Copyright}] . COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. Abraham Lincoln We Greatest American By Janet Jennings Hi ill Dedicated To the plain people of the Nation he saved— To the University of Wisconsin that honors his memory. u^f-6 / LtntoVrvvao* Copyright, 1909 By Janet Jennings Cantwell Printing Madison, Wis. Company ^RARY of CONGRESS Two Copies Received Copyright Entry PREFACE Twenty-five years and more, in Wash- ington journalism, afforded exceptional op- portunity for conversations and interviews with those who knew Abraham Lincoln— personal friends in the early Illinois days, and later, in the White House. 'A worshipper at the shrine of his mem- ory—a gleaner in the harvest— I have given from time to time, facts and inci- dents in the newspapers with which I was associated— the New York Tribune, and the New York Independent. To these newspapers I am indebted for the cour- teous permission to here include in perma- nent form, some facts and incidents, that may be of permanent interest to the reader. Abraham Lincoln as a lawyer, with facts and incidents leading to the Lincoln- Douglass debates— covering that part of his life opening to the world— were given to me in an interview, by the late Judge Lawrence Weldon, of the United States Court of Claims, in Washington, and ap- Abraham Lincoln peared in the "Lincoln Number" of the Independent, April 4, 1895— the same year in a book under copyright. It was among the forty-five contributions, making the most complete many-sided view, in one harmonious whole, of the man and the President, ever given to the American peo- ple. The facts and incidents of the visit to City Point, were given to me by Mr. Wil- liam Crook— still in faithful service at the White House— in now and then conversa- tion, and the story was written, with illus- trations, for the Tribune, April 17, 1893. Tha incident of the plan to purchase the slaves in the Border States— never before published— was recently given to me in Washington, by Mr. Arthur Crisfield, a son of the late Representative Crisfield, Chair- man of the Committee. To all who have given helpful encouragement in the ven- ture of a "first book," I am truly grate- ful—and especially to the President of the University of Wisconsin, to Mr. Rich- ard Lloyd Jones, and to Miss Clara Bar- ton. The Greatest American The aim of this little book, and my sin- cere desire is— to offer the best, at the smallest cost, to the largest number of readers— the plain people, with whom Abraham Lincoln was more closely and sympathetically allied, than any President of this Nation; to influence and impress younger generations by precept and exam- ple of his life; to inspire the boy of to- day—the man of tomorrow— with that spirit of moral courage, which, above any other force, made Abraham Lincoln the Greatest American. Janet Jennings. McKinley Place, Monroe, Wisconsin, June, 1909. ABRAHAM LINCOLN We GREATEST AMERICAN TWO pages in our history will never grow dim, but stand illumined to the end. On one we read— George Washington, the Father of his Country. On the other we read— Abraham Lincoln, the Savior of the Nation. George Washington planted the seed of Americanism in the [Revolution. Thomas Jefferson planted the seed of Democracy in the Declaration of Independence. American Democracy has the growth of a hundred years, and more. Abraham Lincoln— the ideal of Ameri- can Democracy— a boy— a man of the peo- ple—a President of the people. The in- fluence of his life is a living presence in the humblest home. His father was a roll- ing stone that gathers no moss ; his mother, [9] Abraham Lincoln a forceful example of the unlettered great. Often he spoke of his mother in these words: "All that I am, all that I hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." To his mother, when a boy, he made the promise that held him throughout his life a strictly temperance man. "A promise is a prom- ise forever," he said. "When made to a mother, it is doubly binding." Born and reared in poverty— realistic poverty— counting his school days in the brief period of six months— Abraham Lin- coln came up from obscurity to the most honored place in the gift of a great nation ; not by the lever of wealth, or lucky politi- cal chance, but the steady lift of his own, innate, resistless, mental and moral strength— American Democracy, pure and undefiled. And always a never doubting, never wavering faith in a God of Jus- tice and Mercy,— a faith frequently and frankly expressed in the simplicity of his inspired wisdom and prophecy. The plain people were his university. The Bible and John Bunyan, were his first text books. [10] The Greatest American No President ever had a life so full, so varied, so unique in personality, from early boyhood— borrowing books to study by the cabin firelight of his home; earning his living on a river flatboat; splitting rails in the long stretches of law without clients ; to ruler of a people— a people torn and rent asunder— in the balance, the life and freedom of four million human beings. All through those terrible years, worn and bent by the burden, yet steadfast in purpose, sublime in hope, supreme in the right; in his own words, "the right as God gives us to see the right." Abraham Lincoln was never a member of a church, but a regular attendant, and while President, going with his family to the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, a short walk from the White House. Here is what he termed his "Con- fession of Faith." "When any church will inscribe over its altar as its sole qualification for member- ship, the Saviour's condensed statement of the substance of both Law and Gospel— [11] Abraham Lincoln 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself '—that church will I join, with all my heart and all my soul. ' ' While in the White House he said to a friend, Joshua Speed— "I am profitably engaged in read- ing the Bible. Take all of this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a better man. He was a practical Christian in every day life. The Golden Rule was his guide, and no President ever relied more reverently and constantly on Divine assist- ance, and believed more implicitly in the power of prayer, than Abraham Lincoln. This spirit is like a prophecy in the words of farewell to his friends and neigh- bors, when leaving home for Washington: 1 'My Friends: No one not in my posi- tion can appreciate the sadness I feel at this parting. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century; here my children were born, and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see [12] The Greatest American you again. A duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He would never have succeeded except for the aid of Di- vine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine Aid which sus- tained him, and in the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support; and I hope you, my friends, will pray that I may receive Divine Assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which success is certain. Again, I bid you all an affectionate farewell. ' ' The first week in May, 1863— Chancel- lorsville— was the darkest hour of the war— doubt, disaster, and defeat of the Army of the Potomac, under General Hooker." The record of their dead and wounded told how bravely they had fought, and lost. The country, weary of the long war, the draining taxes of gold and blood, discontent everywhere, pleas for peace pil- ing his desk with letters, denunciation and [13] Abraham Lincoln criticism. He knew their purport without reading them— knew of the forever vacant places in the hundred thousand house- holds. Visitors came and went— Senators, Mem- bers, and the Cabinet, with gloom on their faces— the White House as if a funeral within— people treading softly as if in fear of waking the dead. It was then, if ever, that Abraham Lincoln reeled and staggered under his burden, keeping the all night, lonely vigil— walking the floor of his office— the Secretary leaving at mid- night, the last sound in his ear, that steady tramp— returning early in the morning to find the President had not been out of the room. But a light was on his face one morning— a dawn had come. Beside the cup of coffee on the table lay his written instructions to Hooker— to push forward, to fight again. A few weeks later the Army of the Potomac fought the battle again, and won— at Gettysburg. It was in that night's vigil, walking the floor of his office, that Abraham Lincoln [14] The Greatest American prayed, as he told General Sickles after- ward, when asked about his anxiety. "I will tell you why I felt no anxiety about Gettysburg, when everybody seemed panic stricken over disasters, and nobody could say what was going to happen. I was oppressed, and the gloom was heavy. I locked the door of my room, got down on my knees and prayed to Almighty God for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him that this was His war, our cause was His cause, that we could not stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville. Then and there I made a solemn vow, that if He would stand by our boys at Gettys- burg, I would stand by Him. He did, and I will. I don't know how to explain it, but a sweet peace crept into my soul, and I knew that things would go right at Gettysburg." If Abraham Lincoln had wavered, if he had failed in faith or cour- age, or prompt decision— the Nation, and not the Army of the Potomac would have lost its great battle. When asked about General Grant, then [15] Abraham Lincoln at Vicksburg, "fighting it out on this line if it takes all summer, ' ' the President said : "Grant is pegging away down there. But I have been praying for Vicksburg also, and I believe our Heavenly Father is going to give us victory there, too." Though not then known, the victory was already won at Vicksburg. Abraham Lincoln had the conviction deep in his heart, that the war had be- come a war for freedom of the slave and was God's own war. With simple abiding faith he asked God's help, and always with that spirit of acceptance that shines with unfading sunlight, in his second Inaugu- ral Address, closing with the words: "Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills, that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil, shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with a lash shall be paid with another drawn by a sword— as was said three thousand [16] The Greatest American years ago, so still it must be said, 'the judgments of the Lord are true and right- eous altogether.' With malice toward none, with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on, to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the bat- tle and for his widow, and his orphan,— to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." It is the most sublime State paper of the century, and with the immortal twenty line address at Gettysburg— a modern classic. [17] THE EMANCIPATION The Emancipation was not an accident, not of sudden growth. It was evolved from the nature of the man. Abraham Lincoln's first personal knowledge and personal view of a slave sale, was when a very young man, he went to New Orleans, down the Mississippi River with a cargo on a raft of his own construction. With a fellow boatman, he sauntered through the slave market, where Southern planters were gathered at an auction of men, wo- men and children, placed in rows against the wall, for inspection. The autioneer proclaimed their good qualities as he would those of a horse or mule, saying some were Christians, and therefore valued higher, as they would be more trusty workers. The hammer of the auctioneer fell again and again, dooming the separation of hus- bands and wives, parents and children, forever. Abraham Lincoln's lips quivered and his voice choked as he said to his com- [18] The Greatest American panion— "If I ever get a chance to hit that thing: I will hit it hard, by the Eter- nal God." Who was he, to hit that thing? A boat- man, a teamster, a backwoodsman, nothing more. The thing he would hit, was legal- ized in half the states of the Republic, intrenched in the church and framework of society, a political force recognized in the Constitution. Was there the remotest possibility that he would ever be able to smite such an institution? Why did he raise his right hand toward Heaven, and swear that solemn oath ? Was it some dim vision of what might come to him through Divine Providence, in the unfolding years? If we believe that God works in unseen ways, then we must believe, that at that moment, there was implanted in the soul of Abraham Lincoln, the spirit and power of God,— waiting God's time for "the clock of destinty to strike the hour of the Nation— the golden moment of the slave." His Cabinet were not ready for Emancipation, declaring it too soon [19] Abraham Lincoln and unwise. The country was not ready for this, the most stupendous task ever set by a ruler of people— President, King, or Emperor. When the clock struck the hour— Abraham Lincoln heard it, and was ready. The hand lifted in solemn oath in that slave market, took up the pen of Lib- erty, and wrote out of existence the American slave market— the American slave— the American slave master. Who shall say, the power that found an outlet in American history, through the person- ality and pen of Abraham Lincoln, was not the spirit and power of that Eternal God invoked at the slave auction? In the interval between the New Orleans slave market and the White House, during his one term in Congress, he introduced a bill to abolish slavery in the District of Co- lumbia. Now, by the stroke of his pen, he swept slavery from the face of the whole country. On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lin- coln announced to hisi Cabinet, in the fol- lowing words, his decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation : [20] -! it \S Emancipation Monui The Greatest American "Gentlemen: I have, as you are aware, thought a great deal about the relation of this war to slavery, and you all remember that several weeks ago I read to you an order that I had prepared upon the sub- ject, which, on account of objections made by some of you, was not issued. Ever since then my mind has been much occu- pied with this subject, and I have thought all along that the time for acting on it might probably come. ' ' I think the time has come now. I wish it was a better time. I wish that we were in a better condition. The action of the army against the rebels has not been quite what I should have best liked, but they have been driven out of Maryland, and Pennsylvania is no longer in danger of invasion. "When the rebel army was at Freder- ick, I determined, as soon as it should be driven out of Maryland, to issue a pro- clamation of emancipation, such as I thought most likely to be useful. I said nothing to anyone, but I made a promise [21] Abraham Lincoln to myself and — hesitating a little— to my Maker. "The rebel army is now driven out, and I am going to fulfill that promise. I have called you together to hear what I have written down. I do not wish your advice about the main matter, for that I have de- termined for myself. This I say without intending anything but respect for any one of you. But I already know the views of each on this question. They have been heretofore expressed, and I have consid- ered them as thoroughly and carefully as I can. What I have written, is that which my reflections have determined me to say. If there is anything in the expressions I use, or in any minor matter which any one of you think had best be changed, I shall be glad to receive your suggestion. "One other observation I will make. I know very well that many others might, in this matter as in others, do better than I can ; and if I was satisfied that the public confidence was more fully possessed by any one of them than by me, and knew of any [22] The Greatest American constitutional way in which he could be put in my place, he should have it. I would gladly yield to him. But though I be- lieve I have not so much of the confidence of the people as I had some time since, I do not know that, all things considered, any other person has more; and, however this may be, there is no way in which I can have any other man put where I am. I am here; I must do the best I can, and bear the responsibility of taking the course which I feel I ought to take." [23] SUPREMACY OF CHARAC- TER—TACT It was not supremacy of official posi- tion, but supremacy of character, when he read that Proclamation to the members of his Cabinet, at the same time informing them there would be no discussion, as he had already decided the question, there- fore any suggestions would be only in ref- erence to the formal wording of the docu- ment. All the members of his Cabinet were men of prominence in public life. The Secretary of State, Wm. H. Seward, had been Governor of New York— the idol of the Empire State. Salmon P. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury, had been Governor of Ohio, and afterward ap- pointed by the President Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. These men had been candidates for Presi- dent at the Convention nominating Abra- ham Lincoln— then comparatively unknown beyond the boundaries of the prairies— now [24] The Greatest American the man of action— he alone deciding the momentous question of emancipation. Two daysi after, on September 24, a great crowd of joyous people gathered at the portico of the White Hjouse, and in response to congratulations, the President "What I did, I did after a very full de- termination, and under a very heavy and solemn sense of responsibility. I can only trust in God I have made no mistake. "It is now for the country and the world to pass judgment, and, maybe, take action upon it. In my position, I am en- vironed with difficulties. Yet they are scarcely so great as the difficulties of those who, upon the battlefield, are endeavoring to purchase, with their blood and their lives, the future happiness and prosperity of their country. Let us never forget them!'' With his supremacy of character and moral courage, Abraham Lincoln possessed a rare tact and self control that "won out" on many occasions, during the dark [25] Abraham Lincoln hours. The day after he arrived in Wash- ington for his inauguration, a so-called Peace Congress was in session, helplessly seeking some way to settle the acute war- like differences between North and South. Delegations had called on President Buchanan with much ceremony, and now called on Abraham Lincoln, with scant courtesy. An unguarded word might be a match to a magazine— the excitement was so intense, so hot with anger over his election— men scowling with criticism, al- ready determined on rebellion. A delega- tion from New York, Wm. E. Dodge chair- man, declared the whole country was anx- iously awaiting the inaugural address. "It is for you, sir, to say whether the Nation shall be plunged into bankruptcy, whether the grass shall grow in the streets of our commercial cities, ' ' said Mr. Dodge. "Then I say it shall not," Mr. Lincoln replied, with a merry twinkle in his eye. "If it depends upon me, the grass will not grow anywhere except in the fields and meadows." [26] The Greatest American "And you will yield to the just demands of the South?" asked Mr. Dodge. "You will leave her to control her own institu- tions? You will admit slave states into the Union on the same conditions as free states? You will not go to war on account of slavery?" A sad expression passed over Abraham Lincoln 's face. " I do not know that I un- derstand your meaning, Mr. Dodge," he said, without raising his voice. "Nor do I know what my acts or opinions may be in the future, beyond this: If I shall ever come to the great office of President of the United States, I shall take an oath. I shall swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of all the United States, and that I will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. This is a great and solemn duty. With the sup- port and the assistance of Almighty God I shall undertake to perform it. It is not the Constitution as I would like to have it, but as it is, that is to be defended. The [27] Abraham Lincoln Constitution will not be preserved and de- fended until enforced and obeyed in every part of every one of the United States. It must be so respected, obeyed, enforced and defended— let the grass grow where it may. ' ' Silence fell. No one could gainsay the weight and balanced justice of these words, entirely unpremeditated. And the tall, plain man, with never a change in his voice, nor shade of paleness on his face, nor touch of irritation in his tone, was the steady master of himself— master of these men — master of the whole occasion. His splendid self-control had won. A week later he delivered the Inaugural Address, that the Delegation said, "the whole country was anxiously awaiting." The outlook is given in plain, direct, concise language: "Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world? In our present differences, is either party without faith of being in [28] The Greatest American the right? If the Almighty Ruler of Na- tions, with His eternal truth and justice, be on your side of the North, or on your side of the South, that truth and that justice will surely prevail by the judg- ment of this great tribunal— the Ameri- can people. "My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and well upon this whole subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time. If there be an object to hurry any of you, in hot haste, to a step which you would never take deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking time; but no good object can be frustrated by it. Such of you as are now dissatisfied still have the old Constitution unimpaired, and, on the sensitive part, the laws of your own fram- ing under it; while the new administra- tion will have no immediate power, if it would, to change it. "If it were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right side in the dis- pute, there is still no single reason for precipitate action. Intelligence, patriot- ic] The Greatest American ism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this fa- vored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficul- ties. "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow- countrymen, and not in mine, is the mo- mentous issue of civil war. "The government wall not assail you; you can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. "You can have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government; while I shall have the most solemn one to 'pre- serve, protect, and defend' it." With this note of warning, there is in the closing words an appeal for peace, like the pathos of a prayer. "I am loath to close. We are not ene- mies, but friends. We must not be ene- mies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle field and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone all [30] The Greatest American over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." The same spirit pervades the remarks to his fellow-citizens at his Springfield home, in the previous November, at a meeting to celebrate his election to the Presidency. "In all our rejoicings, let us neither ex- press nor cherish any hard feelings toward any citizen who by his vote has differed with us. Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell to- gether in the bonds of fraternal feeling." When the 6th Massachusetts Regiment had been fired upon, April 19, 1861, in Baltimore, the people, in the intense ex- citement, protested against any more troops passing through the city to Wash- ington or over the "sacred soil" of Mary- land. The President said: "There is no piece of American soil too good to be pressed by the foot of a loyal soldier, on his march to the defense of the Capital of his country." [31] Abraham Lincoln Firmness and patience won, and in a month, the reaction showed that self-inter- est would not permit Baltimore to be an isolated secession outpost. If not quite a Union city, Baltimore ceased to be seces- sionist. To Southern members of the Peace Con- gress 1 , he said : "My course is as plain as a turnpike road. It is marked out for me by the Con- stitution. I am in no doubt which way to go." The wiser visitors passed out, thought- ful—and seeing more clearly— with some new ideas about the man who bore so well the ordeal of criticism. They saw a self- possessed man, calm and dignified, ex- pressing conviction, distinct and firm pur- pose. And above all, they saw that strange sadness on the face, as though the misery and sufferings his fellow-citizens were to endure through the coming years, already burdened his soul. [32] MORAL COURAGE— ORATORY His extraordinary moral courage was a lever and forceful power in the life of Abraham Lincoln, from his cabin home to the White House. A month after his in- auguration, when Secretary Seward plainly intimated in a written paper that he would carry out certain policies for the Admin- istration, it was with a gentle courtesy that the President placed Mr. Seward's paper in his desk, and with a wise admoni- tion, indicated that the policies he himself proposed, he would carry out. From that day to the end, he was the head of his official family— the leader— not the fol- lower—the commander of his Administra- tion. It was the finest moral courage, when in time of great emergency, he sent for Edwin M. Stanton, and asked him to be the Secretary of War. Mr. Stanton was a Democrat, and had been a member of President Buchanan's Cabinet. But he knew that Mr. Stanton possessed the un- [33] Abraham Lincoln usual qualifications imperative at that time for a successful management of the War Department. With the "Iron Secre- tary," as Mr. Stanton was termed, the President could be firm, yielding in trifles, but masterful if need be. One day Secre- tary Stanton said : "Mr. President, I cannot carry out that order. I don't believe it is wise." Speaking very gently, the President re- plied: "Mr. Secretary, I reckon you will have to carry it out," and it was done. He treated with silence the suggestion of General McClellan— that the President place himself at the head of civil and military affairs, with a General in com- mand of the army on whom he could rely— presumably McClellan— and thus as- sume the dictatorship of the Republic. While he asserted for himself every right and authority which the Constitution and the laws conferred upon him, he declined to assume any power not warranted by the title of the office of President; resolute in [34] The Greatest American his purpose to perform every duty, and always declaring that the responsibility of preserving the government rested upon the people. He promptly turned down a similar plan of General Hooker— not in silence- but in a letter that is without a parallel in the records of War, or annals of Peace. After the disastrous battle of Fredericks- burg, General Burnside desired the re- moval of Hooker from the Army of the Potomac. The President did not approve of this, and gave General Hooker the com- mand, at the same time writing him the following letter, dated Jan. 26, 1863 : General — I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course, I have done this upon what appear to me to be sufficient rea- sons, and yet I think best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to be a brave and skillful soldier, which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, which is a valuable if not an indispensable quality. You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm; but I think that during Gen. Burnside 's command of the army you have [35] Abraham Lincoln taken counsel of your ambition and thwarted him as much as you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country and to a most meritor- ious and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those Generals who gain successes can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship. The Government will support you to the utmost of its ability, which is neither more nor less than it has done and will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into the army, of criticising their commander and withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist you as far as I can to put it down. Neither you nor Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army while such a spirit prevails in it; and now beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward and give us victories. In August 1862, Abraham Lincoln's stand for the Union, determined and un- alterable—reached high water mark- given to the whole world, in his letter to Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune. Mr. Greeley had addressed an editorial in the Tribune to the President, under the heading of— "The Prayer of [36] The Greatest American Twenty Millions"— and over his own sig- nature, bitterly criticised the management of the war, and especially what he declared to be a policy of delay in freeing the Southern slaves. The President wrote to Mr. Greeley: I have just read yours of the 19th, addressed to myself through the New York Tribune. If there be in it any statements or assumptions of fact which I may know to be erroneous, I do not, now and here, controvert them. If there be in it any inferences which I may believe to be falsely drawn, I do not, now and here, argue against them. If there be perceptible in it an impatient and dictatorial tone, I waive it in deference to an old friend whose heart I have always supposed to be right. As to the policy I "seem to be pursuing/' as you say, I have not meant to leave any one in doubt. I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the National authority can be restored, the nearer the Union will be ' ' the Union as it was. ' ' If there be those who would not save the Union un- less they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not 'save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or de- stroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could [37] Abraham Lincoln save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leav- ing others alone, I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do be- cause I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear I forbear because I do not be- lieve it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors, and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modifi- cation of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free. This celebrated letter— unique and terse —is dated August 22, 1862, and is the more significant from the fact, that just one month before, on July 22, the Pro- clamation of Emancipation had been read to the Cabinet, and one month later, Sep- tember 22, was issued— to take effect Jan- uary 1, 1863— when "the clock of destiny struck the hour— the golden moment of the slave.' ' Abraham Lincoln could not save the Union with slavery, and he saved the Union without slavery, by a "necessary [38] The Greatest American war measure"— emancipation. He said of the Proclamation— "If it is not valid, it needs no retraction. If it is valid, it cannot be retracted, any more than the dead can be brought back to life." His letter to Horace Greeley did much to steady the loyal sentiment of the coun- try in the very grave emergency. As a matter of fact it was the impractical, im- patient, but sincere anti-slavery element to say Amen to "The Prayer of Twenty Millions," though but a very small part of twenty millions had been demanding immediate emancipation— at any cost- Union or no Union. This small part in- cluded a delegation representing all of the religious denominations in Chicago, that went to the White House September 13, a week before the Proclamation was issued, with the belief that to them had been re- vealed the plan of wisest action to ter- minate the war. To these good people the President said: ' ' I hope it will not be irreverent for me [39] Abraham Lincoln to say that if it is probable that God would reveal His will to others on a point so connected with my duty, it might be sup- posed He would reveal it directly to me; for, unless I am more deceived in myself than I often am, it is my earnest desire to know the will of Providence in this matter. And if I can learn what it is, I will do it. "These are not, however, the days of miracles; and T suppose it will be granted that I am not to expect a direct revela- tion. I must study the plain physical facts of the case, ascertain what is possible, and learn what appears to be wise and right. Whatever appears to be God's will, I will do it." As time went on, it was clear to all that the self contained Western lawyer was a man of definite purpose, and extraordinary wisdom, and that he was in fact, as well as in name, President of the United States— and more— he won the respect and affection of every member of his Cabinet. Moral courage was refined gold in Abra- [40] The Greatest American ham Lincoln's speeches. In the campaign, two years before his nomination for Presi- dent, while the Lincoln-Douglass debates were in full swing, the two men spoke on the same day, at Clinton, De Witt County, Illinois. Judge Douglass spoke over three hours at the open air, afternoon meeting, to an immense audience gathered from far and near, crowding on board seats laid across logs. It was one of the most forci- ble political speeches the "Little Giant" had ever made, and his reference to Mr. Lincoln's Springfield speech a short time before was regarded as very personal. When he closed, there was a great shout for "Lincoln." Finally, Mr. Lincoln stood up on the board, where he had been sitting, and when the crowd saw his tall form, shouts and cheers were wild. When he could make himself heard he said : ' ' This is Judge Douglass's meeting. I have no right, therefore, no disposition to inter- fere. But if you ladies and gentlemen de- sire to hear what I have to say on these questions, and will meet me this evening [41] Abraham Lincoln at the Courthouse Yard, East Side, I will try to answer the gentleman." The crowd was even greater in the even- ing, and Mr. Lincoln's speech was marvel- lous for sound, unanswerable argument. Mr. Douglas had charged him with being in favor of negro equality— at that time the bugbear of politics. To this he re- plied : "Judge Douglass charges me with being in favor of negro equality, and to the ex- tent that he charges I am not guilty. I am guilty of hating servitude and loving freedom; and while I would not carry the equality of the races to the extent charged by my adversary, I am happy to confess before you, that in some things the black man is the equal of the white man. "In the right to eat the bread— without leave of anybody else— which his own hands earn — he is my equal— and the equal of Judge Douglas— and the equal of every living man." It was the perfect expression of Ameri- can statesmanship— as, with the last sen- [42] The Greatest American tence he lifted himself to his full height, and raised his hands toward the stars of the still night— the scene was impressive, the cheers tremendous. In a speech at Columbus, Ohio, in 1859, speaking on the natural rights of the negro, he said: "I have no purpose to introduce politi- cal and social equality between the white and the black races. There is a physical difference between the two which, in my judgment, will probably forbid their ever living together upon the footing of per- fect equality, and inasmuch as it becomes a necessity that there must be a difference, I, as well as Judge Douglass, am in favor of the race to which I belong having the superior position. "I have never said anything to the con- trary, but I hold that, notwithstanding all this, there is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence — the right to life — liberty — and the pursuit of happiness." [43] Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln's celebrated speech at Springfield, Illinois, June 17, during the campaign of 1858, sounded the slogan of the Republican party. It was in that speech he declared: "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot permanently endure, half slave, half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall. But I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in process of ultimate extinction ; or its advocates will push forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new, North as well as South." When a friend said— "Well, Lincoln, that foolish speech will kill you, and de- feat you for all offices for all time to come," referring to the "House Divided" speech, Mr. Lincoln said : [44] The Greatest American "If I had to draw a pen across and erase my whole life from existence, and I had one poor gift or choice left, as to what I should save from the wreck, I should choose that speech, and leave it to the world unerased." Politicians of the West had begged him beforehand, to make this truth softer. He declared that it was God's truth, the time had come for speaking the truth, the peo- ple were ready for it. This marvellous, prophetic reading of the people was in large part Abraham Lincoln's wonderful wisdom and strength. He was a study at all times. On the one side, off-hand, ap- proachable, speaking the vocabulary of the people. On the other, a certain dignity, commanding the respect of the highest. A written elegance of speech, always gram- matical, his diction was the perfection of plain, simple English. After the debates with Stephen A. Doug- lass, New York and the East showed inter- est and curiosity in the Western lawyer, and Abraham Lincoln was invited to speak [45] Abraham Lincoln at Cooper Institute in New York City. William Cullen Bryant presided, and David Dudley Field escorted Mr. Lincoln to the platform. It was the intellect and mental culture, representatives of financial power, lofty character, pre-eminent influ- ence of the metropolis, that made the great audience. "None finer in the days of Webster and Clay," the newspapers re- ported. Manv were present from curios- ity, to see this new man from the West, who had proved more than the equal of the brilliant Douglass. When Abraham Lincoln had closed his masterly address, there was no feeling of curiosity in the vast audience. It was a feeling of pro- found respect and admiration, and they asked one another: "What manner of man is this lawyer of the West, who sets forth these great truths as we have never yet heard them before." It was then and there disclosed and understood— the power of Abraham Lincoln to grasp opinion among the masses— and to make such per- fect presentation of it, as caused him to be [46] The Greatest American known, not as a follower of opinion— but creator and leader of it. General Sherman said: "I have seen and heard many of the famous orators of our country, but Abraham Lincoln's un- studied speeches surpassed all that I ever heard. I have never seen them equalled or even imitated. It was not scholarship, it was not rhetoric, it was not elocution. It was the unaffected and spontaneous elo- quence of the heart. He was the purest, the most generous, the most magnanimous of men, and will hold a place in the world's history loftier than that of any king or conqueror. His work was one of the great- est labors a human intellect ever sus- tained. ' ' Goldwin Smith said of the Gettysburg address : "Not a Sovereign in Europe, however trained from the cradle for state pomps, and however prompted by statesmen and courtiers, could have uttered himself more regally than did Lincoln at Gettysburg." [47] TENDER SYMPATHY— JUSTICE AND MERCY Ajbraham Lincoln's great heart and ten- der sympathy daily revealed his sense of justice and mercy, in pardons for soldiers. His Generals complained that it was an in- terference, and seriously impaired disci- pline in the army. Sometimes it was a soldier who had gone home to see his fam- ily, who was to be shot as a deserter. Some- times it was a sentinel to be shot for sleep- ing at his post. But in every instance the man whose life was saved went back to duty, a better soldier. "It makes me feel rested," the Presi- dent said, "after a hard day's work, if I can find some good cause for saving a man's life, and I go to bed happy, as I think how joyous the signing of my name will make him, and his family and friends. ' ' One little story illustrates many. William Scott, from a Vermont farm— a private, on a long march— that night [48] The Greatest American on picket— the next day another long march, that night again on picket, taking the place of a sick comrade, and then- William Scott was found sleeping on his beat. The fatigue was too much for him. Discipline must be maintained in the army. William Scott was tried by court-martial, and sentenced to be shot. It was at Chain Bridge, a few miles above Washington, where, a prisoner in his tent, he waited for the next morning, to be shot. The tent flaps opened and the President entered!. Let Scott tell the story. "The President was the kindest man I had ever seen. I was scared at first. I had never talked with a great man. But he was so easy and gentle like, asked me all about the people at home, and the farm, and neighbors, and where I went to school, and then about my mother, how she looked, and I showed him her photo- graph I always had with me. He said how thankful I ought to be that my mother still lived, and that if he were in my place he would try to make her a proud mother [49] 4 Abraham Lincoln and never cause her a sorrow or tear. I didn't know why he said so much about my mother— when I was to be shot the next morning. He never said a word about the dreadful next morning; and I braced up, and told him I didn't feel a bit guilty, but only I wished he'd fix it so the firing party wouldn't be from my regiment. That was the hardest of all, to die by the hands of my comrades. Before I could say any more he was standing, and he said: 'My boy, stand up and look me in the face. You are not going to be shot to- morrow. You are going back to your regi- ment. But this has been a good deal of trouble for me, to come up from Washing- ton, when I am so busy. I want to know how you are going to pay my bill?' "Well, there was a big lump in my throat, but I managed to say how grateful I was, and in some way I was sure I could pay him. My bounty was in the savings bank, and we could borrow money on mortgage of the farm, and my friends would help, and we could make up five or [50] The Greatest American six hundred dollars, anyhow. Then he said: " 'But it is a great deal more than that. My bill is a large one. Your friends can- not pay it, nor your bounty, nor the farm. ' Then he put his hands on my shoulders and said: " 'There is only one man in all the world who can pay it. His name is Wil- liam Scott. If from this day William Scott does his duty, so that when he comes to die, and I was there, he can look me in the face as he does now and say, I have done my duty as a soldier, then the debt will be paid. Will you make that prom- ise and keep it?' " It was in one of the awful battles of the Peninsula. William Scott was dying. "Boys, I shall never see another battle," he said. "You all know what you can tell them at home. I have tried to do the right thing. If you ever have the chance, tell the President I have tried to be a good soldier, and true to the flag. Tell him that I have never forgotten his beautiful words [51] Abraham Lincoln at Chain Bridge, and if I had lived I should have paid my whole debt. Now that I am dying, I think of his kind face, and thank him because he gave me the chance to fall like a soldier in battle, and not like a coward by the hands of my comrades. ' ' Was there ever a more Christ-like jus- tice and mercy, more tender, exquisite sympathy, than this revealed in the heart of Abraham Lincoln? Who can doubt a gracious Providence, with that wise, strong hand set to grasp the helm? And Secretary Stanton well said, as he looked on the kindly face in death: " There lies the most perfect ruler of men." The same great hearted, tender sympa- thy is revealed in his letter to the mother bereft of her five sons. An engrossed copy of this fac-simile letter is treasured by Oxford University, England, as a model of pure, expressive English, and elegant diction. [52] The Greatest American & Oh* <£cx, e*uc*. Gktjt, 3^Or*J*>J:, Owei £um+ yes *njB* "P++- £l6u»»