Lo^golN I % LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN / RARY FREE Having procured this Boole FREE, it is only necessary for us to call attention to other books of equal literary and artistic merit, each recounting the lives and public utterances of a few of the world's greatest characters— those who have made America the greatest nation the world has ever known — for you to covet their possession. All of the following books, uniform in size and style of binding, can be obtained in the same manner and from the same source in which you obtained this copy. Imme- diate application should be made, for when the supply now on hand is exhausted copies can be had only at the subscription price of $1.00 and ^1.50 per volume. I :fa «f r.anrn-a Wochinirtftii By QEORQE WASHINQTON PARKE Lite or ueorge nasningion custis and charles walter BROWN, A. M. Cloth. Being a complete account of the boyhood, youth and mature years of the illustrious Father of his Country, showing his early strug- gles and later triumphs, both in war and in peace. Fully illustrated. lifa nt Ahi-Qham \inrn\n By JOSEPH H. BARRETT and CHARLES Lite Ot ADranani Lincoln Walter brown, a. m. cioth. xhis is the most interesting as well as one ot the most authoritative lives of the great emancipator published. It gives his early history, political career and speeches both in and out ot Congress. I ita nf W T Ctiormon By HON. W. FLETCHER JOHNSON and Lite Ot w. I. ^nernian charles walter brown, a. m. cioth. Being a graphic history of his career in war and peace; his romantic youth; his stern and patriotic manhood and his beautiful old age. Fully illus- trated. I'.fn ^t \V:ri:oni WrVmiav By MURAT HALSTEAD and CHAUNCEV Lite Ot William InCMnley dIpEW and others, in addition to the Hfeot President McKinley and the story of his assassination there is also a brief though complete life of Theodore Roosevelt, showing the rapid rise of both. It is the most authentic work on the lives of McKinley and Roosevelt published. Fully illustrated. I ;f a nf D T Rorniim By HON. JOEL BENTON. Cloth. Comprising his LIIC Ul !• I> DalllUIII boyhood, youth, the vicissitudes of his early years; his great struuffles; brilliantoutorprises; astounding successes; disastrouslosses; Napoleonic triumphs; his reception by Kings, Queens, Emperors and the Nobili- tv everywhere ; his genius, wit, generosity, eloquence, Christianity, etc. Fully illustrated. Everybody's Cook Book and Household Compendium ?^l^J^ ^1°° beautiful pagres of the latest and most useful recipes and household information published. Profusely illustrated and elegantly printed, and bound in substan- tial and washa'ble cloth. Vosbrink Mercantile Co. CHICAGO 7^/-^9?^^e.<^iy^ LIFE OF Abraham Lincoln His Early History, Political Career, Speeches in and out of Congress, together with many Characteristic Stories and Yarns by and concerning Lincoln which has Earned for him the Sobri- quet — "The Story Telling President' BY JOSEPH H. BARRETT AND CHARLES WALTER BROWN, A. M. FUULY ILLUSTRATED. VOSBRINK MERCANTILE CO., CHICAGO. Copyright 1902 M. A. DoNOHUE & Co. Chicago. BBtlJ^ CONTENTS. Chapter I. Lincoln's Early Boyhood In Kentucky and Indiana.. 15 Chapter II. First Years In Illinois— 1830-34 25 Chapter III. Eight Years In The Legislature of Illinois— 1834-41 . . 37 Chapter IV. Elected a Member of Congress 51 Chapter V. Mr. Lincoln In Congress — 1847-49 63 Chapter VI. Professional Life — The Anti-Nebraska Canvass — 1849- 1854 87 Chapter VII. The Lincoln-Douglas Campaign of 1858 105 Chapter VIII. Speeches of 1859-60 137 Chapter IX. Mr. Lincoln's Nomination for the Presidency 149 5 6 Contexts. Chapter X. Commencement of President Lincoln's First Adminis- tration 157 Chapter XI. Mr. Lincoln's First Message 175 Chapter XII. Mr. Lincoln's Messages and Speeches 199 Chapter XIII. The Peninsular Campaign 231 Chapter XIV. A New Era Inaugurated 245 Chapter XV. The Popular Voice in 1863 277 Chapter XVI. President Lincoln Re-nominated 317 Chapter XVII. President Lincoln's Last Annual Message and Second Inaugural 341 Chapter XVIII. Last Days of President Lincoln 383 Chapter XIX. Characteristic Stories by and Concerning Abraham Lincoln 399 INTRODUCTION. The ancestors of Abraham Lincoln were of English descent. We find the earUest definite traces of them in Berke county, Pennsylvania, though this was almost cer- tainly not the first place of their residence in this country. Their location, and their adherence to the Quaker faith make it probable that the original emigration occurred under the auspices of William Penn. It was doubtless a branch of the same family that, leaving England under different religious impulses, but with the same adventurous and independent spirit, settled, at an earlier date, in Old Plymouth Colony. The separation may possibly have taken place this side of the Atlantic, and not beyond. Some of the same traits appear conspicuously in both these family groups. One tradition indeed affirms that the Pennsylvania branch was transplanted from Hingham, Massachusetts, and was derived from a common stock with General Benjamin Lincoln, of Revolutionary fame. There is a noticeable coincidence in the general prevalence, in each American branch, of Scriptural names in christening — the Benjamin, Levi and Ezra, of Massachusetts, having their counterpart in the Abraham, Thomas, and Josiah, of Virginia and Kentucky. The peculiarity is one to have been equally expected among sober Friends, and among zealous Puritans. Berks county was not very long the home of Mr. Lin- coln's immediate progenitors. There can hardly have 7 8 Life of Abraham Lincoln. been more than a slender pioneer settlement there, when one or more of the number made another remove, not far from the year 1750, to what is now Rockingham county, Virginia. Old Berks was first settled about 1734 — then, too, as a German colony — and was not organized as a county until 1752; before which date, according to family traditions, this removal to Virginia took place. This, it will be observed, was pre-eminently a pioneer stock, evidently much in love with backwoods adventure, and constantly courting the dangers and hardships of forest life. Rockingham county, Virginia, though situated in the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah, and inviting, by its natural resources, the advances of civilization, must never- theless have been, at the time just mentioned, in the very heart of the wilderness. Now, it is one of the most produc- tive counties of Virginia, having exceeded every other county in the State, according to the census of 1850, in its crops of wheat and hay. A branch of the family, it is un- derstood, still remains there, to enjoy the benefits of so judicious a selection, and of the labors and imperfectly re- quited endurances of those first settlers. From this locality, about the year 1782, Abraham Lin- coln, grandfather of him who was to make the name illus- trious, started Westward across the Alleghanies, attracted by the accounts which had reached him of the wonderfully fertile and beautiful country explored by Daniel Boone, on and near the Kentucky river. During all his lifetime, hitherto, he could have known little of any other kind of existence than that to which he had been educated as an adventurous frontiersman. The severe labor of preparing the heavily-timbered lands of Shenandoah for cultivation, the wild delights of hunting the then abundant game of the woods, and the exciting hazards of an uncertain warfare Life op Abraham Lincoln. 9 with savage enemies, had been almost the sole occupation of his rough and healthful life. Perhaps the settlements around him had already begun to be too far advanced for the highest enjoyment of his characteristic mode of living; or possibly, with others, he aspired to the possession of more fertile fields, and to an easier subsistence. Whatever the reason, he set out at the time just stated, with his wife and several young children, on his long journey across the mountains, and over the broad valleys intervening between the Shenandoah and the Kentucky. At this date, and for ten or twelve years later, the present State of Kentucky formed part of the old Commonwealth of Virginia. "The dark and bloody ground, " as afterward named for better reasons than the fiction which assigns this meaning to its Indian appellation, had then been but re- cently entered upon by the white man. Its first explorer, Daniel Boone, whose very name suggests a whole world of romance and adventure, had removed, when a mere boy among the earlier emigrants from Eastern Peimsylvania, to Berlcs county. Here he must have been a contemporary resident, and was perhaps an acquaintance, of some of the younger members of the Lincoln family. At all events, as substantially one of their own neighbors, they must have watched his later course with eager interest, and sympathy, and caught inspiration from his exploits. At eighteen, Boone had again emigrated with his father, as before, to the banks of the Yadkin, a mountain river in the northwest of North Carolina, at just about the same date as the removal of the Lincolns to Virginia. Some years later, Boone, in liis hunting excursions, had passed over and admired large tracts of the wilderness north of his home, and especially along a branch of the Cumberland river, within the limits of what is now Kentucky. It was not until 1769, however, that, with five associates, he made the thorough explora- 10 Life of Abraham Lincoln. tion of the Kentucky valley, which resulted in the sub- sequent settlements there. The glowing descriptions, which ultimately got abroad, of the incredible richness and beauty of these new and remote forest-climes of Trans- Alleghanian Virginia, and of their alluring hunting-grounds, must have early reached the ears of the boyhood-com- panions of Daniel Boone, and spread through the neigh- boring country. The stirring adventures of the pioneer hero, during the next five or six years, and the beginnings of substantial settlements in that far-west country, must have suggested new attractions thitherward, to the more active and daring spirits, whose ideal of manhood Boone , so nearly approached. From the borders, in various directions, hundreds of miles away, emigration had now begun. These recruits were from that class of hardy frontiersmen most inured to the kind of toils they were to encounter anew in the Kentucky forests. They went forward, fearless of the dangers to be encountered from the numerous bands of Indians already re-commencing hostilities, after a tempor- ary pacification. Here was a common territory and place of meeting for the tribes, both of the North and the South, and here, before and after this date, there were many ex- citing adventures and deadly conflicts with these savages, whose favorite haunts had been thus imceremoniously in- vaded. It was not far from the date of the disastrous battle of the Lower Blue Licks, in 1782, that the grandfather of Abraham Lincoln, with his young family, reached the region which had, perhaps, long been the promised land of his dreams. The exact place at which he settled is not known. According to the family tradition, it was some- where on Floyd's creek, supposed to be near its mouth, in what is now Bullitt county. On the other hand, in the Life of Abraham Lincoln. 11 field-book of Daniel Boone, who was a deputy-surveyor under Colonel Thomas Marshall, father of Chief Justice Marshall, is the following memorandum: "Abraham Lincoln enters 500 acres of land, on a Treasury Warrant — No. 5994 — beginning opposite Charles Yancey's upper line, on the south side of the river, running south 200 poles, then up the river for quantity, 11th December, 1782." Yancey's land, as appears from the same book, was on the north side of the "main" Licking Creek, as then desig- nated. The emigrant had made but a mere beginning in his new pioneer labors, when, wliile at work one day, at a distance from his cabin, unsuspecting of danger, he was killed by an Indian, who had stolen upon him unaware. His widow, thus suddenly bereaved in a new and strange land, had now their three sons and two daughters left to her sole protection and care, with probably little means for their support. She soon after removed to what became Wash- ington county, in the same State, and there reared her children, all of whom reached mature age. One of the daughters was married to a Mr. Crume, and the other to a man named Bromfield. The three sons, named Thomas, Mordecai and Josiah, all remained in Kentucky until after their majority. Thomas Lincoln, one of these sons, was born in 1778, while the Revolution was in full sway. He was a mere child when his father removed to Kentucky, and was but six years old at the time of the latter's death. The date of this event was consequently about 1784. Of the early life of the orphan boy we have no knowledge, except what can be learned of the general lot of his class, and of the habits and modes of living then prevalent among the hardy pio- neers of Kentucky. These backwoodsmen had an unceas- ing round of hard toils, with no immediate reward but a 12 Life of Abraham Lincoln. bare subsistence from year to year, and the cheering prom- ise of better days in the future. But even their lands, as in the case of Boone, they were not always so fortunate as to retain in fee. More comfortable days and a much improved state of things had come before Thomas arrived at maturity; but in his boyhood and youth, he must have known whatever was worst in the trials and penury of the first generation of Kentucky frontiersmen, with few other enjo3Tnents than an occasional practice with liis rifle. His training was suited to develop a strong, muscular frame, and a rugged constitution, with a characteristic quickness of perception and promptness of action. The Kentuckian of that and •the succeeding generation had generally a tall, stalwart frame, a frank and courteous heart, and a humorous and slightly quaint turn of speech, a fondness for adventure and for the sports of hunting, a manly self-respect, and a fearless independence of spirit. This generation began its life with the independent ex- istence of the nation, and partook largely of the spirit of exultant self-confideuce then abroad tlirough the land. These were the circumstances and associations under which, in those primeval days in Kentucky, Thomas Lin- coln passed through the period of boyhood and youth. At the date of the political separation from Virginia, in 1792, and the formation of a now State, tMs orphan boy, struggling to aid liis mother in the support of the ill-for- tuned family, had reached the age of fourteen. The cur- rents of emigration had become enlarged and accelerated meantime, until the population was swelled as early as 1790, to more than 73,000; and during the next ten years it was more than trebled, reacliing 220,000. The wilder- ness that once was around Boonesborough, Harrodsburg, and Lexington, was now blossoming as the rose. Still, how- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 13 ever, there was ample space unoccupied, within the Umits of of the new State, for those who craved the excitements and the loneliness of a home in the wilderness. In 1806, Thomas Lincoln, being twenty-eight years of age, was married to Nancy Hanks, a native of Virginia, and settled in what was then Hardin county, Kentucky. It does not appear that the parents of Miss Hanks ever re- moved to Kentucky, though others of the family did so. Of the history of her ancestry, we have no definite particu- lars. Her position in life appears to have been not dissim- ilar to that of her husband. That she possessed some rare qualities of mind and heart, there is reason to believe; although dying at an early age, and having, from the time of her marriage, passed her days on obscure frontiers, few recollections of her remain. These were the parents of Abraham Lincoln, the immortal. CHAPTER I. Lincoln's early boyhood in Kentucky and Indiana. Abraham Lincoln was born on the 12th of February, 1809. The place where his parents resided, is in what is now Larne county, about a mile and a half from Hodgen- ville, the county-seat, and seven miles from Elizabethtown, laid off several years previously, as the county seat of Hardin county. He had one sister, two years his senior, who grew to womanhood, married and died while yet yoimg. He had a brother, two years younger than himself, who died in early childhood. Mr. Lincoln remembers having visited the now unmarked grave of this little one, along with his mother, before leaving Kentucky. These were the only children of Thomas Lincoln, either by the present or by a subsequent marriage. Larne county, named from an early settler, John Larne, was set off and separately organized in 1843, the portion containing Mr. Lincoln's birthplace having been, up to that date, included in Hardin county. It is a rich grazing country in its more rolling and hilly parts, and the level surface produces good crops of corn and tobacco. In the northern borders of the county, on the Rolling Fork of Salt river, is Muldrough's Hill, a noted eminence. Hod- genville, near wliich Lincoln was born, is a pleasantly situ- ated town on Nolin creek, and a place of considerable busi- ness. About a mile above this town, on the creek, is a mound, or knoll, thirty feet above the banks of the stream, containing two acres of level ground, at the top of which 15 16 Life of Abraham Lincoln. there is now a house. Some of the early pioneers en- camped on this knoll; and but a short distance from it a fort was erected by Philip Phillips, an emigrant from Pennsylvania, about 1780 or 1781, near the time Mr. Lincoln's ancestor arrived from Mrginia. John Larne came from the latter state, mth a company of emigrants, and settled at Phillip's Fort. Robert Hodgen, Larne's brother-in-law, purchased and occupied the land on which Hodgenville is built. It is needless to rehearse the kind of life in which Abra- ham Lincoln was here trained. The picture is similar in all such settlements. In his case, there was indeed the advantage of a generation or two of progress, since his grandfather had hazarded and lost his life in the then slightly broken wilderness. The State now numbered some 400,000 inhabitants, and had all the benefits of an efficient local administration, the want of which had greatly increased the dangers and difficulties of the first settlers. The period of Abraham Lincoln's Kentucky life ex- tends through a little more than seven years, terminating with the autumn of 1816. If it be true as a rule, as Horace Mann maintained, that the experiences and instructions of the first seven years of every person's existence do more to mold and determine his general character than all sub- sequent training, then must we regard Mr. Lincoln as a Kentuckian, by his early impressions and discipline, no less than by birth. In those days there were no common schools in that country. The principal reliance for acquiring the rudi- ments of learning was the same as that to which the peasant poet of Ayrshire was indebted. Education was by no means disregarded, nor did young Lincoln, poor as were his opportunities, grow up an illiterate boy, as some have supposed. Competent teachers were accustomed to offer Life of Abraham Lincoln. 17 themselves, then, as in later years, M'ho opened private schools for a neighborhood, being supported by tuition fees or subscription. During his boyhood days in Kentucky, Abrbham Lincoln attended, at different times, at least two schools of this description, of wliich he has clear recollec- tions. One of these was kept by Zachariah Riney, a Roman Catholic, whose peculiarities have not been wholly effaced from the memory of his since so distinguished pupil. Another teacher, on whose instructions the boy afterward attended, wliile living in Kentucky, was named Caleb Hazel. His was also a neighborhood school, sus- tained by private patronage. With the aid of these two teachers, and with such firrther assistance as he received at home, there is no doubt that he was able to read well, though without having made any great literary progress, at the age of seven. That he was not a dull or inapt scholar, is manifest from his subsequent attainments. With the allurements of the rifle and the wild game which then abounded in the country, however, and with the meagre advantages he had, in regard to books, it is certain that his perceptive faculties, and his muscular power, were much more fully developed by exercise than his scholastic talents. While he lived in Kentucky, he never saw even the ex- terior of what was properly a church edifice. The religious services he attended were held either at a private dwelling, or in some log school-house, or in the open grove. Unsatisfactory results of these many years' toil on the lands along Nolin Creek, or a restless spirit of adventure and fondness for more genuine pioneer excitements than this region continued to afford, led Thomas Lincoln, now verging upon the age of forty, and his son beginning to be of essential service in manual labor, to seek a new place of abode, far to the west and north, beyond the Ohio. 18 Life of Abraham Lincoln, Early in the autumn of 1816, an immediate departure for the new wilds of Indiana Territory was determined on by Thomas Lincoln. It was no very imposing sight, cer- tainly, as the little family, bidding the old Kentucky home adieu, moved forward upon their long and mnding pioneer march. Many sad thoughts there undoubtedly were in that small group, and perhaps some forebodings, also, as their former place, gradually receding, at length disap- peared. But these emotions must soon have been lost in the excitements of their jom-ney. It was no novel picture which they presented, for that period, as they advanced on their lonely way, for the days required to bring them to the place whence they were to cross the Oliio. The plain wagon with its simple cover- ing as a shelter for its lading of household utensils, articles of food, and "varieties," was drawn by a, not too-spirited or over-fed horse, in a harness probably compounded of leather and hempen cords of an uncertain age. In the forward part of this conveyance, sat the emigrant wife and her daughter, nine years old, while the father and his son, now past seven, walking in the rear, took care that the in- dispensable cow kept pace to the music of the jolting wheels. Underneath the wagon, or scouting at pleasure through the surrounding woods, was of course a large dog, constant to the fortunes of his master's family, and ready for any fate to which their migrations might lead him. Arriving at the appointed landing on the banks of the Ohio, it only remained to embark the little caravan upon a flatboat, and to cross the stream, now swelled to great proportions by the autumn rains. Finally, after reaching the Indiana side, the adventurers landed at or near the mouth of Ander- son's Creek, now the boundary line between the counties of Perry and Spencer, about one hundred and forty miles below Louisville, by river, and sixty above Evansville. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 19 In a direct line across the country from their former resi- dence, the distance is, perhaps, hardly one hundred miles. The place at which Mr. Lincoln settled, at the end of this journey, is some distance back from the Oliio river, near the present town of Gentryville. Under the earliest organization, this was in Perry county, of which Troy was the county-seat. Two years later, Spencer county was formed, embracing all that part of Perry west of Anderson's Creek, and including the place at which Mr. Lincoln had located. Here his emigrant wagon paused, and aided by the busy hands of his son, a log cabin was speedily built, which was to be their home through many coming years. The par- ticular site of his dwelling was doubtless determined, as usual, by the discovery of a living spring of water, after fixing on his selection for a farm. This completed, and a shelter provided for their stock, the next business was to clear up a space in the forest wliich should produce a crop of grain for their sustenance the next season. Hard work had begun in good earnest for the young Kentuckian. He was to learn the realities of genuine pioneer life, such as he had before but imperfectly understood, unless by tradition and the evening tales of his father. Indiana, at this date, was still a Territory, having been originally united under the same government with Illinois after the admissions of Ohio as a State, " the first-born of the the great Northwest," in 1802. A separate territorial organization was made from each in 1809. A few months before the arrival of Thomas Lincoln, in June, 1816, pur- suant to a Congressional "enabling act," a Convention had been held which adopted a State Constitution, preparatory to admission into the union. Under this Constituion, a little later, in December, 1816, Indiana became, by act of Congress, one of the United States. 20 Life of Abraham Lincoln. The population of Indiana was now about 65,000, dis- tributed chiefly south of a straight Une drawn from Vin- cennes, on the Wabash, to Lawrenceburg, on the Ohio. Vincennes was long the territorial capital, and with the surrounding country, had been occupied by French emi- grants, many years before the Revolution. In 1800, the whole number of residents in these colonies was less than 5,000. From 1800 to 1810, there had been a large increase, mostly by emigrations to Southern Indiana from Kentucky, swelling the population to 24,520, at the latter date. In 1811 had occurred serious difficulties with the Indians, terminating in the decisive victory over them at Tippecanoe. So general had become the settlements, eastward from Vincennes and up the Ohio river, that the capital was removed far eastward to Corydon, in 1813, as a central location. The next thirteen years Abraham Lincoln spent here, in Southern Indiana, near the Ohio, nearly midway be- tween Louisville and Evansville. He was now old enough to begin to take an active part in the farm labors of his father, and he manfully performed liis share of hard work. He learned to use the ax and to hold the plow. He became inured to all the duties of seedtime and harvest. On many a day, during every one of those thirteen years, this Kentucky boy might have been seen with a long "gad" in liis hand, driving his father's team in the field, or from the woods, with a heavy draught, or on the rough path to the mill, the store, or the river landing. He was specially an adept at felling trees, and acquired a mucsular strength in which he was equaled by few or none of those about him. In the sports of hunting and fishing, he was less skilled. Here, as in Kentucky, he attended private schools, and in other ways increased his little stock of learning, aided by Life op Abraham Lincoln. 21 what he had already acquired. The same want of system- atic public instruction, and the same mode of remedying this lack, prevailed in Indiana, as in his former home. One of his teachers was named Andrew Crawford, to whom he used to be occasionally indebted for the loan of books, to read at such leisure hours as he could command. His last teacher was Azel W. Dorsey, who had the satisfaction, in later years, of taking his former scholar by the hand, re- joicing to recognize the once obscure boy as one of the foremost leaders of the people. That we may estimate Mr. Lincoln in his true character, as chiefly a self-educated man, it should be stated that, sum- ming up all the days of Us actual attendance upon school instruction, the amount would hardly exceed one year. The rest he has accomplished for himself in his own way. As a youth he read with avidity such instructive works as he could obtain, and in winter evenings, by the mere light of the blazing fire-place, when no better resource was at hand. An incident having its appropriate connection here, and illustrating several traits of the man, as already developed, in early boyhood, is vouched for by a citizen of Evansville, who knew liim in the days referred to. In liis eagerness to acquire knowledge, young Lincoln had borrowed of Mr. Crawford a copy of Weems' life of Washington — the only one known to be in the neighborhood. Before he had fin- ished reading the book, it had been left, by a not unnatural oversight in a window. Meantime, a rain storm came on, and the book, was so thoroughly wet as to make it nearly worthless. The mishap caused Mm much pain; but he went, in all honesty, to Crawford with the ruined book explained the calamity that had happened through his neglect, and offered, not having sufficient money, to " work out" the value of the book. 22 Life of Abraham Lincoln. " Well, Abe, " said Crawford, "as it's you I won't be hard on you. Come over and pull fodder for me for two days and we will call our accounts even. " The offer was accepted and the engagement literally fulfilled. As a boy, no less than since, Abraham Lincoln had an honorable conscientiousness, integrity, industry, and an ardent love of knowledge. The town on the Ohio river, nearest his home, was Troy, county-seat of Perry county down to the date of its division. This place, at the mouth of Anderson's Creek, had been set- tled as early as 1811, and was a place of some consequence, both for its river trade and as the county-seat. After this latter advantage was lost, by the formation of a new county in 1818, Troy dwindled away, and is now a place of only about six hundred inhabitants. Rockport, nearly twenty miles southwest of Gentryville, became the county-seat of Spen- cer county, and thenceforward a point of interest to the new settlers. It is situated on a high bluff of the Ohio river, and receives its name from "Lady Washington's Rock," a picturesque hanging-rock at that place. At these two points young Lincoln gained some knowledge of the new world of riverlife and business, in addition to his farm ex- perience, and to his forest sports with rod and rifle. For several months he is said to have been ferryman at Ander- son's Creek Ferry. It was during one of the later of these thirteen years, that Abraham, at nineteen, was permitted to gratify his eager longing to see more of the world, and to try the charms of an excursion on the Ohio. He had inherited much of the adventurous and stirring disposition of his Virginian grand- father, and was delighted with the prospect of a visit to New Orleans, then the splendid city of Western dreams. He performed this journey on a common flatboat, doing service as one of the hands on that long yet most exhilarat- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 23 ing trip. We have no particulars of this his sole excursion as a flatboatman during his Indiana days, yet to his own mind it probably long afforded many not unpleasing recol- lections. He was undoubtedly the life of the little com- pany, delighting them with his humorous sallies no less than with his muscular superiority, and with his hilarious activity and intuitive tact in all that immediately concerned their voyage. If there had been any forebodings at the time of depar- ture from their first home on Nolin Creek, these were to be ere long realized by the Indiana emigrants. Scarcely two years had passed, in this changed climate, and in these rougher forest experiences, before the mother of young Abraham — perhaps too gentle to encounter the new trials added to those she had before partially surmounted, and to endure the malarious influences in which this wild country abounded — was called to a last separation from those she had so tenderly loved. She died in 1818, leaving as her sole surviving children, a daughter less than twelve years old, and a son two years younger, of whose future dis- tinction, even with a mother's fondness, she probably had but an indefinite hope. A year or two later, Thomas Lincoln contracted a second marriage with Mrs. Johnston, a widow with three children, that were brought up with those of Mr. Lincohi. Besides these step-children, there were no additions to the family as before euumerated, CHAPTER II. First Years in Illinois. — 1830-'34. The early French settlements of Illinois, at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, on the Mississippi river just below St. Louis, had proved as little successful or permanent as those of Indiana around Vincennes. The territory had come into the possession of the British Government just before the Revolution, and emigration from Virginia had commenced almost simultaneously to that quarter and to Kentucky. The Southern emigration gave character to the earlier legislation of Indiana and Illinois especially. With evi- dences of a lurking attachment to the peculiar institution of the States on the other side of the Ohio river, the gen- eral tenor of public sentiment and action was as positive and distinct as were the opinions of the more Northern multitudes who came in to fill up these new common- wealths. And yet, the views of slavery prevalent in southern Indiana and Illinois were at that time not much diverse from those which were entertained in the com- munities from which these settlers had come. They re- garded slavery as an evil to be rid of; and to make sure of this, those who were not already too much entangled with it left in large numbers for a region which, by request of Virginia herself, was "forever" protected from the inroads of this moral and social mischief. Indiana had more than 100,000 people concentrated in the south, before any real advance had been made in the central and northern parts. Nearly the same thing 25 26 Life of Abraham Lincoln. was true of Illinois. The territory had been separately organized in the same year with the birth of Abraham Lincoln — 1809. The next year's census showed its en- tire white population to be only 11, 501. In 1820, two years after admission into the Union, the entire population, still almost entirely confined to the same region, and to similar localities as ten years before, amounted only to 55,211. From that time to 1830, there was some extension of the settlements north- ward, toward the center of the state, and up the Mississippi to Galena, where the mines were already worked. The rivers along which the principal settlements had been made, aside from the great boundary rivers — the Mississippi, the Ohio and the Wabash — were the Kaskaskia, the Em- barras, the Sangamon, and their branches. There were a few settlements, also, in the Rock River country, and in the vicinity of Peoria. The population, thus chiefly distributed, had now (1830) reached 157,445. The brothers of Thomas Lincoln had previously re- moved to a more northern location in Indiana than that which he had occupied. Both settled in the Blue river country — Mordecai in Hancock county, where he not long after died, and Josiah in Harrison county. Mr. Lincoln's father pushed forward to the central part of the State. A more beautiful country than that of the Sangamon valley could not easily have been anywhere discovered by an explorer. It was not strange that the. report of such lands, if he heard it in his Southern Indiana home, should have attracted even so far one who was bred to pioneer life and inherited a migratory disposition. He first settled on the Sangamon "bottom," in Macon coimty. As you approach Decatur, the county-seat of Macon, from the souths a slightly broken country is reached two Life of Abraham Lixcoln. 27 or three miles from that place, and presently the North Fork of the Sangamon, over which you pass, a mile from the town. This stream flows westwardly, uniting with the South Fork, near Jamestown, ten miles from Springfield. Following down this North Fork for a distance of about ten miles from Decatur, you come to the immediate vicinity of the first residence of Abraham Lincoln (with his father's family), in Ilhnois. Here, for the first seasonsof his abode in the new State he continued to assist the father in Ms farm-work. One of the first duties was to fence in a field on the rich bottom-lands, which had been selected for cultivation. For this purpose, with the help of one laborer, it is said, Abraham Lincoln split three thousand rails — the crowning work of a long laborious period of his life. The man who aided him in this exploit, named John Hanks, a distant relative of his mother, bears earnest testimony to the strength and skill with which the maul and the wedge were employed on this occasion. For some unexplained reason, the family did not remain on this place but a single year. Abraham was now of age, and when, in the spring of 1831, liis father set out for Coles county, sixty or seventy miles to the eastward, on the upper waters of the Kaskaskia and Embarras, a separation took place, the son, for the first time, assuming his inde- pendence, and commencing life on his own account. The scene of these labors he never again visited. His father was soon after comfortably settled in the place to which he had turned his course, and spent the remainder of his ad- venturous days there, arriving at a good old age. He died in Coles county, on the 17th day of January, 1851, being in his seventy-third year. The farm on the Sangamon sub- sequeptly came into the possession of a Mr. Whitley, who erected a mill in the vicinity. 28 Life of Abraham Lincoln. At the close of the year 1830, or in 1831, a man.came to that part of Macon county where young Lincoln was living, in pursuit of hands to aid him in a flatboat voyage down the Mississippi. The fact was known that the youth had once made such a trip, and his services were sought for the occa- sion. As one who had his own subsistence to earn, with no capital but his hands, and with no immediate oppor- tunities for commencing professional study, if his thoughts had as yet been turned in that direction, he accepted the proposition made him. Perhaps there was something of his inherited and acquired fondness for existing adventure, impelling him to this decision. With him, were also em- ployed, his former fellow-laborer, John Hanks, and a son of his step-mother, named John Johnston. In the spring of 1831 Lincoln set out to fulfill his engagement. The flood had so swollen the streams that the Sangamon comitry was a vast sea before him. His first entrance into that country was over these wide-spread waters, in a canoe. The time had come to join his employer on his journey to New Orleans, but the latter had been disappointed by another person on whom he relied to furnish him a boat, on the Illinois river. Accordingly, all hands set to work, and themselves built a boat on that river for their purposes. This done, they set out on their long trip, making a success- ful voyage to New Orleans and back. It is reported by his friends, that Mr. Lincoln referred with much pleasant humor to this early experience, so relating some of its inci- dents as to afford abundant amusement to his auditors. In truth, he was a youth who could adapt himself to this or any other honest Vv'ork which liis circumstances required of him, and with a cheerfulness and alacrity — a certain practical humor — rarely equaled. He could turn off the hardest labor as a mere pastime ; and his manly presence, to other laborers, was a constant inspiration and a charm to Ughten their burdens. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 29 It was midsummer when the flatboatman returned from this his second and last trip in that capacity. The man who had commanded this little expedition now undertook to establish himself in business at New Salem, twenty miles below Springfield, in Menard county — a place of more relative consequence than now — two miles from Petersburg, the county-seat. He had found young Lincoln a person of such sort that he was anxious to secure his services in the new enterprise he was about to embark in. He opened a store at New Salem, and also had a flour mill. For want of other immediate employment, and in the same spirit which had heretofore actuated him, Abraham Lin- coln now entered upon the duties of a clerk, having an eye to both branches of the business carried on by his employer. This connection continued for nearly a year, all the duties of his position being faithfully performed. It was during this year that he was appointed Postmaster at New Salem — not from political affinity with the ad- ministration of Jackson, to which he was, in fact, opposed, but because he was thought better fitted for the place than any of his neighbors. He discharged his duties well; and instead of even temporarily using any of the public money to supply his then pressing wants, he carefully laid up whatever belonged to the Government, from day to day, and at the final settlement he had a bag of coin, containing the proper amount, ready to be paid over. While Abraham Lincoln was quietly performing his duties in the pioneer " store, " in Menard county, reports were received of an alarming Indian invasion, on the western border of the State. In the spring of 1S31, the noted Black-Hawk, an old chief of the Sac tribe of Indians, repudiating the treaty by the terms of which they had been removed beyond the Father of Waters, re-crossed the river with his women and children, and three hundred warriors — i 30 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of the Sacs, together with allies from the Kickapoo and Pottawatomie nations. His object was again to take pos- session of his old hunting-grounds, and to establish him- self where the principal village of liis nation before had been, in the Rock-river country. Whether or not either of these commanders was chargeable with blame, tliis retreat of Black Hawk only prolonged the difficulties impending, and prepared the way for a more formidable and eventful campaign the next season. Gen. Gaines, however, had taken measures to preclude any such possibility, so far as the deliberate engagements of the uneasy chief could avail for that purpose. Intimidated by the threats of Gaines to cross the river, and to prosecute the war on that ground. Black Hawk sued for peace. A treaty was entered into, by which he agreed that he and his tribe should ever after remain on the west side of the river, unless by permission of the State Governor or President. In express violation, however, of this second deliberate engagement. Black Hawk and his followers began, early in the spring of 1832, as we have seen, to make preparations for another invasion. Tliis was in the early part of April, 1832. Black Hawk, after he had gone some distance up this latter river, was overtaken by a messenger from Gen. Atkinson, who had command of the troops on Rock Island, and ordered to return beyond the Mississippi. This was defiantly refused. Gov. Reynolds again issued a call for volunteers to protect the settlers from tliis invasion. A company was promptly raised in Menard county, in the formation of which Abraham Lincoln was one of the most active. From New Salem, Clary's Grove, and elsewhere in the vicinity, an efficient force was gathered, and in making their organization, Lincoln was elected Captain. This Life of Abraham Lincoln. 31 was the first official honor he had ever received by the suffrages of his fellows, and one that afforded particular satisfaction to Us not unaspiring, though modest, spirit, as he, long afterward, frankly admitted. Their first march was to the rendezvous appointed by Gov. Reynolds, at Beardstown, one of the earlier settle- ments on the Illinois river, forty miles west of New Salem. Here eighteen hundred men were speedily assembled, under the direction of the Governor. The forces were- organized into four regiments, with an additional spy battalion. Gen. Samuel Whiteside, of the State militia, who had commanded the spy battalion in the campaign of the previous year, was now entrusted with the command of the whole brigade. Gen. James D. Henry was placed at the head of the spy battalion. This little army, more imposing than that of the pre- ceding year, set out from Beardstown on the 27th of April, for the scene of action. Three or four days' hard marching across the country brought the volunteers to Oquawka, on the Mississippi, from whence they proceeded, without delay, northward to the mouth of Rock river. Here it was arranged with Gen. Atkinson, commander of the regulars, that the volunteer force should march up the latter stream a distance of about fifty miles, to Prophets- town, where they were to encamp, awaiting the arrival of the regulars with provisions, by the river. Gen. WTiiteside, however, instead of following out this plan, set fire to the Prophet's village on arriving, and pushed forward toward Dixon's Ferry, forty miles further up the river. These incessant marches must have severely taxed the endurance of many of the inexperienced soldiers, but to Capt. Lincoln, reared as he had been, they rather height- ened the exliilaration which attended these adventures 32 Life of Abraham Lincoln. from the start. The prospect of speedily overtaking and encountering the enemy in battle, and the hope of winning, in the fight, some special honors for the little contingent under his command, relieved the sense of fatigue. The great battle which Capt. Lincoln and his fellow- volunteers had come so far to participate in, seemed now on the point of becoming a reality. Notwithstanding the premature advance of AVhiteside from Prophetstown had left them without the necessary supplies, and subjected them to the privations so well known to experienced soldiers, yet seldom encountered so early in a campaign, they made up for .the absence of their regular provisions as best they might, and were ready, with the dawn, for the day's undertaking. But their enemy did not await their coming. Arrived at the scene of the skirmish of the day before, they found not a straggler of all the savage forces. They had partly gone farther up the river, and partly dispersed, to commit depredations in the surround- ing country. One party of them came suddenly upon a settlement near Ottawa, and massacred fifteen persons, carrying two young women into captivity. This circum- stance, alone, is sufficient to show how utterly unfounded was the pretense of some that Black Hawk had no hostile purpose, in this repudiation of his treaty engagements, and to remove any ground for the mistaken sympathy which may have been expended upon him. This sudden disbanding without a battle, and with no results accomplished, was a disappointment to the young captain from Menard county. Gov. Re^molds had pre- viously issued a call for two thousand new volunteers, to assemble at Beardstown and Hennepin. In accordance with the wishes of Lincoln and others, who were still ready to bear their share of the campaign to its close, the Governor also asked for the formation of a volunteer regi- I Life of Abraham Lincoln. 33 ment from tliose just discharged. Lincoln promptly enrolled himself as a private, as did also General AVhiteside. Before the arrival of the other levies, a skirmisliing fight with the Lidians was had at Burr Oak Grove, on the 18th of June, in which the enemy was defeated, with considerable loss, and on the side of the volunteers, two killed and one wounded. The new forces, under command of General Atkinson, of the regular army, were at length put in motion, de- tachments being sent out in different directions. A severe fight- was had at Kellogg's Grove, in the midst of the Indian country, on the 25th of June, resulting in the retreat of the Indians, with much loss. Five whites were killed, and three wounded. A detachment under General Alexander was stationed in a position to intercept the Indians, should they attempt to re-cross the Mississippi. In response to the representations of Gov. Reynolds, to whom the settlers applied for protection, Gen. Gaines, com- mander of the United States forces in that quarter, took prompt and decisive measures to expel these invaders from the state. With a few companies of regular soldiers. Gen. Gaines at once took up his position at Rock Island, and at his call, several hundred volunteers, assembled from the northern and central parts of the state, upon the proclamation of Gov. Reynolds, joined him a month later. His little army distributed into two regiments, an additional battalion, and a spy battalion, was the most formidable military force yet seen in the new State. The expected battle did not take place, the Indians having suddenly and stealthily retired again, in their canoes, across the river. Nearly two months had now passed since the opening of the campaign, and its purpose seemed as remote from accomplishment as ever. The new volunteers had many 34 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of them become discontented, like the former ones. Their number had in fact become reduced one-half. The weari- some marches, the delays, the privations and exposures, had proved to them that this service was no pastime, and that its romance was not what it seemed in the distance. They sickened of such service, and were glad to escape from its restraints. Not so, however, with Lincoln, who had found in reality the kind of exciting adventure which his spirit craved. While others murmured, and took their departure, he remained true and persistent, no less eager for the fray, or ambitious to play a genuine soldier's part, than at the beginning. Hardship was not new to him, and he had a physical energy and endurance that would not be wearied into untimely discouragement. It was not destined, however, that he should be actively engaged in any battle more serious than those encounters already mentioned. Mr. Lincoln, as yet a youth of but twenty-three, faith- fully discharged his duty to his country, as a soldier, per- severing amid peculiar hardships, and against the influences of older men around him, during the three months' service of this his first and last military campaign. Sarcastically conamenting on the efforts of General Cass' biographers to render liim conspicuous as a military hero, Mr. Lincoln, in a Congressional speech, delivered during the canvass of 1848, made a humorous and characteristic refer- ence to his own experience as a soldier. We give his language on tliis occasion, as a suitable pendent to our sketch of this period of Mr. Lincoln's youth. " By the way, Mr. Speaker, did you know I am a military hero? Yes, sir, in the days of the Black Hawk war, I fought, bled, and came away. Speaking of General Cass' career reminds me of my own. I was not at Stillman's defeat, but I was about as near it as Cass to Hull's sur- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 35 render; and like him, I saw the place very soon afterward. It is quite certain I did not break my word, for I had none to break; but I bent a musket pretty badly on one occa- sion. If Cass broke his sword, the idea is, he broke it in desperation ; I bent the musket by accident. If General Cass went in advance of me in picking whortleberries, I guess I surpassed him in charges upon the wild onions. If he saw any live, fighting Indians, it was more than I did, but I had a good many bloody struggles with the mos- quitoes; and although I never fainted from loss of blood, I can truly say I was often very hungry. " Mr. Speaker, if I should ever conclude to doff whatever our Democratic friends may suppose there is of black- cockade Federalism about me, and, thereupon, they should take me up as their candidate for the Presidency, I pro- test they shall not make fun of me as they have of General Cass, by attempting to write me into a military hero. " CHAPTER III. Eight Years in the Legisature of Illinois — 1834-'41. We now approach the period of Mr. Lincoln's transition to the more natural position in which, as a professional man and a statesman, he was to attain that success and emi- nence for which his rare endowments fitted him. His later experiences had shown him more clearly that he was not to be a mere private in the great battle of life, but that he had certain qualities which could place him at the head of a brigade or of a column, if he were so minded. Nor was he indifferent to the good opinion of his fellow-men. The confessed satisfaction which the captaincy of a company of volunteers had given him, as the expressed preference of a hundred or two of associates for him above all others, as a leader, showed that, however distrustful as yet of his own powers, he was not without ambition, or unable to appreciate popular honors. This campaign likewise, besides the excitements of varied adventure which it afforded, so much to his natural inclination, had brought him in contact with inspiring in- fluences and associations, and had demonstrated, and doubtless improved, his powers of fixing the esteem and admiration of those around him. He had been, as is told of him, a wild sort of a boy and in his peculiar way he had attached his associates to him to a remarkable degree. This will be seen from a circumstance to be presently re- lated. His horizon had been enlarged and his dreams ennobled. Meantime, it is to be remembered, that he 37 38 Life of Abraham Lincoln. had come home from the Black-Hawk war with no definite business to resort to, and still under a necessity of devoting his cbaef and immediate energies to self-support. He has, then, reached a new epoch of his youth, at this date, and entered on another distinct period of his liistory. Proof of this we shall find in the fact that he became, on returning home, a candidate for representative in the State Legislature, the election of which was close at hand. A youth of twenty-three, and not at all generally known through the county, or able, in the brief time allowed, to make himself so, it may have an appearance of presumption for liim to have allowed the use of his name as a candidate He was not elected, certainly, and could hardly have thought such an event possible; yet the noticeable fact remains that he received so wonderful a vote in his own precinct, where he was best if not almost exclusively known, as may also be said to have made his fortune. His precinct (he had now settled in Sangamon county) was strongly for Jackson, while Lincoln had, from the start, warmly espoused the cause of Henry Clay. The State election occurred in August, and the Presidential election two or three months later, the same season. Political feeling ran liigh, at this, the second election (as it proved) of Jackson. Notwithstanding tliis, such was the popu- larity wliich young Lincoln had brought home with him from the war, that out of the two hundred and eight y-four votes cast in his precinct, two hundred and seventy-seven — all but seven— were cast for Mm. Yet, a little later in the same canvass, General Jackson received a majority of one hundred and fifty-five for the Presidency, from the very same men, over Mr. Clay, whose cause Lincoln was known to favor. So marked an indication as this of liis personal power to draw votes, made him a political celeb- rity at once. In future elections it became a point with Life of Abraham Lincoln. 39 aspirants to seek to combine his strength in their favor, by- placing Lincoln's name on their ticket, to secure his bat- talion of voters. When he was elected to the Legislature for the first time, two years later, his majority ranged about two hmidred votes higher than the rest of the ticket on which he ran. Such was the beginning of Mr. Lincoln's political life, almost in his boyhood. This is the proper place to pause and review, in a brief way, the state of political affairs in Illinois, at the time of his first appearance upon this public arena. We shall find the revolution which has been wrought— Mr. Lincoln, though for long years in an appar- ently hopeless minority in the State, having been always a foremost leader on the side opposed to the Democracy — to be scarcely less remarkable than his youthful successes at the polls. At the date of Mr. Lincoln's arrival — when just of age — in the State of Illinois, General Jackson was in the midst of his first Presidential term. Since 1826 every general election in that State had resulted decisively in favor of his friends. In August, 1830, the first election after Lincoln became a resident of the State, and before he was a qualified voter, the only rival candidates for Governor, were both of the same strongly predominant party. The Legislature then elected had a large majority on that side. In 1832, General Jackson received the electoral vote of Illinois, for the second time, by a decisive majority. The Legislature of 1834 was so strongly Democratic that the Whig mem- bers did not have any candidates of their own, in organiz- ing the House, but chose rather to exercise the little power they had in favor of such Democratic candidate as they preferred. Against such odds, as we shall see, the oppo- nents of that party struggled long and in vain. Even the great pohtical tornado which swept over so large a portion 40 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of the Union in 1840, made no decisive impression upon Illinois. In spite of all these difficulties and discourage- ments, Mr. Lincoln adhered steadily to his faith, never once dreaming of seeking profit in comphance, or in a com- promise of his honest principles. Henr)'- Clay was his model as a statesman, and always continued such, while any issues were left to contend for, of the celebrated American system of the great Kentuckian. During the time Mr. Lincoln was pursuing his law studies and making his first practical appearance with political life, he turned his attention to the business of a surveyor as a means of support. The mania for speculation in Western lands and lots was beginning to spread over the country at this time; and while our young student of law had neither means nor inclination to embark in any such enterprise for himself, it was the means of bringing him some profitable employment with the chain and compass. From the earliest grand center of these operations in lands and town lots, Cliicago, which had also itself furnished, even then, most remarkable examples of fortunes easily made, the contagion spread everywhere through the State. Towns and cities without number were laid out in all directions, and innumerable fortunes were made, in antici- pation, by the purchase of lots in all sorts of imaginary cities, during the four or five years preceding the memorable crisis and crash of 1837. It was during the year previous to that consummation, that this business had reached its height in Illinois. "With the revulsion, came also a brief period of adversity to the successful surveyor, whose occupation was now gone. It is said that even his ser- veying instruments were sold under the hammer. But this change only served to establish him more exclusively and permanently in his profession of the law. Mr. Lincoln's first election to the Illinois Legislature, as Life of Abraham Lincoln. 41 has been stated, was in 1834. His associates on the ticket were Major John T Stuart (two or three years later elected to Congress), John Dawson and William Carpenter. All were decided Clay men, or, as the party in that State was first styled, Democratic Republicans. About this time the name of Whigs had begun to be their current designa- tion. Lincoln was the youngest member of this Legisla- ture, with the single exception of Jesse K. Dubois, of Law- rence county, afterward State Auditor of Illinois, who served with Mm during liis entire legislative career. He had not yet been admitted to the bar; he had yet his repu- tation to make, no less, as a politician and orator. At this time he was very plain in Ms costume, as well as rather uncourtly in Ms address and general appearance. His clothing was of homely Kentucky jean, and the first im- pression made by his tall, lank figure, upon those who saw Mm, was not specially prepossessing. He had not out^ grown Ms hard backwoods experience, and showed no in- clination to disguise or to cast behind him the honest and manly, though unpolished, characteristics of Ms eariier days. Never was a man further removed from all snob- bish affectation. As little was there, also, of the dema- gogue art of assuming an uncoutlmess or rusticity of man- ner and outward habit, with -the mistaken notion of thus securing particular favor as "one of the masses." He chose to appear then, as in all his later life, precisely what he was. His deportment was unassuming, though with- out any awkwardness of reserve. During this, Ms first session in the Legislature, he was taking lessons, as became his youth and inexperience, and preparing Mmself for the future, by close observation and attention to business, rather than by a prominent partici- pation in debate. He seldom, perhaps never, took the floor to speak, although before the close of this and the 42 Life of Abraham Lincoln. succeeding special session of the same Legislature, he had shown, as previously in every other capacity in wliich he was engaged, qualities that clearly pointed to Mm as fitted to act a leacUng part. One of his associates from Sanga- mon coimty. Major Stuart, was now the most prominent member on the "^Tiig side of the house. The organization of this Legislature, was, of course, in the hands of the Democrats. The Speaker v/as Hon. Jame§ Semple, afterward United States Senator. In the selec- tion of his committees, he assigned Lincoln the second place on the Committee on Public Accounts and Expenditures, as if with an intuition, in advance of acquaintance, of the propriety of setting " Honest Abe" to look after the public treasury This Legislature gave some attention to what are tech- nically called internal improvements witliin the State. In behalf of the IlUnois and Micliigan Canal, the company for constructing wliich had been incorporated in 1S25, a loan was agitated at the first session. Congress had granted for tliis work, in 1826, about 300,000 acres of land on the proposed route of the cana.l But for a special message of Governor Duncan, maintaining that the desired loan could be effected on a pledge of these canal lands alone, it is probable that the loan bill, reported by a Senator from Sangamon county, named George Forguer, would have passed. At the next session, in 1835, tliis message was carried, a bill pledging the credit of the State in behalf of the canal Company, to the amount originally proposed, having become a law. The loan was negotiated by Gov- ernor Duncan the next year, and the work on this im- portant canal was commenced in June, 1836. At the same special session, a large number of railroads, without State aid, were chartered, including the Illinois Central and the Galena and Cliicago routes. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 43 It was during the regular session of this Legislature, that Stephen A. Douglas, not liimself a member, became first known to Mr. Lincoln. Late in the year, 1833, Mr. Douglas then in his twenty-first year, had migrated to Illinois (Ver- mont being Ifis native State), and commenced teaching a district school in Winchester, Scott county. During the succeeding year he gave a portion of his time to the study of law, taking part also in the political affairs of his locality. The Legislature, at this session, had taken from the Gov- ernor the power of appointing State's attorneys for the several judicial districts, and provided that these officers should be elected by the Legislature, in joint convention. Though he had been but a little more than a year in the State, and was scarcely to be regarded as an expert in the profession of the law, Mr. Douglas presented himself be- fore the Legislature as a candidate for State's attorney for the first judicial district, against Mr. Hardin, a distin- guished lawyer, then in office. The movement was so adroit, that the youthful advocate distanced his unsus- pecting competitor, receiving thirty-eight votes to thirty- six cast against him. Mr. Lincoln had not only preceded Mr. Douglas as a resident of Illinois, but, also, as thus seen, in gaining a political standing in the State. In 1836, Mr. Lincoln was elected for a second term, as one of the seven representatives from Sangamon county. Among his associates were Mr. Dawson, re-elected, and Ninian AV. Edwards. Mr. Douglas was one of the repre- sentatives from Morgan coimty (to which he had recently removed), and along with him Mr. Hardin, whom he had managed to supersede as State's attorney in 1835. The latter (who was subsequently in Congress, and who fell at Buena Vista) was the only Wliig elected from that county, the other five representatives being Democrats. This canvass in Morgan county is memorable for introducing 44 Life of Abrail^m Lincoln. in Illinois, through the aid of Douglas, the convention system, the benefit of which he was subsequently to reap in the local contests of that State. He had been put on his representative ticket to fUl a vacancy, having failed himself in this instance to secure a nomination from the convention. He was never again elected to the Legislature, having in fact vacated his seat after the first session, and accepted the federal appointment of Register in the land ofiice at Spring- field. In this House, as in that which immediately preceded, the Democrats had a decided majority. General Semple was re-elected Speaker. Mr. Lincoln was assigned a place on the Committee on Finance. In addition to those we have alread}^ named, the house included many men of abilitj^ who have been distinguished in the politices of the State or of the nation, among whom were James Shields, Augustus C. French, Robert Smith, John Dougherty, W. A. Richardson, and John A. McClernand. At the two sessions of tliis Legislature, in 1836 and '37, Mr. Lincoln came forward more prominently in debate gradually, becoming recognized as the leading man on the Whig side. The subject of internal improvements became one of the most prominent ones before this Legislature, as had happened with the last. Of this policy, in a judiciously guarded form, Mr. Lincoln had been from the first a staunch and efficient advocate. He held it to be the duty of Gov- ernment to extend its fostering aid, in every constitutional way, and to a reasonable extent, to whatever enterprise of public utility required such assistance, in order to the fullest development of the natmal resources, and to the most rapid healthful growth of the State. At the first session of 1S36-7, about 1,300 miles of rail- road were provided for, in various quarters, the comple- tion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, from Chicago to Life of Abraham Lincoln. 45 Peru, and the improvement of the navigation of the Kas- kaskia, Illinois, Rock, and Great and Little Wabash rivers; requiring in all a loan of $8,000,000. This included the novel appropriation of $2,000,000 to be distributed among those counties through which none of the proposed im- provements were to be made. The system voted by the Legislature was on a most m.agnificent scale, such as New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, or IncUana had not surpassed. This system of internal improveir.ent, having scarcely been inaugurated when the crash of 1837 came, did not entirely correspond in practice with what it had promised in theory. There was also a considerable addition made to the bank- ing capital of the State at this session. During the winter, resolutions of an extreme Southern character on the slavery question, were introduced, and, after discussion, adopted by the Democratic majority. The attempt was, of course, made to affix a character of aboli- tionism to all those who refused assent to these extreme views. At that time, the public sentiment of the North was not aroused on the subject, as it became a few years later, in consequence of pro-slavery aggressions. Yet Mr. Lincoln refused to vote for these resolutions, and exer- cised his constitutional privilege, along with one of his colleagues from Sangamon county, of entering upon the Journal of the House his reasons for thus acting. March 3, 1837. The following protest was presented to the House, which was read and ordered to be spread on the journals, to-wit: " Resolutions upon the subject of domestic slavery having passed both branches of the General Assembly, at its pres- ent session, the undersigned hereby protest against the passage of the same. "They believe that the institution of slavery is founded 46 Life of Abraham Lixcoln. on both injustice and bad policy; antl that the promulga- tion of abolition doctrines tend rather to increase than abate its e\'ils. "They believe that the Congress of the United States has no power, under the Constitution, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the different states. "They believe that the Congress of the United States has the power, under the Constitution, to abohsh slavery in the District of Columbia; but that the power ought not to be exercised, unless at the request of the people of said District. "The difference between these opinions and those con- tained in the said resolutions, is their reason for entering this protest. "(Signed) "Dan Stoxe, "A. Lincoln, "Representatives from the County of Sangamon." On the formation of the separate territory of Illinois, in 1809, Kaskaslda, perhaps the oldest town in all the Western country, had been designated as the capital. Such it con- tinued to be until Illinois was admitted into the Union as a State, in 1818, when Vandalia, far up the Kaskaskia river, was laid out as the new capital. For some time it con- tinued to be relatively a central location. But dm-ing several years immediately prececUng 1837, the middle and northern portions of the State had become so populated that the re- moval of the capital to a point nearer the geograpliical center had become manifestly expetUent. At tliis session, accordingly, an act was passed changing the seat of govern- ment to Springfield, the principal town in the interior of the State, from and after the 4th day of Julj'^, 1839. To the people of Sangamon county, whom JIr. Lincoln repre- sented, this was of course a most Satisfactory measure, and Life of Abraham Lincoln. 47 by the State at large it was received with general approba- tion. Yandalia, wMch had reached a population of about two thousand, dwindled away for a time, until it had but about one-fourth that number of inhabitants, though of late years it has revived, and to-day has about three thou- sand inhabitants. Springfield has steadily advanced, since tliis period, and is one of the most beautiful of our Western cities. The prairie country for scores of miles around is as charming in appearance and as fertile in its productions as any tract of like extent anywhere. It is greatly to the credit of Mr. Lincoln's good taste and sagacity that, when he came to his majority, he fixed upon such a locality for his home, foreseeing for this spot a suc- cessful future, to which (altogether beyond his anticipa- tions) his influence, in 1836, added a material advantage, and his presence, in 1860, gave a national luster of renown. Li 1S3S, Mr. Lincoln was for the third time elected a representative in the Legislature, for the two years ensu- ing. Among the other six representatives of Sangamon county was John Calhoun, since notorious for his connection with the Lecompton constitution. Availing himself of some local issue or other, and being a man of conceded ability, of highly respectable Whig antecedents and con- nections, he had slipped in by a small majority, crowding out the lowest candidate on the Whig ticket. The re- maining five were Whigs, -including E. D. Baker, Ninian W. Edwards, and A. McCormick. The strength of the two parties in the house was nearly evenly balanced, the Demo- crats having only three or four majority, rendering this unexpected gain particularly acceptable. So well organized was now the position of Mr. Lincoln in liis party, that, by general consent, he received the Whig vote for the Speakership. There was a close contest, his Democratic competitors being Colonel WiUiam Lee D, 48 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Ewing, who had served with Lincoln in the Black-Hawk war. On the fourth ballot, Ewing had a majority of one over all others, two Whigs (including Mr., Lincoln) and two Democrats having scattered their votes. At the State election, in August, 183S, the Whig candi- date for Governor made an excellent run, but was defeated by Thomas Carlin, Democrat. State affairs were hardly brought in issue in the general canvass. A majority of the Legislature, at the first session, was opposed to the repeal or modification of the public works system, but vsted adcUtional expenditures thereon, to the amount of $800,000. At a special session, however, tliis body repealed the system, and made provisions for its gradual winding up. Mr. Lincoln, as the Whig leader, had liis position on the Com- mittee on Finance, and exerted his influence in favor of wise counsels, and such a determination of affairs as would best remedy the evils resulting from tlfis loose Demo- cratic tampering with measure of Whig policy. Aside from these financial questions, there were few matters of any general interest before this Legislature. Tliis session of 1838-9 was the last held at Vandalia. A special session in 1839, inaugurated a new state-house at Springfield. The great contest of 1840 was already casting its shadow before, and began chiefly to engross the atten- tion of persons in political life. Whig candidates for electors were nominated in November of this year, and discussions commenced in earnest. Mr. Lincoln, who was deemed one of the strongest champions of the cause before the people, was repeatedly called on to encounter the foremost advocates of the Democratic party — what no man in Illinois, it was now manifest, could do more successfully. For the fourth time in succession, Mr. Lincoln was elected to the Legislature in 1840 — the last election to that position which he would consent to accept from his strongly attached Life of Abraham Lincoln. 49 constitutents of Sangamon county. In this Legislature, like all previous ones in which he had served, the Demo- crats had a majority in both branches, and the responsibility of all legislation was with them. It was at this session that, to overrule a decision unacceptable to Democrats, and for political and personal reasons of common notoriety in Illinois, the judicial system of the State was changed, as desired, by Mr. Douglas, against the judgment of many leading Democrats, and five new judges, of whom Mr. Douglas was one, were added to the Supreme Court of the State. This is now generally felt to be a measure confer- ring little credit upon those concerned in concocting the scheme, and was never heartily approved by the people. There was but one session during the two years for which this Legislature was chosen. Mr. Lincoln, as in the last, was the acknowledged Whig leader, and the candidate of his party for Speaker. First elected at twenty-five, he had continued in office without interruptioa so long as his in- clination allowed, and until, by his uniform courtesy and kindness of manners, his marked ability, and his straight- forward integrity, he had won an enviable repute through- out the Sate, and was virtually, when but a little past thirty, placed at the head of liis party in Illinois. Begun ii>comparative obscurity, and without any adven- titious aids in its progress, this period of his life, at its termi- nation, had brought him to a position where he was secure in the confidence of the people, and prepared, in due time, to enter upon a; more enlarged and brilliant career, as a national statesman. His fame as a close and convincing debater was established. His native talent as an orator had at once been demonstrated and disciplined. His zeal and earnestness in behalf of a party whose principles he believed to be right, had rallied strong troops of political friends about him, while his unfeigned modesty and his un- 50 Life of Abr.\ham Lincoln. pretending and simple bearing, in marked contrast with that of so many imperious leaders, had won him general and lasting esteem. He preferred no claim as a partisan, and showed no overweening anxiety to advance himself, but was always a disinterested and generous co-worker with his associates, only ready to accept the post of honor and of responsibility, when it was clearly their will, and satisfactory to the people whose interests were involved. At the close of this period, with scarcely any consciousness of the fact himself, and with no noisy demonstrations of flashy ostentation in lus behalf from his friends, he was really one of the foremost poUtical men in the State. A keen observer might even then have predicted a great future for the "Sangamon Chief," as he was sometimes called in Illinois ; and only such an observer, perhaps, iw-^ukl then have adequately estimated liis real jDower as a natural orator, a sagacious statesman, and a gallant tribune of THE PEOPLE CHAPTER IV. Elected a Member of Congress. During the time of his service in the Legislature, Mr. Lincoln was busily engaged in mastering the profession of law. This he was, indeed, compelled to do somewhat at intervals, and with many disadvantages, from the ne- cessity he was under to support himself meanwhile by his own labor, to say nothing of the attention he was com- pelled to give to politics, by the position he had accepted. Nothing, however, could prevent, his consummating his purpose. He completed his preliminary studies, and was licensed to practice in 1836. His reputation was now such that he found a good amount of business, and began to rise to the front rank in his profession. He was a most effective jury ad^'ocate, and manifested a ready perception and a sound judgment of the turning legal points of a case. His clear, practical sense, and his skill in homely or humorous illustration, were noticeable traits in his arguments. The graces and the cold artificialities of a polished rhetoric, he certainly had not, nor did he aim to acquire them. His style of expression and the cast of his thought were his own, having all the native force of a genuine originality. The following incident, of which the narration is believed to be substantially accurate, is from the pen of one who professes to write from personal knowledge. It is given in this connection, as at once illustrating the earlier struggles of Mr. Lincoln in acquiring his profession, the character 51 52 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of his forensic efforts and the generous gratitude and dis- interestedness of his nature. Having chosen the law as his future calling, he devoted himself assiduously to its mastery, contending at every step with adverse fortune. During this period of study he for some time found a home under the hospitable roof of one Armstrong, a farmer, who lived in a log house some eight miles from the village of Petersburg, in Menard county. Here young Lincoln would master his lessons by the firelight of the cabin, and then walk to town for the purpose of recitation. This man Armstrong was himself poor, but he saw the genius struggling in the young student, and opened to liim his rude home, and bid him welcome to his coarse fare. How Lincoln graduated with promise — how he has more than fulfilled that promise — how honor- ably he acquitted himself, alike on the battle-field, in de- fending our border settlements against the ravages of savage foes, and in the halls of our national legislature, are matters of liistory, and need no repetition here. But one Uttle incident, of a more private nature, standing as it does as a sort of sequel to some things already alluded to, I deem worthy of record. Some few years since, the oldest son of IIr. Lincoln's old friend Armstrong,the chief support of his widowed mother— the good old man having some time previously passed from earth — was arrested on the charge of murder. A young man had l^een killed during a riotous melee, in the night-time, at a camp-meeting, and one of his associates stated that the death-wound was inflicted by young Armstrong. A preliminary examination was gone into, at wliich the accuser testified so positively, that there seemed no doubt of the guilt of the prisoner, and therefore he was held for trial. As is too often the case, the bloody act caused an undue degree of excitement in the public mind. Every improper incident in the life of the prisoner Life of Abraham Lincoln. 53 — each act which bore the least semblance of rowdyism — each school-boy quarrel — was suddenly remembered and magnified, until they pictured him as a fiend of the most horrid hue. As these rumors spread abroad, they were received as gospel truth, and a feverish desire for vengeance seized upon the infatuated populace, while only prison bars prevented a horrible death at the hands of a mob. The events were heralded in the newspapers, painted in highest colors, accompanied by rejoicing over the cer- tainty of punishment being meted out to the guilty party. The prisoner, overwhelmed by the circumstances in which he found himself placed, fell into a melancholy condition, bordering upon despair; and the widowed mother, looking through her tears, saw no cause for hope from earthly aid. At this juncture, the widow received a letter from Mr. Lincoln, volunteering his services in an effort to save the youth from the impending stroke. Gladly was his aid ac- cepted, although it seemed impossible for even his sagacity to prevail in such a desperate case; but the heart of the attorney was in his work, and he set about it with a will that knew no such word as fail. Feeling that the poisoned condition of the pubUc mind was such as to preclude the possibihty of impaneling an impartial jury in the court having jurisdiction, he procured a change of venue, and a postponement of the trial. He then went studiously to work unraveling the history of the case, and satisfied liimself that Ms client was the victim of malice, and that the statements of the accuser were a tissue of falsehoods. When the trial was called on, the prisoner, pale and emaciated, with hopelessness wTitten on every feature, and accompanied by his half-hoping, half-despair- ing mother — whose only hope was in a mother's belief of her son's innocence, in the justice of the God she wor- shipped, and in the noble counsel, who, without hope of 54 Life of Abraham Lincoln. fee or reward upon earth, had undertaken the cause — took his seat in the prisoner's box, and with a " stony firm- ness" listened to the reading of the indictment. Lincoln sat quietly by, while the large auditory looked on him as though wondering what he could say in defense of one whose guilt they regarded as certain. The examina- tion of the witnesses for the State was begun, and a well- arranged mass of evidence, circumstantial and positive, was introduced, wliich seemed to impale the prisoner beyond the possibility of extrication. The counsel for the defense propounded but few questions, and those of a character which exited no uneasiness on the part of the prosecutor — merely, in most cases, requiring the main witness to be definite as to time and place. When the evidence of the prosecution was ended, Lincoln intro- duced a few witnesses to remove some erroneous impres- sions in regard to the previous character of his client, who, though somewhat rowdyish, had never been known to commit a vicious act; and to show that a greater degree of ill-feeling existed between the accuser and the accused, than the accused and the deceased. The prosecutor felt that the case was a clear one, and his opening speech was brief and formal. Lincoln arose, wliile a deathly silence pervaded the vast audience, and in a clear but moderate tone began liis argument. Slowly and carefully he re- viewed the testimony, pointing out the hitherto unob- served discrepancies in the statements of the principal witness. That which had seemed plain and plausible, he made to appear crooked as a serpent's path. The witness had stated that the affair took place at a certain hour in the evening, and that, by the aid of the brightly shining moon, ho saw the prisoner inflict the death-blow with a slung-shot. Mr. Lincoln showed, that at the hour re- ferred to, the moon had not yet appeared above the horizon, Life of Abraham Lincoln. 55 and consequently the whole tale was a fabrication. An almost instantaneous change seemed to have been wrought in the minds of liis auditors, and the verdict of "not guilty" was at the end of every tongue. But the advocate was not content with this intellectual achievement. His whole being had for months been bound up in this work of gratitude and mercy, and as the lava of the over-charged crater bursts from its imprisonment, so great thoughts and burning words leaped forth from the soul of the elo- quent Lincoln. He drew a picture of the perjurer, so horrid and ghastly that the accuser could sit under it no longer, but reeled and staggered from the court-room, while the audience fancied they could see the brand upon his brow. Then in words of thrilling pathos, Lincoln appealed to the jurors, as fathers of sons who might become fatherless, and as husbands of wives who might be wid- owed, to yield to no previous impressions, no ill-founded prejudice, but to do his client justice; and as he alluded to the debt of gratitude which he owed the boy's sire, tears were seen to fall from many eyes unused to weep. It was near night when he concluded by saying, that if justice was done — as he believed it would be — before the sun should set it would shine upon his client, a freeman. The jury retired, and the court adjourned for the day. Half an hour had not elapsed, when, as the officers of the court and the volunteer attorney sat at the tea-table of their hotel, a messenger announced that the jury had returned to their seats. All repaired immediately to the court-house, and while the prisoner was being brought from the jail, the court-room was filled to overflowing with citizens of the town. When the prisoner and his mother entered, silence reigned as completely as though the house were empty. The foreman of the jury, in an- swer to the usaal inquiry from the court, delivered the 56 Life of Abraham Lincoln. verdict of "Not Guilty!" The widow dropped into the arms of her son, who lifted her up, and told her to look upon him as before, free and innocent. Then, with the words, "Where is Mr. Lincoln?" he rushed across the room and grasped the hand of his deliverer, wliile his heart was too full for utterance. Lincoln turned his eyes toward the West, where the sun still lingered in view, and then, turn- ing to the youth, said, " It is not yet sundown, and you are free." I confess that my cheeks were not wholly unwet by tears, and I turned from the affecting scene. As I cast a glance behind, I saw Abraham Lincoln obeying the divine injunction, by comforting the widowed and the fatherless. On becoming well established in his profession, Mr. Lincoln took up his permanent residence at Springfield, the county-seat of Sangamon county. This occurred in the spring immediately following the passage of the act removing the State capital to that place, but more than two years before it was to go into effect. The date at which he became settled in Springfield, wliich was ever after the place of liis residence, was April 15, 1837. For several years after his removal, Mr. Lincoln re- mained a bachelor, and an inmate of the family of the Hon. William Butler, in later years the Treasurer of the State. For three or four years he continued to represent his county in the Legislature, but after 1S40, he refused fur- ther public service, with a view to the exclusive pursuit of his profession, the liighcst success in wliich he could not hope to obtain while giving so much of his time, as had been hitherto required of liim, to political affairs. On the 4th of November, 1842, Mr. Lincoln was married to Miss Mary Todd, daughter of the Hon. Robert S. Todd, of Lexington, Kentucky. Tliis lady is one of four sisters, the eldest of whom had previously married the Governor, Ninian W. Edwards, and settled at Springfield. Her two Life of Abraham Lincoln. 57 other sisters, subsequently married, became residents of the same town. Mr. Lincoln's domestic relations were happy, and his devoted attachment to his home and fam- ily was always one of the marked traits of his personal character. Of the four sons born to him, Robert Todd, the oldest, was at school at Exeter Academy, in New Hampsliire, when Mr. Lincoln was first nominated for the Presidency, and soon after entered Harvard Uni- versity, where he completed his course in 1864, when in his twenty-first year. He subsequently filled the office of Secretary of War under Presidents Garfield and Arthur, and represented his country as Minister to England. The second son died when four years old. The third, Willie, died at the White House in 1863, at the age o f twelve years. Thomas, familiarly called "Tad," was two years younger. It is proper to mention that Mrs.Lincoln was a Presby- terian by education and profession (two of her sisters were Episcopalians), and that her husband, though not a mem- ber, was a liberal supporter of the church to which she be- longed. It should further be stated that the Sunday School and other benevolent enterprises associated with these church relations found in him a constant friend. In this quiet domestic happiness, and in the active prac- tice of liis profession, with its round of ordinary duties, and with its exceptional cases of a more general public interest, Mr. Lincoln disappears for a time from political life. Its peculiar excitements, indeed, were not foreign to the stir- ring and adventurous nature wliich, as we have seen, was his by inheritance. Nor could the people, and the party of which he was so commanding a leader, long consent to his retirement. Yet such was liis prudent purpose — now ■especially, with a family to care for — and to this he ad- hered, with only occasional exceptions, until, four years after his marriage, he was elected to Congress. 58 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln had, from his first entrance into political life, recognized Henry Clay as his great leader and instruct- or in statesmanship. His reverence and attachn-.ent for the great Kentuckian had been imlimited and enthusiastic. When, therefore, ]\Ir. Clay had been nominated by acclama- tion for the Presidency by the National Whig Conven- tion, held at Baltimore on the 1st of May, 1844, and when a Democrat of the most offensive school was put in nomina- tion against him, Mr. Lincoln yielded to the demands of the Whigs of Illinois, and, for the first time breaking over the restrictions he had placed upon himself in regard to the exclusive pursuit of his profession, he consented to take a leading position in canvassing the State as an elector. In a State that had stood unshaken in its Democratic position, while so many others had been revolutionized during the great political tempest of 1840, there was, of course, no hope of immediate success. It was deemed an oppor- timity not to be lost, however, for maintaining and strengthening the Wliig organization, and a spirited canvass was subsequently made. On the Democratic side, John C. Calhoun, then one of the strongest and most popular speakers of that party, and in many respects quite another man than he subse- quently became, held the laboring oar for Mr. Polk. Mr. Lincoln traversed various parts of the State, attracting large audiences and keeping their fixed attention for hours, as he held up to adfniration the character and doctrines of Henry Clay, and contrasted them with those of his Presidential opponent. On the tariff question, which was the chief issue in Illinois that year, he was particularly elaborate, strongly enforcing the great principles on which the protective system, as maintained by Clay, was based. He had always a fund of anecdote and illustration, with which to relieve his close logical disquisitions, and to Life of Abraham Lincoln. 59 elucidate and enforce his views in a manner perfectly in- telligible, as well as pleasing to all classes of hearers. This campaign, so barren in immediate results, as it was expected to be in Illinois, was not without its excellent fruits, ultimately, to the party. It had also the effect of establishing Mr. Lincoln's reputation as a political orator, on a still broader and more permanent foundation. From tills time forward he was widely known as one of the soundest and most effective of Whig champions in the West. After doing in Illinois all that could have been required of one man, had this arena been of the most promising de- scription, Mr. Lincoln crossed the Wabash, at the desire of the people of his former State, and contributed largely toward turning the tide of battle for Clay in that really hopeful field. Here he worked most efficiently, losing no opportunity up to the very eve of the election. In In- diana, those efforts were not forgotten, but were freshly called to mind, at a later juncture, by great numbers of Old Whigs in Southern Indiana. If any event, more heartily than another, could have discouraged Mr. Lincoln from again participating in political affairs, it was the disastrous result, in the nation at large, of this canvass of 1S44. He felt it more keenly than he could have done if it were a mere personal reverse. Mr. Clay was defeated, contrary to the ardent hopes and even expectations of his friends down to the last moment. Of the causes and the consequences which followed that event, the impartial historian, at some future day, can more candidly and philosophically speak than any of those who shared in this disappointment. That the election of Mr. Polk over Mr. Clay, made the subsequent political history of our country far different from what it would have been with the opposite result, all will concede. 60 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Two years later, in 1846, Mr. Lincoln was induced to ac- cept the Whig nomination for Congress in the Sangamon District. The annexation of Texas had, in the mean- time, been consummated. The Mexican war had been . begun, and was still in progress. The Whig tariff of 1842 had just been repealed. This latter event had been ac- complished in the Senate by the casting vote of Mr. Dallas, the Vice-President, and with the official approval of Mr. Polk, the President, both of whom had been elected by the aid of Pennsylvania, and had carried the vote of that State solely by being represented to the people as favoring the maintenance of the tariff which they thus destroyed. The Springfield district had given Mr. Clay a majority of 914 in 1844, on the most thorough canvass. It gave Mr. Lincoln a majority of 1,511, wliich was entirely un- precedented, and has been unequalled by that given there for any opposition candidate, for any office since. The near- est approach was in 1848, when General Taylor, on a much fuller vote than that of 1846, and receiving the votes of numerous returned Mexican volunteers, of Democratic faith, and who had served under him in Mexico, obtained a majority of 1,501. Li the same year (1848) Mr. Logan, the popular Whig candidate, was beaten by Colonel Thomas L. Harris, Democrat, by 106 majority. There was no good reason to doubt, in advance, that Mr. Lincoln •would have been elected by a handsome majority, had he consented to run for another term, nor has it been ques- tionable, since the result became known, that the strong personal popularity of Mr. Lincoln would have i saved the district. It was redeemed by Richard Yates in 1850, who carried his election by less than half the majority (754) which Mr. Lincoln had received in 1845. The district, after its reconstruction, following the census of 1850, was for ten years Democratic. Under all the circumstances. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 61 therefore, the vote for Mr. Lincoln was a remarkable one, showing that he possessed a rare degree of strength with the people. His earnest sincerity of manner always strongly impressed those whom he addressed. They knew him to be a man of strong moral convictions. An opponent seemed to intend a sneer at this trait, when he called Mr. Lincoln "conscientious," but it was a quality to which the people were never indifferent. There was a universal confidence in his honest integrity, such as has been rarely extended to men so prominent in political life. The longer he was tried as a public servant, the more his constituents became attached to him. A popularity thus thoroughly grounded is not to be destroyed by the breezes of momentary passion or prejudice, or materially affected by any idle fickleness of the populace. CHAPTER V. Mr. Lincoln in Congress— 1847-'49. Mr. Lincoln took his seat in the National House of Representatives on the 6th day of December, 1847, the date of the opening of the Thirtieth Congress. In many respects this Congress was a memorable one. That which preceded, elected at the same time Mr. Polk was chosen to the Presidency, had been strongly Democratic in both branches. The policy of the Administration, however, had been such, during the first two years of its existence, that a great popular re-action had followed. The present House contained but one hundred and ten Democrats, while the remaining one hundred and eighteen, with the exception of a single Native American from Philadelphia, were nearly all Whigs, the balance being "Free-Soil men, " who mostly co-operated with them. Of these, only Messrs. Giddings, Tuck and Palfrey refused to vote for the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop for Speaker, who was elected on the tliird ballot. At tills session, Stephen A. Douglas took his seat in the Senate, for the first time, having been elected the previous winter. In that body there were but twenty-two Opposition Senators, against thirty-six Democrats. Among the former were Daniel Webster, Wm. L. Dayton, S. S. Phelps, Jolm M. Clayton, Reverdy Johnson, Thomas Corwin, John M. Berrien, and John Bell. On the Demo- cratic side were John C. Calhoun, Thomas H. Benton, Daniel S. Dickenson, Simon Cameron, Hannibal Hamlin, 63 64 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Sam Houston, R. M. T. Hunter, and William R. King. Mr. Lincoln was comparatively quite a young man when he entered the House, yet he was early recognized as one of the foremost of the Western men on the floor. His Congressional record, throughout, is that of a Whig of those days, his votes on all leading national subjects, being invariably what those of Clay, Webster or Corwin would have been, had they occupied his place. One of the most prominent subjects of consideration before the Thirtieth Congress, very naturally, was the then existing war with Mexico. Mr. Lincoln was one of those who believed the Administration had not properly managed its affairs with Mexico at the outset, and who, wliile voting supplies, and for suitably rewarding our gallant soldiers in that war, were unwilling to be forced, by any trick of the supporters of the Administration, into an unqualified indorsement of its course in this affair, from beginning to end. In tliis attitude,'MR. Lincoln did not stand alone. Such was the position of Wliig members in both Houses, without exception. Yet Ms course was unscrupulously misrepresented during the campaign of 1858, as it was more or less on other occasions since. That many men who supported Mr. Lincoln, approved President Polk's course in regard to the Mexican War, as well in its inception as in its management from first to last, is not improbable. But all those, who at that time, were induced by their party relations to sustain the Administration, at heart approved the method in wliich hostilities were precipitated, or felt satisfied that the most commendable motives actuated the Government in its course toward Mexico, is certainly not true. This is not an issue that any existing party need be anxious to resuscitate. Still less would the friends of Mr. Lincoln be reluctant to have his record on tliis question scrutinized to the fullest extent. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 65 Early in the session, after listening to a long homily on the subject from the President, in his annual message, in which the gauntlet was defiantly thrown down before the Opposition members, and after his colleague, Mr. Richard- son, had proposed an unqualified endorsement of the Presi- dent's views, Mr. Lincoln (December 22, 1S47) introduced a series of resolutions of inquiry in regard to the origin of the war. They affirmed nothing, but called for definite offi- cial information, such as, if conclusively furnished in detail, and found to accord with the general asseverations of Mr. Polk's messages, would have set him and his administration entirely right before the country. Either such information was accessible, or the repeated statements of the President on this subject were groundless, and his allegations mere pretenses. If the Democratic party was in the right, it had not the least occasion to complain of this procedure, if pressed to a vote. Mr. Lincoln's preamble and resolu- tions (copied from the Congressional Globe, first session, Thirtieth Congress, page 64) were in the following words: Whereas, The President of the United States, in his message of May 11, 1846, has declared that "the Mexican Government not only refused to receive him (the envoy of the United States), or listen to his propositions, but, after a long-continued series of menaces, has at last invaded our territory, and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil." And again, in liis message of December 8, 1846, that "We had ample cause of war against Mexico long before the breaking out of hostilities ; but even then we forbore to take redress into our own hands until Mexico herself became the aggressor, by invading our soil in hostile array, and shedding the blood of our citizens:" And yet again, in his message of December 7, 1847, that "The Mexican Government refused even to hear the terms 66 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of adjustment which he (our minister of peace) was author- ized to propose, and finally, under wholly unjustifiable pretexts, involved the two countries in war, by invading the territory of the State of Texas, striking the first blow and shedding the blood of our citizens on our own soil:" and. Whereas, This House is desirous to obtain a full knowledge of all the facts which go to establish whether the particular spot on which the blood of our citizens was so shed was or was not at that time "oiu- own soil:" therefore, Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the President of the United States be respectfully requested to inform this House — 1st. Whether the spot on wh'ch the blood of our citizens was shed, as in his message declared, was or was not within the territory of Spain, at least after the treaty of 1819, until the Mexican revolution. 2d. Whether that spot is or is not within the territory which was wrested from Spain by the revolutionary gov- ernment of Mexico. 3d. Whether that spot is or is not within a settlement of people, which settlement has existed ever since long before the Texas revolution, and until its inhabitants fled before the approach of the United States army. 4th. Whether that settlement is or is not isolated from any and all other settlements by the Gulf and the Rio Grande on the south and west, and by wide uninhabited regions on the north and east. 5th. Whether the people of that settlement, or a ma- jority of them, or any of them, have ever submitted them- selves to the government or laws of Texas or of the United States, by consent or by compulsion, either by accepting office, or voting at elections, or paying tax, or ser\'ing on juries, or having process served on them, or in any other way. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 67 6th. Whether the people of that settlement did or did not flee from the approach of the United States army, leaving unprotected their homes and their growing crops, before the blood was shed, as in the messages stated; and whether the first blood so shed, was or was not shed within the inclosure of one of the people who had thus fled from it. 7th. Whether our citizens, whose blood was shed, as in liis messages declared, were or were not, at that time, armed officers and soldiers, sent into that settlement by the military order of the President, through the Secretary of War. 8th. Whether the military force of the United States was or was not so sent into that settlement after General Taylor had more than once intimated to the War Depart- ment that, in his opinion, no such movement was neces- sary to the defense or protection of Texas. These resolutions were laid over, under the rule. Many other propositions, embracing the substance of this ques- tion were also brought before the house, besides Mr. Richardson's, which ultimately failed. Mr. Lincoln did not call up Ms resolutions, nor were they acted upon; but he commented upon them in a speech subsequently made. On the same day almost immediately following the above action, joint resolutions of thanks to General Zachary Taylor and our troops in Mexico, having been offered, an amendment was proposed by Mr. Henley, a Democratic member from Indiana, as an adroit political maneuver, by which it was designed to secure an in- dorsement of the war from the Whigs, or a refusal of the vote of thanks. He moved the addition of this clause to the resolutions: "engaged, as they were, in defending the rights and honor of the nation." As an amendment to the amendment, in order to defeat its underhand purpose, G8 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Ashmun promptly moved to add the words: "In a war unnecessarily and unconstitutionally begun by the President of the United States, " Mr. Lincoln voted for Ashmun's amendment to Henley's amendment. So also did Messrs. Clingman and Barringer, of North Carolina; A. H. Stephens, Robert Toombs and Thomas Butler King, of Georgia; Goggiij, of Virginia; Gentry, of Tennessee ; and a majority of all those voting. The object intended, of defeating the brilliant movement of Mr. Henley, was accomplished. The amendment, as amended, was not carried. The resolutions in their original shape, were sub- sequentty re-introduced by Mr. Stephens, and adopted without opposition. (Congressional Globe, page 304.) On the 12th day of January, 1848, Mr. Lincoln expressed liis views, frankly and fully, in regard to the war With Mexico. It was the first speech made by Mr. Lincoln in Congress, and is subjoined entire, as reported in the Ap- pencUx to the Congressional Globe [1st session, 30th Con- gress, page 93]: Mr. Lincoln's Speech on the Mexican War. (In Committee of the Whole House, January 12, 1848.) Mr. Lincoln addressed the Committee as follows: Mr. Chairman : Some, if not all, of the gentlemen on the other side of the House, who have addressed the Com- mittee within the last two days, have spoken rather com- plainingly, if I have rightly understood them, of the vote given a week or ten days ago, declaring that the war with Mexico was unnecessarily and unconstitutionally com- menced by the President. I admit that such a vote should not be given in mere party wantonness, and that the one given is justly censurable, if it have no other or better foundation. I am one of those who joined in that vote; Life of Abraham Lincoln. 69 and did so under my best impression of the truth of the case. How I got this impression, and how it may possibly be removed I will now try to show. When the war began, it was my opinion that all those who, because of Icnowing too little, or because of knowing too much, could not con- scientiously approve the conduct of the President (in the beginning of it), should, nevertheless, as good citizens and patriots, remain silent on that point, at least till the war should be ended. Some leacUng Democrats, including ex-President Van Buren, have taken this same view, as I understand them; and I adhered to it, and acted upon it, until since I took my seat here; and I think I should still adhere to it, were it not that the President and his friends will not allow it to be so. Besides, the continual effort of the President to argue every silent vote given for supplies into an indorsement of the justice and wisdom of his conduct; besides that singularly candid paragraph in his late message, in wliich he tells us that Congress with great unanimity (only two in the Senate and fourteen in the House dissenting) had declared that "by the act of the Republic of Mexico a state of war exists between that Government and the United States;" when the same journals that informed him of this, also informed him that when that declaration stood disconnected from the ques- tion of supplies, sixty-seven in the House, and not fourteen merely, voted against it; besides this open attempt to prove by telling the truth, what he could not prove by telling the whole truth, demanding of all who will not sub- mit to be misrepresented, in justice to themselves, to speak out; besides all this, one of my colleagues (Mr. Richardson), at a very early day in the session, brought in a set of resolutions, expressly indorsing the original justice of the war on the part of the President. Upon these resolutions, when they shall be put upon their passage 70 Life of Abraham Lincoln. I shall be compelled to vote; so that I cannot be silent if I would. Seeing this, I went about preparing myself to give the vote understandingly, when it should come. I carefully examined the President's messages, to ascertain what he himself had said and proved upon the point. The result of this examination was to make the impression, that, taking for true all the President states as facts, he falls far short of proving his justification; and that the President would have gone farther with his proof, if it had not been for the small matter that the truth would not permit him. Under the impression thus made I gave the vote before mentioned. I propose now to give, concisely, the process of the examination I made, and how I reached the conclusion I did. The president, in his first message of May, 1846, declares that the soil was ours on which hostilities were commenced by Mexico, and he repeats that declaration, almost in the same language, in each successive annual message — thus showing that he esteems that point a higlily essential one. In the importance of that point I entirely agree with the President. To my judgment it is the very point upon which he should be justified or condemmed. In his message of December, 1846, it seems to have occurred to him, as is certainly true, that title ownersliip to soil, or to any- thing else, is not a simple fact, but is a conclusion following one or more simple facts, and that it was incumbent upon him to present the facts from wliich he concluded the soil was ours on wliich the first blood of the war was shed. Accordingly, a little below the middle of page twelve in the message last referred to, he enters upon that task ; form- ing an issue and introducing testimony, extending the ■whole to a little below the middle of page fourteen. Now, I propose to try to show that the whole of this — issue and evidence — is, from beginning to end, the sheerest decep- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 71 tion. The issue, as he presents it, is in these words: "but there are those who, conceding all this to be true, assume the ground that the true western boundary of Texas is the Nueces, instead of the Rio Grande; and that, therefore, in marching our army to the east bank of the latter river, we passed the Texan Hne, and invaded the territory of Mexico. " Now, this issue is made up of two aflfirmatives and no negatives. The main deception of it is, that it assumes as true that one river or the other is necessarily the boundary, and cheats the superficial thinker entirely out of the idea that possibly the boundary is somewhere between the two, and not actually at either. A further deception is, that it will let in evidence which a true issue would exclude. A true issue made by the President would be about as follows: " I say the soil was ours on which the first blood was shed; there are those who say it was not. " I now proceed to examine the President's evidence, as applicable to such an issue. When that evidence is ana- lyzed, it is all included in the following propositions: ' 1. That the Rio Grande was the western boundary of Louisiana, as we purchased it from France in 1803. 2. That the Republic of Texas always claimed the Rio Grande as her western boundary. 3. That by various acts, she had claimed it on paper. 4. That Santa Anna, in his treaty with Texas, recog- nized the Rio Grande as her boundary. 5. That Texas before, and the United States after, an- nexation, had exercised jurisdiction beyond the Nueces, between the two rivers. 6. That our Congress understood the boundary of Texas to extend beyond the Nueces. Now for each of these in its turn. His first item is, that the Rio Grande was the western boundary of Louisiana, as we purchased it of France in 72 Life of Abraham Lincoln. 1803; and, seeming to expect this to be disputed, he argues over the amount of nearly a page to prove it true ; at the end of which, he lets us know that, by the treaty of 1819, we sold to Spain the whole country, from the Rio Grande eastward to the Sabine. Now, admitting for the present, that the Rio Grande was the boundary of Louisiana what, imder heaven, had that to do with the present boundary between us and ]\Iexico? How, Mr. Chairman, the Une that once divided your land from mine can still be the boundary between us after I have sold my land to you, is, to me, beyond all comprehension. And how any man, with an honest purpose only of proving the truth, could ever have thought of introducing such a fact to prove such an issue, is equally incomprehensible. The outrage upon common right, of seizing as our own what we have once sold, merely because it was ours before we sold it, is only equalled by the outrage on common sense of any attempt to justify it. The President's next piece of evidence is, that "The RepubUc of Texas always claimed this river (Rio Grande) as her western boundary." That is not true, in fact. Texas has claimed it, but she has not always claimed it. There is, at least, one distinguished exception. Her State Constitution — the public's most solemn and well-con- sidered act; that wliich may, ^vithout impropriety, be called her last wall and testament, revoking all others — make no such claim. But suppose she had always claimed it? Has not Mexico always claimed the contrary? So that there is but claim against claim, leaving nothing proved until we get back of the claims, and find wliich has the better foundation. Though not in the order in which the President presents liis evidence, I now consider that class of his statements, which are, in substance, nothing more than that Texas Life of Abraham Lincoln. • 73 has, by various acts of her Convention and Congress, claimed the Rio Grande as her boundary — on paper. I mean here what he says about the fixing of the Rio Grande as her boundary, in her own Constitution (not her State Constitution), about forming congressional districts, coun- ties, etc. Now, all this is but naked claim; and what I have already said about claims is strictly applicable to this. If I should claim your land by word of mouth, that certainly would not make it mine, and if I were to claim it by a deed which I had made myself, and with which you had nothing to do, the claim would be quite the same in sub- stance, or rather in utter nothingness. I next consider -the President's statement that Santa Anna, in his treaty with Texas, recognized the Rio Grande as the Western boundary of Texas. Besides the position so often taken, that Santa Anna, while a prisoner of war — a captive — could not bind Mexico by a treaty, which I deem conclusive; besides this; I wish to say something in rela- tion to this treaty, so called by the President, wi1,h Santa Anna. If any man would like to be amused by a sight at that little thing, wliich the President calls by that hig name, he can have it by turning to Nile's register, volume 50, page 336. And if any one should suppose that Niles' Register is a curious repository of so mighty a document as a solemn treaty between nations, I can only say that I learned, to a tolerable degree of certainty, by inquiry at the State Department, that the President himself never saw it anywhere else. By the way, I believe, I should not err if I were to declare, that during the first ten years of the existence of that document, it was never by anybody called a treaty; that it was never so called till the President, in his extremity, attempted, by so calling it, to wring something from it in justification to himself in connection with the Mexican war. It has none of the distinguishing 74 Life of Abraham Lincoln. features of a treaty. It does not call itself a treaty. Santa Anna does not therein assume to bind Mexico; he assumes only to act as President, Commander in-Chief of the Mexi- can army and navy; stipulates that the then present hos- tilities should cease, and that he would not himself take up arms, nor influence the Mexican people to take up arms, against Texas, during the existence of the war of Indepen- dence. He did not recognize the independence of Texas, he did not assume to put an end to the war, but clearly indicated his expectation of its continuance; he did not say one word about boundary, and most probably never thought of it. It is stipulated therein, that the Mexican forces should evacuate the territory of Texas, 'passing to the other side of the Rio Grande; and in another article it is stipulated, that to prevent collisions between the armies, the Texan army should not approach nearer than within five leagues — of what is not said — but clearly, from the object stated, it is of the Rio Grande. Now, if this is a treaty recognizing the Rio Grande as the boundary of Texas, it contains the singular feature of stipulating that Texas shall not go within five leagues of Jier own boundary. Next comes the evidence of Texas before annexation, and the United States afterward, exercising jurisdiction beyond the Nueces, and between the two rivers. This actual exercise of jurisdiction is the very class or quality of evidence we want. It is excellent so far as it goes; but does it go far enough? He tells us it went beyond the Nueces, but he does not tell us it went to the Rio Grande. He tells us jurisdiction was exercised between the two rivers, but he does not tell us it was exercised over all the territory between them. Some simple-minded people think it possible to cross one river and go beyond it, without going all the way to the next; that jurisdiction may be exer- cized between two rivers without covering all the country Life of Abraham Lincoln. 75 between them. I know a man, not very unlike myself, who exercises jurisdiction over a piece of land between the Wabash and the Mississippi; and yet so far is tliis from being all there is between those rivers, that it is just one hundred and fifty-two feet long by fifty wide, and no part of it much within a hundred miles of either. He has a neighbor between him and the Mississippi— that is, just across the street, in that direction— whom, I am sure, he could neither persuade nor force to give up his habitation ; but which, nevertheless, he could certainly armex, if it were to be done, by merely stancUng on his own side of the street and claiming it, or even sitting down and writing a deed for it. But next, the President tells us the Congress of the United States understood the State of Texas they admitted into the Union to extend beyond the Nueces. Well, I sup- pose they did— I certainly so understand it— but how far beyond? That Congress did not understand it to extend clear to the Rio Grande, is quite certain by the fact of their joint resolutions for admission, expressly leaving all ques- tions of boundary to futiu-e adjustment. And, it may be added, that Texas herself is proved to have had the same understanding of it that our Congress had, by the fact of the exact conformity of ther new Constitution to those reso- lutions. I am now through the whole of the President's evidence; and it is a singular fact, that if any one should declare the President sent the army into the midst of a settlement of Mexican people, who had never submitted, by consent or by force to the authority of Texas or of the United States, and that there, and thereby, the first blood of the war was shed, there is not one word in all the President has said which would either admit or deny the declaration. In this strange omission chiefly consists the deception of the Presi- 76 Life of Abraham Lincoln. dent's evidence — an omission which, it does seem to me, could scarcely have occurred but by design. My way of living leads me to be about the courts of justice; and there I have sometimes seen a good lawyer struggling for his client's neck, in a desperate case, emplojdng every artifice to work round, befog, and cover up with many words some position pressed upon him by the prosecution, which he dared not admit, and yet could not deny. Party bias may help to make it appear so; but with all the allowance I can make for such bias, it still does appear to me that just such, and from just such necessity, are the President's struggles in this case. Some time after my colleague (Mr. Richardson) intro- duced the resolutions I have mentioned, I introduced a preamble, resolution, and interrogatories, intended to draw the President out, if possible, on this hitherto un- trodden ground. To show their relevancy, I proposed to state my understanding of the true rule for ascertaining the boundary between Texas and Mexico. It is, that vJierever Texas was exercising jurisdiction was heT»; and wherever Mexico was exercising jurisdiction was hers; and that whatever separated the actual exercise of jurisdiction of the one from that of the other, was the true boundary between them. If, as is probably true, Texas was exercising jurisdic- tion along the western bank of the Nueces, and Mexico was exercising it along the eastern bank of the Rio Grande, then neither river was the boimdary, but the uninhabited country between the two was. The extent of our territory in that region depended not on any treaty-fixed boundary (for no treaty had attempted it), but on revolution. Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing govern- ment, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right — a right which, we Life of Abraham Lincoln. 77 hope and believe, is to liberate the world. Nor is this right confined to cases in wliich the whole people of an existing government may choose to exercise it. Any por- tion of such people that can may revolutionize, and make their own of so much of the territory as they inhabit. More than this, a majority of any portion of such people may revolutionize, putting down a minority, intermingled with, or near about them, who may oppose their move- ments. Such minority was precisely the case of the Tories of our own Revolution. It is a quaUty of revolu- tions not to go by old lines, or old laws; but to break up both, and make up new ones. As to the country now in question, we bought it of France in 1803, and sold it to Spain in 1819, according to the President's statement. After this, all Mexico, including Texas, revolutionized against Spain ; and still later, Texas revolutionized against Mexico. In my view, just so far as she carried her revolu- tion, by obtaining the actual, willing or unwilling submis- sion of the people, so far the country was hers, and no further. Now, sir, for the purpose of obtaining the very best evi- dence as to whether Texas had actually carried her revolu- tion to a place where the hostilities of the present war com- menced, let the President answer the interrogatories I proposed, as before mentioned, or some other similar ones. Let him answer fully, fairly and candidly. Let him an- swer with facts, and not with arguments. Let liim re- member he sits where Washington sat; and so remember- ing, let him answer as Washington would answer. As a nation should not, and the Ahnighty will not, be evaded, so let him attempt no evasion, no equivocation. And if, so answering, he can show that the soil was ours where the first blood of the war was shed — that it was not within an inhabited country, or, if within such, that the inhabitants 78 Life of Abraham Lincoln. had submitted themselves to the civil authority of Texas, or of the United States, and that the same is true of the site of Fort Brown — then I am with him for his justification. In that case, I shall be most happy to reverse the vote I gave the other day. I have a selfish motive for desiring that the President may do tliis; I expect to give some votes, in connection with the war, wliich, without his so doing, will be of doubtful propriety in my own judgment, but which will be free from the doubt, if he does so. But if he can not or will not do this — if, on any pretense, or no pretense, he shall refuse or omit it — then I shall be fully convinced, of what I more than suspect already, that he is deeply conscious of being in the wrong; that he feels the blood of tins war, like the blood of Abel, is crying to heaven against liim; that he ordered General Taylor into the midst of a peaceful Mexican settlement, purposely to bring on a war; that originally having some strong motive — what I will not stop now to give my opinion concerning — to involve the two countries in a war, and trusting to es- cape scrutiny by fixing the public gaze upon the exceeding brightness of military glory — that attractive rainbow that rises in showers of blood — that serpent's eye that charms to destroy — he plunged into it, and has swept on and on, till, disappointed in his calculation of the ease with which Mexico might be subdued, he now finds himself he knows not where. How like the half insane mumbling of a fever dream is the whole war part of the late message ! At one time telling us that Mexico has notliing whatever that we can get but territory ; at another, showing us how we can support the war by levying contributions on Mexico. At one time urging the national honor, the security of tlie future, the prevention of foreign interference, and even the good of Mexico herself, as among the objects of the war; at another, telUng us that, "to reject indemnity by refus- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 79 ing to accept a cession of territory, would be to abandon all our just demands, and to wage the war, bearing all its ex- penses, without a purpose or definite object. " So, then, the national honor, security of the future, and ever)d;hing but territorial indemnity, may be coiisidered the no purposes and indefinite objects of the war! But having it now settled that territorial indemnity is the only object, we are urged to seize by legislation here, all that he was content to take a few months ago, and the whole province of Lower CaUfornia to boot, and to still carry on the war — to take all we are fighting for, and still fight on. Again, the Presi- dent is resolved, under all circumstances, to have full terri- torial indemnity for the expenses of the war; but he forgets to tell us how we are to get the excess after those expenses shall have surpassed the value of the whole of the Mexican territory. So, again, he insists that the separate national existence of Mexico shall be maintained; but he does not tell us how this can be done after we have taken all her territory. Lest the questions I here suggest be considered speculative merely, let me be indulged a moment in trying to show they are not. The war has gone on some twenty months; for the ex- penses of which, together with an inconsiderable old score, the President now claims about one-half of the Mexican territory, and that by far the better half, so far as concerns our ability to make anytliing out of it. It is comparatively uninhabited; so that we could establish land offices in it, and raise some money in that way But the other half is already inhabited, as I understand it, tolerably densely for the nature of the country; and all its lands, or all that are valuable, already appropriated as private property. How, then, are we to make anything out of these lands with this incumbrance upon them, or how remove the in- cumbrance? I suppose no one will say we should kill the 80 Life of Abraham Lincoln. people, or drive them out, or make slaves of them, or even confiscate their property! How, then, can we make much out of this part of the territory? If the prosecution of the war has, in expenses, already equaled the better half of the country, how long its future prosecution will be in equahng the less valuable half is not a speculative but a practical question, pressing closely upon us ; and yet it is a question which the President seems never to have thought of. As to the mode of terminating the war and securing peace, the President is equally wandering and indefinite. First, it is to be done by a more vigorous prosecution of the war in the vital parts of the enemy's country; and, after apparently talking himself tired upon this point, the President drops down into a half-despairing lone, and tells us that, "with a people distracted and cU\'ided by contending factions, and a government subject to constant changes; by successive revolutions, the continued success of our arms may jail to ohtaiii a satisfactory peace. " Then he suggests the propriety of wheedling the Mexican people to desert the counsels of their own leaders, and, trusting in our protection, to set up a government from which we can secure a satisfactory peace, telling us that " this may become the only mode of obtaining such a peace. " But soon he falls into doubt of this, too, and then drops back on to the already half-abandoned ground of "more \-igorous prosecution. " All this shows that the President is in no wise satisfied with his oasti positions. First, he takes up one, and, in attempting to argue us into it, he argues himself out of it; then seizes another, and goes through the same process; and then, confused at being able to think of nothing new, he snatches up the old one again, which he has some time before cast off. His mind, tasked be- yond its power, is running hither and thither, Hke some tortured creature on a burning surface, finding no position on which it can settle dowm and be at ease. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 81 Again, it is a singular omission in tiiis message that it nowhere intimates when the President expects the war to terminate. At its beginning, General Scott was, by this same • President, driven into disfavor, if not disgrace, for intimating that peace could not be conquered in less than three or four months. But now at the end of about twenty months, during which time our arms have given us the most splendid successes — every department, and every part, land and water, officers and privates, regulars and volunteers, doing all that men could do, and hundreds of things which it had ever before been thought that men could not do; after all this, this same President gives us a long message without showing us that, as to the eiid, he has himself even an imaginary conception. As I have before said, he knows not where he is. He is a bewildered, con- founded, and mis'erably perplexed man. God grant he may be able to show that there is not something about his conscience more painful than all his mental perplexity. Mr. Lincoln was an industrious member of the Com- mittee on Post-offices, and Post-roads, and thoroughly acquainted himself with the details of that prominent branch of the public service. On the 5th of January, 1848, he made a clear and pertinent speech in regard to a question of temporary interest which then excited con- siderable attention, the "Great Southern Mail" contract. Some of the Virginia Whig members had taken issue with the Postmaster-General, in regard to his action on this question, and there were indications of an attempt to give a partisan turn to the affair, Mr. Lincoln sustained the action of that Democratic official, insisting that his con- struction of the law in this instance, which was the more economical, was also the more correct one. The subject of internal improvements, as before indi- cated, had long been one in which Mr. Lincoln had taken 82 Life of Abraham Lincoln. a special interest. In the Illinois Legislature, he had favored the policy of developing the resources of the State by the fostering aid of the local government, in so far as he might, under the constant restraints of a Democratic majority. The great River and Harbor Improvement Convention, held at Chicago, not long before the com- mencement of his Congressional Hfe, he had particapated in, as one of its most active and earnest members. A brief, fifteen-minute speech of his on that occasion, of which there appears to be no report extant, is still remem- bered by many of those who heard it, as one of the most eloquent and impressive efforts of that memorable con- vention, wliich was presided over by the Hon. Edward Bates, of St. Louis. Aside from the celebrated speech of the latter, a theme of constant praise from that day to the present, no more electrifying address was made before the convention than that of Mr. Lincoln. The first session of the Thirtieth Congress was prolonged far beyond the date of the Presidential nominations of 1848, and the canvass was actively carried on by members on the floor of the House. Mr. Lincoln warmly sustained the nomination of General Taylor, and before the adjourn- ment of Congress, he made, in accordance with precedent and general practice, one of his characteristic campaign speeches. He was able to give as well as take. He said some things in a vein of sarastic humor, wliich could only have been mistaken for actual bitterness, by those who did not know the really genial character of the man. Argu- ment, ridicule and illustrative anecdotes were brought into requisition, with great ability and unsparing boldness, in setting the real issues of the canvass, political and personal in what he deemed a proper light before the people. This session of Congress came to a close on the 14th day of August. The chief points of Mr. Lincoln's Congres- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 83 sional record, thus far, have been noticed, and his principal speeches given at length. He stood firmly by the side of John Quincy Adamg, in favor of the unrestricted right of petition, as will be seen by liis vote, among others, against laying on the table a petition presented by Caleb B. Smith (December 27, 1847), praying for the abolition of slavery and the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. He favored a liberal policy toward the people in disposing of the public lands, as indicated by his imperfectly reported remarks, (May 11, 1848), at the time of the passing of the bill admitting Wisconsin into the Union as a State. He was careful to scrutinize particular claims, to satisfy Avhich he was asked to vote for an appropriation, as in the case of the proposition to pay the Texas volunteers for lost horses (May 4, 1848). All his acts show a purpose to do his duty to the country, no less than to lais immediate constituents, without fear or favor. After the session closed, Mr Lincoln made a visit to New England, where he delivered come effective campaign speeches, which were enthusiastically received by his large audiences, as appears from the reports in the journals of those days, and as will be remembered by many. His time, however, was chiefly given, during the Congressional recess, to the canvass in the West, where, through the personal strength of Mr. Cass as a Northwestern man, the contest was more severe and exciting than in any other part of the country. The final triumph of General Taylor, over all the odds against him, did much to counterbalance, in Mr. Lincoln's mind, the disheartening defeat of four years previous. As before stated, he had declined to be a candidate for re-election to Congress, yet he had the satis- faction of aiding to secure, in his own district, a majority of 1,500 for the Whig Presidential candidates. Mr. Lincoln again took his seat in the House in Decem- 84 Life of Abraham Lincoln. ber, on the re-assembling of the Thirtieth Congress for its second session. Coming between the Presidential election, which had effected a political revolution, and the inaugura- tion of the new Government, this session was generally a quiet one, passing away without any very important measure of general legislation being acted upon. A calm had followed the recent storms. There were, indeed, certain movements in regard to slavery and the slave-trade in the District of Columbia, which produced some temporary excitement, but resulted in no serious commotion. On the 21st of December, Mr. Gott, a representative from New York, introduced a resolution, accompanied by a strong preamble, instructing the Committee on the District of Columbia to report a bill prohibiting the slave-trade in the District. The language used was as follows : Whereas, The traffic now prosecuted in this metropolis of the Republic in human beings, as chattels, is contrary to natural justice and the fundamental principles of our political system, and is notoriously a reproach to our country throughout Christendom, and a serious hindrance to the progress of republican liberty among the nations of the earth; therefore: Resolved, That the Committee for the District of Co- lumbia be instructed to report a bill, as soon as practicable, prohibiting the slave-trade in said District. Mr. Haralson, of Georgia, moved to lay the same on the table, and the yeas and nays were taken on his motion. Mr. Lincoln, Joseph R. Ingersoll, Richard W. Thompson, and George G. Dunn, were nearly or quite the only Northern Whigs who voted in the affirmative. The motion was lost, and the resolution, under pressure of the previous question, was adopted, ninety-eight to eighty-eight. Mr. Lincoln voting in the negative. A motion to re-consider this vote came up for action on the 27th of the same month. A Life of Abraham Lincoln. 85 motion to lay on the table the motion to re-consider having been lost, (yeas 58, nays 107, Mr. Lincoln voting in the negative) , the subject was postoned until the 10th of Jan- uary. At that date, Mr. Lincoln read a substitute which he proposed to offer for the resolution, in case of a re-con- sideration. This substitute contained the form of a bill enacting that no person not already in the District should be held in slavery therein, and providing for the gradual emancipation of the slaves already within the District, with compensation to the owners, if a majority of the legal voters of the District should assent to the act at an election to be holden for the purpose. It made an exception of the right of citizens of the slaveholding States, coming to the District on pubhc business, "be attended into and out of said District, and while there, by the neces- sary servants of themselves and their families." These were the chief provisions of the measure contemplated by Mr. Lincoln, which compared favorably with the act prohibiting the slave-trade in the District, included among the Compromise measures of 1850. With the termination of the Thirtieth Congress, by Con- stitutional limitation, on the 4th of March, 1849, Mr. Lincoln's career as a Congressman came to a close. He had refused to be a candidate for re-election in a district that had given liim over 1,500 majority in 1846, and nearly the same to General Taylor, as the Whig candidate for the Presidency in 1848. His name was prominently presented for the position of Commissioner of the General Land OfEce, under President Taylor, but, though he zealously labored to bring in the new Administration, he made no complaint, and certainly did not afterward seriously regret that liis valued services were not thus recognized. He retired once more to private life, renewing the professional practice, which had been temporarily interrupted by his 86 Life of Abraham Lincoln. public emplo5mient. The duties of his responsible position had been discharged with assiduity and with fearless ad- herence to his convictions of right under whatever circum- stances. Scarcely a list of yeas and nays can be found, for either session, which does not contain his name. He was never conveniently absent on any critical vote. He never shrank from any responsibility which his sense of justice impelled liim to take. His record, comparatively brief as it is, is no doubtful one, and will bear the closest scrutiny. And, though one of the youngest and most inexperienced members of an uncommonly able and bril- liant Congress, he might well have been ranked, without the more recent events wliich have naturally followed upon his previous career, among the distinguished statesmen of the Thirtieth Congress. CHAPTER VI. Professional Life — The Anti-Nebraskan Canvass — 1845-1854. During the five years immediately following the close of his Congressional life, Mr. Lincoln attentively pursued his profession of the law. He took no active part in politics through the period of General Taylor's administration, or in any of the exciting scenes of 1850. His great political leader, Henry Clay, had resumed liis place in the Senate, and was earnestly striving— one of the last great labors of his life— to avert the dangers of the country, which he be- lieved to be threatened by the fierce contests over the ques- tions of salvery. It was, with the slave States, a desperate struggle to retain the balance of power in the Senate, by rejecting the application of another free State for admis- sion, the granting of which would destroy the exact equilib- rium then existing. The policy of admitting a slave State along with every free one, had substantially prevailed for years; but, at this time, despite the extensive additions of Mexican territory, there was no counterbalancing slave State ready for admission. The exclusion of slavery from California had, in fact, been rather a surprise, and this application was evidently still more an irritating circum- stance for that reason. And yet this movement was in strict accordance with the policy of a Southern President. As a final result, the admission of California was only car- ried by means of great counterbalancing concessions on the 87 88 Life of Abraham Lincoln. part of the free States. For months after there was much discontent in both sections, in regard to the compromise measures of 1850, which were defeated in Congress, when first acted upon as a whole, but were ultimately carried in detail. It was not until 1852, when both the great parties of the country agreed to accept those measures as a "final settlement" of the slavery controversy, that public senti- ment. North and South, appeared to have become fully reconciled to this adjustment. The Administration, brought into power by the election of that year, was most thoroughly and sacredly committed to the maintenance of this settlement, and against the revival of a slavery agita- tion in any form. To introduce the subject under any pre- tence, into the halls of Congress, was an act of wanton in- cendiarism, in utter disregard of most solemn pledges, by the aid of which the Democratic party had secured whatever real hold it had upon popular confidence. Such was the state of affairs in 1852, and at the time of j\Ir. Pierce's in- auguration in 1853. Mr. Lincoln, as a private citizen, engrossed with his pro- fessional duties, had borne no part in the original contro- versy, and had taken no share in its settlement. Whether preferring the non-intervention policy of President Taylor, or the compromise course of Clay and Fillmore, he had un- doubtedly regarded the peace established, by means of the latter, as one that ought by all means to be preserved, and the pledges of both sections of the country, through the action of both the national parties, as religiously bind- ing upon every public man who had openly or tacitly assented thereto. That he approved all the details of tliis compromise is not probable. But that, if faithfully ad- hered to, the practical results would have been satisfactory, he was undoubtedly convinced. The introduction of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, in 1854, Life op Abraham Lincoln. 89 in the midst of this profound peace on the slavery question, was "the alarm of the fire-bell at night" wliich startled Mr. Lincoln in the repose of his private life, and showed that the incendiary had but too successfully been at his work. The solemn pledge of peace had been violated by the very men who were most forward in making it, and most noisy in their professions of a desire that the slavery conflict should cease. These events called forth Mr'. Lincoln once more to do battle for the right. He entered into the canvass of 1854, as one of the most active leaders of the "Anti-Nebraska" movement. He addressed the people repeatedly from the stump, with all his characteristic earnestness and energy. He met and cowed the author of the " Nebraska iniquity, " in the presence of the masses, and powerfully aided in effecting the remarkable political changes of that year in Illinois. Mr. Douglas visited several parts of the State, vainly attempting, by ingenious but ophistical addresses to the people to avert the impending revolution. Mr. Lincoln met him in debate at Springfield, during the time of the State Fair, early in October, 1854, and the encounter was a memorable one in the great campaign then in progress. They met a few days later at Peoria, where Mr. Douglas had no better fortune. Subsequently to that encounter, he showed a decided preference for speaking at other times and places than Mr. Lincoln did. A United States Senator, to succeed General Shields on the 4th of March, 1855, was to be chosen by this Legisla- ture. For the first time in the history of Illinois, the elec- tion of an anti-Democratic Senator was within the reach of possibility. Mr. Lincoln was the first choice of the great mass of the Opposition for this position. From his prominence, for a long time, in the old Whig party, it was 90 Life of Abraham Lincoln. but natural that a portion of the members having Demo- cratic antecedents who had come into the new organization, should hesitate to give Mr. Lincoln their votes. This was especially true of the three Senators above named as hold- ing over, they having been elected as regular Democrats. LTnder this state of tilings, it was manifest, after a few ballots, that, with the close vote in joint convention the election of a Democrat, not to be certainly relied on as an opponent of the Douglas poUcy, and at best unconamitted in regard to the new party organization, might be the re- sult of adhering to Mr. Lincoln. He, accordingly, with the self-sacrificing disposition which had always charac- terized him, promptly appealed to his Whig friends to go over in a solid body to Mr. Trumbull, a man of Democratic antecedents, who could command the full vote of the Anti- Nebraska Democrats. By these earnest and disinterested efforts, the difficult task was accomplished, great as was the sacrifice of personal feeling wliich it cost the devoted friends of Mr. Lincoln. On the part of himself and them, it involved the exercise of a degree of self-denial and mag- nanimity, as rare as it was noble. It demonstrated their honest attaclmient to the great cause for which old party lines had been abandoned, and in their sincere purpose of thoroughly ignoring all differences founded on mere partisan prejudice. It cemented the union of these Anti-Nebraska elements, and consolidated the new organization into a permanent party. The joint convention for electing a United States Senator met on the 8th day of February, 1855. On the first ballot, James Shields, then Senator, who had been induced by Douglas, against his own better judgment, to vote for the Kansas-Nebraska bill, received 41 votes, and three other Democrats had one vote each. Abraham Lincoln had 45 votes, Lyman Trumbull 5, Mr. Koerner 2, and there were Life or Abraham Lincoln. 91 three other scattering votes. On the seventh ballot, the Democratic vote was concentrated upon Governor Matteson with two exceptions, and he received also the votes of two Anti-Nebraska Democrats, making 44 in all. On the tenth ballot, Mr. Trumbull was elected, in the way just explained, receiving 51 votes, and Mr. Matteson 47. Every Whig vote but one was given to Mr. Trumbull. Mr. Lincoln took an active part in the formation of the Republican party as such. The State Convention of that organization, which met at Bloomington, on the 29th of May, 1S56, sent delegates to the Philadelphia Convention of that year, held for the nomination of Presidential can- didates. Mr. Lincoln labored earnestly during the campaign, sustaining the nomination of Fremont and Dayton. In the State canvass, Colonel WiUiam H. Bissell received the united support of the Opposition for Governor, and was elected by a decisive majority. On the Presidential candi- dates, there being, unfortunately, two tickets in the field, the divided Opposition were unsuccessful, although Fre- mont, in spite of the heavy Fillmore vote, ran so closely upon Buchanan that the result was for a time in doubt, and only the nearly solid vote of "Egypt" decided the result in favor of the latter. The untiring exertions of Mr. Lincoln on the stump, in enlightening the people as to the real issues involved, did much toward securing tliis re- markable vote. 92 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Speech of Mr. Lincoln, in reply to Mr. Douglas, on IViVNSAS, THE DrED ScOTT DECISION, AND THE Utah Question. {Delivered at Springfield, Illinois, June 26, 1857.) Fellow-Citizens: I am here to-night, partly by in- vitation of some of you, and partly by my own inclination. Two weeks ago Judge Douglas spoke here on the several subjects of Kansas, the Dred Scott decision, and Utah. I listened to the speech at the time, and have read the report of it since. It was intended to controvert opinions which I think just, and to assail (politically, not personally) those men who, in common with me, entertain those opinions. For this reason, I wished then, and still wish to make some answer to it, which I now take the opportunity of doing. I begin with Utah. If it prove to be true, as is probable, that the people of Utah are in open rebellion against the United States, then Judge Douglas is in favor of repealing their territorial organization, and attaching them to the adjoining States for judicial purposes. I say, too, if they are in rebellion, they ought to be somehow coerced to obedi- ence; and I am not now prepared to admit or deny, that the Judge's mode of coercing them is not as good as any. The Republicans can fall in with it, without taking back anything they have ever said. To be sure, it would be a considerable backing down by Judge Douglas, from his much vaunted doctrine of self-government for the terri- tories; but this is only additional proof of what was very plain from the beginning, that the doctrine was a mere deceitful pretence for the benefit of slavery. Those who could not see that much in the Nebraska act itself, which forced Governors, and Secretaries, and Judges on the people of the Territories, without their choice or consent, could not be made to see, though one should rise from the dead. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 93 But in all this, it is very plain the Judge evades the only- question the Republicans have ever pressed upon the Democracy in regard to Utah. The question the Judge well knew to be tliis: "If the people of Utah shall peacefully form a State Constitution tolerating poligamy, will the Democracy admit them into the Union? " There is nothing in the United States Constitution or law against poligamy; and why is it not a part of the Judge's "sacred right of self- government" for the people to have it, or rather to keep it, if they choose? These questions, so far as I know, the Judge never answers. It might involve the Democracy to answer them either way, and they go unanswered. As to Kansas. The substance of the Judge's speech on Kansas is an effort to put the Free State men in the wrong for not voting at the election of delegates to the Constitu- tional Convention. He says; "There is every reason to hope and beUeve that the law will be fairly interpreted and impartially executed, so as to insure to every bona fide inhab- itant the free and quiet exercise of the elective franchise. " It appears extraordinary that Judge Douglas should make such a statement. He knows that, by the law, no one can vote who has not been registered; and he knows that the Free State men place their refusal to vote on the ground that but few of them have been registered. It is possible this is not true, but Judge Douglas knows it is asserted to be true in letters, newspapers and public speeches, and borne by every mail, and blown by every breeze, to the eyes and ears of the world. He knows it is boldly declared, that the people of many whole counties, and many whole neighborhoods in others, are left un- registered; yet, he does not venture to contradict the de- claration, or to point out how they can vote without being registered; but he just slips along, not seeming to know there is any such question of fact, and complacently de- 94 Life of Abraham Lincoln. dares, "There is every reason to hope and believe that the law will be fairly and impartially executed, so as to insure to every bona fide inhabitant the free and quiet exercise of the elective francliise. " I readily agree that if all had a chance to vote, they ought to have voted. If, on the contrary, as they allege, and Judge Douglas ventures not particularly to contradict, few only of the Free State men had a chance to vote, they were perfectly right in staying from the polls in a body. By the way, since the Judge spoke, the Kansas election has come off. The Judge expressed his confidence that all the Democrats in Kansas would do their duty— including "Free State Democrats" of course. The returns received here, as yet, are very incomplete; but, so far as they go, they indicate that only about one-sixth of the registered voters have really voted; and this, too, when not more, perhaps, than one-half of the rightful voters have been registered, thus showing the thing to have been altogether the most exquisite farce ever enacted. I am watching with considerable interest, to ascertain what figm-e the "Free State Democrats" cut in the concern. Of course they voted— all Democrats do their duty— and of course they did not vote for slave State candidates. We soon shall know how many delegates they elected, how many candi- dates they had pledged to a free state, and how many votes were cast for them. Allow me to barely whisper my suspicion, that there were no such tilings in Kansas as " Free State Democrats "—that they were altogether mythical, good only to figure in news- papers and speeches in the Free States. If there should prove to be one real, living Free State Democrat in Kansas, I suggest that it might be well to catch liim, and stuff and preserve his skin, as an interesting specimen of that soon to be extinct variety of the Democrat. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 95 And now, as to the Dred Scott decision. That decision declares two propositions — first, that a negro cannot sue in the United States courts; and secondly, that Congress can- not prohibit slavery in the Territories. It was made by a divided court — dividing differently on the cUfferent points. Judge Douglas does not discuss the merits of the decision, and in that respect, I shall follow his example, believing I could no more improve upon McLean and Curtis than he could on Taney. He denounces all who question the correctness of that decision, as offering violent resistance to it. But who resists it? Who has, in spite of the decision, declared Dred Scott free, and resisted the authority of his master over him? Judicial decisions have two uses — first, to absolutely determine the case decided; and secondly, to indicate to the public how other similar cases will be decided when they arise. For the latter use they are called " precedents " and "authorities." We believe as much as Judge Douglas (perhaps more) in obedience to and respect for the judicial department of Government. We think its decisions on Constitutional questions, when fully settled, should control, not only the particular cases decided, but the general policy of the country, subject to be disturbed only by amendments of the Constitution, as provided in that instrument itself. More than tins would be revolution. But we think the Dred Scott decision is erroneous. We know the court that made it has often overruled its own decisions, and we shall do what we can to make it overrule this. We offer no resistance to it. Judicial decisions are of greater or less authority as precedents, according to circumstances. That tliis should be so, accords both with common sense, and the customary understanding of the legal profession. 96 Life of Abraham Lincoln. If this important decision had been made by the unani- mous concurrence of the judges, and without any apparent partisan bias, and in accordance with legal public expecta- tion, and with the steady practice of the departments, throughout our liistory, and had been in no part based on assumed historical facts which are not really true; or, if wanting in some of these, it had been before the court more than once, and had there been affirmed and re-afiirmed through a course of years, it then might be, perhaps would be, factious, nay, even revolutionary, not to acquiesce in it as a precedent. But when, as is true, we find it wanting in all these claims to the public confidence, it is not resistance, it is not factious, it is not even disrespectful, to treat it as not having yet quite established a settled doctrine for the country. But Judge Douglas considers this view awful. Hear him. "The Courts are the tribunals prescribed by the Con- stitution and created by the authority of the people to determine, expound and enforce the law. Hence, whoever resists the final decision of the highest tribunal, aims a deadly blow to our whole Republican system of govern- ment — a blow' wliich, if successful, would place all our rights and Uberties at the mercy of passion, anarchy and violence. I repeat, therefore, that if resistance to the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, in a matter like the points decided in the Dred Scott case, clearly within their jurisdiction as defined by the Constitu- tion, shall be forced upon the country as a political issue, it will become a distinct and naked issue between the friends and enemies of the Constitution — the friends and the enemies of the supremacy of the laws. " Why, this same Supreme Court once decided a national bank to be constitutional, but General Jackson, as Presi- GaAVE OF JIB. LINCOLN'S MOTHF.B- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 97 dent of the United States, disregarded this decision, and vetoed a bill for a re-charter, partly on Constitutional ground, declaring that each public functionary must sup- port the Constitution as "he understands it." But hear the General's own words. Here they are, taken from his veto message: " It is maintained by the advocates of the bank, that its constitutionality, in all its features, ought to be considered as settled by precedent, and by the decision of the Supreme Court. To this conclusion I cannot assent. Mere prece- dent is a dangerous source of authority, and should not be regarded as deciding questions of Constitutional power, except where the acquiescence of the people and the States can be considered as well settled. So far from this being the case on this subject, an argument against the bank might be based on the precedent. One Congress, in 1791, decided in favor of a bank; another in 1811, decided against it. One Congress, in 1815, decided against a bank ; another in 1816, decided in its favor. Prior to the present Congress, therefore, the precedents drawn from that source were equal. If we resort to the States the expressions of legislative, judicial and. executive opinions against the bank have been probably to those in its favor as four to one. There is notliing in precedent, therefore, which, if its authority were admitted, ought to weigh in favor of the act before me.' I drop the quotations merely to remark, that all there ever was, in the way of precedent, up to the Dred Scott de- cision, on the points therein decided, had been against that decision. But hear General Jackson further : " If the opinion of the Supreme Court covered the whole ground of this act, it ought not to control the co-ordinate authorities of this. Government. The Congress, the ex- ecutive and the Court, must each for itself be guided by its 98 Life of Abraham Lincoln. own opinion of the Constitution. Each pubhc officer, who takes an oath to support the Constitution, swears that he will support it as he understands it, and not as it is understood by others." Again and again have I heard Judge Douglas denounce that bank decision, and applaud General Jackson for disre- garding it. It would be interestmg for liim to look over his recent speech, and see how exactly liis fierce pliihppics against us for resisting Supreme Court decisions, fall upon his own head. It will call to mind a long and fierce political war in this country, upon an issue, wliich in his otsti lan- guage, and, of course, in his own changeless estimation, was "a distinct issue between the friends and the enemies of the Constitution," and in which war he fought in the ranks of the enemies of the Constitution. I have said, in substance, that the Dred Scott decision was, in part, based on assumed liistorical facts which were not really true, and I ought not to leave the subject -nith- out gi'V'ing some reasons for saying this : I, therefore, give an instance or two, which I tliink fully sustains me. Chief Justice Taney, in delivering the opinion of the majority of the Court, insists at great length, that negroes were no part of the people who made, or for whom was made, the Declaration of Independence, or the Constitution of the United States. On the contrary. Judge Curtis, in his dissenting opinion, shows that in five of the then thirteen States, to wit: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and North Carolina, free negroes were voters, and, in proportion to their numbers, had the same part in making the Con- stitution that the white people had. He shows this with so much particularity as to leave no doubt of its truth, and as a sort of conclusion on that point, holds the following language. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 99 " The Constitution was ordained and established by the people of the LTnited States, through the action, in each State, of those persons who were qualified by its laws to act thereon in behalf of themselves and all other citizens of the State. In some of the States, as we have seen, colored persons were among those qualified by law to act on the subject. These colored persons were not only included in the ' body of the people of the United States, ' by whom the Constitution was ordained and established; but in at least five of the States they had the power to act, and, doubtless, did act, by their suffrages, upon the question of its adoption." Again, Cliief Justice Taney says: " It is difficult, at this day, to realize the state of public opinion in relation to that unfortunate race, wliich prevailed in the civilized and enlightened portions of the world at the time of the Decla- ration of Independence, and when the Constitution of the United States was framed and adopted." And again, after quoting from the Declaration, he says: " The general words above quoted would seem to include the whole human family, and if they were used in a similar instru- ment at this da)', would be so understood. " In these the Chief Justice does not directly assert, but plainly assumes, as a fact, that the public estimate of the black man is more favorable now than it was in the days of the Ptevolution. This assumption is a mistake. In some trifling particulars, the condition of that race has been ameliorated; but, as a whole, in tins country, the change between then and now is decidedly the other way; and their ultimate destiny has never appeared so hopeless as in the last three or four years. In two of the five States — New Jersey and North Carolina — that then 'gave the free negro the right of voting, the right has since been taken away, and in the third — New York — it has been greatly 100 Life op Abraham Lincoln, abridged ; while it has not been extended, so far as I know, to a single additional State, though the number of the States has more than doubled. In those days, as I under- stand, masters could, at their own pleasure, emancipate their slaves; but since then such legal restraints have been put upon emancipation as to amount almost to prohibition. In those days Legislatures held the unquestioned power to abolish slaverj- in their respective States ; but now it is becoming quite fashionable for State Constitutions to with- hold that power from the Legislatures. In those days, by common consent, the spread of the black man's bondage to the new countries was prohibited; but now. Congress decides that it will not continue the prohibition — and the Supreme Court decides that it could not if it would. In those days our Declaration of Independence was held sacred by all, and thought to include all; but now, to aid in making the bondage of the negro universal and eternal, it is assailed, sneered at, construed, hawked at, and torn, till, if its framers could rise from their graves, they could not at all recognize it. All the powers of earth seem rap- idly combining against him. Mammon is after him; am- bition follows, philosophy follows, and the theology of the day is fast joining the cry. They have Mm in his prison- house; they have searched his person, and left no prying- instrument with him. One after another they have closed the heavy, iron doors upon him, and now they have Mm, as it were, bolted in with a lock of a hundred keys, which can never be unlocked ^-ithout the concurrence of every key; the keys in the hands of a hundred different men, and they scattered to a hundred different and distant places; and they stand musing as to what invention, in all the dominions of mind and matter, can be produced to make the impossibihty of his escape more complete than it is. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 101 It is grossly incorrect to say or assume, that the pubUc estimate of the negro is more favorable now than it was at the origin of the government. Three years and a half ago, Judge Douglas brought for- ward his famous Nebraska bill. The country was at once in a blaze. He scorned all opposition, and carried it through Congress. Since then he has seen himself super- seded in a Presidential nomination, by one indorsing the general doctrine of his measure, but at the same time standing clear of the odium of its untimely agitation, and its gross breach of national faith; and he has seen that successful rival constitutionally elected, not by the strength of friends, but by the division of his adversaries, being in a popular minority of nearly four hundred thousand votes. He has seen his chief aids in his own State, Shields and Richardson, politically speaking, successively tried, convicted, and executed, for an offense not their own, but Ms. And now he sees Ms own case, standing next on the docket for trial. There is a natural disgust in the minds of nearly all white people, to the idea of an indiscriminate amalgama- tion of the white and black races; and Judge Douglas evidently is basing Ms hope on the chances of his being able to appropriate the benefit of this disgust to himself. If he can, by much drumming and repeating, fasten the odium of that idea upon his adversaries, he thinks he can struggle through the storm. He, therefore, clings to this hope as a drowmng man to the last plank. He makes an occasion for lugging it in from the opposition to the Dred Scott decision. He finds the Republicans insisting that the Declaration of Independence includes all men, black as well as white, and forthwith he boldly denies that it includes negroes at all, and proceeds to argue gravely that all who contend it does, do so only because they want to 102 Life of Abraham Lincoln. vote, sleep and eat, and marry with negroes! He will have it that they cannot be consistent else. Now, I protest against the counterfeit logic which concludes that, because I do not want a black woman for a slave, I must necessarily want her for a wife. I need not have her for either. I can just leave her alone. In some respects she certainly is not my equal; but in her natural right to eat the bread she earns with her own hands, without asking leave of any one else, she is my equal, and the equal of all others. Chief Justice Taney, in his opinion in the Dred Scott case, admits that the language of the Declaration is broad enough to include the whole human family; but he and Judge Douglas argue that the authors of that instrument did not intend to include negroes, by the fact that they did not at once actually place them on an equality with the whites. Now, this grave argument comes to just notliing at all, by the other fact that, they did not at once, or ever afterward, actually place all wliite people on an equality wath one an- other. And tliis is the staple argument of both the Chief Justice and the Senator for doing this obvious violence to the plain, unmistakable language of the Declaration. I think the authors of that notable instrument intended to include all men, but they did not intend to declare all men equal in all respects. They did not mean to say all were equal in color, size, intellect, moral developments, or social capacity. They defined uith tolerable distinctness in what respects they did consider all men created equal- equal with "certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. " Tliis they said, and this meant. They did not mean to assert the obvious untruth, that all were then actually enjoying that equality, nor yet, that they were about to confer it immediately upon them. In fact, they had no power to confer such a boon. They meant simply to declare the right, so that the en- Life of Abraham Lincoln, 103 forccment of it might follow as fast as circumstances should permit. Mr. Lincoln, in conclusion, pointed out in a clear and forcible mamier the real distinction between his own views and those of Mr. Douglas on this question, as he has done in other speeches. CHAPTER VII. The Lincoln-Douglas Campaign of 1858. On the 16th of June— the day on which the session of Congress closed— the Republicans held their State Conven- tion at Springfield. Richard Yates was the temporary, and Gustavus Koerner the permanent chairman. Nearly every one of the hundred and two counties of Illinois was duly represented, the delegates numbering over five hun- dred. Candidates were nominated for State Treasurer and for Superintendent of Public Instruction, and a plat- form was adopted essentially the same as that put forth two years previously at Bloomington, as already quoted. A resolution approving the course of Lyman Trumbull as Senator was carried without opposition. The following resolution was then introduced, which, according to the official report, "was greeted with shouts of applause, and unanimously adopted:" Resolved, That Abraham Lincoln is the first and only choice of the Republicans of Illinois for the United States Senate, as the successor of Stephen A. Douglas. Mr. Lincoln had not been present during the Conven- tion, and when called on to speak, at the adjourned even- ing session, he had no knowledge that such a resolution had been offered. So far was it from being true that his speech on that occasion, as subsequently stated by Douglas, was made on accepting a nomination for the Senatorslup, that, of course, he did not allude to that subject. The 105 106 Life of Abraham Lincoln. speech, too, though carefully prepared, as Mr. Lincoln afterward admitted, was never known to any one else than himself until its delivery, notwithstanding the insinuation of Douglas that it was a subject of special consultation among the Republican leaders. It was the result of a broad and profound survey of the slavery question, from the point of view then reached in the progress of parties. "The hall, and lobbies, and galleries were even more densely crowded and packed than at any time during the day, " says the official report, as the Convention re- assembled in the evening to hear Mr. Lincoln. As he approached the speaker's stand, he was greeted with shouts, and hurrahs, and prolonged cheering. Mr. Lincoln's First Speech in the Senatorial Canvass. {At the Republican State Convention, Jurie 16, 1858.) Mr. Lincoln said — Gentlemen of the Convention: — If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far on into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated, with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that poUcy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has con- stantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed. "A house divided against itself cannot stand. " I believe this govern- ment cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be di- vided. It will become all one tiling, or all the other. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 107 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 course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new — North as well as South. Have we no tendency to the latter condition? Let any one who doubts, carefully contemplate that now almost complete legal combination — piece of machinery, so to speak — compounded of the Nebraska doctrine, and the Dred Scott decision. Let him consider not only what work the machinery is adapted to do, and how well adapted, but also let him study the history of its construction, and trace, if he can, or rather fail, if he can, to trace the evi- dences of design, and concert of action, among its chief master-workers from the beginning. But, so far, Congress only had acted, and an indorsement by the people, real or apparent, was indispensable, to save the point already gained, and give chance for more. The new year of 1854 found slavery excluded from more than half the States by State Constitutions, and from most of the national territory by Congressional proliibition. Four days later commenced the struggle, which ended in repeal- ing that Congressional prohibition. This opened all the national territory to slavery, and was the first point gained. This necessity had not been overlooked, but had been provided for, as well as might be, in the notable argument of "squatter sovereignty," otherwise called "sacred right of self-government, " which latter phrase, though expressive of the only rightful basis of any government, was so perver- ted in this attempted use of it as to amount to just this: that if any one man choose to enslave another, no tliird man shall be allowed to object. That argument was in- corporated into the Nebraska bill itself, in the language >■ 108 Life of Abraham Lixcolx. which follows: "It being the true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate slavery into any Territory or State, nor exclude it therefrom; but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institu- tions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States." Then opened the roar of loose declamation in favor of "squatter sovereignty," and "sacred right of self-govern- ment. " " But, " said opposition members, " let us be more specific — let us amend the bill so as to expressly declare that the people of the territory may exclude slavery. " " Not we, " said the friends of the measure ; and down they voted the amendment. While the Nebraska Bill was passing through Congress, a law case, involving the question of a negro's freedom, by reason of his owner having voluntarily taken him first into a free State and then a territory covered by the Congres- sional proliibition, and held liim as a slave — for a long time in each — was passing through the V. S. Circuit Court for the District of Missouri, and both the Nebraska Bill and law suit were brought to a decision in the same month of May, 1854. The negro's name was "Dred Scott," which name now designates the decision finally made in the case. Before the then next Presidential election case, the law came to, and was argued in the Supreme court of the United States; but the decision of it was deferred imtil after the election. Still, before the election, Senator Trumbull, on the floor of the Senate, requests the leading advocate of the Nebraska Bill to state his opinion whether a people of a Territory can constitutionally exclude slavery from their limits, and the latter answers, " That is a ques- tion for the Supreme Court." The election came. Mr. Buchanan was elected, and the Life of Abraham Lincoln. 109 indorsement, such as it was, secured. That was the second point gained. The indorsement, however, fell short of a clear popular majority by nearly four hundred thousand votes, and so, perhaps, was not overwhelmingly reliable and satisfactory. The outgoing President in his last annual message, as impressively as possible echoed back upon the people the weight and authority of the indorse- ment. The Supreme Court met again; cUd not announce their decision, but ordered a re-argument. The Presidential inauguration came, and still no decision of the court ; but the incoming President, in his Inaugural address, fervently exhorted the people to abide by the forthcoming decision, whatever it might he. Then, in a few clays, came the decision. This was the third point gained. The reputed author of the Nebraska Bill finds an early occasion to make a speech at this capitol indorsing the Dred Scott decision and vehemently denouncing all opposi- tion to it. The new President, too, seizes the early occasion of the Silliman letter to indorse and strongly construe that decision, and to express Ms astonishment that any different view had ever been entertained. At length a squabble springs up between the President and the author of the Nebraska Bill on the mere question of fact, whether the Lecompton Constitution was or was not, in any sense just made by the people of Kansas, and, in that squabble, the latter declares that all he wants is a fair vote for the people and that he cares not whether slavery be voted down or voted up. I do not understand his declaration that he cares not whether slavery be voted down or voted up, to be intended by him other than as an apt definition of the policy he would impress upon the public mind — the prin- ciple for which he declares he has suffered much, and is ready to suffer to the end. 1 10 Life op Abraham Lincoln. And well may he cling to that principle. If he has any parental feeling, well may he cling to it. That principle is the only shred left of his original Nebraska doctrine. Under the Dred Scott decision, "squatter sovereignty" squatted out of existence, tumbled down Hke temporary scaffolding— like the mold at the foundry, served through one blast, and fell back into loose sand— helped to carry an election, and then was kicked to the winds. His late joint struggle with the Repubhcans, against the Lecompton Constitution involves nothing of the original Nebraska doctrine. That struggle was made on a point— the right of a people to make their own constitution — upon wliich he and the Republicans have never differed. The several points of the Dred Scott decision, in con- nection with Senator Douglas's "care not" policy, consti- tute the piece of machinery in its present state of advance- ment. The working points of that machinery are: First, That no negro slave, imported as such from Africa, and no descendant of such, can ever be a citizen of any State, in the sense of that term as used in the Con- stitution of the United States. This point is made in order to deprive the negro, in every possible event, of the benefit of this provision of the United States Constitution wliich declares that— "The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. " Secondly, that "subject to the Constitution of the United States," neither Congress nor a Territorial Legis- lature can exclude slavery from any United States Terri- tory. This point is made in order that individual men may fill up the Territories with slaves, without danger of losing them as property, and thus to enhance the chances of permanency to the institution through all the future. Life of Abraham Lincoln. Ill Thiidly, That whether the holding a negro in actual slavery in a free State makes him free, as against the holder, the United States Courts will not decide, but will leave to be decided by the courts of any slave State the negro may be forced into by the master. This point is made, not to be pressed immediately; but if acquiesced in for a while, and apparently indorsed by the people at an election, then, to sustain the logical con- clusion that what Dred Scott's master might lawfully do with Dred Scott, in the free State of Illinois, every other master may lawfully do with any other one, or one thou- sand slaves, in Illinois, or in any other free State. Auxiliary to all tliis and working hand in hand with it, the Nebraska doctrine, or what is left of it, is to educate and mould public opinion, at least Northern public opinion, not to care whether slavery is voted down or voted up. TMs shows exactly where we now are, and partially also, wliither we are tending. It will throw additional light on the latter, to go back, and run the mind over the string of liistorical facts already stated. Several tilings will appear now less dark and mysterious than they did when they were transpiring. The people were to be left "perfectly free," "subject only to the Constitution. " What the Constitution had to do with it, outsiders could not then see. Plainly enough now, it was an exactly fitted niche for the Dred Scott decision to come in and declare that perfect freedom of the people, to be just no freedom at all. Why was the amendment, expressly declaring the right of the people to exclude slavery voted down? Plainly enough now, the adoption for it would have spoiled the niche for the Dred Scott decision. Why was the court decision held up? Why even a Senator's individual opinion witliheld till after the Presi- 112 Life OF Abr.\ham Lincoln. dential election? Plainly enough now, the speaking out then would have damaged the "-perfectly free" argument upon which the election was to be carried. Why the outgoing President's felicitation on the endorse- ment? Why the delay of a re-argument? Why the incom- ing President's advance exhortation in favor of the de- cision? These things look like the cautious patting and pet- ting of a spirited horse, preparatory to mounting him, when it is dreaded that he may give the rider a fall. And why the hasty after-mdorsements of the decision, by the President and others? We cannot absolutely know that all these exact adapta- tions are the result of pre-concert. But when we see a lot of framed timbers, different portions of wliich we know have been gotten out, at different times and places, and by different workmen — Stephen, Franklin, Roger and James, for instance — and when we see these timbers joined together and see they exactly make the frame of a house or mill, all the tenons and mortices exactly fitting, and all the lengths and proportions of the different pieces exactly adapted to their respective places, and not a piece too many or too few — not omitting even scaffolding — or, if a single piece be lacking, we can see the place in the frame exactly fitted and prepared to yet bring such piece in — in such a case, we find it impossible not to believe that Stephen and Franklin and Roger and James all understood one another from the beginning, and all worked upon a com- mon plan or draft drawn up before the first blow was struck. It should not be overlooked that, by the Nebraska bill, the people of a State as well as Territory, were to be left "perfectly free," "subject only to the Constitution." Why mention a State? They were legislating for Territories, and not for or about States. Certainly the people of a Life of Abraham Lincoln. 113 State are and ought to be subject to the Constitution of the United States ; but why is mention of this lugged into this merely territorial law? Why are the people of a Terri- tory and the people of a State therein lumped together, and their relation to the Constitution therein treated as being precisely the same? While the opinion of tne court, by Chief Justice Taney, in the Dred Scott case, and the separate opinions of all the concurring judges, expressly declare that the Constitution of the United States neither permits Congress nor a Ter- ritorial Legislature to exclude slavery from any United States Territory, they all omit to declare whether or not the same Constitution permits a State, or the people of a State to exclude it. Possibly, this was a mere omission; but who can be quite sure, if McLean or Curtis had sought to get into the opinion a declaration of unlimited power in the people of a State to exclude slavery from their limits, just as Chase and Mace sought to get such declaration, in behalf of the people of a Territory, into the Nebraska Bill — I ask, who can be quite sure that it would not have been voted down, in the one case, as it had been in the other. The nearest approach to the point of declaring the power of a State over slavery, is made by Judge Nelson. He approaches it more than once, using the precise idea, and almost the language, too, of the Nebraska Act. On one occasion his exact language is, "except in cases where the power is restrained by the Constitution of the United States, the law of the State is supreme over the subject of slavery within its jurisdiction. " In what cases the power of the State is so restrained by the United States Constitution, is left an open question, precisely as the same question, as to the restraint on the power of the Territories was left open in the Nebraska Act. Put that and that together, and we have another nice little 114 Life OF Abraham Lincoln. niche, which we, may ere long, see filled with another Su- preme Court decision, declaring that the Constitution of the United States does not permit a state to exclude slavery' from its limits. And this may especially be expected if the doctrine of "care not whether slavery be voted down or voted up, " shall gain upon the public mind sufficiently to give promise that such a decision can be maintained when made. Such a decision is all that slavery now lacks of being alike lawful in all the States. Welcome or unwelcome, such de- cision is probably coming, and will soon be upon us, unless the power of the present political dynasty shall be met and overthrown. We shall lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the verge of making their State free ; and we shall awake to the reality, instead, that the Supreme Court has made Illinois a slave State. To meet and overthrow the power of that dynasty, is the work now before all those who would prevent that consum- mation. That is what we have to do. But how can we best do it? There are those who denounce us openly to their own friends, and yet wliisper softly, that Senator Douglas is the aptest instrument there is, with which to effect that object. They do not tell us, nor has he told us, that he wishes any such object to be effected. They wdsh us to infer all, from the facts that he now has a little quarrel with the present head of the dynasty; and that he has regularly voted with us, on a single point, upon which he and we have never differed. They remind us that he is a very ffreat man, and that the largest of us are very small ones. Let this be granted. But "a living dog is better than a dead lion." Judge Douglas, if not a dead lion for tliis work, is at least a caged and toothless one. How can he oppose the advances of Life of Abraham Lincoln. 115 slavery? He don't care an3rtl-Ling about it. His avowed mission is impressing the "public heart" to care nothing about it. A leading Douglas Democratic newspaper thinks Doug- las's superior talent will be needed to resist the revival of the African slave-trade. Does Douglas believe an effort to revive that trade is approaching? He has not said so. Does he really think so? But if it is, how can he resist it? For years he has labored to prove it a sacred right of white men to take negro slaves into the new Territories. Can he possibly show that it is less a sacred right to buy them where they can be bought cheapest? And, unquestionab ly they can be bought cheaper in Africa than in Virginia. He has done all in his power to reduce the whole question of slavery to one of a mere right of property; and as such, how can he oppose the foreign slave-trade — how can he re- fuse that trade in that "property" shall be "perfectly free" — unless he does it as a protection to the home pro- duction? And as the home producers will probably not ask the protection, he will be wholly without a ground of opposition. Senator Douglas holds, we know, that a man may right- fully be wiser to-day, than he was yesterday — that he may rightfully change when he finds himself wrong. But, can we for that reason run ahead and infer that he will make any particular change, of which he himself has gi\'en no intimation? Can we safely base our action upon any such vague inferences? Now, as ever, I wish not to misrepresent Judge Douglas's position, question his motives, or do aught that can be per- sonally offensive to him. Whenever, if ever, he and we can come together on principle, so that our great cause may have assistance from his great ability, I hope to have interposed no adventitious obstacle. 116 Life of Abraham Lincoln, But clearly , he is not now with us — he does not pretend to be — he does not promise ever to be. Our cause, then, must be intrusted to, ancf conducted by, its own undoubted friends — those whose hands are free, whose hearts are in the work — who do care for the result. Two years ago the Republicans of the nation mustered over thirteen hundred thousand strong. We did this under the single impulse of resistance to a common danger, with every external circumstance against us. Of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought the battle through, under the constant hot fire of a disciplined, proud and pampered enemy. Did we brave all then to falter now? — now — when that same enemy is wavering, dissevered and belligerent? The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail — if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise counsels may accelerate or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later, the victory is sure to come. Mr. Douglas, having lingered for more than three weeks on his way homeward, preparing for the struggle before him, arrived in Chicago on the 9th of July amid the most showy demonstrations of his friends. He made a long speech on the occasion, which Mr. Lincoln was present to hear. Douglas claimed great credit as having defeated the President's Lecompton policy, and imperiously re- turned thanks to the Republicans for " coming up manfully and sustaining" liim and his little band in opposition to the Administration — a course, certainly, for wliich the Republican party deserved no special thanks, as it required of them no sacrifice of either consistency or partisan fellow- ship. Subsequently he charged an alliance between the Republicans and the Administration oartv for liis defeat. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 117 He took care again to avow an utter indifference as to whether Kansas should be free soil or slave soil, only asking that the popular majority should prevail. At length he came to the great opening speech of Mr. Lincoln, which had been carefully pondered during the last three weeks. "I have observed," he said, with condescending assur- ance, "I have observed from the public prints, that but a few days ago the Republican party of the State of Illinois assembled in convention at Springfield, and not only laid down their platform, but nominated a candidate for the United States Senate as my successor. I take great pleasure in saying that I have known, per- sonally and intimately, for about a quarter of a century, the worthy gentleman who has been nominated for my place; and I will say that I regard him as a kind, amiable and intelligent gentleman, a good citizen, and an honorable opponent; and whatever issue I may have with liim will be of principle, and not involving personalities. " He then proceeded to specify his two cliief points of attack on Mr. Lincoln, after citing a portion of the first paragraph of his Springfield speech. Mr. Douglas endeavored thus to put his opponent in a false position, by selecting sentences out of their connection and imputing to them a perverted meaning. A week later than his Cliicago speech, Mr. Douglas spoke at Bloomington, in continuation of his canvass. Here again, he laid great stress upon his " popular sover- eignty" device, and upon his anti-Lecompton rebellion. He also repeated substantially his two issues against Mr. Lincoln, based upon the Springfield .speech of June 16th. Mr. Lincoln was present and heard him. The next day, Douglas made a speech of similar character at Springfield, at which Mr. Lincoln was not present. The latter, how- ever, spoke on the same evening at that place. The fol- 118 Life of Abraham Lincoln. lowing are some of the chief points of Mr. Lincoln's speech on this occasion. (July 17, 1858) : INEQUALITIES OF THE CONTEST — THE APPORTIONMENT, ETC. Fellow Citizens: Another election, which is deemed an important one is approaching, and, as I suppose, the Republican party will, without much difficulty, elect their State ticket. But in regard to the Legislature, we, the Republicans, labor under some disadvantages. In the first place, we have a Legislature to elect upon an appor- tionment of the representation made several years ago, when the proportion of the population was far greater in the South (as compared with the North) than it now is, and inasmuch as our opponents hold almost entire sway in the South, and we a correspondingly large majority in the North, the fact that we are now to be represented as we were years ago, when the population was different, is, to us, a very great disadvantage. "We had in the year 1855, according to law, a census, or enumeration of the inhab- itants, taken for the purpose of a new apportionment of representation. We know what a fair apportionment of representation upon that census would give us. We know that it could not, if fairly made, fail to give the Republican party from six to ten more members of the Legislature than they can probably get as the law now stands. It so hap- pened at the last session of the Legislature, that our oppo- nents, holding the control of both branches of the Legislature, steadily refused to give us such an apportionment as we were rightly entitled to have upon the census already taken. The Legislatiu-e would pass no bill upon that subject, except such as was at least as unfair to us as the old one, and in which, in some instances, two men from the Demo- cratic regions were allowed to go as far toward sending a Life of Abraham Lincoln. 119 member to the Legislature as three were in the Repubhcan regions. Comparison was made at the time as to repre- sentative and senatorial districts, which completely demon- strated that such was the fact. Such a bill was passed, and tendered to the Republican Governor for his signature , but, principally for the reasons I have stated, he withheld his approval, and the bill fell without becoming a law. Another disadvantage under which we labor is, that there are one or two Democratic Senators who will be members of the next Legislature, and will vote for the election of Senator, who are holding over in districts in which we could on all reasonable calculation, elect men of our own, if we only had the chance of an election. When we consider that there are but twenty-five Senators in the Senate, taking two from the side where they rightfully belong, and adding them to the other, is to us a disadvan- tage not to be lightly regarded. Still, so it is; we have this to contend with. Perhaps there is no ground of com- plaint on our part. In attending to the many tilings in- volved in the last general election for President, Governor, Auditor, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Members of Congress and of the Legislature, County Officers, and so on, we allowed these things to happen for want of sufficient attention, and we have no cause to com- plain of our adversaries, so far as this matter is concerned. But we have some cause to complain of the refusal to give us a fair apportionment. There is still another disadvantage under which we labor, and to winch I will ask your attention. It arises out of the relative position of the two persons who stand before the State as candidates for the Senate. Senator Douglas is of world-wide renown. All the anxious politicians of his party, or who have been of Ms party for years past, have been looking upon him as certainly, at no distant day, to 120 Life of Abraham Lincoln. be the President of the United States. They have seen in his round, jolly, fruitful face, post offices, land offices, mar- shalships, and cabinet appointments, chargeships and for- eign missions, bursting and sprouting out in wonderful luxuriance, ready to be laid hold of by their greedy hands. [Great laughter.] And as they have been gazing upon this attractive picture so long, they can not, in the little dis- traction that has taken place in the party, bring themselves to give up the charming hope; but with greedier anxiety they rush upon him, sustain him, and give him marches, triumphal entries, and receptions, beyond what even in the days of liis highest prosperity they could have brought about in his favor. On the contrary, nobody ever ex- pected me to be President. In my poor, lean, lank face, nobody has ever seen that any cabbages were sprouting out. [Cheering and laughter.] These are disadvantages all, that the Repubhcans labor under. We have to fight tlais battle upon principle and upon principle alone. I am, in a cer- tain sense, made the standard bearer in behalf of the Repubhcans. I was made so merely because there had to be some one so placed— I being in no wise prefer- able to any other one of the twenty-five— perhaps a hundred we have in the Republican ranks. Then I say I wish it to be distinctly understood and borne in mind, that we have to fight this battle without many— perhaps without any— of the external aids which are brought to bear against us. So I hope those with whom I am surrounded have principle enough to nerve themselves for the task, and leave nothing undone, that can be fairly done, to bring about the right result. The Douglas Programme. After Senator Douglas left Washington, as his move- ments were made known by the pubhc prints, he tarried a Life of Abraham Lincoln. 121 considerable time in New York City ; and it was heralded that, like another Napoleon, he was lying by and framing the plan of Ms campaign. It was telegraphed to Washing- ton city, and published in the Union, that he was framing his plan for the purpose of going to Illinois to pounce upon and amiihilate the treasonable and dis-union speech which Lincoln had made there on the 16th of June. Now, I do suppose the Judge really spent some time in New York maturing the plan of the campaign, as his friends heralded for him. I have been able, by noting his movements since his arrival in Illinois, to discover evidences confirmatory of that allegation. I think I have been able to see what are the material points of that plan. I will, for a little while, ask your attention to some of them. What I shall point out, though not showing the whole plan, are, nevertheless, the main points, as I suppose. They are not very numerous. The first is popular Sov- ereignty. The second and third are attacks upon my speech made on the 16th of June. Out of these three points- drawing within the range of popular sovereignty the ques- tion of the Lecompton constitution — he makes his principal assault. Upon these his successive speeches are substan- tially one and the same. On this matter of popular sover- eignty I wish to be a little careful. Auxiliary to these main points, to be sure, are their thunderings of cannon, their marching and music, their fizzle-gigs and fire-works; but I will not waste time with them. They are but the little trappings of the campaign. Popular Sovereignty. Coming to the substance — the first point — "popular sovereignty. " It is to be labeled upon the cars in which he travels ; put upon the hacks he rides in ; to be flaunted upon the arches he passes under, and the banners wliich wave 122 Life of Abraham Lincoln. over him. It is to be dished up in as many varieties as a French cook can produce soups from potatoes. Now, as this is so great a staple of the campaign, it is worth while to cxamhie it carefully; and if we examine only a very little, and do not allow ourselves to be misled, we shall be able to see that the whole thing is the most arrant Quixotism that was ever enacted before a community. What is this mat- ter of popular sovereignty? The first tiling, in order to understand it, is to get a good definition of what it is, and after that to see how it is applied. I suppose almost everyone knows that in this contro- versy, whatever has been said has had reference to the question of-negro slavery. We have not been in a contro- versy about the right of the people to govern themselves in the ordinary matters of domestic concern in the States and Territories. Mr. Buchanan, in one of his late messages (I think when he sent up the Lecompton Constitution), urged that the main point to which the public attention had been directed, was not in regard to the great variety of small domestic matters, but it was directed to the question of negro slavery, and he asserts, that if the people had had a fair chance to vote on that question, there was no reason- able ground of objection in regard to minor questions. Now, wliile I think that the people had not had given, or offered them, a fair chance upon that slavery question ; still, if there had been a fair submission to vote upon that main question, the President's proposition would have been true to the uttermost. Hence, when hereafter I speak of popular sovereignty, I wish to be understood as apply- ing what I say to the question of slavery only, not to other minor domestic matters of a Territory or a State. Does Judge Douglas when he says that several of the past years of liis life have been devoted to the question of "popular sovereignty," and that all the remainder of his Life of Abraham Lincoln. 123 life shall be devoted to it, does he mean to say that he has been devoting his life to securing to the people of the Territories the right to exclude slavery from the Terri- tories? If he means so to say, he means to deceive , because he and every one knows that the decision of the Supreme Court, which he approves and makes an especial ground of attack upon me for disapproving, forbids the people of a Territory to exclude slavery. This covers the whole ground, from the settlement of a Territory till it reaches the maturity entitling it to form a State Constitution. So far as all that ground is concerned, the Judge is not sustaining popular sovereignty, but absolutely opposing it. He sustains the decision which declares that the popular will of the Territories has no constitutional power to exclude slavery during their Territorial existence. [Cheers.] Tliis being so, the period of time, from the first settlement of a Territory till it reaches the point of forming a State Constitution, is not the thing that the Judge has fought for, or is fighting for, but on the contrary, he has fought for and is fighting for, the thing that annihilates and crushes out that same popular sovereignty. Well, so much being chsposed of, what is left? Why, he is contending for the right pf the people, when they come to make a State Constitution, to make it for themselves and precisely as best suits themselves. I say again, that is Quixotic. I defy contradiction, when I declare that the Judge can find no one to oppose him on that proposition. I repeat there is nobody opposing that proposition on principle. Let me not be misunderstood. I know that, with reference to the Lecompton Constitution I may be misunderstood; but when you understand mo correctly, my proposition will be true and accurate. Nobody is opposing, or has opposed, the right of the people, when they form a Constitution, to form it for themselves. Mr. 124 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan and his friends have not done it. They, too, as well as the Republicans and the Anti-Lecompton Demo- crats have not done it; but, on the contrary, they together have insisted on the right of the people to form a Constitu- tion for themselves. The difference between the Buchanan men, on the one hand, and the Douglas men and the RepubUcans on the other, has not been on a question of principle, but on a question of fact. The chspute was upon the question of fact, whether the Lecompton Constitution had been fairly formed by the people or not. Mr. Buchanan and liis friends ha^'e not contended for the contrary principle, any more than the Douglas men or the Republicans. They have insisted, that whatever of small irregularities existed in getting up the Lecompton Constitution, were such as happen in the settlement of all new Territories. The question was, was it a fair emanation of the people? It was a question of fact, and not of principle. As to the principle, all were agreed. Judge Douglas voted with the Repubhcans upon that matter of fact. He and they, by their voices and votes, denied that it was a fair emanation of the people. The administration affirmed that it was. With respect to the e\'idence bearing upon the question of fact, I readily agree that Judge Douglas and the Republicans had the right on their side and that the Administration was \VTong. But I state again, that as a matter of principle, there is no dispute upon the right of a people in a Territory, merging into a State, to form a Constitution for themselves, \\ithout outside interference from any quarter. This being so, what is Judge Douglas going to spend his life for? Is he going to spend his life in maintaining a principle that nobody on earth opposes? [Cheers.] Does he expect to stand up in majestic dignity, and go through his apotheosis. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 125 and become a god, in the maintaining of a principle which neither man nor mouse, in all God's creation, is opposing? [Great applause.] The Lecompton Issue. How will he prove that we have ever occupied a different position in regard to the Lecompton Constitution, or any principle in it? He says he did not make his opposition on the ground as to whether it was a free or a slave Con- stitution, and he would have you understand that the Republicans made their opposition because it ultimately became a slave constitution. To make proof in favor of himself on this point, he reminds us that he opposed Lecompton before the vote was taken whether the State was to be free or slave. But he forgets to say, that our Republican Senator, Trumbull, made a speech against Lecompton even before he did. Why did he oppose it? Partly, as he declares, because the members of the Convention who framed it were not fairly elected by the people; that the people were not allowed to vote unless they had been registered; and that the people of whole counties, in some instances, were not registered. For these reasons he declares the Constitution was not an emanation in any true sense, from the people. He also has an additional objection as to the mode of submitting the Constitution back to the people. But bearing on the question of whether the delegates were fairly elected, a speech of his made something more than twelve months ago from this stand, becomes important. It was made a httle wliile before the election of the dele- gates who made Lecompton. In that speech he declared there was every reason to hope and believe the election would be fair, and if any one failed to vote it would be his own fault. 126 Life of Abraham Lincoln. I, a few days after, made a sort of answer to that speech. In that answer, I made, substantially, the very argument with which he combated Ms Lecompton adversaries in the Senate last ^^•inter. I pointed to the fact that the people could not vote ^dthout being registered, and that the time for registering had gone by. I commented on it as wonder- ful that Judge Douglas could be ignorant of these facts, which every one else in the nation so well knew. [Jlr. Lincoln then proceeded to notice the attacks made by Douglas on the 6th of June speech of the former. In substance, it is like Ms repl)^ at CMcago. Some of its more striking passages are here subjoined.] He charges, in substance, that I invite a war of sections ; that I propose that all the local institutions of the different States shall become consolidated and umform. What is there in the language of that speech which expresses such purpose, or bears such construction? I have again and again said that I would not enter into any of the States to disturb the institution of slavery. Judge Douglas said, at Bloomington, that I used language most able and ingemous for concealing what I really meant ; and that, while I had protested against entering into the slave States, I neverthe- less did mean to go on the banks of the OMo and throw missiles into Kentucky, to disturb the people there in their domestic institutions. I said in that speech, and I meant no more, that the in- stitution of slavery ought to be placed in the very attitude where the framers of this government placed it, and left it. I do not understand that the framers of our Constitution left the people in the free States in the attitude of firing bombs or shells into the slave States. I was not using that passage for the pm-pose for wMch he infers I did use it. * * * Now you all see, from that quotation, I did not express my wish on anytMng. In that passage I indicate Life of Abraham Lincoln. 127 no wish or purpose of my own; I simply expressed my expectation. [Recurring to the Dred Scott case, after citing Jefferson's views on judicial decisions, and alluding to the course of the Democracy, Douglas included, in regard to the National Bank decision, Mr. Lincoln said:] Now, I wish to know what the Judge can charge upon me, ^^^th respect to the decisions of the Supreme Court, which does not lie in all its length, breadth and proportions at his own door. The plain truth is simply this: Judge Douglas is for Supreme Court decisions when he likes and against them when he does not like them. He is for the Dred Scott decision because it tends to nationalize slavery —because it is part of the original combination for that object. It so happened, singularly enough, that I never stood opposed to a decision of the Supreme Court till this. On the contrary, I have no recollection that he was ever particularly in favor of one till this. He never was in favor of any, nor I opposed to any, till the present one, which helps to nationahze slavery. Free men of Sangamon— free men of Illinois— free men ever}rwhere — judge ye between him and me, upon this issue. Near the close of July, various speeches having been made by each at different points, an arrangement for one joint discussion in each of the seven Congressional districts, in which they had not already both spoken, was agreed upon. At this stage of the canvass, the people of the whole country were beginning to take a lively interest in this con- test, and the reports of the first debate at Ottawa were eagerly sought for and read, at the East and at the AVest. The friends of Mr. Lincoln, and the Republicans in general, were well pleased with the manner in which he acquitted himself in this joint discussion. At each succeeding en- 128 Life of Abraham Lincoln. counter of this sort, the impression was strengthened throughout the country, that Mr. Lincoln was obtaining decided advantages over his opponent. At Freeport, he forced Douglas into an attempted reconciliation of the hitherto unexplained inconsistencies between his squatter sovereignty theory, and his support of the Dred Scott de- cision, which utterly excludes squatter sovereignty in prac- tice. His " unfriendly legislation " device, on that occasion, cost Douglas the loss of the last possibility of any reconcilia- tion with the Southern Democracy. While this answer, most unwdllingly given, perhaps, yet announced with appar- ent alacrity, contributed something toward effecting his immediate, temporary purpose, it undoubtedly destroyed all his remoter chances as a Presidential candidate of a united Democracy. The Ottawa debate is memorable for one of the most sur- prising political devices ever resorted to by a man in high position, like Douglas. It consisted in quoting a series of ultra resolutions adopted at a small local convention long before the party was formed, and palming them off as the platform adopted by " the first mass State convention ever held in Illinois by the Black Republican party. " On these resolutions, to which he assumed that Lincoln was com- mitted, Dougles based a series of questions, which the former duly exposing the imposition thus practiced, frankly and most explicitly answered at Freeport, the scene of the second debate, as follows: Opening Passages of Mr. Lincoln's Freeport Speech. Ladies and Gentlemen: — On Saturday last Judge Douglas and myself first met in pubhc discussion. He spoke one hour, I an hour and a half, and he replied for half an hour. The order is now reversed. I am to speak Life of Abraham Lincoln. 129 an hour, he an hour and a half, and then I am to reply for half an hour. I propose to devote myself during the first hour to the scope of what was brought within the range of his half-hour speech at Ottawa. Of course there was brought within the scope of that half-hour's speech some- thing of his own opening speech. In the course of that opening argument Judge Douglas proposed to me seven distinct interrogatories. In my speech of an hour and a half, I attended to some other parts of his speech, and incidentally, as I thought, answered one of the interroga- tories then. I then distinctly intimated to him that I would answer the rest of his interrogatories on condition only that he should agree to answer as many for me. He made no intimation at the time of the proposition, nor did he in his reply allude at all to that suggestion of mine. I do liim no injustice in saying that he occupied at least half of his reply in dealing with me as though I had refused to answer his interrogatories. I now propose that I will answer any of the interrogatories, upon condition that he will answer questions from me not exceeding the same num- ber. I give liim an opportunity to respond. The Judge remains silent. I now say that I will answer his interroga- tories, whether he answers mine or not [applause] : and that after I have done so, I shall propound mine to him. [Ap- plause.] I have supposed myself, since the organization of the Republican party at Bloomington, in May, 1856, bound as a party man by the platforms of the party, then and since. If in any interrogatories which I shall answer I go beyond the scope of what is within those platforms, it will be perceived that no one is responsible but myself. Having said thus much, I will take up the Judge's inter- rogatories as I find them printed in the Chicago Times, and answer them seriatim. In order that there may be no 130 Life of Abkaham Lincoln. mistake about it, I have copied the interrogatories in writing, and also my answers to them. The first one of these interrogatories is in these words: Question 1. "I desire to know whether Lincoln to-day stands, as he did in 1854, in favor of the unconditional repeal of the Fugitive Slave law?" Answer. I do not now, nor ever did, stand in favor of the unconditional repeal of the Fugitive Slave law. Q. 2. "I desire him to answer whether he stands pledged to-day, as he did in 1854, against the admission of any more slave States into the LTnion, even if the people want them?" A. I do not now, nor ever did, stand pledged against the admission of any more slave states into the Union. Q. 3. "I want to know whether he stands pledged against the admission of a new State in the LTnion, with such a Constitution as the people of that State may see fit to make?" A. I do not stand pledged against the admission of a new State into the Union, with such a Constitution as the people of that State may see fit to make. Q. 4. "I want to know whether he stands pledged to the abohtion of slavery in the District of Columbia?"' A. I do not stand pledged to-day to the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. Q. 5. " I desire him to answer whether he stands pledged to the prohibition of the slave-trade between the different States?" A. I do not stand pledged to the prohibition of the slave-trade between the different States. Q. 6. " I desire to know whether he stands pledged to prohibit slavery in all the Territories of the United States, North as well as South of the Missouri Compromise line?" A. I am impliedly, if not expressly, pledged to a beUef Life of Abraham Lincoln. 131 in the right and duty of Congress to prohibit slavery in all the United States Territories. [Great applause.] Q. 7. "I desire him to answer whether he is opposed to the acquisition of any new territory unless slavery is first prohibited therein?" A. I am not generally opposed to honest acquisition of territory; and in any given case, I would or would not oppose such acquisition, accordingly as I might think such acquisition would or would not agitate the slavery question among ourselves. Now, my friends, it will be perceived, upon an examina- tion of these questions and answers, that so far I have only answered that I was not pledged to tMs, that or the other. The Judge has not framed his interrogatories to ask me anything more than this, and I have answered in strict accordance with the interrogatories, and have answered truly that I am not pledged at all upon any of the points to which I have answered. But I am not disposed to hang upon the exact form of his interrogatory. I am rather disposed to take up at least some of these questions, and state what I really think upon them. As to the first one, in regard to the Fugitive Slave law, I have never hesitated to say, and I do not now hesitate to say, that I think, under the Constitution of the United States, the people of the Southern States are entitled to a Congressional Slave law. Having said that, I have had nothing to say in regard to the existing Fugitive Slave law, further than that I think it should have been framed so as to be free from some of the objections that pertain to it, without lessening its efficiency. And inasmuch as we are not now in an agitation in regard to an alteration or modification of that law, I would not be the man to intro- duce it as a new subject of agitation upon the general question of slavery. 132 Life of Abraham Lincoln. In regard to the other question, of whether I am pledged to the admission of any more Slave States into the Union, I state to you very frankly that I would be exceedingly sorry ever to be put in a position of ha^^ng to pass upon that question. I should be exceedingly glad to know that there would never be another slave State admitted into the Union; but, I must add, that if slavery shall be kept out of the Territories during the Territorial existence of any one given Territory, and then the people shall, ha\'ing a fair chance and a clear field, when they come to adopt the Constitution, do such an extraordinary thing as to adopt a slave Constitution, uninfluenced by the actual presence of the institution among them, I see no alternative if we own the country, but to admit them into the Union. [Applause.] The third interrogatory is answered by the answer to the second, it being, as I conceive, the same as the second. The fourth one is in regard to the abolition of slavery in the District of Colmiibia. In relation to that, I have my mind very distinctly made up. I should be exceedingly glad to see slavery abolished in the District of Columbia. I believe that Congress possesses the constitutional power to abolish it. Yet, as a member of Congress, I should not, with my present views, be in favor of endeavoring to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, imless it would be upon these conditions : First, that the abolition should be grad- ual ; Second, that it should be on a vote of the majority of qualified voters in the District, and Third, that compensa- tion should be made to unwilling owners. With these three conditions, I confess I would be exceedingly glad to see Congress abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, and, in the language of Henry Clay, "sweep from our Capital that foul blot upon our nation." In regard to the fifth interrogatory, I must say here, that Life of Abraham Lincoln. 133 as to the question of the abolition of the slave-trade between the different States, I can truly answer, as I have, that I am pledged to nothing about it. It is a subject to which I have not given that mature consideration that would make me feel authorized to state a position so as to [hold myself entirely bound by it. In other words, that question has never been prominently enough before me to induce me to investigate whether we really have the constitutional power to do it. I could investigate it if I had sufficient time to bring myself to a conclusion upon that subject; but I have not done so, and I say so frankly to you here, and to Judge Douglas. I must say, however, that if I should be of opinion that Congress does possess the consti- tutional power to abolish slave trading among the different States, I should still not be in favor of the exercise of that power, unless upon some conservative principle as I con- ceive it, akin to what I have said in relation to the aboli- tion of slavery in the District of Columbia. My answer as to whether I desire that slavery should be prohibited in all the Territories of the United States, is full and explicit within itself, and can not be made clearer by any comments of mine. So I suppose, in regard to the question whether I am opposed to the acquisition of any more territory unless slavery is first prohibited therein, my answer is such that I could add nothing by way of illustration, or making myself better understood, than the answer which I have placed in writing. Now, in all this, the Judge has me, and he has me on the record. I suppose he had flattered himself that I was really entertaining one set of opinions for one place, and another set for another place— that I was afraid to say at one place what I uttered at another. What I am saying here, I suppose I say to a vast audience as strongly tending to Abolitionism as any audience in the State of Illinois, and 134 Life of Abraham Lincoln. I believe I am saying that which, if it would be offensive to any persons and render them enemies to myself, would be ofTensive to persons in this audience. At Jonesboro, in the lower part of the State, where their third debate was held, Douglas re-iterated his often-refuted charges of ultraism against Lincoln, wliich the latter just as coolly and convincingly disposed of, as if there had been no unreasonable pertinacity in making imjust accusations against him. After bringing home the sin of re-opening agitation, to the door of Douglas, he proceeded to show as extravagant radicalism in the recorded professions of the Democracy as of any persons acting with the Repubhcan party. He then completely riddled the "unfriendly legis- lation" theory of Douglas, exliibiting its utter inconsistency with fidelity to his constitutional oaths, so long as he in- dorsed the validity of the political dogmas of Judge Taney, in his Dred Scott opinion. In the fourth debate, at Charleston, the attempts of Doug- las to make capital out of the Mexican War question were appropriately disposed of. Here, also, Douglas was con- victed, on conclusive testimony, of having stricken out of the Toombs Kansas Bill a clause requiring the Constitution that should be formed under its provisions, to be sub- mitted to the people. Tliis had an important bearing on one objection upon wliich Douglas based his Anti-Lecomp- ton rebellion. The fifth joint discussion was held at Galesburg, the sixth at Quincy, and the last at Alton. The main topics and methods of these debates, as of the rest, did not sub- stantially differ from those of the speeches at Chicago and Springfield. The Alton debate occurred on the 15th of October. As the day of the election (November 2d) approached, it be- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 135 came more and more evident that strong efforts were mak- ing, aided by the advice of Senator Crittenden on the one hand, and of Vice-President Breckinridge on the other, to secure a diversion of "Conservative" votes — American, Democratic, and Whig — in the central and southern parts of the State, in favor of Douglas. These endeavors suc- ceeded to such an extent that, with the immense advantages the Douglas party had in their unequal and utterly unfair apportionment of Legislative Districts, and in the lucky proportion of Democratic Senators holding over, they se- cured a small majority in each branch of the new Legisla- ture. The Senate had 14 Democrats and 11 Repubhcans — the House 40 Democrats and 35 Republicans. The popular voice was for Lincoln, by more than four thousand majority, over Douglas. Admiration of the manly bearing and gallant conduct of Mr. Lincoln, throughout this campaign, which had early assumed a national importance, led to the spontaneous suggestion of his name, in various parts of the country, as a candidate for the Presidency. From the beginning to the end of the contest, he had proved himself an able states- man, an effective orator, a true gentleman, and an honest man. While, therefore, Douglas was returned to the Senate, there was a general presentiment that a juster ver- dict was yet to be had, and that Mr. Lincoln and his cause would be ultimately vindicated before the people. That time was to come, even sooner, perhaps, than his friends in their momentary despondency, expected. From that hour to the present, the fame of Abraham Lincoln has been enlarging and ripening, and the love of his noble character has become more and more deeply fixed in the popular heart. CHAPTER VIII. Speeches of 1859-'60. During the year following his great contest with Douglas, which had resulted in a barren triumph through the in- justice of the previous Democratic Legislature in refusing a fair and equal apportionment, Mr. Lincoln again gave himself almost exclusively to professional labors. During the autumn campaign of 1859, however, when Douglas visited Ohio, and endeavored to turn the tide of battle in favor of the Democracy in that State, so as to secure the re-election of Mr. Pugh, and to gain other partisan benefits, an earnest invitation was sent to Lincoln to assist the Republicans in their canvass. He complied, and delivered two most effective speeches in Ohio, one at Columbus, and the other at Cincinnati. In his speech at the former place (September 16, 1859), he began by noticing a statement which he read from the central Democratic organ, averring that in the canvass of the previous year with Douglas, "Mr. Lincoln declared in favor of negro suffrage." This charge he quickly dis- posed of, showing by quotations from his printed speeches of that canvass, that he distinctly and repeatedly declared himself opposed to the policy thus attributed to him. Mr. Lincoln then noticed the recent Columbus speech of Mr. Douglas, in which he "dealt exclusively" in the "negro topics" of discussion. Mr. Lincoln spoke at some length on these issues, and thoroughly exposed the dis- tinctions between genuine popular sovereignty, and the 137 138 Life of Abraham Lincoln. spurious sort which Douglas and his friends passed off for the reahty. He then went on to notice the great amount of trouble which Mr. Douglas had had with his spurious popular sovereignty, and to illustrate how "his explana- tions explanatory of explanations explained are intermin- able. The Harper's Magazine essay of Douglas on this subject was dissected, and left without any logical vitality or cohesion. Two or three brief points in the remainder of this speech are subjoined: States and Territories. There is another little difficulty about this matter of treating the Territories and States alike in all things, to which I ask your attention, and I shall leave this branch of the case. If there is no difference between them, why not make the Territories States at once? What is the reason that Kansas was not fit to come into the Union when it was organized into a Territory, in Judge Douglas' view? Can any of you tell any reason why it should not have come into the Union at once? They are, as he thinks, to decide upon the slavery question— the largest and most important with which they could possibly deal — what could they do by coming into the Union that they are not fit to do, according to his view, by staying out of it? Oh, they are not fit to sit in Congress and decide upon the rates of postage, or questions of ad valorem or specific duties on foreign goods, or live oak timber contracts. [Laughter.] They are not fit to decide these vastly important matters, which are national in their import, but they are fit, "from the jump" to decide this little negro question. But, gentlemen, the case is too plain; I occupy too much time on this head and I pass on. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 139 Stand by the Doctrines of the Fathers. I see in the Judge's speech here a short sentence in these words: "Our fathers, when they formed this Gov- ernment under which we live, understood this question just as well, even better than we do now." That is true. I stick to that. [Great cheers and laughter.] I will stand by Judge Douglas in that to the bitter end. [Renewed laughter.] And now, Judge Douglas, come and stand by me, and faithfully show how they acted, understanding it better than we do. All I ask of you, Judge Douglas, is to stick to the proposition that the men of the Revolution understood this subject better than we do now, and with ilmt better understanding they acted better than you are trying to act now. [Applause.] At Cincinnati, on the 17th of September, Mr. Lincoln addressed an immense audience on the same general politi- cal topics, and in his ablest manner. He did not repeat or merely play variations upon his Columbus speech, but adopted new modes of illustrating and enforcing his views. He was listened to with an interest rarely excited by any orator who ever spoke in this city, even in the most exciting campaign. No extracts can give a true idea of its ability and pov/er as a whole. Alluding to Douglas' perversions of his views, and to the charge of wishing to disturb slavery in the States by "shooting over" the line, Mr. Lincoln said: Shooting over the Line. It has occurred to me here to-night, that if I ever do shoot over at the people on the other side of the line in a slave State, and purpose to do so, keeping my skin safe, that I have now about the best chance I shall ever have. [Laughter and applause.] I should not wonder if there are some Kentuckians about this audience ; we are close to 140 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Kentucky, and whether that be so or not, we are on ele- vated ground, and by speaking distinctly, I should not wonder if some of the Kentuckians should hear me on the other side of the river. [Laughter.] For that reason I propose to address a portion of what I have to say to the Kentuckians. I say, then, in the first place, to the Kentuckians, that I am what they call, as I understand it, a " Black Republican." [Applause and laughter.] I think that slavery is wrong, morally, socially and politically. I desire that it should be no further spread in these United States, and I should not object if it should gradually terminate in the whole Union. [Applause.] While I say this for myself, I say to you, Kentuckians, that I understand that you differ radically with me upon this proposition; that you believe slavery is a good thing: that slavery is right; that it ought to be extended and perpetuated in this Union. Now, there being this broad difference between us, I do not pretend, in addressing myself to you, Kentuckians, to attempt proselyting you at all ; that would be a vain effort. I do not enter upon it. I only propose to try to show you that you ought to nominate for the next Presidency, at Charlestown, my distinguished friend. Judge Douglas. [Applause.] In whatever there is a difference between you and him, I understand he is as sincerely for you, and more wisely for you, than you are for yourselves. [Ap- plause.] I will try to demonstrate that proposition. Understand, now, I say that I believe he is as sincerely for you, and more wisely for you, than you are for yourselves. Mr. Lincoln then went on to show that Douglas was constantly endeavoring to mold "the pubhc opinion of the North to the ends" desired by the South, that he only differed from the South in so far as was necessary to retain any hold upon his own section; that, not daring to main- Life op Abraham Lincoln. 141 tain that slavery is right, he professed an indifference whether it was " voted up or voted down " — thus indirectly- advancing the opinion that it is not wrong; and that he had taken a step in the advance, by doing what would not have been thought of by any man five years ago, to wit : — denying that the Declaration of Independence asserts any principle intended to be applicable to black men, or that properly includes them. The tendency of this doctrine " is to bring the public mind to the conclusion that when men are spoken of, the negro is not meant; that when negroes are not spoken of, brutes alone are contemplated. " Of the certainty of a speedy Republican triumph in the nation, and of its results, Mr. Lincoln said : What the Opposition Mean to do. I will tell you, so far as I am authorized to speak for the Opposition, what we mean to do with you. We mean to treat you, as nearly as we possibly can, as Washington, Jefferson, and Madison treated you. [Cheers.] We mean to leave you alone, and in no way to interfere with your institution; to abide by all and every compromise of the Constitution, and, in a word, coming back to the original proposition, to treat you, so far as degenerated men (if we have degenerated) may, imitating the examples of those noble fathers — Washington, Jefferson, and Madison. [Ap- plause.] We mean to remember that you are good as we; that there is no difference between us, other than the difference of circumstances. We mean to recognize and bear in mind always that you have as good hearts in your bosoms as other people, or as we claim to have, and treat you accordingly. We mean to marry your girls, when we have a chance — the white ones I mean — [laughter] and I have the honor to inform you that I once did get a chance in that way. [A voice, "good for you," and applause.] 142 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Plain Questions to the Disunion Democracy. I have told you what we mean to do. I want to know, now, when that thing takes place, what do you mean to do. I often hear it intimated that you mean to divide the Union whenever a Republican, or anything like it, is elected President of the United States. [A voice, "That is so."] " That is so, " one of them says. I wonder if he is a Ken- tuckian. [A voice, " He is a Douglas man. "] Well then, I want to know what you are going to do with your lialf of it? [Applause and laughter.] Are you going to split the Ohio down through, and push your half off a piece? Or are you going to keep it right along side of us outrageous fellows? Or are you going to build up a wall some way between your country and ours, by wliich that movable property of yours can't come over here any more, and you lose it? Do you think you can better yourselves on that subject, by leaving us here under no obligation whatever to return those specimens of your movable property that come liither? You have divided the Union because we would not do right with you, as you think, upon that subject; when we cease to be under obligations to do anytliing for you, how much better off do you think you will be? Will you make war upon us and kill us all? Why, gentlemen, I think you are as gallant and as brave men as live; that you can fight as bravely in a good cause, man for man, as any other people living; that you have shown yourselves capable of this upon various occasions ; but, man for man, you are not better than we are, and there are not so many of you as there are of us. [Loud cheering.] You will never make much of a hand at whipping us. If we were fewer in numbers than you, I think that you could whip us ; if wo were equal, it would likely be a drawn battle ; but being inferior in num- bers, you will make nothing by attempting to master us. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 143 What Republicans Must Do. I say that we must not interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists, because the Constitution forbids it, and the general welfare does not require us to do so. We must not withhold an efficient fugitive slave law, because the Constitution requires us, as I understand it, not to withhold such a law, but we must prevent the outspreading of the institution, because neither the Constitution nor the general welfare requires us to extend it. We must prevent the revival of the African slave trade, and the enacting by Congress of a Territorial slave-code. We must prevent each of these things being done by either Congresses or Courts. The People of these United States are the rightful masters of "both Congresses and Courts [applause], not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert that Constitution. [Applause.] After expressing an earnest desire " that all the elements of the Opposition should unite in the next Presidential election and in all future time," on a right and just basis; and after saying, "There are plenty of men in the slave States that are altogether good enough for me to be either President or Vice-President, provided they will profess sympathy with our purpose in the election, and will place themselves upon such ground that our men, upon principle, can vote for them, " Mr. Lincoln brought his remarlvs to a close. In the spring of 1860, Mr. Lincoln yielded to the calls, which came to him from the East for liis presence and aid in the exciting political canvasses there going on. He spoke at various places in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and also in New York City, to very large 144 Life of Abraham Lincoln. audiences, and was everywhere warmly welcomed. Per- haps one of the greatest speeches of his life, was that de- livered by him at the Cooper Institute, in New York, on the 27th of February, 1860. A crowded audience was present, which received Mr. Lincoln with enthusiastic demonstrations. William Cullen Bryant presided, and introduced the speaker in terms of high compliment to the West, and to the "eminent citizen" of that section, whose political labors in 1856 and '58 were appropriately eulo- gized. The Cooper Institute Speech. Mr. Lincoln then proceeded to address his auditors in an extended and closely-reasoned argument, proving in the most convincing manner that the Republican party stands where "the fathers" stood on the slavery question, and eloquently enforcing the sentiment expressed by Mr. Douglas in liis Columbus speech of the previous autumn, namely: "Our fathers, when they framed the government under which we live, undetstood this question just as well, and even better than we do now. " The argument and its illustrations were masterly, the logic unanswerable. A few paragraphs of his concluding remarks are all that can be given here. What Will Satisfy the Southern Democracy? A few words now to Republicans. It is exceedingly de- sirable that all parts of this great Confederacy shall be at peace, and in harmony one with another. Let us Repub- licans do our part to have it so. Even though much pro- voked, let us do nothing through passion and ill temper. Even though the Southern people will not so much as listen to us, let us calmly consider their demands, and yield to them, if, in our deliberate view of our duty, we Life of Abraham Lincoln. 145 possibly can. Judging by all they say and do, and by the subject and nature of their controversy with us, let us de- termine, if we can, what will satisfy them. Will they be satisfied if fhe Territories be unconditionally surrendered to them? We know they will not. In all their present complaints against us, the Territories are scarcely mentioned. Invasions and insurrections are the rage now. Will it satisfy them, if, in the future, we have noth- ing to do with invasions and insurrections? We know it will not. We so Imow, because we know we never had any- thing to do with invasions and insurrections ; and yet this total abstaining does not exempt us from the charge and the denunciation. The question recurs. What will satisfy them? Simply this : We must not only let them alone, but we must, some- how, convince them that we do let them alone. This, we know by experience, is no easy task. We have been so trying to convince them, from the very beginning of our organization, but with no success. In all our platforms and speeches, we have constantly protested our purpose to let them alone; but this has had no tendency to con- vince them. Alike unavailing to convince them is the fact, that they never detected a man of us in any attempt to disturb them. These natural and apparently adequate means all fail- ing, what will convince them? This, and this only: cease to call slavery vrrong, and join them in calling it right. All this must be done thoroughly— done in acts as well as in words. * * * If our sense of duty forbids this, then let us stand by our duty fearlessly and effectively. Let us be diverted by none of those sophistical contrivances wherewith we are so in- dustriously plied and belabored— contrivances such as groping for some middle ground between the right and 146 Life of Abraham Lincoln. the wrong, vain as the search for a man who should be neither a living man nor a dead man — such as a policy of "don't care" on a question about which all true men do care — such as Union appeals, beseeching true Union men to yield to Disunionists, reversing the Divine rule, and call- ing not the sinners, but the righteous to repentance — such as invocations of Wasliington, imploring men to unsay what Washington said, and undo what Washington did. Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destrliction to the Government, nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty, as we understand it. This is the last of the great speeches of Mr. Lincoln, prior to the election of 1860, of which there is any complete report. It forms a brilliant close to this period of his life, and a fitting prelude to that on which he was about to enter. It was during this visit to New York that the following incident occurred, as related by a teacher in the Five Points House of Industry, in that city. Our Sunday-school in the Five Points was assembled, one Sabbath morning, a few months since, when I noticed a tall and remarkable looking man enter the room and take a seat among us. He listened with fixed attention to our exer- cises, and his countenance manifested such genuine interest that I approached liim and suggested that he might be wilHng to say something to the children. He accepted the invitation with evident pleasure, and coming forward began a simple address, which at once fascinated every little hearer and hushed the room into silence. His language was strikingly beautiful, and his tones musical with intensest feeling. The little faces around would droop into sad con- Life of Abhaham Lincoln. 147 viction as he uttered sentences of warning, and would brighten into sunshine as he spoke cheerful words of prom- ise. Once or twice he atempted to close his remarks, but the imperative shout of "Go on!" "Oh, do go on!" would compel him to resume. As I looked upon the gaunt and sinewy frame of the stranger, and marked his powerful head and determined features, now touched into softness by the impressions of the moment, I felt an irrepressible curiosity to learn something more about him, and when he was quiet- ly leaving the room, I begged to know his name. He courteously replied, "It is Abraham Lincoln, from Illinois!" CHAPTER IX. Mr. Lincoln's Nomination for the Presidency. The Republican National Convention met at Chicago on the 16th of May, 1860, to nominate candidates for Presi- dent and Vice-President of the United States. At the date of its assembling, the great quadrennial convention of the Democratic party had been held at Charleston, and, after nearly two weeks' session, had adjourned without any agreement upon either platform or candidates. Douglas, with his Freeport record, which had become necessary in order to accomplish his temporary purpose, had proved an irreconcilably disturbing element in that convention. The nomination of Douglas by a united Democracy had been demonstrated to be impossible, and the only alternative of his withdrawal or an incurable disruption was presented. Subsequently, a "Constitutional Union" convention had assembled at Baltimore, and nominated a Presidental ticket, with no other definitely avowed object than that pro- fessed in common by all citizens, everywhere, of supporting the Constitution and the Union. All eyes were now turned toward Chicago, as the point at which the problem of the next Presidency was to be definitely solved. Before the Republican National Convention met, the names of many distinguished statesmen had been proposed for the first place on the Presidential ticket, and their merits and availability had been extensively discussed. In this preliminary canvassing there had been no bitterness or un- seemly personalities. There was a general indication of 149 150 Life of Abraham Lincoln. harmony in ultimate action, and of unbroken union upon whatever ticket should be selected. The first day of the Convention was spent in organizing and on the second day the committee, selected for that pur- pose, reported a platform of principles which was unani- mously adopted, and has been strongly approved by the people. On the morning of the 18th, amid the most intense, though subdued excitement of the twelve thousand people inside of the " Wigwam," in which the convention was held, and amid the anxious solicitude and suspense of the still greater num- bers outside, who could not gain admission, it was voted to proceed at once to ballot for a candidate for President of the United States. Seven names were formally presented in the following order: William H. Seward, of New York; Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois; William L. Dayton, of New Jersey; Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio; Edward Bates, of Missouri; and John McLe.\n of Ohio. Loud and long-continued applause greeted the first two of these names, in particular, between which it was soon apparent that the chief contest was to be. On the first ballot Mr. Seward received 173 votes, Mr. Lincoln 102, Mr. Cameron 50, Mr. Chase 49, Mr. Bates 48, M. Dayton 14, Mr. McLean 12, and there were 16 votes scattered among cadidates not put in nomination. For a choice, 233 votes were required. On the second ballot (Mr. Cameron's name having been withdrawn) the vote for the several candidates was as follows: Mr. Seward 184, Mr. Lincoln 181, Mr. Chase 42, Mr. Bates 35, Mr. Dayton, 10, Mr. McLean 8, scatter- ing 4. The third ballot was immediately taken, and when the call of the roll was ended, the footings were as follows: For Life of ASraham Lincoln. 151 Mr. Lincoln 231, Mr. Seward ISO, Mr. Chase 24, Mr. Bates 22, all others 7. Immediately before the result was announced, four Ohio delegates changed their votes to Mr. Lincoln, giving him a majority. The scene which followed — the wild manifestations of ap- proval and delight, within and without the hall, prolonged uninterruptedly for twenty minutes, and renewed again and again for a half hour longer — no words can describe. Never before was there a popular assembly of any sort, probably, so stirred with a contagious and all-pervading enthusiasm. The nomination was made unanimous, on motion of Mr. Evarts, of New York, who had presented the name of Mr. Seward, and speedily, on the wings of lightning, the news of the great event was spread to all parts of the land. Subse- quently, with like heartiness and unanimity, the ticket was completed by the nomination, on the second ballot, of Sen- ator Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, for Vice-President. These demonstrations at Chicago were but a representa- tion of the common sentiments of the masses of the Repub- lican party, and of thousands among the people, not before included in its ranks in the country at large. From that day to the present, the wisdom of the nomination of Abra- ham Lincoln for the highest place in the American Govern- ment has been more and more confirmed. As a man of the people, in cordial sympathy with the masses, he had the un- doubting confidence of the sincere friends of free labor, re- gardless of party distinctions. As a man of sterling integrity and incorruptible honesty, he was to become the fitting agent for upholding the Federal Government in the days of its greatest trial. As a man of eminent abihty, and of sound principles, after the earliest and best standard in our political history, his election was to give to the country an administration credible to our republican polity, and to result in the complete removal of the great disquieting 152 Life of Abraham Lincoln. element which at length convulsed the nation with a gigan- tic civil war. The brief letter of Mr. Lincoln, in acceptance of the Presidential nomination, is subjoined. Springfield, III., May 23, 1860. Hon. Geo. Ashmun, President of the Republwan National Convention. Sir : — I accept the nomination tendered me by the con- vention over which you presided, and of which I am for- mally apprised in the letter of yourself and others, acting as a committee of the convention for that purpose. The declaration of principles and sentiments, which accompanies your letter, meets my approval; and it shall be my care not to violate nor to disregard it, in any part. Imploring the assistance of Divine Providence, and with due regard to the views and feeling of all who were repre- sented in the convention; to the rights of all- the States, and Territories, and the people of the nation; to the inviola- bility of the Constitution, and to the perpetual union, har- mony and prosperity of all, I am most happy to co-operate for the practical success of the principles declared by the convention. Your obliged friend and fellow citizen, Abraham Lincoln. The popular favor with the nomination of Mr. Lincoln was first received was strengthened by the spirited canvass which followed. The electoral votes of the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Cahfornia, and Oregon, seventeen states, were cast for Lincoln and Life of Abraham Lincoln. 153 Hamlin. The votes of Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Frorida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas, eleven states, were cast for Breckinridge and Lane. The votes of Virginia, Ken- tucky and Tennessee were cast for Bell and Everett. The electoral vote of Missouri was given for Douglas and John- son. The vote of New Jersey was divided, four being given for Lincoln and three for Douglas. The aggregate electoral vote for each Presidential candi- date, as foimd by the official canvass in joint session of the two Houses of Congress, on the 13th day of February, 1861, was as follows: For Abraham Lincoln, 180; for John C. Breckinridge, 72, for John Bell, 39; and for Stephen A. Douglas, 12. The Vice-President, Mr. Breckinridge, then officially declared Mr. Lincoln elected President of the United States for four years, commencing on the 4th of March, 1861. The aggregate popular vote for each of the Presidential candidates, at this election, was as follows For Mr. Lin- coln, 1,866,452; for Mr. Douglas, 1,375,157; for Mr. Breckinridge, 847,953; and for Mr. Bell, 590,631. The last speech of Mr. Douglas, in the ensuing 'spring, urged upon his friends an earnest support of the Administration in putting down the rebellion, as in his speech at Norfolk, Va., during the preceding canvass, he had declared in favor of coercion, as the remedy for secession. Mr. Bell went over to the secession cause, co-operating with Mr. Breckin- ridge, afterward a general in the Confederate army. The total vote for the two loyal candidates was 3,241,609. On the morning of February 11th, Mr. Lincoln, with his family, left Springfield for Washington. A large con- course of citizens had assembled at the depot, on the occa- sion of his departure, whom, with deep emotion, he ad- dressed as follows : 154 Life of Abraham Lincoln. My Friends: No one, not in my position, can appre- ciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century; here my cliildi'en were born, and here one of them lies buried. I laiow not how soon I shall see you again. A duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Wasliington. He never could have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Proiidnece upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I can not succeed without the same Divine aid which sustained him ; and in the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support, and hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that Divine assist- ance, without which I cannot succeed, but with wMch suc- cess is certain. Again, I bid you all an effectionate fare- well. The first speech of Mr. Lincoln on his journey was that delivered at Indianapolis, on the evening of the same day, addressed to a multitude of people assembled to welcome liim. As containing the earliest direct intimation of Ms views on the all-engrossing topic of the time, it is appro- priately given here: Fellow Citizens of the State of Indiana: I am here to thank you for this magnificent welcome, and still more for the generous support given by your State to that political cause, which, I think, is the true and just cause of the whole country, and the whole world. Solomon says, "there is a time to keep slience ; " and when men wrangle by the mouth with no certainty that they mean the same thing while using the same words, it perhaps were as well if they would keep silence. The words "coercion" and "invasion" are much used in these days, and often with some temper and hot blood. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 155 Let us make sure, if we can, that we do not misunderstand the meaning of those who use them. Let us get the exact definitions of these words — not from dictionaries, but from the men themselves, who certainly deprecate the things they would represent by the use of the words. What, then, is coercion? What is invasion? Would the marching of an army into South Carolina, without the consent of her people, and with hostile intent toward them, be invasion? I certainly think it would, and it would be coercion, also, if the South Carolinians were forced to submit. But if the United States should merely hold and retake its own forts and other property, and collect the duties on foreign importations, or even withhold the mails from places where they were habitually violated, would any or all of these things be invasion or coercion? Do our professed lovers of the Union, who spitefully resolve that they will resist coercion and invasion, understand that such things as these, on the part of the United States, would be coercion or invasion of a State? If so, their idea of means to preserve the object of their great affection would seem to be exceedingly tliin and airy. If sick, the little pills of the homeopathist would be much too large for it to swallow. In their view, the Union, as a family relation, would seem to be no regular marriage, but rather a sort of "free-love" arrangement, to be maintained on passional attraction. By the way, in what consists the special sacredness of a State? I speak not of the position assigned to a State in the Union by the Constitution, for that is a bond we all recognize. That position, however, a State can not carry out of the Union with it. I speak of that assumed primary right of a State to rule all which is less than itself, and to ruin all wliich is larger than itself. If a State and a County, in a given case, should be equal in number of inhabitants, in what, as a matter of principle, is the State better than 156 Life of Abraham Lincoln. the County? Would an exchange of name be an exchange of rights? LIpon what principle, upon what rightful principle, may a State, being no more than one-fiftieth part of the nation in soil and population, break up the nation, and then coerce a proportionably large subdivision of itself in the most arbitrary way? What mysterious right to play tyrant is conferred on a district of country ^vithits people, by merely calling it a State? Fellow-citizens, I am not asserting an>i;hing. I am merely asking questions for you to consider. And now allow me to bid you farewell. Enthusiastic greetings awaited the President elect all along his route, the people hailing the approach of the day which was to witness, under his auspices, the beginning of a new regime for the nation. At Philadelphia, on the 22nd of February, he visited Independence Hall, where throngs of people gathered to see him, and where he raised a national flag to its place on the staff above, as requested, amid the cheers of the thousands present. In a brief speech, he referred with much emotion to the men who had assembled in this Hall in 1776, and to the principles there proclaimed on the 4th of July — prin- ciples which he declared it to be his purpose never to yield, if he must seal liis devotion to them by a violent death. On the next day he reached Harrisburg. Positive information had now been received at Washing- ton of a plot to assinate Mr. Lincoln at Baltimore. When this was communicated to him, he was averse to any change of the time fixed upon for his transit through that city. On the earnest representations of Mr. Seward, however, who sent a special messenger to the President elect at Harrisburg, to urge this course, he left the latter place on the night train, a few hours in advance of that which he was expected to take, and passing through Baltimore with out recognition,arrived the followingmorningin Washington. CHAPTER X. Commencement of President Lincoln's Administration. On the fourth day of March, 1861, Mr. Lincoln took the oath of office, as President of the United States. The ad- ministation of James Buchanan, and eight years of in- tensely southern sway in all branches of the National Gov- ernment, were now at an end. During the four months that had intervened since the people decreed this change not a moment had been lost by the leaders in the now clearly developed scheme of revolt, in making energetic prepara- tion for its consummation. So well had they succeeded, by the aid of bold treason or of inert complicity at the national capital, that they imagined they had assured the full attainment of their object, almost without the hazard of a single campaign. While professing, however, to be- lieve in a fancied right of peaceable secession, and pro- claiming their desire to be left unmolested in the execution of their revolutionary purposes, the chief conspirators well knew that this immunity could only be gained by such use of the remaining days of the outgoing administration that the crisis should already be over, or resistance to their treason be rendered ineffectual, when the new administration should begin. They industriously collected the materials of war, yet spared no efforts. to bring about a state of things which should insure either peaceful submission to their will or a sure vantage ground for an appeal to arms. So much had been brought to final accomplishment by the conspirators during the closing months of Mr. Buchanan's administration. Such was the spirit manifested by them to 157 158 Life of Abraham Lincoln. repel conciliation in every form, to maintain peace solely on condition of the complete submission of the loyal States to every essential demand of secessionism. And such, on the other hand, was the amicable disposition of loyal men every- where, and their earnest wish to avoid a collision of arms, if any other solution were possible short of absolute degrada- tion and ruin to the nation. Jefferson Da\'is, in assuming power as head of the "Confederacy," at Montgomery, Feb- ruary, 18, stated the sole conditions of peace in the follow- ing unmistakeable language; If a just perception of mutual interest shall permit us peaceably to pursue our separate political career, my most earnest desire will have been fulfilled. But if this be de- nied us, and the integrity of our territory and jurisdiction be assailed, it will but remain for us, with firm resolve, to appeal to arms, and invoke the blessing of Providence on a just cause. This was immediately followed by the recommendation that a Confederate army be organized and put in training for the emergency; "a well instructed, disciplined army, more numerous than would usually be required, on a peace establishment," being distinctly indicated as essentials to Ins i^lans. While it is thus clear that he and all his co-adjutors were determined on war from the outset, and at all hazards, unless dis-union were recognized as an accomplished fact, and the jurisdiction of the Government over the rebellious dis- tricts were abandoned without a struggle, it is equally mani- fest that not a single grievance complained of could have failed of redress, under our popular institutions, by peace- able methods. While deluding their adherents with smooth words, they deliberately chose an appeal to arms, and scorned a peaceable solution, which was equally at their dis- posal, under the Constitution and the laws. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 159 Some acts of vigor and patriotic fidelity, during the clos- ing days of Mr. Buchanan's administration, deserve to be remembered, to the honor of those cabinet ministers, to whom alone the country was indebted for these redeeming deeds. Dix, Stanton and Holt had preserved a remainder of jjopular respect for a Government that all the loyalty of the nation rejoiced to see transferred to the hands of a new executive, untried though he was, and terrible as was the task devolving upon liim. Despite all the threats, constantly rej^eated for months past, that Mr. Lincoln should never be permitted to occupy the Presidential chair, and desperate as had been the plot- tings for his assassination, he appeared at the east front of the capitol and received, at the appointed time, the oath from Chief Justice Taney. During the period that had elapsed since the election, Mr. Lincoln had carefully studied the situation, closely watcliing the course of events. His inaugural address shows the results of liis observation, and of the application of his sterling good sense and com- prehensive practical judgment to the mastery of the problem to be solved by him, as head of the nation. He clearly under- stood how everything depended, so far as his administration was concerned, on a true insight into the very heart of the question, and on the initiation, at the very outset, of an ap- propriate policy in dealing with the rebellion. The great insurrection is the uppermost thought — almost the ex- clusive theme — of his inaugural address. That this was the wisest utterance of the time, manifesting a rare foresight, as well as a remarkable skill in briefly presenting the true ques- tions at issue, in their proper bearings, with a calm, candid appeal to the nation, in all its parts, in behalf of law, order and peace, will more and more clearly appear in the light of after events. Whoever would acquaint himself with the inmost traits of Mr. Lincoln's character, as a public man. 160 Life of Abraham Lixcoln. and at the same time discover, in honest and plain words, a statement in advance of the fundamental principles by wliich liis administration has been guided, let him carefully study this paper, every sentence of which is full of meaning : Me. Lincoln's Inaugural Address. Fellow-Citizens of the United States: In com- pliance with a custom as old as the Government itself, I appear before you to address you briefly, and to take, in your presence, the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, to be taken by the President before he enters on the execution of his office. I do not consider it necessary, at present, for me to chs- cuss those matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or excitement. Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States, that, by the accession of a Republican Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such appre- hension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed, and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that " I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists " I believe I ha^'e no lawful right to do so , and I have no inclination to do so. Those who nominated and elected me, did so with the full knowl- edge that I had made this, and made many similar declara- tions, and had never recanted them. And, more than tliis, they placed in the platform, for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves, and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read: f4 CO O w w H Life of Abraham Lincoln. 161 " Resolved, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States, and especially the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to the balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depend; and we denoimce the lawless invasion, by armed force, of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter under what pretext, as amongst the gravest of crimes. " I now reiterate these sentiments ; and in doing so I only press upon the pubhc attention the most conclusive evi- dence of which the case is susceptible, that the property, peace, and security of no section are to be in any wise en- dangered by the now incoming administration. I add, too, that all the protection which, consistently with the Constitution and the laws, can be given, will be cheerfully given to all the States when lawfully demanded, for whatever cause, as cheerfully to one section as to an other. There in much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives from service or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly written in the Constitution as any other of its provisions. " No person held to service or labor in one State imder the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. " It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by those who made it for the reclaiming of what we call fugi- tive slaves ; and the intention of the lawgiver is the law. All members of the Congress swear their support to the whole Constitution — to this provision as well as any other. To the proposition, then, that slaves whose cases come within the terms of tliis clause "shall be delivered up." 162 Life of Abraham Lincoln. their oaths are unanimous. Now, if they would make the effort in good temper, could they not, with nearly equal unanimity, frame and pass a law by means of which to keep good that unanimous oath? There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by National or by State authority; but surely that difference is not a very material one. If the slave is to be surrendered, it can be of but little consequence to liim or to others by which authority it is done; and should any one, in any case, be content that tliis oath shall go unkept on a merely unsubstantial controversy as to how it shall be kept? Again, in any law upon this subject, ought not all the safeguards of liberty known in the civilizetl and humane jurisprudence to be introduced, so that a free man be not, in any case, surrendered as a slave? And might it not be well at the same time to provide by law for the enforce- ment of that clause in the Constitution which guarantees that "the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States?" I take the official oath to-day with no mental reservations, and with no purpose to construe the Constitution or laws by any hypercritical rules; and while I do not choose now to specify particular acts of Congress as proper to be enforced, I do suggest that it will be much safer for all, both in official and private stations, to conform to and abide by all those acts which stand unrepealed, than to violate any of them, trusting to find impunity in having them held to be uncon- stitutional. It is seventy-two j^ears since the first inauguration of a President under our National Constitution. During that period, fifteen different and very distinguished citizens have in succession administered the executive branch of the Government. They have conducted it through many perils, Life of Abraham Lincoln. 163 and generally with great success. Yet, with all this scope for precedent, I now enter upon the same task, for the brief constitutional term of four years, under great and peculiar difficulties. A disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore only men- ' aced, is now formidably attempted. I hold that in the contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is im- plied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all na- tional governments. It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termination. Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure for ever, it being impossible to destroy it, except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself. Again, if the United States be not a government proper, but an association of States in the nature of a contract, merely, can it, as a contract, be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who made it? One party to a contract may violate it — break it, so to speak ; but does it not re- quire all to lawfully rescind it? Descending from these general principles, we find the proposition that in legal con- templation the Union is perpetual, confirmed by the history of the Union itself. The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association, in 1774. It was matured and continued in the Declaration of Inde- pendence in 1776. It was further matured, and the faith of all the then thirteen States expressly plighted and en- gaged that it should be perpetual, by the Articles of the Con- federation, in 1778; and, finally, in 1787, one of the de- clared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was to form a more perfect Union. But if the destruction of the Union by one or by a part only of the States be law- 164 Life of Abraham Lincoln. fully possible, the Union is less than before, the Constitu- tion having lost the vital element of perpetuity. It follows from these views that no State, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union; that re- solves and ordinances to that effect, are legally void; and that acts of violence within any State or States against the authority of the United States, are insurrectionary or revo- lutionary, according to circumstances. I therefore consider, that, in view of the Constitution and the laws, the Union is unbroken, and, to the extent of my ability, I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union shall be faith- fully executed in all the States. Doing this, which I deem to be only a simple duty on my part, I shall perfectly per- form it, so far as is practicable, unless my rightful masters, the American people, shall withhold the requisition, or in some authoritatve manner direct the contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only as the declared purpose of the Union that it will constitu- tionally defend and maintain itself. In doing this there need be no bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none unless it is forced upon the National authority. The power confided to me loill be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property mid places belonging to the Government, and collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for those objects there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people any^\'here. Where hostility to the United States shall be so great and so universal as to prevent competent resident citizens from holding the Federal offices, there will be no attempt to force obnoxious strangers among the people that object. While the strict legal right may exist of the Government to enforce the exercise of these offices, the attempt to do so Life of Abraham Lincoln. 165 would be so irritating, and so nearly impracticable withal, that I deem it better to forego, for the time, the use of such offices. The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furnished in all parts of the Union. So far as possible, the people everywhere shall have that sense of perfect security which is most favorable to calm thought and reflection. The course here indicated will be followed, unless current events and experiences shall show a modification or change to be proper; and in every case and exigency my best dis- cretion will be exercised according to the circumstances actually existing, and with a view and hope of a peaceful solution of the National troubles and the restoration of fraternal sympathies and affections. That there are persons, in one section or another, who seek to destroy the Union at all events, and are glad of a pretext to do it, I will neither affirm nor deny. But if there be such, I need address no word to them. To those, however, who really love the Union, may I not speak, before entering upon so grave a matter as the de- structon of our National fabric, with all its benefits, its memories, and its hopes? Would it not be well to ascertain why we do it? Will you hazard so desperate a step, while any portion of the ills you fly from have no real existence? Will you, while the certain ills you fly to are greater than all the real ones you fly from? Will you risk the commission of so fearful a mistake? All profess to be content in the Union if all constitutional rights can be maintained. Is it true, then, that any right, plainly written in the Constitu- tion, has been denied? I think not. Happily the human mind is so constituted, that no party can reach to the audacity of doing this. Tliink, if you can, of a single instance in wlaich a plainly 166 Life of Abraham Lincoln. written provision of the Constitution has ever been denied. If, by the mere force of numbers a majority should de- prive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revolution; it certainly would, if such right were a vital one. But such is not our case. All the vital rights of minorities and of individuals are so plainly assured to them by affirmations and negations, guar- antees and prohibitions in the Constitution, that contro- versies never arise concerning them. But no organic law can ever be framed with a provision specifically applicable to every question which may occur in practical adminis- tration. No foresight can anticipate, nor any document of reasonable length contain, express provisions for all possible questions. Shall fugitives from labor be surrendered by National or by State authorities? The Constitution does not expressly say. Must Congress protect slavery in the Territories? The Constitution does not expressly say. From questions of this class, spring all our constitutional controversies, and we divide upon them into majorities and minorities. If the minority will not acquiesce, the majority must, the Government must cease. There is no alternative for continuing the Government but acquiescence on the one side or the other. If a minority in such a case, will secede rather than acquiesce, they make a precedent which, in turn, will ruin and divide them, for a mino rity of their own will secede from them whenever a majority refuses to be controlled by such a minority. For instance, why not any portion of a new confederacy, a year or two hence, arbi- trarily secede agam, precisely as portions of the present Union now claim to secede from it? All who cherish dis- union sentiments are now being educated to the exact tem- per of doing this. Is there such perfect identity of interests Life of Abraham Lincoln. 167 among the States to compose a new Union as to produce harmony only, and prevent renewed secession? Plainly, the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy. A majority held in restraint by constitutional check and limitation, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it, does, of necessity, fiy to anarchy or despotism. Unanimity is im- possible; the rule of a majority, as a permanent arrange- ment, is wholly inadmissible. So that, rejecting the ma- jority principle, anarchy or despotism, in some form, is all that is left. I do not forget the position assumed by some that consti- tutional questions are to be decided by the Supreme Court, nor do I deny that such decisions must be binding in any case upon the parties to a suit, as to the object of that suit while they are also entitled to a very high respect and con- sideration in all parallel cases by all other departments of the Government; and while it is obviously possible that such decision may be erroneous in any given case, still the evil effect following it, being limited to that particular case with the chance that it may be overruled and never become a precedent for other cases, can better be borne than could the evils of a different practice. At the same time the candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government upon the vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by the decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made, as in ordinary litigation between parties in personal actions, the people will have ceased to be their own masters, unless having to that extent practically resigned their Govern- ment into the hands of that eminent tribunal. Nor is there in this view any assault upon the Court or the Judges. It is a duty from which they may not shrink, to 168 Life of Abraham Lincoln. decide cases properly brought before them; and it is no fault of theirs if others seek to turn their decisions to polit- ical purposes. One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong and ought not to be extended ; and this is the only substantial dispute; and the fugitive slave clause of the Constitution, and the law for the suppression of the foreign slave trade, are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can ever be in a community where the moral sense of the people imperfectly supports the law itself. The great body of the people abide by the dry legal obligation in both cases, and a few break over in each. This, I think, cannot be perfectly cured, and it would be worse in both cases after the separation of the sections than before. The foreign slave- trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ultimately re- vived, without restriction, in one section; while fugitive slaves, now only partially surrendered, would not be sur- rendered at all by the other. Physically speaking, we cannot separate; we cannot re- move our respective sections from each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be cUvorced, and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of each other, but the different parts of our cotmtry cannot do this. They can not but remain face to face; and intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue be- tween them. Is it possible, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous or more satisfactory after separation, than before? Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among friends? Suppose you go to war, you cannot fight always ; and when, after much loss on both sides, and no gain on either, you cease fighting the identical questions as to terms of intercourse are again upon you. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 169 This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing Government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending, or their revolutionary right to dis- member or overthrow it. I can not be ignorant of the fact that many worthy and patriotic citizens are desirous of hav- ing the National Constitution amended. While I make no recommendation of amendment, I fully recognize the full authority of the people over the whole subject, to be exer- cised in either of the modes prescribed in the instrument itself, and I should, under existing circumstances, favor, rather than oppose, a fair opportunity being afforded the people to act upon it. I will venture to add, that to me the convention mode seems preferable, in that it allows amendments to originate with the people themselves, instead of only permitting them to take or reject propositions originated by others not especially chosen for the purpose, and which might not be precisely such as they would wish either to accept or refuse. I understand that a proposed amendment to the Constitu- tion (which amendment, however, I have not seen) has passed Congress, to the effect that the Federal Government shall never interfere with the domestic institutions of States, including that of persons held to service. To avoid misconstruction of what I have said, I depart from my pur- pose not to speak of particular amendments, so far as to say that, holding such a provision to now be implied constitu- tional law, I have no objection to its being made express and irrevocable. The Chief Magistrate derives all his authority from the people, and they have conferred none upon him to fix the terms for the separation of the States. The people, them- selves, also, can do this if they choose, but the executive, as such, has nothing to do with it. His duty is to ad- 170 Life of Abraham Lincoln. minister the present government as it came to his hands and to transmit it unimpaired by him to liis successor. Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ulti- mate 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 the right? If the Almighty Ruler of nations, with his eternal truth and justice, be on your side of the North, or on yours of the South, that truth and that justice will surely prevail by the judgment of this great tribunal, the American people. By the frame of the Government under which we live, this same people have wisely given their public servants but little power for mis- chief, and have with equal wisdom provided for the return of that little to their own hands at very short intervals. Wliile the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no ad- ministration, by any extreme wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the Government in the short space of four years. 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 point, the laws of your own framing under it; while the new Ad- ministration will have no inmiediate power, if it would, to change either. If it were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right side in the dispute, there is still no single reason for precipitate action. Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this Life of Abraham Lincoln. 171 favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulties. In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Gov- ernment will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the Government; while I shall have the most solemn one to " preserve, protect, and defend it." I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. Both to the large assemblage that hstened to the distinct recital of this address, in tones which made every word audible to the throng, and to loyal men everywhere, as it was brought to them a few minutes or hours later, by the aid of telegraph and printing press, it was a welcome mes- sage. The people saw in it an assurance that imbecility, double dealing, or treachery, no longer had sway in the nation ; that the new President was determined to carry out the behests of the people in maintaining the National integrity; and that, while thus faithfully observing his official oath, he would use every lawful and rational means to avert the convulsions of domestic war. He dis- tinctly suggested the holding of a National Constitutional Convention, which would have power to adjust all the questions properly at issue, even including peaceable sepa- ration in a lawful manner, by a change of the organic law. 172 ■ Life of Abraham Lincoln. He demonstrated unanswerably the utter causelessness of war, and distinctly assured the conspirators that if hos- tiUties were commenced, it must be by them, and not by the Government. He laid down a line of policy which, had it been met in a corresponding spirit on the other side, would inevitably have averted disastrous years of bloodshed and all their consequences. While thus announcing his views, and reaffirming sentiments formerly uttered by himself, as well as those of the political convention which nominated him for the Presidency, he also plainly indicated that the benefits secured by the Constitution to any portion of the people could not be claimed by them while trampling that instrimient under foot. He told them plainly that the course he thus marked out was not one to be pursued toward rebels who should plunge the nation in war. He gave them seasonable notice that no immunities could be claimed under the assurances given on this or an}' other occasion, inconsistent wdth the changed condition of affairs, should they madly appeal to, arms. The whole address breathes an earnest yearning for an honorable peace. It does not, however, Uke the unfortunate message of liis predecessor, of the previous December, base the desire for peace on a confessed helplessness of the Government or an indisposition to exert its power of self- preservation. A new political era had begim, and true patriots breathed more freely. One of the first duties of the President was to purge the Government of disloyal or doubtful men in responsible places. Long continued Democratic precedent justified a general change of civil officers, from highest to lowest, on the ground of poUtical differences alone. But after the treasonable developments of the previous months and years, a thorough sifting of all the departments became indis- pensable, from high considerations of duty, on the basis of Life of Abraham Lincoln. 173 loyalty and disloyalty, rather than of mere partisanship. No practical measures could be adopted before this change was at least partially adopted. The magnitude of such a work, to which the President gave the most earnest and unwearing attention for weeks, need not be indicated. The patience with which the "claims" of different candidates for place were weighed, and the kindness (tempered often with a wholesome firmness) which characterized his de- portment toward all, usually retained the confidence and esteem of those whom he felt compelled to disappoint. It was during the days between his arrival in Washington and his inauguration, that the construction of his Cabinet, perhaps substantially settled in his own mind before he left Illinois, was definitely determined. The position occupied by Mr. Seward before the country, was such as to leave no hesitation as to the propriety of offering him the liighest place of honor under the Executive, as Secretary of State. This position was, at an early day, placed at Mr. Seward's disposal. The office of Attorney General was, with like promptitude, tendered to Judge Bates, of Mis- souri, whose leading position as a Southern statesman, with anti-slavery tendencies, of the Clay school, had caused his name to bo prominently and widely used in connection with the Presidency before the nomination for that office, made at Chicago. Governor Chase of Ohio, who had recently been elected to a second term in the Senate, after four years of useful and popular service in the executive chair of his State, perhaps quite as early occurred to the mind of Mr. Lincoln as a man specially fitted to manage the finances of the nation through the troubulous times that were felt to be approaching. This difficult post Mr. Chase surrendered his seat in the Senate to accept. Mr. Cameron, of Pennsyl- vania, selected as Secretary of War ; Mr. AVelles, of Connect- icut, as Secretary of the Na\T, antl Mr. Montgomery Blair, 174 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of Maryland, as Postmaster General, were all leading repre- sentatives of the Democratic element of the party which had triumphed in the late election. Mr. Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana, a contemporary of Mr. Lincoln in Congress, and for years one of the most distinguished Whig politicians of the West, was tendered the place of Secretary of the In- terior, which he accepted. CHAPTER XI. Mr. Lincoln's First Message. The first effect of the fall of Fort Sumter was to silence, for the time, all opposition to the President in the Free States. One sentiment was uppermost in the minds of all loyal people — that of indignation at the authors of the war, now inaugurated at Charleston, mingled with the purpose of vindicating the National Flag, and of restoring the legitimate authority of the Government in all the States. Wherever a contrary feeling existed, the strong manifesta- tions of popular enthusiasm for the Government caused such treachery to be carefully disguised. For once, the people of the Free States were a imit in action. The de- mand for vigorous preparation to protect the .National Capital, and to suppress the insurrection, was universal. Simultaneously with this development of loyalty, Mr. Lin- coln prepared his proclamation of April 15th, calling on the States for their several proportions of an army of sev- enty-five thousand men. He also, in the same paper, called an extra session of Congress, to commence on the 4th day of July following. The 19th of April is further memorable for the proclama- tion issued on that day, declaring a blockade of every port of the States in insurrection, in the following terms: Whereas, An insurrection against the Government of the United States has broken out in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, and the laws of the United States for the collee- ns 176 Life of Abraham Lincoln. tion of the revenue cannot be efficiently executed therein, conformably to that provision of the Constitution which requires duties to be uniform throughout the United States : And whereas, A combination of persons, engaged in such insurrection, have threatened to grant pretended letters of marque to authorize the bearers thereof to com- init assaults on the lives, vessels, and property of good citizens of the country lawfully engaged in commerce on the high seas, and in waters of the United States : And whereas, An Executive Proclamation has already been issued, requiring the persons engaged in these disor- derly proceedings to desist therefrom, calling out a militia force for the purpose of repressing the same, and convening Congress in extraordinary session to deliberate and de- termine thereon: Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, with a view to the same purposes before mentioned, and to the protection of the public peace, and the lives and property of quiet and orderly citizens pur- suing their lawful occupations, until Congress shall have assembled and deliberated on the said unlawful proceedings, or until the same shall have ceased, have further deemed it advisable to set on foot a blockade of the ports within the States aforesaid, in pursuance of the laws of the United States, and of the laws of nations in such cases provided. For this purpose a competent force will be posted so as to prevent entrance and exit of vessels from the ports afore- said. If, therefore, with a view to violate such blockade, a vessel shall approach, or shall attempt to leave any of the said ports, she will be duly warned by the commander of one of the blockading vessels, who will endorse on her register the fact and date of such warning; and if the same vessel shall again attempt to enter or leave the blockaded Life of Abraham Lincoln. 177 port, she will be captured and sent to the nearest convenient port, for such proceedings against her and her cargo as prize as may be deemed advisable. And I hereby proclaim and declare, that if any person, under the pretended authority of said States, or under any other pretense, shall molest a vessel of the United States or the persons or cargo on board of her, such person will be held amenable to the laws of the United States for the pre- vention and punishment of piracy. By the President: Abraham Lincoln. William H. Seward, Secretary of State. Washington, April 19, 1861. Intelligence having been received that Virginia troops were marching on Harper's Ferry, to take possession of the important Government property there, the public works were destroyed and the place evacuated by Lieutenant Jones, the commandant. Almost simultaneously the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, dispatched by wise forethought, arrived at Fortress Monroe (soon after reinforced by the First Vermont, under Colonel Phelps), and secured a per- manent occupation of that strong position in the Old Do- minion, which had now become (without waiting for the consummation of the farce of a popular vote under duress) the eighth State of the Rebel Confederacy. During this brief period — at the close of a week of unpre- cedented excitement at Washington and of loyal enthusiasm throughout the country — earnest appeals were made to the President by prominent Marylanders to stop all attempts to transport troops through that State to the National Capital. His prompt reply set all such petitions at rest. The usual thoroughfares, meanwliile, had been obstructed. Treason hoped the work was already accomplished, and relief cut off. Timorous or hesitating men feared that the effort 178 Life of Abraham Lincoln. would be useless. But the purpose of Mr. Lincoln was not for an instant shaken. The route by Annapolis was opened by General Butler and his Massachusetts force, and on the 25th of April troops from the North began to pour into Washington, relieving all immediate anxiety. The people had nobly responded. The "great uprising" was an as- sured event. Congress convened on the 4th of July, in accordance with the President's call in his proclamation of April 15th, and organized by the election of Mr. Grow, of Pennsylvania, as Speaker. Little decisive action had been taken prior to the date to which military events have been traced Ln the preceding chapter. The President's Message to Congress, at the opening of this extra session, contains a concise state- ment of the situation of afTairs at that time, four months having passed since the delivery of his Inaugural Address, and presents his views as to what was required to be done for the maintenance of the Constitutional Government. With a view of the circumstances under which hostilities were commenced, and with a conclusive exposure of the false pretenses of Secessionism, it also clearly sets forth the acts, motives and purposes of the President. This docu- ment is here given at length : Mr. Lincoln's First Message. Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives: Having been convened on an extraordinary occasion, as authorized by the Constitution, your attention is not called to any ordinary subject of legislation. At the beginning of the present Presidential term, four months ago, the functions of the Federal Government were found to be generally suspended within the several States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana Life of Abraham Lincoln. 179 and Florida, excepting only those of the Post Office De- partment. Within these States all the Forts, Arsenals, Dock- Yards, Custom-Houses, and the like, including the movable and stationary property in and about them, had been seized and were held in open hostility to this Government, ex- cepting only Forts Pickens, Taylor and Jefferson, on and near the Florida coast, and Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. South Carolina. The forts thus seized, had been put in improved condition, new ones had been built, and armed forces had been organized, and were organizing, all avowedlj' with the same hostile purpose. The forts remaining in possession of the Federal Govern- ment in and near these States were either besieged or men- aced by warlike preparations, and especially Fort Sumter was nearly surrounded by well protected hostile batteries, with guns equal in quality to the best of its own, and out- numbering the latter as, perhaps, ten to one — a dispropor- tionate share of the Federal muskets and rifles had some- how found their way into these States, and had been seized to be used against the Government. Accumulations of the public revenue lying within them had been seized for the same object. The navy was scat- tered in distant seas, leaving but a very small part of it within the immediate reach of the Government. Officers of the Federal army had resigned in great num- bers, and of those resigning a large proportion had taken up arms against the Government. Simultaneously, and in connection with all this, the pur- pose to sever the Federal Union was openly avowed. Li accordance with this purpose an ordinance had been adopted in each of these States, declaring the States respectively to be separated from the National Union. A formula for instituting a combined Government of those States hatl 180 Life of Abraham Lincoln. been promulgated, and this illegal organization, in the character of the " Confederate States, " was already invoking recognition, aid and intervention from foreign powers. Finding this condition of things, and believing it to be an imperative duty upon the incoming Executive to prevent, if possible, the consummation of such attempt to destroy the Federal Union, a choice of means to that end became indispensable. Tliis choice was made and was declared in the Inaugural Address. The policy chosen looked to the exhaustion of all peace- ful measures before a resort to any stronger ones. It sought only to hold the public places and property not already wrested from the Government, and to collect the revenue, relying for the rest on time, discussion and the ballot-box. It promised a continuance of the mails, at Gov- ernment expense, to the very people who were resisting the Government, and it gave repeated pledges against any dis- turbances to any of the people, or any of their rights, of all that which a President might constitutionally and justi- fiably do in such a case ; everything was forborne, without which it was believed possible to keep the Government on foot. On the 5th of March, the present incumbent's first full day in office, a letter from Major Anderson, commanding at Fort Sumter, written on the 2Sth of Felaruary, and re- ceived at the War Department on the 4th of March, was by that Department placed in his hands. Tliis letter ex- pressed the professional opinion of the writer, that rein- forcements could not be thro\vn into that fort witliin the time for its relief rendered necessary by the limited supply of provisions, and with a view of holding possession of the same, with a force less than 20,000 good and well-disci- plined men. This opinion was concurred in by all the officers of his command, and their memoranda on the sub- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 181 ject were made inclosures of Major Anderson's letter. The whole was immediately laid before Lieutenant General Scott, who at once concurred with Major Anderson in liis opinion. On reflection, however, he took full time, consulting with other officers, both of the Army and 'Nnvy, and at the end of four days came reluctantly but decidedly to the same con- cluions as before. He also stated at the same time that no such sufficient force was then at the control of the Gov- ernment, or could be raised and brought to the ground, within the time when the provisions in the fort would be exhausted. In a purely military point of view, this reduced the duty of the Administration in the case to the mere matter of getting the garrison safely out of the fort. It was believed, however, that to so abandon that posi- tion, under the circumstances, would be utterly ruinous; that the necessity under which it was to be done would not be fully understood ; that by many it would be construed as a part of a voluntary policy; that at home it would dis- courage the friends of the Union, embolden its adversaries, and go far to insure to the latter a recognition abroad , that in fact, it would be our national destruction consummated. This could not be allowed. Starvation was not yet upon the garrison, and ere it would bo reached. Fort Pickens might be reinforced. This last would be a clear indication of policy, and would better enable the country to accept the evacuation of Fort Sumter as a military necessity. An order was at once directed to be sent for the landing of the troops from the steamship Brooklyn into Fort Pickens. This order could not go by land, but must take the longer and slower route by sea. The first return news from the order was received just one week before the fall of Sumter. The news itself was that the officer commanding the Sabine, to wluch vessel the troops had been transferred from the Brooklyn, acting upon some quasi armistice of the late 182 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Administration, and of the existence of which the present Administration, up to the time the order was dispatched, had only too vague and uncertain rumors to fix attention, had refused to land the troops. To now reinforce Fort Pickens before a crisis would be reached at Fort Sumter was im- possible, rendered so by the near exhaustion of pro\'isions at the latter named fort. In precaution against such a conjuncture the Government had a few days before com- menced preparing an expedition, as well adapted as might be, to relieve Fort Sumter, which expedition was intended to be ultimately used or not, according to circumstances. The strongest anticipated case for using it was now pre- sented, and it was resolved to send it forward as had been intended. In this contingency it was also resolved to notify the Governor of South Carolina that he might ex- pect an attempt would be made to provision the fort, and that if the attempt should not be resisted there would be no attempt to throw in men, arms or ammunition, without further notice, or in case of an attack upon the fort. This notice was accordingly given, whereupon the fort was at- tacked and bombarded to its fall, M'ithout even awaiting the arrival of the provisioning expedition. It is thus seen that the assault upon and reduction of Fort Sumter was, in no sense, a matter of self-defense on the part of the assailants. They well knew that the garrison in the fort could by no possibility commit aggression upon them ; they knew they were expressly notified that the giv- ing of bread to the few brave and hungry men of the gar- rison was all which would, on that occasion, be attempted, unless themselves, by resisting so much, should provoke more. They knew that this Government desired to keep the garrison in the fort, not to assail them, but merely to maintain \asible possession, and thus to preserve the Union from actual and immediate dissolution ; trusting, as here- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 183 inbefore stated, to time, discussion, and the ballot-box for final adjustment, and they assailed and reduced the fort, for precisely the reverse object, to drive out the visible authority of the Federal Union, and thus force it to imme- diate dissolution; that this was their object the Executive well understood, having said to them in the Inaugural Address, "you can have no conflict without being your- selves the aggressors." He took pains not only to keep this declaration good, but also to keep the case so far from ingenious sophistry as that the world should not misunder- stand it. By the affair at Fort Sumter, with its surround- ing circumstances, that point was reached. Then and thereby the assailants of the Government began the con- flict of arms — without a gun in sight, or in expectancy, to return their fire, save only the few in the fort sent to that harbor years before, for their own protection, and still ready to give that protection in whatever was lawful. In this act, discarding all else, they have forced upon the country the distinct issue, immediate dissolution or blood, and this issue embraces more than the fate of these United States. It presents to the whole family of man the ques- tion whether a Constitutional Republic or Democracy, a Government of the people, by the same people, can or can not maintain its territorial integrity against its own do- mestic foes. It presents the question whether discontented individuals, too few in numbers to control the Adminis- tration according to the organic law in any case, can always, upon the pretenses made in this case, or any other pre- tenses, or arbitrarily without any pretense, break up their Government, and thus practically put an end to free gov- ernment upon the earth. It forces us to ask, "Is there in all republics this inherent and fatal weakness?" Must a government of necessity be too strong for the liberties of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence? 184 Life of Abraham Lincoln. So viewing the issue, no choice was left but to call out the war power of the Government, and so to resist the force employed for its destruction by force for its preservation. The call was made, and the response of the coimtry was most gratifying, surpassing, in unanimity and spirit the most sanguine expectation. Yet none of the States, com- monly called Slave States, except Delaware, gave a regi- ment through the regular State organization. A few regiments have been organized within some others of those States by individual enterprise, and received into the Government service. Of course the seceded States, so called, and to which Texas had been joined about the time of the inauguration, gave no troops to the cause of the Union. The Border States, so-called, were not uniform in their action, some of them being almost for the Union, while in others, as in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas, the L^nion sentiment was nearly suppressed and silenced. The course taken in \'irginia was the most remarkable, perhaps the most important. A Convention elected by the people of that State, to consider this very question of disrupting the Federal Union, was in session at the capital of Virginia when Fort Sumter fell. To this body the people had chosen a large majority of professed Union men. Almost immediately after the fall of Sumter many members of that majority went over to the original disunion minority, and with them adopted an ordinance for withdrawing the State from the Union. Whether this change was wrought by their great approval of the assault upon Sumter, or their great resentment at the Government's resistance to that assault, is not definitely known. Although they submitted the ordinance for ratifi- cation to a vote of the people, to be taken on a day then somewhat more than a month distant, the Convention and the Legislature, which was also in session at the same time Life of Abraham Lincoln. 185 and place, with leading men of the State, not members of either, immediately commenced acting as if the State was already out of the Union. They pushed military prepara- tions vigorously forward all over the State. They seized the United States Armory at Harper's Ferry, and the Navy Yard at Gosport, near Norfolk. They received, perhaps invited into their State, large bodies of troops, wdth their warlike appointments, from the so-called seceded States. They formally entered into a treaty of temporary alli- ance with the so-called Confederate States, and sent num- bers to their Congress at Montgomery, and finally they per- mitted the insurrectionary Government to be transferred to their capitol at Richmond. The people of Virginia have thus allowed this giant insurrection to make its nest within her borders, and tliis Government has no choice left but to deal with it where it finds it, and it has the less to regret as the loyal citizens have, in due form, claimed its protection. Those loyal citizens tliis Government is bound to recognize and protect as being in Virginia. In the Border States, so- called, in fact the Middle States, there are those who favor a policy which they call armed neutrality, that is, an arm- ing of those States to prevent the Union forces passing one way or the disunion forces the other over their soil. This would be disunion completed. Figuratively speaking it would be the building of an impassable wall along the line of separation, and yet not quite an impassable one, for under the guise of neutrality it would tie the hands of the Union men, and freely pass supplies from among them to the insurrectionists, which it could not do as an open enemy. At a stroke it would take all the trouble off the hands of secession, except only what proceeds from the external blockade. It would do for the disunionists that which of all things they most desire, feed them well and give them disunion without a struggle of their own. It recog- 18G Life of Abraham Lincoln. nizes no fidelity to tlie Constitution, no obligation to main- tain the Union, and while the many who have favored it are doubtless loyal citizens, it is, nevertheless, very injurious in effect. Recurring to the action of the Government it may be stated that at first a call was made for 75,000 militia, and rapidly following this a proclamation was issued for closing the ports of the insurrectionary districts by proceedings in the nature of blockade. So far all was believed to be strictly legal. At this point the insurrectionists announced their pur- pose to enter upon the practice of privateering. Other calls were made for volunteers, to serve three years unless sooner discharged, and also for large additions to the regular army and navy. These measures, whether strictly legal or not, were ventured upon under what appeared to be a popular demand and a public necessity, trusting then. as now, that Congress would ratify them. It is believed that nothing has been done beyond the constitutional competency of Congress. Soon after the first call for militia it was considered a duty to authorize the commanding general, in proper cases, according to his dis- cretion, to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus; or, in other words, to arrest and detain, without resort to the ordinary processes and forms of la^v, such indi\'iduals as he might deem dangerous to the public safety. This author- ity has purposely been exercised, but very sparingly. Nevertheless the legality and propriety of what has been done under it are questioned, and the attention of the country has been called to the proposition that one who is sworn to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, should not himself violate them. Of course some consider- ation was given to the questions of power and propriety before this matter was acted upon. The whole of the laws Life of Abraham Lincoln. 187 which were required to be faithfully executed were being resisted, and failing of execution in noarl.y one-third of the States. Must they be allowed to finally fail of execution, even had it been perfectly clear that, by use of the means necessary to their execution, some single law, made in such extreme tenderness of the citizen's liberty that practically it relieves more of the guilty than the innocent, should, to a very great extent, be violated? To state the question more directly, are all the laws but one to go unexecuted, and the Government itself to go to pieces lest that one be violated? Even in such a case would not the official oath be broken if the Government should be overthrown when it was believed that disregarding the single law would tend to preserve it. But it was not believed that this (luestion was presented. It was not believed that any law was violated. The pro- vision of the Constitution, 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, is equivalent to a provision that such privilege may be sus- pended when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety does require it. It was decided that we have a case of rebellion, and that the public safety does require the quali- fied suspension of the privilege of the writ, which was authorzied to be made. Now, it is insisted that Congress and not the Executive, is vested with this power. But the Constitution itself is silent as to which or who is to exercise the power; and as the provision was plainly made for a dangerous emergency, it cannot be believed that the framers of the instrument intended that in every case the danger should run its course until Congress could be called together, the very assembling of which might be prevented, as was intended in this case by the rebellion. No more extended argument is now afforded, as an opinion at some 188 Life of Abraham Lincoln. length will probably be presented by the Attorney-General. Whether there shall be any legislation on the subject, and if so, what, is submitted entirely to the better judgment of Congress. The forbearance of this Government had been so extraordinary, and so long continued, as to lead some foreign nations to shape their action as if they supposed the early destruction of our National Union was probable. 'While this, on discovery, gave the Executive some concern, he is now happy to say that the sovereignty and rights of the United States are now ever3^here practically respected by foreign powers, and a general sympathy with the country is manifested throughout the world. The reports of the Secretaries of the Treasury, War, and the Navy, will give the information, in detail, deemed nec- essary and convenient for your deliberation and action, while the Executive and all the Departments vnW stand ready to supply omissions or to communicate new facts considered important for you to know. It is now recommended that you give the legal means for making this contest a short and decisive one; that you place at the control of the government for the work at least 400,000 men and $400,000,000; that number of men is about one-tenth of those of proper ages within the regions where apparently all are \\'illing to engage, and the sum is less than a twenty-third part of the money value owned by the men who seem ready to devote the whole. A debt of $600,000,000 now is a less sum per head than was the debt of our Revolution when we came out of that struggle, and the money value in the country bears even a greater pro- portion to what it was then than does the population. Surely each man has as strong a motive now to preserve our liberties as each had then to establish them. A right result at this time will be worth more to the world than ten times the men and ten times the money. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 189 The evidence reaching us from the country leaves no doubt that the material for the work is abundant, and that it needs only the hands of legislation t6 give it legal sanction, and the Jiand of the Executive to give it practical shape and efficiency. One of the greatest perplexities of the Govern- ment is to avoid receiving troops faster than it can provide for them; in a word the people will save their Government if the Government will do its part only indifferently well. It might seem at first thought to be of little difference whether the present movement at the South be called secession or rebellion. The movers, however, well under- stand the difference. At the beginning they knew that they could never raise their treason to any respectable magnitude by any name wliich implies violation of law; they knew their people possessed as much of moral sense, as much of devotion to law and order, and as much pride in its reverence for the history and government of their com- mon coimtry, as any other civilized and patriotic people. They knew they could make no advancement directly in the teeth of these strong and noble sentiments. Accord- ingly they commenced by an insidious debauching of the public mind; they invented an ingenious sophism, which, if conceded, was followed by perfectly logical steps through all the incidents of the complete destruction of the Union. The sophism itself is that any State of the Union may, consistently with the nation's constitution, and therefore lawfully and peacefully, withdraw from the Union without the consent of the Union or of any other State. The little disguise that the supposed right is to be exer- cised only for just cause, themselves to be the sole judge of its justice, is too thin to merit any notice with rebellion. Thus sugar-coated, they have been drugging the public mind of their section for more than thirty years, and until at length they have brought many good men to a willing- 190 Life of Abraham Lincoln. ness to take up arms against the Government the day after some assemblage of men have enacted the farcical pre- tense of taking their State out of the Union, who could ha\'e been brought to no such thing the day before. This sophism derives much, perhaps the whole of its currency, from the assumption that there is some omnipotent and sacred supremacy pertaining to a State, to each State of our Federal Union. Our States have neither more nor less power than that preserved to them in the Union by the Constitution, no one of them ever having been a State out of the Union. The original ones passed into the L^nion before they east off their British Colonial dependence, and the new ones came into the Union directly from a condi- tion of dependence, excepting Texas, and even Texas, in its temporary independence, was noA'er designated as a State. The new ones only took the designation of States on coming into the Union, while that name was first adopted for the old ones in and by the Declaration of Independence. Therein the United Colonies were declared to be jree and independent States. But even then the object plainly was not to declare their independence of one another of the Union, but directly the contrary, as their mutual pledge and their mutual action before, at the time, and afterward, abundantly show. The express plight of faith by each and all of the original thirteen States in the Articles of Con- federation two years later that the Union shall be per- petual, is most conclusive. Having never been States either in substance or in name outside of the Union, whence this magical omnipotence of State rights, asserting a claim of power to lawfully destroy the Union itself. Much is said about the sovereignty of the States, but the word even is not in the National Constitution, nor, as is believed, in any of the State constitutions. What is sovereignty in the pohtical sense of the word? Would it be far wrong to de- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 191 fine it a political community without a political superior? Tested by this, no one of our States, except Texas, ever was a sovereignty. And even Texas gave up the character on coming into the Union; by which act, she acknowledged the Constitution of the United States, and the laws and treaties of the United States, made in pursuance of the Con- stitution, to be, for her, the supreme law of the land. The States have their status in the Union, and they have n > other legal status. If they break from this they can only do so against law and by revolution. The Union and not themselves separately procured their independence and their liberty by conquest or purchase. The Union gave each of them whatever of independence and liberty it has. The Union is older than any of the States, and, in fact, it created them as States. Originally, some dependent colonies made the Union, and in turn the Union threw off their old dependence for them and made them States, such as they are. Not one of them ever had a State constitu- tion independent of the Union. Of course it is not forgotten that all tl:e new States formed their constitutions before they entered the Union; nevertheless, dependent upon, and preparatory to coming into the Union. Unquestionably the States have the powers and rights reserved to them in and by the National Constitution. But among these surely are not included all conceivable powers, however mischievous or destructive, but at most such only as were known in the world at the time as gov- ernmental powers, and certainly a power to destroy the Government itself had never been known as governmental, as a merely administrative power. This relative matter of national power and State rights as a principle, is no other than the principle of generality and locality. Whatever concerns the whole should be conferred to the whole general Government, while whatever concerns only the State 192 Life of Abraham Lincoln. should be left exclusively to the State. This is all there is of original principle about it. Whether the National Con- stitution, in defining boundaries between the two, has ap- plied the principle with exact accuracy, is not to be ques- tioned. We are all bound by that defining without ques- tion. What is now combated is the position that seces- sion is consistent with the Constitution, is lawful and peace- ful. It is not contended that there is any express law for it, and notliing should ever be implied as law which leads to unjust or absurd consequences. The nation purchased with money the countries out of which several of these States were formed. Is it just that they shall go off with- out leave and without refunding? The nation paid very large sums in the aggregate, I believe nearly a hundred niilUons, to relieve Florida of the aboriginal tribes. Is it just that she shall now be off without consent, or without any return? The nation is now in debt for money applied to the benefit of these so-called seceding States, in common with the rest. Is it just, either that creditors shall go unpaid, or the remaining States pay the whole? A part of the present National debt was contracted to pay the old debt of Texas. Is it just that she shall leave and pay no part of this herself? Again, if one State may secede, so may another, and when all shall have seceded none is left to pay the debts. Is this quite just to creditors? Did we notify them of this sage view of ours when we borrowed their money? If we now recognize tliis doctrine by allow- ing the seceders to go in peace, it is difficult to see what we can do if others choose to go, or to extort terms upon which they will promise to remain. The seceders insist that our Constitution admits of secession. They have assumed to make a National Constitution of their o-wn, in which, of necessity, they have either discarded or retained the right of secession, as they insist exists in ours. If they ^/- 4 u S'm/i Life of Abraham Lincoln. 193 have discarded it, they thereby admit that on principle it ought not to exist in ours ; if they have retained it, by tlieir own construction of ours that shows that to be consistent, they must secede from one another whenever they shall find it the easiest way of settling their debts, or effecting any other selfish or unjust object. The principle itself is one of disintegration, and upon which no Government can possibly endure. If all the States save one should assert the power to drive that one out of the Union, it is pre- sumed the whole class of seceder politicians would at once deny the power, and denounce the act as the greatest out- rage upon State rights. But suppose that precisely the same act, instead of being called driving the one out, should be called the seceding of the others from the one, it would be exactly what the seceders claim to do, unless, indeed, they made the point that the one, because it is a minority, may rightfully do what the others, because they are a majority, may not rightfully do. These politicians are subtle, and profound in the rights of minorities. They are not partial to that power wliich made the Constitution, and speaks from the preamble, calling itself, "We, the people." It may be well questioned whether there is to- day a majority of the legally qualified voters of any State, except, perhajjs, South Carolina in favor of disunion. There is much reason to believe that the Union men are the majority in many, if not in every one of the so-called seceded States. The contrary has not been demonstrated in any one of them. It is ventured to affirm this, even of Virginia and Tennessee, for the result of an election held in military camps, where the bayonets are all on one side of the question voted upon, can scarcely be considered as de- monstrating popular sentiment. At such an election all that large class who are at once for the Union and against coercion would be coerced to vote against the Union. It 194 Life of Abraham Lincoln. may be affirmed, without extravagance, that the free insti- tutions we enjoy have developed the powers and improved the condition of our whole people beyond any example in the world. Of this we now have a striking and impressive illustration. So large an army as the Government has now on foot was never before known, without a soldier in it but who has taken his place there of his own free choice. But more than this, there are many single regiments whose members, one and another, possess full practical knowledge of all the arts, sciences, professions, and whatever else, whether useful or elegant, is known in the whole world, and there is scarcely one from which there could not be selected a President, a Cabinet, a Congress, and perhaps a Court, abundantly competent to administer the Government itself. Nor do I say this is not true also in the army of our late friends, now adversaries, in this contest. But it is so much, better the reason why the Government which has conferred such benefits upon both them and us should not be broken up. Whoever in any section proposes to aban- don such a Government, would do well to consider in deference to what principle it is that he does it. What better he is likely to get in its stead, whether the substitute will give, or be intended to give so much of good to the people. There are some foreshadowings on this subject. Our adversaries have adopted some declarations of inde- pendence in which, unlike our good old one penned by Jefferson, they omit the words, " all men are created equal. " Why? They have adopted a temporary National Consti- tution, in the preamble of which, unlike our good old one signed by Washington, they omit "we the people," and substitute "We, the deputies of the sovereign and inde- pendent States." Why? Why this deliberate pressing out of view the rights of men and the authority of the people? This is essentially a people's contest. On the Life of Abraham Lincoln. 195 side of the Union it is a struggle for maintaining in the world that form and substance of Government whose lead- ing object is to elevate the condition of men, to lift artificial weights from all shoulders, to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all, to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life, yielding to partial and temporary- departures from necessity. This is the leading object of the Government, for whose existence we contend. I am most happy to believe that the plain people under- stand and appreciate this. It is worthy of note that while in tliis, the Government's hour of trial, large numbers of those in the army and navy who have been favored with the officers, have resigned and proved false to the hand which pampered them, not one common sailor or common sailor is known to have deserted his flag. Great honor is due to those officers who remained true despite the ex- amples of their treacherous associates, but the greatest honor and the most important fact of all, is the unanimous firnmess of the common soldiers and the common sailors. To the last man, so far as known, they have successfully resisted the traitorous efforts of those whose commands but an hour before they obeyed as absolute law. This is the patriotic instinct of plain people. They understand without an argument that the destroying the Government which was made by Washington means no good to them. Our popular Government has often been called an experi- ment. Two points in it our people have settled: the suc- cessful establishing and the successful administering of it. One still remains. Its successful maintenance against a formidable internal attempt to overthrow it. It is now for them to demonstrate to the world that those who can fairly carry an election, can also suppress a rebellion ; that ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors of bullets, and that when ballots have fairly and constitutionally de- 196 Life of Abraham Lincoln. cifled, there can be no successful appeal back to bullets; that tliere can be no successful appeal except to ballots themselves at succeeding elections. Such will be a great lesson of peace, teaching men that what they can not take by an election, neither can they take by a war, teaching all the folly of being the beginners of a war. Lest there be some uneasiness in the mind of candid men as to what is to be the course of the Government toward the Southern States after the rebellion shall have been sup- pressed, the Executive deems it proper to say it will be his purpose then, as ever, to be guided by the Constitution and the laws, and that he probably will have no different under- standing of the powers and duties of the Federal Govermnent relatively to the rights of the States and the people under the Constitution than that expressed in the Inaugural Address. He desires to preserve the Government that it may be ad- ministered for all, as it was administered by the men who made it. Loyal citizens everywhere have a right to claim this of their Government, and the Government has no right to withhold or neglect it. It is not percei ved that in giving it there is any coercion, conquest or subjugation in any sense of these terms. The Constitution provided, and all the States have ac- cepted the provision, "that the United States shall guar- antee to every State in this Union a Republican form of gov- ernment, " but if a State may lawfully go out of the Union, having done so, it may also discard the Republican form of Government. So that to prevent its going out is an indis- pensable means to the end of maintaining the guarantee mentioned; and when an end is lawful and obligatory, the indispensable means to it are also lawful and obligatory. It was with the deepest regret that the Executive found the duty of employing the war power. In defense of the Government forced upon liim, he could but perform this Life of Abraham Lincoln. 197 duty or surrender the existence of the Government. No compromise b}' public servants could in this case be a cure, not that compromises are not often proper, but that no popular government can long survive a marked precedent, that those who carry an election can only save the Govern- ment from immediate destruction by giving up the main point upon which the people gave the election. The people themselves and not their servants can safely reverse their own deliberate decisions. As a private citizen the Executive could not have con- sented that these institutions shall perish, much less could he, in betrayal of so vast and so sacred a trust as these free people had confided to him. He felt that he had no moral right to shrink, nor even to count the chances of his own life in what might follow. In full view of his great responsibility, he has so far tlone what he has deemed his duty. You will now, according to your own judgment, perform yours. He sincerely hopes that your views and your actions may so accord with his as to assure all faithful citizens who have been disturbed in their rights, of a certain and speedy restoration to them under the Constitution and laws, and having thus chosen our cause without guile, and with pure purpose, let us re- new our trust in God, and go forward without fear and with manly hearts. July 4, 186L Abraham Lincoln. CHAPTER XII. Messages and Addresses of Mr. Lincoln. The President, fully sensible of the besetting dangers, and mindful of the situation of affairs in these and other respects, submitted to Congress the following views, in a message which was received with great popular favor; Fellow-Citizens op the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives: In the midst of unprecedented political troubles, we have cause of great gratitude to God for un- usual good health and most abundant harvests. You will not be surprised to learn that, in the particular exigencies of the times, our intercourse with foreign nations has been attended with profound solicitude, chiefly turning upon our own domestic affairs. A disloyal portion of the American people have, during the whole year, been engaged in an attempt to divide and destroy the Union. A nation which endures factious do- mestic division, is exposed to disrespect abroad; and one party, if not both, is sure, sooner or later, to invoke foreign intervention. Nations thus tempted to interfere, are not always able to resist the counsels of seeming expediency and ungenerous ambition, although measures adopted under such influences seldom fail to be unfortunate and injurious to those adopt- ing them. The disloyal citizens of the United States who have offered the ruin of our country, in return for the aid and comfort which they have invoked abroad, have re- 199 200 Life of Abrail^m Lincoln. ceived less patronage and encouragement than they prob- ably expected. If it were just to suppose, as the insurgents have seemed to assume, that foreign nations, in this case, discarding all moral, social and treaty obligations, would act solely, and selfishly, for the most speedy restoration of commerce, including, especially, the acquisitions of cotton, those nations appear, as yet, not to have seen their way to their object, more directly, or clearly, through the destruc- tion than through the preservation of the Union. If we could dare to believe that foreign nations are actuated by no higher principle than this, I am sure quite a sound argu- ment could be made to show them that they can reach their aim more readih'^ and easily by aiding to crush this rebel- lion than bj' giving encouragement to it. The princi])al lever relied on by the insurgents for excit- ing foreign nations to hostility against us, as already inti- mated, is the embarrassment of commerce. Those nations however, not improbably, saw from the first, that it was the Union which made, as well our foreign as our domestic commerce. They can scarcely have failed to perceive that the effort for disunion produces the existing difficulty; and that one strong nation promises more durable peace, and a more extensive, valuable and reliable commerce, than can the same nation broken into hostile fragments. It is not my purpose to review our discussions with for- eign States ; because whatever might be their wishes or dis- positions, the integrity of our country and the stabiUty of our Government mainly depend, not upon them, but on the loyalty, virtue, patriotism, and intelhgence of the American people. The correspondence itself, with the usual reserva- tions, is herewith submitted. I venture to hope that it will apjjear that we have prac- ticed prudence and liberality toward foreign powers, Life of Abraham Lincoln. 201 averting causes of irritation, and with firmness maintaining our own rights and honor. Since, however, it is apparent that here, as in every other State, foreign dangers necessarily attend domestic diffi- culties, I recommend that adequate and ample measures be adopted for maintaining the pubUc defenses on every side. While, under tliis general recommendation, pro- vision for defending our sea coast line readily occurs to the mind, I also, in the same connection, ask the attention of Congress to our great lakes and [rivers. It is believed that some fortifications and depots of arms and munitions, with harbor and navigation improvements, all at well selected points upon these, would be of great importance to the National defense and preservation. I ask attention to the views of the Secretary of War, expressed in his report, upon the same general subject. I deem it of importance that the loyal regions of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina should be connected with Kentucky, and other faithful parts of the Union, by railroad. I therefore recommend, as a military measure, that Congress provide for the construction of such road as speedily as possible. Kentucky, no doubt, will co-operate, and, through her Legislature, make the most judicious selection of a line. The northern terminus must connect with some existing railroad ; and whether the route shall be from Lexington or Nicholasville to the Cumberland Gap, or from Lebanon to the Tennessee line, in the direction of Knoxville, or on some still different line, can easily be de- termined. Kentucky and the General Government co- operating, the work can be completed ii'i a very short time ; and when done, it will be not only of vast present usefulness, but also a valuable permanent improvement, worth its cost in all the future. Some treaties, designed chiefly for the interests of com- 202 Life of Abraham Lincoln. merce, and having no grave political importance, have been negotiated, and will be submitted to the Senate for their consideration. Although we have failed to induce some of the com- mercial powers to adopt a desirable melioration of the rigor of maritime war, we have removed all obstructions from the way of this humane reform, except such as are merely of temporary and accidental occurrence. I invite your attention to the correspondence between Her Britanic Majesty's Minister, accredited to this Govern- ment, and the Secretary of State, relative to the detention of the British ship Perthshire, in June last, by the United States steamer Massachusetts, for a supposed breach of the blockade. As this detention was occasioned by an ob\dous misapprehension of the facts, and as justice requires that we should commit no belligerent act not founded in strict right, as sanctioned by public law, I recommended that an appropriation be made to satisfy the reasonable demand of the owners of the vessel for her detention. I repeat the recommendation of my predecessor, in his annual message to Congress in December last, in regard to the disposition of the surplus wliich will probably remain after satisfying the claims of the American citizens against China, pursuant to the awards of the Commissioners under the act of the 3rd of March, 1859. If, however, it should not be deemed ailvisable to carry that recommendation into effect, I would suggest that authority be given for investing the principal, over the proceeds of the surplus referred to, in good securities, with a view to the satisfac- tion of such other just claims of our citizens against Chma as are not unUkely to arise hereafter in the course of our extensive trade with that empire. By the act of the 5th of August last, Congress authorized the President to instruct the commanders of suitable vessels Life of Abraham Lincoln. 203 to defend tlieniselves against and to capture pirates. This authority has been exercised in a single instance only. For the more effectual protection of our extensive and valuable commerce, in the Eastern seas especially, it seems to me that it would also be advisable to authorize the command- ers of sailing vessels to re-capture any prizes which pirates may make of United States vessels and their cargoes, and the consular courts, now established by law in Eastern countries, to adjudicate the cases, in the event that this should not be objected to by the local authorities. If any good reason exists why we should persevere longer in withholding our recognition of the independence and sovereignty of Hayti and Liberia, I am unable to discern it. Unwilling, however, to inaugurate a novel policy in regards to them without the approbation of Congress, I submit for your consideration the expediency of an appropriation for maintaining a charge d'affaires near each of those new States. It does not admit of doubt that important com- mercial advantages might be secured by favorable treaties with them. The operations of the treasury during the period which has elapsed since your adjournment have been conducted with signal success. The patriotism of the people has placed at the disposal of the Government the large means demanded by the public exigencies. Much of the National loan has been taken by citizens of the industrial classes, whose confidence in their country's faith and zeal for their country's deliverance from present peril, have in- duced them to contribute to the support of the Govern- ment, the whole of their limited acquisitions. This fact imposes peculiar obligations to economy in disbursement and energy in action. The revenue from all sources, including loans, for the financial year ending on the 30th of June, 1861, was eighty- 204 Life of Abraham Lincoln. six million eight hundred and thirty-five thousand nine hundred dollars and twenty-seven cents, and the expendi- tures for the same period, including payments on account of the public debt, were eighty-four million five hundred and seventy-eight thousand eight hundred and thirty-four dollars and forty-seven cents; leaving a balance in the treasury on the 1st of July of two million two hundred and fifty-seven thousand sixty-five dollars and eighty cents. For the first quarter of the financial year, ending on the 30th of September, 1861, the receipts from all sources, in- cluding the balance of the 1st of July, were one hundred and two million five hundred and thirty-two thousand five hundred and nine dollars and twenty-seven cents, and the expenses ninety-eight million two hundred and thirty-nine thousand seven hundred and thirty-three dollars and nine cents; leaving a balance on the 1st of October, 1861, of four million two hundred and ninety-two thousand seven hun- dred and seventy-six dollars and eighteen cents. Estimates for the remaining three quarters of the year, and for the financial year 1863, together with his views of ways and means for meeting the demands contemplated by them, will be submitted to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury. It is gratifying to know that the expenditures made necessary by the rebellion are not beyond the re- sources of the loyal people, and to believe that the same patriotism which has thus far sustained the Government will continue to sustain it till peace and Union again shall bless the land. I respectfully refer to the report of the Secretary of War for information respecting the numerical strength of the Army, and for recommendations having in view an increase of its efSciency and the well being of the various branches of the service intrusted to his care. It is gratifying to know that the patriotism of the people has proved equal to Life of Abraham Lincoln. 205 the occasion, and that the number of troops tendered greatly exceeds the force which Congress authorized me to call into the field. I refer with pleasure to those portions of his report which make allusion to the creditable degree of discipline already attained by our troops, and to the excellent sanitary con- dition of the entire army. The recommendation of the Secretary for an organiza- tion of the militia upon a uniform basis is a subject of vital importance to the future safety of the country, and is com- mended to the serious attention of Congress. The large addition to the regular army, in connection with the defection that has so considerably diminished the number of its officers, gives peculiar importance to his recommendation for increasing the corps of cadets to the greatest capacit}' of the Military Academy. By mere omission, I presume, Congress has failed to pro- vide chaplains for hospitals occupied by volunteers. This subject was brought to my notice, and I was induced to draw up the form of a letter, one copy of which, properly afldressed, has been delivered to each of the persons, and at the dates respectively named and stated, in a schedule, containing also the form of the letter, marked A, and here- with transmitted. These gentlemen, I understand, entered upon the duties designated, at the times respectively stated in the scheduled and have labored faithfully therein ever since. I therefore recommend that they be compensated at the same rate as chaplains in the army. I further suggest that general pro- vision be made for chaplains to serve at hospitals, as well as with regiments. The report of the Secretary of the Navy presents in detail the operations of that branch of the service, the activity and energy which have characterized its adminis- 206 Life of Abraham Lincoln. tration, and the results of measures to increase its efficiency and power. Such have been the additions, by constniction and purchase, that it may ahnost be said a navy has bee n created and brought into service since our difficulties com- menced. Besides blockading our extensive coast, squadrons larger than ever before assembled under our flag have been put afloat, and performed deeds which have increased our naval renown. I would invite special attention to the recommendation of the Secretary for a mort perfect organization of the Navy by introducing additional grades in the service. The present organization is defective and unsatisfact ory and the suggestions submitted by the Department vnW, it is beUeved, if adopted, obviate the difficulties alluded to, pro- mote harmony, and increase the efficiency of the navy. There are three vacancies on the bench of the Supreme Court — two by the decease of Justices Daniel and McLean, and one by the resignation of Justice Campbell. I have so far forborne making nominations to fill these vacancies for reasons which I will now state. Two of the outgoing judges resided ^v•ithin the States now overrun by revolt; so that if successors were appointed in the same localities, they could not now serve upon their circuits; and many of the most competent men there probably would not take the personal hazard of accepting to serve, even here, upon the Supreme Bench. I have been unwilling to throw all the appointments northward, thus disabling myself from doing justice to the South on the return of peace; although I may remark that to transfer to the North one which has heretofore been in the South would not, with reference to to territory and population, be unjust. During the long and brilliant judicial career of Judge McLean his circuit grew into an empire — altogether too Life of Abraham Lincoln. 207 large for any one judge to give the courts therein more than a nominal attendance — rising in population from one mil- lion four hundred and seventy thousand and eighteen, in 1830, to six million one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and five in 1860. Besides this, the country generally has outgrown our present judicial system. If uniformity was at all intended, the system requires that all the States shall be accommo- dated with circuit courts, attended by supreme judges, while, in fact, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Florida, Texas, California and Oregon, have never had any such courts. Nor can this well be remedied without a change in the system; because the adding of judges to the Supreme Court, enough for the accommodation of all parts of the country, with circuit courts, would create a court altogether too numerous for a judicial body of any sort. And the evil, if it be one, will increase as new States come into the Union. Circuit courts are useful, or they are not useful; if useful, no State should be denied them; if not useful, no State should have them. Let them be provided for all, or abolished as to all. Three modifications occur to me, either of which, I think, would be an improvement upon our present system. Let the Supreme Court be of convenient number in every event. Then, first, let the whole country be divided into circuits of convenient size, the supreme judges to serve in a number of them corresponding to their own number, and independ ent circuit judges be provided for all the rest. Or, secondly, let the supreme judges be relieved from circuit duties, and circuit judges provided for all the circuits. Or, thirdly, dispense with circuit courts altogether, leaving the judicial fimctions wholly to the district courts, and an inde- pendent Supreme Court. I respectfully recommend to the consideration of Congress 208 Life of Abraham Lincoln. the present condition of the statute laws, with the hope that Congress will be able to find an easy remedy for many of the inconveniences and evils which constantly embarrass those engaged in the practical administration of them. Since the organization of the Government, Congress has enacted some five thousand acts and joint resolutions, which fill more than six thousand closely printed pages, and are scattered through many volumes. Many of these acts have been drawn in haste and without sufficient caution, so that their provisions are often obscure in themselves, or in conflict with each other, or at least so doubtful as to render it very difficult for even the best informed persons to ascertain precisely what the statute law really is. It seems to me very important that the statute laws should be made as plain and intelligible as possible, and be reduced to so small a compass as may consist with the full- ness and precision of the will of the legislature and the per- spicuity of its language. This, well done, would, I think, greatly facilitate the labors of those whose duty it is to assist in the administration of the laws, and would be a lasting benefit to the people, by placing before them, in a more accessible and intelligible form, the laws which so deeply concern their interests and their duties. I am informed by some whose opinions I respect, that all the acts of Congress now in force, and of a permanent and general nature, might be revised and reA\Titten, so as to be embraced in one volume (or, at most, two volumes), of ordinary and convenient size. And I respectfully recom- mend to Congress to consider of the subject, and, if my suggestion be approved, to devise such plan as to their wis- dom shall seem most proper for the attainment of the end proposed. One of the unavoidable consequences of the present insurrection is the entire suppression, in many places, of all Life of Abraham Lincoln. 209 the ordinary means of administering civil justice by the ofRcers and in the forms of existing law. This is the case, in whole or in part, in all the insurgent States; and as our armies advance upon and take possession of parts of those States, the practical evil becomes more apparent. There are no courts nor officers to whom the citizens of other States may apply for the enforcement of their lawful claims against citizens of the insurgent States ; and there is a vast amount of debt constituting such claims. Some have estimated it as high as two hundred million dollars, due, in large part, from insurgents, in open rebellion, to loyal citizens, who are, even now, making great sacrifices, in the discharge of their patriotic duty, to support the Govern- ment. Under these circumstances, I have been urgently solicited to establish, by military power, courts to administer sum- mary justice in such cases. I have thus far declined to do it, not because I had any doubt that the end proposed — the collection of the debts — was just and right in itself, but be- cause I have been unwilling to go beyond the pressure of necessity in the unusual exercise of power. But the powers of Congress, I suppose, are equal to the anomalous occasion, and therefore I refer the whole matter to Congress, with the hope that a plan may be devised for the adminis- tration of justice in all such parts of the insurgent States and Territories as may be under the control of this Govern- ment, whether by a voluntary return to allegiance and order, or by the power of our arms. This, however, not to be a permanent institution, but a temporary substitute, and to cease as soon as the ordinary courts can be re- established in peace. It is important that some more convenient means should be provided, if possible, for the adjustment of claims against the Government, especially in view of their increased num- 210 Life of Abraham Lincoln. ber by reason of the war. It is as much the duty of Gov- ernments to render prompt justice against itself, in favor of citizens, as it is to administer the same between private individuals. The investigation and adjudication of claims, in their nature, belong to the judicial department; besides, it is apparent that the attention of Congress will be more than usually engaged for some time to come with great national questions. It was intended, by the organization of the Court of Claims, mainly to remove this branch of business from the halls of Congress; but while the court has proved to be an effective and valuable means of investi- gation, it in a great degree fails to effect the object of its creation for want of power to make its judgments final. Fully aware of the delicacy, not to say the danger, of the subject, I commend to your careful consideration whether this power of making judgments final may not properly be given to the court, reserving the right of appeal on ques- tions of law to the Supreme Court, with such other pro- visions as experience may have shown to be necessary. I ask attention to the report of the Postmaster General, the following being a summary statement of the condition of the department : The revenue from all sources during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1861, including the annual permanent appropria- tion of seven hundred thousand dollars for the transporta- tion of "free mail matter," was nine million forty-nine thousand two himdred and ninety-six dollars and forty cents, being about two per cent, less than the revenue for 1860. The expenditures were thirteen million six hundred and six thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine dollars and elev- en cents, showing a decrease of more than eight per cent, as compared with those of the previous year, and leaving an excess of expenditure over the revenue for the last fiscal Life of Abraham Lincoln. 211 year of four million five hundred and fifty-seven thousand four hundred and sixty-two dollars and seventy-one cents. The gross revenue for the year ending June 30, 1863, is estimated at an increase of four per cent, on that of 1861, making eight million six hundred and eighty-three thou- sand dollars, to which should be added the earnings of the department in carrying free matter, viz: seven hundred thousand dollars, making nine million three hundred and eighty-three thousand dollars. The total expenditures for 1863 are estimated at twelve million five hundred and twenty-eight thousand dollars, leaving an estimated deficiency of three million one hun- dred and forty-five thousand dollars to be supplied from the treasury, in addition to the permanent appropriation. The present insurrection shows, I think, that the exten- sion of this District across the Potomac river, at the time of establishing the capital here, was eminently wise, and consequently that the relinquishment of that portion of it, which lies within the State of Virginia, was unwise and dan- gerous. I submit for your consideration the expediency of regaining that part of the District, and the restoration of the original boundaries thereof, through negotiations with the State of Virginia. The report of the Secretary of the Interior, with the ac- companying documents, exhibits the condition of the sev- eral branches of the public business pertaining to that de- partment. The depressing influences of the insurrection have been specially felt in the operations of the Patent and General Land Offices. The cash receipts from the sales of public lands chn-ing the past year have exceeded the expenses of our land system only about two hundrerl thou- sand dollars. The sales have been entirely suspended in- the Southern States, while the interruptions to the busi- ness of the country, and the diversions of large numbers 212 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of men from labor to military ser\ace, have obstructed settlements in the new States and Territories of the North- west. The receipts of the Patent Office have dechned in nine months about one hundred thousand dollars, rendering a large reduction of the force employed necessary to make it self-sustaining. The demands upon the Pension Office will be largely in- creased by the insurrection. Numerous applications for pensions, based upon the casualties of the existing war, have already been made. There is reason to believe that many who are now upon the pension rolls, and in receipt of the bounty of the Government, are in the ranks of the insurgent army, or giving them aid and comfort. The Secretary of the Interior has directed a suspension of the payment of the pensions of such persons upon the proof of their disloyalty. I recommend that Congress authorize that officer to cause the names of such persons to be stricken from the pension rolls. The ralations of the Government with the Indian tribes have been greatly disturbed by the insurrection, especially in the Southern Superintendency and in that of New Mex- ico. The Indian country south of Kansas is in the posses- sion of insurgents from Texas and Arkansas. The agents of the United States appointed since the 4th of March for tliis superintendency have been unable to reach their posts, while the most of those who were in office before that time have espoused the insurrectionary cause, and assume to exercise the powers of agents by virtue of commissions from the insurrectionists. It has been stated in the public press that a portion of those Indians had been organized as a military force, and are attached to the army of the insurgents. Although the Government has no official information upon this subject, letters have been written to Life of Abraham Lincoln. 213 the Commissioner of Indian affairs by several prominent chiefs, giving assurance [of their lo3^alty to the United States, and expressing a wish for the presence of Federal troops to protect them. It is believed that upon the repossession of the country by the Federal forces the Indians will readily cease all hostile demonstrations, and resume their former relations to the Government. Agriculture, confessedly the largest interest of the nation, has not a department, nor a bureau, but a clerkship only, assigned to it in the Government. While it is fortunate that this great interest is so independent in its nature as to not have demanded and extorted more from the Govern- ment, I respectfully ask Congress to consider whether something more cannot be given voluntarily with general advantage. Annual reports exhibiting the condition of our agricul- ture, commerce and manufactures, will present a fund of information of great practical value to the country. While I make no suggestion as to details, I venture the opinion that an agricultural and statistical bureau might profitably be organized. The execution of the laws for the suppression of the Afri- can slave trade has been confided to the Department of the Interior. It is a subject of gratulation that the efforts which have been made for the suppression of this inhuman traffic have been recently attended with unusual success. Five vessels being fitted out for the slave trade have been seized and condemned. Two mates of vessels engaged in the trade, and one person in equipping a vessel as a slaver, have been convicted and subjected to the penalty of fine and imprisonment, and one captain, taken with a cargo of Africans on board his vessel, has been convicted of the highest grade of offense under our laws, the punishment of which is death. 214 Life of Abraham Lincoln. The Territories of Colorado, Dakota, and Nevada-, created by the last Congress, have been organized, and civil administration has been inaugiirated therein under auspices especially gratifying, when it is considered that the leaven of treason was found existing in some of these new countries when the Federal officers arrived there. The abundant natural resources of these Territories, with the security and protection afforded by organized govern- ment, will doubtless invite to them a large immigration when peace shall restore the business of the country to its accustomed channels. I submit the resolutions of the Legislature of Colorado, which evidence the patriotic spirit of the people of the Territory. So far, the authority of the United States has been upheld in all the Territories, as it is hoped it will be in the future. T commend their interests and defense to the enhghtened and generous care of Con- gress. I recommend to the favorable consideration of Congress the interests of the District of Columbia. The insurrection has been the cause of much suffering and sacrifice to its inhabitants, and as they have no representative in Con- gress, that body should not overlook their just claims upon the Government. At your late session a joint resolution was adopted authorizing the President to take measures for facilitating a proper representation of the industrial interests of the United States at the exhibition of the industry of all na- tions, to be holden at London in the year 1862. I regret to say that I have been unable to give personal attention to this subject — a subject at once so interesting in itself, and so extensively and intimately connected with the material prosperity of the world. Through the Secretaries of State and of the Interior a plan, or system, has been devised, and partly matured, and which will be laid before you. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 215 Under and by virtue of the act of Congress entitled " An act to confiscate property used for insurrectionary pur- poses, " approved August 6, 1861, the legal claims of cer- tain persons to the labor and service of certain other persons have become forfeited; and numbers of the latter, thus liberated, are already dependent on the United States, and must be provided for in some way. Besides this, it is not impossible that some of the States will pass similar enactments for their own benefit respectively, and by operations of which persons of the same class will be thrown upon them for disposal. In such case I recommend that Congress provide for accepting such persons from such States according to some mode of valuation, in lieu, pro tanto, of direct taxes, or upon some other plan to be agreed on with such States, respectively ; that such persons, on such acceptance by the General Government, be at once deemed free; and that, in any event, steps be taken for colonizing both classes (or the one first mentioned, if the other shall not be brought into existence) at some place or places in a climate congenial to them. It might be well to consider, too, whether the free colored people already in the United States could not, so far as individuals may desire, be included in such colonization. To carry out the plan of colonization may involve the acquiring of territory, and also the appropriation of money beyond that to be expended in the territorial acquisition. Having practiced the acquisition of territory for nearly sixty years, the question of constitutional power to do so is no longer an open one with us. The power was ques- tioned at first by Mr. Jefferson, who, however, in the pur- chase of Louisiana, yielded his scruples on the plea of great expediency. If it be said that the only legitimate object of acquiring territory is to furnish homes for white men, this measure effects that object, for the emigration of col- 216 Life of Abraham Lincoln. ored men leaves additional room for wliite men remaining or coming here. Mr. Jefferson, however, placed the im- portance of procuring Louisiana more on political and com- mercial grounds than on providing room for population. On this whole proposition, including the appropriation of money with the acquisition of territory, does not the ex- pediency amount to absolute necessity^that without which the Government itself cannot be perpetuated? The war continues. In considering the policy to be adopted for suppressing the insurrection, I have been anxious and careful that the inevitable conflict for this purpose shall not degenerate into a violent and remorseless revolutionary struggle. I have, therefore, in every case thought it proper to keep the integrity of the Union prom- inent as the primary object of the contest on our part, leav- ing all questions which are not of vital military importance to the more deliberate action of the legislature. In the exercise of my best discretion, I have adhered to the blockade of the ports held by the insurgents, instead of putting in force, by proclamation, the law of Congress enacted at the late session for closing those ports. So, also, obeying the dictates of prudence, as well as the obligations of law, instead of transcending, I have adhered to the act of Congress to confiscate property used for insur- rectionary purposes. If a new law upon the same subject shall be proposed, its propriety will be duly considered. The Union must be preserved; and hence all indispensable means must be employed. We should not be in haste to determine that radical and extreme measures, which may reach the loyal as well as the disloyal, are indispensable. The inaugural address at the begimiing of the adminis- tration, and the message to Congress at the late special session, were both mainly devoted to the domestic con- troversy out of which the insurrection and consequent war Life of Abraham Lincoln. 217 have sprung. Nothing now occurs to add or subtract to or from the principles or general purposes stated and ex- pressed in those documents. The last ray of hope for preserving the tJnion peaceably expired at the assault upon Fort Sumpter; and a general review of what has occurred since may not be unprofitable. What was painfully uncertain then is much better defined and more distinct now; and the progress of events is plainly in the right direction. The insurgents confidently claim a strong support from north of Mason and Dixon's line, and the friends of the Union were not free from ap- prehension on the point. This, however, was soon settled definitely, and on the right side. South of the line, noble little Delaware led off right from the first. Maryland was made to seem against the Union. Our soldiers were as- saulted, bridges were burned, and railroads torn up within her limits, and we were many days, at one time, without the ability to bring a single regiment over her soil to the capital. Now her bridges and railroads are repaired and open to the Government; she already gives seven regi- ments to the cause of the Union and none to the enemy; and her people, at a regular election, have sustained the Union by a larger majority and a larger aggregate vote than they ever before gave to any candidate or any question. Kentucky, too, for some time in doubt, is now decidedly, and, I think, unchangeably, ranged on the side of the Union. Missouri is comparatively quiet, and I believe cannot again be overrun by the insurrectionists. These three States of Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri, neither of which would promise a single soldier at first, have now an aggregate of not less 'than forty thousand in the field for the Union ; while of their citizens certainly not more than a third of that number, and they of doubtful whereabouts and doubtful existence, are in arms against it. After a 218 Life of Abraham Lincoln. somewhat bloody struggle of months, winter closes on the Union people of Western Virginia, leaving them masters of their own country. An insurgent force of about fifteen hundred, for months dominating the narrow peninsular region, constituting the counties of Accomac, and Northampton, and known as the eastern shore of Virginia, together with some contiguous parts of Maryland, have laid down their arms; and the people there have renewed their allegiance to, and accepted the protection of, the old flag. This leaves no armed in- surrectionist north of the Potomac or east of the Chesa- peake. Also we have obtained a footing at each of the isolated points, on the southern coast, of Hatteras, Port Royal, Tybee Island, near Savannah, and Ship Island; and we likewise have some general accounts of popular movements, in behalf of the Union, in North Carolina and Tennessee. These things demonstrate that the cause of the Union is advancing steadily and certainly southward. Since your last adjournment, Lieutenant General Scott has retired from the head of the army. During his long life, the nation has not been unmindful of his merit; yet, on calling to mind how faithfully, ably and brilliantly he has served the country, from a time far back in our history, when few of the now living had been born, and thence- forward continually, I cannot but think we are still his debtors. I submit, therefore, for your consideration, what further mark of recognition is due to him, and to ourselves, as a grateful people. With the retirement of General Scott came the Executive duty of appointing, in his stead, a General-in-chief of the army. It is a fortunate circumstance that neither in council nor country was there, so fkr as I know, any differ- ence of opinion as to the proper person to be selected. The Life of Abraham Lincoln. 219 retiring chief repeatedly expressed his judgment in favor of General McClellan for the position and in this the nation seemed to give a unanimous concurrence. The designation of General McClellan is, therefore, in considerable degree, the selection of the country as well as of the Executive; and hence there is better reason to hope there will be given him the confidence and cordial support thus, by fair impli- cation, promised, and without which he can not, with so full efficiency, serve the country. It has been said that one bad general is better than two good ones; and the saying is true, if taken to mean no more than that an army is better directed by a single mind, though inferior, than by two superior ones at vari- ance and cross-purposes with each other. And the same is true in all joint operations wherein those engaged can have none but a common end in view, and can differ only as to the choice of means. In a storm at sea, no one on board can wish the ship to sink, and yet, not unfre- quently, all go dowii together because too many will direct and no single mind can be allowed to control. It continues to develop that the insurrection is largely, if not exclusively, a war upon the first principle of popular government — the rights of the people. Conclusive evi- dence of this is found in the most grave and maturely- considered public document, as well as in the general tone of the insurgents. In those documents we find the abridge- ment of the existing right of suffrage and the denial to the people of all right to participate in the selection of public officers, except the legislative, boldly advocated, with labored arguments to prove that large control of the people in government is the source of all political evil. Monarchy itself is sometimes hinted at as a possible refuge from the power of the people. In my present position I could scarcely be justified were I 220 Life of Abraham Lincoln. to omit raising a warning voice against this approach of re- turning despotism. It is not needed nor fitting here that a general argument should be made in favor of popular institutions ; but there is one point, with its connections, not so hackneyed as most others, to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital on an equal footing with, if not above labor, in the structure of government. It is assumed that labor is available only in comiection with capital — that nobody labors imless somebody else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces him to labor. This assumed, it is next considered whether it is best that capital shall hire laborers and thus induce them to work by their own consent, or buy them, and drive them to it without their consent. Having proceeded so far, it is naturally concluded, that all laborers are either hired laborers, or what we call slaves. And further, it is assumed that whoever is once a hired laborer is fixed in that condition for life. Now, there is no such relation between capital and labor as assumed; nor is there any such thing as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of a hired laborer. Both these assumptions are false, and all inferences from them are groundless. Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and probably always will be, a relation between labor and capital producing mutual benefits. The error is in assuming that the whole labor of a community exists within that relation. A few men own capital, and that few avoid labor themselves, and with their capital hire or buy another few to labor for them. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 221 A large majority belong to neither class — neither work for others nor have others working for them. In most of the Southern States a majority of the whole people, of all colors, are neither slaves nor masters, while in the Northern a large majority are neither hirers nor hired. Men, with their families — wives, sons and daughters — work for them- selves, on their farms, in their houses, and in their shops, taking the whole product to themselves, and asking no favors of capital, on the one hand, nor of hired laborers or slaves on the other. It is not forgotten that a considerable number of persons mingle their own labor with capital — that is, they labor with their own hands, and also buy or hire others to labor for them; but this is only a mixed, and not a distinct class. No principle stated is disturbed by the existence of this mixed class. Again, as has already been said,_there is not, of necessity, any such thing as the free hired laborer being fixed to that condition for life. Many independent men everywhere in these States, a few years back in their lives, were hired laborers. The prudent, penniless beginner in the world, labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land for himself, then labors on his own account another while, and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This is the just, and generous, and prosperous system, which opens the way to all — gives hope to all, and consequent energy, and progress, and improvement of con- dition to all. No men living are more worthy to be trusted than those who toil up from poverty; none less inclined to take or touch aught which they have not honestly earned. Let them beware of surrendering a political power which they already possess, and which, if surrendered, will surely be used to close the door of advancement against such as they, and to fix new disabilities and burdens upon them, till all of Uberty shall be lost. 222 Life of Abraham Lincoln. From the first taking of our National Census to the last are seventy years ; and we find our population at the end of the period eight times as great as it was at the beginning. The increase of those other thngs which men deem desirable has been even greater. We thus have at one view what the popular principle, applied to Government through the machinery of the States and the Union, has produced in a given time, and also what it firmly maintained, it promises for the future. There are already among us^ those who, if the Union be preserved, will live to see it contain two hun- dred and fifty millions. The struggle of to-day is. not alto- gether for to-day; it is for a vast future also. With a re- liance on Providence all the more firm and earnest, let us proceed in the great task which events have devolved upon us. ' Abraham Lincoln. Washington, December 3, 1861. On the 13th of January, 1862, Mr. Cameron resigned his place in the Cabinet as Secretary of War, receiving an appointment as Minister to Russia, and the Honorable Edwin M. Stanton was appointed in his stead. The message sent by President Lixcolx to Congress on the 6th of March, in regard to gradual and compensated emancipation, shows that he had now come to look seriously upon the question of employing some means for the com- plete eradication of slavery. He intimates plainly that such a conviction was on his mind when preparing his mes- sage of Dec. 3, 1861. His emancipation message is in these words : Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Repre- SENT.^TivEs: I recommend the adoption of a joint resolu- tion by your honorable bodies, which shall be substantially as follows : LiFK OF Abraham Lincoln. 223 Resolved, That the United States ought to co-operate with any State which may adopt gradual abohshment of slavery, giving to such State pecuniary aid, to be used by such State in its discretion, to compensate for the incon- veniences, public and private, produced by such change of system. If the proposition contained in the resolution does not meet the approval of Congress and the country, there is the end; but if it does command such approval, I deem it of importance that the States and people immediately inter- ested should be at once distinctly notified of the fact, so that they may begin to consider whether to accept or re- ject it. The Federal Government would find its highest interest in such a measure as one of the most efficient means of self-preservation. The leaders of the existing insurrec- tion entertain the hope that this Government will ultimately be forced to acknowledge the independence of some part of the disaffected region, and that all the Slave States north of such part will then say, "the Union for which we have struggled being already gone, we now choose to go with the southern section. " To deprive them of this hope substantially ends the rebellion, and the initiation of eman- cipation completely deprives them of it as to all the States initiating it. The point is not that all the States tolerating slavery would very soon, if at all, initiate emancipation, but that, while, the offer is equally made to all, the more northern shall, by such initiation, make it certain to the more southern that in no event will the former ever join the latter in their proposed confederacy. I say "initiation," because, in my judgment, gradual, and not sudden emanci- pation, is better for all. In the mere financial or pecuniary view, any member of Congress, with the Census tables and treasury reports before him, can readily see for himself how very soon the current expenditures of this war would pur- 224 Life of Abraham Lincoln. chase, at a fair valuation, all the slaves in any named State. Such a proposition on the part of the General Government sets up no claim of a right by Federal authority to interfere with slavery within State limits, referring, as it does, the absolute control of the subject in each case to the State and its people immediately interested. It is proposed as a matter of perfectly free choice with them. In the annual message last December I thought fit to say, "the Union must be preserved, and hence all indis- pensable means must be employed. " I said this not hast- ily, but deliberately. War has been made, and continues to be an indispensable means to this end. A practical re- acloiowledgment of the National authority would render the war unnecessary, and it would at once cease. If, how- ever, resistance continues, the war must also continue, and it is impossible to foresee all the incidents which may attend and aU the ruin which may follow it. Such as may seem indispensable, or may obviously promise great efficiency toward ending the struggle, must and will come. The proposition now made, though an offer only, I hope it may be esteemed no offense to ask whether the pecuniary consideration tendered \\ould not be of more value to the States and private persons concerned than are the institu- tions and property in it, in the present aspect of affairs. While it is true that the adoption of the proposed resolu- tion would be merely initiatory, and not within itself a prac- tical measure, it is recommended in the hope that it would soon lead to important practical results. In full view of my great responsibility to my God and to my coimtry, I earnestly beg the attention of Congress and the people to the subject. Abraham Lincoln. March 6, 1862. >^,«e^:<^^t^ syCC a^^-^^^c^ rt^ Life of Abraham Lincoln. 225 The resolution recommended in the foregoing paper was passed by the House on the 11th of March— ayes 97, noes 36. Only five of the affirmative votes were from the Slave States. The resolution was concurred in by the Senate, with little opposition, and signed by the President on the 10th of April. Early in April the Senate passed a bill abolishing slavery the District of Columbia, with compensation to the loyal owners of slaves. This bill passed the House on the 11th of the same month, four days after its transmission— ayes 92, noes 39. In communicating his approval of this measure, the President, departing from the usual practice, sent a message to Congress in the following terms: Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives: The act entitled "An act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia, " has this day been approved and signed. I have never doubted the constitutional authority of Con- gress to abolish slavery in this District; and I have ever de- sired to see the National Capital freed from the institution in some satisfactory way. Hence there has never been, in my mind, any question upon the subject except the one of expediency, arising in view of all the circumstances. If there be matters within and about this act which might have taken a course or shape more satisfactory to my judg- ment, I do not attempt to specify them. I am gratified that the two principles of compensation and colonization are both recognized and practically applied in the act. In the matter of compensation it is provided that claims may be presented within ninety days from the passage of the act, "but not thereafter," and there is no saving for minors, femmes-covert, insane or absent persons. I pre- sume this is an omission by mere oversight, and I recom- 226 Life of Abraham Lincoln. mend that it be supplied by an amendatory or supple- mental act. April 16, 1862. Abraham Lincoln. On the 10th of June, President Lincoln commimicated to Congress a copy of a treaty negotiated with Great Brit- ain, having for it design a complete suppression of the African slave-trade. The Confiscation Act, as finally matured and passed by Congress, with a special provision for conditional pardon and amnesty, received the approval of the Executive on the last day of the session, July 17th. To obviate constitu- tional objections known to exist in the President's mind, to the measure as at first passed, a supplementary joint resolution had been adopted, limiting the forfeiture of real estate to the lifetime of its rebel owner. His views on this subject were officially set forth in a document, from which the following memorable sentences are quoted: It is'startling to say that Congress can free a slave within a State, and yet were it said that the ownership of a slave had first been transferred to the nation, and that Congress had then Uberated him, the difficulty would vanish; and this is the real case. The traitor against the General Gov- ernment forfeits his slave at least as justly as he does any other property, and he forfeits both to the Govern- ment against which he offends. The Government, so far as there can be ownership, owns the forfeited slaves, and the question for Congress in regard to them is, shall they be made free or sold to new masters? I see no objection to Congress deciding in advance that they shall be free. That those who make a causeless war should be com- pelled to pay the cost of it, is too obviously just to be called in question. To give Government protection to the prop- erty of persons who have abandoned it, and gone on a Life of Abraham Lincoln. 227 crusade to overthrow the same Government, is absurd, if considered in the mere light of justice. The severest jus- tice may not always be the best policy. * * I think our military commanders, when, in military phrase, they are within the enemy's country, should, in an orderly manner, seize and keep whatever of real and personal property may be necessary or convenient for their commands, and at the same time preserve in some way the evidence of what they do. A few days before the adjournment, the President, evi- dently looking forward to the necessity of a more radical and decisive policy in regard to slavery, invited the Sena- tors and Representatives of the border Slave States to a conference. The disastrous Peninsular campaign was now over, and depression prevailed throughout the country. The war must somehow be ended, with the rebellion over- thrown ; and the employment of every effective and legiti- mate war measure, he felt to be now demanded. He de- sired the great change to come as lightly as possible on the still loyal Slave States, and it was in this spirit that the interview was solicited by him. Having convened at the Executive Mansion, on the 12th of July, these representa- tives were addressed by Mr. Lincoln (reading what he had carefully prepared for the occasion) as follows : Gentlemen: After the adjournment of Congress, now near, I shall have no opportunity of seeing you for several months. Believing that you of the Border States hold more power for good than any other equal number of mem- bers, I feel it a duty which I cannot justifiably waive to make this appeal to you. I intend no reproach or complaint when I assure you that in my opinion, if you all had voted for the resolution in the 228 Life of Abraham Lincoln. gradual emancipation message of last March, the war would now be substantially ended. And the plan therein proposed is yet one of the most potent and swift means of ending it. Let the States which are in rebellion see definite- ly and certainly that in no event will the States you repre- sent ever join their proposed Confederacy, and they can- not much longer maintain the contest. But you cannot divest them of their hope to ultimately have you with them so long as you show a determination to perpetuate the institution within your o^vn States. Beat them at elections, as you have overwhelmingly done, and, nothing daunted, they still claim you as their own. You- and I know what the lever of their power is. Break that lever before their faces, and they can shake j-ou no more forever. Most of 3'ou have treated me with kindness and consider- ation, and I trust j'ou will not now think I improperly touch what is exclusively your own, when, for the sake of the whole country, I ask, "Can you, for your States, do better than to take the course I urge?" Discarding punctilio and maxims adapted to more manageable times, and looking only to the unprecedently stern facts of our case, can you do better in any possible event? You prefer that the constitutional relations of the States to the nation shall be practically restored without disturbance of the institution; and, if this were done, my whole duty in this respect, under the Constitution and my oath of office, would be performed. But it is not done, and we are trying to accomplish it by war. The incidents of the war cannot be avoided. If the war continues long, as it must if the ob- ject be not sooner attained, the institution in your States will be extinguished bj^ mere friction and abrasion — by the mere incidents of the war. It \\-ill be gone, and you vdll have nothing valuable in lieu of it. Much of its value is gone already. How much better for you and for your Life of Abraham Lincoln. 229 people to take the step which at once shortens the war, and secures substantial compensation for that which is sure to be wholly lost in any other event ! How much bet- ter to thus save the money which else we sink forever in the war! How much better to do it while we can, lest the war, ere long, render us pecuniarily unable to do it! How much better for you as seller, and the nation, as buyer, to sell out and buy all that without which the war could never have been, than to sink both the thing to be sold and the price of it, in cutting one another's throats! I do not speak of emancipation at once, but of a decision at once to emancipate gradually. Room in South Africa for colonization can be obtained cheaply and in abundance, and when numbers shall be large enough to be company and encouragement for one another, the freed people will not be so reluctant to go. I am pressed with a difficulty not yet mentioned — one which threatens division among those who, united, are none too strong. An instance of it is known to you. Gen- eral Hunter is an honest man. He was, and I hope still is, my friend. I valued him none the less for his agreeing with me in the general wish that all men everywhere could be freed. He proclaimed all men free within certain States, and I repudiated the proclamation. He expected more good and less harm from the measure than I could believe would follow. Yet, in repudiating it, I gave dis- satisfaction, if not offense, to many whose support the country cannot afford to lose. And this is not the end of. it. The pressure in this direction is still upon me, and is increasing. By conceding what I now ask you can re- lieve me, and, much more, can relieve the country in this important point. Upon these considerations, I have again begged your attention to the message of March last. Before leaving 230 Life of Abraham Lincoln. the Capitol, consider and discuss it among yourselves. You are patriots and statesmen, and as such, I pray you con- sider this proposition, and, at the least, commend it to the consideration of your States and people. As you would perpetuate popular government for the best people in the world, I beseech you that you do in no wise omit this. Our common country is in great peril, demanding the loftiest views and boldest action to being a speedy relief. Once relieved, its form of government is saved to the world; its beloved history and cherished memories are vindicated, and its happy future fully assured and rendered incon- ceivably grand. To you, more than to any others, the privilege is given to assure that happiness, and swell that grandeur, and to link your own names therewith forever. Twenty of the Senators and Representatives thus ad- dressed replied in respectful, but decidedly unfavorable, terms. Nine only made friendly and approving responses. CHAPTER XIII. The Peninsular Campaign. More than six months having elapsed since the command of the Army of the Potomac had devolved upon General McClellan, without the development of either a particular plan or a general purpose of attacking the enemy, under circumstances the most favorable, and an unexpected quiescence having followed his appointment as General- in-chief, the President at length issued his "General War Order, No. 1," as follows: Executive Mansion, Washington, ) January 27, 1862. f President's General War Order, No. 1.] Ordered, That the 22d day of February, 1862, be the day for a general movement of the land and naval forces of the United States against the insurgent forces. That especially the Army at and about Fortress Monroe, the Army of the Potomac, the Army of Western Virginia, the Army near Mumfordsville, Kentucky, the Army and Flotilla at Cairo, and a naval force in the Gulf of Mexico, be ready for a movement on that day. That all forces, both land and naval, with their re- spective commanders, obey existing orders for the time, and be ready to obey additional orders when duly given. That the Heads of Departments, and especially the Secretaries of War and of the Navy, with all their sub- ordinates, and the General-in-chief, with all other com- 231 232 Life of Abraham Lincoln. manders and subordinates of land and naval forces, will severally be held to their strict and full responsibilities for the prompt execution of this order. Abraham Lincoln. After thus directing General McClellan's efforts more particularly to the management of the Army of the Poto- mac, the President soon found it expedient to concentrate that officer's thoughts upon some definite plan — which had evidently been not very clearly before his mind hither- to — for rendering this great force of practical service to the Government. Consequently, four days later, the following order was communicated to McClellan: Executive Mansion, Washington, ) January. 31, 1862. ) Ordered, That all the disposable force of the Army of the Potomac, after providing safely for the defense of Wash- ington, be formed into an expedition for the immediate object of seizing and occupying a point upon the railroad south-westward of what is known as Manassas Junction; all details to be in the discretion of the Commander-in-chief, and the expedition to move before, or on, the twenty-second day of February next. Abraham Lincoln. On the 3d of February, President Lincoln addressed to Gen. McClellan the following memorable letter, having reference to the Urbana plan, scarcely more than alluded to by McClellan in his final report, and seemingly as un- ceremoniously abandoned, after serving a purpose, as it had been zealously improvised; Life of Abraham Lincoln. 233 Executive Mansion, Washington, ) February 3, 1862. f My Dear Sir: You and I have distinct and different plans for a movement of the Army of the Potomac ; yours to be done by the Chesapeake, up the Rappahannock to Urbana, and across land to the terminus of the railroad on the York river; mine to move directly to a point on the railroad southwest of Manassas. If you will give satisfactory answers to the following ques- tions, I shall gladly yield my plan to yours: 1st. Does not your plan involve a greatly larger expen- diture of time and money than mine? 2d. Wherein is a victory more certain by your plan than mine? 3d. Wherein is a victory more valuable by your plan than mine? 4th. In fact, would it not be less valuable in this; that it would break no great line of the enemy's communica- tions, while mine would? 5th. In case of disaster, would not a retreat be more difficult by your plan than mine? Yours truly, A. Lincoln. Major-General McClellan With all that had been accomphshed in the way of or- ganization, discipline, and general preparation, the Army of the Potomac, had still remained without distribution into Army Corps. The President, sustained by the best mili- tary authorities and advisers, if not by the universal prac- tice in modern warfare, had desired such organization to be made. This General McClellan had failed to attend to, and it was not until he was on the eve of a movement toward Manassas, with a manifest purpose not to perfect his organization, that President Lincoln issued the follow- ing peremptory order: 234 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Executive Mansion, Washington, March 8, 1862. President's General War Order, No. 2.] Ordered, I. That the Major-General commanding the Army of the Potomac proceed forthwith to organize that part of said army destined to enter upon active operations, (including the reserve, but excluding the troops to be left in the fortifications about Washington), into four army corps, to be commanded according to seniority of rank, as follows : First Corps, to consist of four divisions, and to be com- manded by Major-General A. McDowell. Second Corps, to consist of three divisions, and to be com- manded by Brigadier-General E. V. Sumner. Third Corps, to consist of three divisions, and to be com- manded by Brigadier-General S. P. Heintzelman. Fourth Corps, to consist of three divisions, and to be com- manded by Brigadier-General E. D. Keyes. IL That the divisions now commanded by the officers above assigned to the command of Corps, shall be em- braced in and form part of their respective Corps. III. The forces left for the defense of Washington will be placed in command of Brigadier-General James S. Wads- worth, who shall also be Military Governor of the District of Columbia. IV. That this order be executed with such promptness and dispatch, as not to delay the commencement of the operations already directed to be undertaken by the Army of the Potomac. V. That the Fifth Army Corps, to be commanded by Major-General N. P. Banks, will be formed from his own and General Shields', late General Lander's, division. Abraham Lincoln. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 235 The President, who had reluctantly yielded his preference for such an advance on Richmond as would at the same time cover the National Capital, and who had not been indifferent to the -^neglect of his wishes in regard to the opening of the Potomac, or to the delays which experience had led him to dread, issued the subjoined general order: Executive Mansion. Washington, ) March 8, 1862. j Ordered. That no change of the base of operations of the Army of the Potomac shall be made without leaving in and about Washington such a force as, in the opinion of the General-in-chief and the commanders of army corps, shall leave said city entirely secure. That no more than two army corps (about fifty thou- sand troops) of said Army of the Potomac shall be moved en route for a new base of operations until the navigation of the Potomac, from Washington to the Chesapeake Bay, shall be freed from the enemy's batteries, and other ob- structions, or until the President shall hereafter give ex- press permission. That any movement as aforesaid, en route for a new base of operations, which may be ordered by the General-in-- chief, and which may be intended to move upon Chesa- peake Bay, shall begin to move upon the bay as early as the 18th of March, instant, and the General-in-chief shall be responsible that it moves as early as that day. Ordered, That the Army and Navy co-operate in an immediate effort to capture the enemy's batteries upon the Potomac between Washington and the Chesapeake Bay. Abraham Lincoln. L. Thomas, Adjutant-General. McClellan having now taken the field, so that a super- vision of all the armies of the nation was clearly out of his 236 Life of Abraham Lincoln. power, the President made public a change that was no secret to the General commanding the Army of the Potomac through the following order — in which, also, two separate departments were created in the West, to be commanded by Generals Halleck and Buell, and a 'third intermediate department, under the command of General Fremont: Executive Mansion, Washington, March 11, 1862. President's War Order, No. 3.] Major-General McClellan having personally taken the field at the head of the Army of the Potomac until other- wise ordered, he is relieved from the command of the other military departments, he retauiing command of the De- partment of the Potomac. Ordered, Further, That the two departments now under Hunter, together with so much of that under General Buell as lies west of a north and south line indefinitely drawn through Knoxville, Tennessee, be ■ consohdated and des- ignated the Department of the Mississippi and that until otherwise ordered Major-General Halleck have command of faid department. Ordered, also. That the country west of the Depart- ment of the Potomac and east of the Department of the Mississippi be a military department, to be called the Mountain Department, and that the same be commanded by Major-General Fremont. That all the Commanders of Departments, after the re- ceipt of this order by them respectively, report severally and directly to the Secretary of War, and that prompt, full and frequent reports will be expected of all and each of them. Abraham Lincoln. There still remained two army corps which had not yet been transferred to the Peninsula, when the report of Gen- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 237 erals Thomas and Hitchcock was made. The only remedy for McClellan's intended disregard aUke of the conditions of his own plan and of the President's requirement, respecting the force to be left at Washington and in its vicinity, was such as the President applied in the first part of the follow- ing order, the wisdom of which was soon fully demonstrated : Executive Mansion, Washington, April 3, 1862. The Secretary of War will order that one or the other of the corps of General McDowell and General Sumner remain in front of Washington until further orders from the Depart- ment, to operate at, or in the direction of, Manassas Junc- tion, or otherwise as the occasion may require; that the other corps, not so ordered to remain, go forward to General McClellan as speedily as possible; that General McClellan commence his forward movements from his new base at once, and that such incidental modifications as the fore- going may render proper, be also made. Abraham Lincoln. If the President had not expected any serious loss of time at Yorktown, it is equally evident, from official dispatches, that such a thought had found no place in the mind of Mc- Clellan until about the same date as his official notifica- tion of the action of the Administration, just referred to. His dispatch, urging a reconsideration of this action, was prefaced by representations of the numbers and prepara- tions of the enemy, not very closely agreeing with those previously given, yet at least such as to afford cogent reasons for an unhesitating advance. This significant paper is subjoined: [Received 8.30 A. M., April 6.] Near Yorktown, 7J P. M., April 5. A. Lincoln, President: The enemy are in large force 238 Life of Abraham Lincoln. along our front, and apparently intend making a determined resistance. A reconnoissance just made by General Bar- nard shows that their line of works extends across the entire Peninsula from YorktowTi to Warwick river. Many of them are very formidable. Deserters say they are being reinforced daily from Richmond and from Norfolk. Under these circumstances, I beg that you will reconsider the order detacliing the First Corps from my command. In my deliberate judgment the success of our cause will be im- periled by so greatly reducing my force when it is actually under the fire of the enemy, and active operations have commenced. Two or three of my divisions have been under fire of artillery most of the day. I am now of the opinion that I shall have to fight all the available force of the Rebels not far from here. Do not force me to do so with diminished numbers, but whatever your decision may be I will leave nothing undone to obtain success. If you cannot leave me the whole of the First Corps, I urgently ask that I may not lose Frankhn and his division. G. B. McClellan, Major-General. To this dispatch the following reply was promptly sent : War Department, Washington City, April 6, 1862. Major-General Geo. B. McClellan: The President di- rects me to say that your dispatch to liim has been re- ceived. Sumner's corps is on the road to you, and will go forward as fast as possible. Franklin's division is now on the advance toward Manassas. There are no means of transportation here to send it fom^ard in time to be of service in your present operations. Telegraph frequently, and all in the power of the Government shall be done to sustain you as occasion may require. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 239 Magruder, who commanded the Rebel force near York- town, fully appreciated the element of time in this cam- paign, and undoubtedly maneuvered with some skill to put his adversary on a cautious policy. In general orders to be read to his troops, on the 4th of April, he said: "The enemy is before us— our works are strong — our cause is good — we fight for our homes, and must be careful. Every hour we hold out brings us reinforcements. " Instead of availing himself of his overwhelming superiority of numbers by a resolute attack, McClellan paused to discuss still further the conduct of the Administration as to matters far away from the immediate sphere of his labors, and to beg for reinforcements. On the 6th he sent the following dispatch, (received in Washington at 3 o'clock P. M.) : Headquarters Army of the Potomac. A. Lincoln, President: The order forming new Depart- ments, if rigidly enforced, deprives me of the power of ordering up wagons and troops absolutely necessary to enable me to advance to Richmond. I have by no means the transportation I must have to move my army even a few miles. I respectfully request that I may not be placed in this position, but that my orders for wagon trains, am- munition, and other material that I have prepared and nec- essarily left behind, as well as Woodbury's brigade, may at once be complied with. The enemy is strong in my front, and I have a most serious task before me, in the fulfillment of wliich I need all the aid the Government can give me. I again repeat the urgent request that General Franklin and his division may be restored to my command. G. B. McClellan, Major-General. To this the President replied : Washington, April 6, 1862. Major-General McClellan, Fortress Monroe: Yours of 240 Life of Abraham Lincoln. 11 A. M. to-day received. The Secretary of War informs me that the forwarding of transportation, ammunition, and Woodbury's brigade, under your orders is not, and will not be interfered with. You now have over one hmidred thou- sand troops with you, independent of General Wool's com- mand. I think you had better break the enemy's line from Yorktown to War\vick river at once. They will probably use time as advantageously as you can. A. Lincoln. So persistent was McClellan in these complaints and demands, that Mr. Lincoln felt constrained to address to liim the following frank and kindly letter, plainly rehears- ing the facts and reasons of the case, a'nd again pointedly indicating the grand necessity of the hour: Washington, April 9, 1862. My Dear Sir : Your dispatches, complaining that you are not properly sustained, while they do not offend me, do pain me very nmch. Blenker's division was withdrawn from you before you left here, and you know the pressure under which I did it, and, as I thought, acquiesced in it — certanly not without reluctance. After you left, I ascertained that less than twenty thou- sand unorganized men, without a single field battery, were all you designed to be left for the defense of Washington and Manassas Junction, and part of this even was to go to General Hooker's old position. General Banks' corps, once designed for Manassas Junction, was diverted and tied up on the line of Winchester and Strasburgh, and could not leave it without exposing again the Upper Potomac and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This presented, or would present, when McDowell and Sumner should be gone, a great temptation to the enemy to turn back from Life of Abraham Lincoln. 241 the Rappahannock and sack Washington. My implicit order that Washington should, by the judgment of all the commanders of army corps, be left entirely secure, had been neglected. It was precisely this that drove me to detain McDowell. I do not forget that I was satisfied with your arrange- ment to leave Banks at Manassas Junction : but when that arrangement was broken up, and nothing was substituted for it, of course I was constrained to substitute something for it myself. And allow me to ask, do you really tliink I should permit the line from Richmond, via Manassas Junc- tion, to this city, to be entirely open, except what resist- ance could be presented by less than twenty thousand unorganized troops? This is a question which the country will not allow me to evade. There is a curious mystery about the number of troops now with you. When I telegraphed you on the 6th, saying you had over a hundred thousand with you, I had just ob- tained from the Secretary of War a statement taken, as he said, from your own returns, making one hundred and eight thousand then with you and en route to you. You now say you will have but eighty-five thousand when all en route to you shall have reached you. How can the discrepancy of twenty-three thousand be accounted for? As to General Wool's command, I understand it is doing for you precisely what a like number of your own would have to do if that command was away. I suppose the whole force which has gone forward for you is with you by this time. And if so, I think it is the precise time for you to strike a blow. By delay, the enemy will relatively gain upon you — that is, he will gain faster by fortifications and reinforcements than you can by reinforcements alone. And once more let me tell you, it is indispensable to you that you strike a blov/. I am 242 Life of Abraham Lincoln. powerless to help this. You will do me the justice to re- member I always insisted that going down the bay in search of a field, instead of fighting at or near Manassas, was only shifting, and not surmounting a difficulty; that we would find the same enemy, and the same or equal intrenchments, at either place. The country will not fail to note, is now noting, that the present hesitation to move upon an in- trenched enemy is but the story of Manassas repeated. I beg to assure you that I have never written you or spoken to you in greater kindness of feeling than now, nor with a fuller purpose to sustain you, so far as, in my most anxious judgment, I consistently can. But you must act. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln. Major-General McClellan. The total number of McClellan's force, on the 30th of April, as officially given by Assistant Adjutant-General Townsend, was 130,378, of whom 112,392 are reported as "effective." This includes the division under General Franklin, which had arrived several days before, but still remained on the transports. Nearly a month had now passed, in the manner indicated by the dispatches above quoted — fair samples of all — when there came a request for additional guns, which drew from the President the following response: Executive Mansion, Washington, ) May 1, 1862. ) Major-General McClellan: Your call for Parrott guns from Washington alarms me — chiefly because it argues indefinite procrastination. Is anything to be done? A. Lincoln. Two days later, on the night of May 3d, the enemy evacuated his works. The siege of Yorktown, without a close investment, Life of Abraham Lincoln. 243 which was not attempted, if ever contemplated, could have no other than barren results, unless the retreating enemy were promptly pursued. For this, his movement was not soon enough discovered. Here was, indeed, as the Presi- dent had dreaded, "the story of Manassas repeated" — -if that opinion may be hazarded in the face of General McClellan's positive claim of a "brilliant success." His first announcement of the evacuation was in the following dispatch : Headquarters Army of the Potomac, ) May 4, 9 A. M. f To the Honorable Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War: We have the ramparts. Have guns, ammunition, camp equipage, etc. We hold the entire line of his works, which the engineers report as being very strong. I have thrown all my cavalry and horse-artillery in pursuit, supported by infantry. I move Franklin's division, and as much more as I can transport by water, up to West Point to-day. No time shall be lost. The gunboats have gone up York river. I omitted to state that Gloucester is also in our possession. I shall push the enemy to the wall. G. B. McClellan, Major General. CHAPTER XIV. A New Era Inaugurated. The elections, prior to the autumn of 1862, had shown large majorities for the Administration. BrilHant successes had been won by its armies in the West, until, in June, the tide of victory paused before Vicksburg. In the East, military inefficiency had culminated on the Peninsula and before AVashington. Lee had invaded Maryland, and leisurely retired, unpursued. Political defeat followed military disaster. Ohio and Pennsylvania gave small majorities against the Administration in October. New York, in the next month, followed the example. The lower House of the next Congress was already claimed as secured by the Opposition. Popular discontent and despondency were everywhere manifest. Opposition politicians held the President responsible before the people for the non- action of their favorite general, whom they did not cease to lament when removed. Peace Democrats rallied behind banners inscribed, " For a more vigorous prosecution of the war;" yet their representative man was the one who, evad- ing orders of the Administration, and thwarting the Presi- dent's wishes, had wasted lavish preparations and abun- dant military forces, during a whole year, in organizing failure. Long before this disheartening epoch, however, Presi- dent Lincoln, as seen in previous pages, had earnestly directed his thoughts to the proper mode of dealing with 245 246 Life of Abraham Lincoln. slavery, in its necessary relations to the war. His final speech to the Border State men on compensated emanci- pation, as we have seen, plainly indicated that, as early as July, his mind was made up to wrest this element of military power from the support of the Rebellion. In August, Mr. Greeley, of New York, published in his journal, the Tribune, an editorial article on this subject, in the form of a letter addressed to the President, severely criticising his action, and complaining, in no very gentle terms, of various matters, wherein the Administration had, in his opinion, fallen short of the just expectations of "twenty milhons" of loyal people. The whole letter pro- ceeded from the mistaken assumption that the President had not, all along, reflected as earnestly, and felt as deeply, in regard to the question of emancipation, as any man living. It was written in ignorance of the fact that the President had already fully matured and resolved upon a definite policy in regard to Slavery, and was only awaiting the fitting moment for its aimouncement. Mr. Lincoln thought proper to address Mr. Greeley the following letter, in reply to his complaints: Executive Mansion, Washington, ) August 22, 1862. ) Hon. Horace Greeley — Dear Sir: I have just read yours of the 19th, addressed to myself through the New York Tribune. If there be in it any statements or as- sumptions 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 per- ceptible 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. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 247 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 unless they could at the same time save Slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy Slavery, I do not agree with them. My para- mount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy Slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about Slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save this Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not be- lieve it would help to save the Union. I shall do less when- ever I shall beheve 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 offlcial duty, and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men, everywhere, could be free. Yours, A. Lincoln. Although the proclamation of Emancipation had been prepared some time before this letter was written — in fact as early as July — it was not deemed a fitting occasion to an- nounce this great measure, when our army was recoiling from before Richmond, or when our capital itself was 248 Life of Abraham Lincoln. threatened and Maryland invaded. The battle of Antie- tain, followed by the withdrawal of Lee's army into Vir- ginia, occurred on the 17th day of September. The Presi- dent, five days later, issued the following- Proclamation of Emancipation. I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, and Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and declare that hereafter, as hereto- fore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of practi- cally restoring the constitutional relation between the LTnited States and the people thereof in those States in which that relation is, or may be, suspended or disturbed, that it is my purpose upon the next meeting of Congress to again recommend the adoption of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid to the free acceptance or rejection of all the Slave States, so-called, the people whereof may not then be in rebellion against the United States and which States may then have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter may voluntarily adopt, the immediate or gradual abolishment of Slavery within their respective limits, and that the effort to colonize persons of African descent, with their consent, upon the continent or else- where, with the previously obtained consent of the govern- ment existing there, will be continued; that on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or any designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward and forever, free; and the military and naval authority thereof will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, Life of Abraham Lincoln. 249 or any of them, in any efforts they may make for actual freedom; that the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto, at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people thereof have not been in rebellion against the United States. Your attention is hereby called to an act of Congress entitled, "An act to make an additional article of war," approved March 13, 1862, and which act is in the words and figures following: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That hereafter the following shall be promulgated as an addijtional article of war for the government of the Army of the United States, and shall be observed and obeyed as such: "Article — . All officers or persons of the mihtary or naval service of the United States are prohibited from employing any of the forces under their respective com- mands for the purpose of returning fugitives from service or labor who may have escaped from any persons to whom such service or labor is claimed to be due, and any officer who shall be found guilty by a court-martial of violating tliis article shall be dismissed from the service. "Sec. 2. And be it further enacted that this act shall take effect from and after its passage." Also to the ninth and tenth sections of an act entitled, 250 Life of Abraham Lincoln. "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate property of Rebels, and for other purposes," approved July 17, 1862, and wliich sections are in the words and figures following: "Sec. 9. And be it further enacted that all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the Government of the United States, or who shall in , any way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army; and all slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them, and coming under the control of the Government of the United States, and all slaves of such persons found on (or being within) any place occupied by Rebel forces and afterward occupied by the forces of the United States, shall be deemed captives of war, and shall be for- ever free of their servitude and not again held as slaves. "Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, that no slave escaping into any State, Territory or the District of Columbia, from any of the States, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except of crime, or some offense against the laws, unless the person claiming said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be due, is his lawful owner, and has not been in arms against the United States in the present rebellion, nor in any way given aid or comfort thereto; and no person engaged in the military or naval service of the United States shall, under any pretense whatever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim of any persons to the service or labor of any other person, or surrender up any such person to the claimant, on pain of being dis- missed from the ser\'ice." And I do hereby enjoin upon, and order all persons engaged in the military and naval service of the United Life of Abraham Lincoln. 251 States to observe, obey and enforce within their respective spheres of service the act and sections above recited. And the Executive will, in due time, recommend that all citizens of the United States, who shall have remained loyal thereto throughout the rebellion, shall (upon the restoration of the constitutional relation between the United States and their respective States and people, if the relation shall have been suspended or disturbed) be conpensated for all losses by acts of the United States, including the loss of slaves. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. By the President: Abraham Lincoln. Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State. On the 1st day of January, the expected proclamation, completing this great work and giving it actual vitality, was promulgated in the following terms: Whereas, On the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to-wit: That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or any designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be thenceforward and forever free, and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, 252 Life of Abraham Lincoln. will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and wdll do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom : That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof respec- tively shall then be in rebellion against the United States, and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elec- tions wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people thereof are not then in rebellion against the United States: Now, therefore, I, Abraham IjIncoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and Government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for repressing said rebellion, do on' this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from the day of the first above-mentioned order, and designate, as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaque- mines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascen- sion, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Life of Abraham Lincoln. , 253 North Carolina, and Virginia, except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk antl Portsmouth, and which excepted parts are, for the pres- ent, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued. And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts of States are, and hence- forward shall be free; and that the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free, to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self- defense, and I recommend to them, that in all cases, when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. And I further declare and make known that such persons of suitable condition will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service. And upon this, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gra- cious favor of Almighty God. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this first day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand [l. s.] eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Inde- pendence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh. By the President : Abraham Lincoln. William H. Seward, Secretary of State. 254 Life of Abraham Lincoln. It is fitting also to mention the order issued by Presi- dent Lincoln, in response to an appeal made to him by many Christian men, in regard to the better observance of Sunday as a day of rest and religious devotion. " In revo- lutionary times, " this reverence for the day can seldom be maintained in that strictness which is required even by human laws : but that a great improvement in this respect was practicable, could not be denied. The President's order on this subject, issued on the 16th of November, 1862, is one which deserves a perpetual remembrance. It is here subjoined: The President, Commander-in-chief of the Army and NaAy, desires and enjoins the orderly observance of the Sabbath, by the officers and men in the military and naval service. The importance, for man and beast, of the pre- scribed weekly rest, the sacred rights of Christian soldiers and sailors, a becoming deference to the best sentiment of a Christian people, and a due regard for the Divine will, de- mand that Sunday labor in the army and navy be reduced to the measure of strict necessity. The discipline and character of the National forces should not suffer, nor the cause they defend be imperiled, by the profanation of the day or name of the Most High. " At this time of public distress, " adopting the words of Washington in 1776, " men may find enough to do in the service of God and their country, without abandoning themselves to vice and immorality." The first general order issued by the Father of his Country, after the Declaration of Independ- ence, indicates the .spirit in which our institutions were founded and should ever be defended: "The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dear- est rights and liberties of his country. " Abraham Lincoln. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 255 The Thirty-seventh Congress convened, for its last ses- sion on the first day of December, 1862. The annual mes- sage of the President was transmitted to both Houses on that day. In view of the marked events of the preceding reason, this document was looked for with unusual interest ; nor was its favorable reception disproportioned to the public expectation. The material portion of this State paper are as follows: Mr. Lincoln's Annual Message, 1862. Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives: Since your last annual assembling another year of health and bountiful harvests has passed. And, while it has not pleased the Almighty to bless us with a re- turn of peace, we can but press on, guided by the best light He gives us, trusting that, in His own good time, and wise way, all will yet be well. * * * If the condition of our relations with other nations is less gratifying than it has usually been at former periods, it is certainly more satisfactory than a nation so unhappily dis- tracted as we are, might reasonably have apprehended. In the month of June last there were some grounds to suspect that the maritime powers which, at the beginning of our domestic difficulties, so unwisely and unnecessarily, as we think, recognized the insurgents as a belligerent, would soon recede from that position, which has proved only less injurious to themselves than to our own country. But the temporary reverses which afterward befell the National arms and which were exaggerated by our own disloyal citizens abroad, have hitherto delayed that act of simple justice. The civil war, which has so radically changed, for the moment, the occupations and habits of the American peo- ple, has necessarily disturbed the social condition, and 256 Life of Abraham Lincoln. affected very deeply the prosperity of the nations with which we have carried on a commerce that has been steadily in- creasing throughout a period of half a century. It has, at the the same time, excited political ambitions and ajsprehensions which have produced a profound agitation throughout the civilized world. In this unusual agitation we have for- borne from taking part in any controversy between foreign States, and between parties or factions in such States. We have attempted no propagandism, and acknowledged no revolution. But we have left to every nation the exclusive conduct and management of its own affairs. Our struggle has been, of course, contemplated by foreign nations vsdth reference less to its owti merits, than to its supposed, and often exaggerated, effects and consequences resulting to those nations themselves. Nevertheless, complaint on the part of this Government, even if it were just, would cer- tainly be unwise. The treaty with Great Britain for the suppression of the slave-trade has been put into operation, with a good pros- pect of complete success. It is an occasion of special pleasure to acknowledge that the execution of it, on the part of Her Majesty's Government, has been marked with a jealous respect for the authority of the United States, and the rights of their moral and loyal citizens. * * * Applications have been made to me by many free Ameri- cans of African descent to favor their emigration, with a view to such colonization, as was contemplated in recent acts of Congress. Others parties, at home and abroad — some from interested motives, others upon patriotic con- siderations and still others influenced by philanthropic sentiments — have suggested similar measures; while, on the other hand, several of the Spanish-American republics have protested against the sending of such colonies to their respective territories. Under these circumstances, I ha^ e ^._^^^^^^*ii^;^g£>i. 5, 5 , rAXojVy^ Life of Abraham Lincoln. 257 declined to move any such colony to any State without first obtaining the consent of its government, with an agree- ment on its part to receive and protect such emigrants in all the rights of freemen; and I have, at the same time, offered to the several States situated within the tropics, or having colonies there, to negotiate with them, subject to the ad- vice and consent of the Senate, to favor the voluntary emigration of persons of that class to their respective ter- ritories upon conditions which shall be equal, just and hu- mane. Liberia and Hayti are, as yet, the only countries to which colonists of African descent from here could go with certainty of being received and adopted as citizens; and I regret to say such persons, contemplating colonization, do not seem so willing to migrate to those countries, as to some others, nor so willing as I think their interest demands. I believe, however, opinion] among them in this respect, is improving; and that, ere long, there will be an augmented and considerable migration to both these countries, from the United States. * * * I have favored the project for connecting the United States with Europe by an Atlantic telegraph, and a similar project to extend the telegraph from San Francisco, to connect by a Pacific telegraph with the line which is being extended across the Russian empire. The Territories of the United States, with unimportant exceptions, have remained undisturbed by the civil war; and they are exhibiting such evidence of prosperity as justifies an expectation that some of them will soon be in a condition to be organized as States, and be constitutionally admitted into the Federal Union. The immense mineral resources of some of those Terri- tories ought to be developed as rapidly as possible. Every step in that direction would have a tendency to improve the revenues of the Government, and diminish the burdens of the .J 258 Life of Abraham Lincoln. people. It is worthy of your serious consideration whether some extraordinary measures to promote that end caimot be adopted. The means which suggest itself as most Ukely to be effective, is a scientific exploration of the mineral regions in those Territories, with a view to the publication of its results at home and in foreign countries — results which cannot fail to be auspicious. The condition of the finances will claim your most diligent consideration. The vast expenditures incident to the military and naval opera- tions required for the suppression of the rebellion, have hitherto been met with a promptitude and certainty unusual in similar circumstances; and the public credit has been fully maintained. The continuance of the war, however, and the increased disbursements made necessary by the augmented forces now in the field, demand your best reflections as to the best modes of providing the necessary revenue, without injury to business, and with the least possible burdens upon labor. The suspension of specie payments by the banks, soon after the commencement of your last session, made large issues of United States notes unavoidable. In no other way could the payment of the troops, and the satisfaction of other just demands, be so economically, or so well pro- vided for. The judicious legislation of Congress, securing the receivability of these notes for loans and internal duties, and making them a legal tender for other debts, has made them an universal currency; and has satisfied, partially, at least, and for the time, the long felt want of an uniform circulating medium, saving thereby to the people im- mense sums in discounts and exchanges. A return to specie payments, however, at the earliest period compatible with due regard to all interests con- cerned, should ever be kept in view. Fluctuations in the value of currency are always injurious, and to reduce these Life of Abraham Lincoln. 259 fluctuations to the lowest possible point will always be a leading purpose in wise legislation. Convertibility, prompt and certain convertibility into coin, is generally acknowl- edged to be the best and the surest safeguard against them ; and it is extremely doubtful whether a circulation of United States notes, payable in coin, and sufficiently large for the wants of the people, can be permanently, usefully and safely maintained. Is there, then, any other mode in which the necessary provision for the public wants can be made, and the great advantages of a safe and uniform currency secured? I laiow of none which promises so certain results, and is, at the same time, so unobjectionable, as the organization of banking associations, under a general act of Congress, well guarded in its provisions. To such associations the Gov- ernment might furnish circulating notes, on the security of the United States bonds deposited in the treasury. These notes, prepared under the supervision of proper officers, being uniform in appearance and security, and convertible always into coin, would at once protect labor against the evils of a vicious currency, and facilitate commerce by cheap and safe exchanges. A moderate reservation from the interest on the bonds would compensate the United States for the preparation and distribution of the notes, and a general supervision of the system, and would lighten the burden of that part of the pubUc debt employed as securities. The public credit, moreover, would be greatly improved, and the negotiation of new loans greatly facilitated by the steady market de- mand for Government bonds which the adoption of the proposed system would create. It is an additional recommendation of the measure of considerable weight, in my judgment, that it would recon- cile, as far as possible, all existing interests, by the oppor- 260 Life of Abraham Lincoln. tuiiity offered to existing institutions to reorganize under the act, substituting only the secured uniform national circulation for the local and various circulations, secured and unsecured, now issued by them. The receipts into the treasury, from all sources, including loans, and balance from the preceding year, for the fiscal year ending on the 30th June, 1862, were $583,885,247.06, of which sum $-49,056,397.62 were derived from customs; $1,795,331.73 from the direct tax; from public lands $152,203.77; from miscellaneous sources, $931,787.64; from loans in all forms, $529,692,460.50. The remainder $2,257,065.80, was the balance from the last year. The disbursements during the same period were : for con- gressional, executive, and judicial purposes, $5,939,009.29; for foreign intercourse, $1,339,710.35; for miscellaneous expenses, including the mints, loans, post office deficiencies, collection of revenue, and other like charges, $14,129,771.50; for expenses under the Interior Department, $3,102,- 985.52; under the War Department, $394,368,407.36; under the Navy Department, $42,674,569.69; for interest on public debt, $13,190,324.45; and for payment of public debt, including reimbursement of temporary loan, and re- demptions, $96,096,922.09; making an aggregate of $570,- 841,700.25, and leaving a balance in the treasury on the first day of July, 1862, of $13,043,546.81. It should be observed that the sum of $96,096,922.09, ex- pended for reimbursements and redemption of public debt, being included also in the loans made, may be properly deducted, both from receipts and expenditures, leaving the actual receipts for the year, $487,788,324.97; and the expenditures, $474,744,778.16. * * * On the 22d day of September last a proclamation was issued by the Executive, a copy of which is herewith sub- mitted. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 261 In accordance with the purpose expressed in the second paragraph of that paper, I now respectfully call your attention to what may be called "compensated emancipa- tion." A nation may be said to consist of its territory, its people and its laws. The territory is the only part which is of certain durability. "One generation passeth away and another generation cometh, but the earth abideth forever." It is of the first importance to duly consider, and estimate, this ever-enduring part. That portion of the earth's sur- face which is owned and inhabited by the people of the United States, is well adapted to be the home of one national family; and it is not well adapted for two, or more. Its vast extent, and its variety of climate and productions, are of advantage, in this age, for one people, whatever they might have been in former ages. Steam, telegraphs and intelligence have brought these to be an advantageous combination for one united people. In the inaugural address I briefly pointed out the total inadequacy of disunion, as a remedy for the differences between the people of the two sections. I did so in language which I can not improve, and which, therefore, I beg to repeat : "One section of our country believes Slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute. The fugitive slave clause of the Con- stitution, and the law for the suppression of the foreign slave-trade, are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can ever be in a community where the moral sense of the jjeople imperfectly supports the law itself. The great body of the people abide by the dry legal obligation in both cases, and a few break over in each. This, I think, can not be perfectly cured; and it would be worse in both cases after 262 Life of Abraham Lincoln. the separation of the sections, than before. The foreign slave-trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ulti- mately revived without restriction in one section; while fugitive slaves, now only partially surrendered, would not be surrendered at all by the other. "Physically speaking, we can not seperate. We can not remove our respective sections from each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be divorced, and go out of the presence, and beyond the reach of each other; but the different parts of our country can not do this. They cannot but remain face to face; and intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must con- tinue between them. Is it possible, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous, or more satisfactory, ajter separation than hejorc? Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens, than laws can among friends? Suppose you go to war, you cannot fight always; and when, after much loss on both sides, and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical old questions, as to terms of intercourse, are again upon you." There is no line, straight or crooked, suitable for a National boundary, upon which to divide. Trace through, from east to west, upon the line between the free and slave country, and we shall find a little more than one- third of its length are rivers, easy to be crossed, and populated, or soon to be populated, thickly, upon both sides; while nearly all its remaining length are merely surveyors' lines, over which people may walk back and forth without any consciousness of their presence. No part of this line can be made any more difficult to pass, by writing it down on paper, or parchment, as a national boundary. The fact of separation, if it comes, gives up, on the part of the seceding section, the fugitive slave Life of Abraham Lincoln. 263 clause, along with all other constitutional obligations upon the section seceded from, while I should expect no treaty stipulation would ever be made to take its place. But there is another difficulty. The great interior region, bounded east by the Alleghanies, north by the British Dominions, west by the Rocky Mountains, and south by the line along which the culture of corn and cotton meets, and which includes part of Virginia, part of Tennessee, all of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Territories of Dakota, Nebraska, and part of Col- orado, already has above ten millions of people, and will have fifty millions within fifty years, if not prevented by any political folly or mistake. It contains more than one-third of the country owned by the United States — certainly more than one million of square miles. Once half as populous as Massachusetts already is, it would have more than seventy-five millions of people. A glance at the map shows that, territorially speaking, it is the great body of the Republic. The other parts are but marginal borders to it. The magnificent region sloping west from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, being the deepest, and also the richest, in undeveloped resources. In the production of provisions, grains, grasses, and all which proceed from them, this great interior region is naturally one of the most important in the world. Ascer- tain from the statistics the small proportion of the region which has, as yet, been brought into cultivation, and also the large and rapidly increasing amount of its products, and we shall be overwhelmed with the magnitude of the prospect presented. And yet this region has no sea-coast, touches no ocean anywhere. As part of one nation, its people now find, and may forever find, their way to Europe by New York, to South America and 264 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Africa by New Orleans, and to Asia by San Francisco. But separate our common country into two nations, as designed by the present rebellion, and every man of this great interior region is thereby cut off from some one or more of these outlets, not, perhaps, by a physical barrier, but by embarrassing and onerous trade regulations. And this is true, wherever a dividing or boimdary line may be fixed. Place it between the now free and slave country, or place it south of Kentucky, or north of Ohio, and still the truth remains, that none south of it can trade to any port or place north of it, and none north of it can trade to any port or place south of it, except upon terms dictated by a government foreign to them. These outlets, east, west, and south, are indispensable to the well-being of the people inhabiting, and to inhabit, this vast interior region. Which of the three may be the best, is no proper question. All are better than either; and all, of right, belong to that people, and to their successors forever. True to themselves, they will not ask where a line of separation shall be, but will vow, rather, that there shall be no such line. Nor are the marginal regions less interested in these communications to them and through them to the great outside world. They, too, and each of them, must have access to this Eg3'pt of the West, without paying toll at the crossing of any national boundary. Our National strife springs not from our permanent part; not from the land we inhabit; not from our National homestead. There is no possible severing of this, but would multiply, and not mitigate, evils among us. In all its adaptations and aptitudes, it demands union, and abhors separation. In fact, it would, ere long, force reunion, however much of blood and treasure the separa- tion might have cost. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 265 Our strife pertains to ourselves — to the passing genera- tions of men; and it can, without convulsion, be hushed forever with the passing of one generation. In this view, I recommend the adoption of the follow- ing resolution and articles amendatory to the Constitu- tion of the United States: "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of both Houses concurring,) That the follow- ing articles be proposed to the Legislatures (or conventions) of the several States as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all or any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of the said Legislatures (or con- ventions), to be valid as part or parts of the said Con- stitution, viz. : " Article — . Every State, wherein slavery now exists, which shall abolish the same therein, at any time, or times, before the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand and nine hundred, shall receive com- pensation from the United States as follows, to-wit: "The President of the United States shall deliver, to every such State, bonds of the United States, bearing interest at the rate of per cent, per annum, to an amount equal to the aggregate sum of for each slave shown to have been therein, by the eighth census of the United States, said bonds to be delivered to such State by installments, or in one parcel, at the completion of the abolishment, accordingly as the same shall have been gradual, or at one time, within such State; and interest shall begin to run upon any such bond, only from the proper time of its delivery as aforesaid. Any State, having received bonds as aforesaid, and afterward re-in- troducing or tolerating slavery therein, shall refund to 266 Life of Abraham Lincoln. the United States the bonds so received, or the value thereof, and all interest paid thereon. "Article — . All slaves who shall have enjoyed actual freedom by the chances of the war, at any time before the end of the rebelhon, shall be forever free, but all owners of such, who shall not have been disloyal, shall be compensated for them, at the same rates as is provided for States adopting abolishment of slavery, but in such way that no slave shall be twice accounted for. " Article — . Congress may appropriate money, and otherwise pro^^de for colonizing free colored persons, with their own consent, at any place or places without the United States." I beg indulgence to cUscuss these proposed articles at some length. Without slavery the rebellion could never have existed; without slavery it could not con- tinue. Among the friends of the Union, there is great diversity of sentiment, and of police, in i-egard to slaver}^, and the African race among us. Some would perpetuate slavery; some would abolish it suddenly, and without compensa- tion : some would abolish it gradually, and with compensa- tion; some would remove the freed people from us, and some would retain them with us; and there are yet other minor diversities. Because of these divei'sities, we waste much strength in struggles among ourselves. By mutual concession we should harmonize, and act together. This would be compromise; but it would be compromise among the friends, and not with the enemies of the Union. These articles are intended to embody a plan of such mutual concessions. If the plan shall be adopted, it is assumed that emancipation will follow, at least iu several of the States. As to the first article, the main points are: first, the Life of Abraham Lincoln. 267 emancipation; secondly, the length of time for consum- mating it — thirty-seven years; and thirdly, the com- pensation. The emancipation will be unsatisfactory to the advocates of perpetual slavery; but the length of time should greatly mitigate their dissatisfaction. The time spares both races from the evils of sudden derangement — in fact, from the necessity of any derangement — while most of those whose habitual course of thought will be disturbed by the measure, will have passed away before its consum- mation. They will never see it. Another class, will hail the prospect of emancipation, but will deprecate the length of time. They will feel that it gives too little to the now living slaves. But it really gives them much. It saves them from the vagrant destitution which must largely attend immediate" emancipation in localities where their numbers are very great; and it gives the inspiring assurance that their posterity shall be free forever. The plan leaves to each State, choosing to act under it, to abolish slavery now, or at the end of the century, or at any intermediate time, or by degrees, extending over the whole or any part of the period; and it obliges no two States to proceed alike. It also provides for compensation, and, generally, the mode of making it. This, it would seem, must further mitigate the dissatis- faction of those who favor perpetual slavery, and especially of those who are to receive the compensation. Doubtless, some of those who are to pay, and not to receive, will object. Yet the measure is both just and economical. In a certain sense, the liberation of slaves is the destruc- tion of property — property acquired by descent, or by purchase, the same as any other property. It is no less true for having been often said, that the people of the South are not more responsible for the original introduc- 268 Life of Abraham Lincoln. tion of this property, than are the people of the North: and when it is remembered how unhesitatingly we all use cotton and sugar and share the profits of dealing in them, it may not be quite safe to say, that the South has been more responsible than the North for its con- tinuance. If, then, for a common object, this property is to be sacrificed, is it not just that it be done at a com- mon charge? And if, with less money, or money more easily paid, we can preserve the benefits of the Union by this means, better than we can by the war alone, is it not also economical to do it? Let us consider it then. Let us ascertain the sum we have expended in the war since compensated emancipation was proposed last March, and consider whether, if that measure had peen promptly accepted, by even some of the slave States, the same sum would not have done more to close the war, than has been otherwise done. If so, the measure would save money, and in that \dew, would be a prudent and economical measure. Certainly it is not so easy to pay something as it is to pay nothing; but it is easier to pay a large sum, than it is to pay a larger one. And it is easier to pay any sum when we are able, than it is to pay it before we are able. The war requires large sums, and requires them at once. The aggregate sum necessary for com- pensated emancipation, of course, would be large. But it would require no ready cash; nor the bonds even, any faster than the emancipation progresses. This might not, and probably would not, close before the end of the thirty- seven years. At that time we shall probably have a hun- dred millions of people to share the burden, instead of thirty-one millions, as now. And not only so, but the in- crease of our population may be expected to continue for a long time after that period, as rapidly as before ; because Life of Abraham Lincoln. 269 our territory will not have become full. I do not state this inconsiderately. At the same ratio of increase which we have maintained, on an average, from our first National census, in 1790, until that of 1860, we should, in 1900, have a population of 103,208,415. And why may we not con- tinue that ratio far beyond that period? Our abundant room — our broad National homestead — is our ample re- source. Were our territory as limited as are the British Isles, very certainly our population could not expand as stated. Instead of receiving the foreign born, as now, we should be compelled to send part of the native born away. But such is not our condition. We have two millions nine hundred and sixty-three thousand square miles. Europe has three millions eight hundred thousand, with a popu- lation averaging seventy-three and one-third persons to the square mile. Why may not our country, at some time, average as many? Is it less fertile? Has it more waste surface, by mountains, rivers, lakes, deserts, or other causes? Is it inferior to Europe in any natural advantage? If, then, we are, at some time, to be as populous as Europe, how soon? As to when this may be, we can judge by the past antl the present; as to when it will be, if ever, depends nmch on whether we maintain the Union. Several of our States are already above the average of Europe — sev- enty-three and a third to the square mile. Massachu.setts has 155; Rhode Island, 133; Connecticut, 99; New York and New Jersey, each, 80. Also two other great States, Pennsylvania and Ohio, are not far below, the former having ing 63 and the latter 59. Tlie States already above the European average, except New York, have increased in as rapid a ratio, since passing that point, as ever before; while no one of them is equal to some other parts of our country, in natural capacity for sustaining a dense popula- tion. 270 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Taking the nation in the aggregate, and we find its popu- lation and ratio of increase, for tlie several decennial periods, to be as follows: 1790 3,929,827 1800 5,305,937 35.02 per cent, ratio of increase. 1810 7,239,814 36.45 " 1820 9,638,131 33.13 " ^ 1830 12,866,020 33.49 " 1840 17,069,457 32.67 " " 1850 23,191,876 35.87 " 1860 31,443,790 35.58 " This shows an average decennial increase of 34.60 per cent, in population through the seventy years from our first, to our last census yet taken. It is seen that the ratio of increase, at no one of these seven periods, is either two per cent, below, or two per cent, above, the average, thus show- ing how inflexible, and, consequently, how reliable, the law of increase, in our case, is. Assuming that it will continue, gives the following results: 1870 ■ 42,323,341 1880 56,967,216 1890 . 76,677,872 1900 103,208,415 1910 138,918,520 1920 •• 186,984,335 1930 251,680,914 These figures show that our country may be as populous as Europe now is, at some point between 1920 and 1930 — say about 1925 — our territory, at seventy-three and a third persons to the square mile, being the capacity to contain 217,186,000. And we luill reach this, too, if we do not ourselves relin- quish the chance, by the folly and evil of disunion, or by long and exhausting war, springing from the only great Life of Abraham Lincoln. 271 element of National discord among us. AMiile it cannot be foreseen exactly how much one huge example of secession breeding lesser ones indefinitely, would retard population, civilization and prosperity, no one can doubt that the ex- tent of it would be very great and injurious. The proposed emancipation would shorten the war, per- petuate peace, insure this increase of population, and pro- portionately the wealth of the country. With these, we should pay all the emancipation would cost, together with our other debt, easier than we should pay our other debt without it. If we had allowed our old National debt to run at six per cent, per annum, simple interest, from the end of our Revolutionary struggle until to-day, without paying anything on either principal or interest, each man of us would owe less upon that debt now, than each man owed upon it then; and this because our increase of men, through the whole period, has been greater than six per cent,; has run faster than the interest upon the debt. Thus, time alone relieves a debtor nation, so long as its popula- tion increases faster than unpaid interest accumulates on its debt. This fact would be no excuse for delaying payment of what is justly due; but it shows the great importance of time in this connection — the great advantage of a policy by which we shall not have to pay until we number a hundred millions, what, by a different policy, we would have to pay now, when we number but thirty-one millions. In a word, it shows that a dollar will be much harder to pay for the war, than will be a dollar for emancipation on the proposed plan. And then the latter will cost no blood, no precious life. It will be a saving of both. As to the second article, I think it would be impracticable to return to bondage the class of persons therein contem- plated. Some of them, doubtless, in the property sense, 272 Life of Abraham Lincoln. belong to loyal owners; and hence, provision is made in this article for compensating such. The third article relates to the future of the freed people. It does not oblige, but merely authorizes Congress to aid in colonizing such as may consent. This ought not to be re- garded as objectionable, on the one hand, or on the other, in so much as it comes to nothing, unless by the mutual consent of the people to be deported, and the American voters, through their representatives in Congress. I can not make it better known than it already is, that I strongly favor colonization. And yet I wish to say there is an objection urged against free colored persons remaining in the country, which is largely imagi- nary, if not sometimes malicious. It is insisted that their presence would injure, and displace white labor and white laborers. If there ever could be a proper time for mere catch arguments that time surely is not now. In times like the present, men should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible through time and in eternity. Is it true, then, that colored people can displace any more white labor by being free, than by remaining slaves? If they stay in their old places, they jostle no white laborers; if they leave their old places, they leave them open to white laborers. Logically, there is neither more nor less of it. Emancipation, even without deportation, would probably enhance the wages of white labor, and, very surely, would not reduce them. Thus, the customary amount of labor would still have to be performed; the freed people would surely not do more than their old proportion of it, and very probably, for a time, would do less, leaving an increased part to white laborers, bring- ing their labor into greater demand, and, consequently, enhancing the wages of it. With deportation, even to Life of Abraham Lincoln. 273 a limited extent, enhanced wages to white labor is mathe- matically certain. Labor is like any other commodity in the market— increase the demand for it, and you increase the price of it. Reduce the supply of black labor, by colonizing the black laborer out of the country and, by precisely so much, you increase the demand for, and wages of, white labor. But it is dreaded that the freed people will swarm forth and cover the whole land? Are they not already in the land? Will liberation make them any more numerous? Equally distributed among the whites of the whole country, and there would be but one colored to seven whites. Could the one, in any way, greatly disturb the seven? There are many communities now, having more than one free colored person to seven whites; and this without any apparent consciousness of evil from it. The District of Columbia, and the States of Maryland and Delaware, are all in this condition. The District has more than one free colored to six whites; and yet, in its frequent petitions to Congress, I believe it has never presented the presence of free colored persons as one of its grievances. But why should emancipation South send the freed people North? People, of any color, seldom run luiless there be something to run from. Heretofore, colored people, to some extent, have fled North from bondage; and now, perhaps, from both bondage and destitution. But if gradual emancipation and deportation be adopted, they will have neither to fiee from. Their old masters will give them wages, at least until new laborers can be procured; and the freed men, in turn, will gladly give their labor for the wages, till new homes can be found for them, in congenial climes, and with people of their own blood and race. This proposition can be trusted on the mutual interests involved. And, in any event, 274 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Ciin not the North decide for itself, whether to receive them? Again, as practice proves more than theory, in any case, has there been any irruption of colored people northward, because of the abolishment of slavery in this District last spring? What I have said of the proportion of free colored persons to the whites, in the District, is from the census of 1860, having no reference to persons called contra- bands, nor to those made free by the act of Congress abolishing slavery here. The plan consisting of these articles is recommended, not but that a restoration of the National authority would be accepted without its adoption. Nor will the war. nor proceedings under the proclama- tion of September 22, 1862, be stayed because of the recommendation of this plan. Its timely ado-ption, I doubt not, would bring restoration, and thereby stay both. And, notwithstanding this plan, the recommendation that Congress provide by law for compensating any State which may adopt emancipation before this plan shall have been acted upon, is hereby earnestly renewed. Such would be only an advance part of the plan, and the same arguments apply to both. This plan is recommended as a means, not in exclu- sion of but in addition to all others for restoring and preserving that National authority throughout the Union. The subject is presented exclusively in its economical aspect. The plan would, I am confident, secure peace more speedily, and maintain it more permanently, than can be done by force alone; while all it would cost, con- sidering amounts, and manner of payment, and times of payment, would be easier paid than will be the addi- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 275 tional cost of the war, if we rely solely upon force. It is much — very much — that it would cost no blood at all. The plan is proposed as permanent constitutional law. It can not become such without the concurrence of, first, two-thirds of Congress, and afterward, three- fourths of the States. The requisite three-fourths of the States will necessarily include seven of the Slave States. Their concurrence, if obtained, will give assurance of their severally adopting emancipation, at no very distant day, upon the new constitutional terms. This assurance would end the struggle now, and save the Union for- ever. I do not forget the gravity which should characterize a paper addressed to the Congress of the nation, by the Chief Magistrate of the nation. Nor ck) I forget that some of you are my seniors; nor that many of you have more experience than I in the conduct of public affairs. Yet, I trust, that in view of the great responsibility resting upon me, you will perceive no want of respect to yourselves, in any undue earnestness I may seem to display. Is it doubted, then, that the plan I propose, if adopted, would shorten the war, and thus lessen its expenditure of money and of blood? Is it doubted that it would restore the National authority and National prosperity, and perpetuate both indefinitely? Is it doubted that we here — Congress and Executive — can secure its adoption? Will not the good people respond to a united and earnest appeal from us? Can we? Can they, by any other means, so certainly, or so speedily, assure these vital objects? We can succeed only by concert. It is not, " Can any of usimagine better? " but, " Canwe all do better?" Object whatsoever is possible, still the question recurs, "Can we do better?" The dogmas of the quiet past 276 Life of Abraham Lincoln. are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disinthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country. Fellow-citizens, we can not escape liistory. We, of this Congress and this Administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insig- nificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We — even we here — hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedcm to the dare, we assure freedom to the free — honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed: this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just — a way which, if followed, the world will forever- applaud, and God must forever bless. Abraham Lincoln. December 1, 1862. CHAPTER XV. THE POPULAR VOICE IN 1863. The great popular reaction in favor of the Administra- tion of Mr. Lincoln, indicated by the spring elections, was fully apparent in the verdict of every loyal State in the autumn of 1863. In Ohio, the so-called Democratic organization, which had prevailed in that State by a small majority in October, 1862, put forward, as its canditate for Governor, a notorious Peace Democrat named Vallandigham, whose action, while a member of the previous Congress, had been in strict conform- ity with his avowed motto: "Not a man or a dollar for the war." To such an extent was his support of the rebellion carried, by haranguing his followers, and all who would hear him, against the Government and the measures it had adopted in the prosecution of the war, that he had been arrested by Gen. Burnside, then in command of the Department including Ohio, tried for his treasonable practices, convicted, and ordered to be sent through the lines of our army to his friends at the South. The proceedings under which he was thus condemned, were fully reviewed before the United States District Court at Cincinnati, on a motion for a writ of habeas corpus, and sustained by the decision of Judge Leavitt. It may be added that this action was further confirmed several months later, on a hearing before the Supreme Court of the United States. Hon. John Brough, the Administration candidate was chosen Governor of Ohio, after a protracted and earnest canvass, by more than 100.000 majority over Vallandigham. 277 278 Life of Abraham Lincoln. During the earlier, as well as the later, elections of this year, a prominent issue before the people was the course of the Administration in regard to Emancipation. Both at home and abroad, this policy had proved an element of great strength in shaping pubhc opinion favor- ably to ]\Ir. Lincoln. It identified his Administration, from the day this great step was taken, with not only a most effective means for suppressing the rebellion, but also with a measure in accordance with the high behests of justice, and the clearest interests of civiliza- tion and humanity. At the beginning of the year, the President received a gratifying testimonial of sympathy and confidence from the workingmen of Manchester, in England, and of their warm appreciation, especially, of his action in issuing the Proclamation of Emancipa- tion. To this address, Mr. Lincoln sent the following reply: Executive Mansion, I Washington, January 19, 1863. j To THE Workingmen of Manchester: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the address and resolutions which you sent me on the eve of the new year. When I came, on the 4th of March, 1861, through a free and constitutional election, to preside in the Govern- ment of the Ignited States, the country was found at the verge of civil war. Whatever might have been the cause, or whosesoever the fault, one duty, paramount to all others, was before me, namely, to maintain and preserve at once the Constitution and the integrity of the Federal Republic. A coascientious purpose to per- form this duty is the key to all the measures of admin- istration which have been, and to all which will hereafter be pursued. Under our frame of goverimient and my official oath, I could not depart from this purpose if I Life of Abraham Lincoln. 279 would. It is not always in the power of governments to enlarge or restrict the scope of moral results which follow the poUcies that they may deem it necessary, for the public safety, from time to time to adopt. I have understood well that the duty of self-preserva- tion rests solely with the American people. But I have, at the same time, been aware that the favor or disfavor of foreign nations might have a material influence in enlarging and prolonging the struggle with disloyal men in which the country is engaged. A fair examination of history has seemed to authorize a belief that the past action and influences of the United States were generally regarded as having been beneficial toward mankind. I have, therefore, reckoned upon the forbearance of nations. Circumstances — to some of which you kindly allude — induced me especially to expect that, if justice and good faith should be practiced by the United States, they would encounter no hostile influence on the part of Great Britain. It is now a pleasant duty to acknowl- edge the demonstration you have given of your desire that a spirit of peace and amity toward this country may prevail in the councils of your Queen, who is respected and esteemed in your own country only more than she is by the kindred nation which has its home on this side of the Atlantic. I Imow, and deeply deplore, the sufferings which the workingmen at Manchester, and in all Europe, are called to endure in this crisis. It has been often and studiously represented that the attempt to overthrow this Govern- ment, which was built upon the foundation of human rights, and to substitute for it one which should rest ex- clusively on the basis of human slavery, was likely to obtain the favor of Europe. Through the action of our disloyal citizens, the workingmen of Europe have been subjected 280 Life of Abraham Lincoln. to severe trial, for the purpose of forcing their sanction to that attempt. Under these circumstances, I cannot but regard your decisive utterances upon the question as an instance of subHme Christian heroism, which has not been surpassed in any age or in any country It is indeed an energetic and reinspiring assurance of the inherent power of truth, and of the ultimate and universal triumph of justice, humanity and freedom. I do not doubt that the sentiments you have expressed will be sustained by your great nation; and, on the other hand, I have no hesitation in assuring you that they will excite admiration, esteem, and the most reciprocal feelings of friendship among the American people. I hail this interchange of sentiment, therefore, as an augury that, whatever else may happen, whatever misfortune may befall your country or my own, the peace and friendship which now exist between the two nations will be, as it shall be my desire to make them, per- petual. Abraham Lincoln. Later in the season, Mr. Lincoln was invited to revisit Ids home in Springfield, on the occasion of a mass meeting of the people of Illinois, who were unconditionally for the Union, to be held at that place. The letter addressed by him, in reply, to the chairman of the Committee of Invita- tion, an esteemed personal friend, was published at the time, and received with satisfaction by the loyal people of the country. The subject of Emancipation is again treated therein, after discussing the possible terms of peace, and the issue brought directly home to the minds of the people, with pointed force and sunlike clearness. The letter is in these words: Executive Mansion, Washington, August 26, 1863. My Dear Sir : Your letter inviting me to attend a mass Life of Abraham Lincoln. 281 meeting of unconditional Union men, to be held at the capital of Illinois on the .3d day of September, has been received. It would be very agreeable to me thus to meet my old friends at my own home; but I cannot just now be absent from this city so long as a visit there would require. The meeting is to be of all those who maintain uncondi- tional devotion to the Union, and I am sure that my old political friends will thank me for tendering as I do, the nation's gratitude to those other noble men whom no par- tisan malice or partisan hope can make false to the nation's life. There are those who are dissatisfied with me. To such I would say: You desire peace, and you blame me that we do not have it. But how can we attain it? There are but three conceivable ways: First, to suppress the rebellion by force of arms. This I am trying to do. Are you for it? If you are, so far we are agreed. If you are not for it, a second way is to give up the Union. I am against this. If you are, you should say so, plainly. If you are not for force, nor yet for dissolution, there only re- mains some imaginable compromise. I do not believe that any compromise embracing the maintenance of the LInion is now possible. All that I learn leails to a directly opposite belief. The strength of the rebellion is its military — its army. That army dominates all the country and all the people within its range. Any offer of any terms made by any man or men within that range in opposition to that army, is simply nothing for the present, because such man or men have no power whatever to enforce their side of a compromise, if one were made with them. To illustrate: Suppose refugees from the South and peace men of the North get together in conven- tion, and frame and proclaim a compromise embracing the restoration of the Union. In what way can that compromise be used to keep Gen.I-ee's army out of Pennsylvania? Gen. 282 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Meade's army can keep Lee's army out of Pennsylvania, and I think can ultimately drive it out of existence. But no paper compromise to which the controllers of Gen. Lee's army are not agreed, can at all affect that army. In an effort at such compromise we would waste time, which the enemy would improve to our disadvantage, and that would be all. A compromise, to be effective, must be made either with those who control the Rebel army, or \vith the people, first liberated from the domination of that army by the success of our army. Now, allow me to assure you that no word or intimation from the Rebel army, or from any of the men controlling it, in relation to any peace compromise, has ever come to my knowledge or belief. All charges and intimations to the contrary are deceptive and groundless. And I promise you that if any such proposition shall here- after come, it shall not be rejected and kept secret from you. I freely acknowledge myself to be the servant of the people, acconling to the bond of service, the United States Constitution; and that, as such, I am responsible to them. But, to be plain. You are dissatisfied with me about the negro. Quite likely there is a difference of opinion between you and myself upon that subject. I certainly wish that all men could be free, while you, I suppose, do not. Yet I have neither adopted nor proposed any measure which is not consistent with even your view, provided you are for the Union. I suggested compensated emancipation, to which you replied that you wished not to be taxed to buy negroes. But I have not asked you to be taxed to buy negroes, except in such way as to save you from greater taxation, to save the Union exclusively by other means. You dislike the Emancipation Proclamation, and per- haps M'ould have it retracted. You say it is unconstitu- tional. I think differently. I think that the Constitution invests its Commander-in-chief with the law of war in the Life of Abraham Lincoln. 283 time of war. The most that can be said, if so much, is that the slaves are property. Is there, has there ever been any question that by the law of war, property, both of ene- mies and friends, may be taken when needed? And is it not needed whenever taking it helps us or hurts the enemy? Armies, the world over, destroy enemies' property when they can not use it; and even destroy their own to keep it from the enemy. Civilized belligerents do all in their power to help themselves or hurt the enemy, except a few things regarded as barbarous or cruel. Among the exceptions are the massacre of vanquished foes and noncombatants, male and female. But the proclama- tion, as law, is valid or is not valid. If it is not valid, it needs no retraction. If it is valid, it can not be retracted, any more than the dead can be brought to life. Some of you profess to think that its retraction would operate favorably for the Union. Why better after the retraction than before the issue? There was more than a year and a half of trial to suppress the rebellion before the proclamation was issued, the last one hundred days of which passed under an explicit notice, that it was coming unless averted by those in revolt returning to their alle- giance. The war has certainly progressed as favorably for us since the issue of the proclamation as before. I know as fully as one can know the opinions of others, that some of the commanders of our armies in the field, who have given us our most important victories, believe the emancipation policy and the aid of colored troops constitute the heaviest blows yet dealt to the rebellion, and that at least one of those important successes could not have been achieved when it was but for the aid of black soldiers. Among the commanders holding these views are some who have never had any affinity with what is called abolitionism, or with "republican party 284 Life of Abraham Lincoln. politics," but who hold them purely as military opinions. I submit their opinions as being entitled to some weight against the objections often urged that emancipation and arming the blacks are unwise as military measures, and were not adopted as such in good faith. You say that you will not fight to free negroes. Some of them seem to be willing to fight for you — but no matter. Fight you, then, exclusively to save the Union. I issued the proclamation on purpose to aid you in saving the Union. Whenever you shall have conquered all resistance to the Union, if I shall urge you to continue fighting, it will be an apt time then for you to declare that you will not fight to free negroes. I thought that, in your struggle for the Union, to whatever extent the negroes should cease helping the enemy, to that extent it weakened the enemy in his resistance to you. Do you think differently? I thought that whatever negroes can be got to do as soldiers, leaves just so much less for white soldiers to do in saving the Union. Does it appear otherwise to you? But negroes, like other people, act upon motives. ^Vhy should they do anything for us, if we will do nothing for them? If they stake their lives for us, they must be prompted by the strongest motive, even the promise of freedom. And the promise, being made, must be kept. The signs look better. The Father of AVaters again goes unvexed to the sea. Thanks to the great North- west for it. Nor yet wholly to them. Three hundred miles up they met New England, Empire, Keystone, and Jersey, hewing their way right and left. The sunny South, too, in more colors than one, also lent a hand. On the spot their part of the history was jotted down in black and white. The job was a great National one, and let none be banned who bore an honorable part in it; and, while those who have cleared the great river may Life of Abraham Lincoln. 285 well be proud, even that is not all. It is hard to say that any thing has been more bravely and better done than at Antietam, Murfreesboro, Gettysburg, and on many fields of less note. Nor must Uncle Sam's web-feet be forgotten. At all the waters' margins they have been present: not only on the deep sea, the broad bay and the rapid river, but also up the narrow, muddy bayou; and wherever the ground was a little damp, they have been and made their tracks. Thanks to all. For the great Republic — for the principles by which it lives and keeps alive — for man's vast future — thanks to all. Peace does not appear so far distant as it did. I hope it will come soon, and come to stay; and so come as to be worth the keeping in all future time. It will then have been proved that among freemen there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet, and that they who take such appeal are sure to lose their case and pay the cost. And then there will be some black men who can remember that, with silent tongue, and clenched teeth, and steady eye, and well poised bayonet, they have helped mankind on to this great consummation; while I fear that there will be some white men unable to forget that, with malignant heart and deceitful speech, they have striven to hinder it. Still, let us not be over-sanguine of a speedy final triumph. Let us be quite sober. Let us diligently apply the means, never doubting that a just God, in His own good time, will give us the rightful result. Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln. James C. Conkling, Esq. Mr. Lincoln, whose gratitude to the gallant soldiers who have rallied at the call of their country, and whose proud satisfaction in their heroic conduct on so many 286 Life of Abraham Lincoln. battle-fields has been constantly manifested, was unwill- ing to decline the invitation to be present on the solemn occasion of consecrating a National Cemetery at Gettys- burg, for the fallen in the sanguinary conflicts at that place, in July, 1863. No truer or tenderer sjrmpathy than his, for the brave dead and for their surviving friends, ever had place in any human breast. The elaborate eloquence of our most accomplished orator, Edward Everett, and the presence of an innumerable multitude of people, added a solemn grandeur to the ceremonies of the day. But no fitter or more touching words were spoken than these of Mr. Lincoln: Address at Gettysburg, Nov. 19, 1863. Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so con- ceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We are met to dedicate a portion of it as the final resting-place of those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is alto- gether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work that they have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion Life of Abraham Lincoln. 287 to the cause for which they here gave the last full meas- ure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain — that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom, and that the Government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth. After the decisive advantages gained by our arms, the rebellion being substantially at an end in the States of Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas, and movements for their reorganization under loyal local governments already under consideration by the people of those States, some indication of the President's policy for restoring order and law, in the territory reconquered from armed Rebels, was naturally expected by tlie people. Mr. Lincoln, as the meeting of Congress approached, had given his earnest attention to this difficult subject — now become one of the highest practical moment. By an act approved July 17, 1862, Congress had provided: That the President is hereby authorized, at any time hereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons who may have participated in the existing rebellion in any State or part thereof, pardon and amnesty, with such ex- ceptions, and at such time, and on such conditions, as he may deem expedient for the public welfare. In the judgment of Mr. Lincoln, the fitting time had now come for exercising this power. Among the "conditions" which he was autliorized to prescribe, very clearly, good faith and consistency required him to include an effective one for carrying out his policy of Emancipation. This and other considerations also made it indispensable that he should indicate — without in- flexibly prescribing, as he did not — an acceptable mode 288 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of reorganizing loyal State Governments. The result of his deliberations was set forth simultaneously with the publication of his annual message, in the celebrated paper following- A Proclamation. Whereas, In and by the Constitution of the United States, it is provided that the President "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment;" and whereas, a rebellion now exists M'hereby the loyal State Governments of several States have for a long time been subverted, and many persons have committed and are now guilty of treason against the United States: and whereas, with reference to said rebellion and treason, laws have been enacted by Congress declaring forfeitures and confiscation of property and liberation of slaves, all upon terms and conditions therein stated; and also declaring that the President was thereby authorized at any time thereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons who may have participated in the existing rebellion in any State or part thereof, pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions and at such times and on such condi- tions as he may deem expedient for the public welfare: and whereas, the Congressional declaration for limited and conditional pardon accords with well-established judicial exposition of the pardoning power; and whereas, wdth reference to sf.id rebellion, the President of the United States has issued several proclamations with pro- visions in regard to the liberation of slaves; and whereas, it is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in said rebeUion to resume their allegiance to the United States and to re-inaugura\te loyal State Governments within and for their respective States; therefore, GEN. ULYSSES S. GRANT. HON, SAL..ION P. CHASE Life of Abraham Lincoln. 289 I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do proclaim, declare, and make known to all persons who have, directly or by implication, participated in the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, that a full pardon is hereby granted to them and each of them, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and in property cases where rights of third parties shall have intervened, and upon the condition that every such person shall take and subscribe an oath, and thence- forward keep and maintain said oath inviolate; and which oath shall be registered for permanent preserva- tion, and shall be of the tenor and effect following, to-wit : "I, , do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Union of the States thereunder ; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress, or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the Pres- ident made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court. So help me God." The persons excepted from the benefits of the fore- going provisions are all who are, or shall have been, civil or diplomatic officers or agents of the so-called Confed- erate Government; all who have left judicial stations under the United States to aid the rebellion; all who are, or shall have been, military or naval officers of the said so-called Confederate Government, above the rank of colonel in the army, or of lieutenant in the navy; all 290 Life of Abraham Lincoln. who left seats in the United States Congress to aid the rebellion; all who resigned commissions in the Army or Navy of the United States, and afterward aided the rebellion; and all who have engaged in any way in treating colored persons, or white persons in charge of such, other- wise than lawfully as prisoners of war, and which persons may have been found in the United States service as soldiers, seamen, or in any other capacity. And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known, that whenever, in any of the States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, a number of persons, not less than one-tenth in number of the votes cast in such State at the Presidential election of the year of our Lord 1860, each having taken the oath aforesaid, and not having since violated it, and being a qualified voter by the election law of the State existing immediately before the so-called act of secession, and excluding all others, shall re-establish a State Government which shall be republican, and in no wise contravening said oath, such shall be recognized as the true Government of the State, and the State shall receive thereunder the benefits of the constitutional provision which declares that "the United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on appli- cation of the Legislature, or the Executive, (when the Legislature, can not be convened,) against domestic violence." And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known that any provision which may be adopted by such State Government in relation to the freed people of such State, which shall recognize and declare their permanent freedom, provide for their education, and M-hich may yet be con- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 291 sistent, as a temporary arrangement, with their present condition as a laboring, landless, and homeless class, will not be objected to by the National Executive. And it is suggested as not improper, that, in constructing a loyal State Government in any State, the name of the State, the boundery, the subdivisions, the Constitition, and the general code of laws, as before the rebellion, be maintained, subject only to the modifications made necessary by the conditions hereinbefore stated, and such others, if any, not contravening said conditions, and which may be deemed expedient by those framing the new State Government. To avoid misunderstanding, it may be proper to say that this proclamation, so far as it relates to State Govern- ments, has no reference to States wherein loyal State Governments have all the while been maintained. And for the same reason, it may be proper to further say that whether members sent to Congress from any State shall be admitted to seats constitutionally, rests exclusively with the respective Houses, and not to any extent with the Executive. And still further, that this proclamation is intended to present the people of the States wherein the National authority has been suspended, and loyal State Governments have been subverted, a mode in and by which the National authority and loyal State Governments may be re-established within said States, or in any of them; and, while the mode pre- sented is the best the Executive can suggest, with his present impressions, it must not be understood that no other possible mode would be acceptable. Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the 8th day of December, A. D. 1863, and of the [l. s.] Independence of the United States of America the eighty-eighth. Abraham Lincoln. 292 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln's Annual Message was sent in to Congress on the 9th day of December. This document — omitting only portions of less abiding interest — is as follows: Mr. Lincoln's Annual Message. Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: Another year of health and suffi- ciently abundant harvests has passed. For these, and especially for the improved condition of our National affairs, our renewed and profoundest gratitude to God is due. We remain in peace and friendship with foreign powers. The efforts of disloyal citizens of the United States to involve us in foreign wars, to aid an inexcusable insur- rection, have been unavailing. Her Britannic Majesty's Government, as was justly expected, have exercised their authority to prevent the departure of new hostile expeditions from British ports. The Emperor of France has, by a like proceeding, promptly vindicated the neutral- ity which he proclaimed at the beginning of the contest. Questions of great intricacy and importance have arisen, out of the blockade and other belligerent operations, between the Government and several of the maritime powers, but they have been discussed, and, as far as was possible, accommodated in a spirit of frankness, justice, and mutual good will. It is especially gratifying that our prize courts, by the impartiality of their adjudica- tions, have commanded the respect and confidence of maritime powers. The supplement treaty between the United States and Great Britain for the suppression of the African slave-trade, made on the 17th day of February last, has been duly ratified, and carried into execution. It is Life of Abraham Lincoln. 293 believed that, so far as American ports and American citizens are concerned, that inhuman and odious traffic has been brought to an end. Incidents occurring in the progress of our civil war have forced upon my attention the uncertain state of international questions toucliing the rights of foreigners in this country and of United States citizens abroad. In regard to some Governments, these rights are at least par- tially defined by treaties. In no instance, however, is it expressly stipulated that, in the event of civil war, a foreigner residing in this country, within the lines of the insurgents, is to be exempted from the rule which classes him as a belligerent, in whose behalf the Government of his country can not expect any privileges or immunities distinct from that character. I regret to say, however, that such claims have been put forward, and, in some instances in behalf of foreigners who have lived in the United States the greater part of their lives. There is reason to believe that many persons born in foreign countries, who have declared their intention to become citizens, or who have been fully naturalized, have evaded the military duty required of them by denying the fact, and thereby throwing upon the Government the burden of proof. It has been found difficult or im- practicable to obtain this proof, from the want of guides to the proper sources of information. These might be supplied by requiring clerks of courts, where declarations of intention may be made or naturalizations effected, to send, periodically, lists of the names of the persons natural- ized, or declaring their intention to become citizens, to the Secretary of the Interior, in whose Department those names might be arranged and printed for general information. There is also reason to believe that foreigners fre- 294 Life of Abraham Lincoln. quently become citizens of the Ignited States for the sole purpose of evading duties imposed by the laws of their native countries, to which, on becoming naturalized here, they at once repair, and, though never returning to the United States, they still claim the interposition of this Government as citizens. Many altercations and great prejudices have heretofore arisen out of this abuse. It is, therefore, submitted to your serious consideration. It might be advisable to fix a limit, beyond which no citizen of the United States residing abroad may claim the inter- position of his Government. The right of suffrage has often been assumed and exer- cised by aliens, under pretenses of naturalization, which they have disavowed when drafted into the military service. I submit the expediency of such an amend- ment of the law as will make the fact of voting an estoppel against any plea of exemption from military ser\'ice, or other civil obligation, on the ground of ahenage The condition of the several organized Territories is generally satisfactory, although Indian disturbances in New Mexico have not been entirely suppressed. The mineral resources of Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico and Arizona are proving far richer than has been hereto- fore understood. I lay before you a communication on this subject from the Governor of New Mexico. I again submit to your consideration the expediency of establish- ing a system for the encouragement of immigration. Al- though this source of National wealth and strength is again flowing with greater freedom than for several years before the insurrection occurred, there is still a great defi- ciency of laborers in every field of industry, especially in agriculture and in our mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals. While the demand for labor is thus increased here, tens of thousands of persons, destitute of Life of Abraham Lincoln. 295 remunerative occupation, are thronging our foreign con- sulates, and offering to emigrate to tlie United States if es- sential but very cheap assistance can be afforded them. It is easy to see that, under the sharp discipline of civil war, the nation is beginning a new life. This noble effort demands the aid, and ought to receive the attention and support, of the Government. Injuries, unforeseen by the Government and unintended, may, in some cases, have been inflicted on the subjects or citizens of foreign countries, both at sea and on land, by persons in the service of the United States. As this Govern- ment expects redress from other Powers when similar in- juries are inflicted by persons in their service upon citizens of the United States, we must be prepared to do justice to foreigners. If the existing judicial tribunals are inade- quate to this purpose, a special court may be authorized, with power to hear and decide such claims of the character referred to as may have arisen under treaties and the public law. Conventions for adjusting the claims by joint commission have been proposed to some Governments, but no definite answer to the proposition has yet been received from any. In the course of the session, I shall probably have occa- sion to request you to provide indemnification to claim- ants where decrees of restitution have been rendered and damages awarded by admiralty courts, and in other cases, where this Government may be acknowledged to be liable in principle, and where the amount of that liability has been ascertained by an informal arbitration. The proper officers of the Treasury have deemed them- selves required, by the law of the LTnited States upon the subject, to demand a tax upon the incomes of foreign consuls in this country. While such demand may not, in strictness, be in derogation of public law, or perhaps 296 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of any existing treaty between the United States and a foreign country, the expediency of so far modifying the act as to exempt from tax the income of such consuls as are not citizens of the United States, derived from the emoluments of their office, or from property not situated in the United States, is submitted to your serious consideration. I make this suggestion upon the ground that a comit}^ which ought to be reciprocated, exempts our consuls, in all other countries, from taxation to the extent thus indicated. The United vStates, I think, ought not to be exceptionably illiberal to international trade and commerce. The operations of the Treasury during the last year have been successfully conducted. The enactment by Congress of a National Banking Law has proved a valuable support of the public credit; and the general legislation in relation to loans has fully answered the expectations of its favorers. Some amendments may be required to perfect existing laws; but no change in their principles or general scope is believed to be needed. Since these measures have been in operation, all demands on the Treasury, including the pay of the Army and Navy, have been promptly met and fully satisfied. No considerable body of troops, it is beheved, were ever more amply provided, and more liberally and punctually paid; and it may be added that by no people were the burdens incident to a great war ever more cheerfully borne. The receipts during the year from all sources, including loans and the balance in the Treasury at its commence- ment, were $901,125,674.86, and the aggregate disburse- ments, $895,796,630.65, leaving a balance on the 1st of July, 1863, of $5,329,044.21. Of the receipts there were derived from customs $69,059,642.40; from inter- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 297 nal revenue, $37,640,787.95; from direct tax, $1,485,103.61 ; from lands, $167,617.17; from miscellaneous sources, $3,046,615.35; and from loans, $776,682,361.57; making the aggregate, $901,125,674.86. Of the disbursements, there were for the civil service, $23,253,922.08; for pensions and Indians, $4,216,520.79; for interest on public debt, $24,729,846.51; for the War Department, $599,298,600.83; for the Navy Department, $63,211,105.27; for payment of funded and temporary debt, $181,086,635.07; making the aggregate, $895,796,630.65; and leaving the balance of $5,329,044.21. But the payment of funded and temporary debt, having been made from moneys borrowed during the year, must be regarded as merely nominal payments, and the moneys borrowed to make them as merelynominal receipts; and their amount, $181,086,635.07, should therefore be deducted both from receipts and disbursements. This being done, there remain, as actual receipts, $720,039,039.79; and the actual disbursements, $714,709,995.58, leaving the balance as already stated. The actual receipts and disbursements for the first quarter, and the estimated receipts and disbursements for the remaining three quarters, of the current fiscal year, 1864, will be shown in detail by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, to which I invite your atten- tion. It is sufficient to say here that it is not believed that actual results will exhibit a state of the finances less favorable to the country than the estimates of that officer heretofore submitted; while it is confidently ex- pected that at the close of the year both disbursements and debt will be found very considerably less than has been anticipated. The report of the Secretary of War is a document of great interest. It consists of — 298 Life of Abraham Lincoln. 1. The military operations of the year, detailed in the report of the General-in-chief. 2. The organization of colored persons into the ^\-ar service. 3. The exchange of prisoners, fully set forth in the letter of General Hitchcock. 4. The operations under the act for enrolling and calling out the National forces, detailed in the report of the Provost Marshal General. 5. The organization of the invalid corps; and 6. The operation of the several departments of the Quartermaster General, Commissary General, PajTiiaster General, Chief of Engineers, Chief of Ordnance, and Surgeon General. It has appeared impossible to make a valuable sum- mary of this report, except such as would be too extended for this place, and hence I content myself by asking your careful attention to the report itself. The duties devolving on the naval branch of the serv- ice during the year, and throughout the whole of this unhappy contest, have been discharged with fidelity and eminent success. The extensive blockade has been constantly increasing in efficiency, and the Navy has expanded ; yet on so long a Une it has so far been impossible to entirely suppress illicit trade. From returns received at the Navy Department, it appears that more than one thousand vessels have been captured since the blockade was instituted, and that the value of prizes already sent in for adjudication, amounts to over thirteen milUon dollars. The naval force of the United States consists, at this time, of five hundred and eighty-eight vessels, completed and in the course of completion, and of these seventy- five are iron-clad or armored steamers. The events of Life of Abraham Lincoln. ^ • 299 the war give an increased interest and importance to the Navy, which will probably extend beyond the war itself. The armored vessels in our Navy, completed and in service, or which are imder contract and approaching completion, are believed to exceed in number those of any other Power. But while these may be relied upon for harbor defense and coast service, others, of greater strength and capacity, will be necessary for cruising purposes, and to maintain our rightful position on the ocean. The change that has taken place in naval vessels and naval warfare since the introduction of steam as a motive power for ships-of-war, demands either a corresponding change in some of our existing navy-yards, or the establish- ment of new ones, for the construction and necessary repair of modern naval vessels. No inconsiderable embarrassment, delay, and public injury have been experienced from the want of such Governmental estab- lishments. The necessity of such a navy-yard, so fur- nished, at some suitable place upon the Atlantic sea- board, has, on repeated occasions, been brought to the attention of Congress by the Navy Department, and is again presented in the report of the Secretary, which accompanies this communication. I think it my duty to invite your special attention to this subject, and also to that of establishing a yard and depot for naval pur- poses upon one of the Western rivers. A naval force has been created on those interior waters, and under many disadvantages, within little more than two years, exceeding in numbers the whole naval force of the country at the commencement of the present Administration. Satisfactory and important as have been the performances of the heroic men of the Navy at this interesting period, 300 Life of Abraham Lincoln. they are scarcely more wonderful than the success of our mechanics and artisans in the production of war vessels, which has created a new form of naval power. Our country has advantages superior to any other nation in our resources of iron and timber, with inex- haustible quantities of fuel in the immediate vicinity of both, and all available and in close proximity to navig- able waters. Without the advantage of public works, the resources of the nation have been developed, and its power displayed, in the construction of a navy of such magnitude, which has, at the very period of its creation, rendered signal service to the Union. The increase of the number of seamen in the public service, from seven thousand five hundred men in the spring of 1861, to about thirty-four thousand at the present time, has been accomplished without special legislation or extraordinary bounties to promote that increase. It has been found, however, that the operation of the draft, with the high bounties paid for army recruits, is beginning to affect injuriously the naval service, and will, if not corrected, be likely to impair its efficiency, by detaching seamen from their proper vocation and inducing them to enter the army. I therefore respect- fully suggest that Congress might aid both the army and naval services by a definite provision on this subject, which would at the same time be equitable to the com- munities more especially interested. I commend to your consideration the suggestions of the Secretary of the Navy in regard to the policy of foster- ing and training seamen, and also the education of officers and engineers for the naval service. The Naval Academy is rendering signal service in preparing midshipmen for the highly responsible duties which in after-life they will be required to perform. In order that the country Life of Abraham Lincoln. 301 should not be deprived of the proper quota of educated officers for which legal provision has been made at the Naval School, the vacancies caused by the neglect or omission to make nominations from the States in insurrec- tion have been filled by the Secretary of the Navy. The school is now more full and comjjlete than at any former period, and in every respect entitled to the favorable consideration of Congress. During the past fiscal year the financial condition of the Post Office Department has been one of increasing prosperity, and I am gratified in being able to state that the actual postal revenue has nearly equaled the entire expenditures; the latter amounting to $11,314,206.84, and the former to $11,163,789.59, leaving a deficiency of but $150,417.25. In 1860, the year immediately preceding the rebellion, the deficiency amounted to $5,656,705.49, the postal receipts of that year being $2,645,722.19 less than those of 1863. The decrease since 1860 in the annual amount of transportation has been only about 25 per cent., but the annual expenditure on account of the same has been reduced 35 per cent. It is manifest, therefore, that the Post Office Department may become self-sustaining in a few years, even with the restoration of the whole service. * * * The quantity of land disposed of during the last and the first cjuarter of the present fiscal years was 3,841,549 acres, of which 161,911 acres were sold for cash, 1,456,514 acres were taken up under the homestead law, and the ^residue disposed of under laws granting lands for military bounties, for railroad and other purposes. It also appears that the sale of the public lands is largely on the increase. It has long been a cherished opinion of some of our wisest statesmen that the people of the United States had a higher and more enduring interest in the early 302 Life of Abraham Lincoln. settlement and substantial cultivation of the public lands than in the amount of direct revenue to be derived from the sale of them. This opinion, has had a controlling influence in shaping legislation upon the subject of our National domain. I may cite, as evidence of this, the liberal measures adopted in reference to actual settlers; the grants to the states of the overflowed lands within their limits, in order to their being reclaimed and rendered fit for cultivation; the grants to rail- way companies of alternate sections of land upon the contemplated lines of their roads, which, when completed, will so largely multipl}^ the facilities for reach- ing our distant possessions. This policy has received its most signal and beneficent illustration in the recent enactment granting homesteads to actual settlers. Since the 1st day of January last, the before-mentioned quantity of 1,456,514 acres of land have been taken up under its provisions. This fact and the amount of sales furnish gratifying evidence of increasing settlement upon the public lands, notwithstanding the great struggle in which the energies of the Nation have been engaged, and which has required so large a withdrawal of our citizens from their accustomed pursuits. * * * The measures provided at your last session for the removal of certain Indian tribes, have been carried into effect. Sundry treaties have been negotiated which will, in due time, be submittCLl for the constitutional action of the Senate. They contain stipulations for extinguishing the possessory rights of the Indians to large and valuable tracts of lands. It is hoped that the effect of these treaties will result in the establish- ment of permanent friendly relations with such of these tribes as have been brought into frequent and bloody collision with our outlying settlements and emigrants. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 303 Sound policy and our imperative duty to these wards of the Government demand our anxious and constant attention to their material well-being, to their progress in the arts of civilization, and above all, to that moral training, which, under the blessing of Divine Providence, will confer upon them the elevated and sanctifying influences, the hopes and consolations of the Christian faith. * * * When Congress assembled a year ago, the war had already lasted nearly twenty months; and there had been many conflicts on both land and sea, with varying results. The rebellion had been pressed back into reduced limits; yet the tone of public feeling and opinion, at home and abroad, was not satisfactory. With other signs, the popular elections, then just past, indicated uneasiness among ourselves, while amid much that was cold and menacing, the kindest words coming from Europe were uttered in accents of pity that we were too blind to surrender a hopeless cause. Our commerce was suffering greatly by a few armed vessels built upon and furnished from foreign shores; and we were threatened with such additions from the same quarter as would sweep our trade from the sea and raise our blockade We had failed to elicit from European Governments anything hopeful upon this subject. The preliminary Emancipation Proc- lamation, issued in September, was running its assigned period to the beginning of the new year. A month later the final proclamation came, including the announce- ment that colored men of suitable condition would be received into the war service. The policy of emanci- pation, and of employing black soldiers, gave to the future a new aspect, about which hope and fear and doubt contended in uncertain conflict. According to our political system, as a matter of civil administration, 304 Life of Abraham Lincoln. the General Government had no lawful power to effect emancipation in any State; and for a long time it had been hoped that the rebellion could be suppressed with- out resorting to it as a military measure. It was all the while deemed possible that the necessity for it might come, and that if it should, the crisis of the contest would then be presented. It came, and as was anticipated, it was followed by dark and doubtful days. Eleven months having now passed, we are permitted to take another reAaew. The Rebel borders are pressed still further back, and by the complete opening of the Missis- sippi the country dominated by the rebellion is divided into distinct parts, with no practical comnmnication between them. Tennessee and Arkansas have been substantially cleared of insurgent control, and influential citizens in each, owners of slaves and advocates of slavery at the beginning of the rebellion, now declare openly for emancipation in their respective States. Of those States not included in the Emancipation Proclamation, Maryland and Missouri, neither of which, three years ago, would tolerate any restraint upon the extension of slavery into new Territories, only dispute now as to the best mode of removing it within their own limits. Of those who were slaves at the beginning of the rebellion full one hundred thousand are now in the United States military service, about one-half of which number actually bear arms in the ranks; thus giving the double advantage of taking so much labor from the insurgent cause, and supplying the places which otherwise must be filled with so many white men. So far as tested, it is difficult to say they are not as good soldiers as any. No servile insurrection, or tendency to violence or cruelty, has marked the measures of emancipation and arming the blacks. These measures have been much discussed in Life of Abraham Lincoln. 305 foreign countries, and contemporary with such discus- sion the tone of pubUc sentiment there is much improved. At home the same measures have been fully discussed, supported, criticised, and denounced, and the annual elec- tions following are highly encouraging to those whose official duty it is to bear the country through this great trial. Thus we have the new reckoning The crisis which threatened to divide the friends of the Union is past. Looking now to the present and future, and with refer- ence to a resumption of the National authority within the States wherein that authority has been suspended, I have thought fit to issue a proclamation, a copy of which is herewith transmitted. On examination of this proclamation it will appear, as is believed, that nothing is attempted beyond what is amply justified by the Constitution. True, the form of an oath is given, but no man is coerced to take it. The man is only promised a pardon in case he voluntarily takes the oath. The Constitution authorizes the Executive to grant or withhold the pardon at his own absolute discretion; and this includes the power to grant on terms, as is fully established by judicial and other authorities. It is also proffered that if, in any of the States named, a State Government shall be, in the mode prescribed, set up, such Government shall be recognized and guaranteed by the United States, and that under it the State shall, on the constitutional conditions, be protected against invasion and domestic violence. The consti- tutional obligation of the United States to guarantee to every State in the Union a republican form of govern- ment, and to protect the State, in the cases stated, is explicit and full. But why tender the benefits of this provision only to a State Government set up in this par- ticular way? This section of the Constitution contem- 306 Life of Abraham Lincoln. plates a case wherein the element within a State favon- able to republican government, in the Union, may be too feeble for an opposite and hostile element external to or even within the State; and such are precisely the cases with which we are now dealing. An attempt to guarantee and protect a ^e^^ved State Government, constructed in whole, or in preponderating part, from the very element against whose hostility and violence it is to be protected is simply absurd. There must be a test by which to separate the opposing element, so as to build only from the sound; and that test is a sufficiently liberal one, which accepts as sound whoever will make a sworn recantation of his former unsoimdness. But if it be proper to require, as a test of admission to the political body, an oath of allegiance to the Con- stitution of the United States, and to the Union under it, why also to the laws and proclamations in regard to slavery? Those laws and proclamations were enacted and put forth for the purpose of aiding in the suppression of the rebellion. To give them their fullest effect, there had to be a pledge for their maintenance. In my judg- ment they have aided, and will further aid, the cause for which they were intended. To now abandon them would be not only to relinquish a lever of power, but would also be a cruel and an astounding breach of faith. I may add at this point that, while I remain in my present position, I shall not attempt to retract or modify the Emancipation Proclamation; nor shall I return to slavery any person who is free by the terms of that proclamation, or by any of the acts of Congress. For these and other reasons, it is thought best that support of these measures shall be included in the oath; and it is believed the Ex- ecutive may lawfully claim it in return for pardon and restoration of forfeited rights, which he has clear con- Life op Abraham Lincoln. 307 stitutional power to withhold altogether, or grant upon the terms which he shall deem wisest for the public interest. It should be observed, also, that this part of the oath is subject to the modifying and abrogating power of legislation and supreme judicial decision. The proposed acquiescence of the National Executive in any reasonable temporary State arrangement for the freed people is made with the view of possibly modifying the confusion and destitution which must, at best, attend all classes by a total revolution of labor throughout whole States. It is hoped that the already deeply afflicted people in those States may be somewhat more ready to give up the cause of their affliction, if, to tliis extent, this vital matter be left to themselves; while no power of the National Executive to prevent an abuse, is abridged by the proposition. The suggestion in the proclamation as to maintaining the political framework of the States on what is called recon- struction, is made in the hope that it may do good without danger of harm. It will save labor and avoid confusion. But why any proclamation now upon this subject? This question is beset with the conflicting views that the step might be delayed too long or be taken too soon. In some States the elements for resumption seem ready for action, but remain inactive, apparently for want of a rallying point — a plan of action. ^A''hy shall A adopt the plan of B, rather than B that of A? And if A and B should agree, how can they know but that the General Government here will reject their plan? By the proclamation a plan is presented which may be accepted by them as a rallying point, and which they are assured in advance will not be rejected here. This may bring them to act sooner than they otherwise would. The objection to a premature presentation of a plan by 308 Life of Abrah.a.m Lixcolx. the National Executive consists in the danger of committals on points which could be more safelyleft to further develop- ment. Care has been taken to so shape the document as to avoid embarrassments from this source. Saying that, on certain terms, certain classes will be pardoned, with rights restored, it is not said that other classes or other terms will never be included. Sa3'ing that reconstruction will be ac- cepted, if presented in a specified way, it is not said it will never be accepted in any other way. The movements, by State action, for emancipation in several of the States, not included in the Emancipation Proclamation, are matters of profound gratulation. And wliile I do not repeat in detail what I have heretofore so earnestly urged upon this subject, my general %'iews and feelings remain unchanged; and I trust that Congress will omit no fair opportmiity of aiding these important steps to a great consummation. In the midst of other cares, however important, we must not lose sight of the fact that the war power is still our main reliance. To that power alone can we look, yet for a time, to give confidence to the people in the contested regions that the insurgent power will not again o\'errun them. Until that confidence shall be established, little can be done an5n;vhere for what is called reconstruction. Hence our cliiefest care must still be directed to the .\rmy and Na\'y', who have thus far borne their harder part so nobly and well. And it may be esteemed fortunate that in gi^'ing the greatest efficiency to these indispensable arms, we do also honorably recognize the gallent men, from commander to sentinel, who compose them, and to whom, more than to others, the world must stand indebted for the home of freedom disinthralled, regenerated, en- larged, and perpuated. Dece.mber 8, 1863. Abr.\ham Lincoln. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 309 The following speech, delivered by Mr. Lincoln on the ISth of April, 1864, at a fair held at Baltimore for the benefit of the United States Sanitary Commission, is par- ticularly suggestive, in regard to the date, place, and occa- sion of its delivery. On his way to Washington, in Feb- ruary, 1S61, he passed through the city of Baltimore in- cognito, to escape from a plot of assassination, of which he had been forewarned. On the 19th of April, in the same year, the blood of loyal soldiers, on marching to protect the National Capital, had flowed in the streets of that city. He now stood before an immense throng in the same city, on the anniversary eve of the assault upon those soldiers, at the fair in aid of an organization for the benefit of Union soldiers everywhere. He spoke, too, of slavery, and was loudly cheered when he referred to the practically accom- plished annihilation of that institution in Maryland. He even took this opportunity— the first public occasion pre- sented—to announce his determined purpose of enforcing retaliation (long before enjoined on the army by special orders) for the crime, then just perpetrated, of massacre- ing the colored garrison of Fort Pillow, 'refusing quarter. After the cheering had ended, and after, with great exer- tions, order had been secured — everybody being anxious to see the President — he said, substantially: Ladies and Gentlemen: Calling it to mind that we are in Baltimore, we can not fail to note that the world moves. [Applause.] Looking upon the many people I see assembled here to serve as they best may the soldiers of the Union, it occurs to me that three years ago those soldiers could not pass through Baltimore. I would say, blessings upon the men who have wrought these changes, and the ladies who have assisted them. [Applause.] This change which has taken place in Baltimore, is part only of 310 Life of Abraham Lincoln. a far wider change that is taking place all over the country. When the war commenced, three years ago, no one ex- pected that it would last tliis long, and no one supposed that the institution of slavery would be materially affected by it. But here we are. The war is not yet ended, and slavery has been very materially affected or interfered with. [Loud applause.] So true it is that man proposes and God disposes. The world is in want of a good definition of the word liberty. We all declare ourselves to be for liberty, but we do not all mean the same thing. Some mean that a man can do as he pleases with himself and his property. With others, it means that some men can do as they please with other men and other men's labor." Each of these things is called liberty, although they are entirely different. To give an illustration : A shepherd drives the wolf from the throat of his sheep when attacked by him, and the sheep, of course, thanks the shepherd for the preservation of his life; but the wolf denounces him as despoiling the sheep of his liberty — especially if it be a black sheep. [Applause.] This same difference of opinion prevails among some of the people of the North. But the people of Maryland have recently been doing something to properly define the mean- ing of the word, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for what they have done and are doing. [Applause.] It is not very becoming for a President to make a speech at great length, but there is a painful rumor afloat in the country, in reference to which a few words shall be said. It is reported that there has been a wanton massacre of some hundreds of colored soldiers at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, during a recent engagement there, and it is fit to explain some facts in relation to the affair. It is said by some per- sons that the Government is not, in this matter, doing its duty. At the commencement of the war, it was doubtful Life of Abraham Lincoln. 311 whether black men would be used as soldiers or not. The matter was examined into very carefully, and after mature deliberation, the whole matter resting as it were with him- self, he, in his judgment, decided that they should. [Ap- plause.] He was responsible for the act to the American people, to a Christian nation, to the future historian, and, above all, to his God, to whom he would have, one day, to render an account of his stewardship. He would now say that in his opinion the black soldier should have the same protec- tion as the white soldier, and he would have it. [Applause.] It was an error to say that the Government was not acting in the matter. The Government has no direct evidence to confirm the reports in existence relative to this massacre, but he himself believed the facts in relation to it to be as stated. When the Government does know the facts from official sources, and they prove to substantiate the reports, retribution will be surely given. [Applause.] A month earlier, Mr. Lincoln had made the following happy response to a call of the assembled multitude at a fair, for similar objects, held in Washington. • Ladies and Gentlemen : I appear, to say but a word. This extraordinary war in which we are engaged falls heavily upon all classes of people but the most heavily upon the soldier. For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and, while all contribute of their substance, the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country's cause. The highest merit, then, is due to the soldier. In this extraordinary war, extraordinary developments have manifested themselves, such as have not been seen in former wars; and among these manifestations nothing 312 Life of Abraham Lincoln. has been more remarkable than these fairs for the rchef of suffering soldiers and their families. And the chief agents in these fairs are the women of America. I am not ac- customed to the use of the language of eulogy; I have never studied the art of paying compliments to women; but I must say that, if all that has been said by orators and poets, since the creation of the world, in praise of women, were applied to the women of America, it would not do them justice for their conduct during this war. I will close by saying, God bless the women of America. [Great applause.] Of necessity, the questions relating to slavery and the African element of our population, have occupied the fore- most ground during all this great struggle, in which Mr. LiNXOLN has been called to lead the organized action of the nation. His whole policy on this general subject, and a concise history of liis action and of the processes of his mind thereon, are set forth with admirable frankness and precision in the following letter to a gentleman in Ken- tucky : Executive Mansiox, Washington, April 4, 1864. A. G. Hodges, Esq., Frankfort, Ky.~My Dear Sir. You ask me to put in wTiting the substance of what I ver- bally said, the other day, in your presence, to Gov. Bram- lette and Senator Dixon. It was about as follows: I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not v.Tong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think and feel. And yet, I have never understood that the Presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted right to act officially upon tliis judgment and feeling. It was in the oath I took, that I would, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. I could not take the office without taking the oath. Nor Life of Abraham Lincoln. 313 was it my view, that I might take an oath to get power, and break the oath in using the power. I understood, too, that, in ordinary civil administration, this oath even for- bade me to practically indulge my primary, abstract judg- ment, on the moral question of slavery. I had publicly declared tliis many times, and in many ways. And I aver that, to this day, I have done no official act in mere defer- ence to my abstract judgment and feeling on slavery. I did understand, however, that my oath to preserve the Constitution to the best of my ability, imposed upon me the duty of preserving, by every indispensable means, that Government — that Nation — of which that Constitution was the organic law. Was it possible to lose the Nation, and yet preserve the Constitution? By general law, life and limb must be protected; yet often a limb must be amputated to save a life ; but a life is never wisely given to save a hmb. I feel that measures, otherwise unconstitutional, might become lawful, by be- coming indispensable to the preservation of the Constitu- tion, through the preservation of the Nation. Right or wrong, I assumed this ground, and now avow it. I could not feel that to the best of my ability I had even tried to preserve the Constitution, if to save slavery or any minor matter, I should permit the \vreck of Government, Country and Constitution, all together. When early in the war, Gen. Fremont attempted military emancipation I forbade it, because I did not then think it an indispensable neces- sity. When a little later, Gen. Cameron, then Secretary of War, suggested the arming of the blacks, I objected, because I did not yet think it an indispensable necessity. When, still later. Gen. Hunter attempted military eman- cipation, I again forbade it, because I did not yet think the indispensable necessity had come. AVhen, in March, and May, and July, 1862, 1 made ear- 314 Life of Abraham Lincoln. nest and successive appeals to the Border States to favor compensated emancipation, I believed the indispensable necessity for military emancipation and arming the blacks would come unless averted by that measure. They declined the proposition, and I was, in my best judgment, driven to the alternative of either surrendering the Union, and with it the Constitution, or of laying a strong hand upon the colored element. I chose the latter. In choosing it, I hoped for greater gain than loss ; but of this I was not en- tirely confident. More than a year of trial now shows no loss by it, in our foreign relations ; none in our home popular sentiment; none in our white military force — no loss by it anyhow or anywhere. On the contrary, it shows a gain of quite a hundred and thrity thousand soldiers, seamen, and laborers. These are palpable facts, about which, as facts, there can be no caviHng. We have the men, and we could not have had them without the measure. And now let any Union man who complains of the meas- ure, test himself, by writing down in one line that he is for subduing the rebellion by force of arms, and in the next that he is for taking these 130,000 men from the Union side, and placing them where they would be, but for the measure he condemns. If he can not face his cause so stated, it is only because he can not face the truth. I add a word, which was not in the verbal conversation. In telling this tale, I attempt no compliment to my own sagacity. I claim not to have controlled events, but con- fess plainly that events have controlled me. Now, at the end of three years' struggle, the Nation's condition is not what either party or any man devised or expected. God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending, seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North, as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history Life of Abraham Lincoln. 315 will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God. Yours truly, A. Lincoln. General Order, No. 100, under date of April 24, 1863, promulgating general instructions for the government of our armies, "previously approved by the President," contains the following directions, specially enjoining the the protection of colored troops: The law of nations knows of no distinction of color, and if an enemy of the United States should enslave and sell any captured persons of their army, it would be a case for the severest retaliation, if not redressed upon complaint. The United States can not retaliate by enslavement; therefore, death must be the retaliation for this crime against the law of nations. All troops of the enemy known or discovered to give no quarter in general, or to any portion of the army, receive none. Mr. Lincoln made these instructions more explicit and direct, in the following order issued by himself as Commander-in-Chief, and communicated to the entire Army, referring to tliis subject alone: Executive Mansion Washington, July 30, 1S63 )N ) 863. i It is the duty. of every Government to give protection to its citizens, of whatever class, color or condition, and especially to those who are duly organized as soldiers in the public service. The law of Nations, and the usages and customs of war, as carried on by civilized powers, permit no distinction as to color in the treatment of prisoners of war as public enemies. To sell or enslave 316 Life of Abraham Lincoln. any captured person, on account of his color, and for no offense against tlie laws of war, is a relapse into bar- barism, and a crime against the civilization of the age. The Ciovernment of the United States will give the same protection to all its soldiers; and if the enemy shall sell or enslave any one because of his color, the offense shall be punished by retaliation upon the enemy's pris- oners in our possession. It is therefore ordered, that for every soldier of the United States killed in violation of the laws of war, a Rebel soldier shall be executed ; and for every one enslaved by the enemy or sold into slavery, a Rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor on the public works, and continued at such labor until the other shall be released and re- ceive the treatment due to a prisoner of war. Abraham Lincoln. CHAPTER XVI. Mr. Lincoln Renominated. As the time approached at which nominations were to be made for the offices of President and Vice-President for the ensuing Presidential term, it naturally happened that the public acts and personal character of Abraham Lin coln came to receive more particular consideration among the people in all parts of the nation, and also in the countries of Europe, than at any previous period during his ad- ministration. His policy was freely discussed, his conduct of affairs, domestic and foreign, was canvassed with the unrestricted freedom which accords with the genius of republican institutions; and it soon became evident that the coming election, whatever its other results, was at least to determine the popular verdict upon Mr. Lincoln's management of affairs thus far, and upon his fitness for completing the work in progress. The brief summary of the events of the war heretofore given has failed to present clearly the exact position of the great struggle, if it is not manifest to the reader that the moment when the prelimi- nary decision was to be had, by representatives of the dom- inant party, "fresh from the people," in national conven- tion, was not so specially favorable as to insure an indorse- ment of the President Tom a merely temporary bias or caprice. President Lincoln himself was not deceived, however gratified he might have been with such successes as had been first gained, as to the desperation with which the 317 318 Life of Abraham Lincoln. military campaigns of the season were to be contested. His customary moderation of tone, and his habitual con- fidence in the cause, appear in the following speech in re- sponse to a serenade, on the night of May 9th, after the Wilderness battles: Fellow-Citizexs: I am very much obliged to you for the compliment of this call, though I apprehend it is owing more to the good news received to-day from the army than to a desire to see me. I am, indeed, very grateful to the brave men who have been struggling with the enemy in the field, to their noble commanders who have directed them, and especially to our Maker. Our commanders are follow- ing up their victories resolutely and successfully. I think, without knowing the particulars of the plans of Gen. Grant, that what has been accomplished is of more importance than at first appears. I believe I know (and am especially grateful to know), that Gen. Grant has not been jostled in his purposes; that he has made all his points; and to-day he is on his line, as he purposed before he moved his armies. I will volunteer to say that I am very glad at what has happened ; but there is a great deal still to be done. While we are grateful to all the brave men and officers for the events of the past few da3's, we should, above all, be very grateful to Almighty God, who gives us victory. There is enough yet before us requiring all loyal men and patriots to perform their share of the labor and follow the example of the modest General at the head of our armies, and sink all personal considerations for the sake of the country. I commend you to keep yourselves in the same tranquil mood that is characteristic of that brave and loyal man. I have said more than I expected when I came be- fore you ; repeating my thanks for tliis call, I bid you good bye. [Cheers.] Life of Abraham Lincoln. 319 The keynote of the convention may be said to have been given by the Rev. Dr. R. J. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, who was selected as the temporary presiding officer. This dis- tinguished gentleman had been chosen as a delegate by the Kentucky State convention, after assuring that body that he would only accept the trust on condition of being instructed to vote " first, last, and all the time for Abraham Lincoln." Dr. Breckinridge's declaration of his life-long conviction of the evil and wrong of slavery, and his earnest desire for its extinction throughout the land, was received with such applause as showed an entire harmony of feeling in regard to eradicating the " cause " of the rebellion. But scarcely less emphatic was the applause which had pre- viously greeted him when he said : In tne first place nothing can be more plain than the fact that you are here as the representatives of a great nation — voluntary representatives chosen without forms of law, but as really representing the feelings, the principles, and if you choose, the prejudices of the American people, as if it were written in laws and already passed by votes — for the man that you will nominate here for the Presidency of the United States, and ruler of a great people in a great crisis, is just as certain, I suppose, to become that ruler, as any thing under heaven is certain before it is done. And, moreover, you will allow me to say— though, perhaps, it is hardly strictly proper that I should — but as far as I know your opinions, I suppose it is just as certain now, before you utter it, whose name you will utter, and which will be responded to from one end to the other of this nation, as it will be after it has been uttered and recorded by your secretary. Does any man doubt that this con- vention intends to say that Abraham Lincoln shall be the nominee? [Great applause.] 320 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Ex-Governor William Dennison, of Oliio, was chosen permanent Chairman of the convention. Delegates were admitted from such of the Territories as had sent them, and from the District of Columbia. Questions arose in regard to the admission of delegates from Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas and Virginia: (West ^^irginia was duly represented); and there were two contesting delega- tions from Missouri, representing the two parties there. The Convention admitted the "Radical" delegation with almost entire unanimity. The delegates from Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas were cordially received. The Virginia delegation was excluded. On the ballot for the Presidential candidate, Mr. Lincoln received every vote in the convention, with the single exception of the delegation from Missouri, whose vote was changed, making the nomination unanimous. The joyous demonstrations with which this announcement was re- ceived in the veritable city of Baltimore, only three years before so hostile, and not yet free from slavery, were in keeping with the general satisfaction felt throughout the country, at the consummation of this expected result. The ballot on the nomination of Vice-President stood, before any changes, as follows: Andrew Johnson, of Ten- nessee, 200; Hannibal Hamlin, of IMaine, 145; Daniel S. Dickinson, of New York, 113; B. F. Butler, of Massachu- setts, 28; Lovell H. Rosseau, of Kentucky, 21; all others 12. The States of Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Tennessee, Arkan- sas, West Virginia, Delaware and Connecticut, voted unitedly for Governor Johnson. A majority of the votes of New York and Vermont were also cast in the same direction. A sufficient number of votes were at once changed to give a majority to Andrew Johnson, and he was unanimously declared the nominee for Vice-President. t. .^SbS..^ HON. JOHN SHERMAN GEN. JNO. C FREMONT. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 321 Immediately after the Convention, a committed of one from each State represented therein, waited on the Presi- dent, orally communicating the fact of his re-nomination, and presenting a copy of the foregoing resolutions. Re- sponding to the address of their Chairman, Mr. Lincoln said : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee: I will neither conceal my gratification nor restrain the ex- pression of my gratitude that the Union people through their convention, in the continued effort to save and ad- vance the nation, have deemed me not imworthy to remain in my present position. I know no reason to doubt that I shall accept the nomina- tion tendered; and yet, perhaps, I should not declare defi- nitely before reading and considering what is called the platform. I will say now, however, I approve the declaration in favor of so amending the Constitution as to prohibit slavery throughout the nation. When the people in revolt, with a hundred days of explicit notice that they could within those days resume their allegiance without the overthrow of their institutions, and that they could not resume it afterward, elected to stamd out, such amendments to the Constitution as are now proposed became a fitting and necessary conclusion to the final success of the Union cause. Such alone can meet and cover all cavils. Now, the unconditional Union men, North and South, perceive its importance and embrace it. In the joint names of Liberty and Union, let us labor to give it legal form and practical effect. In response to a call from the Ohio delegation in the Baltimore Convention, accompanied by Menter's band, of Cincinnati, the President remarked: 322 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Gentlemen: I am very much obliged to you for this compliment. I have just been sa^dng, and as I have just said it, I will repeat it: The hardest of all speeches which I have to answer is a serenade. I never know what to say on such occasions. I suppose that you have done me this kindness in connection with the action of the Baltimore Convention which has recently taken place, and \vith which, of course, I am very well satisfied. [Laughter and applause.] What we want still more than Baltimore Conventions or Presidential elections is success under General Grant. [Cries of "Good," and applause.] I propose that you constantly bear in mind that the support you owe to the brave officers and sol- diers in the field is of the very first importance, and we should therefore bend all our energies to that point. Now, without detaining you any longer, I propose that you help me to close up what I am now saying with three rousing cheers for General Grant and the officers and soldiers under Ms command. The Committee to notify President Lincoln of his re-nomination subsequently transmitted to 'him a letter, formally announcing the choice of the Convention. To this letter Mr. Lincoln replied in the following words : Executive Mansion, 1 Washington, June 27, 1864. ) Hon. William Dennison and others, a Committee of the Union National Convention: Gentlemen — Your letter of the 14th instant, formall;^ notifying me that I have been nominated by the Convention you represent for the Presidency of the United States, for four years from the 4th of March next, has been received. The nomination is gratefully accepted, as the resolutions of Life of Abraham Lincoln. 323 the Convention, called the platform, are heartily approved. While the resolution in regard to the supplanting of republican government upon the Western Continent is fully concurred in, there might be misunderstanding were I not to say that the position of the Government in relation to the action of France and Mexico, as assumed through the State Department, and indorsed by the Convention, among the measures and acts of the Executive, will be faithfully maintained so long as the state of facts shall leave that position pertinent and applicable. I am especially gratified that the soldier and the sea- men were not forgotten by the Convention, as they for- ever must and will be remembered by the grateful country for whose salvation they devote their lives. Thanking you for the kind and complimentary terms in which j'ou have communicated the nomination and other proceedings of the Convention, I subscribe my- self. Your obedient servant, Abraham Lincoln. On the day following the memorable victory at Cedar Creek, the President issued the following proclamation, for a day of national thankgiving: A Proclamation. It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, defending us with his guardian care against unfriendly designs from abroad, and vouch- safing to us in His mercy many and signal victories over the enemy, who is of our own household. It had also pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in their camps, and our sailors on the rivers and seas, with unusual health. He 334 Life of Abraham Lincoln. has largely augmenteil our free population by emanci- pation and by immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth, and has crowned the labor of our workingmen in every department of industry with abun- dant rewards. Moreover, Heh as been pleased to animate and inspire our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient for the great trial of civil war, into which we have been brought by our adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from all our dangers and afflictions. Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincolx, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday of November next as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they may be, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe. And I do further recommend to my fellow-citizens afore- said, that, on that occasion, they do reverently humble themselves in the dust, and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Dis- poser of events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling-place for our- selves and our posterity throughout all genenitions. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this twentieth day of October, in the years of our Lord one thou- [l. s.] sand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the independence of the United States the eighty- ninth. By the President: Abraham Lincoln. William H. Seward, Secretary of State. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 325 Letter From the President to Hon. Erastus Corning AND Others. Executive Mansion, ) Washington, June 13, 1863. ) Hon. Erastus Corning and otliers — Gentlemen: — Your letter of May 19th, inclosing the resolutions of a a public meeting held at Albany, New York, on the 16th of the same month, was received several days ago. The resolutions, as I understand them, are resolvable into two propositions — first, the expression of a purpose to sustain the cause of the Union, to secure peace through victory, and to support the Administration in every constitutional and lawful measure to suppress the re- bellion; and, secondly, a declaration of censure upon the Administration for supposed unconstititional action, such as the making of military arrests. And from the two propositions a third is deduced, which is, that the gentlemen composing the meeting are resolved on doing their part to maintain our common Government and country, despite the folly or wickedness, as they may conceive, of any Administration. This position is eminently patriotic, and as such I thank the meeting and congratulate the nation for it. My own purpose is the same, so that the meeting and myself have a com- mon object, and can have no difference, except in the choice of means or measures for effecting that object. And here I ought to close this paper, and would close it, if there were no apprehension that more injurious consequences than any merely personal to myself might follow the censures systematically cast upon me for doing what, in my view of duty, I could not forbear. The resolutions promise to support me in every constitutional and lawful measure to suppress the rebellion, and I have not knowingly employed, nor shall knowingly employ 326 Life of Abraham Linxoln. any other. But the meeting, by their resolutions, assert and argue that certain mihtary arrests, and proceedings following them, for which I am ultimately responsible, are unconstitutional. I think they are not. The resolu- tions quote from the Constitution the definition of trea- son, and also the limiting safeguards and guarantees therein provided for the citizen on trial for treason, and on his being held to answer for capital, or otherwise infa- mous crimes, and in criminal prosecutions, his right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. They proceed to resolve, "that these safeguards of the rights of the citizen against the pretensions of arbitrary power were intended more especially, for his protection in times of civil commotion." And, apparently to demonstrate the proposition, the resolutions jDroceed: "They were secured substantially to the English people ajter years of j^rotracted civil war, and were adopted into our Constitution at the close of the Revolution." Would not the demonstration have been better if it could have been truly said that these safeguards had been adopted and applied during the civil wars and during our Revolution, instead of after the one and at the close of the other? I, too, am devotedly for them ajter civil war, and hejore civil war, and at all times, "except when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require" their suspension. The resolutions proceed to tell us that these safeguards " have stood the test of seventy-six years of trial, under our republican system, under circumstances which show that, while they constitute the foundation of all free govern- ment, they are the elements of the enduring stability of the Republic." No one denies that they have so stood the test up to the beginning of the present rebellion, if we except a certain occurrence at New Orleans ; nor does Life of Abraham Lixcoln. 327 any one question that they will stand the same test much longer after the rebellion closes. But these provisions of the Constitutions have no applications to the case we have in hand, because the arrests complained of were not made for treason — that is, not for the treason defined in the Constitution, and upon conviction of which the punishment is death — nor yet were they made to hold persons to answer for any capital or otherwise infamous crimes; nor were the proceedings following, in any con- stitutional or legal sense, "criminal prosecutions." The arrests were made on totally different grounds, and the proceedings following accorded with the grounds of the arrest. Let us consider the real case with which we are dealing, and apply to it the parts of the Constitution plainly made for such cases. Prior to my installation here, it had been inculcated that any State had a lawful right to secede from the National Union, and that it would be expedient to exercise the right whenever the devotees of the doctrine should fail to elect a President to their own liking. I was elected contrary to their liking, and accordingly, so far as it was legally pos- sible they had taken seven States out of the Union, and had seized many of the United States Forts, and had fired upon the United States flag, all before I was inaugurated, £tnd, of course, before I had done any official act whatever. The rebellion, thus began, soon ran into the present civil war; and, in certain respects, it began on very unequal terms between the parties. The insurgents had been pre- paring for it more than tliirty years, while the Government had taken no steps to resist them. The former had care- fully considered all the means wliich could be turned to their account. It undoubtedly was a well-pondered reliance with them that, in their own unrestricted efforts to destroy Union, Constitution and law altogether, the Government 328 Life of Abraham Lincoln. would in great degree, be restrained by the same Constitu- tion and law from arresting their progress. Their sympa- thizers pervaded all departments of the Government, and nearly all communities of the people. From this material, under cover of "liberty of speech, " " liberty of the press, " and " habeas corpus, " they hoped to keep on foot among us a most efficient corps of spies, informers, suppliers, and aiders and abettors of their cause in a thousand ways. They knew that in times such as they were inaugurating, by the Constitution itself, the "habeas corpus" might be suspended; but they also knew they had friends who would make a question as to who was to suspend it; meanwhile their spies and others might remain at large to help on their cause. Or if, as has happened, the Executive should suspend the writ, without ruinous waste of time, instances of arresting innocent persons might occur, as are always likely to occur in such cases, and then a clamor could be raised in regard to this, which might be, at least, of some service to the insurgent cause. It needed no very keen perception to discover this part of the enemy's programme so soon as, by open hostilities, their machinery was fairly put in motion. Yet, thoroughly imbued with a reverence for the guaranteed rights of individuals, I was slow to adopt the strong measures which by degrees I have been forced to regard as being within the exceptions of the Constitution, and as indispensable to the public safety. Nothing is better known to historj'- than that courts of justice are utterlj' incompetent in such cases. Civil courts are organized chiefly for trials of individuals, or at most, a few individuals acting in concert, and tliis in quiet times, and on charges of crimes well-defined in the law. Even in times of peace, bands of horse-thieves and robbers fre- quently grow too numerous and powerful for the ordinary courts of justice. But what comparison, in numbers, have Life of Abraham Lincoln. 329 such bands ever borne to the insurgent sympathizers, even in many of the loyal states? Again, a jury too frequently has at least one member more ready to hang the panel than to hang the traitor. And yet, again, he who dis- suades one man from volimteering or induces one sol- dier to desert, weakens the Union cause as much as he who kills a Union soldier in battle. Yet this dissuasion or inducement may be so conducted as to be no defined crime of which any civil court would take cognizance. Ours is a case of rebellion — so called by the resolutions before me— in fact a clear, flagrant and gigantic case of rebellion; and the provision of the Constitution 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," is the provision which specially applies to our present case. This provision plainly attests the understanding of those who made the Constitution, that ordinary courts of justice are inadequate to " cases of rebellion " — attests their purpose that, in such cases, men may be held in custody whom the courts, acting on ordi- nary rules, would discharge. Habeas corpus does not dis- charge men who are proved to be guilty of defined crime; and its suspension is allowed by the Constitution on pur- pose that men may be arrested and held who can not be proved to be guilty of defined crime, "when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the pubhc safety may require it." This is precisely our present case — a case of rebellion, wherein the public safety does require the suspension. In- deed, arrests by process of courts, and arrests in cases of rebellion do not proceed altogether upon the same basis. The former is directed at the small percentage of ordinary and continuous perpetration of crime; while the latter is directed at sudden and extensive uprisings against the Government, wliich at most will succeed or 330 Life of Abraham Lincoln. fail in no great length of time. In the latter case arrests are made, not so much for what has been done as for what probably would be done. The latter is more for the pre- ventive and less for the vindictive than the former. Li such cases the purposes of men are much more easily understood than in cases of ordinary crime. The man who stands by and says notliing when the peril of Ms Govern- ment is discussed, can not be misunderstood. If not hin- dered, he is sure to help the enemy; much more, if he talks ambiguously — talks for his country with " buts," and " ifs," and "ands. " Of how little value the constitutional pro- visions I have quoted will be rendered, if arrests shall never be made until defined crimes shall have been committed, may be illustrated by a few notable examples. General John C. Breckinridge, General Robert E. Lee, General Joseph E. Johnston, General John B. Magruder, General William B. Preston, General Simon B. Buckner, and Com- modore Frankhn Buchanan, now occupying the very highest places in the rebel war ser^•ice, were all witliin the power of the Government since the rebellion began, and were nearly as well known to the traitors then as now. Unquestionably, if we had seized and held them, the in- surgent cause would have been much weaker. But no one of them had then committed any crime defined by law. Every one of them, if arrested, would have been discharged on habeas corpus, were the wxit allowed to operate. In view of these, and similar cases, I tliink the time not un- likely to come when I shall be blamed for having made too few arrests rather than too many. By the tliird resolution the meeting indicate their opinion that military arrests may be constitutional in localities where rebellion actually exists, but that such arrests are unconstitutional in localities where rebellion or insurrec- tion does not actually exist. They insist that such arrests Life of Abraham Lincoln. 331 shall not be made " outside of the hues of necessary military occupation and the scenes of insurrection. " Inasmuch, how- ever, as the Constitution itself makes no such distinction, I am unable to believe that there is any such constitutional distinction ; I concede that the class of arrests complained of can be constitutional only -when, in cases of rel^ellion or invasion, the public safety may require them; and I insist that in such cases they are constitutional wherever the public safety does require them; as well in places to which they may prevent the rebellion extending, as in those where it may be already prevailing, as well where they may restrain mischievous interference with the raising and supplying of armies to suppress the rebellion, as where the rebellion may actually be; as well where they may restrain the enticing men out of the army, as where they would prevent mutiny in the army ; equally constitutional at all places where they will conduce to the public safety, as against the dangers of rebellion or invasion. Take the particular case mentioned by the meeting. It is asserted, in substance, that Mr. Vallandigham was, by a military commander, seized and tried "for no other reason than words addressed to a public meeting, in criticism of the course of the Administration, and in condemnation of the military orders of the general." Now, if there be no mistake about this — if this assertion is the truth and the whole truth — if there was no other reason for the arrest, then I concede that the arrest was wrong. But the arrest, as I understand, was made for a very different reason. Mr. Vallandigham avows his hostility to the war on the part of the Union, and his arrest was made because he was laboring, with some effect, to prevent the raising of troops; to encourage desertion from the army, and to leave the rebellion without an adequate military force to suppress it. He was not arrested because lie was damaging 332 Life of Abraham Lincoln. the political prospects of the Administration, or the per- sonal interests of the commanding general, but because he was damaging the army, upon the existence and vigor of which the life of the nation depends. He was warring upon the military, and this gave the military constitu- tional jurisdiction to lay hands upon him. If Mr. Val- landigham was not damaging the military power of the country, then his arrest was made on mistake of fact, which I would be glad to correct on reasonably satisfactory evidence. I understand the meeting, whose resolutions I am con- sidering, to be in favor of suppressing the rebellion by military force — by armies. Long experience has shown that armies cannot be maintamed unless desertions shall be punished by the severe penalty of death. The case requires, and the law and the Constitution sanction, this punishment. Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wily agitator who induces him to desert? This is none the less injurious when effected by getting a father, or brother or friend, into a public meeting, and there working upon his feelings till he is persuaded to write the soldier boy that he is fighting in a bad cause, for a wicked Administration of a contemptible Government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he shall desert. I think that in such a case to silence the agitator and save the boy is not only con- stitutional, but withal a great mercy. If I be wrong on this question of constitutional power, my error lies in believing that certain proceedings are constitutional, when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety requires them, which would not be constitu- tional when, in the absence of rebellion or invasion, the public safety does not require them; in other words, that the Constitution is not, in its application, in all respects Life of Abraham Lincoln. 333 the same — in cases of rebellion or invasion involving the public safety, as it is in time of profound peace and public security. The Constitution itself makes the distinction; and I can no more be persuaded that the Government can constitutionally take no strong measures in time of re- bellion, because it can be shown that the same could not be lawfully taken in time of peace, than I can be per- suaded that a particular drug is not good medicine for a sick man, because it can be shown not to be good food for a well one. Nor am I able to appreciate the danger apprehended by the meeting, that the American people will, by means of military arrests during the rebellion, lose the right of public discussion, the liberty of speech and the press, the law of evidence, trial by jury, and habeas corpus, throughout the indefinite peaceful future, which I trust lies before them, any more than I am able to believe that a man could contract so strong an appetite for emetics, during temporary illness, as to persist in feeding upon them during the remainder of Ms healthful life. In giving the resolutions that earnest consideration, which you request of me, I can not overlook the fact that the meeting speak as " Democrats." Nor can I, with full respect for their known intelligence, and the fairly presumed deliberation \vith wWch they prepared their resolutions.jlie permitted to suppose that this occurred by accident, or in any way other than that they pre- ferred to designate themselves "Democrats" rather than "American Citizens." In this time of National peril, I would have preferred to meet you on a level one step higher than any party platform; because I am sure that, from such more elevated position, we could do better battle for the country we all love, than we possibly can from those lower ones where, from the force of habit, the prejudices of the past, and selfish hopes of the future. 334 Life of Abraham Lincoln. we are sure to expend much of our ingenuity and strength in finding fault with and aiming blows at each other. But, since you have denied me this, I will yet be thankful, for the country's sake, that not all Democrats have done so. He on whose discretionary judgment Mr. Vallpndig- ham was arrested and tried is a Democrat, having no old party affinity with me; and the judge who rejected the constitutional view expressed in these resolutions, by refusing to tlischarge Mr. "x'allandigham on habeas corpus, is a Democrat of better days than these, having received his judicial mantle at the hands of President Jackson. And still more, of all those Democrats who are nobly exposing their lives and shedding their blood on the battle-field, I have learned that many approve the course taken with Mr. ^'allandigham, while I have not heard of a single one condemning it. I can not assert that there are none such. And the name of Jackson recalls an incident of jier- tinent history: After the battle of New Orleans, and wlule the fact that the treaty of i)eace had been concluded was well known in the city, but before official knowledge of it had arrived. Gen. Jackson still maintained martial or military law. Now that it could be said the war was over, the clamor against martial law, which had existed from the first, grew more furious. Among other things, a Mr. Louiallier published a denunciatory] newspaper article. Gen. Jackson arrested him. A lawyer by the name of Morrel procured the United States Judge Hall to issue a writ of habeas corpus to relieve Mr. Louiallier. Gen. Jackson arrested both the lawyer and the Judge. A Mr. Hollander ventured to say of some part of the matter that "it was a dirty trick." Gen Jackson arrested him. When the officer undertook to serve the writ of habeas corpus, Gen Jackson took it from him, and sent Life of Abraham Lincoln. 335 him awaj- with a copy. Holding the judge in custody a few days, the General sent him beyond the limits of his encampment, and set him at liberty, with an order to remain till the ratification of peace should be regularly announced, or until the British should have left the Southern coast. A day or two more elapsed, the ratifica- tion of a treaty of peace was regularly announced, and the judge and others were fully liberated. A few days more and the judge called Gen. Jackson into court and fined him $1,000 for having arrested him and the others named. The General paid the fine, and there the matter rested for nearly thirty years, when Congress refunded principal and interest. The late Senator Douglas, then in the House of Representatives, took a leading part in the debates, in which the Constitutional question was much discussed. I am not prepared to say whom the journals would show to have voted for the measure. It may be remarked: First, that we had the same Constitution then as now; secondly, that we then had a case of invasion, and now we have a case of rebellion; and thirdly, that the permanent right of the people to public discussion, the liberty of speech and of the press, the trial by jury, the law of evidence, and the habeas corpus, suffered no detriment whatever by that conduct of General Jackson, or its subsequent approval by the American Congress. And yet, let me say that in my own discretion, I do not know whether I would have ordered the arrest of Mr. \'allandigham. While I can not shift the responsi- bility from myself, I hold that, as a general rule, the commander in the field is the better judge of the necessity in any particular case. Of course, I must practise a general directory and revisory power in the matter. One of the resolutions expresses the opinion of the 336 Life of Abraham Lincoln. meeting that arbitrary arrests will have the effect to divide and distract those who should be united in sup- pressing the rebellion, and I am specifically called on to discharge Mr. Vallandigham. I regard this as, at least, a fair appeal to me on the expediency of exercising a constitutional power which I think exists. In reponse to such appeal, I have to say, it gave me pain when I learned that Mr. ^'allandigham had been arrested — that is, I was pained that there should have seemed to be a necessity for arresting him — and that it will afford me great pleasure to discharge him as soon as I can, by any means, believe the public safety will not suffer by it. I further say that, as the war progresses, it appears to me, opinion and action, which were in great confusion at first, take shape and fall into more regular channels, so that the necessity for strong dealing with them gradually decreases. I have every reason to desire that it should cease altogether; and far from the least is my regard for the opinions and wishes of those who, like the meeting at Albany, declare their purpose to sustain the Govern- ment in every constitutional and lawful measure to sup- press the rebellion. Still, I nmst continue to do so much as may seem to be required by public safety. A. Lincoln. On the 8th day of November, the people expressed their sovereign will in regard to the Presidency and Vice- Presidency for another term. In the midst of the struggle with a powerful rebellion, at the close of a canvass in which the party administering the government had been assailed in the most violent and threatening terms, and at a time when on-looking nations might naturally expect ruinous convulsions and a lapse into anarchy or despo- tism, the election in every city, village, and precinct of Life of Abraham Lincoln. 337 the loyal States, proceeded with an order and decorum scarcely equalled in the most peaceful times. Even the soldier who was just going into battle remembered the day, and was careful to exercise the right of a freeman. The spectacle was impressive. Its lesson could no- where be mistaken. In 1860, Mr. Lincoln had received the electoral votes of seventeen States, (that of New Jersey being divided), in all 180 votes, and an aggregate popular vote of 1,866,452. In 1864, the number of states that voted for him, was twenty-two, having a total electoral vote of 213, while he received an aggregate popular vote of 2,203,831. The whole number of votes cast for Mr. Lincoln in 1860, in the slave-holding States was 26,430. In 1864, he received in those states (incuding Maryland, West Virginia and Missouri, which became non-slaveholding during his administration) an aggregate vote of 169,728. These several statements do not include Tennessee, Louisiana or Arkansas, the votes of which were excluded in the official canvass by Congress. Only three States voted for Gen. McClellan, namely: New Jersey, Delaware and Kentucky, giving an aggregate electoral vote of 21. Mr. Lincoln thus received more than ten to one in the electoral college. The total popular vote for McClellan was 1,797,019. The majority for Mr. Lincoln on the popular vote was 406,812. On the evening of November 10th, a procession, with music, banners and tranparencies, marched to the White House to pay their compliments to President Lincoln. A national salute was fired, and cheers, prolonged and and earnest, greeted the appearance of the President at the window from which he was accustomed to speak when thus called out by his friends. On this joyous occasion, free from any manifestations of merely personal 338 Life of Abraham Lincoln. or even partisan triumph, he made the following memor- able siseech: Friexds and Fellow Citizens: It has long been a grave question whether any government not too strong for the liberties of its people can be strong enough to main- tain its own existence in great emergencies. On this point the present Rebellion brought our Republic to a severe test; and a Presidential election, occurring in regular course during the Rebellion, added not a little to the strain. If the loyal people united were put to the utmost of their strength by the rebellion, must they not fall when divided and partially paralyzed by a political war among themselves? But the election was a necessity. We can not have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us. The strife of the election is but human nature practically applied to the facts of the case. What has occurred in this case, must ever recur in similar cases. Human nature will not change. In any future great national trial, compared with the men of this, we shall have as weak and as strong, as silly and as wise, as bad and as good. Let us, therefore, study the incidents of this, as philos- ophy to learn wisdom from, and none of them as wrongs to be revenged. But the election, along with its incidental and undesir- able strife, has done good, too. It has demonstrated that a people's government can sustain a national election in the midst of a great ci\'il war. [Enthusiastic cheers.] Until now, it has not been Icnown to the world that this was a possibility. It shows, also, how sound and how strong we still are. It shows that, even among candidates Life of Abraham Lincoln. 339 of the same party, he, who is most devoted to the Union, and most opposed to treason, can receive most of the people's votes. [Long-continued applause.] It shows, also, to the extent yet Imown, that we have more men now than we had when the war began. Gold is good in its place, but hving, brave, patriotic men, are better than gold. [Applause.] But the rebellion continues; and now that the election is over, may not all, having a common interest, re-unite in a common effort to save our common country? [Cries of "Yes," "Good."] For my own part, I have striven, and will strive, to avoid placing any obstacle in the way. So long as I have been here, I have not willingly planted a thorn in any man's bosom. Wliile I am deeply sensible to the high compliment of a re-election, and duly grateful, as I trust, to Almighty God, for having directed my countrymen to a right conclu- sion, as I think, for their own good, it adds notliing to my satisfaction that any other man may be disappointed or pained by the result. [Applause.] May I ask those who have not differed with me to join with me in the same spirit toward those who have? And now, let me close by asking three hearty cheers for our brave soldiers and seamen, and their gallant and skillful commanders. The cheers were given with hearty good-will in response to the President's call. A venerable Democrat in the crowd remarked, with feeling: "God is good to us. He has again given us a ruler, that sublime specimen of His noblest work, an honest man." The result of the election becoming known to the army, Lieut.-Gen. Grant sent the following congratulatory dispatch to the Secretary of War: 340 Life of Abraham Lincoln. City Point, Nov. 10, 1864—10.30 P. M. Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War: Enough now seems to be known to say who is to hold the reins of Government for the next four years. Congratulate the President for me for this double victory. The election having passed off quietly, no bloodshed or riot throughout the land, is a \actory worth more to the country than a battle won. Rebeldom and Europe will construe it so. U. S. Grant, Lieutenant General. The election had, in fact, demonstrated to the Rebels, and to the world, that the people were determined to sustain our armies, and to keep their ranks filled with new levies, so long as needed, until the last vestige of armed opposition to the Government should disappear. To the soldier, and to the citizen ready to become a soldier — should he be wanted — the result was alike gratifying. The assertion of the Chicago platform, that the war was a failure, was branded as false. The impudent demand for a cessation of hostilities, in the midst of the full tide of success, was emphatically rebuked. The recreant in- trigues with a cabal of traitors in Canada, were condemned to the infamy they deserved. The malignant calum- nies against the noblest and truest of rulers were sum- marily repudiated. Every man who had anything at stake, of whatever party, breathed freer for the demon- strated stability of our Government. Better days already dawned on the Repubhc. CHAPTER XVII. President Lincoln's Last Annual Message, and Second Inaugural. The second session of the Tliirty-eight Congress com- menced on the 5th of December, 1864. On the next day, President Lincoln transmitted to the two houses his annual message — exhibiting with brevity and force the general progress of events, and the present condition of national affairs — as follows: Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: — Again the blessings of health and abundant harvest claim our profoundest gratitude to Almighty God. The condition of our foreign affairs is reasonably satis- factory. Mexico continues to be a theater of civil war. While our political relations with that country have undergone no change, we have, at the same time, strictly main- tained neutrality between the belligerents. At the request of the States of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, a competent engineer has been authorized to make a survey of the river San Juan and the port of San Juan. It is a source of much satisfaction that the difficulties which for a moment excited some political apprehen- sions, and caused a closing of the inter-oceanic transit route, have been amicably adjusted, and that there is a good prospect that the route will soon be re-opened with an increase of capacity and adaptation. We could not ex- 341 342 Life OF Abraham Lincoln. aggerate either the commercial or the poUtical importance of that great improvement. It would be doing injustice to an important South American State not to acknowledge the directness, frank- ness, and cordiality with which the United States of Colombia have entered into intimate relations with this Gov- ernment. A claims convention has been constituted to complete the unfinished work of the one which closed its session in 186L The new liberal constitution of Venezuela having gone into effect with the universal acquiescence of the people, the Government under it has been recognized, and diplo- matic intercourse with it has opened in a cordial and and friendly spirit. The long-deferred Aves Island claim has been satisfactorily paid and discharged. Mutual payments have been made of the claims awarded by the late joint commission for the settlement of claims between the United States and Peru. An earnest and cordial friendship continues to exist between the t\A-o countries, and such efforts as were in my power have been used to remove misunderstanding and avert a threat- ened war between Peru and Spain. Our relations are of the most friendly nature with Chili, the Argentine Republic, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, San Salvador, and Hayti. During the past year no differences of any kind have arisen with any of those republics, and, on the other hand, their sympathies with the United States are con- stantly expressed with cordiality and earnestness. The claim, arising from the seizure of the cargo of the brig Macedonian in 1821 has been paid in full by the Government of Chili. Civil war continues in the Spanish part of San Domingo, apparently without prospect of an early close. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 343 Official correspondence has been freely opened with Liberia, and it gives us a pleasing view of social and political progress in that republic. It may be expected to derive new vigor from American influence, improved by the rapid disappearance of slavery in the United States. I solicit your authority to furnish to the republic a gunboat at moderate cost, to be reimbursed to the United States by installments. Such a vessel is needed for the safety of that State against the native African races; and in Liberian-hands it would be more effective in arresting the African slave trade than a squadron in our own hands. The possession of the least organized naval force would stimulate a generous ambition in the republic, and the confidence which we should manifest by furnishing it would win forbearance and favor toward the colony from all civihzed nations. The proposed overland telegraph between America and Europe, by way of the Behring's Straits and Asiatic Russia, which was sanctioned by Congress at the last session, has been undertaken, under very favorable cir- cumstances, by an association of American citizens, with the cordial good will and support as well of this Govern- ment as of those of Great Britain and Russia. Assur- ances have been received from most of the South American States of their high appreciation of the enterprise, and their readiness to co-operate in constructing lines tribu- tary to that world-encircling communication. I learn, with much satisfaction, that the noble design of a tele- graphic communication between the eastern coast of America and Great Britain has been renewed with full expectation of its early accomplishment. Thus it is hoped that with the return of don^estic peace the country will be able to resume with energy and advan- 344 Life of Abraham Lincoln. tage its former high career of commerce and civiHzation. Our verj' popular and estimable representative in Egypt died in April last. An impleasant alteration which arose between the temporary incumbent of the office and the Government of the Pasha resulted in a suspension of intercourse. The evil was promptly corrected on the arrival of the successor to the consulate, and our relations with Egypt, as well as our relations with the Barbary Powers, are entirely satisfactory. The rebellion, which has so long been flagrant in China, has at last been suppressed, with the co-operating good offices of this Government, and of the other western commercial States. The judicial consular establishment there has become very difficult and onerous, and it will need legislative revision to adapt it to the extension of our commerce, and to the more intimate intercourse which has been instituted with the Government and people of that vast empire. China seems to be accepting with hearty good-will the conventional laws which regulate commercial and social intercourse among the western nations. Owing to the peculiar situation of Japan, and the anom- alous form of its government, the action of that empire in performing treaty stipulations is inconstant and capri- cious. Nevertheless, good progress has been effected by the ^^■estern Powers, moving with enlightened concert. Our o\\ii pecuniary claims have been allowed, or put in course of settlement, and the inland sea has been re-opened to commerce. There is reason, also, to believe that these proceedings have increased rather than diminished the friendshij) of Japan toward the United States. The ports of Norfolk, Fernandina and Peasacola have been opened by proclamation. It is hoped that foreign merchants will now consider whether it is not safer, and more profitable to themselves, as well as just to the United Life of Abraham Lincoln. 345 States, to resort to these and other open ports, than it is to pursue, through many hazards, and at vast cost, a contra- band trade with the other ports which are closed, if not by actual military occupation, at least by a lawful and effective blockade. For myself, I have no doubt of the power and duty of the Executive, under the law of nations, to exclude enemies of the human race from an asj-lum in the United States. If Congress should think that proceedings in such cases lack the authorit)^ of law, or ought to be further regulated by it, I recommend that provision be made for effectually preventing foreign slave traders from acquiring domi- cile and facilities for their criminal occupation in our country. It is possible that, if it were a new and open question, the maritime Powers, with the lights they now enjoy, would not concede the privileges of a naval belligerent to the in- surgents of the LTnited States, destitute, as they are, and always have been, equally of ships-of-war and of port and harbors. Disloyal emissaries have been neither less as- sidious nor more successful during the last ypar than they were before that time in their efforts, under favor of that privilege, to embroil our comitry in foreign wars. The desire and determination of the governments of the mari- time States to defeat that design are believed to be as sin- cere as, and can not be more earnest than our own. Never- theless, unforseen pohtical difficulties have arisen, especial- ly in Brazilian and British ports, and on the northern boundary of the United States, which have required, and are likely to continue to require, the practice of constant vigilance, and a just and conciliatory spirit on the part of the United States, as well as of the nations concerned and their governments. Commissioner have been appointed under the treaty 346 Life of Abraham Lincoln. with Great Britain on the adjustment of the claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget Sound Agricultural Companies, in Oregon, and are now proceeding to the execution of the trust assigned to them. In view of the insecurity of life and property in the region adjacent to the Canadian border, by reason of recent assaults and depredations, committed by inimical and desperate persons who are harbored there, it has been thought proper to give notice that after the expiration of six months, the period conditionally stipulated in the exist- ing arrangements with Great Britain, the L^nited States must hold themselves at liberty to increase their naval armament upon the lakes, if they shall find that proceeding necessary. The condition of the border will necessarily come into consideration in connection with the question of continuing or modifying the rights of transit from Canada, through the United States, as well as the regula- tion of imposts, which were temporarily established by the reciprocity treaty of the 5th of June, 1854. I desire, however, to be understood, while making this statement, that the colonial authorities of Canada are not deemed to be intentionally unjust or unfriendly toward the United States; but, on the contrary, there is every reason to expect that, with the approval of the imperial Government, they will take the necessary measures to prevent new incursions across the border. The act passed at the last session for the encouragement of emigration has, so far as was possible, been put into operation. It seems to need amendment which will enable the officers of the Government to prevent the practice of frauds against the immigrants wMle on their way, and on their arrival in the ports, so as to secure them here a free choice of avocations and places of settlement. A liberal disposition toward this great national policy is manifested Life of Abraham Lincoln. 347 by most of the European States, and ought to be recipro- cated on our part by giving the immigrants effective na- tional protection. I regard our emigrants as one of the principle replenishing streams which are appointed by Providence to repair the ravages of internal war, and its wastes of national strength and health. All that is neces- sary, is to secure the flow of that stream in its present full- ness, and to that end the Government must, in every way, make it manifest that it neither needs nor designs to impose involuntarily military service upon those who conie from other lands to cast their lot in our country. The financial affairs of the Government have been suc- cessfully administered during the last year. The legisla- tion of the last session of Congress had beneficially affected the revenues, although sufficient time has not yet elapsed to experience the full effect of several of the provisions of the acts of Congress imposing increased taxation. The receipts during the year, from all sources, upon the l)asis of warrants signed by the Secretary of the Treasury, including loans and the balance in the Treasury on the 1st day of July, 1863, were $1,394,796,007.62; and the aggre- gate disbursements, upon the same basis, were $1,298,056,- 101.89, leaving a balance in the Treasury, as shown by warrants, of $96,839,905.73. Deduct from these amounts the amount of the principal of the public debt redeemed, and the amount of issues in substitution therefor, and the actual cash operations of the Treasury were: receipts, $884,076,646.57; disbursements, $865,234,087.86; which leaves a cash balance in the Treas- ury of $18,842,558.71. Of the receipts, there were derived from customs $102,- 316,152.99; from lands, $588,333.29; from direct taxes, $475,648.96; from internal revenue, $109,741,134.10; from miscellaneous sources, $47,511,448.10; and from loans ap- 348 Life of Abraham Lincoln. plied to actual expenditures, including former balance, $623,443,929.13. There were disbursed, for the civil service, $27,505,599.- 46; for pension and Indians, $7,517,930.97; for the War Department, $690,791,842.97; for the Navy Department, $85,733,292.77; for interest of the pubhc debt, $53,685,- 421.69— making an aggregate of $865,234,087.86, and leaving a balance in the Treasury of $18,842,558.71, as before stated. For the actual receipts and disbursements for the first quarter, and the estimated receipts and disbursements for the three remaining quarters of the current fiscal year, and the general operations of the Treasurj' in detail, I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the Treasury. I concur with him in the opinion that the proportion of moneys re- quired to meet the expenses consequent upon the war derived from taxation should be still further increased; and I earnestly invite your attention to this subject, to the end that there may be such additional legislation as shall be required to meet the just expectations of the Secretary. The public debt on the 1st day of July last, as appears by the books of the Treasury, amounted to $1,740,690,489.49. Probably, should the war continue for another year, that amount may be increased by not far from $500,000,000. Held as it is, for the most part, by our own people, it has become a substantial branch of national, though private, property. For obvious reasons, the more nearly this pro- perty can be distributed among all the people the better. To favor such general distribution, greater inducements to become OMTiers might, perhaps, vnth good effect and without injury, be presented to persons of limited means. With this view, I suggest whether it might not be both competent and expedient for Congress to provide that a limited amount of some future issue of public securities Life of Abraham Lincoln. 349 might be held by any bona fide purchaser exempt from tax- ation and from seizure for debt, under such restrictions and Hmitations as might be necessary to guard against abiise of so important a privilege. This would enable every prudent person to set aside a small annuity against a possible day of want. Privileges like these would render the possession of such securities, to the amount limited, most desirable to every person of small means who might be able to save enough for the purpose. The great advantage of citizens being creditors as well as debtors, with relation to the public debt, is obvious. Men readily perceive that they can not be much oppressed by a debt which they owe to themselves. The public debt on the 1st day of July last, although somewhat exceeding the estimate of the Secretary of the Treasury made to Congress at the commencement of the last session, falls short of the estimate of that officer made in the preceding December, as to its probable amomit at the beginning of this year, by the sum of $3,995,097.3L This fact exhibits a satisfactory condition and conduct of the operations of the Treasury. The national banking system is proving to be acceptable to capitalists and to the people. On the 25th day of No- vember, five hundred and eighty-four national banks had been organized, a considerable number of which were con- versions from State banks. Changes from State systems to the national system are rapidly taking place, and it is hoped that very soon there will be in the United States no banks of issue not authorized by Congress, and no bank- note circulation not secured by the Government. That the Government and the people will derive great benefit from this change in the banking systems of the country can hardly be questioned. The national system will create a reliable and permanent influence in support of the national 350 Life of Abraham Lincoln. credit, and protect the people against losses in the use of paper money. AVhether or not any further legislation is advisable for the suppression of State bank issues, it will be for Congress to determine. It seems quite clear that the Treasury can not be satisfactorily conducted unless the Government can exercise a restraining power over the bank-note circulation of the country. The report of the Secretary of T\'ar, and accompanying documents, will detail the campaigns of the armies in the field since the date of the last annual message, and also the operations of the several administrative bureaus of the AVar Department during the last year. It will also specify the measures deemed essential for the national defense, and to keep up and supply the requisite military force. . The report of the Secretary of the Navy presents a com- prehensive and satisfactory exhibit of the affairs of that Department of the naval service. It is a subject of con- gratulation and laudable pride to our countrymen that a navy of such vast proportions has been organized in so brief a period, and conducted with so much efficiency and suc- cess. The general exhibit of the Navy, including vessels under construction, on the 1st of December, 1864, shows a total of 671 vessels, carrying 4,610 guns, and of 510,396 tons, being an actual increase diu-ing the year, over and above all losses by shipwreck or in battle, of S3 vessels, 167 guns, and 42,427 tons. The total number of men at this time in the naval service, including officers, is about 51,000. There ha\'e been captured by the Navy during the year, 324 vessels, and the whole number of naval captures, since hostilities commenced, is 1,379, of which 267 are steamers. The gross proceeds arising from the sale of condemned prize property, thus far reported, amount to $14,396,250.- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 351 51. A large amount of such proceeds is still under ad- judication, and yet to be reported. The total expenditures of the Navy Department of every description, including the cost of the immense squadrons that have been called into existence from the 4th of March, 1861, to the 1st of November, 1864, are $238,647,262.35. Your favorable consideration is invited to the various recommendations of the Secretary of the Navy, especially in regard to a navy-yard and a suitable establishment for the construction and repair of iron vessels, and the machinery and armature for our ships, to which reference was made in my last annual message. • Your attention is also invited to the views expressed in the report in relation to the legislatioil of Congress at its last session in respect to prize on our inland waters. I cordially concur in the recommendation of the Secre- tary as to the propriety of creating the new rank of vice- admiral in our naval service. Your attention is invited to the report of the Postmaster General for a detailed account of the operations and finan- cial condition of the Post Office Department. The postal revenues for the year ending June 30, 1864, amounted to $12,438,353.78, and the expenditures to $12,- 644,786.20; the excess of expenditures over receipts being $206,652.42. The views presented by the Postmaster General on the subject of special grants by the Government in aid of the establishment of new lines of ocean mail steamships and the policy he recommefids for the development of increased commercial intercourse with adjacent and neighboring countries, should receive the careful consideration of Con- gress. It is of noteworthy interest that the steady expansion of population, improvement, and governmental institutions 352 Life of Abraham Lincoln. over the new and unoccupied portions of our country has scarcely been checked, much less impeded or destroyed, by our great civil war, which at first glance would seem to have absorbed almost the entire energies of the nation. The organization and admission of the State of Nevada lias been completed in conformity with law, and thus our excellent system is firmly established in the mountains which once seemed a barren uninhabitable waste between the Atlantic States and, those which have grown up on the coast of the Pacific ocean. The Territories of the Union are generally in a condition of prosperity and rapid growth. Idaho and Montana, by reason of their great distance and the interruption of com- munications with them by Indian hostilities, have been only partially organized; but it is understood that these diffi- culties are about to disappear, which will permit their governments, like those of the others, to go into speedy and full operation. As intimately connected with and promotive of this material growth of the nation, I ask the attention of Con- gress to the valuable information and important recom- mendations relating to the public lands, Inchan affairs, the Pacific railroad, and mineral discoveries contained in the report of the Secretary of the Interior, which is herewith transmitted, and which report also embraces the subjects of patents, pensions, and other topics of public interest pertaining to this Department. The quantity of public land disposed of during the five quarters ending on the 30th of September last was 4,221,- 342 acres, of which 1,538,614 acres were entered under the homestead law. The remainder was located with military land warrants, agricultural scrip certified to States for railroads, and sold for cash. The cash received from sales and location fees was $1,019,446. :i^. A ,r P^^ ■w'-' I- w f a g5« : ^ I^^»IJ 1 [■■■<.- .'^^^^B 1 ^R r. 4 p'^ «- I. j .■ ..^v i UEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 353 The income from sales during the fiscal year ending the 30th of June, 1864, was $678,007.21, against $136,077.95 received during the preceding year. The aggregate num- ber of acres surveyed during the year has been equal to the quantity disposed of; and there is open to settlement about 133,000,000 acres of surveyed land. The great enterprise of connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific States by railways and telegraph lines has been en- tered upon with a vigor that gives assurance of success, notwithstanding the embarrassments arising from the pre- vailing high prices of materials and labor. The route of the main line of the road has been definitely located for one hundred miles westward from the initial point at Omaha City, Nebraska, and a preliminary location of the Pacific railroad of California has been made from Sacramento eastward to the great bend of the Truckee river in Nevada. Numerious discoveries of gold, silver, and cinnabar mines have been added to the many heretofore known, and the country occupied by the Sierra Nevada and Rocky moun- tains, and the subordinate ranges, now teems with enter- prising labor, which is richly renumerative. It is believed that the product of the mines of precious metals in that region has, during the year, reached, if not exceeded, one hundred millions in value. It was recommended in my last annual message that our Indian system be remodeled. Congress, at its last session, acting upon the recommendation, flid provide for re-organ- izing the system in California, and it is believed that under the present organization the management of the Indians there will be attended with reasonable success. Much yet remains to be done to provide for the proper government of the Indians in other parts of the country to render it secure for the advancing settler, and to provide for the welfare of the Indian. The Secretary reiterates his rec- 354 Life of Abraham Lincoln. ommendations, and to them the attention of Congress is invited. The liberal provisions made by Congress for paying pen- sions to invalid soldiers, and sailors of the Republic and to the widows, orphans, and dependent mothers of those who have fallen in battle, or died of disease contracted, or of wounds received in the service of their country, have been diligently administered. There have been added to the pension rolls, during the year ending the 30th day of June last, the names of 16,770 invalid soldiers, and of 271 dis- abled seamen, making the present number of Army invalid pensioners 22,767, and of Navy invalid pensioners 712. Of widows, orphans, and mothers, 22,198 have been placed on the Army pension rolls, and 248 on the Navy rolls. The present number of Army pensioners of this class is 25,433, and of Navy pensioners 793. At the begin- ning of the year the number of revolutionary pensioners was 1,430; only twelve of them were soldiers, of whom seven have since died. The remainder are those who, under the law, receive pensions because of relationship to revolutionary soldiers. During the year ending the 30th of June, 1S64, $4,504,616.92 have been paid to pensioners of all classes. I cheerfully commend to your continued patronage the benevolent institutions of the District of Columbia which have hitherto been established or fostered by Congress, and respectfully refer, for information concerning them, and in relation to the Washington acqueduct, the Capitol, and other matters of local interest, to the report of the Secretary. The Agricultural Department, under the supervision of its present energetic and faithful head, is rapidly com- mending itself to the great and vital interest it was created to advance. It is peculiarly the people's Department, in Life of Abraham Lincoln. 355 which they feel more directly concernefl than in any other I commend it to the continued attention and fostering care of Congress. The war continues. Since the last annual message all the important lines and positions then occupied by our forces have been maintained, and our arms have steadily advanced; thus liberating the regions left in the rear, so that Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and parts of other States have again produced reasonably fair crops. The most remarkable feature in the military operations of the year is General Sherman's attempted march of three hundred miles directly through the insurgent region. It tends to show a great increase of our relative strength that our General-in-Cliief should feel able to confront and hold in check every active force of the enemy, and yet to detach a well-appointed large army to move on such an expedition. The result not yet being known, conjecture in regard to it is not here indulged. Important movements have also occurred during the year to the effect of moulding society for durability in the Union. Although short of complete success, it is much in the right direction, that twelve thousand citizens in each of the States of Arkansas and Louisiana have organized loyal State governments, with free constitutions, and are earnestly struggling to maintain and administer them. The movements in the same direction, more extensive, though less definite, in Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee, should not be overlooked. But Maryland presents the example of complete success. Maryland is secure to Liberty and Union for all the future. The genius of rebel- lion will no more claim Maryland. Like another foul spirit, being driven out, it may seek to tear her but it will woo her no more. At the last session of Congress a proposed amendment of 356 Life of Abraham Lincoln. the Constitution, abolishing slavery throughout the United States, passed the Senate, but failed for lack of the re- quisite two-thirds vote in the House of Representatives. Although the present is the same Congress, and nearly the same members, and without questioning the wisdom or patriotism of those who stood in opposition, I venture to recommend the reconsideration and passage of the measure at the present session. Of course the abstract question is not changed; but an intervening election shows, almost certainly, that the next Congress will pass the measure if this does not. Hence there is only a question of time as to when the proposed amendment will go to the States for their action. And as it is so to go, at all events, may we not agree that the sooner the better? It is not claimed that the election has imposed a duty on members to change their views or their votes, any further than, as an additional element to be considered, their judgment may be affected by it. It is the voice of the people now, for the first time, heard upon the question. In a great national crisis like ours, unanimity of action among those seeking a common end is very desirable — almost indispensable. And yet no approach to such unanimity is attainable unless some defer- ence shall be paid to the will of the majority simply because it is the will of the majority. In this case the common end is the maintenance of the Union : and, among the means to secure that end, such will, through the election, is most clearly declared in favor of such constitutional amendment. The most reliable indication of public purpose in this comitry is derived through our popular election. Judging by the recent canvass and its result, the purpose of the people, within the loyal States, to maintain the integrity of the Union, was never more firm, nor more nearly unani- mous than now. The extraordinary calmness and good order with which the millions of voters met and mingled Life of Abraham Lincoln. 357 at the polls, give strong assurance of this. Not only all those who supported the Union ticket, so called, but a great majority of the opposing party also, may be fairly claimed to entertain and to be actuated by the same pur- pose. It is an unanswerable argument to this effect, that no candidate for any ofhco whatever, high or low, has ventured to seek votes on the avowal that ho was for giving up the Union. There have been much impugning of mo- tives, and much heated controversy as to the proper means and best mode of advancing the Union cause; but on the distinct issue of Union or no Union the politicians have shown their instinctive knowledge that there is no diversity among the people. In affording the people the fair oppor- tunity of showing, one to another, and to the world, this firmness and unanimity of purpose, the election has been of vast value to the national cause. The election has exhibited another fact not less valuable to be known — the fact that we do not approach exhaustion in the most important branch of national resources — that of living men. While it is melancholy to reflect that the war has filled so many graves and carried mourning to so many hearts, it is some relief to know that, compared with the surviving, the fallen have been so few. While corps, and divisions, and brigades, and regiments have formed and fought and dwindled and gone out of existence, a great majority of the men M-ho composed them are still living. The same is true of the naval service. The election returns prove this. So many voters could not else be found. The States regularly holding elections, both now and four years ago, to wit: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachu- setts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West ^■irginia and Wisconsin, 358 Life of Abraham Lincoln. cast 3,982,011 votes now against 3,870,222 cast then, show- ing an aggregate now of 3,982,011. To this is to be added 33,762 cast now in the new States of Kansas and Nevada, which States did not vote in 1860, thus swelhng the aggre- gate to 4,015,773, and the net increase during the three years and a half of war to 145,551. A table is appended showing particulars. To this again should be added the number of all soldiers in the field from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Illinois and California, who by the laws of those States could not vote away from their homes, and which number can not be less than.90,000. Nor yet is this all. The number in organized Territories is triple now what it was four years ago, whije thousands, white and black, join us as the national arms press back the insurgent lines. So much is shown affirm- atively and negatively by the election. It is not material to inquire how the increase has been produced, or to show that it would have been greater but for the war, which is jjrobably true. The important fact remains demonstrated that we have more men now than we had when the war began; that we are not exhausted nor in process of exhaus- tion ; that we are gaining strength and may, if need be, main- tain the contest indefinitely. This as to men. Material resources are now more complete and abundant than ever. The national resources, then, are unexhausted, and, as we believe, inexhaustible. The public purpose to reestablish and maintain the national authority is unchanged, and, as we believe, unchangeable. The manner of continuing the effort remains to choo.se. On careful consideration of all the evidence accessible, it seems to me that no attempt at negotiation with the insurgent leader could result in any good. He would accept nothing short of severance of the Union — precisely what we will not and can not give. His declarations to this effect are explicit and oft-repeated. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 359 He does not attempt to deceive us. He affords us no ex- cuse to deceive ourselves. He can not voluntarily re- accept the Union; we can not voluntarily yield it. Be- tween him and us the issue is distinct, simple, and inflexible. It is an issue which can only be tried by war, and decided by victory. If we yield, we are beaten; if the Southern people fail him he is beaten. Either way, it would be the victory and defeat following war. What is true, however, of him who heads the insurgent cause, is not necessarily true of those who follow. Although he can not re-accept the Union, they can. Some of them, we know, already desire peace and re-union. The number of such may in- crease. They can at any moment have peace simply by laying down their arms and submitting to the national authority under the Constitution. After so much, the Government could not, if it would, maintain war against them. The loyal people would not sustain or allow it. If questions should remain, we would adjust them by the peaceful means of legislation, conference, courts and votes, operating only in constitutional and lawful channels. Some certain, and other possible, questions are, and would be, beyond the executive power to adjust; as, for instance, the admission of members into Congress, and whatever might require the appropriation of money. The executive power itself would be greatly diminished by the cessation of actual war. Pardons and remissions of forfeitures, however, would still be within executive control. In what spirit and tewper this control would be exercised can be fairly judged of by the past. A year ago, general pardon and amnesty, upon specified terms, were offered to all, except certain designated classes; and it was, at the same time, made known that the excepted classes were still within contemplation of special clemency. During the year many availed themselves of the general 360 Life of Abraham Lincoln. provision, and many more would, only that tlie signs of bad faith in some, led to such precautionary measures as rendered the practical process less easy and certain. Dur- ing the same time, also, special pardons have been granted to individuals of the accepted classes, and no voluntary ap- plication has been denied. Thus, practically, the door has been, for a full j^ear, open to all, except such as were not in condition to make free choice — that is, such as were in cus- tody or under constraint. It is still so open to all. But the time may come— probably will come — when public duty shall demand that it be closed; and that, in lieu, more rigorous measures than heretofore shall be dopted. In presenting the abandonment of armed resistance to the national authority on the part of the insurgents, as the only indispensable condition of ending the war on the part of the Government, I retract nothing heretofore said as to slavery. I repeat the declaration made a year ago, that " while I remain in my present position, I shall not attempt to retract or modify the emancipation proclamation, nor shall I return to slavery any person who is free by the terms of that proclamation, or by any of the acts of Congress." It the people should, by whatever mode or means, make it an executive duty to reenslave such persons, another, and not I, must be their instrument to perform it. In stating a single condition of peace, I mean simply to say that the war will cease on the part of the Government whenever it shall have ceased on the part of those who began it. Abraham Lincoln. December 6, 1864. The morning of the 4th of March, 1865, was dark with clouds and rain. The previous stormy night Mr. Lincoln, with the members of his Cabinet, remained at the Presi- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 361 dent's room, in the north wing of the capitol, until a late hour, considering and signing bills which came thronging upon him, in the usual manner, during the closing hours of a Congress soon to be dissolved. The President had a somewhat care-worn look, but a cheerfulness of manner, manifesting itself in occasional pleasantry, or in the re- lation of some suggested incident or anecdote, as was his wont in his most seriously earnest moods. He had a genial word for occasional visitors, and a ready ear, as always, for whatever had any fair claim to his attention. While the President was thus waiting at the capitol, there came to the Secretary of War a telegraphic dispatch from Gen. Grant, announcing that Gen. Lee had sought an interview with the Lieutenant-General, for the purpose of arranging terms of peace. It is now known that Lee had for several months despaired of final success in the unholy work which he had deserted the United States Army to en- gage in, and that he prudently desired to end the war, ac- cepting the best terms that could be made. It was Lee's letter, thus referred to, that formed the sub- ject of Gen. Grant's dispatch to President Lincoln., This dispatch, Mr, Stanton inform us, " was submitted to Mr. Lincoln, who, after pondering a few minutes, took up his pen and wrote with his own hand the following reply, which he submitted to the Secretary of State and Secretary of War. It was then dated, addressed and signed by the Secretary of War, and telegraphed to Gen. Grant:" Washington, March 3, 1865, 12 P. M. Lieutenant-General Grant: The President directs me to say to you that he wishes you to have no conference with Gen. Lee, unless it be for the capitulation of Gen. Lee's army, or on some minor and purely military matter. He instructs me to say that you 362 Life of Abraham Lincoln. are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands, and will submit them to no military conferences or conventions. Meantime you are to press to the utmost your military advantages. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. The morning of Saturday, the 4th of March, found the President again at his post at the capitol, while the world outside was still dismal with the continuing storm. Many thousands had come from far and near to witness the re- inauguration of a loved President. The condition of the skies and the streets was dismal. The procession, which would otherwise, perhaps, have surpassed any previous one in numbers and show, lost much of its attraction. Yet was there never a more numerous and sympathetic turn- out of the people at any like ceremony. Standing in this presence, with a clear voice, mellowed by the emotion of the hour and by the slightly plaintive tone usually pervading his utterances, Mr. Lincoln deUvered the following: Inaugural Address. Fellow-Countrym en : At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presi- dential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then, a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still ab- sorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, Life of Abraham Lincoln. 363 little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon wluch all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it: all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from tliis place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, in- surgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war — seeking to dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war ; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came. One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a pecu- liar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, per- petuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war; while the Government claimed no right to do more than to re- strict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party ex- pected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God ; and each invoked His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in WTUiging their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us 364 Life of Abraham Lincoln. judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered : that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense Cometh." If we shall suppose American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but wliich, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? 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 unrequitted toil shall be simk, and until every drop of blood drawm with the lash shall be paid by another drawTi -nnth the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it mu-st be said, "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." "U^ith malice toward none, vath charity for all, with firm- ness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in ; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphans; to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace among our- selves and with all nations. On the 17th of March, Mr. Lincoln was present at the presentation to Gov. Morton, of Indiana, of a flag captured at Fort Anderson, near Wilmington, by Indiana troops. The ceremony occurred at the National Hotel, and the President, responding to the request of those Life of Abraham Lincoln. 365 present, made the following memorable speech from the balcony: Fellow Citizens: It will be but a very few words that I shall undertake to say. I was born in Kentucky; raised in Indiana, and live in Illinois [laughter], and I now am here, where it is my business to be, to care equally for the good people of all the States. I am glad to see an Indiana regiment on this day able to present this captured flag to the Governor of the State of Indiana. I am not disposed, in saying this, to make a distinction between the States, for all have done equally well. There are but few views or aspects of this great war upon which I have not said or written something, whereby my own views might be made known. There is one: the recent attempt of our erring brethren, as they are sometimes called [laughter], to employ the negro to fight for them. I have neither written nor made a speech upon that subject, because that was their business and not mine; and if I had a wish upon the subject, I had not the power to introduce it or make it affective. The great question with them was, whether the negro, being put into the army, will fight for them. I do not know, and, therefore can not decide. [Laughter.] They ought to know better than we, and do know. I have in my life-time heard many arguments why the negro ought to be a slave ; but if they fight for those who would keep them in slavery it will be a better argument than any I have yet heard. He who will fight for that ought to be a slave. [Applause]. They have concluded, at last, to take one out of four of the slaves and put him in the army; and that one out of the four, who will fight to keep the others in slavery, ought to be a slave him- self, unless he is killed in a fight. While I have often 366 Life of Abraham Lincoln. said that all men ought to be free, yet I ^vould allow those colored persons to be slaves who want to be; and, next to them, those white men who argue in favor of making other people slaves. I am in favor of givuig an opportunity to such white men to try it for them- selves. [Applause.] I will say one thing with regard to the negro being employed to fight for them that I do know. I know he cannot fight and stay at home and make bread too. [Laugh- ter and applause.] And as one is about as important as the other to them, I don't care which they do. I am rather in favor of having them try them as soldiers. They lack one vote of doing that, and I wish I coukl send my vote over the river, so that I might cast it in favor of allowing the negro to fight. [Applause.] But they can not fight and work both. We must now see the bottom of the enemj^'s resources. They will stand out as long as they can, and if the negro will fight for them, they must allow him to fight. They have drawn upon their last branch of resources, and we can now see the bottom. [Applause.] I am glad to see the end so near at hand. [Applause.] I have said now more than I intended to, and will therefore bid you good-by. Sunday, the 2d of April, was a memorable day for Richmond and the Rebellion. As the people of that city went to church in the morning, they knew that during the last two or three days there had been fighting on Lee's right, and among their impressions of the result, that of a defeat of Meade's Fifth Corps was the most vivid. Not even Jefferson Davis or Gov. Smith, though better informed, had any thought, on that morning, that the last day of their power in Richmond had come. Davis was quietly seated in his pew. Praj-ers had been Life of Abraham Lincoln. 367 said. The reverend pastor had begun his discourse. Presently the sexton, moving softly up the aisle, put a telegraphic dispatch in the hand of the "Confederate President." That functionary rose, and, followed by many inquiring but not startled eyes, stalked out of the sanctuary. The discourse went on to the end, and the concluding exercises, even to the collection, were not omitted. The news was then broken to the minister, and speedily spread among his flock. The lines before Petersburg had been broken through by Grant's whole army, and Lee had apprised his superior that Richmond must be evacuated. Davis and his chief associates moved away that night toward Danville. On the follow- ing morning. Gen. Weitzel's colored troops, of the Army of the James, entered the city, which was now wrapped in flames kindled by Rebel hands. Despite the efforts of the soldiers to extinguish the conflagration, an im- portant portion of the city was destroyed. President Lincoln, who was awaiting at City Point the results of the movement commenced on the 29th of March, transmitted, successively, the following dispatches to Secretary Stanton: City Point, Va., April 2—8.30 A. M. Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War: Last night Gen. Grant telegraphed that Gen. Sheridan, with his cavalry, and the Fifth Corps, had captured three brigades of infantry, a train of wagons, and several batteries— prisoners amounting to several thousand. This morning, Gen. Grant, having ordered an attack along the whole line, telegraphs as follows: "Both Wright and Parke got through the enemy's lines. The battle now rages furiously. Gen. Sheridan, with his cavalry, the Fifth Corps, and Miles' division 3G8 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of the Second Corps, which was sent to him since one o'clock this morning, is now sweeping do-\vn from the west." All now looks highly favorable. Gen. Ord is engaged, but I have not yet heard the result in his front. A. Lincoln. Gen. Grant, in the meantime, had sent the following note to General Lee, there being "no relaxation in the pursuit:" April 7th, 1865. Gen. R. E. Lee, Commanding C. S. A.: General: The result of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in tliis struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to sliift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood, by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the Confederate army known as the Army of Northern Mr- ginia. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General, Commanding Armies United States. To this the subjoined reply was received: April 7, 1865. To Lieut.-Gen. U. S. Grant, Commanding Armies of the United States: General: I have received your note of this date. Though not entirely of the opinion you express of the hopelessness of the further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Mrginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid useless effusion of blood, and, therefore, con- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 369 sidering your proposition, ask the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender. R. E. Lee, General. The remainder of this memorable correspondence is as follows: Gen. Grant to Gen. Lee. April 8, 1865. Gen. R. E. Lee, Commanding C. S. A.: General: Your note of last evening, in reply to mine of same date, asking conditions on which I will accept the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, is just received, in reply, I would say that peace being my first desire, there is but one condition I insist upon, viz.: That the men surrendered shall be disqualified for tak- ing up arms against the Government of the LTnited States until properly exchanged. I will meet you, or designate officers to meet any officers you may name for the same purpose, at any point agreeable to j^ou, for the purpose of arranging definitely the terms upon which the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia, will be received. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General. Gen. Lee to Gen. Grant. April 8, 1865. General: I received at a late hour your note of to- day, in answer to mine of yesterday. I did not intend to propose the surrender of the Army of Northern Vir- ginia, but to ask the terms of your proposition. To be frank, I do not think the emergency has arisen to call 370 LiFa OF Abraham Lincoln. for the surrender of this army, but as the restoration of peace should be the sole object of all, I desire to know whether your proposals would tend to that end. I can not, therefore, meet you with a view to surrender the Army of Northern \'irginia; but as far as your propo- sition may affect the Confederate States' forces under my command, and tend to the restoration of peace, I should be pleased to meet you at 10 A. M. to-morrow, on the old stage road to Richmond, between the picket lines of the two armies. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. E. Lee, General, Confederate States Army. Lieut.-Gen. U. S. Grant, Commanding United States Armies. Gen. Grant to Gen. Lee. April 9, 1865. Gen. R. E. Lee, Commanding C. S. A.: General: Your note of yesterday is received. As I have no authority to treat on the subject of peace, the meeting proposed for 10 A. M. to-day could lead to no good. I will state however, General, that I am equally anxious for peace vnth. yourself, and the whole North entertains the same feeUng. The terms upon which peace can be had are well understood. By the South laying down their arms they will hasten that desirable event, save thousands of human lives, and hundreds of millions of property not yet destroyed. Sincerely hoping that all our difficulties may be settled without the lost of another Ufe, I subscribe myself, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, U. S. Grant, Lieutcnant-General. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 37 1 Gen. Lee to Gen. Grant. April 9, 1865. General: I received your note of this morning on the picket line, whither I had come to meet you, and ascertain definitely what terms were embraced in your proposition of yesterday. With reference to the surrender of this army, I now request an interview, in accordance with the offer contained in your letter of yesterday for that purpose. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. E. Lee, General. Lieut. -Gen. U. S. Grant, Commanding United States Armies. Gen. Grant to Gen. Lee. April 9, 1865. Gen. R. E. Lee, Commanding Confederate States Army: Your note of this date is but this moment, 11.50 A. M. received, in consequence of my having passed from the Richmond and Lynchburg road to the Farmville and Lynchburg road. I am at tliis writing about four miles west of Walter's Church, and will push forward to the front for the purpose of meeting you. Notice sent to me on the road where you wish the interview to take place will meet me. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-Generai. Terms Proposed by Gen. Grant. AppoM.vrTox C. H., April 9, 1865. Gen. R. E. Lee, Commanding C. S. A.: In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th inst., I propose the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on the following terms, to wit: 372 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Rolls of all of the officers and men to be made in dupli- cate ; one copy to be given to an officer to be designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individ- ual paroles not to take arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged, and each company or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery, and public property to be packed and stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. This will not. embrace the side arms of the officers, not their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their parole and the laws in force where they may reside. Very respectfully, U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General. Gen. Lee's Acceptance of the Terms. Headquarters Army Northern Virginia, ) April 9, 1865. ( Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant, Commanding United States Armies: General: I have received your letter of tliis date, containing the terms of surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, as proposed by you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your letter of the Sth inst., they are accepted. I will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect. Very respectfully, your obedient servant. R. E. Lee, General. A great throng gathered before the Wliite House, Life of Abraham Lincoln. 373 while cannon were resoiuKling, and bands playing, and voices spontaneously joining in choral accompaniment. Mr. Lincoln, in response to the calls of the besieging multitude, appeared at the window above the main entrance, amid excited demonstrations of affectionate respect. Declining at this moment to make any extended speech, he only said: I am very greatly rejoiceil that an occasion has occurred so pleasurable that the people can't restrain themselves. I suppose that arrangements are being made for some sort of formal demonstration, perhaps this evening or to-morrow night. If there should be such a demon- stration I, of course, shall have to respond to it, and I shall have nothing to say if I dribble it out before. [Laughter and cries of "We want to hear you now," etc.] I see you have a band. [Voices, " We have three of them."] I propose now closing up by requesting you to play a certain air, or tune. I have always thought "Dixie" one of the best times I ever heard. [Laughter.] I have heard that our adversaries over the way have attempted to appropriate it as a national air. I insisted yesterday that we had fairly captured it. I presented the question to the Attorney General, and he gave his opinion that it is our lawful prize. [Laughter and cheers.] I ask the band to give us a good turn upon it. "Dixie" was played with a vigor suited to the temper of the people, Mr. Lincoln still remaining at the window. As the music ceased, he proposed "three good, rousing, hearty cheers for Lieut.-Gen. Grant and all under his command," which were given. He then called for "three more cheers for our gallant navy," which M'ere no less energetically given. The President then bowed and retired. 374 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Considerable numbers were assembled in front of the Executive Mansion at several times during the day. After five o'clock in the evening, he again appeared at the window, in answer to the repeated calls of a large crowd, and made the following speech: My Friends: I am informed that you have assembled here this afternoon under the impression that I had made an appointment to speak at this time. This is a mistake. I have made no such appointment. More or less persons have been gathered here at different times during the day, and in the exuberance of their feeling, and for all of which they are greatly justified, calUng upon me to say something, and I have, from time to time, been sending out what I supposed was proper to disperse them for the present. [Laughter and applause.] I said to a larger audience this morning which I desire now to repeat. It is this: That I supposed in conse- quence of the glorious news we have been recei\-ing lately there is to be some general demonstration, either on this or to-morrow evening, when I will be expected, I presume, to say something. Just here, I will remark, that I would much prefer ha\'ing this demonstration take place to-morrow evening, as I would then be much better prepared to say what I have to say than I am now or can be this evening. I therefore say to you that I shall be quite willing, and I hope ready, to say something then; whereas just now I am not ready to say anything that one in my position ought to sa)'. Everything I say, you know, goes into print. [Laughter and applause.] If I make a mistake it doesn't merely affect me, or you, but the country. I, therefore, ought at least try not to make mistakes. Life of Abraham Lixcoln. 375 If, then, a general demonstration be made to-morrow evening, and it is agreeable, I will endeavor to say some- thing, and not make a mistake, without at least trying carefully to avoid it. [Laughter and applause.] Thank- ing you for the compliment of this call, I bid j'^ou good evening. On the evening of Tuesday, April 11th, Mr. Lincoln was serenaded; and the general expectation of a some- what elaborate speech, giving a definite foreshadowing of his future policy in regard to the Rebel States, attract- ed a very large gathering of the people. The remarks he designed to make on this occasion were carefully written out, and will be ever memorable as the final words of political counsel which he has left as a legacy to his country. Mr. Lincoln's Last Speech. We meet this evening not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart. The evacuation of Petersburg and P^ichmond, and the surrender of the principal insurgent army, give hope of a righteous and speedy peace, whose joyous expression can not be restrained. In the midst of this, however. He from whom all blessings flow must not be forgotten. A call for national thanksgiving is being prepared, and will be duly promulgated. Nor must those whose harder part gives us the cause of rejoicing be overlooked. Their honors must not be parceled out with others. I myself was near the front, and had the high pleasure of transmitting much of the good news to you; but no part of the honor, for plan or execution, is mine. To Gen. Grant, his skillful officers and brave men, all belongs. The gallant navy stood ready, but was not in reach to take active part. 376 Life of Abrailuvi Lincoln. By these recent successes, the re-inauguration of the national authority, reconstruction, which has had a large share of thought from the first, is pressed much more closely upon our attention. It is fraught with great difficulty. Unlike the case of a war between independent nations, there is no authorized organ for us to treat with. No one man has authority to give up the rebellion for any other man. We simply must begin with and mold from disorganized and discordant elements. Nor is it a small additional embarrassment that we, the loyal people, differ among ourselves as to the mode, maimer and means of reconstruction. As a general rule, I abstain from reading the report of attacks upon myself, wishing not to be provoked by that to which I can not properly offer an answer. In spite of this precaution, however, it comes to my knowledge that I am much censured from some sup- posed agency in setting up and seeking to sustain the new State Government of Louisiana. In this I have done just so much as, and no more than, the public knows. In the annual message of December, 1863, and accompanying proclamation, I presented a plan of recon- struction (as the phrase goes), which I promised, if adopted by any State, should be acceptable to, and sustained by, the Executive Government of the nation. I distinctly stated that this was not the only plan which might possibly be acceptable; and I also distinctly protested that the Executive claimed no right to say when or whether mem- bers should be admitted to seats in Congress from such States. This plan was, in advance, submitted to the then Cabinet, and distinctly approved by every mem- ber of it. One of them suggested that I should then, and in that connection, apply the Emancipation Proc- lamation to the theretofore excepted parts of Mrginia Life of Abraham Lincoln. 377 and Louisiana; that I should drop the suggestion about apprenticeship for freed people, and that I should omit the protest against my own power, in regard to the ad- mission of members to Congress, but even he approved every part and parcel of the plan which has since been employed or touched by the action of Louisiana. The new Constitution of Louisiana, declaring emancipa- tion for the whole State, practically applies the proclamation to the part previously excepted. It does not adopt ap- prenticesliip for freed people, and it is silent, as it could not well be otherwise, about the admission of members to Con- gress. So that, as it applies to Louisiana, every member of the Cabinet fully approved the plan. The message went to Congress, and I received many commendations of the plan, written and verbal; and not a single objection to it from any professed emancipationist came to my knowl- edge, until after the news reached Washington that the people of Louisiana had begun to move in accordance with it. From about July, 1862, I had corresponded with dif- ferent persons, supposed to be interested, seeking a recon- struction of a State government for Louisiana. When the message of 1863, with the plan before mentioned, reached New Orleans, Gen. Banks wrote me he was confident that the people, with his military co-operation, would recon- struct substantially on that plan. I wrote him, and some of them, to try it. They tried it, and the result is known. Such only has been my agency in getting up the Louisiana government. As to sustaining it, my promise is out, as before stated. But, as bad promises are better broken than kept, I shall treat this as a bad promise, and break it, whenever I shall be convinced that keeping it is adverse to the public interest. But I have not yet been so con- vinced. I have been shown a letter on this subject, supposed to 378 Life of Abraham Lincoln. be an able one, in which the writer expresses regret that my mind has not seemed to be definitely fixed on the question whether the seceded States, so-called, are in the Union or out of it. It would, perhaps, add astonishment to his regret were he to learn that, since I have found professed Union men endeavoring to make that question, I have purposely forborne any public expression upon it. As appears to me, that question has not been, nor yet is, a practically material one, and that any discussion of it, while it thus remains practically immaterial, could have no effect other than the mischievous one of di\'iding our friends. As yet, whatever it may hereafter become, that question is bad, as the basis of a controversy, and good for nothing at all a merely pernicious abstraction. We all agree that the seceded States, so-called, are out of their proper practical relation with the Union, and that the sole object of the Government, civil and miUtary, in regard to those States, is to again get them into that proper practical relation. I believe it is not only possible, but in fact easier to do this ^^'ithout deciding, or even considering, whether these States have ever been out of the Union, than with it. Finding themselves safely at home, it would be utterly im- material whether they had ever been abroad. Let us all join in doing the acts necessary to restoring the proper practical relations between these States and the Union, and each forever after imiocently indulge liis o'mi opinion whether, in doing the acts, he brought the States from without into the Union, or only gave them proper assistance they never ha^'ing been out of it. The amoimt of constituency, so to speak, on which the new Louisiana government rests, would be more satisfactory to all if it contained fifty, thirty, or even twenty thousand, instead of only about twelve thousand, as it really does. It is also imsatisfactory to some that the elective franchise Life of Abraham Lincoln. 379 is not given to the colored man. I would m3''self prefer that it were now conferred on the very intelligent, and those who serve our cause as soldiers. Still the question is not whether the Louisiana government, as it stands, is quite all that is desirable. The question is, "Will it be wiser, to take it as it is, and help to improve it, or to reject and dis- perse it?" "Can Louisiana be brought into proper prac- tical relation mth the Union sooner by sustaining or by discarding her new State government?" Some twelve thousand voters, in the heretofore slave State of Louisiana, have sworn allegiance to the Union, assumed to be the rightful political power of the State, held elections, organized a State government, adopted a free State constitution, giving the benefit of public schools equally to black and white, and empowering the Legislature to confer the elective franchise upon the colored man. Their legislature has already voted to ratify the constitu- tional amendment recently passed by Congress, abolishing slavery throughout the nation. These twelve thousand persons are thus fully committed to the Union, and to per- petual freedom in the States committed to the very things and nearly all the things the nation wants— and they ask the nation's recognition and its assistance to make good that committal. Now, if we reject and spurn them, we do our utmost to disorganize and disperse them. We, in effect, say to the white men, "You are worthless, or worse, we will neither help you, nor be helped by you." To the blacks we say, " This cup of Liberty which these, your okl masters, hold to your lips, we will dash from you, and leave you to the chances of gathering the spilled and scat- tered contents in some vague and undefined when, where and how." If this course, discouraging and paralyzing both white and black, has any tendency to bring Louisiana into proper practical relations with the Union, I have, so 380 Life of Abraham Lincoln. far, been unable to perceive it. If, on the contrary, we recognize and sustain the new government of Louisiana the converse of all this is made true. We encourage the hearts and nerve the arms of the twelve thousand to adhere to their work, and argue for it, and proselyte for it, and fight for it, and feed it, and grow it, and ripen it to a complete success. The colored man, too, seeing all united for him, is inspired with \dgilance, and energy, and daring to the same end. Grant that he desires the elective francliise, will he not attain it sooner by sa^■ing the already advanced steps towards it, than by running backward over them? Concede that the new government of Louisiana is only to what it should be as the egg is to the fowl, we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than by smasliing it. [Laughter]. Again, if we reject Louisiana, we also reject one vote in favor of the proposed amendment to the National Constitution. To meet tliis proposition, it has been argued that no more than three-fourths of those States, which have not at- tempted secession, are necessary to validly ratify the amendment. I do not commit myself against this, further than to say that such aratificatioh would be questionable, and sure to be persistently questioned, while a ratification by three-fourths of all the States would be miquestioned and unquestionable. I repeat the question: " Can Louisiana be brought into proper practical relation with the Union sooner by sus- taining or by discarding her new State government?" What has been said of Louisiana will apply generally to other States. And yet so great peculiarities pertain to each State, and such important and sudden changes occur in the same State, and, withal, so new and unprecedented is the whole case, that no exclusive and inflexible plan can safely be prescribed as to details and collaterals. Such Life of Abraham Lincoln. 381 exclusive and inflexible plan would surely become a new entanglement. Important principles may, and must be inflexible. In the present situation, as the phrase goes, it may be my duty to make some new announcement to the people of the South. I am considering and shall not fail to act, when satisfied that action will be proper. The change in the domestic situation, rendered it ex- pedient to take new ground in regard to the concession of belligerent rights to the enemy, made by certain foreign powers. The following proclamation— issued at this time —speedily accomplished its purpose of utterly outrooting this international heresy: By the President of the United States of America — A Proclamation. Whereas, for some time past, vessels of war of the ITnited States have been refused, in certain foreign ports, privileges and immunities to which they were entitled by treaty, public law or the comity of nations, at the same time that vessels of war of the country wherein the said privi- leges and immunities have been withheld, have enjoyed them fully and uninterruptedly in ports of the United States; which condition of things has not always been forcibly resisted by the United States, although, on the other hand, they have not, at any time, failed to protest against and declare their dissatisfaction with the same. In the view of the United States, no condition any longer exists which can be claimed to justify the denial to them by any one of such nations, of customary naval rights, as has heretofore been so unnecessarily persisted in. Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the 382 Life of Abraham Lincoln. United States, do hereby make known that, if, after a reasonable time shall have elapsed for intelligence of tliis proclamation to have reached any foreign country in whose ports the said privileges and immunities shall have been refused, as aforesaid, they shall continue to be so refused, then and henceforth the same privileges and immunities shall be refused to the vessels of war of that country in the ports of the United States, and this refusal shall continue until the war vessels of the United States shall have been placed upon an entire equality, in the foreign ports afore- said, with similar vessels of other countries, the United States, whatever claim or pretence may have existed heretofore, are now, at least, entitled to claim and concede an entire and friendly equality of rights and hospitalities wth all maritime nations. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. Abraham Lincoln. By the President: William H. Seward, Secretary of State. CHAPTER XVIII. Last Days of Mr. Lincoln. After years of weary toil, Mr. Lincoln seemed now to be entering on a period of comparative repose. The first step liad been taken for putting the army on a peace footing. A policy had been matured for the re-establishment of loyal local governments in the insurgent States. For- bearance, clemency, charity were to control the executive action in dealing with the difficult problems still awaiting practical solution. After the Cabinet meeting on the 14th of April, the President was in unusually buoyant spirits. His remaining tasks evidently seemed lighter than ever before. His gladsome humor was noticed by his friends. There were visitors at the White House that night as usual, and it was somewhat late when Mr. Lincoln was ready to leave. Mrs. Lincoln, as if some presentiment re- strained her, seemed reluctant to go, but the President was unwilling that those who had seen the announcement shoukl be totally disappointed by seeing neither himself nor the Lieutenant-General. Speaker Colfax, wiio was the last person received by Mr. Lincoln, walked with him and Mrs. Lincoln from the parlor to the carriage. Mr. Ashmun, who had nearly five years presided over the National Con- vention, which first nominated Mr. Lincoln for the Presi- dency, came up at this moment, having hoped to obtain an interview. After salutations, a card was handed to Mr. Ashmun, written by the President as he sat in his car- riage, directing the usher to admit that gentleman to the 383 384 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Executive room on the following morning. The carriage drove away, stopping to take up two young friends on the way — Maj. Rathbone and Miss Harris. It was not yet past nine when the party reached the theatre, which was densely thronged. As President Lincoln entered and passed to his box he was greeted with enthusiastic cheering. Mr. Lincoln occupied a chair on the side of the box nearest the audience, Mrs. Lincoln sitting next to him. Their guests were seated beyond, in a portion of the box usually separated by a partition, wliich had been removed for this occasion. Each part was ordinarily entered by its own door, opening from a narrow passage, to which, near the outer wall, a door gives access from the dress circle. The last named door and the further one inside were closed, the other, through which the whole party passed, remaining open. Any intrusion upon this privacy, in the presence of so many spectators, was hardly to be thought of as possible. Every day of his life in Washington, the President had been in positions far more inviting to murderous malice or Rebel conspiracy. During the hour that followed Mr. Lincoln's entrance into the theatre, his attention seemed to be unusually absorbed in the scenes before him. His countenance in- dicated an appreciation of the lively caricature in which the good-humored audience manifested a high degree of delight. Yet it may safely be affirmed that there was, in liis mind, a strong undercurrent of quite other thoughts and emotions tlian those wliich had to do with this mock presen- tation of human Ufe and manners. One cannot doubt knowing his mental characteristics, that while partly en- joying tliis hght diversion, his mind was active \\'ith more substantial realities, and actually most occupied with these, when apparently most intent in observing what passed upon the stage. ADMIRAL DAVID D. PORTER. GEN. JOHN A. LOGAN. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 385 In the midst of a scene of the third act, when but one actor was before tlie curtain, the sound of a pistol-shot was heard and a man leaped from the President's box and disappeared beliind the scenes. So sudden was all this, that only the screams of Mrs. Lincoln, a moment later, revealed its meaning. The President had been shot. His assassin had escaped. One of the audience promptly sprang upon the stage, following the fugitive, but was only in time to see him mount a horse at the rear of the theater and ride away at flying speed. Wild excitement swayed the audience now towards the stage, many leaping over the foot-lights, and now towards the door. Attention was earnestly directed, on the next instant, to the condition of Mr. Lincoln. He was found to be insensible, having fallen slightly forward, where he sat. Presently surgeons were admitted to the box, and soon after it was discovered that he had been shot in the back of the neck, just beneath the base of the brain, in which the ball was still lodged— a hopeless wound. In a few minutes more he was borne from the theater to a private house on the opposite side of the street. The terrible news quickly spread through the city, and the streets near the theater were thronged with distressed and indignant thousands, anxious for a word as to the President's condition, that would give encouragement to hope — eager to loiow who was the author of this monstrous crime. Almost simiJtaneously came the intelligence that Secretary Seward, who had been lying seriously ill for many days past, had been brutally stabbed in his bed by a ruffian who had woimded several others in making his escape from the house. It soon became known, also that Frederick W. Seward, Assistant Secretary of State, had been so wounded, by the same hand, that his recovery was very doubtful. In the room to which Mr. Lincoln had been removed, he 386 Life of Abraham Lincoln. remained, still breathing, but unconscious, surrounded by his distracted family — who sometimes retired together to an adjoining room — by his Cabinet, by surgeons, and by a few others, until twenty-three minutes past seven o'clock, on the morning of April 15th, when his great heart ceased to beat. Never before was rejoicing turned into such sudden and overwhelming sorrow. A demon, studying how most deeply to wound the greatest number of hearts, could have de^^sed no act for his purpose like that which sent Abraham Lincoln to his grave. No man's loss could have been so universally felt as that of a father, brother, friend. Many a fireside was made doubly lonely by this bereavement. " Sadness to despondency has seized on all " — says a private letter from a resident of one of our largest cities, written on the fatal day. "Men have ceased business, and work- men are turning home with their dimier buckets unopened. The merchants are leaving their counting-rooms for the privacy of their dwellings. A gloom, intensified by the transition from the pomp and rejoicing of yesterday, settles impenetrably on every mind." And this was but a picture of the grief everywhere felt. Bells tolled sadly in all parts of the land. Mourning drapery was quickly seen from house to house on every square of the national capital ; and all the chief places of the coimtry witnessed, by spontaneous demonstrations, their participation in the general sorrow. In every loyal pulpit, and at every true altar throughout the nation, the great public grief was the theme of earnest prayer and discourse, on the following day. One needs not to dwell on what no pen can describe, and on what no adult hving on that day can ever forget. During the night of Friday, diligent efforts were made to discover the assassin, and to secure his arrest. It was early ascertained that John Wilkes Booth, brother of Edwin Life of Abraham Lincoln. 387 Booth, the eminent and beloved American actor, was the perpetrator of the crime, and that he had probably escaped across the East Branch, into a portion of Maryland in warm sympathy with the rebellion. The circumstances attend- ing the deed were eagerly inquired into, and testimony taken from which it was learned that the assassination of Mr. Lincoln and the attempted murder of Mr. Seward, had their source in a conspiracy, of which Vice-President John- son was also an intended victim. On the morning of his death, Mr. Lincoln's remains were taken to the White House, embalmed, and on Tuesday laid in state in the East Room, where they were visited by many thousands during the day. On Wednesday, funeral services were held in the same room. An impressive dis- course was preached by Rev. Dr. Gurley, pastor of the Presbyterian church, which the late President attended; the main portion of the Episcopal service for the burial of the dead was read by Rev. Dr. Hall (Episcopalian), and prayers were offered by Bishop Simpson (Methodist) and Rev. Dr. Gray (Baptist). The funeral procession and pageant, as the body was removed to the rotunda of the capitol, were of grand and solemn character, beyond de- scription. The whole length of the avenue from the Executive mansion to the capitol, was crowded with the thousands of the army, navy, ci\'il officers, and citizens, marching to the music of solemn dirges. From window and roof, and from sidewalks densely crowded, tens of thousands along the whole route witnessed the spectacle. The remains again lay in state, in the rotunda, and were visited by many thousands during the following day. On Friday morning the remains were borne to the rich funeral car, in which, accompanied by an escort of distinguished officers and citizens, they were to be borne on their journey of nearly two thousand miles to their last rest in the silence 388 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of the Western prairie. The funeral cortege left Waslung- ton on the 21st of April, going by way of Baltimore and Harrisburg to Philadelphia, where the body lay in state in Independence Hall, from Saturday evening, the 22d, until Monday morning. On the afternoon of the 24th, the train reached New York. All along the route, thus far, the demonstrations of the people were of the most earnest character, and at Philadelpliia the ceremonies were impos- ing, profound grief and sympathy being universally man- ifested. At New York, on the 25th, a funeral procession, unprecedented in numbers, marched through the streets, while mottoes and emblems of woe were seen on every hand — toucliing devices, yet altogether vain to express the reality of the general sorrow. The train reached Albany the same night, remaining there part of the day on the 26th, wliile the same overflowing popular manifestations were wdtnessed as at previous places along the route. These were continued at all the principal points on the way from that city to Buffalo, where there were special dem- onstrations, on the 27th, as again at Cleveland on the 2Sth, at Columbus on the 29th, and at Indianapolis on the 30th. Wherever the funeral car and cortege passed through the state of Oliio, as through Indiana and Illinois, the peo- ple thronged to pay their sad greeting to the dead, and tokens of pubHc mourning and private sadness were seen. At Chicago, where the train arrived on the 1st of May, the demonstrations were specially impressive, and the mourn- ful gatherings of the people were such as could have hap- pened on no other occasion. It was the honored patriot of Illinois, who had been struck down in -the midst of his glorious work, and whose lifeless remains were now brought back to the city which he had chosen to be his future home. From Chicago to Springfield, the great ovation of sorrow was unparalleled, through all the distance. The remains Life of Abraham Lincoln. 389 of the martyred statesman were passing over ground fam- iliar to his siglit for long years, and filled with personal friends who had known him from early life. Yet even here, where all were deeply moved, there could scarcely be a more heartfelt tribute, a more universal impulse to render homage to the memory of the immortal martyr for liberty, than in every city and State through which the funeral car and its cortege had passed. The final obsequies took place at Springfield, on Thurs- day, the 4th day of May, when the remains of Abraham Lincoln, in the presence of many thousands, were placed in a vault in Oak Ridge Cemetery. With the body of the late President, the disinterred remains of his son Willie, who died in February, 1862, had been borne to Illinois, and were now placed beside those of the father by whom he had been so tenderly loved. The ceremonies were grand- ly impressive. Mr. Lincoln's last inaugural address was read, the Dead March in Saul, and other dirges and hymns were sung, accompanied by an instrumental band and an eloquent discourse was preached by Bishop Simp- son. Rev. Dr. Gurley, of Washington, and other clergy- men, participating in the religious exercises. Li every part of the nation, the day was observed, and business suspended. Never, probably, was the memory of any man before so honored in his death, or any obsequies participated in by so many hundreds of thousands of sincere mourners. Large rewards were speedily offered for the capture of the cliief assassin and of his principal known accomplices, Atzerodt and Herold. The villain who attempted the murder of Mr. Seward was first arrested— giving his name as Payne. Booth and his companion Herold were traced through the counties of Prince George, Charles, and St. Mary, in Maryland, and finally across the Potomac into King George and Caroline counties in Virginia. They had 390 Life of Abraham Lincoln. crossed the Rappahannock at Port Conway, and had ad- vanced some distance toward BowUng Green. By the aid of information obtained from negroes, and from a Rebel paroled prisoner, they were finally found in a barn, on a Mr. Garrett's place, early on the morning of the 26th of April, when HeroJd surrendered. Booth, defiant to the last, was shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett, of the cavalry force in pursuit of the fugitives, and lived but a few hours, ending his life in miserable agony. In leaping from the box of the theater, he had broken a bone of Ms leg, imped- ing his flight and producing intense suffering during the eleven days of his wanderings. A swift and terrible retri- bution had overtaken the reckless criminal — perhaps the most fitting expiation of liis deed. In addition to the arrests of Payne and Herold, were those of Atzerodt, O'Laughlin, Spangler, an employee at Ford's Theater; Dr. Mudd, who harbored Booth the day after the assassination, set the broken bone of his leg, and helped him on his way; Arnold, whose letter to Booth, found in the latter's trunk, signed "Sam," showed his connection with the conspiracy, and Mrs. Surratt, at whose house some of the conspirators were wont to meet, and who was charged with aiding the plans and the escape of Booth. But the conspiracy was clearly traceable to a higher source than Booth and these wretched accomplices. Mr. Johnson, who had been inaugurated as President on the morning of Mr. Lincoln's death, issued the following Proclamation: Whereas. It appears from evidence in the Bureau of Military Justice that the atrocious murder of the late Pres- ident, Abrah.'S.m Lincoln, and the attempted assassina- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 391 tion of the Hon. W. H. Seward, Secretary of State, were incited, concerted and procured by and between Jefferson Davis, late of Richmond, Virginia, and Jacob Thompson, Clement C. Clay, Beverley Tucker, George N. Sanders, W. C. Cleary, and other Rebels and traitors against the Government of the United States, harbored in Canada; now, therefore, to the end that justice may be done, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do offer and promise for the arrest of said persons, or either of them, within the Hmits of the United States, so that they can be brought to trial, the following rewards: One hundred thousand dollars for the arrest of Jefferson Davis; twenty- five thousand dollars for the arrest of Clement C. Clay; twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Jacob Thomp- son, late of Mississippi; twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of George N. Sanders ; twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Beverley Tucker, and ten thousand dollars for the arrest of William C. Cleary, late clerk of Clement C. Clay. The Provost-Marshal-General of the United States is directed to cause a description of said persons, with notice of the above rewards, to be published. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, the second day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred [l. s.] and sixty-five, and of the independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. Andrew Johnson. By the President: W. Hunter, Acting Secretary of State. A Millitary Commission was convened to meet on the 8th of May for the trial of the parties arrested on the charge of " mahciously, unlawfully, and traitorously, and in aid of the 392 Life of Abraham Lincoln, present armed Rebellion against the United States of America, on or before the 6th day of March, A. D. 1865, combining, confederating and conspiring together, with one John H. Surratt, John Wilkes Booth, Jefferson Davis, George N. Sanders, Beverley Tucker, Jacob Thompson, William C. Cleary, Clement C. Clay, George Harper, George Young, and others unknown, to kill and murder, within the Military Department of Wasliington, and witliin the fortified and intrenched hnes thereof, Abraham Lincoln, and at the time of said combining, confederating and con- spiring. President of the United States and Commander- in-Cliief of the Army and Navy thereof; Andrew Johnson, then Vice-President of the United States aforesaid, Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States aforesaid, and Ulysses S. Grant, Lieutenant-General of the Army of the United States aforesaid, then in command of the armies of the United States, under the direction of the said Abra- HAJi liiNCOLN ; and in pursuance of and in prosecuting said malicious, unlawful and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and in aid of said Rebellion, afterward, to--nit, on the 14th day of April, 1865, within the Military Department of Washington, aforesaid, and within the fortified and in- trenched Unes of said l\Iilitary Department, together wiih said John Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt, maliciously, unlawfully and traitorously murdermg the said Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States and Com- mander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States as aforesaid, and maliciously, unlawfully and traitor- ously assaulting, with intent to kill and murder the said Wm. H. Seward, then Secretary of State of the United States as aforesaid, and lying in wait with intent, malic- iously, unlawfully and traitorously, to Idll and murder the said Andrew Johnson, then being Mce-President of the United States, and the said Ulysses S. Grant, then THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. Ford's Theatre, Washington, D. C, night of April Uth, 1866. THE ESCAPE OF THE ASSASSIN AND THE PANIC OF THE Life of Abraham Lincoln. 393 being Lieutenant-General and in command of the Armies of the United States as aforesaid." In the course of the trial, positive evidence was furnished comiecting Jacob Thompson, Jefferson Davis, and their associates named above, with President Lincoln's assassination. This direct evidence is only the keystone of an arch of circumstances, strong as adamant. We have already seen the avowal, in the Greeley-Sanders peace correspondence, that several of these men were in Canada, in the "confidential employment" of Davis. This em- ployment, after the failure of their busy intrigues with Northern sympathizers, to defeat Mr. Lincoln's re-election and the liberal waste of funds in sustaining Northern Rebel journalism, had taken a form congenial to their "chivalrous" instincts, in instigating and aiding prac- tical seizures on Lake Erie, robbery at St. Albans, hotel-burning and wholesale murder at New York, and in a broad-cast cUffusion of pestilence and death through the northern cities, by the efforts of the "philanthropic" Dr. Blackburn, who labored assiduously in his purpose of spreading malignant disease by means of infected clothing. What farther depth of iniquity needed these man to sound before organizing a conspiracy— at first for the avowed purpose of abducting, then of murdering outright, the President whom they so maliciously hated? That they did enter this scheme, is proved beyond a doubt. That Jefferson Davis, in whose " confidential employment " all this while they were, was consulted as to the plan of assas- sination and gave it his approval, is shown by positive testimony. And this suits the temper he had shown in his readiness to entertain McCullough's infamous plan for introducing into the " confidential " service a combustible which would obviate the " difficulties heretofore encount- ered" in burning hotels. It is strikingly confirmed by 394 Life of Abraham Lincoln. his language on hearing, at Charlotte, North Carolina, that Mr. Lincoln had been assassinated. Lewis F. Bates, of that town, in whose house Davis was then staying gives the following testimony on this point, after stating that the latter received a dispatch from Breckinridge an- noimcing the assassination: Q. — Look at this (exhibiting to witness a telegram) and see whether it is the same dispatch? A.— I should say that it was. The dispatch was then read, as follows: "Greensboro, April 19, 1865. — His Excellency, Pres- ident Davis: President Lincoln was assassinated in the theater in Wasliington, on the night of the 14th inst. Seward's house was entered on the same night, and he was repeatedly stabbed, and is probably mortally wounded. (Signed,) John C. Breckinridge." Q. — State what Jefferson Davis said after reading this dispatch to the crowd. Endeavor to recollect liis precise language? > A. — At the conclusion of his speech to the people, he read this dispatch aloud, and made this remark: "If it were to be done, it were better that it were done well." Q.— You are sure these are the words? A.— These are the words. Q. — State whether or not, in a day or two afterward, Jefferson Davis, John C. Breckinridge, and others, were present in your house in Charlotte? A.— They were. Q.— And the assassination of the President was the sub- ject of conversation? A.— A day or two afterward that was the subject of their conversation. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 395 Q. — Can you remember what John C. Breckinridge said? A.— In speaking of the assassination of President Lincoln, he remarked to Davis that he regretted it very much; that it was unfortunate for the people of the South at that time. Davis replied: '' Well, General, I don't know; if it were to be done at all, it were better it were luell done; and if the same were done to Andreiu Johnson, the beast, and to Secretary Stanton, the job woidd then be complete." Q. — You feel confident that you recollect the words? A.— These are the words used. The expedient of assassinating Mr. Lincoln had long been a favored one, beyond doubt, with many of the South- ern traitors. It was no less unlawful, they might naturally reason, than levying war against the Government. That it was less manly, that it was infamous in the eyes of all na- tions, weighed little ^vith many who had so long brazenly defied the sentiment of the civilized world. Mr. Lincoln, during the canvass of 1860, received letters threatening his life— in themselves of no consequence, but showing how easily Rebel notions even then took such a direction, and might sooner or later mature into act. It cannot reason- ably be doubted that there was a definite plan for assassin- ating Mr. Lincoln at Baltimore, in February, 1S6L Northern Copperheads and Southern traitors kept the pro- pensity aUve by constant denunciations of the President as a tyrant, and by historic allusions, hightened in effect by poetic citations in praise of tyrannicide. These doctrines were fostered by the Copperhead secret orders— undoubt- edly in affiliation with Thorripson, Clay and Tucker, and receiving from them pecimiary aid. Tins spirit was ram- pant at the Chicago Democratic National Convention, as shown in previous pages, and during the subsequent can- 396 Life of Abraham Lincoln. vass. All these ideas apparently originated in the South, and were propagated from thence. It was under such training that the assassin was prepared for the conception, and nerved to the execution of his monstrous crime. When the youthful Colonel Dahlgren fell a victim to Southern hate, in Elpatrick's unsuccessful raid for the rescue of prisoners at Richmond, on the 4th of March, 1864, there was pretended to have been found on Dahlgren 's person an order in his name, directing that the city be destroyed, "and Jeff Da^^s and Cabinet killed." This " order," of wliich much was made in the Rebel States and abroad, has been satisfactorily shown to be a forgery, and it now but serves to reveal the dark under-current in the Southern mind, setting in the direction of a crime ulti- mately consummated. There is positive proof, developed on the trial of the as- sassination conspirators, that, at the time of this raid of Kilpatrick, preparations were made for a wholesale massacre of several thousand Union prisoners, in case he had taken the city, by means of mines filled with gunpowder under Libby prison. This fact has been officially conceded and justified in the report of a Rebel committee, which has recently come to light. A lawyer of Alabama, named Gayle, perhaps quite as respectable as "philanthropist" Blackburn, published a notice (the authorship and genuineness of which are proved), on the 1st of December, 1864, in the Selnm Dispatch, in these words: One Million Dollars Wanted to Have Peace BY THE 1st of March.— If the citizens of the Southern Confederacy will furnish me with the cash, or good secur- ities, for the sum of one miOion dollars, I will cause the lives of Abraham Lincoln, William H. Seward and Life of Abraham Lincoln. 397 Andrew Johnson to be taken by the 1st of March next. Tliis will give us peace, and satisfy the world that cruel tyrants cannot live in a "land of liberty." If tliis is not accomplished, nothing will be claimed beyond the sum of fifty thousand dollars, in advance, which is supposed to be necessary to reach and slaughter the three villains. I will give, myself, one thousand dollars toward this patriotic purpose. Every one wishing to contribute will address Box X, Cahaba, Alabama. December 1, 1864. During the same winter there were intimations in Southern quarters, and in sympathetic circles abroad, as indicated through the public prints, that some great event was about to happen, which would startle the world. The spirit of assassination had been carefully nursed. The crime itself had been repeatedly meditated and plotted. This fact was known to Davis. Men in his "confidential emplo}mient," constantly at work, with his knowledge, on schemes the most infamous, were instigating and aiding the crime of Booth. Davis knew this crime to be intended, gave in his sanction, and rejoiced with, no regret except that the plot was not more completely carried into effect. The assassina- tion was not the mere freak of a madcap or fanatic. It was the natural outgrowth of the spirit which led the Rebellion, and which advanced on the same line to the vilest works of desperation. The barbarous oligarch and upstart autocrat who had deliberately starved thou- sands of Union prisoners, could have no compunction at seeing a chosen emissary stealthily murder the ruler to whose authority he must otherwise soon be forced to succumb. Never, perhaps, has the death of any man called forth 398 Life of Abraham Lincoln. so many expressions of sorrow and respect, or inspired so many exalted tributes from orators, poets and autliors, as well as from the people of every class. In British America, the shock seemed almost as universal as in the States. From all parts of Great Britain, from Ger- many, France, Italy, and the countries beyond, as from the diplomatic representatives of all nations at the National Capital, came imaffected utterances of sympathy and high recognitions of the goodness and greatness of the departed. Letters of condolence were addressed to Mrs. Lincoln by Queen Victoria and the Empress Eugenie, with their own hands. Numerous public bodies and popular meetings — parhaments, associations, and gather- ings of the people^throughout Europe as well as this country, sent similar tokens. CHAPTER XIX. Characteristic Stories by and Concerning Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's great strength as a boy. The strength Lincoln displayed when he was ten years old is remarkable. At that age he was almost constantly using an axe in chopping and splitting wood and he used it with great skill, sinldng it deeper into the wood than any other person. He cut the elm and linn brush used for feeding the stock, drove the team, handled the old shovel-plow, wielded the sickle, threshed wheat with a flail, fanned and cleaned it with a sheet and per- formed other labor that few men of to-day could do so well. He wielded the axe from the age of ten till he was twenty-three. As he grew older he became one of the strongest and most popular "hands" in the vicinity, and his services were in great demand. He was employed as a "hand" by his neighbors at 25 cents a day, which money was paid to his father. was proud of his strength. Mr. Lincoln was a remarkable strong man, he was strong as well as tall. He was in the habit of measur- ing his height with other tall men,— he did this even in the Wliite House. In 1859 he visited the Wisconsin State Fair at Milwaukee and was led around by the then Governor Hoyt. They entered a tent where a "strong 399 L; 400 Life of Abraham Lincoln. man" was performing with huge iron balls. His feats amazed and interested Lincoln. The governor told him to go up on the platform and be introduced to the athlete, by whose exhibition of skill he was so fascinated. He did so, and after the formal introduction he remarked to the "strong man," who was short of stature: "Why, I could Uck salt off the top of your hat." LINCOLN A POWERFUL WRESTLER. While a clerk in a general store at New Salem, 111., Lincoln gained the reputation of being a skillful and powerful \\Testler. Near New Salem was a settlement known as Clary's Grove, in which lived an organization known as " Clary's Grove Boys." They were rude in their manners and rough and boastful in their ways, being what would to-day be called, "a set of rowdies." The leader of this organization, and the strongest of the lot, was a young man named Armstrong. It had been said that Lincoln could easily outdo any one of the Clary Grove boys in anything and the report naturally touched the pride of the Armstrong youth. He felt compelled to prove the truth or falsity of such a story, and accord- ingly a wrestling match was arranged between Lincoln and himself. It was a great day in the village of New Salem and Clary's Grove. The match was held on the ground in front of the store in which Lincoln had been clerking. There was much betting on the result, the odds being against Lincoln. Hardly, however, had the two wrestlers taken hold of each other before the Armstrong youth found that he had "met a foe worthy his steel." The two wrestled long and hard, each doing his atmost to throw the other but to no avail. Both kept their feet: neither could Life of Abraham Lincoln. 401 throw the other. The Armstrong youth being convinced that he could not throw Lincoln, tried a "foul." This resort to dishonest means to gain an advantage inflamed Lincoln with indignation, and he immediately caught young Armstrong by the throat, held him at arm's length and "shook him hke a child." Armstrong's friends rushed to his rescue, and for a time it seemed as if Lincoln would be mobbed. But he held his own bravely and all alone, and by his daring excited the admiration of ev6n those whose sympathies were with young Armstrong. What at one time seemed to result in a general fight resulted in a general handshake, even "Jack" Armstrong declaring that Lincoln was the "best fellow who ever broke into camp." LINCOLN SPLIT 400 RAILS FOR A YARD OF BROWN JEANS. When Lincoln lived in Illinois (New Salem) he wore trousers made of flax and tow cut tight at the ankles and out at both knees. Though a very poor young man he was universally welcomed in every house of the neigh- borhood. Money was so scarce in those days that it is known that Lincoln once split 400 rails for every yard of brown jeans, dyed with white walnut bark, that would be necessary to make him a pair of trousers. LINCOLN AS A VERSE WRITER. Even when he was a boy Lincoln was sometimes called upon to write poetry. The following are among his earliest attempts at rhyme: Good boys who to their books apply. Will all be great men by and by. It is needless to say that Lincoln himself carried out 402 Life of Abraham Lincoln. what he wrote so well; in other words, he "practiced what he preached." It was in a great measure owing to liis constant application to his books that he afterward became a great man. The following poem Mr. Lincoln wrote in 1844, while on a visit to the home of his claildhood: My childhood's home I see again And sadden with the view; And, still, as memory crowds my brain. There's pleasure in it, too. Oh, memory, thou midway world 'Twixt earth and paradise. Where things decayed and loved ones lost In dreamy shadows rise; And, freed from all that's earthy, vile. Seems hallowed, pure and bright, Like scenes in some enchanted isle, And bathed in liquid light. Lincoln's quick wit in helping a girl to spell a avord. "Abe" Lincoln was always ready and willing to help anyone. Once he was in a spelling match at school when the world "defied" had been given out by the teacher. It has been mispelled several times when it came the turn of a girl friend of Lincoln's to spell. The pupils were arranged on opposite sides of the room and "Abe" was watching his friend as she struggled with the spelling. She began d-e-f , and stopped, being unable to decide whether to proceed with an i or a y. Happening to look up she caught sight of Abe, who was grinning. He pointed with his index finger to his eye. The hint was quickly understood, the word was spelled with an i and it went through all right. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 403 lincoln as a notion pedler. In March, 1830, the Lincoln family moved from Gen- tryville, Indiana, to near Decatur, Illinois, their house- hold goods being packed in a wagon drawn by four oxen driven by "Abe." The winter previous Lincoln had worked in a country store in Gentryville and before under- taking the journey he invested all the money he had, some thirty dollars, in notions, such as needles, pins, thread, buttons and other domestic necessities. These he sold to families along the route and made a profit of about one hundred per cent. Tliis shows he had a mind for seizing hold of opportunities for making money even when young. LINCOLN SAVED FROM DROWNING. The life of Lincoln during the time the family lived in Kentucky appears to have been entirely uneventful. He helped his mother — after he was 3 years old — in the simple household duties, went to the district school, and played with the children of the neighborhood. The only one of young Lincoln's playmates now living is an old man nearly 100 years old named Austin Gollaher, whose mind is bright and clear, and who never tires of telling of the days Lincoln and he "were little tikes and played together." This old man, who yet lives in the log house in which he has always lived, a few miles from the old Lincoln place, tells entertaining stories about the President's boyhood. Mr. Gollaher says that they were together more than the other boys in school, that he became fond of his little friend, and he believed that Abe thought a great deal of him. In speaking of various events of minor importance in 404 Life of Abraham Lincoln. their boyhood days Mr. Collaher remarked : " I once saved Lincoln's hfe." Upon being urged to tell of the occur- rence he thus related it: "We had been going to school together one year; but the next year we had no school, because there were so few scholars to attend, there being only about twenty in the school the year before. "Consequently Abe and I had not much to do; but, as we did not go to school and our mothers were strict with us, we did not get to see each other very often. One Sunday morning my mother waked me up early, saying she was going to see Mrs. Lincoln, and that I could go along. Glad of the chance, I was soon dressed and ready to go. After my mother and I got there Abe and I played all through the day. "While we were wandering up and down the little stream called Knob Creek Abe said: 'Right up there' — pointing to the east, we saw a covey of partridges yes- terday. Let's go over and get some of them.' The stream was swollen and was too wide for us to jump across. Finally we saw a narrow foot-log, and we con- cluded to try it. It was narrow, but Abe said, 'Let's coon it.' "I went first and reached the other side all right. Abe went about half-way across, when he got scared and began trembling. I hollered to him. ' Don't look down nor up nor sideways, but look right at me and hold on tight!' But he fell off into the creek, and, as the water was about seven or eight feet deep and I could not swim, and neither could Abe, I knew it would do no good for me to go in after him. "So I got a stick — a long water sprout — and held it out to him. He came up, grabbing with both hands, and I put the stick into his hands. He clung to it, and I pulled him out on the bank, almost dead. I got him Life of Abraham Lincoln. 405 by the arms and shook him well, and then rolled him on the ground, when the water poured out of his mouth. " He was all right very soon. We promised each other that we would never tell anybody about it, and never did for years. I never told any one of it until after Lincoln was killed." Lincoln's youthful eloquence. One man in Gentryville, Ind., a Mr. Jones, the store- keeper, took a Louisville paper, and here Lincoln went regularly to read and discuss its contents. All the men and boys of the neighborhood gathered there, and every- thing which the paper related was subjected to their keen, shrewd common sense. It was not long before young Lincoln became the favorite member of the group and the one listened to most eagerly. Politics was warmly discussed by these Gentryville citizens, and it may be that sitting on the counter of Jones' grocery Lincoln even discussed slavery. It certainly was one of the live questions of Indiana at that date. Young Lincoln was not only winning in those days in the Jones grocery store a reputation as a debater and story teller, but he was becoming known as a kind of backwoods orator. He could repeat with effect all the poems and speeches in his various school readers, he could imitate to perfection the wandering preachers who came to Gentryville, and he could make a political speech so stirring that he drew a crowd about him every time he mounted a stump. The applause he won was sweet, and frequently he indulged his gifts when he ought to have been at work — so thought his employers and Thomas, his father. It was trying, no doubt, to the hard pushed farmers to see the men who ought to have been cutting 406 Life of Abraham Lincoln. grass or chopping wood throw down their sickles or axes to group around a boy whenever he mounted a stump to develop a pet theor}' or repeat with variations yesterday's sermon. In liis fondness for speech-making he attended all the trials of the neighborhood and frequently walked 15 miles to Booneville to attend court. ONE OF Lincoln's songs. As will be learned elsewhere in this book, Annie Rutledge was Lincoln's first love. Mrs. William Prewitt, of Fair- field, Iowa, is a sister of Annie Rutledge. She is a widow in comfortable circumstances and lives with one of her sons. This is what she says of her dead sister and Lincoln: " Her death made a great impression upon him I could see. We never knew him to be jolly or laugh afterward. Annie was next to the oldest girl in our family, and she had a great deal of the housework to do. I remember seeing her washing in the old fashioned way. She would sweep and bake, and was a good cook, and took pride in her house- work. She and Abe were very jolly together sometimes. They used to sing together. There was one song I didn't like to hear, and he would sing it to tease me. He would tip back his chair and roar it out at the top of his voice over and over again, just for fun. I have the book they used to sing out of yet with that song in it." The book is an old-fashioned "Missouri Harmony," and the song is as follows: When in death I shall calmly recline, 0, bear my heart to my mistress dear: Tell her it lived on smiles and wine Of brightest hue while it lingered here; Bid her not shed one tear of sorrow Life of Abraham Lincoln. 407 To sully a heart so brilliant and bright, But healing drops of the red grape borrow To bathe the reUck from morn till night. When informed that the song was a queer one to sing for fun, Mrs. Prewitt replied that " it is a queer song anyhow." Lincoln's first political speech. A citizen of Buffalo has found among his papers an ac- count of the circumstances under which Abraham Lincoln made his maiden speech. It was originally printed in the Springfield (111.) Republican, and is as follows: "The President of the United States made his maiden speech in Sangamon County, at Pappsville (or Richland), in the year 1832. He was then a Whig and a candidate for the Legislature of this State. The speech is sharp and sensible. To understand why it was so short the following facts will show: 1. Mr. Lincoln was a young man of 2.3 years of age and timid. 2. His friends and opponents in the joint discussion had rolled the sun nearly down. Lincoln saw it was not then the proper time to discuss the question fully, and hence he cut his remarks short. Probably the other candidates had exhausted the subjects under dis- cussion. The time, according to W. H. Herndon's in- formant—who has kindly furnished this valuable remi- niscence for us— was 1832; it may have been 1831. The President lived at the time with James A. Herndon, at Salem, Sangamon County, who heard the speech, talked about it, and knows the report to be correct. The speech, which was characteristic of the man, was as follows: '"Gentlemen, Fellow-Citizens: I presume you all know who I am. I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by my friends to become a candidate for the Legislature. My politics are short and sweet, like an 408 Life of Abraham Lincoln. "old woman's dance." I am in favor of a national bank. I am in favor of the international improvement system and a high protective tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected, I will be thankful. If defeated, it will be all the same. ' " HOW LINCOLN BECAME KNOWN AS "HONEST ABE." As a grocery clerk at New Salem, Lincoln was scrupu- lously honest. This trait of his soon became known, but the two following incidents are particularly responsible for the appellation of "Honest Abe," given him and by which he has been so familiarly known. He once took six and a quarter cents too much from a customer. He did not say to himself "never mind such little things," but walked three miles that evening, after closing his store, to return the money. On another occasion he weighed out half a pound of tea, as he supposed, it being night when he did so, and that having been the last thing he sold in the store before going home. On entering in the morning he discovered a four-ounce weight on the scales. He saw liis mistake, and shutting up shop, hurried off to deliver the remainder of the tea. These acts of his, as well as his thorough honesty in other respects, soon gained for him the now famous title of "Honest Abe." LINCOLN WAS AN "OBLIGING" MAN. Lincoln was always ready to help any man, woman, child or animal. He was naturally kind hearted, and "possessed in an extraordinary degree the power of en- tering into the interests of others, a power found only in reflective, unselfish natures." He loved his friends and sympathized with them in their troubles. He was anxious Life of Abraham Lincoln. 409 always to do liis share in making their labors day after day as light as possible. Thus we are told by his neighbors (biography by Mr. Herndon and others) that he cared for the children while on a \'isit to a friend's house; gave up his own bed in the tavern, where he was boarding, when the house was full, and slept on the counter; helped farmers pull out the wheel of their wagon when it got stuck in the mud; chopped wood for the widows ; rocked the cradle while the woman of the house, where he was staying, was busygetting the meal, and otherwise made himself useful. No wonder there was not a housewife in all New Salem who would not gladly "put on a plate" for Abe Lincoln, or who would not darn or mend for him whenever he needed such services. It was the "spontaneous, unobtrusive helpfulness of the man's nature which endeared him to everybody." I HOW LINCOLN PAID A LARGE DEBT. Mr. Lincoln went into partnership in the grocery busi- ness in New Salem, 111., with a man named Berry. This man Berry mismanaged the business while Lincoln was away surveying. Eventually he died, leaving Lincoln to pay a debt of eleven hundred dollars contracted by the firm. In those days it was the fashion for business men who had failed to "clear out," that is, skip the town and settle elsewhere. Not so with "Abe." He quietly set- tled down among the men he owed and promised to pay them. He asked only time. For several years he worked to pay off this debt, a load which he cheerfully and man- fully bore. He habitually spoke of it to his friends as the "national debt," it was so heavy. As late as 1848, when he was a member of Congress, he sent home a part of his salary to be applied on these obligations. All the notes. 410 Life of Abraham Lincoln. with the high interest rates then prevaihng, were finally paid. HIS FIRST SIGHT OF SLAVERY. In May, 1831, Lincoln and a few companions went to New Orleans on a flatboat and remained there a montli. It was there that he witnessed for the first time negro men and women sold like animals. The poor beings were chained, wliipped and scourged. "Against this inhu- manity his sense of right and justice rebelled, and his mind and conscience were awakened to a realization of what he had often heard and read," writes one of his biographers, Ida M. Tarbell. One morning in his ram- bles with liis friends over the city, he passed a slave auction. A comely mulatto girl of vigorous physique was being sold. She underwent a thorough examination at the hands of the bidders; they pinched her flesh, and made her trot up and down the room hke a horse to show how she moved, and in order, as the auctioneer said, that "bidders might satisfy themselves" whether the article they were offering to buy was sound or not. "The whole thing was so revolting that Lincoln moved away from the scene with a deep feeling of unconquerable hate." He remarked to his companions: " If I ever get a chance to hit that thing (slavery), I'll hit it hard." LINCOLN AND DAVIS IN THE BLACK HAWK WAR. Abraham Lincoln had a very brief experience with actual warfare. He enlisted with a company of volunteers to take part in the Black Hawk war. It was the custom in those days for each company to elect its own Captain, and Lincoln was chosen Captain of his company almost unanimously. He was heard to say many times in after Life of Abraham Lincoln. 411 life that no other success in liis life had given him such pleasure as did this one. His command did little, as they were never engaged in a pitched battle, so Lincoln had to be content " with the reputation of being the best comrade and story-teller in the camp." It is a peculiar coincidence that Jefferson Davis also served as an officer in this war. Lincoln's glowing tribute to his mother. These famous words originated with the good and lowly Abraham Lincoln: " All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." His affection for his mother was very strong, and long after her death he would speak of her affectionately and tearfully. She was a woman five fee't five inches in height, slender of figure, pale of complexion, sad of expression, and of a sensitive nature. Of a heroic nature, she yet shrank from the rude life around her. About two years after her removal from Kentucky to Indiana she died. "Abe" was then ten years old. She was buried under a tree near the cabin home, where little "Abe" would often betake himself and, sitting on her lonely grave, weep over liis irreparable loss. Lincoln's mother was buried in a green pine box made by his father. Although a boy of ten years at that time, it was through his efforts that a parson came all the way from Kentucky to Indiana three months later to preach the sermon and conduct the service. The child could not rest in peace till due honor had been done his dead mother. WHAT Lincoln's step-mother said of him. " Abe was a good boy, and I can say what scarcely one woman — a mother — can say in a thousand: Abe never gave me a cross word or look, and never refused, in fact 412 Life of Abraham Lincoln. or appearance, to do anything I requested him. I never gave him a cross word in all my life His mind and mine — what little I had— seemed to run together. He was here after he was elected President. He was a dutiful son to me always. I think he loved me truly. I had a son, Jolm, who was raised with Abe. Both were good boys; but I must say, both now being dead, that Abe was the best boy I ever saw, or expect to see." — Ida M. TarbeU. Lincoln's first love. Lincoln's first love was Anna Rutledge, of New Salem, whose father was keeper of the Rutledge tavern where "Abe" boarded. The girl had been engaged to a young man named John McNeill, whom, we are informed, the village community pronounced an adventurer and a man unworthy the girl's love. He left for the east, promising, however, to return within a year and claim her as his wife, so the story reads. According to Mrs. William Premtt, a sister of Aima Rutledge, who is at present (1898) living, the engagement was broken off before McNeill went away, so that she was free to receive the attentions of "Abe" Lincoln. She finally promised to become his mfe in the spring of 18.35, soon after his return from VandaUa. But, unfortunately, circumstances did not permit of a marriage then, Lincoln being barely able to support himself, not yet having been admitted to the bar, and the girl, being but seventeen years old. It was agreed that she should attend an academy at Jacksonville, III, and Lincoln would devote himself to liis law studies till the next spring, when he would be admitted to the bar, and then they would be married. New Salem was deeply interested in the young lovers Life of Abraham Lincoln. 413 and prophesied a happy life for them; but fate willed it otherwise. Anna Rutledge became seriously ill, with an attack of brain fever, and when it was seen that her recov- ery was impossible Lincoln, her lover, was sent for. They "passed an hour alone in an anguished parting," and soon after (August 25, 1835,) Anna died. The death of his sweetheart was a terrible blow to Lincoln. His melancholy increased and darkened his mind and his imagination, and tortured him with its black picture. One stormy night he was sitting beside a friend of liis, with his head bowed on his hand, wliile tears trickled through his fingers. His friend begged liim to try to control his sorrow; to try to forget it. Lincoln replied: "I cannot; the thought of the snow and rain on 7\jin's grave fills me with indescribable grief." For many days Lincoln journeyed on foot to the cemetery where Anna Rutledge lay buried, and there alone, in the " city of the dead," wept for the girl whom he had loved so well. Many years afterward, when he had married and become great, he said to a friend who questioned him: " I really and truly loved the girl and think often of her now." After a pause he added ; ' ' And I have loved the name of Rutledge to this day." THE DUEL LINCOLN DIDN'T FIGHT. President Abraham Lincoln and General Joe Shields, who married sisters, once arranged to fight a duel at Alton, 111. It is remembered yet by the old settlers. Shields had offended a yomig lad}^ at Springfield, and she got even by sending an article about it to a Springfield paper, signing a nom de plume. The next day General Shields called upon the editor and gave liim 24 hours within which to divulge the name of the author or to take the conse- quences. The editor, who was a friend of Abraham Lincoln, 414 Life of Abraham Lincoln. called upon him and asked what to do. Not thinking It was a very serious affair, Lincoln promptly said, "Tell him that I wrote it " The editor did so, and Shields challenged Lincoln to a duel, the latter accepting and choosing broadswords as the weapons and an island op- posite Alton as the place. The principals and seconds went to the place appointed, when a chance remark of Lincoln that he hated to have to kill Shields because he caused him to believe that he wrote the article in order to protect a lady, brought about a reconciliation, and the duel failed to come off. Hundreds of people were on the bank of the river, and to carry out a joke a log was dressed up placed in a skiff, the occupants fanning it with their hats as though it was an injured man, and the excitement was intense. It always remained a sore spot with Lincoln, and but httle was ever said about it. LINCOLN AS A DANCER. Lincoln made his first appearance in society when he was sent first to Springfield, 111., as a member of the State Legislature. It was not an imposing figure which he cut in a ballroom, but still he was occasionally to be found there. Miss Mary Todd, who afterwards became liis wife, was the magnet which drew the tall, awkward young man from his den. One evening Lincoln approached Miss Todd and said, in his peculiar idiom: "Miss Todd, I should like to dance with you the worst way." The young woman accepted the inevitable and hobbled around the room with liim. When she returned to her seat, one of her companions asked mischievously: "Well, Mary, did he dance with you the worst way?" "Yes," she answered, "the very worst." Life of Abraham Lincoln. 415 Lincoln's courtship and marriage. In 1839 Miss Mary Todd, of Kentucky, arrived in Spring- field to visit a married sister, Mrs. Edwards. At the in- stance of his friend. Speed, who was also a Kentuckian, Lincoln became a visitor at the Edwards', and before long it was apparent to the observant among those in Spring- field that the lively young lady held him captive. En- gagements at that time and in that neighborhood were not announced as soon as they were made, and it is not at all impossible that Miss Todtl and Mr. Lincoln were be- trothed many months before any other than Mrs. Edwards and Mr. Speed knew of it. At this time, as was the case till Lincoln was elected to the Presidency, his one special rival in Illinois was Stephen A. Douglas. Mr. Douglas had more of the social graces than Mr. Lincoln, and it appeared to him that nothing would be more interesting than to cut out his political rival in the affections of the entertaining and lively Miss Todd, and so he paid her court. A spirited young lady from Kentucky at that time in Illinois would have been almost less than human if she had refused to accept the attentions of the two leading men of the locality. Therefore Miss Todd, being quite human, en- couraged Douglas, and again there was what nowadays would have been called a flirtation. This course of action did not spur Lincoln on in his devotion, but made him less ardent and he concluded, after much self worriment, to break off the engagement, which he did, but at the same interview there was a reconciliation and a renewal of the engagement. Lincoln's marriage to Mary Todd occurred in Springfield, 111., at the home of Mr. M. W. Edwards, where Miss Todd lived. She was the belle of Springfield. The marriage 416 Life of Abraham Lincoln. although hastily arranged in the end, was perhaps the first one performed in that city with all the requirements of the Episcopal ceremony. Rev. Charles Dresser officiated. Among the many friends of Lincoln who were present was Thomas C. Brown, one of the judges of the State Supreme Court. He was a blunt, outspoken man and an old timer. Parson Dresser was attired in full canonical robes and recited the service with much impressive solemnity. He handed Lincoln the ring, who, placing it on the bride's finger, repeated the church formula, "With this ring I thee endow with all my goods and chattels, lands and tenements." Judge Bro-wTi, who had never before witnessed such a ceremony, and looked upon it as utterly absurd, ejaculated, in a tone loud enough to be heard by all, " God Almighty, Lincoln, the statutes fixes all that!" This unexpected interruption almost upset the old parson, who had a keen sense of the ridiculous, but he quickly recovered his gravity and hastily pronounced the couple man and wife. Lincoln's personal appearance. That Lincoln was a man of extraordinary personal ap- pearance is well known. He measured six feet four inches, and as most men are below six feet, it will be seen that he was considerably taller than the average. He possessed great strength, both bodily and mental, and had a super- abundance of patience, which he displayed constantly, and treated even those who differed with him with respect and kindness. One who had sustained close relations with Lincoln and knew him intimately, the late Charles A. Dana, in liis Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln, published in McClure's Magazine, thus describes him: " Mr. Lincoln's face was thin, and his features were large. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 417 He had black hair, heavy eyebrows, and a square and well developed forehead. His complexion was dark and quite sallow. He had a smile that was most lovely, surpassing even a woman's smile in its engaging quality. When pleased his face would light up very pleasantly. Some have said he was awkward in his step. The word 'awkward ' hardly fits, because there was such a charm and beauty about his expression, such good humor and friendly spirit looking from his eyes, that one looking at him never thought whether he was awkward or graceful. His whole person- ality at once caused you to think, ' What a kindly character this man has!' Always dignified in manner, he was be- nevolent a;nd benignant, always wishing to do somebody some good if he could. He was all solid, hard, keen intel- ligence combined with goodness." Lincoln's mother. Not long before his tragic death, Mr. Lincoln said: "All that I am, and all that I hope to be, I owe to my mother." That mother died when little Abe was nine years of age. But she had already woven the texture of her deepest character into the habits and purposes of her boy. Her own origin had been humble. But there were certain elements in her character that prepared her for grand motherhood. When Nancy Hanks, at the age of twenty- three, gave her heart and hand to Thomas Lincoln, she was a yoimg woman of large trustfulness, of loving, un- selfish disposition, of profoimd faith in Divine Providence, of unswerving Christian profession. On the day of their marriage Thomas Lincoln took this young wife to his unfinished cabin, which had as yet neither door, floor, nor window. The yovmg man was a shiftless Kentucky hunter, who could not read a word. He was 418 Life of Abrail\m Lincoln. handy witli his few carpenter tools, but had received no encouragement to keep at work. His happy, trusting mfe assisted him to finish the cabin. He mortared the chinks with mud which they together had mixed. Her hope and song made the work of the day his happy em- ploy. In the evening she taught liim to read, spelling the words out of her Bible as the text book, which served her double purpose. From that day Thomas Lincoln was a new man. It was this conscientious wiie that inspired him to move across the Ohio into the free state of Indiana. Here Lincoln soon became a justice of the peace. When this wife died, only twelve years after their marriage, Thomas Lincoln had been transformed from the shiftless hunter, who could not read, into an intelligent farmer of the largest influence of any man in his towiiship. Little Abe had been taught to read out of that same Bible, and had read out of that mother's eyes and voice her large trust in the overshadow- ing Pro\^dence and her unswer\dng honesty in doing the right. It was tliis woman that put into liis hands the fine books — the Bible, Pilgrim's Progress, jEsop's Fables, Robmson Crusoe, and Weems's Life of Washington. Such was the mother that started Abraham Lincoln. "Widow Johnston," who became his stepmother, was a good woman, with whom he always maintained the kindest relations. She deserved the honorable mention she re- ceived. Lincoln's melancholia. A friend of Lincoln WTites: Lincoln's periods of melan- choly are proverbial. On one occasion, while in court, in 1855, Maj. H. C. Whitney describes him as "sitting alone in one corner of the room, remote from any one else, wrapped Life of Abuaham Lincoln. 419 ill abstraction and gloom. It was a sad but interesting study for me, and I watched him for some time. It ap- peared as if he were pursuing in his mind some sad subjects through various sinuosities, and his face would assume at times the deepest phases of seeming pain, but no relief came from tliis dark and despairing melancholy till he was roused by the breaking up of court, when he emerged from his cave of gloom and came back, like one awakened from sleep to the world in which he lived again." As early as 1837 Robert L. AVilson, who was his colleague in the Legislature, testifies that Lincoln admitted to him that, although he appeared to enjoy life rapturously, still he was the victim of extreme melancholy, and that he was so overcome at times by depression of spirits that he never dared carry a pocket knife. To physicians he was something of a physiological puzzle. John T. Stuart insisted that his digestion was organically defective, so that the pores of his skin often times performed the functions of the bowels; that his liver operated abnor- mally and failed to secrete bile, and that these things them- selves were sufficient in his opinion to produce the deepest mental depression and melancholy. Lincoln's law partner, Mr. Herndon, attributed Lincoln's melancholy to the death of Anna Rutledge, beheving that his grief at her untimely death was so intense that it cast a perpetual shadow over his mental horizon. Another believed that it arose from his domestic environments; that his family relations were far from pleasant, and that that unhappy feature of his life was a constant menace to his peace and perfect equipoise of spirits. " Although married," says one, "he was not mated, so that if we see him come into lus office in the morning eating cheese and bologna sausages philosophically, what can we expect but some periods of sadness and gloom? Emerson, who you and I 420 Life of Abraham Lincoln. hold in high esteem, had pie for breakfast all his married life, and in my opinion that is what clouded his memory the rest of his life after seventy years of age." Lincoln's height. Emma Gurley Adams in the New York Press. Sir:— The admirable speech of the Hon. Thomas B. Reed in your paper of Feb. 9, contains one error which I would like to correct. Mr. Reed says Mr. Lincoln was six feet four inches in height. Mr. Lincoln told my father that he was exactly six feet three inches only a short time before his tragic death. Mr. Lincoln was very fond of tall men, and generally knew their exact height and never hesitated to say: " I am exactly six feet three." HOW LINCOLN BECAME A LAWYER. That Lincoln was a skilled lawyer is well known. It is not, however, generally knowTi that he learned law himself, never having studied with anyone, or having attended any law school. He was pre-eminently a self-educated man. He borrowed law books of his friend, Stuart, of Springfield, 111., took them home (twenty miles away) and studied them hard. He walked all the way to Springfield and back, and usually read wliile walking. He often read aloud during these trips. Twenty years afterward, while he was a great lawyer and statesman, he gave tliis advice to a young man who asked him "how he could become a great lawyer:" "Get books and read and study them carefully. Begin withBlackstone's 'Conmientaries,' and after reading care- fully through, say twice, take up Chitty's 'Pleadings,' Greenleaf 's ' Evidence,' and Story's ' Equity,' in succession. Work, work, work is the main thing. When Lincoln became a lawyer, he carried to the bar his Life of Abraham Lincoln. 421 linooln as a lawyer. habitual honesty. His associates were often surprised by his utter disregard of self-interest, while they could but admire his conscientious defense of what he considered right. One day a stranger called to secure his services. " State your case," said Lincoln. A history of the case was given, when Lincoln astonished him by saying: "I cannot serve you; for you are wrong, and the other party is right." " That is none of your business, if I hire and pay you for taking the case," retorted the man. "Not my business!" exclaimed Lincoln. "My business is never to defend wrong, if I am a lawyer. I never under- take a case that is manifestly -WTong." "Well, you can make trouble for the fellow," added the applicant. "Yes, " replied Lincoln, fully aroused, " there is n<5 doubt but that I can gain the case for you, and set a whole neigh- borhood at loggerhead. I can distress a widowed mother and her six fatherless children, and thereby get for you six hundred dollars, which rightly belongs as much to the woman and her children as it does to you; but I won't do it." " Not for any amount of pay?" continued the stranger. "Not for all you are worth," replied Lincoln. "You must remember that some things which are legally right are not morally right. I shall not take your case." " I don't care a snap whether you do or not!" exclaimed the man angrily, starting to go. "I will give you a piece of advice without charge," added Lincoln. "You seem to be a sprightly, energetic man ; I would advise you to make six hundred dollars some other way." 422 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's conscientiousness in taking cases. Even as early as 1852 Lincoln had acquired a reputation for story telling. When not busy during the session of the court he was "habitually wliispering stories to his neigh- bors, frequently to the annoyance of Judge Davis, who presided over the Eighth circuit." If Lincoln persisted too long the judge would rap on the chair and exclaim: "Come, come, Mr. Lincoln; I can't stand this! There is no use trying to carry on two courts. I must adjourn mine or yours, and I tliink you ^^dll have to be the one." As soon as the group had scattered the judge would call one of the men to Mm and ask: "What was that Lincohi was telling?" In liis law practice Lincoln seems to have been singularly conscientious, liis first effort being to try to arrange matters so as to avoid litigation. Nor would he assume a case that he felt was not foimded upon right and justice. THE JURY understood. Another one of these anecdotes is related in connection with a case involving a bodily attack. Mr. Lincoln de- fended, and told the jury that his cUent was in the fix of a man who, in going along the liighway with a pitchfork over Ms shoulder, was attacked by a fierce dog that ran out at Mm from a farmers door-yard. In parrying off the brute with the fork its prongs stuck into Mm and killed Mm. "What made you kill my dog?" said the farmer. "What made Mm bite me?" "But why did you not go after him with the other end of the pitchfork?" " Why did he not come at me with Ms other end?" At tMs Mr. Lincoln wMrled about in Ms long arms an imag- inary dog and pushed Ms tail end towards the jury. TMs Life of Abraham Lincoln. 423 was the defensive plea of "Son assault demesne" — loosely that "The other fellow brought on the fight" — quickly told and in a way the dullest mind would grasp and retain. Lincoln's honesty with a lady client. A lady who had a real estate claim which she desired pros- ecuted once called on Lincoln and wished him to take up her case. She left the claim in his hands, together with a check for two hundred dollars as a retaining fee. Lincoln told her to call the next day, and meanwhile he would examine her claim. Upon presenting herself the next day the lady was in- formed that he had examined the case carefully, and told her frankly that she had no valid or legal grounds on wliich to base her claim. He therefore could not advise her to institute legal proceedings. The lady was satisfied and thanking him, rose to leave. "Wait," said Lincoln, at the same time fumbling in his vest pocket, "here is the check you left with me." "But, Mr. Lincoln, I think you have earned that," replied the lady.- "No, no," he responded, handing it back to her, "that would not be right. I can't take pay for doing my duty. " — From Lincoln's Stories, by J. B. McClure. LINCOLN WINS A CELEBRATED CASE. The son of Lincoln's old friend and former employer, who had loaned him books, was charged with a murder committed in a riot at a camp-meeting. Lincoln volun- teered for the defense. A witness swore that he saw the prisoner strike the fatal blow. It was night, but he swore that the full moon was shining clear and he saw everything distinctly. The case 424 Life of Abraham Lincoln. seemed liopeless, but Lincoln produced an almanac, and showed that at that hour there was no moon. "Then he depicted the crime of perjury with such eloquence that the false witness fled the court house." One who heard the trial says: "It was near night when Lincoln concluded, saying, 'If justice was done, before the sun set it would sliine upon his client a free man.'" The court charged the jury; they returned and brought in a verdict of "not guilty." The prisoner fell into his weeping mother's arms, says the writer, and then turned to thank Lincoln. The latter, looking out at the sun, said: "It is not yet sundown, and you are free." — From Lincoln's Stories, by J. B. McClure. Lincoln's "selfishness." Mr. Lincoln once remaiked to a fellow passenger on the old-time mud-wagon coach, on the corduroy road which antedated railroads, that all men were prompted by self- ishness in doing good or evil.. His fellow-passenger was antagonizing his position when they were passing over a corduroy bridge that spanned a slough. As they crossed this bridge, and the mud-wagon was shaking like a sucker with chills, they espied an old, razor-back sOw on the bank of the slough, making a terrible noise because her pigs had got into the slough and were unable to get out and in dan- ger of drowning. As the old coach began to climb the hillside Mr. Lincoln called out: "Driver, can't you stop just a moment?" The driver replied, "If the other feller don't object." The "other feller"— who was no less a personage than, at that time, " Col. " E. D. Baker, the gallant general who gave his Ufe in defense of old glory at Ball's Bluff— did not "object," when Mr. Lincoln jumped out, ran back to the slough and began to hft the Life of Abraham Lincoln. 425 little pigs out of the mud and water and place them on the bank. When he returneil Col. Baker remarked: " Now, Abe, where does selfishness come in in this Uttle episode?" " Why, bless your soul, Ed, that was the very essence of selfishness. I would have had no peace of mind all day had I gone on and left that suffering old sow worrying over those pigs. I did it to get peace of mind, don't you see?" LINCOLN REMOVES A LICENSE ON THEATERS. One of the most interesting anecdotes about the be- loved Lincoln is the one CLUoted from Joe Jefferson's auto- biography. Jefferson and his father were playing at Springfield during the session of the legislature, and, as there were no theaters in town, had gone to the expense of building one. Hardly had this been done when a re- ligious revival broke out. The church people condemned the theater and prevailed upon the authorities to impose a license which was practically prohibition. "In the midst of our trouble," says Jefferson, "a young lawyer called on the managers. He had heard of the in- justice and offered, if they would place the matter in his hands, to have the license taken off, declaring that he only desired to see fair play, and he would accept no fee whether he failed or succeeded. The young lawyer began his harangue. He handled the subject with tact, skill and humor, tracing the history of the drama from the time when Thespis acted in a cart to the stage of to-day. He illustrated his speech with a number of anecdotes and kept the council in a roar of laughter. His good humor pre- vailed and the exorbitant tax was taken off. The young lawyer was Lincoln." HOW LINCOLN GOT THE WORST OF A HORSE TRADE. Abraham Lincoln was fond of a good story, and it is a 426 Life of Abraham Lincoln. well-known fact that he often illustrated an important point in the business at hand by resorting to his favorite pastime. Probably one of the best he ever told he related of himself when he was a lawyer in Illinois. One day Lincoln and a certain judge, who was an intimate friend of his, were bantering each other about horses, a favorite topic of theirs. Finally Lincoln said: "Well, look here. Judge, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll make a horse trade with you, only it must be upon these stipulations: Neither party shall see the other's horse until it is produced here in the courtyard of the hotel, and both parties must trade horses. If either party backs out of the agreement he does so under a forfeiture of S25." "Agreed," cried the judge, and both he and Lincoln went in quest of their respective animals. A crowd gathered, anticipating some fun, and when the judge returned first, the laugh was uproarious. He led, or rather dragged, at the end of a halter the meanest, boniest, rib-staring quadruped— blind in both eyes— that ever pressed turf. But presently Lincoln came along carry- ing over his shoulder a carpenter's horse. Then the mirth of the crowd was furious. Lincoln solemnly set his horse down, and silently surveyed the judge's animal with a comical look of infinite disgust. "Well, Judge," he finally said, "this is the first time I ever got the worst of it in a horse trade." LINCOLN HELPED HIM TO WIN. His first case at the bar will never be forgotten by ex- Senator John C. S. Blackburn, of Kentucky, for Abraham Lincoln played a conspicuous part in helping the Ken- tucldan to win his suit. Lincoln was merely an attorney, waiting for one of his cases to be called, when the incident occurred. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 427 Ex-Senator Blackburn was but twenty years old when he began the practice of law, having graduated at Center College, Danville, Ky. His first case was in the United States Court in Chicago, presided over by Justice John McLean, then on the circuit, says the Chicago Times- Herald. The opposing counsel was Isaac N. Arnold, then at the head of the Chicago bar, and subsequently a member of Congress and author of the first biography of Lincoln. Young Blackburn had filed a demurrer to Mr. Arnold's pleadings in the cause, and when the case was reached on the calendar the young Kentuckian was quite nervous at having such a formidable and experienced antagonist, while the dignity of the tribunal and the presence of a large number of eminent lawyers in court served to increase his timidity and embarrassment. In truth, the stripling bar- rister was willing to have any disposition made of the cause in order to get rid of the burden of embarrassment and "stage fright." He was ready to adopt any sugges- tion the opposing counsel should make. Arnold made an argument in which he criticised the demurrer in a manner that increased the young lawyer's confusion. However, Blackburn knew that he had to make some kind of a effort. He proceeded with a few remarks, weak and bewildering, and was about to sit down when a tall, homely, loose-jointed man sitting in the bar arose and addressed the court in behalf of the position of the young Kentuckian had assumed in a feeble and tangled argument, making the points so clear that the court sustained the demurrer. Blackburn did not know who his volunteer friend was, and Mr. Arnold got up and sought to rebuke the latter for attempting to interfere in the case, which he had nothing to do with. This volunteer was none other than Abraham Lincoln, and this was the first and last time the Kentuckian 428 Life of Abraham Lincoln. ever saw the "rail-splitting President." In replying to Mr. Arnold's strictures, Mr. Lincoln said he claimed the privilege of giving a young lawyer a helping hand when struggling ^\'ith his first case, especially when he was pitted against an experienced practitioner. LINCOLN SETTLES A QUARREL WITHOUT GOING TO LAW. When Abe Lincoln used to be drifting around the country practicing law in Fulton and Menard counties, Illinois, an old fellow met him going to Lewiston, riding a horse which, while it was a serviceable enough animal, was not of the kind to be truthfully called a fine saddler. It was a weather-beaten nag, patient and plodding, and it toiled along with Abe, — and Abe's books, tucked away in saddle- bags, lay heavy on the horse's flank. "Hello, Uncle Tommy," said Abe. "Hello, Abe," responded LTncle Tommy. "I'm powerful glad to see ye, Abe, fer I'm gwyne to have sumthin' fer ye at Lewis- ton cot, I reckon." "How's that. Uncle Tommy?" said Abe. "Well, Jim Adams, his land runs long o' mine, he's pesterin' me a heap an' I got to get the law on Jim, I reckon." "Uncle Tommy, you haven't had any fights with Jim, have you?" "No." "He's a fair to middling neighbor, isn't he?" "Only tollable, Abe." " He's been a neighbor of yovu^s for a long time, hasn't he?" . "Nigh onto fifteen year." "Part of the time you get along all right, don't you?" "I reckon we do, Abe." Life of Abraham Lincoln. 429 "Well, now, Uncle Tommy, you see, this horse of mine? He isn't as good a horse as I could straddle, and I some- times get out of patience with him, but I know his faults. He does fairly well as horses go, and it might take me a long time to get used to some other horse's faults. For all horses have faults. You and Uncle Jimmy must put up with each other as I and my horse do with one another." " I reckon, Abe," said Uncle Tommy, as he bit off about four ounces of Missouri plug, "I reckon you're about right." And Abe Lincoln, with a smile on liis gaunt face, rode on toward Lewiston. A LINCOLN STORY ABOUT LITTLE DAN WEBSTER'S SOILED HANDS. Mr. Lincoln, on one occasion narrated to Hon. Mr. Odell and others, with much zest, the following story about young Daniel Webster: When quite young, at school, Daniel was one day guilty of a gross violation of the rules. He was detected in the act, and called up by the teacher for punishment. This was to be the old-fashioned "feruling" of the hand. His hands happened to be very dirty. Knowing this, on his way to the teacher's desk, he .spit upon the palm of his right hand, wiping it off upon the side of his pantaloons. " Give me your hand, sir," said the teacher, very sternly. Out went the right hand, partly cleaned. The teacher looked at it a moment, and said: " Daniel ! if you will find another hand in this school- room as filthy as that, I will let you off this time." Instantly from behind his back came the left hand "Here it is, sir," was the ready reply. "That will do," said the teacher, "for this time; you 430 Life of Abraham Lincoln. can take your seat, sir." — From Lincoln's Stories, by J. B. McClure. Lincoln's long limbs drive a man out of his berth. There was one story of his career that the late George M. Pullman told with manifest delight, wliich is thus re- lated by an intimate friend. One night, going out of Chicago, a long, lean, ugly man with a wart on his cheek, came into the depot. He paid George M. Pullman 50 cents, and half a birth was assigned him. Then he took off his coat and vest and hung them up, and they fitted the peg about as well as they fitted him. Then he kicked off his boots, which were of surprising length, turned into the berth, and, ha\ang an easy con- science, was sleeping like a healthy baby before the car left the depot. Along came another passenger and paid his 50 cents. In two minutes he was back at George Pullman. "There's a man in that berth of mine," said he, hotly, "and he's about ten feet high. How am I going to sleep there, I'd like to know? Go and look at him." In went Pullman — mad, too. The tall, lank man's knees were under his chin, his arms were stretched across the bed and his feet were stored comfortabl}- — for him. Pullman shook him until he awoke, and then told him if he wanted the whole berth he would have to pay $1. "My dear sir," said the tall man, "a contract is a con- tract. I have paid you 50 cents for half this berth, and, as you see, I'm occupying it. There's the other half," pointing to a strip about six inches wide. "Sell that and don't disturb me again." And, so saying, the man with a wart on his face went to sleep again. He was Abraham Lincoln. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 431 Lincoln's joke on douglas. On one occasion, when Lincoln and Douglas were "stumping" the State of Illinois together as political oppo- nents, Douglas, who had the first speech, remarked that in early life, his father, who he said was an excellent cooper by trade, apprenticed him to learn the cabinet business. This was too good for Lincoln to let pass, so when his turn came to reply, he said: "I had understood before that Mr. Douglas had been bound out to learn the cabinet-making business, which is all well enough, but I was not aware until now that his father was a cooper. I have no doubt, however, that he was one, and I am very certain, also, that he was a very good one, for (here Lincoln gently bowed toward Douglas) he has made one of the best whisky casks I have ever seen." As Douglas was a very short, heavy-set man, and occa- sionally imbibed, the pith of the joke was at once apparent, and most heartily enjoyed by all. On another occasion, Douglas, in one of his speeches, made a strong point against Lincoln by telling the crowd that when he first knew Mr. Lincoln he was a "grocery- keeper," and sold whisky, cigars, etc. "Mr. L." he said, "was a very good bar-tender!" Tliis brought the laugh on Lincoln, whose reply, however, soon came, and then the laugh was on the other side. "What Mr. Douglas has said, gentlemen," replied Mr. Lincoln, "is true enough; I did keep a grocery and I did sell cotton, candles and cigars, and sometimes wliisky; but I remember in those days that Mr. Douglas was one of my best customers. "Many a time have I stood on one side of the counter and sold wliisky to Mr. Douglas on the other side, but the 432 Life of Abraham Lincoln. difference between us now is this: I have left my side of the counter, jyut Mr. Douglas still sticks to his as tena- ciously as ever! " — From Lincoln's Stories, by J. B. McClure. LINCOLN SHREWDLY TRAPS DOUGLAS. Perhaps no anecdote ever told of Mr. Lincoln illustrates more forcibly his " longheadedness " in la>'ing plans, not even that incident when he asked the " Jedge" a question in his debate with i\Ir. Douglas, which may be told as fol- lows : One afternoon during that joint debate ^Ir. Lincoln was sitting with his friends, planning the program, when he was observed to go off in a kind of reverie, and for some time appeared totally obli\'ious of everything aromid him. Then slowly bringing his right hand up, holding it a moment in the air and then letting it fall with a quick slap upon his tliigh, he said: "There, I am going to ask the 'jedge' (he always called him the 'jedge') a question to-night, and I don't care the ghost of a continental which way he answers it. If he answers it one way he will lose his senatorship. If he answers it the other way it will lose him the Presidency." No one asked liim what the question was: but that evening it was the turn for Mr. Douglas to speak first, and right in the midst of his address, all at once i\Ir. Lincoln roused up as if a new thought had suddenly struck him, and said: "Jedge, will you allow me to ask you one question?" "Certainly," said Mr. Douglas. "Suppose, Jedge, there was a new town or colony just started in some Western territory; and suppose there were precisely 100 householders — voters — there: and suppose, Jedge, that ninety-nine did not want slavery and one did. What would be done about it?" Life of Abraham Lincoln. 433 Judge Dou2;las beat about the busli, but failed to give a direct answer. "No, no, Jedge, that won't do. Tell us plainly what would be done about it?" Again Pouglas tried to evade, but Lincoln would not be put off, and he insisted that a direct answer should be given. At last Douglas admitted that the majority would have their way by some means or other. Mr. Lincoln said no more. He had secured what he wanted. Douglas had answered the question as Illinois people would have answered it, and he got the Senator- ship. But that answer was not satisfactory to the peoi)le of the South. Li 1860 the Charleston convention split in two factions and "it lost him the Presidency," and it made Abraham Lincoln President. Lincoln's fairness in debate. The first time I met Mr. Lincoln was during his contest with Douglas. I was a young clergyman in a small Illinois country town. I was almost a stranger there when Lincoln was announced to make a speech. I went to the hall, got a seat well forward and asked a neighbor to point out Mr. Lincoln when he came in. "You won't have no trouble knowin' liim when he comes," said my friend, and I didn't. Soon a tall, gaimt man came down the aisle and was greeted with hearty ap- plause. I was specially impressed with the fairness and honesty of the man. He began by stating Douglas' points as fully and fairly as Douglas could have done. It struck me that he even overdid it in his anxiety to put his op- ponent's argument in the most attractive form. But then he went at those arguments and answered them so con\nncingly that there was nothing more to be said. 434 Life of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln's manner so charmed me that I asked to meet him after the address, and learning that he was to be in town the next day attending court I invited liim to dine with me. He came, and we had an interesting visit. The thing that most impressed me was liis reverence for learning. Recently come from divinity studies, I was full of books, and he was earnest in drawing me out about them. He was by no means ignorant of literature, but as a man of affairs naturally he had not followed new things nor studied in the lines I had . Philosophy interested him particularly, and after we hatl talked about some of the men then in vogue he remarked how much he felt the need of reading and what a loss it was to a man not to have grown up among books. "Men of force," I answered, "can get on pretty well without books. They do their own tliinking instead of adopting what other men think." "Yes," said Mr. Lincoln, "but books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all." I met Mr. Lincoln several times later, the next time a long while after in another place. I thought he would have forgotten me, but he laiew me on sight and asked in the gentlest way possible about my wife, who had been ill when he came to see us. But of all my memories of Lin- coln the one that stands out strongest was his interest in poetry and theology. He loved the things of the spirit. — A Clergyman. LINCOLN ASKED HIS FRIEND S HELP FOR THE UNITED STATES SEN.\TE. One of the most valued possessions of the Gillespie family of Ed^vards^^llc, 111., is a package of old letters, Life op Abraham Lincoln. 435 the paper stained by time and the ink faded, but each missive rendered invaluable, to them at least, by the well known signature of Abraham Lincoln which adorns it. These letters, so carefully preserved, are nearly all of a political nature, and are addressed to Hon. Joseph Gillespie, before the war one of the leading politicians of Illinois, a famous stump speaker, several times member of the legislature, and for many years one of Lincoln's most intimate political friends. The correspondence covers a period of about ten years, from 1849 to 1858, and the most interesting feature of this period, so far as Lincoln was concerned, was his unsuccessful effort to be elected to the United States Senate. Probably the first intimation of his ambition in this direction was conveyed to Mr. Gillespie in the following letter, the original of which is now in the possession of the Missouri Historical Association, having been presented to that society by Mr. Gillespie in 1876. A copy, however, forms part of the family collection. It reads: "Springfield, 111., December 1, 1854.— (J. Gillespie, Esq.)— Dear Sir: I have really got it into my head to be United States senator, and if I could have your support my chances would be reasonably good. But I know and acknowledge that you have as just claims to the place as I have; and, therefore, I carmot ask you to yield to me if you are thinking of becoming a candidate yourself. If, however, you are not, then I would like to be remembered by you; and also to have you make a mark for me with the anti-Nebraska members down your way. If you know, and have no objection to tell, let me know whether Trumbull intends to make a push. If he does I suppose the two men in St. Clair, and one or both in Madison, will be for him 436 Life of Abraham Lincoln. "We have the legislature clearly enough on joint ballot, but the senate is very close, and Cullom told me to-day that the Nebraska men will stave off the election if they can. Even if we get into joint vote we shall have diffi- culty to unite our forces. Please write me and let this be confidential. Your friend as ever. "A. Lincoln." MAKING LINCOLN PRESENTABLE. In narrating "When Lincoln Was First Inaugurated," Stephen Fiske tells of Mrs. Lincoln's efforts to have her husband look presentable when receiA-ing a delegation that was to greet them upon reaching New York City. "The train stopped," writes Mr. Fiske, "and through the windows immense crowds could be seen; the cheering drowning the blo-ning off of steam of the locomotive. Then Mrs. Lincoln opened her hand bag and said: " 'Abraham, I must fix you up a bit for these city folks.' "Mr. Lincoln gently lifted her upon the seat before him; she parted, combed and brushed his hair and arranged his black necktie. " 'Do I look nice now, mother?' he affectionately asked. " 'Well, you'll do, Abraham,' replied Mrs. Lincoln critically. So he kissed her and lifted her down from the seat, and turned to meet Mayor Wood, courtly and suave, and to have his hand shaken by the other New York officials." EVIDENCE OF LINCOLN'S RELIGIOUS BELIEF. There has been much controversy over Lincoln's re- ligious beliefs, many claiming that he was a deist while others have sought to prove that he was an infidel. Al- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 437 though never a member of any church, there is much documentary as well as corroborative evidence wliich show liim to have been a believer in Providence; and in his parting address to his Springfield neighbors, when leaving for Washington, he saiii: "Waslungton would never have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Pro\'idence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine blessing wliich sustained him; and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support. And I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that Di\'ine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which success is certain. LINCOLN A TEMPERANCE MAN. After his nomination for the Presidency at the Republican convention of Chicago, a committee visited him in Spring- field and gave him official notification of his nomination. The ceremony over, Lincoln informed the company that custom demanded that he should treat them with some- thing to drink. He thereupon opened a door that led into a room in the rear and called a girl servant. When she appeared Lincoln spoke something to her in an imdertone, and returned to his guests. In a few minutes the girl appeared, bearing a large waiter, containing several glass tumblers, and a large pitcher in the midst, which she placed upon the table. Mr. Lincoln arose and gravely addressing the company, said: "Gentlemen, we must pledge our mutual healths in the most healthy beverage wliich God has given to man; it is the only beverage I have ever used or allowed in my family, and I cannot conscientiously depart from it on the present occasion. It is pure Adam's ale from the 438 Life of Abraham Lincoln. spring." So saying, he took a tumbler, touched it to his hps and pledged them his highest respects in a cup of cold water. Of course all his guests were constrained to admire his consistency, and to join in his example. — From Lincoln's Stories, by J. B. McClure. Lincoln's famous Gettysburg address. Speaking of the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg and President liincoln's famous address, delivered on that occasion, Nov. 19, 1863, Gov. Curtain, of Pennsylvania, said that there had been much discussion as to how and when that address was written, and he continued : "I can tell you all about that. Of course I was there, and the President and his cabinet had arrived and were at the hotel. Soon after his arrival, as we were sitting around in the parlor, Mr. Lincoln looked thoughtful for a moment or two, and then said: 'I beUeve, gentlemen, the committee are expecting me to say something here to-day. If you will excuse me I will go into this room here and prepare it.' After a time he returned, holding in his hand a large, yellow, government envelope, on wliich he had written his address. " 'Here, gentlemen,' he said, 'I want to read this to you to see if it will do'; and sitting down he read it to us, and then said: 'Now for your criticisms. Will it do? What do you say?' "Several spoke in favor of it, and one or two commended it in strong terms. 'Well,' says the President, 'haven't you any criticisms? What do you say, Seward?' "Mr. Seward made one or two suggestions, bearing on some slight verbal changes, which I believe Mr. Lincoln incorporated. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 439 " 'Now, if you will allow rue. gentlemen,' continued the President, 'I will copy this off'; and again withdrew and made a copy of the address." THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. "Ladies and Gentlemen: Four score and seven years ago your fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposi- tion that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting- place for those who here gave their lives that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do tliis. "But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our power to add to or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. "Is it for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full mesure of devotion ; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain ; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth." 440 Life of Abraham Lincoln. LINCOLN AS A RULER. Mr. Henry Waterson, the distinguished and scholarly editor of the widely read Louisville Courier Journal, once delivered a lecture on "Lincoln." The following is part of what he said: "After he was inaugurated President, Mr. Lincoln evinced four great quaUties of mind and heart so great, indeed, that it is doubtful if such a combination of kingly talents was ever before or since concentrated in the same man." Mr. Watterson then elaborated from historical facts, incidents, and conclusions, as also from quotations from Mr. Lincoln's speeches and letters, his direction and manage- ment of generals and cabinet officers, his knowledge of law, diplomacy, and military affairs, his firmness for the right, liis great kindness of heart, and love of humanity, the follo\\ing propositions: 1. Lincoln was the wisest ruler of this or any other age. 2. He had the firmness of the everlasting liills. 3. His love of justice and righteousness between man and man, and between nations guided him in all things. 4. His kindness of heart, and liis sympatliies for man- kind were as an overflowing fountain. 5. Abraham Lincoln was raised up of God, and in a sense inspired for the place and work he fulfilled in the world. "Perhaps the most striking illustration of superior wisdom and power as a ruler," said the speaker, "was his reply to Mr. Seward's proposition to declare war against France and Spain, and impliedly against England and Russia, only one month after Lincoln's inauguration. The reply was complete; so was his mastery over the most astute and scholarly statesman and diplomatist of the age. While preparing that reply, the same night after recei\dng Mr. Seward's wonderful proposals— a reply Life of Abraham Lincoln. 441 which the best critics of the world have declared needed not another word, and would not have been complete with one word lacking — he was overheard repeating to himself audibly over and over, 'One war at a time, one war at a time, one war at a time.' " Lincoln's real object in conducting THE WAR. The great Horace Greeley was wont to criticize Lincoln's plan of conducting the war. He finally wanted to know "what were the purposes and aim.s of the President, any- way?" The following is Lincoln's reply, showing that liis sole purpose was to save the Union at whatever cost: "If there be those who would not save the Union imless 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 paramoimt object is to save the Union, and not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it. If I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it, and if I could do 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 because I believe it helps to save the Union, and what I forbear I forbear because I do not believe it helps to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe that what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I believe doing more will help the cause." LINCOLN ASKED FOR SOME OF GRANT's WHISKEY. When officious intermeddlers went to President Lincoln and demanded Gen. Grant's removal from the command 442 Life of Abraham Lincoln. of the armies, charging that he was in the habit of getting drunk, Lincoln coolly asked them where he could get some of the brand of whisky that Grant was using; he wanted to supply it to his other generals. This remark of his silenced his callers, and he heard no more complaints about Grant's getting drunk. LINCOLN BELIEVED HIMSELF UGLY. Mrs. Benjamin Price, of Baltimore, told, at a meeting of the Woman's Literary Club of that city, two anecdotes of Abraham Lincoln. In one of them she said that her father-in-law had at one time been appointed to a govern- ment position in place of Mr. Addison, who was a most polished but notably plain-featured man. The two gentlemen went together to call upon President Lincoln, who received them cheerfully in the naidst of the some- what embarrassing operation of shaving. His face was a lather of soap, he extended a hand to each, and upon Mr. Addison enumerating the good qualities of his successor, and congratulating the President upon seeming so eminent an officer, Mr. Lincoln exclaimed: "Yes, Adrlison, I have no doubt Mr. Price is all that you say, but notWng can compensate me for the loss of you, for when you retire I shall be the homeliest man in the em- ployment of the government." LINCOLN S KINDNESS TO A DISABLED SOLDIER. One summer morning, shortly before the close of the civil war, the not unusual sight in Washington of an old veteran hobbling along could have been seen on a shady path that led from the executive mansion to the war office. The old man was in pain, and the pale, smiken cheeks and vague, far-way stare in his eyes betokened a short- Life of Abraham Lincoln. 443 lived existence. He halted a moment and then slowly approachetl a tall gentleman who was walking along. "Good morning, sir. I am an old soldier and would like to ask your advice." The gentleman turned, and smiling kindly, invited the poor, old veteran to a seat under a shady tree. There he listened to the man's story of liow he had fought for the Union and was severely wounded, incapacitating him for other work in life, and begging directions how to apply for back pay due liim and a pension, offering liis papers for examination. The gentleman looked over the papers and then took out a card and wrote directions on it, also a few words to the pension bureau, desiring that speedy attention be given to the applicant, and handed it to him. The old soldier looked at it, and with tears in his eyes, thanked the tall gentleman, who, with a sad look, bade him good luck and hurried up the walk. Slowly the old soldier read the card again, and then turned it over to read the name of the owner. More tears welled in his eyes when he knew whom he had addressed himself to, and his lips muttered: "I am glad I fought for him and the country, for he never forgets. God bless Abraham Lincoln!" A SAMPLE OF LI.NCOLN'S STATESMANSHIP. President Lincoln, the man who said and did so many kindly things, taught Seward how to write state papers. He was not only master of the situation in this country, I)ut when England and France were about combining to recognize the Confederacy he so won the admiration of Lord Lyon, the British ambassador at Washington, that that official informed Lord Russell that he was in error when he sent instructions to prepare the government 444 Life of Abraham Lincoln. for the recognition of tlie South by England, and Lord Lyon afterwards resigned his office in consequence of the opposition of Lincohi. At that time there was a Russian fleet in New York harbor under sealed instructions, to be opened when France and England made their move, and the instructions were afterward found to be a com- mand to the admiral to report to his excellency, President Lincoln. TWO GOOD STORIES. At a cabinet meeting once the advisabihty of putting a legend on greenbacks similar to the In God We Trust legend on the silver coins was discussed, and the President was asked what his \'iew was. He replied: If you are going to put a legend on the greenbacks I would suggest that of Peter and Paul: "Silver and gold we have not, but what we have we'll give you." On another occasion when Mr. Lincoln was going to attend a political convention one of his rivals, a livery- man, provided him with a slow horse, hoping that he would not reach his destination in time. Mr. Lincoln got there, however, and when he returned wdth the horse he said: "You keep this horse for funerals, don't you?" "Oh, no," rephed the Hver>-man. "Well, I'm glad of that, for if you did you'd never get a corpse to the grave in time for the resurrection." LINCOLN RAISES A WARNING VOICE AGAINST THE ■CONCENTRATION OF GREAT WEALTH. "Liberty cannot long endure," said Webster, "when the tendency is to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few." President Lincoln, in a message to Congress, said of this danger: "Monarchy itself is sometimes hinted at Life of Abraham Lincoln. 445 as a possible refuge from the power of the people. In my present position I could scarcely be justified were I to omit raising a warning voice against approaching despotism. There is one point to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital on an equal footing with, if not above, labor in the structure of the government. Let them beware of surrendering a political power which they already have, and which if surrendered will surely be used to close the door of advancement against such as they, and to fix new disabilities and bur- dens upon them till all liberty shall be lost." LINCOLN AND THE DYING SOLDIER BOY. One day in May, 1863, while the great war was raging between the North and South, President Lincoln paid a visit to one of the military hospitals, says an exchange. He had spoken many cheering words of sympathy to the wounded as he proceeded through the various wards, and now he was at the bedside of a Vermont boy of about sixteen years of age, who lay there mortally wounded. Taking the dying boy's thin, white hand in his own, the President said, in a tender tone: "Well, my poor boy, what can I do for you?" The young fellow looked up into the President's kindly face and asked : "Won't you write to my mother for me?" "That I will," answered Mr. Lincoln; and calling for a pen, ink and paper, he seated liimself by the side of the bed and wrote from the boy's dictation. It was a long letter, but the President betrayed no sign of weariness. When it was finished, he rose, saying: "I will post this as soon as I get back to my office. Now is there anything else I can do for you?" The boy looked up appealingly to the President. 446 Life of Abrah.\m Lincoln. "Won't you stay with me?" he asked. "I do want to hold on to your hand." ]\Ir. Lincohi at once perceived the lad's meaning. The appeal was too strong for him to resist ; so he sat down by his side and took hold of his hand. For two hours the President sat there patiently as though he had been the boy's father. When the end came he bent over and folded the thin hands over his breast. As he did so he burst into tears, and when, soon afterward, he left the hospital, they were still streaining down his cheeks. THE DANDY, THE BUGS AND THE PRESIDENT. President Lincoln appointed as consul to a South Ameri- can country a young man from Ohio who was a dandy. A wag met the new appointee on his way to the White House to thank the President. He was dressed in the most extravagant style. The wag horrified him by telling him that the country to wliich he was assigned was noted chiefly for the bugs that aboimded there and made life unbearable. "They'll bore a hole clean through you before a week has passed," was the comforting assurance of the wag as they parted at the White House steps. The new consul approached Lincoln with cUsappointment clearly written all over his face. Listead of joyously thanking the Pi'esitlent, he told lum the wag's story of the bugs. "I am informed, Mr. President," he said, "that the place is full of vermin and that they could eat me up in a week's time." "AVell, young man," replied Lincoln, "if that's true all I've got to say is that if such a thing happened they would leave a mighty good suit of clothes behind." Life of Abraham Lincoln. 447 lincoln upheld the hands of general grant. In his "Campaigning with Grant," in the Century, Gen. Horace Porter told of Gen. Halleck's fear of trouble from the enforceing of the draft, and his desire that Grant should send troops to the Northern cities. Gen. Porter says: On the evening of August 17 Gen. Grant was sitting in front of his quarters, with several staff officers about him, when the telegraph operator came over from his tent and handed him a dispatch. He opened it, and as he proceeded with the reading of it his face became suffused with smiles. After he had finished he broke into a hearty laugh. We were curious to know what could produce so much merri- ment in the general in the midst of the trying circum- stances which surrounded him. He cast his eyes over the dispatch again, and then remarked: "The President has more nerve than any of liis advisers. This is what he says after reading my reply to Halleck's dispatch." He then read aloud to us the following: "I have seen your dispatch expressing your unwilling- ness to break your hold where you are. Neither am I willing. Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible. "A. Lincoln." WHY LINCOLN TOLD STORIES. Mr. Edward Rosewater, editor of the Omaha Bee, said he beheved Lincoln got relaxation by his story telling, and that the hearing of a good story gave him the mental rest that he so much needed during those brain taxing days. These stories came out under the most trying circumstances and at the most solemn times. A striking 448 Life of Abraham Lincoln. , instance of this was just after tlie battle of Fredericks- burg. After the L^nion armies were defeated an official who had seen the battle hurried to Washington. He reached there about midnight and went directl}- to the White House. President Lincoln had not yet retired, and the man was at once received. Lincoln had already heard some reports of the battle. He was feeling very sad and rested his head upon his hands while the story was repeated to him. As the man saw his intense suffer- ing he remarked: "I wish, Mr. President, that I might be a messenger of good news instead of bad. I wish I could tell you how to conquer or to get rid of those rebellious States." At this President Lincoln looked up and a smile came across his face as he said: "That reminds me of two boys out in Illinois who took a short cut across an orchard. When they were in the middle of the field they saw a vicious dog bounding toward them. One of the boys was sly enough to climb a tree, but the other ran around the tree, with the dog following. He kept running until, by making smaller circles than it was possible for his pursuer to make, he gained upon the dog sufficiently to grasp his tail. He held on to the tail with a desperate grip imtil nearly exhausted, when he called to the boy up the tree to come down and help. "What for?" said the boy. "I want you to help me let this dog go." "Now," concluded President Lincoln, "if I could only let the rebel States go it would be all right. But I am compelled to hold on to them and make them stay." 1