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ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
PEN AND VOICE
BEING A COMPLETE COMPILATION OF HIS
LETTEBS

CIVIL, POLITICAL, AjSTD MILITARY
I

HIS PUBLIC ADDRESSES, MESSAGES TO CONGRESS
INAUGURALS AND OTHERS
AS WELL AS
PROCLAMATIONS UPON VARIOUS PUBLIC CONCERNS, SHOWING HIM
TO HAVE BEEN THE GREATEST CONSTITUTIONAL STUDENT
OF THE AGE, AND THE NOBLEST PATTERN FOR FUTURE
GENERATIONS AMERICA HAS EVER KNOWN
BY
G. M. VAIST BUREN
Late Colonel U. S. Vols.
WITH A FINE STEEL PORTRAIT

CINCINNATI
ROBERT CLARKE & CO
1890 /

Copyright, 1890,
By Q. M. VAN BUREN.

'Be.'biccxko to ti/t 2BBen?orp
OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

GRANDSON OF THE

3181 art jjre& tyve&i'&snt.
By his lamented death the ancestral name becomes extinct:

INTRODUCTION.
The author feels that no one man can say what
ought to be said of that great statesman, renowned
president, and noble martyr — Abraham Lincoln —
and therefore begs leave to present as a preface what
has been said of him by the greatest men of our
times. [From Lincoln's Memorial."!
Sprung from the people, with no ancestral renown
or services, with none of the auxiliaries which wealth,
social position, or academic honors afford the mass of
aspirants to great public honors, Abraham Lincoln
rose step by step to the highest station in the gift of
his fellow-countrymen
And although party virulence, which in our press
has no check, persistently coupled his name with
odious epithets, there has never been the slightest
charge of any thing to detract from a high moral
character. He was too great to stoop to vile means to
accomplish his ends
No Ceesar he, whom we lament,
A man without a precedent,
Sent, it would seem, to do
His work, and perish too !
[From a Speech by General B. F. Butler, in New York City.]
Fellow Citizens : — 33ut a day or two since we assem
bled throughout the nation in joy, gladness, and
triumph, at the success of the armies of the republic,

VI PREFACE.
which opened to us the promise of a glorious peace
and a happy country in the future.
These flags now the token of mourning, were then
raised in gladness. To-day, in a short hour, Abra
ham Lincoln has' been struck down by the hand of
au assassin, and we assemble to mingle our grief with
that of the loved ones at home, who mourn the hon
est man, the incorruptible patriot, the great states
man, the savior of his country in its crisis.
[From a Speech by Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson.]
It is not merely the. death of Abraham Lincoln' —
great, good, patient, faithful, sincere as he was — but it
is the great nation that has been wounded in her
Chief Magistrate, that she had, with great and un
usual eclat, continued in the position, and said, " "Well
done, good and faithful servant."
[From a Sermon by Rev. Henry W. Bellows.]
Our beloved president, who had enshrined himself
not merely in the confidence, the respect, and the
gratitude of the people, but in their very hearts, as
their true friend, adviser, representative, and brother ;
whom the nation loved as much as it revered, who
had" soothed our angry impatience in this fearful
struggle with his gentle moderation and passionless
calm ; who had been the head of the nation, and not
the chief of a successful party; and had treated our
enemies like rebellious children, and not as foreign
foes, providing even in their chastisement for mercy
and penitent restoration; our prudent, firm, humble,
reverential, God-fearing president is dead.

PREFACE. Vll
[Archbishop McClosky, at St. Patrick's Cathedral, in New York.]
We pray that those sentiments of mercy, of clem
ency, and of conciliation, that filled the heart of the
beloved president we have just lost, may animate the
heart and guide the actions of him who in this most
trying hour is called to fill his place.
fFrom a Sermon by hia Pastor, Rev. D. Gurley.]
I have said that the people confided in the late
lamented president with a full and a loving confidence.
Probably no man, since the days of "Washington, was
ever so deeply and firmly imbedded and enshrined in
the very hearts of the people as Abraham Lincoln.
Nor was it a mistaken confidence and love. He de
served it, deserved it well, deserved it all. He mer
ited it by his character, by his acts, and by the whole
tenor, and tone and spirit of his life. He was simple
and sincere, plain and honest, truthful and just,
benevolent and kind. His perceptions were quick
and clear, his judgments were calm and accurate,
and his purposes were good and pure beyond a ques
tion. Always and every-where he aimed, and en
deavored to be and to do right. His integrity was
thorough, all-pervading, all-controlling, and incor
ruptible. [Public Address by Ralph Waldo Emerson.]
The president stood before us as a man of the peo
ple. He was thoroughly American, had never crossed
the sea, had never been spoiled by English insularity
o"r French dissipation ; a quiet, native, aboriginal
man, as an acorn from the oak; no aping of foreign
ers, no frivolous accomplishments, Kentuckian born,
working on a farm, a flatboatman, a captain in the

Vlll PREFACE.
Blackhawk war, a country lawyer, a representative
in the rural legislature of Illinois — on such modest
foundation the broad structure of his fame was laid.
How slowly, and yet by happily prepared steps, he
came to his place. . . . There, by his courage,
his justice, his even temper, his fertile counsel, his
humanity, he stood an heroic figure in the center of
an heroic epoch. He is the true history of the
American people in his time.
Step by step he walked before them ; slow with
their slowness, quickening his march by theirs ; the
true representative of the continent ; an entirely
public man ; father of his country, the pulse of
twenty millions throbbing in his heart, the thought
of their minds articulated by his tongue.
IGeneral Banks, at New O-leans.]
There is not a man on the continent or globe that
will, or can, say that Abraham Lincoln was his
enemy ; or that he deserved punishment or death for
his individual acts. No, Mr. President, it was because
he represented us that he died, and it is for our good
and the glory of our nation that God, in his inscru
table providence, has been pleased to do this, while
for the late President it is the great crowning act and
security of his career. [By George Bancroft.]
But after every allowance., it will remain that mem
bers of the government which preceded the adminis
tration opened the gates to treason, and he closed
them ; that when lie went to Washington the ground
-on which he trod shook under his feet, and he left

PREFACE. IX
the republic on a solid foundation ; that traitors had
seized public forts and arsenals, and he recovered
them for the United States, to whom they belonged ;
that the Capital which he found the abode of slaves,
is now only the home of the free ; that the boundless
public domain which was grasped at, and, in a great
measure, held for the diffusion of slavery, is now irre
vocably devoted to freedom.
[From Bishop Simpson's Funeral Oration.]
But the great cause of the mourning is to be found
in the man himself. Mr. Lincoln was no ordinary
man, and I believe the conviction has been growing
on the nation's mind, as it certainly has been on my
own, especially in the last years of his administra
tion. B}- the hand of God he was especially singled out
to guide our government in these troublous times,
and it seems to me that the hand of God may be
traced in many events connected with his history.
[From a Sermon by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher.]
Who shall recount our martyr's sufferings for the
people? Since the November of 1860, his horizon
has been black with storms. By day and by night
he trod a way of danger and darkness.
On his shoulders rested a government, dearer to
him than his own life. At its life millions were
striking at home ; upon it foreign eyes were lowered,
and it stood like a lone island in a sea full of storms,
and every tide and wave seemed eager to devour it.
Upon thousands of hearts great sorrows and anx
ieties have rested, but upon not one such, and in such

X PREFACE.
measure, as upon that simple, truthful, noble soul,
our faithful and sainted Lincoln.
[From the Dictionary of Congress.]
Born — February 12, 1809, in Hardin county, Ken
tucky. Education — Defective.
Profession — Lawyer.
Have been a captain of volunteers in T31ackhawk
war, postmaster at a very small office.
Four times a member of the Illinois Legislature,
and was a member of the Lower House of Congress.
Yours, etc., A. Lincoln.
And we add— Died April 15, 1865.
[From General Grant's Address, at the Dedication of the Lincoln Monument
at Springfield, 111., October 15, 1874.
From March, 1864, to the day when the hand of
the assassin opened a grave for Mr. Lincoln, then
president of the United States, my personal relations
with him were as close and intimate as the nature of
our respective duties would permit. To know him
personally was to love and respect him for his great
qualities of heart and head, and for his patience and
patriotism. With all his disappointments from failures on the
part of those to whom he had intrusted command,
and treachery on the part of those who had gained
his confidence but to betray it, I never heard him
utter a complaint, nor cast a censure for bad conduct
or bad faith.
It was his nature to find excuses for his adversaries.

PREFACE. XI
In his death the nation lost its greatest hero. "In his
death the south lost its most just friend.
[From Hon. S. S. Cox. ]
President Lincoln was not without faults, but" his
goodness and virtues far overshadowed them. None
more than he ever better illustrated the maxim that
the good alone are great.
It was almost a peculiarity of Mr. Lincoln's, among
the great men of history, that all his public and private
utterances bear the impress of an honest, conscientious
regard for whatever he believed to be right and wise.
Though"" popular beyond all others of his time,"
he never sought station or advancement by the sacri
fice of the public welfare on the shrine of party or
personal ambition.
He was singularly free from sectional and partisan
passion and animosity.
It was a privilege of the writer to see him often
while he was in the possession of his great office,
and to hear him converse upon public affairs. At no
time did Mr. Lincoln utter a harsh or unkind word
in regard to political opponents or toward the insur
gent south. When no great public concern engaged
his attention, and perhaps as a temporary relief from
the cares of state, his conversation was often light
and humorous ; hut Mr. Lincoln could discard
frivolity when confronted by a serious demand on
his powers. He could always rise up to the occasion.
He possessed a clear and vigorous understanding,
and a sincere love of truth. His reasoning powers

Xll PREFACE.
were remarkable. He could, upon occasion, rise to
the most sublime flight of eloquence.
His little introductory speech at the Gettysburg
Cemetery dedication will outlive the elaborate and
eloquent oration delivered by Mr. Everett on the
same day.
I am indebted to J. C. Power, of Springfield, 111.,
author of the " History of the Attempt to Steal the
Body of Lincoln," for the use of the plates of the
two views of the " Lincoln Monument."
Excavation for the monument commenced Septem
ber 9, 1869. It is built of granite from quarries at
Biddeford, Maine. The rough ashlars were shipped
to Quincy, Mass., where they were dressed to perfect
ashlars and numbered, thence shipped by railroad to
Springfield. It is 72J feet from east to .west, 119J
feet from north to south, and 100 feet high. The
total cost is about $230,000, to May 1, 1888. All the
statuary is orange-colored bronze. The whole monu
ment was designed by Larkin G. Mead, the statuary
was modeled in plaster by him in Florence, Italy, and
cast by the Ames Manufacturing Co., of Chicopee,
Mass. The statue of Lincoln and coat of arms were
first placed on the monument; the statue was un
veiled and the monument dedicated October 15, 1874.
The infantry and naval groups were put on in Sep
tember, 1877, the artillery group, April 13, 1882, and
the cavalry group, March 13, 1883.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
PEN AND VOICE.

Mr. Lincoln's Verbal Reply to Committee Notifying
him of his Nomination to the Presidency.
At Springfield, III, May 18, 1860.
Mr. Chairmaii and Gentlemen of the Committee: — ¦
I tender to you, and through you to the Republican
National Convention, and all the people represented
iii it, my profoundest thauks for the high honor done
me, which you now formally announce.
Deeply, and even painfully sensible of the great
responsibility which is inseparable from the high
honor, a responsibility which I could almost wish had
fallen upon some one of the far more eminent men
and experienced statesmen whose distinguished names
were before the convention, I shall, by your leave,
consider more fully the resolutions of the convention,
denominated the platform, and without any unneces
sary or unreasonable delay, report to you, Mr. Chair
man, in writing, not doubting that the platform will
be fotfnd satisfactory, aud the nomination gratefully
accepted. And now I will no longer defer the pleas
ure of taking you, and each of you, by the hand. (13J

14 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
Springfield, III, May 23, 1860.
Sir: — I accept the nomination tendered me by the
convention over which you presided, of which I am
formally appraised in a letter of yourself and others
acting as a committee of the convention for that pur
pose. The declaration of principles and sentiments which
accompanies your letter meets my approval, and it
shall be my care not to violate it, or disregard it in
any part. Imploring the assistance of Divine Provi
dence, and with due regard to the views and feelings
of all who were represented in the convention, to the
rights of all the states and territories and people ot
the nation, to the inviolability of the constitution,
and the perpetual union, harmony, 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.
Hon. George Ashmun, Prest. Republican Convention.
Springfield, III, August 15, 1860.
My Dear Sir: — Yours of the 9th, enclosing the
letter of Hon. John Minor Botts, was duly received.
The latter is herewith returned according to your re
quest. It contains one of the many assurances I re
ceive from the South, that in no probable event will
there be any very formidable effort to break up the
Union. The people of the South have too -much
of good sense and good temper to attempt the ruin of
the government rather than see it administered as it

PEN AND VOICE. 15
was administered by the men who made it. At least,
so I hope and believe.
I thank you both for your own letter and a sight of
that of Mr. Botts. Yours very truly,
John B. Fry, Esq. A. Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln to Thurlow Weed.
Springfield, III, August 17, I860.
My Dear Sir: — Yours of the- 13th was received
this morning. Douglas is managing the Bell ele
ment with great adroitness. He had his men in
Kentucky to vote for the Bell candidate, producing a
result which has badly alarmed and- damaged Breck
enridge, and at the same time has induced the Bell
men to suppose that Bell will certainly be President,
if they can keep a few of the northern states away
from us by throwing them to Douglas. But you,
better than I, can understand all this.
I think there will be the most extraordinary effort
ever made to. carry New York for Douglas.
You and all others who write me from your state
think the effort can not succeed, and I hope you are
right. Still it will require close watching and great
efforts on the other side. Herewith I send you a copy
of a letter written at New York, which sufficiently
explains itself, and which may or may not give you a
valuable hint. You have seen that Bell tickets have>
been put on the track both here and in Indiana. In
both cases the object has been, I think, the same as
the Hunt movement in New York — to throw states
to Douglas.
£n our state we know the thing is engineered by

16 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S.
Douglas men, and we do not believe they can make a
great deal out of it. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
The President Elect to Tiiurlow Weed.
Springfield, III, December 17, 1860.
My Dear Sir: — Yours of the eleventh was received
two days ago. Should the convention of governors
of which you speak seem desirous to know my views
on the present aspect of things, tell them you judge
from my speeches that I will be inflexible on the ter
ritorial question; that I probably think either the
Missouri line extended, or Douglas's or Eli Thayer's
popular sovereignty would lose us every thing we
gain by the election ; that filibustering for all the
South of us, and making slave states of it would fol
low, in spite of us in either case ; also, that I proba
bly think all opposition, real and apparent, to the
fugitive slave clause of the constitution ought to be
withdrawn. I believe you can pretend to find but little, if any
thing, in my speeches, about secession. But my
opinion is that no state can in any way lawfully get
out of the Union without the consent of the others;
and that it is the duty of the president and other gov
ernment functionaries to run the machine as it is.
Truly yours, A. Lincoln.
Interview Published in New York Tribune, January
30, 1861.
Twill suffer death before I will consent or advise
my friends to consent to any concession or compro-

PEN AND VOICE. 17
mise which looks like buying the privilege of taking
possession of the government to which we have a
constitutional right; because, whatever I might think
of the merit of the various propositions before Con
gress, I should regard any concession in the face of
menace as the destruction of the government itself,
and a consent on all hands that our system shall be
brought down to a level with the existing disorgan
ized state of affairs in Mexico. But this thing will
hereafter be, as it is now, in the hands of the people,
and if they desire to call a convention to remove any
grievances complained of, or to give new guarantees
for the permanence of vested rights, it is not mine to
oppose.
The President Elect to Thurlow Weed.
Springfield, III, February 4, 1861.
Dear Sir : — I have both your letter to myself, and
that to Judge Davis, in relation to a certain gentle
man of your state, claiming to dispense patronage in
my name, and also to be authorized to use my name
to advance the chances of Mr. Greeley for an election
to the United States Senate.
It is very strange that such things should he said
by any one. The gentleman you mention did speak
to me of Mr. Greeley in connection with the sena
torial election, and I replied in terms of kindness
towards Mr. Greeley, which I really feel, but always
with an expressed protest that my name must not be
used in the senatorial election in favor of or against
any one. Any other representation of me is a mis
representation. 2

18 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
As to the matter of dispensing patronage, it will
perhaps surprise you to learn that I have information
that you claim to have my authority to arrange that"
matter in New York. I do not believe you have so
claimed, but still so some men say. On that subject
you know all I have said to you is "justice to all,"
and I have said nothing more particular to any one.
I say this -to reassure you that I have not changed my
position. In the hope, however, that you will not use my
name in the matter, I am, yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Mr. Lincoln's Speech at Springfield, February 11,
1861, on Leaving for Washington, to be Inau
gurated as President.
Friends .- — No one who has never been placed in a
like position can understand my feeling at this hour,
nor the oppressive sadness I feel at this parting.
For more than a quarter of a century I have lived
among you, and during all that time I have received
nothing but kindness at your hands. Here I have
lived from my youth, until now I am an old man.
Here the most sacred ties of earth were assumed.
Here all my children were born ; and here one of
them lies buried. To you, dear friends, I owe all that
I have, all that I am. All the strange, checkered past
seems to crowd now upon my mind. To-day I leave
you. I go to assume a task more difficult than that
which devolved upon Washington. Unless the great
God, who assisted him, shall be with and aid me, I
must fail ; but if the same omniscient mind and al-

PEN AND VOICE. 19
mighty arm that directed and protected him shall
guide and support me," I shall not fail — I shall succeed.
Let us -all pray that the God of our fathers may not
forsake us now. To Him I commend you all. Per
mit me to ask, that, with equal security and faith,
you will invoke His wisdom and guidance for me.
With these few words I must leave you, for how long
I know not. Friends, one and all, I must now bid
you an affectionate farewell.
Mr. Lincoln's Speech at Indianapolis, February 11,
1861.
Governor Morton and Fellow-citizens of the State of
Indiana : — Most heartily do I thank you for this mag
nificent reception, and while I can not take to myself
any share of the compliment thus paid, more than
that which pertains to a mere instrument, an acci
dental instrument, perhaps I should say, of a great
cause, I yet must look upon it as a most magnificent
reception, and as such, most heartily do thank you
for it. You have been pleased to address yourself to
me chiefly in behalf of this glorious Union in which
we live, in all of which you have my hearty sympathy,
and, as far as may be within my power, will have, one
and inseparably, my hearty consideration. While I do
not expect, upon this occasion, or until I get to
Washington, to attempt any lengthy speech, I will
only say to the salvation of the Union, there
needs but one single thing, the hearts of a people
like yours.
The people, when they rise in mass in behalf of the
Union, and the liberties of their country, truly may

20 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
it be said, " The gates of hell can not prevail against
them." In all trying positions in which I shall be
placed, and, doubtless, I shall be placed in many such,
my reliance will be placed upon you and the people
of the United States ; and I wish you to remember,
now and forever, that it is your business, and not
mine ; that if the union of these states, and the lib
erties of this people shall be lost, it is but little to
any one man of fifty-two years of age, but a great
deal to the thirty millions of people who inhabit
these United States, and to their posterity in all com
ing time.
It is your business to rise up and preserve the
Union and liberty for yourselves, and not for me.
I desire they should be constitutionally performed.
I, as already intimated, am but an accidental instru
ment, temporary, and to serve but for a limited time,
and I appeal to you again to constantly bear in mind
that with you, and not with politicians, not with pres
idents, not with office-seekers, but with you, is the
question, Shall the Union, and shall the liberties of
this country be preserved to the latest generation ?
Continued at Indianapolis in the Evening, Before
the Legislature, February 11, 1861.
Fellow-citizens of the State of Indiana : — I am here
to thank yon much 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 great cause of the whole country and the whole
world. Solo'mon says there is " a time to keep silence," and

PEN AND VOICE. 21
when men wrangle by the mouth with no certainty
that they mean the same thing, while using the same
word, 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. Let us make sure, if we can, that we do
not misunderstand the meaning of those who use
them. Let us get the exact definition of these words,
not from dictionaries, but from the men themselves,
who certainly depreciate the things they would repre
sent by the use~ of the words. What, then, is " coer
cion?" 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, and even with
hold the mails from places where they were habitu
ally violated, would any or all these things be "inva
sion " or " coercion ? " Do our professed lovers of the
Union, but 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 affection would
seem exceedingly thin and airy. If sick, the little
pills of the homeopathists, would be much too large
for it to swallow. In their view, the Union, as a

22 - ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
family relation, would seem to be no regular marriage,
but a sort of "free love" arrangement, to he main
tained only 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; but that, by
the 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 ruin all which is larger than itself.
If a state and a county in a given case, should be
equal in extent of territory, and equal in number of
inhabitants, in what, as a matter of principle, is the
state better than the county? Would an exchange
of names be an exchange of rights upon principle?
On what rightful principle may a state, being not
more than one-fiftieth part of the nation, in soil and
population, break up the nation, and then coerce a
proportionally larger subdivision of itself,1' in the
most arbitrary way ? What mysterious right to play
tyrant is conferred on a district of country, with its
people, by merely calling it a state ?
Fellow-citizens, I am not asserting any thing ; I am
merely asking questions for you to consider. And
now allow me to bid you farewell.
Speech at Cincinnati, February 12, 1861.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen: — Twenty^four
hours ago, at the capital of Indiana, I said to myself,
"I have never seen so many people assembled to
gether in winter weather." I am no longer able to

PEN AND VOICE. 23
say that. But it is what might reasonably have been
expected — that this great city of Cincinnati would
thus acquit herself on such an occasion! My friends,
I am entirely overwhelmed by the magnificence of the
reception which has been given, I will not say to me,
but to the President-elect of the United States of
America. Most heartily do I thank you, one and all,
for it. I am reminded by the address of your worthy
Mayor, that this reception is given not by one politi
cal party ; and even if I had not been so reminded by
His Honor, I could not have failed to know the fact
by the extent of the multitude I see before me now.
I could not look upon this vast assemblage without
being made aware that all parties were united in this
reception. This is as it should be. It is as it should
have been if Senator Douglas had been elected; it is
as it should have been if Mr. Bell had been elected ;
as it should have been if Mr. Breckinridge had been
elected ; as it should ever be when any citizen of the
United States is constitutionally elected President of
the United States. Allow me to say that I think
what has occurred here to-day could not have oc
curred in any other country on the face of the globe,
without the influence of the free institutions which
we have unceasingly enjoyed for three-quarters of a
century. There is no country where the people can turn out
and enjoy this day precisely as they please, save under
the benign influence of the free institutions of our
land. I hope that, although we have some threatening
national difficulties now, while these free institutions

24 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
shall continue to be in the enjoyment of millions of
free people of the United States, we will see repeated
every four years what we now witness.
In a few short years I and every other individual
man who is now living will pass away. I hope that
our national difficulties will also pass away, and I
hope we shall see in the streets of Cincinnati — good
old Cincinnati — for centuries to come, once every four
years, the people give such a reception as this to the
constitutionally elected President of the whole-United
States. I hope you will all join in that reception,
and that you shall also welcome your brethren across
the river to participate in it. We will welcome them
in every state in the Union, no matter where they are
from. From away South, we shall extend to them
a cordial good will, when our present differences
shall have been forgotten and blown to the winds
forever. I have spoken but once before this in Cincinnati.
That was a year previous to the late presidential elec
tion. On that occasion, in a playful manner, but with
sincere words, I addressed much of what I said to the
Kentuckians. I gave as my opinion that we, as Re
publicans, would ultimately beat them as Democrats,
but that they could postpone that result longer by
nominating Senator Douglas for the presidency than
they could in any other way. They did not, in the
true sense of the word nominate Douglas, and the
result has come certainly as soon as I expected. I
also told them how I expected they would be treated
after they should have been beaten ; and I now wish
to call or recall their attention to what I then said

PEN AND VOICE. 25
upon that subject. I then said : " When we do, as we
say, beat you, you perhaps will want to know what
we will do with you. We mean to treat you as near
as we possibly can as Washington, Jefferson and
Madison treated you. We mean to leave you alone,
and in no way to interfere with your institutions, to
abide by all and every compromise of the Constitu
tion ; and, in' a word, coming back to the original
proposition to treat you as far as degenerated men, if
we have degenerated, may, according to the examples
of those noble fathers, Washington, Jefferson and
Madison. We mean to remember that you are as
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
good as we claim to have, and treat you accord
ingly." Fellow-citizens of Kentucky, friends, brethren :
may I call you such? In my. new position I see no
occasion, and feel no inclination tc retract a word of
this. If it shall not be made good, be assured that
the fault shall not be mine.
Speech at Columbus, February 13, 1861.
Mr. President and Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the
General Assembly .- — It is true, as has been said by the
president of the Senate, that very great responsibility
rests upon me in the position to which the votes of
the American people have called me. I am deeply
sensible of that weighty responsibility. I can not but
know what you all know, that without a name per-
3

26 ABRAHAM LINCOLN*S
haps without a reason why I should have a name,
there has fallen upon me a task such as did not rest
even upon the Father of his country, and so feeling I
can not but turn and look for the support without
which it will be impossible for me to perform that
great task. I turn, then, and look to the great
American people, and to that God who has never
forsaken .them.
Allusion has been made to the interest felt in re
lation to the policy of the neAv administration. In
this I have received from some a degree of credit for
having kept silence, and from others some deprecia
tion. I still think that I was right. In the varying
and repeatedly shifting scenes of the present, and
without a precedent which could enable me to judge
by the past, it has seemed fitting that before speaking
upon the difficulties of the country, I should have
gained a view of the whole field so as to be sure after
all — at liberty to modify and change the course of
policy as future events may make a change necessary.
I have not maintained silence from any want of real
anxiety. It is a good thing that there is no more
than anxiety, for there is nothing going wrong.
It is a consoling circumstance that when we look
out, there is nothing that really hurts anybody. We
entertain different views upon political questions, but
nobody is suffering any thing. This is a most con
soling circumstance, and from it we may conclude
that all we want is time, patience, and a reliance on
God, who has never forsaken this people. Fellow-
citizens, what I have said I have said altogether ex
temporaneously, and will now come to a close.

pen and voice. • 27
Speech at. Pittsburg, before the Mayor and Common
Council, February 15, 1861.
I most cordially thank -his Honor Mayor Wilson
and the citizens of Pittsburg generally, for their
flattering reception. I am the more grateful because
I know that it is not given to me alone, but to the
cause I represent, which clearly proves to me their
good will, and that sincere feeling is at the bottom of
it. And here I may remark, that in every short
address I have made to the people, in every crowd
through which I have passed, of late, some allusion
has been made to the distracted condition of the
country. It is natural to expect that I should say
something on this subject ; but to touch upon it at all
would involve an elaborate discussion of a great
many questions and circumstances, requiring more
time than I can at present command, and would,
perhaps, commit me upon matters that have not yet
fully developed themselves. The condition of the
country is an extraordinary one, and fills the mind of
every patriot with anxiety. It is my intention to
give this subject all the consideration I possibly can,
before specially deciding in regard to it, so that when
I do speak it may be as nearly right as possible-
When I do speak, I hope I may say nothing in
opposition to the spirit of the Constitution, contrary
to the integrity of the Union, or which will prove
inimical to the liberties of the people or to the peace
of the whole country. And, furthermore, when the
time arrives for me to speak on this great subject, I
hope I may say nothing to disappoint the people •

28 . ABRAHAM LINCOLN?S
generally throughout the country, especially if the
expectation has been based upon any thing which I
may have heretofore said. Notwithstanding the
troubles across the river .[the speaker pointing south
wardly across the Monongahela, and smiling], there
is no crisis but an artifical one. What is there now
to warrant the condition of affairs presented by our
friends over the river ? Take even their own view
of the questions involved, and there is nothing to
justify the course they are pursuing. I repeat, then,
there is no crisis, excepting such a one as may be
gotten up at any time by turbulent men, aided by de-
signing politicians. My advice to them, under such
circumstances, is to keep cool. If the great American
people only keep their temper on both sides of the
line, the troubles will come to an end, and the ques
tion which now distracts the .country will be settled,
just as surely as all other difficulties of a like char
acter which have originated in this government have
been adjusted. Let the people on both sides keep
their self-possession, and just as other clouds- have
cleared away in due time, so will this great^nation
continue to prosper as heretofore. But, fellow-
citizens, I have spoken longer on this subject than I
intended at the outset.
It is often said that the tariff" is the specialty of v
Pennsylvania. Assuming that direct taxation is not
to be adopted, the tariff" question must be as durable
as the government itself. It' is a question of national
housekeeping. It is to the government what replen
ishing the meal-tub is to the family.
Every varying circumstance will require frequent

PEN AND VOICE. 29
modifications as to the amount needed, and the
sources of supply. So far there is little difference of
opinion among the people. It is only whether, and
how far, the duties on imports shall be adjusted to
favor home productions. In the home market that
controversy begins. One party insists that too much
protection oppresses one class for- the advantage of
another, while the other party argues that with all its
incidents, in the long run, all classes are benefited.
In the Chicago platform there is a plank upon this
subject, which should be a general law to the incom
ing administration. We should do neither more nor
less than we gave people reason to believe we would
when they gave us their votes. . . .
In regard to the plank from Chicago platform, Mr.
Lincoln resumed : As with all general propositions,
doubtless there will be shades of difference in constru
ing this. I have by no means a thoroughly matured
judgment upon this subject, especially as to details;
some general ideas are about all. I have long thought
to produce any necessary article at home which can
be made of as good quality and with as little labor at
home as abroad, would be better policy, at least by
the difference of the carrying from abroad. In such
a case the carrying is demonstrably a dead loss of
labor. For instance, labor being the true standard of
value, is it not plain that if equal labor gets a bar of
railroad iron out of a mine in England, and another
out of a mine in Pennsylvania, each can be laid down
in a track at home cheaper than they could exchange
countries, at least by the cost of carriage. If there
be a present cause why one can be both made and

30 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
carried cheaper in money price than the other can be
made without carrying,' that cause is an unnatural
and injurious one, and ought naturally, if not rapidly,
to be removed. The condition of the treasury at this
time would seem to render an early revision of the
tariff indispensable. The Morrill Tariff bill, now
pending before Congress, may or may not become a
law. I am not posted as to its particular provisions,
but if they are generally satisfactory and the hill shall
now pass, there will be an end of the matter for the
present. If, however, it shall not pass, I suppose the
whole subject will be one of the most pressing
and important for the next Congress. By the Con
stitution, the executive may recommend measures
which he may think proper, and he may veto those
he thinks improper, and it is supposed that he may
add to these, certain indirect influences to affect the
action of Congress. My political education strongly
inclines me against a very free use of any of these
means by the executive to control the legislation of
the country. As a rule, I think it better that Con
gress should originate as well as perfect its measures
without external bias. I, therefore, would rather
recommend to every gentleman who knows he is to
be a member of the next Congress, to take an enlarged
view and inform himself thoroughly, so as to contrib
ute his part to such an adjustment of the tariff' as
shall prove sufficient revenue, and in its other bear
ings, so far as possible, be just and equal to all sections
of the country and all classes of the people.

PEN AND VOICE. 31
At -Albany, N. Y., February 18, 1861, from the
Steps of the Capitol.
Mr. Governor: — I was pleased to receive an invita
tion to visit the capital of the great Empire State of
the nation, on my way to the Federal Capital, and I
now thank you, Mr. Governor, and the people of this
Capital, and the people of the State of New York,
for this most hearty and magnificent welcome.
If I am not at fault, the great Empire State at this
time contains a greater population than did the United
States of America, at the time she achieved her
national independence.. I am proud to be invited to
pass through your Capital and meet them, as I now
have the honor to do.
I am notified by your Governor that the reception
is given without distinction of party. I accept it the
more gladly because it is so. Almost all men in the
country, and in any country where freedom of thought
is tolerated, attach themselves to political parties. It
is but ordinary charity to attribute this to the fact
that in so attaching himself to the party which his
judgment prefers, the citizen believes he thereby
promotes the best interests of the whole country ; and
when an election is passed, it is altogether befitting a
free people that, until the next election, they should
be as one people. The reception you have extended
to me to-day is not given to me personally.
It should not be so, but as the representative for
the time being of the majority of the nation.
If the election had resulted in the selection of either
of the other candidates, the same cordiality should

32 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
have been extended to him as is extended to me this
day, in testimony of the devotion of the whole people
to the Constitution and the whole Union, and of their
desire to perpetuate our institutions, and to hand them
down in their perfection to succeeding generations.
I have neither the voice nor the strength to address
you at any greater length. I beg you will accept my
most grateful thanks for the devotion, not to me, but
to this great and glorious free country.
Afterward in the Assembly Hall as follows, Feb
ruary 18, 1861.
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Legislature of the
State of Neio York: — It is with feelings of great diffi
dence, and, I may say, with feelings of awe, perhaps
greater than I have recently experienced, that I meet
you here in this place.
The history of this great state, the renown of those
great men who have stood here, and spoke here,
and been heard here, all crowd around my fancy,
and incline me to shrink from any attempt to address
you. Yet I have some confidence given me by the
generous manner in which you have invited me, and
by the still more generous manner in which you have
received me, to speak further.
You have invited and received me without distinc
tion of party. I can not for a moment suppose that
this has been done in any considerable degree with
reference to my personal services, but that it is done
in so far as I am regarded at this time, as the repre
sentative of the majesty of the great nation. * I

PEN AND VOICE. 33
doubt not this is the truth, and the whole truth, of
the case, and this is as it should be.
It is much more gratifying to me that this recep
tion has been given to me as the representative of a
free people, than it could possibly be if tendered as an
evidence of devotion to me, or to any one man per
sonally. And now I think it were more fitting that I should
close these hasty remarks.
It is true that, while I hold myself, without mock
modesty, the humblest of all individuals that" have
ever been elevated to the Presidency, I have a more
difficult task to perform than any one of them.
You have generously tendered me the united sup
port of the great Empire State. Fpr this, in behalf
of the nation — in behalf of the present and future of
the nation — in behalf of civiL-and religious liberty for
all time to come, most gratefully' do I thank you. I
do not propose to enter into an explanation of any
particular line of policy, as to our present difficulties,
to be adopted by the incoming administration.
I deem it just to you, to myself, and to all, that I
should see every thing, that I should hear every
thing, that I should have every light that can be
brought within my reach, in order that when I do
so speak, I shall have enjoyed every opportunity to
take correct and true grounds ; and for this reason I
don't propose to speak, at this time, of the policy of
the government. But when the time comes I shall
speak, as well as I am able, for the good of the
present and future of the country — for the good both
of the North and the South of this country — for the

34 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
good of the one and the other, and of all sections of
the country. [Rounds of applause.] In the mean
time, if we have patience, if we restrain ourselves, if
we allow ourselves not to run off in a passion, I still
have confidence that the Almighty, the maker of the
universe, will, through the instrumentality of this
great and intelligent people, bring us through this as,
He has through all the other difficulties of our country.
Relying on this, I again thank you for this generous
reception. The President elect en route from Albany to New
York. Speech at Troy, February 18, 1861.
Mr. Mayor and Ladies and Gentlemen of the city of
Troy: — I can not fail to remark to you here that,
since I entered upon this journey from my home to
xthe Federal Capital, I have never seen a meeting so
compact and yet so' good-natured as the one before
which I now stand. I thank you for this reception.
I thank you, because it is a demonstration made
without distinction of party. I appear before you
that I may see you and you see me; but with the
large attendance of the fair who face this vast assem
blage, I must say I have the best of the bargain.
Having said this much in response to your cordial
greeting, I will now bid you farewell.
Speech at Hudson, N. Y., February 19, 1861.
Fellow-citizens: — I see that you are providing a
platform for me. I shall have to decline standing
upon it, because the President of the company [Mr.
Sloane] tells me that I shall not have time to wait

PEN AND VOICE. 35
until it is brought to me. As I said yesterday under
similar circumstances to another gathering, you must
not draw any inference that I have any intention of
deserting any platform of which I have any legiti
mate connection because I do not stand on yours.
Allow me to thank you for this splendid reception,
and I now bid you farewell.
Speech at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., February 19, 1861.
It is altogether impossible that I make myself
heard by any considerable proportion of this vast as
semblage. I am grateful for this cordial'welcome, and
I am gratified that this immense multitude has come
together, not to meet the individual man, but the
man who, for the time being, will humbly but earn
estly represent the majesty of the nation. These
receptions have been given me at other places, and as
here, by men of different parties, and not by one
party alone. It shows an earnest effort on the part
of all to save, not the country, for the country can
save itself, but to save the institutions of the country
— those institutions under which, for at least three-
quarters of a century, we have become the greatest,
the most intelligent, and the happiest people in the
world. These manifestations show that we all make
common cause for these objects ; that if some of them ,
are successful in an election and others are beaten,
those who are beaten are not in favor of sinking the
ship in consequence of defeat, but are earnest in their
purpose to sail it safely through the voyage in hand,
and, in so far as they may think there has been any
mistake in the election, satisfying themselves to take

/ /

36 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
their chance at setting the matter right the next
time. That course is entirely right, I am not sure —
I do not pretend to be sure — that in the selection of
the individual who has been elected this term, the
wisest choice has been made. I fear it has not.
In the purposes and in the principles that have
been sustained, I have been the instrument selected
to carry forward the affairs of this government. I
can rely upon you, and upon the people of the coun
try ; and with their sustaining hand I think that
even I shall not fail in carrying the ship of state
through, the storm. I have only time, in conclu
sion, to bid you an affectionate farewell.
Speech at Fishkill Landing, N. Y., Feb. 19, 1861.
I appear before you not to make a speech. ¦ I have
no sufficient time, if I had the strength, to repeat
speeches at every station where the people kindly
gather to welcome' me as we go along. If I had the
strength and should take the time, I should not get
to Washington until after inauguration, which you
must be aware would not fit exactly. That such an
untoward event might not transpire, I know you will
readily forego any further remarks.
Speech at Peekskill, N. Y., February 19, 1861.
I have but a moment to stand before you and thank
you for this cordial reception tendered by your au
thorities. In regard to the difficulties that lie before
me, and to which your president has alluded, let me
say that if I shall only be as generously and unani
mously sustained as this meeting would seem to indi-

PEN AND VOICE. 37
cate I shall be, in my management of public affairs,
I shall probably not fail ; but without that sustaining
arm I am quite sure that the difficulties that lie before
me will not "only be too great for my humble self, but
too great for any individual man. I thank you, then,
as I have thanked the assembled thousands upon va
rious occasions as I have passed along my route, for
such 'demonstrations, which, if they mean any thing,
mean that I shall be supported, not only by the party
who gave me the election, but by the free, intelligent
and earnest support of all the parties in the country.
Speech at New York City, February 20, 1861.
I am rather an old man to avail myself of such
excuses as I am now about to do ; yet the truth is so
distinct and presses so distinctly upon me; that I can
not well -avoid it— that is, that I did not understand,
when I was brought into this room, that I was to
make a speech. It was not intimated to me that I
was brought into a room where Daniel Webster
and Henry Clay had made speeches, and where I, in
my position, am expected to do something like those
men, or at least say something worthy of myself.
I, therefore, beg you to make allewance for the cir
cumstances under which I have been by surprise
brought before you. I have been very much in the
habit of thinking and sometimes speaking on the
questions that have agitated the people. If I were
disposed to do so, and we were to take up some of the
issues, and I was called upon to make an argument, I
could do it without much deliberation. But that is
not what you desire to have done here tonight. I

38 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
have, been occupying the position since election, of
silence — of avoiding public speaking. I have been
doing so because I thought, upon due consideration,
that was the proper course for me to take. I am
brought before you now to make a speech, while you
all approve, more than any thing else, that I have
been keeping silence.
It seems to me the response you give to that remark
ought'to justify me in closing right here.
I have not kept silence since the presidential elec
tion from any party craftiness or from any indiffer
ence to anxieties that pervade the minds of men in
this country. I have kept silence for the reason that
it was peculiarly proper for me to wait until the time
should come when, according to the custom of the.
country, I would speak officially. I hear some one
say, " according to the custom of the country." I
allude to the custom, on the president's taking the
oath of office, of his declairing what course he thinks
should be pursued. That is what I mean. The
political drama acting before the country at this time '
is rapidly shifting its scenes. It was eminently fitting
that I should wait till the last minute ; so that I could
chose a position from which I should not be obliged
to deviate.
I have said several times on this journey, and now
repeat to you, I shall then take the ground that I
think is right — the ground that I shall then think
right for the North, the South, the East, the West,
and the whole country. And in doing so, I hope to
feel no necessity pressing upon me to say any thing in
conflict with the Constitution, in conflict with the

PEN AND VOICE. 39
continued union of these United States, in conflict
with the liberty of the people, nor any thing in con
flict with any thing whatever I have given you reason
to expect from me. Now, my friends, have I not said
enough ? Now, my friends, there is a difference of
opinion between you and me, and I insist on deciding
the question.
Speech at Trenton, N. J., February 21, 1861, before
the Senate.
Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Senate of the
State of New Jersey: — I am very grateful to you for
the honorable reception of which I have been the ob
ject. I can not but remember the place that New
Jersey holds in our early history. In the early revo
lutionary struggle, few of the states among the old
thirteen had more of the battle field of the country
within their limits than old New Jersey. May I be
pardoned if, upon this "occasion, I mention that away
back in my childhood, the earliest days of my being
able to read, I got hold of a small book, such a one
as few of the younger members have ever seen,
" Weems's Life of Washington." I remember all the
accounts then given of the battle fields and struggles
for the liberties of the country, and none fixed them
selves upon my imagination so deeply as the struggle
here at Trenton, New Jersey.
The crossing of the river; the contest with the
Hessians ; the great hardships endured at that time,
all fixed themselves in my memory, more than any
single revolutionary event ; and you all know, for you
have all been boys, how these early impressions last

40 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
longer than any others. I recollect thinking then,
boy even though, I was, that there must have been
something more than common that these men Strug
gled for. I am exceedingly anxious that that thing
which they struggled for; that something even more
than national independence; that something that
held out a great promise to all the people of the
world in all time to come — I am exceedingly anxious
that the Union, the Constitution, and the liberties of
the people shall be perpetuated in accordance with
the original idea for which that struggle was made,
and I shall be most happy indeed if I shall be an
humble instrument in the hands of the Almighty, and
of these, his most chosen people, as the chosen instru
ment — also in the hands of the Almighty — for per
petuating the object of that great struggle. You
give me this reception, as I understand, without dis
tinction of party. I learn that this body is composed
of a majority of gentlemen who, in the exercise of
their best judgment in the choice of a chief magis
trate, did not think I1 was the man. I understand,
nevertheless, that they came forward here to greet me
as the constitutional President of the United States
¦ — -as citizens of the United States, to meet the man
who, for the time being, is the representative man of
the nation — united by a purpose to perpetuate the
Union and liberties of the people.
As such, I accept the reception more gratefully
than I could do did I believe it was tendered to
me as an individual..

.V
PEN AND VOICE. 41

Speech at Philadelphia, Pa., February 22, 1861.
I am filled, with deep emotion at finding myself
standing here, in this place, where were collected the
wisdom, the patriotism, the devotion to principle,
from which sprang the institution under which we
live. You have kindly suggested to me that in my
hands is the task of restoring peace to the present
distracted condition of the country. I can say in re
turn, sir, that all the political sentiments I entertain
have been drawn, so far as I have been able to draw
them, from the sentiments which originated and were
given to the world from this hall. I have never had
a feeling, politically, that did not spring from the
sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independ
ence. I have pondered over the toils that were en
dured by the officers and soldiers of the army who
achieved -that independence. I have often inquired
of myself what great principle or idea it was that
kept this confederacy so long together. It was not
the mere matter of the separation of the colonies from
the7 mother-land, but that sentiment in the Declaration
of Independence which gave liberty not alone to the
people of this country, but, I hope, to the world for
all future time. It was that which gave promise that
in due time the weight would be lifted from the
shoulders of all men. This is a sentiment embodied
in the Declaration of Independence Now, my
friends, can the country be saved upon this basis ? If
it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest men
in the world if I can help to save it. If it can not be
saved upon that principle, it will be truly awful.
4

42 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
But if this country can not be saved without giving
up that principle, I was about to say I would rather
be assassinated on this spot than surrender it. Now,
in my view of the present aspect of affairs, there need
be no bloodshed or war. There is no necessity for it.
I am not in favor of such a course ; and I may say, in
advance, that there will be no bloodshed unless it will
be forced upon the government, and then it will be
compelled to act in self-defense.
Speech before the Legislature of Pennsylvania at
Harrisburg, Pa., February 22, 1861.
I appear before you only for a very few, brief re
marks, in response to what has been said to me. I
thank you most sincerely for this reception and the
generous words in which support has been promised
me upon this occasion. I thank your great common
wealth for the overwhelming support it recently
gave, not me personally, but the cause which I think
a great one, in -the late election. Allusion has been
made to the fact — the interesting fact, perhaps, we
should say — that I for the first time appear at the
capital of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
upon the birthday of the Father of this country, in
connection with that beloved anniversary connected
with the history of this country.
I have already gone through one exceedingly inter
esting scene this morning in the ceremonies at Phila
delphia. Under the high conduct of gentlemen, thus I was
for the first time allowed the privilege of standino- in
old Independence Hall [enthusiastic cheering] to

PEN AND VOICE. 43
have a few words addressed to me there, and opening
up to me an opportunity of expressing, with much re
gret, that I had not more time to express something
of my own feelings, excited by the occasion, some
what to harmonize and give shape to the feelings that
had been really the feelings of my whole life. Besides
this, my friends there had provided a magnificent flag
of the country. They had arranged it so that I was
given the honor of raising it to the head of its staff*.
And when it went up I was pleased that it went to its
place by the strength of my own feeble arm, when
according to the arrangement, the cord was pulled,
and it floated gloriously to the wind, without an accf-
dent, in the light, glowing sunshine of the morning,
I could not help hoping that there was, in the entire
success of that beautiful ceremony, at least something
of an omen of what is to come. [Loud applause.]
How could I help feeling then as I often have felt ?
In the whole of that proceeding I was a very humble
instrument. I had not provided the flag ; I had not
made the arrangement for elevating it to its place ; I
had applied but a very small portion of my feeble
strength in raising it. In the whole transaction I
was in the hands of the people who had arranged it,
and if I can have the same generous co-operation of
the people of the nation, I think the flag of our
country may still be kept flaunting gloriously. [Loud
enthusiastic and continued cheering.] I recr.r for a
moment but to repeat some words uttered at the
hotel, in regard to what has been said about the mili
tary support which the general government may ex-

44 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
pect from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a
proper emergency.
To guard against any possible mistake do I recur
to this. It is not with any pleasure that I contem
plate the possibility that a necessity may arise in this
country for the use of the military arm. [Applause.]
While I am exceedingly gratified to see the manifes
tations upon your streets of your military force here,
and exceedingly gratified at your promises here to use
that force upon a proper emergency — while I make
these acknowledgments, I desire to repeat, in order to
preclude any possible misconstruction, that I do most-
sincerely hope that we shall have no use for them.
[Applause.] That it will never become their duty to
shed blood, and most especially never to shed fraternal
blood, I promise that, so far as I may have wisdom to
direct, if so painful a result shall any wise be brought
about, it shall be through no fault of mine. [Cheers.]
Allusion has also been made by one of your.honored
speakers to some remarks made by myself at Pitts
burg, in regard to what is supposed to be the especial
interest of this great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
I now wish only to say, in regard to that matter,
that the few remarks which I uttered on that occa
sion, were rather carefully worded. I took pains that
they should be so. I have seen no occasion since'to
add to them, or subtract from them. I leave them
precisely as they stand [applause] adding only now
that I am pleased to have an expression from you,
gentlemen of Pennsylvania, significant that they are
satisfactory to you. And now, gentlemen of the
General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-

PEN AND VOICE. 45
vania, allow me to return you again my most sincere
thanks.Lincoln's Own Statement of How He Entered Wash
ington, D. C, February 23, 1861.
I arrived at Philadelphia on the 21st. I agreed to,-
stop over night, and on the following morning to
hoist the flag over Independence Hall. In the even
ing there was a great crowd where I received my
friends, at the Continental Hotel. Mr. Judd, a warm
personal friend from Chicago, sent for me to come to
his room. I went, and found there Mr. Pinkerton, a
skillful police detective, also from Chicago, who h&d
been employed for some days in Baltimore, watching
and searching for suspicious persons there. Pinker-
ton informed me that a plan had been laid for my as
sassination, the exact time when I expected to go
through Baltimore being publicly known. lie was
well informed as to the plan, but did not know that
the conspirators would have pluck enough to execute
it. He urged me to go right through with him to
Washington that night. I didn't like that. I had
made engagements to visit Harrisburg, and go from
there to Baltimore, and I resolved to do so. I could
notbelieve that there was a plot to murder me. I made
arrangements, however, with Mr. Judd for my return
to Philadelphia the next night, if I should be con
vinced that there was danger in going through Balti
more. I told him if I should meet at Harrisburg, as
I had at other places, a delegation to go with me to
the next place (then Baltimore), I should feel safe and
go on. When I was making my way back to my

46 Abraham Lincoln's
room, through crowds of people, I met Frederick
Seward. We went together to my room, when he
told me that he had been sent, at the instance of his
father and General Scott, to inform me that their de
tectives in Baltimore had discovered a plot to assas
sinate me. They knew nothing of Pinkerton's move-.
ments. I now believed such a plot to be in existence.
The next morning I raised the flag over Independence
Hall, and then went on to Harrisburg with Mr. Sum
ner, Major (now General) Hunter, Mr. Judd, Mr. La-
mon, and others. There I met the Legislature and
people, dined, and waited until the time appointed for
m"e to leave. In the meantime, Mr. Judd had so se
cured the telegraph that no communication could
pass to Baltimore and give the conspirators knowl
edge of a change in my plans. In New York some
friend had given me a new beaver hat in a box, and
in it had placed a soft wool hat. I had never worn
one of the latter in my life. I had this box in my
room. Having informed a very few friends of the
secret of my new movements, and the cause, I put on
an old overcoat I had with me, and putting the soft
hat in my pocket, I Avalked out of the house at a back
door, bareheaded, and without exciting any special
curiosity. Then I put on the soft hat and joined my
friends without being recognized by strangers, for I
was not the same man. Sumner and Hunter wished
to accompany me. I said no ; you are known, and
your presence might betray me. I will only take La-
mon (now marshal of this district), whom nobody
knew, and Mr. Judd. Sumner and Hunter felt hurt.
We went back to Philadelphia, and found a message

PEN AND VOICE 47
there from Pinkerton (who had returned tb Balti
more), that the conspirators had held their final meet
ing that evening, and it was doubtful whether they
had the nerve to attempt the execution of their pur
pose. I went on, however, as the arrangement had
been made, in a special train. We were not long in
the station at Baltimore. I heard people talking
around, but no one particularly observed me. At an
early hour on Saturday morning, at about the time I
was expected to leave Harrisburg, I arrived in Wash
ington. Speech at Washington, February 28,' 1861, in Re
sponse to a Serenade by Republican Associations.
My friends: — I suppose that I may take this as a
compliment paid to me, and as such please accept my
thanks for it. I have reached this city of Washing
ton under circumstances considerably differing from
those under which any other man ever reached it. I
I am here for the purpose of taking an official posi
tion amongst the people, almost all of whom were
politically opposed to me, and are yet opposed to me,
as I suppose.
I propose no lengthy address to you. I only pro
pose to say, as I did yesterday, when your worthy
Mayor and Board of Aldermen called upon me, that
I thought much of the ill-feeling that has existed be
tween you and the people of your surroundings, and
that people from among whom I came, has depended,
and now depends, upon a misunderstanding.
I hope that if things shall go along as prosperously
as I believe we all desire they may, I may have it in

48 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
my power to remove something of the misunderstand
ing; that I may be enabled to convince you, and the
people of your section of the country, that we regard
you as in all things our equals, and in all things en
titled to the same respect and the same treatment that
we claim for ourselves ; that we are in nowise dis
posed, if it were in our power to oppress you, to de
prive you of any of your rights under the Constitu
tion of the United States, or over-narrowly to split
hairs with you in regard to these rights, but are de
termined to give you, as far as lies in our hands, all
your rights under the Constitution — not grudgingly,
but fully and fairly. (Applause). I hope that, by
thus dealing with you, we will become better ac
quainted, and be better friends.
And now, with these few remarks, and again re
turning my thanks for this compliment, and express
ing my desire to hear a little more of your good music,
I bid you good-night.
Inaugural Address at Washington, D. C,
March 4, 1861.
Fellow Citizens of the United States:— In compli
ance 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 Constitu
tion of the United States, to be taken by the presi
dent before he enters on the execution of his office.
I do not consider it necessary, at present, for me to
discuss those matters of administration about which
there is no special anxiety or excitement. Apprehen
sion seems to exist among the people of the Southern

PEN AND VOICE. 49
States, that by the accession of a Republican adminis
tration, their property and their peace and personal
security are to be endangered. There has never been
any reasonable cause for such apprehension. 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 pur.
poses directly or indirectly, to interfere with the in
stitution of slavery, in the states where it exists." I
believe I have 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 knowledge that I had
made this and many similar declarations, and had
never recanted them. And, more than this, they
placed in the platform for my acceptance, and as a law
to themselves and to me, the clear and emphatic reso
lution which I now read : —
"Resolved, that the maintainance inviolate of the
rights of the states, and especially the right of each
state to order and control its own domestic institu
tions according to its own judgment exclusively, is
essential to that balance of power on which the per
fection and endurance of our political fabric depend;
and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force
of the soil of any state or territory, no matter under
what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes."
I now reiterate these sentiments, and, in doing so, I
only press upon the public attention the most conclu
sive evidence of which the case is susceptible, that the
property, peace and security of no section are to
5

50 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
be in any wise endangered by the now incoming -
administration. I add, too, that all the protection which, consis
tently 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 another. There is much contro
versy about the delivering up of fugitives from serv
ice or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly
written in the Constitution as any other of its pro
visions :
*"No person held to service or labor in one state
under 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 de
livered up on claim of the party to whom such service
or labor may be due."
It is scarcely questioned that this provision was in
tended by those who made it for the reclaiming of
what we call fugitive slaves ; and the intention of the
law-giver is the law.
All members of 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 this clause, " shall be
delivered up," 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 au-

PEN AND VOICE. 5l
thority ; but surely that difference is not a very ma
terial one. If the slave is to be surrendered, it can be
of but little consequence to him or to others by which
authority it is done, and should any one in any case
be content that this 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 safe-guards of liberty known in civilized and hu
mane jurisprudence to be introduced, so that a free
man be not, in any case, surrendered as a slave ? And
might it not be w'ell at the same time to provide by
law for the enforcement of that clause in the Consti
tution which guarantees that " the citizens of each
state shall be entitled to all the privileges and immu
nities of citizens in the several states ? "
I take the official oath to-day with no mental reser
vations, and with no purpose to construe the Consti
tution or laws by any hypercritical rules ; and, while
I do not chose now to specify particular acts of Con
gress as proper to be enforced, I do suggest that
it will be much safer for all, both in official and pri
vate 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 unconstitutional.
It is seventy-two years since the first inauguration
of a president under our national Constitution. Dur
ing 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, and generally with great suc
cess. Yet, with all this scope for precedent, I now

52 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
enter upon the same task, for the brief constitutional
term of four years, under great and peculiar difficul
ties. A disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore only
menaced, is now formidably attempted. I hold, that,
in the contemplation of universal law and the Con
stitution, the union of these states is perpetual. Per
petuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental
law of all national 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 forever; 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 require all to lawfully rescind it? De
scending from these general principles, we find the
proposition that in legal contemplation the Union is
perpetual, confirmed by the history of the Union in
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 Decla
ration of Independence in 1776. It was further
matured, and the faith of all the then thirteen states
expressly plighted and engaged that it should be
perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation, in 1778 ;

PEN AND VOICE. 53
and, finally, in 1787, one of the declared 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 lawfully possible, the Union is less than before,
the Constitution 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 resolves 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 revolutionary according to circum
stances. 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 faithfully executed
in all the states. Doing this, which I deem to be only
a simple duty on my part, I shall perfectly perform
it so far as is practicable, unless my rightful masters,
the American people, shall withhold the requisite
power, or in some authoritative manner direct the
contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a
menaee, but only as the declared purpose of the
Union that it will constitutionally defend and main
tain itself. In doing this, there need be no bloodshed
nor violence ; and there shall be none unless it is
forced upon the national authority. The-power con
fided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the
property and places belonging to the 'Government, and
collect the duties and imposts ; but, beyond what may

54 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
be necessary for these objects, there will be no inva
sion, no using of force against or among the people
anywhere. Where hostility to the United States shall be so
great and so universal as to prevent competent resi
dent citizens from holding the Federal offices, there
will be no attempt to force obnoxious strangers among
the people for that object. While the strict legal
right may exist of the Government to enforce the
exercise of these offices, the attempt to do so would
be so irritating, and so nearly impracticable withal,
that I deem it better to forego for the time the uses
of such offices.
The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furn
ished in all parts of the Union.
So far as possible, the people every-where 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 experience shall show a modifica
tion or, change to be proper ; and in every case and
exigency my best discretion will be exercised accord
ing 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 any 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

PEN AND VOICE. 55
as the destruction 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 main
tained. Is it true, then, that-any right, plainly written
in the Constitution, has been denied ? I think not.
Happily the human mind is so constituted, that no
party can reach to the audacity of doing this.
Think, if you can, of a single instance in which a
plainly written provision of the Constitution has ever
been denied. If, by the mere force of numbers, a
majority should deprive 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, guarantees and prohibitions, in the Con
stitution, that controversies 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 administration. No
foresight can anticipate, nor any document of reason
able length contain, express provision for all possible
questions. Shall fugitives from labor be surrendered
by National or by state authority ? The Constitution
does not expressly say. Must Congress protect slavery

56 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
in the territories ? The Constitution does- not ex
pressly 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, or the govern
ment must cease. There is no alternative for con
tinuing 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 minority of their
own will secede from them, whenever a majority re
fuses to be controlled by such a minority. For
instance, why not any portion of a new confederacy, a
year or two hence, arbitrarily secede again, precisely
as portions of the present Union now claim to secede
from it ? All who cherish disunion sentiments are
now being educated to the exact temper of doing this.
Is there such perfect identity of interests 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 delib
erate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is
the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever
rejects it does, of necessity, fly to anarchy or to despot
ism. Unanimity is impossible : the rule of a minority
as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmissible •
so that, rejecting the majority principle, anarchy ~br
despotism in some form is all that is left.
I do not forget the position assumed by some, that

- PEN AND VOICE. 57
Constitutional 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 to that suit; while they are also
entitled to very high respect and consideration in all
parallel cases by. other departments of the govern
ment ; 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 eases, 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 irrevoc
ably fixed by the decisions of the Supreme Court the
instant they are made, as in ordinary litigation be
tween parties in personal actions, the people will have
ceased to be their own masters, having to that extent
practically resigned their government 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 decide cases properly brought before them ;
and it is no fault of theirs if others seek to turn their
decisions to political purposes. One section of our
country believes that 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 sub
stantial dispute. And the fugutive-slave clause of the
Constitution, and the law for the suppression of the.
foreign slave trade, are each as well enforced, per-

58 ABRAHAM LINCOLN _S
haps, 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, can not 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 fugi
tive slaves, now only partially surrendered, would not
be surrendered at all by the other.
Physically speaking, we can not separate; we can
not move our respective sections from each other, nor
build an impassable wall between them. A kusband
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 can not
but remain face to face ; and intercourse, either amic
able or hostile, must continue between them. Is it
possible, then, to make that intercourse more advan
tageous or more satisfactory after separation .than be
fore ? Can aliens make treaties easier than friends
can make laws ? Can treaties be more faithfully en
forced between aliens than laws can among friends?
Suppose you go to war, you can not 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.
This country, with its institutions, belongs to the
people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow
weary of the existing government, they can exercise

PEN AND VOICE. 59
their constitutional right of amending, or their revo
lutionary right to dismember or overthrow it. I can
not be ignorant of the fact, that many worthy and
patriotic citizens are desirous of having the national
Constitution amended. While I make no recommen
dation of amendment, I fully recognize the full au
thority of the people over the whole subject, to be
exercised in either of the modes prescribed in the
instrument itself; and I should, under existing cir
cumstances, favor rather than oppose a fair oppor
tunity 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 pur
pose, and which might not be precisely such as they
would wish either to accept or refuse. I understand
that a proposed amendment to the Constitution
[which amendment, however, I have not seen] has
passed Congress, to the effect that the Federal govern
ment shall never interfere with the domestic institu
tions of states, including that of persons held to ser
vice. To avoid misconstruction of what I have said,
I depart from my purpose not to speak of particular
amendments so far as to say, that, holding such a pro
vision to now be implied constitutional law, I have.
no objection to its being made express and irrevoc
able. 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, themselves, also can do this if they

60^ -ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
choose ; but the Executive, as such,has nothing to do
with it. His duty is to administer the present govern
ment as it came to his hands, and to transmit it unim-
paired by him to his successor.
Why should there not be a patient confidence in
the ultimate justice of the people ? Is there any
better or equal hope in the world ? In our present
differences, is either party without faith of being in
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 fram'e
of the government under which we live, this same
people have wisely given their public servants but
little power for mischief, and have with equal wis
dom provided for the return of that little to their o.wn
hands at very short intervals. While the people re
tain their virtue and Angilance, no administration, 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 deliber
ately, 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 Consti
tution unimpaired, and, on the sensitive point, the
laws of your own framing under it ; while the new

PEN AND VOICE. 61
administration will have no immediate 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 favored land, are still com
petent to adjust, in the best way, all our present diffi
culties. In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen,
and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war.
The government will not assail you.
You can have no conflict without being yourselves
the aggressors. You can 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 battle-field and patriot grave to every
living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land,
will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again
touched, as surely- they will be, by the better angels
of our nature.

OH ! WHY SHOULD THE SPIRIT OF MORTAL BE PROUD.
[The following poem, written by William Knox, a
Scottish poet of considerable talent, has been widely

62 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
published. It was a great favorite with President
Lincoln, by whom it was often recited.]
Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?
Like a swift, fleeting meteor, a fast-flying cloud,
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave,
He passeth from life to his rest in the grave.
The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade,
Be scattered around and together be laid ;
And the young and the old, and the low and the high
Shall molder to dust, and together shall lie.
The infant a-mother attended and loved;
The mother that infant's affection who proved;
The husband that mother and infant who blessed,
Each, all, are away to their dwellings of rest.
The hand of the king that the scepter hath born ;
The brow of the priest that the miter hath worn ;
The eye of the sage and the heart of the brave,
Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave.
The peasant, whose lot was to sow and to reap ;
The herdsman, who climbed with his goats up the steep ;
The beggar, who wandered in search of his bread,
Have faded away like the grass that we tread.
The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye
Shone beauty and pleasure — her triumphs are by ;
And the memory of those who loved her and praised,
Are alike from the minds of the living erased.
The saint who enjoyed the communion of heaven,
The sinner who dared to remain unforgiven,
The wise and the foolish, the guilty and' just,
Have quietly mingled their bones in "the dust.
So the multitude goes, like the flower or the weed
That withers away to let others succeed ;
So the multitude comes, even those we behold,
To repeat every tale that has often been told. '

PEN AND VOICE. 63
For we are the same our fathers have been ;
We see the same sights our fathers have seen —
We drink the same stream and view the same sun —
And run the same course our fathers have run.
The thoughts we are thinking our fathers would think ;
From the death we are shrinking our fathers would shrink;
To the life we are clinging they also would cling ;
But it speeds for us all, like a bird on the wing.
They loved, but the story we can not unfold ;
They scorned, but the heart of the haughty is cold;
They grieved, but no wail from their slumber will come ;
They joyed, but the tongue of their gladness is dumb.
They died, aye ! they died ; we things that are now,
That walk on the turf that lies over their brow,
And make in their dwellings a transient abode,
Meet the things that they met on their pilgrimage road.
Yea! hope and despondency, pleasure and pain,
We mingle together in sunshine and rain;
And the smile and the tear, the song and the dirge,
Still follow each other, like surge upon surge.
'Tis the wink of an eye^ 'tis the draught of a breath ;
From the blossom of health to the paleness of death,
From the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud —
Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud ?

Lincoln's Letter to Senor Molina, March 17, 1861.
I am happy to receive the letters you present, and
to recognize you, sir, as Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary of Nicaragua, near the U.
S. In conferring a higher rank upon you, as a token
of regard on the part of the Government and people
of Nicaragua toward this country, they have done
our Government and people an honor, for which we

64 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
are duly grateful ; while they have also manifested an
increased confidence in you, which we can attest is
deserved, and thereby have done you a distinguished
honor, upon which we congratulate you. On behalf
of the. United States I fully reciprocate toward your
government and people the kind wishes and friendly
purposes you so generously express toward ours.
Please communicate to his Excellency, the President
of Nicaragua, my high esteem and consideration, and
my earnest wish for his health, happiness and long
life. Be assured, sir, I do not allow myself to doubt
that your public duties and social intercourse here
will be so conducted as to be entirely acceptable to
the government and people of the United States.
A. Lincoln.
Lincoln's Reply to the Delegates from Virginia,
April 13, 1861.
Hon. Messrs. Preston, Stuart, and Randolph,- Gentle
men : — As a committee of the Virginia Convention,
now in session, you present me a preamble and reso
lution in these words :
" Whereas, in the opinion of this Convention, the
uncertainty which prevails in the public mind as to
the policy which the Federal executive intends to
pursue towards the seceded states is extremely inju
rious to the industrial and commercial interests of
the country, tends to keep up an excitement which
is unfavorable to an adjustment of pending diffi-
• culties, and threatens a disturbance of the public
peace: therefore,
"Resolved, That a committee of three delegates be

PEN AND VOICE. 65
appointed to wait on the President of the United
States, present to him this preamble and resolution,
and respectfully ask him to communicate to this Con
vention the policy which the Federal executive in
tends to pursue in regard to the Confederate States;""
In answer, I have to say that, having at the begin
ning of my official term expressed my intended pol
icy as plainly as I was able, it is with deep regret and
some mortification that I now learn that there is
great and injurious uncertainty in the public mind as
to what that policy is, and what course I intend to
pursue. Not having as yet seen occasion to change,
it is now my purpose to pursue the course marked
out in the inaugural address. I commend a careful
consideration of the whole document as the best ex
pression I can give of my purposes. As I then and
therein said, I now repeat :
" The power confided to me will be used to hold,
occupy, and possess the property and places belong
ing to the government, and to collect the duties and
imports; but- beyond what is necessary for these ob
jects, there will be no invasion, no using of force
against or among the people anywhere."
By the words "property and places belonging to
the government," I chiefly allude to the military
posts and property which were in the possession of
the government when it came to my hands. But if,
as now appears to be true, in pursuit of a purpose to
drive the United States authority from these places,
an unprovoked assault has been made upon Fort
Sumter, I shall hold myself at liberty to repossess, if
I can, like places which had been seized before the
6

66 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
government -was devolved upon me. And, in any
event, I shall, to the best of my ability, repel force by
force. In case it proves true that Fort Sumter has
been assaulted, as is reported, I shall, perhaps, cause
the United States mails to be withdrawn from all the
states which claim to have seceded, believing that
the commencement of actual war against the govern
ment justifies and possibly demands it.
I scarcely need to gay that I consider the military
posts and property situated within the states which
claim to have seceded as yet belonging to the govern
ment of the United States as much as they did before
the supposed secession.
Whatever else I may do for the purpose, I shall
not attempt to collect the duties and imposts by any
armed invasion of any part of the country— not
meaning by this, however, that I may not land a
force deemed necessary to relieve a fort upon the
border of the country.
From the fact that I have quoted a part of the
inaugural address, it must not be inferred that I re
pudiate any other part, the Whole of which -I re
affirm, except so far as what I now say of the mails
may be regarded as a modification.
Proclamation, April 15, 1861.
Whereas, the laws of the United States have
been for some time past and now are opposed, and'
the execution thereof obstructed, in the States of
South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Missis
sippi, Louisiana, and Texas, by combination too pow
erful to be surpassed by the ordinary course of judi-

PEN AND VOICE. 67-
cial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the mar
shals by law ; now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln,
President of the United States, in virtue of the
power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws,
have thought fit to call forth and hereby do call forth,
the militia of the several states of the Union, to the1
aggregate number of seventy -five thousand, in order
to suppress said combination, and to cause the laws
to be duly executed. ^
The details for the object will be immediately com
municated to the state authorities through the War
Department. I appeal to all local citizens to favor,
facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor,
the integrity and existence of our National Union,
and the perpetuity of popular government, and to re
dress laws already long enough endured. I deem it
proper to say, that the first service assigned to the
forces hereby called forth, will probably be to repos
sess the forts, property, and places which have been
seized from the Union ; and in every event, the ut
most care will be observed, consistently with the ob
jects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruc
tion of, or interference with, property, or any disturb
ance of peaceful citizens of any part of the country ;
and I hereby command the persons composing the
combinations aforesaid to disperse and retire peace
ably to their respective abodes, within twenty days
from this date.
Deeming that the present condition of public affairs
presents an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in
virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution,
convene both houses of Congress. The senators and

68 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
representatives are, therefore, summoned to assemble,
at their respective chambers at twelve o'clock noon,
on Thursday, the fourth day of July next, then and
there to consider and determine such measures as, in
their wisdom, the public safety and interest may
seem to demand.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand,
and caused the seal of the United States to be af
fixed. Done at the city of Washington, this fifteenth day
of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
. hundred and sixty-one, and of the independence of
the United States the eighty-fifth. Abraham Lincoln.
President Lincoln to Governor Hicks and Mayor
Brown. *
Washington, April 20, 1861.
Gentlemen .-— Your letter by Messrs. Bond, Dobbin
and Brune is received. I tender you both my sincere
thanks for your efforts to keep the peace in the try
ing situation in which you are placed. For the fu
ture, troops must be brought here, but I make no point
of bringing them through Baltimore.
Without any military knowledge myself, of course
I must leave details to General Scott. He hastily said
this morning, in the presence of these gentlemen,
" March them around Baltimore, and not through it."
I sincerely hope the General, on fuller reflection,
will consider this practical and proper, and that you
will not object to it. By this a collision of the people
of Baltimore with the troops will be avoided,, unless

PEN AND VOICE. 69
they go out of their way to seek it. I hope you will
exert your influence to prevent this. Now and ever
I shall do all in my power for peace, consistently with
the maintenance of the government. Your obedient
servant, Abraham Lincoln.
President Lincoln's Reply to Frontier Guards,
April 28, 1861.
I have desired as sincerely as any man — I sometimes
think more than any other man — that our present
difficulties might be settled without the shedding of
blood. I will not say that all hope is yet gone. But
if the alternative is presented, whether the Union is
to be brokenin fragments, and the liberties of the
people lost, or blood be shed, you will probably make
the choice, with which I shall not be dissatisfied.
President Lincoln's Reply to a Baltimore Com
mittee, April 28, 1861.
You, gentlemen, come here to me and ask for peace
on any terms, and yet have no word of condemnation
for those who are making war on us. You express
great horror of bloodshed, and yet would not lay
a straw in the way of those who are organizing in
Virginia and elsewhere "to capture this city. The
rebels attack Fort Sumter> an(i your citizens attack
troops sent to the defense of the government, and
the lives and property in Washington, arid yet you
would have me break my oath and surrender the
government without a blow. There is no Washing
ton in that — no Jackson in that — there is no manhood
or honor in that. I have no desire to invade the

70 .ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
South ; but I must have troops to defend this Capital.
Geographically it lies surrounded by the soil of Mary
land; and mathematically the necessity exists that
they should come over her territory. Our men are
not moles, and can't dig under the earth; they are
not birds, and can't fly through the air. There is no
way but to march across, and that they must do.
But in doing this, there is no need of collision. Keep
your rowdies in Baltimore, and there will be no blood
shed. Go home and tell your people that if they
will not attack us, we will not attack them; but if
they do attack us, we will return it, and that
severely. Proclamation.
Washington, Friday, May 3, 1861.
Whereas, existing exigencies demand immediate
and adequate measures for the protection of the Na
tional Constitution and the preservation of the Na
tional Union by the suppression of the insurrec
tionary combination now existing in several states
for opposing the laws of the Union, and obstruct
ing the execution thereof, to which end a mili
tary force, in addition to that called forth by my
proclamation of the fifteenth day of April in the
the present year, appears to be indispensably neces
sary; now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President
of the United States, and Commander-in-chief of the
Army and Navy thereof, and of the militia of the
several states when called into actual service, do
hereby call into the service of the United States forty-
two thousand and thirty-four volunteers, to serve for
a period of three years, unless sooner discharged, and

- PEN AND VOICE. 71
to be mustered into service as infantry and cavalry.
The proportions of each arm,, and the details of en
rollment, and organization, will be made known'
through the Department of War; and I also direct
that the regular army of the United States be in
creased by the addition of eight regiments of in
fantry, one regiment of cavalry, and one regiment of
artillery, making altogether a maximum aggregate
increase of 22,714 officers and enlisted men, the de
tails of which increase will also be made known
through the War Department; and I farther direct
the enlistment, for not less than one, nor more than
three years, of 18,000 seamen, in addition to the
present force, for the naval service of the United
States. The details of the enlistment and organiza
tion will be made known through the Department of
the Navy. The call for volunteers hereby made, and
the direction of the increase of the regular army, and
for the enlistment of seamen hereby given, together
with the plan of organization adopted for the volun
teers and for the regular forces hereby authorized,
will be submitted to Congress as soon as assembled.
In the meantime I earnestly invoke the co-operation
of all good citizens in the measures hereby adopted
for the effectual suppression of unlawful violence, for -
the impartial enforcement of constitutional laws, and
for the speediest possible restoration of peace and
order, and with those of happiness and prosperity
throughout our country.
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 third day of

72 Abraham Lincoln's
May, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one, and of the Independence of
the United States the eighty-fifth. A. Lincoln.
To the Secretary of the Navy.
Executive Mansion, May 11, 1861.
Sir: — Lieutenant D. D. Porter was placed in com
mand of the steamer Powhatan, and Captain Samuel
Mercer was detached therefrom by my special order,
and neither of them is responsible for any apparent
or real irregularity on their part in connection with
that vessel.
Hereafter Captain Porter is relieved from that
special service and placed under the direction of the
Navy Department, from which he will receive instruc
tions and to which he will report.
Very respectfully, A. Lincoln.
President Lincoln's First Message to Congress,
July 4, 1861.
Having been convened on an extraordinary occa
sion, as authorized by the Constitution, your atten
tion is not called to any ordinary subject of legis
lation. At the beginning of the present presidential term,
four months ago, the functions of the Federal govern
ment were found to be generally suspended within
the several states of South Carolina, Georgia, Ala
bama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida, excepting
only those of the Post-office Department.
Within these states, all the forts, arsenals, dock
yards, custom-houses, and the like, including the

PEN AND VOICE. 73
movable and stationary property in and about them,
had been seized, and were held in open hostility to
this government, excepting only Forts Pickens, Tay
lor, and Jefferson, on and near the Florida coast, and
Fort Sumter in the Charleston Harbor, South Caro
lina. 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 avowedly
with the same hostile purpose.
The forts remaining in the possession of the Fed
eral government in and near these states were either
besieged or menaced by war-like 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 outnumbering the
latter as perhaps ten to one. A disproportionate
share of the Federal muskets and rifles had somehow
found their way into these states, and 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 scattered in dis
tant seas, leaving but a very small part of it within
the immediate reach of the government. Officers of
the Federal army and navy had resigned in great
numbers ; and of those resigning a large proportion
had taken up arms against the government. Simul
taneously, and in connection with all this, the purpose
to sever the Federal Union was openly avowed. In
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
7

74 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
of these states had been promulgated ; and this illegal
organization, in the character of Confederate States,
was already invoking recognition, aid and interven
tion 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 at
tempt to destroy the Federal Union, a choice of
means to that end became indispensable. This choice
was made, and was declared in the inaugural address.
The policy chosen looked to the exhaustion of all-
peaceful 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 government expense, to
the very people who were resisting the government;
and it gave repeated pledges against any disturbance
to any of the people, or any of their rights. Of all.
that which a President might constitutionally and
justifiably do in such a case, every thing 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 of Major Anderson, com
manding at Fort Sumter, written on the 28th of Feb
ruary, and received at the War Department on the
4th of March, was, by that Department, placed in his
hands. This letter expressed the professional opinion
of the writer that reinforcements could not be thrown
into the fort within the time for his relief, rendered

PEN AND VOICE. 75
necessary by the limited supply of provisions, and
with a view of holding possession of the same, with
a force of less than twenty thousand good and well-
disciplined men. This opinion was concurred in by
all the officers of his command, and their memoranda
on the subject were made inclosures of Major Ander
son's letter. The whole was immediately laid before
Lieut.- General Scott, who at once concurred with
Major Anderson in opinion. On reflection, however
he took full time, consulting with other officers, both
of the army and the navy, and, at the end of four days,
came reluctantly, but decidedly to the same conclu
sion as before. He also stated at the same time that"
no such sufficient force was then at the control of the
government, 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 mere matter of getting the garrison
safely out of the fort.
It was believed, however, that to so abandon that
position, 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 discourage 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 would not be allowed. Starvation was not yet
upon the garrison, and ere it would be reached Fort
Pickens might be re-inforced.

76 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
This last would be a- clear indication of policy, and.
would better enable the country to accept the evacu
ation 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 Pick
ens. 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 be
fore the fall of Fort Sumter. The news itself was
that the officer commanding the Sabine, to which
vessel the troops had been transferred from the Brook
lyn, acting upon some quasi armistice of the late ad- ,
ministration (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 impossible, rendered so
by the near exhaustion of provisions in the latter
named fort. In precaution against such a conjuncture
the government had, a few days before, commenced
preparing an expedition, as well adapated as might
be, to relieve Fort Sumter, which expedition was in-,
tended to be ultimately used, or not, according to
circumstances. The strongest anticipated case for -
using it was now presented ; and it was resolved to
send it forward. As had been intended in this con
tingency, it was resolved to notify the governor ot
South Carolina that he might expect an attempt would
be made to provision the fort ; and that if the attempt
should not be resisted there would be no effort to throw
in men, arms, or ammunition, without further notice,

PEN AND VOICE. 77
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, without even await
ing 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-de
fense on the part of the assailants.
They knew well that the garrison in the fort could,
by no possibility, commit aggression upon them.
They knew — they were expressly notified — that the -
giving of bread to the few brave and hungry men of
the garrison was all which would on that occasion be
attempted, unless themselves, by resisting so much,
should provoke more. They knew that this govern
ment desired to keep the garrison in the fort, not to
assail them, but merely to maintain in visible posses
sion, and thus to preserve the Union from actual and
immediate dissolution, trusting, as hereinbefore stated,
to time, discussion, and the ballot-box for final adjust
ment ; and they assailed and reduced the fort for pre
cisely the reverse object, to drive out the visible
authority of the Federal Union, and thus force it to
immediate dissolution. That this was their object
the Executive well understood; and having said to
them, in the inaugural address, " You can have no
conflict without being yourselves the aggressors," he
took pains not only to keep this declaration good,
but also to keep the case so free from the power of
ingenious sophistry, as that the world should not be
able to misunderstand it. By the affair at Fort Sum
ter, with its surrounding circumstances, that point
was reached. Then and there, by the assailants of the

78 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
government, began the conflict 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 be-'
' fore 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 coun
try, the distinct issue, "Immediate dissolution or
blood." And_this issue embraces more that the fate of these
United States. It presents to the whole family of
man the question whether a constitutional republic or
democracy — a government of the people, by the same
people — can or can not maintain its territorial integ
rity against its own domestic foes. It presents the
question whether discontented individuals, too few in
numbers to control administration according to or
ganic law in any case, can always, upon the pretenses
made in this case, or on any other pretenses, or arbi
trarily without any pretense, break up their govern
ment, and thus practically put an end to free govern
ment 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 ?"
So viewing the issue, no choice was- left but to, call
out the war power of the government ; and so to re
sist force, employed for its destruction, by force for
its preservation.
• Ths call was made, and the response of the country
was most gratifying, surpassing in unanimity and
spirit the most sanguine expectations. Yet none

PEN AND VOICE. 79
of the states commonly called slave states, except
Delaware, gave a regiment through regular state
organization. A few regiments have been organized
within some others of those states by individual en
terprise, 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 inaugu
ration), 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 Virginia, North Carolina, Tennes
see and Arkansas — the Union sentiment was nearly
repressed and silenced. The course taken in Virginia
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 ordi-
dance 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 sub
mitted the ordinance, for ratification, to a vote of the
people, to be taken on a day then somewhat more
than a month distant, the convention, and the legis
lature (which was also in session at the same time and "
place), with leading men of the state, not members of

80 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
either, immediately commenced acting as if the state
were already out of the Union. They pushed mili
tary preparations 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, with their warlike ap
pointments, from the so-called seceded states. They
formally entered into a treaty of temporary alliance
and co-operation with the so-called -'Confederate
states," and sent members to their congress at Mont
gomery. And, finally, they permitted the insurrec
tionary government to be transferred to their capital
at Richmond.
The people of Virginia have thus allowed this
giant insurrection to make its nest within her bor
ders ; and this government has no choice left but to
deal with it where it finds it. And it has the less re
gret, as the loyal citizens have, in due form, claimed
its protection. Those loyal citizens this government
is bound to recognize and protect, as being 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 arming of those
states to prevent the Union forces passing one way,
or the disunion 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 impassa
ble one, for under the guise of neutrality, it would
tie the hands of the Union men, and freely pass, sup
plies from among them to the insurrectionists, which

PEN AND VOICE. 81
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 block
ade. 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
recognizes no fidelity to the Constitution, no obliga
tion to maintain the Union ; and while very 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 seventy-
five thousand 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 insurrectionsts announced
their purpose to enter upon the practice of priva
teering. Other calls were made for volunteers to serve three
years, unless sooner discharged, and also for large ad
ditions to the regular army and navy. These meas
ures, 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 readily 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 consid
ered a duty to authorize the commanding general, in
proper cases, according to his discretion, to suspend
the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, ox, in'

'82" ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
other words, to arrest and "detain, without resort to
the ordinary processes and forms of law, such indi
viduals as he might deem dangerous to the public
safety. This authority has purposely been exercised
but very sparingly. Nevertheless, the legality and
propriety of what has been done under it are ques- ~
tioned, 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
consideration was given to the questions of power
and propriety before this matter was acted upon.
The whole of the laws which were required to be
faithfully executed were being resisted and failing of
execution in nearly one-third of the states. Must
they be allowed to finally fail of execution, even had
it been perfectly clear, that, by the use of the means
necessary to their execution, some single law, made
in such extreme tenderness of the citizens' liberty,
that practically it relieves more of the guilty than
of the innocent, should to a very limited extent be
violated ?
To state the question • more directly, are all the
laws but one to go unexecuted, and the government
itself 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
question was presented. It was not believed that
any law was violated. The provision of the Consti
tution that " the privilege of the writ of habeas

PEN AND VOICE. 83
corpus shall not be -suspended unless when, in cases
of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require
it," is equivalent to a provision, is a provision, that
such privilege may be suspended when, in cases of re
bellion 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 qualified sus
pension of the privilege of the writ which was au
thorized to be made. Now it is insisted that Con
gress, 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 can
not be believed that the framers of the instrument in
tended 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 wasr
intended in this case, by the rebellion.
No more extended argument is now offered, as an
opinion at some length will probably be presented by
the Attorney-General. Whether there shall be any
legislation upon the subject, and if any, what, is
submitted entirely to the better judgment of Con
gress. The forbearance of this government has been so
extraordinary and so long continued as to lead some
foreign nations to shape their action as if they sup
posed 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

84 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
now every- where 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 necessary and convenient for your delibera
tion and action ; while the Executive, and all the
departments, will 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 a decisive
one ; that you place at the control of the government,
for the work, at least four hundred thousand men and
four hundred millions of dollars. That number of
men is about one-tenth of those of proper ages within"
the regions where, apparently, all are willing to en
gage; 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 six hundred
millions of dollars 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
now bears even a greater proportion 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. The evi
dence reaching us from the country leaves no doubt
that the material for the work is abundant ; and that
it needs only the hand of legislation to give it legal

PEN AND VOICE. 85 ~
sanction, and the hand of the Executive to give it
practical shape, and efficiency.
One of the greatest perplexities of the government
is to avoid receiving troops faster than it can provide '
for them. In a word, the people will save their gov
ernment if the government itself will do its part only
indifferently wel.l.
It might seem, at first thought, to be of little dif-~
ference whether the present movement at the South
be called "secession" or "rebellion." The movers,-
however, well understand the difference. At the be
ginning, they knew they could never raise their
treason to any respectable magnitude by any name
which 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 prrde in, and
reverence for the history and government of their
common country, as any other civilized and patriotic
people. They knew they could make no advance
ment directly in the teeth of these strong and noble
sentiments. Accordingly, they commenced by an in
sidious debauching of the public mind. They invented
an ingenious sophism, which, if conceded, was fol
lowed by perfectly logical steps, through all the inci
dents, to the complete destruction of the Union. The
sophism itself is, that any state of the Union may, con
sistently with the National Constitution, and there
fore 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 exercised only for just cause, themselves to be the
sole judges of its justice, is too thin to(merit any notice.

86 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
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 willingness to take up
arms against the. government the day after some as
semblage of men have enacted the farcical pretense of
taking their state out of the Union, who could have-
been brought to no such thing the day before.
This sophism derives much, perhaps the. whole, of
its. current 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
reserved 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 Union
even before they cast off their British colonial depend
ence ; and the new ones each came into the Union
directly from a condition of dependence, excepting
Texas. And even Texas, in its temporary indepen
dence, was never designated a state. The new ones
only took the designation of states on coming into
the Union, while that name was first adopted by the
old ones in and by the Declaration of Independence.
Therein the "United Colonies" were declared to.be-
" free and independent states ; " but, even then, their -
object plainly was not to declare their independence
of one another, or of the Union, but directly the con
trary, as their mutual pledge and their mutual action
before, at the time, and afterward, abundantly shows.
The express plighting of faith by each and all of
the original thirteen in the Articles of Confederation,

PEN AND VOICE. 87
two years later, that the Union shall be perpetual, is
most conclusive.
Having never been states, either in substance or in
name, outside of the Union, whence this magical om
nipotence of " state rights," asserting a claim of power
to lawfully destroy the Union itself? Much is said
vabout 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
a " sovereignty" in the political sense of the term?
Would it be far wrong to define it " a political com
munity 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 Constitution, to be for her
the supreme law of the land. The states have their
status in the Union, and they have no other legal status.
If they break from this, they can only do so against
law and by revolution. The Union, and not them
selves, separately, procured their independence and
their liberty. By conquest or purchase the Union
gave each of them whatever of independence or lib
erty it has. The Union is older than any of the
states, and, in fact, it created them as states. Origi
nally, some dependent colonies made the Union, and,
in turn, the Union threw off their old dependence for
them, and made th^m states, such as they are.
Not one of them ever had a state constitution inde
pendent of the Union. Of course, it is not forgotten

¦ 88 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
that all the new states framed their constitutions before
they entered the Union— nevertheless dependent upon
and preparatory to coming into the Union. Unques
tionably the states have the powers and rights re
served to them in and by the National Constitution ;
but among them, surely, are not included all conceiv
able powers, however mischievous or destructive;
but, at most, such only as were known in the world,
at the time, as governmental powers ; and, certainly, a
power to destroy the government itself had never
been known as a governmental — as a merely adminis
trative power. This relative matter of national power
and state rights, as a principle, is no other than the
principle of generality and locality. Whatever con
cerns the whole should be confided to the whole — to
the general government; while whatever concerns
only the state should be left exclusively to the state.
This is all there is of original principle about it.
Whether the National Constitution in defining boun
daries between the two has applied the principle with
exact accuracy, is not to be questioned. We are all
bound by that defining, without question.
What is now combated, is the position that seces
sion is consistent with the Constitution — is lawful and
peaceful. It is not contended that there is any ex
press law for it, and nothing 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 without leave and without
refunding? The nation paid_ very large sums (in the
aggregate, I believe, nearly a hundred millions) to

PEN AND VOICE. 89
relieve Florida of the aboriginal tribes ; is it just that
she shall now be off without consent, or without
making any return ? The nation is now in debt for
money applied to the benefit of these so-called se
ceding 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 nationaLdebt
was contracted to pay the old debts 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 boi'7
rowed their money? If we now recognize this doc
trine by allowing the seceders to go in peace, it is
difficult to see what we can do if others choose to aro,
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 own, in which, of necessity, they
have either discarded or retained the right of seces
sion, as they insist it exists in ours. If they have
discarded it, they thereby admit that on principle it
ought not to exist in ours ; if they have retained it, by
their own construction of ours they show that, to be
consistent, they must secede from one another when
ever 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
8

90 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
" i ,
drive that one out of the Union, it is presumed 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'
that one," it would be exactly what the seceders claim
to do, unless, indeed, they make the point that the
one, because it is a minority, may rightfully do what
the others, because they are a majority, may not right
fully do. These politician are subtle, and profound
on the rights of minorities. They are not partial to
that power which made the Constitution, and speaks
from the preamble, calling itself " We, the people."
It may well be questioned whether there is to-day
a majority of the legally qualified voters of any state,
except perhaps 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 other 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 results 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 demon
strating popular sentiment. At such an election, all
the large class who are, at once, for the Union, and
against coercion, would be coerced to vote against
the Union.
It'may be affirmed, without extravagance, that the
free institutions we enjoy have developed the powers
and improved the condition of our whole people be-

PEN AND VOICE. 91
yond any example in the world. Of this we now have
a striking and an impressive illustration. So large an
army as the government has now on foot was never
before known, without a soldier in it but who had
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 world ; and there is scarcely one from which there
could not be selected a president, ac abinet, a con
gress, and perhaps a court, abundantly competent to
administer the government itself. Nor do I say that
this is not true also in the army of our late friends,
now adversaries, in this contest ; but if it is so, so much
better the reason why the government, which has con
ferred such benefits on both them and us, should not
be broken up. Whoever, in any section, proposes to
abandon such a government would do well to con
sider 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 fore-shadow- -
ings on this subject.
Our adversaries have adopted some declaration of
independence, in which, unlike the good old one
penned by Jefferson, they omit the words " all men
are created equal." Why? They have adopted a
temporary national constitution, in the preamble of
which, unlike our good old one signed by Washing
ton, they omit " We, the people," and substitute " We,
the deputies of the sovereign and independent states."

92 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
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 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
understand and appreciate this. It is worthy of note
that, while in this, the government's hour of trial,
large numbers of those in the army and navy who
have been favored with the offices have resigned,
and proved false to the hand which had pampered
them, not one common soldier or common sailor is
known to have deserted his flag.
Great honor is due to those officers who remained
true, despite the example of their treacherous associ
ates ; but the greatest honor and most important fact
of all is the unanimous firmness of the common sol
diers and 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 in
stinct 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 ex-

PEN AND VOICE. 93,
periment. Two points in it our people have already
settled — the successful 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 decided,
there can be no successful appeal back to bullets ; that
there 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 it-
by a war; teaching all the folly of being beginners of
a war. Lest there be some uneasiness in the minds of can
did men as to what is to be the course of the govern
ment toward the Southern states after the rebellion
shall have been suppressed, 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 will probably have no different understanding of
the powers and duties of the Federal government re
latively- to the rights of the states and the people, un
der the Constitution, than that expressed in. the in
augural address.
He desires to preserve the government, that' it may
be administered for all, as it was administered by the
men who made it.
Loyal citizens every-where have the right to claim
this of their government, and the government has no

'94 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
right to withhold or neglect it. It is not perceived
that, in giving it, there is any coercion, any conquest,
or any subjugation, in any just sense of those terms.
The constitution provides, and all the states h'ave(
accepted the provision, that " the United States shall
guarantee to every state in this Union a republican
form of government." But, if a state may lawfully
go out of the Union, having done so, it may also dis
card the republican form of government ; so that to
prevent its going out is an indispensable means to the
end of maintaining the guarantee mentioned; and
when an end is lawful and obligatory, the indispens
able 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 him. He could but per
form this duty or surrender the existence of the gov
ernment. No compromise by 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 government from immediate de
struction 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 delib
erate decisions.
As a private citizen, the Executive could not have
consented 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

PEN ANn VOICE. 95.
Count the chances of his own life, in what might fol
low. In full view of his great responsibility he has
so far, done what he has deemed .his duty. You will
now, according to your own judgment, perform yours.
He sincerely hopes that your views, and your action,
may so accord with his as to assure all faithful citi
zens who have been disturbed in their rights, of a
certain and speedy restoration to them under the
Constitution and the laws. And having thus chosen
our course, without guile and with pure purpose, let
us renew our trust in God, and go forward without :
fear and with manly hearts. Abraham Lincoln.
July 4, 1861.
Mr. Lincoln's Memorandum of Military Programme.
July 23, 1861.
1. Let the plan for making the blockade effective
be pushed forward with all possible dispatch.
2. Let the volunteer forces at Fort Monroe and
vicinity, under General Butler, be constantly drilled,
disciplined, and instructed without more for the
present. 3. Let Baltimore be held as now, with a gentle
but firm and certain hand.
4. Let. the force now under Patterson or Banks be
strengthened and made secure in its position.
5. Let the forces in western Virginia act till further
orders according to instructions or orders from Gene
ral McClellan.
6. General Fremont push forward his organization
and operations in the West as rapidly as possible,
giving rather special attention to Missouri.

96 Abraham Lincoln's
7. Let the forces late before Manassas, except the
three months' men, be organized as rapidly as possible
in their camps, her§ and about- Arlington.
8. Let the three months' forces who decline to enter
the longer service be discharged as rapidly as circum
stances will permit.
9. Let the new volunteer forces be brought forward
as fast as possible ; and especially into the camps on
the two sides of the river here. July 27, 1861.
When the foregoing shall have been substantially
attended to —
1. Let Manassas Junction (or some point on one or
the other of the railroads nearest it) and Strasburg be
seized, and permanently held, with an open line from
Washington to Manassas, and an open line from Har
per's Ferry to Strasburg, the military men to find the
way of doing these.
2. This done, a joint movement from Cairo on
Memphis, and from Cincinnati on east Tennessee.
War Department, Washington, Aug. 15, 1861.
Major- General Fremont, St. Louis: — Been answering
your messages ever since day before yesterday. Do
you receive the answers ? The War Department has
notified all the governors you designated to forward
all available force, and so telegraphed you. Have you
received these messages ? Answer immediately. A. Lincoln.

pen and Voice. 97
Honorable Secretary of War.
Executive Mansion, August 17, 1861.
My Dear Sir .- — Unless there be reason to the contra
ry, not known to me, make out a commission for Simon
(B.) Buckner, of Kentucky, as a brigadier-general of
volunteers. It is to be put into the hands of General
Anderson, and delivered to General Buckner or not,
at the discretion of General Anderson. Of course it
is to remain a secret unless and until the commission
is delivered. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
To _His Excellency, B. Magoffin, Governor of Ken
tucky.
Washington, D. C, August 24, 1861.
Sir: — Your letter of the 19th inst., in which you
urge the removal from the limits of Kentucky 'of the
military force now organized and in camp within that
state, is received. I may not possess full and precisely
accurate knowledge upon the subject, but I believe it
is true that there is a military force in camp within
Kentucky, acting by authority of the United States,
which force is not very large, and is not now being
augmented. I also believe that some arms have been furnished
to this force by the United States.
I also believe this force consists exclusively of Ken-
tuckians, having their camp in the immediate vicinity
of their homes, arid not assailing or menacing any of
the good people of Kentucky. In all I have done in
the premises, I have acted upon the urgent solicitation
of many Kentuckians, and in accordance with all the
Union-loving people of Kentucky.
9

'98 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
While I have conversed on this subject with many
of the eminent men of Kentucky, including a large
majority of her members of Congress, I do not re
member that any one of them, or any other person
except your excellency and the bearers of your excel~
lency's letter, has urged me to move the military force
from Kentucky, or to disband it. One very worthy
citizen of Kentucky did solicit me to have the aug
menting of the force suspended for a time.
Taking all the means within my reach to form a
judgment, I do not believe it is the popular wish of
Kentucky that this force shall be removed beyond
her limits ; and, with this impression I must respect
fully decline to remove it.
I most cordially sympathize with your Excellency in
the wish to preserve the peace of my own native State
of Kentucky. It is with regret I search for, and can
not find, in your not very short letter, any declaration -
or intimation that you entertain any desire for the
preservation of the Federal Union.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Private Letter to Maj.-Gen. Fremont, Sept. 2, 1861.
Two points in your proclamation of August 30th,
give me some anxiety. First. — Should you shoot a
man, according to the proclamation, the Confederates
would very certainly shoot our best men in their
hands, in retaliation ; and so, man for man, indefi
nitely. It is, therefore, my order that you allow no
man to be shot, under the proclamation, without first
having my approbation and consent.
Second. — I think there is a great danger that the

PEN AND VOICE. 99
closing paragraph in relation to the confiscation of
property, and the liberating slaves of traitorous own
ers, will alarm our Southern Union friends, and turn
them against us — perhaps ruin our rather fair pros
pect for Kentucky. Allow me, therefore, to ask that
you will, as of your own motion, modify that para
graph so as to conform to the first and fourth sections
of the Act of Congress entitled, " An Act to Confis
cate Property used for Insurrectionary Purposes,"
approved August 6, 1861, and a copy of which act I
herewith send you. This letter is written in a spirit
of caution, and not of censure. I send it by special
messenger in order that it may certainly and speedily
reach you. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
To Mrs. General Fremont.
Washington, D. C, Sept. 12, 1861.
My Dear Madam: — Your two notes of to-day are
before me. I answered the letter you bore me from
General Fremont, on yesterday, and not hearing from
you during the day, I sent the answer to him by mail.
It is not exactly correct, as you say you were told by
the elder Mr. Blair, to say that I had sent Postmas
ter-General Blair to St. Louis to examine into the
department and report. Postmaster-General Blair
did go with my approbation, to see and converse
with General Fremont as a friend. I do not feel au
thorized to furnish you with copies of letters in my
possession without the consent of the writers. No
impression has been made upon my mind against the
honor or integrity of General Fremont, and I now

100 ^ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S .
enter my protest against being understood-as acting
in any hostility toward him.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Executive Mansion, September 18, 1861.
My Dear Sir: — To guard against misunderstand
ing, I think fit to say that the joint expedition of the
army and navy, agreed upon some time since, and in
which General W. T. Sherman was and is to bear a
conspicuous part, is in nowise to be abandoned, hut
must be ready to move by the first of, or very early in
October. Let all preparations go forward accord
ingly. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Major-General Fremont.
Washington, September 22, 1861.
Governor Morton telegraphs as follows : Colonel
Lane, just arrived by special train, represents Owens--
borough, forty miles above Evansville, in possession
of secessionists. Green river is navigable. Owens-
borough must be seized. We want a gun-boat sent
up from Paducah for that purpose. Send up the gun
boat if, in your discretion, you think it right. Per
haps you had better order those in charge of the Ohio
river, to guard it vigilantly at all points. A. Lincoln.
Hon. 0. H. Browning. _
Executive Mansion, Washington, Sept. 22, 1861.
My Dear Sir: — Yours of the seventeenth is just re
ceived ; and coming from you, I confess it astonishes
me. That you should object to my adhering to a law,

PEN AND VOICE. 101
which you had assisted in making, and presenting to
me, less than a month before, is odd enough. But
this is a very small part. General Fremont's procla
mation, as to confiscation of property, and the libera
tion of slaves, is purely political, and not within the
range of military law or necessity. If a commanding
general finds a necessity to seize the farm of a private
owner, for a pasture, an encampment, or a fortification,
he has the right to do so, and to so hold it, as long as
the necessity lasts ; and this is within military law,
because within military necessity. But to say the
farm shall no longer belong to the owner, or his heirs
forever, and this, as well when the farm is not needed
for military purposes as when it is, is purely political,
without the savor of military law about it. And the
same is true of slaves. If the general needs them, he
can seize them and use them, but when the need is
past, it is not for him to fix their permanent future
condition. That must be settled according to laws
made by law-makers, and not by military proclama
tions. The proclamation in the point in question is
simply " dictatorship." It assumes that the general
may do any thing he pleases — confiscate the lands and
free the slaves of loyal people, as well as disloyal
ones. And going the whole figure, I have no doubt,
would be more popular, with some thoughtless peo
ple, than that which has been done. But I can not
assume this reckless position, nor allow others to as
sume it on my responsibility.
You speak of it as being the only means of saving
the government. On the contrary, it is itself the sqr-

102 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
render of the government. Can it be pretended that
it is any longer the government of the United States
— any government of Constitution and laws — wherein
a general or a president may make permanent rules'
of property by proclamation.
I do not say Congress might not, with propriety,
pass a law on the point, just such as General Fremont
proclaimed. I do not say I might not, as a member
of Congress, vote for it. What I object to is, that I,
as President, shall expressly and impliedly seize and
exercise the permanent legislative functions of the
government. So much as to principle. Now as to policy. No
doubt the thing was popular in some quarters, and
would have been more so if it had been a general
declaration of emancipation. The Kentucky legisla
ture would not budge till that proclamation was modi
fied; and General Anderson telegraphed me that on
the news of General Fremont having actually issuea
deeds of manumission, a whole companj7 of our vol
unteers threw down their arms and disbanded. I
was so assured as to think it probable that the very
arms we had furnished Kentucky would be turned
against us.
I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to
lose the whole game. Kentucky gone, we can not
hold Missouri, nor, as I think, Maryland. These all
against us, and the job on our hands is too large for
us. We would as well consent to separation at once,
including the surrender of this capital. On the con
trary, if you will give up your restlessness for new
positions, and back me manfully on the grounds upon

PEN AND VOICE. 103
which you and other kind friends gave me the elec
tion, and have approved in my public documents, we
shall go through triumphantly.
You must not understand I took my course on the
proclamation because of Kentucky. I took the same
ground in a private letter to General Fremont before
I heard from Kentucky.
You think I am inconsistent because I did not also
forbid General Fremont to shoot men under the procla
mation. I understand that part to be within military
law, but I also think, and so privately wrote General
Fremont, that it is impolitic in this, that our adver
saries have the power, and will certainly exercise it,
to shoot as many of our men as we shoot of theirs.
I did not say this in the public letter, because it is a
subject I prefer not to discuss in the hearing of our
enemies. There has been no thought of removing General
Fremont on any ground connected with his procla
mation ; and if there has been any wish for his re
moval on any ground, our mutual friend, Sam Gloyer,
can probably tell you what -it was. I hope no real
necessity for it exists on any ground. Your friend,
as ever, A. Lincoln.
* To the Commander of the Department of the West.
Washington, D. C, October 24, 1861.
Sir: — The command of the Department of the
West having devolved upon you, I propose to offer
you a few suggestions. Knowing how hazardous it
is to bind down a distant commander in the field to
specific lines and operations, as so much always de-

104 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
pends upon a knowledge of localities and passing
events, it is intended, therefore, to leave a considerable
margin for the exercise of your judgment and
discretion. The main rebel army (Price's) west of the Missis
sippi is believed to have passed Dade county in full
retreat upon North-western Arkansas,leaving Missouri
almost freed from the enemy, excepting in the south
east of the state. Assuming this basis of fact, it seems
desirable, as you are not likely to overtake Price,
and are in danger of making too long a line from
your base of supplies and re-inforcements, that you
should give up the pursuit, halt your main army,
divide it into two corps of observation, one occupying
Sedalia and the other Rolla, the present termini of
railroad; then recruit the condition of both corps by
re-establishing and improving their discipline and in
structions, perfecting their clothing and equipments,
and providing less uncomfortable quarters.
Of course, both railroads must be guarded and kept
open, judiciously employing just so much force as is
necessary for this. From these two points, Sedalia
and Rolla, and especially in judicious co-operation
with Lane on the Kansas border, it would be so easy
to concentrate and repel any army of the enemy re
turning on Missouri, from the south-west, that it is not
probable any such attempt to return will be made
before or during the approaching cold weather. Be-.
fore spring the people of Missouri will probably be in
no favorable mood to renew for the next year the
troubles which have so much afflicted and im
poverished them during this.

PEN AND VOICE. 10.5
If you adopt this line of policy, and if, as I antici
pate, you will see no enemy in great force approaching,
you will have a surplus of force, which you can with
draw from these points and direct to others, as may
be needed, the railroads furnishing ready means of
re-inforcing their main points if necessity requires.
Doubtless local uprisings will for a time continue to
occur, but these can be met by detachments and local
forces of our own, and will ere long tire out of them
selves. While, as stated in the beginning of the letter, a
large discretion must be and is left to yourself, I feel
sure that an indefinite pursuit of Price, or any attempt
by this long and circuitous route to reach Memphis,
will be exhaustive beyond endurance, and will end in
the loss of the whole force engaged in it.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Letter of the President on the occasion of the
Resignation of Gen, Scott.
On the first day of November, a. d. 1861, upon his
own application to the President of the United States,
Brevet Lieutenant- Gen. Winfield Scott is ordered to
be placed, and hereby is placed, upon the list of retired
officers of the army of the United States, without re
duction in his current pay, subsistence or allowances.
The American people will hear with sadness and deep
emotion that Gen. Scott has withdrawn from the
active control of the army, while the President and
the unanimous cabinet express their own and the
nation's sympathy in his personal affliction, and their
profound sense of the important public services ren-

106 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
dered by him to his country during his long and
brilliant career, among which will ever be gratefully
distinguished his faithful devotion to the Constitution,
the Union, and the flag, when assailed by parricidal
rebellion. A. Lincoln.
Upon presenting the foregoing letter the President
added : —
General : — You will naturally feel solicitude about
the gentlemen of your staff, who have rendered you
and their country such faithful service. I have taken
that subject into consideration. I understand that
they go with you to New York. I shall desire them
at their earliest convenience, after their return, to
make their wishes known to me. I desire you now,
however, to be satisfied that, except the unavoidable
privation of your counsel, and society, which they
have so long enjoyed, the provision which will be
made for them will be such as to render their situation
hereafter as agreeable as it has been heretofore.
Letter on Missouri Matters.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Nov. 5, 1861.
The governor of the State of Missouri, acting un
der the direction of the convention of that state, -pro
poses to the government of the United States, that
he will raise a military force, to serve within the state
as state militia during the war there, to co-operate
with the troops in the service of the United States in
repelling the invasion of the state and suppressing
rebellion therein; the said state militia to be embod-

PEN AND VOICE. 107
ied and to be held in the camp and in the field, drilled,
disciplined and governed according to the army regu
lations and subject to the Articles of War; the said
state militia not to be ordered out ot the state except
for the immediate defense of the State of Missouri,
but to co-operate with the troops in the service of the
United State in military operations within the state
or necessary to its defense, and when officers of the
state militia act with officers in the service of the
United States of the same grade, the officers of the
United States shall command the combined force; the
state militia to be armed, equipped, clothed, subsisted,
transported, and paid by the United States during
such time as they shall be actually engaged as an em
bodied military force in the service in accordance
with regulations of the United States army or gen
eral orders as issued from time to time.
In order that the Treasury of the United States
may not be burdened with the pay of unnecessary
officers, the governor proposes that, although the
state law requires him to appoint upon the general
staff an adjutatant-general, a commissary-general, an
inspector-general, a quartermaster-general, a pay
master-general, and a surgeon-general, each with the
rank of colonel of cavalry, yet he proposes that the
government of the United States pay only the adju
tant-general, the quartermaster-general, and the in
spector-general, their services being necessary in the
relations which would exist between the state militia
and the United States.
The governor further proposes that, while he is
allowed by the state law to appoint aides-de-camp to

108 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
the governor at his discretion, with the rank of col
onel, three only shall be reported to the United States
for payment. He also proposes that the state militia
shall be commanded by a single major-general, and
by such number of brigadier-generals as shall allow
one for a brigade of not less than four regiments, and
that no greater number of staff officers shall be ap
pointed for regimental, brigade and division duties
than is provided for in the act of Congress of the
22d of July, 1861, and that whatever be the rank of
such officers as fixed by the law of the state, the com
pensation that they shall receive from the United
States shall only be that which belongs to the rank
given by said act of Congress to officers in the United
States service performing the same duties.
The field officers of a regiment in the state militia
are one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, and one major,
and the company officers are a captain, a first lieuten
ant, and a second lieutenant.
The governor proposes that, as the money to be
disbursed is the money of the United States, such
staff officers in the service of the United States as
may be necessary to act as disbursing officers for the
state militia shall be assigned by the War Department
for that duty; or, if such can not be spared from
their present duty, he will appoint such persons dis
bursing officers for the state militia as the President
of the United States may designate. Such regula
tions as may be required, in the judgment of the
president, to insure regularity of returns and to pro
tect the United States from any fraudulent practices,

PEN AND VOICE. 109
shall be observed and obeyed by all in office in the
state militia.
The above propositions are accepted on the part of
United States, and the Secretary of War is directed
to make the necessary orders upon the ordnance,
commissary, pay and medical department to carry
this agreement into effect. He will cause the neces
sary staff officers in the United States service to be
detailed for duty in connection with the Missouri
state militia, and will order them to make the neces
sary provision in their respective offices for fulfilling
this agreement. All requisitions upon the different
officers of the United States, under this agreement,
to be made in substance in the same mode for the
Missouri state militia, as similar requisitions are made
for troops in the service of the United States, and the
Secretary of War will cause any additional regula
tions that may be necessary to insure regularity and
economy in carrying this agreement into effect to be
adopted and communicated to the governor of Mis
souri, for the government of the Missouri state
militia. November 6, 1861.
This plan approved, with the modification that the
governor stipulates that when he commissions a ma
jor-general of militia, it shall be the same person at
the time in command of the United States Depart
ment of the West ; and in case the United States shall
change such commander of the department, he, the
Governor, will revoke the state commission given to
person relieved, and give one to the person substi-

110 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
tuted to the United States command of said depart
ment. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General H. W. Halleck, Commanding in
the Department of Missouri.
December 2, 1861.
General : — As an insurrection exists in the United
States and is in arms in the State of Missouri, you
are hereby authorized and empowered to suspend the
writ of habeas corpus within the limits of the military
division under your command, and to exercise mar
tial law as you find it necessary in your discretion, to
secure the public safety and the authority of the
United States.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand-
and cause the seal of the United States to be affixed,
&t Washington, this second day of December, a. d.
1861. A. Lincoln.
President Lincoln's First Annual Message, Decem
ber 3, 1861.
Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Represent
atives : — In the midst of unprecedented political
troubles, we have cause of great gratitude to God
for unusual good health and most abundant har
vests. You will not be surprised to learn that in the pecu
liar exigencies of the times, our intercourse with for
eign nations has been attended with profound solic
itude, chiefly turning upon our own domestic affairs.
A disloyal portion of the American people have,
during the whole year, been engaged in an attempt

PEN AND VOICE. Ill
to divide and destroy the Union. A nation which
endures factious domestic divisions, is exposed to dis
respect 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 un
der such influences seldom fail to be unfortunate and
injurious to those adopting 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
received less patronage and encouragement than they
probably 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
speedy restoration of commerce, including especially,
the acquisition of cotton, those nations appear, as
yet, not to have seen their way to their object more
directly or clearly through the destruction 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 quite sure a sound
argument could be made to show them that they can
reach their aim more readily and easily by aiding to
crush this rebellion than by giving encouragement
to it.
The principal lever relied on by these insurgents
for exciting foreign nations to hostility against us, as
already intimated, is the embarrassment of commerce.
Those nations, however, not improbably, saw from

112 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
the first that it was the Union which made as well
our foreign as pur domestic commerce. They can
scarcelyhave failed to perceive that the effort for dis
union 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
foreign states, because whatever might be their wishes
or dispositions, the integrity of our country, and the
stability of our government, mainly depend not upon
them, but upon the loyalty, virtue, patriotism, and
intelligence of the American people. The corre
spondence itself, with the usual reservations, is here
with submitted. I venture to hope it will appear
that we have practiced prudence and liberality to
ward foreign powers, 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 domes
tic difficulties, I recommend that adequate and ample
measures be adopted for maintaining the public de
fenses on every side. While, under this general recom
mendation, provision for defending our sea-coast line
readily occurs to the mind, I also, in the same con
nection, ask the attention of Congress to our great
lakes and rivers. It is believed that some fortifica
tions and depots of ariris 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 atten-

\ PEN AND VOICE. 113
"tion to the views of the Secretary of War, expressed
in his report, upon the same-general subject. . . .
By the act of the 5th of August last, Congress au
thorized the president to instruct the commanders of
suitable vessels to defend themselves against, and to
capture pirates. This authority has been exercised
in single instances only. For the more effectual pro
tection of our extensive and valuable commerce, in
the eastern seas especially, it .seems to me that it
would also be advisable to authorize the commanders
of sailing vessels to recapture 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 case, in the event
that this should not be objected to by the local au
thorities. If any good reason exists why we should persevere
longer in withholding our recognition of the inde
pendence and sovereignty of Hayti and Liberia, I am
unable to discern it. Unwilling, however, to inau
gurate a novel policy in regard to them without the
approbation of Congress, I submit for your consider
ation the expediency of an appropriation for main
taining a charge d'affaires near each of those new
states. It does not admit of doubt that important
commercial advantages might be secured by favorable
treaties with them. . . .
The execution of the laws for the suppression of
the African slave-trade has been confided to the De
partment of the Interior. It is a subject of gratula-
tion that the efforts which have been made for the
suppression of this inhuman traffic have been re-
10

114 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
cently 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 pun
ishment of which is death.
The territories of Colorado, Dakota, and Nevada,
created by the last Congress, have been organized,
and civil administration has been inaugurated therein
under auspices especially gratifying, -when it is con
sidered that the leaven of treason was found existing
in some of these new countries when the Federal of
ficers arrived there. The abundant jiatural resources
of these territories, with the security and protection
afforded by organized government, will doubtless in
vite 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, wh4ch 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. I commend
their interests and defense to the enlightened and
generous care of Congress.
I recommend to the favorable consideration of Con
gress 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 rep-

PEN AND VOICE. 115
resentative in Congress, that body should not over
look their just claims upon the Government. . . .
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 prominent as the primary ob
ject of the contest on our part, leaving all questions
which are not of vital importance to the more delib
erate 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 insurrectionary purposes. If a new
law upon the same subject shall be proposed, its
propriety will be duly considered. The Union rriust
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 beginning of the ad
ministration, and the message to Congress at the late
special session, were both mainly devoted to the do
mestic controversy out of which the insurrection and
consequent war have sprung.

116 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
Nothing now occurs to add or substract, to or from,
the principles or general purposes, stated and ex
pressed in those documents.
The last ray of hope for preserving the Union peace
ably, expired at the assault upon Fort Sumter ; and a
general review of what has occured 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 claimed a strong support
from north of Mason and Dixon's line ; and the friends ,
of the Union were not free from apprehension on the
point. This, however, was soon settled definitely, and
on the right side. South of the line, noble little Del
aware led off right from the first. Maryland was
made to seem against the Union. Our soldiers were
assaulted, bridges were burned, and railroads were
torn up within her limits; and we were many days,
at one time, without the ability to bring a single regi
ment over her soil to the capital. Now her bridges
and railroads are repaired and open to the Govern
ment ; she already gives seven regiments 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 de
cidedly, and I think, unchangeably ranged on the
side of the Union. Missouri is comparatively quiet,
and, I believe, can not again be overrun by the insur
rectionists. These three states of Maryland, Kentucky
and Missouri, neither of which would promise a single

PEN and voice. 117
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 doubt
ful existence, are in arms against it. After a some
what bloody struggle of months, winter closes on the
Union people of western Virginia, leaving them mas
ters of their own country.
An insurgent force of about fifteen hundred, for
months dominating the narrow peninsular region con
stituting 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 insurrectionist north
of the Potomac', or east of the Chesapeake.
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.
It is not needed, nor fitting here, that a general ar
gument 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 at
tention. It is the effort to place capital on an equal
footing with, if not above, labor, in the structure of

118 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
the Government. It is assumed that labor is available
only in connection with capital; that nobody labors
unless 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 pro
ceeded 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 de
serves 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 prob
ably always will be, a relation between labor and
capital, producing mutual benefits. The error is in
assuming that the whole labor of the community exists
within that relation. A few men own capital, and
those few avoid labor themselves, and with their cap
ital, hire or buy another few to labor for them. 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

PEN AND VOICE. 119
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 themselves, 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 uot 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.
Agairi: as has already been said, there is not of neces
sity any such thing as the free hired laborer being
fixed to that condition for life. Many independent
men every-where in these states, a few years back in
their lives, were hired laborers. The prudent, penni
less 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 improve
ment^ condition 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 sur-

120 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
rendered, will surely be used to close the door of ad
vancement against such as they, and to fix new dis
abilities and burdens upon them, till all of liberty
shall be lost.
It continues to develop that the insurrection is
largely, if not exclusively, a war upon the /first prin
ciple of popular government — the rights of the peo
ple. Conclusive evidence of this is found in the most
grave and maturely considered public documents, as
well as in the general tone of the insurgents. In those
documents we find the abridgment 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 to omit raising a warning voice against this
approach of returning despotism.
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 in
the beginning. The increase of those other things
which men deem desirable has been even greater.
We thus have, at one vieW, what the popular princi
ple applied to government, through the machinery of
the states and the Union, has produced in a given -
time, and also what, if firmly maintained, it promises

PEN AND VOICE. 121
for the future. There are already among us those
who, if the Union be preserved, will live to see it con
tain two hundred and fifty millions. The struggle of
to-day is not altogether for to-day — it is for a vast fu
ture, also. With a reliance on Providence, all the
more firm and earnest, let us proceed in the great
task which events have devolved upon us.
Washington, December 3, 1861. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, Washington, January 1, 1862.
My Dear General Halleck: — General McClellan is
not dangerously ill, as I hope, but would better not
be disturbed with business. I am very anxious that,
in case of General Buell's moving toward Nashville,
the "enemy shall not be greatly re-info reed, and I
think there is danger he will be from Columbus.
It seems to me that a real or feigned attack upon
Columbus from up river at the same time, would
either prevent this or compensate for it, by throwing
Columbus into our hands. I wrote General Buell a
letter similar to this, meaning that he and you shall
communicate and act in concert, unless it be your
judgment and his that there is no necessity for it.
You and he will understand much better than I how
to do it. Please do not lose time in this matter.
Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln.
To Brigadier- General Buell.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Jan. 6, 1862.
My Dear Sir: — Your dispatch of yesterday ha3
been received, and it disappoints and distresses me.
I have shown itto General McClellan, who says he will
11

122 ABRAHAM LINCOLN^
write you to-day. I am not competent to criticise your
news, and therefore what I offer is merely in justifi
cation of myself. Of the two, I would rather have a
point on the railroad south of Cumberland Gap than
Nashville — first, because it cuts a great artery of the
enemy's communication, which Nashville does not;
and, secondly, because it is in the midst of loyal peo
ple, who would rally around it, while Nashville is
not. Again, I can not see why the movement on East
Tennessee would not be a diversion in your favor
rather than a disadvantage, assuming that a move
ment toward Nashville is the main object. But my
distress is that our friends in East Tennessee are be
ing hanged and driven to despair, and even now I
fear are thinking of taking rebel arms for the sake of
personal protection. In this we lose the most valu
able stake we have in the South. My dispatch, to
which yours is an answer, was sent with the knowl
edge of Senator Johnson and Representative Maynard,
of East Tennessee, and they will be upon me to know
the answer, which I can not safely show them. They
would despair, possibly resign, to go and save their
families somehow or die with them. I do not intend
this to be an order in any sense, but merely as inti
mated before, to show you the grounds of my anxiety.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
To Brigadier-General D. C. Buell, Louisville.
Washington, January 7, 1862.
Please name as early a day as you safely can, on or
before which you can be ready to move northward in
concert with Major-General Halleck. Delay is ruin-

PEN AND VOICE.' 123
ing us, and it is indispensable for me to have some
thing definite. I send a like dispatch to Major-Gen
eral Halleck. A. Lincoln.
To Brigadier-General Buell.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Jan. 13, 1862.
My Dear Sir: — Your dispatch of yesterday is re
ceived, in which you say, " I received your letter and
General McClellan's, and will at once devote my
efforts to your views and his." In the midst of my
many cares I have not seen, nor asked to see, Gen
eral McClellan's letter to you. For my own views, I
have not offered, and do not now offer them as or
ders ; and while I am glad to have them respectfully
considered, I would blame you to follow them con
trary to your own clear judgment, unless I should
put them in the form of orders. As to General Mc
Clellan's views, you understand your duty in regard
to them better than I do. With this preliminary I
state my general idea of this war to be, that we have
the greater numbers and the enemy has the greater
facility of concentrating forces upon points of collis
ion ; that we must fail unless we can find some way
of making our advantage an overmatch for his ; and
that this can only be done by menacing him with
superior forces at different points at the same time, so
that we can safely attack one or both if he makes no
change; and if he weakens one to strengthen the
other, forbear to attack the strengthened one, but
seize and hold the weakened one, gaining so much.
To illustrate : Suppose last summer when Win
chester ran away to enforce Manassas, we had for-

124 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
borne to attack Manassas, but had seized, and held
Winchester. I mention this to illustrate and not to
criticise. I did not lose confidence in McDowell, and
I think less harshly of Patterson than some others
seem to. Application of the general rule I am suggest
ing, everv particular case will have its modifying
circumstances, among which the most constantly
present and most difficult to meet will be the want of
perfect knowledge of the enemy's movements. This
had its part in the Bull Run case ; but worse- in that
case was the expiration of the terms of the three
months' men.
Applying the principle to your case, my idea is
that Halleck shall menace Columbus and " down
river" generally, while you menace Bowling Green
and East Tennessee. If the enemy shall concentrate
at Bowling Green do not retire from his front, yet do
not fight him there either, but seize Columbus and
East Tennessee, one or both, left exposed by the con
centration at Bowling Green.
It is a matter of no small anxiety to me, and one
which I am sure you will not overlook, that the East-
Tennessee is so long and over so bad a road.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Halleck.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Jan. 15, 1862.
My Dear Sir: — The Germans are true and. patri
otic, and so far as they have got cross in Missouri it
is upon mistake and misunderstanding.
Without a knowledge of its contents Governor
Koerner, of Illinois, will hand you this letter. He is.

PEN AND VOICE. 125
an educated and talented German gentleman, as trui»
a man as lives.
With his assistance you can set every thing right
with the Germans. I write this withou t his knowledge,
asking him at the same time, by letter, to deliver it.
My clear judgment is that, with reference to the
German element in your command, you should have
Governor Koerner with you ; and if agreeable to you
and him, I will make him a brigadier-general, so that
he can afford to so give his time.
He does not wish to command in the field, though
he has more military knowledge than many who do.
If he goes into the place he will simply be an efficient,
zealous, and unselfish assistant to you. I say all this
upon intimate personal acquaintance with Governor
Koerner. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
To the Secretary of War.
Executive Mansion, Washington, January 31, 1862.
My Dear Sir: — It is my wish that the expedition
commonly called the " Lane Expedition," shall be as
much as has been promised at the adjutant- general's
office under the supervision of General McClellan,
and not any more. I have not intended, and do not
now intend that it shall be a great, exhausting affair,
but a snug, sober column of 10,000 or 15,000. Gen
eral Lane has been told by me many times that he is
under the command of General Hunter, and assented
to it as often as told. It was the distinct agreement
between him and me when I appointed him, that
he was to be under Hunter. Yours truly, A. Lincoln,

126 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S

Special War" Order No. 1, January 31, 1862.
v Ordered: That all the disposable forces of the Army
of the Potomac, after providing safely for the defense
of Washington, be formed into an expedition for the
immediate object of seizing and occupying a point
upon the railroad southwestward of what is known
as Manassas Junction; all details to be in the direc
tion of the general-in-chief, and the expedition to
move before or on the 22d day of February next.
A. Lincoln.
Letter to General McClellan, February 3, 1862.
My Dear Sir: — You and I have distinct and differ
ent plans for a movement of the Army of the Poto
mac. Yours to be done by the Chesapeake, up the
Rappahannock to Urbanna, and across to the terminus
of the railroad on the York river; mine to move di
rectly to a point on the railroad south-west of Man
assas. If you will give me satisfactory answers to the
following questions, I shall gladly yield my plan
to yours :
1. Does not your plan involve a greatly larger ex
penditure of time and money than mine?
2. Wherein is a victory more certain by your plan
than mine?
3. Wherein is a victory more valuable by your plan
than mine ?
4. In fact, would it not be less valuable in this;
that it would break no great line of the enemy's com
munications, while mine would?

pen and voice. 127
5. In case of disaster, would not a retreat be more
difficult by your plan than mine. Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Hunter and Brigadier-General
Lane, Leavenworth, Kansas.
_ Executive Mansion, Washington, February 10, 1862.
My wish has been and is to avail the Government
of the services of both General Hunter and General
Lane, and, so far as possible, to personally oblige both.
General Hunter is the senior officer, and must com
mand when they serve together; though in so far as
he can, consistently with the public service and his
own honor, oblige General Lane, he will also
oblige me.
If they can not come to an amiable understanding,
General Lane must report to General Hunter for
duty, according to rules, or decline the service. A. Lincoln.-
To Major-General Halleck, St. Louis Mo.
Executive Mansion, Washington, February 16, 1862.
You have Fort Donelson safe, unless Grant shall be
overwhelmed from outside; to prevent which latter
will, I think, require all the vigilance, energy and
skill of yourself and Buell, acting in full co-opera
tion. Columbus will not get at Grant, but the full
force from Bowling Green will. They hold the rail
road from Bowling Green to within a few miles of
Fort Donelson, with the bridge at Clarksville undis
turbed. It is unsafe to rely that they willnot dare to
expose Nashville to Buell. A small part of their

128 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
force can retire slowly toward Nashville, breaking up
the railroad as they go, and keep Buell out of that
city twenty days. Meanwhile, Nashville will be
abundantly defended by forces from all south, and
perhaps from here at Manassas. Could not a cavalry
force from General Thomas on the upper Cumberland
dash across, almost unresisted, and cut the railroad
at or near Knoxville, Tenn.? In the midst of a bom
bardment at Fort Donelson, why could not a gun-boat
run up and destroy the bridge at Clarksville? Our
success or failure at Fort Donelson is vastly impor
tant, and I beg you to put your soul in the effort. I
send a copy of this to Buell. A. Lincoln.
Recommendation to Congress, March 6, 1862.
I recommend the adoption of a joint resolution by
your honorable bodies, which shall be substantially as-
follows :
Resolved, That the United States ought to co-oper
ate with any state which may adopt gradual abolish
ment of slavery, giving to such state pecuniary aid,
to be used by such state in its discretion, to compen
sate for the inconvenience, both 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 apT
proval, I deem it of importance that the states and
people immediately interested should be at once dis
tinctly notified of the fact, so that they may begin to
consider whether to accept or reject it. The Federal
government would find its highest interest in such a

pen and voice. 129
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 ul
timately 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 sec
tion." To deprive them of this hope, substantially
ends the rebellion ; and the initiation of emancipation
completely deprives them of it as to all the states
initiating it. The point is not that all the states tol
erating 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 initia
tion, make it certain to the more southern that in no
event will the former ever join the latter in their pro
posed confederacy. I say " initiation," because, in
my judgment gradual, and not sudden emancipation,
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 purchase, at 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

130 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
to say, "the Union must preserved; and hence all in
dispensable means must be employed." 1 said, this
not hastily, but deliberately. War has been made,
and continues to be an indispensable means to this
end. A practical re-acknowledgement of the national
authority would render the war unnecessary, and it
would at once cease. If, however, resistance contin
ues, the war must also continue; and it is impossible
to foresee all the incidents which may attend, and all
the ruin which may follow it. Such as may seem in
dispensable, or may obviously promise great efficiency
toward ending the stfugle, 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 would not be of
more value to the states and private persons con
cerned, than are the institution and property in it, in
the present aspect of affairs.
While it is true that the adoption of the proposed
resolution would be merely initiatory, and not within
itself a practical 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 country, I earnestly beg the at
tention of Congress and the people to the subject.
Abraham Lincoln.
General War Order No. 3, March 8, 1862.
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 command-

PEN AND VOICE. 131
ers of all the army corps, shall leave the said city en
tirely secure.
That no more than two army corps (about 50,000
troops), of said Army of the Potomac shall be moved
en route for a new base of operations until the navi
gation of the Potomac from Washington to 'the
Chesapeake bay shall be freed from the enemy's bat
teries and obstructions, or until the president shall
hereafter give express permission.
That any movement aforesaid en route for a new
base of operations, which may be ordered by the
general-in-chief, and which maybe intended to move
upon the Chesapeake bay, shall begin to move upon
the bay as early as the 18th March inst., and the
general-in-chief shall be responsible that it so move
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. A.. Lincoln.
To General D. C. Buell.
Washington, March 10, 1862.
The evidence is very strong that the enemy in front
of us here is breaking up and. moving off. General -
McClellan is after him. Some part of the force may
be destined to meet you. Look out and be prepared.
I telegraphed Halleck, asking him to assist you, if
needed. A. Lincoln.
General War Orders, March 13, 1862.
First. Leave such force at Manassas Junction as

132 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
shall make it entirely certain that the enemy shall
not repossess himself of that position and line of
communication. Second. Leave Washington secure.
Third. Move the remainder of the force down the
Potomac, choosing a new base at Fort Monroe, or
anywhere between here and there, or, at all events,
move such remainder of the army, at once, in pursuit
of the enemy, by some route. A. Lincoln.
Nomination. March 22, 1862.
The President of the United States of America to all
who shall see these presents, greeting : Know ye that, re
posing special trust and confidence in the patriotism,
valor, fidelity, and abilities of John Pope, I have
nominated, and by and with the advice and consent
of the senate, do appoint him major-general of vol
unteers in the service of the United States, to rank
as such from the 21st day of March, 1862. He is,
therefore, carefully and diligently to discharge the
duty of major-general, by doing and performing all
manner of things thereunto belonging. And I do
strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers
under his command to be obedient to his orders as
major-general. And he is to observe and follow such
orders and directions, from time to time, as he 'shall
receive from me, or the future President of the United
States of America, or the general or other superior
officers set over him, according to the rules and dis
cipline of war. This commission to continue in force

PEN AND VOICE. 133
during the pleasure of the President of the United
States for the time being.
Given under my hand, at the city of Washington,
this 22d day of March, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and in the
eighty-sixth year of the independence of the United
States. Abraham Lincoln.
Letter to Gen. McClellan, 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 much.
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, certainly
not without reluctance.
After you left I ascertained that less than twenty
thousand 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's corps, once designed for Manassas
Junction, was diverted and tied upon the line of
Winchester and Strasburg, and could not leave it
without again exposing 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 the Rappahannock and sack Washington. My
explicit order that Washington should, by the judg
ment of all the commanders of army corps, be left, en-

134 Abraham Lincoln's
tirely secure, had been neglected. It was precisely
this that drove me to detain McDowell.
I do not forget that I wasx satisfied with your ar
rangement 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 think I should permit the line from
Richmond via Manassas Junction to this city to be,
entirely open, except what resistance could be pre
sented by 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 the
troops now with you. When I telegraphed you on
the 6th, saying you had over a hundred thousand
¦with you, I had just obtained 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 to strike a blow. By delay the en
emy will relatively gain upon you — that is, he will

PEN AND VOICE. 135
gain faster, by fortifications and re-inf or cements, than
you can by re-inforcements alone. -
And once more let me tell you it is indispensable
to you that you strike a blow. Jam powerless to
help this. You will do me the justice to remember 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 hesita
tion to move upon an intrenched 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.
Proclamation, April 10, 1862.
It has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal
victories to the land and naval forces engaged in sup
pressing an internal rebellion, and at the same time
- to avert from our country the dangers of foreign in
tervention and invasion.
It is therefore recommended to the people of the
United States, that at their next weekly assemblages
in their accustomed places of public worship, which
shall occur after the notice of this proclamation shall
have been received,- they especially acknowledge and
render thanks to our Heavenly Father for these in-

136 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
estimable blessings ; that they then and there implore
spiritual consolation in behalf of all those who have
been brought into affliction by the casualties and
calamities of sedition and civil war ; and that they
reverently invoke the divine guidance for our national
councils, to the end that they may speedily result in
the restoration of peace, harmony, and unity through
out our borders, and hasten the establishment of
fraternal relations among all the countries of the earth.
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, the tenth day of
April, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-two, and of the independence of
the United States the eighty-sixth. Abraham Lincoln.
Message to Congress, April 16, 1862.
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 Congress to abolish slavery in this district ; and I
have ever desired 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 judgment, I do not at
tempt to specify them. I am gratified that the two
principles of compensation and colonization, are both, ,

PEN AND VOICE. 137
recognized and practically applied in the act. In the
iriatterof 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
presume this is an omission by mere oversight, and I
recommend that it be supplied by an amendatory or
supplemental act. Abraham Lincoln.
To Governor Andrew Johnson, Nashville, Tenn. .
War Department, April, 27, 1862.
Your dispatch of yesterday just received, as also,
in due course, was your former one. The former one
was sent to General Halleck, and we have his answer,
by which I have no doubt he (General Halleck) is in
communication with you before this. General Hal
leck understands better than we can here, and he
must be allowed to control in that quarter.
If you are not in communication with Halleck,
telegraph him at once, freely and frankly. A. Lincoln.
To Flag Officer Goldsborough.
f Fort Monroe, Virginia, May 7, 1862.
Sir : — Maj or- General McClellan telegraphs that he
'has ascertained, by a reconnaissance, that the battery
at Jamestown has been abandoned, and he again re
quests that gun -boats may be sent up the James river.
If -you have tolerable confidence that you can success
fully contend with the Merrimac without the help of
the Galena and two accompanying gun-boats, send
12

138 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
the Galena and two gun-boats up the James river at
Once. Please report your action on this to me at
once. I shall be found either at General Wool's
headquarters or on board the Miami.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Letter to General McClellan, May 9, 1862.
My Dear Sir: — I have just assisted the Secretary
of War in forming the part of a dispatch to you re
lating to army corps, which dispatch, of course, will
have reached you long before this will. I wish to
say a few words to you privately on this subject. J
ordered the army corps organization not only on the
unanimous opinion of the twelve generals of division, 'but
also on the unanimous opinion of every military man I
could get an opinion from, and every modern military
book, youpself only excepted. Of course I did not, on
my own judgment, pretend to understand the sub
ject. I now think it indispensable for you to know how
your struggle against it is received in quarters which we
can not entirely disregard. It is looked upon as merely
an effort to pamper one or two pets, and to persecute and
degrade their supposed rivals. I have had no word from
Sumner, Heintzelman, or Keyes. The commanders of -
these corps are, of course, the three highest officials
with you, but I am constantly told that you have no
consultation or communication with them, that you
consult and communicate with nobody but Fitz John
Porter, and perhaps General Franklin. I do not say
these complaints are true or just, but, at all events, it
is proper that you should know of their existence.

PEN AND VOICE. 139
Do the commanders of corps disobey your orders in
any thing?
When you relieved General Hamilton of his command
the other day you thereby lost the confidence' of at least-
one of your best friends in the senate. And here let me
say, not as applicable to you personally, that senators
and representatives speak of me in their places as
they please without question ; and that officers of the
army must cease addressing insulting letters' to them
for taking no greater liberty with them. But to re
turn, are you strong enough, even with my help, to set
your foot upon the neck of Sumner, Heintzelman, and-
Keyes,, all at once ? This is a practical and very serious
question for you. Yours truly, A.Lincoln.
To Flag Officer Goldsborough.
Fort Monroe, Va., May 10, 1862.
My Dear Sir: — I send you this copy of your report
of yesterday for the purpose of saying to you in writ
ing, that you are quite right in supposing the move
ment made by you and therein reported was made in
accordance with my wishes, verbally expressed to
you in advance. I avail myself of the occasion to
thank you for your courtesy and all your conduct, so
far as known to me, during my brief visit here.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Proclamation Declaring Major-General Hunter's
Emancipation Orders Null and Void.
May 19, 1862.
J, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,
proclaim and declare that the government of the

140 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
United States had no knowledge or belief of an inten
tion on the part of General Hunter to issue such a
proclamation, nor has it yet any authentic informa
tion that the document is genuine, and further, that
neither General Hunter, nor any other commander,
or person, has been authorized by the government of
the United States to make a proclamation declaring
the slaves of any state free, and that the supposed
proclamation now in question is altogether void, so
far as respects such declaration.
I further make known that whether it be compe
tent for me, as commander-in-chief of the army and
navy, to declare the slaves of any state or states free,
and whether at any time or in any case, it shall'have
become a necessity, indispensable to the maintenance
of the government, to exercise such supposed power,
are questions which, under my responsibility, I reserve
to myself, and which I can not feel justified in leav
ing to the decision of commanders in the field.
These are totally different questions from those of
police regulations in armies and corps.
On the 6th day of March last, by a special message,
I recommended to Congress the adoption of a joint
resolution, to be substantially as follows :
Resolved, That the United States ought to co-op
erate with any state which may adopt a gradual
abolishment of slavery, giving aid to such state, in its
discretion, to compensate for the inconveniences, pub
lic and private, produced by such change of system.
The resolution, in the language above quoted, was
addpted by large majorities in both branches of Con
gress; and now stands an authentic, definite and

Pen and voice. 141
solemn proposal of the nation to the states and peo
ple most immediately interested in the subject-matter.
To the people of these states I now earnestly appeal.
I do not argue, I besee'ch you to make the arguments
for yourselves. You can not, if you would, be blind
to the signs of the times. I beg of you a calm and
enlarged consideration of them, ranging, if it may be,
far above personal and partisan politics.
This proposal makes common cause for a common
object, casting no reproaches upon any. - Jt acts not
the Pharisee. The change it contemplates would
come gently as the dews of heaven, not rending or
wrecking any thing. Will you not embrace it? So
much good has not been done by one effort in all past
time, as in the providence of God it is now your high
privilege to do. May the vast future not have to la
ment that you h|ive neglected it.
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 19th day of
May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-two, and of the Independence of
the United States the eighty-sixth. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General McClellan.
Washington City, May 21, 1862.
Your long dispatch of yesterday (to-day) just re
ceived. You will have just such control of General
McDowell and his force as you therein indicate. Mc
Dowell can reach you by land sooner than he could
get aboard of boats, if the boats were ready at Fred
ericksburg, unless his march shall be resisted, in

142 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
which case the force resisting him will certainly not
be confronting you at Richmond. By land he can
reach you in five days after starting, whereas by
water he would not reach you in two weeks, judging
by past experience. Franklin's single division did
not reach you in ten days after I ordered it.
A. Lincoln.
To General Saxton.
War Department, May 24, 1862, 1 P. M.
. Geary reports Jackson with 20,000 moving from
Ashby's Gap, by the Little River Turnpike, through
Aldie, toward Centreville. This he says is reliable.
He is also informed of large forces south of him.
We know of a force of some 15,000 broke up Satur
day night from in front of Fredericksburg, and went
we know not where. Please inform us, if possible,
what has become of the force which pursued Banks
yesterday ; also any other information you have.
A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Fremont, Franklin.
War Department, May 24, 1862, 4 P. M.
You are authorized to purchase 400 horses or take
them whenever and however you can get them. The -
exposed condition of General Banks makes his im
mediate" relief a point of paramount importance. You
are therefore directed by the president to move
against Jackson at Harrisonburg, and operate against
the enemy in such way as to relieve Banks. The
movement must be made immediately.
You will acknowledge the receipt of this order and
specify the hour it was received by you. A. Lincoln.

PEN AND VOICE. 143
To Major-General McDowell.
Washington, May 24, 1862.
General Fremont has been ordered by telegraph
to move to Franklin arid Harrisonburg to relieve Gen
eral Banks, and capture or destroy Jackson's and
Ewell' s forces.
You are instructed, laying aside for the present
the movement on Richmond, to put twenty thousand
men in motion at once for the Shenandoah, moving
on the line, or in advance of the line, of the Manas- "
sas Gap Railroad. Your object will be to capture
the forees of Jackson and Ewell, either in co-opera
tion with General Fremont, or, in case want of sup
plies or transportation has interfered with his move
ment, it is believed that the force which you move
will be sufficient to accomplish the object alone.
The information thus far received here makes it
probable that, if the enemy operates actively against
General Banks, you will not be able to count upon
much assistance from him, but may have even to re-
relieve him.
Reports received this morning are that Banks is
fighting with Ewell eight'miles from Harper's Ferry.
A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Fremont, Franklin, Va.
War Department, May 24, 1862, 7:15 P. M.
Many thanks' for the promptness with which you
have answered that you will execute the order.
Much — perhaps all — depends upon the celerity with
which you can execute it. Put the utmost speed
into it. Do not lose a moment. A. Lincoln.

144 Abraham Lincoln's"
To Major-General Halleck, near Corinth, Miss".
War Department, May 24, 1862:
Several dispatches from Assistant Secretary Scott,
and one from Governor Martin, asking reinforce
ments for you, have been received. I beg you to be
assured we do the best we can. I mean to cast no
blame when I tell you each of our commanders along
our line from Richmond to Corinth supposes himself
to be confronted by numbers superior to his own.
Under this pressure, we thinned the line on the
Upper Potomac, until yesterday it was broken at
heavy loss to us, and General Banks put in great
peril, out of which he is not yet extricated, and may
be actually captured. We need men to repair this
breach, and have them not at hand.
My dear general, I feel justified to rely very much
on you. I believe you, and the brave officers and
men with you, can and will get the victory at Cor
inth. A. Lincoln.
To General Saxton, Harper's Ferry.
War Department, May 25, 1862, 4:15 P. M.
If Banks reaches Martinsburg, is he any the better
for it ? Will not the enemy cut him off from thence
to Harper's Ferry ? Have you sent any thing to
meet him, and assist him at Martinsburg? This is -
an inquiry, not an order. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General McClellan.
Washington, May 25, 1862, 2 P. M.
The enemy is moving north in sufficient force to
drive General Banks before him, precisely in what

I>EN AND VOICE. 145
force we can not tell. He ' is also threatening Lees-
burg and Geary, on the Manassas Gap Railroad, from
both north and south — in precisely what force we
can not tell. I think the movement is a general and
concerted one, such as would not be if he was act
ing upon the purpose of a very desperate defense
of Richmond. I think the time is near when you
must either attack Richmond, or give up the job,
and come to thev defense of Washington. Let riie
hear from you instantly. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General McClellan.
Washington, May 25, 1862.
Your dispatch received. General Banks was at
Strasburg, with about 6,000 men, Shields having
taken from him to swell a column for McDowell to
aid you at Richmond, and the rest of his force scat
tered at various places. On the 23d, a rebel force of
7,000 to 10,000 fell upon one regiment and two com
panies, guarding the bridge at Front Royal, destroy
ing it entirely, crossed the Shenandoah, and on the
24th (yesterday) pushed on to get north of Banks,
on the road to Winchester. General Banks ran a
race with them, beating them into Winchester yes
terday evening.
This morning a battle ensued between the two
forces, in which General Banks was beaten back into
full retreat toward Martinsburg, and probably is
broken up into a total rout. Geary, on the Manassas .
Gap Railroad, just now reports that Jackson is now
near Front Royal, with 10,000 troops, following up
13

146 ABRAkAM LINCOtN S
and supporting, as I understand, the force now pur
suing Banks. Also that another force of 10,000 is
near Orleans, following on the same direction. Strip
ped bare, as we are here, I will do all we can to
prevent them crossing the Potomac at Harper's
Perry or above. McDowell has about 20,000 of his
forces moving back to the vicinity of Front Royal,
and Fremont, who was at Franklin, is moving to-
Harrisonburg ; both these movements intended to get
in the enemy's rear.
One more of McDowell's brigades is ordered
through here to Harper's Ferry, the rest of his force
remain at present at Fredericksburg. We are send
ing such regiments and dribs from here and Balti
more as we can spare to Harper's Ferry, supplying
their places in some sort, by calling in militia from
the adjacent states. We also have eighteen cannon
on the road to Harper's Ferry, of which arm there
is not a single one at that point. This is now our
situation. If McDowell's force was now beyond our reach
we should be entirely helpless. Apprehensions of
something like this, and no unwillingness to sustain
you, have always been my reasons for withholding
McDowell's from you. Please understand this, and
do the best you can with the forces you have.
A. Lincoln.
To General Saxton, Harper's Ferry.
War Department, May 25, 1862.
I fear you have mistaken me. I did not mean to.
question the correctness of your conduct; on the

PEN AND VOICE. 147
contrary, I approve what you have done. As the
2,500 reported by you seemed small to me, I feared
some had got to Banks and been cut off with him.
Please tell me the exact number you have in hand.
A. Lincoln.
To General Saxton, Harper's Ferry.
War Department, May 25, 1862, 6:50 P. M.
One good six-gun battery, complete in its men
and appointments, is now on its way to you from
Baltimore. Eleven other guns, of different sorts, are
on their way to you from here. Hope they will all
reach you before morning. As you have 2,500 fnen
at Harper's Ferry, where are the rest which were in
that vicinity and which we have sent forward ? Have
any of them been cut off? - A. Lincoln.
To- Secretary Chase, Fredericksburg, Va.
War Department, May 25, 1862.
It now appears that Banks got safely into Win- '
Chester last night, and is this morning retreating on
Harper's Ferry. This justified the inference that .he
is pressed by numbers superior to his own. I think
it not improbable that Ewell, Jackson, and Johnson
are pouring through the gap they made day before
yesterday at Port Royal, making a dash northward.
It will be a very valuable and very honorable service
for General McDowell to cut them off. I hope he
will put all possible energy and speed into the effort.
A. Lincoln.

148 Abraham Lincoln's
To General v McDowell, Manassas Junction.
Washington, May 28, 1862, 1 P. M.
General McClellan, at 6:30 p. m. yesterday, tele
graphed that Fitz John Porter's division had fought
and driven 13,000 of the enemy, under General Brand,
from Hanover Court-House, and was driving them :
from a stand they had made on the railroad at the
time the messenger left. Two hours later he tele
graphed that Stoneman had captured an engine and
six cars on the Virginia Central, which he at once
sent to communicate with F. J. Porter. Nothing
further from McClellan.
If Porter effects a lodgment on both railroads
near Hanover Court-House, consider whether your
forces in front of Fredericksburg should not push
through and join him. A. Lincoln.
Letter to General McClellan, May 28, 1862.
I am very glad of General F. J. Porter's victory ;
still, if it was a total rout of the enemy, I am puz-
zled to know why the Richmond and Fredericksburg
Railroad was not seized again, as you say you have
all the railroads but the Richmond and Fredericks
burg. I am puzzled to see how, lacking that, you
can have any, except the scrap from Richmond to
West Point. The scrap of the Virginia Central,
from Richmond to Hanover Junction, without more,
is simply nothing.
That the whole of the enemy is concentrating on
Richmond, I think can not be certainly known to you-
or me. Saxton, at Harper's Ferry, informs us that

PEN AND VOICE. 149
large forces, supposed to be Jackson's and Ew'ell's,
forced his advance from Charlestown to-day. Gen
eral King, telegraphs us from Fredericksburg that
contrabands give certain information that 15,000 left
Hanover Junction Monday morning to reinforce
Jackson. I am painfully impressed with the importance of
the struggle before you, and shall aid you all I cap
consistently with my view of the due regard to all
-points. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Fremont, Moorefield, Va.
Washington, May 29, 1862, 12 M.
General McDowell's advance, if not checked by
.the enemy, should, and probably will, be at Front
Royal at 12 (noon) to-morrow. His force, when up,
will be about 20,000. Please have your force at
Strasburg, or, if the route you are moving on does
not lead to that point, as near Strasburg as the en
emy may be by the same time. Your dispatch, No.
30, received and satisfactory. A. Lincoln.
Message Explanatory of Government Purchases in
May, 1861. May 29, 1862.-
To the Senate and House of Representatives: — The
insurrection which is yet existing in the United
States, and aims at the overthrow of the Federal
Constitution and the Union, was clandestinely pre
pared during the winter of 1860 and 1861, and as
sumed an open organization in the form of a treason
able provisional government at Montgomery, in

150 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
Alabama, on the 18th day of February, 1861. On
the 12th day of April, 1861, the insurgents committed
the flagrant act of civil war by the bombardment and
capture of Fort Sumter, which cut off the hope of
immediate conciliation. Immediately afterward all
the roads and avenues to this city were obstructed,
and the capital was put into the condition of a siege. .
The mails in every direction were stopped, and the
lines of telegraph cut off by the insurgents; and
military and naval forces, which had been called out
by the government for the defense of Washington,
were prevented from reaching the city by organized
and combined treasonable resistance in the State of
Maryland. There was no adequate and effective
organization for the public defense. Congress had
indefinitely adjourned. There was no time to con
vene them. It became necessary for me to choose
whether, using only the existing means, agencies, and
processes which Congress had provided, I should let
the government fall at once into ruin, or whether,
availing myself of the broader powers conferred by
the Constitution in cases of insurrection, 1 would
make an effort to save it, with all its blessings" for
the present age and for posterity.
I thereupon summoned my constitutional advisers,
the heads of all departments, to meet on Sunday, the
20th day of April, 1861, at the office of the Navy De
partment, and then and there, with their unanimous
concurrence, I directed that an armed revenue cutter
should proceed to sea, to afford protection to the com
mercial marine, and especially the California treasure
ships then on their way to this coast. I also directed

PEN AND VOICE. 151
the commandant of the navy-yard at Boston to pur
chase or charter, and arm as quickly as possible, five
stearnships, for purposes of public defense. I directed
the commandant of the navy-yard at Philadelphia to
purchase, or charter and arm, an equal number for
the same purpose. I directed the commandant at
New York to purchase, or charter and arm, an equal
number. I directed Commander Gillis to purchase,
or charter and arm, and put to sea two other vessels.
Similar directions were given to Commodore DuPont,
with a view to the opening of passages by water to
and from the capital. I directed the several officers
to take the advice and obtain the aid and efficient
services in the matter of his Excellency, Edwin D.
Morgan, the governor of New York; or, in his ab
sence, George D. Morgan, William M. Evarts, R. M.
Blatchford, and Moses H. Grinnell, who were, by my
directions, especially empowered by the Secretary of
the Navy to act for his department in that crisis, in
matters pertaining to the forwarding of troops and
supplies for. the public defense.
On the same occasion, I directed that Governor
Morgan and Alexander Cummings, of the city of
New York, should be authorized by the Secretary of
War, Simon Cameron, to make all necessary arrange
ments for the transportation of troops and munitions
of war, in aid and assistance of the officers of the
army of the United States, until communication by
mails and telegraph should be completely re-estab
lished between the cities of Washington and New
York. No security was required, to be given by

152 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
them, and either of them was authorized to act in
case of inability to consult with the others.
On the same occasion, I authorized and directed the
Secretary of the Treasury to advance, without requir
ing security, two millions of dollars for public money
to John A. Dix, George Opdyke, and Richard M.
Blatchford, of New York, to be used by them in
meeting such requisitions as should be directly con
sequent upon the military and naval measures neces
sary for the defense and support of the government,
requiring them only to act without compensation, .
and to report their transactions when duly called,
upon. The several departments of the government
at that time contained so large a number of disloyal
persons that it would have been impossible to provide
Bafely, through official agents only, for the perform
ance of the duties thus confided to citizens favorably
known for their ability, loyalty and patriotism.
The several orders issued upon these occurrences
were transmitted by private messengers, who pursued
a circuitous way to the seaboard cities, inland, across
the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio and the north
ern lakes. I believe that by these and other similar
measures taken in that crisis, some of which were
without any authority of law, the government was
saved from overthrow. I am not aware that a dollar
of the public funds thus confided without authority
of law, to unofficial persons was either lost or wasted,
although apprehension of such misdirection occurred
to me as objections to those extraordinary proceed
ings, and were necessarily overruled.
I recall these transactions now because my atten-

PEN AND VOICE. 153"
tion has been directed to a resolution which was
passed by the House of Representatives on the 30th
day of last month, which is in these words :
Resolved, That Simon Cameron, late Secretary of
War, by investing Alexander Cummings with the
control of large sums of the public money, and au
thority to purchase military supplies without restric
tion, without requiring from him any guarantee for
the faithful performance of his duties, when the serv
ices of competent public officers were available, and
by involving the government in a vast number of
contracts with persons not legitimately engaged in
the business pertaining to the subject-matter of such
contracts, especially in the purchase of arms for future
delivery, has adopted a. policy highly injurious to-the
public service, and deserves the censure of the house.
Congress will see that I should be wanting equally
in candor and injustice, if I should leave the censure
expressed in this resolution to rest exclusively or
chiefly upon Mr. Cameron. The same sentiment is
unanimously entertained by the heads of departments,
who participated in the proceedings which the House
of Representatives has censured. It is due to Mr.
Cameron to say that, although he fully approved the
proceedings, they were not moved or suggested by
himself, and that not only the President but. allthe
other heads of departments were at least equally re
sponsible with him for whatever error, wrongs or fault
was committed in the premises. Abraham Lincoln.

154 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S'
To Major-General McClellan.
Washington, May 31, 1862.
A circle whose circumference shall pass through
Harper's Ferry, Front Royal and Strasburg, and
whose center shall be a little north east of Winchester,
almost certainly has within it this morning the forces
of Jackson, Ewell and Edward Johnson. Quite cer
tainly they were within it two days ago. Some part
of their forces attacked Harper's Ferry at dark last
evening, and are still in sight this morning. Shields,
with McDowells advance, took Front Royal a 11 A. m.
yesterday, with a dozen of our own prisoners taken
there a week ago, 150 of the enemy, two locomotives
and eleven cars, some other property and stores, and
saved the bridge.
General Fremont, from the direction of Moorefield,
promises to be at or near Strasburg at 5 p. M. to-day. ,
General Banks at Williamsport with his old force,
and his new force at Harper's Ferry, is directed to co
operate. Shields, at Front Royal, reports a rumor of
still an additional force of the enemy, supposed to be
at Anderson's, having entered the valley of Virginia.
This last may or may not be true. Corinth is certain
ly in the hands of General Halleck. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General McClellan.
War Dep't, Washington City, June 1, 1862, 5 P. M.
Thanks for what you could and did say in your dis
patch of noon to-day to the Secretary of War. If the
enemy shall not have renewed the attack this after
noon, I think the hardest of your work is done.

PEN AND VOICE. 155
Shields's advance came in collision with part of the
enemy yesterday evening six miles from Front Royal,
in a direction between Winchester and Strasburg,
driving them back, capturing a few prisoners and one
rifled cannon. Firing in that direction to-day heard
both from Harper's Ferry and Front Royal, indicate-
a probability that Fremont has met the enemy.
We have concluded to send General Sigel to
Harper's Ferry, so that what I telegraphed you about
him this morning is revoked. Dix goes to Fort
Monroe to:nighf. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Fremont.
Washington, June 9, 1862.
Halt at Harrisonburg, pursuing Jackson no farther.
Get your force well in hand and stand on the defen
sive, guarding against a movement of the enemy back
toward Strasburg or Franklin, and wait further orders,
which will soon be sent you. A. Lincoln.
• To Major-General Fremont.
Washington, June 12, 1862.
Yours preferring Mount Jackson to Harrisonburg,
is just received. On this point use your discretion,
remembering that our object is to give such protection
as you can to Western Virginia. Many thanks to
yourself, officers, and men for the gallant battle of
last Sunday. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Fremont.
Washington, June 13, 1862.
We can not afford to keep your force and Banks's
and McDowell's engaged in keeping Jackson south of

156 Abraham Lincoln's
Strasburg and Front Royal. You fought Jackson
alone and worsted him. He can have no substantial
re-inforcements so long as a battle is pending at Rich
mond. Surely you and Banks in supporting distance,
are capable of keeping him from returning to Win
chester. But if Sigel be sent forward to you and
McDowell (as he must be put to other work), Jackson
will break through at Front Royal again. He is al
ready on the right side of the Shenandoah to do it,
and on the wrong side of it to attack you. The orders
already sent you and Banks place you and him in the
proper position for the work assigned you. Jackson
can not move his whole force on either of you before
the other can learn of it and go to his assistance. He
can not divide his force, sending part against each of
you, because he will be too weak for either. Please
do as I directed in the order of the 8th, and my dis
patch of yesterday, the 12th, and neither you or Banks
will be overwhelmed by Jackson. By proper scout
lookouts, and beacons of smoke by day and fires by <
night, you can always have timely notice of the ene
my's approach. I know not as to you, but by some
this has been too much neglected. Lincoln:
To Major-General Fremont.
War Dep't, Washington City, D. C, June 15, 1862.
My dear sir: — Your letter of the 12th, by Colonel
Zagonyi, is just received. In answer to the principal
part of it, I repeat the substance of an order of the
8th, and one or two telegraphic dispatches sent you
since. We have no indefinite power of sending reinforce-

pen and voice. 157
ments, so that we are compelled rather to consider
the proper disposal of the forces we have than of
those we could wish to have. We may be able to
send you some dribs by degrees, but I do not believe
We can do more. As you alone beat Jackson last
Sunday, I argue that you are stronger than he is to
day, unless he has been reinforced, and that he can
not have been materially reinforced, because such re
inforcement could only have come from Richmond,
and he is much more likely to go to Richmond than
Richmond is to come to him. Neither is very likely.
I think Jackson's game — his assigned work — now is
to magnify the accounts of his number and reports
of his movements, and thus, by constant alarms, to
keep three or four times as many of our troops away
from Richmond as his own force amounts to.
Thus he helps his friends at Richmond three or
four times as much as if he were there. Our game
is not to allow this. Accordingly, by the order of
the 8th, I directed you to halt at Harrisonburg, rest
your force, and get it well in hand, the object being
to guard against Jackson's returning by the same
route to the Upper Potomac, over which you have
*just driven him out, and at the same time give some
protection against a raid into West Virginia. .Al
ready I have given you discretion to occupy Mount
Jackson instead, if, on full consideration, you think
best. I do not believe Jackson will attack you, but
certainly he can not attack you by surprise ; and if
he comes upon you in superior force, you have
but to notify us, fall back cautiously, and Banks will
join you in due time. But, while we know not

158 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
^whether Jackson will move at all, or by what route,
we can not safely put you and Banks both on the
Strasburg line, and have no force on the Front Royal
line, upon which he prosecuted his last raid. The
true policy is to place one of you on one line, and the
other on the other, in such position that you can
unite on either, once you actually find Jackson mov
ing upon it. And this is precisely what we are
doing. This protects that part of our frontier, so to speak,
and liberates McDowell to go to the assistance of
McClellan. I have arranged this, and am very un
willing to have it deranged. While you have only
asked for Sigel, I have spoken only of Banks, and
this because Sigel's force is now the principal part of
Banks's force. About transferring General Schenck's
command, the purchase of supplies, and the promo
tion and appointment of officers mentioned in your
letter, I will consult with- the Secretary of War to
morrow. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Fremont, Mount Jackson, Va.
Washington, June 16, 1862.
Your dispatch of yesterday, reminding me of a
supposed understanding that I would furnish you a
corps of 35,000 men, and asking of me the " fulfill
ment of this understanding " is received. I am ready
to come to a fair settlement of accounts with you on
the fulfillment of understandings.
Early in March last, when I assigned you to the
command of the Mountain Department," I did tell
you I would give you all the force I could, and that I

PEN AND VOICE. 159
hoped to make it reach 35,000. You at the same
time told me that within a reasonable time you would
seize the railroad at or east of Knoxville, Tennessee,
if you could. There was then in the department a
force supposed to be 25,000, the exact number as well
known to you as to me. After looking about two or
days, you called, and distinctly told me that if I
would add the Blenker division to the force already
in the department, you would undertake the job.
The Blenker division contained 10,000, and, at the
expense of great dissatisfaction to General McClellan
I took it from his army, and gave it to you. My
"promise was literally fulfilled. I have given you all
I could, and I have given you very nearly, if not
quite, 35,000. Now for yours : On the 23d of May,
largely over two months afterward, v you were sat
Franklin, Virginia, not within 300 miles of Knox
ville, nor within eighty miles of any part of the rail
road east of it, and not moving forward, but telegraph
ing here that you could not move for lack of every
thing. Now, do not misunderstand me. I do not
say you have not done all you could. I presume you
met unexpected difficulties; and Lbeg you to be
lieve that, as- surely as you have done your best, so
have I. I have not the power now to fill up your
corps to 35,000. I am not demanding of you to do
the work of 35,000. I am only asking of you to
stand cautiously on the defensive, get your force in
order, and give such protection as you can to the
valley of the Shenandoah and to Western Virginia.
Have you received the orders, and will you act
upon them, ? A. Lincoln.

160 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
To Brigadier-General Schurz, Mount Jackson, Va.
Washington, June 16, 1862.
Your long letter is received. The information you
give is valuable. You say it is fortunate that Fre
mont did not intercept Jackson ; that Jackson had a
superior force, and would have overwhelmed him.
If this is so, how happened it that Fremont fairly
fought and routed him on the 8th? Or is the account
that he did fight and rout him false and fabricated?
Both General Fremont and you speak of Jackson
having beaten Shields. By our accounts he did not
beat Shields. He had no engagement with Shields.
He did meet and drive back with disaster about 2,000
of Shields's advance till they were met by an addi
tional brigade of Shields's, when Jackson himself
turned and retreated. Shields himself and more than
half his force were not nearer than twenty miles to
any of it. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General McClellan.
Washington City, June 20, 1862.
We have this morning sent you a dispatch of Gen
eral Sigel, corroborative of the proposition that Jack
son is being re-inforced from Richmond. This may
be reality and yet may be only contrivance for decep
tion, and to determine which, is perplexing. If we
knew it was not true, we could send you some more
force, but as the case stands we do not think we safely
can. Still, we will watch the signs and do so if pos
sible. In regard to a contemplated execution of Captains

PEN AND VOICE. 161
Sprigg and Triplett, the government has no informa
tion whatever, but will inquire and advise you.
A. Lincoln.
To Major-General McClellan.
Washington, June 21, 1862, 6 P. M.
Your dispatch of yesterday (2 p. m.) was received
this morning. If it would not divert too much of
your time and attention from the army under your
immediate command, I would be glad to have your
views as to the present state of military affairs
throughout the whole country, as you say you would
be glad to give them. I would rather it should be
by letter than by telegraph, because of the better
chance of secrecy. As to the numbers and position
of the troops not under your command in Virginia
and elsewhere, even if I could do so with accuracy,
which I can not, I would rather not transmit either
by telegraph or letter, because of the chances of its
reaching the enemy. I would be glad to talk with
you, but you can not leave your camp and I can not
well leave here. A. Lincoln.
Presidential Orders.
Executive Mansion, Washington, June 22, 1862.
Ordered, First. The forces under Major-Generals
Fremont, Banks, and McDowell, including the troops
now. under Brigadier-General Sturges at Washing
ton, shall be consolidated and form one army, to be
called the Army of Virginia.
Second. The command of the Army of Virginia
14

162 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
is specially assigned to Major-General John Pope, as
commanding general. The troops of the Mountain
Department, heretofore under command of General
Fremont, shall constitute the First Army Corps, un
der the command of General Fremont; the troops
of the Shenandoah Department, now under General
Banks, shall constitute the Second Army Corps, and
be commanded by him ; the troops under the com
mand of General McDowell, except those within the
fortifications and city of Washington, shall form the
Third Army Corps, and be under his command.
Third. The Army of Virginia shall operate in
such manner as, while protecting Western Virginia
and the National capital from danger or insult, it
shall in the speediest manner atta'ck and overcome
the rebel forces under Jackson and Ewell, threaten
the enemy in the direction of Charlottesville, and
render the most effective aid to relieve General Mc
Clellan and capture Richmond.
Fourth. When the Army of the Potomac and the
Army of Virginia shall be in a position to communi
cate and directly co-operate at or before Richmond,
the chief command, while so co-operating together,"
shall be governed, as in like cases, by the Rules and
Articles of War. A. Lincoln
To General McClellan. June 26, 1862.^
Your three dispatches of yesterday, in relation to
the affair, ending with the statement that you com
pletely succeeded in making your point, are very
gratifying. The later one, of 6£ p. m., suggesting the

pen and voice. 163
"probability of your being overwhelmed by two hun
dred thousand men, and talking of whom the respon
sibility will belong to, pains me very much. I give
you all I can, and act on the presumption that you
will do the best you can with what you have ; while
you continue, ungenerously, I think, to assume that
I could give you more if I would. I have omitted, I
shall omit, no opportunity to send you re-inforce-
ments whenever I possibly can. A. Lincoln.
To General McClellan. June 28, 1862.
Save your army at all events. Will send re-inforce-
ments as fast as we can. Of course, they can not
reach you to-day, to-morrow or next day. I have
not said that you were ungenerous for saying you
needed re-inforcements. I thought you were ungen
erous in assuming that I did not send them as fast as
I could. I feel any misfortune to you and your army
as keenly as you feel it yourself. If you have had a
drawn battle or a repulse, it is the price we pay for
the enemy not being in Washington. We protected
Washington, and the enemy concentrated on you.
Had we stripped Washington, he would have been
upon us before the troops sent could have got to you.
Less than a week ago you notified us that re-inforce
ments were leaving Richmond to come in front of us.
It is the nature of the case, and neither you nor the
government is to blame. A. Lincoln.

164 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
Hon. William H. Seward, Astor House-, New York.
War Department, June 29, 1862, 6 P. M.
Not much more than when you left. Fulton, of
Baltimore American, is now with us. He left White
House at 11 a. m. yesterday. He conversed fully with
a paymaster, who was with Porter's force during the
fight of Friday, and fell back to nearer McClellan's
quarters just a little sooner than Porter did, seeing
the whole of it. Staid on the Richmond side of the
Chickahominy over night, and left for White House at
five a. m. Saturday. He says Porter retired in per- -
feet order under protection of guns arranged for the
purpose, under orders, and not from necessity, and
with all others of our forces, except what was left on
purpose to go to White House, was safely in position
over the Chickahominy before morning, and that
there was heavy firing on the Richmond side, begun
at 5 and ceased at 7 a. m., Saturday. On the whole
I think we have had the better of it up to that point
of time. What has happened since we still know
not, as we have no communication with General Mc
Clellan. A dispatch from Colonel Ingalls shows that
he thinks McClellan is fighting with the enemy at
Richmond to-day, and will be to-morrow.
We have no means of knowing upon what Colonel
Ingalls founds his opinion. All confirmed about sav
ing all property. Not a single unwounded straggler
came back to the White House from the field, and
the number of wounded reaching there up to 11 a. m.
Saturday, was not large. A. Lincoln.

pen and voice. 165
Hon. William H. Seward, New York.
War Department, June 30, 1862.
We are yet without communication w-ith General
McClellan, and this absence of news is our point of
anxiety. Up to the latest period to which we are posted he
effected every thing in such exact accordance with
his plan, contingently announced to us before the
battle began, that we feel justified to hope that he has
not failed since.
He had a severe engagement in getting the part of
his army on this side of the Chickahominy over to
the other side, in which the enemy lost certainly as
much as we did.
We are not dissatisfied with this, only that the loss
of enemies does not compensate for the loss of friends.
The enemy can not come below White House ; cer
tainly is not there now, and probably has abandoned
the Whole line.
Dix's pickets are at New Kent Court-house. A. Lincoln.
Major-General Hunter.
Executive Mansion, Washington, June 30, 1862.
My Dear General: — I have just received your letter
of the 25th of June.
I assure you, and you may feel authorized in stat
ing, that the recent change of commanders in the De
partment of the South was made for no reasons which
convey any imputation upon your known energy, effi
ciency and patriotism, but for causes which seemed

166 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
sufficient, while they were in no degree incompatible
with the respect and esteeem in which I have always
held 'you as a man and an officer.
I can notf by giving my consent to a publication of
whose details I know nothing, assume the responsi-"
bility' of whatever you may write. In this matter
your own sense of military propriety must be your
guide, and the regulation of the service your rule of
conduct. I am, very truly, your friend, A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Dix, Fort Monroe.
War Department, Washington City, June 30, 1862.
Is it not probable the enemy has abandoned the
line between White House and McClellan's rear ?
He could have but little object to maintain it, and
nothing to subsist upon. Would not Stoneman better
move up and see about it? I think a telegraphic
communication can at once be opened to Whita
House from Williamsburg. The wires must be up
still. A. Lincoln.
To McClehan, July 1, 1862.
It-is impossible to re-inforce you for your present
emergency. If we had a million of men we could
not get them to you in time. We have not the men
to send. If you are not strong enough to face the
enemy, you must find a place of security, and wait,
rest and repair. Maintain your ground if you can,
but save the army at all events, even if you fall back
to Fort Monroe. We still have strength enough in
the country, and will bring it out. A. Lincoln.

pen and voice. 167
Letter to McClellan, July 2, 1862.
Your dispatch of yesterday induces me to hope
that your army is having some rest. In the hope,
allow me to reason with you for a moment. When
you ask for 50,000 men to be promptly sent you, 3011
surely labor under some gross mistake of fact. Re
cently you sent papers showing your disposal of forces
made last spring for the defense of Washington, and
advising a return to that plan. I find it included, in
and about Washington, 75,000 men.
Now, please be assured that I have not men enough
to fill that very plan by 15,000. All of General Fre
mont's in the valley, all of General Banks', all of Gen
eral McDowell's not with you, and all in Washington
taken together, do not exceed, if they reach, 60,000.-
With General Wool and General Dix added to
those mentioned, I have not, outside of your army,
75,000 men east of the mountains. Thus, the idea
of sending you 50,000, or any other considerable force
promptly, is simply absurd. If, in your frequent
mention of responsibility, you have the impression
that I blame you for not doing more than you can,
please be relieved of such impression. I only beg
that in like manner, you will not ask impossibilities
of me.
If you think you are not strong enough to take
Richmond just now, I do not ask you to try just
now. Save the army, material and personnel, and I
will strengthen it, for the offensive again as fast as I
can.

168 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
i
The governors of eighteen states offer me a new
levy of 300,000, which I accept. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Halleck, Corinth, Miss.
War Department, July 2, 1862.
Your several dispatches of yesterday to Secretary
of War and myself received. I did say, and now re
peat, I would be exceedingly glad for some reinforce
ments from you; still, do not send a man if, in your
judgment, it will endanger any point you deem im
portant to hold, or will force you to give up or weaken
or delay the Chattanooga expedition. Please tell me,
could you make me a flying visit for consultation
without endangering the service in your department? '
A. Lincoln.
To Major-General George B. McClellan.
War Department, Washington, July 3, 1862.
Yours of 5:30 yesterday is just received. I am sat
isfied that yourself, officers and men have done the
best you could. All accounts say better fighting was
never done. Ten thousand thanks for it.
On the 28th we sent General Burnside an order to
send all the force he could spare to you. We then
learned that you had requested him to go to Golds-
borough ; upon which we said to him our order was
intended for your benefit, and we did not wish to be
in conflict with your views. We hope you will have
help from him soon. To-day we have ordered Gen
eral Hunter to send you all he can spare. At last
advice General Hunter thinks he can not send re in-
forcements without endangering all he has gained.
A. Lincoln, President.

PEN AND VOICE. 169
To Governor Morton. July 3, 1862.
My Dear Sir : — I would not want the half of 300,-
000 new troops if I could have them now. If I had
50,000 additional troops here now I believe I conld
substantially close the war in two weeks ; but time is
every thing, and if I get the 50,000 new men in a
month I shall have lost 20,000 old ones during that
same month, having gained only 30,000, with the dif
ference between old and new troops still against me.
The quicker you raise the troops the fewer you will
have to send, and time is every thing. Please act in
view of this. The enemy having given up Corinth,
it is not wonderful that he is thereby enabled to check
us for a time at Richmond. A. Lincoln.
Letter to General McClellan.
War Dep't, Washington City, July 4, 1862.
I understand your position as stated in your letter,
and by General Marcy. To re-inforce you so as to
enable you to resume the offensive within a month,
or even six weeks, is impossible. In addition to that
arrived and now arriving from the Potomac (about
10,000 men, I suppose), and about 10,000, 1 hope, you
will have from Burnside very soon, and about 5,000
from Hunter a little later, I do not see how I can
send you another man within a month. Under these
circumstances, the defensive, for the present, must be
your only care.
Save the army, first, where you are, if you can ;
and secondly, by removal if you must. You, on the
15

170 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
ground, must be the judge as to which you will at
tempt, and of the means for effecting it. I but give
it as my opinion, that with the aid of the gunboats
and the re-inforcements mentioned above, you can
hold your present position; provided, and so long
as you can keep the James river open below you.
If you are not tolerably confident you can keep the
James river open you had better remove as soon as
possible. I do not remember that you have expressed
any apprehension as to the danger of having your
communication cut on the river below you, yet I do
not suppose it can have escaped your attention.- A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Halleck, Corinth, Miss.
War Department, Washington, D. C, July 6, 1862.
My Dear Sir: — This introduces Governor William
Sprague, of Rhode Island. He is now governor for
the third time and senator elect of the United States.
I know the object of his visit to you. He has my
cheerful consent to go, but not my direction. He
wishes to get you and part of your force, one or both,
to come here. You already know I should be exceed
ingly glad of this, if in your judgment it could be,
without endangering positions and operations in the
south-west, and I now repeat what I have more than
once said by telegraph on this point : " Do not come or
send a man if in your judgment it will endanger any
point you deem important to hold or endanger or
delay the Chattanooga expedition." Still, please give
my friend Governor Sprague a full and fair hearing.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.

PEN AND VOICE. 171
To Hon. Andrew Johnson.
War Department, July 11, 1862.
My Dear Sir: — Yours of yesterday is received. Do
you not, my good friend, perceive that what you ask
is simply to put you in command of the West? I do.
not suppose you desire this. You only wish to control
in your own localities ; but this you must know may
derange all other posts.
Can you not, and will you not have a full conference
with General Halleck ? Telegraph him and meet him
at such place as you and he can agree upon.
I telegraph him to meet you and confer fully with
you. A. Lincoln.
Address to the Senators and Representatives of
the Border States. July, 1862.
Gentlemen: — After the adjournment of Congress,
now near, I shall have no opportunitj' of seeing you
for several months. Believing that you of the border
states hold more power for good than any other equal
number of members, I feel it a duty which I can not
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 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 definitely and certainly that
in no event will the states you represent ever join

172 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
their proposed confederacy, and they can not much
longer maintain the contest. But you can not divest
them of their hope to ultimately have you with them,
as long as you show a determination to perpetuate
the institution within your own states ; beat them at
election 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 you no
more forever. Most of you have treated me with
kindness and consideration ; and I trust you 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 relation of the states to the nation shall
be practically restored without disturbance of the in
stitution ; 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 can not be avoided. If
the war continues long, as it must if the object be not
sooner attained, the institution in your states, will be
extinguished by mere friction and abrasion — by the
mere incidents of the war. It will be gone, and you
will have nothing valuable in lieu of it. Much of its
value is gone already. How much better for you and
your people, to take the step which at once shortens

PEN AND VOICE. 173
the war, and secures substantial compensationibr that
which is sure to be wholly lost in any other event.
How much better 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 pe
cuniarily unable to do it. How much better for you,
as seller, and the nation, as buyer, to sell out and buy
out, that without which the war never could 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 America for colonization can be ob
tained cheaply, and in abundance ; and when numbers
shall be large enough to be company and encourage
ment 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. General 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 every-where could be free. 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 dissatisfaction, if not
offense, to many whose support the country can not
afford to lose. And this is not the end of it. The
pressure in this direction is still upon me, and is in
creasing. By conceding what I now ask, you can

174 ABRAHAM XINCOLN'S
relieve me, and, much more, can relieve the country
in this important point.
Upon these considerations I have again begged
your attention to tie message of March last.
Before leaving the capital, consider and discuss it
among yourselves. You are patriots and statesmen,
and as such, I pray you consider 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 bring 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 inconceivably grand. To you,
more than to any others, the privilege is given to as
sure that happiness and swell that grandeur, and to
link your own names therewith forever.
To McClellan, July 13, 1862.
My Dear Sir .-— I am told that over 160,000 men
have gone with your army to the Peninsula. When
I was with you the other day, we made out 86,000
remaining, leaving 73,500 to be accounted for. I
believe 23,500 will cover all the killed, wounded, and
missing, in all your battles and skirmishes, leaving
50,000 who have left otherwise, and more than 5,000
of these have died, leaving 45,000 of your army still
alive and not with it. I believe half or two-thirds of
them are fit for duty to-day. Have you any more

PEN AND VOICE. 175
perfect knowledge of this than I have? If I am
right, and you had these men with you, you could
go into Richmond in the next three days. How can
they be got to you, and how can they be prevented
from getting away in such numbers for the future?
A. Lincoln.
President's Nomination, July 16, 1862.
The President of the United States of America to all who
shall see these presents, greeting :
Know ye that, reposing special trust and confidence
in the patriotism, valor, fidelity, and abilities of
Fitz John Porter, I have nominated, and, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint
him major-general of volunteers in the service of the
United States, to rank as such from the 4th day of
July, 1862. He is, therefore, carefully and diligently
to discharge the duty of major-general, by doing and
performing all manner of things thereunto belonging.
And I do strictly charge and require all officers and
soldiers under his command to be obedient to his or
ders as major-general. And he is to observe and
follow such orders and directions, from time to
time, as he shall recieve from me, or the future
President of the United States of America, or the
general, or other superior officers set over him, ac
cording to the rules and discipline of war. This com
mission to continue in force during the pleasure of
the President of the United States for the time
being. Given under my hand, at the city of Washington,
this 16th day of July, in the year of our Lord one

176 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and in the
eighty-seventh year of the independence of the
United States. Abraham Lincoln.
Communication to Congress, July 17, 1862.
Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Represent
atives: — Considering the bill for an act to suppress
insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize
and confiscate the property of the rebels and other
purposes, and the joint resolution explanatory of said
act as being substantially one, I have approved and '
signed both.
Before I was informed of the passage of the reso
lution, I had prepared the draft of a message stating
objections to the bill becoming a law, a copy of which
draft is herewith trsnsmitted.
Abraham Lincoln.
Fellow- Citizens of the House of Representatives : — I-
herewith return to your honorable body, in which it
originated, the bill for an act entitled An act to sup
press treason and rebellion, to sieze and confiscate
the property of the rebels, and for other purposes,
together with my objections to its becoming a" law.
There is much in the bill to which I perceive no ob
jection. It is wholly prospective, and it touches
neither the person nor property of any loyal citizen,
in which particular it is just and proper. The first
and second sections provide for the conviction and
punishment of persons who shall be guilty of treason,
and the persons who shall incite, set on foot, assist,
or engage in any rebellion or_ insurrection against the

PEN AND VOICE. 177
authority of the United States, or the -laws thereof,
or shall give aid or comfort to any such existing re
bellion or insurrection.
By fair construction, the persons within these sec
tions are not to be punished without regular trials in
duly constituted courts under the forms and all the
substantial provisions of law and of the Constitution
applicable to their several cases. To this I perceive
no objection, especially as such persons would be
within the general pardoning power, and also within
the special provision for pardon and amnesty con'
tained in this act. It also provides that the slaves of
persons confiscated under these sections shall be free.
I think there is an unfortunate form of expression
rather than a substantial objection in this. 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 liberated him, the difficulty
would vanish, and this is the real case. The traitor
against the general government forfeits his slave, at
least as justly as he does any other property, and he
forfeits both to the government against which he
offends. The government, so far as there can be ownership,
owns the forfeited slaves, and the question for Con
gress 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. To the
high honor of Kentucky, as I am informed, she has
been, "the owner of some slaves by escheat, and has
sold none, but liberated all.

178 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
I hope the same is true of some other states. In
deed I do not believe it would be physically possible
for the general government to return persons so cir
cumstanced to actual slavery. I believe there would
be physical resistance to it, which would never be
turned aside by argument, nor driven away by force.
In this view of it, I have no objection to this feature
of the bill. Another matter, valued in these two sec
tions, and running through other parts of the act,
will be noticed hereafter.
I perceive no objection to the third and fourth sec
tions. So far as I wish to notice the fifth and sixth
sections, they may be considered together. That the
enforcement of these sections would do no injustice
to the persons embraced within them is clear. That
those who make a causeless war should be compelled
to pay the cost of it is too obviously just to be called
into question. To give government protection to the
property of persons who have abandoned it, and gone
on a crusade to overthrow that same government, is
absurd, if considered in the mere light of justice.
The severest justice may not always be the best
policy. The principle of seizing and appropriating
the property of the persons embraced within these
sections is certainly not very objectionable, but a
justly discriminating application of it would be very
difficult, and to a great extent impossible ; and would
it not be wise to place a power of remission some
where, so that these persons may know that they
have something to save by desisting?
I am not sure whether such power of remission is
or is not within section thirteen, without a special act

PEN AND VOICE. 179
of Congress. I think our military commanders,,
when, in military phrase, they arc within the enemy's
country, should in an orderly manner seize and keep
whatever of real or personal property may be neces
sary or convenient for their demands, and at the same
time preserve in some way the evidence of what
they do.
What I have said in regard to slaves, while com
menting on the first and second sections, is applicable
to the ninth, with the difference that no provision is
made in the whole act for determining whether a par
ticular individual slave does or does not fall within
the class defined within that section. He is to be free
upon certain conditions, but whether these conditions
do or do not pertain to him, no mode of ascertaining
is provided. This could be easily supplied.
To the tenth section I make no objection. The
oath therein required seems to be proper, and the re
mainder of the section is substantially identical with
a law already existing.
The eleventh section simply assumes to confer dis
cretionary powers upon the Executive without the
law. I have no hesitation to go as far in the direc
tion indicated as I may at any time deem expedient,
and I am ready to say now I think it is proper for
our military commanders to employ as laborers as
many persons of African descent as can be* used to
advantage. The twelfth and thirteenth sections are something
better — they are unobjectionable — and the fourteenth
is entirely proper, if all other parts of the act shall
stand.

180 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
That to which I chiefly object pervades most parts
of the act, but more distinctly appears in the first,
second, seventh, and eighth sections. It is the sum
of those provisions which results in the divesting of
title forever. For the causes of treason — the ingredi
ents of treason, but amounting to the full crime — it
declares forfeiture extending beyond the lives of the
guilty parties, whereas the Constitution of the United
States declares that no attainder of treason shall work
corruption of blood or forfeiture, except during the
life of the person attainted. True, there is to be no
formal attainder in this case, still I think the greater
punishment can not be constitutionally inflicted in a
different form for the same offense. With great re
spect I am constrained to say I think this feature of
the act is unconstitutional. It would not be difficult
to modify it. I may remark that the provision of
the Constitution, put in language borrowed from
Great Britain, applies only in this country, as I un
derstand, to real estate.
Again, this act, by proceedings in rem, forfeits
property for the ingredients of treason without, a
conviction of the supposed criminal, or a personal
hearing given him in any proceeding. That we may
not touch property lying within our reach because we
can not give personal notice to an owner who is ab
sent endeavoring to destroy the government, is cer
tainly not very satisfactory. Still the owner may not
be thus engaged, and I think a reasonable time should
be provided for such parties to appear and have per
sonal hearings. Similar provisions are not uncom
mon in connection with proceedings in rem.

PEN AND VOICE. 181
For the reason stated I return the bill to the house
in which it originated.
To CUTHBERT BuLLITT, ESQ., NEW ORLEANS, LA.
Washington, D. C, July 28, 1862.
Sir: — The copy of a letter addressed to yourself by
Mr. Thomas J. Durant has been shown to me. The
writer appears to be an able, a dispassionate and an
entirely sincere man.
The first part of the letter is devoted to an effort to
show that the secession ordinance of Louisiana was
adopted against the will of the majority of the people.
This is probable true, and in that fact may be found
some instruction. Why did they allow the ordinance
to go into effect? Why did they not exert them
selves? Why stand passive and allow themselves to
be trodden down by a minority? Why did they not
hold popular meetings, and have a convention of
their own to express and enforce the true sentiments
of the state ? If pre-organization were against them,
then why not do this now that the United States
-army is. present to protect them ?
The paralysis — the dread palsy — of the government
in the whole struggle is, that this class of men will
do nothing for the government — nothing for them
selves, except demanding that the government shall
not strike its enemies, lest they be struck by acci
dent. Mr. Durant complains, that in various ways,
the relation of master and slave is disturbed by
the presence of our army; and he considers it partic-

182 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
ularly vexatious that this, in part, is done under cover
of an act of Congress, while constitutional guarantees
are superseded on the pleas of military necessity.
The truth is, that what is done and omitted about
slaves is done and omitted on the same military ne
cessity. It is a military necessity to have men and
money; and we can not get either in sufficient num
bers or amounts, if we keep from or drive from our
lines slaves coming to them. Mr. Durant can not
be ignorant of the pressure in this direction, nor of
my efforts to hold it within bounds, till he, and such
as he, shall have time to help themselves. I am riot
posted to speak understandingly on the public regu
lations of which Mr. Durant complains. If experience
shows any of them to be wrong, let them be set right.
I think I can perceive in the freedom of trade which
Mr. Durant urges, that he would relieve both friends
and enemies from the pressure of the blockade. By
this he would serve the enemy more effectively than
the enemy is able to serve himself.
I do not say or believe that to serve the enemy is
the purpose of Mr. Durant, or that he is conscious of
any purposes other than national and patriotic ones.
Still, if this were a class of men who, having no choice
of sides in the contest, were anxious only to have
quiet and comfort for themselves while it rages, and
to fall in with the victorious side at the end of it,
without loss to themselves, their advice as to the
mode of conducting the contest would be precisely
such as his.
He speaks of no duty, apparently thinks of none,

PEN AND VOICE. 183
resting upon Union men. He even thinks it injuri
ous to the Union cause that they should be restrained
-in trade and passages, without taking sides.
They are to touch neither a sail nor a pump line,
merely passengers ("dead heads" at that) — be
carried snug and dry throughout the storm and safely
-landed right side up. Nay, more — even a mutineer
is to go untouched, lest these sacred passengers re
ceive an accidental wound.
Of course the rebellion will never be suppressed in
Louisiana, if the professed Union men there will
neither help to do it, nor permit the government to
do it without their help. Now, I think the remedy
is very different from that suggested by Mr. Durant.
It does not lie in rounding the rough angles of the
war, but in removing the necessity for the war. The
people of Louisiana, who wish protection to person -
and property, have but to reach forth their hands
and take it. Let them in good faith re-inaugurate
the national authority and set up a state government
conforming thereto under the constitution. They
know how to do it, and have the protection of the
army while doing it. The army will be withdrawn
as soon as such government can dispense with its
presence, and the people of the state can then, upon
the old terms, govern themselves to -their liking.
This is very simple and easy.
If they do not do this, if they prefer to hazard all
for the sake of destroying the government, it is for
them to consider whether it is probable I will sur
render the government to save them from losing all.

184 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
If they decline what I suggest, you will scarcely need
to ask what I will do. What would you do in my
position ? Would you drop the war where it is ? Or
would you prosecute it in future with elder-stalk
squirts, charged with rose-water? Would you deal
lighter blows rather than heavier ones ? Would you
give up the control leaving every available means un
applied ? I am in no boastful mood. I shall not do
more than I can, but I shall do all I can to save the
government, which is my sworn duty as well as my
personal inclination. I shall do nothing in malice.
What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Remarks at a Union Meeting in Washington,
August, 6, 1862.
Fellow- Citizens : — I believe there is no precedent for
my appearing before you on this occasion, but it is
also true that there is no precedent for your being
here yourselves, and I offer, in justification of myself
and of you, that, upon examination, I have found
nothing in the constitution against it. I, however,
have an impression that there are younger gentlemen
who will entertain you better, and better address your
understanding than I will or could, and therefore I
propose to detain you but a moment longer.
I afn very little inclined on any occasion to say any
thing unless I hope to produce some good by it. The
only thing I think of just now not likely to be better
said by some one else, is a matter in which we have
heard some othes persons blamed for what I did my-

PEN AND VOICE. 185
self. There has been a very widespread attempt to
have a quarrel between General McClellan and the
Secretary of War. Now, I occupy a position that ,
enables me to observe, that these two gentlemen are
not nearly so deep in the quarrel as some pretending
to be their friends. General McClellan's attitude is
such that, in the very selfishness of his nature, he can
not but wish to be successful, and I hope he will — and
the Secretary of War is in precisely the same situation.
If the military commanders in the field can not be
successful, not only the Secretary of War, but myself,
' for the time being the master of them both, can not
but be failures.
I know General McClellan wishes to be successful,
and I know that he does not wish it any more than
the Secretary of War for him, and both of them to
gether not more than I wish it. Sometimes we have
a dispute about how many men General McClellan has
had, and those who would disparage him say that he
has had a very large number, and those who would
disparage the Secretary of War insist that General
McClellan has had a very small number. The basis
for this is, there is always a wide difference, and on
this occasion, perhaps a wider one than usual, between
the grand total on McClellan's rolls and the men act
ually fit for duty; and those who would disparage
him talk of the grand total on paper, and those who
would disparage the Secretary of War talk of those
at present fit for duty.
General McClellan has sometimes asked for things
16

186 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
that the Secretary of War did not give him. General
McClellan is not to blame for askingfor what he wan ted
and needed, and the Secretary of War is not to blame
for not giving when he had none to give. And I say
here, as far as I know, the Secretary of War has with
held no one thing at any time in my power to give
him. I have no accusation against him. I believe he
is a brave and able man, and I stand here, as justice
requires me to do, to take upon myself what has been
charged on the Secretary of War, as withholding
from him. I have talked longer than I expected to
do, and now I avail myself of my privilege of saying
no more.
The President on Colonization, August 14,* 1862.
Perhaps you have long been free, or all your lives.
Your race is suffering, in my judgment, the greatest
wrong inflicted on any people. But even when you
cease to be slaves, you are yet far removed from being
placed on an equality with the white race. You are cut
off" from many of the advantages which the other race
enjoys. The aspiration of men is to enjoy equality
with the best when free, but on this broad continent
not a single man of your race is made the equal of a
single man of ours. Go where you are treated the
best, and the ban is •still upon you. I do not propose
to discuss this, but to present it as a fact, with which
Ave have to deal. I can not alter it if I would. It is
a fact about which we all think and feel alike, I and
you. We look to our condition. Owing to the ex
istence of the two races on this continent, I need not

PEN AND VOICE. 187
recount to you the effects upon white men, growing
out of the institution of slavery. I believe in its
general evil effects on the white race. See our present
condition — the country engaged in war; our white
men cutting one another's throats— none knowing
how far it will extend — and then consider what wc
know to be the truth. But for your race among us
there could not be war, although many men engaged
on either side do not care for you one way or the
other. Nevertheless, I repeat, without the institution
of slavery, and the colored race as a basis, the war
could not have an existence.
It is better for us both therefore to be separated. I
know that there are free men among you who, even if
they could better their condition, are not as much in
clined to go out of the country as those who, being
slaves, could obtain their freedom on this condition.
I suppose one of the principal difficulties in the way
of colonization is that the free colored man tan not
see that his comfort would be advanced by it. You
may believe that you can live in Washington, or else
where in the United States, the remainder of your
life; perhaps rriore so than you can in any foreign
country, and hence you may come to the conclusion
that you have nothing to do with the idea of going to
a foreign country. This is (I speak in no unkind
sense) an extremely selfish view of the case. But you
ought to do something to help those who are not so
fortunate as yourselves. There is an unwillingness
on the part of our people, harsh as it may be, for you
free colored people to remain with us. Now, if j-ou

188 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
could give a start to the white people you would open
a wide door for many to be made free. If we deal
with those who are not free at the beginning, and
whose intellects are clouded by slavery, we have very
poor material to start with. If intelligent colored
men, such as are before me, would move in this mat
ter, much might be accomplished. It is exceedingly
important that we have men at the beginning capable
of thinking as white men, and not those who have
been systematically oppressed. There is much to en
courage you. For the sake of your race you should
sacrifice something of your present comfort for the
purpose of being as grand in that respect as the white
people. It is a cheering thought throughout life, that
something can be done to ameliorate the condition of
those who have been subject to the hard usages of the
world. It is difficult to make a man miserable while
he feels he is worthy of himself and claims kindred
to the great God who made him. In the American
Revolutionary war sacrifices were made by men en
gaged in it, but they were cheered by the future.
General Washington himself endured greater physical
hardships than if he had remained a British subject,
yet he was a happy man, because he was engaged in
benefiting his race, in doing something for the children
of his neighbors, having none of his own.
The colony of Liberia has been in existence a long
time. In- a certain sense it is a success. The old
President of Liberia, Roberts, has just been with me,
the first time I ever saw him. He says they have
within the bounds of that colony between three and

PEN AND VOICE. 189
four hundred thousand people, or more than in
some of our old states, such as Rhode Island or
Delaware, or in some of our newer states, and less
than in some of our larger ones.
They are not all American colonists or their de
scendants. Something less than 12,000 have been
sent thither from this country. Many of the original
settlers have died, yet, like people elsewhere, their
offspring outnumber those deceased. The question
is, if the colored people are persuaded to go any
where, why not there? One reason for unwilling
ness to do so is, that some of you would rather 're
main in reach .of the country of your nativity. I
do not know how much attachment you may have
toward our race. It does not strike me that you
have the greatest reason to love them. But still
you are attached to them at all events. The place I
am thinking about having for a colony is in Central
America. It is nearer to us than Liberia, not much
more than one-fourth as far as Liberia, and within
seven days run by steamers. Unlike Liberia, it is a
great line of travel, it is a highway. The country
is a very excellent one for any people, and with
great natural resources and advantages, and es
pecially because of the similarity of climate, with
your native soil, thus being suited to your physical
condition. The particular place I have in view is to be a
great highway from the Atlantic or Caribbean Sea
to the Pacific Ocean, and this particular place has
all the advantages for a colony. On both sides there

-190 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
are harbors among the finest in the world. Again,
there is evidence of very rich coal mines. A certain
amount of coal is valuable in any country. Why I
attach so much importance to coal is it will afford
an opportunity to the inhabitants for immediate
¦employment till they get ready to settle permanently
in their homes. If you take colonists where there
is no good landing, there is a bad show; and so.
where there is nothing to cultivate, and of which
to make a farm. But if something is started, so
that you can get your daily bread as soon as you
reach there, it is a great advantage. Coal land is
the best thing I know of with which to commence
an enterprise. To return, you have been talked to
upon this subject, and told that a speculation is in
tended by gentlemen who have an interest in the
country, including the coal mines. We have been
mistaken all our lives if we do not know whites,
as well as blacks, look to' their self-interest. Un
less among those deficient of intellect, every body
you trade with makes something. You meet with
these things here and every-where. If such per
sons have what will be an advantage to them, the
question is, whether it can not be made of advantage
to you ? You are intelligent, and know that success
does not as much depend on external help as on
self-reliance. Much, therefore, depends upon your
selves. As to the coal mines, I think I see the
means available for your self-reliance. I shall, if
I get a sufficient number of you engaged, have pro
vision made that you will not be wronged'. If you

PEN AND VOICE. 191
will engage in. the enterprise, I will spend some of the
money intrusted to me. I am not sure you will suc
ceed. The government may lose the money, but we
can not succeed unless we try ; but we think with
care we can succeed. The political affairs in Central
America are not in quite as satisfactory condition as
I wish. There are contending factions in that quar
ter, but it is true all the factions are agreed alike on
the subject of colonization, and want it, and are
more generous than we are here. To your colored
race they have no objection. Besides, I would en
deavor to have you made equals, and have the best
assurance that you should be the equals of the best.
The practical thing I want to ascertain is, whether I
can get a number of able-bodied men, with their wives
and children, who are willing to go, when I present
evidence, encouragement, and protection. Could I
get a hundred tolerably intelligent men, with their
wives and children, and able to " cut their own fod
der," so to speak ? Can I have fifty ? If I could find
twenty-five able-bodied men,, with a mixture of wo
men and children — good things in the family relation,
I think — I could make a successful commencement.
I want you to let me know whether this can be done
or not. This is the practical part of my wish to see
you. These are subjects of very great importance,
worthy of a month's study, of a speech delivered in
an hour. I ask you, then, to consider seriously, not
pertaining to yourselves merely, nor for your race
and ours for the present time, but as one of the
things, if successfully managed, for the good of man-

192 Abraham Lincoln's ,
kind, not confined to the present generation, but as
" From age to age descends the lay
To millions yet to be,
Till far it's echoes roll away
Into eternity."
Letter to Horace Greeley, Aug. 22, 1862.
Dear Sir: — I have just read yours of the 19th inst^
addressed to myself through the New York Tribune.
If there be in it any statements or assumptions of
fact which I may know to be erroneous, I do not now
and here controvert them. If there be 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.
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 in the short
est way under the Constitution. The sooner the na
tional authority can be restored, the nearer the Union
will be — the Union as it was. If there be those who
would not save the Union unless they could at the
same time save slavery, I do not agree with them.
If there be those who would not save the Union
unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I
do not agree with them. My paramount object is to
save the Union, and not either to save or destroy
slavery. If I could save the Union, without freeing any

PEN AND VOICE. 193
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 free
ing 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 whenever I shall believe what I am
doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever
I believe doing more will help the cause.
I shall try to correct errors when shown to be er
rors, 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
views of official duty, and I intend no modification
of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men every
where could be free. Yours, A. Lincoln. ¦
Letter to Maj.-Gen. J. C. Fremont, Sept. 11, 1862.
Sir: — Yours of the 8th, in answer to mine of the
2d inst., was just received. Assuming that you, upon
the ground, could better judge of the necessities of
your position than I could at this distance, on seeing -
your proclamation of August 30th, I perceived no
general objection to it; the particular clause, how
ever, in relation to the confiscation of property and
the liberation of slaves, appeared to me to be objec
tionable in its non-conformity to the act of Congress
passed the 6th of last August upon the same subject,
and hence I wrote you expressing my wish that the
clause should be modified accordingly. Your an-
17

194 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
swer, just received, expresses the preference on your
part that I should make an open order for the modi-
cation,* which I very cheerfully do.
It is therefore ordered that the said clause of said
proclamation be so modified, held, and construed as
to conform with and not to transcend the provisions
on the same subject contained in the act of Congress,
entitled "An act to confiscate property used for in
surrectionary purposes, approved August 6, 1861,"
and that said act be published at length with this
order. Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
To his Excellency, Andrew G. Curtin, Governor of
Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pa. (
War Department, Washington, D. C, Sept. 11, 1862.
Sir: — The application made to me by your adju
tant-general for authority to call out the militia of
the State of Pennsylvania has received careful con
sideration. It is my anxious desire to afford, as far
as possible, the means and power of the Federal Gov
ernment to protect the State of Pennsylvania from
invasion by the rebel force, and since, in your judg
ment, the militia of the state are required, and have
been called upon by you to organize for home de
fense and protection, I sanction the call that you have
made, and will receive them into the service and pay
of the United States to the extent they can be armed,
equipped, and usefully employed. The arms and
equipments now belonging to the general govern
ment will be needed for the troops called out for the
national armies, so that arms can only be furnished
for the quota of militia 'furnished by the draft of nine

PEN AND VOICE. ' 195
months men, heretofore ordered. But, as arms may
be supplied by the militia under your call, these,
with the 30,000 in your arsenal, will probably be suf
ficient for the purpose contemplated by your call.
You will be authorized to provide such equipments
as may be required, according to the regulations of
the United States service, which, upon being turned
over to the United States Quartermaster's Depart
ment, will be paid for at regulation prices, or the
rates allowed by the department for such articles.
Railroad transportation will also be paid for, as in
other cases. Such general officers will be supplied as
the exigencies of the service will permit.
Yours truly, Abraham Lincoln.
To Hon. Andrew G. Curtin, Harrisburg, Pa.
War Department, Washington, D.. C,
September 12, 1862, 10:35 A. M.
' Your dispatch, asking for 80,000 disciplined troops
to be sent to Pennsylvania, is received. Please con
sider we have not to exceed 80,000 disciplined troops,
properly so called, this side of the mountains, and
most of them, with many of the new regiments, are
now close in the rear of the enemy supposed to be
invading Pennsylvania. Start half of them to Har
risburg, and the enemy will turn upon and beat the
remaining half, and then reach Harrisburg before the
part going there, and beat it, too, when it comes.
The best possible security for Pennsylvania is put
ting the strongest force possible into the enemy's rear.
A. Lincoln.

196 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
To Hon. Alexander Henry, Philadelphia.
War Department, Washington, D. C, Sept. 12, 1862.
Yours of to-day received — General Halleck has made
the best provision he can for generals in Pennsylvania.
Please do not be offended when I assure you that in my
confident belief Philadelphia is in no clanger. Gov
ernor Curtin has just telegraphed me. I have advices
that Jackson is crossing the Potomac at Williams-
port, and probably the whole rebel army will be drawn
from Maryland. At all events, Philadelphia is more
than a hundred and fifty miles from Hagerstown, and
could not be reached by the rebel army in ten days,
if no hindrance was interposed. A. Lincoln.
Remarks Respecting the Issue of the Proclamation,
September 13, 1862.
The President gave an audience to a deputation from
all the religious denominations of Chicago, presenting a
memorial for the immediate issue of an emancipation
proclamation, which was enforced by some remarks by the
chairman. The President replied: — The subject pre
sented in the memorial is one upon which I have
thought much for weeks past, and I may even say for
months. I am approached with the most opposite
opinions and advice, and that by religious men, who
are equally certain that they represent the Divine
will. I am sure that either the one or the other class
is mistaken in that belief, and perhaps, in some re
spect, both. I hope it will not be irreverent for me to
say that if it is probable that God would reveal his
will to others, on a point so connected with my duty,

PEN AND VOICE. 197
it might be supposed He would reveal it directly to
me; for, unless I am more deceived in myself than I
often am, it is my earnest desire to know the will of
Providence in this matter, and if I can learn what it
is, I will do it. These are not, however, the days of
miracles, and I suppose it will be granted that I am
not to expect a direct revelation. I must study the
plain physical facts of the case, ascertain what is pos
sible, and learn what appears to be wise and right.
The subject is difficult, and good men do not agree.
For instance, the other day four gentlemen of stand
ing and intelligence from New York called as a dele
gation on business connected with the war, but before
leaving, two of them earnestly besought me to pro
claim general emancipation, upon which the other two
at once attacked them. You know also that the last
session of Congress had a decided majority of anti-
slavery men, yet they could not unite on this policy.
And the same is true of the religious people. Why,
the rebel soldiers are praying with a great deal more
earnestness, I fear, than our own troops, and expect
ing God to favor their side, for one of our soldiers,
who had been taken prisoner, told Senator Wilson a
few days since, that he met nothing so discouraging
as the evident sincerity of those he was among in
their prayers. But we will talk over the merits of
the case.
What good would a proclamation of emancipation
from me do, especially as we are now situated ? I do
not want to issue a document that the whole world
will see must necessarily be inoperative, like the Pope's
bull against the comet. Would my word free the

198 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
slaves when I can not even enforce the Constitution
in the rebel states? Is there a single court or magis
trate, or individual, that would be infiuenced.by it
there? And what reason is there to think it would
have any greater effect upon the slaves than the late
law of Congress, which I approved, and which offers
protection and freedom to the slaves of rebel masters
who come within our lines ? Yet I can not learn that
that law has caused a single slave to come over to us.
And suppose they could be induced by a proclama
tion of freedom from me to throw themselves upon
us, what should we do with them ? How can we feed
and care for such a multitude ? General Butler wrote
me a few days since that he was issuing more rations
to the slaves who have rushed to him, than to all the
white troops under his command. They eat, and
that is all, though it is true General Butler is feeding
the whites also by the thousand, for it nearly amounts
to a, famine there. If now, the pressure of the war
should call off* our forces from New Orleans to defend
some other point, what is to prevent the masters from
reducing the blacks to slavery again, for I am told
that whenever the rebels take any black prisoners,
free or slave, they immediately auction them off'.
They did so with those they took from a boat that
was aground in the Tennessee river a few days ago.
And then I am very ungenerously attacked for it.
For instance, when after the late battles at and near
Bull Run, an expedition went out from Washington
under a flag of truce, to bury the dead and bring in
the wounded, and the rebels seized the blacks who
Went along to help, and sent them into slavery,

PEN AND VOICE. 199
Horace Greeley said in his paper that the government
would probably do nothing about it. What could
I do?Now, then, tell me, if you please, what possible re
sult of good would follow the issuing of such a procla
mation as you desire? Understand, I raise no objec- '
tions against it on legal or constitutional grounds, for,
as commander-in-chief of the army and navy, in time
of war I suppose I have a right to take any measure
which may best subdue the enemy ; nor do I raise ob
jections of a moral nature, in view of possible conse
quences of insurrection and massacre at the south. I
view this matter as a practical war measure, to be
decided on according to the advantages or disadvant
ages it may offer to the suppression of the rebellion.
I admit that slavery is at the root of the rebellion,
or at least its sine qua non. The ambition of politi
cians may have instigated them to act, but they would
have been impotent without slavery as their instru
ment. I will also concede that emancipation would
help us in Europe, and convince them that we are in
cited by something more than ambition. I grant,
further, that it would help somewhat at the North,
though not so much, I fear, as you and those you
represent imagine. Still, some additional strength
would be added in that way to the war, and then, un
questionably, it would weaken the rebels by drawing
off their laborers, which is of great importance ; but
I am, not so sure we could do much with the blacks.
If we were to arm them, I fear that in a few weeks
the arms would be in the hands of the rebels ;^and,
indeed, thus far, we have not had arms enough to
i

200 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
equip our white troops. I will mention another
thing, though it meet only your scorn and contempt,-
There are 50,000 bayonets in the Union army from
the border slave states. It would be a serious matter
if, in consequence of a proclamation such as you de^
sire, they should go over to the rebels. I do not.
think they all would — not so many, indeed, as a year
ago, or as six months ago — not so many to-day as
yesterday. Every day increases their Union feeling. They are
also getting their pride enlisted, and want to beat the
rebels. Let me say one thing more : I think you
should admit that we already have an important
principle to rally and unite the people, in the fact
that constitutional government is at stake. This is a
fundamental idea going down about as deep as any
thing. Do not misunderstand me because I have men
tioned these objections. They indicate the difficul
ties that have thus far prevented my action in some
such way as you desire. I have not decided against
a proclamation of liberty to the slaves, but hold the
matter under advisement. And I can assure you
that the subject is on my mind, by day and night,
more than any other. Whatever shall appear to be
God's will I will do. I trust that in the freedom
with which I have canvassed your views I have not
in any respect injured your feelings.
Proclamation of Emancipation.
I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States
of America, and commander-in-chief of the army and

PEN AND VOICE. 201
navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and declare that
hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted
for the object of practically restoring the constitu
tional relation between the United States and each
of the states, and the people thereof, in which states
that relation is or may be suspended or disturbed.
That it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of
Congress, to again recommend the adoption of a prac
tical measure tendering pecuniary aid to the free
acceptance or rejection of all 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 volun
tarily adopt, immediate or gradual abolishment of
slavery within their respective limits ; and that the
effort to colonize persons of African descent, with
their consent, upon this continent or elsewhere, with
the previously obtained consent of the governments
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 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 Executive
Department of the United States, including the mili
tary and naval authority thereof, will recognize and
maintain the freedom of such persons, and will 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,
by proclamation aforesaid, designate the states and

202 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
parts of states, if any, in which the people thereof re-
spe6tively shall then be in rebellion against the United
State ; and the fact that any state, or the people there
of, shall on that day be in good faith represented in
the Congress of the United States, by members chosen
thereto at election 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.
The attention is hereby called to an act of Con
gress, 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 Representa
tives of the United States of America, in Congress assem
bled, That hereafter the following shall be promul
gated as an additional article of war for the govern
ment of the army of the United States, and shall be
obeyed and observed as such :
Article. — All officers or persons in the military or
naval service of the United States are prohibited from
employing any of the forces under their respective
commands for the purpose of returning fugitives from
service or labor who may have escaped from any per
sons 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 this article shall be dis
missed from the service.

PEN AND VOICE. 203
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 en
titled "An act to Suppress Insurrection, to Punish
Treason and Rebellion, to Seize and Confiscate Prop
erty of Rebels, and for Other Purposes," approved
July 16, 1862, and which 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 per
sons, or deserted by them and coming under the con
trol 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 afterwards'
occupied by forces of the United States, shall be
deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of
their servitude, and not again held as slaves.
Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That no slave es
caping into any state, territory, or the District of
Columbia, from any other state, shall be delivered
up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty,
except for crime, or some offense against the laws,
unless the person claiming such 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 borne arms against the
United States in the present rebellion, nor in any
way given aid or comfort thereto ; and no person en-

204 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
gaged 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 person to
the service or labor of any other person, or surrender
up any such person to the claimant, on pain of being
dismissed from the service.
And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons
engaged in the military or naval service of the United
States to observe, obey, and enforce, within their re
spective spheres of service, the act and sections above
recited. And the Executive will in due time recommend
that ail citizens of the United States who shall have
remained loyal thereto throughout the rebellion,
shall (upon the restoration of the constitutional rela
tion between the United States and their respective
states and people, if that relation shall have been
'suspended or disturbed) be compensated 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 thou
sand eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the inde
pendence of the United States the eighty-seventh.
Abraham Lincoln.
Speech at Serenade in Honor of the - Emancipation
Proclamation, September 24, 1862.
Fellow - citizens : — I appear before you to do little
more than to acknowledge the courtesy you pay me,

PEN AND VOICE. 205
and to thank you for it. I have not been distinctly
informed why it is on this occasion you appear to do
me this honor, though I suppose it is because of the
proclamation. I was about to say, I suppose I under
stand it. What I did, I did after very full delibera
tion, and under a very heavy and solemn sense of
responsibility. I can only trust in God I have made
no mistake. I shall make no attempt on this occa
sion to sustain what I have done or said by any com
ment. It is now for the country and the world to
pass judgment upon it, and, maybe, take action upon
it. I will say no more upon this subject. In my
position I am environed with difficulties. Yet .they
are scarcely so great as the difficulties of those who,
upon the battle field, are endeavoring to purchase
with their blood and their lives the future happiness
and prosperity of the country. Let us never forget
them. On the fourteenth and seventeenth days of
the present month there have been battles bravely,
skillfully, and successfully fought. We do not yet
know the particulars. Let us be sure that in giving
praise to particular individuals, we do no injustice to
others. I only ask you at the conclusion of these
few remarks to give three hearty cheers to all good
and brave officers and men who fought these suc
cessful battles.
To Major John J. Key.
Executive Mansion, Washington, September 26, 1862.
Sir: — I am informed that in answer to the ques
tion, " Why was not the rebel army bagged immedi
ately after the battle near Sharpsburg ? " propounded

206 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
to you by Major Levi C. Turner, Judge Advocate,
etc., you answered : " That is not the game. The
object is, that neither army shall get much advantage
of the other; that both shall be" kept in the field till
they are exhausted, when we will make a compromise
and save slavery."
I shall be very happy if you will, within twenty-
four hours from the receipt of this, prove to me by
Major Turner that you did not, either literally or in
substance, make the answer stated. Yours, A. Lincoln.
At about eleven o'clock a. m., September 27, 1862,
Major Key and Major Turner appeared before me.
Major Turner says, "As I remember it, the conversa
tion was : I asked the question, why we did not bag
them after the battle of Sharpsburg. Major Key's
reply was, That was not the game: that we should
tire the rebels out and ourselves ; that that was the
only way the Union could be preserved; we come to
gether fraternally, and slavery be saved."
On cross-examination Major Turner says he has
frequently heard Major Key converse in regard to
the present troubles, and never heard him utter a
sentiment unfavorable to the maintenance of the
Union. He has never uttered any thing which he,
Major Turner, would call disloyalty. The particular
conversation detailed was a private one. A. Lincoln.
INDORSED ON THE ABOVE.
In my view it is wholly inadmissible for any gen
tleman holding a military commission from the

PEN AND VOICE. 207
United States to utter such sentiments as Major- Key
is within proved to have done. Therefore, let Major
John J. Key be forthwith dismissed from the military
service of the United States. A. Lincoln.
To Thomas H. Clay, Cincinnati, Ohio.
War Department, October 8, 1862.
You can not have reflected seriously when you ask
that I shall order General Morgan's command to Ken
tucky as a favor because they have marched from
Cumberland Gap. The .precedent established by it
would eventually break up the whole army. Buell's
old troops now in pursuit of Bragg have done more
hard marching recently ; and, in fact, if you include
marching and fighting, there are scarcely any old
troops east or west of the mountains that have not
done as hard service.
I sincerely wish war was an easier and pleasanter
business than.it is, but it does not admit of holidays.
On Morgan's command, where it is now sent, as I un
derstand, depends the question whether the enemy
will get to the Ohio river in another place. A. Lincoln.
Letter to General McClellan, October'13, 1862.
My Dear Sir. — You remember my speaking to you
of what I called your over-cautiousness. Are you
not over-cautious when you assume that you can not
do what the enemy is constantly doing ? Should you
not claim to be at least his equal in prowess and act
upon the claim ?
Asl understand you telegraphed General Halleck

208 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
that you can not subsist your army at Winchester,
unless the railroad from Harper's Ferry to that point
be put in working order. But the enemy does now
subsist his army at Winchester at a distance nearly
twice as great from railroad transportation as you
would have to do without the railroad last named.
He now wagons from Culpepper Court-house, which
is just about twice as far as you would have to do
from Harper's Ferry. He is certainly not more than
half as well provided with wagons as you are. I cer
tainly should be pleased for you to have the advantage
of the railroad from Harper's Ferry to Winchester ;
but it wastes all the remainder of autumn to give it
to you, and in fact ignores the question of time, which
can not and must not be ignored. Again, one of the
standard maxims of war, as you know, is " to operate
upon the enemy's communications as much as possi
ble without exposing your own." You seem to act as
if this applies against you, but can not apply in your
favor. Change positions with the enemy, and think
you not he would break your communication with
Richmond within the next twenty-four hours? You
dread his going into Pennsylvania.
But if he does so in full force he gives up his com
munications to you absolutely, and you have nothing
to do but to follow and ruin him ; if he does so with
less than full force, fall upon and beat what is left
behind all the easier.
Exclusive of the water line, you are now nearer
Richmond than the enemy is by the route that you
can, and he must take.
Why can you not reach there before him, unless.

PEN AND VOICE. 209
you admit that he is more than your equal on a
march. His route is the arc of a circle, while yours
is the chord. The roads are as good on yours as on
his. You know I desired, but did not order, you to
cross the Potomac below instead of above the Shen
andoah and Blue Ridge.
My idea was, that this would at once menace the
enemy's communications, which I would seize if he
would permit. If he should move northward, I
would follow him closely, holding his communica
tions. If he should prevent our seizing his communi
cations, and move toward Richmond, I would press
closely to him, fight him if a favorable opportunity
should present, and at least try to beat him. to Rich
mond on the inside track. I say " try ;" if we never
try, we shall never succeed. If he make a stand at
Winchester, moving neither north nor south, I would -
fight him there, on the idea that if we can not beat
him-, when he bears the wastage of coming to us, we
never can when we bear the wastage of going to him.
This proposition is a simple truth, and is too im-
.portant to be lost sight of for a moment. In coming
to us, he tenders us an advantage which we should
not waive. We should not so operate as to merely
drive him away. As we must beat him somewhere,
or fail finally, we can do it, if at all, easier near to
us than far away. If we can not beat the enemy
where he now is, we never can, he again being within
the intrenchments at Richmond. Recurring to the
idea of going to Richmond on the inside track, the
facility of supplying from the side away from the
18-

210 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
enemy, is remarkable, as it were, by the different
spokes of a wheel, extending from the hub toward
the rim, and this whether you move directly by the
chord or on the inside arc, hugging the Blue Ridge
more closely. The chord line, as you see, carries you
by Aldie, Haymarket, and Fredericksburg, and
you see how turnpikes, railroads, and finally the
Potomac, by Aquia creek, meet you at all points
from Washington. The same, only the lines length
ened a little, if you press closer to the Blue Ridge
part of the way. The gaps through the Blue Ridge
I understand to be about the following distances from
Harper's Ferry, to wit : Vestals, five miles ; Gregory's,
thirteen ; Snicker's, eighteen ; Ashby's, twenty-eight ;
Manassas, thirty-eight ; Chester, forty-five ; and
Thornton's, fifty-three. I should think it preferable
to take the route nearest the enemy, disabling him to
make an important move without your knowledge,
and compelling him to keep his forces together for
dread of you. The gaps would enable you to attack if
you should wish. For a great part of the way you
would be practically between the enemy and both
Washington and Richmond, enabling us to spare you
the greatest number of troops from here. When, at
length, running for Richmond ahead of him, enables
him to move this way ; if he does so, turn and attack
him in the rear. But I think he should be engaged
long before such point is reached. It is all easy if your
troops march as well as the enemy, and it is unmanly
to say they can not do it. This letter is in no sense
an order. Yours, truly, A.Lincoln.

pen and voice. 211
Order Establishing a Provisional Court.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Oct. 20, 1862.
The insurrection which has for some time prevailed
in several of the states in this Union, including Louis
iana, having temporarily subverted and swept away the
civil institutions of that state, including the judiciary
and the judicial authorities of the Union, so that it has
become necessary to hold the state in military occupa
tion, and it being indispensably necessary that there
shall be some judicial tribunal existing there capable
of administering justice, I have therefore thought it
proper to appoint, and I do hereby constitute a pro
visional court, which shall be a court of record for the
State of Louisiana, and I do hereby appoint Charles
A. Peabody, of New York, to be a provisional j ndge
to hold such court, with authority to hear, try, and
determine all causes, civil and criminal, including
causes in law, equity, revenue, and admiralty, and
particularly with all such powers and jurisdiction as
belong to the district and circuit court of the United
States, conforming his proceedings, as far as possible,
to the course of proceedings and practice which has
been customary in the courts of the United States and
Louisiana — his judgment to be final and conclusive.
And I do hereby authorize and empower the said
judge to make and establish such rules and regula
tions as may be necessary for the exercise of his ju
risdiction, and to appoint a prosecuting attorney, mar-"
shal and clerk of the said court, who shall perform the
functions of attorney, marshal and clerk according to
such proceedings and practice as before mentioned,
and such rules and regulations as may be made and

212 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
established by said judge. These appointments are
to continue during the pleasure of the president, not
extending beyond the military occupation of the city
of New Orleans, or the restoration of the civil author
ity in that city and in the State of Louisiana. These
officers shall be paid out of the contingent fund of the
war department. Abraham Lincoln.
Letter Given to Thomas R. Smith, of Bolivar, Tenn.
October 31, 1862.
Major-General Grant, Governor Johnson, and all
having military, naval and civil authorities under the
United States within the State of Tennessee : The
bearer of this, Thomas R. Smith, a citizen of Tennes
see, goes to that state, seeking to have such of the
people thereof as desire to avoid the unsatisfactory
prospect before them, and to have peace again upon
the old terms, under the Constitution of the United
States, to manifest such desire by election of members
to the Congress of the United States particularly, and
perhaps a legislature, state officers, and a United
States senator, friendly to their object. I shall be
glad for you and each of you, to aid him, and all
others acting for this object/as much as possible. In
all available ways give the people a chance to express
their wishes at these elections. Follow law and forms
of law as far as convenient; but, at all events, get the
expression of the largest number of people possible.
All see how such an action will connect with and af
fect the proclamation of September 22. Of course the
men elected should be gentlemen of character, willing
to swear to support the constitution as of old, and

PEN AND VOICE. 213
known to be above reasonable suspicion of duplic
ity. - Yours very respectfully, A. Lincoln.
To McClellan, October 25, 1862.
I have just read your dispatch about sore-tongue
and fatigued horses. Will you pardon me for asking
what the horses of your army have done since the bat
tle of Antietam that fatigues any thing ?
A. Lincoln.
To McClellan, October 26, 1862.
Yours in reply to mine about horses received. Of
course you know the facts better than I. Still, two
considerations remain ; Stuart's cavalry outmarched
ours, having certainly done more marked service on
the peninsula and every where since. Secondly ; will
not a movement of our army be a relief to the cavalry,
compelling the enemy to concentrate instead of" for
aging" in squads every-where? But 1 am so rejoiced
to learn from your dispatch to General Halleck that
you began crossing the river this morning. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Nov. 1,- 1862.
To whom it may concern: — Captain Derrickson, with
his company, has been for some time keeping guard
at my residence, now at the Soldiers' Retreat. He
and his company are very agreeable to me, and while
it is deemed proper for any guard to remain, none
would be more satisfactory to me than Captain D —
and his company. A. Lincoln.

214 Abraham Lincoln's
Letter to Governor Bradford, November, 2, 1863.
Sir : — Yours of the 31st ultimo was received yes
terday about noon, and since then I have been giving
most earnest attention to the subject-matter of it. At
my call General Schenck has attended, and he assures
me it is almost certain that violence will b'e used at
some of the voting places on election day, unless pre
vented by his provost guards. He says that in some
of those places the Union voters will not attend at all,
or run a ticket, unless they have assurance of pro
tection. This makes the Missouri case of my action,
in regard to which you express your approval.
The remaining point of your letter is a protest
against any person offering to vote being put to any
test not found in the laws of Maryland. This brings
us to a difference between Missouri and Maryland.
With the same reason in both states, Missouri has,
by law, provided a test for the voter with reference to
the present rebellion, while Maryland has not. For
example, General Trimble, captured fighting us at
Gettysburg, is, without recanting his treason, a legal
voter by the laws of Maryland. Even General
Schenck's order admits him to vote, if he recants
upon oath. I think that is cheap enough. My order
in Missouri, which you approve, and General Schenck's
order here, reach precisely the same end. Each as
sures the right of voting to all loyal men, and whether
that man is loyal, each allows that man to fix by his
own oath. Your suggestion that nearly all the can
didates are loyal I do not think quite meets the case.
In this struggle for the nation's life, I can not so

I>eN and voice!. 215
confidently rely on those whose election may have
depended upon disloyal votes. Such men, when
elected, may prove true, but such votes are given them
in expectation that they will prove false. Nor do I
think that to keep the peace at the polls, and to pre
vent the persistently disloyal from voting, constitutes
just cause of offense to Maryland. I think she has
her own example for it. If I mistake not, it is precise
ly what General Dix did when your excellency w^s
elected governor. I revoke the first of the three pro
positions in General Schenck's general order, No. 53,
not that it is wrong in principle," but because the
military being of necessity exclusive judges as to who
shall be arrested, the provision is liable to abuse. For
the revoked part I substitute the following :
That all provost marshals and other military officers
do prevent all disturbance and violence at or about
the polls, whether offered by such persons as above
described, or by any other person or persons whatso
ever. The other two propositions of the order I allow to
stand. General Schenck is fully determined, and has
my strict order besides, that all loyal men may vote,
and vote for whom they please.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
President's Order relieving General McClellan.
Executive Mansion, Washington, November 5, 1862.
By direction of the President, it is ordered that
Major-General McClellan be relieved from the com
mand of the Army of the Potomac, and that Major-
GeneraLBurnside take command of that army. Also

216 Abraham Lincoln's
. that Major-General Hunter take command of the corps
in said army which is now commanded by General
Burnside. That Major-General Fitz John Porter be
relieved from the command of the corps he now com
mands in said army, and that Major-General Hooker
take command of such corps.
The General-in-chief is authorized in (his) discretion,
to issue an order substantially as the above, forthwith,
or so soon as he may deem proper. A. Lincoln.
Proclamation.
Eecutive Mansion, Washington, Nov., 16, 1862.
The President, Commander-in-chief of the Army and
Navy, 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 prescribed 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, demand that Sunday labor
iathe 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 im
periled, by the profanatiori of the day or the name of
the Most High. " At the 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 In
dependence, indicates the spirit in which our insti-

PEN AND VOiCE. 217
tutions 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 Christ
ian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties
of his country." A. Lincoln.
Letter to Carl Schurz, November 24, 1862.
I have just received and read your letter of the
20th. The purport of it is that we lost the late
elections, and the administration is failing because
the war is unsuccessful, and that I must not flatter
myself that I am not justly to blame for it. I cer
tainly know that if the war fails the administration
fails, and that I will be blamed for it, whether I de
serve it or not. And I ought to be blamed, if I
could do better. You think I could do better, there
fore you blame me already. I think I could not do
better, therefore I blame you for blaming me. I un
derstand you now to be willing to accept the help
of men who are not Republicans, provided they have
" heart in it." Agreed. I want no others. But who
is to be the judge of hearts, or of " heart in it ?"
If I must discard my own judgment, and take yours,
I must also take that of others ; and by the time I
should reject all I should be advised to reject, I
should have none left, Republicans or others, not even
yourself, for be assured, my dear sir, there are men
who have " heart in it " that think you are per
forming your part as poorly as you think I am per
forming mine. I certainly have been dissatisfied
with the slowness of Buell and McClellan, but be-
19

218fore I relieved them I had great fears I should not
find successors to thern who would do better; and I
am sorry to add that I have seen little since to re
lieve those fears.. I do not clearly see the prospect
of any more rapid movements. I fear we shall at
last find out the difficulty is in our case rather than
in particular generals. I wish to disparage no one,
certainly not those who sympathize with mo, but I
must say I need success more than I need sympathy,
and that I have not seen the so much greater evi
dence of getting success from my sympathizers than
from those who are denounced as the contrary. It
does seem to me that in the field the two classes
have been very much alike in what they have done
and what they have failed to do. In sealing their
faith with their blood, Baker, and Lyon, and Bohlen,
and Richardson, Republicans, did all that men could
do; but did they any more than Kearney, Stevens,
-and Reno, arid Mansfield, none of whom were Repub
licans, and some at least of whom have been bitterly
and repeatedly denounced to me as secession sympa
thizers ? I will not perform the ungrateful task of
comparing cases of failure. In answer to your ques
tion, Has it not been publicly stated in the news
papers, and apparently proved as a fact, that from
the commencement of the war the enemy was con
tinually supplied with information by some of the
confidential subordinates of as important an officer
as Adjutant-General Thomas? I must say, "No," as"
far as my knowledge extends. And I add if you can
give any tangible evidence upon the subject, I will
thank you to come to this city and do so.

pen and voice. 219
Second Annual Message, December 1, 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 return 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.
The correspondence touching foreign affairs which
has taken place during the last year is herewith sub
mitted, in virtual compliance with a request to that
effect made by the House of Representatives near the
close of the last session of Congress.
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 distracted as we are, might reasonably
have apprehended. In the month of June last there
were some grounds to expect that the maritime pow
ers which, at the beginning of our domestic difficul
ties, so unwisely and unnecessarily, as we think,
recognized the insurgents as a belligerant, 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 Amer
ican people, has necessarily disturbed the social con-

220 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
dition and affected very deeply the prosperity of the
nations with which we have carried on a commerce
that has been steadily increasing throughout a period
of half a century. It has, at the same time, excited
political ambitions and apprehensions which have
produced a profound agitation throughout the civil
ized 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 with reference less
to its own merits than to its supposed and often ex
aggerated effects and consequences resulting to those
nations themselves. Nevertheless, complaint on the
part of this government, even if it were just, would
certainly be unwise.
The treaty with Great Britain for the suppression
of the slave trade has been put into operation with
a good prospect of complete success. It is an occa
sion of special pleasure to acknowledge that the exe
cution of it, on the'part of her majesty's government,
has been marked with a jealous respect for the au
thority of the United States, and the rights, of their
moral and loyal citizens.
The convention with Hanover for the abolition of
the state dues has been carried into full effect, under
the act of Congress for that purpose.
A blockade of three thousand miles of sea-coast
could not be established, and vigorously enforced, in

PEN AND VOICE. 221
a season of great commercial activity like the pres
ent, without committing occasional mistakes and in-
dieting unintentional injuries upon foreign nations
-and- their subjects.
A civil war, occurring in a country where foreign
ers reside, and carry on trade under treaty stipula
tions, is necessarily fruitful of complaints of the
violation of neutral rights. All such collisions tend
to excite misapprehensions, and possibly to produce
mutual reclamations between nations which have a
common interest in preserving peace and friendship.
In clear cases of these kinds, I have, so far as possible,
heard and redressed complaints which have been pre
sented by friendly powers. There is still, however, a
large and an augmenting number of doubtful cases
upon which the government is unable to agree with
the government whose protection is demanded by the
claimants. , There are, moreover, many cases in which the
United States, or their citizens, suffer wrongs from
the naval or military authorities of foreign nations,
which the governments of those states are not at
once prepared to redress.
I have proposed to some of the foreign states, thus
interested, mutual conventions to examine and adjust
such complaints. This proposition has been made
especially to Great Britain, to France, to Spain, and
to Prussia. In each case it has been kindly received,
but has not yet been formally adopted.
Applications have been made to me by many free
Americans of African descent to favor the emigra
tion with a view to such colonization as w&s contem-

222 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
plated in recent acts of Congress. Other parties, at
home and abroad — some from interested motives,
others upon patriotic considerations, and still others
influenced from philanthropic sentiments — have sug
gested similar measures. While, on the other hand,
several of the Spanish- American republics have pro
tested against the sending of such colonies to their
respective territories. Under these circumstances, I
have declined to move any such colony to any state,
without first obtaining the consent of its government,
with an agreement 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 advice and
consent of the Senate, to favor the voluntary emigra
tion of persons of that class to their respective terri
tories, updn conditions which shall be equal, just and
humane. 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 im
proving; and that, ere long, there will be an aug
mented and considerable migration to both those
countries from the United States.
On the 22d day of September last, a proclamation
was issued by the Executive, a copy of which is here
with submitted.

PEN AND VOICE. "223
In accordance with the purpose expressed in the
second paragraph of that paper, I now respectfully
recall your attention to what maybe called "com
pensated emancipation."
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 import
ance to duly consider and estimate this ever endur
ing part. That portion of the. earth's surface 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 extant, and its variety of climate and pro
ductions, are of advantage, in this age, for one peo
ple, 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 dif
ferences between the people and the two sections.
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 remain
ing length are merely surveyors' lines, over which
people may walk back and forth without any con-

224 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
sciousness 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 cause,
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 Vir
ginia, part of "Tennessee, all of Kentucky, Ohio, In
diana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kan
sas, Iowa, Minnesota, and the territories of Dakota,
Nebraska, and part of Colorado, already has above
ten million people, and will have fifty million within
fifty years, if not prevented by any political folly or
mistake. It contains more than one-third of the
country owned by the United States — certainly more
than one million square miles. Once half as popu
lous as Massachusetts already is, it would have more
than seventy-five million 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 produc
tion of provisions, grains, grasses, and all which pro-

PEN AND VOICE. 225
ceed from them, this great interior region is naturally
one of the most important in the world. Ascertain
from the statistics the small proportion of the region
which has, as yet, been brought into cultivation, and
also the large and rapidly increasing amount of its
products, and we shall be overwhelmed with the mag
nitude 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 for
ever find, their way to Europe by New York, to
South America and Africa by New Orleans, and to
Asia by San Francisco. But separate our common
country into two nations, as designed by the present
rebellion, and every man of this great interior region
is thereby cut off' from some one or more of these out
lets, not, perhaps, by a physical barrier, but by em-
barassing and onerous trade regulations.
And this is true wherever a dividing or boundary
line may be fixed. Place it between the now free and
slave country, or place it south of Kentucky, or north
of Ohio, and still the truth remains, that none south
of it can trade to any port or place north of it, and
none north of it can trade to any port or place south
of it, except upon terms dictated by a government
foreign to them. These outlets, east, west and south,
are indispensable to the well-being of the people in
habiting, and to inhabit this vast interior region.
Which of the three may be the best is no proper ques
tion. All are better than either ; and all of right be
long 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

226 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
shall be no such line. Nor are the marginal regions
less interested in these communications to and through
them, to the great outside world. They, too, and
each of them, must have access to this Egypt of the
west, without paying toll at the crossing of any na
tional boundary.
Our national strife springs not from our permanent
part; not from the land we inhabit; not from our na
tional homestead. There is no possible severing of
this, but would multiply, and not mitigate evils
among us. In all its adaptations and aptitudes, it de
mands union, and abhors separation. In fact, it
would, ere long, force reunion, however much of
blood and treasure the separation might have cost.
Our strife pertains to ourselves — to the passing gen
erations 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 fol
lowing resolution and articles amendatory to the
Constitution 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 fol
lowing articles be proposed to the legislature (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 legislature (or conventions), to be valid as part
or parts of the said Constitution, namely:
"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

pen and voice. 227
our Lord one thousand nine hundred, shall receive
compensation 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  for each slave shown to
have been therein by the eighth census of the United
States, such bonds to be delivered to such states 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 in
terest 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 reintroducing or tolerating slavery therein,
shall refund to the United States the bonds so re
ceived, 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 rebellion, 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 ac
counted for.
"Article — Congress may appropriate money and-
otherwise provide for colonizing free colored persons,
with their own consent, at any place or places with
out the United States."
I beg indulgence to discuss these proposed articles
at some length. Without slavery the rebellion could

228 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
never have existed; without slavery it could not con
tinue. Among the friends of the Union there is great di
versity of sentiment and of policy in regard to
slavery and the African race among us. Some would
perpetuate slavery; some would abolish it .suddenly,
and without compensation ; some would abolish it
gradually, and with compensation ; some would re
move the freed people from us, and some would re
tain them with us; and there are yet other minor di
versities. Because of these diversities, we waste
much strength in struggles among ourselves. By
mutual concession we should harmonize and act to
gether. This would be compromise, but it would be ~
compromise among the friends, and not with the en
emies 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 emancipa
tion will follow, at least, in several of the states.
As to the first article, the main points are, first, the
emancipation ; secondly, the length of time for con
summating it — thirty-seven years — and, thirdly, the
compensation. The emancipation will be unsatisfactory to the ad
vocates of perpetual slavery ; but the length of time
should greatly mitigate their dissatisfaction. The
time spares both races from the evils of sudden de
rangement — in fact, from the necessity of any derange
ment — while most of those whose habitual course of
thought will be disturbed by the measure will have
passed away before its consummation. They will
never see it. Another class will hail the prospect of

pen and voice. 229
emancipation, but will deprecate the length of time.
They will feel that it gives too little to the now liv
ing 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 inspir
ing assurance that their posterity shall be free for
ever. 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, ex
tending 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 dissatisfaction 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 cer
tain sense, the liberation of slaves is the destruction
of property — property acquired by descent, or by pur
chase, 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 introduction 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 continuance.
If, then, for a common object, this property is to

230 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
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 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
been promptly accepted, by even some of the slave
states, the same sum would not have done more to
close the war th,an has been otherwise done. If so,
the measure would save money, and, in that view,
would be a prudent and economical measure. Cer
tainly 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 compensated
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 hundred mil
lion people to share the burden instead of thirty-one
millions as now. And not only so, but the increase
of our population may be expected to continue for a
long time after that period as rapidly as before ; be
cause our territory will not have become full. I do
not state this inconsiderately. At the same ratio of

PEN AND VOICE. 231
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 continue that ratio
far beyond that period? Our abundant room — our
broad national homestead — is our ample resource.
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 na
tive born away.
But such is not our condition. We have two mil
lion nine hundred and sixty-three thousand square
miles. Europe has three million and eight hundred
thousand, with a population 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 moun
tains, rivers, lakes, deserts, or other causes ? Is it in
ferior 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 and the present; as to when it will be, if ever,
depends inuch on whether we maintain the Union.
The proposed emancipation would shorten the war,
perpetuate peace, insure this increase of population,
and proportionately 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 an
num, simple interest, from the end of our revolution-

232 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
ary struggle until to-day, without paying any thing
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
our 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
population increases faster than its 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 import
ance of time in this connection — the great advantage
of a policy by which we shall not have to pay until
we number a hundred million, 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 im
practicable to return to bondage the class of persons
therein contemplated. Some of them, doubtless, in
the property sense, 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 regarded as objectionable on the
one hand or on the other, insomuch as it comes to
nothing, unless by the mutual consent of the people

PEN AND VOICE. 233
to be deported, and. the American voters, through
their representatives in Congress.
I can not make it better known than it already is,
that- 1 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
imaginary, if not some times malicious.
It is insisted that their presence would injure and
despoil white labor and white laborers. If there ever
couldi 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 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 or
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 their labor into greater demand, and
consequently enhancing the wages of it. With de
portation, even to a limited extent, enhanced wages
to white labor is mathematically certain. Labor is
like any other commodity in the market — increase
20

234 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
the demand for it and you increase the price of it.
Reduce the supply of black labor by colonizing the
black labor out of the country, and by precisely sq
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 freed col
ored person to seven whites ; and this, without any
apparent consciousness of evil from it. The District
of Columbia, and the states of Maryland and Dela
ware, 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 emancipa
tion south send the freed people north? People, of
any color, seldom run, unless 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 flee 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

PEN AND VOICE. 235
of their own blood and race. This proposition can
be trusted on the mutual interests involved. And, in
any event, can 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 cen
sus- of 1860, having, no reference to persons called
contrabands, nor to those made free by the act of
Congress abolishing slavery here.
The plan consisting of these articles is recom
mended, not but that a restoration of the national/
authority would be accepted without its adoption.
Nor will the war, nor proceedings under the proc
lamation of September 22, 1862, be stayed because of
the recommendation of this plan. Its timely adoption,
I doubt not, would bring restoration, and thereby
stay both.
And, notwithstanding this plan, the recommenda
tion 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 ex
clusion of but additional to all others for restoring
and preserving the national authority throughout the
Union. The subject is presented exclusively in its
economical aspect. The plan would, I am confident,

236 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
secure peace more speedily, and maintain it more
permanently, than can be done by force alone ; while
all it would cost, considering amounts, and manner of
payment, and times of payment, would be easier paid
than will be the additional 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, wilh
give assurance of their severally adopting emancipa
tion at no very distant day upon the new constitu
tional terms. This assurance would end the struggle
now, and save the Union forever.
I do not forget the gravity which should character
ize a paper addressed to the Congress of the nation
by the chief magistrate of the nation. Nor do 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

pen and Voice. 237
->— 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 us imagine
better," but "can we all do better?" Object what
soever is possible, still the question recurs, " can we
do better? The dogmas of the quiet past are inade--
quate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled
high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occa
sion. As our case is new, so we must think anew
and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and
then we shall save our country.
Fellow Citizens, we can not escape history. We
of this Congress and this administration, will be re
membered in spite of ourselves. No personal signifi
cance, or insignificance, 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 genera
tion. 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 freedom to the slave 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 fol
lowed, the world will forever applaud, and God must
forever bless. A. Lincoln.

238 abraham lincoln's
Letter to' Mr. Wood, December 12, 1862.
My Dear Sir .-—Your letter of the 8th, with the ac
companying note of same date, was received yester
day. The most important paragraph in the letter, as I
consider, is in these words : " On the 26th of Novem
ber last I was advised by an authority which I
deemed likely to be well informed, as well as reliable
and truthful that the Southern states would send
representatives to the next Congress, provided that a
full and general amnesty should permit them to do
so. No guarantee or terms were asked for other
than the amnesty referred to."
I strongly suspect your information will prove to
be groundless; nevertheless, I thank you for commu
nicating it to me. Understanding the phrase in the
paragraph above quoted — " the Southern states would
send representatives to the next Congress" — to be
substantially the same as that "the people of the
Southern states would cease resistance, and would in
augurate, submit to, and maintain the national au
thority within the limits of such .states, under the
Constitution of the United States," I say that in such
case the war would cease on the part of the United
States, and that if, within a reasonable time, "a full
and general amnesty" were necessary to such end, it
would not be withheld.
I do not think it would be proper now to commu
nicate this, formally or informally, to the people of
the Southern states. My belief is that they already
know it, and when they choose, if ever, they can

PEN AND VOICE. 239
communicate with me unequivocally. Nor do I tliink
it proper now to suspend military operations to try
any experiment of negotiation.
I should, nevertheless, receive with great pleasure
the exact information you now have, and also such
other as you may in any way obtain. Such informa
tion might be more valuable before the 1st of Janu
ary than afterward.
While there is nothing in this letter which I shall
dread to see in history, it is perhaps better for the
present that its existence should not become public.
I therefore have to request that you will regard it as
confidential. Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Address to the Army of the Potomac, December 22,
1862.
I have just read your commanding general's pre
liminary report of the battle of Fredericksburg.
Although you were not successful, the attempt was
not an error, nor the failure other than an accident.
"The courage with which you, in an open field,
maintained the contest against an intrenched foe, and
the consummate skill and success with which you
crossed and re-crossed the river in the face of the
enemy, show that you possess all the qualities of a
great army, which will yet give victory to the cause
of the country and of popular government.
Condoling with the mourners for the dead, and
sympathizing with the severely wounded, I congratu
late you that the number of both is comparatively so

240 ABRAHAM LlNCOLN*S
small. I tender to you, officers and soldiers, the
thanks of a nation. A. Lincoln.
Final Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863.
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 designated
part of state, the people whereof shall then be in
rebellion against the United States, shall be then,
thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive
Government of the United States, including the mili
tary and naval authority thereof, will recognize and
maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no
act or acts to suppress such persons, or any of them,
in any efforts they may make for their actual free
dom. " That the Executive will, on the first d«ay of Janu
ary 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 rep
resented in the Congress of the United States, by
members chosen thereto at election wherein a major
ity of the qualified voters of such state shall have
participated, shall, in the absence of strong counter
vailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence

PEN AND VOICE. -241
that such state, and the people thereof, are not then
in rebellion against the United States."
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, 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 rebel
lion against the authority and government of the
United States, and as a fit and necessary war meas
ure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on the 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
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,
Plaquemine, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St.
James, Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, La
fourche, St. Marie, St. Martin, and Orleans, including
the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Flor
ida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Vir
ginia (except the forty-eight counties designated as
West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkely, Ac-
comac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess
Anne, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and
Portsmouth), and which excepted parts are for the
present left precisely as if this proclamation were not
'issued.x And, by virtue of the power and for the pur
pose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons
21

242 - ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
held as slaves within said designated states and parts
of states, are, and henceforward shall be free ; and that
the executive government of the United States, in
cluding the military and naval authorities thereof,
will recognize and maintain the freedom of said per
sons. And I hereby enjoin upon the people so de
clared 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 act, sincerely believed to be an act of "
justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military
necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of man
kind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my
name, 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 eight
hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of
the United States the eighty-seventh.
Abraham Lincoln.
Letter to Major-General Curtis, January 2, 1863.
My Dear Sir: — Y"ours of December 29th, by the
hand of Mr. Strong, is just received. The day I tele
graphed you suspending the order in relation to Dr.
McPheeters, he, with Mr. Bates, the attorney-general,

PIN and Voice. 243
appeared before me and left with me a copy of the
order mentioned. The doctor also showed me the
copy of an oath which he said he had taken, which
is indeed very strong and specific. He also verbally
assured me that he had constantly prayed in church
for the president and government, as he had always
done before the present war. In looking over the
recitals in your, order, I do not see that this matter -
of the prayer, as he states it, is negatived; nor that
any violation of his oath is charged, nor in fact
that any thing specific is alleged against him. The
charges are all general, that he has a rebel wife, and"
rebel relations; that he sympathises with rebels, and
that he exercises rebel influence. Now after talking
with lairn, I tell you frankly, I believe he does sym- -
pathize with the rebels ; but the question remains
whether such a man of unquestioned good moral
character, who has taken such an oath as he has, and
can not even be charged of violating it, and who can
be charged with no other specific act or omission,
can, with safety to this government, be exiled upon
the suspicion of his secret sympathies. But I agree
that this must be left to you who are on the '
spot; and if, after all, you think the public good re
quires his removal, my suspension of the order is
withdrawn, only with this qualification, that the time
during the suspension is not to be counted against
him. I have promised him this.
But I must add that the United States Government
must not, as by this order, undertake to run the
churches. When an individual in a church, or out
of it, becomes dangerous to the public interest, he

244 Abraham Lincoln's
must be checked ; but let the churches, as such, take
care of themselves.
It will not do for the United States to appoint
trustees, supervisors, or other agents for the churches.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
To General Burnside. January 8, 1863.
I understand General Halleck has sent you a letter
of which this is a copy. I deplore the want of con
currence with you in opinion by your general officers,
but I do not see the remedy. Be cautious, and do
not understand that the government or country is
driving you. I do not yet see how 1 could profit by
changing the command of the Army of the Potomac,
and if I did, I should not wish to do it by accepting
the resignation of your commission. A. Lincoln.
Message to Congress, January 19, 1863.
I have signed the joint resolution to provide for
the immediate payment of the army and navy of the
United States, passed by the House of Representatives
on the 14th, and by the Senate on the 15th inst. The
joint resolution is a simple authority amounting, how
ever, under the existing circumstances, to a direction
to the Secretary of the Treasury to make an additional
issue of $100,000,000 United States notes, if so much
money is needed for the payment of the army and
navy. My approval is given in order that every pos
sible facility may be afforded for the prompt discharge
of all arrears in pay due to our soldiers and our sailors.
While giving this approval, however, I think it my

PEN AND VOICE. 245
duty to express my sincere regret that it has been
found necessary to authorize so large an additional
issue of United States notes, when this circulation and
that of the suspended banks together have become
already so redundant as to increase prices beyond real
, values, thereby augmenting the cost of living, to the
injury of labor, and the cost of supplying to the injury
of the whole country.
It seems very plain that continued issues of United
States notes without any check to the issues of sus
pended banks, and without adequate provision for the
raising of money by loans, and for funding the issues"
so as to keep them within due limits, might soon pro
duce disastrous consequences, and this matter appears
to me so important that I feel bound to avail myself
of this occasion to ask the special attention of Con
gress to it. That Congress has power to regulate the
currency of the country can hardly admit of doubt,
and that a judicious measure to prevent the deterio
ration of this currency by a reasonable taxation of
bank circulation or otherwise is needed, seems equally
clear. Independent of this general consideration, it
would be unjust to the people at large to exempt
banks enjoying the special privilege of circulation,
from their just proportion of the public burdens. In
order to raise money by way of loans most easily, and
cheaply, it is clearly necessary to give every possible
support to the public credit. To that end a uniform
currency, in which taxes, subscriptions, loans, and all
other ordinary public dues may be paid, is almost, if
not quite indispensable.
Such a currency can be furnished by banks and

246 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
associations authorized under a general act of Con
gress, as- suggested in my message at the beginning of
the present session. The securing of this circulation
by the pledge of the United States bonds, as herein
suggested, would still further facilitate loans by in
creasing the present, and causing a future demand for
such bonds. In view of the actual financial embarrass
ments of the government, and of the greater embar
rassments sure to come, if the necessary means of re
lief be not afforded, I feel that I should not perform
my duty by a simple announcement of my approval
of the joint resolution, which proposes relief only by
increasing the circulation, without expressing my
earnest desire that measures, such in substance as
those I have just referred to, may receive the early
sanction of Congress. By such measures, in my
opinion, will payment be most certainly secured, not
only to the army and navy, but to honest creditors of
the government, and satisfactory provision's made for
future demands on the treasury. A. Lincoln.
Approval of Court Martial Proceedings.
January 21,1-863.
The foregoing proceedings, findings, and sentence in the
foregoing case of Major-General Fitz John Porter are
approved and confirmed, and it is ordered that the said
Fitz John Porter be, and he hereby is, cashiered and
dismissed from the service of the United States as a
Major-General of volunteers, and as Colonel and
Brevet Brigadier-General in the regular service of the
United States, and forever disqualified from holding

PEN AND VOICE. 247
any office of trust or profit under the Government of
the United States. . Abraham Lincoln.
To Major-General Hooker.
Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C., Jan. 26, 1863.
General: — I have placed you at the head of the
Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done
this upon what appears to me to be sufficient
reasons ; and yet I think it best for you to know
that there are some things in regard to which
I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to
be a brave and skillful soldier — which, of course, I
like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your
profession — in which you are right. You have con
fidence in yourself — which is a valuable, if not an in
dispensable quality. You are ambitious — which,
within reasonable bounds, does good rather than
harm ; but I think that, during General Burnside's
command of the army, you have taken counsel of
your ambition and thwarted him as much as you
could, in which you did a great wrong to the country,
and to a most meritorious and honorable brother
officer. I have heard, in such way as to belieVe it, of
your recently saying that both the army and the gov
ernment needed a dictator. Of course, it was not for
this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the com
mand. Only those generals who gain successes can
set up dictators. What I nOw ask of you is military
success, and I will risk the dictatorship. The govern
ment will support you to the utmost of its ability —
which is neither more nor less than it has done and
will do for all commanders. I much fear that the

248 Abraham Lincoln's
spirit which you have aided to infuse into the army,
of criticising their commander and withholding con
fidence from him, will now turn upon you.
I shall assist you as far as I can to put it down.
Neither you nor Napoleon, if he were alive again,
could get any good out of an army while such a spirit
prevails in it. And now, beware of rashness. Beware
of rashness, but, with energy and sleepless viligance,
go forward and give us victories. Yours, very truly.
A. Lincoln.
Letter to the Workingmen of Manchester, Eng.,
Feb. 9, 1863.
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 Government of the United States,
the country was found at the verge of civil war.
Whatever might have been the cause, or whosoever
at fault, one duty, paramount to all others, was be
fore me, namely, to maintain and preserve at once
the Constitution and the integrity of the Federal
Republic. A conscientious purpose to perform this
duty is the key to all the measures of administration
which have been and to all which will hereafter be .
pursued. Under our form of government, and my
official oath, I could not depart from the purpose if
I would. It is not always in the power of govern
ments to enlarge or restrict the scope of moral re
sults which follow the politics that they may deem it

PEN AND VOICE. 249
necessary for the public safety j;rom time to time to
adopt. I have understood well that the duty of self-
preservation rests solely with the American people.
But I have at the same time been aware that 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 influence 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 al
lude — induced me especially to expect that, if justice
and good faith should be practiced by the United
States, they would encounter no hostile influences on
the part of Great Britain. It is now a pleasant duty
to acknowledge the demonstration you have given to
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 no more than she is by the kindred nation
which has its home on this side of the Atlantic. I
know and deeply deplore the sufferings which the
workmen at Manchester and in all Europe are called
to endure in this crisis. It has been often and stu
diously represented that the attempt to overthrow
this government, which was built upon the founda
tion of human rights, and to substitute for it one
which should rest exclusively on the basis of human
slavery, was likely to obtain the favor of Europe.

250 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
Through the action of our disloyal citizens, the
workingmen of Europe have been subjected to se
vere trial, for the purpose of forcing their sanction
to that attempt. Under these circumstances, I can
not but regard your decisive utterances upon the
question as an instance of sublime Christian heroism,
which has not been surpassed in any age or in any
country. It is indeed an energetic and re-inspiring
assurance of the inherent power of truth, and of the
ultimate and universal triumph of justice, humanity,
and freedom. And I do not doubt that the senti
ments 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 incite ad
miration, esteem, and the other 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.
To Rev. Alexander Reed.
Executive Mansion, February 22, 1863.
My Dear Sir: — Your note, by which you, as gen
eral superintendent of the U. S. Christian Commis
sion, invite me to preside at a meeting to be held this
day, at the hall of the House of Representatives in
the city, is received.
While, for reasons which I deem sufficient, I must

PEN AND VOICE. 251
decline to preside, I can not withhold my approval
of the meeting and its worthy objects.
Whatever shall be, sincerely and in God's name,
devised for the good of the soldiers and seamen in
their hard spheres of duty, can scarcelyfail to be
blessed ; and whatever shall tend to turn our thoughts
from the unreasoning and uncharitable passions,
prejudices, and jealousies incident to a great national
trouble such as ours, and to fix them on the vast and
long enduring consequences, for weal or for woe,
which are to result from the struggle, and especially
to strengthen our reliance on the Supreme Being for
the final triumph of the right, can not but be well
for us all.
The birthday of Washington and the Christian
Sabbath coinciding this year, and suggesting together
the highest interests of this life and of that to come,
is most propitious for the meeting proposed.
Yours obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Reply Regarding Thomas W. Knox, Correspondent
N. Y. Herald.
Executive Mansion, Washington, May 20, 1863. ,
To whom it may concern : — Whereas, it appears to
my satisfaction that Thomas W. Knox, a correspond
ent of the New York Herald, has been, by the sen
tence of a court-martial, excluded from the military
department under command of Major-General Grant,
and also that General Thayer, president of the court-
martial which rendered the sentence, and Major-
General McClernand, in command of a corps of that
department, and many other respectable persons, are

252 Abraham- Lincoln's
of opinion that Mr. Knox's offense was technical
rather than wiljfully wrong, and that the sentence
should be revoked'; now therefore said sentence is
hereby so far revoked as to allow Mr. Knox to return
to General Grant's head-quarters, and to remain if
General Grant shall not refuse such assent. A. Lincoln.
Internal and Coastwise Intercourse, by the Presi
dent of the United States of America.
Proclamation, March 31, 1863.
Whereas, in pursuance of the act of Congress, ap
proved July 13, 1861, I did by proclamation, dated
August 16, 1861, declare that the inhabitants of the
States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North'
Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana,. Texas,
Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida (except the inhab
itants of that part of Virginia lying west of the
Alleghany Mountains, and of such other parts of
that state, and the other states hereinbefore named,
as might maintain a loyal adhesion to the Union and
the constitution, or might be from time to time
occupied and controlled by forces of the United
States engaged in the dispersion of said insurgents)
we're in a state of insurrection against the United
States, and that all commercial intercourse between
the same and the inhabitants thereof, with the excep
tions aforesaid, and the citizens of other states and
other parts of the United States was unlawful, and
would remain unlawful until such insurrection should
cease or be suppressed, and that all goods and chat-

PEN AND VOICE. 253
tels, wares and merchandise, coming from any of
said states, with the exceptions aforesaid, into other
parts of the United States, without the license and
permission of the President, through the Secretary
of the Treasury, or proceeding to any of said states,
with the exceptions aforesaid, by land or water, to
gether with the vessel or vehicle conveying the same
to or from said states, with the exceptions aforesaid,
would be forfeited to the United States.
And, whereas, experience has shown that the ex
ceptions made in and by said proclamation embarrass
the due enforcement of said act of July 13, 1861, and
the proper regulation of the commercial intercourse
authorized by said act with the loyal citizens of said
states —
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of
the United States, do hereby revoke the said excep
tions, and declare that the inhabitants of the States of
Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi,
Florida, and Virginia (except the forty-eight coun
ties of Virginia designated as West Virginia, and
except also the ports of New Orleans, Key West,
Port Royal, and Beaufort in North Carolina) are in
a state of insurrection against the United States,
and that all commercial intercourse, not licensed and
conducted as provided in said act, between the said
states and the inhabitants thereof, with the exceptions
aforesaid, and the' citizens of other states and other
parts of the United States, is unlawful, and will re
main unlawful until such insurrection shall cease or
has been suppressed, and notice thereof- has been

254 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
duly given by proclamation; and all cotton, tobacco,
and other products, and all other goods and chattels,
wares, and merchandise coming from said states,
with the exceptions aforesaid, into other parts of
the United States, or proceeding to any of said states,
with the exceptions aforesaid, without the license or
permission of the President, through the Secretary of
the Treasury, will, together with the vessel or vehicle
conveying the same, be forfeited to the United States.
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 31st
day of March, a. d. 1863, and of the independence of
the United States of America the eighty-seventh. A. Lincoln.
To General Hunter and Admiral Dupont.
Executive Mansion, Washington, April 14, 1863.
This is intended to clear up an apparent inconsist
ency between the recent order to continue operations
before Charleston and the former one to remove to
another point in. a certain emergency. No censure;
upon you or either of you is intended.
We still hope that by cordial and judicious co
operation you can take the batteries on Morris Island
and Sullivan's Island and Fort Sumter. But whether
you can or not, we wish the demonstration kept up
for a time for a collateral and very important object.
We wish the attempt to be a real 6ne (though not a
desperate one), if it affords any considerable chance
of success. But if prosecuted as a demonstration
only this mnst not become public, or the whole effect

pen and Voice. 255
will be lost. Once again before Charleston do not
leave till further orders from here. Of course this
is not intended to force you to leave unduly ex
posed Hilton's Head or other near points in your
charge. Yours, truly, A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Hooker.
Executive Mansion, Washington, April 15, 1863.
It is now 10:15 p. m. An hour ago I received your
letter of this morning, and a few minutes later your
dispatch of this evening. The later gives me con
siderable uneasiness. The rain and mud, of course,
were to be calculated upon. General S. is not mov
ing rapidly enough to make the expedition come to
any thing. He has now been out three days, two of
which were unusually fair weather, and all three
without hindrance from the enemy, and yet he is
not twenty-five miles from where he started. To
reach his point he has still sixty to go, another river
(the Rapidan) to cross, and will be hindered -by the
enemy. By arithmetic, how many days will it take-
him to do it? I do not know that any better can be
done, but I greatly fear it is another failure already.
Write me often. I am very anxious.
Yours, truly, A. Lincoln.
To Governor Curtin, Harrisburg, Pa.
Executive Mansion, May 1, 1863.
The whole disposable force at Baltimore and else
where in rea.ch have already been sent after the en
emy which alarms you. The worst thing the enemy
could do for himself would be to weaken himself be-

256 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
fore Hooker, and therefore it is safe to believe he is
not doing it, and the best thing he could do for him
self would be to get us so scared as to bring part of
Hooker's force away, and that is just what he is try
ing to do.
I will telegraph you in the morning about calling
out the militia. A. Lincoln.
To Governor Curtin, Harrisburg, Pa.
Executive Mansion, May 2, 1863.
General Halleck tells .me that he has. a dispatch
from General Schenck this morning informing him
that our forces have joined, and that the enemy
menacing Pennsylvania will have to fight or run to
day. I hope I am not less anxious to do my duty to
Pennsylvania than yourself, but I really do not yet
see the justification for incurring the trouble and ex
pense of calling out the militia. I shall keep watch
and try to do my duty. A. Lincoln.
P. S,. — Our forces are exactly between the enemy
and Pennsylvania. To General Hooker.
Washington, D. C.,-May 6, 1863, 12:30 P. M.
Just as I had telegraphed you contents of Rich
mond papers, showing that our cavalry has not failed,
I received General Butterfield's of 11 a. m. yesterday.
This, with the great rain of yesterday and last night,
securing your right flank, I think, puts a new phase
upon your case, but you must be the judge. A. Lincoln,

PEN AND VOICE. 257
To Major- General Hooker.
Washington, D. C, May 6, 1863., 12:25 P. M.
We have, through General Dix, the contents of
Richmond paper of the 5th. General Dix's dispatch
in full is going to you, by Captain Fox, of the navy.
The substance is General Lee's dispatch of the 3d
(Sunday), claiming that he had beaten you, and that
you were then retreating across the Rappahannock,
distinctly stating that two of Longstreet's divisions
fought you on Saturday, and that General (E. F.)
Paxton was killed, Stonewall Jackson severely
wounded, and Generals Heth and A. P. H,ill slightly
wounded. The Richmond papers also stated, upon
what authority not mentioned, that our cavalry have
been at Ashland, Hanover Court-House, and other
points, destroying several locomotives and a good
deal of other property, and all the railroad bridges
to within five miles of Richmond. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Hooker.
Head-quarters Army of the Potomac, May 7r1863.
My Dear Sir: — The recent movement of your army
is ended without effecting its object, except, perhaps,
some important breakings of the enemy's communi
cations. What next ? If possible, I would be very
glad of another movement early enough to give us
some benefit from the fact of the enemy's communi
cation being broken ; but neither for this reason nor
any other do I wish any thing done in desperation or
rashness. An early movement would" also help to
22

258 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
supersede the bad moral effect of the recent one,
which is said to be considerably injurious.
Have you already in your mind a plan wholly or
partially formed ? If you have, prosecute it without
interference from me. If you have not, please inform
me, so that I, incompetent as I may be, can try and
assist in the formation of some plan for the army.
Yours, as ever, A. Lincoln.
To General Hooker.
Washington, 2 P. M., May 8, 1863.
The news is here of the capture by our forces of
Grand Gulf, a large and very important thing. General
Willich, an exchanged prisoner just from Richmond,
has talked with me this morning. He was there
when our cavalry cut the roads in that vicinity. He
says there was not a sound pair of legs in Richmond,
and that our men, had they known it, could have
safely gone in and burnt every thing and brought
Jeff. Davis, captured and paroled three or four hun
dred men. He says as he came to City Point there
was an army three miles long — Longstreet, he
thought, moving toward Richmond. Milroy has
captured a dispatch of General Lee, in which he
says his loss was fearful in his late battle with you.
A.- Lincoln.
To Major-General Dix.
War Department, May 9, 1863.
It is very important for Hooker to know exactly
what damage is done to the railroads at all points be
tween Fredericksburg and Richmond. As yet we have

PEN AND VOICE. _ 259
no word as to whether the crossings of the North and
South Anna, or any of them, have been touched.
There are four of these crossings; that is, one on
each road or each stream. You readily perceive why
. this information is desired. I suppose Kilpatrick or
Davis can tell. Please ascertain fully what was done,
and what is the present condition, as near as you can,
and advise me at once. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Hooker.
Executive Mansion, Washington, May 14, 1863.
My Dear Sir: — When I wrote on the 7th, I had
an impression that possibly, by an early move
ment, you could get some advantage, from the sup
posed facts that the enemy's communications were >
disturbed, and that he was somewhat deranged in
position. The idea has now passed away, the enemy
having re-established his communications, regained
his positions, and actually received reinforcements.
It does not now appear to me probable that you can
gain any thing by an early renewal of the attempt to
cross the Rappahannock. I therefore shall not com
plain if you do no more for a time than to keep the
enemy at bay, and out of other mischief, by menaces
and occasional cavalry raids, if practicable, and to put
your own army in good condition again. Still, if, in
your own clear judgment, you can renew the attack
successfully, I do not mean to restrain you. Bearing
upon this last point I must tell you I have some pain
ful intimations that some of your corps and division
commanders are. not giving you their entire confi
dence. This would be ruinous if true, and you should,

260 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
therefore, first of all, ascertain the real facts beyond
all possibility of doubt. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Hurlbert, Memphis, Tenn.
Washington, May 22, 1863.
We have news here in the Richmond newspapers
of the 20th and 21st, including a dispatch from Gen
eral Joe Johnston himself, that on the 15th or 16th — a
little confusion as to the day — Grant beat Pemberton
and (W. W.) Loring near Edwards Station, at the'
end of a nine hours fight, driving Pemberton over the
Big Black, and cutting Loring off and driving him
south to Crystal Springs, twenty-five miles below
Jackson. Joe Johnston telegraphed all this, except about
Loring, from his camp between Brownsville and Lex
ington, on the 18th: Another dispatch indicates that
Grant was moving against Johnston on the 18th.
A. Lincoln.
Letter to General J. M. Schofield.
Executive Mansion, Washington, May 27, 1863.
Dear Sir: — Having removed General Curtis and
assigned you to the command of the Department of
the Missouri, I think it may be of some advantage to
me to state to you why I did it.
I did not remove General Curtis because of my full
conviction that he had done wrong by commission or
omission. I did it because of a conviction in my mind
that the Union men of Missouri, constituting, when
uniting, a vast majority of the people, have entered

PEN AND VOICE. 261
into a pestilent, factious quarrel, among themselves,
General Curtis, perhaps not of choice, being the
head of one faction, and Governor Gamble that of the
other. After months of labor to reconcile the difficulty, it
seemed to grow worse and worse, until I felt it my
duty to break it up some how, and as I could not re
move Governor Gamble, I had to remove General
Curtis. Now that you are in the position, I wish you
to undo nothing merely because General Curtis or
Governor Gamble did it, but to exercise your judg
ment and do right for the public interest. Let your
military measures be strong enough to repel the in
vaders and keep the peace, and not so strong as to
unnecessarily harass and persecute the people. It is
a -difficult role, and so much greater will be the honor
if you perform it well.
If both factions, or neither, shall abuse you, you will
probably be about right. Beware of being assailed by
one and praised by the other.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Letter to General Hooker, June 5, 1863.
Yours of to-day was received an hour ago. So-
much of professional military skill is requisite to an
swer it that I turned the task over to General Hal
leck. He promises to perform it with his utmost
care. I have but one idea which I think worth sug
gesting to you, and that is in case you find Lee com
ing to the north of the Rappahannock, I would by no
means cross to the south of it. If he should leave a
rear force at Fredricksburg, tempting you to fall upon

262 Abraham Lincoln's
it, would fight in intrenchments and have you at disad
vantage, and so man for man worst you at that point,
while his main force would in some way be getting
the advantage of you northward. In one word, I
would not take any risk of being entangled upon the
river like an ox jumped half over a fence and liable
to be torn by dogs front and rear without a fair
chance to gore one way or kick the other.
If Lee would come to my side of the river, I would
keep on the same side and fight him, or act on the
defensive, according as might be my estimate of his
strength relatively to my own. But these are mere
suggestions which I desire to be controlled by the
judgment of yourself and General Halleck. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Hooker.
Washington, D. C, June 10, 1863.
Your long dispatch of to-day is just received. If
left to me, I would not go south of the Rappahannock
upon Lee's moving north of it. If you had Rich
mond invested to-day you would not be able to take
it in twenty days ; meanwhile your communications,
and with them your army, would be ruined. I think
Lee's army, and not Richmond, is your objective
point. If he comes toward the Upper Potomac, fol
low on his flank, and on the inside track, shortening
your lines, while he lengthens his. Fight him, too,
when opportunity offers. If he stay where he is,
fret him and fret him. A. Lincoln.

pen and voice. 263
Reply to New York Democrats, June 12, 1863.
Hon. Erastus Corning and others : Gentlemen — Your
letter of May 19th, inclosing the resolutions of a pub
lic meeting held at Albany, N. Y., on the 16th of the
same month, was received several days ago.
The resolutions, as I understand them, are resolv
able 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 administra
tion in every constitutional and lawful measure to
suppress the rebellion ; and, secondly, a declaration
of censure upon the administration for supposed un
constitutional 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 ad
ministration. This position is eminently patriotic,
and, as such, I thank themeeting, and congratulate
the nation for it. My own purpose is the same, so
that the meeting and myself have a common 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 in
jurious 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 sup-

264 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
press the rebellion, and I have not knowingly em
ployed, nor shall knowingly employ, any other. But
the meeting, by their resolutions, assert and argue
that certain military arrests, and proceedings follow
ing them, for which I am ultimately responsible, are
unconstitutional. I think they are not. The resolu
tions quote from the Constitution the definition of
treason, and also the limiting safeguards and guaran
tees therein provided for the citizen on trials of trea
son ; and on his being held to answer for capital or
otherwise infamous crimes; and, in criminal prosecu
tions, 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 commo
tion. And, apparently to demonstrate the proposi
tion, the resolutions proceed : " They were secured
substantially to the English people after years of pro
tracted civil war, and were^adopted into our Consti
tution 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 revolu
tion, instead of after the one and at the close of the
other? I, too, am devotedly for them after civil war,
and before 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 safe
guards "have stood the test of seventy-six years of
trial, under our republican system, under circum-

PEN AND VOICE. 265
stances that show that while they constitute the
foundation of all free government, "they are the ele
ments 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^ex-
cept a certain occurrence at New Orleans; nor does
any one question that they will stand the same test
much longer after the rebellion closes. But these
provisions of the Constitution have no application to
the case we have in hand, because the arrests com
plained of were not made for treason — that is, not for
the treason defined in the Constitution, and upon the
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 constitutional or legal
sense, " criminal prosecutions." The arrests were
made on totally different grounds, and the proceed
ings 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 Constitu
tion plainly made for such cases. Prior to my instal
lation 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 when
ever the devotees of the doctrine should fail to' elect
a president to their own liking. I Was elected con- >
trary to their liking, and, accordingly, so far as it
was legally possible, they had taken seven states out
of the Union, had seized many of the United States
forts, and had fired upon the United States flag, all
23

266 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
before I was inaugurated; and, of course, before I
had done any official act whatever. The rebellion
thus begun, 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 thirty years, while the gov
ernment had taken no steps to resist them. The
former had carefully considered all the means which
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, all together, the gov
ernment would, m great degree, be restrained by the
same Constitution and law from arresting their pro
gress. Their sympathizers pervaded all departments
of the government and nearly all communities of the
people. From this material, under cover of "lib
erty of speech," " liberty of the press," and " habeas
corpus," they hoped to keep on foot amongst 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 inaugu
rating, 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-
suspendit; meanwhile their spies and others might
remain at large to help on their cause. Or if, as has
happened, the execution should suspend the writ,
without ruinous waste of time, instances of arresting
innocent persons might occur, as are alwaj-s likely to
occur in such cases ; and then a clamor could be
raised in regard to this, which might be, at least, of

PEN AND VOICE. 267
some service to the insurgent cause. It needed no
very keen perception to discover this part of the ene
my'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 degress 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 history than that courts
of justice are utterly incompetent to such cases.
Civil courts are organized chiefly for trials of indi
viduals, or, at most, a few individuals acting in con
cert ; and this in quiet times, and on charges of crimes
well defined in the law. Even in times of peace, bands
of horse-thieves and robbers frequently grow too
numerous and powerful for ordinary courts of justice.
But what comparison, in numbers, have 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
dissuades one man from volunteering, or induces one
soldier 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 reso
lutions 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

268 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
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
discharge men who are proved to be guilty of defined
crime ; and its suspension is allowed by the Consti
tution on purpose 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 public
safety may require it."
This is precisely our present case — a case of rebell
ion, wherein the public safety does require the sus
pension. Indeed, 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 perpe
tration of crime, while the latter is directed at sudden
and extensive uprisings against the government, which,
at most, will succeed or fail at 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 preventive
and less for the vindictive than the former. In such
cases the purposes of men are much more easily un
derstood than in cases of ordinary crime.
The man who stands by and says nothing when the
peril of his government is discussed, can not be misun-

PEN AND VOICE. 269
derstood. If not hindered 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 provisions 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. Breckenridge, General Robert E. Lee, General
Joseph E. Johnston, General John B. Magruder,
General William B. Preston, General Simon B. Buck
ner, and Commodore Franklin Buchanan, now occu
pying the very highest places in the rebel war service,
were all within the power of the government since
the rebellion began, and were nearly as well known
to be traitors then as now. Unquestionably if we had
seized and held them, the insurgent cause would be
much weaker. But no one of them had then com
mitted any crime defined in the law. Every one of
them, if arrested, would have been discharged on
habeas corpus were the writ allowed to operate.
In view of these and similar cases, I think the time
not unlikely to come when I shall be blamed for
having made too few arrests rather than too many.
By the third 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 rebell
ion or insurrection does not actually exist. They in
sist that such arrests shall not be made " outside of
the lines of necessary military occupation and the
scenes of insurrection." Inasmuch, however, as the
Constitution itself makes no such distinction, I am

270 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
unable to believe that there is any such constitutional
distinction. I concede that the class of arrests com
plained of can be constitutional only when, in cases
of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require
them; and I insist that in such cases they are consti
tutional, whereas the public safety does require them,
as well in places to which they may prevent the re
bellion extending as in those where it may be already
prevailing; as well where they may restrain mischiev
ous interference with the raising and supplying of
armies to suppress the rebellion, as where the rebell
ion 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 peculiar 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 administra
tion, 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

PEN AND VOICE. 271
without an adequate military force to suppress it.
He was not arrested because he was damaging the
political prospects of the administration, or the per
sonal interests of the commanding general, but be
cause he was damaging the army, upon the existence
and vigor of which the life of the Nation depends.
He was warring upon the military, and this gave
the military constitutional jurisdiction to lay hands
upon him. If Mr. Vallandigham 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
considering, to be in favor of suppressing the rebel
lion by military force, by armies. Long experience
has shown that armies can not be maintained unless
desertion shall be punished by the severe penalty of
death. The case requires, and the law and the Constitution
sanction, this punishment. Must I shoot a simple^
minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not
touch a hair of a wily agitator wTho induces him to
desert ? This is none the less injurious when effected
by getting a father, or brother, or friend, into a pub
lic meeting, and there working upon his feelings un
til 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 constitutional, but withal a great mercy.
If I be wrong on this question of constitutional

272 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
power, my error lies in believing that certain pro
ceedings are constitutional when, in cases of rebell
ion or invasion, the public safety requires them,
which would not be constitutional, in absence of re
bellion or invasion, the public safety does not require
them ; in other words, that the Constitution is not in
ij;s application in all respects the same, in cases of
rebellion or invasion involving the public safety, as it
is in times 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
rebellion, because it can be shown that the same
could not be lawfully taken in time of peace, then I
can be persuaded that a particular drug is not good
medicine for a sick man because it can be shown to
not 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
laws 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 appe
tite for emetics during temporary illness as to persist
in feeding upon them during the remainder of his
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

PEN AND VOICE. 273
the fairly presumed deliberation with which they pre
pared their resolutions, be permitted to suppose that
this occurred by accident, or in any way other than
that they preferred to designate themselves " Demo
crats" 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 ; be
cause 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, 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. Vallan
digham 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 discharge Mr. Vallandig
ham 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. Vallandigham, while I have not heard of a sin
gle one condemning it. I can not assert that there
are none such. And the name of President Jackson
recalls an instance of pertinent history. After the

274 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
battle of New Orleans, and while the fact that the
treaty of peace had been concluded was well known
in the city, but before official knowledge of it had»ar-
rived, General Jackson still maintained martial or
military law. Now that it could be said the war was
over, the clamor against martial law, which had ex
isted from the first, grew more furious. Among
other things, a Mr. Lonaillier published a denuncia
tory newspaper article. General Jackson arrested
him. A lawyer by the name of Morel procured the
United States Judge, Hall, to order a writ of habeas
corpus to relieve Mr. Lonaillier. General Jackson
arrested both the lawyer and the judge. A Mr. Hol
lander ventured to say of some part of the matter
that " it was a dirty trick." General Jackson ar
rested him. When the officer undertook to serve
the writ of habeas corpus, General Jackson took it
from him, and sent him away 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 ratifi
cation of peace should be regularly announced, or
until the British should have left the southern coast.
A day or two more elapsed, the ratification of the
treaty of peace was regularly announced, and the
judge and others were fully liberated. A few days
more, and the judge called General 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, when in the House of Repre-

PEN AND VOICE. 275
sentatives, 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 re
bellion ; 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 what
ever by that conduct of General Jackson, or its sub
sequent 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 ar
rest of Mr. Vallandigham. While I can not shift
the responsibility from myself, I hold that, as a gen
eral rule, the commander in the field is the better
judge of the necessity in any particular case.
Of course, I must practice a general directory and
revisory power in the matter.
One of the resolutions expresses the opinion of the
meeting that arbitrary arrests will have the effect
to divide and distract those who should be united in
suppressing 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 ex
ists. In response to such appeal, I have to say, it
gave me pain when I learned that Mr. Vallandigham
had been arrested ; that is, I was pained that there
should have seemed to be a necessity for arresting

276 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
him, and that it will afford me great pleasure to dis
charge him so 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 con
fusion 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 shall cease altogether, and far from
the least is my regard for the opinion and wishes of
those who like the meeting at Albany, declare their
purpose to sustain the government in every consti
tutional and lawful measure to suppress the rebellion.
Still, I must continue to do so much as may seem
to be required by the public safety. A. Lincoln.
To General Hooker.
June 14, 1863, 5:50 P. M.
So far as we can make out here, the enemy have
Milroy surrounded at Winchester, and Tyler at Mar-
tinsburg. If they could hold out a few days, could
you help them ? If the head of Lee's army is at
Martinsburg and the tail of it on the plank-road be
tween Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the ani
mal must be very slim somewhere. Could you not
break him ? A. Lincoln.
To General Hooker.
June 14, 1863, 11:55 P. M.
Yours of 11:30 just received. You have nearly all
the elements for forming an opinion whether Win
chester is surrounded that I have. I really fear, al
most believe, it is. No communication has been

PEN AND VOICE. 277
had with it during the day either at Martinsburg or
Harper's Ferry. At 7 p. m. we also lost communica
tion with Martinsburg. The enemy had also ap
peared there some hours before. At nine p. m.
Harper's Ferry said the enemy was also reported at
Berryville and Smithfield. If I could know that, and
Ewell moved in that direction so long ago as you
stated in your last, then I should feel sure that Win
chester is strongly invested. It is quite certain that
a considerable force of the enemy is thereabout, and
I fear it is an overwhelming one compared with
Milroy's. I am unable to give any more certain
opinion. A. Lincoln.
A Proclamation by the President of the United
States of America.
War Department, June 15, 1863.
Whereas, the armed insurrectionary combinations
now existing in several of the states are threatening
to make inroads into the states of Maryland, West
Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, requiring im
mediately an additional force for the service of the
United States,
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of
the United States, and commander-in-chief of the
army and navy thereof, and of the militia of the sev
eral states when called into actual service, do hereby
call into the service of the United States 100,000
militia from the states following, namely : From the
State of Maryland, 10,000; from the State of Penn
sylvania, 50,000; from the State of Ohio, 30,000;
from the State of West Virginia, 10,000, to be mus-

278 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
tered into the service of the United States forthwith,
u and to serve for the period of six months from the
date of such muster into said service, unless sooner
discharged; to be mustered in as infantry, artillery,
and cavalry, in proportions which will be made
known through the War Department, which depart
ment will also designate the several places of ren
dezvous. These militia to be organized according to
the rules and regulations of the- volunteer service,
and such orders as may hereafter be issued. The
states aforesaid will be respectively under the enroll
ment act for the militia service rendered under this
proclamation. 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 fifteenth day
of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of
the United States the eighty-seventh. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Hooker.
Washington, June 16, 1863, 10 A. M.
To remove all misunderstanding, I now place you
in the strict military relation to General Halleck of a
commander of one of the armies to the general-in-
chief of all the armies.
I have not intended differently, but, as it seems to
be differently understood, I shall direct him to give
you orders and you to obey them. A. Lincoln.

PEN AND VOICE. 279
To Hon. J. K. Moorehead, Pittsburg, Pa.
Washington, June 18, 1863, 10:40 A. M.
If General Brooks, now in command at Pittsburg,
finds any person or persons injuriously affecting his
military operations, he is authorized to arrest him or
them at once, if the case is urgent. If not urgent,
let him communicate the particulars to me. General
Brooks is the man to now manage the matter at
Pittsburg. Please show this to him. '
A. Lincoln.
To General John M. Schofield.
Executive Mansion, Washington, June 22, 1863.
My Dear Sir: — Your dispatch, asking in substance
whether, in case Missouri shall adopt gradual eman
cipation, the General Government will protect slave
owners in that species of property during the short
time it shall be permitted by the state to exist within
it, has been received. Desirous as I am that emanci
pation shall be adopted by Missouri, and believing as
I do that gradual can be made better than immediate
for both black and white, except when military neces
sity changes the case, my impulse is to say that such
protection would be given. I can not know exactly
what shape 'an act of emancipation may take. If the
period from the initiation to the final end should be
comparatively short, and the act should prevent per
sons being sold during that period into more lasting
slavery, the whole would be easier.
I do not wish to pledge the general government
to the affirmative support of eyen temporary slavery

280 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
beyond what can be fairly claimed under the Consti
tution. I suppose, however, this is not desired, but that it
is desired for the military force of the United States,
while in Missouri, to not be used in subverting the
temporarily reserved legal rights in slaves during the
progress of emancipation. This I would desire also.
I have very earnestly urged the slave states to adopt
emancipation ; and it ought to be, and is, an object
with me not to overthrow or thwart what any of
them may, in good faith, do to that end. You are,
therefore, authorized to act in the spirit of this letter
in conjunction with what may appear to be the mili
tary necessities of your department.
Although this letter will become public at some
time, it is not intended to be made so now.
Yours, truly, A. Lincoln.
The President's Announcement of the Success of
the Army of the Potomac. July 4, 1863.
The President announces to the country that news
from the Army of the Potomac, up to ten p. m. of the
3d, is such as to cover that army with the highest
honor; to promise a great success to the cause of the
Union, and to claim the condolence of all for the
many gallant fallen ; and that for this, he especially
desires that on this day He whose will, not ours,
should ever be done, be every-where remembered
and reverenced with the profoundest gratitude.
Abraham Lincoln.

pen and voice. 281
Response to a Serenade, July, 1863.
Felloio-citizens : — I am very glad indeed to see you
to-night, and yet I will not say I thank you for this
call ; but I do most sincerely thank Almighty God
for the occasion on which you have called. How
long ago is it — eighty odd years since on the Fourth
of July, for the first time in the history of the world,
a nation, by its representatives, assembled and de
clared as a self-evident truth that " all men are cre
ated equal." That was the birthday of the United
States of America. Since then the Fourth of July
has had several very peculiar recognitions. The two
men most distinguished in the framing and the sup
port of the declaration were Thomas Jefferson and
John Adams — the one having penned it, and the
other sustained it the most forcibly in debate — the
only two of the fifty-five who signed it, and were-
elected President of the United States. Precisely
fifty years after they put their hands to the paper, it
pleased Almighty God to take both from this stage
of action. This was indeed an extraordinary and
remarkable event in our history. Another Presi
dent, five years after, was called from this stage of
existence on the same day and month of the year;
and now on this last Fourth of July, just passed,
when we have a gigantic rebellion, at the bottom of
which is an effort to overthrow the principle that all
men were created equal, we have the surrender of a
most powerful position and army on that very day.
And not only so, but in a succession of battles in
24

282 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
Pennsylvania, near to us, through three days, so rap
idly fought that they might be called one great bat
tle, on the first, second and third of the month of
July; and on the fourth the cohorts of those who
opposed the declaration that all men are created
equal "turned tail" and run. Gentlemen, this is a
glorious theme, and the occasion for a speech, but I
am not prepared to make one worthy of the occasion.
I would like to speak in terms of praise due to the
many brave officers and soldiers who have fought in
the cause of the Union and liberties of their country
from the beginning of the war. These are trying
occasions, not only in success, but for the want of
success. I dislike to mention the name of one single
officer, lest I might do wrong to those I might forget.
Recent events bring up glorious names, and particu
larly prominent ones ; but these I will not mention.
Having said this much, I will now take the music.
To Major-General Curtis.
Executive Mansion, Washington, July 5, 1863.
My Dear Sir: — I am having a good deal of trouble
with Missouri matters, and I now sit down to write
you particularly about it. One class of friends be
lieve in greater severity, and another in greater leni
ency in regard to arrests, banishments and assess
ments. As usual in such cases, each questions the other's
motives. On the one hand, it is insisted that Gov
ernor Gamble's unionism at most, is not better than
a secondary spring of action ; that hunkerism and a
wish for political influence stand before unionism

PEN AND VOICE. 283
with him. On the other hand, it is urged that arrests,
banishments, and assessments, are made more for pri
vate malice, revenge, and pecuniary interest than for
the public good.
This morning I was told by a gentleman, who I
have no doubt believes what he says, that in one case
of assessments for $10,000, the different persons who
paid, compared receipts, and found they had paid
$30,000. If this be true, the inference is that the col
lecting agents pocketed the odd $20,000.
And true or not in this instance, nothing but the
sternest necessity can justify the making and main
taining of a system so liable to such abuses. Doubt
less the necessity for the making of the system in
Missouri did exist, and whether it continues for the -
maintenance of it is now a practical and very import
ant question.
Some days ago Governor Gamble telegraphed me,
asking that the assessments outside of St. Louis
county might be suspended, as they already have
been within it, and this morning all the members of
Congress here from Missouri but one laid a paper be
fore me asking the same thing. Now, my belief is that
Governor Gamble is an honest and true man, not less
so than yourself; that you and he could confer to
gether on this and other Missouri questions, with
great advantage to the public; that each knows
something which the other does not, and that acting
together you could about double your stock of perti
nent information. May I not hope that you and he
will attempt this ? I could at once safely do (or you
could safely do without me) whatever you and he

284 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
agree upon. There is absolutely no reason why you
should not agree." Yours, as ever, A. Lincoln.
P. S. I forgot to say that Hon. James S. Rollins,
member of Congress from one of the Missouri dis
tricts, wishes that, upon his personal responsibility,
Rev. John M. Robinson, of Columbia, Mo., James L.
Mathews, of Boone county, Missouri, and James L.
Stevens, also of Boone county, Missouri, may be al
lowed to return to their respective homes. Major
Rollins leaves with me very strong papers from the
neighbors of these men, whom he says he knows to
be true men. He also says he has many constituents
who he thinks are rightly exiled, but that he thinks
these three should be allowed to return.
Please look into the case, and oblige Major Rollins,
if you consistently can. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Halleck.
Soldiers' Home [ Washington], July 6, 1863, 7 P. m.
I left the telegraph office a good deal dissatisfied.
You know I did not like the phrase in order No. 68,
I believe, " Drive the invaders from our soil." Since
that, I see a dispatch from General French, saying
the enemy is crossing his wounded over the river in
flats, without saying why he does not stop it, or even
insinuating a thought that it ought to be stopped. Still
later, another dispatch from General Pleasonton, by
direction of General Meade, to General French, stat
ing that the main army is halted because it is believed
the rebels are concentrating " on the road toward
Hagerstown, beyond Fairfield," and is not to move

PEN AND VOICE. 285
until it is ascertained that the rebels intend to evacu
ate Cumberland Valley.
These things all appear to me to be connected wjth
-a purpose to cover Baltimore and Washington, and
to get the enemy across the river again without a fur
ther collision, and they do not appear connected with
a purpose to prevent his crossing, and to destroy him.
-I do fear the former purpose is acted upon, and the
latter is rejected.
If you are satisfied the latter purpose is entertained
and is judiciously pursued, I am content. If you
are not so satisfied, please look to it. Yours truly,
A. Lincoln. -
To General Lorenzo Thomas, Harrisburg, Pa.
WarDep't., Washington,' July 8, 1863, 12:30 P. M.
Your dispatch of this morning to the Secretary of
War is before me.
The forces you speak of will be of no imaginable
service if they can not go forward with a little more
expedition. Lee is now passing the Potomac faster than the
forces you mention are passing Carlisle.
Forces now beyond Carlisle to be joined by regi
ments still at Harrisburg, and the united force to
to again join Pierce somewhere, and the whole to
move down the Cumberland Valley, will, in my un
professional opinion, be quite as likely to capture the
" man in the moon " as any part of Lee's army.
A. Lincoln.

286 Abraham Lincoln's

To Hon. J. K. Dubois, Springfield, III.
Washington, D. C, July 11, 1863, 9 A.M.
It is certain that after three days fighting at Gettys
burg, Lee withdrew and made for the Potomac ; that
he found the river so swollen as to prevent his cross
ing ; that he is still this side, near Hagerstown and
Williamsport, preparing to defend himself; and that
Meade is close upon him, and preparing to attack
him, heavy skirmishing having occurred nearly all
day yesterday. I am more than satisfied with what
has happened north of the Potomac So far, and am
anxious and hopeful for what is to come. A. Lincoln.
Letter to General Grant, July 13, 1863.
My Dear General: — I do not remember that you
and I ever met personally. I write this now as a
grateful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable
services you have done the country.
I wish to say a word further. When you reached
the vicinity of Vicksburg, I thought you should do
what you finally did — march the troops across the
neck, run the batteries with the transports, and thus
go below ; and I never had any faith, except in a
general hope, that you knew better than I, that the
Yazoo Pass expedition and the like would succeed.
When you got below and took Fort Gibson, Grand
Gulf, and vicinity, I thought you should go down
the river and join General Banks ; and when you
turned northward, east of the Big Black, I feared it

PEN AND VOICE. 287
was a mistake. I now wish to make a personal ac
knowledgment that you were right and I was wrong.
A. Lincoln.
Call for a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, Sum
mer of 1863.
After Gettysburg and Vicksburg President Lincoln
called upon the people as follows :
" To set apart a time in the near future, to be ob
served as a day for national thanksgiving, praise and
prayer to Almighty God, for the wonderful things
he had done in the nation's behalf, and to invoke the
influence of his Holy Spirit to subdue the anger
which has produced and so long sustained a needless
and cruel rebellion, to change the hearts of the insur
gents, to guide the councils of the government with
wisdom adequate to so great a national emergency ;
and to visit with tender care and consolation through
out the length and breadth of our land, all those
who, through the vicissitudes and marches, voyages,
battles, and sieges, had been brought to suffer in
mind, body, or estate, and finally, to lead the whole
nation, through paths of repentance and submission
to the Divine will, back to the perfect enjoyment of
Union and fraternal peace."
A Proclamation. July 15, 1863.
It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the
supplications and prayers of an afflicted people, and
to vouchsafe to the army and navy of the United
States, on the land and on the sea, victories so signal
and so effective as to furnish reasonable grounds for

288 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
augmented confidence- that the Union of these states
will be maintained, their constitution preserved, and
their peace and prosperity permanently secured ; but
these victories have been accorded, not without sacri
fice of life, limb, and liberty, incurred by brave,
patriotic, and loyal citizens. Domestic affliction in
every part of the country follows in the train of these
fearful bereavements.
It is meet and right to recognize and confess the
presence of the Almighty Father, and the power
of his- hand equally in these triumphs and these
sorrows. Now, therefore, be it known, that I do set apart
Thursday, the sixth day of August next, to be ob
served as a day for national thanksgiving, praise,
and prayer ; and I invite the people of the United
States to assemble on that occasion in their customary
places of worship, and in the form approved by their
own conscience, render the homage due to the Divine'
Majesty, for the wonderful things He has done in
the nation's behalf, and invoke the influence of his
Holy Spirit, to subdue the anger which has pro
duced and so long sustained a needless and cruel re
bellion," to change the hearts of the insurgents, to
guide the councils of the government with wisdom
adequate to so great a national emergency, and to
visit with tender care and consolation, throughout
the length and breadth of our land, all those who,
through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, battles,
and seiges, have been brought to suffer in mind,
body, or estate, and finally, to lead the whole nation
through paths of repentance and submission to the

PEN AND VOICE. .289
Divine will, back to the perfect enjoyment of Union
and fraternal peace.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand
and caus,ed the seal of the United States to be
affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this 15th day of
July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of
the United States of America the eighty-eighth.
Abraham Lincoln.
Letter to Governor Seymour, July, 1863.
I'do not object to abide the decision of the United
States Supreme Court, or of the judges thereof, on
the consitutionality of the draft law. In fact, I
should be willing to facilitate the obtaining of it.
But I can not consent to lose the time while it is be-
irig obtained. We are contending with an enemy
who, as I understand, drives every able bodied man
he can reach into his ranks, very much as a butcher
drives bullocks into a slaughter pen. No time is
wasted, no argument is used. This produces an army
which will soon turn upon our now victorious s/>ldiers
already in the field, if they shall not be sustained by
recruits as they should be. It produces an army with
a rapidity not to be matched on our side, if we first
waste time-to re-experiment with a volunteer system,
already deemed by Congress, and palpably, in fact,
so far exhausted as to be inadequate ; and then more
time to obtain a court decision, as to whether a law
is constitutional which' requires a part of those not
25

290 ABRAHAM LINCOLN*S
now in service to go to the aid of those who are al
ready in it ; and still more time to determine with
absolute certainty that we get those who are to go in
the precisely legal proportion to those who are not to
go. My purpose is to be in my action just and con
stitutional, and yet practical in performing the im
portant duty with which I am charged, of maintaining
the unity and the free principles of our common coun
try. A. Lincoln.
To His Excellency, Joel Parker, Governor of New
Jersey.
Executive Mansion, Washington, July 20, 1863.
Dear Sir: — Yours of the 17th has been received and
considered by the Secretary of War and myself. I
was pained to be informed this morning, by the pro
vost marshal general, that New Jersey is now behind
twelve thousand, irrespective of the draft. I did not
have time to ascertain by what rule this was made
out ; and I shall be very glad if it shall, by any means,
prove to be incorrect. He also tells me that eight
thousand will be the quota of New Jersey on the first
draft ; and the Secretary of War says the first draft in
that state would not be made for some time, in ariy
event. As every man obtained otherwise lessens the
draft so much, and thus may supersede it altogether, I
hope you will push forward your volunteer regiments
as fast as possible. It is a very delicate matter to post
pone the draft of one state, because of the argument
it furnishes others to have postponement also. If we
could have a reason in one case which would be good
if presented in all cases, we could act upon it. I will

PEN AND VOICE. 291
thank you therefore to inform me, if you can, by what
day, as the earliest, you can promise to have ready to
be mustered into the United States service the eight
thousand men. If you .can make a reliable promise
(I mean one on which you can yourself rely), of this
sort, it will be of great value, if the day is not too re
mote. I beg you to be assured I wish to avoid the diffi
culties you dread, as much as yourself.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
To Hon. Postmaster-General.
Executive Mansion, Washington, July 24, 1863.
Yesterday little indorsements of mine wentto youin-
two cases of postmasterships sought for widows whose
husbands have fallen in the battles of this war. These
eases occurring on the same day, brought me to re
flect more attentively than I had before done .as to
what is fairly due from us here in the dispensing of
patronage toward the men who, by fighting our. bat
tles, bear the chief burden of saving our country.
My conclusion is, that other claims and qualifications
being equal, they have the better right, and this is
especially applicable* to the disabled soldier and the
deceased soldier's family.
Your obedient serVant, A. Lincoln.
To His Excellency, Governor Joel Parker.
Executive Mansion, Washington, July 25, 1863.
Sir: — Yours of the 21st is received, and I have
taken time and considered and discussed the subject
with Secretary of War and provost marshal general,

292 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
in order, if possible, to make you a more favorable
answer that I finally find myself able to do.
It is a vital point with us to not have a special stip
ulation with the governor of any one state, because it
would breed trouble in many, if not all other states;
and my idea was, when I wrote you, as it still is, to
get a point of time to which we could wait, on the
reason that we were not ready ourselves to proceed,
and which might enable you to raise the quota of
your state, in whole, or in large part, without the
draft. The points of time you fix are much further
oft' than I had hoped. We might have got along in
the way I have indicated for twenty, or possibly thirty
days. As it stands, the best I can say is that every
volunteer you will present us within thirty days from
the date, fit and ready to be mustered into the United
States service, on the usual terms, shall be pro tanto,
an abatement of your quota of the draft. That quota
I can now state at eight thousand, seven hundred and
eighty-three (8,783). No draft from New Jersey,
other than for the above quota, will be made before
an additional draft, common to all the states, shall be
required; and I may add, that if we get well through
with thi3 draft, I entertain a strong hope that any
further one may never be needed. This expression
of hope, however, must not be construed into a
promise. As to conducting the draft by townships, I find it
would require such a waste of labor already done, and
such an additional amount of it, and such a loss of
time as to make it, I fear, inadvisable.
P. S. — Since writing the above, getting additional

PEN AND VOICE. 293
information, I am enabled to say thvat the draft may
be made in sub-districts, as the enrollment has been
made, or is now in process of making. This will
amount practically to drafting by townships, as the
enrollment sub-districts are generally about the extent
of townships. Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Burnside, Cincinnati, 0.
War Department, Washington, July 27, 1863.
Let me explain. In General Grant's first dispatch
after the fall of Vicksburg, he said, among other things,
he would send the ninth corps to you.
Thinking it would be pleasant news to you, I asked
the Secretary of War to telegraph you the news. For
some reasons never mentioned to us by General Grant,
they have not been sent, though we have seen outside
intimations, that they took part in the expedition
against Jackson.
General Grant is a copious worker and fighter, but
a very meager writer or telegrapher. No doubt he
changed his purpose in regard to the ninth corps for
some sufficient reason, but has forgotten to notify us
of it. A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Halleck.
Executive Mansion, July 29, 1863.
Seeing General Meade's dispatch of yesterday to
yourself, causes me to fear that he supposes the
government here is demanding of him to bring on a
genera] engagement, with Lee as soon as possible. I
am claiming no such thing of him. In fact, my judg-

294 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
mentris against it, which judgment, of course, I will
yield if yours and his are the contrary. If he could
not safely engage Lee at Williamsport, it seems ab-
sured to suppose he can safely engage him now, when
he has scarcely more than two-thirds of the force he
had at Williamsport, while, it must be that Lee has
been re-inforced. True, I desired General Meade to
pursue Lee across the Potomac, hoping, as it proved
true, that he would thereby clear the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad, and get some advantage by harassing
him on his retreat. These being past, I am unwilling
he should now get into a general engagement on the
impression that we here are pressing him, and I shall
be glad for you to so inform him, unless your own
judgment is against it. Yours, truly, A. Lincoln.
Reply to Letter from Ohio Democrats. July 29, 1863.
The resolution of the Ohio Democratic State Con
vention, which you present me, together with your
introductory and closing remarks, being in position
and argument mainly the same as the resolutions of
the Democratic meeting at Albany, N. Y., I refer you
to my response to the later as meeting most of the
points in the former. This response you evidently used
in preparing you remarks, and I desire no more than
that it be used with accuracy. In a single reading of
your remarks, I only discovered one inaccuracy in mat
ter which I suppose you took from that paper. It is .
where you say, the undersigned are unable to agree
with you in the opinion you have expressed that the

PEN AND VOICE. 295
Constitution is different in time of insurrection or
invasion from what it is in the time of peace and
public security.
A recurrence to the paper will show you that I have
not expressed the opinion you suppose.
I expressed the opinion that the Constitution is -
different in its application in cases of rebellion or in
vasion, involving the public safety, from what it is in
times of profound peace and public security ; and this
opinion I adhere to, simply because by the Consti
tution itself things may be done in the one case which
may not be done in the other.
I dislike to waste a word on a merely personal point,
but I must respectfully assure you that you will find
yourselves at fault should you ever seek for evidence
to prove your assumption that I " opposed in discus
sions before the people the policy of the Mexican war."
You say: "Expunge from the Constitution this
limitation upon the power of Congress to suspend the
writ of habeas corpus, and yet the other guarantees"
of personal liberty would remain unchanged." Doubt
less if this clause of the Constitution, improperly
called, as I think, a limitation upon the power of Con
gress, were expunged, the other guarantees would re
main the same ; but the question is, not how those
•guarantees would stand with that clause out of the
Constitution, but how they stand with that clause re
maining in it, in case of rebellion or invasion, involv
ing the public safety. If the liberty could be indulged
in expunging that clause, letter and spirit, I really
think the constitutional argument would be with you.
My general view on this question was stated in the

296 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
Albany response, and hence I do not state it now. I
only add that, as seems to me, the beriefit of the writ
of habeas corpus is the great means through which
the guarantees of personal liberty are conserved and
made available in the last resort; and corroborative
of this view is the fact that Mr. Vallandigham, in the
very case in question, under the. advice of able lawyers,
saw not where else to go but to the habeas corpus.
But by the Constitution the benefits of the writ of
habeas corpus itself,~may be suspended, when, in case
of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
You ask, in substance, whether I really claim that
I may override all the guaranteed rights of individuals,
on the plea of conserving the public safety — when I
may choose to say the public safety requires it. This
question, divested of the phraseology calculated to re
present me as struggling for an arbitrary personal
prerogative, is either simply a question who shall
decide, or an affirmation that nobody shall decide,
what the public safety does require in cases of rebell
ion or invasion. The Constitution contemplates the
question as likely to occur for decision, but it does
not expressly declare who is to decide it. By neces
sary implication, when rebellion or invasion comes,
the decision is to be made, from time to time, and I
think the man whom, for the time, the people have
under the Constitution, made the commander-in-chief
of the army and navy, is the man who holds the
power and bears the responsibility of making it. If
he uses the power justly, the same people will prob
ably justify him ; if he abuses it, he is in their hands,
to be dealt with by all the modes they have reserved

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S 297
to themselves in the Constitution. The earnestness
with which you insist that persons can only, in times
of rebellion, be lawfully dealt with, in accordance with
the rules for criminal trials and punishments in times
of peace, induces me to add a word to what I said on
that point in the Albany response. You claim that
men may, if they choose, embarrass those whose duty
it is to combat a giant rebellion, and then be dealt
with only in turn as if there were no rebellion. The
Constitution itself rejects this view.
The military arrests and detentions which have
been made, including those of Mr. Vallandigham,
which are not different in principle from the other,
have been for prevention, and not for punishment — as
injunctions to stay injury, as proceedings to keep the
peace — and hence like proceedings in such cases and
for like reasons, they have not been accompanied
with indictments, or trials by juries, nor in a sin
gle case by any punishment whatever beyond what
is purely incidental to the prevention. The original
sentence of imprisonment in Mr. Vallandigham's
case was to prevent injury to. the military service
only, and the modification of it was made as a less
disagreeable mode to him of securing the same pre
vention. I am unable to perceive an insult to Ohio
in the case of Mr. Vallandigham. Quite surely noth
ing of this sort was or is intended. I was wholly un
aware that Mr. Vallandigham was, at the time of his
arrest, a candidate for the Democratic nomination
for governor, until so informed by your reading to
me the resolutions of the convention. I am grateful
to the State of Ohio for many things, especially for

298 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
the brave soldiers and officers she has given in the
present national trial to the armies of the Union.
You claim, as I understand, that, according to my
position in the Albany response, Mr. Vallandigham
should be released, and this because, as you claim, he
has not damaged the military service by discourag
ing enlistments, encouraging desertions, or otherwise,
and that if he had he should be turned over to the
civil authorities under the recent acts of Congress. I
certainly do not know that Mr. Vallandigham has
specifically and by direct language advised against
enlistments and in favor of desertion and resistance
to drafting. We all know that combinations, armed
in some instances to resist the arrest of deserters,
began several months ago, that more recently the
like has appeared in resistance to the enrollment
preparatory to a draft, and that quite a number of
assassinations have occurred from the same animus.
These had to be met by military force, and this again
has led to bloodshed and death. And now, under
the sense of responsibility more weighty and endur
ing than any which is merely official, I solemnly de
clare my belief that this hindrance of the military,
including maiming and murder, is due to the course
in which Mr. Vallandigham has been engaged, in a
greater degree than to any other cause, and it is
due to him personally in a greater degree than to
any other man.
These things have been notorious, known to all,
and of course known to Mr. Vallandigham. Perhaps
I would not be wrong to say they originated with his
especial friends and adherents. With perfect knowl-

PEN AND VOICE. 299
edge of them he has frequently, if not constantly,
made speeches in Congress and before popular as
semblies ; and -if it can be shown that, with these
things staring him in the face, he has ever uttered a
word of rebuke or counsel against them, it will be
a fact greatly in his favor with me, and one of which,
as yet, I am totally ignorant.
When it is known that the whole burden of his
speeches has been to stir up men against the prose
cution of the war, and that in the midst of resist
ance to it he has not been known in any instance ^to
counsel against such resistance, it is next to impos
sible to repel the inference that he has counseled
directly in favor of it. With all this before their
eyes, the convention you represent have nominated
Mr. Vallandigham for governor of Ohio, and both they
arid you have declared the purpose to sustain the Na
tional Union by all constitutional means. But, of
course, they and you, in common, reserve to yourselves
to decide what are constitutional means, and, unlike
the Albany meeting, you omit to state or intimate that,
in your opinion, an army is a constitutional means
of saving the Union against a rebellion, or even to
intimate that you are conscious of an existing re
bellion being in progress with the avowed object of
destroying that very Union.
At the same time, your nominee for governor, in
whose behalf you appeal, is known to you and to the
world to declare against the use of an army to sup
press the rebellion. Your own attitude, therefore,
encourages desertion, resistance to the draft, and the
like, because it teaches those who incline to desert

300 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S

/

and to escape the draft to believe it is your purpose
to protect them and to hope that you will become
strong enough to do so. After a short personal in
tercourse with you, gentlemen of the committee, I
can not say I think you desire this effect to follow
your attitude, but I assure you that both friends
and enemies of the Union look upon it in this
light. It is a substantial hope, and by consequence
a real strength to the enemy. It is a false hope,
and one which you would willingly dispel. I will
make the way exceedingly easy. I send you duplicates
of this letter, in order that you, or a majority, may,
if you choose, indorse your names upon one of them
and return it thus indorsed to me, with the under
standing that those signing are hereby committed to
the'following propositions, and to nothing else :
1. That there is now a rebellion in the United
States, the object and tendency of which is to destroy
the national Union, and that in your opinion an army
and navy are constitutional means for suppressing
that rebellion. 2. That no one of you will do any
thing which in his own judgment will tend to hinder
the increase or favor the decrease or lessen the effi
ciency of the army and navy, while engaged in the ef
fort to suppress that rebellion ; and, 3. That each of
you will, in his sphere, do all he can to have the offi
cers, soldiers, and seamen of the army and navy, while
engaged in the effort to suppress the rebellion, paid, fed, ,
clad, and otherwise well provided for and supported.
And with the further understanding that upon
receiving the letter and names thus indorsed, I will
cause them to be published, which publication shall

PEN AND VOICE. 301
be within itself a revocation of the order in relation
to Mr. Vallandigham.
It will not escape observation that I consent to the
release of Mr. Vallandigham upon terms not embrac
ing any pledge from him or from others as to what
he will or will not do. I do this because he is not
present to speak for himself, or to authorize others to
speak for him ; and hence I shall expect that on re
turning he would not put himself practically in an*
tagonism Avith his friends. But I do it chiefly be
cause I thereby prevail on other influential gentle
men of Ohio to so define their position as to be of im
mense value to the army — thus more than compensat
ing for the consequence of any mistake in allowing
Mr. Vallandigham to return, so that, on the whole,
the public safety will not have suffered by it. Still,
in regard to Mr. Vallandigham and all others, I must
hereafter, as heretofore, do so much as the public
service may seem to require.
I have the honor to be, respectfully yours, etc.,
A. Lincoln. -
War Bulletin — Official.
Executive Mansion, Washington-, July 31, 1863.
It is the duty of every government to give protec
tion to the citizens, of whatever class, color, or con
dition, 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 or public enemies.
To sell or enslave any captured person, on account oi
his color, and for no offense against the laws of war;

302 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
is a relapse into barbarism, and a crime against the
civilization of the age.
The government 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 en
emy's prisoners in our possession. It is therefore or
dered 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 con
tinued at such labor until the other shall be released,
and receive the treatment due to a prisoner of war.
A. Lincoln.
Letter to General Banks, August 5, 1863.
My Dear General Banks: — While I very well know
what I would be glad for Louisiana to do, it is quite
a different thing for me to assume direction of the
matter. I would be glad for her to make a new Con
stitution, recognizing the Emancipation Proclama
tion, and adopting emancipation in those parts of the
state to which the proclamation does not apply. And
while she is at it, I think it would not be objection
able for her to adopt some practical system by which
the two races could gradually live themselves out of
their old relations to each other, and both come out
better prepared for the new. Education for young
blacks should be included in the plan. After all, the
power of element of " contract " may be sufficient for
this probationary period, and by its simplicity and^

PEN AND VOICE. 303
flexibility may be better. As an anti-slavery man, I
have a motive to desire emancipation which pro-
-slavery men do not have; but even they have strong
enough reason to thus place themselves again under
the shield of the Union, and to thus perpetually
pledge against the recurrence of the scenes through
which we are now passing. Governor Shepley has
informed me that Mr. Durant is now taking a regis
try, with a view to the election of a constitutional
convention in Louisiana. This, to me, appears
proper. If such convention were to ask my views, I
could present -little else than what I now say to you.
I think the thing should be pushed forward so that,
if possible, its mature work may reach here by the
meeting of Congress. For my own part, I think I
shall not, in any event, retract the Emancipation
Proclamation; nor, as Executive, ever return to
slavery any person who is free by the terms of that
proclamation, or by any"of the acts of Congress. If
Louisiana shall send members to Congress, their ad
mission to seats will depend, as you know, upon the
respective houses, and not upon the President.
Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln.
To His Excellency, Horatio Seymour, Governor of
New York.
Executive Mansion, Washington, August 7, 1863.,
Your communication of the third instant has been
received and attentively considered.
I can not consent to suspend the draft in New York,
as you request, because, among other reasons, time is
important. By the figures you send, which I presume

304 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
are correct, the twelve districts represented fall in two '
classes of eight and four respectively. The disparity
of the quotas for the draft in these two classes is cer
tainly very striking, being the difference between
the average of 2,200 in one class, and 4,864 in the
other. Assuming that the districts are equal, one to an
other, an entire population, as required by the plan
on which they were made, this disparity is such as to
require attention. Much of it, however, I suppose
will be accounted for by the fact that so many more
persons fit for soldiers are in the city than are in the
country, who have too recently arrived from other
parts of the United States and from Europe to be
either included in the census of 1860, or to have
voted in 1862. Still, making due allowance for this,
I am yet unwilling to stand upon it as an entirely suf
ficient explanation of the great disparity.
I shall direct the draft to proceed in all the districts,
drawing, however, at first from each of the four dis
tricts, to wit : the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth —
only 2,200 being the average quota of the other class.
After the drawing, these four districts, and also the
seventeenth and twenty-ninth, shall be carefully re-
enrolled; and, if you please, agents of yours may
witness every step of the process.
Any deficiency which may appear by the new en
rollment will be supplied by special draft for that
object, allowing due credit for volunteers who may
be obtained from these districts respectively during
the interval; and at all points, so far as consistent
with practical convenience, due credit shall be given

PEN AND VOICE. 305
for volunteers, and your Excellency shall be notified
of the time fixed for commencing a draft in each dis
trict. A. Lincoln.
Letter to General Grant, August 9, 1863.
General Thomas has gone again to the Mississippi
valley, with the view of raising colored troops. I
have no doubt that you are doing what you reason
ably can upon the same subject. I believe it are-
source which, if rigorously applied now, will soon
close this contest. It works doubly, weakening the
enemy and strengthening us. We were not fully ripe
for it until the river was opened. Now, I think, at
least one hundred thousand can, and ought to be,
organized along its shores, relieving all the white
troops to serve elsewhere.
Mr. Davis understands you as believing that vthe
emancipation proclamation has helped some of your
military operations, and I am very glad if this is so.
A. Lincoln.
Letter to the Illinois Convention.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Aug. 26, 1863.
Hon. James C. Conkling : My Dear Sir — Your let
ter inviting me to attend a mass meeting of uncon
ditional Union men, to be held at the capital of,
Illinois, on the 3d day of September, has been re
ceived. It would be very agreeable for me thus to
meet my old friends at my own home, but I can not
just now be absent from here as long as a visit there
would require.
The meeting is to be of all those who maintain un-
26

306 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
conditional devotion to the Union,, and I am sure inf
old political friends will thank me for tendering, as I
do, the nation's gratitude to those other noble men
whom no partisan 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. Are you for
it ? 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 Union is now possible. All
that I learn leads to a directly opposite belief. The
strength of the rebellion is its military, its army.
That army dominates all the country and all the peo
ple within its range. Any offer of 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 convention,
and frame and proclaim a compromise embracing a
restoration of the Union. In what way can that
compromise be used to keep Lee's army out of Perm-

PEN AND VOICE. 307
sjdvania? 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 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 im
prove 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 with the
people, first liberated from the domination of that
army by the success of our own army. Now, allow
me to assure you that no word or intimation from
that 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 insinu
ations to the contrary are deceptive and groundless.
And I promise you that if any such proposition shall
hereafter come, it shall not be rejected and kept a
secret from you. I freely acknowledge myself to be
the servant of the people, according 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 meas
ure which is not consistent with even your views,
provided that you are for the Union. I suggested
compensated emancipation, to which you replied you
wished not to be taxed to buy negroes. But I had
not asked you to be taxed to buy negroes, except in

308 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
such a way as to save you from greater taxation to
save the Union exclusively by other means.
You dislike the emancipation proclamation, and
perhaps would have it jretracted. You say it is un
constitutional. I think differently. I think the
Constitution invests its commander-in-chief with the
law of war in time of war. The most that can be
said if so much, is, that slaves are property. Is
there, has there ever been, any question that by the
law of war, property, both of enemies and friends,
may be taken when needed? And is it not needed
whenever it helps us and 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 excep
tions are the massacre of vanquished foes and non-
combatants, male and female.
But the proclamation, as law, either is valid or is npt
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 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 proclama
tion 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
allegiance. The war has certainly progressed as fa-

PEN AND VOICE. 309
vorably for us since the issue of the proclamation as
before. I know as fully as one can know the opinion
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 use
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 who hold these views are
some who have never had an affinity with what is
called " abolitionism," or with " Republican party
politics," but who held them purely as military opin
ions. I submit their opinions as entitled to some
weight against the objections often urged that eman
cipation and arming the blacks are unwise as mili
tary measures, and were not adopted as such in good
faith. You say that you will not fight to free negroes.
Some of them seem 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 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

SlO ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
to do in saving the Union. Does it appear otherwise
to you? "But negroes, like other people, act upon
motives. Why should they do any thing for us, if we
will do nothing for them? If they stake their lives
for us, they must be prompted by the strongest mo
tive, even the promise of freedom. And the promise
being made, must be kept. The signs look better.
The Father of Waters 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 helping 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 slighted
who bore an honorable part in it. And while those
who have cleared the great river may well be proud,
even that is not all. It is hard to say that any thing
has been more bravely or well 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 watery 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 principle it lives by and keeps
alive — for man's vast future — thanks to all.
Peace does not appear so 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

PEN AND VOICE. 311
then have been proved that among free men, there
can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bul
let, and that they who take such appeal are sure to
lose their case and pay the cost. And there will be
some black men who can remember that with silent
tongue, and clinched teeth, and steady eye, and well
poised bayonet, they have helped mankind on to this
great consummation ; while I fear there will be some
white men unable to forget that with malignant 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.
Instructions to General Schofield.
Executive Mansion,Washington, Oct. 1, 1863.
General John M. Schofield: — There is no organized
military force in avowed opposition to the general
government now in Missouri, and if any shall reap
pear, your duty in regard to it will be too plain to re
quire any special instruction. Still, the condition of
things, both there and elsewhere, is such as to render
it indispensable to maintain, for a time, the United
States military establishment in that state, as well as
to rely upon it for a fair contribution of support to
that establishment generally. Your immediate duty
in regard to Missouri now is to advance the efficiency
of that establishment, and to use it, as far as practicable
to compel the excited people there to let one another
alone. Under your recent order, which I have approved,

312 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
you will only arrest individuals, and suppress assem
blies or newspapers, when they may be working pal
pable injury to the military in your charge ; and in no
other case will you interfere with the expression of
opinion in any form, or allow it to be interfered with
violently by others. In this you have a discretion to
exercise with great caution, calmness and forbearance.
With the matter of removing the inhabitants of
certain counties en masse, and of removing certain in
dividuals from time to time, who are supposed to be
mischievous, I am not now interfering, but am leav
ing to your own discretion.
Nor am I interfering with what may still seem to
you to be necessary restrictions upon trade and inter
course. I think proper, however, to enjoin upon you
the following : Allow no part of the military under
your command to be engaged in either returning fugi
tive slaves, or in forcing or enticing slaves from their
homes; and, as far as practicable, enforce the same
forbearance upon the people.
Report to me your opinion upon the availability for
good of the enrolled militia of the state. Allow no
one to enlist colored troops, except upon orders from
you, or from here through you.
Allow no one to assume the functions of confiscat
ing property, under the law of Congress, or other
wise, except upon orders from here.
At elections see that those, and only those, are al
lowed to vqte, who are entitled to do so by the laws
of Missouri, including as of those laws the restrictions
laid by the Missouri convention upon those who may
have participated in the rebellion.

PEN AND VOICE. 313
So far as practicable, you will, by means of your
military force, expel guerrillas, marauders and mur
derers, and all who are known to harbor, aid, or abet
them. But in like manner you will repress assump
tions of unauthorized individuals to perform the same
service, because under pretense of doing this they be
come marauders and murderers themselves.
To now restore peace, let the military obey orders ;
and those not of the military leave each other alone,
thus not breaking the peace themselves.
In giving the above directions, it is not intended to
restrain you in other expedient and necessary matters
not falling within their range.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Proclamation, October 3, 1863!
The year that is drawing toward its close has been
filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful
skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed
that we are prone to forget the source from which
they com'e, others have been added which are of so
extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to pen
etrate and soften even the heart which is habitually
insensible to the ever watchful Providence of Al
mighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unparalleled magnitude
and severity, which has sometimes seemed to invite
and provoke the aggressions of foreign states, peace
has been preserved with all nations, order has been
maintained, the laws- have been respected and obeyed,
27

314 Abraham Lincoln's
and harmony has prevailed every-where except in the
theater of military conflict, while that theater has
been greatly contracting by the advancing armies and
navies of the Union.
The needful diversion of wealth and strength from
the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense,
has not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship.
The ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements,
and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the
precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly
than heretofore. Population has steadily increased,
notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the
camp, the seige, and the battle field ; and the country,
rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength
and vigor, is permitted to expect a continuance of
years, with large increase of freedom.
No human council hath devised, nor hath any mor
tal hand worked out these great things. They are
the gracious gifts of the most High God, who, while
dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath neverthe
less remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should
be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged,
as with one heart and voice, by the whole American
people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in
every part of the United States, and also those who
are at sea, and those who are sojourning in foreign
lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of
November next as a day of thanksgiving and prayer
to our beneficent Father, who dwelleth in the heavens ;
and I recommend to them that while offering up the
ascriptions justly due to Him, for such singular deliv-

PEN AND VOICE. .

eranees- and blessings, they do also, with humble
penitence for our national perverseness and disobedi
ence, commend to His tender care all those who have
become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the
Jamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably
engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of
the Almighty hand to heal the Wounds of the nation,
and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with
the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace,
harmony, tranquillity, and union.
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, fhis third day of
October, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred
and sixty-threee, and of the independence of the
United States the eighty-eighth. A. Lincoln.
To General Rosecrans. October 4, 1863.
Yours of yesterday received. If we can hold
Chattanooga and East Tennessee, I think the re-
belliori must dwindle and die. I think you and-
Burnside can do this, and hence doing so is your
main object. Of course, to greatly damage or de
stroy the enemy in your front would be a greater
object, because it would include the former, and
more; but it is not so certainly within your power.
I understand the main body of the enemy is very
near you — so near that you could " board at home,"
so to speak, and menace or attack him any day.
Would not the doing of this be your best mode of
counteracting his raids on your communications?

316 Abraham Lincoln's
But this is not an order. I intend doing something
like what you suggest whenever the case shall appear
ripe enough to have it accepted in the true under
standing, rather than as a confession of weakness
and fear. A. Lincoln.
To Hon. Charles Drake and Others, Committee.
Executive Mansion, Washington, October 5, 1863.
Gentlemen : — Your original address, presented on
the 30th ult., and the four supplementary ones, pre
sented on the 3d inst.,have been carefully considered.
I hope you will regard the other duties claiming my
attention, together with the great length and impor
tance of these documents, as constituting a sufficient
apology for my not having responded -sooner.
These papers, framed for a common object, consist
of the things demanded, and the reasons for demand
ing them. The things demanded are :
First — That General Schofield shall be relieved and
General Butler be appointed as commander of the
Military Department of Missouri ;
Second — That the system of enrolled militia in Mis
souri may be broken up, and national forces be sub
stituted for it ; and,
Third — That at elections persons may not be al
lowed to vote who are not entitled by law to do so.
Among the reasons given, enough of suffering and
wrong to Union men is certainly, and I suppose truly,
stated. Yet the whole .case, as presented, fails to
convince me that General Schofield, or the enrolled
militia, is responsible for that suffering and wrong.

PEN AND VOICE. 317 ,
The whole can be explained on a more charitable,
and, as I think, a more rational, hypothesis.
We are in civil war. In such cases there always is
a main question ; but in this case that question is a
perplexing compound — Union and slavery. It thus
becomes a question, not of two sides merely, but of
at least four sides, even among those who are for the
Union, saying nothing of those who are against it.
Thus, those who are for the Union with but not with
out slavery; those for it' without but not with; those
for it with or without, but prefer it with; and those for
it with or without, but prefer it without.
Among these, again, is a subdivision of those who
are for gradual but not for immediate, and those who
are for immediate but not for gradual, extinction of
slavery. It is easy to conceive that all these shades
of opinion, and even more, may be sincerely enter
tained by honest and truthful men. Yet, all being
for the Union, by reason of these differences each
will prefer a different way of sustaining the Union.
At once sincerity is questioned and motives are as
sailed. Actual war coming, blood grows hot and
blood is spilled. Thought is forced from old chan
nels into confusion. Deception breeds and thrives.
Confidence dies, and universal suspicion reigns. Each
man feels an impulse to kill his neighbor, lest he be
killed by him. Revenge and 'retaliation follow.
And all this, as before said, may be among honest
men only. But this is not all. Every foul bird
comes abroad, and every dirty reptile rises up. These
add crime to confusion. Strong measures, deemed
indispensable but harsh at best, such men make worse

318 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
by mal-administration. Murders for old grudges and
murders for pelf proceed under any cloak that will
best serve for the occasion.
These causes amply account for what has occurred
in Missouri, without ascribing it to the weakness'or
wickedness of any general. The newspaper files,
those chroniclers of current events, will show that
the evils now complained of were quite as prevalent
under Fremont, Hunter, Halleck, and Curtis^ as under
Schofield. If the former had greater force opposed
to them, they also had greater force with which- to
meet it. When the organized rebel army left the
state, the main Federal force had to go also, leaving
the department commander at home relatively no
stronger than before. Without disparaging any, I
affirm with confidence that no commander of that
department has, in proportion to his means, done
better than General Schofield.
The first specific charge against General Schofield
is, that the enrolled militia was placed under his com
mand, whereas it had not been placed under the com
mand of General Curtis. The fact is, I, believe, true;
but you do not point out, nor can I conceive, how
that did, or could, injure loyal men or the Union
cause. You charge that General Curtis being super
seded by General Schofield, Franklin A. Dick was
superseded by James 0. Brodhead as provost-mar
shal-general. No very specific showing is made as
to how this did or could injure the Union cause. It
recalls, however, the condition of things, as presented
to me, which led to a change of commander of that
department.

PEN AND VOICE. 319
To restrain contraband intelligence and trade, a
system of searches, seizures, permits, and passes had
been introduced, I think, by General Fremont.
When General Halleck came, he found and contin
ued the system, and added an order, applicable to
some parts of the state, to levy and collect contribu
tions from noted rebels, to compensate losses and re
lieve destitution caused by the rebellion. The action
of General Fremont and General Halleck, as stated,
contributed a sort of system which General Curtis
found in full operation when he took command of
the department. That there was a necessity for
something of the sort was clear ; but that it could
only be justified by stern necessity, and that it was
liable to great abuse in administration, was equally
clear. Agents to execute it, contrary to the great
prayer, were led into temptation. Some might,
while others would not, resist that temptation. It
was not possible to hold any to a very strict account
ability ; and those yielding to the temptation would
sell permits and passes to those who would pay most
and most readily for them, and would seize property
and collect levies in the aptest way to fill their own
pockets. Money being the object, the man having
money, whether loyal or disloyal, would be a victim.
This practice doubtless existed to some extent, and it
was a real additional evil that it could be, and was
plausibly charged to exist in greater extent than it
did. When General Curtis took command of the depart
ment, Mr. Dick, against whom I never knew any
thing to allege, had general charge of this system.

320 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
A controversy in regard to it rapidly grew into al
most unmanageable proportions. One side ignored
the necessity, and magnified the evils of the system,
while the other ignored the evils, and magnified the
necessity; and each bitterly assailed the other. I
could not fail to see that the controversy enlarged in
the same proportion as the professed Union men
there distinctly took sides in two opposing political
parties. I exhausted my wits, and very nearly my
patience also, in efforts to convince both that the evils
they charged on each other were inherent in the
case, and could not be cured by giving either party a
victory over the other.
Plainly, the irritating system was not to be per
petual ; and it was plausibly urged that it could be
modified at once with advantage. The case could
scarcely be worse, and whether it could be made bet
ter could only be determined by a trial. In this
view, and not to ban or brand General Curtis, or to
give a victory to any party, I made the change of
commander for the department. I now learn that
soon after this change Mr. Dick was removed, and
that Mr. Brodhead, a gentleman of no less good
character, was put in the place. The m,ere fact of
this change is more distinctly complained of than is
any conduct of the new officer, or other consequence
of the change.
I gave the new commander no instructions as to
the administration of the system mentioned, beyond
what is contained in the private letter afterward sur
reptitiously published, in which I directed him to act

PEN AND VOICE. 321
solely for the- public good, and independently of both
parties. Neither any thing you have presented me, nor any
thing I have otherwise learned, has convinced me
that he has been unfaithful to this charge.
Imbecility is urged as one cause for removing
General Schofield, and the late massacre at Lawrence,
Kansas, is pressed as an evidence of that imbecility.
To my mind, that fact scarcely tends to prove the
proposition. That massacre is only an- example of
what Grierson, John Morgan, and many others,
might have repeatedly done on their respective raids,
had they chosen to incur the personal hazard, and
possessed the fiendish hearts to do it.
The charge is made that General Schofield, on
purpose to protect the Lawrence murderers, would
not allow them to be pursued into Missouri. While
no punishment could be too sudden or too severe for
those murderers, I am well satisfied that the prevent
ing of the threatened remedial raid into Missouri was
the only way to avoid an indiscriminate massacre
there, including probably more innocent than guilty.
Instead of condemning, I therefore approve what I
understand General Schofield did in that respect.
The charge that General Schofield has purposely
withheld protection from loyal people, and purposely
facilitated the objects of the disloyal, are altogether
beyond my belief. I do not arraign the veracity of
gentlemen as to the facts complained of, but I do
more than question the judgment which would infer
that these facts occurred in accordance with the pur
poses of General Schofield.

322 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
With my present views, I must decline to remove
General Schofield. In this I decide nothing against
Gerieral Butler. I sincerely wish it were convenient
to assign him a suitable command.
In order to meet some existing evils, I have ad
dressed a letter of instruction to General Schofield, a
copy of which I inclose you. As to the " enrolled
militia," I shall endeavor to ascertain, better than I
now know, what is its exact value. Let me say now,
however, that your proposal to substitute national
force for the " enrolled militia " implies that, in your
judgment, the latter is doing something which needs
to be done ; and if so, the proposition to throw that
force away, to supply its place by bringing other
forces from the field, where they are urgently needed,
seems to me very extraordinary. Whence shall they
come? Shall they be withdrawn from Banks, or
Grant, or Steele, or Rosecrans?
Few things have been so grateful to my anxious
feelings as when, in June last, the local force in Mis
souri aided General Schofield to so promptly send a
large general force to the relief of General Grant,
then investing Vicksburg, and menaced from without
by General Johnston. Was this all wrong ? Should
the enrolled militia then have been broken up, and
General Heron kept from Grant to police Missouri^
So far from finding cause to object, I confess to a
sympathy for whatever relieves our general force in
-Missouri, and allows it to serve elsewhere. I there
fore, as at present advised, can not attempt the de
struction of the enrolled militia of Missouri.
I may add, that the force being under the national

PEN AND VOICE- 323
military control, it is also within the proclamation
with regard to the habeas corpus. I concur in the
propriety of your request, in regard to elections, and
have, as you see, directed General Schofield ac
cordingly. I do not feel justified to enter upon the broad field
you present, in regard to the political differences be
tween radicals and conservatives. From time to time
I have done and said what appeared to me proper to
do and say. The public knows it well. It obliges
nobody to follow me, and I trust it obliges me to fol
low nobody. The radicals and conservatives each
agree with me in some things and disagree in others.
I could wish both to agree with me in all things ; for
then they would agree with each other, and would be
too strong for any foe from any quarter. They, how
ever, choose to do otherwise ; and I do not question
their right. I too shall do what seems to be my duty.
I hold whoever commands in Missouri or elsewhere
responsible to me, and not to either radicals or con
servatives. It is my duty to hear all ; but, at last, I
must within my sphere, judge what to do and what to
forbear. Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
The President to Thurlow Weed. -
Washington, October 14, 1863.
Dear Sir: — I have been brought to fear recently
that somehow, by commission or omission, I have
caused you some degree of pain. I have never enter
tained an unkind feeling or a disparaging thought
toward you ; and if I have said or done any thing

324 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
which has been construed into such unkindness or
disparagement, ithas been misconstrued.
I am sure if we could meet we would not part with
any unpleasant impression on either side.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Washington, D. C, October 27, 1863.
In June last, a division was substantially lost at,
and near Winchester, Va. At the time, it was under
General Milroy as immediate commander in the field,
General Schenck as department commander at Balti
more, and General Halleck as General-in-Chief, at
Washington. General Milroy, as immediate commander, was put
in arrest, and subsequently a court of inquiry ex
amined chiefly with reference to disobedience of
orders, and reported the evidence.
The foregoing is a synoptical statement of the evi
dence, together with the Judge-Advocate-General's
conclusions. The disaster, when it came, was a sur
prise to all. It was very well known to Generals
Schenck and Milroy for some time, before that, Gen
eral Halleck thought the division was in great danger
of a surprise at Winchester ; that it was of no service
commensurate with the risk it incurred, and that it
ought to be withdrawn ; but, although, he more than
once advised its withdrawel, he never positively or
dered it. General Schenck, on the contrary, believed
the service of the force at Winchester was worth the
hazard, and so did not positively order its withdrawal
until it was so late that, the enemy cut the wire and
prevented the order reaching General Milroy. General

PEN AND VOICE. 325
Milroy seemsi;o have concurred with General Schenck
in the opinion that the force should be kept at Win
chester, at least until the approach of danger, but he
disobeyed no order upon the subject.
Some question can be made whether some of Gen
eral Halleck's dispatches to General Schenck should
not have been construed to be orders to withdraw the
force and obeyed accordingly ; but, no such question
can be made against General Milroy. In fact, the last
Order he received was to be prepared to withdraw,
but.not to actually withdraw until further orders,
which further order never reached him.
Serious blame is not necessarily due to any serious
disaster, and I can not say that in this case, any of the
officers are deserving of serious blame.
No court-martial is deemed necessary or proper in
this case. A. Lincoln.
Private and Confidential.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Oct. 28, 1863.
General John M. Schofield: — There have recently
reached the War Department, and thence been laid
before me, from Missouri, three communications, all
similar in import and identical in object.
One of them addressed to nobody and without
place or date, but having the signature of (apparently)
the writer, is a letter of eight closely written fools
cap pages". The other two are written by a different
person, at St. Joseph, Mo., and of the dates, re
spectively, October 12 and 13, 1863, and each inclos
ing a large number of affidavits. The general state
ment of the whole are that the Federal and state

326 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
authorities are arming the disloyal and disarming the
loyal, and that the latter will all be killed and driven
out of the state unless there shall be a change. In
particular, no loyal man who has been disarmed is
named, but the affidavits show by name forty-two
persons as disloyal who have been armed.
A majority of these are shown to have been in the
rebel service. I believe it could be shown that the
government here has deliberately armed more than
ten times as many captured at Gettysburg, to say
nothing of similar operations in East Tennessee.
These papers contain altogether thirty-one manu
script pages, and one newspaper in extenso, and yet I
do not find it anywhere charged in them that any
loyal man has been harmed by reason of being dis
armed, or that any disloyal one has harmed anybody
by reason of being armed by the Federal or state
government. Of course, I have not had time to care
fully examine all, but I have had most of them ex
amined and briefed by others, and the result is as
stated. The remarkable fact that the actual evil is
yet only anticipated — inferred — induces me to sup
pose I understand the case ; but I do not state my
impression, because I hiight be mistaken, and because
your duty and mine is plain in any event. The
locality of nearly all this seems to be St. Joseph and
Buchanan county.
I wish you to give special attention to this region,
particularly on election day. Prevent violence from
whatever quarter, and see that the soldiers them
selves do no wrong. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.

pen and voice. 327
Reply of President Lincoln on the Re-Admission of
Louisiana.
Fall of 1868.
Messrs. E. E. Motriol, Bradit, Johnston, and Thomas
Gottsman: Gentlemen — Since receiving the letter, re
liable information has reached me that a respectable
portion of the Louisiana people desire to amend their
state constitution, and contemplate holding a con
vention for that object. This fact alone, as it seems
to me, is a sufficient reason why the general govern
ment should not give the committee the authority
you seek to act under the existing state constitution.
I may add that while I do not perceive how1 such a
committee could facilitate our military operations in
Louisiana, I really apprehend it might be so used as
to embarrass them.
As to an election to be held in November, there'is
abundant time without any order or proclamation
from me just now. The people of Louisiana shall
not lack an opportunity for a fair election for both
Federal and state officers by want of any thing within
my power to give them.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
To the Honorable House of Representatives.
In compliance with the request contained in your
resolution of the 29th ultimo, a copy of which resolu
tion is herewith returned, I have the honor to trans
mit the following :
Executive Mansion, Washington, Nov. 2, 1863.
Hon. Montgomery Blair: My Dear Sir — Some days

328 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
ago I understood you to say that your brother, Gen
eral Frank Blair, desired to be guided by my wishes
as to whether he will occupy his seat in Congress or
remain in the field.
My wish, then, is compounded of what I believe
will be best for the country ; and it is that he will
come here, put his military commission in my hands,
take his seat, go into caucus with our friends, abide
the nominations, help elect the nominees, and thus
aid to organize a House of Representatives which
will really support the government in the war.
If the result shall be the election of himself as
speaker, let him serve in that position. If not, let
him retake his commission and return to the army
for the benefit of the country. This will heal a dan
gerous schism for him. It will relieve him from a
dangerous position or a misunderstanding, as I think
he is in danger of being permanently separated from
those with whom only he can ever have a real sym
pathy — the sincere opponents of slavery.
It will be a mistake if he shall allow the provoca
tion offered him by insincere time-servers to drive
him from the house of his own building. He is
young yet. He has abundant talents— quite enough
to occupy all his time without. devoting any to tem
per. He is rising in military skill and usefulness.
His recent appointment to the command of a corps,
by one so competent to judge as General Sherman,
proves this.
In that line he can serve both the country and
himself more profitably than he could as a member
of Congress upon the floor. The foregoing is what I

PEN AND VOICE. 329
would say if Frank Blair was my brother instead of
yours. A. Lincoln.
Address at the Dedication of Gettysburg Cemetery,
November 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 free and equal. Now we are engaged in
a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any
nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long en
dure. We are met on a great battle field 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 that nation might live. It is altogether 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 unfin
ished 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 meas
ure of devotion ; that we here highly resolve that
these dead shall not have died in vain, that this na
tion, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom,
28

330 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
and that the government of the people, by the people,
and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
This finds an echo in the following ever-to-be-re
membered words of Daniel Webster, in his reply to
Hayne, in the United States Senate, January 26,
1830 :
" When my eyes turn to behold for the last time
the sun in heaven, may they not see him shining on
the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glori
ous Union; on states dissevered, discordant, belliger
ent; on a land rent with civil feuds; or drenched, it
may be, in fraternal blood. Let their last feeble and
lingering glance rather behold the gorgeous ensign
of the republic, now known and honored throughout
the earth, still full high advanced; its arms and
trophies streaming in all their original luster ; not a
stripe erased or polluted ; not a single star obscured ;
bearing for its motto no such miserable interrogatory
as ' What is all this worth ? ' nor those other words
of delusion and folly, of liberty first and union after
ward, but every-where, spread all over in characters
of living light, and blazing on all its ample folds, as
they float over the sea and over the land, and in
every wind under the whole heavens, that other sen
timent dear to every American heart — ' Liberty and
Union — now and forever — one and inseparable.' "
President Lincoln's Third Annual Message.
December 8, 1863.
Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Represent
atives: — Another year of health and of sufficiently
abundant harvests has passed. For these, and es-

PEN AND VOICE. 331
pecially 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
insurrection, 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 Em
peror of France has, by a like proceeding, promptly
vindicated the neutrality which he proclaimed at the
beginning of the contest. Questions of great intri
cacy and importance have arisen out of the blockade
and other belligerent operations, between the govern
ment and several of the maritime powers, but they
have been discussed, and, as far as possible, accom
modated in a spirit of frankness, justice, and mutual
good- will. It is especially gratifying that our prize
courts, by the impartiality of their adjudications,
have commanded the respect and confidence of mari
time powers. . . .
Incidents occurring in the progress of our civil
war have forced upon my attention the uncertain
state of international questions touching the rights
of foreigners in this country and of United States
citizens abroad. In regard to some governments,
..these rights are at least partially 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

332 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
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, how
ever, 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. . . .
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 vary
ing results.
The rebellion had been pushed back in]to 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 any thing hopeful upon this
subject. The preliminary emancipation proclamation,
issued in September, was running its assigned period
to the beginning of the new year. A month later the
final proclamation came, including the announcement
that colored men of suitable condition would be re
ceived into the war service. The policy of emancipa-

PEN AND VOICE. 333
tion, 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,
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
without 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 have now passed, we are per
mitted to take another view. The rebel borders are
pressed still further back, and by the complete opening
of the Mississippi, the country dominated by the re
bellion is divided into distinct parts, with no practical
communication between them. Tennessee and Ar
kansas 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

334 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
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 foreign
countries, and contemporary with such discussion
the tone of public sentiment there is much improved.
At home the same measures have been fully discussed, .
supported, criticised and denounced, and the annual
elections 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 at the present and future, and with
reference to a resumption of the national authority
within the states wherein that authority has been sus
pended, I have thought fit to issue a proclamation, a
copy of which is herewith transmitted. On examina
tion of this proclamation it will appear, as is believed,
that nothing will be attempted beyond what is simply
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 Ex
ecutive 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

Pen aNd voice. 335
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 constitutional cori.-
ditions, be protected against invasion and domestic
violence. The constitutional obligation of the United
States, to guarantee to every state in the Union a re
publican form of government, and to protect the state
in the cases stated, is explicit and full. But why ten
der the benefits of this provision only to a state
government set up in this particular way ? This sec
tion of the Constitution contemplates a case wherein
the element within a state, favorable to republican
government, in the Union, may be too feeble for an
opposite and hostile element external to or even with
in the state; and such are precisely the cases with
which we are now dealing. An attempt to guarantee
and protect a revived . 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 elements, so as to
build only from the sound, and that test is a sufficient
ly liberal one which accepts as sound whoever will
make a sworn recantation of his former unsoundness.
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 un
der 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

330 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
in the suppression of the rebellion. To give them
their fullest effect, there had to be a pledge for their
maintenance. In my judgment thoy have aided, and
will further aid, the cause for which they were in
tended. To now abandon them would be not only to
relinquish a lever of power, but would also be a cruel
and 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 emancipa
tion 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 executive may lawfully
claim it in return for pardon and restoration of for
feited rights, which ho has clear constitutional pow
er 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 KUprcmo 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 this extent, this
vital matter be left to themselves; while no power of

PEN AND VOICE. 337
the national executive to prevent an abuse is abridged
by the proposition.
The suggestion in the proclamation as to maintain
ing the political frame-work of the states on what is
called reconstruction, is made in the hope that it may
do good without the danger of harm. It will save
labor, and avoid great confusion.
But why any proclamation now upon the 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. Why 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 other
wise would.
The objection to a premature presentation of a plan
by the national executive consists in the danger of
committals on points which could be more safely left
to further developments.
Care has been taken to so shape the document as to
avoid embarrassments from this source. Saying that
in certain terms, certain classes will be pardoned, with
rights restored, it is not said that other classes, or
other terms will never be included. Saying that re
construction will be accepted if presented in a speci-
29

338 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
fied 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 emancipa
tion proclamation, are matters of profound gratula-
tion. And while I do not repeat in detail what I have
heretofore so earnestly urged upon this subject, my
general views and feelings remain unchanged ; and I
trust that Congress will omit no fair opportunity 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 we
can look yet for a time, to give confidence to the
people in the contested regions, that the insurgent
power will not again overrun them. Until that con
fidence shall be established, little can be done any
where for what is called reconstruction.
,Hence our chiefest care must be directed to the
army and navy, who have thus far borne their harder
part so nobly and well. And it may be esteemed
fortunate that in giving the greatest efficiency to
these indispensable arms, we do also honorably recog
nize the gallant 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 disenthralled, regenerated, enlarged and
perpetuated. A. Lincoln.
Proclamation of Amnesty. December 8, 1863.
Whereas, in and by the Constitution of the United'

PEN AND VOICE. " 339
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 impeach
ment;" and whereas a Rebellion now exists whereby
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 such
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 there
after, 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 conditions
as he may deem expedient for the public welfare ;
and whereas, the congressional declaration and limited
and conditional pardon accords with well established
judicial exposition of the pardoning power; and
whereas, with reference to said rebellion, the Presi
dent of the United States has issued several procla
mations, with provisions in regard to the liberation
of slaves; and whereas, it is now desired by some
persons heretofore engaged in said rebellion to resume
their allegiance to the United States, and to reinau-
gurate loyal state governments within and for their
respective states :
Therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the
United States, do proclaim, declare, and make known
to all persons who have directly, or by implication,

340 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
participated in the existing rebellion, except as here
inafter excepted, that a full pardon is hereby granted.
to them and each of them, with restoration of all
rights and property, except as to slaves, and in prop
erty cases where tights 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 such oath inviolate ; and
which oath shall be registered for permanent preser
vation, 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 sup
port, 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 faith
fully 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 president 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
Confederate government; all who have left judicial
stations under the United States to aid the rebellion ;
all who are, or shall have been, military or navy

PEN AND VOICE. 341
officers of said so-called Confederate government
above the rank of colonel in the arm}-, or of lieutenant
in the navy ; all who left seats in the United States
Congress to aid the rebellion ; all who resigned com
missions 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, otherwise than law
fully as prisoners of war, and which persons may
have been found in the United States service as sol
diers, seamen, or in any other capacity.
And I do further proclaim, declare, and make
known that whenever in any of the states of Arkan
sas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Ala
bama, Georgia, Virginia, 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 one thousand eight hundred and sixty, 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 ejxcluding all others, shall
re-establish a state government which shall be repub
lican, 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 bene
fits 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
application of the legislature, or the executive (when

342 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
the legislature can not be convened), against domes
tic violence.
And I do further proclaim, declare, and make
known that any provision that 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
which may yet be consistent, as a temporary arrange
ment, 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 gov
ernment in any state, the name of the state, the
boundary, the subdivisions, the constitution, and the
general code of laws, as before the rebellion, be main
tained, subject only to the modifications made neces
sary by the conditions herein before 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
governments, has no reference to states wherein loyal
state governments have all the while been main
tained. And, for the same reason, it may be proper
to further say that whether members sent to Con
gress from any state shall be admitted to seats con
stitutionally 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 na
tional authority has been suspended, and loyal state

PEN AND VOICE. 343"
governments have been subverted, a mode in and by
which the national and loyal state governments may
be re-established within such states, or in any of them ;
and, while the mode presented is •the best the execu
tive 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 eighth day of December, a. d. one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence
of the United States of America the eighty-eighth.
Abraham Lincoln.
To Hon. Secretary of War.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Dec. 21, 1863.
[Private.] In regard to the western matter, I be
lieve the programme will have to stand substantially
as I first put it.
Henderson, and especially Brown, believe that the
social influence of St. Louis would inevitably tell in
juriously upon General Pope in the particular diffi
culty existing there, and I think there is some force
in that view.
As to retaining General S. (Schofield), temporarily,
if this should be done, I believe I shall scarcely be
able to get his nomination through the Senate.
Send me over his nomination, which, however, I
am not quite ready to send to the senate.
Yours, as ever, A. Lincoln,

344 " ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
Letter to 0. D. Filley, St. Louis, Mo.
Dec. 22, 1863.
I have just looked over a petition signed by some
three dozen citizens of St. Louis, and the accompany
ing letters, one by yourself, one by a Mr. "Nathan
Ranney, and one by a Mr. John D. Coalter, the whole
relating to the Rev. Dr. McPheeters. The petition
prays that in the name of justice and mercy that I
will restore Dr. McPheeters to all his ecclesiastical
rights. This gives no intimation as to what ecclesias
tical rights are withheld. Your letter states that
Provost-Marshal Dick, about a year ago, ordered the
arrest of Dr. McPheeters, pastor of Pine Street
Church, prohibited him from officiating, and placed
the management of the affairs of the church out of
the control of the chosen trustees ; and near the close
you state that a certain course " would insure his re
lease." Mr. Ranney's letter says : " Dr. Samuel B.
McPheeters is enjoying all the rights of a civilian,
but can not preach the gospel ! " Mr. Coalter, in
his letter, asks : " Is it not a strange illustration
of the condition of things, that the question who
shall be allowed to preach in a church in St.
Louis shall be decided by the President of the United
States ?" Now, all this sounds very strangely; and,
withal, a little as if you gentlemen, making the
application, do not understand the case alike; one
affirming that the doctor is enjoying all the rights
of a civilian, and another pointing out to me what
will secure his release. On the 2d of January last,
I wrote to General Curtis in relation to Mr. Dick's
order upon Dr. McPheeters ; and, as I suppose, the

PEN AND VOICE. 345
doctor is enjoying all the rights of a civilian, I
only quote that part of my letter which relates to
the church. It was as follows: "But I must add
that theUnited States Government must not, as by
this order, undertake to run the churches. When an
individual, in the church or out of it, becomes dan
gerous to the public interest, he must be checked ;
but the churches, as such, must take care of them
selves. It will not do for the United States to ap
point trustees, supervisors, or other agents, for the
churches." -
This letter going to General Curtis, then in com
mand there, I supposed, of course, it was obeyed, es
pecially as I heard no further complaint from Dr.
McPheeters of his friends for nearly an entire year.
I have never interfered, or thought of interferirig, as
to who shall or shall not preach in any church, nor
have I knowingly or believingly tolerated any one
else to so interfere by my authority. If any one is so
interfering, by color of my authority, I would like'to
have it specifically made known to me.
If, after all, what is now sought is to have me put
Dr. M. back over the head of a majority of his own
congregation, that, too, will be declined. I will not
have control of any church on any side.
Yours respectfully, A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Gilmore.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Jan. 13, 1864.
I understand an effort is being made by some
worthy gentlemen to reconstruct a legal state gov
ernment in Florida. Florida is in your department,

346 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
and it is not unlikely you may be there in person.
I have given Mr. Hay a commission of major, and
sent him to you, with some blank books and other
blanks, to aid in the reconstruction. He will explain
"as to the manner of using the blanks, and also my
general views on the subject. It is desirable for all
to co-operate, but if irreconcilable differences of
opinion shall arise, you are master. . I wish the thing
done in the most speedy way, so that when done it
be within the range of the late proclamation on the
subject. The detail labor will, of course, have to be
done by others ; but I will be greatly obliged if you
will give it such general supervision as you can find
consistent, with your more strictly military duties.
Abraham Lincoln.
To Messrs. Crosby and Nichols.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Jan. 16, 1864.
Gentlemen : — The number for this month and year
of the North American Review was duly received,
and for which please accept my thanks.
Of course, I am not the most impartial judge; yet,
with due allowance for this, I venture to hope that the
article entitled " The President's Policy " will be of
value to the country. I fear I am not worthy of all
which is therein kindly said of me personally.
The sentence of twelve lines, commencing at the
top of page 252, I could wish to be not exactly what
it is. In what is there expressed the writer has not
correctly understood me. I have never had a theory
that secession could absolve states or people from
their obligation.

p'en and voice. 347
Precisely the contrary is asserted in the inaugural
address ; and it was because of my belief in the con
tinuation of those obligations that I was puzzled, for a
time, as to denying the legal rights of those citizens
who remained individually innocent of treason or re
bellion. But I mean no more now than to merely
call attention to the point.
Yours, very repectfully, A. Lincoln.
To Major-General Steele.
Eecutive Mansion, Washington, Jan. 20, 1864.
Sundry citizens of the State of Arkansas petition
me that an election may be held in that state, at
which to elect a governor; that it be assumed at that
election, and thenceforward, that the constitution and
laws of that state, as before the rebellion, are in full
force, except that the constitution is so modified as
to declare that there shall be neither slavery nor in
voluntary servitude, except in the punishment of
crimes whereof the party shall have been duly con
victed ; that the general assembly may make such
provisions for the freed people as shall recognize and
declare their permanent freedom, and provide for
their education, and which may yet be. construed as a
temporary arrangement suitable to their condition, as
a laboring, landless, and homeless class; that said
election shall be held on the 28th of March, 1864, at-
all the usual places of the state, or all such as voters
may attend for that purpose ; that the voters atterid-
ing at eight o'clock in the morning of said day may
choose judges and clerks of election for such purpose ;
that all persons qualified by said constitution and

348 ' ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
laws, and taking the oath presented in the President's
proclamation of December 8, 1863, either before or at
the -election, and none others, may be voters; that
each set of judges or clerks may make returns di
rectly to you on or before the  day of  next;
that in all other respects said election may be con
ducted according to said Constitution and laws; that
on receipt of said returns, when 5,406 votes shall
have been cast, you can receive said votes, and ascer
tain all who shall thereby appear to have been
elected ; that, on the  day of  next, all per
sons so appearing to have been elected, who shall ap
pear before you at Little Rock, and take the oath, to
be by you severally administered, to support the Con
stitution of the United States, and said modified Con
stitution of the State of Arkansas, may be declared
by you qualified and empowered to immediately enter
upon the duties of the offices to which they shall
have been respectively elected.
You will please order an election to take place on
the 28th of March, 1864, and returns to be made in
fifteen days thereafter. A. Lincoln.
Letter to Governor Hahn, of Louisiana, March 13,
1864.
Dear Sir: — I congratulate you on having fixed
your name in history as the first free state governor
of Louisiana. Now you are about to have a conven
tion, which, among other things, will define the elec
tive franchise, I barely suggest, for your private con
sideration, whether, some of the colored people may
not be let in — as, for instance, the very intelligent,

pen and voice. 349
and especially those who have fought gallantly in our
ranks ?
They would probably help, in some trying time to
come, to keep the jewel of liberty in the family of
freedom. But this is only a suggestion, not to the public, but
to you alone. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Address at the Patent Office, Washington, March
16, 1864.
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 sub
stance, 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 extra-
• ordinary war, extraordinary developments have man
ifested themselves, such as have not been seen in
former wars ; and among these manifestations nothing
has been more remarkable than these fairs for the re
lief of suffering soldiers and their families. And the
chief agents in these fairs are the women of America.
I am not accustomed to the use of the language of
eulogy ; I have never studied the art of paying com
pliments to women ; but I must say, that if all that
has been said by orators and poets since the crea
tion of the world in praise of women were applied
to the women of America, it would not do them

350 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
justice for their conduct during the war. I will close
by saying, God bless the women of America.
Lincoln's Description of Grant to a Friend, March,
1864.
Well, I hardly know what to think of him, alto
gether. He is the quietest little fellow you ever saw.
Why, he makes the least fuss of any man you ever
knew. I believe two or three times he has been in
this room a minute or so before I knew he was here.
Its about so all around. The only evidence you have
that he's in any place, is that he makes things git.
Wherever he is things move. Grant is the first gen
eral I've had. He's a general; I'll tell you what I
mean. You know how its been with all the rest.
As soon as I put a man in command of the army, he'd
come to me with a plan of a campaign, and about as
much as say, "Now, I don't believe I can do it, but
if you say so, I'll try it on," and so put the responsi
bility of success or failure on me. They all wanted •
me to be the general. Now, it isn't so with Grant.
He hasn't told me what his plans are. I donit know,
and I don't want to know. I'm glad to find a man
that can go ahead without me. You see, when any
of the rest set out on a campaign, they'd look over -
matters and pick out some one thing they were short
of, and they knew I couldn't give 'em, and tell me
they couldn't hope to win unless they had it; and it
was the most generally cavalry. Now, when Grant
took hold, I was waiting to see what his pet impossi
bility would be, and I reckoned it would be cavalry,

PEN AND VOICE. ' 351

I

as a matter of course, for We hadn't horses enough to
mount what men we had.
There were fifteen thousand, or thereabouts, up
near Harper's Ferry, and no horses to put them on.
Well, the other day Grant sends to me about those
very men, just as I expected, but what he wanted to
know was whether he should make infantry of 'em or
discharge 'em. He doesn't ask impossibilities of me,
and heJs the first general I've- had that didn't.
To Major-General Meade.
Executive Mansion, Washington, March 29, 1864.
My Dear Sir : — Your letter to Colonel Townsend,
inclosing a slip from the Herald, and asking a court
of inquiry, has been laid before me by the Secretary
of War, with the request that I would consider it.
It is quite natural that you would feel some sensi
bility on the subject; yet I am not impressed, nor
do I think the country is impressed, with the belief
that your honor demands, or the public interest de
mands, such an inquiry. The country knows that at
all events you have done good service, and I believe
it agrees with me that it is much better for you to
be engaged in trying to do more, than to be diverted
as you necessarily would be by a court of inquiry.
Yours, truly, A. Lincoln.
To Mr. A. G. Hodges, of Frankfort, Ky., April 4, '
1864.
I did understand, however, that very oath to pre
serve the Constitution to the best of my ability im
posed upon me the duty of preserving, by every in-

352 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
dispensable 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 limb. I felt that measures, otherwise unconsti
tutional, might become lawful by becoming indis
pensable to the preservation of the Constitution
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 preserve
slavery or any minor matter, I should permit the
wreck of government, country, and Constitution alto
gether. When, early in the war, General Fremont
attempted military emancipation, I forbade it, be
cause I did not then think it an indispensable
necessity. When, a little later, General Cameron,
then Secretary of War, suggested tue arming of the
blacks, I objected, because I did not yet think it an
indispensable necessity. When, still later, General
Hunter attempted military emancipation, I again for
bade it, because I did not yet think the indispensa
ble necessity had come. When, in March, and May,
and July, 1862, I made earnest and successive ap
peals 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 sur^

PEN AND VOICE. 353
rendering the Union, and with it the Constitution, or
of laying 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 entirely con
fident. More than a year of trial now shows no loss
by it in our foreign relations, none in our home pop
ular sentiment, none in our white military force, no
loss by it any how or anywhere. On the contrary,
it shows a gain of quite a hundred and thirty thou
sand soldiers, seamen, and laborers. These are pal
pable facts, about which, as facts, there can be no
caviling. We have the men, and we could not have
had them without the measure. And now let any
Union man who complains of this measure 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 three hundred and thirty
thousand men from the Union side, and placing them'
where they would be best for the measure he con
demns. If he can not face his case so stated it is
only because he can not face the truth.
I add a word which was not in the verbal conversa
tion. In telling this tale, I attempt no compliment
to my own sagacity. I claim not to have controlled
events, but confess 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
30

354 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our
complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find
therein new causes to attest and revere the justice
and goodness of God. Yours, truly, A. Lincoln.
Words to Gen. Grant, on April 9, 1864.
The Nation's appreciation of what you have done,
and its reliance upon you for what remains to be
done in the existing great struggle, are now presented
with this commission constituting you lieutenant-
general in the army of the United States. With this
high honor devolves upon you also a corresponding
responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, so,
under God, it will sustain you. I scarcely need to
add that with what I here speak for the Nation goes
my own hearty personal concurrence.
Speech at the Baltimore Fair, April 18, 1864.
Ladies and Gentlemen: — Calling it to mind that
we are in Baltimore, we can not fail to note that the
world moves. 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.
This change which has taken place in Baltimore is
part only of a far wider change which has taken
place all over the country.
When the war commenced, three years ago, no one
expected that it would last this long, and no one sup-

PEN AND VOICE. 355
posed that the institution of slavery would be ma
terially affected by it. But here we are. The war is
not yet ended, and slavery has been very materially
affected or interfered with. So true is it 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 lib
erty, 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 are called liberty,
although they are entirely different. To give an il
lustration : 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 preserva
tion of his life ; but 4he wolf denounces him as de
spoiling the sheep of his liberty, especially if it be a
black sheep.
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 meaning of the word, and I
thank them from the bottom of my heart for what
they have done and are doing.
It is not very becoming for a president to make a
speech of 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 col
ored soldiers at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, during a re
cent engagement there, and he thought it fit to ex-

356 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
plain some facts in relation to the affair. It is said '
by some persons that the government is not, in this
.matter, doing its duty. At the commencement of
the war, it was doubtful 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 himself, he, in
his judgment, decided that they should. He was re
sponsible 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 protection as the white soldier, and
he would have it.
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 gov
ernment does know the facts from official sources,
and they prove to substantiate the reports, retribu
tion will be surely given. What is reported, he
thought, would make a clear case. If it is not true,
then all such stories are to be considered as false.
If proved true, when the matter is thoroughly exam
ined, what shape is to be given to the retribution?
Can we take the man who was captured at Vicks
burg, and shoot him for the victim of this massacre?
If it should happen that it was the act of only one
man, what course is to be pursued then ? It was a
matter requiring careful examination and delibera-

PEN AND VOICE. 357
tion, and if it should be substantiated by sufficient
evidence, all might rest assured that retribution
would be had. Message to Congress. April 28, 1864.
To the Honorable Senate and House of Represent
atives: — I have the honor to transmit herewith an
address to the President of the United States, and
through him to both Houses of Congress, on the
condition of the people of East Tennessee, and
asking their attention to the necessity for some
action on the part of the government for their re
lief, and which address is presented by the committee
or organization called " The East Tennessee Relief
Association." Deeply commiserating the condition
of those most loyal people, I am unprepared to
make any specific recommendation for their relief.
The military is doing, and will continue to do, the
best for them within its power. Their address repre
sents that the construction of a direct railroad coni-
riiunication between Knoxville and Cincinnati, by
way of Central Kentucky, would be of great conse
quence ill the present emergency. It may be re-
membered that in my annual message of December,
1861, such railroad construction was recommended.
I now add that, with the hearty concurrence of Con
gress, I would yet be pleased to construct the road,
both for the relief of those people and for its con
tinuing military importance. Abraham Lincoln.

358 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
To the House of Representatives. April 28, 1864.
In obedience to the resolution of your honorable
body, a copy of which is herewith returned, I have
the honor to make the following brief statement,
which is -believed to contain the information sought :
Prior to and at the meeting of the present Con
gress, Robert C. Schenck, of Ohio, and Frank P.
Blair, Jr., of Missouri, members-elect thereto, by and
with the consent of the Senate, held commissions
from the executive as major-generals in the volunteer
army. General Schenck tendered the resignation of his
said commission and took his seat in the House of
Representatives, at the assembling thereof,' upon the
distinct verbal understanding with the Secretary of
War and the Executive that he might at any time
during the session, at his own pleasure, withdraw said
resignation and return to the field.
General Blair was, by temporary agreement of
General Sherman in command of a corps' through the
battles in front of Chattanooga, and in marching to
the relief of Knoxville, which occurred in the latter
days of December last, and of course was not present
at the assembling of Congress. When he subse
quently arrived here he sought and was allowed by
the Secretary of War and the Executive the same
conditions and promise as was allowed and made to
General Schenck.
General Schenck has not applied to withdraw his
resignation ; but when General Gr-ant was made lieu
tenant-general, producing some changes of com-

PEN AND VOICE. 359
manders, General Blair sought to be assigned to the
command of a corps. This was made known to
General Grant and General Sherman, and assented to
by them, and the particular corps for him was desig
nated. This was all arranged and understood, as
now remembered, so much as a month ago; but the
formal withdrawal of General Blair's resignation,
and the reissuing of the order assigning him to the
command of a corps, were not consummated at the
War Department until last week, perhaps on the 23d
of April instant.
As a summary of the whole it may be stated that
General Blair holds no military commission or ap
pointment other than as herein stated, and that it is
believed he is now acting as major-general upon the
assumed validity of the commission herein stated and
not otherwise.
There are some letters, notes, telegrams, orders,
entries, and perhaps other documents, in connection
with the subject, which it is believed would throw no
additional light upon it, but which will be cheerfully
furnished if desired. Abraham Lincoln.
Letter to General Grant, April 30, 1864.
Not expecting to see you before the spring cam
paign opens, I wish to express in this way my entire
satisfaction with what you have done up to this time,
so far as I understand it. The particulars of your
plans I neither know, nor seek to know. You are
vigilant and self-reliant; and pleased with this, I
wish not to obtrude any restraints or constraints upon
you. While I am very anxious that any great dis-

360 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
aster, or capture of our men in great numbers, shall
be avoided, I know that these points are less likely
to escape your attention than they would mine. If
there be any thing wanting which is within my power
to give, do not fail to let me know it.
And now, with a brave army and a just cause, may
God sustain you. Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln.
President's Recommend for Prayer and Thanks
giving.
Executive Mansion, Washington, May 9, 1864.
To the Friends of Union and Liberty .- — Enough is
known of army operations within the last five days
to claim our special gratitude to God. While what
remains undone demands our most serious prayers to
and reliance upon Him (without whom all human
effort is vain), I recommend that all patriots, at their
homes, at their places of public worship, and wher
ever they may be, unite in common thanksgiving and
prayer to Almighty God. Abraham Lincoln.
The President's Idea of Democratic Policy and
Strategy. May, 1864.
The slightest knowledge of arithmetic will prove
to any man that the rebel armies can not be destroyed
by Democratic strategy. It would sacrifice all the
white men of the North to do it. There are now in
the service of the United States nearly two hundred
thousand able-bodied colored men, most of them un
der arms, defending and acquiring Union territory.

PEN AND VOICE. 361
The Democratic strategy demands that these forces
be disbanded, and that the masters be conciliated by
restoring them to slavery. The black men who now
assist Union prisoners to escape are to be converted
into our enemies, in the vain hope of gaining the
good will" of their masters. We shall have to fight
two nations instead of one.
You can not conciliate the South if you guarantee
ultimate success, and the experiences of the present
war prove their success is inevitable if you fling the
compulsory labor of four millions of black men into
their side of the scale
Will you give our enemies such military advantages
as insure success, and then depend upon coaxing,
flattery, and concession to get them back into the
Union. Abandon all the forts now garrisoned by black
men, take two hundred thousand men from our side,
and put them in the battle field or corn field against
us, and we would be compelled to abandon the war
in three weeks. We have to hold territory in in
clement' and sickly places. Where are the Democrats
to do this? It was a free fight, and the field was
open to the War Democrats to put down this rebel
lion by fighting against both the master and slave
long before the present policy was inaugurated.
There have been men base enough to propose to me
to return to slavery our black warriors of Port Hud
son and Olustee, and thus win the respect, of the
masters they fought. Should I do so, I should de
serve to be damned in time and eternity.
31

362 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
Come what will, I will keep my faith with friend
and foe. My enemies pretend I am now carrying on
the war for the sole purpose of abolition. So long
as I am president it shall be carried on for the sole
purpose of restoring the Union. But no human
power can subdue this rebellion without the use of
the emancipation policy, and every other policy cal
culated to weaken the moral and physical forces of
the rebellion.
Freedom has given us two hundred thousand men,
raised on southern soil. It will give us more yet.
Just so much it has abstracted from the enemy, and
instead of checking the South, there are evidences of
a fraternal feeling growing up between' our men and
the rank and "file of the rebel soldiers.. Let my ene
mies prove to the country that the destruction of
slavery is not necessary to the restoration of the
Union. I will abide the issue.
Response to Serenade at Washington, May 13, 1864.
Fellow- Citizens : — 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 following up their victories
resolutely and successfully.
I think, without knowing the particulars of the
plans of General Grant, that what has been accom-

pen and voice. 363
plished is of more importance than at first appears.
I believe, I know (and am especially grateful to
know), that General 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 days, 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 considera
tions 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 before you. Repeating my thanks for this call,
I bid you good-bye.
To a New York Meeting, June 3, 1864.
Hon. F. A. Conckling, and others: Gentlemen —
Your letter, inviting me to be present at a mass meet
ing of loyal citizens to be held at New York, on the
4th inst., for the purpose of expressing gratitude to
Lieutenant-General Grant for his signal services, was
received yesterday. It is impossible for me to at
tend. I approve, nevertheless, whatever may tend to

364 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
strengthen and sustain General Grant and the noble
armies now under his direction.
My previous high estimate of General Grant has
been maintained and heightened by what has occurred
in the remarkable campaign he is now conducting.
While the magnitude and difficulty of the task before
him do not prove less than I expected, he and his
brave soldiers are now in the midst of their great
trial, and I trust at your meeting you will so shape
your good words that they may turn to men and guns
moving to his and their support.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Speech Delivered June 9, 1864, to Committee In
forming Lincoln of his Renomination.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee: —
I will neither conceal my gratification, nor restrain
the expression of my gratitude, that the Union peo
ple, through their convention, in the continued effort
to save and advance the nation, have deemed me not
unworthy to remain in my present position.
I know no reason to doubt that I shall accept the
nomination tendered, and yet, perhaps I should not
declare definitely before reading and considering what
is called the platform. I will say now, however, that
I approve the declaration in favor of so amending the
Constitution as to prohibit slavery throughout the
nation. When the people in revolt, with the hundred
days explicit notice that they could within those days
resume their allegiance without the overthrow of
their institutions, and that they could not resume it
afterw-ard, elected to stand out, such an amendment

PEN AND VOICE. 365
of the Constitution as is now proposed became a fit
ting and necessary condition to the final success of
the Union cause. Such alone can meet and cover all
cavils. I now perceive its importance and embrace it.
In the joint names of Liberty and Union, let us labor
to give legal form and practical effort.
Speech to the National Union League, June 9, 1864.
Gentlemen : — I can only say in response to the re
marks of your chairman, that I am very grateful for
the renewed confidence which has been accorded to
me, both by the convention and the National League.
I am not insensible at all to the personal compliment
there is in this, yet I do not allow myself to believe
that any but a small portion of it is to be appropri
ated as a personal compliment to me. The conven
tion and the nation, I am assured, are alike animated
by a higher view of the interests of the country, for
the present and the great future, and the part I am
entitled to appropriate as a compliment, is only that
part which I may lay hold of as being the opinion of
the convention and of the league, that I am not en
tirely unworthy to be intrusted with the place I have
occupied for the last three years.
I have not permitted myself, gentlemen, to conclude
that I am the best man in the country ; but I am re
minded in this connection of a story of an old Dutch
farmer, who remarked to a companion once that " it
was not best to swap horse when crossing a stream."

366 abraham lincoln's
Speech at a Philadelphia Fair, June 16, 1864.
I suppose that this toast was intended to open the
way for me to say something.
War, at the best, is terrible, and this war of ours, in
its magnitude and in its duration, is one of the most
terrible. It has deranged business, totally in many
localities, and partially in all localities. It has de
stroyed property and ruined homes; it has produced
a national debt and taxation unprecedented, at least
in this country ; it has carried mourning to- almost
every home, until it can almost be said that the
"heavens are hung in black."
Yet the war continues, and several relieving coin
cidents have accompanied it from the very beginning
which have not been known, as I understand or have
any knowledge of, in any former wars in the history
of the world. The Sanitary Commission, with all its
benevolent labors; the Christian Commission, with
all its Christian and benevolent labors ; and the vari
ous places, arrangements, so to speak, and institu
tions, have contributed to the comfort and relief of
the soldiers. You have two of these places in this
city — the Cooper Shop and Union Volunteer Re
freshment Saloons. And, lastly, these fairs, which I
believe began only in last August if I mistake not
in Chicago, then at Boston, at Cincinnati, Brooklyn,
New York, at Baltimore, and those at present held
at St. Louis, Pittsburg and Philadelphia.
The motive and object that lie at the bottom of all
these are most worthy; for, say what you will, after
all,the most is due to the soldier, who takes his life

PEN AND VOICE. 367
in his hands and goes to fight the battles of his coun
try. In what, is contributed to his comfort when he
passes to and fro, and in what is contributed to him
when he is sick and wounded, in whatever shape it
comes, whether from the fair and tender hand of
woman or from any other source, it is much, very
much. But I think that there is still that which is
of as much value to him in the continual reminders
he sees in the newspapers, that while he is absent he
is yet remembered by the loved ones at home.
Another view of these various institutions, if I
may so call them, is worthy of consideration, I think.
They are voluntary contributions, given zealously
and^earnestly, on top of all the disturbances of busi
ness, of. all the disorders, of all the taxation, and of
all the burdens that the war has imposed upon us,
giving proof that the national resources are not at all
exhausted, and that the natural spirit of patriotism is
even firmer and stronger than at the commencement
of the war.
It is a pertinent question, often asked in the mind
privately, and from one to the other, When is the
war to end ? Surely I feel as deep an interest in this
question as any other can, but I do not wish to name
a day, a month, or a year, when it is to end. I do
not wish to run any risk of seeing the time come,
without our being ready for the end, for fear of dis
appointment because the time had come and not the
end. We accepted this war for an object, a worthy
object, and the war will end when that object is at
tained. Under God, I hope it never will end until
that time. Speaking of the present campaign, Gen-

368 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
eral Grant is reported to have said, "I am going
through on this line if it takes all summer." This
war has taken three years ; it was begun or accepted
upon the line of restoring the national authority over
the whole national dornain, and for the American
people, as far as any knowledge enables me to speak,
I say we are going through on this line if it takes
three years more.
My friends, I did not know but I might be called
upon to say a few words before I got away from here,
but I did not know it was coming just here. I have
never been In the habit of making predictions in re
gard to the war, but I am almost tempted to make
one. If I were to hazard it, it is this : that Grant is
this evening, with General Meade and General Han
cock, and the brave officers and soldiers with him, in
a position from whence he will never be dislodged
until Richmond is taken, and I have but one single
proposition to put now, and perhaps I can best put it
in the form of an interrogative. If I shall discover
that General Grant and the noble officers and men
under him can be greatly facilitated in their work by
a sudden pouring forward of men and assistance, will
you give them to me? Are you ready to march?
[Cries of " Yes!"] Then, I say, stand ready, for I
am watching for the chance. I thank you, gentle
men. To Hon. William Dennison and Others, a Commit
tee of the Union National Convention.
Executive Mansion, Washington, June 27, 1864.
Gentlemen : — Your letter of the 14th inst., formally

PEN AND VOICE. 369
notifying me that I have been nominated by the con
vention you represent for the Presidency of the
United States for four years from the 4th of March
next, has been received. The nomination is grate
fully accepted, as the resolutions of 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 misunderstand
ing were I not to say that the position of the govern
ment in relation to the action of France in Mexico,
as assumed through the State Department and in
dorsed 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 soldiers and seamen were not forgotten by
the convention, as they forever must and will be re
membered by the grateful country for whose salva
tion they devote their lives.
Thanking you for the kind and complimentary
terms in which you have communicated the nomina
tion, and other proceedings of the convention, I sub
scribe myself, Your obedient servant,
Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln to General Grant.
July 10, 1864, 2:30 P. M.
Your dispatch to General Halleck, referring to
what I may think in the present emergency, is shown
me. General Halleck says we have no force here fit to
go to the field. He thinks that with the hundred-day

370 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
men and invalids we have here, we can defend Wash
ington, and, scarcely, Baltimore. Besides these, there
are about eight thousand, not very reliable, under
Howe at Harper's Ferry, with Hunter approaching
that point very slowly, with what number I suppose
you know better than we. Wallace, with some odds
and ends, and part of what came up with Ricketts,
was so badly beaten yesterday at Monocacy, that
what is left can attempt no more than to defend Bal
timore. What we shall get in from Pennsylvania
and New York will scarcely be worth counting, I
fear. Now what I think is, that you should provide
to retain your hold where you are certainly; and
bring the re-it with you. personally, and make a vigorous
effort to defeat the enemy's force in this vicinity. I
think there is really a fair chance to do this if the
movement is prompt. This is what I think — upon
your suggestion — and is not an order. A. Lincoln.
To Whom it may Concern.
Executive Mansion. Washington, D. C, July 1>. 1864.
Any proposition which embraces the restoration of
peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the
abandonment of slavery, and which comes by and
with an authority that can control the armies now at
war against the United States, will be received and
considered by the Executive Government of the
United States, and will be met by liberal terms on
other substantial and collateral points, and the bearer
or bearers thereof shall have safe conduct both ways.
Abraham Lincoln.

PEN AND VOICE. 371
To Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Va.
Washington, D. C, Aug. 3, 1864, Cypher, 6 P.M.
I have seen your dispatch in which you say — " I
want Sheridan put in command of all the troops in
the field, with instructions to put himself south of the
enemy, and follow him to the death. Wherever the
enemy goes, let the troops go also." This, I think, is
exactly right, as to how our forces should move. But
please look over the dispatches you may have received
from here, even since you made that order, and dis
cover, if you can, that there is any idea in the head of
any one here, of "putting our army south of the en
emy" or of " following him to the death " in any di
rection. I repeat to you it will neither be done nor
attempted unless you watch it every day, and hour,
and force it. A. Lincoln.
President Lincoln's Reply to Rev. Dr. Pohlman,-of
Albany, N. Y., and others of the General Synod
of the Lutheran Church at Lancaster.
August, 1864.
Gentlemen : — I welcome here the representatives of
the Evangelical Lutherans of the United States. I
accept with gratitude their assurances of the sympa
thy and support of that enlightened, influential and
loyal class of my fellow-citizens in an important
crisis, which involves, in my judgment, not only the
civil and religious liberties of our own dear land, but
in a large degree the civil and religious liberties of
mankind in many countries, and through many ages.
You well know, gentlemen, and the world knows,
how reluctantly I accepted this issue of battle forced

372 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
upon me, on my advent to this place, by the internal
enemies of our country. You all know, the world
knows the forces and the resources the public agents
have brought into employment to sustain a govern
ment against which there has been brought not one
complaint of real injury committed against society at
home or abroad. You all may recollect that in tak
ing up the sword thus forced into our hands, this
government appealed to the prayers of the pious and
the good, and declared that it placed its whole de
pendence upon the favor of God. I now humbly and
reverently, in your presence, reiterate the acknowl
edgment of that dependence, not doubting that if it
shall please the Divine Being who determines the des
tinies of natious, that this shall remain a united peo
ple, they will, humbly seeking the Divine guidance,
make their prolonged national existence a source of
new benefits to themselves and their successors, and
to all classes and conditions of mankind.
Hon. Henry J. Raymond.
Executive Mansion, Washington, August 15, 1864.
My Dear Sir: — I have proposed to Mr. Greeley
that the Niagara correspondence.be published, sup
pressing only the parts of his letters over which the
red pencil is drawn in the copy which I herewith
send. He declines giving his consent to the publication of
his letters unless these parts be published with the
rest. I have concluded that it is better for me to submit,
for the time, to the consequences of the false position

PEN AND VOICE. 373
in which I consider he has placed me, than to submit
the country to the consequences of publishing these
discouraging and injurious parts.
I send you this, and the accompanying copy, not
for publication, but merely to explain to you, and
that you may preserve them until their proper time
shall come. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Tender of National Thanks to Farragut and Canby.
Executive Mansion, September 3, 1864.
The national thanks are tendered by the President
to Admiral Farragut and Major-General Canby, for
the skill and harmony with which the recent opera
tions in Mobile Harbor and against Fort Powell, Fort
Gaines, and Fort Morgan were planned and carried
into execution. Also to Admiral Farragut and
Major-General Granger, under whose immediate com
mand they were conducted, and to the gallant com
manders on sea and land, and to the sailors and sol
diers engaged in the operations, for their energy and
courage, which, under the blessing of Providence,
have been crowned with brilliant success, and have
won for them the applause and thanks of the nation.
Abraham Lincoln.
Call for Thanksgiving.
Executive Mansion, Washington City, Sept. 3, 1864.
The signal success that Divine Providence has re
cently vouchsafed to the operations of the United
States army and navy in the harbor of Mobile, and
the reduction of Forts Powell, Gaines, and Morgan,
and the glorious achievements of the army under

374 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
Major-General Sherman in the State of Georgia, re
sulting in the capture of the city of Atlanta, call for
devout acknowledgments to the Supreme Being, in
whose hands are the destinies of nations. It is there
fore requested that on next Sunday, in all places of
public worship in the United States, thanksgiving be
offered to Him for His mercy in preserving our na
tional existence, against the insurgent rebels who so
long have been waging a cruel war against the gov
ernment of the United States for its overthrow, and
also that prayers be made for the Divine protection
to our brave soldiers and their leaders, in the field,
who have so often and so gallantly periled their lives
in battling with the enemy, and for blessings and
comfort from the Father of Mercies to the sick, and
wounded and prisoners, and to the orphans and
widows of those who have fallen in the service of their
country, and that He will continue to uphold- the
government of the United States against all the efforts
of public enemies and secret foes. Abraham Lincoln.
Tender of National Thanks to General Sherman.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Sept. 3, 1861.
The national thanks are tendered by the President
to Major-General W. T. Sherman and the gallant
officers and soldiers of his command before Atlanta,
for the distinguished ability and perseverance dis
played in the campaign in Georgia, which, under
Divine favor, has resulted in the capture of Atlanta.
The marches, battles, seiges and other military oper
ations that have signalized the campaign, must render

PEN AND VOICE. 375
it famous in the annals of war, and have entitled those
who have participated therein to the applause and
thanks of the nation. Abraham Lincoln.
September 5, 1864.
Ordered: — First — That on Monday the 5th day of
September, commencing at the hour of twelve o'clock
noon, there shall be given a salute of one hundred
guns atthe arsenal and navy yard at Washington, and
on Tuesday, the 6th day of September, or the day
after the receipt of this order, at each arsenal and
navy yard in the United States, for the recent brilliant
achievements of the fleet and the land forces of the
United States in the harbor of Mobile in the reduction
of Fort Powell, Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan. The
Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy will
issue the necessary directions in their respective de
partments for the execution of this order.
Second — That on Wednesday, the 7th day of Sep
tember, commencing at the hour of twelve o'clock
noon, there shall be fired a salute of one hundred guns
at the arsenal at Washington, and at New York,
Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Newport,
Ky., and St. Louis, and at New Orleans, Mobile,
Pensaeola, Hilton Head, and Newbern, the day after
the receipt of this order,for the brilliant achievements
of the army under the command of Major-General
Sherman in the State of Georgia, and the capture of
Atlanta. The Secretary of War will issue directions for the
execution of this order. Abraham Lincoln.

376 abraham lincoln's
Executive order returning thanks to the Ohio
Volunteers for One Hundred Days Service.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Sept. 10, 1864.
The term of one hundred days for which the
National Guard of Ohio volunteered having expired,
the President directs an official acknowledgment of
their patriotism and valuable services during the re
cent campaign. The term of service of their enlist
ment was short, but distinguished by memorable
events in the valley of the Shenandoah, on the Penin
sula, in the operations of the James River, around
Petersburg and Richmond, in the battle of Monocacy,
in the intrenchments of Washington, and in other
important service. The National Guard of Ohio per
formed with alacrity the duty of patriotic volunteers,
for which they are entitled, and are hereby tendered,
through the Governor of their state, the national
thanks. The Secretary of War is directed to transmit a
copy of this order to the Governor of Ohio, and to
cause a certificate of their honorable service to be de
livered to the officers and soldiers of the Ohio National
Guard, who recently served in the military force of
the United States as volunteers for one hundred days.
Abraham Lincoln.
Speech at a Serenade, September, 1864.
Soldiers .- — You are about to return to your homes
and your friends, after having, as I learn, performed
in camp a comparatively short term of duty in this
great contest. I am greatly obliged to you, and to

pen and voice. 377
all who have come forward at the call of their coun
try. I wish it might be more generally and univer
sally understood what the country is now engaged in.
We have, as all will agree, a free government, where
every man has a right to be equal with every other
man. In this great struggle the form of government
and every form of human right is endangered if our
enemies succeed. There is more involved in this
contest than is realized by every one. There is in
volved in this struggle the question, whether your
children- and my children shall enjoy the privileges
we have enjoyed. I say this in order to impress
upon you, if you are not already so impressed, that
no small matter should divert us from our great pur
pose. There may be some inequalities in the practical
application of our system. It is fair that each man
shall pay taxes in exact proportion to the value of
his property; but if we should wait, before collecting
a tax, to adjust the taxes upon each man in exact
proportion with every other man, we should never
collect any tax at all. There may be mistakes made
sometimes; things may be done wrong, while the
officers of the government do all they can to prevent
mistakes. But I beg of you, as citizens of this great
republic, not to let your minds be carried off' from
the great work we have before us. This struggle is
too large for you to be diverted from it by any small
matter. When you return to your homes, rise up to
the height of a generation of men worthy of a free
government, and we will carry out the great work
we have commenced. I return to you my sincere
32

378 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
thanks, soldiers, for the honor you have done me this
afternoon.To Another Ohio Regiment he Spoke as Follows,
September, 1864.
Soldiers: — I suppose you are going home to see
your families and friends. For the services you have
done in this great struggle in which we are engaged,
I present you sincere thanks for myself and the
country. I almost always feel inclined, when I say any thing
to soldiers, to impress upon them, in a few brief re
marks, the importance of success in this contest. It
is not merely for the day, but for all time to come,
that we should perpetuate for our children's children
that great and free government which we have en
joyed all our lives. I beg you to remember this, not
merely for my sake, but for yours. I happen, tempo
rarily, to occupy this big White House. I am a liv
ing witness that any one of your children may look
to come here as my father's child has. It is in order
that each one of you may have, through this free
government which we have enjoyed, an open field
and a fair chance for your industry, enterprise, and
intelligence; that you may all have equal privileges
in the race of life, with all its desirable human aspira-
, tions — it is for this that the struggle should be main
tained, that we may not lose our birthrights, not only
for one, but for two or three years, if necessary. The
nation is worth fighting for to secure such an inesti
mable jewel.

PEN AND VOICB. 379
To Major-General Sherman.
Washington, D. C, September 19,1864.
The state election of Indiana occurs on the 11th
of October, and the loss of it to the friends of the
government would go far toward losing the whole
Union cause.
The bad effect upon the November election, and es
pecially the giving the state government to those
who will oppose the war in every possible way, are'
too much to risk if it can be avoided. The draft
proceeds, notwithstanding its strong tendency to lose
us the state.
Indiana is the only important state voting in Octo
ber whose soldiers can not vote in the field. Any
thing you can safely do to let her soldiers, or any part
of them go home to vote at the state election, will be
greatly in point. .
They need not remain for the presidential election,
but may return to you at once.
This is in no sense an order, but is merely intended
to impress you with the importance to the army it
self of your doing all you safely can, yourself being
the judge of what you can safely do.
Yours, truly, A. Lincoln
To Hon. Montgomery Blair.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Sept. 23, 1864.
My Dear Sir: — You have generously said to me,
more than once, that whenever your resignation
could be a relief to me, it was at my disposal. The
time has come.

380 Abraham Lincoln's
You very well know that this proceeds from no
dissatisfaction of mine with you personally or offi
cially. Yo.ur uniform kindness has been unsurpassed by
that of any other friend, and while it is true that the
war does not so greatly add to the difficulties of your
department as to those of some others, it is yet much
to say, as I most truly can, that in the three years
and a half during which you have administered the
'General Post-office, I remember no single complaint
against you in connection therewith.
Yours, as evei;, A. Lincoln.
Letter to Mrs. Eliza P. Gurney.
September 30, 1864.
My Esteemed Friend: — I have not forgotten, proba
bly never shall forget, the very impressive occasion
when yourself and friends visited me on a Sabbath
forenoon two years ago. Nor had your kind letter,
written nearly a year later, ever been forgotten. In all
it has been your purpose to strengthen my reliance in
God. I am much indebted to the good Christian peo-
dle of the country for their constant prayers and con
solations, and to no one of them more than to yourself.
The purposes of the Almighty are perfect and must
prevail, though we erring mortals may fail to accu
rately perceive them in advance. We hoped for a
happy termination of this terrible war long before
this ; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise.
We shall yet acknowledge his wisdom and our own
errors therein ; meanwhile we must work earnestly
in the best light He gives us, trusting that so working

PEN AND VOICE 381
still conduces to the great end He ordains. Surely
He intends some great good to follow this mighty
convulsion which no mortal could make, and no
mortal could stay. Your people— the Friends— have
had, and are having, very great trials on principles
and faith opposed to both war and oppression. They
can only practically oppose oppression by war. In
this hard dilemma some have chosen one horn and
some the other.
For those appealing to me on conscientious grounds
I have done and shall do the best I could and can in
my own conscience under my oath to the law. That
you believe this I doubt not, and believing it I shall
still receive for my country and myself your earnest
prayers to our Father in Heaven.
Your sincere friend, A. Lincoln.
Special Executive Order Returning Thanks to
Volunteers for one Hundred Days, from the
States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and W isconsin.
Executive Mansion, Washington, October 1, 1864.
The term of one hundred days for which volun
teers from the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and
Wisconsin volunteered, under the call of their re
spective governors, in the months of May and June,
to aid the recent campaign of General Sherman,
having expired, the president directs an official ac
knowledgment to be made of their patriotic service.
It was their good fortune to render effective service
in the brilliant operations in the south-west, and to
contribute to the victories of the national arms over
the rebel forces in Georgia, under command of John-

382 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
ston and Hood. On all occasions, and in every
service to which they were assigned, their duty as
patriotic volunteers was performed with alacrity and
courage, for which they are entitled to and are hereby
tendered the national thanks through the governors
of their respective states.
The Secretary of War is directed to transmit a
copy of this order to the governors of Indiana, Illi
nois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and to cause a certificate
of their honorable services to be delivered to the of
ficers and soldiers of'the states above named, who
recently served in the military service of the United
States as volunteers for one hundred days.
Abraham Lincoln.
Speech to the 148th Ohio Regiment. Fall of 1864.
Soldiers of the 148th Ohio : — I am most happy to
meet you on this occasion.- I understand that it "has
been your honorable privilege to stand, for a brief
period, in the defense of your country, and that now
you are on your way to your homes. I congratulate
you, and those who are waiting to bid you welcome
home from the war; and permit me in the name of
the people to thank you for the part you have taken
in this struggle for the life of the nation. You are
soldiers of the republic, every-where honored and re
spected. Whenever I appear before a body of soldiers,
I feel tempted to talk to them of the nature of the
struggle in which we are engaged. I look upon it as
an attempt on the one hand to overwhelm and destroy
the national existence, while on our part we are
striving to maintain the government and institutions

PEN AND VOICE. 383
of our fathers, to enjoy them ourselves, and transmit
them to our children and our children's children for
ever. To do this the constitutional administration of our
government must be sustained, and I beg of you not
to allow your minds or your hearts to be diverted
from the support of all necessary measures for that
purpose, by any miserable picayune arguments ad
dressed to your pockets, or inflammatory appeal
made to your passions and your prejudices.
It is vain and foolish to- arraign this man or that
for the part he has taken or has not taken, and to
hold the government responsible for his acts. In no
administration can there be perfect equality of action
and uniform satisfaction rendered by all.
But this government must be preserved, in spite of
the acts of any man or set of men. It is worthy
your every effort. Nowhere in the world is presented
a government of so much liberty and equality. To
the humblest and poorest amongst us are held out
the highest privileges and positions. The present
moment finds me at the White House, yet there is as
good a chance for your children as there was for my
father's. Again I admonish you not to be turned from your
stern purpose" of defending our beloved country and
its free institutions by any arguments urged by am
bitious and designing men, but stand fast, to the
Union and the old flag.
Soldiers, I bid you God-speed to your homes.

384 abraham lincoln's
The President's Last, Shortest, and Best Speech,
in 1864.
On Thursday of last week two ladies from TennesT
see came before the president asking the release of
their husbands held as prisoners of war at Johnson's
Island. They were put off till Fridaj*, when they
came again, and were again put off' to Saturday. At
each of the interviews, one of the ladies urged that
her husband was a religious man. On Saturday the
president ordered the release of the prisoners, and
then said to the lady: "You say your husband is a
religious man ; tell him when you meet him, that I
say I am not much of a judge of religion, but that,
in my opinion, the religion that sets men to rebel and
fight against this government, because, as they think,
that government does not sufficiently help some men
to eat their bread on the sweat of other men's faces,
is not the sort of religion upon which people can
get to heaven."
To Hon. Henry W. Hoffman.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Oct. 18, 1864.
My Dear Sir: — A convention of Maryland has
formed a new constitution for the state ; a public
meeting is called for this evening at Baltimore, to
aid in securing its ratification, and you ask a word
from me for the occasion. I presume the only fea
ture of the instrument about which there is serious
controversy, is that which provides for the extinction
of slavery.
It needs not to be a secret, and I presume it is no

PEN AND VOICE. 385
secret, that I wish success to this provision. I desire
it on every consideration.
I wish to see all men free. I wish the national
prosperity of the already free, which I feel sure the
extinction of slavery would bring. I wish to see in
progress of disappearing that only thing which could
bring this nation to a civil war. I attempt'no argu
ment. Argument upon the question is already ex
hausted by the abler, better informed, and more im
mediately interested sons of Maryland herself. -I
only add, that I shall be gratified exceedingly if the
good people of the state shall, by their votes, ratify
the new constitution. Yours truly, , A. Lincoln.
Speech at a Serenade, October 19, 1864.
I am notified that this is a compliment paid me by
the loyal Marylanders resident in this district. I in
fer that the adoption of the new constitution for that
state furnishes the occasion, and that, in your view,
the extirpation of slavery constitutes the chief merit
of the new constitution. Most heartily do I congrat
ulate you and Maryland, and the nation, and the
world upon the event. I regret that it did not occur
two years sooner, which, I am sure, would have saved
to the nation more money than would have met all
the private loss incident to the measure.
But it has come at last, and I sincerely hope its
friends may fully realize all their anticipations of
good from it, and that its opponents may, by its
effects, be agreeably and profitably disappointed.
A word upon another subject : Something said by
33

386 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
the Secretary of State, in his recent speech at Au
burn, has been construed by some into a threat that,
if I shall be beaten at the election, I will, between
then and the end of my constitutional term, do what
I may be able to ruin the government. Others regard
the fact that the Chicago convention adjourned not
sine die, but to meet again, if called to do so by a par
ticular individual, as the intimation of a purpose that
if their nominee shall be elected he will at once seize
the control of the government. I hope the good
people will permit themselves to suffer no uneasiness
on this point.
I am struggling to maintain the government, not
to overthrow it. I therefore say that, if I shall live,
I shall remain president until the fourth of next
March, and that whoever shall be constitutionally
elected therefor, in November, shall be duly installed
as president on the fourth of March, and that, in the
interval, I shall do my utmost that whoever is to hold
the helm for the next voyage shall start with the best
possible chance to save the ship.
This is due to the people both on principle and
under the Constitution. Their will, constitutionally
expressed, is the ultimate law for all. If they should
deliberately resolve to have immediate peace, even at
the loss of their country and their liberties, I have
not the power nor the right to resist them. It is
their own business, and they must do as they please
with their own. I believe, however, they are still
resolved to preserve their country and their liberty;
and in this office or out I am resolved to stand by
them.

' PEN AND VOICE. 387
I may add, that in this purpose to save the coun
try" and its liberties no classes of people seem so
nearly unanimous as the soldiers in the field and the
seamen afloat. Do they not have the hardest of it?
Who should quail while they do not? God bless the
soldiers and seamen, with all their brave command
ers.
Reply to the Protest of Tennessee, October 22,
1864.
At the time these papers were presented, as be
fore stated, I had never seen either of them, nor heard
of the subject to which they relate, except in a gen
eral way, only one day previously. Up to the present
moment nothing whatever has passed between Gov
ernor Johnson or any one else connected with the
proclamation and myself. Since receiving the papers,
as stated, I have given the subject such brief con
sideration as I have been able to do in the midst of
so many pressing public duties.
My conclusion is, that I have nothing to do with
the matter, either to sustain the plan as the conven
tion and Governor Johnson have initiated it, or to re
voke or modify it as you demand. By the Consti
tution and laws the President is charged with no
duty in the conduct of a presidential election in any
state ; nor do I in this case perceive any military rea
sons for his interference in the matter.
The movement set on foot by the convention and
Governor Johnson does not, as seems to be assumed
by you, emanate from the national executive. In no
proper sense can it be considered other than as an

388 Abraham Lincoln's
independent movement of at least a portion of the
loyal people of Tennessee.
I do not perceive in the plan any menace of vio
lence or coercion toward any one. Governor John
son, like any other loyal citizen of Tennessee, has the
right to favor any political plan he chooses, and as
military governor it is his duty to keep the peace
among and for the loyal people of the state.
I can not discern that by this plan he proposes any
more. But you object to the plan. Leaving it
alone will be your perfect security against it. Do as
you please on your own account, peacefully and
loyally, and Governor Johnson will not molest you,
but will protect you against violence so far as in
his power.
1 presume that the conducting of a presidential
election in Tennessee in strict accordance with the
old code of the state is not now a possibility.
It is scarcely necessary to add that if any election
shall be held, and any votes shall be cast in the State
of Tennessee for President and Vice-President of the
United States, it will belong, not to the military
agents, nor yet to the executive department, but ex
clusively to another department of the government,
to determine whether they are entitled to be counted,
in conformity with the Constitution and laws of the
United States.
Except it be to give protection against- violence, I
decline to interfere in any way with any presidential
election. Abraham Lincoln.

PEN AND VOICE. 389
To General Sheridan.
^Executive Mansion, Washington, October 22, 1864.
With great pleasure I tender to you and your brave
army, the thanks of the nation and my own personal
admiration and gratitude for the month's operations
in the Shenandoah Valley, and especially for the
splendid work of October 19th.
Your obedient servant, Abraham Lincoln.
Speech at a Seranade by a Club of Pennsylvanians
the Night of the Election, November 9, 1864.
Friends and Fellow -Citizens: — Even before I had
been informed by you that the compliment was paid
me by loyal citizens of Pennsylvania friendly to
me, I had inferred that you were that portion of
my countrymen who think that the best interests
of the nation are to be subserved by the support of
the present administration. I do not pretend to say
that you who think so embrace all the patriotism
and loyalty of the country. But I do believe, and
I trust without personal interest, that the welfare of
the whole conntry does require that such support
and indorsement be given.
I earnestly believe that the consequences of this
day's work, if it be as you assure me, and as now
seems probable, will be to the lastiug advantage
it not to the very salvation of the country.
I can not at this hour say what has been the re
sult of the election, but whatever it may have been,
and I have no desire to modify this opinion, that
all who have labored to-day in behalf of the Union

390 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
organization have wrought for the best interests of
the country and the world, riot only for the present,
but for all future ages.
I am thankful to God for the approval of the
people. But while deeply grateful for this mark of
their confidence in me, if I know my heart, my
gratitude is free from any taint of personal triumph.
I do not impugn the motives of any one opposed1
to me. It is no pleasure to me to triumph over any
one, but I give thanks to the Almighty for the evi
dences of the people's resolution to stand by free
government and the right of humanity.
Response to a Seranade by the various Lincoln and
Johnson Clubs of the District of Columbia, No
vember 10, 1864.
It has long been a grave question whether any gov
ernment, not too strong for the liberties of its people,
can be strong enough to maintain its existence in
great emergencies.
On this point the present rebellion brought our
government to a severe test, and a presidential elec
tion occurring in a regular course during the rebel
lion, 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 fail
when divided and partially paralized by a political
war among themselves? But the election was a
necessity. We can not have free government with
out 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,

PEN AND VOICE. . 391
The strife of the election is but human nature prac
tically 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 the future great
national trial compared with the men of this, we will
have as weak and as strong, as silly and as wise, as
bad and as good. Let us, therefore, study the inci-'
dents of this as philosophy to learn wisdom from, and
none of them as wrongs to be revenged.
But the election, along with its incidental and un
desirable strife, has done good too.
It has demonstrated that a people's government
can sustain a national election in the midst of a great
civil war. Until now, it has not been known to the
world that this was a possibility. It shows, also, how
sound and strong we still are. It shows that even
among the candidates 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.
It shows, also, to the extent yet known, that we
have more men now than we had when the war be
gun. Gold is good in its place; but living, brave and
patriotic men are better than gold. But the rebellion
continues, and, now that the election is over, may not
all have a common interest to re-unite in a common
effort to save our common country ? For my own
part, I have striven and shall 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. While I am
duly sensible to the high compliment of a re-elec
tion, and duly grateful, as I trust, to Almighty God,

392 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
for having directed my countrymen to a right con
clusion, as I think, for their .good, it adds nothing to
my satisfaction that any other man may be disap
pointed by the result.
May I ask those who have not differed with me to
join with me in this 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.
Letter of Condolence Written to Mrs. Bixby, of
Boston, Mass., on the Death of Five Sons on
the Field of Battle.
Executive Mansion^ Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.
Dear Madam: — I have been shown in the files of
the War Department, a statement of the Adjutant-
General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of
five sons, who have died gloriously on the field of
battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words
of mine which should attempt to beguile you from
the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I can not
refrain from tendering to you the consolation that
may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died
to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may as
suage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave
you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost,
and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid
so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
Abraham Lincoln.

pen and voice. 393
Fourth Annual Message, December 6, 1864.
Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Represen
tatives : — Again the blessings of health and abundant
.harvests claim our profoundest gratitude to Almighty
God. The condition of our foreign affairs is reason
ably satisfactory.
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 maintained neutrality between the belliger
ents. The proposed overland telegraph between America
and Europe, by the way of Behring's Straits and
Asiatic Russia, which was sanctioned by Congress at
the last session, has been undertaken, under very
favorable circumstances, by an association of Ameri
can citizens, with the cordial good-will and support
as well of this government as of those of Great
Britain and Russia. Assurances, have been received
from most of the South American States of their
high appreciation of the enterprise, and their readi
ness to co-operate in constructing lines tributary to that
world-encircling communication. I learn with much
satisfaction that the noble design of a telegraphic
communication between the eastern coast of America
and Great Britain has been renewed with full expec
tation of its early accomplishment.
Thus it is hoped that with the return of domestic
peace the country will be able to resume with energy

394 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
and advantage its former high career of commerce
and civilization.
Our very popular and estimable representative in
Egypt died in April last. An unpleasant altercation
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
correeted on the arrival of the successor in the con
sulate, and our relation with Egypt, as well as our re
lations with the Barbary Powers, are entirely satis
factory. The rebellion which has so long been flagrant in
China, has at last been suppressed, with the co-oper
ating good offices of this government and of the other
western commercial states.
The judicial consular establishment there has .be
come very difficult and onerous, and it will need leg
islative 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
anomalous form of its government, the action of that
empire in performing treaty stipulations is inconstant,
and capricious. Nevertheless, good progress has been
effected by the western powers, moving with enlight
ened concert.
Our own pecuniary claims have been allowed, or
put in course of settlement, and the inland sea has

PEN AND VOICE. 395
been reopened to commerce. There is reason also to
believe that these proceedings have increased rather
than diminished the friendship of Japan toward the
United States.
The ports of Norfolk, Fernandina, and Pensaeola
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 States, to resort to these and other
open ports, than it is to pursue, through many haz
ards, and at vast cost, a contraband trade with the
other ports which are closed, if not by actual mili
tary 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 ex
clude enemies of the human race from an asylum in
the United States. If Congress should think that
proceedings in such cases lack the authority of law,
or ought to be further regulated by it, I recommend
that provision be made for effectually preventing for
eign slave-traders from acquiring domicile and facil
ities for their criminal occupation in our country.
It is possible that, if it were a new and open ques
tion, the maritime powers, with the lights they now
enjoy, would not concede the privileges of a naval
belligerent to the insurgents of the United States,
destitute, as they are, and always have been, equally
of ships of war, and of ports and harbors. Disloyal
emissaries have been neither less assiduous nor more
successful during the last year than they were before
that time in their efforts, under favor of that privi-

396 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
lege to embroil our country in foreign wars. The
desire and determination of the governments of the
maritime states to defeat that design are believed to
be as sincere as, and can not be more earnest than our
own. Nevertheless, unforeseen political difficulties have
arisen, especially 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 con
ciliatory spirit on the part of the United States, as
well as of the nations concerned and their govern
ments. Commissioners have been appointed under
the treaty with Great Britain on the adjustment of
the claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget Sound
Agricultural Companies in Oregon, and are now pro
ceeding 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 inimi
cal 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 existing arrangement with Great
Britain, the United 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 con
tinuing or modifying the rights of transit from Canada
through the United States, as well as the regulation
of imposts, which were temporarily established by the

TEN AND VOICE. 397
reciprocity treaty of the 5th June, 1854. I desire
however, to be understood, while making this state
ment, 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 bor
ders. ...
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 opera
tions of the year is General Sherman's attempted
march of three hundred miles directly through the in
surgent region. It tends to show a great increase of
our relative strength that our General-in-chief should
feel able to confront and hold in check every active
force of the enemy, arid yet to detach a well appointed
large army to move on such an expedition. The re
sult 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 molding society for durabil
ity in the Union. Although short of complete suc
cess, 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,

398 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
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 ex
ample of complete success. Maryland is secure to
liberty and Union for all the future. The genius of
rebellion 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 amend
ment of the Constitution abolishing slavery through
out the United States passed the Senate, but failed
for lack of the requisite 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, al
most certainly, that the next Congress will pass the
measure if this does not. Hence there is only a ques
tion of time as to when the proposed amendment will
go to the states for their action. And as it is to so
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
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

PEN AND VOICE. 399
crisis like ours, unanimity of action among those
seeking a common end is very desirable, — almost in
dispensable. And yet no approach to such unanimity is attaina
ble unless some deference shall be paid to the will of
the majority, simply because it is the will of the ma
jority. In this case the common end is the mainte
nance 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 country is derived through our popular elections.
Judging by the recent canvass and its result, the pur
pose of the people within the loyal states to maintain
the integrity of the Union was never more firm nor
more nearly unanimous than now.
The extraordinary calmness and good order with
which the millions of voters met and mingled 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 purpose. It is an unanswerable argument to
this effect, that no candidate for any office whatever,
high or low, has ventured to seek votes on the avowal
"" that he was for giving up the Union. There have
been much impugning of motives, 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

400 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
among the people. In affording the people the fair
opportunity of showing, one to another and to the
world, this firmness and unanimity of purpose, the
election has been of vast value to the national cause.
The election has exhibited another fact not less
valuable to be known — the fact that we do not ap
proach 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 surviv
ing, the fallen have been so few.
While corps and divisions and brigades and regi
ments have formed and fought and dwindled and gone
out of existence, a great majority of the men who
composed them are still Jiving. 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, Illi
nois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, ' West Vir
ginia, and Wisconsin cast 3,982,011 votes now against
3,870,222 cast then.
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 swelling the aggregate 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

PEN AND VOICE. 401
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, while thousands, white and black, join us
as the national arms press back the insurgent lines.
So much is shown affirmatively and negatively by the
election. It is not material to inquire how the in
crease has been produced or to show that it would
have been greater but for the war, which is probably
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 maintain the contest indefinitely. This as to men.
Material resources are now more complete and abund
ant than ever. The natural resources, then, are un
exhausted, and as we believe, inexhaustible. The
public purpose to re-establish and maintain the
national authority, is unchanged, and, as we believe,
unchangeable. The manner of continuing the effort
remains to choose. On careful consideration of all
the evidence accessible, it seems to me that no at
tempt at nogotiation with the insurgent leader could
result in any good He would accept nothing short
of severance of the Union — precisely what we will
not arnd can not give. His declarations to this effect
34

402 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S.
are explicit and oft-repeated. He does not attempt
to deceive us. He affords us no excuse to deceive
ourselves. He can not voluntarily re-accept the
Union, we can not voluntarily yield it. Between
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 increase. 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 re
main, 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 in
stance, the admission of members into Congress, and
whatever might require the appropriation of money.
The executive power itself would be greatly dimin
ished by the cessation of actual war. Pardons and
remissions of forfeitures, however, would still be with
in executive control. In what spirit and temper this

PEN AND VOICE. 403
control would be exercised can be fairly judged of by
the past.
A year ago general pardon and amnesty, upon spec
ified terms, were offered to all, except certain desig
nated classes, and it was, at the same time made known
that the excepted classes were still within contem
plation of special clemency. During the year, many
availed themselves of the general provision, and many
more would, only that the signs of bad faith in some,
led to such precautionary measures as rendered the
practical process less easy and certain. During the
same time also special pardons have been granted to
individuals of the excepted classes, and no voluntary
application has been denied. Thus, practically, the
door has been, for a full year, open to all, except such
as were not in condition to make free choice — that is,
such as were in custody 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 adopted.
In presenting the abandonment of armed resistance
to the national authority on the part of the insur
gents as the only indispensable condition to 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 Con
gress." If the people should, by whatever mode or

404 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
means, make it an executive duty to re-enslave such
persons, another, and not I, must be their instrument
to perform it.
In stating a single condition of peace, I mean sim
ply to say that the war will cease or. the part of the
government whenever it shall have ceased on the part
of those who began it. A. Lincoln.
December 6, 1864.
President Lincoln to Col. Edmund D. Taylor, of
Chicago, III., December, 1864. .
My Dear Colonel Dick : — I have long determined to
make public the origin of the greenback, and tell the
world that it is one of Dick Taylor's creations. You
have always been friendly to me, and when troublous
times fell upon us, and my shoulders, though broad
and willing, were weak, and myself surrounded by
such circumstances and such people that I knew not
whom to trust, then I said in my extremity, " I will
send for Colonel Taylor; he will know what to do."
I think it was in January, 1862, on or about the 16th,
that I did so. You came, and I said to you, "What
can we do ?" Said you, " Why, issue treasury notes
bearing no interest, printed on the best banking pa
per. Issue enough to pay off the army expenses, and
declare it legal tender." Chase thought it a hazard
ous thing, but we finally accomplished it, and gave to
the people of this Republic the greatest blessing they
ever had — their own paper to pay their own debts.
It is due to you, the father of the present green
back, that the people should know it, and I take great
pleasure in making it known. How many times have

PEN AND VOICE. 405
I laughed at you telling me plainly that I was too
lazy to be any thing but a lawyer.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln, President.
To General Sherman.
Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C, Dec. 26, 1864.
My Dear General Sherman: — Many, many thanks
for your Christmas gift, the capture of Savannah.
When you were about to leave Atlanta for the At
lantic coast, I was anxious, if not fearful ; but, feel
ing that you were the better judge, and remembering
that nothing risked nothing gained, I did not inter
fere. Now, the undertaking being a success, the
honor is all yours, for I believe none of uS went fur
ther than to acquiesce. And, taking the work of Gen
eral Thomas into the account, as it should be taken,
it is indeed a great success. Not only does it afford
.the obvious and immediate military advantages, but
in showing to the world that your army could be
divided, putting the stronger part to an important
new service, and yet having enough to vanquish the
old opposing forces of the whole — Hood's army — it
brings those who sat in darkness to see great light.
Please make my grateful acknowledgment to your
whole army, officers and men.
Yours, very truly, A." Lincoln.
To Dr. John MacLean.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Dec. 27, 1864.
My Dear Sir : — I have the honor to acknowledge
the reception of your note of the 20th of December,
conveying the announcement that the trustees of the

406 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
College of New Jersey had conferred upon me the
degree of Doctor of Laws.
The assurance conveyed by this high compliment
that the course of the government which I repre
sent has received the approval of a body of gentle-'
men of such character and intelligence, in this time
of public trial, is most grateful to me.
Thoughtful men must feel that the fate of civiliza
tion upon the continent is involved in the issue of
our contest.
Among the most gratifying proofs of this convic
tion is the hearty devotion every-where exhibited by
our schools and colleges to the national cause.
I am most thankful if my labors have seemed to
conduce to the preservation of those institutions un
der which alone we can expect good government,
and in its train sound learning and the progress of the
liberal arts. I am, sir, very truly,
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Upon Presenting to the President a Vase of Skele
ton Leaves Gathered on the Battle Field of
Gettysburg, January 24, 1865, the President
said:
Reverend Sir, and. Ladies and Gentlemen :' — I accept
with emotions of profoundest gratitude the beautiful
gift you have been pleased to present to me.
You will, of course, expect that I acknowledge it.
So much has been said about Gettysburg, and so well,
that for me to attempt to say more may perhaps only

PEN AND VOICE. 407
Serve to weaken the force of that which has already
been said.
A most graceful and elegant tribute was paid to
the patriotism and self-denying labors of the American
ladies on the occasion of the consecration of the Na
tional Cemetery at Gettysburg by our illustrious
friend, Edward Everett, now, alas, departed frdm
earth. His life was a truly great one, and I think the
greatest part of it was that which crowned its closing
years. I wish you to read, if you have not already
done so, the eloquent and truthful words which he
then spoke of the women of America. Truly, the
service they have "rendered to the defenders of our
country in this perilous time, and are yet rendering,
can never be estimated as they ought to be.
For your kind wishes to me personally I beg leave
to render you likewise my sincerest thanks. I assure
you they are appreciated.
And now, gentlemen and ladies, may God bless you
all. Letter to Governor Smith, of Vermont.
Executive Mansion, Washington, Feb. 8, 1865.
His Excellency, Governor Smith, of Vermont: — Com
plaint is made to me, by Vermont, that the assign
ment of her quota for the draft on the pending call is
intrinsically unjust, and also in bad faith of the gov
ernment's promise to fairly allow credits for men pre
viously furnished. To illustrate, a supposed case is
stated as follows :
Vermont and New Hampshire must, between them,
furnish six thousand men on the pending call, and
being equal, each must furnish as many as the other

408 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
in the long run. But the government finds that on
former calls Vermont furnished a surplus of five hun
dred, and New Hampshire a surplus of fifteen hun
dred. These two surpluses making two thousand,
and added to the six thousand, making, eight thou
sand to be furnished by the two states, or four
thousand each, less by fair credits. Then subtract
Vermont's surplus of five hundred from her four
thousand, leaves three thousand five hundred as her
quota on the pending call ; and likewise subtract
New Hampshire's surplus of fifteen hundred from
her four thousand, leaves two thousand five hundred
as her quota on the pending call. These three thou
sand five hundred and two thousand five hundred
make precisely six thousand, which the supposed case
requires from the two states, and it is just equal for
Vermont to furnish one thousand more now than
New Hampshire, because New Hampshire has here
tofore furnished one thousand more than Vermont,
which equalizes the burdens of the two in the long
run. And this result, so far from being bad faith to
Vermont, is indispensable to keeping good faith with
New Hampshire. By no other result can the six
thousand men be obtained from the two states, and
at the same time deal justly and keep faith with both,
and we do but confuse ourselves in questioning the
process by which the right result is reached. The
supposed case is perfect as an illustration.
The pending call is not for three hundred thousand
men, subject to fair credits, but is for three hundred
thousand remaining after all fair credits have been
deducted, and it is impossible to concede what Ver-

"PEN AND VOICE. 409
mont asks without coming out short of three hundred
thousand men, or making other localities pay for the
partiality shown her.
This upon the case stated: If there be different
reasons for making an allowance to Vermont, let
them be presented and considered.
Yours truly, Abraham Lincoln.
President Lincoln Dictated the following to Sec
retary Stanton, to be Sent to General Grant.
March 3, 1865.
The president directs me to say to you that he
wishes you to have no conference with General Lee,
unless it be for the capitulation of Lee's army, or on'
some minor or purely military matter. He instructs
me to say that you are not to decide, discuss, or con
fer upon any political question. Such questions the
President holds in his own hands, and will submit
them to no. military conferences or conventions. In
the meantime you are to press to the utmost your-
military advantages.
Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.
Fellow- Countrymen: — At this second appearing to
take the oath of the presidential 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 very 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
35

410 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies
of the nation, little that is new could be presented.
The progress of our arms, upon which 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 this place, devoted altogether to saving the
Union without war, insurgent 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 peculiar and powerful
interest. All knew that this interest was somehow
the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate and
extend this interest was the object for which the in
surgents would rend- the Union, even by war, while
the government claimed no right to do more than to
restrict the territorial enlargement of it.
Neither party expected 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

PEN AND VOICE. 411
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 invokes His aid against the other.
It may seem strange that any man should dare to
ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread
from the sweat of other men's faces ; but let us 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 sup
pose that American slavery is one of these oft'enses,
which in the providence of God must needs come,
but which, 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 dis
cern therein any departure from those" divine attri
butes 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 speed
ily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue
until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hun
dred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk,
and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash
shall be paid with another drawn with the sword ; as
was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be
said, " The judgments of the Lord are true and right
eous altogether."

412 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with
firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right,
let us strive on to finish the work we are in ; to bind
up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall
have borne the battle, and for his widow and or
phans; to do all which may achieve and cherish a
just arid a lasting peace among ourselves and with
all nations. President Lincoln to Thurlow Weed.
Executive Mansion, Washington, March 15,1865.
Dear Mr. Weed: — Every one likes a compliment.
Thank you for yours on my little notification speech
and on the recent inaugural address. I expect the
latter to wear as well as, perhaps better than, any
thing I have produced ; but I believe it is not imme
diately popular.
Men are not flattered by being shown that there
has been a difference of purpose between the Al
mighty and them.
To deny it, however, in this case, is to deny that
there is a God governing the world.
It is a truth which I thought needed to be told,
and, as whatever of humiliation there is in it falls
most directly on myself, I thought others might af
ford for me to tell it. Truly, yours, A. Lincoln.
Introduced by Governor Morton, from National
Hotel, Washington, D. C, March 17, 1865, and
the President's Response.
Fellow-citizens: — It will be but a very few words
that I shall undertake to say. I was born in Ken-

PEN AND VOICE. 413
tucky, raised in Indiana, and lived in Illinois; and
now I am here, where it is my business 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 the captured flag to the governor of
Indiana. I am not disposed, in saying this, to make a dis
tinction 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 some
thing, whereby my own opinion might be known.
But there is one — the recent attempt of our erring
brethren, as they are sometimes called, to employ the
negro to fight for them. I have neither written nor
made a speech on that subject, because that was their
business, not mine ; and if I had a wish upon the
subject, I had not the power to introduce it, or make
it effective. 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. They ought to know better than we. I
have in my lifetime heard many arguments why the
negroes ought to be slaves ; but if they fight for those
who would keep them in slavery, it will be a better
argument than all I have yet heard. He who will
fight for that ought to be a slave. They have con
cluded at last to take one oiit of four of the slaves
and put them in the army; and that one out of. four
who will fight to keep the others in slavery ought to
be a slave himself, unless he is killed in a fight.
While I have often said that all men ought to be

414 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
free, yet would I allow those colored persons to be
slaves who want to be, and next to them those white
people who argue in favor of making other people
slaves. I am in favor of giving an appointment to
such white men to try it on for these slaves. I will
say one thing in regard to the negroes being employed
to fight for them. I do know he can not fight and
stay at home and make bread too. And as one is
about as important as the other to them, I don't c'are
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 could send my vote over the river
so that I might cast it in-favor of allowing the negro
to fight. But they can not fight and work both. We
mnst now see the bottom of the enemy'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 re
sources, and we can now see the bottom. I am glad
to see the end so near at hand. I have said now
more than I intended, and Avill therefore bid you
goodbye. City Point, Virginia, April 2, 8:30 p. m.
At 4:30 P. m. to-day General Grant telegraphs as
follows :
We are now up, and have a continuous line of
troops, and in a few hcjurs will be intrenched from
the Appomattox below Petersburg to the river above.
The whole captures since the army started out will
not amount to less than twelve thousand men, and
probably fifty pieces of artillery. I do not know the

PEN AND VOICE. 415
number of men and guns accurately, however. A por
tion of Foster's Division, Twenty-fourth Corps, made
a most gallant charge this afternoon, and captured a
a very important fort from the enemy, with its entire
garrison. All seems well with us, and every thing is quiet
just now. A. Lincoln.
City Point, Virginia, April 2, 2 p. m.
At 10:45 a. m. General Grant telegraphs as fol
lows :
Every thing has been carried from the left of the
Ninth Corps. The Sixth Corps alone captured more
than six thousand prisoners. The Second and Twenty-
fourth Corps captured forts, guns and prisoners from
the enemy, but I can not tell the numbers. We are
now closing around the works of the line immediately
enveloping Petersburg. All looks remarkably well.
I have not yet heard from Sheridan. His head
quarters have been moved up to Bank's House, near
the Boydton road, about three miles south-west of
Petersburg. A. Lincoln.
Telegram to the Secretary of War.
At 12:30 p. m. to-day General Grant telegraphed me
as follows :
There has been much hard fighting this morning.
The enemy drove our left from near Dabney's house
back well toward the Boydton pland-road. We are
now about to take the offensive at that point, and I
hope will more than recover the lost ground.
Later he telegraphed again as follows :

416 ABRAHAM LINCOLN S
-Our troops, after being driven back to the Boydton
plank-road, turned and drove the enemy in turn, and
took the White Oak road, which we now have. This
gives us the ground occupied by the enemy this morn
ing. I will send you a rebel flag captured by our
troops in driving the enemy back. There have been
four flags captured to-day.
Judging by the two points from which General
Grant telegraphs, I infer that he moved his head
quarters about one mile since Jie sent the first of the
two dispatches. A. Lincoln.
To E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
City Point, Virginia, April 2, 1865, 8:30 A. m.
Last night General Grant telegraphed that General
Sheridan, with his cavalry and the Fifth Corps, had
captured three brigades of infantry, a train of wagons,
and several batteries; the prisoners amounting to
several thousand.
This morning General Grant, having ordered an at
tack along the whole line, telegraphs as follows :
Both Wright and Parke got through the enemy's
lines. The battle now rages furiously. General
Sheridan, with his cavalry, the Fifth Corps, and
Miles' Division of the Second Corps, which was sent
to him this morning, is now sweeping down from the
west. All now looks highly favorable. General Ord is
engaged, but I have not yet heard the result in his
front. A. Lincoln.

pen and voice. 417
Dispatch to Secretary Stanton, April 3, 1865.
This morning Lieutenant-General Grant reports
Petersburg evacuated, and he is confident that Rich
mond also is.
He is pushing forward to cut off", if possible, the re
treating rebel army. A. Lincoln.
President's Order.
Headquarters Armies of the United States,
City Point, April 6, 1865.
It has been intimated to me, that the gentlemen
who have acted as the legislature of Virginia, in sup
port of the rebellion, may now desire to assemble at
Richmond, and take measures to withdraw the Vir
ginia troops, and other support from resistance to the
general government. If they attempt it, give them
permission, and protection, until, if at all, they at
tempt some action hostile to the United States, in
which case you will notify them, give them reasonable
time to leave, and at the end of which time arrest
any who remain. Allow judge Campbell to see this,
but do not make it public. Yours, etc., A. Lincoln.
Last Public Speech ever Delivered by President
Lincoln, April 11, 1865.
After the fall of Richmond and the surrender of
the Army of Northern Virginia, President Lincoln
was called upon in Washington, and made these re
marks :
[We meet this evening, not in sorrow, but in glad-

418 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
ness of heart. The evacuation of Petersburg and
Richmond, and the surrender of the principal in
surgent 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 a
national thanksgiving is being prepared and will be
duly promulgated. Nor must those whose harder
part give 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 pleas
ure of transmitting much of the good news to you,
but no part of the honor, for plan or execution, is
mine. To General Grant, his skillful officers, and
brave men all belongs. The gallant navy stood
ready, but did not in reach to take active part.
By these recent successes, the reinauguration 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 discord
ant elements. Nor is it a small additional embarrass
ment that we, the loyal people, differ among ourselves
as to the mode, manner, and means of reconstruction.
As a general rule, I abstain from reading the re
ports of attacks upon myself, wishing not to be pro
voked by that to which I can not properly offer an
answer. In spite of this precaution, however, it

V
PEN AND VOICE. 4L9
comes to my knowledge that I am censured from
some supposed 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 Decem
ber, 1863, and accompanying proclamation, I pre
sented a plan of reconstruction (as the phrase goes),
which I promised, if adopted by any state, should be
acceptable to and sustained by the executive govern
ment 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 members*
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 thatT should then
and in that connection apply the Emancipation
Proclamation to the theretofore excepted parts of
Virginia and Louisiana ; that I should drop the sug
gestion about apprenticeship for freed people, and
that I should omit the protest against my own power,
in regard to the admission of members of 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
emancipation for the whole state, practically applies
the proclamation to the part previously excepted.
It does not adopt apprenticeship for freed people,
and it is silent, as it could not well be otherwise,
about the ' admission of members to Congress. So

420 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
that, as it applies to Louisiana, every member of the
cabinet fully approved the plan.
The inessage 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 knowledge until after
the news reached Washington that the people of
Louisiana had begun to move in accordance with it.
From about July, 1862, 1 had corresponded with differ
ent 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, General Banks wrote me he
was confident that the people, with his military co
operation, would reconstruct 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 con
vinced that keeping it is adverse to the public in
terest. But I have not yet been so convinced.
I have been shown a letter on this subject, sup
posed to be an able one, in which the writer ex
presses 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

PEN AND VOICE. 421
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 discus
sion of it, while it thus remains practically immate
rial, could have no effect other than the mischievous
one of dividing our friends. As yet, whatever it may
hereafter become, that question is bad as a basis of a
controversy, and good for nothing at all as merely a
pernicious abstraction. We all agree that the seceded
states, so called, are out of their proper practical re
lation with the Union, and that the sole object of the
government, civil and military, in regard to those
states, is to again get them into that proper practical •
relation. I- believe it is not only possible, but in fact
easier, to do this without deciding, or even consider
ing, whether these states have ever been out of the
Union, than with it. Finding themselves safely at
home, it would be utterly immaterial whether they
had ever been abroad. Let us all join in doing the
acts necessary to restoring the proper practical rela
tions between _ these states and the Union, and each
forever after innocently indulge his own opinion
whether, in doing the acts, he brought the state from
without into the Onion, or only gave them proper.
assistance, they never having been out of it.
The amount of constituency, so to speak, on which
the new Louisiana government rests, would be more
satisfactory to all if it contained -fifty, thirty, or even
twenty thousand, instead of only about twelve thou
sand, as it really does. It is also unsatisfactory to
some that the elective franchise is not given to the.
colored men. I would myself prefer that it were

422 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
now conferred on the very intelligent, and on 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 wise, take it as it is, and help to improve it, oNr
to reject and disperse it?" "Can Louisiana be
brought into proper practical relation with the Union
sooner by sustaining or by discarding her new state
government ? "
Some twelve thousand voters in the heretofore
slave state of Louisiana have sworn allegiance to the
Union, assumed to be the rightful political power of
the state, held elections, organized a state govern
ment, adopted a free state constitution, giving the
benefit of public schools equally to black and white,
and empowering the legislature to confer the elective
franchise upon the colored man. Their legislature
has already voted to ratify the constitutional amend
ment recently passed by Congress abolishing slavery
throughout the nation. These twelve thousand per
sons are thus fully committed to the Union, and to
perpetual 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 ut
most 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 old masters, hold to your lips, we
will dash from you, and leave you to the chances of

PEN AND VOICE. 423
gathering the spilled and scattered contents in some
vague and undefined when, where, and how." If
this course, discouraging aud paralyzing both black
and white, has any tendency to bring Louisiana into
proper practical relations with the Union, I have, so
far, been unable to perceive it. If, on the contrary,
we recognize and sustain the new government of
Louisiana, the converse of all this is made true.
We encourage the hearts and nerve the arms of 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 vigilance, and energy, and daring, to
the same end. Grant that he desires the elective ~
franchise, will he not attain it sooner by saving the
already advanced steps toward it than by running ,
backward over them ? Concede that the new govern
ment of Louisiana is only to what it should be as the
egg is to the fowl; we shall sooner have the fowl by
hatching the egg than by smashing it.
Again, if we reject Louisiana, we also reject one
vote in favor of the proposed amendment to the Na
tional Constitution.
To meet this proposition, it has been argued that
no more than three-fourths of those states which
have not attempted secession are necessary to validly
ratify the amendment.
I do not commit myself against this further than
to say that such a ratification would be questionable,
and sure to be persistently questioned, whilst a fatifi-

424 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
cation by three-fourths of all the states would be un
questioned and unquestionable.
I repeat the question, " can Louisiana be brought in
to proper practical relation with the Union sooner by
sustaining or by discarding her new state government ?"
Whatiias been said of Louisiana will apply generally to
other states. And yet so great peculiarities pertain
to each state, and such important and sudden changes
occur in the same state, and, with all, so new and un
precedented is the whole case, that no exclusive and
inflexible plan can safely be prescribed as to details and
collaterals. Such exclusive and inflexible plan would
surely become a new entanglement. Important prin
ciples 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.
Last Public Utterances of President Lincoln,
April 14, 1865.
Mr. Colfax— I want you to take a message from me
to the miners whom you visit. I have very large
ideas of the mineral wealth of our nation. I believe
it practically inexhaustible. It abounds all over the
western country, from the Rocky Mountains to the
Pacific, and its development has scarcely commenced.
During the war, when we were adding a couple mill
ions of dollars every day to our national debt, I did
not care about encouraging the increase in the volume
of our precious metals. We had the country to save
first. But now that the rebellion is overthrown, and

PEN AND VOICE. 425
we know pretty nearly the amount of our national
debt, the more gold and silver we mine, we make the
payment of that debt so much the easier. Now, I am
going to encourage that in every possible way. We
shall have hundred of thousands of disbanded soldiers,
and many have feared that their return home in such
great numbers might paralyze industry, by furnishing,
suddenly, a greater supply of labor than there will be
a demand for. I am going to try to attract them to the
hidden wealth of our mountain ranges, where there is
room enough for all. Immigration, which even the
war has not stopped, will land upon our shores
hundreds of thousands more per year from over
crowded Europe. I intend to point them to the gold
and silver that wait for them in the west. Tell the
miners for me, that I shall promote their interests to
the utmost of my ability, because their prosperity is
the prosperity of the nation ; and we shall prove, in
a very few years, that we are indeed the treasury of
the world.
In carriage going to theater. Last written words.
Allow Mr. Ashmun and friend to come to me at 9
o'clock A. m. to-morrow, April 15, 1865. A. Lincoln.

FUNERAL HYMN.
Rest, noble martyr ; rest in peace ;
Rest with the true and brave,
Who, like thee, fell in freedom's cause,
The nation's life to save.
36

426 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S PEN AND VOICE.
Thy name shall live while time endures,
And men shall say of thee,
"He saved his country from its foes,
And bade the slave be free."
These deeds shall be thy monument,
Better than brass or stone ;
They leave thy fame in Glory's light,
Unrivaled and alone.
This consecrated spot shall be,
To Freedom ever dear ;
And Freedom's sons of every race,
Shall weep and worship here.
O God ! before whom we, in tears,
Our fallen Chief deplore ;
Grant that the cause for which he died,
May live forever more.

THE END.

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THE NATIONAL LINCOLN MONUMENT, SPRINGFIELD, ILL.
FACING SOUTH.
(From Power's History of the Attempt to Steal the Body of Lincoln.)

THE NATIONAL LINCOLN MONUMENT.
FACING NORTH.
(From Povvur's llistnrv ni thp A tf.*»n-mt. tn Sitvu] thr. KnJS-ni- r ;,

INDEX

PAGE,
Address to Committee notifying him of his First Nomina
tion to the Presidency, May 18, I860  13
Address at Springfield, 111., February 11, 1861  '.  18
Address at Indianapolis, Ind., February 11, 1861  19
Address at Indianapolis, Ind. (evening), February 11,1861.. 20
Address at Cincinnati, 0., February 12, 1861  22
Address at Columbus, 0., February 13,1861  25
Address at Pittsburg, Pa., February 15, 1861  27
Address at Albany, N. Y., February 18, 1861  31
Address at Albany, N. Y. (evening), February 18, 1861  32
Address at Troy, N. Y., February 18, 1861  .34
Address at Hudson, N. Y., February 19, 1861  34
Address at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., February 19, 1861  35
Address at Fishkill Landing, N. Y., February 19, 1861  36
Address at Peekskill, N. Y., February 19, 1861  36
Address at New York City, N. Y, February 20, 1861  37
Address at Trenton, N. J., February 21, 1861  39
Address at Philadelphia, Pa., February 22, 1861  41
Address at Harrisburg, Pa., February 22, 1861  42
Address at Serenade, Washington, D. C, February 28, 1861.. 47
Address to Delegates from Virginia, April 13, 1861  64
Address to Frontier Guards, April 28, 1861  69
Address to Baltimore Committee, April 28, 1861  69
Address on Retirement of General Scott, November 1, 1861. 105
Address to the Senators and Representatives of the Border ,
States, July, 1862  171
Address at a Union Meeting in Washington, August 6, 1862. 184
Address on Colonization, August 14, 1862  186
Address Respecting the Issue of Emancipation Proclama-
mation, September 13, 1862  196
(427)

"428 INDEX.
Address at Serenade in Honor of Emancipation Proclama
tion, September 24, 1862  204
Address to Major John J. Key, September 26, 1862  205
Address to Army of the Potomac, December 22, 1862  281
Address at a Serenade, July, 1863  281
Address at the Dedication of Gettysburg Cemetery, Novem
ber 19, 1863  329
Quotation from Speech of Daniel Webster  330
Address at Patent Office, Washington, March 16, 1864  349
Address at the .Baltimore Fair, April 18, 1864  354
Address at Serenade at Washington, D. C, May 13, 1864  362
Address to Committee on Re-nomination, June 9, 1864  364
Address to National Union League, June 9, 1864  365
Address at Philadelphia Fair, June 16, 1864  366
Address at Serenade, September, 1864  376
Address to 148th Ohio Regiment, September, 1864  382
Address to another Ohio Regiment, September, 1864  378
Address, called his last, shortest, and best, September, 1864.. 384
Address at a Serenade, October 19, 1864  385
Address at a Serenade by Club of Pennsylvanians, Novem
ber 9, 1864  m  389
Address at a Serenade to Lincoln and Johnson Clubs, No
vember 10, 1864  390
Address upon Receipt of Vase of Skeleton Leaves, January
24, 1865  406
Address from National Hotel, Washington, March 17, 18.65.. 412
Address, last deli ered by Lincoln, April 11, 1865  .'.. 417
INAUGURAL ADDRESSES.
Address, First Inaugural, March 4, 1861  48
Address, Second Inaugural, March 4, 1865  409
LETTERS TO HIS GENERALS.
Letter to Major-General Fremont, August 15, 1861....  96
Letter to Major-General Fremont, September 2, 1861  98
Letter to Major-General Fremont, September 23, 1861  100
Letter to Major-General Fremont, May 24, 1862  142
Letter to Major-General Fremont, May 24, 1862...........  143

INDEX. 429
Letter to Major-General Fremont, May 29, 1862  149
Letter to Major-General Fremont, June 9, 1862  155
Letter to Major-General Fremont, June 12, 1862  155
Letter to Major-General Fremont, June 13, 1862  :  155
Letter to Major-General Fremont, June 15, 1862  156
Letter to Major-General Fremont, June 16, 1862  158
Letter to Major-General Fremont, September 11, 1862  193
Letter to Major-General Halleck, December 2, 1861  121
Letter to Major-General Halleck, January 1, 1862  124
Letter to Major-General Halleck, January 15, 1862  124
Letter to Major-General Halleck, February 16, 1862  127
Letter to Major-General Halleck, May 24, 1862  144
Letter to Major-General Halleck, July 2, 1862  168
Letter to Major-General Halleck, July 6, 1862  284
Letter to Major-General Halleck, July 6, 1863...  "l70
Letter to Major-General Halleck, July 29, 1863  293
Letter to Major-General McClellan, February 3, 1862  125
Letter to Major-General McClellan, April 9, 1862  133
Letter to Major-General McClellan, May 9. 1862  138
Letter to Major-General McClellan, May 21, 1862  141
Letter to Major-General McClellan, May 25, 1862  144
Letter to Major-General McClellan, May 25, 1862  145
Letter to Major-General McClellan, May 28, 1862  .-.  148
Letter to Major-General McClellan, May 31, 1862  154
Letter tc Major-General McClellan, June 1, 1862.  154
Letter to Major-General McClellan, June 20, 1862  160
Letter to Major-General McClellan, June 21, 1862  161
Letter to Major-General McClellan, June 26, 1862  162
Letter to Major-General McClellan, June 28, 1862  163
Letter to Major-General McClellan, July 1, 1862  166
Letter to Major-General McClellan, July 2, 1862  167
Letter to Major-General McClellan, July 3,1862  168
Letter to Major-General McClellan, July 4, 1862  169
Letter to Major-General McClellan, July 13, 1862  174
Letter to Major-General McClellan, October 13, 1862  207
Letter to Major-General McClellan, October 25,1862  213
Letter to Major-General McClellan, October 26, 1862  213
Letter to General Buell, January 6, 1862  121

430

INDEX.

Letter to General Buell, January 7, 1862  122
Letter to General Buell, January 13, 1862  123
Letter to General Buell March 10, 1862  131
Letter to General Saxton, May 24, 1862  142
Letter to General Saxton, May 25, 1862  144
Letter to .General Saxton, May 25, 1862  146
Letter to General Saxton, May 25, 1862  147
Letter to General McDowell, May 24, 1862  143
Letter to General McDowell, May 28, 1862  148
Letter to Major-General Hooker, January 26, 1863  247
Letter to Major-General Hooker, April 15, 1863  255
Letter to Major-General Hooker, May 6, 1863  256
Letter to Major-General Hooker, May 6, 1863  257
Letter to Major-General Hooker, May 7, 1863  257
Letter to Major-General Hooker, May 8, 1863  258
Letter to Major-General Hooker, May 14, 1863  .'  .259
Letter to Major-General Hooker, June 5, 1863  261
Letter to Major-General Hooker, June 10, 1863  262
Letter to Major-General Hooker, June 14, 1863  276
Letter to Major-General Hooker, June 14, 1863  276
Letter to Major-General Hooker, June 16, 1863  278
Letter to Major-General Schofield, May 27, 1863  260
Letter to Major-General Schofield, June 22, 1863  279
Letter to Major-General Schofield, October 1, 1S63  311
Letter to Major-General Schofield, October 28, 1863  325
Letter to Major-General Grant, July 13, 1863  286
Letter to Major-General Grant, August 9, 1863  „  305
Letter to Major-General Grant, April 30, 1864  359
Letter to Major-General Grant, July 10, 1864  ,i  369
Letter to Major-General Grant, August 3, 1864  371
Letter to Major-General Grant, March 3, 1S65  409
Letter to Major-General Meade, March 29, 1864  351
Letter to Major-General Dix, June 30, 1862  166
Letter to Major-General Dix, May 9, 1863  258
Letter to Major-General Hunter, June 30, 1862  165
Letter to Major-Generals Hunter and Lane, Feb. 10, 1862  127
Letter to Major-General Sherman, September 19, 1864  389
Letter to Major-General Sherman, December 26, 1864  405

INDEX. 431
Letter to Major-General Burnside, January 8, 1863  ...244
Letter to Major-General Burnside, July 27, 1863  293
Letter to Major-General Curtis, January 2, 1863  242
Letter to Major-General Curtis, July 5, 1863  282
Letter to General Schurz, June 16, 1862....  160
Letter to General Schurz, November 24, 1862  217
Letter to Major-General Hurlburt, May 22, 1863  260
Letter to Major-General Banks, August 5, 1863  302
Letter to Major-General Rosecrans, October 4, 1863  315
Letter to Major-General Gilmore, January 13, 1864  345
Letter to Major-General Steele, January 20, 1864  347
Letter to Major-General Sheridan, October 22, 1864  389
Letter to General Hunter and Admiral Du Pont, April 14,
1863  254
Letter to Commander of Department of the West, October
24, 1861  103
Letter to Flag Officer Gpldsborough, May 7, 1862  137
Letter to Flag Officer Goldsborough, May 10, 1862  '.  139
Letter to Lieutenant-General Scott, November 1, 1861  105
Letter to General Lorenzo Thomas, July 8, 1863  285
LETTERS TO GOVERNORS.
Letter to Governor Hicks and Mayor Brown, April 20, 1861.. 68
Letter to Governor B. Magoffin, August 24, 1861  97
Letter to Governor Andrew Johnson, April 27, 1862  137
Letter to Governor Morton, July 3, 1862  169
Letter to Governor Andrew Johnson, July 11, 1862  171
Letter to Governor Andrew G. Curtin, September 1 1, 1862... 194
Letter to Governor Andrew G. Curtin, September 12, 1862... 195
Letter to Governor Andrew G. Curtin, May 1, 1863;  255
Letter to Governor Andrew G. Curtin, May 2, 1863  256
Letter to Governor Seymour, July, 1863  289
Letter to Governor Seymour, August 7, 1863  303
Letter to Governor Bradford, November 2, 1862  214
Letter to Governor Halm, March 13, 1864  :  348
Letter to Governor Smith, February 8, 1865  407
Letter to Governor Joel Parker, July 20, 1863  290
Letter to Governor Joel Parker, July 25, 1863  291

432 INDEX.

LETTERS TO MEMBERS OP CABINET.
Letter to Secretary of State Seward, June 29, 1862  164
Letter to Secretary of State Seward, June 30, 1862  165
Letter to Secretary of Navy Wells, May 11, 1861  72
Letter to Secretary of Treasury Chase, May 25, 1862  147
Letter to Secretary of War Stanton, August 17, 1861  97
Letter to Secretary of War Stanton, September 18, 1861  100
Letter to Secretary of War Stanton, January 31, 1862  125
Letter to Secretary of War Stanton, December 21, 1863  343
Letter to Secretary of War Stanton, April 2, 1865  414
Letter to Secretary of War Stanton, April 2, 1865  415
Letter to Secretary of War Stanton, April 2, 1865  415
Letter to Secretary of War Stanton, April 2, 1865  416
Letter to Secretary of War Stanton, April 3, 1865  417
Letter to Postmaster-General Blair, July 24, 1863  291
Letter to Postmaster-General Blair, September 23, 1864  379
LETTERS TO CIVILIANS.
Letter to Committee notifying him of his First Nomination
to the Presidency, May 23, 1860  14
Letter to John B. Fry, August 15, 1860  14
Letter to Thurlow Weed, August 17,1860  15
Letter to Thurlow Weed, December 17, 1860  16
Letter to Thurlow Weed, February 4, 1861  17
Letter to Senor Molina, March 17, 1861  63
Letter to Mrs. General Fremont, September 12, 1861  99
Letter to Hon. 0. H. Browning, September 22, 1861  100
Letter to Cuthbert Bullitt, July 28, 1862  187
Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862  192
Letter to Hon. Alexander Henry, September 12, 1862  196
Letter to Major John J. Key, September 26, 1862  206
Letter to Thomas H. Clay, October 8, 1862  207
Letter to Thomas R. Smith, October 21, 1862  212
Letter to Hon. Fernando Wood, December 12, 1862  238
Letter to Workingmen of Manchester, England, February 9,
l863  248
Letter to Rev. Alexander Reed, February 22, 1863  250

INDEX. 433
Letter to New York Democrats, June 12, 1863  263
Letter to Ohio Democrats, July 29, 1S63  294
Letter to Illinois Convention, August 26, 1863  305
Letter to Hon. Charles Drake and Others, October 5, 1S63... 316
Letter to Thurlow Weed, October 14, 180,  323
Letter to E. E. Motriol and Others, October 28,186:!  327
Letter to 0. D. Filley, December 22, 1863  344
Letter to Crosby and Nichols, January 16,1864  346
Letter to A. G. Hodges, April 4, 1864  351
Letter to F. A. Conckling, June 3, 1864  363
Letter to Hon. William Dennison and Others, June 27, 1864.. 368
Letter to Rev. Dr. Pohlman, August 15, 1864  371
Letter to Hon. Henry J. Raymond, August 15, 1864  372
Letter to Mrs. Eliza P. Gurney, September 30, 1864  380
Letter to, Hon. Henry W. Hoffman, October 18, 1864  384
Letter of Reply to Protest of Tennessee, October 22, 1864.... 387
Letter to Mrs. Bixby, November 21, 1864  392
Letter to Colonel E. D. Taylor, December 27, 1864,  404
Letter to Dr. John Maclean, December 27, 1864  405
Letter to Thurlow Weed, March 15, 1865  412
Letter to Mr. Ashmun and Friend, April 14, 1865  425
Letter to Hon. J. K. Dubois, July 11, 1863  286
Letter to Hon. J. K. Moorehead, June 18, 1863  279
MESSAGES TO CONGRESS.
First Message to Congress,, July 4, 1861  72
First Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 186,1  110
Message of Recommendation to Congress, March 6, 1862  128
Message to Congress, April 16, 1862...  136
Message to Congress, May 29, 1862  149
Message to Congress, July 17, 1862  176
Second Annual Message, December 1, 1862  219
Message to Congress, January 19, 1863  244
Third, Annual Message, December 8, 1863-  330
Message to Congress, April 28, 1864  357
Fourth Annual Message, December 6, 1864  393

434 INDEX.

PROCLAMATIONS .
Proclamation, April 15, 1861  66
Proclamation, May 3, 1861  70
Proclamation, April 10,1862  135
Proclamation, May 19, 1862  139
Proclamation, September 22, 1862  200
Proclamation, November 16, 1862  216
Proclamation, January 1,1863  240
Proclamation, March 31, 1863  252
Proclamation, June 15, 1863  277
Proclamation, July 15, 1863  287"
Proclamation, October 3, 1863  313
Proclamation, December 8, 1863  338
ORDERS.
Memorandum of Military Programme, July 23, 1861  95
General War Order No. 3, March 8, 1862  130
General War Order, March 13, 1862  131
Presidential Orders, June 22, 1862  161
Order Establishing Provisional Court, October 20, 1862  '. 211
President's Order Relieving General McClellan, November
5,1862  215
Approval of Court-Martial Proceedings, January 21, 1863.... 246
War Bulletin— Official, July 31, 1863  301
Orders for National Salutes, September 5, 1864.  375
Thanks to Ohio Volunteers, September 10, 1864  376
Thanks to Volunteers of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wis
consin, October 1, 1864  381
Presidential Order, April 6, 1865  417
CALLS FOR NATIONAL THANKS.
Call for Thanksgiving and Prayer, July, 1863  287
Call for Thanksgiving and Prayer, May 9, 1864  360
National Thanks to Farragut and Canby, September 3, 1864.. 373
National Thanks to General Sherman, September 3, 1864.... 374
Call for National Thanksgiving, September 3, 1864  373

INDEX. 435

MISCELLANEOUS.
Lincoln's Statement of how he Entered Washington, Febru
ary 23, 1861  45
Letter on Missouri Matters, November 5, 1861  106
Nomination of John Pope as Major-General, March 22,
1862  ;  132
Nomination of Fitz John Porter as Major-General, July 16,
1862  175
Letter Regarding Thomas W. Knox, March 20, 1863  251
Announcement of the Success of the Army of the Potomac,
July 4, 1863  280
Communication to the House of Representatives, Novem
ber, 1863  327
Lincoln's Description of Grant to a Friend, March, 1864  350
Communication to House of Representatives, April 28, 1864. 358
Interview Published in New York Tribune, January 30,
1861  16
Words to General Grant, April 9, 1864  354
The President's Idea of Democratic Policy and Strategy,
May, 1864  360
Last Public Utterances of President Lincoln, April 14, 1865. 424
To Whom it May Concern, July 18, 1864  370
Last Written Words, April 14, 1865  425
To Whom it May Concern, November 1, 1862'  213
To Whom it May Concern, October 27, 1863  324
POEMS AND HYMNS.
Oh ! Why Should the Spirit of Mortal be Proud !  61
Closing Hymn at Lincoln's Burial  425

YALE UNIVERSITY

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