government in those states when + it was absolutely necessary that some power or other to prevent + anarchy should have control. The Senator from Delaware, and I + believe the Senator from Maryland, said the rebellion was over, + but at the time that the rebellion ceased there was no + organized government whatever in most of the rebel states; and + was the Government of the United States to withdraw its forces + and leave the people in a state of anarchy for the time being? + Surely not. As a consequence of the rebellion and of the + authority clearly vested in the Government of the United States + to put down the rebellion, in my judgment the Government had + the right, in the absence of any local governments, to control + and govern the people till state organizations could be set up + by the people which should be recognized by the Federal + Government as loyal and true to the Constitution. It must be + so. It is a necessity of the condition of things. + + But, sir, I do not propose at this time to discuss this bill. + It is one, I think, of too much importance to be passed without + a reference to some committee. The bill does not go far enough, + if what we have been told to-day in regard to the treatment of + freedmen in the Southern States is true. The bill, perhaps, + also may be premature in the sense stated by the Senator from + Ohio. We have not yet the official information of the adoption + of the constitutional amendment. That that amendment will be + adopted, there is very little question; until it is adopted + there may be some question (I do not say how the right is) as + to the authority of Congress to pass such a bill as this, but + after the adoption of the constitutional amendment there can be + none. + + The second clause of that amendment was inserted for some + purpose, and I would like to know of the Senator from Delaware + for what purpose? Sir, for the purpose, and none other, of + preventing state legislatures from enslaving, under any + pretense, those whom the first clause declared should be free. + It was inserted expressly for the purpose of conferring upon + Congress authority by appropriate legislation to carry the + first section into effect. What is the first section? It + declares that throughout the United States and all places + within their jurisdiction neither slavery nor involuntary + servitude shall exist; and then the second section declares + that Congress shall have authority by appropriate legislation + to carry this provision into effect. What that "appropriate + legislation" is, is for Congress to determine, and nobody else. + +Mr. Saulsbury here interrupted, saying, "I wish to ask the honorable +Senator a question, with his consent, first answering his own. He asks +me for what purpose that second section was introduced. I do not know; I +had nothing to do with it. And now I wish to ask the honorable Senator +whether, when it was before this body for adoption, he avowed in his +advocacy of it that it was meant for such purposes as are now claimed." + +Then the following colloquy ensued: + + MR. TRUMBULL. I never understood it in any other way. + + MR. SAULSBURY. Did you state it to the Senate? + + MR. TRUMBULL. I do not know that I stated it to the Senate. I + might as well have stated to the Senator from Delaware that the + clause which declared that Slavery should not exist anywhere + within the United States means that slavery should not exist + within the United States! I could make it no plainer by + repetition or illustration than the statement itself makes it. + I reported from the Judiciary Committee the second section of + the constitutional amendment for the very purpose of conferring + upon Congress authority to see that the first section was + carried out in good faith, and for none other; and I hold that + under that second section Congress will have the authority, + when the constitutional amendment is adopted, not only to pass + the bill of the Senator from Massachusetts, but a bill that + will be much more efficient to protect the freedman in his + rights. We may, if deemed advisable, continue the Freedmen's + Bureau, clothe it with additional powers, and if necessary back + it up with a military force, to see that the rights of the men + made free by the first clause of the constitutional amendment + are protected. And, sir, when the constitutional amendment + shall have been adopted, if the information from the South be + that the men whose liberties are secured by it are deprived of + the privilege to go and come when they please, to buy and sell + when they please, to make contracts and enforce contracts, I + give notice that, if no one else does, I shall introduce a bill + and urge its passage through Congress that will secure to those + men every one of these rights: they would not be freemen + without them. It is idle to say that a man is free who cannot + go and come at pleasure, who cannot buy and sell, who cannot + enforce his rights. These are rights which the first clause of + the constitutional amendment meant to secure to all; and to + prevent the very cavil which the Senator from Delaware suggests + to-day, that Congress would not have power to secure them, the + second section of the amendment was added. + + There were some persons who thought it was unnecessary to add + the second clause. It was said by some that wherever a power + was conferred upon Congress there was also conferred authority + to pass the necessary laws to carry that power into effect, + under the general clause in the Constitution of the United + States which declares that Congress shall have authority to + pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution + any of the powers conferred by the Constitution. I think + Congress would have had the power, even without the second + clause, to pass all laws necessary to give effect to the + provision making all persons free; but it was intended to put + it beyond cavil and dispute, and that was the object of the + second clause, and I cannot conceive how any other construction + can be put upon it. + + Now, sir, I trust that this bill may be referred, because I + think that a bill of this character should not pass without + deliberate consideration and without going to some of the + committees of the Senate. But the object which is had in view + by this bill I heartily sympathize with, and when the + constitutional amendment is adopted I trust we may pass a bill, + if the action of the people in the Southern States should make + it necessary, that will be much more sweeping and efficient + than the bill under consideration. I will not sit down, + however, without expressing the hope that no such legislation + may be necessary. I trust that the people of the South, who in + their state constitutions have declared that slavery shall no + more exist among them, will by their own legislation make that + provision effective. I trust there may be a feeling among them + in harmony with the feeling throughout the country, and which + shall not only abolish slavery in name, but in fact, and that + the legislation of the slave states in after years may be as + effective to elevate, enlighten, and improve the African as it + has been in past years to enslave and degrade him.[80] + +On the 18th of December the adoption of the anti-slavery amendment was +officially announced. On the same day the President sent to the Senate +two reports on the condition of affairs, and the state of opinion, in +the South,--a very brief one from Lieutenant-General Grant and a much +longer one from Major-General Carl Schurz. The former was an incidental +result of a three weeks' tour of inspection for military purposes. + +General Grant had spent one day in Raleigh, North Carolina, two days in +Charleston, South Carolina, and one day each in Savannah and Augusta, +Georgia. The substance of his report was that he did not think it +practicable to withdraw the military at present; that the citizens of +the Southern States were anxious to return to self-government within the +Union as soon as possible; that they were in earnest in wishing to do +what they supposed was required of them by the Government and not +humiliating to them as citizens. + + I am satisfied [he said] that the mass of thinking men of the + South accept the present situation of affairs in good faith. + The questions which have heretofore divided the sentiment of + the people of the two sections--slavery and state rights, or + the right of a state to secede from the Union--they regard as + having been settled forever by the highest tribunal--arms--that + man can resort to. I was pleased to learn from the leading men + whom I met that they not only accepted the decision arrived at + as final, but, now that the smoke of battle has cleared away + and time has been given for reflection, that this decision has + been a fortunate one for the whole country, they receiving like + benefits from it with those who opposed them in the field and + in council. + +He alluded to a belief widely spread among the freedmen that the lands +of their former owners were to be divided, in part at least, among them +and that this belief was seriously interfering with their willingness to +make labor contracts for the ensuing year. Then he added: + + In some instances, I am sorry to say, the freedman's mind does + not seem to be disabused of the idea that a freedman has the + right to live without care or provision for the future. The + effect of the belief in the division of lands is idleness and + accumulation in camps, towns, and cities. In such cases, I + think, it will be found that vice and disease will tend to the + extermination or great reduction of the colored race. It cannot + be expected that the opinions held by men at the South for + years can be changed in a day; and, therefore, the freedmen + require for a few years not only laws to protect them, but the + fostering care of those who will give them good counsel and on + whom they can rely. + +General Schurz's investigation had been made at the special request of +the President. He had spent three months in South Carolina, Georgia, +Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The President, when appointing him, +had said that his own policy of Reconstruction was merely experimental +and subject to change if it did not lead to satisfactory results. Schurz +says in his "Reminiscences?"[81] that when he returned to Washington +from his journey he had much difficulty in procuring an interview with +the President; that the latter received him coldly and did not ask him +for the results of his investigation; and that when he (Schurz) said +that he intended to write a report, the President said that he need not +take that trouble on his account. Schurz was convinced that the +President wished to suppress his testimony and he resolved that he +should not do so. He accordingly wrote the report and sent it in, with +the accompanying documents, and let his friends in the Senate know that +he had done so. On the 12th of December the Senate, on Sumner's motion, +called for the report. The President did not respond immediately. In the +mean time he had had a conversation with General Grant whose views were +for the most part in accord with his own, and he asked the latter to +communicate the information he had gained during his Southern tour in +order to make it a part of his reply to the Senate Resolution. The reply +occupies only one page and a half of McPherson's "Reconstruction." +Schurz's consists of forty-four printed pages of text and fifty-eight +pages of appendix; Schurz considered this the best paper he had ever +written on a public matter, and there can be no doubt that it had great +influence in Congress and on the Republican party. Yet the brief report +of Grant was the sounder of the two. Indeed, Schurz himself in his later +years had doubts as to the validity of his own conclusions.[82] + +Schurz's conclusions may be summarized thus: + + If nothing were necessary but to restore the machinery of + government in the states lately in rebellion in point of form, + the movements made to that end by the people of the South might + be considered satisfactory. But if it is required that the + Southern people should also accommodate themselves to the + result of the war in point of spirit, those movements fall far + short of what must be insisted upon.... + + The emancipation of the slaves is submitted to only in so far + as chattel slavery in the old form could not be kept up. But + although the freedman is no longer considered the property of + the individual master, he is considered the slave of society, + and all independent state legislation will share the tendency + to make him such. The ordinances abolishing slavery, passed by + the conventions under pressure of circumstances, will not be + looked upon as barring the establishment of a new form of + servitude. + + Practical attempts on the part of the Southern people to + deprive the negro of his rights as a freeman may result in + bloody collisions, and will certainly plunge Southern society + into restless fluctuations and anarchical confusion. Such evils + can be prevented only by continuing the control of the National + Government in the states lately in rebellion until free labor + is fully developed and firmly established, and the advantages + and blessings of the new order of things have disclosed + themselves. This desirable result will be hastened by a firm + declaration, on the part of the Government, that national + control in the South will not cease until such results are + secured.... + + The solution of the problem would be very much facilitated by + enabling all the loyal and free-labor elements in the South to + exercise a healthy influence upon legislation. It will hardly + be possible to secure the freedman against oppressive class + legislation and private persecution, unless he be endowed with + a certain measure of political power. + +It is fitting to notice here a letter written by Hon. J. L. M. Curry, of +Alabama, to Senator Doolittle and read by him in the Senate on April 6, +1866. + + I was [said Mr. Curry] a secessionist, for a while a member of + the Confederate Congress, and afterward in the army, on the + staff of generals, or in command of a regiment. It would be + merest affectation to pretend that I was not somewhat prominent + as a secessionist.... Having laid the predicate for my + competency, I desire to aver, as a gentleman, and a Christian, + I hope, that with large personal intercourse with the people + and those who are suspected of rebel intentions, I never heard + (of course, since the surrender) of any conspiracy or movement + or society or purpose, secret or public, present or + prospective, to overthrow the United States Government, to + resist its authority, to _reenslave the negroes_, or in any + manner to disturb the relations that now exist between the + Southern States as constituent elements of the Federal + Government and that Government, until I read of such intentions + recently in Northern newspapers. With perfect certainty as to + the truth of my affirmation, I can state that there is not a + sane or sober man in Alabama who believes or expects that + African slavery will be reestablished. As unalterable facts, + the people accept the abolition of slavery, the extinction of + the right of secession, and the supremacy of the Federal + Government. It is as idle, a thousand times more so, to speak + of another contemplated resistance to Federal authority as to + anticipate the overthrow of the British Government by the + Fenians.[83] + +Mr. Curry's words were true, but at the time when they were written the +weight of testimony available at Washington and in the North generally +was of a contrary sort, and Mr. Curry counted for no more at the +national capital than any other disarmed secessionist. At a later period +he became known to the North as one of the great benefactors of his time +and country, especially noted for his labors in educating and upbuilding +both races in the Southern States.[84] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[79] "For a man who had 'come from the people,' as he was fond of +saying, and whose heart was always with the poor and distressed, Andrew +Johnson was one of the neatest men in his dress and person I have ever +known. During his three years in Nashville, in particular, he dressed in +black broadcloth frock-coat and waistcoat and black doeskin trousers, +and wore a silk hat. This had been his attire for thirty years, and for +most of that time, whether as governor of Tennessee, member of Congress, +or United States Senator, he had made all of his own clothes." (Benjamin +C. Truman, Secretary to Andrew Johnson, in _Century Magazine_, January, +1913.) + +[80] _Cong. Globe_, 1865-66, I, 42, 43. + +[81] Vol. III, p. 202. + +[82] "It gives me some satisfaction now to say that none of those +statements of fact have ever been effectually controverted. I cannot +speak with the same assurance of my conclusions and recommendations, for +they were matters not of knowledge but of judgment. And we stood at that +time face to face with a situation bristling with problems so +complicated and puzzling that every proposed solution based upon +assumptions ever so just, and supported by reasoning apparently ever so +logical, was liable to turn out in practice apparently more mischievous +than any other. In a great measure this has actually come to pass.... I +am far from saying that somebody else might not have performed the task +much better than I did. But I do think that this report is the best +paper I have ever written on a public matter. The weakest part of it is +that referring to negro suffrage--not as if the argument, as far as it +goes, were wrong, but as it leaves out of consideration several aspects +of the matter, the great importance of which has since become apparent." +(_Reminiscences_, III, 204, 209.) + +[83] _Cong. Globe_, 1865-66, p. 1808. + +[84] See _Biography of J. L. M. Curry_, by Alderman and Gordon, New +York, 1911. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU AND CIVIL RIGHTS BILLS + + +On January 5, 1866, Trumbull introduced two measures which engrossed +public attention during the next three months and enlarged the parting +of the ways between Congress and the President. These were the +Freedmen's Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Bill. The former was a +measure to continue in force and amend an act of Congress already in +operation, but which would expire by limitation one year after the end +of the war, and which had been passed to provide for needy and homeless +whites, as well as blacks. It embraced also the temporary disposition of +abandoned lands. Under its operation General Sherman had assigned some +thousands of acres of abandoned land to freedmen for the purpose of +giving them employment and enabling them to earn their own living, and +they were in actual possession. Of course, the title to such lands would +revert to the former owners, whenever military rule should come to an +end. The Freedmen's Bureau Bill provided that in places where the +ordinary course of judicial proceedings had been interrupted by the +rebellion, and where any of the civil rights enjoyed by white persons +were denied to other persons by reason of race, color, or previous +condition of servitude, the latter should be under military protection +and jurisdiction, which should be exercised by the Commissioner of the +Freedmen's Bureau under orders of the President of the United States, +and that any person, who, under color of any state or local law or +custom, should infringe such rights, should be punished by fine or +imprisonment or both. The courts authorized to hear and decide such +cases were to consist of the officers and agents of the Bureau, without +jury trial and without appeal; but this jurisdiction should not exist in +any state after it should have been restored to its constitutional +relations to the Union. + +The last-mentioned feature of the bill brought up the question whether +Congress had power under the Constitution in time of peace to pass laws +for the ordinary administration of justice in the states. Senator +Hendricks, of Indiana, had doubts on that point. In a debate on the 19th +of January, 1866, he said: + + My judgment is that under the second section of the + [thirteenth] constitutional amendment we may pass such a law as + will secure the freedom declared in the first section, but that + we cannot go beyond that limitation.[85] + +To this Trumbull replied: + + If the construction put by the Senator from Indiana upon the + amendment be the true one, and we have merely taken from the + master the power to control the slave and left him at the mercy + of the state to be deprived of his civil rights, the trumpet of + freedom that we have been blowing throughout the land has given + an uncertain sound, and the promised freedom is a delusion. + Such was not the intention of Congress, which proposed the + Constitutional amendment itself. With the destruction of + slavery necessarily follows the destruction of the incidents of + slavery. When slavery was abolished slave codes in its support + were abolished also. + + Those laws that prevented the colored man going from home, that + did not allow him to buy or to sell, or to make contracts; that + did not allow him to own property; that did not allow him to + enforce rights; that did not allow him to be educated, were all + badges of servitude made in the interest of slavery and as a + part of slavery. They never would have been thought of or + enacted anywhere but for slavery, and when slavery falls they + fall also. The policy of the States where slavery has existed + has been to legislate in its interest; and out of deference to + slavery, which was tolerated by the Constitution of the United + States, even some of the non-slaveholding states passed laws + abridging the rights of the colored man which were restraints + upon liberty. When slavery goes, all this system of + legislation, devised in the interest of slavery and for the + purpose of degrading the colored race, of keeping the negro in + ignorance, of blotting out from his very soul the light of + reason, if that were possible, that he might not think, but + know only, like the ox, to labor, goes with it. + + Now, when slavery no longer exists, the policy of the + Government is to legislate in the interest of freedom. Now, our + laws are to be enacted with a view to educate, improve, + enlighten, and Christianize the negro; to make him an + independent man; to teach him to think and to reason; to + improve that principle which the Great Author of all has + implanted in every human breast, which is susceptible of the + highest cultivation, and destined to go on enlarging and + expanding through the endless ages of eternity. + + * * * * * + + If in order to prevent slavery Congress deem it necessary to + declare null and void all laws which will not permit the + colored man to contract, which will not permit him to testify, + which will not permit him to buy and sell, and to go where he + pleases, it has the power to do so, and not only the power, but + it becomes its duty to do so. That is what is provided to be + done by this bill. Its provisions are temporary; but there is + another bill on your table, somewhat akin to this, which is + intended to be permanent, to extend to all parts of the + country, and to protect persons of all races in equal civil + rights. + + * * * * * + + I hope that the people of the rebellious states themselves will + conform to the existing condition of things. I do not expect + them to change all their opinions and prejudices. I do not + expect them to rejoice that they have been discomfited. But + they acknowledge that the war is over; they agree that they can + no longer contend in arms against the Government; they say they + are willing to submit to its authority; they say in their state + conventions that slavery shall no more exist among them. With + the abolition of slavery should go all the badges of servitude + which have been enacted for its maintenance and support. Let + them all be abolished. Let the people of the rebellious states + now be as zealous and as active in the passage of laws and the + inauguration of measures to elevate, develop, and improve the + negro, as they have hitherto been to enslave and degrade him. + Let them do justice and deal fairly with loyal Union men in + their midst, and henceforth be themselves loyal, and this + Congress will not have adjourned till the states whose + inhabitants have been engaged in the rebellion will be restored + to their former position in the Union, and we shall all be + moving on in harmony together.[86] + +In short, Trumbull held that it was for Congress to decide what rights +might be established and enforced by federal law, in addition to that of +emancipation. That this was to be a troublesome question was shown a +little later by a colloquy between Trumbull and Henderson. The latter +was of the opinion that the only sure way to protect the freedmen was to +give them the right to vote. Trumbull thought that, for the present +purpose of providing them with food, clothing, and shelter, Dr. +Townsend's Sarsaparilla or any other patent medicine, would be as +effectual as the right of suffrage.[87] Sumner, a little later, thought +that the right to serve on juries and to hold office was among the +essential securities of freedom, and Thaddeus Stevens thought that +land-ownership also was necessary. What could be done under the second +clause of the Thirteenth Amendment was the question, either expressed or +implied, underlying the whole controversy on Reconstruction during the +next ten years. + +It was commonly believed that the President would approve the Freedmen's +Bureau Bill; hence, when a veto message came, on the 19th of February, +it was received with consternation by the Republicans in Congress. He +held that the bill was both unconstitutional and inexpedient. It had +been passed in the Senate by yeas 37, nays 10, every Republican voting +for it and every Democrat against it. There were three absentees when +the vote was taken: Cowan and Willey, Republicans, and Nesmith, +Democrat. There was ample margin here for passing the bill over the +veto, if the Republicans could hold together, but when the second vote +was taken, February 20, the yeas were 30, and the nays 18, not two +thirds. So the bill failed. Eight Republicans, Cowan, Dixon, Doolittle, +Morgan, Norton, Stewart, Van Winkle, and Willey, had sided with the +President. There were two absentees: Foot (Rep.), of Vermont, and Wright +(Dem.), of New Jersey, both sick. + +The question of negro suffrage had not yet become acute in public +discussions. The state of public opinion in the North was fairly set +forth by Dr. C. H. Ray in a private letter to Trumbull dated Chicago, +February 7, thus: + + If he [Johnson] will agree to your bill giving the freedmen the + civil rights that the whites enjoy, and if he halts at that, + and war is made on him because he will not go to the extent of + negro suffrage, he will beat all who assail him. The party may + be split, the Government may go out of Republican hands; but + Andy Johnson will be cock-of-the-walk. The people, so far as I + understand, are of the opinion that the war for the Union is + over.... And as for the negro, they think that when he has the + rights which your bill will give him, he must be contented to + look upon the elective franchise as a something to be earned by + giving evidence of his fitness therefor. + +The excitement caused by the veto of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill was +still further intensified by a struggle on a side issue, in which +Trumbull took the leading part, and which involved the seat of the +Democratic Senator Stockton, of New Jersey. He had been chosen by the +Legislature of his state in joint meeting on March 15, 1865. The +Democrats had a majority of five in the legislature, but had been +unable, at first, to agree upon a candidate. Accordingly, the joint +meeting, by a vote of 41 to 40, adopted a rule that any person receiving +a plurality of the votes cast for Senator should be declared elected. In +pursuance of this rule, a vote was taken by roll-call and John P. +Stockton received 40 votes, John C. Ten Eyck received 37 votes, and +there were 4 scattering, the total number being 81. Stockton was +accordingly declared elected without objection, and the joint meeting +adjourned _sine die_. + +When Congress assembled in December, Stockton's certificate of election, +in due form, was presented and he was sworn in. A protest, however, had +been signed by all the Republican members of the New Jersey legislature +and this was presented by Senator Cowan by request. It affirmed that +Stockton had not received the votes of a majority of the members, as +required by a law of the state. The protest and credentials were +referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, which consisted of five +Republicans (Trumbull, Harris, Clark, Poland, and Stewart) and one +Democrat (Hendricks). + +Trumbull, in behalf of the committee, reported that Stockton was duly +elected and entitled to the seat. All the members concurred except +Clark, of New Hampshire. Regarding the law of the state, which required +a majority to elect, the report said that the state constitution +denominated and recognized the two houses, either in joint session, or +separately, as "The Legislature"; that the legislature, in either +capacity, had the right to make its own rules; and that since a majority +had voted for the plurality rule the subsequent action taken in +pursuance of it was the act of the majority. There was room for an +honest difference of opinion, since the enactment of a law required +action by the two houses separately and a submission of the same to the +governor. On this point, however, Trumbull quoted from "Story on the +Constitution" to the effect that, since the governor had nothing to do +with the choice of Senators, he was eliminated from consideration in any +and all steps leading thereto. + +It happened at this time that one Republican Senator, Foot, of Vermont, +and one Democrat, Wright, of New Jersey, were absent by reason of +serious illness. Wright had gone to his home in Newark for treatment, +but, before going, had paired with Morrill, of Maine, on the question of +his colleague's contested election. When the debate was drawing to a +close, severe pressure was put upon Morrill by his radical friends in +the Senate to declare his pair off, and to vote against Stockton. When +the vote was taken, on concurring in the report of the Judiciary +Committee, the yeas were 21 and the nays 20. Stockton himself had not +voted. Twelve of the affirmative votes were Republicans. Before the +result was announced, Senator Morrill, who had withheld his vote, asked +the Secretary to call his name, and then voted in the negative, making a +tie. Then Senator Stockton said that Morrill had been paired with his +colleague on this question, and that Wright had told him before he went +away that he would not go home at all without first obtaining a pair on +this question. Under such circumstances he (Stockton) felt at liberty to +vote in his own behalf. So he directed the Secretary to call his name +and he voted in the affirmative. Morrill admitted that the pair had been +made, but said that when it was made he had not contemplated that it +would run so long (seven weeks), and that he therefore felt at liberty +to vote. He added, with apparent satisfaction, that his vote did not +change the result. This was true, but Stockton's vote did change it to +his own disadvantage. + +The result was announced; yeas 22, nays 21. If Stockton had not voted, +the result would have been a tie, and he would have held his seat. His +opponents had exhausted their resources and there was no parliamentary +way of trying the case over again. By casting a vote in his own case he +gave them a weapon with which to renew the fight. + +When the Senate reassembled, Sumner moved that the journal be corrected +by striking out Stockton's name from the vote last taken, on the ground +that he had no right to vote in his own case. The subject was thus +brought up again, and the result was a reconsideration of the vote of +the previous day. Trumbull concurred in the view that the question +before the Senate was judicial in its nature and that, therefore, +Stockton could not vote when his own seat was in question. + +On the last day of the debate a telegram was received from Senator +Wright requesting a postponement of the vote till the following day, +saying that he would then be in his seat or would not ask further delay. +His request was supported by Reverdy Johnson in a pathetic appeal to the +fraternal feeling and gentlemanly instincts of Senators; but Clark, who +led the opposition, objected strenuously to any postponement, although +two postponements had been previously granted on account of his own +illness. + +On the motion to postpone till the following day the vote was, yeas 21, +nays 22. Senator Dixon, a Republican supporter of Stockton, had fallen +sick and was absent. Senator Stewart, another Republican supporter, was +absent when the vote was taken, although he had been in the Senate +Chamber earlier in the day; he had dodged. All the members of the +Judiciary Committee, who had signed the original report in favor of +Stockton, voted for him to the last, except Stewart. If he and Dixon had +been present, the final vote would have been postponed, and in all +probability Stockton would have retained his seat, although Morgan, of +New York, who had voted for postponement, changed on the very last vote, +which was against Stockton, 20 to 23. + +An impartial reader of the whole debate, in the calm atmosphere of the +present day, will be apt to conclude that partisan zeal rather than +judicial fairness was the deciding factor in Stockton's case, and that +the heat developed in the contest was due to a desire on the part of the +majority to gain a two-thirds vote in order to overcome the President's +vetoes. + + * * * * * + +Consideration of the Civil Rights Bill began on the 29th of January, on +an amendment proposed by Trumbull which provided that all persons of +African descent born in the United States should be citizens thereof, +and there should be no discrimination in civil rights or immunities +among the inhabitants of any state or territory on account of race, +color, or previous condition of slavery. The question was not merely +whether this provision was just, but whether Congress had power under +the Constitution to pass laws for the ordinary administration of justice +in the states. On this point Trumbull said: + + Under the constitutional amendment which we have now adopted, + and which declares that slavery shall no longer exist, and + which authorizes Congress by appropriate legislation to carry + this provision into effect, I hold that we have a right to pass + any law which, in our judgment, is deemed appropriate, and + which will accomplish the end in view, secure freedom to all + people in the United States. The various state laws to which I + have referred,--and there are many others,--although they do + not make a man an absolute slave, yet deprive him of the rights + of a freeman; and it is perhaps difficult to draw the precise + line, to say where freedom ceases and slavery begins, but a law + that does not allow a colored person to go from one county to + another is certainly a law in derogation of the rights of a + freeman. A law that does not allow a colored person to hold + property, does not allow him to teach, does not allow him to + preach, is certainly a law in violation of the rights of a + freeman, and being so may properly be declared void. + + Without going elaborately into this question, as my design was + to state rather than to argue the grounds upon which I place + this bill, I will only add on this branch of the subject that + the clause of the Constitution, under which we are called to + act, in my judgment vests Congress with the discretion of + selecting that "appropriate legislation" which it is believed + will best accomplish the end and prevent slavery. + + Then, sir, the only question is, will this bill be effective to + accomplish the object, for the first section will amount to + nothing more than the declaration in the Constitution itself + unless we have the machinery to carry it into effect. A law is + good for nothing without a penalty, without a sanction to it, + and that is to be found in the other sections of the bill. The + second section provides: + + "That any person, who under color of any law, statute, + ordinance, regulation, or custom, shall subject or cause to be + subjected any inhabitant of any state or territory to the + deprivation of any right secured or protected by this act, or + to different punishment, pains, or penalties on account of such + person having at any time been held in a condition of slavery + or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime + whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or by reason + of his color or race, than is prescribed for the punishment of + white persons, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on + conviction shall be punished by fine not exceeding $1000, or + imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion + of the court." + + This is the valuable section of the bill so far as protecting + the rights of freedmen is concerned. That they are entitled to + be free we know. Being entitled to be free under the + Constitution, that we have a right to enact such legislation as + will make them free, we believe; and that can only be done by + punishing those who undertake to deny them their freedom. When + it comes to be understood in all parts of the United States + that any person who shall deprive another of any right, or + subject him to any punishment in consequence of his color or + race, will expose himself to fine and imprisonment, I think all + such acts will soon cease.[88] + +Senator Saulsbury, of Delaware, contended that the Thirteenth Amendment +of the Constitution had given no power to Congress to confer upon free +negroes rights and privileges which had not been conceded to them by the +states where they resided. He said that in Maryland about one half of +the colored population were free before the Thirteenth Amendment was +adopted, that in Delaware the free negroes largely outnumbered the +slaves, and that in Kentucky the free negroes were a large part of the +population. All that the Thirteenth Amendment did was to put the slave +population on the same footing on which the free negroes already stood. +Congress had no power to legislate on the status of free negroes in the +several states before the Civil War. But the powers of Congress in this +respect had not been enlarged by anything in the Thirteenth Amendment. +That amendment had merely said that the condition of slavery--the +condition in which one man belongs to another, which gives that other a +right to appropriate the profits of his labor to his own use and to +control his person--should no longer exist. Those who voted for the +amendment might have contemplated a larger exercise of power by Congress +than mere emancipation, but they did not avow it on the floor of the +Senate when the measure was pending. He continued: + + The honorable Senator from Illinois has avowed that he does not + propose by this bill to confer any political power. I have no + doubt the Senator is perfectly honest in that declaration, and + that he personally does not mean to give any political power, + for instance, the right of voting, not only to the freedmen, + but to the whole race of negroes; but the intention of the + Senator in framing this bill will not govern its construction, + and I have not the least doubt that, should it be enacted and + become a law, it will receive very generally, if not + universally, the construction that it does confer a right of + voting in the states; and why do I say so? Says the Senator, + "It confers no political power; I do not mean that." The + question is not what the Senator means, but what is the + legitimate meaning and import of the terms employed in the + bill. Its words are, "That there shall be no discrimination in + civil rights or immunities." What are civil rights? What are + the rights which you, I, or any citizen of this country enjoy? + What is the basis, the foundation of them all? They are + divisible into two classes; one, those rights which we derive + from nature, and the other those rights which we derive from + government. I will admit that you may divide and subdivide the + rights which you derive from government into different + classifications; you may call some, for the sake of convenience + and more definiteness of meaning, political; you may call + others civil. + + * * * * * + + What is property? It has been judicially decided that the + elective franchise is property. Leaving out the question of + voting, however, as a question of property, is it not true + that, under our republican form and system of government, the + ballot is one of the means by which property is secured? Your + bill gives to these persons every security for the protection + of person and property which a white man has. What is one means + and a very important means of securing the rights of person and + property? It is a voice in the Government which makes the laws + regulating and governing the right of property. Under our + system of government--mark you, I do not say that it is so + under all governments--one of the strongest and most efficient + means for the security of person and property is a + participation in the selection of those who make the laws. It + was therefore that I thought that the honorable Senator when he + framed this bill meant to give to these persons the right of + voting; and I should still think so but for his personal + disclaimer of any such object. + +Senator Van Winkle (Unionist), of West Virginia, contended that negroes +were not citizens of the United States and could not be made such by act +of Congress, or by anything short of constitutional amendment. He was +opposed to the introduction of inferior races into the ranks of +citizenship, but if the Constitution should be changed in the mode +provided for its amendment so as to introduce negroes, Indians, Chinese, +and other alien races to citizenship, he would endeavor to do his whole +duty toward them by recognizing them as citizens in every respect. + +Senator Cowan held that the second clause of the Thirteenth Amendment of +the Constitution was limited to the breaking of the bond by which the +negro slave was held by his master. It was not intended to revolutionize +all the laws of the various states. The bill under consideration would +not only repeal statutes of Pennsylvania, but would subject the judges +of her courts to criminal prosecution, for enforcing her own laws. He +(Cowan) was willing to vote for an amendment of the Constitution giving +Congress the power to secure to all men of every race, color, and +condition their natural rights to life, liberty, and property, but the +bill under consideration was an attempt to do, without any power, that +which it was very questionable whether we ought to do, even if we had +the power. Cowan concluded by arguing that Congress ought not to enact +laws affecting the Southern States so radically, when they were not +represented in Congress. + +Senator Howard, of Michigan, supported the bill in a speech of great +force from the humanitarian point of view, but did not dwell upon the +constitutional question, except to affirm that he, as a member of the +Judiciary Committee which had reported the Thirteenth Amendment, had +intended, by the second clause thereof, to empower Congress to enact +such measures as the pending Civil Rights Bill. + +Garrett Davis, of Kentucky, contended that negroes could not be made +citizens of the United States under the power granted to Congress to +pass naturalization laws, since naturalization applied only to +foreigners. Negroes born in this country were not foreigners. + +Trumbull replied that free negroes were citizens under the fourth +article of the Confederation, prior to the adoption of the Constitution +and that an attempt to exclude them from citizenship on the 25th of +June, 1778, received only two votes in the Congress of the +Confederation. He quoted a decision of Judge Gaston, of North Carolina, +that free negroes born in that state were citizens of the state and that +slaves manumitted there became citizens by the fact of manumission. + +Reverdy Johnson held that it was as competent for Congress to strike out +the word "white" from our naturalization law as it had been for a former +Congress to insert that word. In that case a negro migrating from Africa +to the United States might be made a citizen exactly like an immigrant +from Europe. + +Garrett Davis denied this, saying: + + This is a government and a political organization by white + people. It is a principle of that Government and that + organization, before and below the Constitution, that nobody + but white people are or can be parties to it. + +The colloquy between Senators Johnson and Davis continued until the +latter affirmed that the making of negroes citizens by any process +whatsoever was "revolutionary," as destructive to our Government as +would be a bill establishing a monarchy, or declaring that the President +should hold office for life.[89] + +The debate continued till February 2, Senators Guthrie, Hendricks, and +Cowan opposing the bill and Trumbull, Fessenden, and Wilson supporting +it. The vote was then taken and resulted, yeas 33, nays 12, absent 5. It +went to the House, where it encountered unexpected opposition from +Bingham, of Ohio, a radical Republican, who said: + + Now what does this bill propose? To reform the whole civil and + criminal code of every State Government by declaring that there + shall be no discrimination between citizens on account of race + or color in civil rights, or in the penalties prescribed by + their laws. I humbly bow before the majesty of justice, as I + bow before the majesty of that God whose attribute it is, and + therefore declare that there should be no such inequality or + discrimination even in the penalties for crime, but what power + have you to correct it? That is the question. You further say + that in the courts of justice of the several states there + shall, as to the qualifications of witnesses, be no + discrimination on account of race or color. I agree that as to + persons who appreciate the obligation of an oath--and no others + should be permitted to testify--there should be no such + discrimination. But whence do you derive power to cure it by + congressional enactment? There should be no discrimination + among citizens of the United States, in the several states, of + like sex, age, and condition, in regard to the franchises of + office. But such a discrimination does exist in nearly every + state. How do you propose to cure all this? By a congressional + enactment? How? Not by saying in so many words (which would be + the bold and direct way of meeting this issue) that every + discrimination of this kind, whether existing in state + constitution or state law, is hereby abolished. You propose to + make it a penal offence for the judges of the states to obey + the constitution and laws of their states, and for their + obedience thereto to punish them by fine and imprisonment as + felons. I deny your power to do this. You cannot make an + official act done under color of law and without criminal + intent and from a sense of duty, a crime.[90] + +The only Republican member of the House, from the non-slaveholding +states, who sided with Bingham, was Raymond, of New York. The House +passed the bill by yeas 111, nays 38. + +On the 27th of March, the President returned the bill to the Senate +without his approval. He vetoed it on grounds of inexpediency and +unconstitutionality. His arguments were substantially the same as those +of Senators Saulsbury and Cowan. + +Trumbull replied to the veto message in a speech of great power which +occupies five pages of the _Congressional Globe_. He took up and +answered the President's objections _seriatim_. These details need not +now be repeated. There was one of a personal character, however, which +calls for notice. He said that he had endeavored to meet the President's +wishes in the preparation of both the bills, and had called upon him +twice and had given him copies of them before they were introduced and +asked his cooeperation in order to make them satisfactory. In short, he +had done everything possible to avoid a conflict between the executive +and legislative branches of the Government, and since he had been +assured that the President's aims, like his own, were in the direction +of peace and concord, he was amazed when they were vetoed. At the +conclusion of his speech he referred briefly to the constitutional +objection to the bill saying: + + If the bill now before us, which goes no further than to secure + civil rights to the freedmen, cannot be passed, then the + constitutional amendment proclaiming freedom to all the + inhabitants of the land is a cheat and a delusion. + +The floor and galleries of the Senate Chamber were crowded during the +delivery of the speech and the roll-call followed immediately, +resulting: yeas 33, nays 15, more than two thirds. The closing scene was +thus described in a Washington letter to the _Nation_, April 12: + + After three days of extremely ardent debate signalized by a + speech of singular cogency and power from Senator Trumbull, the + father of the bill, the vote was reached about 7 o'clock on + Friday evening. When the end of the roll was reached and + Vice-President Foster announced the result, nearly the whole + Senate and auditory were carried off their feet and joined in a + tumultuous outburst of cheering such as was never heard within + those walls before. + +The veto of the Civil Rights Bill and the struggle over its passage the +second time precipitated the exciting contest at the polls in the autumn +of 1866. In that campaign Trumbull held the foremost position in the +Republican column. Whether it was possible to avoid the conflict we +cannot now say. It was most desirable that the party in power should +march all one way, and hence that the President should respond to the +friendly overtures of the leaders in Congress. When he found that he +could not approve the two bills that the Senator had placed in his hands +for examination, he ought to have sent for him and pointed out his +objections and at all events expressed regret that he could not concur +with him in the particulars where they disagreed. Then there might have +been mutual concessions leading to harmony. In any event, there would +have been no sting left behind, no hard feeling, no sense of injury, and +perhaps no rupture in the party. That was not Johnson's way. He lacked +_savoir faire_. He was combative by nature. He not only made personal +enemies unnecessarily, but he alienated thousands who wished to be his +friends.[91] "Many persons," says a not unfriendly critic, "whose +feelings were proof against the appeals made on behalf of the freedmen +and loyalists were carried over to the side of Congress by sheer +disgust at Johnson's performances. The alienation, by the President, of +this essentially thoughtful and conservative element of the Northern +voters was as disastrous and inexcusable as the alienation of those +moderate men in Congress whom he had repelled by his narrow and +obstinate policy in regard to the Freedmen's Bureau and Civil Rights +Bills. It was again demonstrated that Andrew Johnson was not a statesman +of national size in such a crisis as existed in 1866."[92] + +On the other hand, it must be admitted that Johnson was within his +constitutional right in vetoing the bills without previously consulting +anybody in Congress. + +The Civil Rights Act came before the Circuit Court of the United States +twice, soon after it was enacted, and in both instances was held to be +constitutional. The circuit courts were then presided over by Justices +of the Supreme Court. In the case of United States _v._ Rhodes, Seventh +Circuit, District of Kentucky, 1866, before Justice Swayne, the act was +pronounced constitutional in all its provisions, and held to be an +appropriate method of exercising the power conferred on Congress by the +Thirteenth Amendment. + +The other case was the Matter of Turner, Fourth Circuit, Maryland, +October Term, 1867, before Chief Justice Chase. This case was submitted +to the court without argument. The Chief Justice expressed regret that +it was not accompanied by arguments of counsel, but he decided that the +act was constitutional and that it applied to all conditions prohibited +by it, whether originating in transactions before, or since, its +enactment.[93] + +If either of these cases had been taken to the Supreme Court on appeal, +at that time, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 would doubtless have been +upheld by that body; yet in October, 1882, the court held by unanimous +vote that none of the latest amendments of the Constitution (the +Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth) did more than put prohibition on +the action of the states. No state should have slavery; no state should +make any law to abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens of the +United States; no state should deny the right of voting by reason of +race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The power of Congress +to go into the states to enforce the criminal law against individuals +had not been granted in any of these amendments. It could not be +affirmed that the second section of the Thirteenth Amendment gave power +to Congress to legislate for the states as to other matters than actual +slavery. But the Civil Rights Act applied to all the states--to those +where slavery had never existed as well as to those where it had been +recently abolished.[94] + +The act which the court in October, 1882, pronounced unconstitutional +was the Anti-Ku-Klux Act of 1871. Trumbull himself spoke and voted +against that act believing it to be unconstitutional, as we shall see +later. He drew the line somewhere between the two acts. The judges +participating in the decision in the Harris case were Chief Justice +Waite and Associate Justices Miller, Bradley, Woods, Gray, Field, +Harlan, Matthews, and Blatchford. + +One year later the court held that the Equal Rights Act of March 1, +1875, which gave to all persons full and equal enjoyment of +accommodations and privileges of inns, public conveyances, theatres, and +other places of public amusement, common schools and public +institutions of learning or benevolence supported in whole or in part by +general taxation, was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court still +consisted of the Justices above named.[95] It held that the Thirteenth +Amendment of the Constitution related only to slavery and its incidents +and that the Fourteenth Amendment was merely prohibitory on the states; +that is, that it did not confer additional powers upon Congress, but +merely forbade discriminating acts on the part of the states. The +opinion of the court was delivered by Justice Bradley. The only +dissenting opinion was given by Justice Harlan, of Kentucky, who held +that the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution was not restricted to +the prohibition of slavery, but that it conferred upon Congress the +power to make freedom effectual to the former victims of slavery. He +said: + + The Thirteenth Amendment, it is conceded, did something more + than to prohibit slavery as an institution resting upon + distinctions of race and upheld by positive law. My brethren + admit that it established and decreed universal civil freedom + throughout the United States. But did the freedom thus + established involve nothing more than the exemption from actual + slavery? Was nothing more intended than to forbid one man from + owning another as property? Was it the purpose of the nation + simply to destroy the institution and then remit the race, + theretofore held in bondage, to the several states for such + protection in their civil rights, necessarily growing out of + freedom, as those states in their discretion might choose to + provide? Were the states, against whose protest the institution + was destroyed, to be left free, so far as national interference + was concerned, to make or allow discriminations against that + race, as such, in the enjoyment of those fundamental rights + which by universal concession inhere in a state of freedom? Had + the Thirteenth Amendment stopped with the sweeping declaration + in its first section against the existence of slavery and + involuntary servitude, except for crime, Congress would have + had the power by implication, according to the doctrines of + Prigg _v._ Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, repeated in Strauder + _v._ West Virginia, to protect the freedom established and + consequently to secure the enjoyment of such civil rights as + were fundamental in freedom. That it can exert its authority to + that extent is made clear, and was intended to be made clear, + by the express grant of such power contained in the second + section of the Amendment. + +The question whether the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was or was not +constitutional never came squarely before the Supreme Court on a test +case, but, as we have seen, other acts analogous to it did come before +that tribunal in such a way that the authority of the court must be +construed as adverse to it. My own thought is that the dissenting +opinion of Mr. Justice Harlan above quoted is worth more than all the +other literature on this subject that the books contain. + +The autumn elections of 1866 returned a larger majority in Congress +against President Johnson than had been there before. The result in +Illinois was the reelection of Trumbull as Senator by the unanimous vote +of the Republican legislative caucus, although there were three +major-generals of the victorious Union army (Palmer, Oglesby, and Logan) +competing for that position, all of whom reached it later. + +Trumbull sustained Johnson until the latter vetoed the Civil Rights +Bill. He believed that the freedom of the emancipated blacks was put in +peril by this action of the President, and he gave all of his energies +to the task of passing the bill over the veto and sustaining it before +the people. In this he was successful, but the avalanche of public +opinion thus started did not stop with the defeat of Johnson in the +election of 1866. It carried the control of the Union party out of the +hands of the conservatives and gave the reins of leadership to Sumner, +Stevens, and the radical wing. Trumbull followed this lead till the +impeachment of Johnson took place, when he halted and saved Johnson at +the expense of his own popularity, and he never regretted that he had +done so. + +A distant echo of the Civil Rights controversy reached the Illinois +Senator from the state of Georgia, where he had been a school-teacher +thirty years earlier. The correspondence is introduced here as a +corrective, in some part, of the erroneous opinion that Trumbull was a +man of cold and unfeeling nature: + + MORGAN [Ga.], May 17th [1866]. + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL: + + DEAR SIR: Truth seems strange, but, stranger still appears the + fact, that after a lapse of thirty years, I should offer you a + feeble acknowledgment of the gratitude, and high respect I have + ever cherished for you. It was my good fortune to enjoy, in + Greenville, for nearly three years, the advantage of your + profound teachings; and, in later life, when adverse + circumstances compel me to impart those lessons, and the + hallowed influence of that instruction, to others, I award to + you the full meed of praise. You cannot imagine the + satisfaction I experience, when my eye turns to the many + eloquent addresses you deliver before Congress; but as there + lurks beneath the most beautiful rose, thorns that inflict deep + wounds, so your avowed animosity to us casts a gloom over those + delightful emotions. Is there no delightful thrill of + association still lingering in your bosom, when memory reverts + to your sojourn among us? Is there no period in that long + space, around which fond retrospection can joyfully flutter her + wings, and crush out the large drops of gall that have been + distilled into your cup? I think you, and you alone, have the + power and influence to arrest the mighty tide that threatens to + overwhelm us. Can you not forget our past delinquencies, to + which, I confess, we have been too prone, and remember only the + little good you discovered? I often make special inquiries + after you, and was much interested in an account given by an + old Southern member. As I had still in my mind's eye your tall + and erect form, my surprise was great, indeed, to be told that + your form was not so straight, and that you used spectacles. I + have failed in the proper place to mention my name, "Fannie + Lowe," the most mischievous girl of the school. I married a + gentleman from Mobile, who lived eight years after the union. + He fell a victim to cholera, fourteen years since, during its + prevalence in New Orleans. It was my great misfortune to lose + my daughter, just as the flower began to expand and promise + hope and comfort for my old age. In conclusion, I will be + delighted to hear from you, and by all means send me your + photograph. My kindest regards to your dear ones, and accept + the warmest wishes of + + MRS. F. C. GARY. + + MORGAN, CALHOUN CY., GEORGIA. + + UNITED STATES SENATE CHAMBER, + WASHINGTON, June 27, 1866. + + MY DEAR MRS. GARY: I was truly grateful to receive yours of the + 17th ult., and to know that after the lapse of thirty years I + was not forgotten by those who were my pupils. I remember many + of them well, and for all have ever cherished the kindest of + feelings and the best of wishes. It pains me, however, to think + that you and probably most of those about you, including those + once my scholars, should so misunderstand me and Northern + sentiments generally. How can you, my dear child,--excuse the + expression, for it is only as a school-girl I remember Fannie + Lowe,--how can you, I repeat, accuse me of entertaining + feelings of "animosity" and of the bitterness of "gall" towards + you or the South?... Towards the great mass of those engaged in + the rebellion the North feels no animosity. We believe they + were induced to take up arms against the Government from + mistaken views of Northern sentiment brought about by ambitious + and wicked leaders, and those political leaders we do want, at + least, to exclude from political power, if nothing more, till + loyal men are protected and loyalty is respected in the + rebellious districts. It is in the power of the Southern people + to have reconstruction at once, and the restoration of civil + government, complete, if they will only put their state + organizations in loyal hands, elect none but loyal men to + office, and see that those who were true to the Union, during + the war, of all classes, are protected in their rights. I ask + you, in all candor, till the disloyal of the South are willing + to do this, ought they to complain if they are subjected to + military control? I enclose you, as requested, a couple of + photographs, which you will hardly recognize as of the young + man whom you knew thirty years ago. The one without a beard was + taken three or four years since; the other, this year. My + family consists of a wife and three boys, the eldest twenty + years of age. + + Please remember me to any who once knew me at Greenville, for + all of whom I cherish a pleasant remembrance; and believe me + your sincere friend, + + LYMAN TRUMBULL. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[85] _Cong. Globe_, 1866, p. 319. + +[86] _Cong. Globe_, 1866, p. 322. + +[87] _Cong. Globe_, 1866, pp. 745-46. + +[88] _Cong. Globe_, 1866, p. 475. + +[89] _Cong. Globe_, 1866, p. 530. + +[90] _Cong. Globe_, 1866, p. 1293. + +[91] "Doolittle tells me he wrote the President a letter on the morning +of the 22d of February, knowing there was to be a gathering which would +call at the White House, entreating him not to address the crowd. But, +said D., he did speak and his speech lost him two hundred thousand +votes." (_Diary of Gideon Welles_, II, 647.) + +[92] W. A. Dunning, _Reconstruction_, p. 82. + +[93] Both of these cases are reported in the first volume of Abbott's +Circuit Court Reports. + +[94] United States _v._ Harris, 106 U.S. 629. + +[95] Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT + + +While the events in the preceding chapter were transpiring, a joint +committee on Reconstruction were making an inquiry into the condition of +the ex-Confederate States in order to determine whether they or any of +them were entitled to immediate representation in Congress. It consisted +of Senators Fessenden, Grimes, Harris, Howard, Williams, and Johnson, +and Representatives Stevens, Washburne, of Illinois, Morrill, of +Vermont, Bingham, Conkling, Boutwell, Blow, Rogers, and Grider. Senator +Reverdy Johnson and Representatives Rogers and Grider were Democrats. +All the others were Republicans. There was a preponderance of +conservatives on the committee. Senator Fessenden was the chairman, and +his selection for the place marked him as _princeps senatus_ in the +estimation of his colleagues. + +While the Civil Rights Bill was pending in the House, we have seen that +Bingham, of Ohio, made a speech against it and voted against it, holding +it to be unconstitutional. He had supported the Freedmen's Bureau Bill +because it applied only to states in the inchoate condition which then +existed. It was to be inoperative in any state, when restored to its +constitutional relations with the Union. The Civil Rights Bill, on the +other hand, was to apply to the whole country, North and South, without +limit as to time, and to affect the civil and criminal code of every +State Government. He held that there was no constitutional warrant for +this, either in the Thirteenth Amendment or elsewhere. In order to cure +the supposed defect, Bingham proposed to the Reconstruction Committee a +new constitutional amendment in these words: + + The Congress shall have power to make all laws which shall be + necessary and proper to secure to the citizens of each state + all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several + states, and to all persons in the several states equal + protection in the rights of life, liberty, and property. + +This was agreed to by the committee, but before it was reported to the +House, Stevens presented a series of amendments consisting of five +sections which had been prepared by Robert Dale Owen, a distinguished +publicist, who was not a member of the Congress. This series had met +Stevens's approval, and after some delay and some changes it was adopted +by the committee. Bingham then withdrew his own proposed amendment and +offered the following in place of it, which was adopted as section one: + + No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the + privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States, nor + shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or + property without due process of law, nor deny to any person + within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. + +The difference between this provision and the first one proposed by +Bingham was the whole difference between giving Congress power to pass +laws for the administration of justice in the states and merely +prohibiting the states from making discriminations between citizens. +There was no definition of citizenship in the amendment as reported by +the joint committee. Apparently they relied upon the Civil Rights Act, +which had been passed over the President's veto, to supply that +definition, but shortly before the final vote was taken in the Senate, +Howard, who had charge of the measure in the temporary illness of +Fessenden, proposed the following words to be placed at the beginning of +the first section. + + All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and + subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United + States and of the state wherein they reside. + +The reason for adopting this clause was to validate the corresponding +part of the Civil Rights Act and put it beyond repeal, in the event that +the Republicans should at some future time lose control of Congress. + +In addition to the first section, as shown above, the amendment provided +that Representatives should be apportioned among the several states +according to population, but that when the right to vote was denied in +any state to any of the male inhabitants who were twenty-one years of +age and citizens of the United States, except for rebellion or other +crime, the representation of such state in Congress and the Electoral +College should be proportionately reduced. Also that no person should +hold any office under the United States or any state who, having +previously taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United +States, had engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, but +that Congress might, by a two-thirds vote, remove such disability. Also +that the validity of the public debt of the United States should not be +questioned, but that no debt incurred in aid of insurrection or +rebellion should ever be paid by the United States or any state. The +concluding section provided that Congress should have power to enforce +by appropriate legislation the provisions of the article. + +The Fourteenth Amendment passed the Senate June 8, by 33 to 11, and the +House June 13, by 138 to 36. Sumner had opposed it bitterly in debate +because it dodged, as he said, the question of negro suffrage; but when +the vote was taken he recorded himself in the affirmative. + +The report of the committee giving the reasons for their action was +submitted on the 18th of June. It held that the seceding states, having +withdrawn from Congress and levied war against the United States, could +be restored to their former places only by permission of the +constitutional power against which they had rebelled acting through all +the cooerdinate branches of the Government and not by the executive +department alone. + + If the President [it said] may, at his will and under his own + authority, whether as military commander, or chief executive, + qualify persons to appoint Senators and elect Representatives, + and empower others to elect and appoint them, he thereby + practically controls the organization of the legislative + department. The constitutional form of government is thereby + practically destroyed, and its powers absorbed by the + Executive. And while your committee do not for a moment impute + to the President any such design, but cheerfully concede to him + the most patriotic motives, they cannot but look with alarm + upon a precedent so fraught with danger to the Republic. + +This conclusion was logical but misleading. The danger to the Republic +lay not in the absorption of powers by the Executive, but in the +prolongation of chaos, in dethroning intelligence, and arming ignorance +in the desolated districts of the South.[96] + +Stevens also reported a bill "to provide for restoring the states lately +in insurrection to their full political rights." It recited that +whenever the Fourteenth Amendment should become a part of the +Constitution, and any state lately in insurrection should have ratified +it and conformed itself thereto, its duly elected Senators and +Representatives would be admissible to seats in Congress. This bill was +not acted on, but lay on the table of each house awaiting the action of +the Southern States on the proposed amendment. + +On July 23, the two houses adopted a preamble and joint resolution +admitting Tennessee to her former relations to the Union. The preamble +recited that that state had ratified the Thirteenth and Fourteenth +Amendments to the Constitution. There were only four negative votes on +the Tennessee bill: Brown and Sumner, Republicans, and Buckalew and +McDougall, Democrats. The President signed the bill, but he added a +brief message explaining that his reason for doing so was that he +desired to remove every cause of further delay, whether real or +imaginary, to the admission of the Representatives of Tennessee, but he +affirmed that Congress could not rightfully make the passage of such a +law a condition precedent to such admission in the case of Tennessee, or +of any other state. + +The next event of importance in the controversy over Reconstruction was +the National Union Convention held in Philadelphia on the 14th of +August. It was composed of delegates from all the states and +territories, North and South, who sustained the President's policy and +acquiesced in the results of the war, including the abolition of +slavery. This came to be known as the "Arm-in-Arm Convention" as the +procession leading to the platform was headed by two delegates, one from +Massachusetts and one from South Carolina, walking together with their +arms joined. The signers of the call embraced the names of A. W. +Randall, ex-governor of Wisconsin, Senators Cowan, Doolittle, Fowler, +Norton, Dixon, Nesmith, and Hendricks, and ex-senator Browning, then +Secretary of the Interior. The convention itself was eminently +respectable in point of numbers and character. It was presided over by +Senator Doolittle, and the chairman of its Committee on Resolutions was +Senator Cowan. The resolutions adopted were ten in number and were +faultless in principle and in expression. They were conveyed to the +President by a committee of seventy-two persons. The effect of this +dignified movement was offset and neutralized in large part by one +paragraph of the President's reply to the presentation speech, namely: + + We have witnessed in one department of the Government every + endeavor to prevent the restoration of peace, harmony, and + union. We have seen hanging upon the verge of the Government, + as it were, a body called, or which assumed to be, the Congress + of the United States, while in fact it is a Congress of only a + part of the states. We have seen this Congress pretend to be + for the Union when its every step and act tended to perpetuate + disunion and make the disruption of the states inevitable. + Instead of promoting reconciliation and harmony its legislation + has partaken of the character of penalties, retaliation, and + revenge. This has been the course and policy of your + Government. + +This impeachment of the legality of Congress was followed by a battle in +the political field, which raged with increasing fury during the whole +remainder of Johnson's term of office and projected itself into the two +terms of President Grant and the beginning of that of President Hayes, +embracing the episodes of the impeachment trial and the Liberal +Republican movement of 1872. All of this turmoil, and the suffering +which it brought upon the South, would, probably, have been avoided if +Lincoln, with his strong hold upon the loyal sentiment of the country +and his readiness to conciliate opponents, without surrendering +principle, had not been assassinated. They became possible if not +inevitable when the presidential chair was taken, in a time of crisis, +by a man of combative temper, without prestige in the North, and devoid +of tact although of good intentions and undoubted patriotism. + +The Southern States refused to agree to the Fourteenth Amendment. To +them the insuperable objection was the clause excluding from the +office-holding class those who had taken an oath to support the +Constitution of the United States and had afterwards engaged in +insurrection against the same. The common people refused to accept +better terms than were accorded to their leaders. This was true chivalry +and is not to be condemned, but the consequence was an increase of the +power of the radicals in the North. It disabled conservatives like +Fessenden, Trumbull, and Grimes in Congress, John A. Andrew, Henry Ward +Beecher, and William C. Bryant, influential in other walks in life, from +making effective resistance to the measures of Sumner and Stevens. If +the Fourteenth Amendment had been ratified by any of the other +ex-Confederate States, such states would have been admitted at once as +Tennessee was. Both Wade and Howard, hot radicals as they were, refused +to go with Sumner when he insisted that further conditions should be +exacted. When he offered an amendment looking to negro suffrage, Howard +said that the Joint Committee on Reconstruction had maturely considered +that question and had carefully abstained from interfering with "that +very sacred right"--the right of each state to regulate the suffrage +within its own limits. He argued that it was inexpedient in a party +point of view to do so, and predicted that if the rebel states were +coerced to adopt negro suffrage by an act of Congress, or by +constitutional amendment, they would rid themselves of it after gaining +admission.[97] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[96] Trumbull did not take an active part in the framing of the +Fourteenth Amendment. A minute and unbiased history of it has been +written by Horace Edgar Flack, Ph.D., and published by the Johns Hopkins +Press, Baltimore, 1908. It is impossible to resist the conclusion of +this writer, that partisanship was a potent factor in the framing and +adoption of it. + +[97] _Cong. Globe_, February 15, 1867, p. 1381. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +CROSSING THE RUBICON + + +On the 17th of December, 1866, the Supreme Court rendered its decision +in the Milligan case, which had reached that tribunal on a certificate +of disagreement between the two judges of the United States Circuit +Court for Indiana. Milligan, a citizen, not in the military or naval +service, had been arrested in October, 1864, by General A. P. Hovey, +commanding the military district of Indiana, for alleged treasonable +acts, had been tried by a military commission, found guilty, and +sentenced to be hanged on the 19th day of May, 1865. He petitioned the +court for a discharge from custody under the terms of the Habeas Corpus +Act passed by Congress March 3, 1863. He affirmed that, since his +arrest, there had been a session of the grand jury in his district and +that it had adjourned without finding an indictment against him. The act +of Congress provided that the names of all civilians arrested by the +military authorities in places where the courts were open should be +reported to the judges within twenty days after their arrest, and that +if they were not indicted at the first term of court thereafter they +should be set at liberty. + +This question had been pretty thoroughly thrashed out in the +Vallandigham case, but it had been imperfectly understood; President +Lincoln had gone astray in that labyrinth, and judges on the bench had +differed from each other in their interpretation of an unambiguous +statute. The most commonly accepted opinion was that the act of 1863 +was not applicable to Copperheads, or, if it was, that it ought not to +be obeyed. + +The Supreme Court was unanimous in the opinion that Milligan must be +discharged, since the law was plain and unequivocal, but there was a +division among the nine judges of the court as to the power to try +persons not in the military service, by military commission. Five judges +held that Congress could not abolish trial by jury in places where the +courts were open and the course of justice unimpeded. Four judges +maintained that Congress might authorize military commissions to try +civilians in certain cases where the civil courts were open and freely +exercising their functions, although Congress had not actually done so. +The five judges constituting the majority were Davis (who wrote the +opinion of the court), Clifford, Nelson, Grier, and Field. The four who +dissented from the argument, but not from the judgment, were Chief +Justice Chase (who wrote the minority opinion), and Judges Wayne, +Swayne, and Miller. Davis's opinion is not surpassed in argumentative +power or in literary expression by anything in the annals of that great +tribunal. + +The logical consequences of the decision were tremendous, or would have +been, if the public mind had been in a condition to appreciate its +gravity. Not only did it follow logically that the trial and execution +of Booth's fellow conspirators, Payne, Atzerodt, Herold, and Mrs. +Surratt, were, in contemplation of law, no better than lynching, but +that Andrew Johnson's endeavor to put an end to government by military +commissions, as soon as possible, was right, and that the contrary +design, by whomsoever held, was wrong. + +The radicals in Congress, however, were only angered by the decision. +They were not in the least disconcerted by it, but the court itself was +very much so. If it had been necessary to pass a law reorganizing the +court, in order to reap the fruits of the victory won in the recent +elections, a majority could have been obtained for it. + +Under date of January 8, 1867, the "Diary of Gideon Welles" tells us +that there was a Cabinet meeting at which the President said that he +wished to obtain the views of each member on the subject, already +mooted, of dismantling states and throwing them into a territorial +condition. A colloquy ensued which is reported as follows: + + Seward was evidently taken by surprise. Said he had avoided + expressing himself on these questions; did not think it + judicious to anticipate them; that storms were never so furious + as they threatened; but as the subject had been brought up, he + would say that never, under any circumstances, could he be + brought to admit that a sovereign state had been destroyed, or + could be reduced to a territorial condition. + + McCulloch was equally decided, that the states could not be + converted into territories. + + Stanton said he had communicated his views to no man. Here, in + the Cabinet, he had assented to and cordially approved of every + step which had been taken, to reorganize the governments of the + states which had rebelled, and saw no cause to change or depart + from it. Stevens's proposition he had not seen, and did not + care to, for it was one of those schemes which would end in + noise and smoke. He had conversed with but one Senator, Mr. + Sumner, and that was one year ago, when Sumner said he + disapproved of the policy of the Administration and intended to + upset it. He had never since conversed with Sumner nor any one + else. He did not concur in Mr. Sumner's views, nor did he think + a state would or could be remanded to a territorial condition. + + I stated my concurrence in the opinions which had been + expressed by the Secretary of War, and that I held Congress had + no power to take from a state its reserved rights and + sovereignty, or to impose terms on one state which were not + imposed on all states. + + Stanbery said he was clear and unqualifiedly against the whole + talk and theory of territorializing the states. Congress could + not dismantle them. It had not the power, and on that point he + would say that it was never expedient to do or attempt to do + that which we had not the power to do. + + Browning declared that no state could be cut down or + extinguished. Congress could make and admit states, but could + not destroy or extinguish them after they were made.[98] + +This extract is rather astounding for what it tells us of Stanton's +position. Simultaneously, or nearly so, Congress passed an act virtually +making the General of the Army independent of the President, and +prohibiting the President from assigning him to duty elsewhere than in +Washington City without the consent of the Senate, except at his own +request. Congressman Boutwell, of Massachusetts, tells us that this +provision was privately suggested to him by Stanton and that he +(Boutwell) wrote it down at the War Department as dictated by Stanton, +and took it to Thaddeus Stevens who incorporated it in an appropriation +bill.[99] + +If the radicals were elated by the result of the elections, the +conservatives were correspondingly depressed. It was no longer possible +to prevent Stevens and Sumner from taking the lead, which they did +forthwith. They crossed the Rubicon with the whole army. The +Reconstruction policy initiated by Lincoln was now for the first time +definitely abandoned by the Union party. In the month of February, +Stevens carried through the House a bill declaring that there were no +legal governments in the ten rebel states, and providing that the +existing governments should be superseded by the military authority. It +provided for no termination of such military government. Amendments were +added by the Senate providing for constitutional conventions in those +states, to be elected by the male citizens twenty-one years old and +upward, of whatever race or color, except those disfranchised for +participation in rebellion. It was provided further that when the +constitutions so framed should contain clauses giving the elective +franchise to all persons entitled to vote in the election for delegates, +and when the constitutions should be ratified by a majority of the +people, and when such constitutions should have been submitted to and +approved by Congress, and when the states should have ratified the +Fourteenth Amendment and it should have been adopted, then the states so +reorganized should be entitled to representation in Congress, provided +that no persons disfranchised by the Fourteenth Amendment should vote at +the election or be eligible to membership of the conventions. The clause +making negro suffrage a permanent condition of Reconstruction was +adopted in a senatorial caucus on the motion of Sumner by a majority of +two, after it had been rejected almost unanimously by the Senate +committee to which it had been referred.[100] + +Trumbull, Fessenden, and Sherman voted against Sumner's motion, but +after it became the policy of the party they supported it. And here they +made a mistake, for this was the act which placed the governments of ten +states in the hands of the most ignorant portion of the community and +disfranchised the most intelligent, entailing the direful consequences +of the succeeding ten years. + +The road which the dominant party had now taken was, however, taken +conscientiously. Congress and the Northern people sincerely believed +that slavery would be reestablished in some form unless the negroes had +the right to vote and the assurance that their votes would be counted, +and that, in that case, the war would have to be fought over again. Of +course, party spirit and the greed of office had a place among the +impelling motives at Washington, but these considerations would not have +availed had not the opinion been deep-seated that a Democratic victory +won by the votes of the solid South and a minority of the North would +endanger the Union. + +Senator Cullom, of Illinois, who was then a member of the House, said, +forty-four years later, that "the motive of the opposition to the +Johnson plan of Reconstruction was a firm conviction that its success +would wreck the Republican party and, by restoring the Democracy to +power, bring back Southern supremacy and Northern vassalage."[101] + +Montgomery Blair apprehended another revolution or rebellion and said +that there might be two opposing governments organized in Washington. +Maynard, of Tennessee, a stanch loyalist, believed that Senators and +Representatives from all the states would soon make their appearance at +the national capital and that those from the rebel states would join +with the Democratic members from the loyal states, constitute a +majority, organize, repeal the test oath, and have things their own way. +Welles, while recording these opinions, held the sounder one that the +South was too exhausted and the Northern Democrats too timid for such a +step.[102] + +The Reconstruction Bill passed both houses on the 20th day of February, +1867, was vetoed by the President on the 2d of March, and was repassed +on the same day by more than two-thirds majority in each house, +Trumbull voting in the affirmative. + +It was followed by a supplementary bill even more drastic, providing for +a registration of voters, and requiring each person, before he could be +registered, to take an oath that he had not been disfranchised for +participation in any rebellion, or civil war, against the United States, +and had never held any legislative, executive, or judicial office and +afterwards engaged in rebellion against the United States, or given aid +or comfort to the enemies thereof. The President was not slow to +perceive the monstrosity of these provisions. In his veto message he +dwelt on the absurdity of expecting every man to know whether he had +been disfranchised or not, and what acts amounted to "participation" or +fell short of it, and what constituted the giving of aid and comfort to +the enemies of the United States. With genuine pathos he added: + + When I contemplate the millions of our fellow citizens of the + South with no alternative left but to impose upon themselves + this fearful and untried experiment of complete negro + enfranchisement, and white disfranchisement (it may be) almost + as complete, or submit indefinitely to the rigor of martial law + without a single attribute of freemen, deprived of all the + sacred guaranties of our Federal Constitution, and threatened + with even worse wrongs, if any worse are possible, it seems to + me their condition is the most deplorable to which any people + can be reduced. + +This bill was passed over the veto on the 23d of March, Trumbull voting +in the affirmative. These votes, however, did not prevent him from +publishing in the Chicago _Advance_ of September 5, the same year, a +carefully written article denying the power of Congress to regulate the +suffrage in the states, concluding with the following paragraphs: + + If the views expressed are correct, it follows that there are + but two ways of securing impartial suffrage throughout the + Union. One is, for the states themselves to adopt it, which is + being done by some already; and now that the subject is being + agitated and its justice being made apparent, it is to be hoped + it will soon commend itself to all: the other is, by an + amendment to the Constitution of the United States, adopting + impartial suffrage throughout the Union, which to become + effective must be ratified by three fourths of the States. + +Amendments of the constitutions of Ohio, Kansas, and Minnesota for that +purpose were then pending, but they were all voted down by the people in +October and November, 1867. + +Congress continued to pass supplementary Reconstruction measures at +short intervals. One such authorized the commanders of the military +districts to suspend or remove any persons holding any office, civil or +military, in their districts and appoint other persons to fill their +places and exercise their functions subject to the disapproval of the +General of the Army of the United States. It was declared to be the duty +of the commanders aforesaid to remove from office all persons disloyal +to the United States and all who should seek to hinder, delay, or +obstruct the administration of the Reconstruction Acts. Section eight of +this act made members of boards of registration removable in like +manner. Section eleven provided that "all the provisions of this act, +and of the acts to which it is supplementary, should be construed +liberally." This bill was vetoed by the President July 19, 1867, and was +passed over the veto by both houses the same day. Still another +supplementary act was passed on the 11th of March, 1868, relating to the +election of members of Congress in the rebel states. + +Under this harness of militarism constitutional conventions were held +and constitutions adopted by all of said states, except Texas and +Mississippi, during the year 1868, and all the rest of them were +admitted to the Union except Virginia, subject, however, to the +condition that their constitutions should never be amended, or changed, +so as to deprive any citizen, or class of citizens, of the right to +vote, except as a punishment for crimes of the grade of felonies at +common law. + +Delays having occurred in the course of procedure in Virginia, +Mississippi, and Texas, there was opportunity to apply new conditions to +their readmission and this chance was eagerly seized by the radicals. +Trumbull, on the 13th of January, 1870, reported from the Judiciary +Committee a simple resolution reciting that Virginia, having complied +with all the requirements, was entitled to representation in Congress. +This was amended on motion of Drake, of Missouri, by a proviso that it +should never be lawful for the state to deprive any citizen of the +United States, on account of race, color, or previous condition of +servitude, of the right to hold office. Trumbull said in the debate on +this proposition that Congress had no authority to enact it and that it +would not be binding on the state. Yet it was adopted by a majority of +one vote, 30 to 29. Wilson then moved as an amendment that the state +constitution should never be so changed as to deprive any citizen or +class of citizens of school privileges, and this was adopted by 31 to +29, Trumbull in the negative. In addition to these a long section was +added prescribing a new form of oath to be taken by all state officers +and members of the legislature, which was adopted by 45 to 16, Trumbull +voting no. In the final vote on the Bill, however, he voted in the +affirmative. The same conditions were applied to Mississippi and Texas. + +In the debate on the Virginia Bill there was a passage-at-arms between +Trumbull and Sumner which came near to overstepping parliamentary rules +on both sides and which caused widespread newspaper comment. It was +generally believed that a rupture had taken place between them which +would never be healed; yet a year later, when the decree went forth +(presumably from the White House) that Sumner must be deposed from the +chairmanship of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Trumbull was one of +his strongest supporters in the fight which ensued. + +Following close after the reconstruction of Virginia came the +re-reconstruction of Georgia. That state ratified her _post-bellum_ +constitution on the 11th of May, 1868, and elected Rufus P. Bullock, +governor. He represented the radicals, but the conservatives at the same +time carried the state legislature. A few negroes had been elected as +members, and these were expelled on the ground that the right to hold +office had not been conferred upon them by the new constitution. The +supreme court of the state a few months later decided that since the +rights of citizenship and of voting had been conferred upon them, the +right to hold office belonged to them also unless expressly denied. In +addition to unseating the blacks, the conservatives had admitted certain +members who could not take the oath prescribed in the Fourteenth +Amendment of the Constitution. Governor Bullock needed a legislature +different from the one which had been elected, in order to accomplish +certain ends which he had in view, and he seized upon these +irregularities as a means of overturning the majority. He then raised an +outcry, which he knew would stir the north,--that the blacks in Georgia +were still terrorized by the Ku-Klux Klans. + +President Grant soon thereafter recommended that Congress take Georgia +again in hand. This was done promptly. An act was passed directing +Governor Bullock to call the legislature together and directing the +legislature to reorganize itself in accordance with the oaths of office +heretofore prescribed, including that of the Fourteenth Amendment; to +exclude all persons who could not lawfully take those oaths and to admit +all who had been expelled on account of color; also requiring Georgia to +ratify the Fifteenth Amendment before her Representatives and Senators +should be admitted to seats in Congress. The seventh section of the act +authorized Governor Bullock to call for the services of the army and +navy of the United States to enforce the provisions of the act. Under +this authority, exercised by General Terry, twenty-four conservatives +were expelled from the legislature and their places were filled by +radicals, and the negroes formerly excluded were returned to their +places. Even this did not satisfy Bullock. He went to Washington with a +troop of carpet-baggers and a pocketful of money and railroad bonds and +persuaded General Butler, who was chairman of the House Committee on +Reconstruction, to bring in a bill for the restoration of Georgia +similar to that of Virginia, with a proviso extending for two years the +term of office of the present legislature, which would otherwise expire +in November, 1870. Butler reported such a bill from his committee, but +Bingham, of Ohio, offered an amendment to require a new election of the +legislature at the time fixed in the state constitution, and this +amendment was agreed to, in spite of Butler's opposition, by 115 to 71. + +The Georgia Bill was the subject of an exciting battle in the Senate +where Trumbull supported the Bingham proviso against the efforts of +Morton, Howard, Drake, Stewart, Sumner, Wilson, and all of the new +Senators from the South, two of whom (those of Texas) were hastily +admitted in time to vote on the Georgia question. The first vote was on +the motion of Williams, of Oregon, to prolong the life of the existing +legislature till November, 1872. One effect of so doing would be to +save a seat in the United States Senate for a man who had been elected +unlawfully. The vacancy would occur on March 4, 1871, and could be +lawfully filled only by the legislature chosen next preceding that date. + +Williams's motion was voted down April 14, by a majority of one. On the +19th of the same month, Trumbull made one of the great speeches of his +public career, filling twelve columns of the _Congressional Globe_, on +the Georgia question, demolishing the Bullock case and stirring public +opinion strongly. The struggle was protracted till July 8, when the bill +passed, as Trumbull desired, with the Bingham proviso. + +An editorial in the _Nation_ of May 26, 1870, tells, in brief compass, +what took place while the Georgia Bill was the matter of chief concern +in the Senate: + + Our readers may remember that when Mr. Trumbull, some weeks + ago, made his severe summing up of the "Georgia difficulty," he + hinted in very plain terms that the patriots of the Bullock + faction had been guilty of both corruption and intimidation in + trying to get their "Reconstruction" bill through, installing + them in office for two years. By many people this charge was + ascribed partly to Mr. Trumbull's hatred of the black man, and + partly to his hostility to the pure and good of all colors, and + doubtless some asked themselves, as they asked themselves when + the Traitor Ross refused to give up his chair to Senator + Revels, for the sake of the dramatic unities: "What else can we + expect of a man who voted No on the Eleventh Article?" + + [A committee of the Senate, appointed to look into the matter, + had taken a mass of testimony and submitted a report.] Their + finding is--and we blush to write it--that Bullock and his + friends have been for a long time in Washington, complaining of + the Ku-Klux Klan, and asking fresh guarantees for "the + persecuted Unionists" of Georgia; that somehow or other, while + there, they have had a great deal of money and railroad bonds, + which they seemed to have no particular use for, themselves; + that they tried unsuccessfully to purchase the votes of + Senators Carpenter and Tipton against the Bingham amendments; + that harrowing reports of "outrages" in Georgia were actually + prepared to order, like boots or dinners, furnished to them and + paid for; that the writing of threatening letters to Senators + was procured in the same manner; that $4000 was paid to that + good and great man, Colonel Forney, of the Washington + _Chronicle_, for "advertising and printing speeches and + documents," the Colonel's editorial denunciations of the + opponents of the Georgia Bill, we suppose, being thrown into + the bargain. The Washington correspondent of the Boston + _Advertiser_--a wicked fellow--adds that some of the witnesses + when first examined "were very loath to tell what they knew, + and indulged in the tallest kind of lying." The report of the + committee is unanimous. + + The result of this expose probably will be that the Georgia + question will at last, after a year's delay, filled with this + lying and intrigue and corruption, be settled at the outset, by + handing the State Government back to the electors on the same + terms as Virginia, and letting the "Bullock faction" go home + and find some means of gaining an honest livelihood.... We + cannot pass from this affair, however, without bearing hearty + testimony to the services which Mr. Trumbull has, by his + attitude in it from the very beginning, rendered to truth, + justice, good government, and civilization. He has made every + honest man, North and South, his debtor, not for being able, + for this he cannot help, but for being bold, and hitting hard. + "By Time," says Hosea Biglow, "I du like a man that ain't + afeared!" + +FOOTNOTES: + +[98] _Diary of Gideon Welles_, III, 10-12. + +[99] Boutwell, _Reminiscences_, II, 108. + +[100] This was the second time that Sumner had shunted the nation in the +direction he desired it to go; the first time was when he filibustered +the Louisiana Bill to death at the end of the Thirty-ninth Congress. +Edward L. Pierce, his biographer and eulogist, writing in the early +nineties, says rather dubiously: "For weal or woe, whether it was well +or not for the black race and the country, it is to Sumner's credit or +discredit as a statesman that suffrage, irrespective of race or color, +became fixed and universal in the American system." (_Memoir and +Letters_, I, 228.) + +[101] _Fifty Years of Public Service_, by Shelby M. Cullom, p. 146. + +[102] _Diary of Gideon Welles_, II, 484. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +IMPEACHMENT + + +Early in 1867, Congress passed an act, originating in the Senate, to +prevent the President from removing, without the consent of the Senate, +any office-holders whose appointment required confirmation by that body. +In its inception it was not intended to include members of the Cabinet, +but merely to protect postmasters, collectors, and other appointees of +that grade, whom the President, in his stump speech at St. Louis, had +declared his intention to "kick out." Accordingly a clause was inserted +excluding Cabinet officers from the operation of the measure. + +When the bill came before the House, a motion was made to strike out +this exception, and it was at first negatived by a majority of four. +Subsequently the motion was renewed and carried, but the Senate refused +to concur. The differences between the two houses were referred to a +committee of conference of which Sherman was a member. He had been +extremely resolute heretofore in opposing the attempt to include members +of the Cabinet, because he held that no gentleman would be willing to +remain a member after receiving an intimation from his chief that his +services were no longer desired. To this Senator Hendricks replied that +it was not a question of getting rid of a _gentleman_, but of a man of +different stamp, who might be in the Cabinet and desire to stay in. "The +very person who ought to be turned out," he said, "is the very person +who will stay in." The Conference Committee reported the following +proviso, which was adopted by both houses: + + That the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the + Navy, and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the + Attorney-General shall hold their offices respectively for and + during the term of the President by whom they may have been + appointed and for one month thereafter, subject to removal by + and with the advice and consent of the Senate. + +Senator Doolittle, who opposed the bill _in toto_, pointed out that it +did not accomplish what it aimed at: that is, it did not prevent the +President from removing the Secretary of War. He showed that Stanton had +never been appointed by Johnson at all. He was merely holding office by +sufferance. The term of the President by whom he was appointed had +expired and the "one month thereafter" had also expired; therefore, the +proviso reported by the Conference Committee was futile to protect him. + +Sherman replied that the proviso was not intended to apply to a +particular case or to the present President, and that Doolittle's +interpretation of the phrase as not protecting Stanton in office was the +true interpretation. He added that if he supposed that Stanton, or any +other Cabinet officer, was so wanting in manhood and honor as to hold +his office after receiving an intimation that his services were no +longer desired, he (Sherman) would consent to his removal at any time. +This declaration committed Sherman in advance to a definite opinion as +to the President's right to remove Stanton whenever he pleased. + +The bill passed with the clause above quoted, all the Republican +Senators present voting for it except Van Winkle and Willey, of West +Virginia. Trumbull was recorded in the affirmative. + +At the first Cabinet meeting of February 26, the bill was considered, +and all the members thought that it ought to be vetoed. "Stanton was +very emphatic," says Welles, "and seemed glad of an opportunity to be in +accord with his colleagues." (He had previously given his sanction to +the Stevens Reconstruction Bill in opposition to his colleagues.) The +President said he would be glad if Stanton would prepare a veto or make +suggestions for one. Stanton pleaded want of time. The President then +turned to Seward, who said that he would undertake it if Stanton would +help him. This was agreed to, and the veto (based on the ground of +unconstitutionality) was prepared and submitted by them at the Cabinet +meeting of March 1. Stanton must have been aware of the colloquy between +Sherman and Doolittle in which his name was mentioned, and he probably +agreed with them in the opinion that he was not protected by the +Tenure-of-Office Act. If he had thought differently he would hardly have +favored the veto, or joined with Seward in writing it. The veto message +was sent in on March 2, 1867, and the bill was passed by two thirds of +both houses the same day. + +Few persons at the present time believe that there was any substantial +ground for the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. The unsparing condemnation +of history has been visited upon the whole proceeding, and the commonly +received opinion now is that if the Senate had voted him guilty as +charged in the articles of impeachment a precedent would have been made +whereby the Republic would have been exposed to grave dangers. Trumbull +was one of the so-called "Seven Traitors" who prevented that +catastrophe. + +The first session of the Fortieth Congress began on March 4, 1867. The +radical wing of the Republican party had been muttering about +impeachment even earlier, and a resolution had been passed by the House +on the 7th of January preceding, authorizing the Judiciary Committee to +inquire into the official conduct of the President and to report whether +he had been guilty of acts designed or calculated to "overthrow, +subvert, or corrupt the Government of the United States, or any +department or office thereof." On the 28th of February, the committee +reported that it had examined a large number of witnesses and collected +many documents, but had not been able to reach a conclusion and that it +would not feel justified in making a final report upon so important a +matter in the expiring hours of this Congress, even if it had been able +to make an affirmative one. On the 29th of March following, the +committee was instructed to continue its investigation. + +It accordingly continued its work and voted on the 1st of June, by 5 to +4, that there was no evidence that would warrant impeachment; but at the +earnest solicitation of the minority it kept the case open during the +recess which Congress took from July to November. In this interval one +member of the committee changed his vote and this change made the +committee stand 5 to 4 in favor of impeachment. The report of the +committee was presented by Boutwell, of Massachusetts, November 25, +accompanied by a resolution that Andrew Johnson, President of the United +States, be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. James F. Wilson, +of Iowa, chairman of the committee, submitted a minority report adverse +to impeachment, and the House on the 7th of December sustained Wilson +and rejected the majority report by a vote of 57 to 108. Among those +voting against impeachment were Allison, Bingham, Blaine, Dawes, Poland, +Spalding, and Washburne, of Illinois. On the other side were Thaddeus +Stevens, B. F. Butler, and John A. Logan. On the 5th of August, the +President sent to Stanton a note of three lines saying that his +resignation as Secretary of War would be accepted. Stanton replied on +the same day declining to resign before the next meeting of Congress. +The President thereupon decided to remove him regardless of +consequences, but he felt the necessity of finding somebody to take the +office who would be acceptable to the country. His choice fell upon +General Grant, who was perhaps the only person whose appointment under +the circumstances would not have caused a disturbance. No plausible +objection could be raised against him in any quarter, not even by +Stanton himself. Grant reluctantly consented to accept the place. +Accordingly one week after Stanton had refused to resign, the President +suspended him and appointed Grant Secretary _ad interim_ and so notified +Stanton. The latter had undoubtedly made plans for retaining the office +in defiance of the President and was chagrined to find that a man had +been appointed whom he could not resist. Although a few months earlier +he had advised the President that the Tenure-of-Office Law was +unconstitutional and had assisted in writing the message vetoing it on +that ground, he now denied the President's power to suspend him without +the consent of the Senate, but said that he yielded to superior force. +He then surrendered his office to Grant. Although the usual expressions +of confidence and esteem were exchanged between himself and his +successor, a residue of asperity remained in the breast of the retiring +Secretary, who felt that the head of the army ought not to have enabled +the President to get the better of him. But as a matter of fact Grant +did not want the office. He accepted it only because he feared that +trouble might follow from the appointment of somebody less familiar than +himself with conditions prevailing in the South. + +On the 13th of January, 1868, the Senate, having considered the reasons +assigned by the President for the suspension of Stanton from office, +non-concurred in the same and sent notice to this effect to the +President and to Grant. The latter considered his functions as Secretary +_ad interim_ terminated from the moment of receipt of the notice and so +notified the President, at the same time locking the door of his room +and handing the key to the person in charge of the Adjutant-General's +office in the same building. + +Under the terms of the Tenure-of-Office Law, Stanton returned and +resumed his former place. + +On the 27th of January, a motion was made by Mr. Spalding in the House +of Representatives that the Committee on Reconstruction be authorized to +inquire what combinations had been made to obstruct the due execution of +law and to report what action, if any, was necessary in consequence +thereof. This resolution was adopted by a vote of 99 to 31. A few days +later, on the motion of Thaddeus Stevens the evidence taken by the +Committee on the Judiciary on the impeachment question was referred to +the Committee on Reconstruction. Certain correspondence that had passed +between General Grant and President Johnson relating to the retirement +of the former from the War Office was also sent to the same committee. + +The correspondence between General Grant and the President here referred +to gives a fresh illustration of Andrew Johnson's want of tact in +dealing with men and events. He first made an accusation that Grant had +failed to keep a promise that he had previously given that "if you +[Grant] should conclude that it would be your duty to surrender the +department to Mr. Stanton, upon action in his favor by the Senate, you +were to return the office to me, _prior to a decision by the Senate_, in +order that if I desired to do so I might designate somebody to succeed +you." This letter was dated January 31, 1868. Grant replied (February +3) denying that he had made any such promise, and saying that the +President in making this accusation had sought to involve him in a +resistance to law and thus to destroy his character before the country. +Several other letters followed, including one from each member of the +Cabinet, who was present when the matter was talked of between the two +principals, all confirming the President's statements. The letters of +Browning and Seward, however, tended to show that the President's desire +was to make up a case for the Supreme Court, to decide whether he had a +right under the Constitution to remove a Cabinet officer or not, and +that he supposed that Grant had promised to cooeperate with him to +promote that end; but that whatever Grant might have promised, the +sudden action of the Senate led him to believe that he could not delay +his retirement without subjecting himself to the chance of fine and +imprisonment under the Tenure-of-Office Law.[103] + +The quarrel between Johnson and Grant did not, however, help the +impeachers, who were voted down in the Committee on Reconstruction, +February 13, by 6 to 3, Stevens being in the minority. + +Stanton was now in a position of great embarrassment, being a member of +the Cabinet by appointment of the Senate, but unable to attend Cabinet +meetings. He was endowed with sufficient assurance for most purposes, +but not enough to go to the White House and take a seat among gentlemen +who would have looked upon him as an intruder and a spy. Johnson was +advised by General Sherman and others to leave him severely alone.[104] + +If this advice had been followed, Stanton would have been exposed to +ridicule ere long and the Senate could not have helped him to ward it +off. But Johnson came to his rescue by making a fresh attempt to oust +him. Eight days after Thaddeus Stevens's impeachment resolution had been +voted down, two to one, in his own committee, the President sent a note +to Edwin M. Stanton saying that he had removed him from the office of +Secretary of War and appointed Lorenzo Thomas, the Adjutant-General of +the Army, as Secretary of War _ad interim_. The new appointee +immediately presented himself at the War Office and showing his +authority demanded possession, which Stanton refused to yield. + +The tables were instantly turned. Stanton was no longer looked upon as +holding an office with nothing to do except to draw his salary, but as a +champion of the people defending them against a law-breaking President. +Grant had warned Johnson months before that the public looked upon the +Tenure-of-Office Law as constitutional until pronounced otherwise by the +courts, and that although an astute lawyer might explain it differently +the common people would "give it the effect intended by its framers," +that is, to protect Stanton.[105] + +This was sound advice. The revulsion in the public mind was electrical +in suddenness and strength. The House of Representatives, which, on the +7th of December, by nearly two to one had rejected an impeachment +resolution recommended by its Judiciary Committee, now (February 24) +adopted the same resolution by 128 to 47. Every Republican member who +was present, including James F. Wilson, voted in the affirmative. A +committee of seven was appointed to prepare articles of impeachment and +present them to the Senate. Nine such articles were reported to the +House on the 2d of March and two additional ones on the following day, +all of which were agreed to, and seven members of the House were +appointed as managers to conduct the impeachment, namely: John A. +Bingham, George S. Boutwell, James F. Wilson, Benjamin F. Butler, Thomas +Williams, John A. Logan, and Thaddeus Stevens. + +The trial began on the 5th of March, Chief Justice Chase presiding. The +President was represented by Henry Stanbery, Benjamin R. Curtis, William +S. Groesbeck, William M. Evarts, and Thomas A. R. Nelson. The House +managers were overmatched in point of legal ability by the President's +counsel, and still more by the facts in the case. The first eight +articles of impeachment were based upon the President's attempt to +remove Stanton and appoint Thomas as Secretary of War _ad interim_, but +inasmuch as Senator Sherman had publicly declared that Stanton, being an +appointee of Lincoln, was not protected by the Tenure-of-Office Law, +and that he ought to be removed anyhow if he refused to resign at the +President's request, it was deemed best by the impeachers to divide the +offense into two parts. So the first article related only to the removal +of Stanton and the second only to the appointment of Thomas. This, it +was believed, would enable Sherman to vote not guilty on the first, but +guilty on the second. He could vote that the President had a perfect +right to remove his Secretary of War, but no right to fill the vacancy, +and that any attempt on his part to do so would be a high misdemeanor, +punishable by impeachment and removal from office. And so it turned out +as regarded Sherman's vote, and also that of Senator Howe, of Wisconsin, +who shared Sherman's view that Stanton was not protected by the law. + +The ninth article charged the President with having a conversation with +General Emory, who commanded the military department of Washington, and +saying to him that that portion of the Army Appropriation Act, which +provided that all orders relating to military affairs should be issued +through the General of the Army, or the officer next in rank, and not +otherwise, was unconstitutional, thus seeking to induce said Emory to +violate the provisions of said act. + +The tenth article recited that Andrew Johnson did at certain times and +places make and "deliver with a loud voice certain intemperate, +inflammatory, and scandalous harangues and did therein utter loud +threats and bitter menaces as well against Congress as the laws of the +United States duly enacted thereby, amid the cries, jeers, and laughter +of the multitudes then assembled." Extracts from the speeches were +embodied in this article, "by means whereof the said Andrew Johnson has +brought the high office of President of the United States into +contempt, ridicule, and disgrace, to the great scandal of all good +citizens, whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, +did commit, and was then and there guilty of, a high misdemeanor in +office." This article was the production of General Butler. + +The eleventh article embraced the charge of seeking to prevent Stanton +from resuming his office as Secretary of War, but not that of removing +him from it (this to accommodate Sherman and Howe), and a _melange_ of +all the charges in the preceding articles, ending with a charge that the +President had in various ways attempted to prevent the execution of the +Reconstruction Acts of Congress. Thaddeus Stevens considered it the only +one of the series that was bomb-proof, but the Chief Justice ruled that +the Stanton matter was the only thing of substance in it, the residue +being mere objurgation. The answer filed by the President's counsel set +forth: + +First, that the Tenure-of-Office Law, in so far as it sought to prevent +the President from removing a member of his Cabinet, was +unconstitutional; that such was the opinion of each member of his +Cabinet, including Stanton, and that Stanton among others advised him to +veto it; + +Second, that even if the law were in harmony with the Constitution the +Secretary of War was not included in its prohibitions, since the term +for which he was appointed had expired before the President sought to +remove him; + +Third, that it seemed desirable, in view of the foregoing facts, to +secure a judicial determination of all doubts respecting the rights and +powers of the parties concerned, from the tribunal created for that +purpose; and to this end he had taken the steps complained of, and that +he had committed no intentional violation of law. + +In answer to the eleventh article, the defendant said that the matters +contained therein, except the charge of preventing the return of +Stanton to the office of Secretary of War, did not allege the commission +or omission of any act whatever whereby issue could be joined or answer +made. As to the Stanton matter, his answer was already given in the +answer to the first article. + +There were two theories rife in the Senate and in the country, +respecting this trial. One was that impeachment was a judicial +proceeding where charges of treason, bribery, or other high crimes or +misdemeanors were to be alleged and proved; the Senators sitting as +judges, hearing testimony and argument, and voting guilty or not guilty. +This opinion was generally accepted at first, both in and out of +Congress, and was the correct one. The other was that impeachment was a +political proceeding which the whole people were as competent to decide +as the Senate. This was the view taken by Charles Sumner and avowed by +him in his written opinion while sitting as one of the sworn judges to +vote guilty or not guilty, and it came to be the opinion prevailing in +the Republican party generally before the case was ended. According to +this view it was a question for the people to decide in their character +as an unsworn "multitudinous jury." No method of arriving at, or of +recording, their verdict was suggested or deemed necessary. To a person +holding this view the trial itself was logically a waste of time, since +a decision could have been reached without a scrap of testimony, or a +single speech, on either side. + +The trial lasted from the 5th of March to the 16th of May, and the heat +and fury of the contest both in and out of Congress became more intense +from day to day. The impeachers lost ground in the estimation of the +sober-minded and reflecting classes by their intemperate language, by +their frantic efforts to bring outside pressure to bear upon Senators, +and especially by their refusal to admit testimony offered to show that +the President's intent was not to defy the law, but to get a judicial +decision as to what the law was. The Chief Justice ruled that testimony +to prove intent was admissible, and Senator Sherman asked to have it +admitted, but it was excluded by a majority vote. Testimony to prove +that Stanton advised the President that the Tenure-of-Office Law was +unconstitutional and that he aided in writing the veto message was +excluded by the same vote. Gideon Welles, under date April 18,[106] says +that Sumner, who had previously moved to admit all testimony offered, +absented himself when it was proposed to call the Cabinet officers as +witnesses. Monday, May 11, the case was closed and the Senate retired +for deliberation. The session was secret, but the views of Senators, so +far as expressed, leaked out. "Grimes boldly denounced all the +articles," says Welles, "and the whole proceeding. Of course he received +the indignant censure of all radicals; but Trumbull and Fessenden, who +followed later, came in for even more violent denunciation and more +wrathful abuse." + +The vote was not taken until the 16th, and the intervening time was +employed by the impeachers in bringing influence to bear upon Senators +who had not definitely declared how they would vote. There were 54 votes +in all; two thirds were required to convict. There were 12 Democrats, +counting Dixon, Doolittle, and Norton, who had been elected as +Republicans, but had been classed as Democrats since they had taken part +in the Philadelphia Convention of August, 1866. If seven Republicans +should join the twelve in voting not guilty, the President would be +acquitted. Three had declared in the conference of Monday, the 11th, for +acquittal, and they were men who could not be swerved by persuasion or +threats after they had made up their minds. If four more should join +with the three, impeachment would fail. Welles names as doubtful to the +last Senators Anthony and Sprague, of Rhode Island, Van Winkle and +Willey, of West Virginia, Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, Morgan, of New +York, Corbett, of Oregon, Cole, of California, Fowler, of Tennessee, +Henderson, of Missouri, and Ross, of Kansas. He adds, May 14: + + The doubtful men do not avow themselves, which, I think, is + favorable to the President, and the impeachers display distrust + and weakness. Still their efforts are unceasing and almost + superhuman. But some of the more considerate journals, such as + the New York _Evening Post_, Chicago _Tribune_, etc., rebuke + the violent. The thinking and reflecting portion of the + country, even Republicans, show symptoms of revolt against the + conspiracy.[107] + +The article in the New York _Evening Post_ of May 14, two days before +the first vote was taken, is a column long. It can only be summarized +here. + + So long as the court sat, it says, decency forbade the + discussion of the issue elsewhere. It characterizes the + articles of impeachment in groups and severally, and says + Article XI "reads like a jest, in charging solemn official acts + of 1868 as done in pursuance of an extreme and excited + declaration, made to a crowd, in a political speech almost two + years before...." Impertinent issues were constantly pressed + upon the court from without. The New York _Tribune_ demanded + conviction and removal for breaking the Tenure-of-Office Act, + because, it said, the President was guilty of drunkenness, + adultery, treason, and murder. The investigation is of a sudden + changed in its nature by the advocates of conviction and + becomes a matter of politics, and no longer a judicial concern. + Senator Wilson leads off by violating an absolutely fundamental + principle of the life and law of every free people, i.e., the + principle that an accused man shall have the benefit of a + doubt, and be believed innocent until proved guilty. Wilson + says: "I shall give the benefit of whatever doubts have arisen + to perplex and embarrass me to my country rather than to the + Chief Magistrate." ... Here was a plain confession that to + obtain conviction a "first principle of public law must be + sacrificed; that one prominent judge, at least, would condemn + the accused, however conscientiously, from other than judicial + motives." It describes graphically the pressure brought to bear + upon the court and its shameless character, and quotes from the + New York _Tribune's_ flagrant attack upon Grimes, Trumbull, and + Fessenden, "three of the most honored statesmen and tried + patriots in the land." "Thus," it says, "a prominent party + organ tries to instigate the passions of the multitude to drive + the court to the judgment it desires." + +"In a meeting of the Republican Campaign Club on Tuesday evening," it +continues, "Charles S. Spencer said that 'as a man of peace and one +obedient to the laws, he would advise Senator Trumbull not to show +himself on the streets in Chicago during the session of the National +Republican Convention, for he feared that the representatives of an +indignant people would hang him to the most convenient lamp-post.' And +the meeting adopted and ordered to be sent to our Senators in Congress, +a resolution, 'that any Senator of the United States elected by the +votes of Union Republicans, who at this time blenches and betrays, is +infamous, and should be dishonored and execrated while this free +Government endures.'" + +The following is from the Chicago _Tribune_, May 14, 1868: + + IMPEACHMENT + + ... The man who demands that each Republican Senator shall + blindly vote for conviction upon each article is a madman or a + knave. Why a Senator, or any number of Senators, should be at + liberty to vote as conscience dictates on any of the articles, + provided there be a conviction on some one of them, and not be + at liberty to vote conscientiously unless a conviction be + secured, is only to be explained upon the theory that the + President is expected to be convicted no matter whether + Senators think he has been guilty or not. We have protested, + and do now protest, against the degradation and prostitution of + the Republican party to an exercise of power so revolting that + the people will be justified in hurling it from place at the + first opportunity. We protest against any warfare by the party + or any portion of it against any Senator who may, upon the + final vote, feel constrained to vote against conviction upon + one, several, or even all of the articles. A conviction by a + free and deliberate judgment of an honest court is the only + conviction that should ever take place on impeachment; a + conviction under any other circumstances will be a fatal error. + To denounce such Senators as corrupt, to assail them with + contumely and upbraid them with treachery for failing to + understand the law in the same light as their assailants, would + be unfortunate folly, to call it by the mildest term; and to + attempt to drive these Senators out of the party for refusing + to commit perjury, as they regard it, would cause a reaction + that might prove fatal not only to the supremacy of the + Republican party, but to its very existence. Those rash papers + which have undertaken to ostracise Senators--men like Trumbull, + Sherman, Fessenden, Grimes, Howe, Henderson, Frelinghuysen, + Fowler, and others--are but aiding the Copperheads in the + dismemberment of our party. + +From the _Nation_, May 14, 1868. + + ... Can any party afford to treat its leading men as a part of + the Republican press has been treating leading Republicans + during the last few weeks? Senators of the highest character, + who, in being simply honest and in having a mind of their own, + render more service to the country than fifty thousand of the + windy blatherskites who assail them, have been abused like + pickpockets, simply because they chose to think. We have, + during the last week, heard language applied to Mr. Fessenden + and Mr. Trumbull, for instance, which was fit only for a + compound of Benedict Arnold and John Morrissey, and all their + colleagues have been warned beforehand, that if they pleaded + their oaths as an excuse for differing from anybody who + happened to edit a newspaper, they would be held up to + execration as knaves and hypocrites. Now, the class of men who + are most needed in our politics just now are high-minded, + independent men, with their hands clean and souls of their own. + Their errors of judgment are worth bearing with for the sake of + their character. Yet this class is becoming smaller and + smaller, falling more and more into disrepute. The class of + roaring, corrupt, ignorant demagogues, who are always on "the + right side" with regard to all party measures, grows apace; + and, if we are not greatly mistaken, if the Republican party + does not make short work with them before long, they will make + short work of it.... + +When it became known that Grimes, Trumbull, and Fessenden would vote not +guilty, the pressure from outside was redoubled upon others who had been +reckoned doubtful, and especially upon Henderson, Fowler, and Ross. + +Even the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, then in +session at Chicago, was called upon to lend a hand, and a motion was +made on the 13th of May for an hour of prayer in aid of impeachment. An +aged delegate moved to lay that proposal on the table, saying: + + My understanding is that impeachment is a judicial proceeding + and that Senators are acting under an oath. _Are we to pray to + the Almighty that they may violate their oaths?_ + +The motion to lay on the table prevailed. On the following day, however, +Bishop Simpson offered a new preamble and resolution, omitting any +expression of opinion that Senators ought to vote for conviction, but +reciting that "painful rumors are in circulation that, partly by +unworthy jealousies and partly by corrupt influences, pecuniary and +otherwise, most actively employed, efforts were being made to influence +Senators improperly, and to prevent them from performing their high +duty"; therefore, an hour should be set apart in the following day for +prayer to beseech God "to save our Senators from error." This cunningly +drawn resolution was adopted without opposition. It was supposed to have +been aimed at Senator Willey, of West Virginia, rather than at the +Throne of Grace. + +Under the rules adopted for the trial each Senator was allowed to file a +written opinion. That of Trumbull was the first one in the list. Among +other things he said: + + To do impartial justice in all things appertaining to the + present trial, according to the Constitution and laws, is the + duty imposed on each Senator by the position he holds and the + oath he has taken, and he who falters in the discharge of that + duty, either from personal or party considerations, is unworthy + his position, and merits the scorn and contempt of all just + men. + + The question to be decided is not whether Andrew Johnson is a + proper person to fill the presidential office, nor whether it + is fit that he should remain in it, nor, indeed, whether he has + violated the Constitution and laws in other respects than those + alleged against him. As well might any other fifty-four persons + take upon themselves by violence to rid the country of Andrew + Johnson, because they believed him a bad man, as to call upon + the fifty-four Senators, in violation of their sworn duty, to + convict and depose him for any other causes than those alleged + in the articles of impeachment. As well might any citizen take + the law into his own hands and become its executioner as to ask + the Senate to convict, outside of the case made. To sanction + such a principle would be destructive of all law and all + liberty worth the name, since liberty unregulated by law is but + another name for anarchy. + +He then took up the articles of impeachment _seriatim_ and showed that +they all hinged upon the removal of Stanton and the _ad interim_ +appointment of Thomas. + + But even if a different construction could be put upon the law + [he continued], I could never consent to convict the Chief + Magistrate of a high misdemeanor and remove him from office for + a misconstruction of what must be admitted to be a doubtful + statute, and particularly when the misconstruction was the same + put upon it by the authors of the law at the time of its + passage. + +As to the charge that he (Trumbull) had already voted that the President +had no authority to remove Stanton, he said: + + Importance is sought to be given to the passage by the Senate, + before impeachment articles were found by the House of + Representatives, of the following resolutions: "Resolved by the + Senate of the United States, That under the Constitution and + laws of the United States the President has no power to remove + the Secretary of War and designate any other officer to perform + the duties of that office _ad interim_" as if Senators, sitting + as a court on the trial of the President for high crimes and + misdemeanors, would feel bound or influenced in any degree by a + resolution introduced and hastily passed before adjournment on + the very day the orders to Stanton and Thomas were issued. Let + him who would be governed by such considerations in passing on + the guilt or innocence of the accused, and not by the law and + the facts as they have been developed in the trial, shelter + himself under such a resolution. I am sure no honest man could. + +He concluded with these words: + + Once set the example of impeaching a President for what, when + the excitement of the hour shall have subsided, will be + regarded as insufficient cause, and no future President will be + safe who happens to differ with a majority of the House and two + thirds of the Senate on any measure deemed by them important, + particularly if of a political character. Blinded by partisan + zeal, with such an example before them they will not scruple to + remove out of the way any obstacle to the accomplishment of + their purpose, and what then becomes of the checks and balances + of the Constitution so carefully devised and so vital to its + perpetuity? They are all gone. In view of the consequences + likely to flow from this day's proceedings, should they result + in conviction on what my judgment tells me are insufficient + charges and proofs, I tremble for the future of my country. I + cannot be an instrument to produce such a result, and at the + hazard of the ties even of friendship and affection, till + calmer times shall do justice to my motives, no alternative is + left me but the inflexible discharge of duty. + +Gideon Welles, under date May 16, says: + + Willey, after being badgered and disciplined to decide against + his judgment, at a late hour last night agreed to vote for the + eleventh article, which was one reason for reversing the order + and making it the first.... Bishop Simpson, a high priest of + the Methodists and a sectarian politician of great shrewdness + and ability, had brought his clerical and church influence to + bear upon Willey through Harlan, the Methodist elder and organ + in the Senate.[108] + +So the managers vaulted over ten articles and began the roll-call on the +last of the series. The vote resulted: guilty, 35; not guilty, 19. One +less than two thirds had voted not guilty; so the President was +acquitted on an article, the gravamen of which was the President's +attempt to prevent Stanton from returning to office after the Senate had +non-concurred in his removal. Sherman, Howe, and Willey had voted guilty +on this article, but Henderson, Fowler, Ross, and Van Winkle had voted +not guilty. + +The impeachers were stunned, and before they could collect their +thoughts, the Chief Justice, in pursuance of a rule previously adopted, +directed that the vote should now be taken on the first article. He was +interrupted by a motion to adjourn, which he ruled out of order. An +appeal from the decision was taken and sustained by a majority vote, and +the Senate sitting as a court of impeachment adjourned for ten days. The +utmost efforts and direst threats were brought to bear upon Senator Ross +because he was believed to be weak and defenseless, but he remained +firm. When the court reassembled on the 26th of May, the first article +of impeachment, the one which charged the President with the high +misdemeanor of removing Stanton from office, was jettisoned altogether, +and votes were taken on the second and third articles, relating to the +appointment of Thomas as Secretary _ad interim_. On both of these +articles the result was identical in number and personnel with that on +the eleventh article. Impeachment had failed. The court then adjourned +_sine die_. + +The opposition to impeachment had some latent strength that was never +officially disclosed. Sprague, of Rhode Island, and Willey, of West +Virginia, attended the meetings of the Republican anti-impeachers and +said they would vote not guilty if their votes should be needed.[109] +The President was assured that Morgan would do the same.[110] + +On the same day, Edwin M. Stanton wrote a note to the President saying +that inasmuch as impeachment had failed he had relinquished the War +Department and had left the contents thereof in charge of the senior +Assistant Adjutant-General. He then retired to his own home broken in +health by hard labor and clouded in reputation by his retention of a +place in the Cabinet in defiance of his chief. Not even success in +maintaining his position could excuse such an act. Failure made it a +glaring misdemeanor. An attempt has been made to shift the +responsibility for his action to the shoulders of Sumner and his other +backers in the Senate, who advised him to "stick." Undoubtedly they did +so advise, and undoubtedly they believed, and persuaded him to believe, +that it was a patriotic duty to commit a glaring breach of good manners +and to persist in it for months; but the responsibility for such an act +could not be assumed by other persons. Moreover, if it was a breach of +the Constitution for the Senate to forbid the President to choose his +own cabinet, as Stanton himself had affirmed, it was a breach of the +Constitution for him to cooeperate with the Senate in doing so. + + The glory of the trial [says Mr. Rhodes][111] was the action of + the seven recusant Senators.... The average Senator who + hesitated finally gave his voice with the majority, but these + seven, in conscientiousness and delicacy of moral fibre, were + above any average, and in refusing to sacrifice their ideas of + justice to a popular demand, which in this case was neither + insincere nor unenlightened, they showed a degree of courage + than which we know none higher. Hard as was their immediate + future they have received their meed from posterity, their + monument in the admiring tribute of all who know how firm they + stood in an hour of supreme trial. + +In this comment there is now general concurrence. Even Ross has been +immortalized by his resolute adherence to what he believed to be right. +His trial was the hardest of all, because on the one hand he had no +accumulated reputation to fall back upon, and on the other hand he had +the most radical state in the Union to deal with. Moreover, he was +desperately poor, his only property being a starving country newspaper. +Ill-luck followed him after his term expired. A cyclone struck the town +of Coffeyville, Kansas, and scattered the contents of his newspaper +office over the adjacent prairie. Among the Trumbull papers is an appeal +from the local relief committee for help to start Ross's newspaper +again, and a donation from Trumbull of two hundred dollars for this +purpose. Some forty years later, Ross died in New Mexico, old and poor. +He had been a soldier in the Civil War. Congress by a special act voted +him a pension, before his death. This was a solace on the brink of the +grave and a tribute to his fidelity to principle in a trying hour. It +was recognized as such and applauded by the press of the country without +a discordant note. In the award of credit for adherence to convictions +of duty in the trial of Andrew Johnson, three other Senators have been +for the most part overlooked, namely, James Dixon, of Connecticut, James +R. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, and Daniel S. Norton, of Minnesota. All of +these were elected as Republicans and all of them walked in the fiery +furnace along with the Seven, or rather preceded them thither. The +reason why they have been neglected by the muse of history is that they +started two years earlier. They went to the Philadelphia Arm-in-Arm +Convention and thus became classified as Democrats. Edgar Cowan, of +Pennsylvania, did likewise. His term expired, however, before +impeachment reached the acute stage. Dixon and Doolittle had served +through Lincoln's entire term. They approved of his Reconstruction +policy and simply adhered to it after Johnson came in. They received a +larger share of contumely as turn-coats and outcasts than the Seven, +because they began to earn that distinction earlier. Doolittle accepted +political martyrdom without a murmur. The legislature of Wisconsin +passed resolutions denouncing his support of President Johnson and his +policy and demanded his resignation as a Senator, and these resolutions +were presented to the Senate by his colleague, Timothy O. Howe, and were +answered by Doolittle on the floor of the Senate in a manly way. If +there are laurels to be distributed at this late day, he and his three +allies are entitled to "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of +glory." + +Trumbull received his quota of abuse and vilification for his vote +against impeachment from small-minded newspapers and local politicians. +To these it seemed an infernal shame that he had still five years to +serve in the Senate before they could turn him out. The only reply he +ever made in writing, so far as I know, was in a letter dated May 20 to +Gustave Koerner, which the latter caused to be published in the +Belleville _Advocate_, reiterating in brief the views expressed in his +opinion as a member of the court. + +Fessenden's unexpired term was shorter than Trumbull's. He was read out +of the party rather prematurely. In the autumn following his vote on +impeachment, George H. Pendleton, of Ohio, made his appearance as a +stump speaker in Maine supporting the Democratic policy of "paying the +bonds in greenbacks." This was a new issue in the East, and a rather +puzzling one everywhere. Pendleton had been a candidate for the +presidency in the national convention on that platform, but had fallen +somewhat short of a nomination. Fessenden was the only man within reach +able to meet him and expose his fallacies on the stump. The party was in +danger of losing the state. It was obliged to call for the Senator's +help. He responded favorably, took the field and routed the Greenbackers +completely. This was his last victory. He had been in poor health for +some years. Overwork and over-anxiety as chairman of the Finance +Committee during the War, and later as Secretary of the Treasury, had +told upon a feeble frame. He died September 2, 1869, and with him passed +away the most clairvoyant mind, joined to the most sterling character, +that the state of Maine ever contributed to the national councils. +Whether, if his life and health had been spared, he could have been +reelected to the Senate, is doubtful. Gideon Welles was informed that he +had not a friend in the Maine legislature. When his death was announced +in the Senate, Trumbull said of him: + + As a debater engaged in the current business of legislation the + Senate has not had his equal in my time. No man could detect a + sophistry or perceive a scheme or a job quicker than he, and + none possessed the power to expose it more effectually. He was + a practical, matter-of-fact man utterly abhorring all show, + pretension, and humbug.... But I did not rise so much to speak + of the great abilities and noble traits of character which have + made Mr. Fessenden's death to be felt as a national calamity, + as of the personal loss which I myself feel at his departure. + Only three others are now left who were here when I came to the + Senate, and there is but one who came with me. There has been + no one here since I came to whom I oftener went for counsel and + whose opinions I have been accustomed more to respect than + those of our departed friend. There were occasions during our + fourteen years of service together when we differed about minor + matters and had controversies, for the time unpleasant, but I + never lost my respect for him, nor do I believe that he ever + did for me. He was my friend more closely, perhaps, the last + year or two than ever before. Like other Senators I shall miss + him in the daily transactions of this chamber, and perhaps more + than any other shall miss him as the one person from whom I + most frequently sought advice. I am not one of those, however, + who believe that constitutional liberty, our free institutions, + or the progress of the age depend upon any one individual. When + the great and good Lincoln was stricken down, I did not believe + that the Government would fail, or liberty perish. Though his + loss may have subjected the country to many trials it would not + otherwise have had, still our Government stands and liberty + survives. Another has taken Mr. Fessenden's place; others will + soon occupy ours, to discharge their duties better, perhaps, + than we have done, and he among us to-day will be fortunate, + indeed, if, when his work on earth is done, he shall leave + behind him a life so pure and useful, a reputation so + unsullied, a patriotism so ardent, and a statesmanship so + conspicuous as William Pitt Fessenden.[112] + +Grimes had a stroke of paralysis while the impeachment trial was in +progress, and it was feared that he could not be in his seat when the +time for voting came, but he rallied sufficiently to be carried into the +Senate Chamber and to rise upon his feet when his name was called. When +he learned the nature of his malady he announced that he would not be a +candidate for reelection. Thus he was taken out of the reach of party +vengeance, but though as pure as ice, he did not escape calumny. + +John B. Henderson died while this book was passing through the press. He +was the only one of the Seven Traitors whom the Republican party +publicly and formally forgave. He lost his seat in the Senate as he +expected, and he retired to private life as a lawyer in the city of St. +Louis. Twelve years passed. Two presidential lustrums of Grant and one +of Hayes had erased from the hearts of men the burning sensations of +impeachment. In 1884, a convention assembled in Chicago to nominate a +candidate of the Republican party for the presidency. I happened to be +there. On the second day of its sitting, the Committee on Permanent +Organization reported the name of John B. Henderson, of Missouri, for +permanent chairman. The assembled multitude knew at once the +significance of the nomination and gave cheer after cheer of applause +and approval. It was the signal that all was forgiven on both sides. +Which side most needed forgiveness was not asked. + +In August, 1868, all the sorrows of Trumbull's public life were +submerged and belittled by a domestic affliction. His wife, Julia Jayne +Trumbull, died on the 16th of that month, at her home in Washington +City, in the forty-fifth year of her age, and was buried in the cemetery +of her native place, Springfield, Illinois. She was the mother of six +children, all boys, three of whom were living at the time of her death. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[103] On the 3d of August, 1868, shortly after his acquittal, Johnson +wrote a letter to Benjamin C. Truman, his former secretary, which gives +his estimate of Grant and throws some new light on the politics of the +time. There is nothing to show which of the Blairs was referred to as +giving him advice as to the make-up of his Cabinet, but it was probably +Montgomery. He says: + +"I may have erred in not carrying out Mr. Blair's request by putting +into my Cabinet Morton, Andrew, and Greeley. I do not say I should have +done so had I my career to go over again, for it would have been hard to +have put out Seward and Welles, who had served satisfactorily under the +greatest man of all. Morton would have been a tower of strength, +however, and so would Andrew. No senator would have dared to vote for +impeachment with those two men in my Cabinet. Grant was untrue. He meant +well for the first two years, and much that I did that was denounced was +through his advice. He was the strongest man of all in the support of my +policy for a long while and did the best he could for nearly two years +in strengthening my hands against the adversaries of constitutional +government. But Grant saw the radical handwriting on the wall and heeded +it. I did not see it, or, if seeing it, did not heed it. Grant did the +proper thing to save Grant, but it pretty nearly ruined me. I might have +done the same thing under the same circumstances. At any rate, most men +would.... Grant had come out of the war the greatest of all. It is true +that the rebels were on their last legs and that the Southern ports were +pretty effectually blockaded, and that Grant was furnished with all the +men that were needed, or could be spared, after he took command of the +Army of the Potomac. But Grant helped more than any one else to bring +about this condition. His great victories at Donelson, Vicksburg, and +Missionary Ridge all contributed to Appomattox." (_Century Magazine_, +January, 1913.) + +[104] Rhodes, _History of the United States_, VI, 104. + +[105] McPherson, _Reconstruction_, p. 307. + +[106] _Diary of Gideon Welles_, III, 335. + +[107] _Diary of Gideon Welles_, III, 355. + +[108] _Diary of Gideon Welles_, III, 358. + +[109] This fact is mentioned in Dunning's _Reconstruction_, p. 107, on +the authority of ex-senator Henderson. The latter verbally made the same +statement to me. + +[110] _Century Magazine_, January, 1913. + +[111] _History of the United States_, VI, 156. + +[112] _Cong. Globe_, 1869, p. 113. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE McCARDLE CASE--GRANT'S CABINET--THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT + + +In November, 1867, General Ord, commanding the military district of +Mississippi, arrested and imprisoned an editor named W. H. McCardle, for +alleged libelous and incendiary publications. McCardle applied to the +United States Circuit Court for a writ of _habeas corpus_ under the same +act of Congress which Milligan had successfully invoked. The writ was +granted, a hearing was had, and the prisoner was remanded to the custody +of the military authorities. McCardle took an appeal to the Supreme +Court. The Attorney-General of the United States, Mr. Henry Stanbery, +decided not to appear in the case. General Grant was at this time +Secretary of War _ad interim_, and Stanbery notified him of the pending +case and suggested to him the propriety of employing counsel to +represent the military authorities having McCardle in custody. As this +was a case involving the validity of the Reconstruction laws of +Congress, General Grant took steps to defend, and addressed a letter to +Senator Trumbull, dated January 8, 1868, saying: "This Department +desires to engage your professional services, for that object." Trumbull +replied on the 11th, accepting the employment, and saying that he should +desire to have other counsel associated with him. A few days later he +secured the assistance of Matt. H. Carpenter, of Wisconsin. A brief was +prepared, and both Trumbull and Carpenter made oral arguments. McCardle +was represented by Jeremiah S. Black. + +Trumbull's argument was made on the 4th of March. He contended that the +court had no jurisdiction, and that, therefore, the appeal should be +dismissed. The legislation of Congress on the subject was as follows: +The Act of 1789, establishing the judiciary, did not give the right of +appeal to the Supreme Court in _habeas corpus_ cases. It was omitted in +order to avoid lumbering the docket of the highest tribunal with petty +details. On the 5th of February, 1867, Congress passed an act granting +the right of appeal to the Supreme Court in such cases, in order to +protect negroes and white Unionists in the South. The last clause of the +act was in these words: + + This act shall not apply to the case of any person who is or + may be held in the custody of the military authorities of the + United States _charged with any military offense_, or with + having aided or abetted rebellion against the Government of the + United States prior to the passage of this act. + +It was Trumbull's contention that McCardle fell within this exception, +and hence that the right of appeal, so far as he was concerned, did not +exist. + +Congress was in trepidation as to the outcome of the case and was +resolved to take no chances on it. Various legislative remedies were +proposed. One was to require a unanimous vote of the Supreme Court to +pronounce any act of Congress unconstitutional and void. A bill +requiring a two-thirds vote of the court in such cases actually passed +the House on the 13th of January by yeas 116, nays 39, but it was never +considered by the Senate. The end was accomplished, however, in a +different way. The Senate had passed a bill of only one section, +reported by Williams, of Oregon, from the Committee on Finance, to amend +the code of judicial procedure in revenue cases. The House attached to +this bill another section repealing so much of the Act of February 5, +1867, as authorized an appeal to the Supreme Court in the class of +cases therein named, and withdrawing from the Supreme Court jurisdiction +as to appeals already taken. This bill passed the House March 13, 1868, +without a division. It was taken up in the Senate on the motion of +Senator Williams and passed by a vote of 32 to 6 the same day, although +Senators Buckalew and Hendricks asked for an explanation of its meaning, +which was not given to them. + +Although Buckalew and Hendricks did not have time to find out the nature +of this bill, Andrew Johnson did. In due time he returned it to the +Senate with a veto message, exposing it as a measure to deprive citizens +of their rights under existing law and to arrest proceedings already in +course of judicial determination. On this veto there was a debate in the +Senate beginning on March 25, 1868, in which the Democrats, led by +Hendricks, had decidedly the best of it. The supporters of the bill had +very little to say for themselves. Trumbull contended that the bill did +not affect any case then pending in the court, but in this debate he was +worsted by Doolittle, who showed that it applied to the McCardle case. +Trumbull and Carpenter had argued that the Supreme Court had no +jurisdiction, since military cases were not appealable under the Act of +February 5, 1867. The court had ruled against them because McCardle was +arrested, not for a military, but for a civil offense. It still remained +to be determined whether the court below had jurisdiction. Trumbull was +confident that the Supreme Court would hold that the lower court had no +such jurisdiction, in which case the appeal would fail and the bill +vetoed by the President would be nugatory as to McCardle. Doolittle in +reply showed that the bill did cut off McCardle's rights as an +appellant, and the Supreme Court so held in the month of December +following, when it dismissed the petition expressly on the ground that +its jurisdiction had been withdrawn by the Act of March 27, 1868. The +bill was passed over the veto on that date, by 33 to 9 in the Senate and +by 115 to 34 in the House. It was partisan legislation. The Republicans +drew a long breath after its passage because they had apprehended +another Milligan decision, undermining, perhaps, the whole fabric of +Congressional Reconstruction. Had not the court been deterred by the +critical condition of public affairs, it might with perfect propriety +have retained its jurisdiction and decided in favor of McCardle, since +the Act of March 27 was glaringly unjust as to him. But the judges were +intimidated by the awful pother o'er their heads and were glad of an +excuse to drop McCardle. + +It was not so easy to drop Trumbull, however. He was both Senator and +retained counsel in this case. Therefore he ought not to have used the +former position to help his own side in the litigation. The bill did not +originate with him, or his committee, but he voted for it twice, +although his vote was not needed. There was a two-thirds majority +without him. True, he maintained that the bill did not apply to +McCardle, but most of the Senators who took part in the debate held that +it did. In a case of doubt involving the rights of a litigant, he ought +to have refrained from voting. + +Eventually he received $10,000 as compensation for legal services in +this and one other case in which he had been retained by the War +Department. The amount was fixed by Stanton, and was paid in part by him +and in part by Secretary Rawlins after Grant became President. Somewhat +later this payment became a subject of criticism in hostile newspapers; +and inasmuch as the McCardle case had been tried during Johnson's +Administration, it was hastily assumed that it had had some shady +connection with Trumbull's vote of not guilty in the impeachment case. +When it became evident that the opponents of Johnson were the ones who +had employed him and fixed the amount to be paid, the accusers said that +his action was contrary to law and that he ought not to have taken any +pay at all for legal services to the Government while he was a Senator. +This charge was made by Chandler, of Michigan, on the floor of the +Senate, and it led to a sharp debate, in which Chandler was called to +order by the Vice-President for using unparliamentary language. + +There was a law, enacted in 1808, prohibiting executive officers of the +Government from making contracts with members of Congress, and +prohibiting the latter from receiving payment therefor. This law did not +apply in terms to legal services, and the presumption was that it did +not apply to them in spirit, since there were precedents for such +employment of members of Congress as late as 1864, when Roscoe Conkling, +then a member of the House from New York, had been employed by the War +Department and had been paid for the service rendered. + +Chandler, in the debate, quoted an opinion of Attorney-General Wirt, +given in 1828, to the effect that although the circumstances attending +the passage of the Act of 1808 showed that Congress was then legislating +on contracts for carrying the mails and for the purchase of supplies and +not for legal services, yet, in his belief, the law was broad enough to +include such services. An opinion of an Attorney-General, however, was +not binding on Senators. + +Trumbull replied that the law had been settled differently as to legal +services, and that the only prohibition then in force was against +Congressmen practicing for compensation in the Court of Claims or before +the executive departments. In this contention he could hardly fail to +be correct, since all such laws later than 1861 had emanated from, or +had passed through, the committee of which he was chairman. The +governing statute was the act of June 11, 1864, introduced by Senator +Wade, in 1863. As originally drawn, it prohibited Congressmen from +practicing for or against the Government before any court, or +department; but the word "court" was stricken out while it was pending +in the Senate, and this was good evidence to show what the intention of +Congress was. + +Although the payment was certainly legal, it would have been better for +Trumbull if he had not taken it. Whenever he came before the people for +public preferment thereafter, the Chandler accusation was brought +against him afresh and it required a new refutation. + + * * * * * + +After the impeachment fiasco was ended, the nomination of Grant for +President by the Republican party was inevitable--not because he was a +Republican, but because he was the only man whom the party could +certainly elect. Until he quarreled with Andrew Johnson, nobody knew +which side he favored. Indeed, the Democrats, until that time, had +looked hopefully to him as a possible candidate for themselves. + +The convention which nominated him was confronted by the fact that +Congress had imposed negro suffrage on the South, while some of the +largest Northern States had not yet adopted it, but had flatly refused +to do so. The platform committee, therefore, reported, and the +convention adopted, a resolution declaring: + + The guaranty by Congress of equal suffrage to all loyal men at + the South was demanded by every consideration of public safety, + of gratitude, and of justice, and must be maintained, but the + question of suffrage in all the loyal states properly belongs + to the people of those states. + +Grant was nominated unanimously May 20, 1868, and Schuyler Colfax was +nominated as Vice-President. The Democrats nominated Horatio Seymour for +President and Frank P. Blair for Vice-president. In the election, Grant +and Colfax received 214 electoral votes and Seymour and Blair 80. + +Grant's first Cabinet was a conglomerate which stupefied the +politicians. For Secretary of State he named Elihu B. Washburne, of +Illinois. Washburne had represented the Galena District in Congress +continuously and creditably for twelve years, and was just entering upon +a new term. He was a fellow townsman of Grant when the war broke out and +had recommended him to Governor Yates as a military helper, and from +that time onward had been his stanch and unwavering supporter. When +Grant fell into disfavor after the battle of Shiloh, and almost +everybody in Washington was clamoring against him, Washburne fairly +roared on the other side, and contended not only that he ought to be +retained in his place, but that he ought to be promoted to Halleck's +place in command of all the Western armies--and here he was right. His +personal relations with the General had been so close and his services +so conspicuous that there was a general expectation that he would have a +place in the Cabinet; but nobody supposed that it would be the +Department of State, for which he was wholly unfitted. Although a man of +ability, tenacity, and long experience in public affairs, he was +impulsive, headstrong, combative, and unbalanced. The Department of +State was regarded then as the premier position, where equipoise was the +chief requisite, and this quality Washburne lacked. + +Grant had chosen James F. Wilson, of Iowa, as Secretary of State and +Wilson had accepted the appointment. He had been a leading member of the +House and chairman of its Judiciary Committee, and had been consulted by +Grant on the most important matters connected with his duties as +Secretary of War _ad interim_, including his correspondence with Andrew +Johnson after he had resigned that office. Wilson had declined a +reelection to Congress because he wished to retire from public life, and +he accepted the appointment offered by Grant with reluctance and only at +the urgent solicitation of the latter. + +Washburne had been promised the office of Minister to France. When he +knew that Wilson was to be appointed Secretary of State, he went to +Grant and asked that the appointment of Secretary might be conferred +upon himself temporarily so as to give him prestige in his office as +Minister. Grant saw no objection to this, but he asked Wilson's +permission first. Wilson did not relish the proposition, but he +consented, on condition that Washburne should not take any action as +Secretary, either in the way of appointments to office or the +announcement of policies. As soon as Washburne had been confirmed by the +Senate, he began to make appointments and announce policies, and Grant +did not immediately call him to order. Wilson accordingly notified Grant +that as the conditions had been broken he would not now accept the +office. Grant then compelled Washburne to resign. But meanwhile Wilson +had gone to New York en route to his home in Iowa, and a messenger (A. +D. Richardson) was sent after him by Grant to urge him to change his +mind; he declined to do so, in terms, however, which preserved their +friendship unimpaired.[113] + +"Who ever heard before of a man nominated Secretary of State merely as a +compliment?" was Fessenden's comment on the Washburne episode. + +Wilson afterward served a term in the United States Senate. He was a +good lawyer, a man of sound judgment, of probity and stability of +character, and would have filled the office of Secretary of State +creditably if not brilliantly. When Grant found that Wilson's purpose to +withdraw could not be changed he offered the place to Hamilton Fish, who +accepted it. + +Grant's mishaps in filling the Treasury Department were quite as droll +as the foregoing. He first sent in the name of Alexander T. Stewart, the +great dry-goods merchant of New York, as Secretary. Stewart was a +Scotch-Irishman who had migrated as a young man, and had taken up the +vocation of a school-teacher in his adopted country. Of his start in +life he was very proud. He kept a well-thumbed copy of the New Testament +in Greek on the centre table of his hospitable mansion, which he was +fond of exhibiting to his guests as one of the tools of trade with which +he began his career in America. Pedagogy, however, did not detain him +long. He had brought some capital from the old country and he turned his +attention to silks and muslins, and by diligence, skill, and integrity +had reached the foremost place in the nation as a merchant, before the +outbreak of the Civil War. His wholesale business was chiefly with the +South, and this part of it was suddenly obliterated in 1861. Yet he +recovered his leadership in dry goods before the war ended, and was then +rated as third in the list of rich men in the United States, the names +of Astor and Vanderbilt only being placed higher. + +Nobody knew, at the time when he was named for a place in the Cabinet, +what political party he belonged to or favored. His most intimate +friend and counselor was Henry Hilton, a Democratic ex-judge, potent in +Tammany Hall. That fact, however, implied no political bias on the part +of Stewart. Hilton was his watch-dog at the place where the local taxing +and blackmailing power lay. Nor did Grant have any political aims or +thought in selecting Stewart for the portfolio of the Treasury. He chose +him because great wealth appealed strongly to the imagination of one who +had had severe struggles with poverty, and because he reasoned that a +man who had been very successful in his private business would +necessarily know how to manage the public business. Both Sumner and +Gideon Welles said that Stewart had made a gift of considerable amount +to Grant. + +The nomination of Stewart was scoffed at by nearly everybody in +Washington, but it was well received by the press and no Senator dared +to vote against it. It was presently discovered, however, that he could +not legally hold the office, as he was disqualified by a law of 1789, +which provided that nobody engaged in trade or commerce, nor any owner +of a seagoing vessel, nor any dealer in public lands or in public +securities, should be eligible. Stewart had not been a candidate for the +position, or for any position, but when it was offered to him, he +thought he would like to have it, and to this end he proposed to retire +temporarily from trade and commerce, and put his business in the hands +of trustees for charitable use, in order to meet the requirements of +law. The President also requested Congress to change the law so that he +might be qualified. Congress, however, did not think it desirable to +trim the law to fit a particular case, and Stewart did not raise his +bid. After a week's delay the President sent in the name of George S. +Boutwell, of Massachusetts, for Secretary of the Treasury, and he +entered upon the duties of the office with general satisfaction. + +When the name of Adolph Borie was announced for Secretary of the Navy, +everybody began to ask, Who is Borie? Even Admiral Farragut had never +heard of him. The answer came that he was a rich man in Philadelphia who +had entertained General Grant handsomely on some occasion when he was +temporarily in that city. Sumner said in his speech of May 31, 1872, +that he also had made a gift to Grant. He retained the position of +Secretary only three months. He then resigned and recommended George M. +Robeson, a lawyer of New Jersey, as his successor, and the latter was +appointed. Robeson was as little known as Borie had been before he was +appointed, but he was not the same kind of nonentity. + +John A. J. Cresswell, of Maryland, who became Postmaster-General, had +been a member of Congress. If there was not much to be said for him, +there was nothing at all to be said against him. + +John A. Rawlins, Grant's chief-of-staff during the war, a man of high +character and ability, chose himself for Secretary of War, and +communicated his preference to his chief through General James H. +Wilson, who was on terms of intimacy with both parties. Grant received +the communication favorably and sent the name of Rawlins to the Senate +and here he made no mistake. But Rawlins lived less than a year after +his appointment. + +The two remaining members of the Cabinet, General Jacob D. Cox, of Ohio, +Secretary of the Interior, and E. R. Hoar, of Massachusetts, +Attorney-General, were ideal selections. The former had been governor of +his state and had served with distinguished valor and efficiency in the +Civil War. The latter was a man of sparkling wit and conversational +powers, which, however, did not outshine his solid qualities of mind +and character. Both these men came early into collision with the "spoils +system," which afflicted the whole of Grant's administration with +ever-increasing virulence. Both of them fought a losing battle with it, +as did George William Curtis, who essayed, in a humbler capacity, to +grapple with it. All three were retired, or retired voluntarily, before +the end of Grant's first term. + + * * * * * + +The plank in the Republican platform forcing negro suffrage upon the +South, but leaving it optional with the Northern States, was too brazen +to be long maintained. Moreover, there was danger lest this right of the +negroes should be taken from them after the Southern States should have +recovered the right to amend their own constitutions. These things +absorbed the attention of the Fortieth Congress during the last month of +its existence. + +On January 30, 1869, the House passed an amendment to the Constitution +by more than two-thirds majority in these words: + + The right of any citizen of the United States to vote shall not + be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by + reason of race, color, or previous condition of slavery of any + citizen or class of citizens of the United States. + +In the Senate, Vickers, of Maryland, moved to amend by providing that +the right to vote should not be denied because of participation in the +rebellion. This was rejected by 21 to 32, but it received the votes of +eleven Republicans, among whom were Grimes, Harlan, Trumbull, and +Wilson. Wilson, of Massachusetts, moved to add the words "nativity, +property, education, or creed" to the words "race or color," and this +was adopted by 31 to 27, Trumbull voting in the negative. The House +rejected the amendment by 37 to 133 and sent it back to the Senate, +which, by a vote of 33 to 24, receded from its amendment. The vote was +then taken on concurring in the House Resolution as originally +presented, and it failed by 31 to 27, not two thirds. + +The Senate then took up a resolution that had been previously reported +by the Committee on the Judiciary which was similar in terms to the one +originally passed by the House, except that it added the words "and hold +office" after the word "vote." The resolution was passed by 35 to 11 and +sent to the House. Logan, of Illinois, moved to strike out the words +"and hold office." This was defeated. Bingham, of Ohio, moved to insert +the words "nativity, property, or creed," after the word "color." This +was adopted by 92 to 71, and the resolution passed by 140 to 37. The +Senate disagreed to both of the House amendments. The measure then went +to a Conference Committee consisting of Senators Stewart, Conkling, and +Edmunds, and Representatives Boutwell, Bingham, and Logan, who reported +in favor of Logan's amendment and against Bingham's, and in this shape +the resolution passed both houses by the requisite majorities. If the +word "nativity" had been retained the Southern States could not have +disfranchised the negroes by means of the "Grandfather Clause," as some +of them did. Morton, of Indiana, predicted that the South would find +means of circumventing the clause if the prohibitions were limited to +race, color, and servitude. When Morton came to Washington as Senator he +was bitterly opposed to negro suffrage. He was now so hot for it that he +shared the leadership of the radicals with Sumner. + +The Fifteenth Amendment as finally passed by Congress, February 26, +1869, was in these words: + + ARTICLE XV + + SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote + shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any + state, on account of race, color, or previous condition of + servitude. + + SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this + article by appropriate legislation. + +It was declared ratified by the legislatures of twenty-nine states on +March 30, 1870. Ohio at first rejected, but later ratified it. New York +at first ratified, but later reconsidered and rejected it. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[113] Mr. Wilson communicated these facts to me at the time of their +occurrence, and the correctness of this narrative has been confirmed by +Major-General Grenville M. Dodge, who was then in close communication +with both parties. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +CAUSES OF DISCONTENT + + + It looks at this distance as though the Republican party was + "going to the dogs"--which, I think, is as it should be. Like + all parties that have an undisturbed power for a long time, it + has become corrupt, and I believe that it is to-day the [most] + corrupt and debauched political party that has ever existed.... + I have made up my mind that when I return home I will no longer + vote the Republican ticket, whatever else I may do. + +So wrote James W. Grimes to Trumbull under date of Heidelberg, July 1, +1870. Grimes had had a stroke of paralysis while the impeachment trial +was going on, but had rallied sufficiently to be carried into the Senate +to vote not guilty on every article on which a vote was taken, and to +give his reasons for doing so. He shortly afterwards resigned his seat, +announced his retirement from public life, and went to Europe with his +family. He was a native of the Granite State, a man of granite mould, of +unblemished character, undaunted courage, keen discernment, and untiring +industry. In Newspaper Row he was styled "Grimes the Sturdy"--a title +bestowed upon him by Adams Sherman Hill, then on the Washington staff of +the New York _Tribune_, and later Professor of Rhetoric in Harvard +University. + +Grimes's estimate of the Republican party in 1870 was widely shared. +Reconstruction, measured by the results of five years, was a failure, +being a confused medley of ignorant negro voters, disfranchised whites, +disreputable carpet-baggers, and corrupt legislatures. The civil service +was honeycombed with whiskey rings, custom-house frauds, assessments on +office-holders, nepotism, and general uncleanness. President Grant had +transferred his army headquarters to the White House. When he wanted to +have anything done in which he felt a deep interest, he chose an +aide-de-camp for the purpose instead of a civilian, and he never dreamed +that anybody would be surprised or vexed when he sent Major Babcock to +San Domingo to negotiate a treaty for the purchase of that country for +the sum of $1,500,000, without the knowledge of the Secretary of State +or any member of the Cabinet. He called at Sumner's house to secure his +support for the ratification of the treaty, found him dining with John +W. Forney and Ben Perley Poore, and had a hasty talk with him about a +treaty concerning San Domingo, no details being mentioned. He addressed +Sumner as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to which he supposed it +would be referred, and hoped Sumner would approve of the treaty. Sumner +replied that he was an Administration man and that he would give very +careful and candid consideration to anything which the President +desired. + +This was the beginning of an Iliad of woes. Grant understood Sumner's +answer as a promise to support the treaty, whereas Sumner meant no more +than his words signified, that he would consider it on its merits, but +in a friendly spirit. It was not his custom to promise to support +treaties before seeing them. When he came to consider this one, he found +that he could not support it. Not only was Sumner's judgment adverse, +but that of the press and other organs of public opinion was decidedly +so. The treaty was rejected by a tie vote (two thirds being required to +ratify). Grant put all the blame of rejection on Sumner. He thought that +the latter had broken a promise and intentionally deceived him. He +marked Sumner for destruction, and determined to have the treaty +ratified in spite of him, if possible. A commission of investigation had +been authorized by Congress, after the rejection of the treaty, to visit +San Domingo, and report upon the advisability of the purchase. This was +by way of letting the President down easy rather than with any serious +purpose of carrying out his wishes. The commission consisted of Benjamin +F. Wade, Andrew D. White, and Samuel G. Howe. While it was at work steps +were taken to reorganize the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. + +Who prompted that movement was never divulged, but the attempt and its +failure were narrated somewhat later by Senator Tipton, of Nebraska, in +open Senate, without contradiction. Tipton said that at the beginning of +the Third Session of the Forty-first Congress, a motion was made in the +Republican Senate Caucus to depose Sumner from the chairmanship of the +committee and to remove Schurz, of Missouri, and Patterson, of New +Hampshire, from membership altogether.[114] All three had voted against +San Domingo. The motion had been negatived at that time, but the purpose +had not been abandoned. + +The second vote on deposing Sumner took place in the Senate March 10, +1871, on a report made by Senator Howe, of Wisconsin, from the +Republican Caucus, for the assignment of committees for the First +Session of the Forty-second Congress. The Committee on Foreign +Relations, as reported, had the name of Cameron as Chairman, and Sumner +was not even a member of it. Then a debate began on the unusual step +taken by the caucus committee in deposing Sumner, without his own +consent, from a place which he had held acceptably during all the time +that the Republicans had controlled the Senate. Wilson, Schurz, Logan, +Tipton, and Trumbull spoke against the action of the Caucus Committee. +Trumbull said: + + I am not the special friend of the Senator from Massachusetts. + He and I, during our long course of service here, have had + occasion to differ, and differ, I am sorry to say, + unpleasantly. But, sir, that will not prevent me from trying to + do justice to the Senator from Massachusetts. I stood by him + when he was stricken down in his seat by a hostile party, by + the powers of slavery. I stand by him to-day when the blow + comes, not from those who would perpetuate slavery and make a + slave of every man that was for freedom, but comes from those + who have been brought into power as much through the + instrumentality of the Senator from Massachusetts as of any + other individual in the country. + + But, sir, this question has been brought before us, and what + shall we do? I tried to avoid it. I have appealed to my + associates and I have said to them: "We are very much divided;" + I say to them now: "We are very much divided." A few votes one + way or the other constitute the majority in the Republican + party; now is it desirable, is it best, to force such a change + with such an opposition as has manifested itself here? What is + to be gained by it? I will not undertake to warn the Republican + party of the consequences.... I would that this debate had not + occurred, that we could have paused at the outset when we saw + this difference of opinion, and that there could have been some + concession even to those in the minority which would have + avoided this state of things. + +Senator Sherman deprecated the action of the majority. He regarded the +change "unjustifiable, impolitic, and unnecessary," yet he offered +Sumner advice, like that of a doctor to a child respecting a dose of +castor oil--to throw his head back and take it off quick, because it +would do him good, thus: + + Therefore, while I feel bound to utter my opinion that this is + an unwise proceeding, made without sufficient cause, yet in my + judgment it ought not to be debated here. It is settled; and + if my honorable friend from Massachusetts, the senior senator + in this body, wishes to add another good work in his services + to his country, in his services to the Republican party, he + cannot do better than rise in his place and say that, if for + any reason, whether sufficient or insufficient, a majority of + his political associates think it better for him to retire from + this position, he yields gracefully to their wish; and I tell + him that a new chaplet will crown his brow, and when his + memoirs are written this will be regarded as one of the + proudest opportunities of his life.[115] + +Tipton let the cat out of the bag again by reading from some notes he +had made of the proceedings of the caucus of the previous day. He said +that Senator Howe in the caucus had defended the action of the committee +in displacing Sumner, on the ground that the Committee on Foreign +Relations was not in harmony with the Senate on the subject of San +Domingo, and that in order to correct this disagreement a change was +necessary; whereas Mr. Howe, and all the others who were for displacing +Sumner, now contended that San Domingo had nothing to do with it. Tipton +begged leave to say also that Howe was wrong in his contention that the +Committee on Foreign Relations was not in harmony with the Senate, the +vote on the treaty having been 28 to 28 (a tie vote operated as a +negative). In other words, the Senate had sustained the committee, and +there was no disagreement to be rectified. + +Thereupon Sherman called Tipton to order for divulging the secrets of +the caucus, and Tipton replied that he had read all the proceedings of +the caucus in the morning papers, including the names of the Senators in +the call of the yeas and nays, 26 to 21, and that there was only one +error in the whole report and that a trifling one. Sherman retorted that +perhaps Tipton had furnished the report to the newspapers, but the +latter denied it. Sherman then insisted that the newspaper report +carried no weight unless confirmed by a Senator. He made the charge also +that Tipton had been guilty of divulging the vote on the treaty, taken +in executive session. To this charge Tipton could make no defense, but +he contended that it had done no harm. The discussion was continued till +a late hour, the report of the Caucus Committee being supported in +debate chiefly by Edmunds and Morton. The latter affirmed that San +Domingo did not enter into the question of displacing Sumner +now--implying that it might have been the bone of contention earlier. +Morton's statement was technically true. The original disagreement +between Sumner and the President had been so overlaid with fresh +material that it was now relatively unimportant. Moreover, the Senate +had no intention of ratifying the annexation treaty even if the Benjamin +Wade Commission should so recommend--as it did. Morton himself had no +such intention. + +I happened to be in Washington at this juncture and was dining with the +late Senator Allison (then a member of the House), on the evening before +the report was presented. He informed me of the posture of affairs, said +that Sumner was to be deposed, and that Senator Howe had been designated +to report a resolution to that effect. He regarded the situation as +fraught with peril to the Republican party. I suggested that he and I +should call upon Senator Howe and endeavor to prevent or perhaps delay +the proposed step. Allison assented. So we went to Howe's apartments, +found him at home and alone, and we labored with him till past midnight, +seeking in a friendly way to change his purpose, but without avail. He +could not be moved. While we were returning, Allison said that Grant +must have played his last trump to break the custom of the majority in +the Senate, never to displace a member without his own consent. After +the deed was done, I called upon Sumner and had a conversation with him +on the subject. He said that the most puzzling thing to him was the part +taken by Senator Anthony, of Rhode Island, in the affair. Anthony was +chairman of the caucus. He appointed the Committee on Committees. +Anthony was his friend, a very close friend. He ought to have known +beforehand the purposes of the majority, especially since an attempt to +displace him had been made at the previous session. Was Anthony himself +deceived, or was he a party to the transaction? That was the puzzling +question. + +When the vote was taken on Howe's report, it was adopted by a large +majority. The dissentients withheld their votes, as they did not choose +to bolt the decision of the caucus when bolting could accomplish +nothing. The result was a fresh grievance added to the growing stock of +discontent. + +The President's first blow at Sumner had been the removal of his friend +Motley from the position of Minister to England. A request for Motley's +resignation was sent on July 1, 1870, but he did not comply with it. In +the mean time the position was offered to Trumbull in the following +letter:[116] + + DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, + + _Confidential_. + + GARRISONS, August 5th, 1870. + + MY DEAR JUDGE, + + The President desires me to ask if it will be agreeable to you + to accept the Mission to London; if so, he is desirous of + securing to the country the value of your important service and + your experience and ability. I hope most sincerely that it will + meet your views to accept this Mission, now more than before + important. The events now happening and threatening in Europe + require the presence in London of a representative of ability, + of firmness, of learning, and of calm self-possession--and your + exceptional possession of these requisites has led to the very + strong desire of the President and myself that you would + undertake the duties of the position. I do not know that we are + on the eve of the settlement of our questions with Great + Britain, but there are reasons to justify the hope that _very + important_ questions may be adjusted within the term of whoever + may succeed Mr. Motley. The complications of European politics + are favorable and add to the evident desire of the British + Ministry to dispose of all questions between the two countries. + Can you come here and pass a day with me? I can tell more than + I can write. I sincerely hope that you can give a favorable + answer; for reasons which you will understand the President + desires that this communication be considered _confidential_, + at least for the present. Please let me have your answer as + soon as you conveniently can. + + Very faithfully yours, + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL, HAMILTON FISH. + U.S. SENATOR, + KINGSTON, ULSTER CO., N. Y. + +No written answer to this letter has been found. A verbal one was given +at the interview which Mr. Fish invited. Trumbull declined the +appointment because he preferred to remain a Senator rather than to be a +diplomat. Probably he became acquainted at this time with Secretary +Fish's intention to move for a settlement of our differences with Great +Britain: for in a speech made at Chicago on the 2d of November +following, on "Coming Issues," he discussed the subject of our claims +against that country at considerable length. In this speech he +maintained that we could justly ask for payment of the losses sustained +by the depredations of the Alabama and other British-built cruisers, and +that we had a still deeper grievance, although one not computable in +dollars and cents, growing out of the demand made upon us for the +surrender of the rebel envoys, Mason and Slidell, who were captured on +board the steamship Trent at the beginning of the Civil War. He showed +by the established rules of international law, affirmed by British +precedents and practice, that persons, papers, and materials in the +enemy's service were alike contraband and subject to capture in neutral +vessels on the high seas.[117] + +Another "coming issue" referred to in this speech was the endeavor to +break up and abolish the iniquitous system by which the appointment of +thirty-five thousand officers and clerks of the National Government was +made part of the patronage of politicians; and to carry out the +principles of civil service reform in which these appointments should be +made after competitive examinations so as to secure officers of "the +highest fitness, honesty, and capacity." In his argument in favor of +this reform he instanced the experience of General J. D. Cox, Secretary +of the Interior, who had found it necessary to resign his office because +he could not purge his own department of spoilsmen and incompetents +foisted upon him by Senators and Representatives. Cox's resignation had +caused intense indignation when the reasons for it leaked out. President +Grant had pledged himself to the reform of the civil service and had +appointed a competent commission to carry on the work, and was really +desirous that it should succeed, but he was not willing to fight for +it. So when Congressmen fought against it he yielded and put the blame +upon them. And the last state of it was worse than the first. "No point +in Trumbull's speech," says the newspaper account of it, "was more +significant than his endorsement of Secretary Cox's civil service +reform, and the enthusiastic cheering with which the large audience +unanimously greeted this endorsement." + +Attorney-General Hoar had retired from public life some months earlier +and for much the same reason. He had made several selections to fill +vacancies on the bench of the Circuit Court with an eye single to the +character and legal attainments of the judges, and had thereby incurred +the enmity of most of the Republican Senators, who wanted to dictate the +appointments. It happened at this time that the President was trying to +win support for the San Domingo Treaty, and he found, or supposed, that +the votes of certain carpet-bag Senators could be obtained if he would +give them a member of the Cabinet. In order to create a vacancy he +nominated Attorney-General Hoar as a justice of the Supreme Court. The +nomination was referred to the Judiciary Committee of the Senate, +consisting of Trumbull, Edmunds, Conkling, Carpenter, Stewart, Rice (of +Arkansas), and Thurman. Six of these voted against Hoar. The only +affirmative vote was that of Trumbull.[118] + +After Hoar was rejected, the President asked for his resignation as +Attorney-General without assigning any reason therefor, and when it was +handed to him he appointed an obscure but respectable lawyer from +Georgia of the name of Akerman as Attorney-General, to please the +carpet-baggers; but this move did not secure a sufficient number of +votes to ratify the treaty, nor was it ever ratified. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[114] _Cong. Globe_, March 10, 1871, p. 48. + +[115] _Cong. Globe_, 1871, p. 51. + +[116] E. L. Pierce, in his _Life of Sumner_, says that the position was +first offered to Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, and that he was confirmed +by the Senate on the last day of the session. Evidently he did not +accept it. + +[117] Mr. Charles F. Adams has shown in a recent essay that the British +Ministry were perfectly aware that the capture of Mason and Slidell was +justifiable by British custom and precedent, but that public opinion was +so inflamed on the subject that they were swept off their feet, and +could not have faced Parliament an hour if they had not demanded the +surrender of the prisoners. On the other hand, our practice and +precedents were directly opposite. The American doctrine was "free ships +make free goods" and _a fortiori_ free persons, but so inflamed was +public opinion on this side of the water that the British demand for the +surrender of the prisoners would have been refused even at the risk of +war, if we had not had one war on hand already. Both nations "flopped" +simultaneously. _The Trent Affair--an Historical Retrospect._ By Charles +Francis Adams. Boston, 1912. + +[118] Washington letter in the _Nation_, January 6, 1870. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE LIBERAL REPUBLICANS + + +The Liberal Republican movement of 1872 took its start in Missouri. +During the war between the states, Missouri had been a prey to a real +civil war, in which much blood had been spilled, and where churches, +communities, and particular families had been torn asunder. In the +agricultural districts and small towns, which were nine tenths of the +whole, nobody, whether Secessionist, or Unionist, or neutral, could feel +certain, when he went to bed, whether he should sleep till morning, or +be awakened after midnight by a guerilla raid or a burning roof. The +contending forces were not unequally divided. The Confederates were the +stronger half in wealth and influence, although not in numbers, but the +proximity of the Federal armies and their actual occupation of the soil +gave a preponderance to the Unionists and strangled secession in its +infancy. When the war came to an end, all the heart-burning that it had +engendered was still raging. Not only were the Republicans in power, but +the most radical of them had control within the party. Lincoln was not +sufficiently advanced for them. They had refused to vote for his +renomination in the Convention of 1864. + +In the state constitution, adopted in 1865, disfranchisement and test +oaths abounded. In the succeeding four years there had been a gradual +slackening of recrimination and intestine strife; and a line of cleavage +broke in the Republican ranks in 1869 which resulted in the election of +General Carl Schurz as United States Senator, on the issue of +reenfranchisement of the ex-rebels. The leader of the "party of eternal +hate," as it was styled by its opponents, was Charles D. Drake, his +colleague in the Senate. The seat taken by Schurz was that formerly held +by John B. Henderson, who had lost it by his vote against impeachment. + +Schurz was a torch-bearer wherever he went, and his entry into the +Senate gave a new impetus to the party of peace and amnesty not only in +his own state, but throughout the country. In the autumn of 1870 a +battle royal was fought in Missouri, beginning in the Republican state +convention, which was split on the issue of reenfranchisement. The +Liberals, under the lead of Schurz, nominated a full state ticket with +B. Gratz Brown for governor. The radicals nominated Joseph McClurg for +governor and a full ticket. The Democrats made no nominations, but +supported the Liberal nominees. The election resulted in a sweeping +victory for the Liberals. The platform on which Brown was chosen +declared that the time had come "for removing all disqualifications from +the disfranchised people of Missouri and conferring equal political +rights and privileges on all classes." The other platform favored +reenfranchisement "as soon as it could be done with safety to the +state." + +Both sections adopted a resolution saying: "We are opposed to any system +of taxation which will tend to the creation of monopolies and benefit +one industry at the expense of another." This was interpreted by the +_Missouri Democrat_, the leading Republican newspaper of the state, as +an anti-tariff deliverance. Its editor, Colonel William M. Grosvenor, +was a party organizer of keen intelligence and tireless activity, as +effective in his own field as Schurz was in his. He was a free-trader, +and he gave the first impulse which brought the revenue reformers of +that period as a distinctive element into the Liberal movement. The +only organization then existing which offered any resistance to the +demands of the protected classes was the New York Free-Trade League, of +which Mahlon Sands was secretary. On the 10th of November, Sands sent +out an invitation to persons whom he took to be like-minded with +himself, including Carl Schurz, David A. Wells, Jacob D. Cox, William +Cullen Bryant, E. L. Godkin, Charles F. Adams, Jr., General Brinkerhoff, +Edward Atkinson, and others to a conference to be held in New York on +the 22d of that month. The declared object of this meeting was "to +determine whether an effort may not, with advantage, be made to control +the new House of Representatives by a union of Western Revenue Reform +Republicans with Democrats." The meeting took place at the date +mentioned and received the following notice in the _Nation_ of December +1: + + There has been a good deal of activity among the Revenue + reformers during the week. On the 23d ult. they held a private + meeting in this city, which was attended by Mr. D. A. Wells, + Mr. George Walker, Mr. Horace White, of the Chicago _Tribune_, + Mr. Bryant, Mr. Bowles, of the Springfield _Republican_, and + others, and at which, after a good deal of talk, the conclusion + was reached that things were looking very well; that the + legislative debates of the coming winter would, under the + influence of the late elections, probably do a great deal to + educate the public and prepare the monopolists and jobbers for + what is certainly coming; and that the question of civil + service reform was closely connected with that of the reform of + the revenue, and ought to be discussed and pushed with it; and + it was resolved finally to charge a committee with the work of + looking after the interest of both in a general way during the + winter, with power to make arrangements for the calling of a + national convention in the spring, in case the course of + Congress proved unsatisfactory. The usual distribution of + "British gold" did not take place, it must be confessed to the + regret of all present. Indeed, the desire for it, and as much + of it as possible, was avowed with the greatest effrontery. The + open display of such feelings at a reform meeting was a + curious sign of the times. Why the British should have cut off + the supply was not explained, but we presume they were unable + to withstand the repeated exposures in the _Tribune_, which + have doubtless made Minister Thornton wince a little. + +The Speaker of the House, James G. Blaine, got wind of the Sands +circular and sought an interview with myself, coming to Chicago for that +purpose. He said that he recognized the drift of public sentiment on the +tariff question, that he desired to avert anything like a split in the +Republican ranks, and that he intended to give the tariff reformers a +majority of the Committee on Ways and Means in the new Congress. He +submitted that they could not gain more than that by a fight, and that +it was the part of wisdom to be satisfied with that. He said that he +would allow us to name two Republican members who, in conjunction with +the Democrats, would constitute a majority. I reported this fact to the +members of the New York Conference and it was agreed that no other steps +should be taken in reference to the organization of the House. G. A. +Finkelnburg, of Missouri, and H. C. Burchard, of Illinois, were selected +as our preference for membership of the committee. The names were +communicated to Blaine and they were appointed by him. He even went +beyond his promise by prompting his friends on the floor to favor tariff +reform. Eugene Hale, of Maine, was especially zealous in this behalf. He +introduced a bill to make salt free of duty, and accepted an amendment +putting coal in the same category and advocated it with earnestness and +ability and carried it through the House, but it was strangled in the +Senate. Dawes, of Massachusetts, a protectionist, was made chairman, but +the majority of the committee was against him. Protection, at that time, +meant the highest rate of duty on imports that anybody desired, and +free trade meant any opposition to protection as thus interpreted. These +definitions are not wholly obsolete at the present day. + +In the eyes of President Grant the Liberal movement in Missouri was +something in the nature of a new rebellion, and most of the Republican +politicians shared his views. The necessity of keeping the party in +power by fair means or foul had become a kind of religious tenet. The +spectre of a solid South and a divided North had been terrifying from +the start. What would happen if the example of Missouri should +overspread all of the reconstructed states? Seymour had carried New York +and New Jersey in the last election. The solid South added to these +would have made him President of the United States. No wonder that such +Senators as Morton, Chandler, Conkling, and the Southern carpet-baggers, +at the opening of Congress in December, 1870, gave a chilling reception +to all who had taken part in the Liberal campaign of Missouri, or who +sympathized with it. Anything in the nature of investigation of frauds, +or of reform in the civil service, was frowned upon by them. All who +favored such steps were accused of seeking to split the party and build +a new one upon its ruins. This was a false accusation. The +Administration could have averted the coming revolt by removing its +causes. The _Nation_ of December 8, 1870, said with truth: + + What has been taken for a desire or design to found a new party + has been simply a design to make the old party attend to the + proper business of the party in power, by legislating for the + necessities of the time. There is a strong disposition on the + part of the old hacks not to do this, but to go on infusing + "economy and efficiency in the collection of the revenue," and + nothing would please them better than that those who are not + satisfied with this should take themselves off and try to + establish a little concern of their own, and give no further + trouble. We believe the intention of the malcontents, however, + is, and always has been, to stay where they are and give all + the trouble they can. Whenever the time comes to establish a + new party, it will make its appearance, whether anybody charges + himself with the special work of getting it up or not. + +Among the sources of discontent disfranchisement was the most pressing, +since it was believed to be the chief cause of the shocking conditions +in the South. Other things could wait. This was the "house-on-fire"; it +must be put out at once. The Liberals said that universal amnesty with +impartial suffrage was the true cure. The ruling powers at Washington +maintained that the Southern whites were still rebellious and that a new +law, backed by adequate military power, was needed to deal with the +Ku-Klux Klans, which were terrorizing the blacks in order to prevent +them from voting. The President sent a special message of twenty lines +to Congress on March 23, calling attention to this condition of affairs +and recommending some action, he did not say what. The brevity and +indecision of it betokened reluctance on his part to send any message at +all. Congress, however, took the subject in earnest and passed the +Ku-Klux Bill of 1871, which authorized suspension of the writ of _habeas +corpus_ and the employment of military force in dealing with the Ku-Klux +outrages. Trumbull and Schurz opposed the bill by speech and by vote, +the former on the ground of unconstitutionality, the latter chiefly on +the ground of impolicy, although he also considered it unconstitutional. +Trumbull contended that the Constitution never contemplated that the +ordinary administration of criminal law in the states should be in the +hands of the Federal Government and that the Fourteenth Amendment did +not change the lodgment of that power from the state to the federal +authorities. He did not make a set speech on the bill, but in an +impromptu debate he said: + + Show me that it is necessary to exercise any power belonging to + the Government of the United States in order to maintain its + authority and I am ready to put it forth. But, sir, I am not + willing to undertake to enter the states for the purpose of + punishing individual offences against their authority committed + by one citizen against another. We, in my judgment, have no + constitutional authority to do that. When this Government was + formed, the general rights of person and property were left to + be protected by the states and there they are left to-day. + Whenever the rights that are conferred by the Constitution of + the United States on the Federal Government are infringed upon + by the states, we should afford a remedy.... If the Federal + Government takes to itself the entire protection of the + individual in his rights of person and property what is the + need of the State Governments? It would be a change in our form + of Government and an unwise one, in my judgment, because I + believe that the rights of the people, the liberties of the + people, the rights of the individual, are safest among the + people themselves, and not in a central government extending + over a vast region of country. I think that the nearer you can + bring the administration of justice between man and man to the + people themselves, the safer the people will be in their rights + of person and property.[119] + +He objected also to the clause of the bill authorizing the President to +suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_, as in conflict with the clause of +the Constitution which limits suspension to cases of invasion or +rebellion where the public safety requires it. There was no present +invasion to justify it and no rebellion in the proper definition of that +term. He quoted authorities showing that rebellion meant an armed +uprising against the Government, such as existed in 1861 and continued +till the end of the war. No such condition existed now. + +Schurz's speech, delivered on the 14th of April, was a masterpiece of +political philosophy, not inferior to anything in the orations of Edmund +Burke. It was a plea for the abrogation of all political disabilities. +It occupies three pages of the _Congressional Globe_. Among other things +he said: + + On the whole, sir, let us not indulge in the delusion that we + can eradicate all the disorders that exist in the South by + means of laws and by the application of penal statutes. Laws + are apt to be especially inefficacious when their + constitutionality is, with a show of reason, doubted, and when + they have the smell of partisanship about them; and however + pure your intentions may be (and I know they are), in that + light a law like this, unless greatly modified, will appear + suspicious. If we want to produce enduring effects there, our + remedies must go to the root of the evil; and in order to do + that, they must operate upon public sentiment in the South. I + admit that in that respect the principal thing cannot be done + by us: it must be done by the Southern people themselves. But + at any rate, we can in a great measure facilitate it.[120] + +Edmunds and Carpenter, of the Judiciary Committee, held that the +Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution gave power to the federal +authorities to enforce the ordinary criminal law as between persons in +the states. Some years later a case, arising under this Ku-Klux Law in +Tennessee, reached the Supreme Court, where it was pronounced +unconstitutional and void. The court held that the three latest +amendments of the Constitution prohibited the states from discriminating +against citizens on account of race or color, but did not change the +administration of the criminal law in the states. That jurisdiction +remained with the states exclusively. Here Trumbull's position was +sustained almost in his own words.[121] + +While the Ku-Klux Act was doing its work in South Carolina under +suspension of the _habeas corpus_, the Senate on December 20, 1871, took +up a bill which had passed the House by more than two-thirds majority to +remove the legal and political disabilities imposed by the Fourteenth +Amendment, except in a few cases. Sumner moved as an amendment a bill +which he had previously offered as a separate measure, that all +citizens, without distinction of race or color, should have equal rights +in steamboats, railway cars, hotels, theatres, churches, jury service, +common schools, colleges, and cemeteries, whether under federal or State +authority. Trumbull, and the two Senators from South Carolina, besought +him not to encumber the Amnesty Bill, which required a two-thirds vote, +with the Equal Rights Bill which required only a majority, since they +believed that both could be passed separately, but that if his bill were +tacked upon the Amnesty Bill, both would fail. Sumner insisted upon his +amendment, and a vote was taken on it, February 9, resulting in a tie +(Trumbull and Schurz voting in the negative), whereupon the +Vice-President (Colfax) voted in the affirmative. The Sumner amendment +having been adopted, all the Democrats turned against the bill and it +was lost by 33 to 19, not two thirds. + +A second attempt, beginning in the House, had the same result. When the +bill was taken up in the Senate Sumner again moved his Equal Rights Bill +as an amendment, and it was again adopted by the casting vote of the +Vice-President, and then the whole was lost by 32 to 22. + +In the mean time the Liberal Republican Convention had met at Cincinnati +and adopted a platform very emphatic on the subject of amnesty. A sudden +change came over the spirit of the regulars. The Amnesty Bill was +reintroduced in the House by General Butler, May 13, and passed the +same day without debate. It was taken up in the Senate, May 21. Sumner's +Equal Rights Bill, when offered in a modified form as an amendment, was +rejected by 11 to 81, and the bill was passed the same day by 38 to 2, +the negatives being Sumner and Nye. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[119] _Cong. Globe_, 1871, pp. 578-79. + +[120] _Cong. Globe_, 1871, p. 688. + +[121] United States _v._ Harris, 106 U.S. 629. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION + + +The demerits of the first Grant Administration were the principal cause +of the Liberal uprising of 1872. They were enumerated in detail by +Charles Sumner in open Senate, on May 31 of that year. They need not be +reiterated here. I have no inclination to rake over the ashes of a dead +controversy or to detract from the fame of one who rendered inestimable +service to the nation in its greatest crisis, without which all other +service might have been unavailing. At the same time, the thread of this +narrative requires some notice of the stings planted in the minds of +sensitive persons, who were not seeking office, by the man who was then +the nation's head. + +Grant's shortcomings in civil station were such as might have been +expected from one who was suddenly charged with vast responsibilities +without his own solicitation or desire and without any previous +experience or training for them. His most striking characteristic was +tenacity. Whether on the right track or on the wrong, he was deaf and +blind to obstacles and opposition, because there was resistance to be +overcome. This quality was reflected in his determination "never to +desert a friend under fire"--a maxim more generous than wise, fitter for +the field than for the forum, and which in his last days brought +misfortunes to his own door which were lamented by everybody. + +The Republican politicians nominated him for President, not because they +deemed him qualified for the position, but because of his military +renown. He was elected at a time when military habits and modes of +thought were the worst possible equipment for the solution of political +problems. Nevertheless, he rendered great service on two occasions--in +the settlement of the Alabama Claims and by vetoing the Currency +Inflation Bill. In both these cases he was much indebted to Hamilton +Fish, his Secretary of State, but the credit is justly his own and the +fame thereof will outlast all the scandals that arose from his +confidence in, and association with, such characters as Orville Babcock, +John McDonald, Ben Butler, W. W. Belknap, and Tom Murphy. + +The rottenness of the New York Custom-House was a crying evil before +Grant became President, and its flavor was not improved by the +appointment of Murphy as its chief officer. It was crammed with men who +"had to be taken care of," whose work was not needed by the Government, +and who were incompetent even if it had been needed--small politicians, +district leaders and "heelers," who were useful in carrying primaries +and getting delegates elected to conventions. A Joint Committee on +Retrenchment, organized as early as 1866 and kept alive by every +subsequent Congress, had been investigating frauds and abuses in various +quarters. Its chairman, Senator Patterson, of New Hampshire, made a +report early in 1871 containing many interesting disclosures. + +On December 11, Senator Conkling offered a resolution directing the +Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into the defalcation of an army +paymaster named Hodge. Trumbull moved as an amendment that the Joint +Committee on Retrenchment be reconstituted and instructed to make a +general investigation of the waste and loss of money in the public +service. A debate sprang up on the proposed amendment, which continued +for a week and aroused keen interest throughout the country. Wilson, +the chairman of the Military Committee, sustained the amendment, saying +that the Hodge case did not appertain to military matters, but to +finance, to the handling of public money. Sumner took the same view. +Chandler objected to a joint committee with power to investigate all the +executive departments. He preferred to have each department investigated +by a separate committee, if it needed investigation. In the course of +the debate extracts were read from the Patterson Report, together with +the testimony of witnesses. Weighers in the custom-house testified that +men were sent to them by the collector as assistants for whom there was +no work to do. They were simply put on the pay-roll and did nothing but +draw their salaries. In the weighers' department alone $50,000 per year +was thus squandered. Collector Murphy was quoted as saying, in answer to +a remonstrance about unnecessary help in the custom-house, "There were +certain people who had to be taken care of: it was well known that they +had to be taken care of, and nobody in the party would say anything +about his taking care of them, and he would do it."[122] + +Trumbull said that he did not denounce officers of the Government +indiscriminately. He merely wished to have some system introduced by +which appointments should be made with regard to the fitness of the +appointees and the need of their services. As the debate enlarged, a +line of cleavage was disclosed among Senators similar to that which +occurred on the deposition of Sumner; Morton, Conkling, Chandler, +Edmunds, and Sherman opposing, and Schurz, Sumner, Logan, Tipton, and +Wilson supporting, the Trumbull amendment. Finally the Republican +Senatorial Caucus took the matter in hand and adopted a substitute to +the Trumbull Resolution, which was offered in the Senate by Anthony and +adopted by 29 to 18. It provided for a select committee to investigate +only such subjects as the Senate should designate. + +One of the things stumbled on by the Patterson Committee was the +"general order" system in the New York Custom-House, which led up to the +Leet and Stocking scandal, one of the most exasperating incidents of the +Grant regime. Leet had been a member of General Grant's staff. The +Patterson Committee found that he was enjoying the rank and pay of a +colonel in the army, and also of a clerk in the War Department, and was +receiving an additional income, estimated at $50,000 per year, for the +warehousing of imported goods in New York, without the expenditure of +any labor or capital of his own and without even his personal presence +in New York, he being a resident of Washington City. All goods arriving +by the Cunard and Bremen lines were sent by the collector's order to the +Leet and Stocking warehouse, and were required to pay one month's +storage whether they remained there a month or only a day, the cost +being not less than $1.50 per package. This "general order" system had +been devised before the Republican party came into power. It was +flourishing in 1862.[123] Collector Grinnell, Grant's first appointee to +that position, found it in force when he came into office. Before it was +devised the arriving goods had been stored temporarily in warehouses +belonging to the steamship companies, adjacent to the docks, without +cost to the owners. + +When the Patterson Committee made this discovery they reported the facts +personally to the Secretary of the Treasury (Boutwell), who appointed a +board of three officers of the department to make an independent +investigation. This board made a report sustaining the findings of the +Patterson Committee. Boutwell thereupon wrote to Collector Murphy, who +had succeeded Grinnell as collector, advising him to discontinue the +"general order" system altogether and go back to the old system, no good +reasons for the former change, but many objections to it, having been +found. Months passed after Boutwell's letter was sent, but the "general +order" system was still flourishing and the coffers of Leet and Stocking +were still receiving an income, at least double that of the President of +the United States, as a reward for putting an obstruction in the pathway +of lawful commerce. A. T. Stewart, Grant's first choice for Secretary of +the Treasury, testified that the "general order" system was a damage to +honest traffic and a general nuisance. William E. Dodge testified that +he had been compelled by it to curtail his imports at New York and to +use other ports of entry to avoid the delays and exactions of the +"general order" system. + +The indifference of the only man higher up than Secretary Boutwell--the +only man who had power to remove Collector Murphy or to choke off +Leet--was incomprehensible. Schurz made comments on the case which the +Administration Senators could not answer and dared not leave unanswered. +On the 18th of December, Conkling introduced a resolution directing the +Committee on Investigation and Retrenchment to make an inquiry into the +Leet and Stocking scandal. This resolution was preceded by a preamble +quoting the words of Schurz as a reason for making the inquiry, in the +following form: + + Whereas it has been declared in the Senate that at the port of + New York there exists and is maintained by officers of the + United States under the name of the "General Order business" a + monstrous abuse fraudulent in character, and whereas the + following statement has been made by a Senator: "It was + intimated by some of the witnesses that Mr. Leet, who pockets + the enormous profits arising from that business, had some + connection with the White House; but General Porter was + examined, Mr. Leet himself was examined, and they both + testified that it was not so, and, counting the number of + witnesses, we have no right to form a different conclusion. But + the fact remains that this scandalous system of robbery is + sustained--is sustained against the voice of the merchants of + New York--is sustained against the judgment and the voice of + the Secretary of the Treasury himself. I ask you how is it + sustained? Where and what is the mysterious power that sustains + it? The conclusion is inevitable that it is stronger than + decent respect for public opinion, nay, a power stronger than + the Secretary of the Treasury himself": + + Therefore resolved, that the Committee of Investigation and + Retrenchment be instructed to inquire into the matter fully and + at large, and particularly whether any collusion or improper + connection with said business exists on the part of any officer + of the United States, and that said committee further inquire + whether any person holding office in the custom-house at New + York has been detected or is known or believed by his superior + officer to have been guilty of bribery or of taking bribes or + of other crime or misdemeanor, and said committee is hereby + empowered to send for persons and papers. + +The Committee of Investigation and Retrenchment had not been appointed +when Conkling offered this resolution. It had been agreed upon in the +Republican Caucus, but had not been reported to the Senate. Senator +Anthony immediately reported the names: Buckingham (Connecticut), Pratt +(Indiana), Howe (Wisconsin), Harlan (Iowa), Stewart (Nevada), Pool +(North Carolina), Bayard (Delaware). Sumner expressed mild surprise that +no Senator who had favored an investigation of the New York +Custom-House, or of frauds in general, was a member of the committee, +unless Bayard (Democrat) might be counted as such. He quoted from +Jefferson's "Manual of Parliamentary Law" to show that the proper course +was to give the leading place in such a committee to the prime mover of +it, who was, in this case, undoubtedly Trumbull, but that nobody who had +shown any interest in the matter to be investigated, not even the +Senator from New Hampshire (Patterson), whose investigation of the +previous session had uncovered the alleged frauds, and whose familiarity +with the case would be most useful now, had any place on it. Anthony +contended that inasmuch as all the Senators had voted to raise the +Committee, the vote having been unanimous, all the requirements of +parliamentary law were satisfied by the appointment of the seven +Senators named, or any other seven. Thurman, of Ohio, thought that +Anthony was "sticking in the bark" and not reaching the sound wood of +the tree. Considerable time was spent in the debate on the composition +of the committee, but in the end the list reported by Anthony was +adopted, as was Conkling's resolution, with its bulky preamble. The +preamble was doubtless intended to convince Grant that Schurz (not +Conkling) made the investigation necessary. The committee went to work +early in 1872 and eventually furnished a solution of the Leet and +Stocking mystery. + +Leet learned in 1868, soon after Grant's election, that he intended to +appoint Moses H. Grinnell collector of the port of New York. He procured +from Grant a letter of introduction to Grinnell, but Grant cautioned +him, when he gave it, not to use it for the purpose of getting an +office. When Leet handed the letter to Grinnell he remarked to him that +he (Grinnell) was to be appointed collector of the port. Grinnell had +not received any intimation of the fact before, and he inferred that +Leet had been designated by the President to inform him of it. He asked +Leet what he could do for him, and Leet replied that he wanted the +"general order" business of the custom-house. Grinnell thought that this +also was a message from the President, and he arranged as soon as +possible to give Leet a portion of it. Leet farmed out this portion to a +man named Bixby for $5000 per year, plus one half of all the profits in +excess of $10,000. Then he went back to Washington and resumed his place +as a clerk in the War Department; but he complained bitterly to Grinnell +that his share in the "general order" business was not large enough, and +he told Grinnell that he would be removed from office if he did not give +him the whole of it. After much threatening, Grinnell did give him the +whole of it, but he was removed, nevertheless, after holding the office +about one year, and Murphy was appointed collector in his place. Murphy +kept the "general order" business in the hands of Leet and Stocking +until March, 1872, when the committee made its report. On the 14th of +March, the newspapers announced that Murphy had been removed as +collector and General Arthur appointed in his place, that the "general +order" business had been radically reformed, and that Leet and Stocking +had disappeared from history. In making this announcement the _Nation_ +called the attention of the editor of _Harper's Weekly_ (George William +Curtis), who was still a little deaf to the shortcomings of the +Administration, to some things hard to understand. + + When the President [it said] became aware that Leet had abused + his confidence, disregarded his wishes, made false + representations as to his influence over him, and concealed his + doings from him,--facts which were revealed by the repeated + complaints of prominent merchants and by Leet's appearance in + public as owner of the "plum," and finally by a congressional + investigation,--he took no notice of them whatever. So far as + we know he gave no sign of displeasure, paid no attention to + the complaints against him, and let him go on for nearly two + years preying on the commerce of the port, till a second + congressional investigation, obtained with great difficulty, + and the savage assaults of the press on the eve of an election, + made the change we have just witnessed imperatively necessary. + It has been the custom of the friends of the Administration + hitherto, whenever charges of this kind are brought up, instead + of answering them, to tell you that they endear the President + more than ever to the American people; that his renomination is + a sure thing, etc.; and that Horace Greeley is a friend of Hank + Smith. Now is this satisfactory? Let us have a candid answer, + without allusions to cigars, or fast horses, or investments, or + summer vacations, Hank Smith, or Horace Greeley. + +No dollar of the Leet and Stocking "plum" ever reached President Grant +or any member of his family. We are left to conjecture what were his +reasons for allowing the scandal to continue so long after the facts +became known. Judging his course here by his second term, we are forced +to conclude that his combativeness was aroused by the criticisms of +Schurz, Trumbull, and others, which he interpreted as marks of personal +hostility to himself. In fact, his senatorial supporters so interpreted +them in public discussions. He probably upheld Leet for the same reasons +that he shielded Babcock in the greater scandal of the St. Louis Whiskey +Ring in 1876.[124] It was a mistake, however, to suppose (if he did +suppose) that Trumbull was moved by any personal hostility. An interview +with the latter, dated December 3, 1871, published in the Louisville +_Courier-Journal_,[125] shows that he was still on friendly terms with +the President. His interlocutor began by asking him if he would consent +to the use of his name as a conservative candidate for the Presidency +against General Grant, to which the "Illinois statesman replied with +more than usual emphasis, 'No sir, I would not.'" + +Then the following conversation ensued: + + Why not? + + For many reasons. In the first place, I am satisfied where I + am. I consider a seat in the Senate of the United States a + position in which I can be more useful than in any other, and I + believe it to be as honorable as any under the Government if + its duties be efficiently and properly discharged. In the next + place, I do not agree with the programme which has been marked + out by those who refuse to support the candidacy of the + President for reelection. I am conscious of the need for many + reforms, and I am daily striving to accomplish them. But I do + not believe that a revolution of parties would be salutary. I + do not believe that either the people of the North or of the + South are ready to profit by such a change. + + And why not? + + Because the people of the South have really accepted nothing, + and are not willing to cooeperate with the Liberals of the North + in settling the practical relations of society on a sure and + generous basis. I know that the South has much to complain of. + But so have the Liberal Republicans. It is not the rebel + element, perhaps, but the nature of things, that the South + should not realize the complete overthrow of the old order and + the necessity for a complete change of the domestic policy. I + believe that the defeat of General Grant would involve a + reaction at the South whose consequences would be even worse + than the present state of affairs. + + Don't you think General Grant meditates the permanent + usurpation of the Executive office? + + No, I do not. My opinion is that General Grant is, in the main, + a conservative man. He has made mistakes. But I cannot say they + justify his removal. + + What are your personal relations? + + Very friendly. I have opposed some of his measures, but I have + no personal feeling, and, indeed, this is one of the reasons + why it is disagreeable to have my name mentioned in the + connection you name. + +The interview closed with the writer's assurance that the views of +Senator Sumner coincided with those of Trumbull. A Washington letter in +the _Nation_ of December 28 said: + + From what I see and hear, the conviction is forced upon me that + there will be no lead given by men like Trumbull voluntarily. + They may be forced by the Administration party into opposition, + but they will go reluctantly and timidly. + +Among the letters received by Trumbull at this time was the following +from a man of high repute and influence in Ohio: + + COLUMBUS, December 15, 1871. + + You may remember me sufficiently to know who I am and my + position in Ohio. My special object in this writing is to + congratulate you for your proper and patriotic position on the + Retrenchment Resolution. Messrs. Morton, Sherman _et al_, are + grievously mistaken as to the state of public sentiment in + regard to the Administration and the President. I am bold to + say that outside of the Grand Army of the Republic and the + office-holders (an _imperium in imperio_), more than one half + of the Republicans are intensely dissatisfied with General + Grant. His indecent interference in Missouri and Louisiana, his + disgusting nepotism, his indefensible course in regard to San + Domingo, and his recent complimentary letter to Collector + Murphy have produced the conviction that he is intellectually + and morally unqualified for his present position. He will hear + deep and alarming thunder before the Kalends of November, 1872. + + Go forward with your associates, Schurz, Sumner, Patterson, and + Tipton, in your exposure of the faults and frauds of the + Administration, and the best class of Republicans will honor + your magnanimity and patriotism. I know General Grant + personally. I have not asked him for any favor. As Senatorial + Elector I traversed the state, and advocated the Republican + principles and policy, but I have the pleasant consciousness + and delightful remembrance that I never eulogized General Grant + nor recommended him as suitable for the place. As long as he is + under the special superintendence of Morton, Chandler, and + Cameron, he must necessarily deteriorate, as none of them has + ever been suspected of having any profound sense of right or + wrong. + + Confidentially yours, + + SAM'L GALLOWAY. + + HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL, U.S.S. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[122] _Cong. Globe_, 1871, p. 51. + +[123] See House report No. 50, 37th Congress, 3d session, page 38. + +[124] Rhodes, _History of the United States_, VII, 182-89. + +[125] This interview was reprinted in the New York _Times_ of December +6. It is corroborated in sentiment by the Trumbull manuscripts of that +date, but it was probably not intended for publication. It purports to +be a conversation between Trumbull and an ex-Senator. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION + + +The Liberal Republicans of Missouri held a state convention at Jefferson +City, January 24, 1872. They adopted a platform which affirmed the +sovereignty of the Union, emancipation, equality of rights, +enfranchisement, complete amnesty, tariff reform, civil service reform, +local self-government, and impartial suffrage. They also called a +national mass convention to meet at Cincinnati on the first Monday in +May. + +This call was at once endorsed by General J. D. Cox, George Hoadley, +Stanley Matthews, and J. B. Stallo, four of the most eminent citizens of +Ohio, the first of whom had been a member of President Grant's Cabinet. +Mr. Matthews, in an interview, expressed the hope that the Democrats +would join in nominating a candidate for the presidency of the type of +Charles Francis Adams, William S. Groesbeck, Lyman Trumbull, or Salmon +P. Chase. + +The movement spread like wildfire. Groups of Republicans, eminent in +character and in public service in all the states, proclaimed their +adhesion to it and declared their intention to participate in the +convention. It had also the active support of the Springfield +_Republican_, the Cincinnati _Commercial_, and the Chicago _Tribune_, +and the sympathy of the New York _Evening Post_, the _Nation_, and the +New York _Tribune_. Democratic sympathy was manifested early and found +expression in the columns of the Louisville _Courier-Journal_, whose +editor, Henry Watterson, took a keen interest in the preliminaries of +the Cincinnati meeting and whose cooeperation was gladly welcomed. The +New York _World_, edited by Manton Marble, gave passive support to the +movement by advising Democrats to conform to present facts and not seek +to revive or sustain the dead issues of the war and Reconstruction. + +Under date, New Orleans, April 23, Marble wrote to Schurz: + + It is due to you that I should say, before you go to + Cincinnati, that in my clear judgment the nomination of Charles + Francis Adams would defeat the reelection of Grant. It has + always been obvious that Mr. Adams would be among the best of + Presidents. He has been growing, during the last few months, to + be the best of candidates. I could not name another so safe to + win. Adams and Palmer would be a quite perfect ticket.--This is + founded on careful consideration. + +August Belmont, of New York, the most influential Democrat in that state +not holding any public office, took an active part, both by +correspondence and by personal solicitation, in the endeavor to secure +the nomination by the Cincinnati Convention of a candidate whom the +Democrats could support, and to induce the latter to abstain from making +a separate nomination. From Vincennes, Indiana, April 23, he wrote to +Schurz that, after having seen many prominent men of both parties, he +had found the Cincinnati movement even stronger with them, and the +people, than he had anticipated. He added: + + Everybody looks for the action of your convention, and if you + make a good _national_ platform denouncing the abuses and + corruption of the Executive, the military despotism of the + South, the centralization of power and the subordination of the + civil power to the military rule, and declare boldly for + general amnesty and a revenue tariff, you will find every + Democrat throughout the land ready to vote for your candidate, + provided you name one whom our convention can endorse.... I + found in the West and in New York an overwhelming desire for + Charles F. Adams. Adams is the strongest and least vulnerable + man; he will draw more votes from Grant than will any other + candidate. The whole Democratic party will follow him. + +There was a full delegation from Pennsylvania, composed of honorable +men, who were not office-seekers. The meeting which appointed them was +presided over by Colonel A. K. McClure, who announced, when taking the +chair, that inasmuch as the Cincinnati Convention was a mass meeting, +the persons attending it would not be entangled in the usual political +machinery. The movement was on the lines of the Republican party; it was +a movement of Republicans by necessity, who did not mean to be bound by +the Government party as it then stood. General William B. Thomas said +that he and other gentlemen had issued the call for this meeting to send +a delegation to Cincinnati. He was engaged in work looking to the +annihilation of the Republican party. He had helped to build up that +party, but now he was free to say that it was the most corrupt party on +the face of the earth. He was opposed to any candidate to be nominated +by the coming Philadelphia Convention; Grant, or any other man. Colonel +McClure said that the plain English of the whole thing was rebellion +against the party and the bringing of it to the dignity of a revolution. +Five years ago there might have been a necessity for the exercise of +military power in the South, but not now. The South, to his mind, had +been more desolated since the close of the war than before. + +The Pennsylvanians had fifty-six votes in the convention. On the first +roll-call they cast all of them for Governor A. G. Curtin. On all +subsequent ones they gave a plurality for Adams.[126] + +Numerous letters reached Trumbull before the call for the Cincinnati +Convention was issued suggesting that he be a candidate for the +presidency in opposition to Grant. One of these, dated Roslyn, Long +Island, November 30, 1871, was from John H. Bryant, brother of William +Cullen Bryant, who said that both himself and his brother desired to see +him elected President and that if he should be a candidate he could +count on the support of the _Evening Post_. + +Silas L. Bryan, of Salem, Illinois, the father of William Jennings +Bryan, wrote under date, December 19, 1871, that he considered Trumbull +the Providential man for the present crisis and that if he would consent +to be a candidate for the highest office he (Bryan) would take steps to +promote that desirable end. To this letter Trumbull replied that to be +talked about for the presidency impaired the influence he might +otherwise have to promote the reforms which he labored to bring about. +He did not, however, refuse Judge Bryan's offer of assistance. + +Joseph Brown, Mayor of St. Louis, wrote that he would rather see +Trumbull nominated for the presidency than any other man of either +party. To this letter Trumbull made a reply similar to that given to +Judge Bryan. + +Walter B. Scates, ex-judge of the supreme court of Illinois, wrote: "You +saved the Republican party in the impeachment trial and I now hope you +may save the country from corruption, pillage, high tax, class +legislation, and central despotism." + +Jesse K. Dubois, auditor of Illinois, perhaps the most sagacious and +experienced politician in the state, wrote, after signing the call for +the Cincinnati Convention: "With you as our candidate I would wager we +carry this state anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 majority as against +Grant." + +On February 23, Trumbull made a speech in the Senate defending the +Missouri Convention's platform against the objections of Senator Morton, +who had stigmatized it as a Democratic movement, because that party in +Connecticut had endorsed it in their state convention. In this speech +Trumbull took up each resolution in the platform and showed that it was +either in accord with Republican doctrine as affirmed in the national +platforms of the party, or had been commended by President Grant in +official messages to Congress. On the subject of civil service reform, +to promote which Grant had appointed the George William Curtis +Commission, he said: + + The great evil of our civil service system grows out of the + manner of making appointments and renewals and the use which is + made of the patronage, treating it as mere party spoils. Often + the patronage is used for purposes not rising to the dignity of + even party purposes, but by certain individuals for individual + and personal ends. It would be bad enough if the patronage were + used as mere spoils for party, but it is infinitely worse than + that under our present system. + + The Senator from Indiana, in his speech the other day, + undertook to create the impression that I was opposed to civil + service reform. Why, sir, I offered the very bill in this body + which became a law under which the Civil Service Commission was + organized. I introduced bills here years ago in favor of a + reform in the civil service and especially to break up the + running of members of Congress to the departments begging for + offices. In my judgment there is nothing more disreputable, or + which interferes more with the proper discharge of public duty, + than this hanging around the skirts of power begging for + offices for friends. + +The growth of the Cincinnati movement was signalized by a meeting at the +Cooper Union in New York City on the evening of April 12, of which the +_Nation_ said: "We believe that it was the most densely packed meeting +which ever met there. All approach within fifty yards of the entrance +was next to impossible in the early part of the evening, so great was +the crowd in the street." Both Trumbull and Schurz spoke here to +enthusiastic hearers. + +Among the letters received by Trumbull prior to the convention the most +thoughtful and weighty was the following written by Governor John M. +Palmer, of Illinois: + + SPRINGFIELD, April 13, 1872. + + I have felt considerable apprehension in regard to the + Cincinnati movement for the reason that I have doubted the + ability of men of the right stamp to control the action of the + proposed convention, and I have believed that it would be + better to endure the abuses and weaknesses and follies of + Grant's Administration for another four years than to + crystallize them by the mistake of making a bad nomination of + his successor. Grant is an evil that we can endure if we retain + the right to point out his faults in principle and practice, + but if some ancient Federalist should be elected to succeed him + what is now usurpation would be accepted by the people as the + proper theory of the government. But if the Cincinnati + Convention nominates a statesman I will support him, and you if + you are selected as the candidate. + + JOHN M. PALMER. + +Among the names mentioned as desirable candidates that of Charles +Francis Adams was the most prominent. After him came Lyman Trumbull, +Horace Greeley, David Davis, B. Gratz Brown, and Andrew G. Curtin. Adams +had been Minister to Great Britain during the war, and was now one of +the arbitrators of the Geneva Tribunal under the Alabama Claims Treaty. +He had written a letter to David A. Wells which showed that he did not +desire the nomination, was perfectly indifferent to it, but that if it +were given to him without pledges of any kind he would not refuse. He +said among other things: + + If the call upon me were an unequivocal one based upon + confidence in my character earned in public life, and a belief + that I would carry out in practice the principles I professed, + then indeed would come a test of my courage in an emergency; + but if I am to be negotiated for, and have assurances given + that I am honest, you will be so kind as to draw me out of that + crowd. + +This phrase was interpreted erroneously by some as an expression of +contempt for "that crowd," but, of course, it was not so intended. The +letter was not written for publication. Not only did Mr. Adams not seek +the nomination, but his son, Charles Francis, Jr., refused to go to the +convention, or to invite any of his Boston friends to go. + +Greeley was an anti-slavery leader, founder of the New York _Tribune_, +book-writer, lecturer, foremost journalist in the country, distinguished +both for intellectual power and personal eccentricity. Davis was a +member of the Supreme Court of the United States, by Lincoln's +appointment. Brown was governor of Missouri, and next to Schurz the most +prominent leader of the Liberal movement. Curtin had been the war +governor of Pennsylvania and was a man of high ability and unblemished +character. The name of Sumner had been frequently mentioned as one +suitable for the presidency, but he had not yet given his adhesion to +the Liberal movement. + +The New York _Herald_ of May 1 tells what I thought of the outlook when +I first arrived in Cincinnati, thus: + + CINCINNATI, April 27, 1872.--Mr. Horace White, who arrived this + morning, says that the Liberal movement has as yet only + penetrated the crust of public sentiment and that the masses of + the people are waiting in a half-curious way to see what will + be done here before they will make up their minds. + +Trumbull did not authorize the presentation of his name to the +convention until one week before its meeting. Then a qualified +acquiescence came in a letter to myself, dated Washington, April 24, +saying: + + I do not think I ought to be nominated unless there is a + _decided_ feeling among those who assemble, and are outside of + rings and bargains, that I would be stronger than any one else. + Unless this is the feeling, I think it would not be wise to + present my name at all.... D. A. Wells has enclosed me a letter + written on the 20th by John Van Buren, Governor Hoffman's + secretary, which he thinks undoubtedly represents the feelings + of the Hoffman wing of the New York Democracy. In this letter + Van Buren says the convention must not touch the question of + free trade, that the persons pushing this question are not + unanimous on the question, and that a non-committal resolution + would do harm in both directions. Grosvenor is very strenuous + about having such a resolution as will commit the convention + distinctly to revenue reform, and I fear will be a little + unreasonable about it. I had thought that a resolution might be + adopted which would assert the principle without being + offensive to anybody; perhaps something like the resolution + adopted by the last Illinois State Convention. Free-traders and + protectionists differ more about the application of principles + than the principles themselves in their efforts. Wells and + other reformers of the East will be reasonable on this + question. Van Buren further says in his letter: "One thing rely + upon--you need do nothing at Cincinnati except with reference + to drawing Republicans into the movement. Disregard the + Democrats. The movement of that side will take care of itself. + There will be no cheating nor holding back on their side. They + will go over in bulk and with a will." + +My reply to this letter, written immediately after the adjournment of +the convention, was the following: + + My judgment was from the beginning of our arrival here that you + could not be nominated, but I did not tell anybody so. Dr. + Jayne and Governor Koerner thought you could be; and their + judgment, I thought, should be set before mine. So I held my + tongue and did what I could. If I had taken the responsibility + of withdrawing your name as suggested by your letter, I should + never have had any standing in Illinois again--certainly not + among your friends. + +As this convention did not consist of delegates chosen by primary +meetings, any person of Republican antecedents or attachments was +permitted to attend and take part in it. To bring order out of chaos it +was necessary for the men of each state to come together and choose a +number corresponding to its population to cast its votes on all +questions arising, including the nomination of candidates. In states +which presented more than one candidate, as in Illinois, there was some +difficulty in making the proper division as between Davis and Trumbull; +but all such troubles were adjusted before the hour for assembling +arrived. The streets of Cincinnati had never beheld a more orderly, +single-minded, public-spirited crowd. At least four fifths had come +together at their own expense for no other purpose than the general +good. There was, however, a small minority of office-seekers among them. +The movement in its inception was altogether free from that class, but +when it began to assume formidable proportions and seemed not unlikely +to sweep the country, it attracted a certain number of professional +politicians, including a few estrays from the South. + +The office-seeking fraternity were mostly supporters of Davis, whose +appearance as a candidate for the presidency was extremely offensive to +the original promoters of the movement. As a judge of the Supreme Court +his incursion into the field of politics, unheralded, but not +unprecedented, was an indecorum. Moreover, his supporters had not been +early movers in the ranks of reform, and their sincerity was doubted. +They were extremely active, however, after the movement had gained +headway, and they were able to divide the vote of Illinois into two +equal parts (21 to 21), so that Trumbull's strength in the convention +was seriously impaired. Davis's chances were early demolished by the +editorial fraternity, who, at a dinner at Murat Halstead's house, +resolved that they would not support him if nominated, and caused that +fact to be made known. + +Greeley's candidacy had not been taken seriously by the editors at +Halstead's dinner-party. As an individual he was generally liked by them +and his ability and honesty were held in the highest esteem; but he was +looked upon as too eccentric and picturesque to find much support in +such a sober-minded convention as ours. Adams and Trumbull were the only +men supposed by us to be within the sphere of nomination, and the +chances of Adams were deemed the better of the two. We had yet to learn +that there are occasions and crowds where personal oddity and a flash of +genius under an old white hat are more potent than high ancestry or +approved statesmanship, or both those qualifications joined together. + +Before nominations were made, a platform was to be framed and adopted. +There were three main issues to be considered: Universal amnesty, civil +service reform, and tariff reform. On the first and second there was no +difference of opinion. Without them the Cincinnati movement would never +have taken place; the convention would never have been called. As to the +third, there was a difference of opinion which divided the convention +and the Committee on Resolutions in the middle, and it soon became known +that "there was no common ground on which the protectionists and revenue +reformers could stand." So wrote E. L. Godkin from the convention hall +to the _Nation_. He continued: + + The Committee on Resolutions, after sitting up a whole night, + were compelled to accept the compromise which he [Greeley] + proposed--the reference of the whole matter to the people in + the congressional districts. It is right to add that the + sentiment of the convention was overwhelmingly in favor of this + course. There is a touch of absurdity about it, it is true, but + it is at least frank and honest, and at all events nothing + else was possible. Even such outspoken free-traders as Judge + Hoadley, of this city, were compelled to concur in this + disposition of the question. + +As chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, and a free-trader, I can +confirm all that Godkin wrote, and add that the committee considered the +expediency of reporting to the convention their inability to agree and +asking to be discharged. This plan was rejected lest it should cause a +bolting movement, on an issue which was rated only third in importance +among those which had brought us together. It was decided that tariff +reform could wait, while the pacification of the South and the reform of +the civil service could not. + +Thursday night, May 2, I had gone to bed at the Burnet House when I was +aroused by a loud knock on my door and a voice outside which I +recognized as that of Grosvenor exclaiming: "Get up! Blair and Brown are +here from St. Louis." Without waiting for an answer he went on knocking +at other doors in the corridor and giving the same warning, but no other +explanation. I arose, dressed myself, and went down to the rotunda of +the hotel, where I found some of the supporters of Trumbull and of Adams +who were trying to discover why the arrival of Frank Blair and Gratz +Brown should produce a commotion in a convention of more than seven +hundred, of which Blair and Brown were not members. Blair was then the +Democratic Senator from Missouri. The two newcomers were not visible. +They had obtained a room and had called into it some of the Missouri +delegation and would not admit any uninvited persons. Presently +Grosvenor returned and told us that Brown intended to withdraw as a +candidate for the presidency and turn his forces over to Greeley, and +himself take the Vice-Presidency. Grosvenor considered this a dangerous +combination and said that steps should be taken to checkmate it at once. + +The Adams and Trumbull men here collected remained till about two +o'clock trying to learn more about the expected _coup_, but as nothing +further could be obtained they retired one by one to uneasy slumber. +Grosvenor maintained to the last that great mischief was impending, but +could not suggest any way to meet it. + +On the following day voting began, and the first roll-call showed Adams +in the lead with 205 votes; Greeley had 147, Trumbull 110, Brown 95, +Davis 92-1/2, Curtin 62, Chase 2-1/2. Carl Schurz, who was permanent +chairman of the convention and a supporter of Adams, then rose and with +some signs of embarrassment said that a gentleman who had received a +large number of votes desired to make a statement, whereupon he invited +the Hon. B. Gratz Brown to come to the platform. Brown advanced to the +front, and after thanking his friends for their support said that he had +decided to withdraw his name and that he desired the nomination of +Horace Greeley as the man most likely to win in the coming election. +There was great applause among the supporters of Greeley, but the +immediate result did not answer their expectations. Brown could not +control even the Missouri delegation. The first vote of the Missouri men +had been 30 for Brown. The second was, Trumbull 16, Greeley 10, Adams 4. + +All the votes are shown in the following table: + + ---------------------------------------------------------- + Roll-Call|Adams|Greeley|Trumbull| Davis|Chase|Brown|Curtin + ---------+-----+-------+--------+------+-----+-----+------ + First | 205 | 147 | 110 |92-1/2|2-1/2| 95 | 62 + Second | 243 | 245 | 148 |81 | | 2 | + Third | 264 | 258 | 156 |44 | | | + Fourth | 279 | 251 | 141 |51 | | | + Fifth | 309 | 258 | 91 |30 |25 | | + Sixth | 324 | 332 | 19 | 6 |32 | | + ---------------------------------------------------------- + +Although Greeley's plurality on the sixth roll-call was small, his gain +over the fifth was large, being 74 votes, that of Adams being only 15. +This was a signal to all who wished to be on the winning side to take +shelter under the old white hat. Changes were made before the result was +announced which gave Greeley 482 to 187 for Adams. Then Greeley was +declared nominated. The nomination of Gratz Brown for Vice-President +followed without much opposition. + +The supporters of Adams and of Trumbull were stunned. The first impulse +of their leaders, and especially of Schurz, was to put on sackcloth, and +go into retirement. Prompt decision, however, was necessary to the +editors of daily newspapers. Other persons could go home and take days +or weeks to think the matter over, but those who, at Halstead's table, +had decided against David Davis, must needs make another prompt decision +before the next paper went to press. They decided to support Greeley, +because they had honestly led their readers to an honest belief that the +Cincinnati movement was for the best interests of the Republic; and they +deemed it unfair to turn against it on account of personal vexation +against a man whose candidacy had been tolerated through the whole +proceedings. That Greeley was an unbalanced man we all knew. That he was +liable to go off at a tangent and that his self-esteem and +self-confidence might put him beyond the reach of good counsel in +affairs of great pith and moment, was the unexpressed thought of most of +us. But we knew that his aims were patriotic, and we reflected that some +risks are taken at every presidential election. Greeley had not yet been +proved an unsafe President, and that was more than could be said for +Grant. In fact, Grant's second term proved to be worse than his first. + +Schurz was more distressed by the "Gratz Brown trick," as it was +commonly called, than by anything else. This had the appearance of a +brazen political swap executed in the light of day, by which the +presidency and the vice-presidency were disposed of as so much +merchandise. He did not, however, in his thoughts connect Greeley with +the trade. It was physically impossible that the latter could have been +a party to it, if there was a trade. Nevertheless he considered the +German vote lost beyond recall by the bad look of it.[127] My own belief +is that Blair and Brown were jealous of Schurz's power in Missouri; that +they feared he would become omnipotent there, dominating both parties, +if Adams should be elected President; and that the only way to head him +off was to beat Adams. They chose Greeley for this purpose, not because +they had any bargain with, or fondness for, him, but because he was the +next strongest man in the convention. + +The engineers of the Liberal Republican movement went their several +ways. Those who held tariff reform of more importance than all other +issues abjured Greeley at once. E. L. Godkin and William Cullen Bryant +declared war against him because they considered him dangerous and +unfit. The following correspondence which took place between Bryant and +Trumbull was illustrative of the feelings of many others: + + THE EVENING POST, + 41 NASSAU STREET, COR. LIBERTY, + NEW YORK, May 8th, 1872. + + MY DEAR SIR, + + It has been said that you will support the nomination of Mr. + Greeley for President. I have no right to speak of any course + which you may take in politics in any but respectful terms, but + I may perhaps take the liberty of saying that if you give that + man your countenance, some of your best friends here will + deeply regret it. We who know Mr. Greeley know that his + administration, should he be elected, cannot be otherwise than + shamefully corrupt. His associates are of the worst sort and + the worst abuses of the present Administration are likely to be + even caricatured under his. His election would be a severe blow + to the cause of revenue reform. The cause of civil service + reform would be hopeless with him for President, for Reuben E. + Fenton, his guide and counselor, and the other wretches by whom + Greeley is surrounded, will never give up the patronage by + which they expect to hold their power. As to other public + measures there is no abuse or extravagance into which that man, + through the infirmity of his judgment, may not be betrayed. It + is wonderful how little, in some of his vagaries, the scruples + which would influence other men of no exemplary integrity, + restrain him. But I need not dwell upon these matters--they are + all set forth in the _Evening Post_ which you sometimes see. + What I have written, is written in the most profound respect + for your public character, and because of that respect. If you + conclude to support Mr. Greeley, I shall, of course, infer that + you do so because you do not know him. + + Yours truly, + HON. L. TRUMBULL. + W. C. BRYANT. + + UNITED STATES SENATE CHAMBER, + WASHINGTON, May 10, 1872. + + WM. C. BRYANT, Esq., + + MY DEAR SIR,--Your kind and frank letter is before me. I wish I + could see something better than to support Mr. Greeley, but I + do not. Personally, I know but little of him, but in common + with most people supposed he was an honest but confiding man, + who was often imposed upon by those about him. This would be a + great fault in a President, I admit, but with proper + surroundings could be guarded against, and almost anything + would be an improvement on what we have. One of the greatest + evils of our time is party despotism and intolerance. Greeley's + nomination is a bomb-shell which seems likely to blow up both + parties. This will be an immense gain. Most of the corruptions + in government are made possible through party tyranny. Members + of the Senate are daily coerced into voting contrary to their + convictions through party pressure. A notable instance of this + was the vote on the impeachment of Johnson, and matters in this + respect have not improved since. If by Greeley's election we + could break up the present corrupt organizations, it would + enable the people at the end of four years to elect a President + with a view to his fitness instead of having one put upon them + by a vote of political bummers acting in the name of party. + + Having favored the Cincinnati movement and Greeley having + received the nomination, I see no course left but to try to + elect him, and endeavor to surround him, as far as possible, + with honest men. Greeley had a good deal of strength among the + people and was strong in the convention outside of bargain or + arrangement. Many voted for him as their first choice, and in + Illinois I feel confident he is a stronger candidate than Adams + would have been. + + LYMAN TRUMBULL. + +Sumner, although urged by many of his warmest friends both before and +after the convention, including Frank Bird, Samuel Bowles, and Greeley +himself (through Whitelaw Reid), to declare his position, did not break +silence until May 31, when he made his great speech against Grant. The +speech remains a true catalogue of the shortcomings of Grant as a civil +administrator up to that time. All his sins of omission and of +commission were there set forth in orderly array, together with the +proofs. Sumner thus spared future historians a deal of trouble in +searching the records, but the speech was not very effective in the way +of changing votes. Sumner sometimes mistook himself for a modern Cicero +impeaching Verres. He piled up the agony in the fashion customary in the +pleadings of the ancient forum. He overlooked the signal services +rendered by Grant before he held any civil office. He did not make +allowance for the transition of a tanner's clerk, earning fifty dollars +a month and having a family to support, first to the command of half a +million soldiers in war time, and then to the presidency of the United +States in time of peace, all within the period of eight years. The +mistakes naturally arising from such crude beginnings, when meeting +gigantic responsibilities in quick succession, ought to have excited +pathos as well as censure. By giving due consideration to Grant's whole +career, he would have secured a better hearing for the part of it which +he wished to impress upon the public mind. + +Even now Sumner did not advise anybody to vote for Greeley. His omission +to do so was at once construed as an argument favorable to Grant. It was +said that the dangers involved in Greeley's eccentricities were so much +greater than anything that Grant had done, or could do, that Grant's +worst enemy (Sumner) would not advise people to vote for him. Not until +the 29th of July did the Massachusetts Senator publicly speak for +Greeley, and then only in a letter to some colored voters who had asked +his advice. It was then too late to exert much influence. It is doubtful +if even the colored men who had sought his advice gave any heed to it. +Probably the reason why Sumner did not speak earlier was that he +hesitated to break from his abolitionist friends, Garrison, Phillips, +and others, who had besought him not to join the Democrats. When he did +finally join the forces supporting Greeley, his old friend Garrison +turned upon him and chastised him severely in a series of open letters, +which Sumner declined to read. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[126] Chicago _Times_, April 22. + +[127] Frank W. Bird, of Boston, who went to Cincinnati as an anti-Adams +delegate, wrote to Charles Sumner on May 7: "Don't believe a word about +the trade, in any discreditable sense, between Blair and Brown on the +one part and the Greeley men on the other. Undoubtedly Blair wanted to +head off Schurz, and equally truly an arrangement was made, or an +understanding reached, on Thursday night, in a certain contingency to +unite a portion of the Brown and Greeley forces: but, except perhaps in +the motives of the leading negotiators on one side, there was nothing +unusual in the affair, nothing that is not usually--indeed, almost +necessarily--done in such conventions; nothing that was not contemplated +and even proposed by the Adams men." (Sumner papers in Harvard +University Library.) + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE GREELEY CAMPAIGN + + +My own feelings immediately after the nomination were set forth in a +telegram to the Chicago _Tribune_ published in its issue of May 4. The +chief part was in these words: + + CINCINNATI, May 3.--The nomination of Mr. Greeley was + accomplished by the people against the judgment and strenuous + efforts of politicians, using the latter word in its larger and + higher sense. The Gratz Brown performance has given the whole + affair the appearance of a put-up job, but it was merely a + lucky guess. The Blairs and Browns do not like Schurz. To + defeat a candidate who was likely to be on confidential terms + with Schurz, as either Adams or Trumbull would have been, was + the thing nearest to their hearts, and for this purpose Brown + made his appearance here. His speech in the Convention fell + like dish-water on the whole assemblage, and, being followed by + the transfer of the Missouri votes to Trumbull, instead of + Greeley, showed that he had no influence in his own delegation. + The changes from Brown to Greeley were few and far between, and + in a short time the convention only remembered that Brown had + been a candidate once and was so no longer. But the personal + popularity of Greeley was more than a match for the + intellectual strength of Trumbull and the moral gravity of + Adams. He was stealing votes from both of them all the time. + When the Illinois delegation at last perceived that the heart + of the convention was carrying away the head, and retired for + consultation, the surprising fact was developed that fifteen of + their own number preferred Greeley to any candidate not from + their own state. The supporters of Adams, while entertaining + the most cordial feeling for the friends of Trumbull, think + that if the latter had come over to Adams's corner the result + would have been different. I do not think so. If the Illinois + vote could have been cast solid for Adams at an earlier stage, + the result might have been different: but there was no time + when Adams could have got more than the twenty-seven votes + which were finally cast for him. The contingency of having to + divide between Adams and Greeley had never been considered, + and, therefore, no time had been allowed to compare views. The + vote of the state being thus divided, its weight was lost for + any purpose of influencing other votes. Then gush and hurrah + swept everything down, and, almost before a vote of Illinois + had been recorded by the secretary, the dispatches came rushing + to the telegraph instruments that Greeley was nominated. For a + moment, the wiser heads in the convention were stunned, though + everybody tried to look perfectly contented. Of all the things + that could possibly happen, this was the one thing which + everybody supposed could not happen. Not even the Greeley men + themselves thought it could happen. The only able politician + who seemed to be really for Greeley was Waldo Hutchins, of New + York, and even his sincerity was questioned by Greeley's + backbone friends as long as the Davis movement was regarded as + still alive. + +How the news was received by Trumbull was told by the New York +_Herald's_ Washington dispatch of May 3: + + ... The scene in the Senate, when the news was received, was + one of complacent dignity, such as only the members of that + body could arrange, even if they had studied to prepare + themselves for an art tableau. Mr. Fenton was the recipient of + the dispatches, and his chair was consequently surrounded by a + crowd of the less dignified Senators, who could not wait to + have the telegrams passed around. Trumbull was the most + undisturbed of all those on the floor. His equanimity + astonished his friends as well as the numerous strangers in the + galleries, who watched closely for indications of excitement in + his parchment-like face. In truth, he seemed to get the news + rather by some occult process of induction, if he got it at + all, than by the course usual to ordinary men. Other members + smiled, made comments, exchanged opinions and preserved their + dignity with customary success; but he alone asserted an + immobility of demeanor that will last for all time, in the + memory of its witnesses, as a remarkable instance of + self-possession. At last, when every one else had delivered + himself of some criticism he remarked to those in his + immediate vicinity: "If the country can stand the first + outburst of mirth the nomination will call forth, it may prove + a strong ticket." + +Carl Schurz was slow in reaching a decision to support the ticket. His +first endeavor was to induce Greeley, in a friendly way, to decline the +nomination, by showing him the sombre aspects of the campaign ahead. In +a letter dated May 18, he told Greeley that the dissatisfaction of an +influential part of the Liberal Republican forces was such that a +meeting had been called to consider the question of putting another +ticket in the field before the Democrats should hold their convention. +Other discouraging features were presented and the letter concluded with +these words: + + I have, from the beginning, made it a point to tell you with + entire candor how I feel and what I think about this business, + and now if the developments of the campaign should be such as + to disappoint your hopes, it shall not be my fault if you are + deceived about the real state of things. + +To this Greeley replied on the 20th, saying that his advices warranted +him in predicting that New York would give 50,000 majority for the +Cincinnati ticket, and that New England and the South would be nearly +solid for it, while in Pennsylvania and the Northwest the chances were +at least even. He ended by saying: "I shall accept unconditionally." + +The meeting foreshadowed in Schurz's letter to Greeley took place at the +Fifth Avenue Hotel on the 20th of June. It was composed mainly of +persons who had participated in the Cincinnati Convention and had been +greatly disappointed by Mr. Greeley's nomination. William Cullen Bryant +presided, but fell asleep in the chair soon after the proceedings began. +The first speech was made by Trumbull, who said that his mind was made +up to support the Cincinnati ticket. He thought that Greeley had gained +strength during the first month of the campaign and that the chances of +his election were good. He could see no reason for nominating another +ticket. That would simply be playing into the hands of the supporters of +Grant. + +Schurz's position, as reported by the _Nation_, was this: + + That he, more than any other man, was chagrined by the result + of Cincinnati; that he does not consider Mr. Greeley a + reformer, and has no expectations of any reforms at his hands, + and will say so on the stump; that he believes him "to be + surrounded by bad men"; that he (Mr. Schurz), however, is so + satisfied of the necessity of defeating Grant and dissolving + existing party organizations, that he is ready to use any + instrument for the purpose, and will, therefore, support + Greeley in the modified and guarded manner indicated above. He + looks forward, with a hopefulness bordering on enthusiasm, to + the good things which will grow out of the confusion following + on Greeley's election, and is deeply touched by the Southern + eagerness for Greeley. + +A private letter from E. L. Godkin to Schurz, dated Lenox, +Massachusetts, June 28, gives reasons for deprecating the course that +the latter had decided to take in the campaign. + + He has considered Schurz's words about Greeley; would be most + glad could he see any way to join in supporting Greeley, Schurz + being the one man in American politics who inspires Godkin with + some hope concerning them. He maturely considered what he could + and would do when Greeley was first nominated. In view of his + own share in bringing public feeling to the point of creating + the convention, he would have stood by Greeley if possible; saw + no chance to do so and sees none now; is satisfied he can have + nothing to do with Greeley. If Greeley gave pledges, and broke + them, "_as I believe he would_," it would be no consolation to + Godkin that an opposition would thereby be raised up. He went + through all this with Grant, who gave far better guarantees + than Greeley offers, "and he made fine promises and broke them, + and good appointments and reversed them, and I have in + consequence been three years in opposition." Cannot afford to + repeat this. "Greeley would have to change his whole nature, at + the age of 62, in order not to deceive and betray you," and + when he has done so it will be too late to atone for having + backed him by turning against him, which would then merely + discredit one's judgment, and invite suspicion of some personal + disappointment. Moreover, the small band of political reformers + will have fallen into disrepute and become ridiculous and the + country will be worse off than before. Feels that Schurz is + sacrificing the future in taking Greeley on any terms.... + +Parke Godwin was even more bitter against Greeley. He wrote to Schurz +under date May 28: + + "... I have so strong a sense of Greeley's utter unfitness for + the presidency that I cannot well express it. The man is a + charlatan from top to bottom, and the smallest kind of a + charlatan,--for no other motive than a weak and puerile vanity. + His success in politics would be the success of whoever is most + wrong in theory and most corrupt in practice." All the most + corrupt spoilsmen of either side are either with him now or + preparing to go to him. It is the first of duties to expose him + and his factitious reputation. Grant and his crew are bad,--but + hardly so bad as Greeley and his would be. Besides, Grant, + though in very bad hands, has his clutches full: Greeley's set + would be newcomers. + +The regular Republican Convention met at Philadelphia, June 5, and +nominated General Grant for President by unanimous vote. The names of +Henry Wilson, Schuyler Colfax, and several others were presented for +Vice-President. On the first roll-call Wilson had 361 votes and Colfax +306, and there were 66 for other candidates. Before the result was +announced, 38 votes from Southern States were changed to Wilson, giving +him 399, a majority of the whole number cast. This decision was brought +about by the wish of Grant himself, communicated to General Grenville +M. Dodge before the convention met. Grant had no liking for Colfax.[128] + +The platform of the convention laid stress on the imperative duty of +"suppression of violent and treasonable organizations in certain lately +rebellious regions and for the protection of the ballot-box." This meant +the stern execution of the Ku-Klux Law, under suspension of the writ of +_habeas corpus_, which was already in progress. The remainder of the +platform was either "pointing with pride" at past achievements, or +clap-trap of various kinds, including a promise to take good care of +capital and labor, so as to secure "the largest opportunities and a just +share of the mutual profits of these two great servants of +civilization." + +The Democratic National Convention met at Baltimore, July 9, and adopted +both the platform and the candidates of the Cincinnati Convention. This +involved a complete reversal of the party's principles as declared in +its last previous platform, but it was not inconsistent with inexorable +facts. There was nothing else to be done unless the party was determined +still to battle against the result of the Civil War. It was inevitable, +however, that there should be a remnant of the party that would never +vote for Greeley--the man who above all others had gored them most +savagely in the fights of a quarter of a century. The dissentients +called and held a convention at Louisville, September 3, where they +nominated Charles O'Conor of New York for President and John Quincy +Adams for Vice-President, both of whom declined. Other attempts to put a +third ticket in the field came to nothing. The recalcitrants either +voted for Grant or abstained from voting altogether. + +Trumbull took an active part in the campaign, speaking to large crowds +and almost incessantly in Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, +Indiana, and Illinois. His first speech was made at Springfield, +Illinois, June 26, a synopsis of which will serve to indicate the views +which he advocated. + + He said that he was glad to explain to Illinoisans the position + he had felt it his duty to take on many points. It was now more + than seventeen years that he had represented the state in + Washington. In that time the principles on which the Republican + party was formed had all been settled. Nothing remained but the + machinery, which had fallen into the hands of those who sought + to use it for merely selfish ends. During his service he had + sometimes not acted according to the views of all his + constituents, but he had not failed to follow his own sense of + duty and right. Within the last ten years many abuses had crept + into the Government and numerous defalcations had occurred, + perhaps the most noted being that of Hodge, paymaster, in the + office of the Paymaster-General, "whose defalcations, occurring + right under the eye of the Government, amounted to more than + $400,000." An investigating committee had reported to a + previous Congress great abuses in the New York + Custom-House--bribery and demoralization. At the beginning of + the recent session he [Trumbull] had introduced a resolution + for a joint committee of investigation, with power to send for + persons and papers; introduced it in good faith to unearth + frauds, if existent, and to correct them, without design of + injuring the party. "I was simple-minded enough to believe that + the Republican party, ... with which I had been identified for + so many years, would be lifted in public estimation ... if it + had the virtue and the honesty to expose, even among its own + members, wrong, corruptions, and fraud if fraud existed, and to + apply the proper corrective. And I was very much astonished + when that proposition was met by gentlemen in the Senate who + constitute what, for brevity's sake, I may denominate a + Senatorial Ring, denouncing me as unfaithful to the Republican + party and as throwing dirt upon it by offering a resolution to + inquire into the conduct of public officers." + + The public indignation aroused by this forced the Senatorial + Ring to action. "A party caucus of Republican Senators was + called, and a scheme devised to change the character of the + resolution, and to organize and pack the committee, which, + instead of going forth to uncover and expose corruption, should + go forth to conceal and cover it up. The proposition for the + joint committee of the two houses, with power to send for + persons and papers, was voted down, and in its place a + resolution was passed creating a committee of the Senate alone. + The members of the committee were selected in a party caucus, + and not a single Republican Senator who had originally favored + the investigation was placed upon the committee. This was + contrary to parliamentary law, and contrary to the plainest + principles of common sense, if the object was to discover + abuses, and contrary to that ordinary rule which says that a + child must not be put to a nurse who cares not for it. This + investigation was placed in the hands of the parties to be + investigated...." Even this committee, going to New York, could + not, however, shut their eyes to the enormous abuses there. But + they did give public notice that any merchants who had paid + bribe money to customs officials would be prosecuted to the + extent of the law, thereby securing the non-appearance of any + such merchant as a witness. They acted as if sent to + investigate merchants, not officials.... And the Senate Ring + would allow no measure to be considered tending to rectify + these abuses, wanting to keep the spoils to carry next fall's + elections. A bill from the House was referred to the Judiciary + committee, which had a majority of Ring members,--a bill to + inaugurate reforms and to protect merchants from plunder. + Although it was before the committee two months it was never + reported to the Senate. "I made two motions in the Senate to + have the committee discharged and to bring the bill before the + Senate, that it might receive its attention, but they were + voted down under party drill." + + "Let me tell you of another committee of investigation, raised + in the House of Representatives, and packed also by an + obsequious and partisan Speaker,--a committee, a majority of + which consisted of the friends of the Secretary of the Navy + whose conduct was about to be investigated. I want to tell you + what that committee did, and I think you will be astonished + when I state the fact that a committee of members of the House + of Representatives could have been found, who were so blinded + by party zeal, so full of bigotry or cowardice that they could + not see, or were afraid to expose, violations of the law on the + part of political associates. This committee was raised on the + motion of Governor Blair, of Michigan, a high-minded, + independent, and able Republican.... At his [Blair's] instance, + a committee was raised to inquire into certain transactions in + the Navy Department, presided over by Secretary Robeson.... + Among many of the things that the committee was instructed to + inquire into ... was a claim for building certain vessels for + the Government of the United States during the war. I have the + precise figures here, giving the exact amounts which the + Government contracted to pay for the construction of the three + vessels, Tecumseh, Mahopac, and Manhattan. The contract was + made in 1862, and the Government agreed to pay a contractor of + the name of Secor $1,380,000 for the construction of these + three vessels. After the contract was made, the Government + desired some changes in the plans of the vessels, and a board + of naval officers was appointed to superintend them and to + certify bills for extra work, which they did to the amount of + more than $500,000. The vessels were furnished, the contract + price paid--the sum due for the extra work was paid, and it was + all settled and closed in the Navy Department in 1865. But + these contractors, who had received more than $1,900,000 for + building the vessels and the extra work, came to Congress by + petition, and complained that they still had not received as + much as they ought, because they said that they were delayed in + their contracts by the action of the Government; that while + thus delayed the price of labor and of materials advanced, and + they had met with great loss, and they, therefore, asked + Congress to allow them something more. Congress, in 1867, + passed a law directing the Secretary of the Navy to look into + this matter and report to the next session. The Secretary + appointed a board of Naval officers, who made the + investigation, and reported to Congress that these Secors ought + to be allowed $115,000 more (I use round numbers)--$115,000 in + addition to what they had already received, and put into the + law these words, 'which shall be in full discharge of all + claims against the United States on account of the vessels upon + which the Board made the allowance as per this report.' Now, + do any of you, does any lawyer, ... know how to write a + stronger clause than that to end this claim? If you do, I do + not.... The Secors, in 1868, received the $115,000 and gave + their receipt.... Would you believe it possible that the + Secretary of the Navy would, after that, pay anything more?... + Mr. Robeson, in 1870, ... on his own motion, without any act of + Congress authorizing it, proceeds to reinvestigate this claim, + and without coming to Congress at all pays over to these + gentlemen $93,000 more. Well, that is not the worst of it. He + might just as well have paid them $93,000,000. The Congress of + the United States never appropriated any money to pay this + $93,000, but the Secretary of the Navy took the money + appropriated for other purposes and other years and paid it out + of that. This is bad enough.... But when this packed committee + came to examine this transaction, a majority of its members + reported that the transactions only involved a mere difference + of opinion as to the construction of the law, and, in their + opinion, the Secretary had construed it rightly. And Mr. + Robeson, instead of being rebuked, is commended by the + committee, and is continued in office. It is due to the + chairman of the committee--Governor Blair, of Michigan, and one + of his associates--the committee consisted of five members--to + say that they dissented from the majority report, and held that + the transaction was not only without authority of law, but in + direct violation of it.... + + "I was never a party man to the extent of being willing to + serve the party against my country and if, to-day, I am acting + with the Liberal Republican party, if I have denounced these + transactions at the hazard of being myself denounced, it was + done in good faith on my part, for the purpose of correcting + abuses, and appealing from a party tyranny established by a + Senatorial Ring to the honest, intelligent, upright citizens of + the country, who are bound by no such shackles as will compel + them to cover up fraud and iniquity in any party...." + + He mentioned the encroachments of the Federal Government, as in + the attempt to destroy the privilege of the writ of _habeas + corpus_ in the last session of Congress, as a bill virtually + placing the elections of the Southern States under the + direction of the President. If the people have become so far + indifferent to their rights as to permit the President to + suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ at will, and to control + and supervise their elections, their liberties are gone, and + "they have only to wait until a man sufficiently ambitious + reaches the Presidency, for him to grasp and maintain absolute + powers." + +The speech was two hours long, and concluded with this tribute to +Greeley: + + ... Mr. Greeley [he said] is a man of the highest character and + intelligence. No man in the land is better acquainted with the + public men of the country than he. He is a man of purity of + character, of strict honesty, who would not look upon + corruption and official delinquency with the least degree of + allowance. You may rely upon that and upon his bringing about + him the ablest men of the land to form a strong and able + Administration, because he knows who the able men are, and + could have no other motive than to make his Administration a + success, as he will not seek a reelection. I am not in the + habit of saying much about individuals, but I think I may say + to you that you may trust Horace Greeley for an honest + administration of the Government, and that is what the people + of the country want. You may trust him above almost all other + men in this land for bringing about that state of good feeling + between the North and the South, so essential to the peace and + prosperity of the nation. + +The campaign started with considerable eclat among the ranks of +Greeley's supporters and corresponding depression on the other side. +Carl Schurz, who took the laboring oar, at first with reluctance +bordering on gloom, gathered confidence as he progressed in his stumping +tour. Enthusiasm for the old white hat seemed to be no figment of +imagination, but a living reality. All eyes were fixed upon North +Carolina which had an election for state officers on the 1st of August, +and which the Liberals expected to win. The early returns seemed to +justify their confidence, but there was a change when the western +mountain districts were heard from. The supporters of Grant carried the +state by about 2000 majority. This wound was not so deep as a well nor +so wide as a church door, but it answered one purpose. It ended the "old +white hat" enthusiasm and turned attention to the more sober and solid +aspects of the campaign. That Greeley was an unbalanced character, that +he was lacking in steadiness, in mental equipoise and ability to look at +both sides of any question where his feelings were strongly enlisted, it +was easy to show by many examples in his brilliant career. His +occasional controversies with Lincoln during the war, in which he was +invariably worsted, were now reproduced with effect by the orators on +the Grant side, and the old white hat and coat and the Flintwinch +neck-tie were savagely pictured by Tom Nast in _Harper's Weekly_. There +were satirical persons who said that Greeley took as much pains to make +himself a harlequin as another might take to make himself a dandy. + +The attacks were not without effect upon people who had never seen +Greeley face to face. To his immediate friends in New York it seemed +necessary that he should show himself to the public so that people might +know he was a man of solid parts, of statesmanlike proportions and brain +power. He was persuaded to make a series of speeches in Indiana, Ohio, +and Pennsylvania in the month of September, as those states were likely +to have a decisive influence on the country in their local elections, +which took place in October. Accordingly he took the stump, beginning at +Jeffersonville, Indiana, and moving eastward. His speeches surprised +both friends and enemies by their high tone, argumentative force, good +temper, and versatility and vigor of expression. The main point which he +sought to enforce was the need of restored peace and brotherhood in all +the land. No pleading could be more persuasive or more touching. No +doubt can exist of the sincerity with which it was uttered. + +It was somewhat droll that in the last speech of the series he was +confronted by a speaker on the Grant side at Easton, Pennsylvania, +September 28, who predicted that if Greeley were elected all the furnace +fires in the Lehigh Valley would be put out and their working-people +thrown upon the almshouses. This to the stoutest champion of the +protective tariff then living! He was not, however, struck dumb by the +prospect of the early impoverishment of the iron workers. He said: + + A recent speaker of the opposition has asserted that if I were + made President all the furnace fires in the Lehigh Valley would + presently be put out. This seems incredible. All men know I am + a protectionist; but that I would not veto any bill fairly + passed by the Congress of the United States modifying or + changing the tariff is certainly true. I do not believe in + government by selfish rings, but I believe just as little in + government by the one-man power. I don't believe in government + by vetoes. The veto power of the President is not given him to + enable him to reject every bill for which he would have refused + to vote if a member of Congress, but only to be employed in + certain great emergencies where corruption or recklessness has + passed a measure through Congress which would not stand the + test of inquiry. I tell you, friends, I believe in legislation + by Congress, not by Presidents, and I should myself approve and + sign a bill which had a fair majority in Congress, although in + my judgment it was not accordant with public policy--with the + wisest policy. + +Although Greeley's stumping tour raised him in the public estimation, it +is doubtful if it gained him any votes. It was now too late. People's +minds were made up and nothing could change them, not even the +Credit-Mobilier scandal. General Grant was not concerned in this +scandal, but a number of his most distinguished supporters, the very +pillars of the Republican party, beginning with Vice-President Colfax, +were named as guilty of taking bribes to influence their votes in +Congress for the Union Pacific Railroad. This accusation was not made +public until September, and then by accident. Most of the persons +accused made denial, and since no investigation could be had until the +next session of Congress (a month later than the election), nobody was +bound to give credence to an unproved charge. The general answer of the +supporters of Grant was that they would not withhold their votes from +him even if the charge were true. Nor could they be blamed for so +saying. If the persons accused were really guilty, they would be +punished in due time, or at all events exposed, and exposure would +itself be punishment. It is needless to go into the details of the +Credit-Mobilier scandal here. It was investigated by an able and +impartial committee of the House, and all the guilty ones were visited +with such punishment as Congress could legally inflict. + +Of the three October states, Pennsylvania and Ohio gave large Republican +majorities and Indiana a small majority for Hendricks (Democrat) for +governor. This was decisive of the general result in November. Greeley +and Brown were overwhelmingly defeated. The only states that gave them +majorities were Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, and +Texas, having altogether 66 electoral votes. The others gave Grant and +Wilson a total of 272 electoral votes. The state of New York, which +Greeley, in his letter to Schurz, had claimed by 50,000, gave 53,000 +majority against him. + +I have always held the opinion that either Adams or Trumbull could have +been elected if nominated at Cincinnati. I think also that Adams was the +stronger of the two, because he had incurred no personal ill-will during +the twelve years of war and Reconstruction and because the minds of the +Democratic leaders who had encouraged the Liberal movement were eagerly +expecting him. There would have been no bolting movement in that +quarter. The Germans also were enthusiastic for Adams, and although they +would have supported Trumbull willingly, there would have been perhaps a +trifle less of cordiality for him. Neither of the two was gifted with +personal "magnetism," but either of them had as much of that quality as +Grant had, or as the public then desired. The voters were not then in +search of the sympathetic virtues. There was a yearning for some +cold-blooded, masterful man to go through the temple of freedom with a +scourge of small cords driving out the grafters and money-changers. +Adams was qualified for this role. He was also the man of whom the +Republican leaders had the gravest fears as an opposing candidate. + +The campaign and its result killed poor Greeley. The election took place +on the 5th of November. On the 10th he wrote a letter of two lines +marked "private forever" to Carl Schurz, saying: + + I wish I could say with what an agony of emotion I subscribe + myself, gratefully yours, Horace Greeley. + +He then took to his bed and his friends became alarmed. Frequent +bulletins were published in the _Tribune_ showing that he was a victim +of insomnia, from which, the paper said, he had been a sufferer, more or +less, at former periods of his life. He died on the 29th. His wife had +died one month earlier, October 30. History says that he died of a +broken heart.[129] + +That Greeley had been eager for public office from an early period was +shown by his famous letter withdrawing himself as junior partner from +the firm of Seward, Weed, and Greeley. When the Cincinnati nomination +came to him his fondest dreams seemed to be on the eve of fulfillment. +Now all such dreams had vanished, a political party of noble aspirations +had foundered on him as the hidden rock, his self-esteem had received an +annihilating blow, and his beloved _Tribune_, the labor of his lifetime, +was supposed to be ruined pecuniarily. Whatever his faults may have +been, he received his punishment for them in this world. He was only +sixty-two years of age, of sound constitution and good habits, and had +never used liquor or tobacco. He ought to, and probably would, have +lived twenty years longer if he had put away ambition and contented +himself with the repute and influence he had fairly earned. He was the +most influential editor of his time and country, but as a political +writer E. L. Godkin was his superior, and in fact Godkin, in the columns +of the _Nation_, contributed more than any other writer, perhaps more +than any other person, to his overthrow. + + * * * * * + +The state election of Louisiana in 1872 had resulted in a disputed +return for governor and legislature. One set of returns showed a +majority for John McEnery, the conservative candidate. Another set +showed a majority for William P. Kellogg, Republican. The sitting +governor, Warmoth, controlled the returning board and he favored +McEnery. A former returning board headed by one Lynch had been dissolved +by an act of the legislature. To this defunct board the supporters of +Kellogg appealed. The Lynch Board, without any actual returns before +them, declared Kellogg elected. They then procured an order from Judge +Durell, of the United States Circuit Court at New Orleans, to the United +States Marshal, Packard, who had a small military force at his command, +to seize the State House. This was done and the act was approved by +President Grant. An appeal to him from the better class of citizens of +New Orleans was rejected. The excitement in Congress growing out of this +usurpation was intense, even among Republicans. The Senate Committee on +Privileges and Elections was ordered to make an investigation, which it +did, and it reported, through Senator Carpenter on the 20th of February, +that the action of Judge Durell was illegal and that all steps taken in +pursuance of it were void. It recommended a new election and reported a +bill for holding it; but Senator Morton, who made a minority report, +prevented it from coming to a vote. Trumbull, who was also a member of +the committee, made a report more drastic than that of Carpenter and +supported his own view by a speech delivered on the 15th of February. + + Here you have [he said] an order sent from the city of + Washington on the 3d day of December, which was before Judge + Durell issued his order to seize the State House and organize a + legislature, and directing that nobody should take part in the + organization except such persons as were returned as members by + what was known as the Lynch Board, a board which the committee, + in their report drawn by the Senator from Wisconsin, say had + been abolished by an act of the legislature, and had not a + single official return before it. It undertook to canvass + returns without having any returns to canvass. On forged + affidavits, hearsay, and newspaper reports and verbal + statements, the Lynch Returning Board, consisting of four men, + without legal existence as a returning board, got together and + without one official return, or other legitimate evidence + before them, undertook to say who should constitute the + Legislature of Louisiana.[130] + +This was Trumbull's last speech in the Senate and was one of his best, +but other influences prevailed with Grant.[131] + +Thus Kellogg and his crew became the masters of Louisiana, and four +years later became the deciding factor in the Hayes-Tilden presidential +contest. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[128] This fact was given to me by General Dodge, in writing. + +[129] John Bigelow's Diary, under date Nov. 28, 1872, contains the +following entry: + +"Greeley is now in a madhouse, and before morning will probably be +dead--so Swinton tells me to-day; and Reid, whom I saw to-day, confirms +these apprehensions." _Retrospections of an Active Life_, v, 91. + +[130] _Cong. Globe_, 1873, p. 1744. + +[131] Rhodes thinks that the influence which prevailed with Grant in +this instance was that of Morton. (_History of the United States_, VII, +111.) + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +LATER YEARS + + +The defeat of the Liberal Republicans terminated Trumbull's official +career. His senatorial term expired on the 3d of March, 1873. The +regular Republicans carried the legislature of Illinois, and Richard J. +Oglesby was elected Senator in his stead. He was now sixty years of age +and he resumed the practice of his profession in the city of Chicago, +which had been his place of residence during the greater part of his +senatorial service. His law firm at the beginning was Trumbull, Church & +Trumbull, the second member being Mr. Firman Church and the third Mr. +Perry Trumbull, a son of the ex-Senator. Mr. William J. Bryan soon +afterward became a student in the office. Various changes took place in +the Trumbull law firm. Mr. Church removed to California, and his place +was taken by Mr. Henry S. Robbins, and the firm became Trumbull, +Robbins, Willetts & Trumbull. Mr. Hempstead Washburne, son of Hon. Elihu +B. Washburne, became a member of the firm later. Trumbull's reputation, +talents, and experience soon gave him a place in the front rank of his +profession, which he maintained till the end of his long life. I shall +not attempt to follow the details of his career at the bar except as +they touch upon public questions. The first affair of this kind was the +Hayes-Tilden disputed election of 1876. + +The second Grant Administration was more lamentable than the first in +respect of military rule, turbulence, and bloodshed in the South and +corruption in the civil service in the North. These evils became so +glaring and intolerable that the Republican party suffered a disastrous +defeat in the congressional elections of 1874, and failed to secure a +majority of the popular vote in the presidential election of 1876. The +opposing candidates in this contest were Hayes (Republican) and Tilden +(Democrat). One hundred and eighty-five electoral votes were necessary +to a choice. The undisputed returns gave Tilden 184 and Hayes 166. Those +of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were in dispute. It was +necessary that Hayes should have all of them in order to be the next +President. All of these states were under military control, and the +returning boards who had the power of canvassing the votes, and the +governors who had the power of certifying the result to Congress, were +Republicans. + +The excitement in the country when this condition became known was +extreme. No confidence was placed in the character of the Southern +returning boards. That of Louisiana consisted of three knaves and one +fool,[132] and the governor of the state was W. P. Kellogg, who had +acquired the office by the acts of usurpation described in the preceding +chapter. It was seen at once that unless some respectable tribunal could +be devised to decide between the conflicting claims the country might +drift into a new civil war. The first thing to be done was to endeavor +to secure a fair count of the ballots cast in the disputed states. To +this end a certain number of "visiting statesmen" were chosen by the +heads of their respective political parties to go to the scene of the +contest and watch all the steps taken by the canvassers of the votes. +President Grant appointed those of the Republican party and Abram S. +Hewitt, chairman of the National Democratic Committee, appointed the +others. Trumbull had voted for Tilden in the election, and he was +chosen by Hewitt as one of ten visiting statesmen for Louisiana. Senator +Sherman, of Ohio, was one of the Republican visitors. Congress passed a +law on the 29th of January, 1877, to create an Electoral Commission, +consisting of five Senators, five Representatives, and five judges of +the Supreme Court, to take all the evidence in regard to the disputed +elections and to render a decision thereon by a majority vote of the +fifteen members. Four of the five judges of the Supreme Court were named +in the act of Congress. They were Miller and Swayne, Republicans, and +Clifford and Field, Democrats, and the act provided that these four +should choose the fifth. It was the general expectation that they would +choose David Davis as the fifth member, as he was commonly classed as an +Independent, since he had been a candidate in the Cincinnati Convention, +which nominated Greeley. But, on the very day when the Electoral +Commission Bill passed, Davis was elected by the legislature of Illinois +as Senator of the United States, to succeed Logan whose term was +expiring. Davis accepted the senatorship and declined to serve as the +fifth judge. Thereupon Bradley was chosen in his stead. + +Trumbull was chosen as one of the counsel on the Tilden side to argue +the Louisiana case. On the 14th of February he appeared before the +Commission and offered to show that the votes certified by the +commissioners of election in the voting precincts of Louisiana to the +supervisors of registration, who were the officers legally appointed to +receive the same, showed a majority varying from six to nine thousand +for the Tilden electors; that the returning board did not receive from +any poll, voting place, or parish, and did not have before them, any +statement, as required by law, of any riot, tumult, act of violence, +intimidation, armed disturbance, bribery, or corrupt influence tending +to prevent a free, fair, peaceable vote; that the supervisors of +registration, without any such statements of violence or intimidation, +omitted to include in the returns of election, or to make any mention of +the same, votes amounting to a majority of 2267 against W. P. Kellogg, +one of the Hayes electors; that the votes cast on the 7th of November, +1876, had never been compiled or canvassed; that the votes had never +been opened by the governor in the presence of the other state officers +required by law to be present, nor in the presence of any of them; that +the law of Louisiana required that both political parties should be +represented on the returning board, but that all the members, four in +number, were Republicans, and that although there was one vacancy on the +board they refused to fill it by choosing anybody; that the returning +board employed as clerks and assistants four persons, whose names were +given, all of whom were then under indictment for crime, to whom was +committed the task of compiling and canvassing the returns, and that +none but Republicans were to be present; and that all the decisions of +the returning board were made in secret session. + + Not to detain you [said Trumbull] as to this Government in + Louisiana, I will only say that it is not a republican + government, for it is a matter that I think this Commission + should take official knowledge of, that the pretended officers + in the state of Louisiana are upheld by military power alone. + They could not maintain themselves an hour but for military + support. Is that government republican which rests upon + military power for support? A republican government is a + government of the people, for the people, and by the people: + but the Government in Louisiana has been nothing but a military + despotism for the last four years, and it could not stand a day + if the people were not overborne by military power. + +His speech was about two hours long, and he was followed by Carpenter +and Campbell on the same side. The leading argument on the Hayes side +was made by Mr. E. W. Stoughton, of New York, who contended that neither +the Commission nor Congress itself could go behind the official returns +certified by the governor of the state of Louisiana, and that the +recognition of Kellogg as governor by the President of the United States +was conclusive evidence of the fact that he was the person empowered to +act in that capacity. + +By a vote of eight to seven the Commission decided in favor of +Stoughton's contention, and the same rule was applied to all the other +disputed returns, and by this ruling the presidential office was awarded +to Rutherford B. Hayes. + +Under the circumstances then existing, and with the characters then +holding office in Louisiana, it is obvious that the latter had power to +throw out an unlimited number of Tilden votes if necessary to make a +majority for Hayes. It is not obvious that the supporters of Tilden had +power to intimidate an unlimited number of negroes; the number of the +latter was slightly less than the number of whites in the State, and it +was known that some of the negroes had joined the conservative party. +Moreover, the Kellogg government was shamefully illegal, even as +measured by the standards then enforced upon the South. It is fair to +presume, therefore, that Tilden was justly entitled to the electoral +votes of Louisiana. That is my belief although I voted for Hayes. + +It does not follow, however, that the decision of the Electoral +Commission was wrong. That body was bound to consider the remote as well +as the immediate consequences of its acts. It was engaged in making a +precedent to be followed in similar disputes thereafter, if such should +arise. If Congress, or any commission acting by its authority, should +assume the functions of a returning board for all the states in future +presidential elections, what limit could be set to their investigations, +or to the passions agitating the country while the same were in +progress? In short, the Electoral Commission was sitting not to do +justice between man and man, but to save the Republic. Even if it made a +mistake in the exercise of its discretion, the mistake was pardonable. + + * * * * * + +On the 3d of November, 1877, the subject of this memoir was married to +Miss Mary Ingraham, of Saybrook Point, Connecticut. The lady's mother +was his first cousin. Two daughters were born of this union, both of +whom died in infancy. + + * * * * * + +In 1880, when the next presidential campaign, that of Garfield and +Hancock, opened, the Democrats of Illinois nominated Trumbull for +governor of the State, without his own solicitation or desire. He was +now sixty-seven years of age, with powers of body and mind unimpaired. +In accepting the nomination he gave a brief account of his political +life extending over a period of nearly forty years. He acknowledged that +he had made mistakes, but said he had never given a vote or performed an +act in his official capacity which he did not at the time believe was +for his country's good. He made a vigorous campaign, but the traces left +of it in the newspapers contain nothing that need be recalled now. The +Republican majority in the state was between thirty and forty thousand. +The Republicans nominated Shelby M. Cullom for Governor and he was +elected. + + * * * * * + +The World's Columbian Exposition took place at Chicago in the year 1893. +During one of my visits to it I had the pleasure of dining with Mr. +and Mrs. Trumbull at their home on Lake Avenue. The only other guest was +William J. Bryan, whom I had not met before. The leading issue in +politics then was the free coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen to +one. Mr. Bryan was an enthusiastic free-silver man and a firm believer +in the early triumph of that doctrine. Trumbull was inclined to the same +belief, although less confident of its success. We had an animated but +friendly discussion of that question. President Cleveland had just +called a special session of Congress to repeal the Silver Purchasing Act +then in force, which was not a free-coinage law. I ventured to predict +to my table companions that the purchasing law would be repealed and +that no free-coinage law would be enacted in place of it, either then or +later. None of us imagined that three years from that time Mr. Bryan +himself would be the nominee of the Democratic party for President of +the United States, on that issue. Trumbull's geniality and cordiality at +this meeting were a joy to his guests. Our conversation, ranging over a +period of nearly forty years, filled two delightful hours. He was then +eighty years of age, but in vigor of mind and body I did not notice any +change in him. We parted, not knowing that we should not meet again. + +[Illustration: _AET. 80_] + +Trumbull's next appearance on the public stage was in the case of Eugene +V. Debs, who is still with us as a perpetual candidate of the +Socialistic party for President. In 1894 he was president of an +organization of railway employees known as the American Railway Union. +In the month of May a dispute arose between the Pullman Palace Car +Company and its employees in reference to the rate of wages, which +resulted in a strike. Debs and his fellow officers of the Railway Union, +for the purpose of compelling the Pullman Company to yield to the +demands of their employees, issued an order to the railway companies +that they should cease hauling Pullman cars, and, if they should not so +cease, that the trainmen, switchmen, and others working on the railways +aforesaid should strike also. As a consequence of this order twenty-two +railroads were "tied up." All passengers trains composed in part of +Pullman cars were brought to a standstill. Riots broke out in the +streets of Chicago. An injunction was issued against Debs by Judge +Woods, of the United States Circuit Court. Governor Altgelt, of +Illinois, was called upon to restore order in the city, but before he +did so President Cleveland, having been officially informed that the +movement of the mails was obstructed by violence in the streets of +Chicago, ordered a small body of troops to that city to break the +blockade. This they accomplished without delay and without bloodshed. In +the mean time Debs and his associates were put under arrest for +violating the injunction of the court. Debs employed Mr. Clarence Darrow +as his attorney, and Darrow applied for a writ of _habeas corpus_, which +was refused. Darrow appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States +and engaged Lyman Trumbull and S. S. Gregory as associate counsel. The +appeal was argued by Trumbull at the October Term in Washington City. +Trumbull had volunteered his service and refused a fee, accepting only +his traveling expenses. The court rejected the petition for a writ of +_habeas corpus_ and affirmed the jurisdiction of the circuit court. + +Both President Cleveland and the court were sustained by public opinion +in this disposition of Debs. On the 6th of October, a large meeting was +held at Central Music Hall in Chicago to consider the recent exciting +events. It was addressed by Trumbull and Henry D. Lloyd. Trumbull's +speech was published in the newspapers and in pamphlet form as a +Populist campaign document. It was extremely effective from the Populist +point of view, and was not, on the whole, more radical than the +so-called Progressive platform of the present day. While expressing +decided opinions on the subject of "judicial usurpation" (referring to +the Debs case without mentioning it), he exhorted his hearers to seek a +remedy by the action of Congress. "It is to be hoped," he said, "that +Congress when it meets will put some check upon federal judges in +assuming control of railroads and issuing blanket injunctions and +punishing people for contempt of their assumed authority. If Congress +does not do it, I trust the people will see to it that representatives +are chosen hereafter who will." The recall of judges, as a remedy for +unpopular decisions, had not yet been discovered. + +The testimony of persons who were present at this meeting is that +Trumbull showed no abatement of his powers as a speaker, and that the +audience "went wild with enthusiasm." + +In the month of December following, the leaders of the People's party in +Chicago, ten in number, requested Trumbull to prepare a declaration of +principles to be presented by them for consideration at a national +conference of their party to meet at St. Louis on the 28th. This paper +was drawn up and delivered to them in his own handwriting a few days +before the meeting and was published in the _Chicago Times_ of December +27, in the following words: + + 1. Resolved, That human brotherhood and equality of rights are + cardinal principles of true democracy. + + 2. Resolved, That, forgetting all past political differences, + we unite in the common purpose to rescue the Government from + the control of monopolists and concentrated wealth, to limit + their powers of perpetuation by curtailing their privileges, + and to secure the rights of free speech, a free press, free + labor, and trial by jury--all rules, regulations, and judicial + dicta in derogation of either of which are arbitrary, + unconstitutional, and not to be tolerated by a free people. + + 3. We endorse the resolution adopted by the National Republican + Convention of 1860, which was incorporated by President Lincoln + in his inaugural address, as follows: "That the maintenance + inviolate of the rights of the states, and especially of the + right of each state to order and control its own domestic + institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is + essential to that balance of power on which the endurance of + our political fabric depends, and we denounce the lawless + invasion by armed force of the soil of any state or territory, + no matter under what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes." + + 4. Resolved, That the power given Congress by the Constitution + to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of + the Union, to suppress insurrections, to repel invasions, does + not warrant the Government in making use of a standing army in + aiding monopolies in the oppression of their employees. When + freemen unsheathe the sword it should be to strike for liberty, + not for despotism, or to uphold privileged monopolies in the + oppression of the poor. + + 5. Resolved, That to check the rapid absorption of the wealth + of the country and its perpetuation in a few hands we demand + the enactment of laws limiting the amount of property to be + acquired by devise or inheritance. + + 6. Resolved, That we denounce the issue of interest-bearing + bonds by the Government in times of peace, to be paid for, in + part at least, by gold drawn from the Treasury, which results + in the Government's paying interest on its own money. + + 7. Resolved, That we demand that Congress perform the + constitutional duty to coin money, regulate the value thereof + and of foreign coin by the enactment of laws for the free + coinage of silver with that of gold at the ratio of 16 to 1. + + 8. Resolved, That monopolies affecting the public interest + should be owned and operated by the Government in the interest + of the people; all employees of the same to be governed by + civil service rules, and no one to be employed or displaced on + account of politics. + + 9. Resolved, That we inscribe on our banner, "Down with + monopolies and millionaire control! Up with the rights of man + and the masses!" And under this banner we march to the polls + and to victory. + +These resolutions were conveyed to the St. Louis meeting by Henry D. +Lloyd and F. J. Schulte and were adopted by the conference without +alteration. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[132] Rhodes, _History of the United States_, VII, 231. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +CONCLUSION + + +On the 22d of March, 1896, Trumbull made an argument before the Supreme +Court at Washington City. On the 11th of April, although ailing from an +unknown malady, he went to Belleville to attend the funeral of his old +and faithful friend, Gustave Koerner, and to make a brief address over +the remains. This journey was made against the advice of his physician. +At the conclusion of his remarks he became ill at his hotel in +Belleville. There was a consultation of physicians, who reached the +conclusion that he would be able to go home if he should go at once. He +decided not to delay, and he reached home on the morning of April 13. +Here another consultation of physicians took place at which a surgical +operation was decided upon. This led to the discovery of an internal +tumor which, in their judgment, could not be removed without causing +immediate death. He lingered till the 5th of June. Before his death he +made a calm and careful adjustment of his business affairs and gave to +his children and grandchildren keepsakes that he had for years preserved +for them. He passed away at the age of eighty-two years, seven months, +and twelve days. His funeral, which was largely attended, took place +from his house, No. 4008 Lake Avenue, and his remains were interred in +Oakwoods Cemetery. + +There was a meeting of the Bar Association of Chicago to prepare a +memorial on his life and services. On this occasion Hon. Thomas A. +Moran, former judge of the appellate court, said: + + At the end of his career in the United States Senate, Judge + Trumbull became a member of the Chicago Bar. He was thereafter + continuously, and up to the time of his death, engaged in the + active and laborious practice of his profession. The great + place that he had held in the councils of the nation, the + influence that he had exerted upon national legislation, and + the esteem in which he was held by the lawyers and the + statesmen of the country, entitled him to a lofty mien; but as + is well known to us all who had the privilege of his + acquaintance at the bar, while his demeanor was grave it was + also modest, and his manner was marked by a gentleness that was + most grateful to everybody with whom he came in contact. His + sincerity and honesty in the presentation of his case, his + respectful demeanor to any court in which he was engaged in a + legal contest, constituted him a model that the lawyers of our + bar might well imitate. He was in practice at the bar + forty-four years after he ceased to be a judge of the supreme + court of this state.... He was preeminently the grand old man + of this country. In his intercourse with his fellow citizens he + was a quiet, sincere, frank, honest American gentleman. Lyman + Trumbull was one of the very great men of the nation. + +Eulogistic remarks were made also by Senator John M. Palmer, ex-Senator +James R. Doolittle, and Judge Henry W. Blodgett. Mr. Doolittle said that +of the sixty-six members of the United States Senate who were there when +Secession began, only four were then living. They were Harlan, of Iowa, +Rice, of Minnesota, Clingman, of North Carolina, and himself +(Doolittle). + +Trumbull's forte was that of a political debater well grounded in the +law. Here he stood in the very front rank, both as a Senator addressing +his equals and as an orator on the hustings. He was always ready to +discuss the questions which he was required to face. He had a logical +mind, and the ability to think quickly and to choose the right words to +express his ideas. He never wasted words in ornament or display. He +never lost his balance when addressing the Senate, or a public audience. +He had perfect self-possession. He never stood in awe of any other +debater or hesitated to reply promptly to question or challenge. Nor did +he ever lose his dignity in debate. Once he came near to calling Sumner +a falsifier, when the latter had described him as recreant to the +principles of human liberty; but he restrained himself in time to avoid +an infraction of the rules of the Senate. And he afterwards came to the +defense of Sumner when the latter was deposed, by his more subservient +colleagues, from the chairmanship of the Committee on Foreign Relations. +On this occasion Sumner came forward holding out both hands, and with +tears in his eyes thanked him for his generosity. + +His rare forensic gifts would have been unavailing without confidence in +the justice of his cause, and a clear conscience which shone in his face +and pervaded him through and through. Although not endowed with +oratorical graces he grasped the attention of his audience at once, and +he never failed to convince his hearers that he had an eye single to the +public good. It was hard for him to separate himself from the Republican +party in 1871-72, but he considered it a duty that he owed to the +country to expose the rottenness then pervading the national +administration. He did not have General Grant in mind when he moved the +investigation of custom-house frauds in New York. He did not aim at him +directly or indirectly, but at the system which had grown up before his +election. Grant's mental make-up was such that he considered any +fault-finding with federal office-holders a reproach to himself, as the +head of the Government, and accordingly braced himself against it; and +this habit grew on him through the whole eight years of his presidency. +Yet Trumbull uttered no reproach against him during the campaign of +1872, or later. + +It was commonly said that Trumbull's nature was cold and unsympathetic. +This was a mannerism merely. He did not carry his heart upon his sleeve +for daws to peck at, but he was an affectionate husband and father and +grandfather, most generous to his parents, brothers, and sisters, and +one of the most unselfish men I ever knew. His poor constituents, who +were often stranded in Washington, needing help to get home, seldom +applied to him for assistance in vain, and this kind of drain was pretty +severe during his whole senatorial service. He was fond of little +children. He was often seen playing croquet with his own and others in +Washington City. Mr. Morris St. P. Thomas, a member of the Chicago Bar +who shared Trumbull's office during his later years, says that he never +knew a warmer-hearted man than Trumbull. He was kindness and +consideration itself to the people in his office. He was never cross or +short, and every young man there always felt that he could go into the +judge's room whenever he liked, and sit down and tell him his troubles. +Once it devolved upon Mr. Thomas to engage a stenographer for the +office. Of the several applicants the best was an unprepossessing, +hump-backed girl. "I told the judge about her--that she was the ablest +applicant, but very unprepossessing in appearance." "Why," said he, at +once, "that's the very reason to take her, poor girl!" And they kept her +for years.[133] + +In short, he was a high-minded, kind-hearted, courteous gentleman, +without ostentation and without guile. In business affairs he was +punctual, accurate, and spotless. He never borrowed money, never bought +anything that he could not pay cash for, never gave a promissory note in +his life, not even in the purchase of real estate where deferred +payments are customary. The best blood of New England coursed in his +veins and he never dishonored it, in either private or public life. + +It is perhaps too early to assign to Trumbull his proper place in the +roll of statesmen of the Civil War period. Those who come after us and +can look back one hundred years, instead of fifty, will doubtless have a +better perspective and a clearer vision than those who lived with the +actors of that momentous struggle. Some things, however, we may be sure +of. One is that the man who drew the Thirteenth Amendment of the +Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States and all places +under the jurisdiction thereof, will never be forgotten as long as the +love of liberty survives in this land. Not that the Thirteenth Amendment +would not have been passed and incorporated in our system even if Lyman +Trumbull had not been a Senator, or if he had never been born. It was a +consequence of the taking-up of arms against the Union in 1861 that +slavery should come to an end somehow. All that Lincoln did, all that +Trumbull did, all that Congress did, was to seize the occasion to give +direction to certain irresistible forces then called into existence for +blessing or cursing mankind. There were different ways of bringing +slavery to an end. That of constitutional amendment was the best of all +because it removed the subject-matter from the field of dispute at once +and forever. Lincoln paved the way for it. He prepared the public mind +for it by his two proclamations of emancipation. Trumbull and Congress +and the state legislatures did the rest. + +It may be fairly said that Trumbull took the lead in putting an end to +arbitrary arrests in the loyal states where the courts of justice were +open, and in prescribing the process of the suspension of the writ of +_habeas corpus_. This was a difficult problem to handle and it cost +Trumbull some popularity, since the loyal spirit of the North was very +touchy on the subject of Copperheads and easily inflamed against anybody +who was accused of sympathy with them. The law finally passed seems now +to be altogether just, and well suited to be put in practice again if +occasion for it should arise. + +Trumbull's place as one of the "Seven Traitors" who voted not guilty on +the impeachment of Andrew Johnson is now universally considered a proud +position, and I think that that of his neighbor and friend, James R. +Doolittle, of Wisconsin, who earned the title of traitor a year or two +earlier, is entitled to a place in the same Valhalla. Both are deserving +of monuments at the hands of their respective states. + +The reader of these pages cannot fail to discern a marked change in +Trumbull's course on Reconstruction about midway of the struggle on that +issue. Gideon Welles said, under date January 16, 1867, "He [Trumbull] +has changed his principles within a year.[134] The facts are that he +agreed with Lincoln's plan of Reconstruction, embodied it in the +Louisiana Bill, reported it favorably from the Judiciary Committee, +tried to pass it in the closing days of the Thirty-eighth Congress, but +was prevented by the filibustering tactics of Sumner. After Johnson +became President he adhered to that plan until Johnson vetoed the +Freedmen's Bureau and Civil Rights Bills. He then believed that Johnson +had betrayed the cause for which the nation had fought through a four +years' war and that the freedom of the blacks would be endangered if +Johnson were sustained by the loyal states. He accordingly went with his +party, but with misgivings, halting now and then, putting blocks in the +way of the radicals here and there. He ceased to be the leader of the +Senate as he had hitherto been, on this class of questions, and he +became a reluctant follower. When Sumner became angry and charged him in +1870 with betrayal of the cause of freedom, he hotly affirmed that he +had voted for every measure for the equal rights of the freedmen that +Congress had passed, including the three constitutional amendments. The +truth was that he had put obstacles in the way of several measures that +Sumner deemed indispensable, until it became plain that the Republican +party was determined to pass them and that further resistance would be +useless. Then he gave his assent to them. This course he pursued until +the Anti-Ku-Klux Bill was agreed to, by the Judiciary Committee, in +1871. Against this measure he voted in the committee and in the Senate. +He held it to be unconstitutional, and he used against it the same +arguments in substance that Bingham had used in the House against the +Civil Rights Bill; and both he and Bingham were right. Trumbull did not +change his principles, but he made an error in common with his party and +he corrected it as soon as he became convinced that it was an error. I +am open to the same criticism." + +Among interviews with men of note published in the Chicago press +concerning the deceased was one with Mr. Joseph Medill, not a friendly +critic but a political seer of the first class, who thought that +Trumbull might have been President of the United States if he had voted, +in the impeachment case, to convict Andrew Johnson. + + If he had remained true to his party [said Mr. Medill], Judge + Trumbull, I believe, would have died with his name in the roll + of Presidents of the United States. I have always thought that + he could have been the successor of Grant. He stood so high in + the estimation of his party and the nation that nothing was + beyond his reach. Grant, of course, came before everybody, but + Trumbull was next, a man of great ability, undoubted integrity, + and stainless reputation, pure as the driven snow and nearly + as cold. He could have been President instead of Hayes, or + Garfield, or Harrison.[1] + +Following the interview with Mr. Medill is one with Mr. Henry S. +Robbins, a member of Trumbull's law firm from 1883 until 1890. Mr. +Robbins did not find Trumbull a cold man. + + All the time we were together [said Mr. Robbins] I never heard + him speak a cross word to a clerk in the office. Among children + he was a child again. He and his little grandson, the child of + Walter Trumbull, who died several years ago, were inseparable + companions when the grandfather was at home. They played + together and talked together like two little boys. All the + children in the neighborhood where he lived were wont to come + to him with their little troubles and always found him one who + could enter into fullest sympathy with them. Judge Trumbull had + no worldliness. He seemed to practice law as a mission, not as + a vocation by which to make money. With his reputation and his + ability combined he might have died a millionaire. It always + gave him a pang to charge a fee, and when he fixed the charge + it was usually about half what a modern lawyer would charge.[1] + +Another partner, Mr. William N. Horner, said: + + I came here from Belleville where Judge Trumbull formerly + lived, and people down there--some of them at least--used to + think that he was a cold man. I never found him so. I remember + the first day we moved into these offices and while we were + getting settled, Judge Trumbull worked harder than any of us. + He was more solicitous for our comfort than he was for his own. + He was always trying to do something for the comfort of others. + He had all the gentleness and sweetness of disposition and + patience of a woman.[135] + +Mr. C. S. Darrow, who had charge of the Debs case in which Trumbull +volunteered his services, said that + + the socialistic trend of the venerable statesman's opinions in + his later years sprang from his deep sympathies with all + unfortunates; that sympathy that made him an anti-slavery + Democrat in his early years, and afterwards a Republican. He + became convinced that the poor who toil for a living in this + world were not getting a fair chance. His heart was with + them.[136] + +A letter to myself from the widow of Walter Trumbull, who died in 1891, +says: + + After my husband died, I, with my two boys, lived with Judge + Trumbull until his death; and I wish I could tell you how + beautiful that home life was. He was so devoted to his family, + so sweet and tender and thoughtful for us all. Others never + realized this and often thought him cold. He was so great a man + and yet so gentle and simple in his ways that little children + clung to him. + +Among the papers left by Trumbull was the following estimate of the +character and career of Abraham Lincoln. It was addressed to his son +Walter Trumbull and is here published for the first time: + + MY DEAR SON: I have often been requested to give my estimate of + Mr. Lincoln's life and character. His death at the close of a + great civil war in which the Government of which he was the + head had been successful, and the manner of his taking off, + were not favorable to a candid and impartial review of his + character. The temper of the public mind at that time would not + tolerate anything but praise of the martyred President, and + even now it is questionable whether the truthful history of his + life by Mr. Herndon, his lifelong friend, and law partner for + twenty years, will be received with favor. As I could not give + any other than a truthful narration of Mr. Lincoln's character, + as he was known to me, I have hitherto declined to write + anything for the public concerning him. Having known him at + different times as a political adversary and a political + friend, my opportunities for judging his public life and + character were from different standpoints. We were members of + the Illinois House of Representatives in 1840. He was a Whig + and I a Democrat, but we had no controversies, political or + otherwise. Indeed, Mr. Lincoln took very little part in the + legislation of that session. It was the period when, as + related by Mr. Herndon, he was engaged in love affairs which + some of his friends feared had well-nigh unsettled his mental + faculties. I recall but one speech he made during the session. + In that he told a story which convulsed the House to the great + discomfiture of the member at whom it was aimed. Mr. Lincoln + was regarded at that time by his political friends as among + their shrewdest and ablest leaders, and by his political + adversaries as a formidable opponent. Contemporary with him in + the legislature of 1840 were Edward D. Baker, William A. + Richardson, William H. Bissell, Thomas Drummond, John J. + Hardin, John A. McClernand, Ebenezer Peck, and others whose + subsequent careers in the national councils, on the field of + battle, and in civil life have shed lustre on their country's + history. It is no mean praise to say of Mr. Lincoln that among + this galaxy of young men convened at the capital of Illinois in + 1840, to whom may be added Stephen A. Douglas, although not + then a member of the legislature, he stood in the front rank. + + As a lawyer Mr. Lincoln was painstaking, discriminating, and + accurate. He mastered his cases, and had a most happy and + fascinating way of presenting them. He was logical, fair, and + candid. It was said of him by one of the most eminent judges + who ever presided in Illinois, that after Mr. Lincoln had + opened a case he [the judge] fully understood both sides of it. + Some of Mr. Lincoln's contemporaries at the bar were more + learned, and better lawyers, but no one managed a case, which + he had time to thoroughly study and understand, more adroitly. + The breaking-up of the Whig and Democratic parties in 1854, + growing out of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and the + opening of the territory to slavery, threw Mr. Lincoln and + myself together politically. We were both opposed to the spread + of slavery, and from the foundation of the Republican party + till his death we were in political accord. I do not claim to + have been his confidant, and doubt if any man ever had his + entire confidence. He was secretive, and communicated no more + of his own thoughts and purposes than he thought would subserve + the ends he had in view. He had the faculty of gaining the + confidence of others by apparently giving them his own, and in + that way attached to himself many friends. I saw much of him + after we became political associates, and can truthfully say + that he never misled me by word or deed. He was truthful, + compassionate, and kind, but he was one of the shrewdest men I + ever knew. To use a common expression he was "as cunning as a + fox." He was a good judge of men, their motives, and purposes, + and knew how to wield them to his own advantage. He was not + aggressive. Ever ready to take advantage of the public current, + he did not attempt to lead it. He did not promulgate the + article of war enacted by Congress forbidding army and navy + officers from employing their forces to return slaves to their + masters, under penalty of dismissal from the service, till more + than six months after its passage. It was more than nine months + after the enactment of a law by Congress declaring free all + slaves of rebels captured, or coming within the Union lines, or + found in any place occupied by rebel forces and afterwards + occupied by the forces of the Union, that he issued the + proclamation declaring free the slaves then within the rebel + lines, all of whom, belonging to persons in rebellion, were + made free by the act of Congress as soon as the Union forces + occupied the country, and till then the proclamation could not + be enforced. When applied to by a friend, just previous to the + meeting of the convention at Baltimore which nominated him for + a second term, to indicate what resolutions or policy he + desired the convention to adopt, he declined to suggest any. + These and many other illustrations might be given to show that + Mr. Lincoln was a follower and not a leader in public affairs. + Without attempting to form or create public sentiment, he + waited till he saw whither it tended, and then was astute to + take advantage of it. Some of Mr. Lincoln's admirers, instead + of regarding his want of system, hesitancy, and irresolution as + defects in his character, seek to make them the subject of + praise, as in the end the rebellion was suppressed, and slavery + abolished, during his administration, ignoring the fact that a + man of more positive character, prompt and systematic action, + might have accomplished the same result in half the time, and + with half the loss of blood and treasure. + + Mr. Lincoln was by no means the unsophisticated, artless man + many took him to be. Mr. Swett, a lifelong friend and admirer, + writing to Mr. Herndon, says: "One great public mistake of his + character, as generally received and acquiesced in, is that he + is considered by the people of this country as a frank, + guileless, and unsophisticated man. There never was a greater + mistake. Beneath a smooth surface of candor, and apparent + declaration of all his thoughts and feelings, he exercised the + most exalted tact, and the widest discrimination.... In dealing + with men he was a trimmer, and such a trimmer as the world has + never seen."[137] + + Herndon in his "Lincoln," at page 471, says: "He had a way of + pretending to assure his visitor that in the choice of his + advisers he was free to act as his judgment dictated, although + David Davis, acting as his manager at the Chicago Convention, + had negotiated with the Pennsylvania and Indiana delegations, + and assigned places in the Cabinet to Simon Cameron and Caleb + Smith, besides making other arrangements which Mr. Lincoln was + expected to satisfy." + + Another popular mistake is to suppose Mr. Lincoln free from + ambition. A more ardent seeker after office never existed. From + the time when, at the age of twenty-three, he announced himself + a candidate for the legislature from Sangamon County, till his + death, he was almost constantly either in office, or struggling + to obtain one. Sometimes defeated and often successful, he + never abandoned the desire for office till he had reached the + presidency the second time. Swett says, "He was much more eager + for it [a second nomination] than for the first," and such was + known to his intimate friends to be the fact, though his manner + to the public would have indicated that he was indifferent to a + second nomination. When first a candidate for the presidency + Mr. Herndon tells us, "He wrote to influential party workers + everywhere," promising money to defray the expenses of + delegates to the convention favoring his nomination. + + While ardently devoted to the Union, Mr. Lincoln had no + well-defined plan for saving it, but suffered things to drift, + watching to take advantage of events as they occurred. He was a + judge of men and knew how to use them to advantage. He brought + into his Cabinet some of the ablest men in the nation, and left + to them the management of their respective departments. This + country never had an abler head of the Treasury Department than + Salmon P. Chase. To his skillful management of the finances the + country was indebted for the means to carry on the war of the + rebellion, and bring it to a successful issue. For the + distinguished ability with which the State and War Departments + were managed during the rebellion the country is greatly + indebted to Mr. Seward and Mr. Stanton. Other members of Mr. + Lincoln's Cabinet were men of great executive ability. Lincoln + was unmethodical and without executive ability, but he selected + advisers who possessed these qualities in an eminent degree. + + To sum up his character, it may be said that as a man he was + honest, pure, kind-hearted, and sympathetic; as a lawyer, + clear-headed, astute, and successful; as a politician, + ambitious, shrewd, and farseeing; as a public speaker, + incisive, clear, and convincing, often eloquent, clothing his + thoughts in the most beautiful and attractive language, a + logical reasoner, and yet most unmethodical in all his ways; as + President during a great civil war he lacked executive ability, + and that resolution and prompt action essential to bring it to + a speedy and successful close; but he was a philanthropist and + a patriot, ardently devoted to the Union and the equality and + freedom of all men. He presided over the nation in the most + critical period of its history, and lived long enough to see + the rebellion subdued, and a whole race lifted from slavery to + freedom. The fact that he was at the head of the nation when + these great results were accomplished, and of his most cruel + assassination, before there was time to fully appreciate the + great work that had been done during his administration, will + forever endear him to the American people, and hand his name + down to posterity as among the best, if not the greatest, of + mankind. + +Another manuscript, addressed to Mrs. Gershom Jayne, the mother of the +first Mrs. Trumbull, in answer to a communication from her, gives +Trumbull's views on religion: + + CHICAGO, Apr. 22, 1877. + + DEAR MOTHER: I scarcely know how to reply to your texts of + Scripture and your solicitude for me. If the fervent prayers of + the righteous avail, it would seem as if yours and those of my + departed Julia should have their influence, and I sometimes + feel as if the spirit of my dear Julia was even now not far + away. That I am not what I should be is too true: I feel it + and I know it, and yet I trust the influence and prayers of + those who have loved me have not been entirely thrown away. I + have abundant reason to be thankful to our Heavenly Father for + his protection and ten thousand kindnesses to me which I know I + have not deserved. How often when the way was dark before me + has an unseen hand carried me safely through! And yet, whilst + ever ready to acknowledge my own imperfection and impotence, I + suppose I know nothing of, or at best see but as through a + glass dimly, that change of heart of which the converted speak, + and which comes of a faith it has not been given me to possess. + I certainly hope through the Saviour's interposition for a + happy hereafter, but at the same time am obliged to confess + that the way is to me dark and mysterious, and by no means as + discernible as it appears to some others. I rejoice that they + can see it clearly and wish that I could too.... + + Affectionately yours, + LYMAN TRUMBULL. + +Three sons of Lyman Trumbull reached mature years: Walter, Perry, and +Henry. The latter died unmarried, January 20, 1895. + +Walter, the eldest, was married September, 1876, to Miss Hannah Mather +Slater. Three sons were born of this union. The first of these, Lyman +Trumbull, Jr., died in infancy. The second, Walter S., was born in 1879, +married Miss Marjorie Skinner, of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1905, and +now resides in New York City. The third, Charles L., born in 1884, +married in 1910 Miss Lucy Proctor, of Peoria, Illinois, and now resides +in Chicago. Walter Trumbull died October 25, 1891. + +Perry Trumbull was married to Mary Caroline Peck, daughter of Ebenezer +Peck, judge of the United States Court of Claims, in 1879. Four children +were born to them: (1) Julia Wright, married to H. Thompson Frazer, +M.D., now resides at Asheville, North Carolina; (2) Edward A., married +Anna Whitby, and resides at Seattle, Washington; (3) Charles P., +married, resides at Las Vegas, New Mexico; (4) Selden, resides in +Chicago. Perry Trumbull died December 10, 1902. + +Mrs. Mary Ingraham Trumbull, widow of Lyman Trumbull, resides at +Saybrook Point, Connecticut. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[133] Interview, June 13, 1910. + +[134] _Diary of Gideon Welles_, III, 21. + +[135] Chicago _Times_, June 26, 1896. + +[136] Chicago _Times_, June 26, 1896. + +[137] Herndon's _Life of Lincoln_, 537, 538. + +THE END + + + + +INDEX + + +Throughout the Index, the Initial T., standing alone, represents the +subject of the book. + + Abolition movement, the, and the murder of Lovejoy, 10. + + Act of March 27, 1868, purpose of, 328, 329; + passed by Congress, and vetoed, 329; + passed over veto, 330; + its application to McCardle case glaringly unjust, 330. + + Adams, Charles Francis, Seward's dispatches of April, 1861, and + July, 1862, to, 210 _ff._; + proposed for Liberal Republican nomination for President, 372, 373, + 374, 381; + his attitude regarding the nomination, 377, 378; + defeated by Greeley, 383, 384; + why Blair and Brown opposed him, 385 and _n._; + a stronger candidate than T., 402, 403; xxi, 182, 389, 390. + + Adams, Charles Francis, Jr., _The Trent Affair_, etc., 349 _n._; 353, + 378. + + Adams, John, xxiii. + + Adams, John Quincy, xxii, 27, 103. + + Adams, John Quincy, 2d, nominated for Vice-President by dissentient + Democrats (1872), 394; + declines, 394. + + Akerman, Amos T., succeeds Hoar as Attorney-General, 350. + + Alabama, admission of, xxix; + and the 13th Amendment, 229; + order for reconstruction of, 238. + + Alabama Claims, T. on, 348; + Grant's great service in settling, 362. + + Aldrich, Cyrus, 68. + + Alien and Sedition laws, xxiii. + + Allen, G. T., 42, 43, 46 _n._ + + Allen, Robert, 13. + + Allison, John, 69. + + Allison, William B., Senator, 304, 346. + + Altgeld, John P., Governor, and the Pullman strike, 414. + + Alton, Ill., T. removes to, 21. + + Alton riot, the, 8-10. + + American Bottom, locus of slavery in Ill., in 1783, 23. + + _American Historical Review_, quoted, 174. + + American Railway Union, 413. + + Ammen, Jacob, General, 206, 208. + + Amnesty, Johnson's proclamation of, 239. + + Amnesty bill, debated in Senate, 359; + amended by Sumner, and rejected, 359; + reintroduced and passed, 359, 360. + + Anderson, Robert, Major, proposed recall of, from Sumter, 122, 123; + 128, 155. + _And see_ Sumter. + + Andrew, John A., Governor, 287, 307 _n._ + + Anthony, Henry B., Senator, his attitude on ousting of Sumner from + Foreign Affairs Committee, 347; 314, 364, 366, 367. + + Anti Ku-Klux bill. _See_ Ku-Klux Bill + + Anti-Nebraska Democrats, in Ill. legislature, 41 _ff._; + and the Senatorial election of 1854, 46 _n._ + + Archer, William B., 69. + + "Arm-in-Arm Convention." _See_ National Union Convention. + + Armstrong, postmaster at St. Louis, 81. + + Arnold, I. N., Congressman, 207. + + Arrests, arbitrary, T's resolution of inquiry concerning, 191 _ff._; + censured by Democratic Convention, 193; + license to make, transferred to Stanton, 197; + effect of change, 197, 198; + action of Democrats on, 197; + T. took lead in stopping, in loyal states, 422, 423. + _And see_ Habeas corpus. + + Arthur, Chester A., appointed Collector of New York, 368. + + Asay, E. G., 208. + + Ashley, James M., Congressman, 228 _n._ + + Atchison, David R., Senator, his advice to Missourians, 52; 49, 54. + + Atkinson, Edward, 353. + + Atzerodt, conspirator, 289. + + + Babcock, Orville E., sent by Grant to San Domingo, 342, 362, 369. + + Bacon Academy, 3. + + Badger, George E., 49. + + Bailey, G., quoted on Dred Scott case, 83. + + Baker, Edward D., Senator, 10, 132, 427. + + Baker, Henry L., 42, 43, 46. + + Baldwin, J. B., and Lincoln's offer to evacuate Sumter, 159, 160; + his version contradicted by Botts, 160, 161; + R. L. Dabney's account of interview of, with Lincoln, 161, 162. + + Bancroft, George, wrote Johnson's first message, 244, 245. + + Banks, Nathaniel P., General, 36, 87, 102, 232, 233. + + Barney, Hiram, Collector of New York, 147, 181, 182. + + Barrett, A. B., quoted, 117. + + Bates, Edward, candidate for Republican nomination in 1860, 103; + and enforcement of Confiscation Act, 177; 104, 150. + + Bayard, James A., Senator, 200, 201, 228. + + Bayard, Thomas F., Senator, 366. + + Beecher, Henry W., 287. + + Belknap, William W., General, 362. + + Belleville, Ill., T. settles at, 5, 6; + described by Dickens, 14, 15. + + Belleville _Advocate_, the, 323. + + Belmont, August, quoted, on Liberal Republican movement, 373, 374. + + Benjamin, Judah P., Senator, on the Dred Scott case, 82; + his reply to Douglas, 95, 96; + contrasts Douglas and Lincoln, 96. + + Benton, Thomas H., Senator, 126. + + Bigelow, Israel B., quoted, 217. + + Bigelow, John, his Diary quoted, 403 _n._ + + Bingham, John A., Congressman, opposes Civil Rights bill, 271, 272, + 281; + on Reconstruction Committee, 281; + proposes amendment to Constitution, 282; + amends Georgia bill, 298, 299; 196, 304, 309, 339, 424. + + Bird, Frank W., quoted, on Cincinnati nominations, 385 _n._; 387. + + Birney, James G., 37, 40. + + Bishop, Mr., killed in Alton riot, 9. + + Bissell, W. H., Governor, quoted, 10, 69, 70, 74, 88, 427. + + Black, Jere. S., counsel for McCardle, 327. + + Blaine, James G., interview of, with author, on revenue reform, 354. + + Blair, Austin, Congressman, 397, 398. + + Blair, F. P., General, Democratic candidate for Vice-President (1868), + 333; + and the Cincinnati convention, 385 and _n._; 37, 120, 382. + + Blair, Gist, quoted, 220 _n._ + + Blair, Montgomery, quoted, on Cameron's appointment, 151; + on Cameron's emancipation hobby, 172 _n._; + his resignation as Postmaster General and Fremont's withdrawal, 220 + and _n._; + on reconstruction, 293; 83, 112, 157, 234, 307 _n._ + + Blatchford, Samuel J., Justice, 275. + + Blodgett, Henry W., 419. + + Blow, Henry T., 281. + + Bonifant, U. S. Marshal, 195. + + Booth, J. Wilkes, 289. + + Border Ruffians. _See_ Missourians in Kansas. + + Borders, Sarah, 28, 29. + + Borie, Adolph, appointed Secretary of Navy, 337; + resigns, 337. + + Boston _Advertiser_, 300. + + Botts, John Minor, his _Great Rebellion_ quoted on Lincoln's offer to + evacuate Sumter, 159, 160; + denies Baldwin's story, 160, 161. + + Boutwell, George S., Congressman, appointed Secretary of Treasury, + 336, 337; + and the Leet and Stocking scandal, 364, 365; 281, 291, 304, 309, + 339. + + Bowles, Samuel, 86, 353, 387. + + Bradley, Joseph P., Justice, 275, 276, 409. + + Brainard, Daniel, 80. + + Brayman, Mason, 13. + + Breckinridge, John C., elected Vice-President (1856), 70; + nominated for President (1860), by seceding delegates, 96. + + Brinkerhoff, R., 353. + + Brooks, Preston S., Congressman, his assault on Sumner, 65. + + "Brother Jonathan," 2 _n._ + + Brown, Albert G., Senator, 63. + + Brown, B. Gratz, elected governor of Mo. as a liberal, 352; + candidate for Liberal Republican nomination, 377, 378; + arrives at Cincinnati, 382; + withdraws in favor of Greeley, 383; + nominated for Vice-President, 384; + divers views of his course, 384, 385 and _n._; + nominated by Democrats, 394; 220, 285, 389, 402. + + Brown, George T., 80. + + Brown, John, his raid on Harper's Ferry, 96-100; + author's impression of, 97; + his own view of his mission, 97, 98; + T. on moral and legal aspects of the raid, 98, 99; 53. + + Brown, Joseph, 375. + + Brown, William G., quoted, xxxiv. + + Brown, W. H., 87. + + Browning, Orville H., Secretary of Interior, his views on question of + territorializing states, 291; 92, 194, 197, 285, 307. + + Brownlow, W. G., reconstruction governor of Tenn., 237. + + Bryan, Silas L., 375. + + Bryan, William J., student in T.'s office, 407; + author's meeting with (1893), 413. + + Bryant, John H., quoted, 67 and _n._; 375. + + Bryant, William Cullen, refuses to support Greeley, 385; + correspondence with T. thereon, 386, 387; 139, 140, 141, 145, 287, + 353, 375, 391. + + Buchanan, James, elected President, 70; + appoints Walker Governor of Kansas, 71; + and the Lecompton Constitution, 73; + his message to Congress on Topeka and Lecompton constitutions, + answered by T., 76, 77, and by Douglas, 77; + said to favor rejection of pro-slavery clause, 78; + recommends admission of Kansas under Lecompton Constitution, 81; + his message thereon discussed by T., 81, 82; + Chief Justice Caton on his attitude toward Lecomptonism, 84, 85; + and Justice McLean, 122, 123 and _n._; + policy of his government toward secessionists, 127, 128; + takes sides for the Union under pressure, 128; 74, 75, 113. + + Buchanan Democrats in Ill., adopt name of National Democracy, 89; + Lincoln quoted concerning, 90; + their small poll, 91; + their poll in 1860 even smaller, 96. + + Buckalew, Charles R., Senator, 285, 329. + + Buckingham, William A., Senator, 366. + + Bull Run, first battle of, described by T. in letters to Mrs. T., + 165-167. + + Bullock, Rufus P., reconstruction governor of Georgia, 297, 298, + 299, 300. + + Burchard, Horatio C., Congressman, 354. + + Burke, Edmund, 358. + + Burlingame, Anson, 86, 88. + + Burnside, Ambrose E., General, orders arrest of Vallandigham, 204; + his proceedings against the Chicago _Times_, 206-209; + his order revoked by Lincoln, 208; + defeated at Fredericksburg, 211. + + Butler, Benjamin F., Congressman, reports Georgia bill, 298; + author of 10th article of impeachment, 311; 304, 309, 359, 362. + + Butler, Fanny Kemble, xxxiv. + + Butler, William, quoted, 148; 149, 151. + + + Cabinet, Pres. Johnson's, discussion of Tenure-of-Office bill by, + 302, 303; + unanimous in advising veto, 303, 311. + + Cabinet officers, and the Tenure-of-Office Act, 301, 302. + + Cadwalader, George, 195. + + Calhoun, John, and the Lecompton Constitution, 73; 18, 75, 84. + + Calhoun, John C., Senator, and the doctrine of Nullification, xxv and + _n._, xxvii; 4. + + Cameron, Simon, history of his inclusion in Lincoln's Cabinet, 142 + _ff._; + visits Lincoln at Springfield, 144; + Lincoln promises portfolio to, 144, 429; + urgent opposition to, from McClure, T., and others, 144, 145, 146, + 147 _ff._; + and Fremont, 172; + his report in favor of freeing and arming slaves suppressed by + Lincoln, 172 and _n._; + and the War Department frauds, 178 _ff._; + and T. A. Scott, 184, 185; + Nicolay and Hay on causes of his leaving Cabinet, 185, 186; + made Minister to Russia, 186; + McClure on his dismissal, 186, 187; + censured by House in Cummings affair, 186; + his confirmation as Minister to Russia opposed by T. and others, + 187, 188, + but favored by Sumner, 188; + his statement to Hamlin, 188; + vote on Confirmation of, 189; + how he repaid Sumner, 189; 108, 343, 371. + + Carlile, John S., Senator, opposes habeas corpus suspension act, 199. + + Carlin, Thomas, 11. + + Carpenter, Matthew H., Senator, counsel in McCardle case, 327, 329; + 300, 358; + report on Louisiana election, 405; + speech before Electoral Commission, 411. + + Carpetbaggers, and the San Domingo treaty, 350; 241. + + Cass, Lewis, Senator, his Nicholson letter on squatter sovereignty, + 94; 48, 63, 125. + + Castle Pinckney, 129. + + Catiline, steamer, 179, 180, 181, 182. + + Caton, John D., quoted, on Buchanan's attitude toward Lecomptonism, + 84, 85; 20. + + Caulfield, B. G., 208. + + Cavalry, fraudulent contracts for purchase of horses for, 182, 183. + + _Century Magazine_, cited, 245 _n._, 307 _n._, 321 _n._ + + Chandler, Zachariah, Senator, and T.'s connection with the McCardle + case, 331, 332; 150, 166, 233, 355, 363, 371. + + Channing, William Ellery, xxxii. + + Charleston Convention of 1860, 107. + + Chase, Salmon P., Chief Justice, quoted, 67; + and Cameron's dismissal, 186; + presides at impeachment trial, 309; + on the 11th article, 311; + his ruling on evidence of Johnson's intent to make a case for the + Supreme Court, overruled by the Senate, 313; + vote for, in Cincinnati convention (1872), 383; + T's estimate of, as Secretary of Treasury, 429, 430; 79, 102, 103, + 107, 145, 147, 148, 150, 151, 170, 234, 240, 274, 289, 320, 372. + + Cheever, Rev. George B., 220. + + Cherokee Tract, the, 5. + + Chesnut, James, 99. + + Chicago, rioting at, in Pullman strike, 414; + troops ordered to, 414; + meeting at, addressed by T., 414, 415. + + Chicago _Advance_, T.'s article in, on restriction of suffrage, 294. + + Chicago Bar Association, and T.'s death, 418, 419. + + Chicago _Evening Journal_, quoted, on T.'s speech on Chicago Times + matter, 208; 93. + + Chicago _Times_, publication of, forbidden by Burnside, 206-209; + meeting of protest against the order, 207; + the order revoked by Lincoln, 208; 415, 424, 425. + + Chicago _Tribune_, quoted, on the duty of Senators in impeachment + trial, 315, 316; 372, 389, 390. + + Cincinnati, Liberal Republican Convention at (1872), 374 _ff._; + how composed, 379, 380; + difficulties of, on tariff question, result in compromise, 381, 382; + Greeley nominated for President by, 383, 384. + + Cincinnati _Commercial_, 372. + + Citizens of U. S., definition of, in 14th Amendment, 283. + + Civil Rights bill, introduced by T., 257; + T.'s proposed amendment to, debated in Senate, 265 _ff._; + passes Senate, 271, and House, 272; + vetoed by Johnson, 272; + passed over veto, 272, 273; + held constitutional by Circuit Court of U. S., 274; + in Supreme Court, 275 _ff._; + Bingham's objections to, 281; + relation of 14th Amendment to, 282, 283; + T.'s course on, 424, 425. + + Civil Rights Cases, 109 U. S., 275, 276. + + Civil service, demoralization of, under Grant, 341, 342. + + Civil-service reform, T. on, 359, 376. + + Civil War, the, could not have been averted, xxi, xxii. + + Clark, Daniel, Senator, 262, 264. + + Clay, Clement C., Senator, his farewell speech in Senate, 121; 100. + + Clay, Henry, xxvi, xxxi, 27, 39, 125. + + Clayton, John M., 63 _n._ + + Cleveland, Grover, orders troops to Chicago, 414; 413. + + Clifford, Nathan, Justice Sup. Court, 289, 409. + + Clingman, Thomas L., Senator, 419. + + Cochrane, John, General, nominated for Vice-President by anti-Lincoln + Republicans (1864), 219, 220. + + Cole, Cornelius, Senator, 314. + + Coles, Edward, and the "Anti-convention" + + Contest in Ill., 27, 28. + + Colfax, Schuyler, elected Vice-President (1872), 333; + and Grant, 393, 394; + and the Credit-Mobilier, 402; 80, 331, 359. + + Collamer, Jacob, Senator, speech of, on Kansas affairs, 65; + attacks T.'s Confiscation bill, 173, 174; 55, 102, 198. + + Collins, James H., 30. + + Colonization Society, xxxi. + + Compromise of 1860, xxi, 34, 124, 125. + + Confederate States. _See_ States, seceding. + + Confiscation bill, concerning slaves only, introduced by T., and + passed by Congress, 168. + + Confiscation bill (II), introduced by T. (Dec. 1861), 173, 176; + debated all the session, 173 _ff._; + report of Conference committee on, adopted, 175; + Lincoln proposes to veto, 175; + passage of joint resolution interpreting, 175; + the first step toward full emancipation, 176; + trifling proceeds of confiscation under, 176; + controversy over enforcement of, 176, 177. + + Congress, adopts Missouri Compromise, xxx; + passes Kansas-Nebraska bill, 37; + Pres. Pierce's special message to, on Kansas affairs, 55; + Pres. Buchanan's first message to, 76; + Buchanan recommends admission of Kansas to, 81; + passes first Confiscation bill, 168; + debate on second Confiscation bill in, 173 _ff._; + Pres. Johnson's first message to, 244, 245; + power of, to pass laws for ordinary administration of justice in + states, 258-260, 265 _ff._; + attacked by Johnson, 286; + radicals in, and the Milligan case, 289, 290; + makes general of the army virtually independent of the President, + 291; + measures of reconstruction passed by, over vetoes, 291-295; + and impeachment of Johnson, 303 _ff._; + intensity of contest in, 312; + and the McCardle case, 328-330; + passes Act of March 27, 1868, over veto, 330; + and the 15th Amendment, 338-340; + Pres. Grant's message to, on Ku-Klux-Klans, 356; + and the Amnesty bill, 359, 360; + and the Credit-Mobilier, 402. + _And see_ House of Representatives, Reconstruction, Committee on, and + Senate. + + Congress of the Confederation, and Jefferson's ordinance concerning + slavery (1784), xxviii, xxix; + passes Ordinance of 1787, 24, 25, 29. + + _Congressional Globe_ of 1860-61, 114. + + Conkling, Roscoe, Senator, 281, 331, 339, 355, 362, 363. + + Connecticut, opposed to nomination of Seward, 103. + + Constitution of U. S., obstacles to ratification of, xxii and _n._; + its "educational work," xxvi, xxvii; + and the power to free slaves, 222, 223; + projects of amending, in that regard, 223; + the James F. Wilson resolution, 223; + the Henderson resolution, 223, + reported by T. in amended form, 224. + _Amendment_ XIII, reported by T. in Senate, 224; + his speech thereon, 224-226; + favored by Henderson and R. Johnson, 227; + adopted by both branches, 228; + scene in House described by Julian, 228 and _n._; + ratified by States, 229, 252; + Seward's interpretation of, 229; + discussed in connection with Freedmen's Bureau bill, 258, 260; + and the Civil Rights bill, 267, 269, 270; + construed by Supreme Court in U.S. v. Harris, 275, 358, + and in Civil Rights Cases, 276, 277; + T.'s connection with, 422. + _Amendment_ XIV, construed by Supreme Court in U.S. v. Harris, 275, + 358, + and in Civil Rights Cases, 276; + prepared and reported by Joint Committee on Reconstruction, 282, + 283; + provisions of, 283; + passes both houses, 283; + history of framing of, 284 _n._; + Southern States refuse to ratify, and why, 287; + and the power of Congress to enforce ordinary civil law in the + states, 356, 357, 358. + _Amendment_ XV, construed by Supreme Court in U.S. _v._ Harris, 276, + 358; + history of, 338-340; + passed by Congress, 339; + text of, 340; + ratified by States, 340. + + "Convention party," the, attempts to amend Illinois constitution to + legalize slavery, 25, 26; defeat of, 27. + + Cook, Burton C., 41, 43, 45, 46 _n._, 93. + + Cook, Daniel P., in the "anti-convention" contest, 27, 28; + Cook County, Ill., named for, 27. + + Cooper Union, Liberal Republican meeting at, 376, 377. + + Copperheadism, Vallandigham the incarnation of, 203. + + Corbett, Henry W., Senator, 314. + + Corning, Erastus, 205. + + Corwin, Thomas, Congressman, 112, 117. + + Cotton-gin, results of invention of, xxxii. + + Cowan, Edgar, Senator, attacks T.'s Confiscation bill, 173; + his great speech in favor of _habeas corpus_ suspension act, 201; + on Civil Rights bill, 269, 271, 272; 146, 261, 262, 285, 286, 323. + + Cox, Jacob D., appointed Secretary of Interior, 337, 338; + why he resigned, 349, 350; 353, 373. + + Credit-Mobilier scandal, the, 401, 402. + + Cresswell, John A. J., appointed Postmaster General, 337. + + Crittenden, John J., Senator, his compromise measure, debated and + rejected by Senate, 115-117; 48, 60, 66. + + Crittenden Compromise, debated, 115, 116; + T's speech against, 115, 123-138; + rejected by Senate, 117; + letters to T. from Illinoisans concerning, 117-119. + + Cullom, Shelby M., Senator, quoted, 293; + defeats T. for governor of Ill., 412. + + Cummings, Alexander, one of Cameron's agents, 143, 178; + the leading figure in War Dep't scandal, 178 _ff._; + a candidate for office under Johnson, 181 _n._ + + Curry, J. L. M., letter of, to Doolittle, as to Southern views, 255, + 256. + + Curtin, Andrew G., Governor, vote for in Cincinnati Convention, 383; + 106, 144, 374, 377, 378. + + Curtis, Benjamin R., of counsel for Pres. Johnson, 309. + + Curtis, George W., 338, 368. + + Curtis Commission on Civil Service Reform, 376. + + + Dabney, Rev. R. L., his account of the Lincoln-Baldwin Interview, 161, + 162. + + "Danites." _See_ Buchanan Democrats. + + Darrow, Clarence S., quoted, on T.'s "socialistic trend," 425, 426; + 414. + + Davidson, G. C., 179, 180. + + Davis, David, and Cameron's appointment, 142 _ff._; + bargains with delegates from Penn. and Ind., 142, 429; + his influence with Lincoln, 143 and _n._; + opinion of, in Milligan case, 289; + candidate for Liberal Republican nomination at Cincinnati, 377, 378; + his candidacy objected to by editors, 380, 381; + and the Electoral Commission (1877), 409; 178, 384. + + Davis, Garrett, Senator, on Civil Rights bill, 270; 161, 234. + + Davis, Henry Winter, Congressman, opposes Lincoln's reelection, 220. + + Davis, Jefferson, and "Squatter Sovereignty," 94, 95; + his resolutions aimed at Douglas's nomination, 95; + not a hothead, 110; + his speech of Jan. 10, 1861, 110; + his last speeches in Senate, 114, 115; + his farewell speech, 121; + his Rise and _Fall of the Confederate States_, 123 _n._; 83. + + Dawes, Henry L., Congressman, on purchases of cavalry horses, 182, + 183; + on corruption in government service, 184; + replies to Cameron's statement to Hamlin, 188, 189; 304, 354. + + Dayton, William L., Senator, 69, 142. + + Debs, Eugene V., and the Pullman strike, 413-415; + T. counsel for, 414, 415. + + Delahay, M. W., opposition to his appointment as district judge, 213, + 214; + appointed, impeached, and resigns, 214; 100, 101 and _n._ + + Dement, Isaac T., on affairs in Kansas, 53. + + Democratic National Convention at Baltimore (1860), nominates Douglas, + 96; + Southern delegates secede from, 96; 107; + (1872) adopts platform and candidate of Liberal Republicans, 394. + + Democratic party, in North, split by Kansas-Nebraska bill, 37. + + Democrats, condemn suspension of habeas corpus and arbitrary arrests, + 194, 197; + in Senate, oppose habeas corpus suspension bill, 198, 199, + and filibuster against it, 200-203; + in North, protest against Vallandigham's trial and sentence, 205; + in Congress, oppose 13th Amendment, 228, + but not unanimously, 228 _n._; + union of, with Liberal Republicans, suggested by M. D. Sands, 353; + sympathy of, with that movement, 372 _ff._, 379; + dissentient (in 1872), nominate O'Conor and Adams, 394. + + Denver, John A., appointed Governor of Kansas, 73. + + Develin, John E., 179. + + Dexter, Wirt, 208. + + Dickens, Charles, describes Belleville, Ill., in _American Notes_, 14, + 15. + + Disfranchisement, chief cause of bad conditions in South, 356. + + Dixon, Archibald, Senator, and repeal of Missouri Compromise, 34; 49. + + Dixon, James, Senator, opposes inquiry as to arbitrary arrests, 192, + 193; + his vote + against Impeachment, 323; 247, 261, 264, 265, 285, 313. + + Dodge, Augustus C., Senator, 35. + + Dodge, Grenville M., General, 227, 334 _n._, 394. + + Dodge, William E., 365. + + Doolittle, James R., Senator, on Tenure-of-Office bill, 303; + his vote against impeachment, 323; + his resignation demanded, 323; 150, 194, 220, 233, 247, 261, 273 + _n._, 285, 313, 329, 419, 423. + + Dougherty, John, 18, 89, 90. + + Douglas, Robert M., 32 _n._ + + Douglas, Stephen A., appointed to Ill. Supreme Court, 10; + elected U. S. Senator, 19; + his early career, 32 and _n._, 33; + his position in the Democratic party, 33; + his personal appearance, 33; + his talents and character, 33; + reports Nebraska bill, 33; + accepts Dixon Amendment repealing Missouri Compromise, 34; + offers amendment dividing the territory, 34; + his reasons, 35, + and why not convincing, 35, 36; + not a pro-slavery man, 36; + his reasons for repealing Missouri Compromise, 36, 37; + Lincoln's reply to his Springfield speech (1854), 39, 40 and _n._; + and the senatorial election of 1854, 46 _n._; + his report on affairs in Kansas, 55; + attached by T., 56; + his sophistry, 57, 58, 62; + his debate with T., 59 _ff._; + declares T. not a Democrat, 60, 66; + further debate with T. on Kansas, 63 _ff._; + T. a match for, in debate, 65, 66; + denounces Cabinet conspiracy regarding referendum on Lecompton + Constitution, 72, 73; + his motion for that action, 74, 75; + his anti-Lecompton speech, 77, 78; + for the first time, opposes wishes of South, 77; + was he sincere? 77, 78; + his lack of principle, 78; + contemplates alliance with Republicans, 78-80; + opposes English bill for admission of Kansas, 84; + his attitude toward slavery, 78, 86; + his aid indispensable in defeating Lecompton bill, 86; + appeals to imagination of Eastern Republicans, 86; + distrusted by Republicans of Ill., 86-88, 91, 92; + his instability, 88; + his campaign for reelection in 1858, 89 _ff._; + his health impaired, 89; + reaffirms doctrine of Squatter Sovereignty, 94; + answered by J. Davis, 95; + his speech of May 15, 1860, 95; + answered by Benjamin, 95, 96; + nominated for President at Charleston, and by one faction at + Baltimore, 96; + favors Crittenden Compromise, 116; + his views on causes of disunion, 116, 117; + his last days devoted to the Union, 152, 153; + speaks to Ill. legislature, 153; + his influence alone saves Southern Ill., 153; + his death, 153; + T.'s eulogy of, 153, 154; + G. Welles's account of his attitude in 1861, + and his interview with Seward, 163, 164; 42, 47, 49, 76, 85, 100, + 104, 107, 108, 169, 427. + + Douglass, Frederick, 236, 237. + + Drake, Charles D., Senator, 296, 298, 352. + + Dred Scott case, opinion of Supreme Court, criticized by T., 82; 64. + + Drummond, Thomas, Justice, enjoins executor of Burnside's order + against Chicago _Times_, 206; + his order disregarded, 207; 10, 208, 427. + + Dubois, Jesse K., quoted, 79, 87, 216, 217; 213, 375. + + Duncan, Joseph, Governor, 11. + + Dunning, William A., his _Reconstruction_, quoted, 274, 321 _n._; 244. + + Durell, Edward H., Justice, and the contested election in Louisiana, + 404. + + Durkee, Charles, Senator, 150. + + Dyer, Thomas, 91. + + + Eaton, Major, 178. + + Edmunds, George F., Senator, 339, 346, 358, 363. + + Edwards, Ninian, Governor, 11, 45. + + Electoral Commission (1877), composition of, 409; + decision of, 410, 411; + its purpose, "not to do justice between man and man, but to save the + Republic," 411. + + Eliot, Thomas D., 172. + + Ellsworth, Oliver, xxii _n._ + + Emancipation, Seward on actual date of, 222; + doubt regarding President's power in relation to, 222, 223. + _And see_ Slavery, Slaves. + + Emancipation movement, history of, xxviii. + + Emancipation Proclamation, issued, 200; + distasteful to Democrats, 200; + force and extent of, 222; + doubt as to its legal effect, 229, 230. + + Embargo, the, xxiv. + + Emerson, Dr., Dred Scott's master, 82. + + Emigrant Aid Co. (Worcester), 50, 59 _n._ + + Emigrant Aid societies, 59 _n._ + + Emory, William H., General. 9th article of impeachment based on + alleged conversation of Johnson with, 310. + + England, mission to, offered to T., 347, 348, + and declined, 348; + T.'s speech on claims against, 348, 349; + and demands surrender of Mason and Slidell, 349 and _n._ + + English, William H., Congressman, his bill for admission of Kansas, + passed by Congress, 83, 84, + but rejected by people, 84. + + Equal Rights Act (1875) held unconstitutional by Supreme Court, 275. + + Europe, and Lincoln's death, 231. + + Evarts, William M., of counsel for Pres. Johnson, 309. + + + Farragut, David G., Admiral, 221. + + Federalist party, xxiii. + + Fenton, Reuben E., 386, 390. + + Fessenden, William P., Senator, Chairman of Reconstruction Committee, + 281, 282; + opposes conviction of Johnson, 313; + abused by radicals, 313; + "read out" of Republican party, 324; + called upon to resist Greenback heresy in Maine, 324; + his death and character, 324; + T's eulogy of, 324, 325; 82, 83, 89, 102, 168, 194, 202, 287, 292, + 316, 317, 335. + + Field, Alexander P., 11. + + Field, D. D., 147. + + Field, Stephen J., Justice, 275, 289, 409. + + Fillmore, Millard, candidate for Pres., in 1856, 70; 92, 108. + + Finkelnburg, Gustavus A., Congressman, 354. + + Fish, Hamilton, appointed Secretary of State, 335; + letter of, to T., offering English mission, 347, 348; 362. + + Flack, Horace E., history of the 14th Amendment, 284 _n._ + + Florida, and the 13th Amendment, 229; + order for reconstruction of, 238; + disputed returns from (1876), 408 _ff._ + + Flournoy, Charles G., 212. + + Floyd, John B., Secretary of War, resigns, 128; 130. + + Fogg, George G., 144, 146. + + Foot, Solomon, Senator, 168, 261, 263. + + Ford, Thomas, historian of Ill., quoted, 11; + as governor, requests T.'s resignation as Secretary of State, 12 and + _n._, 13; 18. + + Foreign Relations, Senate Committee on, reorganization of, to punish + Sumner, 343-347. + + "Forever," meaning of, in Missouri Compromise Act, 62, 63 _n._ + + Forney, John W., 300, 342. + + Forsyth, John, Senator, xxvii, 156. + + Foster, Lafayette S., Senator, 189, 273. + + Fouke, Philip B., 38. + + Fowler, Joseph S., Senator, 285, 314, 316, 317. + + Free-silver, T. a believer in, 413. + + Free Soilers, in 1854, 40; + nucleus of the Republican party, 41. + + Free State men, in minority in Kansas in 1855, 49, 51; + convention of, 55; + refuse to take part in election of constitutional convention, 71, + 72; + elect majority of territorial legislature, 72. + + Free trade, meaning of, in 1871, 355. + + Freedmen's Bureau, powers of, 257, 258. + + Freedmen's Bureau bill, introduced by T., 257; + provisions of, 257, 258; + vetoed by Johnson, 260, 261; + fails to pass Senate over veto, 261; + T.'s course on, 423. + + Freeport, Ill., joint debate between Lincoln and Douglas at, 94 _n._, + 96. + + Frelinghuysen, Frederick T., Senator, 314, 316, 347 _n._ + + Fremont, John C, Republican nominee for Pres., 69; + his defeat fortunate for the country, 70; + candidate for nomination in 1860, 103; + his order emancipating slaves revoked by Lincoln, 169, 170, 171; + nominated for Pres. by Anti-Lincoln Republicans (1864), 219, 220; + withdrawn, 220; + connection between his withdrawal and Mr. Blair's retirement, 220 + and _n._; 141, 194. + + French, Augustus C, Governor, 18. + + French Revolution, effect of, on parties in U. S., xxiii. + + Fugitive Slave Law, 114. + + + Galloway, Samuel, quoted, 75; + letter to T. on Republican grievances against Grant, 371. + + Garfield, James A., General, 412. + + Garrison, William L., his crusade mistakenly interpreted at the south, + xxxiii; + supports Lincoln's reconstruction plan, 235, 236; 388. + + Gary, Mrs. F. C., letter of, to T., 278, + and his reply, 279. + + Gaston, William, Judge, 270. + + Geary, John W., Governor, 53, 72. + + "General order" system in N. Y. custom-house, 364 _ff._ + + Genius of Universal Emancipation, the, xxxi. + + Georgia, and Garrison, xxxi; + order for reconstruction of, 238; + re-reconstruction of, 297-300; + status of negroes in, 298; + bill for reorganization of, 298, 299; + T.'s attitude on treatment of, 298, 299, 300. + + German vote, the, and the Republican nomination in 1860, 103. + + Germans in St. Clair county, Ill., 38. + + Gettysburg, battle of, and its effect on Vallandigham's ambition, 206. + + Gillespie, Joseph, 10. + + Gilman, Winthrop S., 9. + + Godkin, Edwin L., quoted, 381, 382; + refuses to support Greeley, 385; + deprecates Schurz's contrary decision, 392, 393; + and Greeley's defeat, 404; 353. + + Godwin, Parke, quoted, against Greeley, 393. + + Goodrich, Grant, quoted, 119. + + Government bonds, falling off in subscriptions to, in autumn of 1861, + 170. + + Government contracts, House committee on, 178 _ff._; + censures T. A. Scott, 184, 185. + + Gowdy, W. C., 40 _n._ + + "Grandfather clause," the, in constitutions of southern states, 339. + + Grant, Ulysses S., J. M. Palmer on his character and future, 216; + his southern tour of inspection, and report, 252, 253, 254; + Secretary of War _ad interim_, 305; + retires in favor of Stanton after action of Senate, 306; + his correspondence with Johnson, submitted to Reconstruction + Committee, 306, 307; + his reason for retiring, 307; + Johnson on his attitude, 307 _n._; + and the McCardle case, 327; + nominated for Pres., and elected, 332, 333; + his first cabinet a conglomerate, 333; + and Washburne's appointment, 334; + his agreement with J. F. Wilson, 334; + compels Washburne to resign, 334; + appoints Fish, 335; + nominates Stewart for Treasury, 335, 336, + then Boutwell, 336; + his other appointments, 337, 338; + his army-headquarters transferred to White House, 342; + the San Domingo treaty, and quarrel with Sumner, 342 _ff._; + removes Motley as minister to England, 347, 348; + offers English mission to T., 347, 348; + and civil-service reform, 349, 350; + and Attorney-General Hoar, 350; + and the Liberal movement in Mo., 355; + shortcomings of his administration, the main cause of Liberal + movement, 361; + his failings in civil station reviewed, 361 _ff._; + nominated because of his military renown, 361, 362; + his great services on two occasions, 362; + and the Leet and Stocking case, 365 _ff._; + T. not personally hostile to, 369, 370; + Republican dissatisfaction with, 370, 371, + and opposition to, 372 _ff._; + Sumner's speech against, 387, 388; + his services overlooked by Sumner, 388; + compared favorably with Greeley, 392, 393; + renominated by Republicans, 393; + not personally involved in Credit-Mobilier scandal, 401; + reelected, 402; + and the contest in La., in 1872, 405, 406 and _n._; + his second administration, 407, 408; 212, 214, 215, 226, 227, 236 + and _n._, 240, 308, 309, 330, 384, 408, 411, 420. + + Gray, Horace, 275. + + Gray, Robert A., 161. + + Greeley, Horace, "puffs" Douglas, 80, 91, 92; + candidate for Liberal Republican nomination, 377; + his career and character, 378; + editorial attitude toward his candidacy, 381; + Brown withdraws in his favor, 382, 383; + nominated, 384; + effect of his nomination, 384 _ff._; + Godkin and Bryant refuse to support, 385; + T.'s letter in favor of, 386, 387; + author's view of his nomination, 389, 390; + refuses Schurz's advice to decline, 391; + meeting of Liberal Republicans opposed to, 391, 392; + Schurz's attitude toward, 392, 393; + nominated by Democrats, 394; + supported by T. in the campaign, 395 _ff._; + T.'s tribute to, 399; + his failings laid bare, 400; + caricature by Nast, 400; + on the stump in Ohio, etc., 400; + his tariff views, 401; + his stumping tour too late, 401; + overwhelmingly defeated, 402; + fatal effect of defeat on, 403; and _n._; + his last letter to Schurz, 403; + his death, 403; + reflections on his fate, 404; 86, 87, 88, 141, 307 _n._, 369. + + Green, James S., Senator, 114. + + Greene, Francis V., General, quoted, 227. + + Greenville Academy, 5. + + Gregory, S. S., 414. + + Grider, Henry, Congressman, 281. + + Grier, Robert C. Justice Sup. Ct., 289. + + Grimes, James W., Senator, denounces impeachment, 313; + censured by radicals, 313; + striken with paralysis, but votes against impeachment, 325; + "though pure as ice," did not escape calumny, 326; + quoted, on Republican corruption, 341; + his character, 341; 150, 165, 166, 168, 189, 202, 281, 287, 316, + 317, 338. + + Grimshaw, Jackson, quoted, 213. + + Grinnell, Moses H., collector of N. Y., 364; + and Leet, 367, 368. + + Groesbeck, William S., of counsel for Johnson, 309; 372. + + Grosvenor, William M., 352, 353, 382, 383. + + Guthrie, James, Senator, 271. + + + Habeas corpus, authority to suspend, given to Scott, 190; + discussion of power to suspend, 191, 194; + case of Merryman, 194-196; + writ of, denied Vallandigham, 205; + suspension of, authorized in Ku-Klux bill of 1871, 356, 357. + + Habeas Corpus Suspension bill, passes House, 196; + reported by T. to Senate, but fails to pass, 197; + T. offers substitute for, 198, + which is opposed by Democrats, 199, + but passes Senate, 199; + in conference, combined with Stevens's indemnity bill, 199; + debated, filibustered against, and passed, 200-203; + characterized, 203; + violated by banishment of Vallandigham, 203 _ff._; + and the Milligan case, 288, 289; + invoked by McCardle, 327. + + Hahn, Michael, chosen governor of La., under reconstruction, 232, 233. + + Hale, Eugene, Congressman, as a revenue reformer, 354. + + Hale, John P., Senator, speech of, on Kansas affairs, 65; xxi, 37, 38, + 102, 189, 194. + + Hall's carbines, fraudulent repurchases of, 184. + + Halleck, Henry W., General, G. Welles on, 226; + other opinions of, 227; 212. + + Halstead, Murat, 380, 381, 384. + + Hamilton, Alexander, xxiii. + + Hamlin, Hannibal, Vice-President, 108, 109, 112, 141. + + Hancock, Winfield S., General, 422. + + Hardin, John J., 10, 427. + + Harding, A. C, quoted, 118. + + Harlan, James, Senator, 150, 189, 320, 338, 366, 419. + + Harlan, John M., Justice Sup. Ct., his dissenting opinion in Civil + Rights Cases, 276, 278; 275. + + Harper's Ferry, Brown's raid on, 96-100. + + Harris, Ira, Senator, 176, 262, 281. + + Harris, N. Dwight, _Negro Servitude in Illinois_, 29 and _n._; 30, 31; + on T., 31. + + Harrison, William H., Governor, favors slavery in Northwest Territory, + 24. + + Hartford Convention, xxiv, xxv. + + Harvey, J. E., divulges purpose to send supplies to Sumter, 155 _ff._; + rewarded by Seward, 155, 157; + Republican senators seek his recall from Portugal, 155, 156. + + Hatch, O. M., Secretary of State of Ill., 87, 213. + + Hay, John, his diary, quoted, 158, 190, 227. + _And see_ Nicolay and Hay. + + Hayes, Rutherford B., President, disputed election of, 406, 407 _ff._; + declared elected by Electoral Commission, 411. + + Hayne, Robert Y., Senator, xxii _n._, xxvi, xxvii, 3. + + Heath, Randolph, 42. + + Hecker, Fred, quoted, 215; 38. + + Henderson, John B., Senator, proposes amendment to Constitution, + forbidding slavery, 223; + his resolution, amended, reported by T., 224; + his speech in its favor, 227; + the only one of the "Traitors" whom the Republican party publicly + forgave, 326; 260, 314, 316, 317, 321 _n._; 362. + + Hendricks, Thomas A., Senator, 228, 258, 262, 271, 285, 301, 329, 402. + + Henn, Bernhart, Congressman, 35. + + Herndon, William H., quoted, 75, 80, 89, 90, 91, 92, 107, 119, 214, + 429; 87, 112, 143 _n._; 426, 428. + + Herold, conspirator, 289. + + Hewitt, Abram S., Congressman, 408, 409. + + Hickox, Virgil, 13, 19. + + Hill, Adams S., 341. + + Hilton, Henry, and A. T. Stewart, 336. + + Hoadley, George, 372, 382. + + Hoar, E. Rockwood, appointed Attorney-General, 337, 338; + cause of his resignation, 350; + his recommendations for vacant judgeships, 350; + his nomination to Supreme Court not confirmed, and why, 350; + Grant asks his resignation, 350. + + Hodge, Paymaster, 362, 363, 395. + + Hoffman, John T., Governor, 379. + + Hogeboom, Henry, 147. + + Holden, W. H., 238. + + Horner, William N., quoted, on T's character, 425. + + House of Representatives, Kansas-Nebraska bill in, 37; + rejects Lecompton bill, 83, + but passes substituted English bill, 84; + passes proposed Amendment to Constitution, forbidding interference + with slavery, 117; + passes Confiscation bill, 175; + Committee on Government Contracts of, 178 _ff._; + censures Cameron, 187; + passes bill concerning political prisoners, 196; + passes Stevens's indemnity bill, 198; + debate on 13th Amendment in, 223, 228; + debate on Civil Rights bill in, 271, 272, 281; + passes 14th Amendment, 282, 283; + Stevens's Reconstruction bill introduced in, 284, + passed by, 291, 292, + and passed over veto, 293, 294; + passes bill admitting Tennessee, 295; + Tenure-of-Office bill in, 301, + and passed by, over veto, 303; + votes against impeachment (Dec., 1867), 303, 304; + impeachment voted by (Feb., 1868), 309; + passes 15th Amendment, 338-340; + Committee of Ways and Means of, 354; + Committee of inquiry into navy frauds, characterized by T., 397, + 398. + + Hovey, Alvin P., Governor, 288. + + Howard,Jacob M., Senator, on Civil Rights bill, 269, 270; + on Reconstruction Committee, 281; + proposes definition of "citizens" in 14th Amendment, 282, 283; 287, + 298. + + Howe, Samuel G., 343. + + Howe, Timothy O., Senator, his view of the impeachment, 310; + and the ousting of Sumner, 345, 346; 316, 320, 323, 343, 366. + + Humphrey, James, 180. + + Hunt, Gaillard, xxii _n._ + + Hunter, David, General, at first battle of Bull Run, 165; + his order freeing slaves in certain states, revoked by Lincoln, 172. + + Hunter, R. M. T., Senator, 49, 116. + + Hurd, H. B., 98. + + Hurlbut, S. A., quoted, 74. + + Hutchins, Waldo, 390. + + + Illinois, new constitution of, adopted in 1847, 20; + slavery in, when ceded to U.S., 23; + earlier occupation of, 23; + opposition to slavery in, organized by Lemen, 23, 24; + territorial legislature of, violates Ordinance of 1787, 24, 25; + provisions of constitution of, concerning slavery, 25; + pro-slavery efforts to amend constitution, 25, 26; + their failure, 27; + T. elected to Congress from 8th district of, 37, 38; + and Seward's candidacy, 103; + campaign of 1860 in, 108 _ff._; + office-seekers from, in 1861, 139; + status of negroes in, 243; + in the Cincinnati convention (1872), 389, 390; + T. nominated for governor of, and defeated, 412. + + Illinois legislature, and the proposed constitutional convention, 25, + 26; + and the Senatorial election of 1854, 39 _ff._, 46 _n._; + condemns proceedings against Chicago _Times_, 209: + reelects T. as senator, 277. + + Illinois State Bank, suspension of, 13. + + Illinois Supreme Court, reconstruction of, 11; + number of judges of, 20; + T. elected judge of, 20; + T. reelected to, and resigns, 21; + decision of, in Jarrot _v._ Jarrot, 29, 30. + + Immigration, and attempted legalization of slavery in Ill., 26. + + Impeachment, two theories of, 312; + a judicial or political process? 312. + + Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, first mention of, 303; + House Judiciary Committee reports in favor of, 304; + House rejects resolution providing for, 304; + evidence submitted to Committee on Reconstruction, 306, + which refuses to recommend, 308; + resolutions of, adopted by House, 309; + articles of, adopted, 309-311; + managers appointed, 309; + trial of, 309, 312 _ff._; + conduct of managers of, 312, 313; + material evidence excluded, 313; + divers newspapers quoted concerning, 314-317; + T. files opinion in, 318, 319; + vote of acquittal on 11th, 2d, and 3d articles, 320, 321; + end of the trial, 321; + T.'s vote on, 423. + + Indemnity, Stevens's bill of passes House, 198; + combined with habeas corpus bill, 199; + debated, filibustered against, and passed, 200-203. + + _Independent Democrat_, the, 14. + + Indiana, opposed to Seward, 103; + in convention of 1860, 106, 107; + election of Oct., 1872, in, 402. + + Inflation bill, Grant's veto of, 362. + + Ingraham, Mary, T.'s second wife, 412. + _And see_ Trumbull, Mary (Ingraham). + + Investigation and Retrenchment, Committee on, established by Senate, + 364; + personnel of, 366, 367; + solves Leet and Stocking scandal, 367-369; + characterized by T., 395, 396. + + "Irrepressible Conflict," the, existed before it was so described, + xxxiv. + + Iverson, Alfred, Senator, 213. + + + Jackson, Andrew, xxv, xxvi, 76, 103, 124. + + Janney, Mr., 161. + + Jarrot _v._ Jarrot, decision of Supreme Court in, abolished Slavery in + Ill., 29, 30. + + Jayne, Gershom, T.'s father-in-law, 15. + + Jayne, Mrs. Gershom, T.'s letter to, on religion, 430, 431. + + Jayne, Julia M., marries T., 15. + _And see_ Trumbull, Julia (Jayne). + + Jayne, William, quoted, 106, 107; 108, 109, 111, 150, 379. + + Jefferson, Thomas, and slavery, xxviii, 23, 24; + the proposed ordinance relating thereto (1784), xxviii, xxix and + _n._; + quoted, on Missouri Compromise, xxx; xxiii, xxiv. + + Johnson, Andrew, popularity of, in Tenn., 214; + his early radicalism and anti-Southern feeling, 236; + gradual change in his attitude, 236; + opposes unrestricted negro suffrage, 236, 237; + adopts Lincoln's plan of reconstruction and his Cabinet, 237; + executive orders of, reorganizing governments of all seceding + states, 237, 238; + issues amnesty proclamation, 239; + Phillips makes first attack on, 239, 240; + defended by N. Y. _Tribune_ and _Times_, 240, 241; + his first message to Congress, written by Bancroft, 244; + the message praised by N. Y. _Times_ and _Nation_, 244, 245; + his early history, 245 and _n._; + in Senate of U.S., 246; + as public speaker and debater, 246; + his speech against secession, 246; + Stephens and Seward on, 246; + his speech of Aug. 29, 1866, 246; + attacked by Sumner, 246, 247; + and Terry's order concerning vagrancy law of Va., 247; + and reports of Grant and Schurz on conditions in the South, 252, + 253, 254; + vetoes Freedmen's Bureau bill, 260, 261, 423; + vetoes Civil Rights bill, 272, 423; + his veto message answered by T., 272; + his course discussed, 273, 274; + his combativeness, 273 and _n._, 274; + majority against, in Congress, increased by elections of 1866, 277; + sustained by T. until veto of Civil Rights bill, 277; + signs bill readmitting Tenn., 285; + "National Union Convention" of supporters of, 285, 286; + his attack on Congress, and its sequel, 286; + policy of, and the Milligan case, 289; + and the Cabinet meeting of Jan. 8, 1867, 290; + Northern view of his plan of reconstruction, 293; + vetoes Reconstruction bill, 293, + and divers supplementary bills, 293, 294; + his power of removal aimed at by Tenure-of-Office bill, 301, 302; + impeachment of, now generally condemned, 303; + first mention of impeachment of, 303, 304; + House rejects impeachment resolutions, 304; + requests Stanton's resignation, 304, 305; + suspends him and appoints Grant _ad interim_, 305; + correspondence of, with Grant, submitted to committee, 306, 307; + his lack of tact, 306; + wishes to make up a case for Supreme Court, 307; + quoted by Truman as to his Cabinet, 307 _n._; + advised to let Stanton alone, but attempts to remove him, 308; + names Thomas Secretary _ad interim_, 308; + his action causes change in public feeling, 309; + House votes to impeach, 309; + his trial, 309, 312 _ff._; + summary of articles, 309-311; + his answer, 311; + evidence of his purpose to make a case for Supreme Court not + admitted, 312, 313; + acquitted, 320, 321; + vetoes Act of March 27, 1868, 329; + T.'s vote on impeachment of, 423; 181 _n._, 229, 278. + + Johnson, Reverdy, Senator, favors 13th Amendment, 227; + on Civil Rights bill, 270; 247, 264, 281. + + Jonas, A., quoted, 74, 79, 92. + + Jones, George W., 35. + + Judd, Norman B., expects seat in Lincoln's Cabinet, 148; + his character, 149; + favored by T., 149; + interview of, with Lincoln, 149, 150; + receives Prussian mission as a salve, 151, 152; + quoted, as to T.'s feeling against Lincoln, 217; + as to European admiration of Lincoln, 231; + on other subjects, 74, 80, 91; 15, 41, 43, 45, 46 _n._, 69, 87, 93, + 142. + + Julian, George W., Congressman, describes scene in House on adoption + of 13th Amendment, 228 and _n._; xxi. + + + Kansas, did Douglas intend it to be a slave state? 35, 36; + affairs in, in 1855, 49 _ff._; + prospect of slavery in, 49; + Reeder appointed governor, 49; + invaded by Missourians, 49; + election of Whitfield, 49, 50; + second invasion of Missourians, 50 _ff._; + "Border Ruffian" legislature of, enacts Slave code, 54, 55; + Shannon appointed governor, 55; + Free State convention In, 55; + Pres. Pierce's special message on affairs in, 55; + reports of Senate Committee on Territories thereon, 55 _ff._; + debate on affairs in, in Senate, 55 _ff._; + T.'s letter to Turner on affairs in, 71; + Walker appointed governor, 71; + Constitutional Convention at Lecompton, 72; + Cabinet Conspiracy concerning referendum on Lecompton Constitution, + 72, 73; + legislature declares for submission of the whole Constitution, 73; + admission of, thereunder, recommended by Buchanan, 81; + administration bill, passed by Senate, but repealed by House, 83; + English bill, passed by Congress, but rejected by people, 83, 84; + reign of terror in, 126; + proposed suffrage amendment to Constitution of, rejected, 295. + + Kansas-Nebraska bill, its original form, 33, 34; + as amended, 34, 35; + passed by Congress, 37; + effect of passage of, on parties at the North, 37; + T. organizes opposition to, in Ill., 37, 38; + opposed by Lincoln, 39; + and the Senatorial election in Ill., in 1854, 39 _ff._; + attacked by T., 56; 125, 126, 131. + + Keim, William H., 195. + + Kellogg, William P., and the governorship of La., 404, 405, 406, 408; + 410, 411. + + Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, xxiii. + + King, Preston, Senator, 122. + + King, Rufus, xxii _n._ + + Koerner, Gustave, quoted, 103, 118, 212, 213; + interview of, with Lincoln, 149, 150; + and the Russian mission, 151, 152; + appointed Minister to Spain, 152; + T. writes to, on impeachment, 323; + his death and funeral, 418; 29, 30, 37, 88, 379. + + Ku-Klux bill, held unconstitutional by Supreme Court, 275, 358; 424. + + Ku-Klux-Klan, in Georgia, 298, 300; + Grant's special message on, 356; + Congress passes bill relating to, 356, + which is opposed by T. and Schurz, 356, 357, 358. + + + Labor laws enacted by seceding states during reconstruction, 242; + brought before Congress, 247; + character of, 247. + + Lambert, W. H., 110 _n._ + + Lane, Henry S., Senator, 106, 166. + + Lane, James H., Senator, 53, 101 _n._ + + Larned, E. C, T.'s letters to, on compromise, 113, 114. + + Lea, M. Carey, letter of, to T., on Fremont emancipation episode, 170, + and T.'s reply, 171, 172. + + Lecompton constitution, slavery clause of, alone to be submitted to + people, 72, 73; + declared valid by Buchanan, 76; + condemned by T., 76, 77; + admission of Kansas under, urged by Buchanan, 81; + disappears with rejection of English bill by the people, 83. + + Lee, S. Phillips, 169. + + Leet and Stocking scandal, 364 _ff._; + Senate orders inquiry into, 355-367; + solution of, 367-369. + + Lemen, Rev. James, organizes opposition to slavery in Northwest Terr., + 23, 24. + + Lewis, B., quoted, 107. + + Lewis, John F., 161. + + Liberal Republican movement (1872) started in Mo., 351; + progress of, 351 _ff._; + Schurz a leader in, 352; + revenue reform an element in, 352, 353; + how viewed by Grant and his friends, 355; + shortcomings of Grant's administration the main cause of, 361. + _And see_ Cincinnati, Convention at. + + Liberal Republicans, demand universal Amnesty with impartial suffrage, + 356; + call for national Convention of, 372, + which meets at Cincinnati, 374 _ff._; + leading candidates for presidency among, 377; + division among, after Greeley's nomination, 385 _ff._; + meeting of dissentients, 391, 392. + _And see_ Missouri. + + _Liberator_, the, established by Garrison (1831), xxxi; + attempts to suppress, xxxii. + + Lincoln, Abraham, in Ill. legislature of 1840, 10; + his marriage, 15; + and the Kansas-Nebraska bill, 37; + and the Senatorial election of 1854, 39, 43 _ff._; + effect of repeal of Missouri Compromise on, 39; + his speech at Peoria in reply to Douglas, 39, 40 and _n._; + defeated by T., 45, 46 _n._; + letter of, to Washburne, on the result, 45, 46; + possible results of his election, 47; + urges T. to attend first Republican national convention, 69; + receives votes for Vice-President, 69; + writes T. on the ticket, 69, 70; + on Douglas's attitude on Lecompton, 74; + on Republican praise of Douglas, 87; + Palmer on candidacy of, for Senate, 88; + campaign of, for senatorship (1858), 89 _ff._; + on Buchanan Democrats, 90; + on prospects for 1860, 92; his relations with T., 93; + his debate with Douglas at Freeport, 94 _n._; + commends T.'s speech on John Brown raid, 100; + on Delahay's candidacy for Senate, 100, 101 _n._; + his status in 1860, 102; + a possible candidate for Republican nomination, 102 _ff._; + on the various candidates, 104, 105; + his radicalism, 105; + nominated, 106; + comments of Illinoisans on his candidacy, 106, 107; + on Republican prospects, 108; + his vote in Ill., 109; + and the ratification at Springfield, 109, 110; + on South Carolina's attitude, 110, 111; + opposed to compromise on extension of slavery, 111; + proposes resolutions on slavery, etc., 112; + on rumors of Buchanan's purpose to surrender forts, 112, 113; + his Cooper Institute speech, 115; + and the office-seekers, 139; + the making of his Cabinet, 139 _ff._; + and Seward, 139-141; + offers State Department to Seward, 141; + the Cameron affair, 142 _ff._; + his instructions against pre-convention contracts, 142; + Davis's influence over, 143 and _n._; + promises Cameron a portfolio, 144; + anti-Cameron appeal to, by McClure and T., 144, 145; + his reply to T., 145; + tries to buy Cameron off, 145, 146; + T.'s further remonstrance to, 146, 147; + and Judd, 148, 149; + interview with Koerner, 149, 150; + and the Harvey dispatch to Gov. Pickens, 155 _ff._; + makes Harvey Minister to Portugal, 155, 157, 158; + his previous consent to evacuate Sumter, to prevent secession of + Va., 158 _ff._; + his interviews with Baldwin and Botts, 159, 160, 161; + absurdity of Dabney's account, 162; + revokes Fremont's emancipation order, 169; + effect of his action, 169; + letters of Lea and T. on the crisis, 170-172; + T.'s view of his character, 171; + suppresses Cameron's pro-emancipation report, 172 and _n._; + revokes Hunter's order, 172; + proposes to veto T.'s Confiscation bill, 176; + his objections removed by resolution, 175, 176; + orders Wallace to desist from confiscation, 177; + and Cameron, 185; + nominates Cameron as minister to Russia, 186; + assumes responsibility in Cummings affair, 187; + authorizes Scott to suspend habeas corpus, 190; + his action approved, 191; + transfers authority to Stanton, 197; + proclaims martial law as to certain classes, 200; + issues Emancipation Proclamation, 200; + commutes Vallandigham's sentence to banishment, 204; + replies to protest of Northern Democrats, 205; + his only evasion, 205; + revokes Burnside's order suppressing Chicago _Times_, 207, 208; + criticized by N. Y. _Tribune_, 309 _n._; + and certain dispatches of Seward to Adams, 210 _ff._; + requested to demand Seward's resignation, 211; + his comment, 212; + and Delahay, 214; + Palmer on his prospect of renomination, 214, 215, 216; + first evidence of personal difference between T. and, 217, 218; + T.'s opinion of his administration, 218; + feeling in Congress adverse to his reelection, 218, 219; + denounced by Wilson, 219; + basis of opposition to, 219; renominated, but fears defeat, 219; + requests Blair's resignation, and why, 220 and _n._; + T. favors his reelection, 220, 221; + reelected by favor of Union victories, 221; + and Halleck, 226; his death, 231; + European opinion of, 231; + his view of status of seceding states embodied in proclamation of + Dec. 8, 1863, 232; + letter of, to Gov. Hahn of La., 233; + his address of Apr. 11, 1865, on reconstruction, 234, 235; + his plan adopted by Johnson, 237; + had his life been spared, 286; + his plan of reconstruction definitely abandoned, 291; + T.'s estimate of his character and career, 430; xxi, 65, 67, 240, + 245, 246, 423. + + Lincoln, Mary (Todd), 42, 46. + + Lloyd, Henry D., 414, 417. + + Lodge, H. C, Senator, _Daniel Webster_, xxii _n._, xxv _n._ + + Logan, John A., General and Senator, 75, 277, 304, 309, 339, 344, 363, + 409. + + Logan, Stephen T., 43, 44, 142, 220. + + Louisiana, election in, under Lincoln's reconstruction order, 232; + Hahn chosen governor, 232, 233; + constitutional convention in, 233; + U. S. Senators chosen under new free constitution, 233; + resolutions recognizing new government of, defeated by Sumner, 233, + 234; + contested election of 1872 in, 404, 405; + Senatorial investigation thereof, 405; + disputed returns from, in 1876, 408 _ff._ + + Louisiana purchase, Federalist opposition to, xxiii, xxiv. + + Louisville _Courier-Journal_, interview with T. in, 369, 370; 372. + + Lovejoy, Rev. Elijah P., murder of, described by T., 8-10; + its effect on Abolition movement, 10; xxxiii. + + Lovejoy, Rev. Owen, Congressman, 43. + + Lundy, Benjamin, xxxi. + + + McCardle, William H., arrest and imprisonment of, 327; + remanded on habeas corpus, 327; + appeals, 327; + T. appears against in Supreme Court, 327, 328; + his appeal dismissed, under Act of March, 1868, 329, 330; + T.'s connection with case of, criticized, 330, 331. + + McClellan, George B., General, inaction of, 169; 171, 172, 219. + + McClernand, John A., 10, 11, 427. + + McClure, A. K., his _Lincoln and Men of War-Time_, quoted, 143; + opposes Cameron's appointment, 144; 374. + + McClurg, Joseph, 352. + + McCulloch, Hugh, Secretary of Treasury, opinion of, on question of + territorializing states, 290. + + McDougall, James A., Senator, 166, 228, 285. + + McDowell, Irwin, General, at first Bull Run, 165, 167. + + McEnery, John, and the governorship of La., 404, 405. + + McLean, John, Justice Sup. Ct., candidate for Republican nomination + (1860), 103; + shakes his fist in Buchanan's face, 122, 123; 69, 104, 105. + + McLean, Mrs. John, 121. + + McPike. H. G., quoted, 107, 118; + T.'s letter to, on Lincoln's reelection, 218. + + Madison, James, xxii _n._, xxxi. + + Magruder, Allan B., 161, 162. + + Magruder, Benj. D., Chief Justice of Ill., quoted, 21, 22. + + Mails, irregularity of, in early 19th century, 7. + + Malaria, Trumbull family afflicted by, 19. + + Managers of impeachment, overmatched by defendant's counsel, 309; + their conduct of the trial, 312, 313; + bring pressure to bear on Senators, 313. + + Mann, A., Jr., 140, 141. + + Marble, Manton, quoted, 373. + + Mason, James M., Senator, threatens dissolution of Union, 70, 71; + moves for committee of inquiry into John Brown raid, 98; 53, 116, + 134, 349 and _n._ + + Massachusetts, slavery in, xxvii. + + Massachusetts legislature, Anti-Embargo resolutions of, xxiv. + + Mather, Rev. Richard, 2. + + Matteson, Joel A., Governor, 43, 44, 46 and _n._, 60. + + Matteson, O. B., 179. + + Matthews, Stanley, Justice of Sup. Ct., 275, 372. + + Maynard, Horace, Congressman, quoted, 293. + + Medill, Joseph, quoted, on T.'s character and possible future, 424, + 425. + + Meigs, Montgomery C, Q.-M. Gen., 185. + + Merryman, John, summary arrest of, 194-196. + + Methodist Church, the, and the impeachment trial, 317. + + Miles, Nelson A., General, 167. + + Military commission, trial of civilians by, divided opinion of Supreme + Court on, in Milligan case, 289. + + Miller, Samuel F., Justice Sup. Ct., 275, 289, 409. + + Milligan case, decided by majority of Supreme Court, 288, 289; + grounds of decision, 288, 289, + and its consequences, 289; + radicals angered by, 289, 290; 327. + + Minnesota, proposed suffrage amendment to constitution of, repealed, + 295. + + Mississippi, order for reconstruction of, 238; + fails to adopt new constitution promptly, 295; + new conditions imposed on, 296. + + Missouri, admission of, xxix, xxx, + during the war, 351; + continued political warfare in, after the war, 351; + state constitution of 1865, 351; + division in Republican party of, results in Schurz's election as + senator, 351, 352; + success of Liberal republican movement in, 352; + liberal movement in, how viewed by Grant, 355; + state convention of Liberal Republicans of, adopts platform and + calls national Convention, 372; + its platform defended by T., 376; + vote of, in Cincinnati convention, 383. + + Missouri Compromise, history of, xxx; + repeal of, causes T.'s return to politics, 32; + not repealed by original Nebraska bill, 34; + Dixon amendment for repeal of, adopted by Douglas, 34; + repeal of, and Lincoln, 39; + meaning of "forever" in, 62, 63 _n._; + repeal of, 125, 126; + and the Crittenden Compromise, 131. + + _Missouri Democrat_, the, 142, 352. + + Missourians, and Kansas, 35; + invade Kansas, 49; + threaten Gov. Reeder, 50, 51; + Atchison's advice to, 52; + in Kansas, 56, 57, 58, 65. + + Monroe, James, President, 103. + + Moran, Thomas A., Judge, on T.'s public services, 419. + + Morgan, Edwin D., Governor, 178, 261, 265, 314, 321. + + Morrill, Justin S., Congressman, 168, 281. + + Morrill, Lot N., Senator, 263. + + Morrison, J. L. D., 41. + + Morton, Oliver P., Senator, 298, 307 _n._, 339, 346, 355, 363, 371, + 376, 405, 406 and _n._ + + Motley, J. Lothrop, minister to England, removed, 347, 348. + + Moultrie, Fort, 129. + + Murphy, Thomas, appointed collector of N. Y., 362, 363; + and the Leet and Stocking case, 365, 368; 371. + + + _Nation_, the, praises Johnson's first message, 244, 245; + quoted, on T. and the Georgia bill, 299, 300; + on Republican abuse of the "Seven traitors," 316, 317; + on conference of revenue reformers, 353, 354; + on Liberal Republican movement, 355, 356; + on Leet and Stocking case, 368, 369; + on opposition to Grant, 370, 371; + on Cooper Union meeting, 376, 377; + on Schurz's attitude toward Greeley, 392; + and the defeat of Greeley, 404; 273, 372. + + National Union Convention of Johnson men, 285, 286, 323. + + Nationalism, and the Constitution, xxvi, xxvii. + + Nebraska, bill to organize territory of, reported by Douglas, 33, 34. + _And see_ Anti-Nebraska Democrats, and Kansas-Nebraska bill. + + Negro suffrage, omitted from new constitution of La., 233; + Garrison opposes imposition of, in the South, 235; + Pres. Johnson opposed to, 236, 237; + vote of Johnson's Cabinet on, as applying to provisional + governments, 238; + not included in executive orders, 238, 239; + W. Phillips's views on, 239, 240, + traversed by N. Y. _Tribune_, 240, + and _Times_, 240, 241; + in Northern States in 1866, 243; + question of, not acute in early 1866, 261; + Howard argues against, 287; + made a permanent condition of reconstruction, 292 and _n._; + Northern opinion concerning, 293; + in Republican convention of 1868, 332, 333; + finally embodied in 15th Amendment, 338-340. + + Negroes, T. appears for in attempts to regain freedom, 28 _ff._; + right of, to bring actions in U. S. courts, 64; + condition of, in South, under reconstruction, 241-243; + status of, in Northern states, in 1866, 243; + debate on granting civil rights to, 265 _ff._ + + Nelson, Samuel, Justice Sup. Ct, 289. + + Nelson, Thomas A.R., of counsel for Johnson, 309. + + Nesmith, James W., Senator, 261, 285. + + New England, why opposed to Louisiana Purchase, xxiii, xxiv. + + New England Emigrant Aid Co., attacked by Douglas, 35; + blamed by Pierce and Douglas for disorders in Kansas, 26 _ff._; + defended by T., 58, 59. + + New Jersey, opposed to Seward, 103; + legislature of, elects Stockton Senator, 262; + validity of his election challenged, 262-265. + + New York, "compromisers" from, 122; + and the 15th Amendment, 340; + majority against Greeley in, 402. + + New York _Evening Post_, quoted, on exclusion of negroes from + suffrage, 239; + on the impeachment trial, 314, 315; 91, 372, 375. + + New York Free Trade League, 353. + + New York _Herald_, quoted, on Cincinnati convention, 390; 50, 378. + + New York Republicans oppose Seward's inclusion in Lincoln's Cabinet, + 139 _ff._; + T.'s Interview with, 140, 141. + + New York _Times_, quoted, on T.'s debate with Douglas, 66; + on Seward's dispatch to Adams, 211; + on Johnson's first message, 244. + + New York _Tribune_, quoted, in T.'s debate with Douglas, 66; + praises Douglas, 87; + and the Vallandigham case, 205, 206, 209 _n._; + on Lincoln's revocation of order suppressing Chicago _Times_, 209 + _n._; + defends Johnson against Phillips, 240; 91, 92, 239, 314, 315, 372. + + New York _World_, circulation of, in Burnside's department, forbidden + by him, 206; 373. + + Newman, Professor, 235. + + Nicholson letter, on squatter sovereignty, 94. + + Nicolay, John G., quoted, 75. + + Nicolay (John G.) and Hay (John), _Abraham Lincoln_, on Lincoln's + offer to evacuate Sumter, 159; + on Cameron's leaving the Cabinet, 185, 186; + quoted, 143, 162, 220. + + Niles, Nathaniel, 30. + + North, the, took up arms to preserve the Union, xxi, xxii; + slavery in, xxviii. + + North Carolina, attempt at reconstruction in, 238; + qualifications of electors in, 238; + election of August, 1872, in, 399, 400. + + Northern States, negro suffrage in, 243. + + Northern view of reconstruction, 293. + + Northwest, the, its claim to consideration, 132, 133. + + Northwestern Territory, slavery in, before + 1787, 23, 24; + provisions of Ordinance of 1787, concerning slavery in, 24; + main source of immigration to, 24. + + Norton, Daniel S., Senator, his vote against impeachment, 323; 261, + 285, 313. + + Nourse, George A., 68. + + Noyes, William C., 140, 141. + + Nullification, in South Carolina, xxv, xxvi; + in Mass. (1885), xxvi. + + Nye, James W., Senator, 360. + + + O'Conor, Charles, nominated for Pres. by dissentient Democrats (1872), + but declines, 394. + + Ogden, William B., 207. + + Oglesby, Richard J., General, succeeds T. in Senate, 407; 277. + + Ohio, in convention of 1860, 107; + proposed suffrage amendment to constitution of, rejected, 295; + and the 15th Amendment, 340; + and the call for a Liberal Republican convention, 372; + election of Oct., 1872, in, 402. + + "Old Public Functionary" (Buchanan), 122. + + Opdycke, George, 147, 178. + + Ord, Edward O. C., General, orders arrest of McCardle, 327. + + Ordinance of 1787, provisions of, concerning slavery, 24; + violated by territorial legislature of Ill., 24, 25; + attempts to repeal 6th article of, 25; + kept slavery out of Ill., 28.; + and the 13th Amendment, 224. + + Osgood, Uri (Illinois senate), 41, 42, 43. + + Otis, Harrison G., Mayor of Boston, and the _Liberator_, xxxii. + + Owen, Robert Dale, principal author of 14th Amendment, 282. + + + Palmer, John M., General, on Republican alliance with Douglas, 87, 88; + on Lincoln's prospect of renomination, 214, 215, 216; + on Grant's character and future, 216; + on Liberal Republican movement, 377; 21, 41, 43, 45, 46 _n._, 93, + 109, 277, 373, 419. + + Parker, Rev. Theodore, 78. + + Parks, Sam C., quoted, 46 _n._, 75, 119. + + Particularism, and the Constitution, xxvi. + + Patterson, James W., Senator, 343, 362, 363, 364, 367, 371. + + Payne, conspirator, 289. + + Pearce, James A., Senator, 194. + + Peck, Ebenezer, quoted, 74, 80, 119, 147, 148; 13, 87, 150, 427, 431. + + Peck, Rev. John M., 27, 28. + + Peirpoint, Francis M., recognized as Governor of Va., under + reconstruction, 237; 161. + + Pendleton, George H., Congressman, and the "Greenback" movement, 324. + + Pennsylvania, opposed to Seward, 103; + in convention of 1860, 106, 107; + in Liberal Republican movement, 374; + election of Oct. 1872, in, 402. + + People's party, issues T's speech at Chicago as campaign document, + 415; + T. draws resolutions for meeting of, 415-417. + + Philadelphia, National Union Convention at, 285, 286. + + Phillips, D. L., quoted, 75, 89; 213. + + Phillips, Wendell, opposes reelection of Lincoln, 220; + savagely attacks Johnson, 239, 240; + reproved by N. Y. _Tribune_, 240, + and _Times_, 240, 241; 388. + + Piatt, Donn, _Memories of Men who saved the Union_, quoted, 222. + + Pickens, Francis W., Governor, 121, 155, 156, 157, 158. + _And see_ Harvey. + + Pierce, Edward L., _Life of Sumner_, quoted, 292 _n._, 347 _n._; 66. + + Pierce, Franklin, President, makes Reeder Governor of Kansas, 49; + removes Reeder and appoints Shannon, 55; + his special message on Kansas affairs, 55; xxi, 37, 52, 54, 65, 73, + 83, 246. + + Poland, Luke D., Senator, 262, 304. + + Pomeroy, Samuel C., Senator, 202, 203. + + Poore, Ben: Perley, 342. + + "Popular sovereignty," 39. + + Porter, Horace, General, 366. + + Postage in early 19th century, 7, 20. + + Pottawatomie massacre, the, 97. + + Powell, Lazarus W., Senator, opposes habeas corpus suspension bill, + 198, 199, 200, 201, 202; 116. + + Protection, meaning of, in 1871, 354. + + Pullman Co., strike of employees of, 413-415. + + + Randall, Alexander W., Postmaster General, 285. + + Randall, J. G., 174 and _n._ + + Randolph, John, of Roanoke, and article 6 of Ordinance of 1787, 25; + xxxi. + + Raum, Green B., quoted, 67 and _n._ + + Rawlins, John A., General, appointed Secretary of War, 337; 330. + + Ray, C. H., quoted, 74, 75, 87, 148, 243, 261; 79, 80, 151. + + Ray, P. Ormon, Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, 37 _n._ + + Raymond, Henry J., Congressman, 272. + + Read, John M., 108. + + Reconstruction, Lincoln's plan of, set forth in proclamation of + Dec. 8, 1863, 232; + the La. attempt at, 233, 234; + Lincoln's address on, Apr. 11, 1865, 235; + his plan endorsed by Garrison, 235, 236, + and adopted by Johnson, 237; + in Va., 237; + in Tenn., 237, 238; + in Ark., 238; + in No. Carolina, and other seceding states, 238; + Shaffer and Ray on conditions in those States under, 242, 243; + the _Nation_ on Johnson's plan of, 244, 245; + Lincoln's plan of, definitely abandoned, 291; + supplementary measure of, passed by Congress, vetoed, and passed + over veto, 294; + drastic provisions of, 294; + further measures of, passed over vetoes, 295; + a failure, 341; + change in T.'s course on, 423, 424. + + Reconstruction, House Committee on, inquires into suspension of + Stanton, 306; + refuses to recommend impeachment, 308. + + Reconstruction, Joint Committee on, members of, 281; + amendment to Constitution proposed to, by Bingham and Stevens, 282; + reports 14th Amendment, 283, 284. + + Reconstruction bill (Stevens's) establishing military government in + South, 291, 292; + amended by provision for negro suffrage, 292; + passed by Congress, vetoed, and passed over veto, 293, 294. + + Reeder, Andrew H., appointed Governor of Kansas, 49; + confirms elections of Whitfield as Delegate to Congress, 49, 50; + and the Missourian invaders, 50, 51, 53, 54; + removed by Pierce, 55; 56, 59, 63, 108, 150. + + Religion, T.'s views on, 430, 431. + + Republican National Convention (_1856_), 69; + (_1860_), nominates Lincoln, 105, 106; + (_1868_) on negro suffrage, 332, 333; + its negro-suffrage plank too brazen to be long maintained, 338; + (_1872_), nominates Grant and Wilson, 393; + platform of, 394. + + Republican party, first national convention of, 69, 70; + rumored alliance of Douglas with, 78-80; + still inchoate in 1860, 102; + candidate for presidential nomination of, in 1860, 102 _ff._; + T.'s views concerning, 103, 104; + T.'s view of duty of, in 1861, 113, 114; + T.'s position in, in campaign of 1866, 273; + control of, shifted to radical wing by veto of Civil Rights bill, + 277; + power of that wing of, increased by refusal of South to ratify 14th + Amendment, 287; + lead of, in Congress, assumed by Sumner and Stevens, 291; + definitely abandons Lincoln's plan of reconstruction, 291; + generally adopts Sumner's view of impeachment, 312; + treatment of "traitor" Senators by, 322-326; + Henderson alone forgiven, 326; + corruption in, in 1870, 341 _ff._; + division in, in Mo., 351 _ff._; + both sections of, in Mo., adopt "Anti-tariff" resolution, 352; + defeated in Congressional elections of 1874, 408; + T.'s separation from, 420. + + Republicans of the first period, xxiii. + + Republicans, Eastern, favor Douglas's re-election to Senate, 86; + and the Lincoln-Douglas campaign, 91, 92; + in Ill., distrust Douglas, 86, + and prefer Lincoln for Senator, 86; + those opposed to Lincoln, nominate Fremont and Cochrane (1864), 219, + 220. + + Retrenchment, Joint Committee on, report of, 362, 363; + and the Leet and Stocking case, 364 _ff._ + + Revenue reform, an element in Liberal Republican movement, 352, 353; + conference of advocates of, 353, 354; + in the Cincinnati convention, 381, 382. + + Reynolds, John, Governor, and the pro-slavery attempt to amend the + constitution of Ill., 26; + quoted, 28; 6 _n._, 11, 38. + + Rhode Island, opposed to Seward, 103. + + Rhodes, James F., _History of the U. S._, quoted on "anti-impeachment" + Senators, 322; + on La. returning board, 408; + cited, 406 _n._ + + Richardson, William A., Senator, 10, 197, 201, 427. + + Riddle, A. G., _Recollections of War-Time_, quoted, 228 _n._; 219. + + Robbins, Henry S., T.'s partner, 407; + quoted, on T.'s character, 425. + + Robertson, Thomas J., 359. + + Robeson, George M., appointed Secretary of the Navy, 337; + action in the Secor case, 396, 397, 398. + + Ross, Edmund G., Senator, immortalized by his vote against + impeachment, 322; + his later years, and death in poverty, 322; 299, 314, 317. + + Russia, Cameron appointed Minister to, 186, 187-189. + + + San Domingo treaty, opposed by Sumner, 342, 343; + Wade commission, 343, + and its report, 386; + attempt to secure ratification of, 360. + + Sands, Mahlon D., convokes conference of revenue reformers, 353. + + Saulsbury, Willard, Senator, 201, 228, 249, 250, 267, 268, 272. + + Scates, Walter B., Judge, quoted, 213; 21, 375. + + Schenck, Robert C., Congressman, 165, 166, 167. + + Schurz, Carl, Senator, report of, in his Southern tour, 253-255; + his report has great influence, 254; + his later doubts as to his conclusions, 254 _n._; + succeeds Henderson in Senate, 351, 352; + a leader in Liberal Republican movement, 352; + opposes Ku-Klux-Klan bill, 356, 358; + his speech a masterpiece, 358; + on Leet and Stocking case, 365, 366; + chairman of Cincinnati Convention, 383; + his view of nomination, 384, 385; + how connected with course of Blair and Brown, 385 and _n._; his + attitude toward Greeley's candidacy, 391, 392; + urges him to decline, 391; + Godkin and Godwin remonstrate with, 392, 393; + in the campaign, 399; + Greeley's farewell letter to, 403; 107, 189, 343, 344, 353, 359, + 363, 369, 371, 373, 377, 378, 389, 402. + + Scott, Dred, not consciously a party to suit brought in his name, 82, + 83. + _And see_ Dred Scott case. + + Scott, Thomas A., censured by House Committee, 184, 185; 172 _n._, + 186. + + Scott, Winfield, General, has authority from Lincoln to suspend habeas + corpus, 190; 121, 122, 128, 171. + + Scripps, John L., 87. + + Secession movement, history of, 125 _ff._ + + Secors, the, and the Navy Dep't, 397, 398. + + Senate of U. S., debates Kansas-Nebraska bill, 34, + and passes it, 37; T. takes his seat in, 48; + debates on affairs in Kansas in, 55 _ff._, 63, 64, 65, 76 _ff._, 81, + 82, 83; + passes Lecompton bill, 83, + and substituted English bill, 84; + debate on popular sovereignty in, 94; + debate on Davis's anti-Douglas resolutions in, 95, 96, + and on John Brown raid, 98-100; + J. Davis's last speeches in, 110, 114, 115; + debates Crittenden Compromise, 115-117, + and rejects it, 117; + passes proposed amendment to constitution forbidding interference + with slavery, 117; + Douglas's death announced to, by T., 152, 153; + struggle in, over confirmation of Cameron as Minister to Russia, + 187-189; + debate in, on arbitrary arrests, 190 _ff._; + passes bill concerning political prisoners, 197; + debates habeas corpus suspension bill, 198 _ff._; + Democratic filibuster thereon, 200-203; + debates 13th Amendment, 223 _ff._; + debates Louisiana bill, 233, 234; + Sumner's attack on Johnson in, 246, 247; + debate on Wilson bill in, 247-250; + calls for Schurz's report on Southern affairs, 253; + debates Freedmen's Bureau bill, 258-260, + but fails to pass it over veto, 261; + Stockton election contest in, 261-265; + debates Civil Rights bill, 265-270, + and passes it over veto, 272; + passes 14th Amendment, 283; + passes bill admitting Texas, 284; + amendment looking to negro suffrage offered in, 287; + adopts Sumner's negro-suffrage amendment to Reconstruction bill, + 292, and passes bill over veto, 293, 294; + pass bills readmitting divers States, 296, 297; + debates Georgia bill, 298, 299; + debates Tenure-of-Office bill, 301, 302, + and passes it over veto, 303; + non-concurs in removal of Stanton, 305, 306; + trial of Johnson impeachment in, 309-314, 318-320; + acquits him on three counts, 320, 321; + debate on T.'s connection with McCardle case, 331, 332; + debates and passes 15th Amendment, 338-340; + debate in, on ousting Sumner from Foreign Affairs Committee, 343 + _ff._; + debates Ku-Klux-Klan bill, 356-358, + and Amnesty bill, 359, 360, + and Hodge resolution, 362-364; + orders inquiry into Leet and Stocking scandal, 365, 366; + discusses make-up of committee, 366, 367; + T.'s speech on Mo. convention of 1872, 376; + Sumner's anti-Grant speech in, 387, 388; + orders investigation of La. election, 405; + T.'s last speech in, 405. + + Seward, William H., speech of, on Kansas affairs, 64; + the "logical candidate" in 1860, 102; + opposition to nomination of, 102, 103; + too radical for some states, 103; + T. and Lincoln on candidacy of, 103, 104, 105; + his inclusion in Cabinet opposed, 139 _ff._; + State Dep't. offered to, 141; + and Cameron's appointment, 143; + and the Harvey despatch to Gov. Pickens, 155 _ff._; + and Harvey's appointment to Portugal, 155, 157; + his assurance to Confederate envoys as to evacuation of Sumter, 156; + his purpose, to defeat relief of Sumter, 157; + had induced Lincoln to agree to evacuation to prevent secession of + Va., 158; + sends Magruder to Va. convention, 161; + and Douglas, in April, 1861, 163, 164; + his aims patriotic but futile, 164; + assumes power to order arbitrary arrests, 190 _ff._; + his dispatches of Apr. 1861, and July, 1862, to Adams, 210 _ff._; + his attitude toward Lincoln's war policy, 210; + unjustly blamed for non-success of Union arms, 210, 211, 212; + committee of Republican Senators urge Lincoln to demand his + resignation, 211; + Lincoln's comment thereon, 212; + on real date of emancipation, 222; + his construction of 13th Amendment confirmed by Supreme Court, 229; + on Johnson as a speaker, 246; + opinion of, on matter of territorializing States, 290; + prepares Johnson's veto message of Tenure-of-Office bill, 303; 48, + 79, 82, 84, 86, 88, 106, 107, 108, 112, 116, 118, 119, 145, 146, + 147, 150, 151, 170, 172, 181 _n._, 182, 197, 238, 307, 430. + + Seymour, Horatio, elected Governor of N. Y., 197; + Democratic nominee for Pres. (1868), 333; 355. + + Shaffer, J. W., quoted, on conditions in seceding states, 242, 243. + + Shannon, Wilson, succeeds Reeder as Governor of Kansas Terr., 55. + + Sheahan, James W., 79. + + Sheridan, P. H., General, 221. + + Sherman, John, Senator, on Tenure-of-Office bill, 301, 302, 303; + his view of impeachment, 309, 310; + and evidence of Johnson's intent, 313; + on Sumner and the Foreign Affairs Committee, 344, 345; + on Caucus secrets, 345, 346; 102, 248, 249, 292, 316, 320, 363, 371, + 409. + + Sherman, William T., General, quoted, on conditions in La. (1859), + xxxv, 165, 166, 221, 257, 308. + + Shields, James, Senator, 39, 43. + + Shiloh, battle of, 334. + + Simpson, Matthew, Methodist bishop, and the impeachment trial, 317, + 320. + + Slave trade, extension of, deemed a vital necessity in the South, + xxxiv. + + Slavery, how involved in the War, xxi, xxii; + history of, in the U. S., xxvii _ff._; + change in Southern view of, xxxii, xxxiii; + in Ill., early history of, 23 _ff._; + provisions of Ordinance of 1787 concerning, violated by legislature, + 25; + prohibited by State Constitution, 25; + attempts to perpetuate in Ill., 28-30; + and the Kansas-Nebraska bill, 34 _ff._; + in Lecompton Constitution, 72, 76; + Douglas's attitude toward, 78, 86; + in territories, doctrine of Squatter Sovereignty, 94 and _n._, 95; + resolutions concerning, proposed by Lincoln, 112; + proposed Amendment to Constitution forbidding interference with, + passes both Houses, 117; + T.'s review of question of, 124 _ff._; + T.'s view of effect of 13th Amendment on, 249, 250, 251, 258, 259, + 260. + _And see_ Constitution (Amendment XIII), and Squatter Sovereignty. + + Slaves, premature attempts to emancipate, by Fremont, 169, 170, + Cameron, 172, + Hunter, 172; + T.'s confiscation bill, 173 _ff._, + the first step toward full emancipation, 176. + + Slidell, John, 80, 349, and _n._ + + Smith, Caleb, Secretary of the Interior, 142, 148, 149, 151, 429. + + South, the, and the right of Secession, xxx; + and the Missouri Compromise, xxx; + condition of, in second quarter of 19th century, xxxii, xxxiii; + changing view of slavery in, xxxii, + and of the slave trade, xxxiv. + + South Carolina, and Nullification, xxv, xxvi; + attitude of, in 1861, 110; + forts in, Lincoln's attitude concerning, 112, 113; + and the 13th Amendment, 229; + disputed returns from (1876), 408. + + Southern States. _See_ States seceding. + + Spaulding, Rufus P., Congressman, moves for inquiry into suspension of + Stanton, 306; 304. + + Spencer, Charles S., threatens T. for his attitude on impeachment, + 315. + + Spoils system, T. on iniquities of, 349. + + Springfield (Ill.) _Journal_, 142. + + Springfield (Mass.) _Republican_, 372. + + _Squatter Sovereign_, the, quoted, 51. + + Squatter Sovereignty, doctrine of, reaffirmed by Douglas, 94; + denied by Jefferson Davis, 94. + + Stallo, J. G., 373. + + Stanbery, Henry, Attorney-General, opinion of, on question of + territorializing states, 290, 291; + of counsel for Johnson, 309; 327. + + Stanton, Edwin M., Secretary of War, and arbitrary arrests, 197; + general jail delivery by, 198; + opinion of, on question of territorializing states, 290, 291; + and the Cabinet section of Tenure-of-Office bill, 302; + advises veto, and assists Seward in preparing veto message, 303; + declines to resign as Secretary of War, 305; + suspended, 305; + denies power of Pres. to suspend him, 305; + surrenders office to Grant, 305; + resumes office, after Senate's action, 306; + his embarrassing position, 308; + Johnson attempts to remove, 308; + refuses to turn over office to Thomas, 308; + change in popular feeling concerning, 308, 309; + attempted removal of, basis of first 8 articles of impeachment, 309, + 310; + claims to be protected by Tenure-of-Office Act, 310; + evidence of his advice to Johnson as to that act, excluded, 313; + articles based on removal of, not voted on, 320; + relinquishes office, 321; + his conduct condemned, 321; 177, 186, 189, 237, 318, 319, 330, 430. + + Stanton, F. P., acting Governor of Kansas, removed by Buchanan, 73. + + _State Register_, the, 13, 14. + + State sovereignty, xxii, xxv. + + States, admitted in pairs, xxix. + + States, seceding, opposing views as to status of, 231, 232; + Sumner and Stevens against Lincoln, 231, 232; + reconstruction of, mapped out before 39th Congress met, 237, 238; + witches' caldron in, under reconstruction, 241; + labor problem in, 241, 242; + new labor laws of, 242, + and their effect in the North, 242; + Shaffer quoted on conditions in, 242, 243; + reports of Grant and Schurz on conditions in, 252-254; + Committee on Reconstruction on status of, 284; + Stevens reports bill to restore political rights of, 284, 285; + except Tenn., refuse to ratify 14th Amendment, 287; + cause and consequence of their refusal, 287; + Stevens's bill to make military authority supreme in, 291, 292; + constitutions adopted by, in 1868, 295, 296. + + Stephens, Alex. H., on Johnson's speech against secession, 246. + + Stetson, Francis L., letter of, to author, 40 _n._ + + Stevens, Simon, 184. + + Stevens, Thaddeus, his bill of indemnity for arbitrary arrests, 198; + his views of status of seceding states, 231; + on Reconstruction Committee, 271; + proposes amendments to Constitution, 282; + reports bill to restore political rights of states, 284; + his bill making military authority supreme in the South, 291, 292; + author of 11th article of impeachment, 311; 184, 260, 278, 287, 304, + 306, 308, 309. + + Stewart, Alex. T., nominated by Grant as Secretary of Treasury, 335, + and why, 335, 336; + ineligible, 336; + on the "general order" system, 365. + + Stewart, William M., Senator, 261, 262, 264, 265, 298, 339, 366. + + Stockton, John P., elected Senator from N. J., 261, 262; + his election contested, 262-265; + unseated for partisan reasons, 265. + + Storey, Wilbur F., and the Chicago _Times_, 206-208. + + Stoughton, E. W., 411. + + Stringfellow, J. H., quoted, 54. + + Strong, Moses M., 208. + + Stuart, John T., 32. + + Sturtevant, J. M., quoted, 118. + + Suffrage, in seceding states, restriction of, 294. + + Summers, George W., 158, 159, 161, 162. + + Sumner, Charles, his speech on Kansas affairs, 64; + Brooks's assault on, 65; + quoted, in T.'s debate with Douglas, 66; + and Cameron, 188, 189; + his view of status of seceding states, 231; + opposes recognition of new state government of La., 233, + and defeats it, 234; + attacks Johnson, 246, 247; + and the 14th Amendment, 283; + secures adoption of negro suffrage as permanent element of + reconstruction, 292 and _n._; + Northern views concerning, 293; + dispute with T. on Va. bill, 297; + T. opposes ousting of, from Foreign affairs Committee, 297, 344, + 420; + his theory of impeachment, 312; + and Stanton, 321; + and the San Domingo treaty, 342; + charged with bad faith by Grant, 342, 343; + deposed as Chairman of Foreign affairs committee, 343-347; + Sherman's advice to, 345; + interview of author with, 347; + on attitude of Anthony, 347; + Motley's removal a blow at, 347; + moves his Equal Rights bill as amendment to Amnesty bill, 360; + and Grant's administration, 361; + his speech against Grant, 387, 388; + his attitude toward Greeley's nomination, 388; + chastised by Garrison, 388; 79, 102, 211, 228 _n._, 236, 260, 264, + 278, 285, 287, 291, 298, 313, 363, 366, 367, 370, 371, 378, 385 + _n._, 423, 424. + + Sumter, Fort, J. Davis's views concerning, 110; + Buchanan's reported purpose to surrender, 112, 113; + effect on Douglas of attack on, 115; + Harvey divulges plans to send supplies to, 155_ ff._; + Seward determined to prevent relief of, 156, 157; + Lincoln's earlier promise to evacuate, 158 _ff._; + attack on, aroused forces that finally destroyed slavery, 164; + attack on, and emancipation, 222; 128, 129. + + Sunderland, Rev. Byron, 121. + + Supreme Court of U. S., and the second clause of 13th Amendment, 229; + construes 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, in U. S. _v._ Harris, 275, + 276, 358; + holds Ku-Klux Act unconstitutional, 275; + holds Equal Rights Act (1875) unconstitutional, 275, 276; + and the Civil Rights Act, 277; + divided decision of, in Milligan Case, 288, 289; + proposed legislation concerning, 328; + its jurisdiction as affected by Act of Mch. 27, 1868, 329, 330; + dismisses McCardle's appeal, 330; + and the Debs case, 414. + + Surratt, Mary E., 289. + + Swayne, Noah H., Justice Sup. Ct., 274, 289, 409. + + Swett, Leonard, quoted, 428, 429; 69, 144. + + + Talcott, Wait, quoted, 118. + + Tallmadge, James, Congressman, and the admission of Missouri, xxix, + xxx. + + Tallmadge, N. P., 48. + + Taney, Roger A., Chief Justice Sup. Ct., on the power to suspend + habeas corpus, 195, 196. + + Tarr, Campbell, 161. + + Taylor, John, of Caroline, xxii, _n._ + + Ten Eyck, John C., Senator, 262. + + Tennessee, loyal state government in, recognized by Johnson, 237; + bill for readmission of, 285. + + Tenure-of-Office bill, purpose of, 301; + not at first intended to apply to cabinet officers, 301; + passes Congress, 301; + cabinet advises veto of, 301; + vetoed, and passed over veto, 303; + and the Stanton case, 306, 309; + unconstitutionality of, alleged by Johnson's counsel, 311, 313. + + Territorializing states, opinions of Johnson's advisers on question + of, 290, 291. + + Terry, Alfred H., General, and the legislature of Va., 247. + + Texas, opposition in Mass. & admission of, xxvi; + order for reconstruction of, 238; + fails to adopt new constitution promptly, 295; + new conditions imposed on, 296. + + Thayer,Eli, 50. + + Thomas, Jesse B., Senator, Author of Missouri Compromise, xxx. + + Thomas, Lorenzo, appointed Secretary of War _ad interim_, 308; + Stanton refuses to give way to, 308; + his appointment the basis of certain articles of impeachment, 309, + 310, 320, 321; 318, 319. + + Thomas, Morris St. P., quoted, 21 _n._, 421. + + Thomas, William B., 374. + + Thompson, Jacob, Secretary of Interior, and the Lecompton + Constitution, 73. + + Thompson, John B., quoted, 36. + + Thurman, Allen G., Senator, 367. + + Tilden, Samuel J., and the Election of 1876, 406, 407 _ff._; + T. of counsel for, in La. case, 409, 410; + Electoral Commission decides adversely to, 411; + legally elected, 411. + + Tillson, John, quoted, 107. + + Tipton, Thomas W., Senator, 300, 343, 344, 345, 346, 363, 371. + + Tompkins, D. D., 179. + + Toombs, Robert, Senator, 58, 83, 121. + + Topeka Constitution, condemned by Buchanan and upheld by T., 76, 77. + + Toucey, Isaac, 130. + + Traveling in U. S., in 1847, 20. + + Treat, Samuel H., Justice, 13, 20. + + Truman, Benj. C, quoted, 245 _n._; 307 _n._ + + Trumbull, Julia (Jayne), T.'s first wife, letters of, to Walter T., + 121-123; + T.'s letters to, on Harvey dispatch, 15, 157, 158, + and on first battle of Bull Run, 165-167; + her personality, 169; + her death, 326. + + TRUMBULL, LYMAN, birth (1813) and ancestry, 1-3; + education, 3; + school-teaching in Georgia, 4, 5; + reads law there, 5; + goes to Illinois (1837), and settles at Belleville, 5, 6; + practices law, 7 _ff._; + describes murder of Lovejoy, 8-10; + his early attitude toward slavery, 10; + in State legislature, 10; + his qualities as a debater, 10; + appointed Secretary of State, 11; + his resignation requested by Gov. Carlin, and why? 12 and _n._, + 13; + his resignation splits the Democratic party, 13, 14; + resumes practice, 14; + marries Julia M. Jayne, 15; + describes river floods, and murder of Joseph Smith, 16; + family affairs, 16, 17, 19, 20; + candidate for Democratic nomination for governor, 18; + defeated by Ford's influence, 18; + nominated for Congress, and defeated (1846), 18, 19; + his professional earnings, 20; + elected Judge of Ill. Supreme Court (1848), 20; + removed to Alton, 21; + reelected judge (1852), but resigns (1853), 21; + Chief Justice Magruder on his judicial opinions, 21, 22. + Engaged as counsel for negroes, claiming their freedom, 28; + case of Sarah Borders, 28, 29; + in Jarrot _v._ Jarrot, wins a victory which practically puts an + end to slavery in Ill., 29; + N. D. Harris quoted on his efforts, 30, 31; + his return to politics due to repeal of Missouri Compromise, 32; + takes stump in opposition to Kansas-Nebraska bill, 37, 38; + Anti-Nebraska candidate for Congress in 8th district, 38, + and elected, 38; + in Senatorial election of 1854, receives votes of Anti-Nebraska + Democrats on early ballots, 43, 44; + elected by votes of Lincoln men, to defeat Gov. Matteson, 44, 45, + 46 _n._; + regarded as a traitor by regular Democrats, 45; + Lincoln's attitude toward his election, 45, 46. + Takes his seat in Senate, 48; + protest against his election overruled, 48, 49; + letter from J. C. Underwood to, on Kansas affairs, 52, 53; + and from I. T. Dement, 53; + his speech on report of Committee on Territories endorsing + Pres. Pierce's view of Kansas affairs, 56 _ff._; + exposes Douglas's sophisms, 57, 58; + a welcome reinforcement to Republicans in Senate, 567; + Douglas declares him not a Democrat, 59; + his answer to Douglas's tirade against him, 60, 61; + Douglas's reply, 61, 62; + his construction of "forever" in the Missouri Compromise, 62, 63; + further debate with Douglas on Kansas, 63, 64; + effect of these debates on his reputation, 65; + his intellect and personality compared with Lincoln's, 65; + divers views of his first appearance in debate, quoted, 66, 67; + letter from G. B. Raum to, 67; + campaigns in Minnesota, 68; + attends Republican National Convention of 1856, 69; + colloquy with Mason, on destruction of the Union, 70; + letter of, to J. B. Turner, on conditions in 1857, 71; + divers reports to, on effect of Douglas's Anti-Lecompton stand, + 74, 75; + demolishes Buchanan's message on Kansas affairs, 76, 77; + letters to, on possible alliance of Douglas with Republicans, 79, + 80; + Democratic overtures to, 80, 81; + speaks on Buchanan's claim that slavery lawfully exists in Kansas, + 81, 82; + letters to, from Lincoln and others, voicing Republican distrust + of Douglas in Ill., 87, 88, + and, generally, on the campaign of 1858, 90-92; + his cordial relations with Lincoln, 93; + takes part in debate on resolution for committee of inquiry into + John Brown's raid, 98-100; + his notable speech, 98, 99, + and Lincoln's praise thereof, 100; + letter from Lincoln on Delahay matter, 100, 101. + + His view of candidates for Republican nomination in 1860, 103; + writes to Lincoln thereon, 103, 104; + thinks Seward cannot be elected, 104, + and believes McLean alone can beat him, 104; + Lincoln his first choice, 104; + Lincoln, in reply, avows his own ambition, and discusses other + candidates, 104, 105; + divers letters to, on Lincoln's nomination, 106-107; + post-nomination letters of Lincoln to, 108; + speaks for Lincoln at ratification meeting, 109, 110; + confidential letters of Lincoln to, against compromise, 111, 112, + and on Buchanan's reputed purpose to surrender So. Carolina + forts, 112; + his own views on compromise set forth in letter to E. C. Larned, + 113, 114; + his speech on Crittenden Compromise (March 2, 1861), 115, 116, and + _n._, 123-138; + urged by constituents to stand firm, 117-119; + writes Gov. Yates, advising military preparations, 120; + declines to listen to "Compromisers" from N. Y., 122; + his troubles with office-seekers, 139; + in N. Y. meets remonstrants against Seward's inclusion in Cabinet, + and reports to Lincoln, 139, 140; + Lincoln's reply, 141; + Greeley's advice to, 141; + advises Lincoln not to appoint Cameron, 145, 146, 147; + is urged to use his influence to that end, 147, 148; + favors Judd for seat in Cabinet, 148, 149, 150; + reelected senator (Jan. 1861), 152; + announces death of Douglas, 152; + his eulogy of Douglas, 153, 154; + the Harvey dispatch to Gov. Pickens, commented on in letter to + Mrs. T., 155,156. + + Witnesses first battle of Bull Run, and describes it in letter to + Mrs. T., 165-167; + his reconstructed telegram, 168; + his first Confiscation Act passed by Congress, 168; + his physical aspect, etc., in 1861, 168; + his family, 169; + letter of M. C. Lea to, on financial affairs, 170, + and his reply, 171; + brings in his second Confiscation Act, 173; + his report thereon, 173; + history of the bill in Congress, 173-176; + speaks on War Dep't. frauds, 184; + leads opposition to confirmation of Cameron's nomination as + minister to Russia, 187; + votes against confirmation, 189; + introduces resolution of inquiry concerning arbitrary arrests in + loyal states, 191, 192; + his colloquy with Dixon of Conn., 192, 193; + his resolution shelved, 194; + reports from Judiciary Committee House bill on same subject, 197; + offers substitute for that bill, which is opposed by Democrats, + but finally passed, 198, 199; + offers substitute for Stevens's bill to indemnify Pres. for + arbitrary arrests, 199; + reports from conference his substitute combined with his + habeas corpus bill, 200; + his report concurred in, after Democratic filibuster, 201, 202; + his speech at meeting of protest against the order forbidding the + publication of Chicago _Times_, 207, 208, 209; + letter of Judge White to, regarding certain dispatches of Seward + to Adams, 210, 211, + and his reply, 211, 212; + one of committee to urge Lincoln to get rid of Seward, 211; + divers letters to, relating to the war, 212, 213, 215, 216, 217; + and Delahay's appointment to a judgeship, 213-214; + letters of J. M. Palmer to, concerning the election of 1864, 214, + 216; + first evidence of personal difference between Lincoln and, 217, + 218; + deems the government inefficient in putting down the rebellion, + 218; + falsely accused of refusing to speak in favor of Lincoln's + reelection, 220. + + Reports to the Senate as a substitute for Henderson's proposed + Constitutional Amendment what later became the 13th Amendment, + 224; + his speech thereon, 225-226; + his authorship thereof, his title to immortality, 230; + and the new Senators from La., 233; + reports resolution recognizing Hahn government of La., 233; + breaks temporarily with Sumner, 234; + letter of Shaffer to, on conditions in South, 242, 243, + and of Ray, on Reconstruction, 243; + his speech on postponement of Wilson bill invalidating certain + acts, etc., of seceding states, 248-251; + colloquy with Saulsbury, 250; + introduces Freedmen's Bureau and Civil Rights bills, 257; + speaks, in debate on the former, on construction of second clause + of 13th Amendment, 258-260; + colloquy with Henderson, 260; + letter from Ray, on negro suffrage, 261; + favors Stockton in N. J. election contest, 261 _ff._; + in debating his Amendment to Civil Rights bills, speaks again on + power of Congress to pass laws for ordinary administration of + justice in States, 265-267; + answered by Saulsbury, 267-268; + quotes Gaston as to citizenship of free negroes, 270; + his great speech in reply to Johnson's message vetoing Civil + Rights bill, 272; + the _Nation_, quoted, on his speech, 273; + his leading position in the campaign of 1866, 273; + opposed to Ku-Klux bill of 1871, 275, 356, 357, 358; + reelected Senator (1866), 277; + sustains Johnson until veto of Civil Rights bill, 277, 278; + letter of Mrs. F. C. Gary to, 278, + and his reply, 279; + not active in drawing 14th Amendment, 284 _n._; + his influence as against radical measures lessened by refusal of + Southern states to ratify 14th Amendment, 287; + on Stevens's Reconstruction bill, votes against Sumner's amendment + making negro suffrage a permanent condition of reconstruction, + 292, + but supports bill with that amendment, 292; + at fault in so doing, 292; + votes to pass bill over veto, 294; + votes to pass supplementary registration of voters bill over veto, + 294; + writing in Chicago _Advance_, denies power of Congress to regulate + suffrage in states, 294, 295; + reports bill for readmission of Va., but opposes amendments + applying new conditions, 296; + has a lively dispute with Sumner, 296, 297, + but supports him strongly in the later movement to oust him from + chairmanship of Com. on Foreign Relations, 297, 344, 420; + supports Bingham proviso to the Georgia bill, 298, + and makes a powerful speech thereon, 299; + the _Nation's_ high praise of the speech and its author, 299, 300; + votes for Tenure-of-Office bill, as amended, 302; + abused for his stand against conviction of Johnson, 313, 315, 323; + Spencer's threat, 315; + N. Y. _Evening Post_, Chicago _Tribune_, and _Nation_, quoted, as + to abuse of the "traitors," 314-317; + his written opinion on the case against Johnson, 318, 319; + J. F. Rhodes quoted on the action of the seven, 322; + his only reply to his vilifiers, 323, 324; + his eulogy of Fessenden, 324, 325; + death of Mrs. Trumbull, 326. + + Retained for the War Dep't. in the matter of McCardle's petition for + habeas corpus, 327; + appears before Supreme Court, 327, 328; + votes to pass over veto the Act of March 27, 1868, which the + Supreme Court held to apply _ex post facto_ to McCardle case, + 329, 330: + his action criticized, 330, 332; + his acceptance of counsel fees attacked by Chandler as being + connected with his vote on impeachment, 330, 331; + his defense, 331, 332; + the Chandler charge would not down, 332; + supports Vickers's amendment to 15th Amendment, 338, + and opposes Wilson's amendment, 339; + letter of Grenier to, on Republican corruption, 341; + offered English mission, 347; + his reason for declining, 348; + in speech at Chicago, discusses claims of U.S. against England, + 349, and the urgent need of reform of the Civil service, 349, + 350; + indorses Cox's stand, 349, 350; + casts only vote in Judiciary Committee in favor of Hoar's + confirmation as Supreme Court Justice, 350; + votes against tacking Sumner's Equal Rights bill to Amnesty bill, + 359; + offers amendment for general investigation of public service to + Conkling's resolution concerning Hodge, 362; + his remarks thereon, 363; + not appointed on investigating committee, 366, 367; + not moved by personal hostility to Grant, 369; + interview with, in _Courier-Journal_ on his relations with Grant + (Dec. 1871). 369 and _n._, 370; + letter of S. Galloway to, on Grant, 371; + mentioned by Stanley Matthews as possible candidate of Liberal + Republicans, 372; + J. H. Bryant and others urge him to become a candidate, 375; + his replies somewhat non-committal, 375; + defends Mo. Liberal Republican platform as Republican doctrine, + 376; + on civil service reform, 376; + letter of Palmer to, offering his support, 377; + in letter to author, gives qualified assent to use of his name, + 378, 379; + letter of author to, on his candidacy, 379; + his strength impaired by division of vote of Ill. at Cincinnati, + 380; + opinions of editors as to candidates, 381; + vote for, in the convention, 383, 384; + his supporters decide to support Greeley, 384; + letter of W. C. Bryant to, urging him not to support Greeley, 386, + and his reply, 386, 387; + how Greeley's nomination was brought about, 389, 390; + how Trumbull received the news, 390, 391; + takes active part in campaign, 394 _ff._; + his speech at Springfield, Ill., denouncing Republican corruption, + 395-399; + his tribute to Greeley, 399; + if nominated, could have been elected, 402; + Adams, the stronger candidate, 402, 403; + his speech on La. election of 1872, his last speech in the Senate, + 405, 406. + + His official career ended by defeat of Greeley, 407; + defeated for reelection by Oglesby, 407; + resumes practice of law, 407; + one of the "visiting statesmen" sent to La. to watch canvass of + votes (1876), 409; + of counsel for Tilden before Electoral Commission, 409-411; + marries Mary Ingraham, 412; + Democratic candidate for governor of Ill. (1880), 412; + defeated by Cullom, 412; + entertains W. J. Bryan in 1893, 413; + inclined to free silver, 413; + his geniality, and vigor of mind and body, 413; + appears for Debs before Supreme Court, on petition for + habeas corpus, 414; + his speech in Chicago published as Populist campaign document, + 414, 415; + no more radical than present-day "Progressive" doctrines, 415; + draws declaration of principles for Populist national conference, + 415-417; + his death (June 5, 1896), 418; + Judge Moran quoted on his career, 419; + eminent as a political debater, well grounded in the law, 419, + 420; + his character and talents reviewed and discussed, 419-422; + "a high-minded, kind-hearted, courteous gentleman, without + ostentation, and without guile," 421; + his place among the statesmen of his time discussed, 422; + his connection with the 13th Amendment, 422; + his opposition to arbitrary arrests unpopular, 422, 423; + his position as one of the "Seven Traitors" a proud one, 423; + change in his course on Reconstruction, 423, 424; + Medill quoted as to effect of vote in impeachment trial on his + future, 424, 425; + his partners quoted, as to his kindliness, 424; + Darrow on the "socialistic trend" of his opinions, 425; + letter of his daughter-in-law to author, 426; + his estimate of Lincoln's character and career, 426-430; + his views on religion, in letter to his mother, 430, 431; + his descendants, 431, 432. + + Trumbull, Mary (Ingraham), T.'s second wife, 413, 432. + + Trumbull, Walter, T.'s son, 18, 19, 121-123, 169, 425, 426, 431. + + Trumbull family, the, 1, 2, 431, 432. + + Turner, J. B., 71. + + Turner, matter of, in Circuit Court of U.S., 274. + + + Underwood, John C, quoted, 52, 53. + + Union Pacific R. R., 402. + + United States _v._ Harris, 106 U. S., 275, 276, 358. + + United States _v._ Rhodes (Circuit Court), 274. + + + Vagrancy law of Va., 247. + + Vallandigham, Clement L., "the incarnation of Copperheadism," 203; + his speech of Jan. 14, 1863, 203, 204; + his arrest ordered by Burnside, 204; + tried by military commission, 204; + his sentence of imprisonment commuted to banishment to the South, + 204; + all proceedings against, after arrest, illegal under habeas corpus + suspension act, 205; + nominated for governor of Ohio, but defeated, 206; 288. + + Van Buren, John, 379. + + Van Buren, Martin, xxi, 32, 37. + + Van Tyne, C. H., _Letters of Daniel Webster_, xxiv _n._ + + Van Winkle, Peter G., Senator, on Civil Rights bill, 269; 261, 302, + 314. + + Van Wyck, Charles H., Congressman, 181, 182, 184. + + Vermont, in convention of 1860, 106. + + Vickers, George, Senator, 338. + + Villard, Oswald G., _John Brown_, 52 _n._ + + Virginia, efforts to prevent secession of, 158 _ff._; + Lincoln's plan of reconstruction in, adopted by Johnson's Cabinet, + 237; + Peirpoint recognized as Governor of, 237; + vagrancy law of, 247; + additional conditions imposed on readmission of, 296, 297. + + Virginia Resolutions of 1798, xxiii. + + "Visiting statesmen," and the contested election of 1876, 408, 409. + + + Wade, Benjamin F., Senator, opposed to Lincoln's renomination, 220; + 102, 107, 108, 111, 150, 166, 233, 287, 332, 343. + + Waite, Morrison R., Chief Justice Sup. Ct., 275. + + Walker, Robert J., appointed governor of Kansas, 71; + and the Lecompton Convention, 71, 72; + denounces Cabinet conspiracy, 73; + resigns, 73; 81, 82. + + Wall, James W., Senator, 200. + + Wallace, Lew, General, attempts to usurp powers of Attorney-general + under Confiscation Act, 176, 177. + + War Department, frauds in, 178 _ff._ + + War of 1812, xxiv. + + Warren, Hooper, 27, 28. + + Washburne, Elihu B., appointed Secretary of State, 333; + a strong partisan of Grant, 333; + his qualifications, 333; + terms of his appointment, 334; + resigns, 334; 45, 46, 168, 281, 304, 407. + + Washington, Bushrod, xxxi. + + Washington _Chronicle_, 300. + + Washington, George, xxiii. + + Washington, gathering of troops at, in Jan., 1861, 121, 122. + + Watterson, Henry, 372, 373. + + Wayland, Rev. Francis, xxxii. + + Ways and Means, Committee of, 354. + + Webster, Daniel, quoted, xxiv and _n._; xxii _n._, xxv _n._, xxvi, + xxvii, 27, 39, 125. + + Weed, Thurlow, and Cameron's appointment, 143; + and the War Dep't. frauds, 179, 180; 108, 112, 139, 141, 146, 151, + 181, 182; 184. + + Welk, Jesse W., 101 _n._, 143 _n._ + + Welles, Gideon, quoted, on Cameron's appointment, 142, 144, 146, 151; + on the Harvey dispatch, 157, 158; + on Douglas's attitude in April, 1861, 163, 164; + on Cameron's emancipation hobby, 172 _n._; + on Cummings, 181 _n._; + on inefficiency of Union armies, 212; + on Halleck, 226; + on Cabinet meeting of Jan. 8, 1867, 290 _ff._; + opinion of, on question of territorializing states, 290; + on Stanton and the Tenure-of-Office Act, 303; + on Methodist pressure on Senator Willey, 319, 320; + on divers matters, 273 _n._, 313, 314, 324, 423. + + Wells, David A., 353, 377, 379. + + Wentworth, John, 90, 93. + + Whigs, the, and the Kansas-Nebraska bill, 41. + + White, Andrew D., 343. + + White, Horace, and Lincoln's Peoria speech, 39; + his recollections of the Lincoln-Douglas campaign, 89, + quoted, 92; + impressions of John Brown, 97; + on Douglas's speech to Ill. legislature, 153; + his friendly relations with T., 168, 169, 413; + and the ousting of Sumner, 346, 347; + interview with Blaine, 354; + on the outlook at Cincinnati (1872), 378; + letter from T. to, and his reply, 379; + chairman of platform committee at Cincinnati, 382; + his view of the result, 385, + and of Greeley's nomination, 389, 390; + thinks Adams or T. could have been elected, 402, 403; + last meeting with T., 413. + + Whitfield, pro-slavery Delegate in Congress from Kansas, 49, 50. + + Whitney, Henry C, quoted, 143 _n._ + + Wigfall, Louis T., Senate, colloquy with T. in debate on Crittenden + Compromise, 129, 130; 133, 134. + + Wilkinson, Morton S., Senator, 150, 189. + + Willey, Waitman T., Senator, Methodist pressure on, in impeachment + trial, 317, 320; + votes "guilty," 320; + had agreed to vote "not guilty" if necessary, 321; 261, 302, 314. + + Williams, Archibald, 45. + + Williams, George H., Senator, 281, 298, 299, 328, 329. + + Wilmot, David, Congressman, 146, 150. + + Wilson, Henry, his speech on Kansas affairs, 65; + quoted on possible alliance of Douglas with Republicans, 79; + his resolution on suspension of habeas corpus, 190, 191; + opposes bill authorizing Pres. to suspend habeas corpus, 197; + his denunciation of Lincoln, 219; + brings in bill to nullify new labor laws in seceding states, 247, + 248; + T.'s speech thereon, 248-251; + nominated for Vice-Pres., 393, + and elected, 402; 86, 87, 189, 194, 197, 198, 296, 298, 314, 315, + 338, 344, 363. + + Wilson, James F., Congressman, proposes amendment to Constitution, + prohibiting slavery, 223; + "slated" for State Dep't under Grant, 334 and _n._, + declines, 334; + his character, 335; 304, 309. + + Wilson, James H., General, 337. + + Wirt, William, 331. + + Wood, John, 92. + + Wool, John E., General, 178, 181. + + World's Columbian Exposition, 412. + + Wright, Silas, 91. + + Wright, William, Senator, 261, 263, 264. + + + Yates, Richard, Governor, letter from, to T., 218; + letter from T. to, 120, 121; 107, 109, 111, 150, 197, 220. + + Yulee, David L., Senator, 99. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Life of Lyman Trumbull, by Horace White + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF LYMAN TRUMBULL *** + +***** This file should be named 38043.txt or 38043.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/0/4/38043/ + +Produced by Adam Buchbinder, Matthew Wheaton and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + +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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