LINCOLN AND OHIO
BY DANIEL J. RYAN
CHAPTER I
LINCOLN'S FIRST CONTACT WITH OHIO
STATESMEN
Lincoln's contact with Ohio men and
influences be-
gan with his entrance into the
Thirtieth Congress, De-
cember 6, 1847. The Mexican War was in
full tilt,
and the Whig party was opposing it. Two
Ohioans --
one in the Senate and one in the House
-- were con-
spicuous leaders in a bitter antagonism
that was com-
bating war legislation on every hand.
They were rep-
resenting the anti-slavery Whigs, who
saw in the war a
Democratic move to add slave territory
to the Union.
These leaders were Senator Thomas
Corwin1 and Rep-
resentative Joshua R. Giddings.2 The
former had de-
livered in the Senate a passionate
philippic, which will
forever rank among the classics of
American eloquence,
against the Polk administration and the
War. Gid-
dings maintained the same attitude in
the House, oppos-
ing appropriations and war measures.
This opposition
of Corwin and Giddings was heartily
approved by the
1 Thomas
Corwin born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, July 29, 1794;
served as a wagon-boy in the war of
1812; elected to the Ohio Legis-
lature in 1822 and in 1829; member of
Congress 1831-1841; Governor,
1841-43; United States Senator, 1845;
Secretary of the Treasury under
President Filmore, 1850-52; member of
Congress, 1859-61; Minister to
Mexico from March 1861 to May 1864; died
in Washington, D. C.,
December 18, 1865.
2 Joshua
Reed Giddings born in Athens, Pennsylvania, October 6,
1795; in 1805 came with his parents to
Wayne township, Ashtabula county,
Ohio; volunteer in the War of 1812;
admitted to the bar, 1820; elected
to the Ohio Legislature, 1826; member of
Congress, 1839-1859; con-
spicuous as an anti-slavery leader;
Consul-General in Canada from 1861
until he died, in Montreal, Canada, May
27, 1864.
(7)
8 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
ultra anti-slavery Whigs, but it was
received rather
coldly by the party at large. It was
not a patriotic
position and was not sanctioned by the
American peo-
ple. They had their sons in a foreign
land fighting
a foreign foe, and a refusal to pay for
their services,
munitions and food was an insupportable
position. Be-
sides the Americans were winning
victories; a militant
spirit was throughout the land, and the
people were
exultant in the triumph of our arms at
Palo Alto, Mon-
terey and the City of Mexico.
Under the influence of these events and
the pressure
of resultant public sentiment, the Whig
party was
silenced, and Senator Corwin found
himself deserted
by his colleagues who had pledged him
their support
in the Senate. The most powerful of
these deserters
from his cause were Webster of
Massachusetts and
Crittenden of Kentucky. In the House
Giddings found
himself in the same position. The
indifference of the
Whig party to the Mexican War was its
death knell,
as was the conduct of the Federal party
in the War
of 1812; for no party which fails its
country in a foreign
war can live.
Congressman Lincoln was an ardent
admirer of Cor-
win -- "Tom" Corwin, as his friends
lovingly called him
-- and they frequently met at the Whig
breakfasts
which Senator Webster had made famous
in Washing-
ton. But neither the influence of the
powerful Web-
ster, nor the charms of the
companionship and eloquence
of Corwin, radical fellow Whigs though
they were,
could induce him to oppose the war. He
believed it to
be unjustly initiated, and thus far
agreed with his Whig
associates, but he voted in every way
to sustain its prose-
cution. Notwithstanding his disagreement
with Corwin,
Lincoln and Ohio 9
they were fast friends, and continued
so, and in after
years when power came to the obscure
congressman
from Illinois, he made Corwin Minister
to Mexico.
His relations with Giddings were more
intimate.
Both "messed" at Mrs.
Spriggs' boarding house on
Capitol Hill, and many an evening and
walk were filled
with discussion on their respective
positions, and for
the first time Lincoln got a graphic
view of Ohio poli-
tics from one of its most courageous
characters. A
friendship grew between the two that
lasted until Gid-
dings' death, and, as with Corwin,
Lincoln remembered
his old messmate when the opportunity
came, for he
appointed him Consul-General to Canada.
While both were Whigs, they differed
radically on
the slavery question. Their
relationship continued when
both became associated with the
subsequently formed
Republican party. Lincoln was opposed
to slavery; he
believed it to be a great moral wrong.
But he was firmly
convinced that there was no power in
Congress, under
the Constitution, to interfere with its
existence in the
states. He was opposed to its
extension, and he be-
lieved Congress had no power for that
purpose. His
stand was, that while Congress was
powerless to free
the slaves in the states, it was
equally so to make slaves
in the territories. As he afterwards
said, "this govern-
ment cannot endure half slave and half
free"; he was
satisfied it would not last under the
blazing rays of a
fierce public opinion, and he felt that
it would rot where
it lay. His own words were, "let
us draw a cordon,
so to speak, around the slave states,
and the hateful
institution, like a reptile poisoning
itself, will perish by
its infamy." He was even willing
to destroy it by
purchase or colonization, but never by
unconstitutional
10
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
action. These were his opinions to his
death, and he
never veered from them for a moment.
Giddings on the other hand was an
uncompromising
abolitionist. To him slavery was such a
monstrous evil
that he was for its riddance regardless
of law or con-
stitution. Every method, lawful or
unlawful, was to
him justifiable, whether it was the
Underground Rail-
road or the John Brown Raid. The Whig
party was
too slow for him, likewise was the
Republican. But he
recognized that they were the best
practical anti-slavery
agencies of their time. Notwithstanding
that Lincoln
could not follow him in his
abolitionism, Giddings had a
high regard for his integrity of mind
and purpose.
Sometimes he seemed that he bent his
vigorous aboli-
tionism for him. Lincoln's bill for the
gradual abolition
or slavery in the District of Columbia,
which he intro-
duced January 16, 1849, provided for
full compensation
to the owners of the slaves, but provided
that the law
should not go into effect until it had
been favorably
voted upon by the inhabitants of the
District. Queerly
enough, Giddings approved this, and had
evidently
talked it over with Lincoln before he
introduced it.
In his Journal of January 11, 1849,
Giddings gives his
reasons for his support: "This
evening our whole mess
remained in the dining-room after tea
and conversed
upon the subject of Mr. Lincoln's bill
to abolish slavery.
It was approved by all; I believe it is
as good a bill as
we could get at this time, and I was
willing to pay for
slaves in order to save them from the
southern market,
as I suppose every man in the District
would sell his
slaves if he saw that slavery was to be
abolished."
After Lincoln was nominated for
President there
came to him many letters; there was one
that may be
Lincoln and Ohio 11
anticipated here as indicating an
estimate formed in
congressional days:
DEAR LINCOLN: You're nominated. You will
be elected.
After your election, thousands will
crowd around, claiming re-
wards for services rendered. I, too,
have my claims upon you.
I have not worked for your nomination,
nor for that of any
other man. I have labored for the establishment of
principles;
and when men came to me asking my
opinion of you, I only
told them "Lincoln is an honest
man." All I ask of you in
return for my services is, make my
statement good through your
administration.
Yours,
GIDDINGS.
Lincoln's short congressional career,
although he had
no realization of it at the time, was
the climacteric of
his political life. If he had followed
any other course
on the Mexican War he would have made
his future
impossible. As it was, some of his
friends at home
regretted his attitude. But he followed
his own counsel,
and time demonstrated the wisdom of his
judgment.
Ten years later in his first debate
with Senator Douglas,
he had the satisfaction of presenting
his record. Doug-
las charged him with "opposition
to the Mexican War,
taking the side of the common enemy
against his own
country." Lincoln's reply was thorough:
The Judge charges me with having, while
in Congress, op-
posed our soldiers who were fighting in
the Mexican War. I
will tell you what I can prove by
referring to the record. You
remember I was an old Whig; and whenever
the Democratic
party tried to get me to vote that the
war had been righteously
begun by the President I would not do it. But whenever they
asked for any money or landwarrants, or
anything to pay the
soldiers, I gave the same vote that
Douglas did. Such is the
truth, and the Judge has a right to make
all he can out of it.
If Abraham Lincoln had agreed and
associated po-
litically with Corwin and Giddings on
the Mexican War,
12
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
he would never have been able to make
such a reply to
Douglas. Neither would he have been
nominated for
senator, nor would he have been heard
of for the presi-
dency.
CHAPTER II
SOME PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS IN OHIO
When Congress adjourned March 3, 1849,
Lincoln
returned to his home to resume the
practice of law.
He was a successful lawyer, for he had
a mind cal-
culated to bring him success. He was
analytical, thor-
ough, logical and industrious. Added to
these mental
qualities, he was a good talker before
a jury. When
he attained the presidency he ranked
among the leading
lawyers of his state. His business
extended beyond
Illinois.
On Christmas eve, 1849, he was in Cincinnati,
and
wrote to the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Ohio
the following letter:
MR. PETER HITCHCOCK, Esq.,3
Judge at Columbus.
DEAR SIR:--
Mr. Fox informed me this morning that I
had better write
to you in reference to the case of Linus
Logan and the Steam-
boat Clipper now on the docket. We have
been ready at any
time to take up the case but have waited
for the brief of the
other side. We have not yet received it,
but it is promised
us today.
Judge Coffin left here yesterday saying
that he would have
the case put down for Friday. If I get
the brief today or to-
3 Peter Hitchcock, born in Cheshire,
Connecticut, October 19, 1781;
died in Painesville, Ohio, May 11, 1853;
graduated from Yale, 1801;
removed to Geauga county, Ohio, 1806;
served in the Ohio Legislature,
1810-1816; elected to Congress, 1816;
served as judge of the Supreme
Court twenty-eight years, retiring in
1852; delegate to Constitutional
Convention in 1850.
(13)
14
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
morrow we can be ready to hear it then
and will be in Columbus
for that purpose.
We are very anxious to have it heard on
account of our
clients in this case and because the
same question presented in
the record is now before the courts of
this country in several
cases. Some cause, I am not fully aware
what, has prevented
counsel from furnishing the brief, etc.
I hope the case will not
be continued.
Yours respectfully,
A. LINCOLN.
The case to which Lincoln referred was,
in itself, of
not unusual importance, but because it
marks his first
professional association with the Ohio
courts, it becomes
of more than passing interest.
The original action was for trespass
brought by
Logan, who was Lincoln's client,
against the steamboat
Clipper for wrongfully running into and damaging the
steamboat Mail while navigating
the Ohio River near
Manchester, Ohio, on the 20th day of
March, 1844.
The case was tried at the June term,
1848, of the Su-
perior Court of Cincinnati, when Logan
got a verdict for
$3760; it was taken in error to the
Supreme Court of
Ohio, in bank, at Columbus, on the
question of certain
testimony, and was again decided in
favor of Lincoln's
client. The case -- Steamboat Clipper
vs. Linus Logan
-- will be found in the 18th Ohio
Reports, pages 375-
399, reported in full. We are deprived
of further and
more definite knowledge of Lincoln's
connection with
this case for the reason that the
records of the Superior
Court of Cincinnati, and the Supreme
Court at Colum-
bus were destroyed by fire, the former
in the riots of
1884. Whether he tried the case in the
Superior Court,
or argued it in the Supreme Court we
have no means of
knowing. The brief for his client in the
Ohio Reports
Lincoln and Ohio 15
is signed by T. D. Lincoln4 of
Cincinnati, one of the
leading lawyers of the Ohio Valley in
his generation,
and the Mr. Fox referred to in
Lincoln's letters was T.
D.'s partner. He was known as an expert
in admiralty
law, and there was little litigation
concerning disputes
on the western waters that he was not
counsel on one
side or the other. He was always employed by non-
resident lawyers in their suits before
Ohio Courts. As
Lincoln was not eligible to practice in
Ohio it may be
taken as a fact that the case was
argued by "Tim" Lin-
coln, as he was popularly called, and
it is equally certain
that Abraham Lincoln, judging from his
letter, was
present.
Eight years later these two Lincolns
were opposing
counsel in the United States Courts at
Chicago in an
admiralty case of great importance, and
which at the
time was viewed with almost sensational
interest
throughout the West. It was known as
the Rock Island
Bridge Company case, growing out of the
construction
of a bridge over the Mississippi River.
It was the day
of intense rivalry between steamboat
and railroad, and
in the narrow view of pioneer progress,
was regarded as
involving the commercial supremacy of
St. Louis or
Chicago. In this litigation Lincoln of
Ohio and Lincoln
of Illinois were strenuous antagonists,
with the latter as
victor.
Lincoln was sensitive over his
professional honor, as
his experience with an Ohio client
demonstrates. In
1859 the Columbus Machine Manufacturing
Company,
4 Timothy D. Lincoln was born in
Brimfield, Massachusetts, May
11, 1815; educated at Wesleyan
University, Middletown, Connecticut;
settled in Cincinnati, 1841; admitted to
the bar by the State Supreme
Court, 1842; had an extensive practice
in admiralty, insurance and patent
law; ranked high at the Oho bar; died,
April 1, 1890.
16 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
owned by a Mr. Ambos of Columbus, had
forwarded
to Lincoln through Samuel Galloway,5
attorney, certain
claims for collection against parties,
purchasers of ma-
chinery, at Springfield, Illinois. The
collection was
slow, and complaint was made against
Lincoln for his
apparent negligence. Thereupon came the
following
letter to the Columbus attorney:
SPRINGFIELD, ILL., July 27, 1859.
HON. SAMUEL GALLOWAY.
MY DEAR SIRS: Your letter in relation to
the claim of Mr.
Ambos for the Columbus Machine
Manufacturing Company
against Barret and others received. This
has been a somewhat
disagreeable matter to me. As I
remember, you first wrote me
on the general subject, Barret then
having had a credit of four
or five hundred dollars, and there was
some question about his
taking the machinery. I think you inquired as to Barret's
responsibility; and that I answered I
considered him an honest
and honorable man, having a great deal
of property, owing a
good many debts, and hard pressed for
ready cash. I was a
little surprised soon after to learn
that they had enlarged the
credit to near ten thousand dollars,
more or less. They wrote
me to take notes and a mortgage, and to
hold on to the notes
awhile to fix amounts. I inferred the
notes and mortgage were
both to be held up for a time, and did
so; Barret gave a second
mortgage on part of the premises, which
was first recorded, and
I was blamed some for not having
recorded the other mortgage
when first executed. My chief annoyance
with the case now is
that the parties at Columbus seem to
think it is by my neglect
that they do not get their money. There
is an older mortgage
on the real estate mortgaged, though not
on the machinery. I
got a decree of foreclosure in the
present month; but I con-
sented to delay advertising for sale
till September, on a reason-
able prospect that something will then
be paid on a collateral
Barret has put in my hands. When we come
to sell on the de-
cree, what will we do about the older
mortgage? Barret has
5 Samuel Galloway, born in Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, March 20, 1811;
died in Columbus, Ohio, April 5, 1872;
removed to Ohio in 1819;
graduated at Miami, 1833; taught until
1842; admitted to the bar, 1842;
practiced law at Chillicothe until 1844;
elected Secretary of State, 1844;
served eight years; elected to Congress,
1854; defeated by S. S. Cox
in 1856 and 1858; was active in organizing
the Republican party.
Lincoln and Ohio 17
offered one or two other good
notes--that is, notes on good
men--if we would take them, pro
tanto, as payment, but I
notified Mr. Ambos, and he declined. My
impression is that
the whole of the money cannot be got
very soon, anyway, but
that it all will be ultimately
collected, and that it could be got
faster by turning in every little parcel
we can, than by trying
to force it through by the law in a
lump. There are no special
personal relations between Barret and
myself. We are personal
friends in a general way -- no
business transactions between us
-- not akin, and opposed on politics.
Yours truly, A. LINCOLN.
Whatever the fault of Lincoln may have
been,
whether negligence or lack of
confidence, he brought
suit to enforce his liens, and the
litigation was pending
when he was elected President.
Lincoln's second visit to Cincinnati
was in Septem-
ber, 1855, and out of it grew a
professional disappoint-
ment which he felt very keenly, and
which he did not
attempt to conceal. In addition to being an important
event in his life as a lawyer, it was
an interesting fact
in connection with his subsequent
history. It resulted
from his engagement as one of the
leading counsel in the
patent case of McCormick vs. Manny.
John H. Manny
was sued by Cyrus H. McCormick in the
Circuit Court
of the United States for the Northern
District of Illi-
nois. The plaintiff sought an
injunction to prevent
Manny from infringing on certain
patents, and to re-
cover four hundred thousand dollars as
damages. Lin-
coln represented Manny; afterwards
Edwin M. Stanton6
was employed as co-counsel together
with a Mr. Hard-
ing of Philadelphia as a patent expert.
Reverdy John-
6 Edwin M. Stanton born in Steubenville,
Ohio, December 19, 1814;
died in Washington, D. C., December 24,
1869; admitted to the bar,
1833; reporter of Ohio Supreme Court,
1842-1845; Attorney General
under President Buchanan; appointed
Secretary of War by President
Lincoln. January 15, 1862. served
throughout the administration, and
part of Johnson's administration;
appointed by President Grant as Justice
of the Supreme Court four days before
his death.
Vol. XXXII--2.
18
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
son of Baltimore represented the
plaintiff; and he ranked
among the greatest of American lawyers;
he had served
in the United States Senate and as
Attorney General in
President Taylor's cabinet. Lincoln looked forward
with pardonable pride to this forensic
debate, and pre-
pared his brief with studious care. It
was a profes-
sional opportunity which would add to
his already high
standing at the Illinois bar. He knew that
Mr. Harding
was to make the technical argument, but
he was not
aware of Mr. Stanton's employment until
he reached
Cincinnati; it was done by his client
without his knowl-
edge. This was a keen disappointment,
but Lincoln
silently acquiesced. At a meeting of
the three counsel
Messrs. Harding and Stanton determined
that but two
should argue their side. By all rules
of professional
courtesy Lincoln, as the original
counsel, should of
course speak. Mr. Stanton therefore
suggested to Lin-
coln that he should argue the law of
the case, where-
upon he answered, "No, do you
speak." To which Mr.
Stanton snapped, "I will,"
and immediately left for
preparation. Thus Lincoln by his
personal and pro-
fessional courtesy brought upon himself
one of the
greatest disappointments of his life.
He expected, of
course, either a declination on
Stanton's part, or a re-
arrangement of the program. Neither
occurred, and he
was humiliated and chagrined, and the
expected glory
vanished.
This is without doubt the true story of
Lincoln's
rebuff in this celebrated case, as told
by William M.
Dickson7 of Cincinnati,
nearly forty years after, in
7 William L. Dickson was born in Scott
County, Indiana, September
19, 1827; he was a distinguished member
of the Cincinnati bar for thirty
years; was an uncompromising abolitionist; organized
the first colored
regiment during the Civil War; was the
confidant of Lincoln, Stanton
and Chase; died, October 15, 1889.
Lincoln and Ohio 19
Harper's Monthly for June, 1884. He was in a position
to learn the facts. Mrs. Dickson and
Mrs. Lincoln were
cousins, and Lincoln was a guest at the
Dickson home
during his stay in Cincinnati.
Several of his biographers have added
other features,
very sensational if true, to this
episode of his life. The
most striking of these is that Stanton
expressed con-
tempt of Lincoln's appearance and
professional ability.
There is no satisfying evidence of this
statement. Stan-
ton himself was a lawyer of high
standing, and he knew
that Lincoln ranked likewise at the
Illinois bar, that he
was the original counsel in the case,
and had appeared
before Judge McLean at Chicago. His
employment in
this important case alone was evidence
of his profes-
sional standing. As a matter of fact,
Lincoln had at-
tained high position at the bar of his
state. Up to
this time he had argued more than one
hundred and
fifty cases in its Supreme Court; he
was engaged in
most of the important and lucrative
litigation in the
Federal Courts at Chicago, and in the
state courts of his
Circuit. Some of the cases, such as the
Rock Island
Bridge case, involved Federal
Constitutional questions
of National importance. Stanton's
conduct on this oc-
casion was in full keeping with his
disposition. He was
cold-blooded, selfish and domineering,
but he was a
gentleman, and it was not in his nature
to insult, with
the methods of a boor, a brother
lawyer, much less
Lincoln. He simply displayed those
traits of character
that the country witnessed daily while
he was Secretary
of War, and which at that time were
invaluable to the
Union cause.
With Lincoln's disappearance from the
case he left
his brief with Mr. Harding. It is
interesting to know
20 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
that he kept his retainer ($500),
received two thousand
dollars as an additional fee, and that
his client won his
case, the court dismissing the action
at the costs of the
plaintiff.
He was in the city a week viewing the
various places
of interest. He was unknown, and sought
the acquaint-
ance of nobody, but met about twenty
persons. For the
time he was moody and depressed. He was
attracted
in his solitary rambles to the gardens
and conservatory
of Nicholas Longworth.8 Here
is an interesting picture
by Judge Dickson:
The meeting of these remarkable men is
worthy of a passing
note. Nor can it be given without
allusion to their dress and
bearing. Mr. Lincoln entered the open
yard, with towering form
and ungainly gait, dressed in plain
clothing cut too small. His
hands and feet seemed to be growing out
of their environment,
conspicuously seen from their uncommon
size. Mr. Longworth
happened at the time to be near the
entrance, engaged in weeding
the shrubbery by the walk. His alert eye
quickly observed the
coming of a person of unusual
appearance. He rose and con-
fronted him.
"Will a stranger be permitted to
walk through your grounds
and conservatories?" inquired Mr.
Lincoln.
"Y-e-s," haltingly, half
unconsciously, was the reply, so
fixed was the gaze of Mr. Longworth.
As they stood thus face to face, the
contrast was striking,
so short in stature was the one that he
seemed scarcely to reach
the elbow of the other. If the dress of
Mr. Lincoln seemed too
small for him, the other seemed lost in
the baggy bulkiness of
his costume; the overflowing sleeves
concealed his hands, and the
extremities of the pantaloons were piled
in heavy folds upon the
open ears of the untied shoes. His
survey of Mr. Lincoln was
searching; beginning with the feet, he
slowly raised his head,
closely observing, until his upturned
face met the eye of Mr.
Lincoln. Thus for a moment gazed at each
other in mutual and
8 Nicholas Longworth was born at Newark,
New Jersey, January 16,
1782; in 1803 settled in Cincinnati and
admitted to the bar; after twenty-
five years experience at the bar, he
devoted himself to the cultivation
of the grape, upon which he became the
greatest authority in America;
he is known as the father of American
grape culture; died in Cincinnati,
1863.
Lincoln and Ohio 21
mute astonishment the millionaire
pioneer and the now forever
famous President. Mr. Lincoln passed
on, nor did Mr. Long-
worth ever become aware that he had
seen Mr. Lincoln.
Afterwards came trips to the suburbs --
Walnut
Hills, Mount Auburn, Clifton, and then
to Spring
Grove Cemetery. He spent a morning in
Room No. 1,
of the Superior Court presided over by
Judge Bellamy
Storer -- very odd and very able. Between motions
and demurrers, he joked, told stories
and lambasted the
lawyers, while the court room was in a
roar. Lincoln
enjoyed it hugely, remarking to Judge
Dickson, "I wish
we had that judge in Illinois. I think he would share
with me the fatherhood of the legal
jokes of the Illinois
bar. As it is now, they put them all on
me, while I am
not the author of one-half of
them."
When this visit was ended, he took the
hand of his
hostess cordially and said: "You have made my stay
here most agreeable, and I am a
thousand times obliged
to you; but in reply to your request
for me to come
again, I must say to you, I never
expect to be in Cin-
cinnati again. I have nothing against the city, but
things have so happened here as to make
it undesirable
for me ever to return here."
"Man proposes and God
disposes." Little did he
realize that he was an unforged bolt in
the arsenal of
Fate, and that within a few years this
same city, from
which he departed so dejectedly, would
hail him with
great acclaim and demonstration on his
way to immortal
fame.
CHAPTER III
LINCOLN IN THE OHIO CAMPAIGN OF 1859 -- HIS SPEECH
AT COLUMBUS -- AT DAYTON AND HAMILTON
Lincoln's first potential relationship
with Ohio began
with the campaign in the fall of 1859,
when he formed
political associations that had great
influence in de-
termining his future. We shall be
better able to assess
the value of these, as well as the
important part he
played in the canvass of that year, by
reviewing the
political situation.
The personnel of the candidates for
Governor was
beyond reproach. Hon. William Dennison9
was the
nominee of the Republican party, and
Judge Rufus P.
Ranney10 of the Democratic.
Both were men of dis-
tinction and great ability, but of
different types. Mr.
Dennison, although a lawyer by
profession, had ac-
quired his reputation by reason of his
business standing
and financial ability. He had, it is
true, served a term
in the State Senate, but on the whole
he was a new-
comer in state politics. His opponent, Judge
Ranney,
was the Nestor of the Ohio bar when it
numbered among
its ranks such distinguished lawyers as
Allen G. Thur-
9 William Dennison, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 23,
1815;
graduated from Miami University 1835;
admitted to the bar, 1840, and
removed to Columbus; elected to State
Senate 1845; Governor, 1860-1862;
Postmaster General in President
Lincoln's cabinet, 1864-66; died in
Columbus, Ohio, June 15, 1882.
10 Rufus P. Ranney, born in Blandford,
Mass., October 13, 1813;
family removed to Portage county, Ohio,
1827; admitted to the bar, 1838;
was member of the State Constitutional
Convention of 1850; elected
under the Constitution to the Supreme
Court, and served until 1857;
in 1859 was defeated as Democratic
candidate for Governor; elected
Judge of the Supreme Court in 1862;
resigned in 1864; died, December 6,
1891.
(22)
Lincoln and Ohio 23
man,11 Thomas Ewing12 and Henry Stanberry.13 His
career as a great judge on the Supreme
Bench, and his
ability as a profound and learned
lawyer justified his
reputation. In the campaign the
candidates met fre-
quently in joint debates. Mr. Dennison
developed un-
expected powers as a political orator.
Judge Ranney,
whose judicial opinions were quoted as
authority in
every state in the Union, and whose
powerful arguments
and legal knowledge before the courts
placed him at
the head of his profession, was
unimpressive in the
forum
of the people. In fact the
contest was not as to
who should be Governor of Ohio, but the
controlling
question was whether this nation should
be "half slave
and half free." Men and their
attainments were not
considered in the overwhelming issue of the national-
ization of slavery.
This was the question involved in the
Lincoln-Doug-
las debates of the year before. It grew
out of the pas-
sage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in
1854, which re-
11 Allen G. Thurman, born at Lynchburg,
Virginia, November 13,
1813; came with his parents to
Chillicothe, Ohio, 1819; admitted to the
bar, 1835; member of Congress, 1845-47;
served as Judge of the Supreme
Court 1851-56; declined re-election to
the bench and resumed the practice
of law; unsuccessful candidate for
Governor, 1867; United States Sena-
tor, 1869-81; Democratic candidate for
Vice President, 1888; died at
Columbus, Ohio, December 12, 1895.
12 Thomas Ewing, born at West Liberty,
Virginia, December 28,
1789; died at Lancaster, Ohio, October
26, 1871; removed with his
family in 1792 to what is now Athens
county, Ohio; entered Ohio Uni-
versity at Athens where in 1815 he
received the first degree of B. A.
that was ever granted in the Northwest;
admitted to the bar in 1816;
served as United States Senator 1831-37,
and 1850-61 ; Secretary of the
Treasury under President Harrison, 1841;
Secretary of the Interior under
President Taylor, 1849; in the Supreme
Court he ranked among the leading
lawyers of the Nation.
13 Henry
Stanberry, born in New York City
February 2, 1803;
removed with his parents to Zanesville,
Ohio: admitted to the bar, 1824;
Attorney General of Ohio, 1846; member
of Constitutional Convention,
1850; Attorney General of the United
States under President Johnson,
1866-67; resigned that office to serve
as counsel for the President in the
impeachment trial; was afterward
nominated to the Supreme Court of the
United States, but not confirmed; died
in New York City, June 26, 1881.
24
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
pealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820,
thus opening
to the extension of slavery the vast
public domain in-
cluded in the Louisiana Purchase, and
reaching from
the Rio Grande River to the Canadian
line. By this
legislation was broken the pact by
which it was agreed
between the North and South to forever
prohibit slavery
north of 36° 30'; and for
thirty-four years this line
between slavery and freedom was
faithfully accepted,
and it was supposed generally to have
settled that sen-
sitive question.
The man who was responsible for this
radical and
unexpected move was Senator Stephen A.
Douglas14 of
Illinois, a Democratic statesman of
great courage and
force, and unequalled among his fellow
senators as a
parliamentarian and debater. He
embodied in his law
what he called the principle of
"popular sovereignty",
by which he conferred upon the people
of a territory
the right to have slavery or not, as
they voted. It was
a specious and plausible plan, but by
it the whole West
became the legitimate quarry of the
slave-power; be-
fore, they could occupy less than
one-third. Douglas
was proud of his work and did not
hesitate to take full
credit to himself: "I passed the
Kansas-Nebraska Act
myself. I had the authority and power
of a dictator,
throughout the whole controversy, in
both houses."
Douglas really believed that he was
solving the ques-
tion in a democratic way, and that his
law would be
popular and would make him president.
In the end it
pleased neither the North nor the
South, and resulted
14 Stephen
A. Douglas, born in Brandon, Vermont, April 23, 1813;
died in Chicago, Illinois, June 3, 1861; settled in
Illinois, 1833; admitted
to the bar, 1834; became prominent in the Democratic
party of his state
and remained so until his death; served as Judge of the
Supreme Court
of Illinois, member of Congress, and United States
Senator, and in
1860 was candidate of his party for
President being defeated by Lincoln.
Lincoln and Ohio 25
in his own political ruin, in the
disruption of his party
and in the doom of slavery. In the
North it was received
as a "fire-bell in the
night". Press, pulpit, mass meet-
ings and legislatures protested. The
author was de-
nounced as a Judas Iscariot; a society
of Ohio women
sent him thirty pieces of silver;
attention was called to
his middle name, recalling the traitor
of the Revolution;
he was hooted off the stage when he
attempted to speak
in his home city of Chicago; to use his
own words, he
"could travel from Boston to
Chicago by the light of
his own effigies".15
The immediate effect of Douglas' work
was the or-
ganization of the Republican party. It
was a motley
crowd composed of nearly the entire
Whig party of the
North, hundreds of thousands of
Democrats, most of the
American party, all of the Freesoilers,
and the practical
Abolitionists, but unanimous, earnest
and uncompro-
mising in its opposition to the
extension of slavery. This
proposition was the cohesive principle
that held it to-
gether, and its leaders showed wisdom
by confining its
object and declarations to this. There
were some in the
new party that sought for the abolition
of slavery and
the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law,
but their ideas
were rejected. When the first National
Convention of
the Republican party was held, it
declared against slav-
ery extension; it confined its
declaration on slavery to
denying "the authority of
Congress, of a territorial
legislature, of any individuals or
association of indi-
viduals, to give legal existence to
slavery in any territory
of the United States, while the present
Constitution
shall be maintained", and it
declared it to be the "im-
15 James Ford Rhodes: History of the United States, vol.
I, p. 496.
26 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
perative duty of Congress" to
prohibit slavery in the
territories.
Representing these principles the
Republicans of
Ohio met in state convention June 2 at
Columbus. It
was a notable gathering, and assembled
at a time of
great public agitation, which grew out
of what was
known as the "Oberlin-Wellington
Rescue Case". There
was an arrest of a fugitive slave who
had lived near
Oberlin for two years; this was
resisted by a body of
Oberlin students led by one of the
professors. Two
of the rescuers were arrested, tried,
convicted and im-
prisoned in the Cleveland jail under
the Fugitive Slave
Act. These proceedings aroused great
interest through-
out the country, and inflamed to the
highest pitch the
indignation of the people in Northern
Ohio. An appeal
for relief was made to the state
courts, and a writ of
habeas corpus was granted by one of the judges of the
Supreme Court, commanding the sheriff of
Cuyahoga
County to bring his prisoners before
the court for in-
quiry as to his right to detain them.
The Supreme
Court heard the case, and passed upon
the issue with
great deliberation.16 It was
of political and historical
importance. The question raised was,
whether the Fugi-
tive Slave Act was constitutional, and
could the Supreme
Court of Ohio nullify the judgment of
the United States
Court for the Northern District of
Ohio?
The story of the decision and its
results was a
vital element in the campaign of 1859,
and its most
tragic incident. It is a glaring
example of flagrantly
contemptible politics on one hand, and
on the other a
display of heroic fidelity to duty,
which attained a lofty
idealism. The situation has been described
as follows:17
16 Ex Parte Bushnell, 9 Ohio State
Reports, pp. 77-325.
17 Randall
and Ryan: History of Ohio, Vol. IV, pp. 135-138.
Lincoln and Ohio 27
The excitement was intense, and it was
an occasion which
called for the coolest judgment, the highest official
independence,
and indomitable judicial integrity. A
bare majority of the
Supreme Court of five members sustained
the United States
District Court, and the prisoners were
therefore remanded to
the custody of the Federal authorities.
Judge Joseph R. Swan,
as Chief Justice of the Court, prepared
and delivered the opinion,
in which he held that a state court
could not interfere with the
orderly action of the United States
court within its constitu-
tional limit. A more courageous opinion
from an honest judge
was never given. Judge Swan had been
elected in 1854 by the
anti-slavery sentiment of Ohio. It was
the opposition to the
Democratic party that eventually
developed into the Republican
party. The Fugitive Slave Law was
extremely odious from a
political standpoint to Judge Swan and
his party associates.
Notwithstanding that the law had been
held constitutional by
the Supreme Court of the United States,
there was a deep seated
hostility to it in Ohio. The opposition
to it was one of the
cardinal points of the new Republican
party, of which Judge
Swan was a distinguished member. It was
in the face of these
facts that he adhered to his judicial
integrity and conscience
and held the law as authoritative,
whether he personally or
politically approved its spirit and
terms or not. For his firm-
ness and independence in adhering to the
principle which should
always control the fearless judge, he
accepted a retirement from
public life and even alienated the best
of his political friends.
In the opinion of the Court, the
majority of which was
represented by Judge Swan, he takes
occasion in his final words
to indicate that his personal feelings
and his judicial findings
are not in accord. His closing words
are:
As a citizen I would not deliberately
violate the Constitution or
the law by interference with fugitives
from service; but if a weary,
frightened slave should appeal to me to
protect him from his pursuers, it
is possible that I might momentarily
forget my allegiance to the law and
Constitution, and give him a covert from
those who were upon his track.
There are, no doubt, many slave holders
who would thus follow the
impulses of human sympathy: and if I did
it, and were prosecuted,
condemned and imprisoned, and brought by
my counsel before this trib-
unal on a habeas corpus, and were there permitted to pronounce judgment
in my own case, I trust I should have
the moral courage to say, before
God and the country, as I am now
compelled to say, under the solemn
duties of a judge, bound by my official
oath to sustain the supremacy of
the Constitution and the law, the
prisoner must be remanded.
On June 2, 1859, the Republican State
Convention assembled
at Columbus; on the Monday morning
previous Chief Justice
Swan had rendered his famous opinion.
Judge Swan was one
28 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
of the founders of the Republican party;
he was a Democratic
anti-slavery man, and joined with all
others of that manner of
thinking in order to form a party
consecrated to freedom. He
had been nominated and elected as Judge
of the Supreme Court
in 1854 by a majority exceeding
seventy-seven thousand. His
fine career as a jurist, his high
character, his decided views
against the extension of slavery, all
called for a nomination
to the high office which he held, but
his opinion had aroused the
indignation of the radical element of
the Republican party, and
under the leadership of Wade, Chase and
Giddings a renomina-
tion was refused him.
It is difficult in moments of
deliberation to conceive how
men well versed in the law and having
high ideals of citizenship
could take this attitude. Judge Swan's
position was such as any
just and honorable judge, who had due
regard for his oath of
office and who honored his conscience,
would take, but the in-
tolerance of the abolitionists was
exercised against him. Judge
Rufus P. Spaulding, one of the attorneys
in the famous case
growing out of the Oberlin-Wellington
Rescue, wrote concerning
the defeat of Judge Swan for
renomination: "He was dropped
for the reason that he, as a judicial
officer, recognized the Fugi-
tive Slave enactment of 1850 to be of
binding force in Ohio, and
the two judges who were with him in
opinion will be dropped in
the same way as soon as they are reached
in the order of time.
We do not recognize them as Republicans
here in northern Ohio
who will for a moment sustain this
miserable enactment."
In other words, the proposition was,
that a Judge of the
Supreme Court should ignore a law that
was duly passed by the
Congress of the United States and
declared constitutional by
the highest tribunal of the land; and
this should be done be-
cause the judgment of the majority of
the citizens of Ohio was
opposed to the law in principle and for
that reason would de-
cline to obey it.
The influence of the radical or
abolition element
of the party was further evidenced by
the adoption of
a resolution in the platform declaring
for the "repeal
of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 as
subversive of both
the rights of the states and the
liberties of the people,
and as contrary to the plainest duties
of humanity and
justice, and as abhorrent to the moral
sense of the civ-
ilized world." To the conservative
Republicans these
Lincoln and Ohio 29
actions were looked upon with concern
and regret. They
had abandoned their life-long political
affiliations to join
this new party for the single purpose
of checking slav-
ery, and they disapproved injecting the
by-products of
abolitionism into this new association.
They knew that
it would hurt nationally. The mass of
Republicans,
while they were opposed to the
principle of the Fugitive
Slave Law, felt that it was one of the
evil results of
slavery. Such a law was required by the
Constitution
as one of the compromise measures of
the Fathers. A
similar law had been on the
statute-books of the gov-
ernment almost since its
foundation. Washington
signed the first fugitive slave law in
1793, and it was,
as all such laws must be, one-sided and
unjust. But
the Constitution recognized slavery and
made it the duty
of Congress to protect it.
Lincoln was bitterly opposed to the
principle of the
law, but he favored obedience because
it was the law.
When he learned of the actions of the
Ohio convention
he did not hesitate to express his
dissent. In a letter
to Hon. Samuel Galloway (on another
subject which
we will read hereafter) he said:
"Two things done by
the Ohio Republican convention--the
repudiation of
Judge Swan, and the 'plank' for a
repeal of the Fugi-
tive Slave Law -- I very much
regretted. These two
things are of a piece; and they are
viewed by many
good men, sincerely opposed to slavery,
as a struggle
against, and in disregard of, the
Constitution itself.
And it is the very thing that will
greatly endanger our
cause, if it be not kept out of our
national convention."
More deliberately did he write on the
subject to
Governor Chase. In a letter remarkable
for its clarity
30 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
of expression and soundness of opinion,
he gave his
construction of the Constitution:
SPRINGFIELD, ILL., June 20, 1859.
HON. S. P.
CHASE,18
MY DEAR SIR: Yours of the 13th inst. is received. You
say you would be glad to have my views.
Although I think
Congress has constitutional authority to
enact a Fugitive Slave
law, I have never elaborated an opinion
upon the subject. My
view has been, and is, simply this: The
U. S. Constitution says
the fugitive slave "shall be
delivered up," but it does not ex-
pressly say who shall deliver him
up. Whatever the Constitu-
tion says "shall be done" and
has omitted saying who shall do it,
the government established by that
Constitution, ex vi termini, is
vested with the power of doing; and
Congress is, by the Constitu-
tion expressly empowered to make all
laws which shall be nec-
essary and proper for carrying into
execution all powers vested
by the Constitution in the government of
the United States.
This would be my view, on a simple
reading of the Constitution;
and it is greatly strengthened by the
historical fact that the
Constitution was adopted, in great part
in order to get a gov-
ernment which could execute its own
behests, in contradiction
to that under the Articles of
Confederation, which depended in
many respects, upon the States, for its
execution; and the other
fact that one of the earliest Congresses
under the Constitution,
did enact a Fugitive Slave law.
But I did not write you on this subject,
with any view of
discussing the Constitutional question.
My only object was to
impress you with what I believe is true,
that the introduction
of a proposition for repeal of the
Fugitive Slave law, into the
next Republican National Convention,
will explode the Conven-
tion and the party. Having turned your
attention to the point, I
wish to do no more.
Yours very truly, A. LINCOLN.
This was the calm judgment of a man who
hated
the principles of this law, and who, in
his debates with
18 Salmon P. Chase, born in Cornish, New
Hampshire, January 13,
1808; admitted to the bar and
established himself in Cincinnati in 1830;
elected United States Senator in 1849,
and Governor in 1855 and 1857;
Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln
from 1861 to June 30, 1864;
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
the United States from December
6, 1864, until his death in New York
City, May 7, 1873.
|
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Lincoln and Ohio 33
Douglas declared it bore all the marks
of a design to
maintain and perpetuate
slavery, yet who favored its
enforcement, and so declared even after
he was elected
President.
The campaign opened immediately after
the con-
vention, and waxed in tensity as the
summer passed;
in every section of the state great
interest was aroused
by the joint debates of the candidates
for governor.
The leaders of their respective parties
were appealing
day and night to the people. For the
Republicans there
were Governor Chase, Senator Wade, John
Sherman,19
"Tom" Corwin, Joshua R.
Giddings and a hundred
lesser lights, while the Democrats in
equal force were
led by Senator Pugh,20 Judge Thurman, S. S. Cox,21
George H. Pendleton22 and
William Allen.23 At first
19 John Sherman was born at Lancaster, Ohio, May 10, 1823; admitted
to the bar, 1844; elected to Congress,
1854; served until he entered the
Senate March 4, 1861; re-elected in 1867
and 1873; resigned to become
Secretary of the Treasury under
President Hayes in 1877; returned to
the Senate, 1881; served until March,
1897, when he resigned to become
Secretary of State under President
McKinley; resigned that position in
1898; died in Washington, D. C., October
22, 1900.
20 George
E. Pugh was born in Cincinnati November 28, 1822; served
in the Mexican War; served in the Ohio
Legislature, 1848-49; was Attor-
ney General of Ohio, 1852-54; United
States Senator from December,
1855, to March, 1861; defended Clement
L. Vallandigham in habeas
corpus proceedings in 1863; died in Cincinnati July 19, 1876.
21 Samuel
S. Cox was born in Zanesville, Ohio, September 30, 1824;
member of Congress from Ohio, 1857-65,
and from New York, 1869-1885,
and 1886-89; served for a short time as
Minister to Turkey; Author:
Eight Years in Congress; Why We
Laugh; Diversion of a Diplomat in
Turkey A Buckeye Abroad; Arctic
Sunbeams; Orient Sunbeams; Search
for Winter Sunbeams; etc.; died in New York September 10, 1889.
22 George H. Pendleton was born
in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 25, 1825;
served in State Senate, 1854-55; member
of Congress, 1856-65; opposed
the Lincoln Administration during the
war; candidate for Vice Presi-
dent on the Democratic ticket in 1864;
elected United States Senator
1878; in 1882 introduced the Civil
Service bill which was passed in 1883;
appointed Minister to Germany, 1885;
died at Brussels, Belgium, November
24, 1889.
23 William
Allen was born in Edenton, North Carolina, December
1803; walked in winter from Lynchburg,
Virginia to Chillicothe, Ohio,
where his half-sister, mother of Allen
G. Thurman was living; in 1832
elected member of Congress, and served
1833-35; served in United States
Senate, 1837-49; Governor of Ohio,
1874-76; died, July 11, 1879.
Vol. XXXII--3.
34
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the sacrificing of Judge Swan and the
Fugitive Slave
Law were sought by the Democrats to be
made the
paramount issues; in the Western
Reserve the challenge
was accepted.24 But it was
not long until it became
apparent that the overwhelming one of
slave extension
was the question in the minds of the
people. This was
emphasized when Senator Douglas entered
the campaign
in September, which at once gave it a
national character.
The newspapers of the time plainly
indicate that the
campaign had reached the passionate and
unreasoning
stage. The excited people were further
inflamed by
a press that seemed to have no other
purpose than to
abuse the opposite party, ridicule
their political oppo-
nents and misrepresent the occurrences
of the canvass.
For this reason the contemporary
journals furnish little
real information to one seeking the
facts of this period.
The actual condition as to public
meetings, their size,
conduct and a fair report of the
speeches find no place
in their columns. In sharp contrast is
the fair and news-
bearing journalism of today; even in
party organs
opposing principles and men are
discussed with a spirit
of fair play. Illustrative of this comparison
is the re-
ception of Douglas on the occasion of
his speech at
Columbus on September 7. There is a
dearth of real
news concerning him; both party organs
from the oppo-
site view-points treat him with unfair
ridicule on one
side, and lavish laudation on the
other. The opposition
paper writes him down as a "great
knave", "trickster",
"gigantic dwarf",
"compound of cunning and impu-
dence", "charlatan",
"famous hypocrite"; his own party
organ so extravagantly records
everything concerning
24 George H. Porter: Ohio Politics
During the Civil War Period.
p. 26.
Lincoln and Ohio 35
him that few facts are reported.25
Douglas also spoke
in Cincinnati on the 13th of September.
At the first announcement of Douglas'
appointments
to speak in Columbus and Cincinnati,
the Republicans
instinctively turned to Lincoln. The
State Central Com-
mittee and also that of Hamilton
County, invited him
to Ohio to reply to Douglas, and to the
chairman of the
latter he wrote:
SPRINGFIELD, ILL., Sept. 6, 1859.
PETER ZINN, Esq.,
DEAR SIR: Yours of the 2nd in relation
to my appearing
at Cincinnati in behalf of the
Opposition is received. I already
had a similar letter from Mr. W. T.
Bascom, Secretary of the
Republican State Central Committee at
Columbus, which I
answer today. You are in correspondence
with him and will
learn all from him. I shall try to speak
at Columbus and Cin-
cinnati; but cannot do more.
Yours truly,
A. LINCOLN.
On Friday, September 16, he spoke twice
in Co-
lumbus, in the afternoon at two o'clock
on the east
terrace of the State House, and in the
evening before
the Young Men's Republican Club at the
City Hall.
During the day he also visited the
county fair.
The principal speech was that of the
afternoon;
Lincoln was introduced by George M. Parsons,
chair-
man of the Republican County Committee,
and his
speech as written and revised by him is
as follows:26
Fellow Citizens of the State of Ohio:
I cannot fail to re-
member that I appear for the first time
before an audience in
this now great State, -- an audience
that is accustomed to hear
such speakers as Corwin, and Chase, and
Wade, and many other
renowned men; and, remembering this, I
feel that it will be well
25 The speech of Douglas at Columbus was
telegraphed in full to the
New York Times; this was regarded at the time as a remarkable piece
of newspaper enterprise.
26 Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Columbus, O., 1860. pp. 240-254.
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38 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
for you, as for me, that you should not
raise your expectations
to that standard to which you would have
been justified in rais-
ing them had one of these distinguished
men appeared before
you. You would perhaps be only preparing
a disappointment
for yourselves, and, as a consequence of your
disappointment,
mortification to me. I hope, therefore,
that you will commence
with very moderate expectations; and
perhaps, if you will give
me your attention, I shall be able to
interest you to a moderate
degree.
Appearing here for the first time in my
life, I have been
somewhat embarrassed for a topic by way
of introduction to my
speech; but I have been relieved from
that embarrassment by an
introduction which the Ohio Statesman
newspaper gave me this
morning. In this paper I have read an
article, in which, among
other statements, I find the following:
In debating with Senator Douglas during
the memorable contest of
last fall, Mr. Lincoln declared in favor
of negro suffrage, and attempted to
defend that vile conception against the
Little Giant.
I mention this now, at the opening of my
remarks, for the
purpose of making three comments upon
it. The first I have
already announced, -- it furnishes me an
introductory topic; the
second is to show that the gentleman is
mistaken; thirdly, to give
him an opportunity to correct it.
In the first place, in regard to this
matter being a mistake.
I have found that it is not entirely
safe, when one is misrepre-
sented under his very nose, to allow the
misrepresentation to go
uncontradicted. I therefore propose,
here at the outset, not only
to say this is a misrepresentation, but
to show conclusively that
it is so; and you will bear with me
while I read a couple of ex-
tracts from that very "memorable" debate with Judge Douglas
last year, to which this newspaper
refers. In the first pitched
battle which Senator Douglas and myself
had, at the town of
Ottawa, I used the language which I will
now read. Having been
previously reading an extract, I
continued as follows:
Now, gentlemen, I don't want to read at
any greater length, but this
is the true complexion of all I have
ever said in regard to the institution
of slavery and the black race. This is
the whole of it, and anything
that argues me into his idea of perfect
social and political equality with
the negro, is but a specious and
fantastic arrangement of words, by
which a man can prove a horse-chestnut
to be a chestnut horse. I will
say here, while upon this subject, that
I have no purpose directly or
indirectly to interfere with the
institution 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. I have no purpose to introduce
political and social equality
between the white and black races. There
is a physical difference between
the two which, in my judgment, will
probably forbid their ever living
together upon the footing of perfect
equality; and inasmuch as it becomes
Lincoln and Ohio 39
a necessity that there must be a
difference, I, as well as Judge Douglas,
am in favor of the race to which I
belong having the superior position.
I have never said anything to the
contrary, but I hold that, notwithstanding
all this, there is no reason in the
world why the negro is not entitled
to all the natural rights enumerated in
the Declaration of Independence,--
the right to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness. I hold that he is
as much entitled to these as the white
man. I agree with Judge Douglas,
he is not my equal in many
respects--certainly not in color, perhaps not
in moral or intellectual endowments. But
in the right to eat the bread,
without leave of anybody else, which his
own hand earns, he is my
equal, and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of
every living man."
Upon a subsequent occasion, when the
reason for making a
statement like this recurred, I said:
While I was at the hotel today an
elderly gentleman called upon
me to know whether I was really in favor
of producing perfect equality
between the negroes and white people.
While I had not proposed to
myself on this occasion to say much on
that subject, yet, as the question
was asked me I thought I would occupy
perhaps five minutes in saying
something in regard to it. I will say,
then, that I am not, nor ever have
been, in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political
equality of the white and black
races--that I am not, nor ever have been,
in favor of making voters or jurors of
negroes, nor of qualifying them
to hold office, or intermarry with the
white people; and I will say in
addition to this that there is a
physical difference between the white and
black races which I believe will forever
forbid the two races living together
on terms of social and political
equality. And inasmuch as they cannot
so live, while they do remain together
there must be the position of
superior and inferior, and I, as much as
any other man, am in favor
of having the superior position assigned
to the white race. I say upon
this occasion I do not perceive that
because the white man is to have the
superior position, the negro should be
denied everything. I do not
understand that because I do not want a
negro woman for a slave. I
must necessarily want her for my wife.
My understanding is that I
can just let her alone. I am now in my
fiftieth year, and I certainly
never had a black woman for either a
slave or a wife. So it seems to me
quite possible for us to get along
without making either slaves or wives
of negroes. I will add to this that I
have never seen, to my knowledge,
a man, woman or child, who was in favor
of producing perfect equality,
social and political, between negroes
and white men. I recollect of but
one distinguished instance that I ever
heard of so frequently as to be
satisfied of its correctness -- and that
is the case of Judge Douglas's old
friend, Col. Richard M. Johnson. I will
also add to the remarks I have
made (for I am not going to enter at
large upon this subject), that I
have never had the least apprehension
that I or my friends would marry
negroes, if there was no law to keep
them from it; but as Judge Douglas
and his friends seem to be in great
apprehension that they might, if
there was no law to keep them from it, I
give him the most solemn
pledge that I will to the very last
stand by the law of the State, which
forbids the marrying of white people
with negroes.
There, my friends, you have briefly what
I have, upon
former occasions, said upon the subject
to which this newspaper,
to the extent of its ability, has drawn
the public attention. In
it you not only perceive as a
probability, that in that contest I
40 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
did not at any time say I was in favor
of negro suffrage; but
the absolute proof that twice -- once
substantially and once ex-
pressly -- I declared against it. Having
shown you this, there
remains but a word of comment upon that
newspaper article.
It is this: that I presume the editor of
that paper is an honest
and truth-loving man, and that he will
be greatly obliged to me
for furnishing him thus early an
opportunity to correct the mis-
representation he has made, before it has run so long
that
malicious people can call him a liar.
The Giant himself has been here
recently. I have seen a
brief report of his speech. If it were
otherwise unpleasant to
me to introduce the subject of the negro
as a topic for discus-
sion, I might be somewhat relieved by
the fact that he dealt
exclusively in that subject while he was
here. I shall, therefore,
without much hesitation or diffidence,
enter upon this subject.
The American people, on the first day of
January, 1854,
found the African slave-trade prohibited
by a law of Congress.
In a majority of the States of this
Union, they found African
slavery, or any other sort of slavery,
prohibited by State consti-
tutions. They also found a law existing,
supposed to be valid,
by which slavery was excluded from
almost all the territory
the United States then owned. This was
the condition of the
country, with reference to the
institution of slavery, on the first
of January, 1854. A few days after that,
a bill was introduced
into Congress, which ran through its
regular course in the two
branches of the National Legislature,
and finally passed into a
law in the month of May, by which the
act of Congress pro-
hibiting slavery from going into the
Territories of the United
States was repealed. In connection with
the law itself, and,
in. fact, in the terms of the law, the
then existing prohibition
was not only repealed, but there was a
declaration of a purpose
on the part of Congress never thereafter
to exercise any power
that they might have, real or supposed,
to prohibit the extension
or spread of slavery. This was a very
great change; for the law
thus repealed was of more than thirty
years' standing. Follow-
ing rapidly upon the heels of this
action of Congress, a decision
of the Supreme Court is made, by which
it is declared that Con-
gress, if it desires to prohibit the
spread of slavery into the
Territories, has no constitutional power
to do so. Not only so,
but that decision lays down the principles, which, if
pushed to
their logical conclusion, -- I say pushed to their
logical conclu-
sion, -- would decide that the
constitutions of free States, for-
bidding slavery, are themselves
unconstitutional. Mark me, I
do not say the Judges said this, and let
no man say I affirm the
Judges used these words: but I only say
it is my opinion that
Lincoln and Ohio 41
what they did say, if pressed to its
logical conclusion, will in-
evitably result thus.
Looking at these things, the Republican
party, as I under-
stand its principles and policy, believe
that there is great danger
of the institution of slavery being spread out and
extended, until
it is ultimately made alike lawful in
all the States of this Union;
so believing, to prevent that incidental
and ultimate consumma-
tion is the original and chief purpose
of the Republican organiza-
tion. I say "chief purpose" of
the Republican organization;
for it is certainly true that if the
National House shall fall into
the hands of the Republicans, they will
have to, attend to all the
other matters of national house-keeping,
as well as this. The
chief and real purpose of the Republican
party is eminently con-
servative. It proposes nothing save and
except to restore this
government to its original tone in
regard to this element of
slavery, and there to maintain it,
looking for no further change
in reference to it, than that which the
original framers of the
government themselves expected and
looked forward to.
The chief danger to this purpose of the
Republican party is
not just now the revival of the African
slave trade, or the pas-
sage of a Congressional slave code, or
the declaring of a second
Dred Scott decision, making slavery
lawful in all the states.
These are not pressing us just now. They
are not quite ready
yet. The authors of these measures know
that we are too strong
for them; but they will be upon us in
due time, and we will be
grappling with them hand to hand, if
they are not now headed
off. They are not now the chief danger
to the purpose of the
Republican organization; but the most
imminent danger that
now threatens that purpose is that
insidious Douglas popular
sovereignty. This is the miner and
sapper. While it does not
propose to revive the African slave
trade, nor to pass a slave
code, nor to make a second Dred Scott
decision, it is preparing
us for the onslaught and charge of these
ultimate enemies when
they shall be ready to come on and the
word of command for
them to advance shall be given. I say
this "Douglas popular
sovereignty" -- for there is a
broad distinction, as I now under-
stand it, between that article and a
genuine popular sovereignty.
I believe there is a genuine popular
sovereignty. I think
a definition of "genuine popular
sovereignty," in the abstract,
would be about this: That each man shall
do precisely as he
pleases with himself, and with all those
things which exclusively
concern him. Applied to government, this
principle would be,
that a general government shall do all
those things which pertain
to it, and all the local governments
shall do precisely as they
please in respect to those matters which
exclusively concern them.
42 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
I understand that this government of the
United States, under
which we live, is based upon this principle; and I am
misunder-
stood if it is supposed that I have any
war to make upon that
principle.
Now, what is Judge Douglas's popular
sovereignty? It is,
as a principle, no other than that, if
one man chooses to make
a slave of another man, neither that
other man nor anybody else
has a right to object. Applied in
government, as he seeks to
apply it, it is this: If, in a new
territory into which a few
people are beginning to enter for the
purpose of making their
homes, they choose to either exclude
slavery from their limits,
or to establish it there, however one or
the other may affect the
persons to be enslaved, or the
infinitely greater number of per-
sons who are afterward to inhabit that
Territory, or the other
members of the families of communities,
of which they are but
an incipient member, of the general head
of the family of States
as parent of all--however their action
may affect one or the
other of these, there is no power or
right to interfere. That is
Douglas's popular sovereignty applied.
He has a good deal of trouble with
popular sovereignty.
His explanations explanatory of explanations
explained are in-
terminable. The most lengthy, and, as I
suppose, the most
maturely considered of his long series
of explanations, is his
great essay in Harper's Magazine. I
will not attempt to enter
on any very thorough investigation of
his argument, as there
made and presented. I will nevertheless
occupy a good portion
of your time here in drawing your
attention to certain points in
it. Such of you as may have read this
document will have per-
ceived that the Judge, early in the
document, quotes from two
persons as belonging to the Republican
party, without naming
them, but who can readily be recognized
as being Governor
Seward of New York and myself. It is
true that exactly fifteen
months ago this day, I believe, I for
the first time expressed a
sentiment upon this subject, and in such
a manner that it should
get into print, that the public might
see it beyond the circle of my
hearers; and my expression of it at that
time is the quotation that
Judge Douglas makes. He has not made the
quotation with ac-
curacy, but justice to him requires me
to say that it is sufficiently
accurate not to change its sense.
The sense of that quotation condensed is
this--that this
slavery element is a durable element of
discord among us, and
that we shall probably not have perfect
peace in this country
with it until it either masters the free
principle in our govern-
ment, or is so far mastered by the free
principle as for the public
mind to rest in the belief that it is
going to its end. This senti-
Lincoln and Ohio 43
ment, which I now express in this way,
was, at no great distance
of time, perhaps in different language, and in
connection with
some collateral ideas, expressed by
Governor Seward. Judge
Douglas has been so much annoyed by the
expression of that
sentiment that he has constantly, I
believe, in almost all his
speeches since it was uttered, been
referring to it. I find he
alluded to it in his speech here, as
well as in the copyright essay.
I do not now enter upon this for the
purpose of making an
elaborate argument to show that we are
right in the expression
of that sentiment. In other words, I
shall not stop to say all
that might properly be said upon this
point; but I only ask your
attention to it for the purpose of
making one or two points
upon it.
If you will read the copyright essay,
you will discover that
Judge Douglas himself says a controversy
between the American
Colonies and the Government of Great
Britain began on the
slavery question in 1699, and continued
from that time until the
Revolution; and, while he did not say
so, we all know that it
has continued with more or less violence
ever since the Revo-
lution.
Then we need not appeal to history, to
the declarations of
the framers of the government, but we
know from Judge Doug-
las himself that slavery began to be an
element of discord among
the white people of this country as far
back as 1699, or one hun-
dred and sixty years ago, or five
generations of men,--count-
ing thirty years to a generation. Now,
it would seem to me that
it might have occurred to Judge Douglas,
or anybody who had
turned his attention to these facts,
that there was something in
the nature of that thing, slavery,
somewhat durable for mischief
and discord.
There is another point I desire to make
in regard to this
matter, before I leave it. From the
adoption of the Constitution
down to 1820 is the precise period of
our history when we had
comparative peace upon this question, --
the precise period of
time when we came nearer to having peace
about it than any
other time of that entire one hundred
and sixty years, in which
he says it began, or of the eighty years
of our own Constitution.
Then it would be worth our while to stop
and examine into the
probable reason of our coming nearer to
having peace then than
at any other time. This was the precise
period of time in which
our fathers adopted, and during which
they followed, a policy
restricting the spread of slavery, and
the whole Union was
acquiescing in it. The whole country
looked forward to the ulti-
mate extinction of the institution. It
was when a policy had
been adopted and was prevailing, which
led all just and right-
44 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
minded men to suppose that
slavery was gradually coming to an
end, and that they might be quiet about
it, watching it as it ex-
pired. I think Judge Douglas might have perceived that
too;
and whether he did or not, it is worth
the attention of fair-
minded men, here and elsewhere, to
consider whether that is not
the truth of the case. If he had looked
at these two facts,--
that this matter has been an element of
discord for one hundred
and sixty years among this people, and
that the only comparative
peace we have had about it was when that
policy prevailed in
this Government, which he now wars upon,
-- he might then,
perhaps, have been brought to a more
just appreciation of what
I said fifteen months ago, -- that
"a house divided against itself
cannot stand. I believe that this
Government cannot endure
permanently half slave and half free. I
do not expect the house
to fall; I do not expect the Union to
dissolve; but I do expect
it will cease to be divided. It will
become all one thing or all
the other. Either the opponents of
slavery will arrest the fur-
ther spread of it, and place it where
the public mind will rest
in the belief that it is in the course
of ultimate extinction, or its
advocates will push it forward, until it
shall become alike lawful
in all the States, old as well as new,
north as well as south."
That was my sentiment at that time. In
connection with it, I
said: "We are now far into the
fifth year since a policy was
inaugurated with the avowed object and
confident promise of
putting an end to slavery agitation.
Under the operation of the
policy that agitation has not only not
ceased, but has constantly
augmented." I now say to you here
that we are advanced still
farther into the sixth year since that
policy of Judge Douglas--
that popular sovereignty of. his, for
quieting the slavery question
-- was made the national policy. Fifteen
months more have been
added since I uttered that sentiment;
and I call upon you and all
other right-minded men to say whether
that fifteen months have
belied or corroborated my words.
While I am here upon this subject, I
cannot but express
gratitude that this true view of this
element of discord among
us -- as I believe it is -- is
attracting more and more attention.
I do not believe that Governor Seward
uttered that sentiment
because I had done so before, but
because he reflected upon this
subject and saw the truth of it. Nor do
I believe, because
Governor Seward or I uttered it, that
Mr. Hickman of Pennsyl-
vania, in different language, since that
time, has declared his
belief in the utter antagonism which
exists between the principles
of liberty and slavery. You see we are
multiplying. Now, while
I am speaking of Hickman, let me say, I
know but little about
him. I have never seen him, and know
scarcely any thing about
Lincoln and Ohio 45
the man; but I will say this much of
him: Of all the anti-
Lecompton Democracy that have been brought to my
notice, he
alone has the true, genuine ring of the
metal. And now, with-
out indorsing any thing else he has
said, I will ask this audience
to give three cheers for Hickman. (The
audience responded
with three rousing cheers for Hickman.)
Another point in the copyright essay to
which I would ask
your attention is rather a feature to be
extracted from the whole
thing, than from any express declaration
of it at any point. It
is a general feature of that document,
and, indeed, of all of
Judge Douglas's discussion of this
question, that the Territories
of the United States and the States of
this Union are exactly
alike -- that there is no difference
between them at all -- that
the Constitution applies to the
Territories precisely as it does
to the States -- and that the United
States Government, under
the Constitution, may not do in a State
what it may not do in a
Territory, and what it must do in a
State it must do in a Ter-
ritory. Gentlemen, is that a true.view
of the case? It is neces-
sary for this squatter sovereignty, but
is it true?
Let us consider. What does it depend
upon? It depends
altogether upon the proposition that the
States must, without
the interference of the General
Government, do all those things
that pertain exclusively to
themselves, -- that are local in their
nature, that have no connection with the
General Government.
After Judge Douglas had established this
proposition, which
nobody disputes or ever has disputed, he
proceeds to assume,
without proving it, that slavery is one
of those little, unimportant,
trivial matters which are of just about
as much consequence as
the question would be to me, whether my
neighbor should raise
horned cattle or plant tobacco; that
there is no moral question
about it, but that it is altogether a
matter of dollars and cents;
that when a new Territory is opened for
settlement, the first
man who goes into it may plant there a
thing which, like the
Canada thistle or some other of those
pests of the soil, cannot
be dug out by the millions of men who
will come thereafter;
that it is one of those little things
that is so trivial in its nature
that it has no effect upon anybody save
the few men who first
plant upon the soil; that it is not a
thing which in any way affects
the family of communities composing
these States, nor any way
endangers the General Government. Judge
Douglas ignores al-
together the very well known fact that
we have never had a
serious menace to our political
existence, except it sprang from
this thing, which he chooses to regard
as only upon a par with
onions and potatoes.
Turn it, and contemplate it in another
view. He says, that
46 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
according to his popular sovereignty,
the General Government
may give to the Territories governors,
judges, marshals, secre-
taries, and all the other chief men to govern them, but
they must
not touch upon this other question. Why?
The question of who
shall be governor of a Territory for a
year or two, and pass
away, without his track being left upon
the soil, or an act which
he did for good or for evil being left
behind, is a question of
vast national magnitude. It is so much
opposed in its nature to
locality, that the Nation itself must
decide it; while this other
matter of planting slavery upon a soil
-- a thing which once
planted cannot be eradicated by the
succeeding millions who have
as much right there as the first comers,
or if eradicated, not
without infinite difficulty and a long
struggle -- he considers the
power to prohibit it, as one of these
little, local, trivial things
that the Nation ought not to say a word
about; that it affects
nobody save the few men who are there.
Take these two things and consider them
together, present
the question of planting a State with
the institution of slavery
by the side of a question of who shall
be Governor of Kansas
for a year or two, and is there a man
here, -- is there a man
on earth, who would not say the governor
question is the little
one, and the slavery question is the
great one? I ask any honest
Democrat if the small, the local, and
the trivial and temporary
question is not, who shall be governor?
While the durable, the
important and the mischievous one is,
Shall this soil be planted
with slavery?
This is an idea, I suppose, which has
arisen in Judge
Douglas's mind from his peculiar
structure. I suppose the in-
stitution of slavery really looks small
to him. He is so put up
by nature that a lash upon his back
would hurt him, but a lash
upon anybody else's back does not hurt
him. That is the build
of the man, and consequently he looks
upon the matter of slavery
in this unimportant light.
Judge Douglas ought to remember, when he
is endeavoring
to force this policy upon the American
people, that while he is
put up in that way a good many are not.
He ought to remember
that there was once in this country a
man by the name of Thomas
Jefferson, supposed to be a Democrat -- a
man whose principles
and policies are not very prevalent
amongst Democrats today,
it is true; but that man did not take
exactly this view of the
insignificance of the element of slavery
which our friend Judge
Douglas does. In contemplation of this
thing, we all know he
was led to exclaim "I tremble for
my country when I remember
that God is just!" We know how he
looked upon it when he
thus expressed himself. There was danger
to this country --
Lincoln and Ohio 47
danger of the avenging justice of God in
that little unimportant
Popular Sovereignty question of Judge
Douglas. He supposed
there was a question of God's eternal
justice wrapped up in the
enslaving of any race of men, or any
man, and that those who
did so braved the arm of Jehovah -- that
when a nation thus
dared the Almighty, every friend of that
nation had cause to
dread his wrath. Choose ye between
Jefferson and Douglas as
to what is the true view of this element
among us.
There is another little difficulty about
this matter of treating
the Territories and States alike in all
things, to which I ask your
attention, and I shall leave this branch
of the case. If there
is no difference between them, why not
make the Territories
States at once? What is the reason that
Kansas was not fit to
come into the Union when it was organized into a
Territory, in
Judge Douglas's view? Can any of you
tell any reason why it
should not have come into the Union at
once? They are fit,
as he thinks, to decide upon the slavery
question -- the largest
and most important with which they could
possibly deal -- what
could they do by coming into the Union
that they are not fit
to do, according to his view, by staying
out of it? Oh, they are
not fit to sit in Congress and decide
upon the rates of postage,
or questions of ad valorem or specific
duties on foreign goods,
or live oak timber contracts; they are
not fit to decide these
vastly important matters, which are
national in their import,
but they are fit "from the
jump" to decide this little negro ques-
tion. But, gentlemen, the case is too
plain; I occupy too much
time on this head, and I pass on.
Near the close of the copyright essay,
the Judge, I think,
comes very near kicking his own fat into
the fire. I did not
think, when I commenced these remarks,
that I would read from
that article, but I now believe I will:
This exposition of the history of these
measures, shows conclusively
that the authors of the Compromise
Measure of 1850 and of the Kansas-
Nebraska Act of 1854, as well as the
members of the Continental Congress
of 1774, and the founders of our system
of government subsequent to the
Revolution, regarded the people of the
Territories and Colonies as political
communities which were entitled to a
free and exclusive power of legis-
lation in their provisional
legislatures, where their representation could
alone be preserved, in all cases of
taxation and internal polity.
When the Judge saw that putting in the
word "slavery"
would contradict his own history, he put
in what he knew would
pass as synonymous with it:
"internal polity." Whenever
we
find that in one of his speeches,
the substitute is used in this
manner: and I can tell you the reason.
It would be too bald a
contradiction to say slavery; but
"internal polity" is a general
48 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
phase, which would pass in some
quarters, and which he hopes
will pass with the reading community for
the same thing:
"This right pertains to the people
collectively, as a law-
abiding and peaceful community, and not
in the isolated individ-
uals who may wander upon the public
domain in violation of
the law. It can only be exercised where
there are inhabitants
sufficient to constitute a government,
and capable of performing
its various functions and duties, a fact
to be ascertained and
determined by" -- who do you think?
Judge Douglas says,
"By Congress!"
"Whether the number shall be fixed
at ten, fifteen or twenty
thousand inhabitants, does not affect
the principle."
Now I have only a few comments to make.
Popular Sov-
ereignty, by his own words, does not
pertain to the few persons
who wander upon the public domain in
violation of law. We
have his words for that. When it does
pertain to them, is when
they are sufficient to be formed into an
organized political com-
munity, and he fixes the minimum for
that at 10,000, and the
maximum at 20,000. Now, I would like to
know what is to
be done with the 9,000? Are they all to
be treated, until they
are large enough to be organized into a
political community, as
wanderers upon the public land in
violation of law? And if so
treated and driven out, at what point of
time would there ever
be ten thousand? If they were not driven
out, but remained
there as trespassers upon the public
land in violation of the law,
can they establish slavery there? No, --
the Judge says popular
sovereignty don't pertain to them then.
Can they exclude it
then? No, popular sovereignty don't
pertain to them then. I
would like to know, in the case covered
by the essay, what con-
dition the people of the Territory are
in before they reach the
number of ten thousand?
But the main point I wish to ask
attention to is, that the
question as to when they shall have
reached a sufficient number
to be formed into a regular organized
community is to be de-
cided "by Congress." Judge
Douglas says so. Well, gentlemen,
that is about all we want. No, that is
all the Southerners want.
That is what all those who are for
slavery want. They do not
want Congress to prohibit slavery from
coming into the new
Territories, and they do not want
popular sovereignty to hinder
it; and as Congress is to say when they
are ready to be organized,
all that the South has to do is to get
Congress to hold off. Let
Congress hold off until they are ready
to be admitted as a State,
and the South has all it wants in taking slavery into
and planting
it in all the Territories that we now
have, or hereafter may have.
In a word, the whole thing, at a dash of
the pen, is at last put
Lincoln and Ohio 49
in the power of Congress; for if they do
not have this popular
sovereignty until Congress organizes
them, I ask if it at last does
not come from Congress. If, at last, it
amounts to anything at
all, Congress gives it to them. I submit
this rather for your re-
flection than for comment. After all
that is said, at last by the
dash of a pen, everything that has gone
before is undone, and he
puts the whole thing under the control
of Congress. After
fighting through more than three hours,
if you undertake to read
it, he at last places the whole matter
under the control of that
power which he had been contending
against, and arrives at a
result directly contrary to what he had
been laboring to do.
He at last leaves the whole matter to
the control of Congress.
There are two main objects, as I
understand it, of this
Harper's Magazine essay. One was to show, if possible, that
the men of our revolutionary times were
in favor of his popular
sovereignty; and the other was to show
that the Dred Scott de-
cision had not entirely squelched out
this popular sovereignty. I
do not propose, in regard to this
argument drawn from the
history of former times, to enter into a
detailed examination
of the historical statements he has
made. I have the impression
that they are inaccurate in a great many
instances, -- sometimes
in positive statement, but very much
more inaccurate by the sup-
pression of statements that really
belong to the history. But I
do not propose to affirm that this is so
to any very great extent;
or to enter into a very minute
examination of his historical state-
ments. I avoid doing so upon this
principle -- that if it were
important for me to pass out of this lot
in the least period of
time possible, and I came to that fence
and saw by a calculation
of my known strength and agility that I
could clear it at a bound,
it would be folly for me to stop and
consider whether I could
or not crawl through a crack. So I say
of the whole history,
contained in his essay, where he
endeavored to link the men of
the Revolution to popular sovereignty.
It only requires an effort
to leap out of it -- a single bound to
be entirely successful. If
you read it over you will find that he
quotes here and there from
documents of the revolutionary times,
tending to show that the
people of the colonies were desirous of
regulating their own con-
cerns in their own way, that the British
Government should not
interfere; that at one time they
struggled with the British Gov-
ernment to be permitted to exclude the
African slave trade; if
not directly, to be permitted to exclude
it indirectly by taxation
sufficient to discourage and destroy it.
From these and many
things of this sort, Judge Douglas
argues that they were in favor
of the people of our own Territories
excluding slavery if they
wanted to, or planting it there if they
wanted to, doing just as
Vol. XXXII--4.
50 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
they pleased from the time they settled
upon the Territory. Now,
however, his history may apply, and
whatever of his argument
there may be that is sound and accurate
or unsound and inac-
curate, if we can find out what these
men did themselves do upon
this very question of slavery in the
Territories, does it not end
the whole thing? If, after all this
labor and effort to show that
the men of the Revolution were in favor
of his popular sov-
ereignty and his mode of dealing with
slavery in the Territories,
we can show that these very men took
hold of that subject, and
dealt with it, we can see for ourselves,
how they dealt with it.
It is not a matter of argument or
inference, but we know what
they thought about it.
It is precisely upon that part of the
history of the country
that one important omission is made by
Judge Douglas. He
selects parts of the history of the
United States upon the subject
of slavery, and treats it as the whole,
omitting from his historical
sketch the legislation of Congress in
regard to the admission of
Missouri, by which the Missouri
Compromise was established
and slavery excluded from a country half
as large as the present
United States. All this is left out of
his history, and in nowise
alluded to by him, so far as I can
remember, save once, when he
makes a remark, that upon his principle
the Supreme Court was
authorized to pronounce a decision that
the act called the Mis-
souri Compromise was unconstitutional.
All that history has
been left out. But this part of the
history of the country was
not made by the men of the Revolution.
There was another part of our political
history, made by
the very men who were the actors in the
Revolution, which has
taken the name of the Ordinance of '87.
Let me bring that
history to your attention. In 1784, I
believe, this same Mr.
Jefferson drew up an ordinance for the
government of the coun-
try upon which we now stand; or, rather,
a frame or draft of an
ordinance for the government of this
country, here in Ohio, our
neighbors in Indiana, us who live in
Illinois, our neighbors in
Wisconsin and Michigan. In that
ordinance, drawn up not only
for the government of that Territory,
but for the Territories
south of the Ohio River, Mr. Jefferson
expressly provided for
the prohibition of slavery. Judge
Douglas says, and perhaps is
right, that that provision was lost from
that ordinance. I believe
that is true. When the vote was taken
upon it, a majority of all
present in the Congress of the
Confederation voted for it; but
there were so many absentees that those
voting for it did not
make the clear majority necessary, and
it was lost. But three
years after that, the Congress of the
Confederation were to-
gether again, and they adopted a new
ordinance for the govern-
Lincoln and Ohio 51
ment of this Northwest Territory, not
contemplating territory
south of the river, for the States
owning that territory had
hitherto refrained from giving it to the
General Government;
hence they made the ordinance to apply only to what the
Govern-
ment owned. In fact, the provision
excluding slavery was in-
serted and passed unanimously, or at any rate it passed and
became a part of the law of the land.
Under the ordinance we
live. First here in Ohio you were a
Territory; then an enabling
act was passed, authorizing you to form
a Constitution and State
Government, provided it was republican
and not in conflict
with the Ordinance of '87.
When you framed your constitution and
presented it for
admission, I think you will find the
legislation upon the subject
will show that, whereas you had formed a
constitution that was
republican, and not in conflict with the
Ordinance of '87, there-
fore, you were admitted upon equal
footing with the original
States. The same process in a few years
was gone through with
in Indiana, and so with Illinois, and
the same substantially with
Michigan and Wisconsin.
Not only did that Ordinance prevail, but
it was constantly
looked to whenever a step was taken by a
new Territory to be-
come a State. Congress always turned
their attention to it, and in
all their movements upon this subject
they traced their course by
that Ordinance of '87. When they
admitted new States, they
advised them of this Ordinance, as a
part of the legislation
of the country. They did so because they
had traced the
Ordinance of '87 throughout the history
of this country. Begin
with the men of the Revolution, and go
down for sixty entire
years, and until the last scrap of that
Territory comes into the
Union in the form of the State of
Wisconsin -- everything was
made to conform with the Ordinance of
'87, excluding slavery
from that vast extent of country.
I omitted to mention in the right place
that the Constitution
of the United States was in process of
being framed when that
Ordinance was made by the Congress of
the Confederation; and
one of the first acts of Congress
itself, under the new Constitution
itself, was to give force to that
Ordinance by putting power to
carry it out in the hands of the new
officers under the Constitu-
tion, in the place of the old ones, who
had been legislated out of
existence by the change in the
government from the Confedera-
tion to the Constitution. Not only so,
but I believe Indiana
once or twice, if not Ohio, petitioned
the General Government
for the privilege of suspending that
provision and allowing them
to have slaves. A report made by Mr.
Randolph, of Virginia,
himself a slaveholder, was directly
against it, and the action
52 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
was to refuse them the privilege of
violating the Ordinance
of '87.
This period of history, which I have run
over briefly, is, I
presume, as familiar to most of this
assembly as any other part
of the history of our country. I suppose
that few of my hearers
are not as familiar with that part of
history as I am, and I only
mention it to recall your attention to
it at this time. And hence
I ask how extraordinary a thing it is
that a man who has oc-
cupied a position upon the floor of the
Senate of the United
States, who is now in his third term,
and who looks to see the
government of this whole country fall
into his own hands, pre-
tending to give a truthful and accurate
history of the slavery
question in this country, should so
entirely ignore the whole of
that portion of our history -- the most
important of all. Is it
not a most extraordinary spectacle that
a man should stand up
and ask for any confidence in his
statements, who sets out as he
does with portions of history, calling
upon the people to believe
that it is a true and fair
representation, when the leading part
and controlling feature of the whole
history is carefully sup-
pressed?
But the mere leaving out is not the most
remarkable feature
of this most remarkable essay. His
proposition is to establish
that the leading men of the Revolution
were for his great prin-
ciple of non-intervention by the
government in the question of
slavery in the Territories; while
history shows that they decided,
in the cases actually brought before
them, in exactly the con-
trary way, and he knows it. Not only did
they so decide at that
time, but they stuck to it during sixty years, through
thick and
thin, as long as there was one of the
Revolutionary heroes upon
the stage of political action. Through
their whole course, from
first to last, they clung to freedom.
And now he asks the com-
munity to believe that the men of the
Revolution were in favor
of his great principle, when we have the
naked history that they
themselves dealt with this very
subject-matter of his principle,
and utterly repudiated his principle,
acting upon a precisely con-
trary ground. It is as impudent and
absurd as if a prosecuting
attorney should stand up before a jury
and ask them to convict
A as the murderer of B, while B was
walking alive before them.
I say again, if Judge Douglas asserts
that the men of the
Revolution acted upon principles by
which, to be consistent with
themselves, they ought to have adopted
his popular sovereignty,
then, upon a consideration of his own
argument, he had a right
to make you believe that they understood
the principles of gov-
ernment, but misapplied them -- that he
has arisen to enlighten
the world as to the just application of
this principle. He has
Lincoln and Ohio 53
a right to try to persuade you that he
understands their principles
better than they did, and, therefore, he
will apply them now,
not as they did, but as they ought to
have done. He has a right
to go before the community and try to
convince them of this;
but he has no right to attempt to impose
upon any one the belief
that these men themselves approved of
his great principle. There
are two ways of establishing a
proposition. One is by trying to
demonstrate it upon reason; and the other is, to show
that great
men in former times have thought so and
so, and thus to pass
it by the weight of pure authority. Now,
if Judge Douglas will
demonstrate somehow that this is popular
sovereignty -- the right
of one man to make a slave of another,
without any right in that
other, or any one else to object -- demonstrate
it as Euclid
demonstrated propositions -- there is no
objection. But when it
comes forward, seeking to carry a
principle by bringing to it the
authority of men who themselves utterly
repudiate that prin-
ciple, I ask that he shall not be
permitted to do it.
I see, in the Judge's speech here, a
short sentence in these
words: "Our fathers, when they
formed this government under
which we live, understood this question
just as well and even
better than we do now." That is
true; I stick to that. I will
stand by Judge Douglas in that to the
bitter end. And now,
Judge Douglas, come and stand by me, and
truthfully show how
they acted, understanding it better than
we do. All I ask of you,
Judge Douglas, is to stick to the
proposition that the men of the
Revolution understood this subject
better than we do now, and
with that better understanding they
acted better than you are
trying to act now.
I wish to say something now in regard to
the Dred Scott
decision, as dealt with by Judge
Douglas. In that "memorable
debate" between Judge Douglas and
myself, last year, the Judge
thought fit to commence a process of
catechising me, and at
Freeport I answered his questions, and
propounded some to him.
Among others propounded to him was one
that I have here now.
The substance, as I remember it, is,
"Can the people of a United
States Territory, under the Dred Scott
decision, in any lawful
way, against the wish of any citizen of
the United States, ex-
clude slavery from its limits, prior to
the formation of a State
Constitution?" He answered that
they could lawfully exclude
slavery from the United States
Territories, notwithstanding the
Dred Scott decision. There was something
about that answer
that has probably been a trouble to the
Judge ever since.
The Dred Scott decision expressly gives
every citizen of
the United States a right to carry his slaves into the
United
States Territories. And now there was
some inconsistency in
54 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
saying that the decision was right, and
saying, too, that the
people of the Territory could lawfully
drive slavery out again.
When all the trash, the words, the
collateral matter, was cleared
away from it -- all the chaff was fanned
out of it, it was a
bare absurdity -- no less than that a
thing may be lawfully
driven away from where it has a
lawful right to be. Clear it of
all the verbiage, and that is the naked
truth of his proposition
-- that a thing may be lawfully driven from the place
where
it has a lawful right to stay. Well, it
was because the Judge
couldn't help seeing this that he has
had so much trouble with it;
and what I want to ask your especial
attention, just now, is to
remind you, if you have not noticed the
fact, that the Judge
does not any longer say that the people
can exclude slavery.
He does not say so in the copyright
essay; he did not say so in
the speech that he made here; and, so
far as I know, since his
re-election to the Senate, he has never
said, as he did at Free-
port, that the people of the Territories
can exclude slavery. He
desires that you, who wish the
Territories to remain free, should
believe that he stands by that position,
but he does not say it
himself. He escapes to some extent the
absurd position I have
stated by changing his language
entirely. What he says now is
something different in language, and we
will consider whether
it is not different in sense too. It is
now that the Dred Scott
decision, or rather the Constitution
under that decision, does
not carry slavery into the Territories
beyond the power of the
people of the Territories to control
it as other property. He
does not say the people can drive it
out, but they can control it
as other property. The language is
different; we should con-
sider whether the sense is different.
Driving a horse out of this
lot is too plain a proposition to be
mistaken about; it is putting
him on the other side of the fence. Or
it might be a sort of
exclusion of him from the lot if you
were to kill him and let the
worms devour him; but neither of these
things is the same as
"controlling him as other
property." That would be to feed
him, to pamper him, to ride him, to use
and abuse him, to make
the most money out of him "as other
property;" but, please you,
what do the men who are in favor of
slavery want more than
this? What do they really want, other
than that slavery, being
in the Territories, shall be controlled
as other property?
If they want any thing else, I do not
comprehend it. I ask
your attention to this, first, for the
purpose of pointing out the
change of ground the Judge has made;
and, in the second place,
the importance of the change -- that
that change is not such as
to give you gentlemen who want his
popular sovereignty the
power to exclude the institution or
drive it out at all. I know
Lincoln and Ohio
55
the Judge sometimes squints at the
argument that in controlling
it as other property by unfriendly
legislation they may control
it to death, as you might in the case of
a horse, perhaps, feed
him so lightly and ride him so much that
he would die. But
when you come to legislative control,
there is something more
to be attended to. I have no doubt,
myself, that if the Ter-
ritories should undertake to control
slave property as other
property -- that is, control it in such
a way that it would be the
most valuable as property, and make it
bear its just proportion
in the way of burdens as property --
really deal with it as
Property -- the Supreme Court of the
United States will say,
"God speed you and amen." But
I undertake to give the opin-
ion, at least, that if the Territories
attempt by any direct legis-
lation to drive the man with his slave
out of the Territory, or to
decide his slave is free because of his
being taken there, or to tax
him to such an extent that he cannot
keep him there, the Su-
preme Court will unhesitatingly decide
all. such legislation un-
constitutional, as long as that Supreme
Court is constructed as
the Dred Scott Supreme Court is. The
first two things they
have already decided, except there is a
little quibble among the
lawyers between the words dicta and
decision. They have al-
ready decided a negro cannot be made
free by territorial legis-
lation.
What is that Dred Scott decision? Judge
Douglas labors
to show that it is one thing, while I
think it is altogether differ-
ent. It is a long opinion, but it is all
embodied in this short
statement. "The Constitution of the
United States forbids Con-
gress to deprive a man of his property,
without due process of
law; the right of property in slaves is
distinctly and expressly
affirmed in that Constitution; therefore
if Congress shall under-
take to say that a man's slave is no
longer his slave, when he
crosses a certain line into a Territory,
that is depriving him
of his property without due process of
law, and is unconstitu-
tional." There is the whole Dred Scott decision. They add
that if Congress cannot do so, itself,
Congress cannot confer
any power to do so; and hence any effort by the
Territorial
Legislature to do either of these things
is absolutely decided
against. It is a foregone conclusion by that court.
Now as to this indirect mode by
"unfriendly legislation,"
all lawyers here will readily understand
that such a proposition
cannot be tolerated for a moment,
because a legislature cannot
indirectly do that which it cannot
accomplish directly. Then I
say any legislation to control this
property, as property, for its
benefit as property, would be hailed by
this Dred Scott Supreme
Court, and fully sustained; but any legislation driving
slave
56 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
property out, or destroying it as
property, directly or indirectly,
will most assuredly, by that court, be held
unconstitutional.
Judge Douglas says if the Constitution
carries slavery into
the Territories, beyond the power of the
people of the Territories
to control it as other property, then it
follows logically that every
one who swears to support the
Constitution of the United States
must give that support to that property
which it needs. And,
if the Constitution carries slavery into
the Territories, beyond
the power of the people to control it as
other property, then
it also carries it into the States,
because the Constitution is the
supreme law of the land. Now, gentlemen,
if it were not for my
excessive modesty, I would say that I
told that very thing to
Judge Douglas quite a year ago. This
argument is here in print,
and if it were not for my modesty, as I
said, I might call your
attention to it. If you read it, you
will find that I not only
made that argument, but made it better
than he has made it since.
There is, however, this difference. I say now, and said
then, there is no sort of question that
the Supreme Court has
decided that it is the right of the
slaveholder to take his slave
and hold him in the Territory; and
saying this, Judge Douglas
himself admits the conclusion. He says
if that is so, this con-
sequence will follow; and because this
consequence would fol-
low, his argument is, the decision
cannot, therefore, be that way
-- "that would spoil my popular
sovereignty, and it cannot be
possible that this great principle has
been squelched out in this
extraordinary way. It might be, it might
be if it were not for
the extraordinary consequences of
spoiling my humbug."
Another feature of the Judge's argument
about the Dred
Scott case is, an effort to show that
that decision deals altogether
in declarations of negatives; that the
Constitution does not
affirm anything as expounded by the Dred
Scott decision, but it
only declares a want of power -- a total
absence of power, in
reference to the Territories. It seems
to be his purpose to make
the whole of that decision to result in
a mere negative declara-
tion of a want of power in Congress to
do anything in relation
to this matter in the Territories. I
know the opinion of the
judges states that there is a total
absence of power; but that is,
unfortunately, not all it states; for
the judges add that the right
of property in a slave is distinctly and
expressly affirmed in the
Constitution. It does not stop at saying
that the right of prop-
erty in a slave is recognized in the
Constitution, is declared to
exist somewhere in the Constitution, but
says it is affirmed in
the Constitution. Its language is
equivalent to saying that it is
embodied and so woven into that
instrument that it cannot be
detached withoue breaking the
Constitution itself. In a word,
it is a part of the Constitution.
Lincoln and Ohio 57
Douglas is singularly unfortunate in his
effort to make out
that decision to be altogether negative, when the
express language
at the vital part is that this is
distinctly affirmed in the Con-
stitution. I think myself, and I repeat
it here, that this decision
does not merely carry slavery into the Territories, but
by its
logical conclusion it carries it into
the States in which we live.
One provision of that Constitution is,
that it shall be the su-
preme law of the land -- I do not quote
the language -- any
Constitution or law of any State to the
contrary notwithstand-
ing. This Dred Scott decision says that
the right of property
in a slave is affirmed in that
Constitution, which is the supreme
law of the land, any State constitution
or law notwithstanding.
Then I say that to destroy a thing which
is distinctly affirmed
and supported by the supreme law of the
land, even by a State
constitution or law, is a violation of
that supreme law, and there
is no escape from it. In my judgment
there is no avoiding that
result, save that the American people
shall see that constitutions
are better construed than our
Constitution is construed in that
decision. They must take care that it is
more faithfully and
truly carried out than it is there
expounded.
I must hasten to a conclusion. Near the
beginning of my
remarks, I said that this insidious
Douglas popular sovereignty
is the measure that now threatens the
purpose of the Republican
party to prevent slavery from being
nationalized in the United
States. I propose to ask your attention
for a little while to
some propositions in affirmance of that
statement. Take it just
as it stands, and apply it as a
principle; extend and apply
that principle elsewhere and consider
where it will lead you. I
now put this proposition, that Judge
Douglas's popular sov-
ereignty applied will reopen the African
slave trade; and I will
demonstrate it by any variety of ways in
which you can turn
the subject or look at it.
The Judge says that the people of the
Territories have the
right, by his principle, to have slaves,
if they want them. Then
I say that the people in Georgia have
the right to buy slaves in
Africa, if they want them; and I deny
any man on earth to
show any distinction between the two
things, -- to show that the
one is either more wicked or more
unlawful; to show, on
original principles, that one is better
or worse than the other;
or to show, by the Constitution, that
one differs a whit from the
other. He will tell me, doubtless, that
there is no constitutional
provision against people taking slaves
into the new Territories,
and I tell him that there is equally no
constitutional provision
against buying slaves in Africa. He will
tell you that a people,
in the exercise of popular sovereignty,
ought to do as they please
58 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
about that thing, and have slaves if
they want them; and I tell
you that the people of Georgia are as
much entitled to popular
sovereignty and to buy slaves in Africa,
if they want them, as
the people of the Territory are to have
slaves if they want them.
I ask any man, dealing honestly with
himself, to point out a
distinction.
I have recently seen a letter of Judge
Douglas's in which
without stating that to be the object,
he doubtless endeavors
to make a distinction between the two.
He says he is unalterably
opposed to the repeal of the laws
against the African slave
trade. And why? He then seeks to give a
reason that would
not apply to his popular sovereignty in
the Territories. What
is that reason? "The abolition of
the African slave trade is a
compromise of the Constitution!" I
deny it. There is no truth
in the proposition that the abolition of
the African slave trade
is a compromise of the Constitution. No
man can put his finger
on any thing in the Constitution, or on
the line of history, which
shows it. It is a mere barren assertion,
made simply for the
purpose of getting up a distinction
between the revival of the
African slave trade and his "great
principle."
At the time the Constitution of the
United States was
adopted it was expected that the slave
trade would be abolished.
I should assert, and insist upon that,
if Judge Douglas denied
it. But I know that it was equally
expected that slavery would
be excluded from the from the
Territories, and I can show by
history, that in regard to these two
things, public opinion was
exactly alike, while in regard to
positive action, there was more
done in the Ordinance of '87 to resist
the spread of slavery than
was ever done to abolish the foreign
slave trade. Lest I be
misunderstood, I say again that at the
time of the formation of
the Constitution, public expectation was
that the slave trade
would be abolished, but no more so than
the spread of slavery
in the Territories should be restrained.
They stand alike, ex-
cept that in the Ordinance of '87 there
was a mark left by public
opinion, showing that it was more
committed against the spread
of slavery in the Territories than
against the foreign slave trade.
Compromise! What word of compromise was
there about
it? Why, the public sense was then in
favor of the abolition of
the slave-trade; but there was at the
time a very great commer-
cial interest involved in it and
extensive capital in that branch
of trade. There were doubtless the
incipient stages of improve-
ment in the South in the way of farming,
dependent on the
slave trade, and they made a proposition
to Congress to abolish
the trade after allowing it twenty years, -- a
sufficient time for
Lincoln and Ohio 59
the capital and commerce engaged in it
to be transferred to other
channels. They made no provision that it
should be abolished
in twenty years; I do not doubt they expected it would
be; but
they made no bargain about it. The
public sentiment left no
doubt in the minds of any that it would
be done away. I repeat,
there is nothing in the history of those
times in favor of that
matter being a compromise of the
Constitution. It was the pub-
lic expectation at the time, manifested
in a thousand ways, that
the spread of slavery should also be
restricted.
Then I say, if this principle is
established, that there is no
wrong in slavery, and whoever wants it
has a right to have it;
that it is a matter of dollars and
cents, a sort of question as to
how they shall deal with brutes; that
between us and the negro
here there is no sort of question, but
that at the South the ques-
tion is between the negro and the
crocodile. That is all. It is a
mere matter of policy; there is a
perfect right, according to
interest, to do just as you please --
when this is done, when this
doctrine prevails, the miners and
sappers will have formed pub-
lic opinion for the slave trade. They
will be ready for Jeff.
Davis and Stephens and other leaders of
that company, to sound
the bugle for the revival of the slave
trade, for the second Dred
Scott decision, for the flood of slavery
to be poured over the
free States, while we shall be here tied
down and helpless and
run over like sheep.
It is to be a part and parcel of this
same idea, to say to men
who want to adhere to the Democratic
party, who have always
belonged to that party, and are only
looking about for some ex-
cuse to stick to it, but nevertheless
hate slavery, that Douglas's
popular sovereignty is as good a way as
any to oppose slavery.
They allow themselves to be persuaded
easily, in accordance
with their previous dispositions, into
this belief, that it is about
as good a way of opposing slavery as
any, and we can do that
without straining our old party ties or
breaking up old political
associations. We can do so without being
called negro wor-
shipers. We can do that without being
subjected to the jibes
and sneers that are so readily thrown
out in place of argument
where no argument can be found. So let
us stick to this popular
sovereignty -- this insidious popular
sovereignty. Now let me
call your attention to one thing that
has really happened, which
shows this gradual and steady debauching
of public opinion, this
course of preparation for the revival of
the slave trade, for the
territorial slave code, and the new Dred
Scott decision that is
to carry slavery into the free states.
Did you ever, five years
ago, hear of anybody in the world saying that the negro
had no
share in the Declaration of National
Independence; that it did
60 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
not mean negroes at all; and when
"all men" were spoken of
negroes were not included?
I am satisfied that five years ago that
proposition was not
put upon paper by any living being anywhere. I have
been un-
able at any time to find a man in any
audience who would
declare that he had ever known of
anybody saying so five years
ago. But last year there was not a
Douglas popular sovereign in
Illinois who did not say it. Is there
one in Ohio but declares
his firm belief that the Declaration of
Independence did not
mean negroes at all? I do not know how
this is; I have not
been here much; but I presume you are
very much alike every-
where. Then I suppose that all now
express the belief that the
Declaration of Independence never did
mean negroes. I call
upon one of them to say that he said it
five years ago.
If you think that now, and did not think
it then, the next
thing that strikes me is to remark that
there has been a change
wrought in you, and a very significant
change it is, being no less
than changing the negro, in your
estimation, from the rank of
a man to that of a brute. They are
taking him down and placing
him, when spoken of, among reptiles and
crocodiles, as Judge
Douglas himself expresses it.
Is not this change wrought in your minds
a very important
change? Public opinion in this country
is every thing. In a
nation like ours, this popular
sovereignty and squatter sov-
ereignty have already brought a change
in the public mind to the
extent I have stated. There is no man in
this crowd who can
contradict it.
Now, if you are opposed to slavery
honestly, as much as
anybody, I ask you to note that fact,
and the like of which is to
follow, to be plastered on, layer after
layer, until very soon you
are prepared to deal with the negro
everywhere as with the brute.
If public sentiment has not been
debauched already to this point,
a new turn of the screw in that directio
is all that is wanting;
and this is constantly being done by the
teachers of this in-
sidious popular sovereignty. You need
but one or two turns
further until your minds, now ripening
under these teachings,
will be ready for all these things, and
you will receive and sup-
port, or submit to, the slave trade,
revived with all its horrors,
a slave code enforced in our
Territories, and a new Dred Scott
decision to bring slavery up into the
very heart of the free
North. This, I must say, is but carrying
out those words pro-
phetically spoken by Mr. Clay, many,
many years ago -- I be-
lieve more than thirty years -- when he
told an audience that if
they would repress all tendencies to
liberty and ultimate emanci-
pation, they must go back to the era of
our independence and
Lincoln and Ohio 61 muzzle the cannon which thundered its annual joyous
return on the Fourth of July; they must blow out the moral
lights around us; they must penetrate the human soul and
eradicate the love of liberty; but until they did these things,
and others eloquently enumerated by him, they could not repress
all ten- dencies to ultimate emancipation. I ask attention to the fact that in a pre-eminent
degree these popular sovereigns are at this work; blowing out the
moral lights around us; teaching that the negro is no
longer a man but a brute; that the Declaration has nothing to do with
him; that he ranks with the crocodile and the reptile; that
man, with body and soul, is a matter of dollars and cents. I suggest
to this portion of the Ohio Republicans, or Democrats, if
there be any present, the serious consideration of this fact, that
there is now going on among you a steady process of debauching
public opinion on this subject. With this, my friends, I bid
you adieu. The next morning the opposing newspapers gave their readers the following reports of the meeting: |
SPEECH OF MR. LINCOLN OF ILLINOIS (Ohio State Journal) We give this morning a full re- port of the speech of Mr. Lincoln, yesterday. It
was made on the eastern terrace of the State House, the same place where Douglas made his; but, Mr. Lincoln being in the hands of friends, who wished to hear instead of suppress him, the arrangement was different. Instead of being partially extinguished with a brown sheeting canopy, and sur- rounded with half a dozen benches on which a score or two of men standing could hide him from the audience, and then being pitted against the immense stone wall of the State House, as Douglas was, Mr. Lincoln
occupied a stand placed against the State House, and was easily heard all over the ter- race.
Yesterday being the great day of the county fair that per- formance prevented so large an audience as would have otherwise attended. It is unnecessary for us to com- ment on the speech, as no one who |
ABE LINCOLN IN COLUMBUS (Ohio Statesman) The Young Men's Republican Club must have been mortified at the very meagre audience in at- tendance at the Lincoln meeting held yesterday afternoon on the eastern terrace of the State House. The Douglas meeting on Wednes- day week at the same place could well have spared a number of men equal to that which heard Lincoln on yesterday, and not missed them from the assemblage. The meeting was indeed a "beggarly account of empty boxes," and the speaker dis- appointed all who heard him. We should be content to have Mr. Lin- coln speak on the eastern terrace every day from this time until the election. He is not an orator. He can hardly be classed as a third rate debater. The most of his time was taken up in what he supposed to be a review of Douglas' Popular Sov- ereignty doctrine, and the article in Harper's on that subject. He is opposed to the principle of leaving to the people of the territories the right to mould their institutions |
62
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications |
has the opportunity will omit to read it. Mr. Lincoln was enthusi- astically received, and held the at- tention of the audience for two hours, his clear and irresistible points eliciting frequent marks of approbation. The reception of the speech exhibited a marked contrast to that of Douglas, in which, whether the audience were nearly all republicans, or whether Ohio democracy is not Douglasism, the audience
absolutely declined to cheer, and every solicitation re- sulted in a mortifying failure. The two Illinois champions are in them- selves fair illustrations of the fea- tures of democracy and republican- ism; Lincoln candid, logical and clear-headed, planting himself on principles that no one can contro- vert and winning the entire confi- dence of the audience; Douglas aiming at nothing higher than a political dodge; words which talk of principle to cover up a fraud; his highest ambition to show the cunning of the trick, and the great- est admiration of his friends that he can give a cheat the semblance of a principle; "popular sover- eignty" while he nor his friends dare say that this popular sover- eignty can exclude slavery from the territory. Judging by the reception of the two speeches there is but little show of any popular sovereignty of the Douglas sort in Columbus. |
in their own way; is in favor of the intervention of Congress and the control of the people of the territories through
Congressional power; and further he is of the opinion that there is an "irrepress- ible conflict between the states of this Union which will never end, until all are made free or all are made slave States." Mr. Lincoln is not a great man -- very, very far from it; and his visit here will not pay expenses. Indeed the Repub- licans feel that they have burned their fingers, by bringing him here. Happily for them, however, the au- dience was so small that his very inferior speech will do much less damage than it would have done had the audience been large. At the close of Mr. Lincoln's speech, the meeting adjourned to assemble at the City Hall in the evening where it was announced that Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Galloway would address the people. At the adjourned meeting the "Illinois Champion" again held forth for a short time, when Mr. Galloway was called for, but we learn he did not speak. And
thus ended the day whereby the Republicans were dam- aged seriously. We think Mr. Lin- coln will never be invited here again, and that was perhaps his opinion, as he had his daguerreo- type taken in the forenoon, with a view of leaving it, we suppose; as a remembrancer for his Columbus friends. It ought to be hung up in the Young Men's Republican Club room. |
Here is another description giving the observations of a young lady of sixteen, after sixty-two years
had passed:27 It was my happy privilege, in company with my father
and mother, to hear the speech of Mr. Douglas and the
reply of Mr. Lincoln, both delivered to small audiences on two
somber autumn 27 Mrs. Alice Corner Brown in History of
Columbus, by Osman C. Hooper, p. 44. |
Lincoln and Ohio 63
afternoons. Near the northeast corner of
the ten acre State
House square a steam engine was boring
an artesian well. It
was not noisy, but the sounds were
regular and insistent; and,
after speaking a few minutes, Mr.
Douglas, looking very weary
and annoyed, stopped, saying, "I
can't speak against a steam
engine." As soon as word could
reach the engine driver, the
boring ceased and the speech went on. Appeal, not
argument;
entreaty to change conditions, not
recognition of the great trend
of events characterized his address. A
perfunctory round of
applause without enthusiasm punctuated
its close, and silently
the two hundred men who had stood on the
ground throughout
the harangue dispersed, seemingly not
converted to the plan of
voting down slavery in the territories.
Mr. Lincoln came and was apparently
introduced to the same
audience. There were seated on the east
terrace about a score
of women, when there came from the
Capitol behind the group, a
tall, sad-eyed, earnest, grave man.
Taking up the assumptions
of his rival, he showed the fallacy of
the local option of deal-
ing with the extension of slavery into
the territories. He in-
dulged in no jokes, no witticisms. The
crisis was too real and
too awfully pregnant with fate. The
impression left on the mind
by the address was the vast import of
events which no trifling
or jugglery or vainglorious and boastful
pro-slavery or anti-
slavery men could delude the Nation into
excusing, viz.; the in-
vasion of free territory by armed men
and the bloody encounters
which followed.
At the close of Mr. Lincoln's address,
the ladies who had
been seated at his right were presented
to him. I did not know
that I was shaking hands with the next
President of the United
States, the hero and martyr of the
coming crisis in our history.
The next day at Dayton, while waiting
for the Cin-
cinnati train, in response to previous
arrangements,
Lincoln spoke; his address covered
similar points to
those in his speech at Cincinnati that
evening. It was in
relation to the influence of the
Ordinance of 1787 in
excluding slavery from Ohio and other
States of the
West and Northwest. For the historical
information it
contained, as well as for its
repudiation of the oft-
repeated declaration of Senator
Douglas, the reader is
64 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
referred to Lincoln's Cincinnati
speech, which he will
find in the next chapter.
The following from the Weekly Dayton
Journal of
September 20, describes the meeting:
The announcement that Mr. Lincoln --
"Old Abe," as he is
familiarly called by the
"Suckers" with whom he lives, -- would
speak at the Court House on Saturday
afternoon, brought a large
crowd of people to the appointed place,
and for nearly two hours
the speaker was listened to with the utmost attention.
Mr. Lin-
coln is one of the "self-made"
men -- having, without the ad-
vantages of education, risen to the
proud pre-eminence which
he now occupies in his own State and in
the United States.
He is remarkable for vigor of intellect,
clearness of per-
ception, and power of argumentation, and
for fairness and hon-
esty in the presentation of facts. Every
man who listened to Mr.
Lincoln on Saturday was impressed with
the manner as well as
the matter of speech, abounding as it
did in valuable historical
information and in great political
truths.
Mr. Lincoln directed the greater part of
his speech to
demonstrate the falsity of the
assumption contained in the ques-
tion in Senator Douglas' magazine essay,
by which he seeks to
make the framers of this government
consider slavery a desir-
able feature in the material out of
which the Union was formed.
Mr. Lincoln met this assumption by a
condensed statement
of the facts in the history of the government,
going to show that
the framers of the government found
slavery existing when the
constitution was formed, and got along
with it as well as they
could in accomplishing the Union of the
States, contemplating
and expecting the advent of the period
when slavery in the United
States should no longer exist.
He referred to the limitation of the
time for the continuance
of the slave trade, by which the supply
of slaves should be cut
0ff -- to the fact that the word
slave does not occur in the con-
stitution, for the reason given at the
period of its formation,
that when, in after times, slavery
should cease to exist, no one
should know from the language of the
constitution itself, that
slavery had ever existed in the United
States. We cannot at-
tempt to follow Mr. Lincoln in his
statement of facts and argu-
ment in exposing the false assumption of
Senator Douglas, but
Mr. Lincoln showed conclusively that
instead of desiring that
we should have a Union made up of free
and slave States, as a
sort of happy admixture of political
elements, the framers of
our government regarded the removal of
slavery as only a ques-
Lincoln and Ohio 65
tion of time, and that at some day, not
far distant, the people
among whom it existed would get rid of it.
Mr. Lincoln referred to the assertion of
Mr. Douglas that
the Ordinance of 1787 had never made a
free State, and that
Ohio had been made free solely by the
action of its own people.
Mr. Lincoln spoke of the difficulty of
getting rid of slavery
wherever it gained a foothold. He spoke
of the trouble which
encompassed the formation of a free
constitution in the territory
where there were slaves held as
property, and attributed the un-
trammelled action of the Convention
which framed the Constitu-
tion of Ohio in 1802 to the fact that
the Ordinance of 1787 had
prohibited the ingress of slaves, and so
had relieved the question
of a free constitution of all
embarrassment.
In connection with the action of the
people of Ohio, Mr.
Lincoln referred to what is said of the
influence of climate and
soil in inviting slave labor to
agricultural pursuits. He con-
tended that the soil and climate of Ohio
were just as favorable
to the employment of slave labor as were
the soil and climate
of Kentucky. And yet without the
Ordinance of 1787 Kentucky
was made a slave state, and with the
Ordinance Ohio was made
a free state.
Mr. Lincoln closed with an eloquent
defense of the rights
of free labor. The free white man had a
right to claim that the
new territories into which they and
their children might go to
seek a livelihood should be preserved
free and clear of the in-
cumbrance of slavery, and that no
laboring white man should
be placed in a position where, by the
introduction of slavery
into the territories, he would be
compelled to toil by the side of
a slave.
When Mr. Lincoln had closed, three
cheers were given, and
he left for Cincinnati on the 4 o'clock
train.
The Dayton Daily Empire, the
Democratic paper, in
its issue of September 20, had this
editorial comment:
On Saturday last, instead of tens of
thousands of persons
being assembled in our city, and the
streets being deluged with
people, as one of our morning
contemporaries prophesied would
be the case, upon the occasion of Mr.
Lincoln's speech, a meagre
crowd, numbering scarcely 200, was all
that could be drummed
up, and they were half Democrats, who
attended from mere
curiosity.
Mr. Lincoln is a very seductive
reasoner, and his address
although a network of fallacies and
false assumptions through-
out, was calculated to deceive almost
any man, who would not
Vol. XXXII--5.
66 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
pay very close attention to the subject,
and keep continually on
the guard.
Mrs. Charles W. Nickum, of Dayton, in a
manu-
script written by her and sent to the
writer, has de-
scribed as follows a very interesting
event which oc-
curred on the occasion of Lincoln's
visit:
AN ACCIDENTAL PAINTING OF LINCOLN
One day in Dayton, Ohio, in 1859, to be
more exact, on
September 17, 1859, there came into
Cridland's daguerreotype
gallery, over Edgar's grocery store on
Main Street, two gentle-
men, evidently to get their photos
taken, as it was almost the
first of photography. The gentlemen were
the late Mr. Samuel
Craighead, a prominent lawyer of Dayton,
and his friend a
stranger.
After getting his order, Mr. Cridland
thought of the lad
who was doing character sketches and
painting in Edmonson's
studio, across the hall from him, called
to him to come, bring
his brushes and paints, to sketch this
man who was character
all over, that he would keep him as long
as possible, but he must
work fast.
As this gentleman was posing he noticed
the lad, asked him
-- was he trying to make a picture of him, then in his
droll way
-- "Keep on, you may make a good
one, but never a pretty one,"
then as they came back to see the
negatives, he posed again for
the lad. With his two sittings and the
photo, a little painting
was made, finished, put aside, and other
work begun.
In June the following year Mr. Craighead
met Mr. Nickum
on the street, called him to stop,
wanted to know if he ever
finished painting his friend's picture,
he began that day at Crid-
land's gallery. "Yes? Where is it?
I want it, that is the man
nominated for President, that was
Abraham Lincoln."
Then the little painting was hunted up, nicely
framed, and
carefully cherished ever since. First
offer to buy it came from
the editor of the Philadelphia Public
Ledger in the sixties. Mr.
Nickum was shown an article bewailing
the fact that few good
paintings were made from life of
Lincoln, when he wrote to the
editor, telling of his work, he asked to
have it sent to him for
inspection, was pleased, asked Mr.
Nickum to name his price,
he wanted it. Mr. Nickum had never sold
a painting, and
thought if others thought it was so
fine, why not keep it himself.
Several good offers were turned down
during his lifetime.
Lincoln and Ohio 67
At an examination of the Lincoln
portrait, about ten years
ago at the Metropolitan Art Museum in
New York City, one
man said he believed it recently done, mellowed by a
new proc-
ess, but when a revenue stamp was
discovered on the back of it,
put there when it was framed in the
sixties, he was silent. It
still had the same frame on, as when
framed so many years ago.
Many others have gazed on the little
portrait, those too who had
known Mr. Lincoln, and with tears in
their eyes, said it was the
best they had ever seen.
On the same day Mr. Lincoln spoke at the
Court House
corner, from a store box. Mr. Nickum did
not know of it. Mr.
Will McCrea heard him speak, and from
him we got the date.
Mr. Charles W. Nickum died at
Indianapolis, October 2,
1913.
Mr. Whiting, Director of Cleveland Art Museum, also
Mr. Burroughs, Director of Detroit Art
Museum, knows of the
Lincoln portrait.
Yours respectfully,
MRS. CHAS. W. NICKUM,
Dayton, Ohio.
This portrait is in the possession of
Mrs. Nickum;
the frontispiece on a previous page is
from a photograph
of the original.
In a letter, October 21, 1922,
accompanying the
above, Mrs. Nickum further says:
"Mr. Nickum often
remarked how kind Mr. Lincoln was, and
how willing
he was to pose for him, and interested,
offering him
words of encouragement. Once afterwards he saw
President Lincoln on the reviewing
stand at Washington
as he passed by as one of the 131st
Regiment of Ohio
soldiers on their way to Baltimore,
during the latter part
of the Civil War -- but he had changed
very much in
that time."
Lincoln later in the day stopped off at
Hamilton,
and in the brief period allowed, he
spoke to a crowd ex-
pecting him. There is a scant record of
this occasion in
the History of Butler County, by
Bartlow and Tod-
hunter, from which the facts herein are
drawn. When
68 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the train stopped, Lincoln appeared on
the back platform
with his travelling companion,
Congressman John A.
Gurley of Cincinnati. The crowd had
caught sight of
Lincoln first, and set up a great
cheering, but on the
appearance of Gurley, there came
uproarious laughter.
Lincoln was in good humor and saw the
point at once.
Now, Gurley was a very short man, and
he whom he
was chaperoning was six feet four.
Standing side by
side, before alighting, Lincoln, after
a good laugh, said:
"My friends, this is the long of
it," pointing to himself,
then, laying his hand on Gurley's head,
"and this is the
short of it". The crowd roared. He
then proceeded
to the improvised stand, and in the
necessarily short
time he could but deliver a brief
address, reviewing
Senator Douglas' "Popular
Sovereignty" doctrine, and
closing his remarks as follows:
This beautiful and far-famed Miami
Valley is the garden
spot of the world. My friends, your sons
may desire to locate
in the west; you don't want them to
settle in a territory like
Kansas, with the curse of slavery
hanging over it. They desire
the blessings of freedom, so dearly purchased by our
Revolu-
tionary forefathers. I see that my
friend Douglas is still in
favor of popular sovereignty. This is a
dangerous doctrine;
the inhabitants of a state should apply for admission
to the
Union either as a free or slave state,
honestly expressed at a
fair election. Such were not the
conditions in Kansas when
she applied for admission; border
ruffians from Missouri con-
trolled their election and certified the result in
favor of slavery.
The American people demanded fair play,
and Kansas was ad-
mitted as a free state.
CHAPTER IV
LINCOLN'S SPEECH AT CINCINNATI
The Lincoln that visited Cincinnati in
September,
1859, met with quite a different
reception from that
given the Lincoln who came there
September, 1855. It
was four years before that he said to
his hostess, "I
never expect to be in Cincinnati again.
I have nothing
against the city, but things have so
happened here as to
make it undesirable for me ever to
return here." In
dejection he departed; in triumph he
returned, for great
things had happened to him in the meantime.
In 1856
at the first National Convention of the
newly organized
Republican party, he received 110 votes
for Vice-Presi-
dent against 259 for William L. Dayton.
In 1858 he
engaged in debate with Senator Douglas
over the Kan-
sas-Nebraska Act, and the question of
slavery extension.
His militant presentation of Republican
principles at-
tracted attention throughout the
country, and he at once
sprang into national prominence. All
this while his
professional reputation had grown so
that he ranked
with the leaders of the Illinois bar.
Now we find him
responding to the Macedonian cry of the
Ohio Repub-
licans to come over from Illinois to
answer Douglas,
thus practically continuing, at long
distance, the debate
of the year before.
We may digress here for a while to note
an in-
teresting phase of Cincinnati politics
at this time. The
reader has doubtless observed the
peculiar expression of
Lincoln in responding to Peter Zinn's
invitation, "in
(69)
70 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
relation to my appearing at Cincinnati
in behalf of the
Opposition is received." Note that
he says "the Oppo-
sition", and not "the
Republican party"; and these words
are evidently a repetition of Zinn's
language. There
was a studied reason for this, and it
grew out of the
relations of the local Republican party
and the American
party; the former was very desirous of
securing the
co-operation of the latter in the local
elections, and ulti-
mately to absorb it. In other words
they wanted Lincoln
to make a mild and rather weak partisan
speech, with a
view to conciliating the American
party.
This situation is well described in a
letter written to
Addison Peale Russell,28 Secretary
of State, at Colum-
bus, by a young man, then City
Solicitor of Cincinnati,
who afterward rose to distinction in
the Nation -- Ruth-
erford B. Hayes.29 The
letter is dated September 14,
two days before Lincoln spoke at
Columbus, and is as
follows:
I am not a member of any executive
committee and am not
"one in authority" except in
the humble capacity of "a sov-
ereign." As a private, I write to make a
suggestion, which I hope
you will see carried to the right
person. Mr. Lincoln is to
speak here the last of this week (I am
sorry it was not a week
later, after our ticket is in the field); and all
honest Americans
as well as Republicans are waiting to
give him a rousing recep-
tion. My suggestion is that Mr. Lincoln
be informed of the
facts in regard to our position here, so
that he may not give
a too strictly partisan cast to his
address. We go by the name
28 Addison Peale Russell was born in
Wilmington, Ohio, September 8,
1826; served in Ohio Legislature,
1855-57; secretary of State, 1857-61.
Author: Half Tints, 1867; Library Notes,
1884; A Club of One; In a
Club Corner, 1890; Sub-Coelum, 1893;
died, July 24, 1912.
29 Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born in
Delaware, Ohio, October
4, 1822; graduated from Kenyon College,
1842; admitted to the bar, 1845;
became City Solicitor of Cincinnati,
1858; served with distinction during
the Civil War rising to Brevet Major
General, March 13, 1865; member
of Congress, 1865-67, and re-elected;
Governor, 1868-72; re-elected for
third term, 1875; nineteenth President
of the United States, 1877-81; died
at Fremont, Ohio, January 17, 1893.
Lincoln and Ohio 71
of "Opposition Party," and
injury might be done if party names
and party doctrines were used by Mr.
Lincoln in a way to dis-
please the American element of our
organization. The Ameri-
calls are liberal, however, and very
generally sympathized with
Mr. Lincoln in his contest with Douglas,
although perhaps not
subscribing to all his views. I
understand Mr. Lincoln was an
old Clay Whig, of Kentucky parentage,
and with a wholesome
dislike of Locofocoism. These qualities
with a word of caution
as to our peculiar position will enable
him to make a fine im-
pression here.
If our ticket is formed without a
rumpus, we are confident
of carrying a majority for all. I write,
supposing you will see
Mr. Lincoln at Columbus. Dennison seems
to be a full match,
if not an overmatch, for his competitor.
Sincerely,
R. B. HAYES.
Lincoln in his speech, however, showed
no appear-
ance of taking notice of the suggestion
of not giving
"a too strictly partisan cast to
his address." It was
strictly partisan from beginning to
end. He admitted
he was a "Black Republican",
and declared that "slavery
is wrong, morally, and politically. I
desire that it should
no further spread in these United
States, and I should
not object if it should be gradually
terminated in the
whole Union". He made no reference to any local
conditions. He spoke for principle; to
all men who
agreed with the object of his party. He
wanted their
votes but he did not say so; he
appealed to their con-
science and judgment by naked argument.
His speech
was singularly adroit, yet logical.
Like all his speeches,
it seemed to have a direct and
far-reaching purpose.
Fully three-fifths of his time was
directed to Ken-
tuckians, there being many present from
across the river.
It was an effective discussion of
Douglas's position in
relation to the South, and here he
planted the seeds
that resulted in the dissension at
Charleston the next
year. Lincoln knew exactly what he was
doing, but
72
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
some of his auditors evidently did not,
for he was
interrupted with, "Speak to Ohio
men, and not to Ken-
tuckians',, to which he responded,
"I beg permission to
speak as I please". A study of
this speech finds Lincoln
at his best; like all his addresses, it
was clear, argu-
mentative and logical. Its language is
for a plain
audience, with words almost entirely
Anglo-Saxon, or
its derivatives. It deserves more than
a cursory reading,
for it contributed more to the
Republican victory of
1860 than any single speech he ever
made. Not that it
converted Whigs, Democrats or
Americans, but because
it served to divide the Democrats of
the South from the
Democrats of the North on Douglas's
candidacy for
the Presidency.
The time and place of the speech was
opportune --
Saturday night and the Fifth Street
Market Place --
now the Government Square. It was when
the popu-
lace was at large and in the very heart
of the city. Lin-
coln, upon his arrival at seven o'clock
at the Cincinnati,
Hamilton and Dayton depot, was received
by a large
committee of Republicans, and was
immediately escorted
to the Burnet House, amid cheers and
the firing of can-
non. At the hotel he was received by
another com-
mittee, "where he shook many hands
and took his tea
in very great haste". From
thenceforward the evening
was a triumph. Amidst the blare of
brass bands and
the booming of cannon he was driven to
the Fifth
Street Market Place in an open
carriage, with a mounted
escort, and the German Brigade and
others on foot
bearing torches. Lincoln spoke from a
balcony on the
north side of the square.
On his arrival he found an audience of
three or four
Lincoln and Ohio 73 thousand people, with bands playing, the square illumi- nated by bonfires, and sky rockets filling the air. The following organization of the meeting was effected: President, Benjamin Eggleston; Vice Presi- dents, Peter Zinn, Rutherford B. Hayes, Nathaniel Wright, Nicholas N. Thomas, Stephen Molliter, George Shillito, M. D. Potter, Enoch T. Carson, Miles Greenwood, M. Goepper, Richard Smith, G. W. S. |
|
Katz, Henry Price, Thomas H. Whetstone, J. L. Keck, Samuel Wiggens, A. N. Sprague, Chas. E. Fosdick, Dr. Freeman, Joseph Trounstine, Thomas Spooner, Henry Pierce, F. Hassaurek, August Willich, R. M. Corwine, C. M. Magill, J. F. Cunningham, John Steel, George N. Runyan, E. M. Johnson, C. N. Casey, Amos Moore, William Cox, George Whitcomb, Henry Mack, Dr H. Shultz, Alfred Cutter, Leonard Swartz, C. N. Dunlap, J. S. Davis, T. H. Weasner, Frank Jobson, J. C. Butler, |
74 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
Moses Swasey, A E. Swasey, Col. Hays,
George Klotter,
John K. Green, T. C. Day, Fred Meyer,
M. B. Hogan,
N. R. Looker; Secretaries, John S.
Gano, E. Wassen-
ick, G. B. Wright, James Elliot, James
S. Boyce, H. C.
Borden, C. O. Andress, L. H. Baker,
Charles Hiller,
J. E. West.
The president of the meeting introduced
Lincoln as
"a distinguished statesman, the
expounder of the Con-
stitution, the opponent of squatter
sovereignty and the
friend of freedom." Thereupon
"with singular clear-
ness of enunciation and
deliberation", he spoke as
follows:
My Fellow Citizens of the State of
Ohio:
This is the first time in my life that I
have appeared before
an audience in so great a city as this.
I therefore -- though I
am no longer a young man -- make this
appearance under some
degree of embarrassment. But, I have
found that when one is
embarrassed, usually the shortest way to
get through with it
is to quit talking or thinking about it,
and go at something else.
I understand that you have had recently
with you my very
distinguished friend, Judge Douglas, of
Illinois, and I under-
stand, without having an opportunity
(not greatly sought to be
sure) of seeing a report of the speech
that he made here, that he
did me the honor of mentioning my humble
name. I suppose
that he did so for the purpose of making
some objection to some
sentiment at some time expressed by me.
I should expect, it is
true, that Judge Douglas had reminded
you, or informed you,
if you had never before heard it, that I
had once in my life de-
clared it as my opinion that this
Government cannot "endure
permanently half slave and half free;
that a house divided against
itself cannot stand," and, as I had
expressed it, I did not expect
the house to fall; that I did not expect
the Union to be dissolved;
but that I did expect it would cease to
be divided; that it would
become all one thing or the other; that
either the opposition of
slavery would arrest the further spread
of it, and place it where
the public mind would rest in the belief
that it was in the course
of ultimate extinction; or the friends
of slavery will push it for-
ward until it becomes alike lawful in
all the States, old or new,
free as well as slave. I did, fifteen
months ago, express that
opinion, and upon many occasions Judge
Douglas has denounced
Lincoln and Ohio 75
it, and has greatly, intentionally or
unintentionally, misrepre-
sented my purpose in the expression of
that opinion.
I presume, without having seen a report
of his speech, that
he did so here. I presume that he
alluded also to that opinion
in different language, having been
expressed at a subsequent
time by Governor Seward of New York, and
that he took the
two in a lump and denounced them; that
he tried to point out
that there was something couched in this
opinion which led to the
making of an entire uniformity of the
local institutions of the
various States of the Union, in utter
disregard of the different
States, which in their nature would seem
to require a variety
of institutions, and a variety of laws,
conforming to the differ-
ences in the nature of the different
States.
Not only so; I presume he insisted that
this was a declara-
tion of war between the free and slave
States -- that it was the
sounding to the onset of continual war
between the different
States, the slave and free States.
This charge, in this form, was made by
Judge Douglas, on, I
believe, the 9th of July,
1858, in Chicago, in my hearing. On
the next evening, I made some reply to
it. I informed him that
many of the inferences he drew from that
expression of mine
were altogether foreign to any purpose
entertained by me, and in
so far as he should ascribe these
inferences to me, as my purpose,
he was entirely mistaken; and in so far
as he might argue that
whatever might be my purpose, actions,
conforming to my views,
would lead to these results, he might
argue and establish if he
could; but, so far as purposes were
concerned, he was totally
mistaken as to me.
When I made that reply to him -- when I
told him, on the
question of declaring war between the
different States of the
Union, that I had not said that I did
not expect any peace upon
this question until slavery was
exterminated; that I had only
said that I expected peace when that
institution was put where
the public mind should rest in the
belief that it was in the course
of ultimate extinction; that I believed
from the organization of
our Government, until a very recent
period of time, the institu-
tion had been placed and continued upon
such a basis; that we
had had comparative peace upon that
question through a portion
of that period of time, only because the
public mind rested in
that belief in regard to it, and that
when we returned to that
position in relation to that matter, I
supposed we should again
have peace as we previously had. I
assured him, as I now assure
you, that I neither then had, nor have,
or ever had, any purpose
in any way of interfering with the
institution of slavery, where
it exists. I believe we have no power,
under the Constitution
Lincoln and Ohio 77
of the United States; or rather under
the form of Government
under which we live, to interfere with
the institution of slavery,
or any other of the institutions of our
sister States, be they free
or slave States. I declared then, and I now declare,
that I have
as little inclination to interfere with
the institution of slavery
where it now exists, through the
instrumentality of the General
Government, or any other
instrumentality, as I believe we have
no power to do so. I accidentally used
this expression; I had
no purpose of entering into the slave
states to disturb the in-
stitution of slavery! So, upon the first
occasion that Judge
Douglas got an opportunity to reply to
me, he passed by the
whole body of what I had said upon that
subject, and seized upon
the particular expression of mine, that
I had no purpose of
entering into the slave States to
disturb the institution of slavery.
"Oh, no," said he, "he
(Lincoln) won't enter into the slave States
to disturb the institution of slavery;
he is too prudent a man to
do such a thing as that; he only means
that he will go on to the
line between the free and slave States,
and shoot over at them.
This is all he means to do. He means to
do them all the harm he
can, to disturb them all he can, in such
a way as to keep his
own hide in perfect safety."
Well, now, I did not think, at that
time, that that was either
a very dignified or very logical
argument; but as it was, I had
to get along with it as well as I could.
It has occurred to me here, tonight,
that if I ever do shoot
over the line at the people on the other
side of the line into a
slave State, and purpose to do so,
keeping my skin safe, that I
have now about the best chance I shall
ever have. I should not
wonder that there are some Kentuckians
about this audience;
we are close to Kentucky; and whether
that be so or not, we are
on elevated ground, and by speaking
distinctly, I should not
wonder if some of the Kentuckians would
hear me on the other
side of the river. For that reason I
propose to address a portion
of what I have to say to the
Kentuckians.
I say, then, in the first place, to the
Kentuckians, that I am
what they call, as I understand it, a
"Black Republican." I think
slavery is wrong, morally and
politically. I desire that it should
be no further spread in these United
States, and I should not
object if it should gradually terminate
in the whole Union.
While I say this for myself, I say to
you Kentuckians, that I
understand you differ radically from me
upon this proposition;
that you believe slavery is a good
thing; that slavery is right;
that it ought to be extended and
perpetuated in this Union.
Now, there being this broad difference
between us, I do not pre-
tend in addressing myself to you
Kentuckians, to attempt prose-
78 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
lyting you; that would be a vain effort.
I do not enter upon it.
I only propose to try to show you that
you ought to nominate
for the next Presidency, at Charleston,
my distinguished friend,
Judge Douglas. In all that there is a
difference between you and
him, I understand he is sincerely for
you, and more wisely for
you, than you are for yourselves. I will
try and demonstrate
that proposition. Understand now, I say
that I believe he is as
sincerely for you, and more wisely for
you, than you are for
yourselves.
What do you want more than anything else
to make success-
ful your views of slavery -- to advance
the outspread of it, and
to secure and perpetuate the nationality
of it? What do you
want more than anything else? What is
needed absolutely?
What is indispensable to you? Why! if I
may be allowed to
answer the question, it is to retain a
hold upon the North -- it
is to retain support and strength from
the free States. If you
can get this support and strength from
the free States you can
succeed. If you do not get this support
and this strength from
the free States, you are in the
minority, and you are beaten at
once.
If that proposition be admitted -- and
it is undeniable --
then the next thing I say to you is,
that Douglas of all the men
in this nation is the only man that
affords you any hold upon
the free States; that no other man can
give you any strength
in the free States. This being so, if
you doubt the other branch
of the proposition, whether he is for you -- whether he
is really
for you, as I have expressed it, I
propose asking your attention
for a while to a few facts.
The issue between you and me,
understand, is, that I think
slavery is wrong, and ought not to be
outspread, and you think
it is right and ought to be extended and
perpetuated. (A voice,
"Oh, Lord.") That is my
Kentuckian I am talking to now.
I now proceed to try to show you that
Douglas is as sincerely
for you and more wisely for you than you
are for yourselves.
In the first place we know that in a
government like this, in
a government of the people, where the
voice of all the men of
that country, substantially, enters into the execution
-- or admin-
istration rather -- of the government --
in such a government,
what lies at the bottom of all of it, is
public opinion. I lay down
the proposition that Judge Douglas is
not only the man that
promises you in advance a hold upon the North, and
support in
the North, but that he constantly moulds
public opinion to your
ends; that in every possible way he can,
he constantly moulds
the public opinion of the North to your
ends; and if there are a
few things in which he seems to be
against you -- a few things
Lincoln and Ohio 79
which he says that appear to be against
you, and a few that he
forbears to say which you would like to
have him say -- you
ought to remember that the saying of the
one, or the forbearing
to say the other, would lose his hold
upon the North, and, by
consequence, would lose his capacity to
serve you.
Upon this subject of moulding public
opinion, I call your
attention to the fact -- for a well
established fact it is -- that the
Judge never says your institution of
slavery is wrong; he never
says it is right, to be sure, but he
never says it is wrong. There
is not a public man in the United
States, I believe, with the ex-
ception of Senator Douglas, who has not,
at some time in his
life, declared his opinion whether the
thing is right or wrong;
but, Senator Douglas never declares it
is wrong. He leaves
himself at perfect liberty to do all in
your favor he would be
hindered from doing if he were to
declare the thing to be wrong.
On the contrary, he takes all the
chances that he has for in-
veigling the sentiment of the North,
opposed to slavery, into your
support, by never saying it is right.
This you ought to set down
to his credit. You ought to give him
full credit for this much,
little though it be, in comparison to
the whole which he does for
you.
Some other things, I will ask your
attention to. He said
upon the floor of the United States
Senate, and he has repeated
it as I understand a great many times,
that he does not care
whether slavery is "voted up or
voted down." This again shows
you, or ought to show you, if you would
reason upon it, that he
does not believe it to be wrong, for a
man may say, when he sees
nothing wrong in a thing, that he does
not care whether it be
voted up or voted down; but no man can
logically say that he
cares not whether a thing goes up or
goes down, which to him
appears to be wrong. You therefore have
a demonstration in this
that to Judge Douglas's mind your
favorite institution which you
would have spread out, and made
perpetual, is no wrong.
Another thing he tells you, in a speech
made at Memphis, in
Tennessee, shortly after the canvass in
Illinois, last year. He
there distinctly told the people, that
there was a "line drawn
by the Almighty across this continent,
on the one side of which
the soil must always be cultivated by
slaves;" that he did not pre-
tend to know exactly where that line
was, but that there was
such a line. I want to ask your
attention to that proposition
again; that there is one portion of this
continent where the
Almighty has designed the soil shall
always be cultivated by
slaves; that its being cultivated by
slaves at that place is right;
that it has the direct sympathy and
authority of the Almighty.
Whenever you can get these northern
audiences to adopt the
80 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
opinion that slavery is right on the
other side of the Ohio; when-
ever you can get them, in pursuance of
Douglas's views, to
adopt that sentiment, they will very
readily make the other argu-
ment, which is perfectly logical, that
that which is right on that
side of the Ohio, cannot be wrong on
this, and that if you have
that property on that side of the Ohio,
under the seal and stamp
of the Almighty, when by any means it
escapes over here, it is
wrong to have constitutions and laws
"to devil" you about it.
So Douglas is moulding the public
opinion of the North, first to
say. that the thing is right in your
State over the Ohio river, and
hence to say that that which is right
there is not wrong here,
and that all laws and constitutions here, recognizing
it as being
wrong, are themselves wrong, and ought
to be repealed and ab-
rogated. He will tell you, men of Ohio,
that if you choose
here to have laws against slavery, it is
in conformity to the idea
that your climate is not suited to it,
that your climate is not
suited to slave labor, and therefore you
have constitutions and
laws against it.
Let us attend to that argument for a
little while and see if
it be sound. You do not raise sugar-cane
(except the new-
fashioned sugar-cane, and you won't
raise that long), but they
do raise it in Louisiana. You don't
raise it in Ohio because you
can't raise it profitably, because the
climate don't suit it. They
do raise it in Louisiana because there
it is profitable. Now,
Douglas will tell you that is precisely
the slavery question. That
they do have slaves there because they
are profitable, and you
don't have them here because they are
not profitable. If that
is so, then it leads to dealing with the
one precisely as with the
other. Is there then anything in the
constitution or laws of Ohio
against raising sugar-cane? Have you
found it necessary to put
any such provision in your law? Surely
not. No man desires
to raise sugar-cane in Ohio; but if any
man did desire to do so,
you would say it was a tyrannical law
that forbids his doing so,
and whenever you shall agree with
Douglas, whenever your
minds are brought to adopt his argument,
as surely you will have
reached the conclusion, that although
slavery is not profitable in
Ohio, if any man wants it, it is wrong
to him not to let him
have it.
In this matter Judge Douglas is
preparing the public mind
for you of Kentucky, to make perpetual
that good thing in your
estimation, about which you and I
differ.
In this connection let me ask your
attention to another thing.
I believe it is safe to assert that five
years ago, no living man
had expressed the opinion that the negro
had no share in the
Declaration of Independence. Let me
state that again; five years
Lincoln and Ohio 81
ago no living man had expressed the
opinion that the negro had
no share in the Declaration of Independence. If there
is in
this large audience any man who ever
knew of that opinion be-
ing put upon paper as much as five years
ago, I will be obliged
to him now or at a subsequent time to
show it.
If that be true I wish you then to note
the next fact; that
within the space of five years Senator
Douglas, in the argument
of this question, has got his entire
party, so far as I know, with-
out exception, to join in saying that
the negro has no share in
the Declaration of Independence. If
there be now in all these
United States one Douglas man that does
not say this. I have been
unable upon any occasion to scare him
up. Now if none of you
said this five years ago, and all of you
say it now, that is a matter
that you Kentuckians ought to note. That
is a vast change in the
northern public sentiment upon that
question.
Of what tendency is that change? The
tendency of that
change is to bring the public mind to
the conclusion that when
men are spoken of, the negro is not
meant; that when negroes
are spoken of, brutes alone are
contemplated. That change in
public sentiment has already degraded
the black man in the
estimation of Douglas and his followers
from the condition of a
man of some sort, and assigned him to
the condition of a brute.
Now, you Kentuckians, ought to give
Douglas credit for this.
That is the largest possible stride that
can be made in regard
to the perpetuation of your thing of
slavery.
A voice -- "Speak to Ohio men, and
not to Kentuckians!"
Mr. Lincoln: I beg permission to speak
as I please.
In Kentucky perhaps, in many of the
slave States certainly,
you are trying to establish the
rightfulness of slavery by refer-
ence to the Bible. You are trying to
show that slavery existed in
the Bible times by divine ordinance Now, Douglas is wiser
than you, for your own benefit, upon
that subject. Douglas
knows that whenever you establish that
slavery was right by the
Bible, it will occur that that slavery
was the slavery of the white
man -- of men without reference to color
-- and he knows very
well that you may entertain that idea in
Kentucky as much as
you please, but you will never win any
northern support upon it.
He makes a wiser argument for you; he
makes the argument
that the slavery of the black man,
the slavery of the man who
has a skin of a different color from
your own, is right. He there-
by brings to your support northern
voters who could not for a
moment be brought by your own argument
of the Bible-right
slavery. Will you not give him credit
for that? Will you not
say that in this matter he is more
wisely for you than you are
for yourselves
Vol. XXXII--6.
82 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Now, having established with his entire
party this doctrine
-- having been entirely successful in
that branch of his efforts
in your behalf, he is ready for another.
At this same meeting at Memphis, he
declared that, in all
contests between the negro and the white
man, he was for
the white man, but that in all questions
between the negro and
the crocodile he was for the negro. He
did not make that declar-
ation accidentally at Memphis. He made
it a great many times
in the canvass in Illinois last year
(though I don't know that it
was reported in any of his speeches
there), but he frequently
made it. I believe he repeated it at
Columbus, and I should not
wonder if he repeated it here. It is,
then, a deliberate way of ex-
pressing himself upon that subject. It
is a matter of mature
deliberation with him thus to express
himself upon that point
of his case. It therefore requires some
deliberate attention.
The first inference seems to be that if
you do not enslave
the negro you are wronging the white man
in some way or other;
and that whoever is opposed to the negro
being enslaved, is, in
some way or other, against the white
man. Is not that a false-
hood? If there was a necessary conflict
between the white man
and the negro, I should be for the white
man as much as Judge
Douglas; but I say there is no such
necessary conflict. I say that
there is room enough for us all to be
free, and that it not only
does not wrong the white man that the
negro should be free, but
it positively wrongs the mass of the
white man that the negro
should be enslaved; that the mass of
white men are really in-
jured by the effects of slave labor in
the vicinity of the fields
of their own labor.
But I do not desire to dwell upon this
branch of the question
more than to say that this assumption of
his is false, and I do
hope that that fallacy will not long
prevail in the minds of intelli-
gent white men. At all events, you ought
to thank Judge Doug-
las for it It is for your benefit it is
made.
The other branch of it is, that in a
struggle between the negro
and the crocodile, he is for the negro.
Well, I don't know that
there is any struggle between the negro
and crocodile, either. I
suppose that if a crocodile (or as we
old Ohio River boatmen
used to call them, alligators) should
come across a white man,
he would kill him it he could, and so he
would a negro. But
what, at last, is this proposition? I
believe that it is a sort of
proposition in proportion, which may be
stated thus: "As the
negro is to the white man, so is the
crocodile to the negro; and
as the negro may rightfully treat the crocodile as a
beast or
reptile, so the white man may rightfully
treat the negro as a
Lincoln and Ohio 83
beast or a reptile. That is really the
"knip" of all that argument
of his.
Now, my brother Kentuckians, who believe
in this, you
ought to thank Judge Douglas for having
put that in a much
more taking way than any of yourselves
have done.
Again, Douglas's great principle,
"Popular Sovereignty,"
as he calls it, gives you, by natural
consequence, the revival of
the slave trade whenever you want it. If
you question this, listen
awhile, consider awhile, what I shall
advance in support of that
proposition.
He says that it is the sacred right of
the man who goes into
the Territories, to have slavery if he
wants it. Grant that for
argument's sake. Is it not the sacred
right of the man who
don't go there equally to buy slaves in
Africa, if he wants them?
Can you point out the difference? The
man who goes into the
Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, or
any other new Territory,
with the sacred right of taking a slave
there which belongs to
him, would certainly have no more right
to take one there than
I would, who own no slave, but who would
desire to buy one
and take him there. You will not say --
you, the friends of
Judge Douglas -- but that the man who
does not own a slave,
has an equal right to buy one and take
him to the Territory, as
the other does?
A voice -- "I want to ask a
question. Don't foreign nations
interfere with the slave trade?"
Mr. Lincoln: Well! I understand it to be
a principle of
Democracy to whip foreign nations
whenever they interfere
with us.
Voice -- "I only ask for
information. I am a Republican
myself."
Mr. Lincoln: You and I will be on the
best terms in the
world, but I do not wish to be diverted
from the point I was
trying to press.
I say that Douglas's popular
sovereignty, establishing his
sacred right in the people, if you
please, if carried to its logical
conclusion, gives equally the sacred right to the
people of the
States or the Territories themselves to
buy slaves, wherever they
can buy them cheapest; and if any man
can show a distinction.
I should like to hear him try it. If any
man can show how the
people of Kansas have a better right to
slaves because they want
them, than the people of Georgia have to
buy them in Africa. I
want him to do it. I think it cannot be
done. If it is "Popular
Sovereignty" for the people to have
slaves because they want
them, it is popular sovereignty for them
to buy them in Africa,
because they desire to do so.
84 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
I know that Douglas has recently made a
little effort -- not
seeming to notice that he had a different theory -- has
made an
effort to get rid of that. He has written a letter,
addressed to
somebody I believe who resides in Iowa, declaring his
opposition
to the repeal of the laws that prohibit
the African slave trade.
He bases his opposition to such repeal
upon the ground that these
laws are themselves one of the
compromises of the Constitution
of the United States. Now it would be
very interesting to see
Judge Douglas or any of his friends turn
to the Constitution of
the United States and point out that
compromise, to show where
there is any compromise in the
constitution, or provision in the
constitution, express or implied, by
which the administrators of
that Constitution are under any
obligation to repeal the African
slave trade. I know, or at least I think
I know, that the framers
of that constitution did expect that the
African slave trade
would be abolished at the end of twenty
years, to which time
their prohibition against its being
abolished extended. I think
there is abundant contemporaneous
history to show that the
framers of the Constitution expected it
to be abolished. But
while they so expected, they gave
nothing for that expectation.
and they put no provision in the
constitution requiring it should
be so abolished. The migration or
importation of such persons
as the States shall see fit to admit
shall not be prohibited, but a
certain tax might be levied upon such
importation. But what
was to be done after that time? The
constitution is as silent
about that as it is silent, personally,
about myself. There is
absolutely nothing in it about that
subject -- there is only the
expectation of the framers of the
constitution that the slave trade
would be abolished at the end of that
time, and they expected
it would be abolished, owing to public
sentiment, before that time,
and they put that provision in, in order
that it should not be
abolished before that time, for reasons
which I suppose they
thought to be sound ones, but which I
will not now try to
enumerate before you.
But while they expected the slave trade
would be abolished
at that time, they expected that the
spread of slavery into the
new Territories should also be
restricted. It is as easy to prove
that the framers of the constitution of
the United States ex-
pected that slavery should be prohibited
from extending into
the new Territories, as it is to prove
that it was expected that
the slave trade should be abolished.
Both these things were ex-
pected. One was no more expected than
the other, and one was
no more a compromise of the constitution
than the other. There
was nothing said in the constitution in
regard to the spread of
slavery into the Territories. I grant
that, but there was some-
Lincoln and Ohio 85
thing very important said about it by
the same generation of men
in the adoption of the old Ordinance of '87, through
the influence
of which you here in Ohio, our neighbors
in Indiana, we in
Illinois, our neighbors in Michigan and
Wisconsin are happy,
prosperous, teeming millions of free
men. That generation of
men, though not to the full extent
members of the convention
that framed the Constitution, were to
some extent members of
that convention, holding seats at the
same time in one body or
the other, so that if there was any
compromise on either of these
subjects, the strong evidence is that
that compromise was in
favor of the restriction of slavery from
the new Territories.
But Douglas says that he is unalterably
opposed to the
repeal of those laws; because, in his
view, it is a compromise
of the constitution. You Kentuckians, no
doubt are somewhat
offended with that! You ought not to be!
You ought to be
patient! You ought to know that if he
said less than that, he
would lose the power of
"lugging" the Northern States to your
support. Really, what you would push him
to do would take
from him his entire power to serve you.
And you ought to re-
member how long, by precedent, Judge
Douglas holds himself
obliged to stick by compromises. You
ought to remember that
by the time you yourselves think you are
ready to inaugurate
measures for the revival of the African
slave trade, that suffi-
cient time will have arrived, by
precedent, for Judge Douglas to
break through that compromise. He says
now nothing more
strong than he said in 1849 when he
declared in favor of the
Missouri Compromise -- that precisely
four years and a quarter
after he declared that compromise to be
a sacred thing, which
"no ruthless hand would ever dare
to touch," he himself, brought
forward the measure, ruthlessly to
destroy it. By a mere calcu-
lation of time it will only be four
years more until he is ready
to take back his profession about the
sacredness of the com-
promise abolishing the slave trade.
Precisely as soon as you are
ready to have his services in that
direction, by fair calculation,
you may be sure of having them.
But you remember and set down to Judge
Douglas's debt,
or discredit, that he, last year, said
the people of the Territories
can, in spite of the Dred Scott
decision, exclude your slaves from
these Territories; that he declared by
"unfriendly legislation,"
the extension of your property into the
new Territories may be
cut off in the teeth of the decision of
the Supreme Court of the
United States.
He assumed that position at Freeport on
the 27th of August,
1858. He said that the people of the
Territories can exclude
slavery, in so many words. You ought,
however, to bear in
86 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications
mind that he has never said it since.
You may hunt in every
speech he has since made, and he has
never used that expression
once. He has never seemed to notice that
he is stating his views
differently from what he did then; but,
by some sort of accident,
he has always really stated it
differently. He has always since
then declared that "the
constitution does not carry slavery into
the Territories of the United States
beyond the power of the
people legally to control it, as other
property." Now, there is a
difference in the language used upon
that former occasion and in
this latter day. There may or may not be
a difference in the
meaning, but it is worth while
considering whether there is not
also a difference in meaning.
What is it to exclude? Why, it is to
drive it out. It is in
some way to put it out of the Territory.
It is to force it across
the line, or change its character, so
that as property it is out of
existence. But what is the controlling
of it "as other property"?
Is controlling it as other property the
same thing as destroying
it, or driving it away? I should think
not. I should think the
controlling of it as other property
would be just about what you
in Kentucky should want. I understand
the controlling of prop-
erty means the controlling of it for the
benefit of the owner of it.
While I have no doubt the Supreme Court
of the United States
would say "God speed" to any
of the Territorial Legislatures
that should thus control slave property,
they would sing quite a
different tune, if by the pretense of
controlling it they were to
undertake to pass laws which virtually
excluded it, and that upon
a very well known principle to all
lawyers, that what a Legisla-
ture cannot directly do, it cannot do by
indirection; that as the
Legislature has not the power to drive
slaves out, they have no
power by indirection, by tax, or by
imposing burdens in any
way on that property, to effect the same
end, and that any at-
tempt to do so would be held by the Dred
Scott court uncon-
stitutional.
Douglas is not willing to stand by his
first proposition that
they can exclude it, because we have
seen that that proposition
amounts to nothing more or less than the
naked absurdity, that
you may lawfully drive out that which
has a lawful right to re-
main. He admitted at first that the
slave might be lawfully
taken into the Territories under the
Constitution of the United
States, and yet asserted that he might
be lawfully driven out.
That being the proposition, it is the
absurdity I have stated, he is
not willing to stand in the face of that
direct, naked and im-
pudent absurdity; he has, therefore,
modified his language into
that of being "controlled as
other property."
The Kentuckians don't like this in
Douglas! I will tell you
Lincoln and Ohio 87
where it will go. He now swears by the
court. He was once a
leading man in Illinois to break down a court, because
it had
made a decision he did not like. But he
now not only swears by
the court, the courts having got to
working for you, but he de-
nounces all men that do not swear by the
courts, as unpatriotic,
as bad citizens. When one of these acts
of unfriendly legisla-
tion shall impose such heavy burdens as
to, in effect, destroy
property in slaves in a Territory and
show plainly enough that
there can be no mistake in the purpose
of the Legislature to
make them so burdensome, this same
Supreme Court will decide
that law to be unconstitutional, and he
will be ready to say for
your benefit, "I swear by the
court; I give it up;" and while that
is going on he has been getting all his
men to swear by the
courts, and to give it up with him. In
this again he serves you
faithfully, and as I say, more wisely
than you serve yourselves.
Again: I have alluded in the beginning
of these remarks to
the fact, that Judge Douglas has made
great complaint of my
having expressed the opinion that this
Government "cannot en-
dure permanently half slave and half
free." He has complained
of Seward for using different language,
and declaring that there
is an "irrepressible conflict"
between the principles of free and
slave labor. (A voice -- "He
says it is not original with Seward.
That it is original with
Lincoln.") I will attend to that
im-
mediately, sir. Since that time, Hickman
of Pennsylvania ex-
pressed the same sentiment. He has never
denounced Mr. Hick-
man: why? There is a little chance,
notwithstanding that opinion
in the mouth of Hickman, that he may yet
be a Douglas man.
That is the difference! It is not
unpatriotic to hold that opinion
if a man is a Douglas man.
But neither I, nor Seward, nor Hickman,
is entitled to the
enviable or unenviable distinction of
having first expressed that
idea. That same idea was expressed by
the Richmond Enquirer
in Virginia, in 1856; quite two years
before it was expressed by
the first of us. And while Douglas was
pluming himself, that
in his conflict with my humble self,
last year, he had "squelched
out" that fatal heresy, as he
delighted to call it, and had sug-
gested that if he only had had a chance
to be in New York and
meet Seward he would have
"squelched" it there also, it never
occurred to him to breathe a word
against Pryor. I don't think
that you can discover that Douglas ever
talked of going to
Virginia to "squelch" out that
idea there. No. More than
that. That same Roger A Pryor was
brought to Washington
City and made the editor of the par
excellence Douglas paper,
after making use of that expression,
which, in us, is so un-
patriotic and heretical. From all this,
my Kentucy friends may
88 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications
see that this opinion is heretical in
his view only when it is ex-
pressed by men suspected of a desire
that the country shall all
become free, and not when expressed by
those fairly known to
entertain the desire that the whole
country shall become slave.
When expressed by that class of men, it
is nowise offensive to
him. In this again, my friends of
Kentucky, you have Judge
Douglas with you.
There is another reason why you southern
people ought to
nominate Douglas at your convention at
Charleston. That reason
is the wonderful capacity of the man;
the power he has of doing
what would seem to me impossible. Let us
call your attention
to one of these apparently impossible
things.
Douglas had three or four very
distinguished men of the
most extreme anti-slavery views of any
men in the Republican
party, expressing their desire for his
re-election to the Senate
last year. That would, of itself, have
seemed to be a little won-
derful, but that wonder is heightened
when we see that Wise
of Virginia, a man exactly opposed to
them, a man who believes
in the Divine right of slavery, was also
expressing his desire that
Douglas should be re-elected; that
another man that may be said
to be kindred to Wise, Mr. Breckinridge,
the Vice President, and
of your own State, was also agreeing
with the anti-slavery men
in the North, that Douglas ought to be
re-elected. Still, to
heighten the wonder, a Senator from
Kentucky, whom I have
always loved with an affection as tender
and endearing as I
have every loved any man; who was
opposed to the anti-slavery
men for reasons which seemed sufficient
to him, and equally op-
posed to Wise and Breckinridge, was
writing letters into Illinois
to secure the re-election of Douglas.
Now that all these con-
flicting elements should be brought,
while at daggers' points, with
one aonther, to support him, is a feat
that is worthy for you to
note and consider. It is quite probable
that each of these classes
of men thought, by the re-election of
Douglas, their peculiar
views would gain something; it is
probable that the anti-slavery
men thought their views would gain
something; that Wise and
Breckenridge thought so too, as regards
their opinions; that Mr.
Crittenden thought that his views would
gain something, al-
though he was opposed to both these
other men. It is probable
that each and all of them thought that
they were using Douglas,
and it is yet an unsolved problem
whether he was not using them
all. If he was, then it is for you to
consider whether that power
to perform wonders is one for you
lightly to throw away.
There is one other thing that I will say
to you in this rela-
tion. It is but my opinion, I give it to
you without a fee. It is
my opinion that it is for you to take
him or be defeated; and that
Lincoln and Ohio 89
if you do take him you may be beaten.
You will surely be beaten
if you do not take him. We, the
Republicans and others forming
the opposition of the country, intend to
"stand by our guns,"
to be patient and firm, and in the long
run to beat you whether
you take him or not. We know that before
we fairly beat you,
we have to beat you both together. We
know that you are "all
of a feather," and that we have to
beat you altogether, and we
expect to do it. We don't intend to be
very impatient about it.
We mean to be as deliberate and calm
about it as it is possible
to be, but as firm and resolved as it is
possible for men to be.
When we do as we say, beat you, you
perhaps want to know
what we will do with you.
I will tell you, so far as I am
authorized to speak for the
opposition, what we mean to do with you.
We mean to treat
you, as 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 institution;
to abide by all and every
compromise of the constitution, and, in
a word, coming back
to the original proposition, to treat
you, so far as degenerated
man (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 circum-
stances. We mean to recognize and bear
in mind always that you
have as good hearts in your bosoms as
other people, or as we
claim to have, and treat you
accordingly. We mean to marry
your girls when we have a chance -- the
white ones I mean, and
I have the honor to inform you that I
once did have a chance in
that way.
I have told you what we mean to do. I
want to know, now,
when that thing takes place, what do you
mean to do. I often
hear it intimated that you mean to
divide the Union whenever
a Republican or anything like it, is
elected President of the
United States. (A voice -- "That is
so.") "That is so," one of
them says; I wonder if he is a
Kentuckian? (A voice -- "He is
a Douglas man.") Well, then, I want
to know what your are
going to do with your half of it? Are
you going to split the
Ohio down through, and push your half
off a piece? Or are you
going to keep it right alongside of us
outrageous fellows? Or
are you going to build up a wall some
way between your country
and ours, by which that moveable
property of yours can't come
over here any more to the danger of your
losing it? Do you
think you can better yourselves on that
subject, by leaving us
here under no obligation whatever to return those
specimens of
your movable property that come hither?
You have divided the
90 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Union because we would not do right with
you, as you think,
upon that subject; when we cease to be
under obligations to do
anything for you, how much better off do
you think you will be?
Will you make war upon us and kill us
all? Why, gentlemen, I
think you are as gallant and as brave
men as live; that you can
fight as bravely in a good cause, man
for man, as any other people
living; that you have shown yourselves
capable of this upon
various occasions; but man for man, you
are not better than we
are, and there are not so many of you as
there are of us. You
will never make much of a hand at
whipping us. If we were
fewer in numbers than you, I think that
you could whip us; if
we were equal it would likely be a drawn
battle; but being in-
ferior in numbers, you will make nothing
by attempting to
master us.
But perhaps I have addressed myself as
long, or longer, to
the Kentuckians than I ought to have
done, inasmuch as I have
said that whatever course you take we
intend in the end to beat
you. I propose to address a few remarks
to our friends, by way
of discussing with them the best means
of keeping that promise,
that I have in good faith made.
It may appear a little episodical for me
to mention the topic
of which I shall speak now. It is a
favorable proposition of
Douglas's that the interference of the
General Government,
through the Ordinance of '87, or through
any other act of the
General Government, never has made or
ever can make a Free
State; that the Ordinance of '87 did not
make free states of
Ohio, Indiana or Illinois. That these
states are free upon his
"great principle" of popular
sovereignty, because the people of
those several states have chosen to make
them so. At Columbus,
and probably here, he undertook to
compliment the people that
they themselves have made the State of
Ohio free, and that the
Ordinance of '87 was not entitled in any
degree to divide the
honor with them. I have no doubt that
the people of the State
of Ohio did make her free according to
their own will and
judgment, but let the facts be
remembered.
In 1802, I believe, it was you who made
your first constitu-
tion, with the clause prohibiting
slavery, and you did it I suppose
very nearly unanimously; but you should
bear in mind that you
-- speaking of you as one people -- that you did so unembar-
rassed by the actual presence of the
institution amongst you; that
you made it a free state, not with the
embarrassment upon you of
already having among you many slaves,
which if they had been
here, and you had sought to make a free
state, you would not
know what to do with. If they had been
among you, embarrass-
ing difficulties, most probably, would
have induced you to tolerate
Lincoln and Ohio 91
a slave constitution instead of a free
one, as indeed these very
difficulties have constrained every people on this
continent who
have adopted slavery.
Pray what was it that made you free?
What kept you free?
Did you not find your country free when
you came to decide that
Ohio should be a free state? It is
important to inquire by what
reason you found it so? Let us take an
illustration between the
states of Ohio and Kentucky. Kentucky is
separated by this
River Ohio, not a mile wide. A portion
of Kentucky, by reason
of the course of the Ohio, is further
north than this portion of
Ohio, in which we now stand. Kentucky is
entirely covered
with slavery -- Ohio is entirely free
from it. What made that
difference? Was it climate? No! A
portion of Kentucky was
further north than this portion of Ohio.
Was it soil? No!
There is nothing in the-soil of the one
more favorable to slave
labor than the other. It was not climate
or soil that caused one
side of the line to be entirely covered
with slavery and the other
side free of it. What was it? Study over
it. Tell us, if you
can, in all the range of conjecture, if
there be anything you can
conceive of that made that difference,
other than that there was
no law of any sort keeping it out of
Kentucky while the
Ordinance of '87 kept it out of Ohio. If
there is any other rea-
son than this, I confess that it is
wholly beyond my power to con-
ceive it. This, then I offer to combat
the idea that that ordinance
has never made any state free.
I don't stop at this illustration. I
come to the State of
Indiana; and what I have said as between
Kentucky and Ohio,
I repeat as between Indiana and
Kentucky; it is equally ap-
plicable. One additional argument is
applicable also to Indiana.
In her Territorial condition she more
than once petitioned Con-
gress to abrogate the ordinance
entirely, or at least so far as to
suspend its operation for a time, in
order that they should exer-
cise the "Popular Sovereignty"
of having slaves if they wanted
them. The men then controlling the
general government, imitat-
ing the men of the Revolution, refused
Indiana that privilege.
And so we have the evidence that Indiana
supposed she could
have slaves, if it were not for that
ordinance; that she besought
Congress to put the barrier out of the
way; that Congress refused
to do so, and it all ended at last in
Indiana being a free state.
Tell me not then that the Ordinance of
'87 had nothing to do
with making Indiana a free state, when
we find men chafing
against and only restrained by that
barrier.
Come down again to our State of
Illinois. The great North-
west Territory, including Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan and
Wisconsin, was acquired first, I
believe, by the British Govern-
92 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
ment, in part at least, from the French.
Before the establish-
ment of our independence, it becomes a
part of Virginia; enabling
Virginia afterward to transfer it to the
General Government.
There were French settlements in what is
now Illinois, and at the
same time there were French settlements
in what is now Mis-
souri -- in the tract of country that
was not purchased till about
1803. In these French settlements negro slavery had
existed for
many years -- perhaps more than a
hundred, if not as much as two
hundred years -- at Kaskaskia, in
Illinois, and at St. Genevieve,
or Cape Girardeau, perhaps, in Missouri.
The number of slaves
was not very great, but there was about
the same number in each
place. They were there when we acquired
the Territory. There
was no effort made to break up the
relation of master and slave,
and even the Ordinance of 1787 was not
so enforced as to de-
stroy that slavery in Illinois; nor did
the ordinance apply to
Missouri at all.
What I want to ask your attention to, at
this point, is that
Illinois and Missouri came into the
Union about the same time,
Illinois in the latter part of 1818, and
Missouri, after a struggle,
I believe some time in 1820. They had
been filling up with
American people about the same period of
time; their progress
enabling them to come into the Union
about the same. At the
end of that ten years, in which they had
been so preparing (for
it was about that period of time), the
number of slaves in Illinois
had actually decreased; while in
Missouri, beginning with very
few, at the end of that ten years, there
were about ten thousand.
This being so, and it being remembered
that Missouri and Illinois
are, to a certain extent, in the same
parallel of latitude -- that
the northern half of Missouri and the
southern half of Illinois
are in the same parallel of latitude --
so that climate would have
the same effect upon one as upon the
other, and that in the soil
there is no material difference so far
as bears upon the question
of slavery being settled upon one or the
other -- there being none
of those natural causes to produce a
difference in filling them,
and yet there being a broad difference
in their filling up, we are
led again to inquire what was the cause
of that difference.
It is most natural to say that in
Missouri there was no law
to keep that country from filling up
with slaves, while in Illinois
there was the Ordinance of '87. The
ordinance being there,
slavery decreased during that ten years
-- the ordinance not being
in the other, it increased from a few to
ten thousand. Can any-
body doubt the reason of the difference?
I think all these facts most abundantly
prove that my friend
Judge Douglas's proposition, that the Ordinance of '87,
or the
national restriction of slavery, never
had a tendency to make a
Lincoln and Ohio 93
Free State, is a fallacy -- a
proposition without the shadow or
substance of truth about it.
Douglas sometimes says that all the
states (and it is part of
this same proposition I have been
discussing) that have become
free, have become so upon his
"great principle;" that the State of
Illinois itself came into the Union as a
slave State, and that the
people, upon the "great
principle" of popular sovereignty, have
since made it a free state. Allow me but
a little while to state
to you what facts there are to justify
him in saying that Illinois
came into the Union as a slave state.
I have mentioned to you that there were
a few old French
slaves there. They numbered, I think,
one or two hundred. Be-
sides that, there had been a Territorial
law for indenturing black
persons. Under that law, in violation of
the Ordinance of '87,
but without any enforcement of the
ordinance to overthrow the
system, there had been a small number of
slaves introduced as
indentured persons. Owing to this the
clause for the prohibition
of slavery was slightly modified.
Instead of running like yours,
that neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude, except for crime,
of which the party shall have been duly
convicted, should exist
in the state, they said that neither
slavery nor involuntary servi-
tude should thereafter be introduced,
and that the children of
indentured servants should be born free;
and nothing was said
about the few old French slaves. Out of
this fact, that the
clause for prohibiting slavery was
modified because of the actual
presence of it, Douglas asserts again
and again that Illinois came
into the Union as a slave state. How far
the facts sustain the
conclusion that he draws, it is for
intelligent and impartial men
to decide. I leave it with you with
these remarks, worthy of be-
ing remembered, that that little thing,
those few indentured serv-
ants being there, was of itself
sufficient to modify a Constitution
made by a people ardently desiring to
have a free Constitution;
showing the power of the actual presence
of the institution of
slavery to prevent any people, however
anxious to make a Free
State, from making it perfectly so.
I have been detaining you longer perhaps
than I ought to do.
I am in some doubt whether to introduce
another topic upon
which I could talk awhile. (Cries of
"Go on," and "Give us
it.") It is this then: Douglas's
popular sovereignty, as a prin-
ciple, is simply this: If one man
chooses to make a slave of an-
other man, neither that man nor any body
else has a right to
object. Apply it to Government, as he
seeks to apply it, and it is
this: if, in a new Territory, into which
a few people are begin-
ning to enter for the purpose of making
their homes, they choose
to either exclude slavery from their
limits, or to establish it
94 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
there, however one or the other may
affect the persons to be
enslaved, or the infinitely greater
number of persons who are
afterward to inhabit that Territory, or
the other members of the
family of communities, of which they are
but an incipient mem-
ber, or the general head of the family
of States as parent of all
-- however their action may affect one or the other of
these,
there is no power or right to interfere.
That is Douglas's popu-
lar sovereignty applied. Now I think
that there is a real popular
sovereignty in the world. I think a
definition of popular sov-
ereignty, in the abstract, would be
about this -- that each man
shall do precisely as he pleases with
himself, and with all those
things which exclusively concern him.
Applied in government,
this principle would be, that a general
government shall do all
those things which pertain to it, and
all the local governments
shall do precisely as they please in
respect to those matters which
exclusively concern them.
Douglas looks upon slavery as so
insignificant that the peo-
ple must decide that question for
themselves, and yet they are
not fit to decide who shall be their
Governor, Judge or Secretary,
or who shall be any of their officers.
These are vast national
matters, in his estimation, but the
little matter in his estimation
is that of planting slavery there. That
is purely of local interest,
which nobody should be allowed to say a
word about.
Labor is the great source from which
nearly all, if not all,
human comforts and necessities are
drawn. There is a differ-
ence in opinion about the elements of
labor in society. Some
men assume that there is a necessary
connection between capital
and labor, and that connection draws
within it the whole of the
labor of the community. They assume that
nobody works unless
capital excites them to work. They begin
next to consider what
is the best way. They say there are but
two ways; one is to hire
men and to allure them to labor by their
consent; the other is to
buy the men and drive them to it, and
that is slavery. Having
assumed that, they proceed to discuss
the question of whether
the laborers themselves are better off
in the condition of slaves
or of hired laborers, and they usually
decide that they are better
off in the condition of slaves.
In the first place, I say that the whole
thing is a mistake.
That there is a certain relation between
capital and labor, I ad-
mit. That it does exist, and rightfully
exists, I think is true.
That men who are industrious, and sober,
and honest in the
pursuit of their own interests should
after a while accumulate
capital, and after that should be
allowed to enjoy it in peace,
and also if they should choose, when
they have accumulated it,
to use it to save themselves from actual
labor and hire other
Lincoln and Ohio 95
people to labor for them, is right. In
doing so they do not
wrong the man they employ, for they find men who have
not
of their own land to work upon, or shops
to work in, and who
are benefitted by working for others,
hired laborers, receiving
their capital for it. Thus a few men
that own capital, hire a
few others, and these establish the
relation of capital and labor
rightfully, a relation of which I make
no complaint. But I insist
that that relation after all does not
embrace more than one-
eighth of the labor of the country.
(The speaker proceeded to argue that the
hired laborer, with
his ability to become an employer, must
have every precedence
over him who labors under the inducement
of force. He con-
tinued:)
I have taken upon myself in the name of
some of you
to say that we expect upon these
principles to ultimately beat
them. In order to do so, I think we want
and must have a
national policy in regard to the
institution of slavery, that ac-
knowledges and deals with that
institution as being wrong. Who-
ever desires the prevention of the
spread of slavery and the
nationalization of that institution,
yields all, when he yields to
any policy that either recognizes
slavery as being right, or as
being an indifferent thing. Nothing will
make you successful
but setting up a policy which shall
treat the thing as being wrong.
When I say this, I do not mean to say
that this general govern-
ment is charged with the duty of
redressing or preventing all
the wrongs in the world; but I do think
it is charged with pre-
venting and redressing all wrongs which
are wrongs to itself.
This Government is expressly charged
with the duty of pro-
viding for the general welfare. We
believe that the spreading
out and perpetuity of the institution of
slavery impairs the gen-
eral welfare. We believe -- nay, we
know, that that is the only
thing that has ever threatened the
perpetuity of the Union itself.
The only thing which has ever menaced
the destruction of the
government under which we live, is this
very thing. To repress
this thing, we think, is providing for
the general welfare. Our
friends in Kentucky differ from us. We
need not make our
argument for them, but we who think it
is wrong in all its
relations, or in some of them at least,
must decide as to our
own actions, and our own course, upon
our own judgment.
I say that we must not interfere with
the institution of
slavery in the States where it exists,
because the Constitution
forbids it, and the general welfare does
not require us to do so.
We must not withhold an efficient
Fugitive Slave law because
the constitution requires us, as I
understand it, not to withhold
such a law. But we must prevent the
outspreading of the insti-
96 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
tution, because neither the Constitution
nor general welfare
requires us to extend it. We must prevent the revival
of the
African slave trade, and the enacting by Congress of a
Terri-
torial slave code. We must prevent each
of these things being
done by either Congress or courts. The
people of these United
States are the rightful masters of both
congresses and courts,
not to overthrow the Constitution, but
to overthrow the men who
pervert the Constitution.
To do these things we must employ
instrumentalities. We
must hold conventions; we must adopt
platforms, if we conform
to ordinary custom; we must nominate
candidates, and we must
carry elections. In all these things, I
think we ought to keep in
view our real purpose, and in none do
any thing that stands ad-
verse to our purpose. If we shall adopt
a platform that fails to
recognize or express our purpose, or
elect a man that declares
himself inimical to our purpose, we not
only take nothing by
our success, but we tacitly admit that
we act upon no other prin-
ciple than a desire to have "the
loaves and fishes," by which, in
the end, our apparent success is really
an injury to us.
I know that this is very desirable with
me, as with every-
body else, that all the elements of the
opposition shall .unite
in the next Presidential election and in
all future time. I am
anxious that that should be, but there
are things seriously to be
considered in relation to that matter.
If the terms can be ar-
ranged, I am in favor of the union. But
suppose we shall take
up some man and put him upon one end or
the other of the
ticket, who declares himself against us
in regard to the preven-
tion of the spread of slavery -- who
turns up his nose and says
he is tired of hearing anything more
about it, who is more
against us than against the enemy, what
will be the issue? Why,
he will get no slave states after all --
he has tried that already
until being beat is the rule for him. If
we nominate him upon
that ground, he will not carry a slave
state, and not only so,
but that portion of our men who are
highstrung upon the prin-
ciple we really fight for, will not go
for him, and he won't get a
single electoral vote anywhere, except,
perhaps, in the State of
Maryland. There is no use in saying to
us that we are stubborn
and obstinate, because we won't do some
such thing as this. We
cannot do it. We cannot get our men to
vote it. I speak by
the card, that we cannot give the State
of Illinois in such case
by fifty thousand. We would be flatter
down than the "Negro
Democracy" themselves have the
heart to wish to see us.
After saying this much, let me say a
little on the other side.
There are plenty of men in the slave
States that are altogether
good enough for me to be either
President or Vice President,
Lincoln and Ohio 97
provided they will profess their
sympathy with our purpose, and
will place themselves on the ground that
our men, upon principle,
can vote for them. There are scores of
them, good men in their
character for intelligence and talent
and integrity. If such a one
will place himself upon the right
ground, I am for his occupying
one place upon the next Republican or
Opposition ticket. I will
heartily go for him. But, unless he does
so place himself, I think
it a matter of perfect nonsense to
attempt to bring about a union
upon any other basis; that if a union be
made, the elements will
scatter so that there can be no success
for such a ticket, nor
anything like success. The good old
maxims of the Bible are
applicable, and truly applicable, to
human affairs, and in this,
as in other things, we may say here that
he who is not for us is
against us; he who gathereth not with us
scattereth. I should
be glad to have some of the many good,
and able, and noble
men of the South to place themselves
where we can confer upon
them the high honor of an election upon
one or the other end of
our ticket. It would do my soul good to
do that thing. It would
enable us to teach them that, inasmuch
as we select one of their
own number to carry out our principles,
we are free from the
charge that we mean more than we say.
But, my friends, I have detained you
much longer than I
expected to do. I believe I may do
myself the compliment to
say that you have staved and heard me
with great patience, for
which I return you my most sincere
thanks.
The speech was received by the
Cincinnati press
with
varied feelings. The Republican organ -- the
Gazette -- published it
in full, thus doing the greatest
service to its cause, and by reason of
this, was com-
pelled to limit its news feature. The Commercial
was
more detailed in its description of the
meeting. The
Enquirer reported the whole affair fully and fairly, but
its comments on the speech itself were
very denunciatory
and severely critical. Its attitude was
frankly the Doug-
las view. It realized the weight of
Lincoln's argument,
and sought to break its force, because
he was dealing
a death-blow to Douglas' ambition for
the Presidency
by making it impossible for him to receive
the united
Vol. XXXII -- 7.
98 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications support of the Democracy. The following are excerpts from these papers: |
(Daily Gazette) The Honorable Abraham Lin- coln, of Illinois, arrived in this city, Saturday evening, from Dayton, at which place, we understand, he made a speech prior to the leaving of the cars.
Upon reaching the depot he was met by a large con- course of persons, who had as- sembled to greet the champion of Freedom in the "Sucker State." The reception must have reminded him of his tour through his own state when, as here, the guns thundered welcome, music greeted, and people cheered at each place of stopping Conducted by the committee to the Burnet House, he there re- ceived some few persons, who de- sired to show him by personal visit that respect which his honesty and talent has procured for him at home and wherever his name is known. About eight o'clock he was con- veyed to the Fifth street market- place, where from the balcony of Mr. Kinsey's house he delivered himself of a speech occupying two hours and a half. (Commercial) We give in another place an ab- stract of the remarks of Hon. Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, in the Fifth street market-place, Satur- day night. He
made a very able and long speech, and commanded the attention of a very large body of citizens for more than two hours. He was
clear headed and plain spoken, and made his points with decided effect. We have not room for a verbatim report, and presume that the great majority of our readers would prefer an im- partial and intelligible abstract, giv- ing the substance of the thing in such form that it may be found without a
protracted effort of speech reading.
The principal ef- |
(Daily Enquirer) A "verbatim report" of the
speech of Mr. Lincoln was given by our enterprising neighbor of the Ga- zette, in their yesterday's impres- sion. Mr. Lincoln-- so we are in- formed by the editor of that jour- nal--"is deficient in clap-trap,
but excels in logic and honesty; and herein" -- our contemporary con- tinues--"he differs from Judge Douglas.' We thank him for his indorsement. We have glanced over the speech of Mr. Lincoln in the Gazette. We do not say that we have read it: it is not worth reading. It con- tains nothing that is calculated to make any man wiser, or more learned; to make him a better citi- zen or a better man; to give him any insight into the character of the Government, or into his duty as a part of the governing power. It is in a single expressive word, trash--trash from beginning to end; trash without one solitary oasis to relieve the dreary waste that be- gins with its nearest and ends with its
furthest boundary. Among public addresses from the stump, the speech of Mr. Lincoln belongs to the lowest order. It is not the speech of a statesman; it is not the speech of a politician; it is not
even the speech of a fair partisan. It is the speech of a pettifogging dema- gogue, devoted to an uncandid and one-sided discussion of the real or presumed party and doctrinal status of a third person. It is not a business of the display of either logic or honesty, and, therefore -- we beg pardon of our contempo- rary, for disagreeing with him -- there is no appearance of these qualities. * * * The speech of Mr. Lincoln was well received. His audience was in excellent humor with itself and with its orator. His remarks were inter- |
Lincoln and Ohio 99 |
fort of Mr. Lincoln's speech was an argument addressed to Ken- tuckians, assuring them that Doug- las was on their side of the slavery question, that they had reason to trust him, and that he was the man they should select at Charleston for their standard bearer in the presidential contest of 1860. He contended that Douglas was as sincerely in favor of the Southern policy as the South itself, and more wisely working for the extension of slavery than the Southerners themselves -- and that he did all that he could do for the slavery in- terests, compatible with the reten- tion of
political power in the North. Mr.
Douglas's friends in the South might find it worth while to give Mr. Lincoln's speech the widest possible circulation, it would not, however, be palatable to the Douglas democracy of the North. * * * One of the prominent political topics of the town. for a few days, even where our local politics as- sumes importance, as now, will be the strong and peculiar speech of the able and singular Hon. Abe. Lincoln, of Illinois in Fifth street market space, Saturday night. It was understood and avowed that Mr. Lincoln was to speak "in op- position to the view recently ex- pressed in Ohio by the Hon. S. A. Douglas."
The republicans pro- posed that, as the democrats had made an immense lion of Mr. Douglas, they
would cause Mr. Lincoln to play the lion on a scale equally extensive. But Mr. Doug- las had a great advantage. He has become the most noted politician in the country.
For some years he has been the central figure of American politics. There are thou- sands of persons who have an abiding faith that he is to be some day the president of the United States, and, animated by a lively sense of favors to come, they take every occasion to show their devo- tion to his person.
Mr. Lincoln is not conspicuous as a presidential candidate. |
rupted -- as appears by the
report -- by frequent laughter and ap- plause. One
of Mr. Lincoln's strongest points is his propensity to misstate the positions and exag- gerate the remarks of his an- tagonist, in the indulgence of which we observe he was so happy as to bring down the crowd on sev- eral occasions.
When he told his hearers that Douglas' popular sov- ereignty, as a principle, is simply this:
"If one man chooses to make a slave of another man, neither that other man nor anybody else has a right to object," he was answered with "cheers and laugh- ter." It
was undoubtedly received as an excellent joke. As a truth it would not have been at all laughable; we must, therefore, take the applause as a tribute to the author's wit at the expense of his credit for veracity.
His speech was full of jokes of a similar character -- well calculated to re- duce to less than nothing the repu- tation of their utterer as a man of truth and candor. Indeed, it ap- pears that the crowd was not long in finding out its man; for the rambling dialogue between the ora- tor and his hearers into which the speech degenerated indicated well enough the respect in which he had come to be holden, who was not too proud to stand up and utter palpable lies for their amusement. * * * Hon. Mr. Lincoln is a tall, dark- visaged, angular, awkward, positive- looking individual, with character written in his face and energy ex- pressed in his every movement. He has the appearance of what is called in the Northeast a Western man -- one who, without education or early advantages, has risen by his own exertions from an humble origin.
Indeed, in this respect he resembles Douglas, to whom, how- ever, in
largeness of thought, profundity of penetration, and ex- cellence of judgment, he is greatly inferior. |
100 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
At the same time Moncure D. Conway, a
distin-
guished Unitarian clergyman and author
of his time,
was in Cincinnati, and he has left us
his impressions of
Lincoln and his speech:30
One warm evening in 1859, passing
through the market-place
in Cincinnati, I found there a crowd
listening to a political
speech in the open air. The speaker stood on the
balcony of a
small brick house, some lamps assisting
the moonlight. Some-
thing about the speaker, and some words
that reached me, led
me to press nearer. I asked the
speaker's name, and learned
that it was Abraham Lincoln. Browning's
description of the
German professor, "Three parts
sublime to one grotesque," was
applicable to this man. The face had a
battered and bronzed
look, without being hard. His nose was
prominent, and but-
tressed a strong and high forehead. His
eyes were high-vaulted,
and had an expression of sadness; his
mouth and chin were too
close together, the cheeks hollow. On
the whole, Lincoln's ap-
pearance was not attractive until one
heard his voice, which
possessed variety of expression,
earnestness, and shrewdness in
every tone. The charm of his manner was
that he had no man-
ner; he was simple, direct, humorous. He
pleasantly repeated a
mannerism of his opponent, -- "This
is what Douglas calls his
gur-reat per-rinciple." But the next words I remember were
these: "Slavery is wrong."
The young man, Rutherford B. Hayes,
before re-
ferred to, who was present at the
meeting as a Vice
President, has also given us a first
hand impression in
his diary kept at the time:31
Mr. Lincoln has an ungainly figure, but
one loses sight of
that, or rather the first impression
disappears in the absorbed
attention which the matter of his speech
commands. He is an
orator of an unusual kind, so calm, so
undemonstrative, but
nevertheless an orator of great merit.
It is easy to contrast
him after the manner of Plutarch, but
his like has not been
heard in these parts. His manner is more
like Crittenden's,
and his truth and candor are like what
we admire in the Ken-
30 Moncure Daniel Conway: Autobiography,
Memories and Experi-
ences, vol. I, p. 317.
31 Charles Richard Williams: Life of
Rutherford Birchard Hayes,
vol. I, p. 3.
Lincoln and Ohio 101
tuckian, but his speech has greater
logical force, greater warmth
of feeling.
Lincoln returned home recognized as
having greatly
advanced the interests of his party in
Ohio, and as
having increased the chances of
Dennison's election.
His speeches were widely circulated
throughout the
state, and he made many friends that
were useful to
him in the future. His farewell, unlike
that of four
years before, was full of cheer.
CHAPTER V
OHIO'S PART IN LINCOLN'S
NOMINATION
The Lincoln-Douglas debate in 1858
resulted in de-
cided advantages for the Republican
party; its state
ticket was elected by a substantial
majority -- 125,430
votes to the Democratic poll of
121,609; and as a further
result the opposition to slavery
extension had reached
such a degree of understanding and
approval as the
people of the North never before
attained. It was a
personal, but very close triumph for
Douglas; his ma-
jority in the joint session was but
eight. This was the
exact number of Democrats serving over
in the Senate
from the last legislature. But for
Lincoln it was a
defeat that was felt keenly, more
keenly, perhaps, be-
cause the margin was so small, and
because he expected
success. It begot one of his
temperamental moods of
depression. In the following days of
his melancholia,
when encircled by deepening shadows, he
felt that even
his friends neglected and ignored him.
This mood, how-
ever, passed away, and he said he felt
"like the boy that
stubbed his toe -- 'it hurt too bad to
laugh, and he was
too big to cry'".
As many a candidate, before and since,
he was not
only beaten, but "broke"; and
in addition there was the
inevitable aftermath of every campaign
-- party debts.
This was called to his attention by N.
B. Judd, his close
friend and the Chairman of the
Republican State Com-
mittee. He had no money, and he wrote
Judd, "I have
been on expense so long without earning
anything, that
(102)
Lincoln and Ohio 103
I am absolutely without money now even
for household
expenses". "Still", he
says, "if you can put in two
hundred and fifty dollars for me
towards discharging
the debt of the Committee, I will allow
it when you and
I settle the private matter between
us".
This was two weeks after the election.
There was
no thought in Lincoln's mind, nor in
that of any of his
immediate friends, of the presidency;
indeed, some of
them were of the opinion that his
political career was
ended. Many of them charged his defeat
to his famous
speech opening the campaign at
Springfield, in which he
declared that "this government
cannot endure, perma-
nently, half slave and half free".
Leonard Swett, his
closest friend, was of this opinion.
After the election
Mr. Swett said: "The first ten
lines of that speech de-
feated him. The sentiment of the 'house
divided against
itself' seemed wholly inappropriate. It
was a speech
made at the commencement of a campaign,
and appar-
ently made for the campaign. Viewing it
in this light
alone nothing could have been more
unfortunate or
more inappropriate. It was saying the
wrong thing
first."
After a while the gloom wore away, and
as word
came from the country, his friends
began to discover
that Lincoln was the real victor in the
recent struggle.
He had become a national character, and
had presented
the principle of the new party before
the North as it
had never been presented before. He had
furnished the
issue for 1860. His friends in Illinois
at first, however,
had no thought of him beyond the
Vice-Presidency. His
supporters in the Legislature in the
spring of 1859 dis-
cussed this subject. Lincoln answered,
to one of the
members who said that while they would
not be able to
104
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
make him President, they might make him
Vice-Presi-
dent, that he did not consider himself
material for Presi-
dent, and that the minor office was not
big enough
for one who had been a candidate for
United States
Senator. It was not until the spring of
1860 that he
actually consented to be a candidate
for President, and
that he formally held conferences with
his friends on
that subject.
Long before this, however, there came
from Ohio the
first declaration of organized
Republicans favoring him
as a candidate for President. The
Illinois election in-
volving his defeat for United States
Senator was on
November 2, 1858; three days afterwards
a meeting
was held in Mansfield, Ohio, nominating
him for Presi-
dent, as will be seen by the following
published in the
Sandusky Commercial-Register, November 9, 1858:
LINCOLN FOR PRESIDENT
We are indebted to a friend at Mansfield
for the following
dispatch:
MANSFIELD,
Nov. 5th, 1858.
Editor Sandusky Register: An enthusiastic meeting is in
progress here tonight in favor of
Lincoln for the next Republi-
can candidate for President.
REPORTER.
This news was repeated in Lincoln's
home paper at
Springfield, the Illinois State
Journal, of November 19,
as follows:
LINCOLN FOR PRESIDENT
The Sandusky (Ohio) Register announces
the nomination
of Hon. Abraham Lincoln for the next
President, by an en-
thusiastic meeting at Mansfield in that
State.
This journal of his own town, although
differing with
Lincoln in politics, seems to have been
ready to reprint
|
(105) |
106
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the favorable expressions of his Ohio
friends, for we
find on the 19th this item:
(From the New York Herald.)
ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL TEAM. -- The
following
ticket has just been brought out at
Cincinnati: For President,
Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois; for Vice
President, John P. Ken-
nedy, of Maryland -- with a platform
embracing protection to
American industry, the improvement of
western rivers and har-
bors, and opposition to the extension
of slavery by free emigra-
tion into the territories.
This early Ohio movement towards
Lincoln was
based on admiration for him, growing
out of his cour-
ageous opposition to Douglas. The
spectacular debate
had something to do with it, but more
than all was his
steady, temperate, and irrefutable
arguments against
the extension of slavery. Unlike
Seward, Wade and
Sumner, he was practical, unemotional,
and constitu-
tional. It was apparent that Lincoln's
arguments were
the only ones upon which could be built
an anti-slavery
party; abolitionism as advocated was
revolutionary, and
instinctively rejected by the mass of
the Northern peo-
ple. This, too, notwithstanding that
the immorality of
slavery was generally admitted. So
great an impression
did the Lincoln-Douglas debates,
including the former's
speeches at Columbus and Cincinnati
make, that a gen-
eral demand for them prevailed. In
Illinois they had
been printed as campaign documents by
different com-
mittees, but in Ohio another view
obtained. When
both sides had been read and studied,
it was discovered
that no better propaganda for the
support of the new
party could be made than to publish all
the arguments,
for and against slavery extension, and
let the North
judge. Far-seeing leaders saw
that in Lincoln's
Lincoln and Ohio 107
speeches was the unanswerable appeal of
the new cru-
sade, and they believed that the wider
their circulation
the stronger became their cause.
Therefore, early in December, 1859,
George M. Par-
sons, Chairman, and the members of the
Republican
Committee wrote to Lincoln requesting
copies of all the
speeches in the debates as well as his
Ohio speeches in
the recent campaign. They regarded
them, they said,
"as luminous and triumphant
expositions of the doc-
trines of the Republican party,
successfully vindicated
from the aspersions of its foes, and
calculated to make
a document of great practical service
to the Republican
party in the approaching Presidential
contest". They
also inclosed a supplementary letter
signed by Governor-
elect Dennison, the state officers and
the Republican
members of the State Board of
Equalization repre-
senting the several Senatorial
Districts of the State, then
assembled at Columbus.
This expression from the Republican
party of Ohio
was very significant, for at this very
time Governor
Chase and his friends were doing all
possible with a
view to presenting him [Chase] as the
state's presi-
dential candidate at the National
Convention of the
coming year. It will also be observed
that the Governor
did not join his colleagues in signing
the letter, which,
with its reply, follows:32
COLUMBUS, OHIO, Dec. 7, 1859.
HON. ABRAHAM LINCOLN:
DEAR SIR: -- As members of the
Republican party of Ohio,
from different portions of the State,
met together for the first
time since the election, we thank you in
the name of the party
for the prompt and efficient aid
rendered us in the late campaign,
by your speeches at Columbus and Cincinnati. The pro-slavery
32 Lincoln-Douglas Debates, p. III.
108 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications Democracy, driven to despair by repeated defeats,
entered the late contest openly ignoring a defense of the present
Administra- tion, and raising the specious flag of popular
sovereignty, called the Little Giant himself into the field to tickle the
public ear with rehearsals of his "Harper's Magazine"
article. The experience acquired in seven pitched battles with
him as an antagonist, enabled you to make such a
searching and thoroughly practical expose of the fallacies of his
position, in your Ohio speeches, which were scattered by thousands
by our Central Committee among the people, that Douglasism,
with its inconsistent theory, that "a thing (slavery) may
lawfully be driven away, from where it has a right to be,"
by the action or non-action of a Territorial Legislature, in spite
of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Dred
Scott case, was no where among the voters when the polls
were closed. Proclaimed victor by a majority of the popular vote
of your own State, in the famous debates which have attracted the
universal attention of the party as containing the doctrines of
the Repub- lican creed, thoroughly discussed and completely
vindicated from the misrepresentations of its foes: we would
request that you cause to be collected for publication in
permanent form, authentic copies of those debates, together with your
two Ohio speeches, as a document that will be of essential
service to the cause in the approaching Presidential campaign. The
results of the late elections indicate a glorious triumph then,
if Republican principles are properly discussed and rightly
diffused among the people. The signs of the times bespeak, that there is
a West, no longer to be used as a mere voting appendage to
carry out the schemes of other interests, but a political power
united to assert her own dignity in the confederacy and carry
out to their legitimate consummation the immortal principles of
the Or- dinance of 1787, under which she was organized, by
standing by its champions and indignantly spurning the whole
tribe of trad- ing Doughfaces, who flout at the sacred birthright of
their own States.
Respectfully yours, |
S. WILLIAMSON, Cuyahoga, ERASTUS SPENCER, Geauga, A. C. RAMAGE, Belmont, N. W. CARROLL, Preble, S. T. CUNARD, Morrow, W. S. RUSSELL, Sandusky, P. N. O'BANNON, Licking, GEO. CLIFTON, Lorain, S. W. MCCULLOUGH, Logan, SAM'L C. JOHNSON, Lawrence, |
A. L. NORTHRUP, Darke, O. D. BIGELOW, Hancock, JAMES H. LADD, Jefferson, JACOB EGBERT, Warren, B. NESBITT, Greene, SETH WOODFORD, Washington, DANIEL HAYNES, Mahoning, JOHN HOY, Summit, WM. MCDONALD, Champaign, AMOS CARR, Carroll, |
Lincoln and Ohio 109 |
WM. DENNISON, JR., F. M. WRIGHT, A. P. RUSSELL, A. P. STONE, W. B. THRALL, |
JOHN WADDLE, JOHN L. MARTIN, C. P. WOLCOTT, ANSON SMYTH, |
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, December 19. Messrs. GEO.
M. PARSONS AND OTHERS, Central Executive Committee, etc. GENTLEMEN: -- Your letter of the 7th instant,
accompanied by a similar one from the governor-elect, the
Republican State officers, and the Republican members of the State
Board of Equalization of Ohio, both requesting of me, for
publication in permanent form, copies of the political debates
between Senator Douglas and myself last year, has been received. With
my grateful acknowledgements to both you and them for
the very flattering terms in which the request is
communicated, I trans- mit you the copies. The copies I send you are as
reported and printed by the respective friends of Senator Douglas
and myself, at the time -- that is, his by his friends, and mine
by mine. It would be an unwarrantable liberty for us to change a
word or a letter in his, and the changes I have made in mine,
you per- ceive, are verbal only, and very few in number. I
wish the reprint to be precisely as the copies I send, without
any comment whatever.
Yours very truly, A. LINCOLN. The result of this was the publication of a volume containing not only the debates and Ohio speeches,
but others of Lincoln and Douglas in the Illinois
campaign of 1858, delivered at Springfield, Chicago and
Bloom- ington. Lincoln's famous
"house-divided-against-itself" speech at Springfield opened the volume. Nearly
fifty thousand copies were printed and sold throughout the country by the publishers, Follett; Foster &
Co., of Columbus, Ohio.33 33 Political
Debates between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas In the Celebrated Campaign of 1858, in Illinois, Including the Preceding Speeches of Each at Chicago, Springfield,
etc.; Also the Two Great Speeches of Mr. Lincoln in Ohio in 1859, as
Carefully Prepared by the Reporters of Each Party, and Published at the
Times of Their Delivery. Columbus:
Follett, Foster and Company, 1860. Very scarce and usually quoted as Lincoln-Douglas Debates. |
110 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
The initiation of this work by the Ohio
Republicans,
for its promotion was purely political,
did much to ad-
vance the cause. It also added in a
pronounced way to
Lincoln's standing, especially in the
East. An emi-
nent historian has written this:34
Since "nothing succeeds like
success," it was for the most
part supposed in the East that as Douglas had won the
prize, he
had overpowered his antagonist in debate. This remained
the
prevalent opinion until, in 1860, the debates were
published in
book form. Since then the matured
judgment is that in the
dialectic contest, Lincoln got the better of Douglas.
The circulation of this book had a
powerful influence
in the East. It gave Lincoln a new
standing among
its editors and wise men. Heretofore,
when from Illi-
nois and Ohio there came suggestions of
him for the
presidency, they were regarded as a
joke.35 It was not
long, however, before a different
estimate was placed
upon the western lawyer. His speeches indicated a
powerful personality. Their simple but
irrefutable logic,
their serious spirit in behalf of a
great cause and their
genuine statesmanship commanded from
those who read
them the greatest respect. There came a
curiosity to
see this man, and then invitations to
speak in the East,
culminating in his Cooper Institute
speech in New York.
Before a critical audience presided
over by William
Cullen Bryant, in an address remarkable
for its keen
historical analysis of the slavery
question and for its
wise counsels to the Republican party,
he made it appar-
ent to his eastern critics that William
H. Seward had
a serious rival for the presidency.36
From New York
34 James
Ford Rhodes: History of the United States, Vol. II, p. 343.
35 James Ford Rhodes: History of the
United States, Vol. II, p. 458.
36
Since the days of Clay and Webster no man has spoken to a larger
assemblage of the intellect and mental
culture of our city. * * * No
man ever before made such an impression
on his first appeal to a New
York audience -- New York Tribune, February
23, 1860.
Lincoln and Ohio
111
he went up to New England, speaking
in Vermont,
Rhode Island, and Connecticut. When
Lincoln returned
home, his candidacy was no longer
regarded as a joke.
This eastern trip was the most
potential factor up to
this time in making Lincoln a
presidential candidate
of consequence.
That this situation developed was due
almost wholly
to the actions of his admirers in Ohio.
Since the debates many Ohioans had
openly ex-
pressed their preference for him for
President. They
were free in writing to offer him their
services. Lincoln
in return wrote as freely, and at times
did not hesitate
to give his opinions on Ohio politics.
Witness his let-
ter to Governor Chase on the Fugitive
Slave Law, and
the following to Hon. Samuel Galloway
on the defeat
of Judge Swan. It is to be regretted
that but very few
of these letters are extant, but such
as are throw an
interesting light on the politics of
those days as well
as contribute to the history of the times.
One of the
most valuable, as well as
characteristic, is the one last
referred to, in which he comments
critically on Ohio
political affairs, and also refers to
the presidency:37
SPRINGFIELD, ILL., July 28, 1859.
HON. SAMUEL GALLOWAY.
MY DEAR SIR: -- Your very complimentary,
not to say flatter-
ing, letter of the 23rd inst. is
received. Dr. Reynolds had in-
duced me to expect you here; and I was
disappointed not a little
by your failure to come. And yet I fear
you have formed an
estimate of me which can scarcely be
sustained on a personal
acquaintance.
Two things done by the Ohio Republican
convention -- the
repudiation of Judge Swan, and the
"plank" for a repeal of the
37 The original is in the autograph
collection of former Governor
James E. Campbell, President of the Ohio
State Archaeological and Histor-
ical Society.
|
(112) |
|
Vol. XXXII -- 8. (113) |
|
(114) |
Lincoln and Ohio 115
Fugitive Slave law -- I very much
regretted. These two things
are of a piece; and they are viewed by many good men,
sincerely
opposed to slavery, as a struggle
against, and in disregard of,
the Constitution itself. And it is the
very thing that will greatly
endanger our cause, if it be not kept
out of our national con-
vention. There is another thing our
friends are doing which
gives me some uneasiness. It is their
leaning toward "popular
sovereignty." There are three substantial objections to
this:
First, no party can command respect
which sustains this year
what it opposed last. Secondly, Douglas
(who is the most dan-
gerous enemy of liberty, because the
most insidious one) would
have little support in the North, and by
consequence, no capital
to trade on in the South, if it were not
for his friends thus
magnifying him and his humbug. But
lastly, and chiefly, Doug-
las's popular sovereignty, accepted by
the public mind as a just
principle, nationalizes slavery, and
revives the African slave
trade inevitably. Taking slaves into new
Territories, and buying
slaves in Africa, are identical things,
identical rights or identical
wrongs, and the argument which
establishes one will establish
the other. Try a thousand years for a
sound reason why Con-
gress shall not hinder the people of
Kansas from having slaves,
and, when you have found it, it will be
an equally good one why
Congress should not hinder the people of
Georgia from import-
ing slaves from Africa.
As to Governor Chase, I have a kind side
for him. He was
one of the few distinguished men of the
Nation who gave us,
in Illinois, their sympathy last year. I
never saw him, but sup-
pose him to be able and right-minded;
but still he may not be
the most suitable as a candidate for the
Presidency.
I must say I do no think myself fit for
the Presidency. As
you propose a correspondence with me, I
shall look for your
letters anxiously.
I have not met Dr. Reynolds since
receiving your letter;
but when I shall, I will present your
respects as requested.
Yours very truly,
A. LINCOLN.
With the approach of the National
Convention we
find evidences of Lincoln's industry
among his Ohio
friends. The "Mr. Parrott of the
legislature", referred
to in the following letter was Edwin A.
Parrott of
Dayton, the member from Montgomery
County:
116 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
CHICAGO, March 24, 1860.
HON. SAMUEL GALLOWAY.
MY DEAR SIR: I am here
attending a trial in court. Be-
fore leaving home I received your kind
letter of the 15th. Of
course I am gratified to know I have
friends in Ohio who are
disposed to give me the highest evidence
of their friendship
and confidence. Mr. Parrott, of the
legislature, had written me
to the same effect. If I have any
chance, it consists mainly in
the fact that the whole opposition would
vote for me, if nomi-
nated. (I don't mean to include the
pro-slavery opposition of
the South, of course.) My name is new in
the field, and I sup-
pose I am not the first choice of a very
great many. Our policy,
then, is to give no offense to others --
leave them in a mood to
come to us if they shall be compelled to
give up their first love.
This, too, is dealing justly with all,
and leaving us in a mood to
support heartily whoever shall be
nominated. I believe I have
once before told you that I especially
wish to do no ungenerous
thing toward Governor Chase, because he
gave us his sympathy
in 1858 when scarcely any other
distinguished man did. What-
ever you may do for me, consistently
with these suggestions, will
be appreciated and gratefully
remembered. Please write me
again.
Yours very truly,
A. LINCOLN.
The Lincoln sentiment seems to have
developed in
Cincinnati contemporaneously with that
in Mansfield,
as will be remembered by the report of
the New York
Herald, which registered a movement for a ticket com-
posed of Lincoln and Kennedy. At the
same time there
was a pronounced opinion favoring Judge
John McLean
of the United States Supreme Court, and
a resident
nearby Cincinnati, which was the home
of Governor
Chase. Richard M. Corwine, a prominent lawyer of
Cincinnati (at one time a partner of
Rutherford B.
Hayes) and a delegate afterwards to the
Chicago Con-
vention, where he voted to the end for
Judge McLean,
was in correspondence with Lincoln,
doubtless for the
purpose of feeling out the chances for
his friend. He
Lincoln and Ohio 117
evidently wrote cautiously; Lincoln
replied in the same
spirit. To Corwine's first letter he
answered:
SPRINGFIELD, April 6th, 1860.
HON. R. M. CORWINE.
MY DEAR SIR: -- Reaching home
yesterday after an absence
of more than two weeks, I found your
letter of the 24th of
March. Remembering that when a not very
great man begins
to be mentioned for a very great
position, his head is very likely
to be a little turned, I concluded I am
not the fittest person to
answer the questions you ask. Making due
allowance for this,
I think Mr. Seward is the very best
candidate we could have for
the North of Illinois, and the very
worst for the South of it.
The estimate of Governor Chase here is
neither better nor worse
than that of Seward, except that he is a
newer man. They are
regarded as being almost the same,
seniority giving Seward the
inside track. Mr. Bates, I think, would
be the best man for the
South of our State, and the worst for
the North of it. If Judge
McLean was fifteen, or even ten years
younger, I think he would
be stronger than either, in our state,
taken as a whole; but his
great age, and the recollection of the
deaths of Harrison and
Taylor have, so far, prevented his being
spoken much of here.
I really believe we can carry the state
for either of them,
or for any one who may be nominated; but
doubtless it would
be easier to do it with some than with
others.
I feel myself disqualified to speak of
myself in this matter.
I feel that this letter will be of
little value to you; but I can
make it no better, under the
circumstances. Let it be strictly
confidential, not that there is anything
really objectionable in it,
but because it might be misconstrued.
Yours very truly,
A. LINCOLN.
Again, two weeks before the National
Convention he
wrote:
SPRINGFIELD, May 2nd, 1860.
HON. R. M. CORWINE,
DEAR SIR: --
Private.
Yours of the 30th ult. is just received.
After what you have
said, it is perhaps proper I should post
you, so far as I am able,
as to the "lay of the land".
First, I think the Illinois delegation
will be unanimous for
118 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
me at the start; and no other delegation
will. A few individuals
in the other delegations would like to go for me at the
start, but
may be restrained by their colleagues.
It is represented to me
by men who ought to know, that the whole
of Indiana might
not be difficult to get. You know how it
is in Ohio. I am cer-
tainly not the first choice there; and
yet I have not heard that
anyone makes any positive objection to
me. It is just so every-
where as far as I can perceive.
Everywhere, except here in
Illinois and possibly in Indiana, one or
another is preferred to
me, but there is no positive objection.
This is the ground as it
now appears. I believe you personally
know C. M. Allen of
Vincennes, Indiana. He is a delegate and
has notified me that
the entire Indiana delegation will be in
Chicago the same day you
name, Saturday, the 12th. My friends,
Jesse K. Dubois, our
auditor, and Judge David Davis, will
probably be there ready to
confer with friends from other States.
Let me hear from you
again when anything occurs.
Yours very truly,
A. LINCOLN.
It is worth noting that Galloway and
Corwine had
both written Lincoln after the
Republicans of Ohio had
declared in convention that their
choice for the presi-
dency was Governor Chase. There is no
doubt but what
scores of prominent Republicans
throughout the state
were doing the same thing, almost to
the date of the
National Convention. Very little of
this correspond-
ence has been preserved, or has come to
light, to the
loss of a wide and interesting
knowledge of the politics
of that period.
Now for a review of the state
situation. On March
1, 1860, the Republicans held a state
convention to select
delegates-at-large to the second
Republican National
Convention to be held at Chicago, May
16. The state
convention assembled in the Odeon, next
to the Neil
House in Columbus. The following were
elected dele-
gates-at-large: David Kellogg Cartter,
of Cuyahoga
County; Conrad Brodbeck, of Montgomery;
Thomas
Lincoln and Ohio 119
Spooner, of Hamilton; and Valentine B.
Horton, of
Meigs. The convention also adopted the
following reso-
lution:
Resolved, That while the Republicans of Ohio will give
their united support to the nominee of the Chicago
Convention,
they would indicate as their first
choice and recommend to said
Convention the name of Salmon P. Chase,
of Ohio.
In the light of the presidential state
indorsements of
today, this seems to lack enthusiasm,
but it met the
requirements of the times, which
confined such expres-
sions to brevity of language. The
resolution, however,
was not passed unanimously. The vote
being taken
by counties, showed that sixty-five
were unanimous for
the resolution; seventeen were divided;
four were
unanimous against it, and two not
voting. The re-
mainder of the Ohio delegation was
selected by Con-
gressional district conventions. Under
this sifting and
testing system the party secured able
and distinguished
representatives. By its results
delegations were formed
of men prominent in business in their
community, or
men who, by political careers had
already gone through
a process of selection, or men of
mature age and judg-
ment, who in the past enjoyed party
honors and con-
fidences. The haphazard process of electing delegates
by the primary system, where selections
are arrived at
by active minorities welded together by
outside organi-
zations regardless of party loyalty,
was then unknown.
The Ohio delegation to Chicago was as
follows:38
38 Proceedings of the First Three Republican National
Conventions
of 1856, 1860, and 1864, Including Proceedings of the Antecedent National
Convention held at Pittsburgh in
February 1856, as Reported by Horace
Greely. Published and Copyrighted by
Charles W. Johnson, Minneapolis,
Minn., p. 173.
120 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
AT LARGE
David K. Cartter, Cleveland,
Valentine B. Horton, Pomeroy,
Thomas Spooner, Redding,
Conrad Brodbeck, Dayton.
DISTRICTS
1. Benjamin Eggleston, Cincinnati,
Fred Hassaureck, Cincinnati,
2. R. M. Corwine, Cincinnati,
Joseph H. Barrett, Cincinnati,
3. William Beckett, Hamilton,
P. P. Lowe, Dayton,
4. G. D. Burgess, Troy,
John E. Cummings, Sidney,
5. David Taylor, Defiance,
E. Graham, Perrysburg,
6. John M. Barrere, New Market,
Reeder W. Clarke,
7. Thomas Corwin, Lebanon,
A. Hivling, Xenia,
8. W. H. West,
Bellefontaine,
Levi Geiger, Urbana,
9. Earl Bill, Tiffin,
D. W. Swigart, Bucyrus,
10. J. V. Robinson, Jr., Portsmouth,
Milton L. Clark, Chillicothe,
11. N.
H.
Van Voorhees, Athens,
A. C. Sands, Zaleski,
12. Willard Warner, Newark,
Jonathan Renick, Circleville,
13. John J. Gurley, Mt. Gilead,
P. N. Schuyler, Norwalk,
14. James Monroe, Oberlin,
G. U. Harn, Wooster,
15. Columbus Delano, Mt. Vernon,
R. K. Enos, Millersburg,
16. Daniel Applegate, Zanesville,
Caleb A. Williams, Chesterfield,
17. C. J. Allbright, Cambridge,
Wm. Wallace, Martin's Ferry,
18. H. Y. Beebe, Ravenna,
Isaac Steese, Massillon,
19. Robert F.
Paine, Cleveland,
R. Hitchcock, Painesville,
Lincoln and Ohio 121
20.
Joshua R. Giddings, Jefferson,
Milton Sutliffe, Warren,
21. Samuel Stokely, Steubenville,
D. Arter, Carrollton.
Although the Republicans of Ohio
through their
state convention had designated
Governor Chase as their
presidential preference, this
declaration was considered
binding only upon the
delegates-at-large. The district
delegates regarded themselves as
representing local
sentiment. Governor Chase soon
discovered, as has
many a candidate since, that state
convention instruc-
tions are "more honored in the
breach than in the ob-
servance". Shortly a divergence of
choice developed,
and there was talk of Justice John
McLean and Senator
"Ben" Wade as candidates. The
Chase delegates were
especially embittered against the Wade
movement, and
declared they would vote for Lincoln or
Seward first.
This settled that diversion. It was
openly charged by
Chase's friends that this conspiracy,
as they called it,
in behalf of Wade was promoted by delegates
D. K.
Cartter, Joshua R. Giddings, C. P.
Wolcott, William
Dennison, Jr., Thomas Corwin and
Columbus Delano,
with a view of creating a senatorial
vacancy for which
each of the gentlemen named would be a
candidate.39
So this reduced Ohio's candidates to
two -- Chase and
McLean.
Salmon P. Chase was a worthy candidate
of a great
state. He was an anti-slavery partisan
from his youth.
He followed his convictions to the
extreme. Leaving
the Democratic party on account of its
pro-slavery po-
39 Caucuses of 1860. A History of the National Political Conven-
tions of the Current Presidential
Campaign: by M. Halstead, an Eye
Witness of Them All. Columbus, Follett, Foster and
Company, 1860.
p. 143.
122 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
sition, he first joined the Liberty,
then the Republican
party. He opposed the operation of the
Fugitive Slave
Law, and when a young man entering the
practice of
law, he defended the fugitive slave in
the courts at
Cincinnati, when by so doing he invited
social ostra-
cism and professional failure. He
maintained through-
out his political career that Congress
could not consti-
tutionally impose on state officials the
enforcement of
the Fugitive Slave Law. He was elected
United States
Senator from Ohio by a combination of
Democrats and
Free Soilers in 1849. He left the
Democratic party
upon the election of Franklin Pierce in
1852, and from
that time was prominent in anti-slavery
affairs. He
was one of the founders of the
Republican party and
was its candidate for Governor of Ohio
in 1855 and
1857, and both times elected. He was a
man of con-
science and courage, of impressive
personal bearing,
narrow in his views, of non-reliable
temperament and
impracticable judgment, which his
subsequent life
proved.
John McLean was one of the really able
men of the
country. He commenced his political
career early. In
1812 he entered Congress, and from that
time to his
death was in public life. He served on
the Supreme
Bench of Ohio, was appointed
Commissioner of the
Land Office, was Postmaster General
under President
Monroe, was appointed Associate Justice
of the Supreme
Court by President Jackson, and was in
this position
at the time of the Chicago Convention.
Thus he had
a continuous record of forty-eight
years of conspicuous
and pure official life, and was in his
seventy-sixth year.
Lincoln in his letter to R. M. Corwine
had called atten-
tion to Judge McLean's age and the
possibility of a
Lincoln and Ohio 123
repetition of the cases of
Presidents Harrison and
Taylor.
Just what Lincoln feared happened; Judge
McLean
died April 4, 1861, (just thirty days
after inauguration
day); if he had been President,
Harrison's case would
have been paralleled.
On the third day of the Convention, May
18, came
the nomination of candidates. It will be
observed that
the style of nominating speeches is in
sharp contrast to
that of the present day. Those presenting the candi-
dates we are interested in, are here
given in full:40
MR. JUDD of Illinois: "I
desire on behalf of the delegation
from Illinois, to put in nomination, as
a candidate for President,
of the United States, Abraham Lincoln of
Illinois. (Immense
applause, long continued.)
MR. CARTTER of Ohio: "Ohio presents
to the consideration
of this Convention as a candidate for
President, the name of
Salmon P. Chase of Ohio."
(Applause.)
MR. CORWIN of Ohio: "I rise, Mr.
President, at the re-
quest of many gentlemen, part of them
members of this Con-
vention, and many of them of the most
respectable gentlemen
known to the history of this country and
its politics, to present
the name of John McLean."
(Applause.)
MR. DELANO of Ohio: "I rise on
behalf of a portion of the
delegation from Ohio, to put in
nomination the man who can
split rails and maul Democrats."
(Great applause.)
Thus Ohio alone, of all the states,
joined with Illi-
nois in presenting Lincoln's name to the
convention.
This was no surprise, as for more than a
year there
had been developing a trend to this end.
From the
night of the meeting of Lincoln's
friends at Mansfield
his strength had been growing. So this
speech of Mr.
Delano was not the result of spontaneous
enthusiasm,
neither was it the fruit of
intrigue. Its effect was tre-
40 Proceedings of the First Three Republican National
Conventions,
etc.; p. 148.
124 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
mendous; well it might be, for here was
Ohio with one
of the great men of the Nation as her
candidate, pre-
senting the name of Lincoln.
Murat Halstead, the famous editor,
who as a young
man was present, as correspondent of
the Cincinnati
Commercial, thus described the scene:41
As Mr. Delano of Ohio, on behalf
"of a portion of the
delegation of that State," seconded (?) the
nomination of Lin-
coln, the uproar was beyond description.
Imagine all the hogs
ever slaughtered in Cincinnati giving
their death squeals to-
gether, a score of big steam whistles
going (steam at 160 lbs. per
inch), and you conceive something of the
same nature. I
thought the Seward yell could not be
surpassed; but the Lincoln
boys were clearly ahead, and feeling
their victory, as there was a
lull in the storm, took deep breaths all
round, and gave a con-
centrated shriek that was positively
awful, and accompanied it
with stamping that made every plank and
pillar in the building
quiver.
On the call of the roll of the States
Ohio's vote for
President, on the first ballot was as
follows:42
FOR SALMON P. CHASE
Albright, Applegate, Barrett, Beckett,
Beebe, Bill,
Brodbeck, Cartter, Clarke, R. W.,
Eggleston, Ennis,
Giddings, Graham, Gurley, Harn,
Hassaurek, Hitch-
cock. Horton, Lowe, Paine, Sands,
Schuyler, Steese,
Spooner, Stokely, Sutliff, Swigart,
Taylor, Townshend,43
Van Vorhes, Wallace, Warner, West, and
Williams --
34.
FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN:
Burgess, Clark, M. L., Cummins, Delano,
Geiger,
Hivling, Renick, and Robinson -- 8.
41 Murat Halstead: Caucuses of 1860
etc.; p. 145.
42 Joseph P. Smith: History of
the Republican Party in Ohio,
Vol. I, pp. 116-118. Remarkable for its
accuracy and comprehensiveness.
43 Norton
S. Townshend, alternate for James Monroe of Oberlin, dele-
gate from the 11th District, who was
absent.
Lincoln and Ohio 125
FOR JOHN McLEAN:
Arter, Barrere, Corwin, and Corwine --
4.
The second ballot developed the
following vote:
FOR SALMON P. CHASE:
Albright, Applegate, Beebe, Bill,
Brodbeck, Cartter,
Eggleston, Ennis, Graham, Hassaurek,
Hitchcock, Hor-
ton, Lowe, Paine, Sands, Schuyler,
Steese, Spooner,
Stokely, Sutliff, Swigart, Taylor,
Townshend, Van Vor-
hes, Wallace, Warner, West, and
Williams -- 29.
FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN:
Arter, Barrere, Beckett, Burgess,
Clarke, R. W.,
Clark, M. L., Cummins, Delano, Geiger,
Gurley, Harn,
Hivling, Renick, and Robinson -- 14.
FOR JOHN McLEAN
Barrett, Corwin, and Corwine -- 3.
The third ballot was as follows:
FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Albright, Applegate, Arter, Barrere,
Barrett, Beck-
ett, Burgess, Clarke, R. W., Clark, M.
L., Cummins,
Delano, Eggleston, Ennis, Geiger,
Gurley, Harn, Hiv-
ling, Lowe, Renick, Robinson, Sands,
Schuyler, Stokely,
Swigart, Van Vorhes, Wallace, Warner,
West and
Williams -- 29.
FOR SALMON P. CHASE
Beebe, Bill, Brodbeck, Cartter,
Giddings, Graham,
Hassaurek, Hitchcock, Horton, Paine,
Steese, Spooner,
Sutliff, Taylor, and Townshend -- 15.
FOR JOHN McLEAN
Corwin and Corwine -- 2.
126 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
During the sessions of a national
convention, where
nominations are hotly contested, there
is no period of
such intense interest as that of the
roll call of the states
for the selection of a candidate for
President. It is one
of silence and suspense. And yet,
notwithstanding all
the attendant anxiety, there are
hundreds among the
delegates and spectators who keep
accurate records of
the poll as the states respond. So, on
that day at Chi-
cago it was known throughout the
Convention before
the third ballot was announced that
Lincoln had re-
ceived 231 1/2 votes, thus lacking only
1 1/2 votes necessary
for the nomination. Then it was that a
well-schooled
Ohio politician snatched Opportunity in
its flight and
made him the nominee..
Among the things happening at this
time, an in-
cident related by Joseph Medill of the Chicago
Tribune,
in an interview published in the Saturday
Evening Post
(Philadelphia) August 5, 1899, adds to
the history of
the convention, Mr. Medill said:
After the second ballot, I whispered to
Cartter, of Ohio:
"If you can throw the Ohio
delegation for Lincoln, Chase can
have anything he wants."
"H-how d-d'ye know?" stuttered
Cartter. "I know, and you know I
wouldn't promise if I didn't
know."
David K. Cartter, the Ohio chairman,
was a hard
and loyal worker for Governor Chase, as
well as a far-
sighted man, who know a situation when
he saw it.
Therefore, he was able at what he
deemed. the right
time to give to Lincoln four additional
votes. This was
effected by the change from Governor
Chase of H. Y.
Beebe, of Ravenna, David K. Cartter, of
Cleveland,
Fred. Hassaurek, of Cincinnati, and
from Judge Mc-
Lean, of Thomas Corwin, of Lebanon.
Thereupon,
Lincoln and Ohio 127
before the result of the third ballot
could be announced,
Cartter got the floor amidst great
expectation and
excitement, and said:44
I arise, Mr. Chairman, to announce the
change of four votes
from Mr. Chase to Abraham Lincoln.
Then came a scene that can be witnessed
in no
place in the world except in an
American national con-
vention. Ten thousand Lincoln
worshippers, in and
out of the Convention, that were
serious, sober and
anxious during the roll call, now
changed into a cheering,
howling, dancing, stamping mob. It
seemed as if they
abandoned their thinking faculties, and
substituted a
wild disposition that was a cross
between the reckless-
ness of childhood and the
irresponsibility of a mild
lunacy. By night all Chicago seemed
bereft; the streets
were filled with shouting, singing,
marching men with
torchlights, and these processions of
light wended their
way through the streets like serpents
of fire. Their sole
cry was of the new leader from the West
-- "Lincoln,"
"Lincoln."
Murat Halstead, the
"eye-witness", wrote the fol-
lowing vivid description of the
dramatic scenes attending
the nomination:45
While this ballot was taken amid
excitement that tested the
nerves, the fatal defection from Seward
in New England still
further appeared -- four votes going
over from Seward to Lin-
coln in Massachusetts. The latter
received four additional votes
from Pennsylvania and fifteen additional
votes from Ohio. It
was whispered about -- "Lincoln's
the coming man -- will be
44 Proceedings of the First Three Republican National
Conventions
etc., p. 153. Note the discrepancy between Cartter's
announcement and
the fact; only three of the votes were
changed from Chase. See also
William Henry Smith: A Political
History of Slavery, Vol. I, p. 292.
Joseph P. Smith: History of the
Republican Party of Ohio, Vol. I, pp.
116-118.
45 Murat Halstead: Caucuses of 1860,
etc., p. 149.
128
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
nominated this ballot." When the
roll of States and Territories
had been called, I had ceased to give
any attention to any votes
but those for Lincoln, and had his vote
added up as it was given.
The number of votes necessary to a
choice were two hundred and
thirty-three, and I saw under my pencil
as the Lincoln column
was completed, the figures 231 1/2 -- one vote and a half to give
him the nomination. In a moment the fact was whispered
about. A hundred pencils had told the
same story. The news
went over the house wonderfully, and
there was a pause. There
are always men anxious to distinguish
themselves on such oc-
casions. There is nothing that
politicians like better than a
crisis. I looked up to see who would be
the man to give the
decisive vote. The man for the crisis in
the Cincinnati Conven-
tion -- all will
remember -- was Col. Preston of Kentucky. He
broke the Douglas line and precipitated
the nomination of
Buchanan, and was rewarded with a
foreign mission. In about
ten ticks of a watch, Cartter of Ohio
was up. I had imagined
Ohio would be slippery enough for the
crisis. And sure enough!
Every eye was on Cartter, and every body
who understood the
matter at all, knew what he was about to
do. He is a large man
with rather striking features, a shock
of bristling black hair,
large and shining eyes, and is terribly
marked with the small-
pox. He has also an impediment in his
speech, which amounts
to a stutter; and his selection as
chairman of the Ohio delegation
was, considering its condition,
altogether appropriate. He had
been quite noisy during the sessions of
the Convention, but had
never commanded, when mounting his
chair, such attention as
now. He said. "I rise (eh), Mr.
Chairman (eh), to announce
the change of four votes of Ohio from
Mr. Chase to Mr. Lin-
coln." The deed was done. There was
a moment's silence.
The nerves of the thousands, which
through the hours of sus-
pense had been subjected to terrible tension,
relaxed, and as
deep breaths of relief were taken, there
was a noise in the wig-
wam like the rush of a great wind, in
the van of the storm -- and
in another breath, the storm was there.
There were thousands
cheering with the energy of insanity.
To Governor Chase Lincoln's nomination
was a severe
blow, one from which he never recovered. Naturally
a poor loser, his dissatisfaction was
nursed and fo-
mented by his brilliant, ambitious and
intriguing daugh-
ter. His biographer records him as complaining
of the
Ohio delegation, that its lack of unity
"gave an oppor-
Lincoln and Ohio 129
tunity to the partisans of the other
candidates to foment
divisions." His letter of
congratulations to Lincoln was
in exceeding bad taste, being mostly
devoted to praising
Seward's friends for adhering to him,
and condemning
his (Chase's) for deserting him. It was
an exhibition
of disappointment and soreness
characteristic of this
otherwise great man:46
MY DEAR SIR: I congratulate you, most
heartily, on your
nomination; and shall support you, in
1860, as cordially and
earnestly as I did in 1858.
The excellent platform adopted, and the
selection of that
true and able man, Hannibal Hamlin, as
your associate on the
ticket, completes my satisfaction with
the results of the conven-
tion. They will prove, I am confident,
as auspicious to the coun-
try as they are honorable to the
nominees.
Mr. Seward has much reason to be
gratified by the large
and cordial support which he received,
and especially by the
generous, unanimous, and constant
adhesion, without regard to
personal preferences, of the entire
delegation from his own great
State. Doubtless, the similar adhesion
of the Illinois delegation
affords a higher gratification to you
than the nomination itself.
The only regret I feel connected with
the convention is excited
by the failure of the delegation from
Ohio to evince the same
generous spirit. In this regret I am
quite sure you must par-
ticipate; for I err greatly in my
estimate of your magnanimity
if you do not condemn, as I do, the
conduct of delegates from
whatever State, who disregard, while
acting as such, the clearly
expressed preference of their own State
convention.
Yours cordially,
S. P. CHASE.
HON. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The Republicans of Ohio responded to
Lincoln's
candidacy with genuine satisfaction; far
more enthusi-
astically than they would have done to
that of Chase or
Seward. These men were recognized as
great states-
men, friends of liberty, and founders of
the party; but
46 Robert B. Warden: An Account of
the Private Life and Public
Services of Salmon Portland Chase, p. 363.
Vol. XXXII -- 9.
130 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications they failed to reach the hearts of the people -- especially those of the West. Again they had records that were too radical for a great many Republicans. Their very |
|
dignity and scholarship handicapped them, and their long career in politics had developed powerful enemies. But above all, they failed to appeal to the rank and file. |
Lincoln and Ohio 131
Therefore, they met the same fate as
did Webster and
Clay before them, and Blaine, Thurman
and Sherman
since. Lincoln, on the other hand,
satisfied the con-
servative Republicans, and appealed to
the masses of
his party. His life, struggles and accomplishments
under adversity touched their hearts.
In Ohio there
were thousands of voters of Lincoln's
age, whose early
youth was passed in similar
surroundings. They were
born in log cabins, split rails and
lived lives of labor and
hardship. These environments were those
of the pio-
neers, and in 1860, Ohio was yet an
agricultural state,
still fresh with the memories of early
days.
Lincoln grew stronger as the campaign
progressed;
it was apparent that public sentiment
in Ohio strongly
favored him. According to the Ohio
State Journal, at
the time, the position of the
newspapers of the State
was a striking evidence of that fact.
The support of
the press was divided among the four
presidential tickets
thus: Lincoln and Hamlin, 126; Douglas
and Johnson,
80; Breckenridge and Lane, 8; Bell and
Everett, 2. Of
the German newspapers eight were for
Lincoln and
fourteen for Douglas. Ten daily papers
supported Lin-
coln, six Douglas, one Breckenridge and
one Bell.
During the campaign it was Lincoln's
policy to avoid
public expressions either oral or
written. He permitted
no authorized statements. He was
consequently much
annoyed when Samuel Galloway advised
him that the
Columbus publishing house which printed
the "Lincoln-
Douglas Debates," was about to
issue an "authorized
biography of Lincoln." This
doubtless was inspired by
the phenomenal success of the former
work. Lincoln
was quick to repudiate this, as the
following letter
shows:
132
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
SPRINGFIELD, ILL., June 19, 1860.
HON. SAM'L GALLOWAY.
MY DEAR SIR: -- Your very kind letter of
the 15th is re-
ceived. Messrs. Follett, Foster, &
Co.'s Life of me is not by my
authority; and I have scarcely been so
much astounded by any-
thing, as by their public announcement
that it is authorized by
me. They have fallen into some strange
misunderstanding. I
certainly knew they contemplated
publishing a biography, and I
certainly did not object to their doing
so, upon their own respon-
sibility. I even took pains to facilitate them. But, at the same
time, I made myself tiresome, if not
hoarse, with repeating to
Mr. Howard, their only agent seen by me,
my protest that I
authorized nothing -- would be responsible for nothing. How
they could so misunderstand me, passes
comprehension. As a
matter wholly my own, I would
authorize no biography, without
time and opertunity (sic) to carefully examine and
consider
every word of it; and, in this case, in
the nature of things, I can
have no such time and opertunity. (sic).
but, in my present
position, when, by the lessons of the
past, and the united voice
of all discreet friends, I can neither
write nor speak a word
for the public, how dare I to send
forth, by my authority, a
volume of hundreds of pages, for
adversaries to make points
upon without end? Were I to do so, the
convention would have
a right to re-assemble and substitute
another name for mine.
For these reasons, I would not look at
the proof sheets -- I
am determined to maintain the position
of truly saying I never
saw the proof sheets, or any part of
their work, before its pub-
lication.
Now, do not mistake me -- I feel great
kindness for Messrs.
F., F., & Co. -- do not think they
have intentionally done wrong.
There may be nothing wrong in their
proposed book -- I sin-
cerely hope there will not. I barely
suggest that you, or any of
the friends there, on the party account,
look it over, and exclude
what you may think would embarrass the
party -- bearing in
mind, at all times, that I authorize
nothing -- will be responsible
for nothing.
Your friend, as ever,
A. LINCOLN.
The author of the biography was William
Dean
Howells, from Ashtabula County, and then
one of the
editorial writers on the Ohio State
Journal. He was
but twenty-three years of age, and his
work did not
augur the rich literary accomplishments
of his after
Lincoln and Ohio 133
years. He kept in mind Lincoln's
injunction, and in
the preface said: "It is hardly necessary to add, that
no one but the writer is responsible
for his manner of
treating events and men."
After a most exciting campaign the
Lincoln electors
carried fifty-nine of the eighty-eight
counties of Ohio,
and were elected by a plurality of
44,388, and a majority
of 20,655.
So ends Ohio's record in helping to
make Lincoln
President, and it justifies saying that
next to his own
Illinois, no state was more
instrumental in contributing
to the events that framed his destiny
and led to his
immortal fame.
CHAPTER VI
LINCOLN IN OHIO ON HIS
WAY TO INAUGURATION
It was a bright day in
February, 1861, that Lincoln
made the greatest
entrance of his life into Ohio -- his
journey to Washington
to be inaugurated President of
the United
States. His first visit, in 1849, was
one
made in obscurity; his
second, in 1855, one that ended
in humiliation; his
third, in 1859, was one of party
glorification; this,
the last, was one of great dignity,
enthusiastic
acclamation accompanied with all its
triumphal
accessories. Yet beneath it all there
was a
feeling in the popular
mind of seriousness and anxiety,
for the country was in
a perilous state. Already, so
far as the South could
go, the Union was dissolved.
Lincoln started on his
way to Washington from his
home in Springfield,
Illinois, on February 11, 1861.
He was met at
Indianapolis the next day by Mayor R.
M. Bishop of
Cincinnati and a large reception commit-
tee from that city
which filled two cars of the special
train of four
passenger cars and a baggage car. It
is
worthy of note that on
this committee was a future
president and his wife
-- Mr. and Mrs. Rutherford B.
Hayes. The party reached Cincinnati in the
after-
noon.47 Thousands of citizens for hours
crowded
47 I saw Lincoln on
this occasion. I had just entered upon my
seventh year, when one
cold sunshiny morning my mother, wrapping me
up snugly said,
"We are going to see Abe Lincoln." What this name
stood for did not then know, but I had heard it for
months in the
home; we children
shouted it shrilly day by day, and I heard marching
men cheer for it. But I
knew he was a great big man, and that he was
on his way to be
President. So far as the events of this day are
(134)
Lincoln and Ohio 135
about the Indianapolis and Cincinnati
depot, anxiously
and patiently awaiting the arrival of
the President-
elect. Soon the city police and the military organiza-
tions arrived, and the booming of
cannon announced
the
approach of the train.
When Lincoln stepped
from his car followed by his suite and
the committee,
the crowd became wild in enthusiasm, and welcomed
the future President with prolonged
cheering. Through
a cleared way, with Mayor Bishop, he
walked to his
carriage. His towering
form, clad in black
with a
gray shawl across his shoulders and
crowned with a
tall silk hat, was like Saul's,
"head and shoulders above
his fellows." Stepping into his
carriage he remained
standing, hat in hand, bowing to the
right and to the
left in response to the greeting cheers
of thousands of
people. His carriage was drawn by six white horses,
and the procession which escorted him
through the
city to the Burnet House was composed
of, and moved
in the following order:48
concerned, they stand out in my memory
with certainty. I remember
as well as if it were yesterday my
excited mother tying a "comforter"
about my neck, of her putting on her
shawl and bonnet, and finally of her
cutting slices of bread, buttering them
and wrapping them in paper. Be-
fore the day was over I saw her wisdom
in this. Then almost on a
run we started for the depot, which was
only two squares away. We
found seats on a lumber pile, and there
sat for hours. Late in the after-
noon the train came. The crowd surged
and almost pushed us from our
position. My mother stood firm, and to
save me from being crushed
she lifted me upon her head, and there I
sat, she looking between my legs.
We were close to where Lincoln passed. I
could see him plainly. His
figure is now historic, made so by his
eventful life and tragic death, but
even then to a boy in his seventh year
he was impressive in form and
bearing. I remember his face was such as
would naturally attract a child;
while it was grave, it was kind, and had
nothing of repelling solemnity
about it. I saw his tall form step into
his carriage which was driven off
amidst a pageantry of colors and beauty.
Thus was given to a boy the
inestimable privilege, which has been a
lifetime pride and satisfaction of
seeing Lincoln, one of the greatest
characters God has given to the human
race. -- D. J. R.
48 Cincinnati
Daily Gazette, February 13, 1861.
136 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
Miles Greenwood, Grand Marshal, and
Aids, mounted.
Major-General Lytle and Staff, mounted.
Brigadier-General Bates and Staff.
Steuben Artillery, Captain Ammis.
First Cincinnati Battalion, in command
of Major Kennett,
composed of the following companies:
Lafayette, Guards, Captain Miller.
German Yagers, Captain Sommer.
Rover Guards, Lieutenant Hubbell,
commanding.
Cincinnati Zouaves, Lieutenant Anderson,
commanding.
First Company Second Cincinnati
Battalion, Captain Pendry.
Continental Battalion, in command of Colonel Jones, as
follows:
Company A, Captain Jackson.
Company B, Captain Whitcom.
Independent Guthrie Greys Battalion -- two companies,
in com-
mand of Major Bosley.
Detachment of Washington Dragoons,
acting as special guard
to the carriage, Captain Pfau.
Abraham Lincoln, President elect, in
carriage, drawn by six
white horses.
Second Detachment of Washington
Dragoons, Captain Pfau.
Carriages with the suite of President
elect.
Citizens on horseback.
Citizens in carriages.
The line of march was from the depot to Sixth
Street, up Sixth to Mound, out Mound to
Eighth, on
Eighth to Elm Street, up Elm to
Fifteenth, out Fif-
teenth to Vine Street, down Vine to the
Burnet House.
The route was profusely decorated in a
very artistic
way, the patriotic idea dominating
throughout. The
Stars and Stripes were everywhere. The most im-
pressive and patriotic decorations in
the city were
those of the Gibson House. They were the most strik-
ing and attractive of the day, and well
worthy of de-
scription. A great transparency sixty feet long and
twenty feet wide was spread across the
hotel; on one
end of which was a portrait of Lincoln and
on the
other one of Hamlin, and in the center
one of Wash-
ington with the coat of arms of the
United States.
Lincoln and Ohio 137
Over the remaining
surface were the mottoes: "The
people will sustain
the people's choice." "Honor
to a
President, not to a
partisan." "A union of
hearts, a
union of
hands." "A union that nothing
can sever."
"A Union of
States, a union of lands." "The Ameri-
can Union,
forever." "The Union must and
shall be
preserved." "Protection to the Rights of all Sec-
tions." "Maintenance of the Letter and Spirit
of the
Constitution and
Preservation of the Union at all
hazards." "The time has come when Demagogues
must go
under." "The security of a
Republic is in
the maintenance of
the Laws." Beneath all this, on a
pink ground work,
were the names of the thirty-four
states, each
encircled with evergreens. Under those
which seceded were
the words: "Out on paper." The
whole was exceedingly
patriotic and apropos. The
transparency, with
the entire hotel front, was brilliantly
illuminated in the
evening.
As the procession
passed the Orphan Asylum all the
children were
assembled, and as Lincoln's carriage
passed, they sang
"Hail Columbia"; further on groups
of little girls sang
"The Star Spangled Banner", and
one of them presented
him with flowers, upon receiving
which, he kissed the
little child. The whole march was
filled with touching,
patriotic and beautiful incidents.
The day was fine and
the whole city was abroad. From
the crowded streets,
from every window and every roof
came cheers and
demonstrations of waving flags and
handkerchiefs. It was
five o'clock when the Burnet
House was reached.
Here in the presence of an im-
mense crowd of people
Mayor Bishop delivered to him
an address of welcome
as follows:49
49 Cincinnati Daily
Gazette, February 13, 1861.
138 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
Honored Sir: In the name of the people of all classes of
my fellow-citizens, I extend to you a
cordial welcome, and in
their behalf I have the honor of
offering you the hospitalities
of Cincinnati. Our city needs no eulogy
from me. Her well
known character for enterprise,
liberality and hospitality, is not
more distinguished than is her undying
devotion to the Union
of these States, and a warm, filial and
affectionate regard for
that glorious ensign which has
"Braved the battle and the
breeze,"
upon land and sea so many years. The
people under the solemn
and dignified forms of the Constitution
have chosen you as
President of the United States, and as
such I greet you. And
you will believe me, when I say, that it
is the earnest and united
desire of our citizens that your
administration of the General
Government may be marked by wisdom,
patriotism and justice,
to all sections of the country, from the
Atlantic to the Pacific
oceans, from the northern boundary of
Maine to the Gulf of
Mexico; so that when you retire from
office your fellow-citizens
may greet you everywhere with the
cheering words, "Well done,
thou good and faithful servant."
But, sir, I see in this great and anxious
concourse not only
the citizens of Ohio, but also many from
our sister state, Ken-
tucky, -- the land of Clay, the former
home of your parents and
mine, and the place of your birth.
These, too, greet you, for
they, like us, are, and ever will be,
loyal to the Constitution and
the Union. I again welcome you to our
noble city, and trust
that your short stay with us may be an
agreeable one, and that
your journey to our Federal Capital may
be pleasant and safe.
To this Lincoln replied as follows:
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 together
in winter weather. I
am no longer able to 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 en-
tirely 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 political 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
Lincoln and Ohio 139
I see before me now. I could not look
upon this vast assem-
blage 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; 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 today could not
have occurred 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 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 Cin-
cinnati -- 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 shall 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
election. On that occa-
sion, in a playful manner but with
sincere words, I addressed
much of what I said to the Kentuckians.
I gave my opinion that
we as Republicans 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 said 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 pos-
sibly can as Washington, Jefferson and
Madison treated you.
We mean to leave you alone and in no way
interfere with your
140 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
institutions, to abide by all and every
compromise of the Con-
stitution; and, in a word, coming back
to the original proposition
to treat you as far as degenerate men, if we have
degenerated,
may according to the examples of those noble fathers,
Washing-
ton, 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 recog-
nize 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 accordingly."
Fellow-citizens of Kentucky, friends,
brethren: May I call
you such? In my new position I see no
occasion and feel no
inclination to retract a word of this.
If it shall not be made
good be assured that the fault shall not be mine.
Concerning this speech and another that
Lincoln
made in the evening, William Henry
Smith,50 who was
at the time an editorial writer on the Cincinnati
Daily
Gazette, and present on this occasion, reveals some his-
tory, from personal knowledge, not
recorded by any
other writer. The usual report of
Lincoln's response to
Mayor Bishop is as given above; but Mr.
Smith says that
the following sentiments, in an
additional paragraph,
"omitted by Mr. Raymond and all
other biographers,"
were also expressed, and were included
in the Gazette's
report of the speech the next morning:
And now, fellow-citizens of Ohio, have
you who agree in
political sentiment with him who now
addresses you ever en-
tertained other sentiments towards our
brethren of Kentucky
than those I have expressed to you?
(Loud and repeated cries
of "No!" "No!") If
not, then why shall we not, as heretofore,
be recognized and acknowledged as
brethren again, living in
peace and harmony, one with another?
(Cries of "We will!")
50 William Henry Smith was born in
Austerlitz, New York, Decem-
ber 1, 1833. He was editorial writer on
the Cincinnati Daily Gazette at the
opening of the Civil War; was active in
raising troops; elected Secretary
of State of Ohio in 1864, and re-elected
in 1866; appointed Collector of
the Port of Chicago in 1877; became
manager of Associated Press in
1883; was an authoritative writer on
historical subjects. Compiled The
St. Clair Papers, 2 vols., wrote A Political History of Slavery, 2
vols.,
a biography of Charles Hammond, and
many historical essays and ad-
dresses. Died at Lake Forest Illinois,
July 27, 1896.
Lincoln and Ohio 141
I take your response as the most
reliable evidence, trusting
to the good sense of the American
people, on all sides of all
rivers in America, under the Providence
of God, who has never
deserted us, that we shall again be
brethren, forgetting all parties
-- ignoring all parties.
According to Mr. Smith,51
the effect of the expres-
sion of this conservative opinion was
to alarm some of
the Republicans, who feared that the
new President was
going to betray his party and the
principles upon which
he was elected. It was therefore
determined by these
alarmists to secure from Lincoln a
positive declaration
as to his policy. On this subject he
had evidently made
up his mind to let his inaugural be his
sole instrument in
expressing his future course of
conduct. He knew well
how easily speeches can be
misconstrued. He said at
Indianapolis: "Solomon says,
'There is time to keep si-
lence'; and when men wrangle by the
mouth, with no
certainty that they mean the same thing
while using the
same words, it perhaps were as well if
they would keep
silence." Nevertheless, there were
some who thought
they could force an expression. How
this was done and
how it was successfully repelled, is
told by Mr. Smith:
"In the evening," he says,
"I called, with other citizens,
at Mr. Lincoln's rooms at the Burnet
House52 to pay
my respects. Mr. Lincoln had put off
the melancholy
mood that appeared to control him
during the day, and
51 Francis E. Browne: The Every-Day
Life of Lincoln, pp. 271-273.
52 Lincoln stopped at this hotel on his
last visit in 1859. Judge Dick-
son tells this incident concerning it:
when Lincoln was about to depart
he asked for his bill and was informed
that it was paid. After he was
nominated a letter and bill came to him
requesting payment, which evi-
dently was neglected by the committee,
and the hotel proprietor shrewdly
surmised that this was a good time to
collect. Lincoln was indignant
at this seeming imputation against his
honor, and especially so at one
item, of which he wrote: "As to
wines, liquors, and cigars, we had none --
absolutely none. These last may have
been in Room 15 by order of the
committee, but I do not recollect them
at all." Needless to say, he did not
pay the bill.
142 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
was entertaining those present with
genial, even lively,
conversation. The pleasant
entertainment was inter-
rupted by the announcement that a
delegation of Ger-
man workingmen were about to serenade
Mr. Lincoln,
Proceeding to the balcony, there were
seen the faces of
nearly two thousand of the substantial
German citizens
who had voted for Mr. Lincoln because
they believed
him to be a stout champion of free
labor and free home-
steads."
The object of the serenade was
disclosed when Fred-
erick Oberkleine stepped forward and in
almost aggres-
sive tones spoke as follows:53
We, the German free workingmen of
Cincinnati, avail our-
selves of this opportunity to assure
you, our chosen Chief Magis-
trate, of our sincere and heartfelt
regard. You earned our votes
as the champion of Free Labor and Free
Homesteads. Our
vanquished opponents have, in recent
times, made frequent use
of the terms "Workingmen" and
"Workingmen's Meetings," in
order to create an impression that the
mass of workingmen were
in favor of compromises between the
interests of free labor and
slave labor, by which the victory just
won would be turned into
a defeat. This is a despicable device of
dishonest men. We
spurn such compromises. We firmly adhere
to the principles
which directed our votes in your favor.
We trust that you, the
self-reliant because self-made man, will
uphold the Constitution
and the laws against secret treachery
and avowed treason. If
to this end you should be in need of
men, the German free work-
ingmen, with others, will rise as one
man at your call, ready
to risk their lives in the effort to
maintain the victory already
won by freedom over slavery.
"This", says Mr. Smith,
"was bringing the rugged
issue boldly to the front, and
challenging the President-
elect to meet the issue or risk the
loss of the support of
an important section of his own
party. Oberkleine
spoke with great effect, but the
remarks were hardly his
53 Cincinnati Daily Gazette, February
12, 1861.
Lincoln and Ohio 143
own. Some abler man had put into his
mouth these sig-
nificant words." Lincoln saw at
once the purpose of
the speaker, and without hesitation,
yet with a delibera-
tion that was intended to impress his
hearers that he
thoroughly undersood their aim, spoke
as follows:
Mr. Chairman: -- I thank you, and those you represent, for
the compliment paid me by the tender of
this address. In so far
as there is an allusion to our present
national difficulty, and the
suggestion of the views of the gentlemen
who present this ad-
dress, I beg you will excuse me from
entering particularly upon
it. I deem it due to myself and the
whole country, in the present
extraordinary condition of the country
and of public opinion,
that I should wait and see the last
development of public opinion
before I give my views or express myself
at the time of my in-
auguration. I hope at that time to be
false to nothing you have
been taught to expect of me.
I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, and with
the address of
your constituents, in the declaration
that workingmen are the
basis of all governments. That remark is
due to them more
than to any other class, for the reason
that there are more of
them than of any other class. And as
your address is presented
to me, not only on behalf of workingmen,
but especially of Ger-
mans, I may say a word as to classes. I
hold that the value of
life is to improve one's condition.
Whatever is calculated to ad-
vance the condition of the honest,
struggling laboring man, so
far as my judgment will enable me to
judge of a correct thing,
I am for that thing.
An allusion has been made to the
Homestead Law. I think
it worthy of consideration, and that the
wild lands of the coun-
try should be distributed so that every
man should have the
means and opportunity of benefiting his
condition. (Cheers.)
I have said that I do not desire to
enter into details, nor will I.
In regard to Germans and foreigners, I
esteem foreigners
no better than other people -- nor any
worse. (Laughter and
cheers.) They are all of the great
family of men, and if there
is one shackle upon any of them it would
be far better to lift
the load from them than to pile
additional loads upon them.
(Cheers.) And inasmuch as the continent
of America is com-
paratively a new country, and the other
countries of the world
are old countries, there is more room
here, comparatively speak-
ing, than there is elsewhere; and if
they can better their condi-
tion by leaving their old homes, there
is nothing in my heart to
forbid them coming, and I bid them all
Godspeed. (Cheers.)
144 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Again, gentlemen, thanking you for your
address, I bid you
good night.
This interesting and sensational
incident was not
generally noted at the time of its
occurrence, and to Mr.
Smith we are indebted for its being
recorded. Says he,
regarding this: "If anyone had
expected to trap Mr.
Lincoln into imprudent utterances, or
the indulgence of
the rhetoric of a demagogue, this
admirable reply
showed how completely they were
disappointed. The
preservation of this speech is due to my
accidental pres-
ence.
The visitation of the Germans was not on the
programme, and none of the
representatives of the
press charged with the duty of reporting
the events of
the day were present. Observing this, I
took shorthand
notes on the envelope of an old letter
loaned for the oc-
casion, and afterwards wrote them out.
The words of
Mr. Lincoln, exactly as spoken, are
given above."
Rutherford B. Hayes in a letter to his
uncle gives
his summary of this occasion, "all
of which he saw, and
part of which he was:"54
The reception given to the
President-elect here was most
impressive. He rode in an open carriage,
standing erect with
head uncovered, and bowing his
acknowledgements to greetings
showered upon him. There was a lack of
comfort in the arrange-
ments, but the simplicity, the homely
character of all was in
keeping with the nobility of this
typical American. A six-in-
hand with gorgeous trappings,
accompanied by outriders and a
courtly train, could have added nothing
to him; would have
detracted from him, would have been
wholly out of place. The
times are unsuited to show. The people
did not wish to be en-
tertained with display; they did wish to
see the man in whose
hands is the destiny of our country.
You will read the speeches in the
papers, and search in
vain for anything to find fault with.
Mr. Lincoln was wary at
54 Charles Richard Williams: The Life
of Rutherford Birchard
Hayes, Vol. I, p. 118.
Lincoln and Ohio 145
all times, wisely so I
think, and yet I hear no complaint. Our
German Turners, who are
radical on the slavery question and
who are ready to make
an issue of war, planned to draw from
him some expression in
sympathy with their own views. They
serenaded him and
talked at him, but they were baffled. In
private conversation he
was discreet but frank. He believes in
a policy of kindness,
of delay to give time for passions to cool,
but not in a compromise
to extend the power and the deadly
influence of the slave
system. This gave me great satisfaction.
The impression he made
was good. He undoubtedly is shrewd,
able, and possesses
strength in reserve. This will be tested soon.
In the evening the
young men of Cincinnati gave a
brilliant banquet at
the Burnet House in honor of
Robert, eldest son of
the President-elect. According to
press accounts it was
a lively affair.55 "Edibles and
drinkables in
profusion were discussed, particular atten-
tion being paid to
Longworth's sparkling Catawba. In-
deed, the volley of
corks that flew for a time reminded
one very forcibly of
the attacking of Fort Sumter, the
seizure of Fort
Pickens or other hostile operations."
About fifty young men
were present and Fred Hassaurk
was toast-master. To a
committee that invited the Pres-
ident-elect to be
present, he excused himself on account
of fatigue.
The next morning
Lincoln and his suite left on a
special train over the
Little Miami Railway for Colum-
bus. At various places
on the way he was greeted with
cheering crowds. A newspaper correspondent who ac-
companied him reported that the journey was
very
agreeable, and that
the President-elect, although a good
deal fatigued, and
slightly indisposed, engaged almost
constantly in
conversation.56 The newspaper man ob-
served that he was
"a very delightful talker, and his
55 Cincinnati Daily
Gazette, February 13, 1861.
56 Cincinnati Daily
Gazette, February 11, 1861.
Vol. XXXII -- 10.
146 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
style as a story teller and relator of
anecdotes has not
been exaggerated." He avoided
discussing the political
questions of the day. The nearest he
would come to it
was to illustrate with quaint humor and
simplicity the
demands of the South upon the North by
a little home
story. He said it reminded him of a
dispute that once
occurred between his two younger boys,
Tom and Bill,
a pair of mischievous rogues of eight
and ten years.
One of them had a toy that the other
wanted and de-
manded in terms emphatic and
boisterous. At length
he was told to let his brother have it
in order to quiet
him. "No, sir," was the
sturdy response, "I must have
it to quiet myself." Lincoln was
of the opinion that the
quiet of the South at the expense of
the North did not
amount to much.
The State government by a joint
resolution passed
January 31, invited the President-elect
to visit the Cap-
ital on his way to Washington; to this
Lincoln re-
sponded in a letter to the Governor:
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, February 7, 1861.
SIR: Your letter of the 31st ultimo, on
behalf of the legis-
lature of Ohio, to visit Columbus on my
way to Washington,
has been received.
With profound gratitude for the mark of
respect and honor
thus cordially tendered me by you and
them, I accept the invi-
tation.
Please arrange no ceremonies which will
waste time.
Your obedient servant,
A. LINCOLN.
HIS EXCELLENCY, WILLIAM DENNISON.
The arrangements for the reception were
placed in
the hands of a committee composed of
members of the
Senate, the House of Representatives
and the City
Council of Columbus. The joint
committee was com-
Lincoln and Ohio 147
posed as follows: For the Senate, James
Monroe, of
Lorain; F. P. Cuppy, of Montgomery; and
G. W.
Holmes, of Hamilton. For the House, S.
E. Brown, of
Miami; J. Scott, of Warren; W. G.
Flagg, of Hamilton;
John Welsh, of Athens; G. W. Andrews,
of Auglaize;
and E. Parrott, of Montgomery. On the
part of the
City Council, A. B. Buttles, Joseph H.
Riley, and S. E.
Ogden. They announced the programme on
February
13, to be as follows:57
"The President-elect and suite,
accompanied by the com-
mittees appointed on the part of the
General Assembly and the
Executive, will reach Columbus about 2 o'clock P. M.
today, and
will proceed at once to the State
Capitol in carriages, under
escort of the 1st Battalion, 2d Regiment,
Lieut. Col. Mills, com-
manding. The Governor will receive the
President-elect at the
Executive Rooms; thence, accompanied by
the committee of
Escort, they will proceed to the Hall of
Representatives, when
the Governor will present the
President-elect to the General As-
sembly, through Lieutenant Governor
Kirk, its presiding officer;
after which the President-elect will
proceed to the rotunda of
the Capitol, where he will receive the
citizens until 5 o'clock
P. M. From 8 1/2 o'clock to 10 P. M.
there will be a levee at the
House of Representatives for ladies and
their escorts. This
levee, and all ceremonies, will close at
10 o'clock precisely. The
President-elect will be the guest of the
Governor during his stay
in the city, and with his suite,
accompanied by the Governor's
aids and the proper committees, will
leave for Pittsburg by
special train at 8 o'clock A. M. on
Thursday. The execution of
this programme will be entrusted to
Brig. Gen. Lucian Buttles,
who is appointed Marshal of the day.
Proper salutes will be
fired on the arrival and departure of
the President-elect."
Thousands of people were at the depot
when the
special train arrived. When Lincoln
appeared on the
platform of the rear end, he was
greeted with tumult-
uous applause. The march on High Street
to the State
House was between crowds enthusiastic
with welcom-
57 William
T. Coggeshall: The Journeys of Lincoln, Published by the
Ohio State Journal, Columbus, 1865, p. 42.
148 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
ing demonstrations. On the western
portico and steps
of the State House was a multitude of
densely packed
people. Through this crowd, escorted by
his reception
committee, the President-elect, with
difficulty reached
his way to the Capitol. Accompanied by
Governor
Dennison, he was escorted to the House
of Representa-
tives where both Houses were assembled.
As the towering form of Lincoln
appeared in the
Chamber, the legislators arose in a
body to pay their
respects. Governor Dennison presented
him to the pre-
siding officer, Lieutenant Governor
Robert C. Kirk, who
addressed him as follows:58
SIR: On this day, and probably this very
hour, the Con-
gress of the United States will declare
the verdict of the people,
making you their President. It is my
pleasurable duty, in behalf
of the people of Ohio, speaking through
this General Assembly,
to welcome you to their Capital. Never
in the history of this
Government has such fearful
responsibility rested upon the
Chief Executive of the nation as will
now devolve upon you.
Never since the memorable time our
patriotic fathers gave ex-
istence to the American Republic, have
the people looked with
such intensity of feeling to the
inauguration and future policy
of a President, as they do to yours. I
need not assure you that the
people of Ohio have full confidence in
your ability and patriot-
ism, and will respond to you in their
loyalty to the Union and
the Constitution. It would seem, sir,
that the great problem of
self-government is to be solved under
your administration All
nations are deeply interested in its
solution, and they wait with
breathless anxiety to know whether this
form of government
which has been the admiration of the
world is to be a failure or
not. It is the earnest and united prayer
of our people, that the
same kind Providence which protected us
in our colonial strug
gles and has attended us thus far in our prosperity and
greatness,
will so imbue your mind with wisdom,
that you may dispel the
dark clouds that hang over our political
horizon, and thereby
secure the return of harmony and
fraternal feeling to our now
distracted and unhappy country. God
grant their prayer may be
fully realized! Again I bid you a
cordial welcome to our
Capital.
58 Journal of the House of
Representatives. Second Session,
Fifty-
Fourth General Assembly, Columbus, Ohio,
1861, p. 173.
Lincoln and Ohio 149
The President-elect then spoke as
follows:
Mr. President and Mr. Speaker, and
Gentlemen of the Gen-
eral Assembly of Ohio: It is true, as has been said by the Presi-
dent 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 duly sensible of that
weighty responsibility. I
can but know what you all know, that,
without a name -- per-
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
only turn and look for
those supports without which it will be
impossible for me to per-
form that great task. I turn, then, and
look to the American
people, and to that God who has never
forsaken the American
people.
Allusion has been made to the interest
felt in relation to
the policy of the new administration. In
reference to this, I
have received from some sources some
degree of credit for hav-
ing kept silence; from others, some
degree of deprecation. I still
think I was right. In the varying and
repeatedly shifting scenes
that never could enable us to judge by
the past, it has seemed
fitting that before speaking upon the
difficulties of the country
I should have seen the whole ground to
be sure -- after all, be-
ing at liberty to modify and change the
course of policy as future
events may make a change necessary. I
have not maintained
silence from want of any real 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 differ-
ent views upon political questions, but
nobody is suffering any-
thing This is the most consoling
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
extemporaneously, and will now come to a
close.
An eye witness has given us a good
description of
Lincoln on this occasion:59
The impression which the appearance of
the President-elect
created was most agreeable. His great
height was conspicuous
even in that crowd of goodly men, and
lifted him fully in view as
he walked up the aisle. When he took the
Speaker's stand, a bet-
ter opportunity was afforded to look at
the man upon whom
more hopes hang than upon any other
living. At first the kind-
59 Ohio State Journal, February 14, 1861.
150 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
ness and amiability of his face strikes
you; but as he speaks, the
greatness and determination of his
nature are apparent. Some-
thing in his manner, even more than in
his words, told how
deeply he was affected by the enthusiasm
of the people; and
when he appealed to them for
encouragement and support, every
heart responded with mute assurance of
both. There was the
simplicity of greatness in his
unassuming and confiding manner,
that won its way to instant admiration.
He looked somewhat
worn with travel and the fatigues of
popularity, but warmed to
the cordiality of his reception.
In the meantime the great concourse of
people
massed before the west front of the
Capitol, and in-
creasing every moment, were waiting for
an address
from
the President-elect. He soon
appeared on the
steps, and spoke as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen: I appear before you only to ad-
dress you very briefly. I shall do
little else than to thank you
for this very kind reception; to greet
you and bid you farewell.
I should not find strength, if I were
otherwise inclined, to repeat
speeches of very great length, upon
every occasion similar to this
-- although few so large -- which will
occur on my way to the
Federal Capital. The General Assembly of
the great State of
Ohio has just done me the honor to
receive me, and to hear a few
broken remarks from myself. Judging from
what I see, I infer
that the reception was one without party
distinction, and one of
entire kindness -- not that had nothing
in it beyond the feeling of
the citizenship of the United States of
America. Knowing, as I
do, that any crowd, drawn together as
this has been, is made up
of the citizens near about, and that in
this county of Franklin
there is great difference of political
sentiment, and those agreeing
with me having a little the shortest
row; from this and the cir-
cumstances I have mentioned, I infer
that you do me the honor
to meet me here without distinction of
party. I think this is as
it should be. Many of you who were not
favorable to the elec-
tion of myself to the Presidency, were
favorable to the election
of the distinguished Senator from the
State in which I reside. If
Senator Douglas had been elected to the
Presidency in the late
contest, I think my friends would have
joined heartily in meeting
him on his passage through your Capital,
as you have me today.
If any of the other candidates had been
elected, I think it would
have been altogether becoming and proper
for all to have joined
in showing honor quite as well to the
office and the country as to
Lincoln and Ohio 151
the man. The people are themselves
honored by such a con-
centration. I am doubly thankful that
you have appeared here
to give me this greeting. It is not much
to me, for I shall very
soon pass away from you; but we have a
large country and a
large future before us, and the
manifestations of good will to-
wards the Government, and affection for
the Union, which you
may exhibit, are of immense value to you
and your posterity
forever. In this point of view it is that I thank you most
heartily for the exhibition you have
given me; and with this,
allow me to bid you an affectionate
farewell.
Lincoln then returned to the rotunda
where it was
understood he would shake hands with
all who desired
to meet him. It was an unfortunate
arrangement, for
the entire crowd in mob order followed
him. The scene
which followed is vividly pictured by
William T. Cogge-
shall,60 State Librarian,
who was present:61
Mr. Lincoln took his position in the
rotunda near the stair-
way leading to the Library, and the
people admitted at the
south door, passed through and out at
the north door. Almost
immediately the vast rotunda was crowded
with eager, turbulent,
pushing crowding, jostling sovereigns,
frantic to wrench the
hand of the President-elect. An attempt
was made to preserve
a lane through which the hand-shakers
might pass to Mr. Lin-
coln, and furious and heroic were the
struggles to keep this
avenue open. With a sublime devotion,
which demands the
highest praise, a few spartans held back
the crowd, which heaved
and surged to and fro. For a while the
President greeted the
people with his right hand only, but as
the officers gave way be-
fore the irresistible crowd, he shook
hands right and left, with
astonishing rapidity. The physical
exertion must have been tre-
mendous. People plunged at his arms with
frantic enthusiasm,
and all the infinite variety of shakes, from the wild
and irrepres--
sible pump-handle movement to the dead
grip, was executed
60 William T. Coggeshall was born in Lewiston,
Pennsylvania, Sep-
tember 6, 1824; connected with
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, 1854-6;
State Librarian, 1856-62; served on
staff of Governor Dennison; in
charge of Ohio State Journal, 1865;
had resigned from army on account
of ill health; served on the staff of
Governor Cox, 1866; Minister to
Ecuador. Author of The Genius of the
West, Poets and Poetry of the
West, The Journeys of Lincoln,
Stories of Frontier Adventure, and
con-
tributed much to periodical literature.
Died at Quito, Ecuador, August 6,
1867.
61 William T. Coggeshall: The Journeys of Lincoln, pp.
49-50.
152 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
upon the devoted sinister and dexter of
the President. Some
glanced into his face as they grasped
his hand; others invoked
the blessings of heaven upon him; others
affectionately gave him
their last gasping assurance of devotion; others,
bewildered and
furious, with hats crushed over their
eyes, seized his hand in a
convulsive grasp, and passed on as if
they had not the remotest
idea who, what, or where they were, nor
what anything was at
all about. But at last the performance
became intolerable to the
President, who retired to the staircase
in exhaustion, and con-
tented himself with looking at the crowd
as it swept before him.
It was a very good natured crowd,
nothing occurred to mar the
harmony of the occasion, and the utmost
enthusiasm prevailed.
After this strenuous reception Lincoln
retired to the
Governor's residence for a rest. But
his labors were
not over. In the evening he received,
at the residence
of Governor Dennison the State
officers, the members of
the Legislature and the City Council;
later he held an-
other reception at the State House in
the Executive
Chamber, where again he met the general
public.
The next morning, February 14, he
continued his
journey, leaving at eight o'clock. The
weather had
changed, but in the pouring rain he was
greeted by large
crowds at Newark, Dresden, Coshocton,
Newcomers-
town and Uhrichsville.
At Steubenville he received formal
greetings from
the city authorities, and in response,
said:
My Fellow Citizens: I fear that great confidence in my
abilities is unfounded. The place I am
about to assume is en-
compassed by vast difficulties. As I am,
nothing shall be want-
ing on my part; unless sustained by the
American people and
God, I cannot hope to be successful. I
believe the devotion to
the Constitution is equally great on
both sides of the river; it
is only the different understandings of
it. The only dispute is,
what are their rights? If the majority
should not rule, who
should be the judge? When such a judge
is found we must all
be bound by his decision. That judge is
the majority of the
American people; if not, then the
minority must control. Would
that be right, just or generous?
Assuredly not. He reiterated
Lincoln and Ohio 153
that the majority should rule. If he
adopted a wrong policy,
the opportunity to condemn it would
occur in four years; then
I can be turned out, and a better man,
with better views, put in
my place.
At Pittsburg he was given a reception,
from which
he started to Cleveland. According to the Cleveland
Herald of February 15, it was one continued ovation
from Ohioans.
At Wellsville there was a stop for a
few moments
to change engines. A large crowd had assembled
and
Lincoln went out on the platform. He excused him-
self from making a speech, having made
a few remarks
there on the previous day. At this moment a man
stepped forward and offered a couple of
apples to the
President-elect. A little boy in the crowd yelled out,
"Say, Mr. Linkin, that man is
running for postmaster!"
The donor of the apples collapsed amid
screams of
laughter.
At Alliance there was a stop of twenty
minutes for
an elegant dinner furnished by the
Cleveland and Pitts-
burgh Railroad Company. Here the crowd was so
large that it was only by the strenuous
efforts of the
Canton Zouaves, who were on duty in
full uniform,
that a passage could be cleared. After dinner a tem-
porary stand was placed in front of the
station, and
from it Lincoln addressed a few short
remarks ex-
pressive of his gladness to see such an
outpouring of
the people.
At Ravenna the largest crowd that had
been seen
after leaving Allegany City was assembled. The ap-
proach of the train was greeted with
double loaded
cannon, which boomed its welcome far
and wide. Here
it was found necessary to stop for a
few minutes, and,
154
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
in response to loud calls, Lincoln made a short speech,
expressing his gratitude for the noble
efforts of Ohio
in the right cause, and his pleasure at
hearing that men
of all parties in this State had joined
in the defense of
the Union. Cheers and blessings were showered on
him as the cars moved away. As the
train moved the
cannon gave a parting salute.
But the largest crowd was at
Hudson. At that
point not less than 5,000 people were
assembled. Eight
cars came up from the Akron branch,
crowded inside
and out, and accompanied by a band of
music. Cheer
on cheer rent the air as Lincoln
appeared and bowed
to the crowd.
At four o'clock cannon announced the
approach to
Cleveland. Here elaborate preparations
had been made
for the reception of the
President-elect. The Commit-
tee of Arrangements consisted of the
Mayor, G. B.
Senter, the President of the City
Council, I. U. Masters,
and the following members thereof: C.
L. Russell, W.
H. Haywood, and O. M. Oviatt.
Cooperating with this
committee was one from the citizen body
of which S. J.
Andrews was chairman and Merrill Barlow
secretary.
The city was profusely decorated; the
Federal and City
Buildings, the hotels, business houses
and newspaper
offices leading in variety and
brilliancy. The city was
filled with thousands of people from
the Western Re-
serve, and the immense and surging
crowds on the
streets called for the greatest
exertions of the city po-
lice force. This was especially so at
the Euclid Street
Station of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh
Railroad. At
four o'clock in the afternoon of
February 15, Lincoln
entered Cleveland, saluted by the
booming of artillery
and the unbounded enthusiasm of the people.
He was
Lincoln and Ohio 155
escorted to a carriage drawn by four
white horses. His
escort consisted of the following:62
Cleveland Regiment Light Artillery,
Colonel James Barnett,
commanding; consisting of the following
companies:
Company A, Captain Simmons;
Company B, Captain Mack;
Company D, Captain Rice;
Company E, Captain Hechman.
Cleveland Light Dragoons, Captain
Holtnorth.
Cleveland Greys, Captain Paddock.
City Council, in carriages.
The President-elect in an open barouche.
The President's suite in carriages.
Citizen's Committee in carriages.
Firemen -- Phoenix No. 4 and Firemen's
Board.
Citizens in carriages, manufacturing
establishments, and various
representations of the business
interests of the city.
The Weddell House where the reception
was held, at
half past four o'clock, was illuminated
with colored lan-
terns. Mr. Masters, the President of the
City Council,
on behalf of the authorities, spoke as
follows:
Honored Sir: -- The pleasant duty devolves upon me to ex-
tend to you, in behalf of the citizens
of Cleveland, through their
municipal representatives, a cordial
welcome to this city and
community. In extending this welcome, I
am but speaking the
voice of our men of business; our
mechanics, whose representa-
tives are around me; of farmers, who
have largely gathered
here; of men of all trades, avocations,
professions and parties,
who merge all distinction in that name
common to them all, of
highest distinction to them all, and
best beloved by them all --
American citizens. They bid me welcome
you as the official
representative of their country, chosen
in accordance with the
Constitution which they venerate with
love. They bid me ex-
press to you their unconditional loyalty
to the Constitution and
country, which their fathers transmitted
to them, and which they
fervently hope may, by the blessing of
God, be transmitted un-
impaired to their children and their
children's children. Again
I bid you a hearty welcome.
62 William T. Coggeshall: The
Journeys of Lincoln, pp. 56-58.
156 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Sherlock J. Andrews, Chairman of the
Citizen's
Committee, then delivered the following
address:
Mr. Lincoln -- Sir: I have
the honor, on behalf of the
citizens of Cleveland, to repeat the
welcome you have already
received through the official organ of
the city, and to express
the great satisfaction that we all
derive from this personal inter-
view. We come today, sir, forgetful of
party distinctions, and
as citizens of a common country, to
tender you the homage of
our sincere respect, both for your
personal character and for the
high station to which you have been
called by the popular will;
and, though unexampled difficulties and
embarrassments stand
upon the threshold of your
administration, we still cherish the
hope that, by the blessing of Divine
Providence, you may be
enabled so to execute the great trust
confided to you as to allay
excitement, correct misapprehension,
restore harmony, and re-
instate this glorious Union of ours in
the affections and confidence
of the whole people. It is true, indeed,
that in the late peaceful
contest for the Chief Magistracy, we
have acted under various
political organizations, and have
differed as to men and measures.
Yet, sir, in every enlightened effort to
support the prerogatives
and honor of the General Government, in
every determination
to uphold the supremacy of law, in every
measure wisely de-
signed to maintain unimpaired the
constitutional rights of all
the States or of any of the States, and
every concession con-
sistent with truth and justice, that
looks to the promotion of
peace and concord, there is not a man in
the vast multitude here
assembled to do you honor, who will not
give you his cordial
and earnest support. Such, I am
persuaded, sir, are the views
of those I represent, and to whom, for
any further expression
of their sentiments, I shall now refer
you.
Fellow citizens, I have the honor of
introducing to you the
Honorable Abraham Lincoln, the President
elect of the United
States.
To this the President-elect responded:63
Mr. Chairman and Fellow Citizens: We have been march-
ing in procession for about two miles
through snow, rain and
deep mud. The large number that have
turned out under these
circumstances testify that you are in
earnest about something or
other.
But do I think so meanly of you as to suppose that
earnestness is about me personally? I
should be doing you an
injustice to suppose it was. You have assembled to
testify your
63 Cincinnati Daily Gazette, February
16, 1861.
Lincoln and Ohio 157
respect to the Union, the Constitution
and the laws. And here
let me say that it is with you, the
people, to advance the great
cause of the Union and the Constitution, and not with
any one
man. It rests with you alone. This fact is strongly
impressed
on me at present. In a community like
this, whose appearance
testifies to their intelligence, I am convinced that
the cause of
Liberty and the Union can never be in
danger.
Frequent allusion is made to the
excitement at present ex-
isting in our national politics. It is
well that I should also
allude to it here. I think there is no
occasion for any excitement.
The crisis, as it is called, is
altogether an artificial crisis. In all
parts of the nation there are
differences of opinion on politics.
There are differences of opinion even
here. You did not all vote
for the person who now addresses you.
What is happening now
will not hurt those who are farther
away. Have they not all
the rights now they ever had? Do they
not have their fugitive
slaves returned as ever? Have they not
the same Constitution
that they have lived under for the last
seventy odd years? Have
they not a position as citizens of this
common country, and have
we any power to change that
position? [Cries of "No!"]
What, then, is the matter with them? Why
all this excitement?
Why of all these complaints? As I said
before, this crisis is all
artificial. It has no foundation in
facts. It is not argued up,
as the saying is, and therefore cannot
be argued down. Let it
alone, and it will go down of itself.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Lincoln said they must be content
with but very few
words from him, as he was much fatigued,
and had spoken so
frequently that he was already hoarse.
He thanked them then
for the cordial and magnificent
reception they had given him --
not the less did he thank them for the
votes they gave him last
fall, and quite as much he thanked them
for the efficient aid
they had given the cause which he
represented -- a cause which
he would say was a good one. He had one
more word to say:
He was given to understand that this
reception was tendered
not only by his own party supporters,
but by men of all parties.
This is as it should be. If Judge
Douglas had been elected, and
had been here on his way to Washington,
as I am tonight, the
Republicans should have joined his
supporters in welcoming
him, just as his friends have joined
with mine tonight. If all
don't join now to save the good old ship
of Union in this voyage,
nobody will have a chance to pilot her
on another.
The Weddell House was the scene of a
crushing and
unorganized evening reception, which
Lincoln simply
158 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
reviewed, and afterwards abandoned from
fatigue.
Later; with Mrs. Lincoln, he received a
few friends in
another part of the hotel. An early
departure was
made the next morning without
demonstration, although
a large crowd was on hand to bid a
cheering good-bye.
Lincoln waved a farewell, and the train
sped eastward;
the party was accompanied to the state
line by Colonels
George S. Mygatt and George O'Hara of
Governor
Dennison's staff.
He was greeted enthusiastically at
Willoughby. At
Painesville he mounted a platform that
had been ar-
ranged for the occasion and spoke
briefly. At Madi-
son he acknowledged the greetings of a
large crowd by
bowing from the platform of his car.
At Geneva the approach of the special
was an-
nounced by the booming of the
cannon. As the train
pulled into the station there was great
cheering. One
of the banners displayed bore the
inscription, "The
Lord is God; let all the people praise
Him." As Lin-
coln appeared on the platform, a man
stepped forward
and read from a paper as follows:
Abraham Lincoln, the People's
representative and Presi-
dent: Aided by Divine Providence may he
so guide the Ship of
State (now floating among the reefs and
breakers of Disunion)
that she may be brought back to her
original mooring: The
Constitution as it is; the Union as
it.was; and Liberty uncom-
promised.
The reading was followed by loud
cheers. Lincoln
responded in a few words expressive of
his thorough
devotion to the principles enunciated
in the speaker's
remarks. This was followed by prolonged
applause.
Lincoln spoke briefly at Ashtabula,
assuring the
people that the warm manifestations of
approval that
Lincoln and Ohio 159
he met there and everywhere on his journey strength-
ened him for the duties awaiting him.
The stop at Conneaut was so brief that
he had time
only to bow in recognition of the
ovation tendered.
In Lincoln's journey through Ohio there
was noth-
ing lacking in the demonstrations of
loyalty and en-
thusiasm by its people, regardless of
party. But on the
other hand there was a plain feeling of
disappointment
among the Republicans and Union
Democrats over his
speeches. This, we have seen, was
publicly exhibited at
Cincinnati, while at Columbus64 and
Cleveland the crit-
icism was widespread but private. This
attitude was
not one of unfriendliness, but of grave
concern and re-
gret over Lincoln's apparent inability
to realize the
seriousness of the national situation.
His optimism as
to the future, his constant reiteration
that everything
would come out all right, and, as he
said at Columbus,
"It is a good thing there is no
more than anxiety, for
there is nothing going wrong",
and, "When we look
out, there is nothing that really hurts
anybody"; all this
threw many of the leading Republicans,
not only in
Ohio, but throughout the country, into
a condition of
alarm which they dared not express. It
looked to them
as if the policy of the triumphant
party was to be one of
laissez faire. They
could not understand how the fu-
ture President could say "all's
well" while the very
64 The late William G. Deshler of
Columbus, one of the leading
bankers of Ohio, told me that he, with
Governor Dennison, stood by
Lincoln at the Library steps when he
received the immense crowd on
the occasion of his inaugural visit. Mr.
Deshler said that many of the
crowd openly expressed disapproval of
his speech on the west front of
the State House. Some did so graciously,
some rudely, some with regret.
One, enthusiastic from refreshments,
said, 'Abe, you've got to give them
rebels hotter shot than that before
they're licked." Lincoln laughed and
passed his visitor on. Mr. Deshler said
Governor Dennison and many
prominent Republicans in the Legislature
were disappointed with Lincoln's
speeches in Columbus. -- D. J. R.
160 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
foundations of the Union were rocking,
and its rafters
were cracking over their heads. In
rapid succession,
commencing December 20, 1860, with
South Carolina,
Mississippi, Florida, Alabama,
Louisiana, and Texas
had passed ordinances of secession.
They had formed
the "Confederate States of
America" February 8, and
on the next day Jefferson Davis and
Alexander H.
Stephens were elected President and
Vice-President re-
spectively of the new
"nation", as they loved to call it.
While Lincoln was making his speeches
this "govern-
ment" was functioning de facto;
it was seizing for its
own use scores of millions of dollars'
worth of national
property, consisting of forts,
arsenals, custom-houses,
postoffices and monies.
In this fateful period Senators and
Representatives
of the remaining Southern states were
openly conspir-
ing under the very roof of their
Nation's Capitol for the
further dissolution of the Union by
speeches, telegrams
and letters urging their states to join
the Southern Con-
federacy. It was under these conditions
that thousands
of thoughtful Republicans and Democrats
asked them-
selves, "What does Lincoln mean by
his persistent ig-
noring of conditions?" "Why does he sedulously re-
frain from taking the Nation into his
confidence?"
"Why all these generalities in
time of danger?"
As much as the North knew Lincoln at
this time, it
had thus far little opportunity to
assess the greatness
of his statesmanship or the depth of
his shrewdness.
The people generally did not know that
he, far more
than they, was informed of the
situation and its danger,
as well as the daily reproaches heaped
upon him by
reason of his speeches. He felt his
responsibility and
carried his burdens alone, and, while
he advised with
Lincoln and Ohio 161
close friends, he knew they could
neither share nor di-
vide them with him. Knowing this, we
can better un-
derstand his pathetic farewell to his
neighbors, when
he said that a duty was upon him,
"greater than that
which has devolved upon any other man
since the days
of Washington." This dangerous duty was laid upon
him early, for during the critical
period between his
election and inauguration his
responsibility was as great
and weighty as that in the darkest days
of the war. He
saw clearly that in order to save the
Union and prevent
the extension of slavery, there were
certain vital and
essential measures to be consummated.
The first in or-
der, paramount and absolutely
necessary, was that he
should be inaugurated President.
Jefferson Davis and his associates,
backed by the
slave-holders of the South, were bold
in their designs
and actions. They were resolved to go
out of the Union.
They firmly believed that the North in
the "long run"
would not oppose. There were evidences
of this dis-
position cropping out. Horace Greeley
in the New York
Tribune as early as November 9, 1860, (three days
after the election, and forty days
before South Carolina
seceded) declared in favor of letting
the Southern
States go in peace.65 Seward,
who was known to be the
coming Secretary of State, made a
statement to the ef-
fect that everything would be settled
in sixty days. The
Republicans in the second session of
the Thirty-sixth
Congress in December 1860 went to the
fullest length to
conciliate, even guaranteeing the
perpetual existence of
slavery in the Southern States. This
was to be done by
65 If
the Cotton States shall decide that they can do better out of the
Union than in it, we insist on letting
them go in peace. -- New York
Tribune, November 9, 1860.
Vol. XXXII -- 11.
162 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
a constitutional amendment which they
recommended
the states to adopt. Strange to say, it
was adopted by
Ohio;66 only one other
accepted it, Maryland. This, and
other manifestations of conciliation on
the part of the
Republicans, was construed by the
Southern leaders as
obsequiousness or cowardice, they cared
little which, and
they were satisfied that they could
bluff their scheme to
consummation. All they wanted was
"to be let alone."
Add to all this the horrible
possibility of assassination
(a plot for which was discovered and
thwarted), and we
can see how much wiser it was for
Lincoln to refrain
from aggressive and prophetic speeches.
Therefore, he
proceeded "on the even tenor of
his way" to Washing-
ton, non-committal as to what his
policy would be as to
the new "government" of the
South.
The man best posted on the southern
situation was
William H. Seward. He was in the Senate
in the last
session of Congress wherein Jefferson
Davis served --
1860-61. He was sure that Davis
expected a peaceful
dissolution of the Union. Seward knew
as long as
Davis felt that way, there would be no
obstruction to
Lincoln's inauguration. On the
contrary, Seward was
equally certain that if Lincoln
foreshadowed his policy
as expressed in his inaugural address
that war would
be commenced earlier, and the southern
contingent in
Congress would have forced some method
to prevent the
canvass of the electoral vote. Seward
about that time
made a speech at the Astor House in New
York. It
was very concilatory and persuasive. He
said, in the
same vein Lincoln said it in Ohio, that
there is "going
to be no trouble", and "it
would be over in sixty days".
66 EdwardMcPherson: The Political
History of the United States of
America During the Great Rebellion, p. 60, note.
Lincoln and Ohio 163
Afterwards he was severely criticised
for this speech by
a leading New York Democrat. His
explanation was
given later, at a dinner at the Willard
Hotel, Washing-
ton, as follows:67
Oakey Hall says I am the most august
liar in the United
States; that I said in the winter before
the war, in a speech
at the Astor House, that the trouble
would all be over and
everything settled in sixty days. I
would have Mr. Oakey Hall
to know that when I made that speech the
electoral vote was not
counted, and I knew it never would be if
Jeff Davis believed
there would be war. We both knew that he
was to be President
of the Southern Confederacy, and that I
was to be Secretary of
State under Mr. Lincoln. I wanted the
vote counted and Lin-
coln inaugurated. I had to deceive
Davis, and I did it. That's
why I said it would all be settled in
sixty days.
It will be apparent now that Lincoln's
negative
speeches had the same object, as
Seward's affirmative
declaration, viz.: the holding of the
Southern leaders in
statu quo. If this had not been done, and had Lincoln
followed the popular demands, the open
hostilities
against the Union would have been
commenced in Buch-
anan's administration instead of in his
own.
The second condition that worried
Lincoln greatly,
and which was another factor in
restraining his public
expressions, was a growing tendency
towards concilia-
tion, and the surrender of the
principles of the Chicago
platform upon which the Republicans
were placed in
power. If there was any reason for the
existence of
the Republican party, it was based on
the two cardinal
declarations of its platform: (1)
"that the Federal Con-
stitution, the rights of the States,
and the Union of the
States must and shall be
preserved", and (2) "we deny
67 J. P. Usher, Assistant Secretary and Secretary of
the Interior, in:
Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln by
Distinguished Men of His Time.
Edited by Allen Thorndyke Rice. p. 211
164 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
the authority of Congress, of a
territorial legislature,
or of any individual, to give legal
existence to slavery in
any territory of the United
States."
Lincoln saw that if these principles
were to be sur-
rendered, the party might as well be
abandoned. So far
as the question of the Union was
concerned, there was
no difference in the stand of the
Republicans and the
Democrats of the North. Douglas was as
firm on that
subject as Lincoln, yet in a certain
element of the Re-
publican party there was a growing
sentiment of peace-
able dissolution of the Union in order
to have peace.
We shall afterwards see the motives
which produced
this feeling. Lincoln, however, was
adamant on this;
with him "the Union must and shall
be preserved". Al-
though he made no reference in his
February speeches
in Ohio as to what he would do in
regard to the seceding
states, he long before had made up his
mind as to his
program. The very next day after South
Carolina se-
ceded, December 21, he wrote to his
confidential friend,
E. B. Washburne, Congressman from
Illinois, and chair-
man of the Republican National
Committee, as follows:
CONFIDENTIAL
SPRINGFIELD, Dec. 21, 1860.
HON. E. B. WASHBURNE.
MY DEAR SIR: -- Last night I received
your letter, giving
an account of your interview with
General Scott, and for which
I thank you. Please present my respects
to the General and
tell him confidentially I shall be
obliged to him to be as well
prepared as he can to either hold, or retake,
the forts, as the case
may require, at and after the
inauguration.
Yours, as ever,
A. LINCOLN.
On the compromise over slavery
extension, which
was then being debated in Congress, and
had assumed
Lincoln and Ohio 165
the shape of legislation, December 13,
he wrote as fol-
lows:
HON. E. B. WASHBURNE.
MY DEAR SIR: -- Your long letter
received. Prevent as far
as possible any of our friends from
demoralizing themselves
and our cause by entertaining
propositions for compromise of
any sort on slavery extension. There is
no possible compromise
upon it, but which puts us under again,
and all our work to do
over again. Whether it be a Missouri
line or Eli Thayer's
Popular Sovereignty, it is all the same.
-- Let either be
done,
and immediately filibustering and
extending slavery recom-
mences. On that point hold firm as a
chain of steel.
Yours, as ever,
A. LINCOLN.
If the general citizenship had
knowledge of what
Lincoln's mental attitude was while he
was making
speeches, they would have been
satisfied, but its pub-
licity would have been disastrous. From his vantage
ground at Springfield he was in full
touch with the situ-
ation, which called for the exercise of
the greatest wis-
dom as well as caution. Under the
threats of secession
he saw the influence of Greeley's
appeal spreading
throughout the North. It found a
willing lodgment in
two classes of his own party: the
commercial element
and the pre-abolition Republicans. The former feared
war, as destructive to trade and
credits; they had the
spirit of the silversmiths of Ephesus
against Paul, "this
our craft is in danger to be set at
nought." The motive
of the latter was hatred of slavery,
which was stronger
in their minds than love for the
Union. One of the
declarations of an old Abolitionist was
that the Con-
stitution was a "covenant with
death and an agreement
with hell." Many Republicans had not fully forgotten
their Abolition feeling, and were
willing to see the slave
states go in order that their Union
might be all free.
166 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
While Lincoln was delivering his
speeches in Ohio
-- without "punch" as his
critics complained -- he was
wise enough not to be provocative, for
he was upon
territory in which his party had been
inoculated with
the germ of "peaceful separation." A week after his
election the Ohio State Journal, of
Columbus, com-
menced a series of remarkable
editorials,68 arguing to
that end. In its issue of November 13, 1860, more
68 At first these editorials puzzled me
very much; they were against
all the traditions of the Journal. A
Whig organ from the founding of
that party, it became an active force in
the organizing of the Republican
party. It had none of the motives of the
other papers herein quoted.
As its constituency was not interested
in Southern trade, nor was the
paper of Abolition antecedents. Upon
reading W. D. Howells' "Years of
My Youth" written fifty-seven years
after these editorials, I began to
see light. In this work, the last of his
life, he dwells upon the days
when he was on this paper. The editor
and part proprietor was Henry
D. Cooke of Sandusky (a brother of Jay
Cooke) who came to Columbus
to "rehabilitate" the Journal.
He was a busy man and finally turned
over the editorial work to two young men
in their early twenties -- Joseph
Price and W. D. Howells. "We both
wrote leading editorials, which
our chief supervised and censored for a
while, and then let them go
as we wrote them, perhaps finding no
great mischief in them." Thus
in these perilous and critical days the
policy of the Journal was in the
hands of these two boys, one an
opinionated doctrinaire and the other,
what Senator Chandler used to call
"one of them damn literary fellows."
There were a good many views floating
around those days, emotional
and otherwise, even in the Republican
party. Howells says his chief had
no well defined policy. If the young
editors had understood that it was
unnecessary in a paper that had helped
elect Lincoln to have any policy
other than that of supporting him, this
would have saved their chief worry.
But it was otherwise, and he writes a
confession and apology: "If his sub-
ordinates had any settled policy, it was
to get what fun they could out of
the sentimentalists, and if they had any
fixed belief 'it was that if we
had a war peace must be made on the
basis of disunion when the war
was over. In our wisdom we doubted if
the sections could ever live
together in a union which they had
fought for and against. But we did
not say this in print, though as matters
grew more hopeless Price one day
seized the occasion of declaring that
the Constitution was a rope of sand.
I do not remember what occasion he had
for saying this, but it brought
our chief actively back to censorship;
Price's position was somewhat
explained away, and we went on much as
before, much as everybody else
went on. I will not, in the confession
of our youthful rashness, pretend
that there were any journalists who
seemed then or seem wiser now or
acted with greater forecast; and I am
sure that we always spoke from our
consciences, with a settled conviction
that the South was wrong."
The editorials on secession, on the
expulsion of South Carolina, and
the failure of the Union, did great harm
at the time, as the Journal, next
to the Cincinnati Gazette, was
the most influential Republican paper in the
State. -- D. J. R.
Lincoln and Ohio 167
than a column was devoted to the
proposition that there
was no power under the Constitution
to forcibly main-
tain the Union. A paragraph will show its reasoning:
The object of the American Union is to
provide 'for the
common defense, general welfare, etc. It
is so stated in the
preamble to the Constitution. The
general government is but
the representative of all the states. It
is not a genuine federal
center of power. Now if any state or
states wish to renounce
the benefits of this general protection,
how can they be compelled
to continue the recipient of such
advantages? The Cotton
States are not rebelling against tile
federal authority nor nulli-
fying any particular general law. They
simply request to be
relieved from the Union compact. To
coerce them to remain in
the Union, by the forces of the United
States government is to
entirely change the nature of Federal
authority. It will be to
make the Federal government not a
representative of the states,
their instrument in providing for the
common defense, &c., but a
superior, centralized power having an
existence independent
of the states. We regret being compelled
to take this view of
the matter, but it seems inevitable.
In the issue of November 17, the editor
naively
proposes the expulsion of South
Carolina from the
Union for the reason that she has never
been anything
but a source of vexation, trouble and
expense. The
way to do this is thus set forth:
Let the thing be regularly and
deliberately done. Petitions
circulated among the people for the
expulsion of South Carolina
would receive innumerable signatures;
and on the meeting of
Congress, we might "batter the
gates of" the Capital "with
storms of prayer" for that purpose.
The body which has the
power to admit a state into the Union
has the power to expel a
State, and we hope that our members may
be instructed to act
promptly in this matter.
On November 28, in a long discussion
there is a
disposition to modify the former
expression on the
question of peaceable secession, as the
following extract
shows:
168
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
We have been thus explicit upon this
point because a former
article which appeared in the Journal
of the 13th inst., has been
misapprehended in several important
particulars. The writer
did not intend to assert that secession
was a right to be exercised
by any State at will; but that it was
the right of any State to
take the initiative step towards
secession, by applying for re-
lease from the Federal compact of Union
embodied in the Con-
stitution. In that article it was
assumed that a peremptory re-
fusal to recognize the right to make
such application, especially
if accompanied by an attempt at coercion
into an unwilling con-
tinuance in the Union, in the particular
case referred to, would
bring about a war of sections, which
would amount to virtual
dissolution. As to whether such
application would be favorably
received by the people of the other
states, is a question for them
to consider, whenever it shall be
presented in due form. But
all will admit that a peaceable solution
of the question should
first be sought; and that a resort to
coercion should be post-
poned until all other alterations are
exhausted.
As late as March 27, 1861, after
Lincoln's inaugura-
tion, there is a long editorial on the
failure of the
Union under the Constitution:
* The Africanized people of the South
have precipitated a
work which we believe advancing
civilization and the teachings
of Christianity would have, ere long,
demanded at the hands of
the free people of the North. The
complicity with the barbarism
of slavery which the latter have had
forced upon them by the
Union has become more burthensome every
year, and must have
been thrown off voluntarily before the
lapse of many years. The
Union has done nothing in reality for
freedom. Its legislation
has all been in favor of slavery, when
required to decide dif-
ferences between these antipodes. --
Then why should free men
deplore the loss of the Union? Separate
peaceful existences of
the sections are preferable to a Union
which is dissatisfactory
to one and which retards the progress of
the other.
The creators of the Union sowed the
seeds of its inevitable
death at the creation. They thought to
beget a healthy body
by an unnatural cross between right and
wrong. They thought
to produce a harmonious, symmetrical
whole by blending two
conflicting systems of industry -- two
civilizations. How could
they expect to be successful when all
history is against them?
All nations that recognize the right of
one man to oppress
another sooner or later crumble into
dissolution, and in that
extinction we are bound to recognize the
decree of justice. And
Lincoln and Ohio 169
why should the American people alone
hope to enjoy immunity
from this universal doom?
In southern Ohio the leading exponent of
pacifism
was the Cincinnati Daily
Commercial. Representing
a community closely connected with
Southern trade,
naturally its commercial interests
looked with fearful
apprehension upon all interruption of
business relations.
War meant a loss of millions of dollars,
not only in
present and future profits, but in credits
already due.
There was a distinct, but silent and
small element with
this view. On February 1, 1861,
the Commercial,
which might be said to represent this
minority, in more
positive terms than heretofore,
expressed itself on the
situation. On the day before it had advocated calling
a national convention to release the
dissatisfied states.
This day, February 1, it declared:
If it be possible for the disaffected
states to separate them-
selves from the Union peaceably, we are
in favor of giving them
full permission and all needful
assistance to go.
After arguing at length against war, and
condemn-
ing the Southern States for their
treasonable intentions
and acts, the editorial proceeds:
But if one state cannot withdraw from
the Union, a con-
vention of the people of all the states
can take the general welfare
into consideration and vield the
disaffected States the inde-
pendence that they seem to covet. It is
vain to talk of coercing
the people of the states from the
Potomac to the Rio Grande,
and the Ohio to the Gulf. The General
Assemblies of New
York and Ohio by almost unanimous votes
tendered the general
government money and men to enforce the
laws. Virginia and
Kentucky instead of responding to this
movement by the passage
of similar resolutions, defiantly took
the side of rebellious
South Carolina and of the mobs that
robbed the Federal Gov-
ernment of its property in states that
had not intended to with-
draw from the Union. This we fear is
decisive. We must,
therefore, permit the establishment of a Cotton Empire;
and if
170
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the border slave states prefer the
dominion of the peculiar poli-
ticians who possess authority under King
Cotton to the old-
fashioned American Republic, they must
be permitted to go their
way, and in peace, if peace is possible.
If mad man will make
war it must be met, but we must make
peace if we can.
Among the Republicans of the Western
Reserve
were thousands of old Abolitionists who
heard of the
secession of the South with little
regret. This grew
out of their antecedent history. They went into the
Republican party on the theory that it
afforded the only
practical agency for the ultimate
destruction of slavery.
In doing this they did not leave behind
their abhorrence
of the system and the determination to
destroy it. It
was a bitter dose to accept the
Republican doctrine of
non-interference with slavery as it
was, and to accept
the Fugitive Slave Law. But they did it. They had
a hope that by "boring from
within" they could finally
accomplish their end. They were right, for in the sub-
sequent march of events they were the
most potential
factor in destroying slavery, even
though it was done
as a military necessity. These people never ceased to
look upon the South as the sinful member
of the Union,
and they were now ready even to follow
the Scriptural
injunction, "if thy right hand
offend thee, cut it off,
and cast it from thee."
Representing this element, Joshua R.
Giddings be-
ing the leader, was the Ashtabula
Sentinel edited by
W. C. Howells, the father of William
Dean Howells.
The father was a political Covenanter,
and was domi-
nated in politics solely by his moral
convictions. Noth-
ing meant much to him that did not have
right and
justice for a foundation. Hence he was not disposed
to look with disfavor upon secession.
On February 6,
Lincoln and Ohio 171
1861, he wrote to his paper from Columbus that the
dissolution of the Union seemed
inevitable and that the
public was preparing for it. A week
later in referring
to the attitude of the Cincinnati
papers on this question,
he wrote to the Sentinel as
follows:69
It is really surprising now to see how
generally the public
and private expression of the people of
the border is in favor
of peaceable separation. Its entire practicability is demon-
strated to a large portion of the
thinkers of the country, while
the idea of coercing or fighting them to
make them stay in, is
looked upon as ridiculous.
This survey of newspaper sentiment in
Ohio shows
the atmosphere through which Lincoln
moved on his
way to Washington, and that it
continued even after
his inauguration. Here and there lightning flashes
of rebellion in his own party against
its basic doctrines,
and again, continuing rumbles of
discontent. But to
all these he said not a word in any of
his utterances.
On
his way to Washington he made
nineteen
speeches in as many leading
cities. These were dis-
tributed as follows: Illinois, one; Indiana, one; Ohio,
six; New York, five; New Jersey, two;
and Pennsyl-
vania, four.
It has been said,70 "the
journey can only be looked
upon as a sad failure, and his
speeches, except his
touching farewell to his old neighbors
at Springfield,
and his noble address in Independence
Hall at Phila-
delphia, had better not have been
delivered." This
opinion can well be challenged, and
ought to be. The
speeches were well planned, and what
was said was
69 George H. Porter: Ohio Politics
During the Civil War Period,
p. 52.
70 James Ford Rhodes: History of the
United States, Vol. III,
p. 302.
172
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
only what should have been said. It was
his first criti-
cal situation, and it was managed so as
to successfully
attain the result desired. Few men could have safely
run such a gauntlet. Amidst the excitement of that
day men did not see with the precision
that he did.
This wisdom would have been useless
without the force
of will to carry it out.
So that we are compelled to measure him
as Seward
did after his "dream of
domination" failed: "Execu-
tive skill and vigor are rare
qualities. The President
is the best of us."
CHAPTER VII
LINCOLN'S RELATIONS WITH OHIO DURING THE
WAR
-- THE CASE OF VALLANDIGHAM -- THE
DEFECTION OF SALMON P. CHASE
In the War for the Union, Ohio assumed
foremost
rank among the greater states of the
North in furnish-
ing men and money to suppress the
Revolution of the
South. Up to December 31, 1864, nearly
365,000 of
her citizens had enlisted in the
Federal armies; its
political divisions, including the
State itself, paid out
for war purposes over $65,000,000. In
the field Ohio
led the states in furnishing the
military commanders.
By birth or residence she was credited
with Generals
Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan; Major
Generals Buell,
Cox, Crook, Custer, Garfield, Gilmore,
Hazen, Leg-
gett, McClellan, McCook, McDowell,
Mitchel, Rose-
crans, Stanley, Stedman, Swayne, and
Weitzel. To
these may be added one hundred and
fifty brigadier
generals.
On the civil side of the War, Ohio was
equally con-
spicuous and dominant. The two
most powerful mem-
bers of Lincoln's cabinet were Ohioans.
Salmon P.
Chase, twice Governor, and twice
Senator from Ohio,
was a Secretary of the Treasury whose
success in try-
ing times ranks him with Alexander
Hamilton; Edwin
M. Stanton the great War Minister, was
Lincoln's
right hand whose executive force more
than once or-
ganized victory out of defeat. If we
turn to Congress
for Ohio's place and influence, we find
in the Senate
(173)
174
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
John Sherman as Chairman of the Finance
Committee
carrying into legislation the policies
of Secretary Chase;
and Benjamin F. Wade as Chairman of the
Committee
on the Conduct of the War. In the House
General
Robert C. Schenck was at the head of
the Committee
on Military Affairs. Into the hands of
these men were
committed the financial and military
legislation of the
Nation.
Nevertheless, with this record of
patriotic contri-
bution to the Union cause, Ohio was the
source of
much disloyal activity, the result and
purpose of
which was to embarrass and oppose
Lincoln and the
prosecution of the War. It was to Ohio,
more than
any other state that he gave his
personal attention at
one time, for its movements were
destroying the mo-
rale of the Union army, and
handicapping the power of
government. In order that we may get an
intelligent
view of the condition and times
referred to, it will be
necessary to go back to the period just
before the war.
It will be remembered that Governor
Dennison was
elected in 1859 after a strictly
partisan campaign, in
which Lincoln actively and effectively
took part. The
next year was filled with great events
-- Lincoln's nom-
ination, his election, and the
secession of the Southern
States; after these came his
inauguration and the firing
on Fort Sumter. This latter event, so
tragic and so
foolish, melted away all party lines,
and the North, at
first dazed, arose with the anger of a
giant to prevent
the dissolving of the Union.
The General Assembly of Ohio was in
session when
the storm broke. Within twenty-four
hours after Lin-
coln's call for troops every vestige of
party lines van-
ished; Democrats vied with Republicans
in rallying to
Lincoln and Ohio 175
the support of the Union. One million
dollars was
voted unanimously by both Houses to be
expended in
furnishing arms to Ohio troops and for
other military
purposes.71 Specifically
$500,000 was appropriated to
carry
into effect the requisitions of
the President;
$450,000 for equipping the militia of
the State, and
$50,000 for the Governor to use as he
might find nec-
essary. Later $1,500,000 was
appropriated for use in
case of invasion of the state. This was
followed by a
law providing for raising by taxation a
fund for the
relief of families of volunteers, which
relief was to be
continued for a year after the death of
such volunteers
in the service. Other legislation made
necessary by
the exigencies of the times was also
passed. This was
Ohio's answer to the Southern
Confederacy, and it was
given without regard to party.
While this patriotic legislation was
being consid-
ered, there came to Columbus for the
purpose of urg-
ing the Democrats of the legislature to
oppose it,
Clement L. Vallandigham,72 the
Democratic Congress-
man from the Dayton district. He met
with no suc-
cess in his endeavor to dissuade his
party associates
to oppose these measures.
Vallandigham was one of the outstanding
charac-
ters of the war period. His brief but
meteoric career
forms one of the dramatic episodes of
that time. The
71 58 Ohio Laws. pp. 89, 107, 132.
72 Clement Laird Vallandigham was born
at New Lisbon, Ohio,
July 29, 1820; admitted to bar, 1842; in
Ohio House of Representatives,
1845-46; edited Dayton Empire, 1847-49;
candidate for Congress against
Lewis D. Campbell in 1847; defeated, but
seated on a contest; served
from May 25, 1858 until March 3, 1863;
nominated for Governor of
Ohio June 11, 1863: defeated by John
Brough, Union candidate; delegate
to Democratic conventions of 1864 and
1868; died at Lebanon, Ohio.
June 17, 1871; his death resulted from
the accidental discharge of a
pistol in his own hands while
illustrating his theory of how a certain
homicide occurred in which he was
defending the accused.
176
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
sinister influence which he cast over
Ohio and the
Nation, resulting finally in Lincoln's
interference, was
dangerous to the morale of both people
and army.
There were times when Vallandigham was
worth a
division to the Confederate cause. With
this in view
a more than general reference to his
personality will
better enable us to assess his place in
history, and also
understand a character that gave
Lincoln more con-
cern and trouble than any man outside
of the Southern
Confederacy.
We have already seen that preceding the
war the
Republican party held its element of
pacifism which,
however, disappeared with the firing
upon Fort Sum-
ter. A similar element existed in the
Democratic party,
but on the other hand it continued
throughout the war,
having gained and held control of that
organization.
Of this Vallandigham was the talented
and aggressive
leader, possessing magnetic powers of
oratory which in
their climax gave speech to words of
eloquent disloy-
alty. He was of mixed Huguenot and
Scotch-Irish
stock, and his heritage was conscience,
courage and
combativeness. His mind was narrow and
single-
tracked. He would rather see the Union
destroyed
than to deviate a hair's breadth from
the Constitution
which it was made to preserve. He had
no sense of
adjustment; his egoism was
over-developed. He was
not a Democrat of the Jefferson or
Jackson type. He
belonged to that class of men that
Macaulay character-
ized as "architects of ruin."
When he came to Columbus to influence
his fellow
Democrats against supporting war
legislation, he came
with a reputation for pro-Southern
sentiments. He had
Lincoln and Ohio 177
already, November 20, 1860, in a speech
in Cooper In-
stitute, New York, declared that73
If any one or more of the states of this
Union should at
any time secede, for the reasons of the
suffering and justice
of which, before God and the tribunal of
history, they alone
may judge, much as I deplore it, I never
would, as a Represent-
ative in the Congress of the United
States, vote one dollar of
money whereby one drop of American blood
should be shed in
a Civil War.
In the House of Representatives on
February 20,
1861, he gave further evidence of his
position by advo-
cating a constitutional amendment
introduced by him
providing for the division of the Union
into four sec-
tions, to be known as, the North, the
West, the Pacific
and the South.74 One of its
provisions was, that,
No State shall secede without the
consent of the Legis-
lature of the States of the section to
which the State proposing
to secede belongs. The President shall
have power to adjust
with seceding States all questions
arising by reason of their
secession; but the terms of adjustment
shall be submitted to
the Congress for their approval before
the same shall be valid.
In this speech, which was bold in
expression, Val-
landigham claimed that his aim was to
save the Union,
but his plan had in it essentially the
opposite purpose.
Now if these expressions of
Vallandigham were the
sum of his offending, he might be
absolved from his sin
of disloyalty. In his Cooper Institute
speech his de-
clared attitude was practically that of
Horace Greeley.
but expressed in a flamboyant and
exaggerated style.
His proposed constitutional amendment
to divide the
Union into four sections was but
another form of plan
that the Tribune and other
Republican papers were
73 A Life of Clement L. Vallandigham,
by His Brother, Rev. James
L. Vallandigham. 1872. pp. 141-142.
74 The Record of Hon. C. L.
Vallandigham on Abolition, the Union
and the Civil War. 1863. pp. 88, 91.
Vol. XXXII -- 12.
178
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
willing to acquiesce in as the price
for peace. They,
as well as some prominent Republicans,
were willing
to have a North and a South. If
division was to come,
there was not any difference in
principle in a "peaceful
separation" into four sections. As
we view it today,
all these propositions were absurd and
impracticable.
It was far better for the country to
fight it out to a
finish. Let separation be accomplished,
and a dozen
fragments of a once glorious Union
would have been
the result.
These vagaries as to plans for peace
were so com-
mon in both parties at this time, that
Vallandigham
was only one of many, "running
round in circles" de-
vising some way to avoid war. But when
he kept up
this antagonism to the government after
its flag was
fired upon, he crossed the Rubicon of
his life. This is
the reason that when he came to his
fellow Democrats
in the General Assembly he found
himself without
standing.
Thwarted at Columbus, he sought by
personal ap-
peal to his party associates to check
the rising Union
sentiment among them. To more than
twenty prom-
inent Democrats of Ohio he sent a
private circular
letter calling a conference at Chillicothe,
May 15, 1861,
"to concert measures to arouse the
people to a sense of
danger which was so imminent from the
bold conspiracy
to usurp all power in the hands of the
Executive," as
well as "to rescue the Republic
from all impending mili-
tary despotism." To this call
there were but four an-
swers; three were favorable to its
purposes, and one
adverse to the conference. There was no
meeting.75
75 A Life of Clement L. Vallandigham,
by His Brother, Rev. James
L. Vallandigham. p.
161.
Lincoln and Ohio 179
This failure served to intensify his
feelings, and he
started, more strenuously than before,
to create a public
sentiment against the War for the
Union, which he led
with power and malevolence. He cleft
his party in
twain; those favoring the War, joining
with the Repub-
licans, formed the Union party, and his
followers re-
taining the organization of the old
Democratic party,
were known as the "Peace
Democracy." This align-
ment in Ohio, the Union and Peace
Democracy, was
the partisan division during and after
the war -- from
1861 to 1867. It is not the purpose to
dwell upon the
relations of these parties during this
period, although
it might be made very interesting
reading.76 The object
herein being to deal with the career of
a single man,
reference to the parties will be only
as associated with
him.
In the extra session of Congress called
by Lincoln
for July 4, 1861, Vallandigham made
what might be
called his first official declaration against
the war. On
July 10, he delivered a speech in the
House of Repre-
sentatives which for bold antagonism
dazed the Union
sentiment of the country. His attitude
received little
sympathy from his party colleagues.
This speech under
the title, "After Some Time Be
Past," was widely cir-
culated, not only in this country, but
in England and
on the Continent.77
In the fall of 1862 he was defeated for
re-election
to Congress by the Union General,
Robert C. Schenck
of Dayton, and as expected, he returned
to Washington
76 On this subject: Ohio Politics During the Cival War
Period;
George H. Porter, 1911; Randall and
Ryan's History of Ohio, 1912, Vol.
IV, Chaps. 7, 8, 9, 10; The Civil War Literature of Ohio, A Bibliography
with Explanatory Notes; Daniel J. Ryan. 1911.
77 The Record of Hon. C. L. Vallandigham, pp. 173-204. Daniel J.
Ryan: The Civil War Literature of Ohio, pp. 433-434.
180
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
to complete his term, more hostile than
ever. He mani-
fested this in a remarkable speech in
the House on "The
Great Civil War in America,"
January 14, 1863.78 It
was a pessimistic philippic against the
continuance of
the war and a bitter indictment of
Lincoln and his ad-
ministration. Its practical effect was
to encourage the
Southern armies and to give hope to the
Davis govern-
ment. Said he, "You can never
subdue the seceded
states. Two years of fearful experience
have taught
you that"; then he asks, "Why
carry on this war? If
you persist, it can only end in final
separation between
the North and the South. And in that
case, believe
me, as you did not my former warning,
the whole
Northwest will go with the South."
He then proceeded
to plead for peace either by domestic
agreement or
foreign intervention. He held that
slavery must be
recognized in any event. "In my
deliberate judgment,"
said he, "African slavery, as an
institution, will come
out of this conflict fifty-fold
stronger than when it was
begun."
This speech had three effects: by it
Vallandigham
burned his bridges behind him and
became an open an-
tagonist of the government. With all
his talk of Union
and peace he was directly aiding and
encouraging the
enemy. Again, it spread the peace
sentiment through-
out the country, and lastly, it served
to obstruct enlist-
ments as well as to discourage the army
in the field.
By the friends of the Union everywhere
it was re-
garded as "words of brilliant and
polished treason."
When the Thirty-seventh Congress
adjourned, Vallan-
digham made speeches of the same tenor
in New York
78 The Record of Hon. C. L.
Vallandigham. pp. 168-204. Daniel J.
Ryan: The Civil War Literature of
Ohio, pp. 434-435.
Lincoln and Ohio 181
and Philadelphia. He reached Dayton on
March 13,
receiving an enthusiastic welcome from
his followers.
He addressed meetings in Ohio in March
and April.
The greatest demonstration of his tour
was to be at
Mt. Vernon, May 1, where he was to be
welcomed by
the Peace Democracy of Central Ohio.
At this time the states of Ohio,
Indiana, Kentucky
and Illinois formed a military district
designated as the
"Department of Ohio," under
the command of General
Ambrose E. Burnside. Within this
territory there had
developed the most violent feeling
against the govern-
ment and the war. It had no
parallel throughout the
country. Here the seditious teachings
of Vallandigham
bore fruit in the form of resistance to
the draft; in the
organization of secret treasonable
societies, of one of
which, the "Sons of Liberty,"
he became Supreme Com-
mander; in open and armed resistance to
the govern-
ment and a general disposition to sympathize
with and
aid the enemy. In a word, there existed
in this district
a well-organized conspiracy to obstruct
the military
authorities of the United States.79
79 Report of the Judge Advocate General on "The Order
of Amer
ican Knights," alias "The
Sons of Liberty," A Western Conspiracy in Aid
of the Southern Rebellion. Washington, D. C., 1864.
In The Civil War Literature of Ohio, pp.
329-330 the Report is
summarized thus: "Under the
instruction of the Secretary of War,
Joseph Holt, Judge Advocate General,
made an investigation in regard
to the Secret Associations and
Conspiracies against the Government. On
October 8, 1864, this report was filed;
it is based on testimony furnished
from different sources. It forms one of
the most important documents
of the war, and has a decided connection
with military and political af-
fairs in Ohio during the years 1863 and
1864. In this report the Judge
Advocate General exposes the origin,
extent, organization, history, pur-
poses, ritual, members and operation of
the various secret political bodies
existing in the North, but sympathizing
with the Southern Confederacy.
They were located in nearly every
Northern state, but were most numer-
ous in Ohio, Indiana. Illinois, Missouri
and Kentucky. It is declared
that the scene of operations in Ohio was
in Cincinnati, Dayton and
Hamilton, and that C. L. Vallandigham
was the founder of the order.
The force of the order in Ohio is stated
at from 80,000 to 108,000.
182 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
To meet this situation General Burnside
issued
"General Orders No. 38" in
which was the following:
The habit of declaring sympathies for
the enemy will not
be allowed in this Department. Persons
committing such of-
fences will be at once arrested, with a
view to being tried as
above stated, or sent beyond our lines
into the lines of their
friends. It must be distinctly
understood that treason, ex-
pressed or implied, will not be
tolerated in this Department. All
officers and soldiers are strictly
charged with the execution of
this order.
In
accordance with arrangements Vallandigham
addressed a meeting of great magnitude
and enthusi-
asm
at Mt. Vernon. It lasted throughout the day, and
the Peace Democracy of the surrounding
counties was
there in force. They gloried in the name
of "Butter-
nut" and
"Copperhead," for
there were butternut
boughs in profusion for ornaments, and
on the breasts
of thousands were pins made of the
liberty heads cut
from copper cents. The orator was at his
best, and his
adoring audience readily surrendered to
his magnetic
eloquence. After his opening, he
proceeded to denounce
"Lincoln and his minions"; he
said, "This was a wicked,
"The report declares that the
purposes of the 'Order of American
Knights', or 'Sons of Liberty', were: To
aid desertions from the Union
Armies; to circulate disloyal
publications; to give intelligence to the
enemy; to aid recruiting for the
Confederates within the Union lines;
to furnish the enemy with arms and
supplies; to co-operate in Confederate
raids and invasions; to destroy
government property; to persecute and
impoverish Union men; to assassinate
those of special influence or in
high authority; and to set up a
Northwestern Confederacy.
"'While the capacity of this order
for fatal mischief', said Judge
Holt, 'has, by means of the arrest of
its leaders, the seizure of its arms,
and the other vigorous means which have
been pursued, been seriously
impaired, it is still busy with its
secret plottings against the government,.
and with its perfidious designs in aid
of the Southern Rebellion. It is
reported to have recently issued new
designs and passwords, and its
members assert that foul means will be
used to prevent the success of
the Administration at the coming election, and threaten
an extended re-
volt in the event of the re-election of
President Lincoln.'
"This report contains much that is
important and valuable, and a
knowledge of it is necessary to a proper
conception of the political con-
dition of Ohio and the North at this
period."
Lincoln and Ohio 183
cruel and unnecessary war";
"a war not waged for the
preservation of the Union";
"a war for the purpose of
crushing out liberty and erecting a
despotism." He
denounced General Burnside's order as,
"a base usurp-
ation of arbitrary authority," and
added "that the
sooner the people inform the minions of
usurped power
that they will not submit to such
restrictions upon their
liberties, the better." He
declared "that he was at all
times, and upon all occasions, resolved
to do what he
could to defeat the attempts now being
made to build
up a monarchy upon the ruins of our
free government."
He declared that "he was a free
man and did not ask
David Tod, Abraham Lincoln or Ambrose
E. Burn-
side for his rights to speak as he had
done and was
doing"; "his authority for so
doing was higher than
General Orders No. 38 -- it was General
Orders No. 1
-- the Constitution"; that,
"General Orders No. 38
was a base usurpation of arbitrary
power"; "he had the
most supreme contempt for such power,
he despised it,
spat upon it, trampled it under his
feet"; on the draft,
he said, "an attempt would shortly
be made to enforce
the conscription act; they should
remember that this
was not a war for the preservation of
the Union -- it
was a wicked Abolition war, and that if
those in au-
thority were allowed to accomplish
their purpose, the
people would be deprived of their
liberties, and a mon-
archy established." During his
speech some one hur-
rahed for "Jeff Davis"; this
Vallandigham promptly
denounced.80
80 The Trial of Hon. Clement L.
Vallandigham by a Military Com-
mission; and the Proceedings under
his Application for a Writ of Habeas
Corpus in the Circuit Court of the
United States for the Southern Dis-
trict of
Ohio. Cincinnati. 1863, pp. 7, 11, et seq.
184
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
The meeting was on Friday, Vallandigham
was
arrested on the following Monday by
order of General
Burnside. He was tried by a military
commission, and
on May 16 was found guilty of
"publicly expressing,
in violation of General Orders No. 38
from Headquar-
ters of the Department of Ohio,
sympathy for those in
arms against the Government of the
United States, and
declaring disloyal sentiments and
opinions, with the
object and purpose of weakening the
power of the Gov-
ernment in its efforts to suppress an
unlawful rebel-
lion." He was sentenced to
confinement in Fort War-
ren, in Boston Harbor, during the
continuance of the
war. This sentence was changed by
Lincoln, who
directed General Burnside to send
Vallindigham "under
secure guard to the headquarters of
General Rose-
crans" and "by him to be
delivered into the Confed-
erate lines," and that in case he
returned, the original
sentence should be enforced. While
being tried before
the Military Commission, application
for a writ of
habeas corpus was made in the United States Circuit
Court, Judge H. H. Leavitt, presiding.
Upon a full
hearing the writ was refused.
The banishment of Vallandigham made him
imme-
diately the idol and martyr of the
Peace Democracy.
At their New York State Convention, May
16, resolu-
tions of protest against his arrest,
trial and sentence
were passed, and these, with a long
letter were sent to
Lincoln.81 He answered at
length. His reasoning was
unanswerable. For instance, this:
I understand the meeting, whose
resolutions I am consider-
ing, to be in favor of suppressing the
rebellion by military force
-- by armies. Long experience has shown that armies cannot be
81 Edward McPherson: The Political
History of the United States
of America During the Great
Rebellion, 1865, pp. 163-167.
Lincoln and Ohio 185
maintained unless desertions shall be
punished by the severe pen-
alty of death. The case requires, and
the law and the Constitu-
tion sanction, this punishment. Must I
shoot a simple-minded
soldier-boy who deserts, while I must
not touch a hair of a wily
agitator who induces him to desert? This
is none the less
injurious when effected by getting a
father, or brother, or friend,
into a public meeting, and there working
upon his feelings till
he is persuaded to write the soldier-boy
that he is fighting in a
bad cause, for a wicked Administration
of a contemptible gov-
ernment, 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.82
The Ohio Peace Democracy met in State
Conven-
tion to nominate a governor on June 11,
at Columbus
amidst great excitement. The exile of
their leader, who
was now within the lines of the
Southern Confederacy,
had stirred them into a state of
hysterical devotion to
him. The unfriendly press estimated the
attendance at
25,000; inflamed by the passionate
appeals of extrava-
gant orators, all feelings of reason and
conservation
had been banished. There were a few
thoughtful Dem-
ocrats who saw the folly of it all.
They urged Gen-
eral McClellan, who was still a
resident of Ohio, to be
a candidate; he refused. They called on
Rufus P. Ran-
ney; he refused. Finally, Hugh J.
Jewett, Union man
and War Democrat, consented. On a trial
ballot they
gave him thirteen votes and
Vallandigham four hun-
dred and eleven, and at once nominated
the latter
unanimously. As to the platform, the
delegates cried
"Vallandigham is platform enough." The
leaders,
however, presented resolutions dealing
entirely with
the alleged prosecution and persecution
of their nom-
82 James
Ford Rhodes: History of the United States, Vol. IV, p.
257. Herein is quoted testimony of
General Joseph E. Hooker before a
Joint Committee on the Conduct of the
War, stating that great quanti-
ties of civilian clothing was shipped to
his camps from families in the
North to aid the young soldiers in
deserting.
186 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
inee.
There was no reference to the terrible trial
through which the country was passing;
no words of
condemnation for those who were seeking
to dissolve
the Union, and no praise even for the
tens of thousands
of Ohio Democrats who were in the field
fighting for
the flag. On all the events that would
appeal to patriot-
ism, the platform was as silent as the
grave.83 The
resolutions concluded by calling upon
the President "re-
spectfully but most earnestly to
restore Clement L.
Vallandigham to his home in Ohio."
A committee of
one from each Congressional District
was selected by
the presiding officer of the convention
to present an
application for such purpose to the
President.
Lincoln from the beginning viewed the
peace move-
ment in the North with grave concern.
He knew it
was dangerous, and he called it
"the fire in the rear."
He realized the power of Vallandigham
over his party,
and in commuting his sentence from
imprisonment to
exile among his friends, whom he
constantly eulogized
as unconquerable, Lincoln displayed his
usual shrewd-
ness as well as humor. He did not
propose to martyr-
ize the head of the Peace Party by
making Fort War-
ren a shrine for all the disloyal and
dissatisfied elements
of the North. At the same time he would
have pre-
ferred not to have this situation on
his hands, and on
83 On the day before Vallandigham was
nominated, June 10. General
Lee in a letter to President Jefferson
Davis wrote: "Under these cir-
cumstances we should neglect no
honorable means of dividing and weak-
ening our enemies, that they may feel
some of the difficulties experienced
by ourselves. It seems to me that the
most effectual mode of accom-
plishing this object, now within our
reach, is to give all the encourage-
ment we can. consistently with truth, to
the rising peace party of the
North." War of the Rebellion; A
Compilation of the Official Records
of the Union tand Confederate Armies.
Washington, 1880-1901, Vol.
XXVII, Part III, p. 881.
Lincoln and Ohio 187
this his Cabinet agreed with him. He
did not hesitate
to say as much to General Burnside.84
The committee provided by the
convention was com-
posed of prominent Peace Democrats,
including every
Democratic congressman except Samuel S.
("Sunset")
Cox. Why he was not on the committee is
not known,
but he never was in sympathy with
Vallandigham's
extreme views. They met at Washington
on June 26,
and prepared an elaborate address to
the President urg-
ing the revocation of his order against
their leader and
nominee. The address, Lincoln's reply,
and the com-
mittee's rejoinder are important
historical documents,
and throw a flood of light on the Ohio
situation of that
period. The committee's address is as
follows:
WASHINGTON CITY, June 26, 1863.
To His Excellency, the President of
the United States:
The undersigned having been appointed a
committee, under
the authority of the resolutions of the
State convention held at
the city of Columbus, Ohio, on the 11th
instant, to communicate
with you on the subject of the arrest
and banishment of Clement
L. Vallandigham, most respectfully
submit the following as the
resolutions of that convention, bearing
upon the subject of this
communication, and ask of your
Excellency their earnest con-
sideration. And they deem it proper to
state that the convention
was one in which all parts of the State
were represented, and
one of the most respectable as to
numbers and character, one of
the most earnest and sincere in support
of the Constitution and
the Union ever held in that State.
Resolved, I. That the will of the people is the foundation
of all free government; that to give
effect to this will, free
84 Washington, May 29, 1863.
Major General Burnside,
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Your dispatch of today received. When I
shall wish to supersede
you I will let you know. All the cabinet
regretted the necessity of ar-
resting, for instance, Vallandigham,
some perhaps doubting there was
a real necessity for it; but being done,
all were for seeing you through
with it. A. Lincoln.
188 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
thought, free speech, and a free press
are indispensable. With-
out free discussion there is no
certainty of sound judgment;
without sound judgment there can be no
wise government.
Resolved, 2. That there is an inherent and constitutional
right of the people to discuss all
measures of their Government,
and to approve or disapprove, as to
their best judgment seems
right. They have a like right to propose
and advocate that
policy which, in their judgment, is
best, and to argue and vote
against whatever policy seems to them to
violate the Constitu-
tion, to impair their liberties, or to
be detrimental to their wel-
fare.
Resolved, 3. That these, and all other rights guaranteed to
them by their Constitution, are their
rights in time of war as
well as times of peace, and of far more
value and necessity in
war than peace; for in the time of peace
liberty, security, and
property are seldom endangered; in war
they are ever in peril.
Resolved, 4. That we now say to all whom it may concern,
not by way of threat, but calmly and
firmly, that we will not
surrender these rights, nor submit to
their forcible violation. We
will obey the laws ourselves, and all
others must obey them.
Resolved, 11. That Ohio will adhere to the Constitution
and the Union as the best, and it may be
the last, hope of popu-
lar freedom, and for all wrongs which
may have been committed,
or evils which may exist, will seek
redress under the Constitu-
tion, and within the Union, by the
peaceful and powerful agency
of the suffrages of the people.
Resolved, 14. That we will earnestly support every con-
stitutional measure tending to preserve
the Union of the States.
No men have a greater interest in its
preservation than we have,
none desire more; there are none who
will make greater sacri-
fices or endure more than we will to
accomplish that end. We
are, as we have ever been, the devoted
friends of the Constitu-
tion and the Union, and we have no
sympathy with the enemies
of either.
Resolved, 15. That the arrest, imprisonment, pretended
trial, and actual banishment of Clement
L. Vallandigham, a citi-
zen of the State of Ohio, not belonging
to the land or naval
forces of the United States, nor to the
militia in actual service,
by alleged military authority, for no
other pretended crimes than
that of uttering words of legitimate
criticism upon the conduct
of the Administration in power, and of
appealing to the ballot-
box for a change of policy -- (said
arrest and military trial tak-
ing place where the courts of law are
open and unobstructed, and
for no act done within the sphere of
active military operations
in carrying on the war) -- we regard as
a palpable violation of
the following provisions of the Constitution of the
United States:
Lincoln and Ohio 189
1. "Congress shall make no law
. . . abridging the
freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the
people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government
for a
redress of grievances."
2. "The right of the people to be
secure in their persons,
houses, papers and effects, against
unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated; and no
warrant shall issue but
upon probable cause, supported by oath
or affirmation, and par-
ticularly describing the place to be
searched, and the person or
things to be seized."
3. "No person shall be held to
answer for a capital or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a
presentment or indict-
ment of a grand jury, except in cases
arising in the land or naval
forces, or in the militia when in actual
service in time of war
or public danger."
4. "In all criminal prosecutions
the accused shall enjoy
the right to a speedy and public trial
by an impartial jury of the
State and district wherein the crime
shall have been committed;
which district shall have been
previously ascertained by law."
5. And we furthermore denounce said
arrest, trial and ban-
ishment, as a direct insult offered to
the sovereignty of the peo-
ple of Ohio, by whose organic law it is
declared that no person
shall be transported out of the State
for any offense committed
within the same.
Resolved, 16.
That C. L. Vallandigham was, at the time of
his arrest, a prominent candidate for
nomination by the Demo-
cratic party of Ohio for the office of
Governor of the State;
that the Democratic party was fully
competent to decide whether
he is a fit man for that nomination, and
that the attempt to de-
prive them of that right, by his arrest
and banishment, was an
unmerited imputation upon their
intelligence and loyalty, as
well as a violation of the Constitution.
Resolved, 17. That we respectfully, but most earnestly, call
upon the President of the United States
to restore C. L. Val-
landigham to his home in Ohio, and that
a committee of one
from each Congressional District of
Ohio, to be selected by the
presiding officer of this convention, is
hereby appointed to present
this application to the President.
The undersigned, in the discharge of the
duty assigned
them, do not think it necessary to
reiterate the facts connected
with the arrest, trial and banishment of
Mr. Vallandigham; they
are well known to the President and are
of public history; nor
to enlarge upon the positions taken by
the convention, nor to
recapitulate the constitutional
provisions which it is believed have
been contravened; they have been stated
at length, and with
clearness, in the resolutions which have
been recited. The under-
190 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
signed content themselves with a brief
reference to other sug-
gestions pertinent to the subject.
They do not call upon your Excellency as
suppliants, praying
the revocation of the order banishing
Mr. Vallandigham, as a
favor, but by the authority of a
convention representing a ma-
jority of the citizens of the State of
Ohio, they respectfully ask
it as a right due to an American
citizen, in whose personal injury
the sovereignty and dignity of the
people of Ohio, as a free
State, has been offended.
And this duty they perform the more
cordially from the con-
sideration that at a time of great
national emergency, pregnant
with dangers to our Federal Union, it is
all-important that the
true friends of the Constitution and the
Union, however they may
differ as to the mode of
administering the Government, and the
measures most likely to be successful in
the maintenance of the
Constitution and the restoration of the
Union, should not be
thrown into conflict with each other.
The arrest, unusual trial, and
banishment of Mr. Vallandig-
ham have created widespread and alarming
disaffection among
the people of the State; not only endangering
the harmony of the
friends of the Constitution and the
Union, and tending to disturb
the peace and tranquillity of the State,
but also impairing that
confidence in the fidelity of your
administration to the great
landmarks of free government essential
to a peaceful and suc-
cessful enforcement of the laws of Ohio.
You are reported to have used, in a
public communication
on this subject, the following language:
"It gave me pain when I learned
that Mr. Vallandig-
ham had been arrested; that is, I was
pained that there
should have seemed to be a necessity for
arresting him,
and that it will afford me great
pleasure to discharge him
so soon as I can by any means believe
the public safety will
not suffer by it."
The undersigned assure your Excellency,
from our personal
knowledge of the feelings of the people
of Ohio, that the public
safety will be far more endangered bv
continuing Mr. Vallandig-
ham in exile than by releasing him. It
may be true that persons
differing from him in political views
may be found in Ohio and
elsewhere who will express a different
opinion; but they are
certainly mistaken.
Mr. Vallandigham may differ with the
President, and even
with some of his own political party, as
to the true and most
effectual means of maintaining the
Constitution and restoring the
Union; but this difference of opinion
does not prove him to be
Lincoln and Ohio 191
unfaithful to his duties as an American
citizen. If a man de-
votedly attached to the Constitution and
the Union conscienti-
ously believes that, from the inherent
nature of the Federal com-
pact, the war, in the present condition
of things in this country,
can not be used as a means of restoring
the Union; or that a war
to subjugate a part of the States, or a
war to revolutionize the
social system in a part of the States,
could not restore, but would
inevitably result in the final
destruction of both the Constitu-
tion and the Union, is he not to be
allowed the right of an
American citizen to appeal to the judgment of the
people for a
change of policy by the constitutional remedy of the
ballot-box?
During the war with Mexico many of the
political opponents
of the Administration then in power
thought it their duty to
oppose and denounce the war, and to urge
before the people of
the country that it was unjust, and
prosecuted for unholy pur-
poses. With equal reason it might have
been said of them that
their discussions before the people were
calculated to discourage
enlistments, "to prevent the
raising of troops", and to induce
desertions from the army; and leave the
Government without
an adequate military force to carry on
the war.
If the freedom of speech and of the
press are to be sus-
pended in time of war, then the
essential element of popular
government to effect a change of policy
in the constitutional
mode is at an end. The freedom of speech
and of the press is
indispensable, and necessarily incident
to the nature of popular
government itself. If any inconvenience
or evils arise from its
exercise, they are unavoidable.
On this subject you are reported to have
said further:
"It is asserted, in substance, that
Mr. Vallandigham
was, by a military commander, seized and
tried, 'for no
other reason than words addressed to a
public meeting, in
criticism of the course of the
Administration, and in con-
demnation of the military order of the
General.' Now, if
there be no mistake about this, if there
was no reason for
the arrest, then I concede that the
arrest was wrong. But
the arrest, 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 desertions from the
army, and to leave
the rebellion without an adequate
military force to suppress
it. He was arrested, not because he was
damaging the
political prospects of the
Administration, or the personal
interests of the Commanding General, but
because he was
damaging the army, upon the existence
and vigor of which
192 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
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 dam-
aging the military power of the country,
then his arrest was
made on mistake of facts, which I would
be glad to correct
on reasonable satisfactory
evidence."
In answer to this, permit us to say -- First: That
neither
the charge, nor the specifications in support
of the charge on
which Mr. Vallandigham was tried, impute
to him the act of
either laboring to prevent the raising
of troops or to encourage
the desertions from the army. Secondly:
No evidence on the
trial was offered with a view to support, or even
tended to sup-
port, any such charge. In what instance,
and by what act, did
he either discourage enlistments or
encourage desertions from
the army? Who is the man who was
discouraged from enlisting?
and who encouraged to. desert by any act
of Mr. Vallandigham?
If it be assumed that, perchance, some
person might have been
discouraged from enlisting, or that some
person might have been
encouraged to desert, on account of
hearing Mr. Vallandigham's
views as to the policy of the war as a
means of restoring the
Union, would that have laid the
foundation for his conviction
and banishment? If so, upon the same
grounds, every political
opponent of the Mexican war might have
been convicted and
banished from the country.
When gentlemen of high standing and
extensive influence,
including your Excellency, opposed, in
the discussions before the
people, the policy of the Mexican war,
were they "warring upon
the military?" and if this
"give the military constitutional juris-
diction to lay hands upon" them?
And, finally, the charge of the
specifications upon which Mr.
Vallandigham was tried entitled
him to a trial before the civil
tribunals, according to express
provisions of the late acts of Congress,
approved by yourself,
July 17, 1862, and March 3, 1863, which
were manifestly de-
signed to supersede all necessity or
pretext for arbitrary military
arrests.
The undersigned are able to agree with
you in the opinion
you have expressed, that the
Constitution is different in time of
insurrection or invasion from what it is
in time of peace and
public security. The Constitution
provides for no limitation
upon or exceptions to the guarantees of
personal liberty, except
as to the writ of habeas corpus. Has
the President, at the time
of invasion or insurrection, the right
to engraft limitations or
exceptions upon these constitutional
guarantees whenever, in his
judgment, the public safety requires it?
True it is, the article of the
Constitution which defines the
Lincoln and Ohio 193
various powers delegated to Congress
declares that "the privi-
lege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be
suspended, unless
where, in cases of rebellion or
invasion, the public safety may
require it". But this qualification
or limitation upon this restric-
tion upon the powers of Congress has no
reference to or con-
nection with the other guarantees of
personal liberty. Expunge
from the Constitution this limitation
upon the powers of Con-
gress to suspend the writ of habeas
corpus, and yet the other
guarantees of personal liberty would
remain unchanged.
Although a man might not have a
constitutional right to
have an immediate investigation made as
to the legality of his
arrest, upon habeas corpus, yet
"his right to a speedy public trial,
by an impartial jury of the State and
district wherein the crime
shall have been committed", will
not be altered; neither will his
right to the exemption from "cruel
and unusual punishments";
nor his right to be secure in his
person, houses, papers, and ef-
fects, against unreasonable seizures and
searches; nor his right
not to be deprived of life, liberty or
property, without due process
of law; nor his right not to be held to,
answer for a capital or
otherwise infamous offense, unless on
presentment or indictment
of a grand jury be in anywise changed.
And certainly the restriction upon the
power of Congress
to suspend the writ of habeas corpus,
in time of insurrection or
invasion, could not effect the guarantee
that the freedom of
speech and of the press shall not be
abridged. It is sometimes
urged that the proceedings in the civil
tribunals are too tardy
and ineffective for cases arising in
times of insurrection or in-
vasion. It is a full reply to this to
say that arrests by civil
process may be equally as expeditious
and effective as arrests by
military orders.
True, a summary trial and punishment are
not allowed in
the civil courts. But if the offender be
under arrest and im-
prisoned, and not entitled to a
discharge on writ of habeas
corpus, before trial, what more can be required for the purpose
of the Government? The idea that all the
constitutional guar-
antees of personal liberty are
suspended, throughout the country,
at a time of insurrection or invasion in
any part of it, places us
upon a sea of uncertainty, and subjects
the life, liberty, and
property of every citizen to the mere
will of a military com-
mander, or what he might say that he
considers the public
safety requires. Does your Excellency
wish to have it under-
stood that you hold that the rights of
every man throughout this
vast country are subject to be annulled
whenever you may say
that you consider the public safety
requires it in time of invasion
or insurrection?
Vol. XXXII -- 13.
194 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
You are further reported as having said
that the constitu-
tional guarantees of personal liberty have "no
application to the
present case we have in hand, because
the arrests complained of
were not made for treason; that is, not
for the treason defined
in the Constitution, and upon the
conviction of which the punish-
ment is death; nor yet were they made to
hold persons to answer
for capital or otherwise infamous
crimes; nor were the pro-
ceedings following, in any
constitutional or legal sense, criminal
prosecutions. The arrests were made on totally different
grounds, and the proceedings following
accorded with the
grounds of the arrests", etc.
The conclusion to be drawn from this
position of your
Excellency is, that where a man is
liable to "a criminal prosecu-
tion", or is charged with a crime
known to the laws of the land,
he is clothed with all the
constitutional guarantees for his safety
and security from wrong and injustice;
but that where he is not
liable to "a criminal
prosecution", or charged with any crime
known to the laws, if the President or
any military commander
shall say that he considers that the
public safety requires it,
this man may be put outside of the pale of
the constitutional
guarantees, and arrested without charge
of crime, imprisoned
without knowing what for, and any length
of time, or to be tried
before a court-martial, and sentenced to
any kind of punishment
unknown to the laws of the land, which
the President or military
commander may deem proper to impose.
Did the Constitution intend to throw the
shield of its securi-
ties around the man liable to be charged
with treason as defined
by it, and yet leave the man not liable
to any such charge un-
protected by the safeguard of personal
liberty and personal se-
curity? Can a man not in the military or
naval service, nor
within the field of the operations of
the army, be arrested and
imprisoned without any law of the land
to authorize it? Can a
man thus, in civil life, be punished
without any law defining the
offense and prescribing the punishment?
If the President or a
court-martial may prescribe one kind of
punishment unauthorized
by law, why not any other kind?
Banishment is an unusual
punishment, and unknown to our laws. If
the President has
the right to prescribe the punishment of
banishment, why not
that of death and confiscation of
property? If the President
has the right to change the punishment
prescribed by the court-
martial, from imprisonment to
banishment, why not from im-
prisonment to torture upon the rack, or
execution upon the
gibbet?
If an indefinable kind of constructive
treason is to be intro-
duced and engrafted upon the
Constitution, unknown to the laws
of the land and subject to the will of
the President whenever
Lincoln and Ohio 195 an insurrection or invasion shall occur in any part
of this vast country, what safety or security will be left for the
liberties of the people? The constructive treasons that gave the friends of
freedom so many years of toil and trouble in England, were
inconsiderable compared to this. The precedents which you make will
become a part of the Constitution for your successors, if
sanctioned and acquiesced in by the people now. The people of Ohio are willing to co-operate
zealously with you in every effort warranted by the Constitution to
restore the Union of the States, but they cannot consent to
abandon those fundamental principles of civil liberty which are
essential to their existence as a free people. In their name we ask that, by a revocation of the
order of his banishment, Mr. Vallandigham may be restored to
the en- joyment of those rights of which they believe he has
been un- constitutionally deprived. We have the honor to be, respectfully, yours, etc., M. BIRCHARD, Chairman, 19th District. DAVID A. HOUK, Secretary, 3d District. |
GEORGE BLISS, 14th District. T. W. BARTLEY, 8th District. W. J. GORDON, 18th District. JOHN O'NEILL, 13th District. C. A. WHITE, 6th District W. D. FINCK, 12th District. ALEXANDER LONG, 2nd District. J. W. WHITE, 16th District. JAS. R. MORRIS, 15th District. |
GEORGE S. CONVERSE, 7th Dis- trict. WARREN P. NOBLE, 9th District. GEORGE H. PENDLETON, 1st Dis- trict. W. A. HUTCHINS. 11th District. ABNER L. BACKUS, 10th District. J. F. MCKINNEY, 5th District. F. C. LE BLOND, 5th District. |
LOUIS SCHAEFER, 17th District. This address, it will be observed, is purely a tech- nical and constitutional argument against Vallandig- ham's punishment.
It was disingenuous in that it ignored all the facts surrounding the case. Perhaps Lincoln's unanswerable reply to the New York com- mittee had deterred further discussion in that
direction. On this committee were very able lawyers, and but
few of its members were in sympathy with Vallandigham's extreme views, so it is very probable that they made the best presentation of a bad case. To do this it
was |
196 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
necessary to ignore its merits; to
forget the legal
maxim, inter arma silent leges, and
to rely entirely on
the lawyer's plea.
Lincoln answered in his best
argumentative vein,
impressively, but good-naturedly.
Observe his refer-
ence to his own record in the Mexican
War, which the
committee sought to parallel with
Vallandigham's.
Note his acceptance of the statement
that "the people
of Ohio are willing to co-operate
zealously with you in
every effort warranted by the
Constitution to restore
the Union of the States." The
people of Ohio were
then doing this very thing in a most
zealous way, and
the pledge of the committee sounds much
like the de-
cree of the "three tailors of
Tooley Street." Neverthe-
less, Lincoln, as his letter shows, was
willing to release
Vallandigham upon conditions that would
do no vio-
lence to the patriotism or conscience
of any good citizen.
His reply was as follows:
WASHINGTON, D. C., June 29, 1863.
GENTLEMEN: The resolutions of the Ohio
Democratic
State Convention, which you present me,
together with your
introductory and closing remarks, being
in position and argu-
ment mainly the same as the resolutions
of the Democratic meet-
ing at Albany, New York, I refer you to
my response to the latter
as meeting most of the points in the
former. This response you
evidently used in preparing your
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 matter which I sup-
pose you took from that paper. It is
where you say, "the under-
signed are unable to agree with you in
the opinion you have ex-
pressed, that the Constitution is
different in time of insurrection
or invasion from what it is in time of
peace and security."
A recurrence to the paper will show you
that I have not ex-
pressed the opinion you suppose. I
expressed the opinion that
the Constitution is different in its application in
cases of rebellion
or invasion, involving the public safety
from what it is in times
of profound peace, and public security;
and this opinion I ad-
Lincoln and Ohio 197
here to, simply because by the
Constitution itself, things may be
done in the one case which may not be
done in the other.
I dislike to waste a word on merely a
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 discussions
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." Doubtless if this
clause of the Constitution, im-
properly called as I think a limitation
upon the power of Con-
gress were expunged, the other
guarantees would remain the
same; but the question is, not how those
guarantees would stand
with the clause out of the Constitution,
but how they stand with
that clause remaining in it, in case of
rebellion or invasion, in-
volving the public safety. If the
liberty could be indulged of ex-
punging that clause, letter and spirit,
I really think the consti-
tutional argument would be with you.
My general view on this question was
stated in the Albany
response, and hence I do not state it
now. I only add that, as
seems to me, the benefit of the writ of habeas
corpus is the great
means through which the guarantees of
personal liberty are con-
served 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 bene-
fit of the writ of habeas corpus itself
may be suspended when in
cases of rebellion and invasion the
public safety may require it.
You ask in substance whether I really
claim that I may over-
ride all the guaranteed rights of
individuals, on the plea of con-
serving the public safety -- When I may
choose to say the public
safety requires it. This question,
divested of the phraseology
calculated to represent me as struggling
for an arbitrary personal
prerogative, is either a question who
shall decide, or an affirmation
that nobody shall decide, what public
safety does require in cases
of rebellion or invasion. The
Constitution contemplates the ques-
tion as likely to occur for decision,
but it does not expressly de-
clare who is to decide it. By necessary
implication, when rebel-
lion or invasion comes, the decision is
to be made from time to
time; and I think the man whom, for the
time the people have,
under the Constitution made the
Commander-in-Chief of their
army and navy, is the man who holds the
power and bears the
responsibility of making it. If he uses
the power justly, the same
people will probably justify him; if he abuses it, he
is in their
198 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
hands, to be dealt with by the modes
they have reserved to them-
selves 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 have
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 was 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
others, 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 been accompanied with
indictments, or trials by juries,
nor, in a single 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 nothing of
this sort was intended.
I was wholly unaware that Mr.
Vallandigham was at the time of
his arrest, a candidate for the
Democratic nomination for Gov-
ernor, 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 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 own posi-
tion in the Albany response, Mr.
Vallandigham should be re-
leased; and this because, as you claim,
he has not damaged the
military service, by discouraging
enlistments, encouraging de-
sertions, or otherwise; and that, if he
had, he should have been
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 oc-
curred from the same animus. These had
to be met by military
force, and this again has led to
bloodshed and death. And now,
under a sense of responsibility more
weighty and enduring than
Lincoln and Ohio 199
any which is mere official, I solemnly
declare 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 is due to him per-
sonally in a greater degree than to any
other one man. These
things have been notorious, known to
all, and of course known to
Mr. Vallandigham. Perhaps I would not be
wrong to say that
they originated with his special friends
and adherents. With
perfect knowledge of them he has
frequently, if not constantly,
made speeches in Congress and before
popular assemblies, 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 resistance to it, he has
not been known in any instance to
counsel against such resistance,
it is next to impossible to repel the
inference that he has coun-
seled 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 and you
have declared the pur-
pose to sustain the National 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 rebel-
lion, or even to intimate that you are
conscious of an existing
rebellion 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
suppress the rebellion.
Your own attitude, therefore, encourages
desertion, resistance to
the draft, and the like, because it
teaches those who incline to
desert and escape the draft to believe
it is your purpose to pro-
tect them, and to hope that you will
become strong enough to do
so. After a personal intercourse with
you, gentlemen 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 ex-
ceedingly easy. I send you duplicates of
this letter in order
that you, or a majority of you, may, if
you choose, indorse your
names upon one of them, and return it
thus indorsed to me, with
the understanding that those signing are
thereby 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;
200 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
and that, in your opinion, an army and
navy are constitutional
means for suppressing that rebellion.
2. That no one of you will do anything
which, in his own
judgment, will tend to hinder the
increase or favor the decrease,
or lessen the efficiency of the army and
navy while engaged in
the effort to suppress the rebellion;
and,
3. That each of you will, in his sphere,
do all he can to
have the officers, soldiers, and seamen
of the army and navy,
while engaged in the effort to. suppress
the rebellion, paid, fed,
clad, and otherwise well provided 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 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
embracing 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 antagonism with
the position of his friends. But I do it
chiefly because I thereby
prevail on other influential gentlemen
of Ohio to so define their
position as to be of immense value to
the army -- thus more
than compensating for the consequences
of any mistake in al-
lowing Mr. Vallandigham to return, so
that, on the whole, the
public safety would not have suffered by it. Still, in
regard to
Mr. Vallandigham and all others, I must
hereafter, as hereto-
fore, do so much as the public service
may seem to require.
I have the honor to be respectfully
yours, etc.,
A. LINCOLN.
The rejoinder of the committee simply
avowed their
original position and sought to answer
Lincoln's con-
stitutional argument. They rejected his propositions
upon which acceptance he declared he
would release
Vallandigham, on the ground that they
had no power
to make pledges to secure his freedom.
They also saw
that to accept these propositions would
be tantamount to
supporting Lincoln's administration,
which meant the
surrender of the Peace Party. The
committee's re-
joinder to Lincoln was:
Lincoln and Ohio 201
NEW YORK, July 1, 1863.
To his Excellency the President of
the United States:
SIR: Your answer to the application of
the undersigned
for a revocation of the order of
banishment of Clement L. Val-
landigham requires a reply which they proceed with as
little
delay as possible to make.
They are not able to appreciate the
force of the distinction
you make between the Constitution and
the application of the
Constitution, whereby you assume that
powers are delegated to
the President at the time of invasion or
insurrection, in deroga-
tion of the plain language of the
Constitution. The inherent
provisions of the Constitution remaining
the same in time of in-
surrection or invasion as in time of
peace, the President can
have no more right to disregard their
positive and imperative
requirements at the former time than at
the latter. Because
some things may be done by the terms of
the Constitution at
the time of invasion or insurrection
which would not be required
by the occasion in time of peace, you
assume that any thing
whatever, even though not expressed by the Constitution, may
be done on the occasion of insurrection
or invasion, which the
President may choose to say is required
by the public safety.
In plainer terms, because the writ of habeas
corpus may be sus-
pended at time of invasion or
insurrection, you infer that all
other provisions of the Constitution
having in view the protection
of life, liberty, and property of the
citizen, may be in like manner
suspended.
The provision relating to the writ of habeas
corpus being
contained in the first part of the
Constitution, the purpose of
which is to define the powers delegated
to Congress, has no con-
nection in language with the Declaration
of Rights, as guar-
antees of personal liberty, contained in
the additional and amend-
atory articles, and inasmuch as the
provision relating to habeas
corpus expressly provides for its suspension, and the other
pro-
visions alluded to do. not provide for
any such thing, the legal
conclusion is that the suspension of the
latter is unauthorized.
The provision for the writ of habeas
corpus is merely intended
to furnish a summary remedy, and
not the means whereby per-
sonal security is conserved in the final
resort; while the other
provisions are guarantees of personal
rights, the suspension of
which puts an end to all pretence of
free government. It is
true Mr. Vallandigham applied for a writ
of habeas corpus as a
summary remedy against oppression. But
the denial of this did
not take away his right to a speedy
public trial by an impartial
jury, or deprive him of his other rights
as an American citizen.
Your assumption of the right to suspend
all the constitutional
202 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
guarantees of personal liberty, and even
of the freedom of
speech and of the press, because the
summary remedy of habeas
corpus may be suspended, is at once startling and alarming to
all
persons desirous of preserving free government in this
country.
The inquiry of the undersigned, whether
"you hold the rights
of every man throughout this vast
country, in time of invasion
or insurrection, are subject to be annulled
whenever you may say
that you consider the public
safety requires it?" was a plain
question, undisguised by circumlocution,
and intended simply to
elicit information. Your affirmative answer to this question
throws a shade upon the fondest
anticipations of the framers
of the Constitution, who flattered
themselves that they had pro-
vided safeguards against the dangers
which have ever beset and
overthrown free government in other ages
and countries. Your
answer is not to be disguised by the
phraseology that the ques-
tion "is simply a question who
shall decide, or an affirmation
that nobody shall decide, what the
public safety does require
in case of rebellion or invasion".
Our Government was designed
to be a Government of law, settled and
defined, and not of the
arbitrary will of a single man. As a
safeguard, the powers were
delegated to the legislative, executive,
and judicial branches of
the Government, and each made
co-ordinate with the others, and
supreme within its sphere, and thus a
mutual check upon each
other in case of abuse of power.
It has been the boast of the American
people that they had
a written Constitution, not only expressly defining, but also
limiting the powers of the Government, and providing effectual
safeguards for personal liberty, security,
and property. And to
make the matter more positive and
explicit, it was provided by
the amendatory articles nine and ten
that "the enumeration in the
Constitution of certain rights shall
not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people", and that "the
powers
not delegated to the United States by
the Constitution, nor pro-
hibited by it to the States, are
reserved to the States respectively
or to the people." With this care
and precaution on the part of
our forefathers who framed our institutions,
it was not to be
expected that, at so early a day as
this, a claim of the President
to arbitrary power, limited only by his
conception of the re-
quirements of the public safety, would
have been asserted. In
derogation of the constitutional provisions
making the President
strictly an executive officer, and
vesting all the delegated legis-
lative powers in Congress, your
position, as we understand it,
would make your will the rule of
action, and your declaration
of the requirements of the public safety
the law of the land.
Our inquiry was not, therefore,
"simply a question who shall
decide, or the affirmation that nobody
shall decide, what the
Lincoln and Ohio 203
public safety requires." Our Government is a Government of
law, and it is the law-making power which ascertains
what the
public safety requires, and prescribes
the rule of action; and the
duty of the President is simply to
execute the laws thus enacted,
and not to make or annul laws. If
any exigency shall arise, the
President has the power to convene
Congress at any time to
provide for it; so that the plea of
necessity furnishes no reason-
able pretext for any assumption of
legislative power.
For a moment contemplate the
consequences of such a
claim to power. Not only would the
dominion of the President
be absolute over the rights of
individuals, but equally so over
the other departments of the Government.
If he should claim
that the public safety required it, he
could arrest and imprison
a judge for the conscientious discharge
of his duties, paralyze
the judicial power, or supersede it by
the substitution of courts-
martial, subject to his own will, throughout
the whole country.
If any one of the States, even far
removed from the rebellion,
should not sustain his plan for
prosecuting the war, he could,
on the plea of public safety, annul and
set at defiance the State
laws and authorities, arrest and
imprison the Governor of the
State or the members of the Legislature,
while in the faithful
discharge of their duties, or he could
absolutely control the ac-
tion, either of Congress or the Supreme
Court, by arresting and
imprisoning its members, and upon the
same ground he could
suspend the elective franchise, postpone
the elections and declare
the perpetuity of his high prerogative.
And neither the power
of impeachment nor the elections of the
people could be made
available against such concentration of
power.
Surely it is not necessary to subvert
free government in this
country in order to put down the
rebellion; and it cannot be done
under the pretence of putting
down the rebellion. Indeed, it is
plain that your Administration has been
weakened, by the as-
sumption of power not delegated in the
Constitution.
In your answer you say to us: "You
claim that men may,
if they choose, embarrass those whose
duty it is to combat a
giant rebellion and then be dealt with
in terms as if there were
no rebellion." You will find
yourself in fault, if you will search
our communication to you for any such
idea. The undersigned
believe that the Constitution and the
laws of the land, properly
administered, furnish ample power to put
down an insurrection
without the assumption of powers not
granted. And if existing
legislation be inadequate, it is the
duty of Congress to consider
what further legislation is necessary,
and to make suitable pro-
vision by law.
You claim that the military arrests made
by your Admin-
istration are ?? remedies, "as
injunctions to stay
204 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
injury, or proceedings to keep the
peace, and not for punish-
ment." The ordinary preventive remedies alluded to are
author-
ized by established law, but the
preventive proceedings you in-
stitute have their authority merely in
the will of the Executive
or that of officers subordinate to his
authority. And in this
proceeding a discretion seems to be
exercised as to whether the
prisoner shall be allowed a trial or
even be permitted to know the
nature of the complaint against him, or
the name of his accuser.
If the proceedings be merely preventive,
why not allow the
prisoner the benefit of a bond to keep
the peace? But if no
offence has been committed, why was Mr.
Vallandigham tried,
convicted, and sentenced by a
court-martial? And why the actual
punishment by imprisonment or
banishment, without the oppor-
tunity of obtaining his liberty in the
mode usual in preventive
remedies, and yet say it is not for
punishment?
You still place Mr. Vallandigham's
conviction and banish-
ment upon the ground that he had damaged
the military service
by discouraging enlistments and
encouraging desertions, etc., and
yet you have not even pretended to
controvert our position that
he was not charged with, tried, or convicted, for any
such offence
before the court-martial.
In answer to our position that Mr.
Vallandigham was en-
titled to a trial in the civil
tribunals, by virtue of the late acts of
Congress you say: "I certainly
do not know that Mr. Vallandig-
ham has specifically and by direct
language advised against en-
listments and in favor of desertions
and resistance to drafting,"
etc., and yet, in a subsequent part of
your answer, after speaking
of certain disturbances which are
alleged to have occurred in re-
sistance of the arrest of deserters and
of the enrollment pre-
paratory to the draft, and which you
attribute mainly to the
course Mr. Vallandigham has pursued, you
say that he has made
speeches against the war in the midst of
resistance to it; that
"he has never been known, in any
instance, to counsel against
such resistance"; and that "it
is next to impossible to repel the
inference that he has counselled
directly in favor of it." Permit
us to say that your information is most
grievously at fault.
The undersigned have been in the habit
of hearing Mr. Val-
landigham speak before popular
assemblages, and they appeal
with confidence to every truthful person
who has ever heard him
for the accuracy of the declaration,
that he has never made a
speech before the people of Ohio in
which he has not counselled
submission and obedience to the laws and
the Constitution, and
advised the peaceful remedies of the
judicial tribunals and of the
ballot-box for the redress of grievances
and for the evils which
afflict our bleeding and suffering
country. And, were it not
foreign to the purposes of this
communication, we would under-
Lincoln and Ohio 205
take to establish to the satisfaction of
any candid person that the
disturbances among the people to which
you allude, in opposition
to the arrest of deserts and the draft,
have been occasioned
mainly by the measures, policy, and
conduct of your Adminis-
tration, and the course of its political
friends. But if the cir-
cumstantial evidence exists, to which
you allude, which makes
"it next to impossible to repel the
inference that Mr. Vallandig-
ham has counselled directly in
favor" of this resistance, and that
the same has been mainly attributable to
his conduct, why was
he not turned over to the civil
authorities to be tried under the
late acts of Congress? If there be any
foundation in fact for
your statements implicating him in
resistance to the constituted
authorities, he is liable to such
prosecution. And we now de-
mand, as a mere act of justice to him,
an investigation of this
matter before a jury of his country; and
respectfully insist that
fairness requires either that you
retract these charges which you
make against him, or that you revoke
your order of banishment
and allow him the opportunity of an
investigation before an im-
partial jury.
The committee do not deem it necessary
to repel at length
the imputation that the attitude of
themselves or of the Demo-
cratic party in Ohio "encourage
desertions, resistance to the
draft, and the like." Suggestions
of that kind are not unusual
weapons in our ordinary political
contests. They rise readily
in the minds of politicians heated with
the excitement of partisan
strife. During the two years in which
the Democratic party of
Ohio has been constrained to oppose the
policy of the Adminis-
tration, and to stand up in defence of
the Constitution and of
personal rights, this charge has been
repeatedly made. It has
fallen harmless, however, at the feet of
those whom it was in-
tended to injure. The committee believe
it will do so again. If
it were proper to do so in this paper,
they might suggest that
the measures of the Administration, and
its changes of policy in
the prosecution of the war, have been
the fruitful sources of
discouraging enlistments and inducing
desertions, and furnish a
reason for the undeniable fact that the
first call for volunteers
was answered by very many more than were
demanded, and
that the next call for soldiers will
probably be responded to by
drafted men alone.
The observation of the President in this
connection, that
neither the convention in its
resolutions, nor the committee in
its communication, intimate that they
"are conscious of an exist-
ing rebellion being in progress with the
avowed object of destroy-
ing the Union," needs, perhaps, no
reply. The Democratic party
of Ohio has felt so keenly the condition
of the country, and has
been so stricken to the heart by the
misfortunes and sorrows
206 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
which have befallen it, that they hardly
deemed it necessary by
solemn resolution, when their very State
exhibited everywhere
the sad evidences of war, to remind the
President that they were
aware of its existence.
In the conclusion of your communication
you propose that,
if a majority of the committee shall
affix their signatures to a
duplicate copy of it, which you have
furnished, they shall stand
committed to three propositions, therein
at length set forth, that
he will publish the names thus signed,
and that this publication
shall operate as a revocation of the
order of banishment. The
committee cannot refrain from the
expression of their surprise
that the President should make the fate
of Mr. Vallandigham
depend upon the opinion of this
committee upon these proposi-
tions. If the arrest and banishment were
legal, and were de-
served; if the President exercised a
power clearly delegated,
under circumstances which warranted its
exercise, the order ought
not to be revoked, merely because the
committee hold, or express,
opinions accordant with those of the
President. If the arrest and
banishment were not legal, or were not
deserved by Mr. Val-
landigham, then surely he is entitled to
an immediate and un-
conditional discharge.
The people of Ohio were not so deeply
moved by the action
of the President merely because they
were concerned for the per-
sonal safety and convenience of Mr.
Vallandigham, but because
they saw in his arrest and banishment an
attack upon their own
personal rights; and they attach value
to his discharge chiefly
as it will indicate an abandonment of
the claim to the power of
such arrest and banishment. However just
the undersigned
might regard the principles contained in
the several propositions
submitted by the President, or how much
soever they might,
under other circumstances, feel inclined
to indorse the sentiments
contained therein, yet they assure him
that they have not been
authorized to enter into any bargains,
terms, contracts, or con-
ditions with the President of the United
States to procure the
release of Mr. Vallandigham. The
opinions of the undersigned
touching the questions involved in these
propositions are well
known, have been many times publicly
expressed, and are suffi-
ciently manifested in the resolutions of
the convention which
they represent, and they cannot suppose
that the President ex-
pects that they will seek the discharge
of Mr. Vallandigham by
a pledge implying not only an imputation
upon their own sincerity
and fidelity as citizens of the United States, and also carrying
with it by implication a concession of the
legality of his arrest,
trial, and banishment, against which
they and the convention they
represent have solemnly protested. And,
while they have asked
the revocation of the order of
banishment not as a favor, but as
Lincoln and Ohio 207
a right due to the people of Ohio, and with a view to avoid the
possibility of conflict or disturbance of the public
tranquillity,
they do not do this, nor does Mr. Vallandigham desire
it, at any
sacrifice of their dignity and
self-respect.
The idea that such a pledge as that
asked from the under-
signed would secure the public safety
sufficiently to compensate
for any mistake of the President in
discharging Mr. Vallandig-
ham is, in their opinion, a mere evasion
of the grave questions
involved in this discussion, and of a
direct answer to their de-
mand. And this is made especially
apparent by the fact that this
pledge is asked in a communication which
concludes with an
intimation of a disposition on the part
of the President to repeat
the acts complained of.
The undersigned, therefore, having fully
discharged the duty
enjoined upon them, leave the
responsibility with the President.
In the meantime, since his sentence of
exile, the
subject of this correspondence had been
in the South
until June 17, when on the steamer Cornubia
he ran
the blockade, reaching Bermuda on the
20th, and after
ten days he left for Halifax, where he
arrived on the
5th of July. From thence he proceeded
to Quebec and
Montreal, receiving at those places
cordial and sympa-
thetic receptions; on July 15 he
arrived at Niagara
Falls, Canada side. Later, at Windsor,
Vallandigham
established relations with the agents
of the Southern
Confederacy.85
Prior to this, however, while in the
Confederacy,
he was in consultation with its War
Department.86
85 For a history of Vallandigham's
negotiations with the Confederate
Government in Canada, see Randall and
Ryan's History of Ohio, Vol.
IV, pp. 265-71.
86 A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the
Confederate States Capital.
By J. B. Jones, Clerk in the War
Department of the Confederate States
Government, 1866, Vol. I, pp. 334, 351,
353, 357, 358.
An extremely interesting and reliable
view of the inside workings
of the Confederacy at Richmond covering
the whole period of the war.
The author states in his preface,
"This diary was written with the knowl-
edge of the President and Secretary of
War." In the summer of 1863
are the following entries:
May 27th. -- Vallandigham has been sent to Shelbyville,
within our
lines. I think our people ought to give
him a friendly greeting.
208 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
John Brough, a War Democrat, was
nominated as
a candidate for Governor by the Union
party at its
convention which assembled at Columbus
June 17, 1863.
This convention met in response to a
call to "all loyal
citizens who are in favor of the
maintenance of the
government and the prosecution of the
war being car-
ried on for the suppression of the
rebellion against it."
Never in the history of the State has
there been a
campaign of such bitterness. This was
due to the
momentous issues involved. The election
of Vallandig-
ham meant peace when peace meant
surrender. It
would give powerful impetus to the
Confederate cause.
The campaign came also at a time when the
cause of
the Union was at its lowest ebb The
North was dis-
June 17th. -- A sealed envelope came today, addressed by the Presi-
dent to the Secretary of War, marked "Highly
important and confiden-
tial," which, of course, I sent to the Secretary
immediately without break-
ing the seal, as it is my duty to do to
all letters not private or con-
fidential. I can as yet only conjecture
what it referred to. It may be
of good, and it may be of bad import.
June 18th. -- I have good reason to suppose that the package marked
"important," etc., sent from
the President's office yesterday to the Sec-
retary of War, was the substance of a
conversation which took place
between Mr. Ould and Mr. Vallandigham.
What Mr. V. revealed to
Mr. O., perhaps supposing the latter,
although employed here, friendly
to ultimate reconstruction there is no
means of conjecturing. But it
was deemed "highly important."
June 22d. --
Today I saw the memorandum of Mr. Ould, of the
conversation held with Mr. Vallandigham,
for file in the archives. He
says if we can only hold out this
year that the peace party of the North
would sweep the Lincoln dynasty out of
political existence. He seems
to have thought that our cause was
sinking, and feared we would sub-
mit, which would, of course, be ruinous
to his party! But he advises
strongly against any invasion of
Pennsylvania, for that would unite all
parties of the North, and so strengthen
Lincoln's hands that he would
be able to crush all opposition and
trample upon the constitutional rights
of the people.
Mr. V. said nothing to indicate that
either he or the party had any
other idea than that the Union would be
reconstructed under Democratic
rule. The President indorsed, with his
own pen, on this document, that,
in regard to invasion of the North,
experience proved the contrary of
what Mr. V. asserted. But Mr. V. is for
restoring the Union, amicably,
of course, and if it cannot be so done,
then possibly he is in favor of
recognizing our independence. He says
any reconstruction which is not
voluntary on our part, would soon be
followed by another separation,
and a worse war than the present one.
Lincoln and Ohio 209
couraged, and Ohio was one of the chief
reasons. Val-
landigham had aroused a feeling against
the draft, and
as a result, there was open defiance in
Noble county
and armed resistance in Holmes county.
The Confed-
erate raider, General John H. Morgan,
invaded the
southern part of the State in July.
These conditions
were aggravated by the disastrous Union
defeat at
Chancellorsville, by Lee's invasion of
Pennsylvania, and
Grant's unsuccessful siege of
Vicksburg. This was the
gloomy condition confronted by Ohio
Unionists in the
summer of 1863. It was bettered by the
battle of Get-
tysburg and the surrender of Vicksburg.
But these
gave little hope to Ohio. The Peace
Democracy pur-
sued their campaign with remarkable
intensity and
enthusiasm.
Their great issue was Vallandigham
himself. To
them he was an exiled patriot. His
sentence was a vio-
lation of free speech, personal liberty
and the rights of
Magna Charta. Not a word about the
preservation of
the Union. On the other hand, the
Unionists denounced
him as an "unhung traitor,"
and declared that his elec-
tion would prolong the war and possibly
give success to
the Confederacy. This was the view not
only of the
Union party of Ohio, but throughout the
country.87
Brough was an eloquent and logical
orator, and was
rugged and point blank in his
discussions. George E.
Pugh, candidate for lieutenant-governor
with Vallan-
digham, was the principal spokesman for
his absent
chief. He declared that if his
candidate were elected,
there would be "fifty thousand
fully armed and equip-
87 Not only the people of the loyal, but
those of the disloyal States,
and of England, feel that the fate of
the Union rests upon the result
of the election in Ohio. -- New York
Tribune, October 3, 1863.
Vol. XXXII -- 14.
210 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
ped freemen of Ohio to receive their
governor-elect at
the Canadian line and escort him to the
State House to
see that he takes the oath of
office." Brough replied
that Vallandigham's election would
precipitate civil
war in Ohio, "for," said he,
"I tell you there is a mighty
mass of men in this state whose nerves
are strung up
like steel, who never will permit this
dishonor to be con-
summated in their native state."
This generation has no conception of
the intense bit-
terness of the campaign. It can only be
obtained by
recourse to the newspapers, pamphlets
and speeches of
that period. The campaign of 1840 --
"Tippecanoe and
Tyler Too" -- was one of thrilling
excitement. Songs,
hard cider, political camp meetings
were its features,
but the voters were good-humored, yet
earnest. Now
there was all the enthusiasm of 1840,
but mixed with
such bitter feelings that life-long
friends parted, and
attachments, even of family ties, were
severed. From
the words of the great Democrat,
Stephen A. Douglas,
the Unionists took the rule by which
they measured the
loyalty of their friends and
neighbors: "There are
only two sides to this question. Every
man must be
for the United States or against it.
There can be no
neutrals in this war; only patriots or
traitors."88
The meetings and processions of both
parties were
of huge proportions. The Vallandigham
following
were inspired with a fanatical devotion
to their exiled
chief, which resulted in a series of
demonstrations of
such magnitude as to give the
appearance of coming
victory. On the other hand, the Brough
meetings,
while on a large scale, were dominated
by a feeling of
88 Speech
in Wigwam at Chicago, May 1, 1861. Louis Howland:
Stephen A. Douglas, p. 369.
Lincoln and Ohio 211
earnestness, yet not lacking in
enthusiasm. The noise
and glamour of the campaign were with
Vallandigham;
the serious labor and undefatigable
work of organiza-
tion were with Brough. Both sides were
confident of
victory; one claimed it with
confidence, the other ex-
pected Brough's election by about five
thousand ma-
jority.
John Brough89 was elected
Governor of Ohio by
over 101,000 majority. It was difficult
to say which
party was the most surprised.
There was an element which the leaders,
wiseacres
and political diviners could not
measure, because they
could not see it. This was the silent
vote. An analysis
shows that fully twenty-five thousand
of Vallandig-
ham's party voted for Brough. This was
composed of
Democrats who preferred to remain with
their party
organization rather than follow the War Democrats
into the Union party. They were
represented by Dem-
ocratic leaders like Rufus P. Ranney,
Hugh J. Jewett
and Henry B. Payne, all men of great
ability and high
character. They favored the war, but
did not approve
of many acts of Lincoln's
administration. As for Val-
landigham, they regarded him as a
mountebank and
demagogue, with selfishness as his
ruling spirit.
Lincoln received the result in Ohio
with a joy that
he did not suppress. For months he had
watched anxi-
ously its growing disaffection, as well
as its rising tide
of pacifism. He knew that the defeat of
Brough would
89 John Brough was born in Marietta,
Ohio, September 17, 1811;
read law but decided to engage in
journalism; elected to the Legislature
in 1838; in 1839 was appointed Auditor
of State; made great reforms
in that office; while Auditor of State
he established the Cincinnati En-
quirer. After his term expired he retired to private life and
was en-
gaged in the railroad business; nominated for Governor
on the Union
ticket as a War Democrat in 1863; died
in Cleveland, Ohio, August 29,
1865.
212 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
break the back of the Union, and that a
victory would
be as valuable as that of Gettysburg or
Vicksburg.
All night long he was beside the
telegraph in Wash-
ington, receiving information from
Ohio.90 Brough
was at his residence in Cleveland
furnishing it. A
little past midnight Lincoln wired,
"What is your ma-
jority now?" and Brough's reply
was, "About 50,000."
At five o'clock in the morning, in
response to a final
inquiry, Brough wired that he thought
his majority
would be over 100,000, to which there
came this answer:
"Glory to God in the Highest.
Ohio has saved the
Nation. A. Lincoln."91
Lincoln was next brought into contact
with Ohio
affairs under what must have been to
him, very un-
pleasant circumstances, because there
was involved a
disagreement with his party friends.
This was due to
the defection of one of the leading
members of his
Cabinet, Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of
the Treasury.
Ultimately the tension became so
intolerable that the
Secretary resigned under circumstances
equivalent to
dismissal.
Some peculiarities of Chase's
temperament have
been referred to, and it will be
necessary to resort to a
further consideration of that subject
in order to under-
90 Francis E. Brown: The Every-Day
Life of Abraham Lincoln.
p. 510.
91 Extracts from Diary of Gideon
Welles, Secretary of the Navy un-
der Lincoln and Johnson: Vol. I, pp. 469-70.
Oct. 13, 1863. -- The elections in Ohio absorb attention. The Presi-
dent, says he feels nervous.
Oct. 14. -- I stopped in to see and congratulate the President, who
is in good spirits and greatly relieved
from the depression of yesterday.
He told me he had more anxiety in regard
to the election results of
yesterday than he had in 1860 when he
was chosen. He could not, he
said, have believed four years ago, that
one genuine American would,
or could, be induced to vote for such a
man as Vallandigham, yet he
has been made the candidate of a large
party, their representative man,
and has received a vote that is a discredit to the
country. The President
showed a good deal of emotion as he
dwelt on the subject.
Lincoln and Ohio 213
stand the unfortunate conditions that
developed his in-
harmonious relations with Lincoln. The
trouble com-
menced when Chase failed to receive the
nomination
at Chicago. He never could forgive Fate
for overlook-
ing him for the unhewn and rugged
Illinois lawyer. By
common consent, including Lincoln's,
Chase was one of
the great statesmen of that time, and
with Seward and
Sumner formed the triumvirate of the
rising Repub-
lican party. Chase would not have
objected to have
been beaten by Seward -- but by Lincoln
it was a dis-
appointment. That this should have been
accomplished
by his own state added bitterness to
his soul, for he
firmly believed that Ohio alone
deprived him of attain-
ing his great ambition. We have read
his reference to
this in his letter of congratulation to
Lincoln.
This thought never left his mind.
"Nobody doubts,"
he said, in writing to a friend who had
been a dele-
gate,92 "that had the
Ohio delegation manifested the
same disregard of personal preferences,
which was ex-
hibited by the New York, Illinois and
Missouri delega-
tions and given me, as the nominee of
Ohio, the same
earnest and genuine support which was
given to Mr.
Seward, Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Bates, by those
delegates
respectively, that my vote on the first
ballot would have
largely exceeded Mr. Lincoln's; and
there are those who
felt themselves constrained to vote for
the other can-
didates in consequence of the division
of the Ohio dele-
gation, who do not hesitate to give it
as their judgment
that had our delegation acted toward me
in the same
generous spirit that was manifested by
the other dele-
92 Letter to Joseph H. Barrett, May 20,
1860, in Diary and Corre-
spondence of Salmon P. Chase: Annual
Report of the American. His-
torical Association for the Year 1902. Vol. II, p.
287.
214 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
gations towards the candidates
presented by their
states, the nomination would have been
given to Ohio."
Chase regarded Lincoln's choice as
unfortunate for
the country; he was honest about this,
although really
it was pure envy which worked in his
soul without his
knowledge. He believed that in the
trying time that
everybody saw was coming, a man of
great experience
in public life, of pronounced and
accepted intellectual
standing, and who had trod the heights
of leadership,
should be President of the United
States. So did Sen-
ator Seward, and both were bitterly
disappointed at the
failure of the Republicans to recognize
either as the man
for the hour.
The manner in which each of these men
received
his blow -- for such it was to them --
is typical of his
nature, and worth while of a passing
reference. Sew-
ard was a practical statesman, and
withal an experi-
enced politician. He was fearlessly anti-slavery,
although he was slow in joining the
Republican party.
He waited to be sure that it contained
the seeds of suc-
cess. This shows that he was not a
"rainbow chaser,"
and wanted realities, thus exhibiting
his practical mind.
He was shocked at his defeat, but after
a temporary
depression, he adjusted himself to the
situation. He
entered the Cabinet with a willing and
loyal spirit. He
felt that he was necessary to Lincoln's
success. After
he accepted the place he wrote to his
wife: "I have
advised Mr. L. that I will not decline.
It is inevitable,
I will try to save freedom and my
country."
Like Chase, he was satisfied that
Lincoln's job was
too big for him. He was not Secretary
of State a
month before he wrote the President an
outline of what
the foreign and domestic policies
should be, and inti-
Lincoln and Ohio 215
mated that he, as premier, was the man
to carry them
out. An average President would have
been angered
and insulted. It was an intimation to
the Chief Execu-
tive that he was unable to appreciate,
or to perform his
duties. Seward did this in good faith,
and in a spirit
of helpfulness. Up to this time he did
not know Lin-
coln. He replied to his Secretary that
the policy of the
Administration was in the President's
hands, and what-
ever "must be done, I must do
it." And this corre-
spondence which would have made a
laughing stock of
Seward, was hid away, and the public
never read it
until after the death of both of these
great men. It
took Seward's just and practical mind
but a short time
to see that Lincoln was the real leader
of his Cabinet,
and he had the honesty to say so. From
this time, he
was Lincoln's most useful and loyal
friend.
In Chase his defeat produced an
entirely different
effect. It became a grievance
constantly fanned by
feelings that he was unappreciated and
betrayed. He
had a sensitive mind and great personal
pride. He was
an idealist. When these things are
remembered, we
can understand and forgive his
failings. His politics
was altogether influenced by the traits
of his tempera-
ment. He advocated the cause of the
lowly bondsman,
from a sense of moral duty. To him
slavery was
wicked and unchristian. Thus convinced
of its immor-
ality, he deemed it his duty to himself
and his country
to do what he could to abolish it. It
shocked his nature
to feel that of all the nations of
Christendom, his alone
maintained human slavery.
The sacrifices that he made in his
young manhood
in fighting slavery were those which
only come from one
whose heart and soul were in the cause.
The catalogue
216 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
of his suffering reminds us of Paul's
in his fight for
Christianity. But young Chase kept the faith, and
neither "rotten-egging" nor
being hissed from the plat-
form, nor the frowning of churches, nor
social con-
demnation, nor loss of business
prevented him from
championing the poor slave in political
conventions,
the courts and in the press. In course
of time this
young man, increasing in strength and
winning greater
confidence, entered the United States
Senate. It was
the Augustan era of American statesmen.
Among his
colleagues were Webster, Clay, Benton,
Calhoun, Cass,
Corwin, Bell, Douglas, Jefferson Davis,
William H.
Seward, and Hannibal Hamlin. Here he
took rank
among the leaders, and eventually
acting with the Re-
publican party, he became a national
character; then
came 1860, and disappointment.
On December 31, Lincoln wrote Chase
saying, "In
these troublous times, I would much
like a conference
with you. Please visit me here at
once." Chase im-
mediately proceeded to Springfield,
arriving there Jan-
uary 3, and Lincoln, hearing of his
presence, waived
all formality, and called upon him at
his hotel. Lincoln
had a special feeling of kindness for Chase,
because he
was the only one of the Republican
leaders outside of
Illinois that came into the state and
gave him active
support in the Lincoln-Douglas
campaign. After a two
days' conference Lincoln conditionally
offered to ap-
point Chase Secretary of the Treasury.
The matter
was not determined until two days after
Lincoln's in-
auguration, when he sent Chase's name
to the Senate
without consulting him. Chase even then
wanted to
decline, but pressed by friends and a
sense of duty, he
Lincoln and Ohio 217
accepted. He entered the Cabinet in a
disturbed mood,
and was an irritant from thenceforward.
Chase tendered his resignation to
Lincoln more than
once because of differences over
appointments. It
seems a very trivial cause and unworthy
of the great-
ness and dignity of the Secretary of
the Treasury. If
such results followed a difference over
a state policy,
we could understand it, but in the
midst of a great war,
for the Finance Minister, upon whom so
much de-
pended, to quit his post because he
could not have a
favorite politician appointed, is
almost incredible. But
an understanding of Chase's character
makes such
actions clear. Of practical politics
and men he knew
little and was therefore an easy prey
to designing
friends, who appealed to his pride as
well as to his
vanity. Upon these known weaknesses
they worked,
with such results as eventually brought
his humiliation.
There was a growing dissatisfaction in
certain
quarters at this time to the
renomination of Lincoln.
A powerful coterie of Republican
Senators and Repre-
sentatives who were opposed to his
conservatism made
up their minds that he should not be
renominated.
There was also a group of conservatives
who were of
the same opinion. New York papers -- The
Tribune,
Herald and Times -- were either openly opposed to his
candidacy or were negatively
unfriendly.
This element was composed of the
Congressional
bosses, augmented by every element of
dissatisfaction
engendered by the war. In its ranks
were crooked and
thwarted contractors, disappointed
office-seekers, both
in civil and military life, and
newspapers that failed to
"run" Lincoln. All were
laboring under the impression
218 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
that Washington furnished the public
opinion of the
country, a fallacy still believed in by
some. Chase in
his vanity encouraged this movement
against Lincoln,
finally agreeing to become the
opposition candidate. On
February 22, 1864, he wrote Lincoln
thus:93
A few weeks ago, several gentlemen
called on me and ex-
pressed their desire, which, they said,
was shared by many earnest
friends of our common cause, that I
would allow my name to be
submitted to the consideration of the people, in
connection with
the approaching election for Chief Magistrate. I
replied that I
feared such use might impair my
usefulness as head of the Treas-
ury Department, and that I much preferred
to continue my labors
where I am, and free from disturbing
influences, until I could
honorably retire from them. We had
several interviews. After
consultation and conference with others,
they expressed their
united judgment that the use of my name
as proposed would not
effect my usefulness in my present
position; and that I ought
to consent to it. I accepted their
judgment as decisive; but at the
same time told them, distinctly, that I
could render them no help,
except what might come incidentally from
the faithful discharge
of public duties; for these must have my
whole time. I said
also that I desired them to regard
themselves as not only entirely
at liberty, but as requested, to
withdraw my name from con-
sideration, whenever in their judgment
the public interest would
be promoted by so doing.
The organization of the committee, I
presume, followed these
conversations; but I was not consulted
about it, nor have I been
consulted as to its action; nor do I
even know who composed it.
I have never wished that my name should
have a moment's
thought in comparison with the common
cause of enfranchise-
ment and restoration, or be continued
before the public a moment
after the indication of a preference, by
the friends of that cause,
for another.
I have thought this explanation due to
you as well as to
myself. If there is anything in my
action or position which, in
your judgment, will prejudice the public
interest under my
charge, I beg you to say so; I do not
wish to administer the
Treasury Department one day without your
entire confidence.
For yourself I cherish sincere respect
and esteem; and, permit
me to add, affection. Differences of
opinion as to administrative
action have not changed these
sentiments; nor have they been
93 J. W. Schuckers: The
Life and Public Services of Salmon Port-
land Chase, pp. 500-1.
Lincoln and Ohio 219
changed by assaults upon me by persons
who profess themselves
the special representatives of your
views and policy. You are
not responsible for acts not your own;
nor will you hold me
responsible except for what I do or say
myself.
Chase now had ample reason to resign;
the manly
course, after determining to be a
candidate against his
chief, would have been to leave the
Cabinet, as, for
instance, James G. Blaine did from that
of President
Harrison under similar
circumstances. On this ques-
tion, however, he followed the judgment
of his sponsors.
They knew the value of the Treasury
Department in a
political campaign; they knew that in
its army of spies,
special agents and deputies there was
already a splendid
Chase organization.
Lincoln made no objection to his
Secretary of the
Treasury being a candidate against him,
for he wrote
him, February 29,94
Whether you shall remain at the head of
the Treasury De-
partment is a question which I do not
allow myself to consider
from any standpoint other than my
judgment of the public
service; and in that view, I do not
perceive occasion for a change.
With Chase's candidacy in full swing
and all his
supporters, departmental and otherwise,
Lincoln at once
displayed the hand of the politician.
He had equally
good men for helpers -- men who had
spent their lives
in the political fields. These also
proceeded to work.
Notably among them were Montgomery
Blair and
Simon Cameron. Lincoln was satisfied
that the people
were with him; his purpose was to have
them speak
before the politicians could control
the National Con-
vention. New Hampshire, the native
state of Chase,
declared "Abraham Lincoln to be
the people's choice
94 J.
W. Schuckers: The Life and Public Services of Salmon Port-
land Chase. p. 502.
220 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
for re-election." Montgomery Blair
had the Maryland
legislature declare for the
renomination of Lincoln, and
a similar resolution, through Cameron's
influence, was
passed by the Pennsylvania legislature.
Then Rhode
Island, a state supposedly controlled
by Senator
Sprague, Chase's son-in-law, declared
for Lincoln.
But the death blow to Chase's candidacy
came from his
own state of Ohio. Here the Republicans
in the legis-
lature ended the Chase candidacy by
adopting unani-
mously a resolution offered by John M.
Connell of
Fairfield county, Senator from the
Ninth District, de-
claring that "the people of Ohio
and her soldiers in the
field demand the renomination of Abraham
Lincoln to
the Presidency." Amidst cheering
and enthusiasm the
resolution was adopted.95
Immediately followed the withdrawal of
Chase, and
again he had failed in the greatest and
controlling am-
bition of his life. He had a restless
desire for the pres-
idency; it became an obsession, and
destroyed his judg-
ment and even his high sense of honor.
Leaving this
subject, it may be well to record that
he was an aspirant
for the presidential nomination in
1856, 1860, 1864 on
the Republican ticket, in 1868 on the
Democratic, and
in 1872 on the Liberal Republican.
In time came another resignation, of
course this was
after Lincoln's renomination at
Baltimore. It grew out
of the vacancy in the Assistant
Treasurership at New
York. It is immaterial to go into
details.
The resignation of the Secretary was on
June 29,
and the country, being in a strained
condition finan-
cially, it was regarded as a calamity.
Chase's friends
95 Joseph
P. Smith: History of the Republican Party in Ohio. Vol.
I, p. 172.
Lincoln and Ohio 221
came forward urging Lincoln to refuse
to accept the
resignation. Governor Brough made an
earnest effort
in this direction; his associate in
office, William Henry
Smith, Secretary of State, gives an
interesting account
of Brough's efforts in this matter:96
Before the President accepted the
resignation of Mr. Chase,
he had a conference with Governor
Brough, who was then at the
Capital. An account of this, as related
by the Governor, may
throw some light on this interesting
imbroglio. It is given here
as written down on Governor Brough's
return to Columbus.
On his way to the War Department
Governor Brough met
the President, who insisted on his
entering the Executive Man-
sion with him. "The truth is,"
said Mr. Lincoln, "I have a little
matter on hand which concerns the State
of Ohio, and which I
have a notion to tell you, though you
must remember that it is
not public until tomorrow." The
Governor assured Mr. Lincoln
that he never desired such confidences
as they usually proved
troublesome, but he inquired: "What
is it -- another Treasury
imbroglio?"
Mr. Lincoln. "Right. Hit it the first time; it is a Treasury
imbroglio."
Governor Brough. "Well, Mr. President, before going
further, I have a question to ask: Is it
beyond mediation?"
Mr. L. "Well," (hesitatingly), "perhaps and
perhaps not.
What do you propose?"
Gov. B. "First tell me the nature of the difficulty."
Mr. L. "It's about the Cisco business."
Gov. B. "I don't wish to intrude, but for the interest of
the country, and it being nothing more
serious than that, if you
will delay action until tomorrow morning
when I can get the
Ohio men together, I think it can be
arranged."
Mr. L. "But this is the third time he has thrown it at
me,
and I don't think I am called on to
continue to beg him to take
it back, especially when the country
would not go to destruction
in consequence."
Gov. B. "This is not simply a personal matter. The people
will not understand it. They will insist
there is no longer any
harmony in the counsels of the Nation,
and the retiring of the
Secretary of the Treasury is a sure
indication that the bottom is
about to fall out. Therefore, to save
the country from this back-
set, if you will give me time, I think
Ohio can close the breach
and the world be none the wiser."
96 William
Henry Smith: A Political History of Slavery. Vol II,
note pp. 183-184.
222
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Mr. L. "You doctored the business up once, but on the
whole, Brough, I reckon you had better let it alone
this time."
The conversational form is followed as
preserved in the
diary of the writer, July 12, 1864.
The mediation of friends was useless;
Lincoln wrote
Chase accepting his resignation.
"Of all I have said in
commendation," he wrote, "of
your ability and fidelity,
I have nothing to unsay; and yet you
and I have reached
a point of mutual embarrassment in our
official rela-
tions which, it seems to me, cannot be
overcome or
longer sustained consistently with the
public service."
Lincoln's estimate of Chase's ability
had always
been high, and his opinion was not
affected by personal
differences. So when Chief Justice
Taney died the
October following, Lincoln made up his
mind to ap-
point Chase to the vacancy. To a
committee who ob-
jected to the appointment, Lincoln
said:97 "Mr. Chase
is a very able man. He is a very
ambitious man, and
I think on the subject of the
presidency a little insane.
He has not always behaved very well
lately, and people
say to me, 'now is the time to crush
him out'. Well,
I'm not in favor of crushing anybody
out. If there is
anything a man can do, and do it well,
I say let him do
it. Give him a chance."
At another time he said of Chase:98
"Of all the
great men I have ever known, Chase is
equal to about
one and one-half of the best of
them."
On December 6, 1864, Lincoln wrote out
with his
own hand the appointment of Chase for
Chief Justice
of the United States, and the Senate
confirmed unani-
mously the nomination without
reference.
97 James Ford Rhodes: History of the
United States. Vol. V. p. 46.
98 J. W. Schuckers: The Life and
Public Services of Salmon Port-
land Chase. p. 509.
CHAPTER VIII99
THE LINCOLN OBSEQUIES IN OHIO --
CEREMONIES AT
CLEVELAND AND COLUMBUS
When on the morning of April 15, 1865,
the Nation
learned of the death of Lincoln at the
hand of an
assassin, the people were at first
dazed; then came a feel-
ing of profound grief, and a pall of
gloom overshadowed
the land. As his loss became a fact in
the hearts of the
people, they seemed to appreciate him
the more. They
realized now his greatness. As they
looked back over
the four years of war they appreciated
how he had
stood out in that terrible period like
an inspired prophet,
guiding his people through storms such
as never swept
ever a civilized nation before, guiding
them often
against the will of their leaders;
against their com-
plaints and criminations. But all this
time he had the
unbroken confidence of his people --
"the plain people"
as he used to say. Their faith in him
came as a bene-
diction to him; it gave him joy even in
his tribulations.
These people, now that he had left
them, could see in
their sorrow his power to grasp
momentous questions
of state; how his mind pierced the
clouds that their
minds saw through but darkly, and how
his penetrating
wisdom had saved the Union, and with it
freedom for
all the land.
99 I have adopted almost all of this
chapter from Journeys of Lincoln,
by W. T. Coggeshall, who compiled it from the
newspapers of Cleveland
and Columbus. This little book is one of
the rarest items of Lincolniana.
It was published by the Ohio State
Journal in 1865, for the benefit of a
fund to be devoted to the erection of a
monument in Capitol Square at
Columbus in memory of Abraham Lincoln,
and of the Ohio soldiers
fallen in battle. The object however was
never accomplished. D. J. R.
(223)
224
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
The transfer of Lincoln's remains from
Washing-
ton to his home at Springfield was in
sad solemnity and
moral grandeur the most impressive
pageant in the his-
tory of mankind. The cities through
which the funeral
procession passed, with great depth of
feeling and sad
decorum gave their most profound homage
of respect
to the remains.
When the funeral train entered Ohio,
Governor
Brough, on behalf of the State, received
it at Wickliffe,
Lake County. Here his staff joined him,
consisting of
General B. R. Cowen, Adjt.-Gen.;
General Merrill Bar-
low, Q. M. Gen.; General R. N. Barr,
Surgeon Gen.;
Col. Sidney D. Maxwell, Aid-de-Camp;
Lt.-Col. John
T. Mercer, Asst. Adjt.-Gen.; F. A.
Marble, Esq.,
Private Secretary.
Major-General Joseph Hooker, commanding
the
Northern Department of Ohio, also
joined the funeral
party at Wickliffe, under orders from
the War Depart-
ment, to accompany the President's remains
to Spring-
field with his staff, including Colonel
Swords, Asst. Q.
M. Gen.; Lieutenant Simpson, U. S.
Engineers; Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Lathrop, Asst. Inspector
Gen.; Major
Bannister, Chief Paymaster; Major
MacFeely, Com-
missary, U. S. A.; and Captain Taylor.
United States
Senator Sherman, Hon. S. Galloway,
Octavius Waters,
and Major Montgomery also met the
remains at Wick-
liffe; together with a number of the
prominent citizens
of Northern Ohio, who had been
appointed at Cleve-
land a committee to attend the funeral
procession from
the State line to that city.
There was a special feature about the
running of
the train from Erie to Cleveland that
deserves notice.
As far as possible, everything
connected with the train
Lincoln and Ohio 225
was the same as on the occasion of
Lincoln's journey
over that road in 1861. The locomotive
(the "William
Case") was the same. The engineer,
Wm. Congden,
was dead, and the engine was run by
John Benjamin.
The fireman in 1861, George Martin, was
engineer, but
asked and obtained the privilege of
again acting as fire-
man on the train. The same conductor,
E. D. Page, had
control of the train. Superintendent
Henry Notting-
ham, as before, had the complete management.
The
pilot engine, "Idaho", which
preceded the train ten
minutes, was run by Engineer J.
McGuire, and Fireman
Frank Keehen.
As soon as it was definitely
ascertained that the re-
mains of President Lincoln would pass
through Cleve-
land on their way to Springfield,
measures were taken
to extend to them the honor due from a
grateful people
to their beloved Chief Magistrate. The
first movement
originated in the City Council, in the
shape of a series
of resolutions introduced by Amos Townsend,
appro-
priate to the occasion, authorizing the
appointment of a
committee, with the Mayor as chairman,
to make the
necessary preparations. This committee
consisted of
George B. Senter, Mayor; Thomas Jones,
Jr., Presi-
dent of the Council, and Joseph
Sturges, Ansel Roberts
and Amos Townsend, Trustees. It held
its first meet-
ing at the Mayor's office on Wednesday
evening, April
19, when George B. Senter was chosen
permanent
Chairman, and Thomas Jones, Jr.,
permanent Sec-
retary.
The Board of Trade took action on
Thursday, April
27, and appointed Philo Chamberlin, R.
T. Lyon, J. F.
Freeman, S. F. Lester, W. Murray and A.
J. Begges, a
committee to co-operate with a
committee from the City
Vol. XXXII -- 15.
226
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications
Council in all matters pertaining to
the reception of the
remains of the President. This
committee met with the
Council committee on Saturday evening,
and on motion
was incorporated with that committee.
The Council committee in the meantime
had added
to their number several prominent
citizens, and the
augmented committee took the name of
the General
Committee of Arrangements, and
consisted of the fol-
lowing gentlemen:
Hon. George B. Senter, Chairman; Thomas
Jones,
Jr., and J. C. Sage, Secretaries; Ansel
Roberts, Hon.
R. P. Spaulding, Colonel W. H. Hayward,
W. B. Castle,
R. T. Lyon, W. Murray, S. F. Lester, A.
Stone, Jr., L.
M. Hubby, Joseph Sturges, Amos
Townsend, Hon. H.
Payne, Colonel Jas. Barnett, Wm.
Bingham, Philo
Chamberlin, J. F. Freeman, A. J.
Begges, H. M. Chapin,
M. Barlow, A. S. Sanford.
At the meeting of the General Committee
of Ar-
rangements on Saturday evening, April
22d, the follow-
ing sub-committees were named, and the
Mayor au-
thorized to designate the names of the
gentlemen to fill
them: On Location of Remains,
Reception, Procession,
Military Entertainment, Music,
Decoration and Car-
riages. As filled by Mayor Senter the
sub-committees
were as follows:
On Location of Remains. -- Philo Chamberlin, H. B.
Payne, Ansel Roberts, Wm. Bingham, A.
S. Sanford,
and Amasa Stone, Jr.
On Reception. -- George B. Senter, Chairman,
Thomas Jones, Jr., Ansel Roberts,
Joseph Sturges,
Amos Townsend, Hon. David Tod, Wm. B.
Castle,
Hon. H. B. Payne, Hon. H. M. Chapin,
Amasa Stone,
Jr., Hon. E. S. Flint. Hon. R. C.
Parsons, Hon. H. V.
Lincoln and Ohio 227
Willson, General M. Barlow, M. R.
Keith, Hon. S. O.
Griswold, Hon. F. J. Dickman, S. D.
McMillen, Anson
Stager, Hon. George Mygatt, Hon. John
Brough, Hon.
R. P. Spaulding, Hon. S. Williamson, C.
W. Palmer,
Philo Chamberlin, Hon. F. T. Backus,
Stillman Witt,
W. H. Truscott, George A. Benedict,
Hon. A. Everett,
T. P. Handy, D. B. Sexton, T. M.
Kelley, L. A. Pierce,
Hon. Samuel Starkweather, Hon. John A.
Foot.
On Procession. -- Colonel. James Barnett, Wm. Bing-
ham, Colonel John P. Ross, Silas
Merchant, Amos
Townsend, Colonel W. H. Hayward,
Captain F. W.
Pelton, Captain B. L. Spangler.
On Military. -- General A. S. Sanford, Colonel Chas.
Whittlesey, Colonel W. H. Hayward,
Major J. D. Pal-
mer, Wm. Bingham.
On Entertainment. -- Thomas Jones, Jr., Earl Bill,
John A. Wheeler, Joseph Sturges, E.
Cowles.
On Music. -- B. Seymore, R. T. Lyon, R. Crawford,
Daniel Stephan.
On Decoration. -- John M. Sterling, Peter Thatcher,
B. Butts, F. R. Elliott, T. Ross, Dr.
E. Sterling, Wm.
Beckenbach, Capt. Spaulding, George
Howe.
On Carriages. -- Nelson Purdy, William Murray.
David Price, Peter Goldrick.
To Meet the Remains. -- Hon. R. P. Spaulding,
Gov. David Tod, Thomas Jones, Jr., Col.
Anson Stager,
Amasa Stone, Jr., Hon. H. B. Payne,
Hon. John A.
Foot, Hon. H. V. Willson, Stillman
Witt, Ansel Roberts,
William Bingham, Hon. Wm. B. Castle, Charles
Hickox, John Martin, Hon. Wm. Collins,
H. N. John-
son, Dr. G. C. E. Weber, Dr. Proctor
Thayer, E. Cowles,
H. B. Hurlbut, Jacob Hovey, James
Worswick, George
Willey, Lemuel Crawford.
228 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
At a subsequent meeting of the General
Committee
of Arrangements the following gentlemen
were selected
to act as a Civic Guard of Honor:
Fayette Brown, Chairman, H. F. Brayton,
E.
Simms, Charles Pettingell, John
Bousfield, George W.
Woodworth, C. L. Russell, George W.
Gardner, M. B.
Clark, James Worswick, A. T. Brinsmade,
E. Cowles,
O. N. Skeels, Allayne Maynard, Samuel
Starkweather,
T. S. Beckwith, C. S. McKenzie, E.
Chester, H. J. Her-
rick, K. Hays, George Presly, J. W.
Fitch, L. M. Pitkin,
H. D. Ruggles, E. Rockwell, Ch.
Glasser, John Hart-
ness, A. E. Burlison, E. R. Perkins,
John Huntington,
S. H. Benedict, F. T. Wallace, Harvey
Rice, Jacob
Hovey, S. H. Mather, George C. Dodge,
D. W. Cross,
James Parnell, James J. Tracy, R. K.
Winslow, John E.
Carey, G. W. Calkins, E. J. Estep, J.
P. Bishop, Wil-
liam Jones, H. K. Reynolds, F. C.
Keith, H. C. McFar-
land, V. C. Taylor, George B. Ely, S.
Hyman, J. H.
Morley, A. J. Wenham, L. L. Lyon, W. P.
Fogg, J. C.
Calhoun, Chas. Whitaker, E. J. Gorham,
Moses Kelley,
T. W. Leek, H. N. Raymond, M. L.
Brooks, B. F. Piex-
otto, S. Thorman, Frank W. Parsons, E.
S. Root, A. B.
Stone, A. Chisholm, G. A. Hyde, H. C.
Hawkins, R. E.
Mix, C. C. Rogers, Augustus Thieme,
Jacob Schroeder,
Wm. Hart, C. A. Read, Reuben Becker, J.
P. Robinson,
S. M. Carpenter, James Hill, S. W.
Crittenden, H. S.
Davis, G. B. Murphey, C. A. Brayton, W.
M. Crowell,
Peter Thatcher, N. M. Standard, Wm.
Melbinch, S. M.
Strong, J. M. Perkins, T. J. Burrin, G.
Herrick, J. C.
Buell, Wm. J. Smith, Henry Blair, J. V.
Painter, E. S.
Willard, Thos. Quayle, James Mason,
Joseph Perkins,
William Collins, J. F. Clark, Thomas
Burnham, John
H. Gorham, W. J. Boardman, Arthur
Quinn, Charles
Lincoln and Ohio 229
Hickox, H. G. Hitchcock, Robt. F.
Paine, William Ed-
wards, H. Harvey, S. L. Mather, H. B.
Hurlbut, W. F.
Otis, C. W. Coe, M. C. Younglove, A. G.
Colwell, H. C.
Blossom, W. V. Craw, B. Lampson, E. M.
Peck, Frank
Kelly, George F. Marshall, E. P.
Morgan, E. W. Sack-
rider, J. B. Glenn, C. S. Hobbs, J. A.
Reddington, J. A.
Harris, H. G. Abbey, John F. Warner, D.
P. Eells, John
C. Grannis, George H. Burt, C. W.
Noble, F. J. Prentiss,
C. A. Crumb, Addison Hills, George A.
Stanley, George
F. Armstrong, Joseph Randerson, Chas.
Evatt, O. C.
Scoville, P. Roeder, H. W. Leutkemeyer,
C. J. Ballard,
A. Rettberg, Louis Smithknight, B.
Steadman, I. Buck-
ingham, W. Lawty, W. Wellhouse, L. A.
Benton, H. J.
Hoyt, T. D. Eells.
The Guard was divided into six squads,
under the
direction of the following gentlemen:
1st Aid -- J. Ensworth; 2d Aid -- Louis
Smith-
knight; 3d Aid -- Robert Hanna; 1st
Assistant --
Peter Thatcher; 2d Assistant -- H. F.
Brayton; 3d As-
sistant -- F. T. Wallace; 4th Assistant
-- J. P. Robin-
son; 5th Assistant -- George F.
Marshall; 6th Assistant
-- Thomas Quayle.
The Committee on Location of Remains
found no
room or building, in which to place the
remains, suitable
to accommodate the vast crowd that
would be present
and wish to take the last look at their
late President.
The Committee therefore decided to
erect upon the east
side of the Park a proper structure.
The Committee
of Arrangements authorized the
erection, and the build-
ing was immediately commenced, and on
Thursday night
was completed. It stood directly east
of the Monument,
and was an oblong structure twenty-four
by thirty-six
feet, and fourteen feet high. The roof
was pagoda
230
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
shaped, and over the center of the main
roof was a sec-
ond roof, raised about four feet, and
forming a canopy
over the catafalque. The sides and ends
of the build-
ing were open above the low breastwork,
which was
covered with a black cloth. The roof
was supported by
pillars shrouded in black and white,
and the open sides
were elegantly draped with festoons of
white and black,
looped up with rosettes of white and
black. The roof
was of white canvas, the ribs
supporting it being
shrouded in black. The ends of the
building were
heavily draped with black cloth. Over
each end of 'the
building was a large golden eagle with
the national
shield. The sides supporting the second
roof were
covered with black cloth on the
outside, on which were
fastened evergreen wreaths and floral
devices. At the
east end of the building, where the
procession entered,
were six splendid regimental flags of
silk. Eight im-
mense plumes of black crape surmounted
the sides of
the building. Slender flag poles
bearing crape stream-
ers and mourning flags were ranged
along the top of
the building. Evergreen and floral
wreaths were used
to loop up the drapery and crown the
capitals of the
columns. Directly over the upper roof
was a streamer
stretched between two flag poles,
bearing the inscrip-
tion from Horace: "Extinctus
amabitur idem" (Dead,
he will be loved the same).
The inside of the building was in
admirable keeping
with the exterior decorations. Heavy
drapery of black
cloth, festoons of evergreen, and
floral wreaths and
bouquets completely shrouded the
pillars and roof. In
the center was the catafalque, a raised
dais, twelve feet
long, four feet wide, and about two feet
high to the
under side of the coffin. The floor and
sides of the dais
232
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
were covered with black cloth and
velvet. The floor
was so inclined that on entering the
building the visitors
were able at once to see the remains
and keep them in
sight until nearly leaving the
building. From the cor-
ners of the dais sprang four slender
columns support-
ing a canopy draped with black cloth
with silver fringe,
and the corners of the canopy hung with
silver tassels.
The capitals of the pillars were wreathed
with flowers.
At the head and foot of the dais were
several seats
covered with black cloth, designed for
the use of the
Guard of Honor. The floor of the
building was covered
thickly with matting, so as to deaden
every sound. The
building was well lit with gas at
night. The people
entered from the east and passed
through the broad
passages on each side of the dais,
going out on the west
side. Cleveland was the first place on
the route of the
funeral cortege where a special
building had to be
erected for the reception of the
remains.
Mayor Senter appointed the following
gentlemen as
Pall Bearers:
Hon. John Brough, Hon. David Tod, Hon.
John
Sherman, Hon. James M. Ashley, Hon. J.
C. Deven,
Hon. Horace Foot, Hon. John Crowell,
Hon. J. P. Robi-
son, Hon. D. R. Tilden, Gen. R. P.
Buckland, Gen. O. M.
Oviatt, Hon. R. P. Spaulding.
Every train that arrived on the
railroads during
Thursday and Thursday night, was
filled; all the hotels
were crowded, and hundreds of persons
were unable
to procure even a sleeping place upon
the floor.
The symbols of mourning were universal.
Men,
women and children, of all classes and
conditions, wore
some badge or symbol of sorrow. Toward
evening of
Thursday the citizens on Superior,
Euclid, Prospect,
Lincoln and Ohio 233
Bank and other streets, and around the
Square, com-
menced to drape their dwellings and
places of business.
Along the line designated for the
passing of the proces-
sion, the draping was very elaborate,
tasteful, and
almost universal.
The following was the order of
proceedings for the
day, as promulgated by Colonel James
Barnett, Chief
Marshal:
The following programme of arrangements
is announced
for the solemnization of the obsequies
of Abraham Lincoln, late
President of the United States, in this
city, on Friday, the 28th
inst.
The bells of the city will be tolled
during the moving of the
procession.
The shipping in the harbor, and the
proprietors of public
houses and others, are requested to
display their colors at half-
mast during the day.
It is earnestly requested that all
places of business or amuse-
ment be closed during the day.
Vehicles of all kinds will be withdrawn
from the streets
through which the procession will pass,
and none will be allowed
in the procession except those
designated.
Delegations will be promptly at their
places of rendez-
vous, prepared to march at the appointed
time, failing in which,
they will be excluded from their
positions, and will take their
places on the left.
A national salute of thirty-six guns
will be fired by the
8th Independent Battery, at 7 o'clock A.
M., and half-hour guns
thereafter until sunset.
The procession will move from the Euclid
street station
at 7:30 A. M., through Euclid street to
Erie, down Erie to
Superior, down Superior to the Park,
where the remains will
be deposited in the building erected for that purpose,
and ex-
posed to view until 10 o'clock P.
M.
At daybreak on Friday morning the citizens
were
startled from their slumbers by a
salute of artillery, and
in a very short time the whole city was
astir. By six
o'clock the streets were crowded with
people, some
wending their way down to the Union
depot, to the
234
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Park, or to other advantageous
positions on the line of
march, whilst throngs of people started
for the Euclid
street depot, from which the procession
was to start.
Thousands of people from the country
and from other
cities had arrived during the preceding
days of the week,
and all night the streets had been
crowded. The
weather was gloomy and threatened rain,
and by the
time the train arrived the rain began
to fall steadily
but not heavily. The city could
scarcely have looked
to better advantage, in spite of the
rain, as the dust was
laid, and the partly opened foliage,
with its delicate
green tint, lent beauty to the elegant
dwellings and
grounds along the avenues through which
the proces-
sion was to pass.
The importance and solemnity of the
occasion was
evidently appreciated by every one. The
dense crowds
that lined the streets from the Euclid
street depot to
the Public Square, the numerous badges
of mourning
worn, the heavily draped buildings, and
the uniform
stillness and decorum of the immense
gathering of
people, testified to the respect and
love borne to the de-
ceased by the people of Cleveland and
the surrounding
country. The immense crowd was hourly
added to by
the trains and steamers arriving from
different points.
Punctually at seven o'clock the funeral
train ran
into the Union depot. The sight as it
passed down the
Lake Shore track was impressive, and
was witnessed
by a great crowd of people on the bank.
On reaching
the depot, the locomotive of the
Cleveland and Pitts-
burgh Railroad, tastefully draped, took
the engine in
its reversed position and drew it to
the Euclid Street
station, arriving there about twenty
minutes after seven
o'clock. As the train moved up, a
national salute of
Lincoln and Ohio 235
thirty-six guns was fired. As the train
came up the
Lake Shore track a very beautiful
incident took place.
Miss Fields, of Wilson street, had
erected an arch of
evergreens on the bank of the Lake near
the track, and
as the train passed appeared in the
arch as the Goddess
of Liberty in mourning.
On arriving at the Euclid street depot
the train was
stopped so that the funeral car lay
nearly across the
road. The depot was heavily draped with
mourning
and flags, and a draped flag hung from
a line stretched
directly across the road. The Veteran
Reserve Corps
were drawn up around the funeral car,
eight of them
being ready to carry the coffin, whilst
the others formed
in line on either side with drawn
swords presented. The
Guard of Honor stood on one side, and
Governor
Brough and staff, with the leading
members of the Com-
mittees and the Pall-Bearers, on the
other. The Camp
Chase Band stood in front of the depot,
and the hearse
was drawn up a few yards distant. The
hearse was
surmounted with large black and white
plumes, and the
national colors draped. The hangings
were of black
velvet, with heavy silver fringe and
silver tassels, fast-
ened up with crape rosettes, each with
a silver star in
the center. A beautiful wreath of
flowers hung at the
head of the hearse, and the bed on
which the coffin was
to rest was strewn thickly with white
blossoms. Six
white horses, decorated with festoons
of crape, looped
up with crape rosettes and silver
stars, drew the hearse,
and were attended by six colored
grooms, wearing
crape and mourning rosettes. The
decorations were ar-
ranged and executed by Mrs. R. F.
Paine.
At a signal given, the band played a
solemn dirge,
and the coffin was taken out of the car
and borne to the
236
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
hearse on the shoulders of the Veteran
Reserves, the
other Veteran Reserves marching by its
side with drawn
swords, attended by the pall-bearers
and guard. On the
head of the coffin was a cross of white
flowers, and a
wreath of similar flowers at the foot.
The hearse, surrounded by the Veteran
Reserve
Guard, with the Pall-Bearers on either
side, the Guard
of Honor, mounted, following, and
preceded by the band
playing a dirge, passed up Wilson
Avenue.
The 29th O. N. G. was drawn up in line,
and saluted
the cortege as it passed. The Civic
Guard of Honor
met the hearse on Prospect street, and
saluted it, when
the cortege turned, and went back to
Euclid street, when
the procession was formed according to
programme.
The crowd around the station was
exceedingly large,
but owing to the excellent police
arrangements and the
orderly character of the people, there
was no trouble
nor confusion. The large space reserved
was kept per-
fectly clear. When the coffin was
brought from the car,
so great was the anxiety of the people
to see it, that a
number, most of them women, got under
the train and
remained there until warned off by the
police to save
their lives. The scene when the
procession started was
very solemn. A slight rain fell,
dripping like tears on
the remains of the good man in whose
honor the crowd
had gathered, but not enough to be
heeded by the people
assembled. The street was lined with a
continuous
wall of people, and the yards and
houses were also
crowded. The long perspective of Euclid street
stretched away in unrivaled beauty, and
the procession,
with its solid column, great length,
and imposing dis-
play, made up a scene never equalled in
Cleveland.
There was scarcely any variation from
the published
Lincoln and Ohio 237
order of the Chief Marshal in the
formation of the pro-
cession.
First came the Military Escort, Colonel
Hayward
commanding, led by the Camp Chase Band.
The escort
consisted of the 29th Regiment Ohio
National Guard,
and the 8th Independent Battery, under
the command of
Lieutenant Grenninger. The escort was
followed by
Major-General Hooker and staff, and
officers of the
army, on horseback. Then came Governor
Brough and
staff, and the Pall-Bearers, in
carriages. The hearse
came next followed by the Escort of
Honor that accom-
panied the remains from Washington to
Springfield.
The General Committee of Arrangements,
Civic Guard
of Honor, and Clergy followed on foot.
This closed
the First Division, which was under the
direction of
Colonel O. H. Payne, Assistant Marshal.
The Second Division, under the
direction of Amos
Townsend, Esq., Assistant Marshal, was
led by the De-
troit City Band. In this division were
the following
societies and bodies: United States
civil officers, Earl
Bill, Marshal; a large number of
returned veteran
soldiers, under command of Captain
James K. O'Reilly;
City Council and other city officers;
Cleveland Board of
Trade, and members of Boards of Trade
from other
cities; a delegation of citizens from
Meadville, Captain
Derrickson acting as Marshal.
George H. Burt, Esq., had charge of the
Third Divi-
sion, which was led by the Detroit
Light Guard Band.
The Knights Templar followed the band,
dressed in
full regalia, with their banners draped
in mourning.
They acted as an escort to the Order of
Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, some in regalia and
others wearing a
sprig of evergreen on their breasts.
Bigelow Lodge,
238 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
West Side, turned out eighty strong, in
full regalia, with
banners and emblems of the Order all
appropriately
draped. Following the Masons came the
Order of Odd
Fellows, about a thousand strong, also
with regalia and
banners dressed with weeds of sorrow.
Among the Odd
Fellows from outside the city, were
Cataract Lodge
No. 295, from Newburgh, and members
from other
places.
The Fourth Division was under direction
of Major
W. P. Edgarton, Assistant Marshal. Next
to the
Temperance Band, which was at the head
of this Divi-
sion, came the Father Matthew
Temperance Society,
very strong in numbers, wearing their
sashes and carry-
ing their banners, all clothed in
mourning. The Fenian
Brotherhood followed the Temperance
Society, and
after them came the Laboring Men's
Union, carrying a
banner with the motto: -- "We
mourn the loss of our
President; Labor is the wealth of the
Nation; United
we Stand, Divided we Fall." The
St. Bonifacius So-
ciety came next, followed by the Aurora
Band, from
the West Side. Following the Band were
the St. Joseph
Society, St. Vincent Society, St.
Andrew's Society, St.
George's Society, and Mona's Relief Society.
All these
societies were in full ranks, bearing
their distinctive ban-
ners and emblems.
The Fifth Division, in charge of
Assistant Marshal
Major Seymour Race, embraced the
members of the
Ancient Order of Good Fellows; Ohio
City Lodge of
Good Fellows; the Hungarian
Association, with their
national badges and colors; and Solomon
and Monte-
fiore Lodges I. O. B. B., under the
marshalship of B. F.
Peixotto, Grand Master of the Order in
the United
States. Leland's Band led the Fifth
Division.
Lincoln and Ohio 239
The Sixth Division was under the
direction of Cap-
tain Basil L. Spangler, Assistant
Marshal. The first
society represented in this Division
was the German
Benevolent Mutual Society. This society
was followed
by Eureka Lodge No. 14 of Colored
Masons; 1,188 G. U.
O. O. F., also colored. This society
carried a banner
on which was inscribed: "We mourn
for Abraham
Lincoln, the True Friend of
Liberty." The Colored
Equal Rights League followed. Cleveland
Division No.
275 and Forest City Temple No. 52, Sons
of Temper-
ance, came next, and the Seamen's Union
closed the
organized procession. The Union carried
a small full-
rigged bark, with flag at half-mast.
The Chief Marshal, Colonel James
Barnett, and his
valuable assistants, Colonel J. P.
Ross, Silas Merchant,
Colonel O. H. Payne, Amos Townsend,
George H. Burt,
Major W. P. Edgarton, Major S. Race,
and Captain
B. L. Spangler, formed and conducted
the long proces-
sion with the most perfect order. There
was no con-
fusion, no noise, and all the different
Societies and
bodies fell into the places in the
procession allotted to
them on time and with the precision of
clock-work.
After the procession started from the
depot, it
moved slowly and solemnly, without stop
or detention,
until it reached the Square. As it
neared the western
end of Euclid street, the number of
people began to in-
crease until the sidewalks and far into
the street became
a solid mass; but there was no noise or
confusion in the
crowd that lined the streets on the
line of march. All
seemed impressed with the deep
solemnity of the
occasion.
The draping of the houses and buildings
in mourn-
ing along the route of the procession
was general. There
240
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
was not a house on Euclid street, from
the Square to
the Euclid street Depot, which did not
display some
symbol of grief. Prospect and many
other streets were
also very generally draped. The
greatest display, how-
ever, was on Superior and Euclid
streets, and around
the Square. On City High School
building was a large
shield, surrounded by flags,
intertwined with white and
black mourning. At the residence of A. B.
Stone, Esq.,
on Euclid street, was the following
truthful motto:
"His aims were for God, his
Country, and Truth. He
died a blessed Martyr." At Rouse's
Block, corner of
Superior street and the Square, was a
profuse display
of festoons of white and black with
flags, and on the
Square front the motto: 'An Honest
man--the noblest
work." The County Court House,
City Council Hall,
the Government Building, and other
places around the
Square near the pavilion in which the
remain reposed
during the day, were all tastefully and
appropriately
dressed in mourning.
The entire front of E. I. Baldwin's
store was covered
with black, on which was the motto:
"A glorious career
of service and devotion is crowned with
a martyr's
death." All the other prominent
business buildings were
tastefully and elaborately decorated.
The ladies con-
nected with the Soldier's Aid Society
displayed much
taste in the draping of the front of
their rooms. Their
windows were covered on the inside with
a white back-
ground, on which was neatly arranged
folds of black,
and on the outside were many rosettes
and small flags,
also appropriately arranged. All the
hotels, telegraph
offices and express offices were
appropriately draped.
There were over six thousand in the
procession of
organized societies. After the main
procession passed
Lincoln and Ohio 241
a given point, the citizens fell in
behind and followed
it through the pavilion, in the same
good order as char-
acterized the proceedings. There was a
considerable
crush at the entrance gates on Superior
street, but no
boisterous actions. The admirable
arrangements of the
Committee for preserving order in the
neighborhood
of the building where the remains were
to be placed
prevented confusion. The procession
entered the en-
closure by the East gate, and after the
removal of the
body to the building, filed out at the
Rockwell street
gate. The 29th O. N. G. occupied
positions inside the
enclosure, and were stationed as
sentinels at numerous
points. The hearse was driven up to the
south side of
the pavilion, and the coffin borne on
the shoulders of
Veteran Reserves to the place prepared
for it under the
canopy. As the body passed the band
played a dirge.
As soon as the coffin was placed on the
dais, a committee
of ladies advanced and placed on it a
number of floral
ornaments and evergreens, wreathed in
the forms of
crosses and coronals. The embalmer and
undertaker
opened the coffin and inspected the
remains. The Right
Reverend Charles Pettit McIlvaine,
Bishop of the Dio-
cese of Ohio, advanced to the coffin
and read from the
Burial Service of the Episcopal Church:
"I am the resurrection and the
life, sayeth the Lord;
he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall
he live; and whosoever liveth and
believeth in me shall
never die.
"We brought nothing into the
world, and it is cer-
tain we can carry nothing out. The Lord
gave, and the
Lord hath taken away; blessed be the
name of the Lord.
"Man that is born of a woman, hath
but a short
time to live, and is full of misery. He
cometh up, and
Vol. XXXII -- 16.
242
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth
as it were a shadow
and never continueth in one stay.
"In the midst of life we are in
death; of whom may
we see for succor, but of Thee, O Lord,
who for our
sins art justly displeased?"
Bishop McIlvaine then offered an
eloquent prayer, in
which he prayed that this great
affliction may be of good
to the people. He prayed for blessing
on the family
of the deceased, and for health and
blessing on Secre-
tary Seward, whom the assassin tried,
but failed to de-
stroy. For President Johnson he asked
that he might
be led to follow the great example set
him by his illus-
trious predecessor.
The religious services being concluded,
the proces-
sion filed through the pavilion,
passing through both
aisles. Many were affected to tears.
The invalid
soldiers from the military hospital,
who were drawn up
inside the enclosure previous to the
arrival of the pro-
cession, passed through, and many a bronzed
veteran's
eyes were wet as he gazed upon him who
had laid down
his life for his country. After the
procession had
passed through, the public were
admitted, and thousands
poured in a steady stream, without
haste or confusion.
The heavy rain which continued to fall
from the
first start of the procession down to
the removal of the
body from the building to the cars,
seemed to have no
effect in damping the eagerness of the
people to take a
last look at the remains of their
beloved President. All
day long the endless procession marched
through with-
out a break or pause, and when the
lamps were lit the
crowd thickened rather than diminished.
The crowds
seeking admission were formed by the
police outside the
enclosure into a column four deep, and
those desiring
244
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
of seeing the remains had to fall into
the rear of the
column and await their turn to enter.
The column, on
entering the enclosure, passed up to
the east end of the
pavilion, where it separated into two
columns, each of
two abreast, and marched on either side
of the cata-
falque, passing along, on emerging to
the monument,
where they either went westward forward
toward
Superior, or southward toward Ontario
street. The
military guard of officers appointed by
General Hooker
stood at the foot of the coffin and at
the corners. One
of the guard of honor of general
officers stood or sat at
the head of the coffin, Rear-Admiral
Davis occupying
that position in the forenoon. The
civic guard of honor
were arranged along the sides of the
building, to pass
the visitors on in proper order. A
squad of the 29th
O. N. G. was stationed at different
points in the en-
closure.
The most reverent silence and deep
feeling were ex-
hibited by all who passed through. The
passage-way
being ample, there was abundant
facility for obtaining
a good view of the remains. The
features were but
slightly changed from the appearance
they bore when
exposed in the Capitol at Washington.
At different times in the day an
accurate count of
those passing through within a certain
length of time
was taken. In the first four hours the
rate was nine
thousand per hour; then it fell to
between seven and
eight thousand, and increased in the
evening and night.
Until evening the visitors were nearly
all from abroad,
the city people holding back to give
those a chance who
would have to leave by the evening
trains. At ten
o'clock at night, when the gates were
shut, over one
Lincoln and Ohio 245
hundred thousand people had visited the
remains, and
this without noise, disorder or
confusion of any kind.
A distinguishing feature of the
ceremonies and
testimonials of the day was the
profusion and beauty of
the floral decorations and floral
offerings. Besides the
great number of flowers woven into the
decorations of
the pavilion, a large number of
beautiful floral devices
were laid on the coffin. Among them
were the floral
offerings made by the ladies of the Soldiers'
Aid Society
of Northern Ohio, consisting of an
anchor of white
roses, azalias, and other white
flowers, each fluke of the
anchor being made of magnificent calla;
a cross of beau-
tiful red blossoms: and a wreath of
blue flowers. The
ladies decided to place the anchor in
charge of Lieut.-
Colonel Simpson, U. S. Engineers, for
presentation to
Captain Stephen Champlin, one of the
survivors of the
Battle of Lake Erie. The cross and
wreath accom-
panied the remains from Cleveland.
A salute was fired on the arrival of
the remains at
the Square, and another at sunset.
Half-hour guns
were also fired during the day by the
8th Independent
Battery, O. N. G. Five large and
beautiful flags,
draped in mourning, floated from the
staff in the Park
all day.
During the afternoon the bands from
abroad and
those belonging to Cleveland, were
stationed on the bal-
conies of the hotels and other
prominent buildings, and
played dirges, adding to the solemnity
and impressive-
ness of the occasion.
A delegation of two hundred came from
Meadville,
and joined in the procession, under the
marshalship of
Captain Derrickson. They wore a large
badge upon the
246 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
lapel of the coat with the word
"Meadville." Also a
delegation of about five hundred came
from Detroit, to
do honor to the memory of the
President. Two bands,
the Detroit City and the Light Guard,
escorted them.
By invitation of Governor Brough the
Illinois dele-
gation and the general officers of the
escort paid him a
visit at his residence.
The following officers were detailed as
a Guard of
Honor to the remains of the President,
while in the
Forest City:
First Relief -- Rear-Admiral Davis; Major D. Ban-
nister, Paymaster U. S. A.; Captain
Mix, U. S. Cavalry;
Captain Meisner, V. R. C.; Major Perry,
U. S. A.;
Sergeant Sternburg, U. S. A.
Second Relief--Captain Taylor, U. S. N.; Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Simpson, U. S. Eng.;
Lieutenant-Colonel
De La Vergne, U. S. V.; Captain Rower,
Vet. Guards;
Lieutenant Robinson, Vet. Guard.
Third Relief--Major-General Barnard, U. S. Eng.;
Colonel Swords, A. O. M.; Captain J. J.
Upham, U. S.
A.; Captain Voges, A. Q. M.; Captain De
Forest, N. G.;
Captain Tibbitts, N. G.
At ten minutes past ten the coffin was
closed. Up to
the very last moment there was a stream
of people pass-
ing through the pavilion, and if the
remains had been
exposed until twelve o'clock there
would undoubtedly
have been the same interest manifested
to take one last
look. At ten minutes past eleven
o'clock the coffin was
taken from the beautiful resting place
of the day and
placed in the hearse, preparatory to being
conveyed to
the funeral car. The escort was as
follows: The 29th
Regiment, O. N. G., Colonel Hayward;
the General
Committee of Arrangements; the Military
Guard of
Lincoln and Ohio 247
Honor in carriages; the Civic Guard of
Honor bearing
flambeaux; the Father Matthew
Temperance Society;
the Eureka Lodge of Masons. The cortege
proceeded
down Superior street, preceded by three
bands playing
a dirge, thence down Vineyard street,
at the foot of
which the funeral train had been
placed. The coffin
was placed in the funeral car, and at
precisely twelve
o'clock the train started for Columbus,
under the direc-
tion of Superintendent Flint, with Charles
Gale as
conductor.
About the time the remains were being
removed
from the pavilion the rain poured down
in torrents, and
continued until after the train
started. Notwithstand-
ing this, the streets the whole length
of the line of march
were crowded with people, many of whom
were ladies.
Everything was conducted with the
greatest order and
decorum, and the citizens of Cleveland
returned to their
homes with the consciousness that they
had paid the last
tribute of respect to a great and good
man in a proper
manner.
The correspondent of the New York
Times writing
from Cleveland said: "Everywhere
deep sorrow has
been manifested, and the feeling seems,
if possible, to
deepen, as we move Westward with the
remains to their
final resting place."
The Funeral Train was preceded, between
Cleveland
and Columbus, by pilot engine, the
"Louisville," in
charge of Assistant Superintendent Blee
and Master
Mechanic W. F. Smith, with E. Van Camp
as Engineer
and C. Van Camp as Fireman. The engine
of the
Funeral Train was the
"Nashville," with George West
as Engineer and Peter Hugo as Fireman.
Mr. T. J.
Higgins, the Superintendent of
Telegraph, accompanied
248
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the train with necessary telegraph
instruments, to be
used in case of accident. General
McCallum, who had
temporary military possession of all
railroads from
Washington to Springfield, had an
efficient aid in G. P.
Duke, of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company,
who carried out his superior's orders,
as to the time of
starting, with a fidelity which
commanded general ad-
miration.
Evidences of grief were manifested
along the entire
line between the Forest City and the
Capital. The peo-
ple gathered at the depots and at other
points in throngs,
eager to pay tribute to the memory of
him whom they
had loved. From the time the train left
Cleveland until it
reached Crestline, the rain fell in
torrents, notwithstand-
ing which, bonfires and torches were
lit, the principal
buildings draped in mourning, bells
tolled, flags floated
at half-mast, and the sorrowing
inhabitants stood in
groups, uncovered and with saddened
faces gazing with
awe and veneration upon the cortege as
it moved
slowly by.
After daybreak, the rain having ceased,
the demon-
strations were more general but of a
less impressive
character. At Cardington an immense
crowd of citizens
assembled to do the customary honors.
Bells were tolled,
minute guns fired, and the station was
tastefully fes-
tooned with the national flag draped
with rosettes of
crape. In front and over the doors and
windows was
a white banner on which was inscribed,
"He sleeps in
the blessings of the poor, whose
fetters God commanded
him to break." At other villages
similar devices were
exhibited, and sadness and mourning,
deep and solemn,
prevailed in town and hamlet. Beside
the track, about
five miles above Columbus, stood an aged
woman bare-
Lincoln and Ohio 249
headed, her gray hairs dishevelled,
tears coursing down
her furrowed cheeks, holding in her
right hand a sable
scarf and in her left a bouquet of wild
flowers, which
she stretched imploringly toward the
funeral car.
In accordance with a call signed by a
large number
of the prominent and influential
citizens of Columbus,
a public meeting was held at the City
Hall on the eve-
ning of April 17th, for the purpose of
making arrange-
ments for the suitable observance of
the day appointed
for the funeral of the assassinated
President, at Wash-
ington, and to properly receive the
remains at the Cap-
ital of Ohio. Hon. Samuel Galloway was
selected as
Chairman, and H. T. Chittenden as
Secretary. Prayer
was offered by Rev. C. E. Felton. The
Chairman set
forth, in a few appropriate remarks,
the object for
which the people had assembled. On
motion of L. J.
Critchfield, Esq., a committee of five
was appointed to
draft resolutions expressive of the
sense of the meeting.
The following gentlemen were appointed
by the chair:
L. J. Critchfield, Geo. M. Parsons, C.
N. Olds, B. F.
Martin, and Peter Ambos.
Rev. J. M. Trimble, Hon. Samuel
Galloway and Hon.
Chauncey N. Olds addressed the meeting.
The commit-
tee on Resolutions reported a series
declaring that
treason embraced murder and all other
crimes necessary
to accomplish its ends; expressing
grief and indigna-
tion at the assassination of the
President -- tendering
to his stricken family heartfelt
condolence -- avowing
confidence in Andrew Johnson, and
resolving:
That, in token of the public sorrow on
account of this
great calamity, and to the honor of the
illustrious dead, the
citizens of Columbus be requested to close
their places of busi-
ness on tomorrow, between the hours of
eleven o'clock A. M.
and three o'clock P. M., the hours of
the funeral services at
250 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
Washington, and that those having charge
of the bells in this
city, cause them to be tolled during
that time.
The following resolution was then
offered by W. G.
Deshler, and adopted unanimously:
Resolved, That a committee of nine be appointed to co-oper-
ate with the committee of the City
Council, in any appropriate
ceremonies, should the body of our late
President be brought to
our city; and also in conjunction with
the City Council com-
mittee, to arrange for a public oration upon the life
and services
of Abraham Lincoln.
The Chair appointed the following
committee in pur-
suance of this resolution: W. G.
Deshler, David S.
Gray, J. E. St. Clair, W. Failing,
Isaac Eberly, Rev. K.
Mees, L. Kilbourne, C. P. L. Butler,
and S. Loving. On
motion, Hon. Samuel Galloway was added
to the com-
mittee.
The City Council cordially co-operated
with the
citizens in the movement thus
inaugurated. On motion
of Cyrus Field, it was agreed that the
Mayor, city
officers and members of the City
Council join in the pro-
cession to escort the remains of the
late President, and,
on motion, Messrs. Donaldson and Ross
were appointed
a committee to make the necessary
arrangements for
that purpose.
The Council had previously
Resolved, That a committee of nine (one from each Ward)
be appointed to act in conjunction with
such committees as may
be appointed by the State authorities, and the citizens
generally,
to make suitable preparations for the reception of the
remains
of the late President.
On the 24th of April the
Adjutant-General of Ohio
promulgated the following order:
Lincoln and Ohio 251
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS, STATE OF OHIO,
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE,
COLUMBUS, April 23, 1865.
GENERAL ORDER, ??
No. 5. ??
Major John W. Skiles, 88th O. V. I., is
hereby appointed
Chief Marshal of the ceremonies in
honor of the remains of
the late President Lincoln, in the city
of Columbus, on the 29th
inst. He will appoint his own aids, and
will have entire control
of the ceremonies and procession
attending the transfer of the
remains from and to the depot.
All societies, delegations, or other
organizations, wishing
to participate in the ceremonies, will
report, by telegraph, or
letter, to the Chief Marshal, on or
before 10 o'clock A. M. of
Friday, 28th inst.
The headquarters of the Chief Marshal,
during Thursday
and Friday, 27th and 28th inst., will
be at the Adjutant-General's
office in the Capitol.
By order of the Governor:
B. R. COWEN,
Adjutant-General of Ohio.
James Patterson, chairman of the City
Council com-
mittee, and W. G. Deshler, chairman of
the citizens'
committee, announced that the funeral
train would ar-
rive at Columbus on the morning of
April 29th, at half-
past seven o'clock -- that the remains
of the President
would be escorted to the Capitol by a
military and civic
procession, where they would lie in
state until six
o'clock p. m., and that at three
o'clock an oration would
be delivered on the terrace on the east
side of the Capitol
Square. The committe requested the
general suspension
of business, and described the general
order of exercises,
cordially invited societies and
associations to join the
procession, and announced the following
officers of
the day:
Chief Marshal -- Major John W. Skiles.
Aids -- Charles
Scarrett, Ed. Fields, Carl Bancroft,
Ed. Fitch, A. Greenleaf, W. W. Bailey,
Theo. Butler,
252
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Capt. Jas. Grover, C. S. Dyer, John W.
Doherty, C. W.
Douty, R. S. Neil, Maj. S. Sullivant,
Jno. Radebaugh.
Pall-Bearers -- Dr. John Andrews, Robert Neil, F.
C. Kelton, John Field, Augustus Platt,
Christian Heyl,
E. W. Gwynne, W. B. Hubbard, Judge
Taylor, Jno.
Brooks, Wm. B. Thrall, D. W. Deshler,
L. Goodale, Jos.
R. Swan, Wm. T. Martin, Wm. M. Awl, G.
W. Money-
penny, John M. Walcutt, F. Stewart,
John Noble, F.
Jaeger, Sr., Amos S. Ramsey.
Executive Committee -- W. G. Deshler, C. P. L.
Butler, James Patterson, S. N. Field,
F. Jaeger.
Finance Committee -- B. Gilmore, W. Failing, Isaac
Eberly, S. N. Field.
Escort Committee--Samuel Galloway, L. Kilbourne,
S. Loving, James Patterson, John
Miller, J. Reinhard.
Committee on Catafalque, Decoration,
Etc. -- D. S.
Gray, A. B. Buttles, Wm. Gaver.
Committee on Music and Printing -- A. B. Buttles,
Rev. K. Mees, B. Gilmore, Wm. Naughton.
Committee on Reception of Escort and
Guests -- W.
Failing, B. Gilmore, J. E. St. Clair.
Committee on Carriages -- C. P. L. Butler, Wm.
Gaver.
As soon as committees and associations
had made
report to him, the Chief Marshal
advertised the fol-
lowing
ORDER OF PROCESSION
COLUMBUS, O., April 27, 1865.
1st. The remains of Abraham Lincoln,
late President of
the United States, will arrive in the
city of Columbus, O., at
7 o'clock A. M., Saturday, the 29th
instant, at the Union Depot.
2nd. The funeral escort will consist of
the 88th O. V.
Infantry.
3rd. Officers of the army, not on duty
with troops, are
respectfully invited to participate in the obsequies.
They will
Lincoln and
Ohio 253
report to Major James
Van Voost, 18th U. S. Infantry, at Head-
quarters, Tod Barracks, at 6
o'clock A. M., Saturday.
4th. Detachments of the army and volunteer
organizations,
not on duty with the
escort, will be assigned positions on appli-
cation to Captain L.
Nichols, Tod Barracks. They will appear
with side arms only,
and will report at 6 o'clock A. M., Saturday.
5th. All military
officers to be in uniform, and with side
arms. The usual badge
of mourning will be worn on the left
arm and sword hilt.
6th. In order to
prevent confusion at the entrance gate,
all who are not in
line of procession will form after the left of
the procession has
entered the Capitol Square in two ranks,
on the outside of the
Square fence, on High street, running north
to Broad, south to
State, thence east on Broad and State streets,
for extent. They will
enter the west gate four abreast, in
regular order, by
inward march of each rank, and in no other
way.
It is desired to pass
all through the Capitol, and in order to
accommodate each
person the public must preserve order and
follow the programme
as adopted.
A sufficient guard,
composed of the 18th U. S. Infantry, will
be stationed at the
depot to prevent any delay or confusion in
transferring the
remains to the catafalque, and in seating the
escort accompanying
the remains.
7th. All delegations
who have reported and have been
assigned to positions
in line of procession, will report promptly
at their designated
places, and will be moved by Assistant Mar-
shals in charge.
MILITARY ESCORT
Eighty-eighth O. V.
Infantry, under command of Lieu-
tenant-Col. Webber.
ORDER OF PROCESSION
1st. Officiating
clergyman and orator in open carriage.
2nd. Undertaker in
buggy.
3rd. Pall bearers in
carriages; carriages three abreast.
Guards of Guards
of
Honor, Honor,
Funeral
Veteran Veteran
Car
Reserve Reserve
Corps Corps
254 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
4th. Pall bearers in carriages;
carriages three abreast.
5th. Escort accompanying remains from
Washington in
open carriages, three abreast, in charge
of Assistant Marshals
Theodore Comstock and Henry Wilson.
6th. Major-General Hooker and staff,
mounted.
7th. Brevet Brigadier-General W. P.
Richardson and staff,
mounted.
8th. A. A. Provost-Marshal General Col.
Wilcox and staff,
mounted.
9th. Brigadier-General Wager Swayne and staff, in open
carriage.
10th. Officers of the army on duty, and
temporarily at this
post, on foot, Major James Van Voost,
18th U. S. Infantry,
commanding.
11th. Soldiers at this post not on duty
with escort, Capt.
Levi T. Nichols commanding.
12th.
Governor Brough and suite.
13th. Camp Thomas Band.
14th. Committee of Arrangement on foot.
15th. Chief Marshal John W. Skiles, and
Special Aids
Charles Scarritt and Theo. H. Butler.
FIRST DIVISION
Assistant Marshals -- E. G. Field and
John Radebaugh.
16th. Reverend Clergy, City and State,
will form on Depot
street, right resting on Exchange Hotel.
17th. Heads of Departments, State of
Ohio, will form
north of railroad track, in open carriages, right
resting opposite
of Exchange Hotel.
18th. Mayors of Cincinnati and Columbus,
and Presidents
of City Councils of said cities, in open
carriages.
19th. City Councils of Cincinnati and
Columbus, on foot,
forming on north Public Lane, right
resting on High street.
20th. Judges and officers of the United
States Court, in
open carriages.
21st. Judges and officers of Supreme
Court of State of
Ohio, in carriages.
22nd. Judges and officers of Franklin
and other County
Courts, on foot, forming with right
resting north of railroad
track, in rear of carriages.
SECOND DIVISION
Assistant Marshals -- Carl Bancroft and
E. A. Fitch.
23d. Masonic Order will form on West
North street, right
resting on High, left extending north on
Front street.
Lincoln and Ohio 255
THIRD DIVISION
Assistant Marshals -- A. Greenleaf and
J. W. Doherty.
24th. Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, right resting on
East North and High, left extending on South Front
street.
FOURTH DIVISION
Assistant Marshals -- C. W. Douty and S.
H. Olmsted.
25th. United Ancient Order of Druids,
right resting on cor-
ner of High and West Spring streets,
left extending on North
Front street.
26th. Tod Barracks Band. Fenian
Brotherhood, right rest-
ing on corner of East Spring and High
streets, left extending
south on Third street.
27th.
Mechanics' Association will form with right resting
on the left of Fenian Brotherhood. Third
street.
28th. St. Martin's and St. John's
Benevolent Associations,
right resting on corner of West Long and
High streets, left
extending north on Front.
The Butchers' Association will form with
their right rest-
ing on the left of the St. Martin's and
St. John's Benevolent
Associations.
FIFTH DIVISION
Assistant Marshals -- Colonel J. Wing
and W. W. Bagley.
29th. Fire Department, right
resting on corner of East Long
and High streets, left extending on
Long. Colored Masonic
Orders, right resting on corner of East
Gay and High streets,
extending east on Gay. Colored Benevolent
Association will
form with their right resting on left of
Colored Masonic Fra-
ternity.
30th. All delegations from a distance
will form with right
resting on West Gay and North, left
extending on North Front.
The different delegations are hereby
directed to form in four
ranks.
ROUTE OF PROCESSION
The procession will move promptly from
south of the depot
at 7:30 A. M., south on High street to
Broad, east on Broad to
Fourth, south on Fourth to State, east
on State to Seventh, south
on Seventh to Town, west on Town to
High, north on High to
west front of the Capitol.
A mounted cavalry force will be
stationed at all the inter-
sections of High street north of Town
street, for the purpose of
preventing all vehicles from entering on
High street -- that it
must be kept clear during the movements
of the procession.
256 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
At 6 P. M. the Capitol will be closed.
The procession will
re-form in the following order to escort the remains to
the depot.
Military escort.
Escort accompanying the remains.
Pall bearers.
Masonic Fraternity will form on East
State street, the right
resting on High.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows will
form on East Broad
street, right resting on High.
All other organizations will form on
West Broad street, right
resting on High.
All carriages, except those appropriated
to the Escort Com-
mittee, will be under the charge of
Assistant Marshals C. S. Dyer
and H. M. Neil.
The guard at the Capitol will be under
charge of Captain
M. C. Wilkinson, 15th V. R.
C. JOHN
W. SKILES,
Major and Grand Marshal.
Fourteen days from that on which the American
people were shocked by the intelligence
that a Presi-
dent, honored and loved for services
more precious than
any rendered by a Chief Magistrate
since Washington
retired to private life, had been
assassinated, the re-
mains of that President were brought to
the Capital of
Ohio. A heavy rain fell on the night
previous, and the
early morning was gloomy, but about the
hour appointed
for the arrival of the funeral train
the clouds broke
away and the rain ceased. At the
appointed hour the
funeral train entered the Union Depot,
amid the ring-
ing of muffled bells, and stopped so
that the funeral car
lay nearly across High street. An
immense crowd of
spectators was congregated in the
vicinity of the depot.
Bands of music, assembled with the
military in proces-
sion, played solemn dirges while the
coffin was taken
from the car and laid in the hearse by
a portion of the
Veteran Reserve Corps, the other Veteran
Reserves
marching by its side with drawn sabres,
attended by the
pall-bearers and military guard of
honor.
Lincoln and Ohio 257
The procession was then formed
according to the
programme, and was the most imposing
and the most
impressive which ever marched through
the streets of
Columbus. The slow measured tread of
the troops, the
muffled drum, the dead march, the
enshrouded colors,
told their own tale of the fearfully
solemn occasion on
which they were passing in review
before the assembled
thousands as witnesses.
The hearse was the great center of
attraction. All
along the line of march it was preceded
and followed by
hundreds, of all ages, sexes, and
conditions, striving to
keep as near as possible to the sombre
structure. It was
17 feet long, 8 1/2 feet wide, and 17
1/2 feet from.the ground
to the apex of the canopy. The main platform
was
four feet from the ground, on which
rested a dais for
the reception of the coffin, twelve
feet long by five wide,
raised two and a half feet above the
platform. The
canopy resembled in shape a Chinese
pagoda. The in-
terior of the roof was lined with silk
flags, and the out-
side covered with black broadcloth, as
were the dais, the
main platform and the entire hearse.
Black cloth, fes-
tooned, depended from the platform
within a few inches
of the ground, fringed with silver
lace, and ornamented
with heavy tassels of black silk. Surrounding the
cornice of the canopy were thirty-six
silver stars, and
on the apex and the four corners were
five heavy black
plumes. The canopy was appropriately
curtained with
black cloth, lined with white merino.
On each side of
the dais was the word
"Lincoln", in silver letters. The
hearse was drawn by six white horses,
covered with
black cloth, which was edged with
silver fringe. The
heads of the horses were surmounted
with large black
plumes, and each was led by a groom
dressed in black,
Vol. XXXII -- 17.
Lincoln and Ohio 259
with white gloves and a white band
round his hat. On
the dais, nearly in the center of the
hearse, the coffin
was placed, in full view of the
multitudes on the streets.
Every window, housetop, balcony, and
every inch of
the sidewalk on either side of High
street was densely
crowded with a mournful throng,
assembled to pay
homage to departed worth. In all the
enormous crowd
profound silence reigned. Conversation
was carried on
in whispers. The completeness of every
detail of the
procession was remarked by all, and
much praise
awarded the committee of arrangements.
The display
made by the various Orders and
Associations in the pro-
cession elicited universal
commendation. The Fire De-
partment was the subject of especial
notice and praise.
The neat, clean uniforms of the
officers and men, the
splendid condition of the steamers and
hose-carts, and
the decorated car, filled with
forty-two young ladies
habited in deep mourning, were among the
noticeable
incidents of the day. A very impressive
feature of the
occasion was the singing by the young
ladies in the
mourning car of the Fire Department, of
1027th hymn
of the Methodist Episcopal collection,
commencing with:
"Great Ruler of the earth and
skies,"
and the 1018th hymn, commencing with
"Behold, O Lord, before Thy
Throne."
The route of the procession was south
on High street
to Broad -- east on Broad to Fourth --
south on Fourth
to State -- east on State to Seventh --
south on Seventh
to Town -- west on Town to High --
north on High to
the west front of the Capitol. Along
the entire line of
march, dwelling houses, shops, stores,
and other places
260
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
of business, as well as all public
buildings, were taste-
fully and solemnly decorated. It is
proper to mention,
on East Broadway, the offices of the
Adams and Amer-
ican Express Companies, and the
military offices in the
Buckeye Block. The Seminary Hospital
was adorned
with mottoes in wreaths of evergreens,
a draped picture
of President Lincoln, and draped flags,
and when the
procession passed it the invalid
soldiers strewed flowers
before the hearse. The headquarters of
Provost Mar-
shal General Wilcox, on State street,
were very hand-
somely decorated. The north end and
east front of the
Market House, the Odd Fellows' Hall,
and the Gwynne
Block, were each appropriately dressed
in mourning.
On the large front of Kelton, Bancroft
& Co.'s Whole-
sale Dry Goods House the national
colors hung in rich
heavy folds from the top of each of the
windows,
shrouded in black, and most tastefully
arranged with
President Lincoln's initial letters in
the center. The
various engine houses of the Fire
Department were
draped and adorned with appropriate
mottoes. The
towers, gable, offices, baggage rooms
and lamps of the
Union Depot were heavily draped, as was
also, the office
of the Little Miami Railroad Company.
Among the
most noticeable displays on High
street, we mention the
First National Bank building, the store
rooms of Bain
& Son, Blynn, Smith & Conrad,
Randall & Aston, Thrall
& Benham, F. D. Clark, Griffin
& Champion, Naughton,
Fay, and J. D. Osborn & Co. The
great feature of the
decoration was found at the clothing
house of Marcus
Childs, in the Neil House building.
Thousands of per-
sons were attracted by the beauty and
appropriateness
of the designs, and the very elegant
manner in which
they were carried out. Beginning at the
south window,
Lincoln and Ohio 261
we find them each draped with black
cloth, relieved by
white stars at regular intervals, and
in established order.
This window was adorned with the
following mottoes:
"Servant of God, well done.
Thy race is o'er, thy victory won."
"The last Martyr for Freedom."
"Heaven but tries our virtues by
affliction."
"East, West, North and South mourn,
The greatest friend of suffering
humanity is gone."
"The President dies, we mourn;
The Nation lives, we rejoice."
The next window north:
"Our Country, Washington, Lincoln,
Memoriori Eterna!"
'Memento Mori, Born Feb. 12th, 1809,
Died April 15th, 1865."
"Too good for earth, to Heaven thou
art fled,
And left the Nation in tears."
"He was a good man, and a just
one."
The third window:
"Our Chief has fallen."
"In mourning tears the Nation's
grief is spent,
Mankind has lost a friend, we a
President."
"The Nation mourns."
"His memory, like the Union he
preserved, is not for a day,
but for all time."
"Weep, nature, weep, put on thy
mourning garb."
The north window:
"We mourn our loss."
262
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
"We loved him, yes, no tongue can
tell
How much we loved him, and how
well."
"Fear not, Abraham, I am thy
shield; thy reward shall be
exceeding great."
"Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in the
dust."
"His noblest motive was the public
good."
At the base of the front windows a
draped portrait
of Lincoln was exhibited, and each
doorway was hung
in heavy festoons of black cloth. Over
all a draped flag
was extended.
The west gateway of the Capitol Square
was arched,
and bore the simple inscription,
"Ohio Mourns." The
columns at the west front of the
Capitol were tastefully
draped in spiral turns of mourning
cloth from top to
bottom. Immediately over the entrance
(west front)
was placed the inscription, "God
Moves in a Mysterious
Way," and over the cornice of the
columns was placed
a quotation from President Lincoln's
last inaugural ad-
dress--"With Malice toward none;
with Charity for
all." Each of the windows in the
west front was heavily
draped.
At about nine o'clock the head of the
procession ar-
rived at the west entrance of Capitol
Square. The 88th
O. V. I. acting as special escort,
passed in immediately,
forming lines in two ranks on each side
of the pass-
way from the gate to the steps of the
Capitol. During
the momentary delay the silence and
deep feeling mani-
fested by the people in the procession,
by those crowd-
ing the streets in every direction, and
by those gazing
from every available window, was
without precedent.
The gaze seemed to alternate between
the coffin being
264
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
removed from the hearse containing the
man dead and
his striking living utterance,
"With malice toward none,
with charity for all," looking
down upon them from the
architrave of the Capitol. As the
coffin, borne upon the
shoulders of eight of the sergeants
constituting the Vet-
eran Guard, passed toward the archway,
the band gave
expression to the solemn emotions of
the hour in a dirge,
the high officials in attendance
assumed their places as
escort, and thousands of bowed heads
said as plainly as
the letters arching the entrance,
"Ohio Mourns." Slowly
and solemnly the escort, headed by
General Hooker and
staff, and Governor Brough and staff,
passed to the
Capitol entrance, and reverently the
coffin was lowered
from the shoulders of the veterans to
the flowerly bed
awaiting it. The officers named, with
their attendants,
Major-General Hunter and staff, the
General officers in
charge of the corpse from Washington,
General Wager
Swayne and staff, and members of
Committees, as-
sumed their proper places around the
catafalque with
uncovered heads; the guard from the
Veteran Reserve
Corps formed in line on each side, and,
as soon as the
corpse was in place, Rev. C. E. Felton
offered an appro-
priate prayer. Impressive as was this
scene, it was sur-
passed by the one that followed
immediately on the
opening of the coffin. Amid silence
almost painful the
lid was raised -- a sigh from those
present -- a slight
movement by the undertaker -- and for
minutes all was
again as still as death. The veteran
officers and soldiers,
with bowed heads, seemed immovable as
statues, uncon-
sciously every face mirrored the
contending emotions
of the heart, and the grouping around
the dead of
citizens and soldiers, seen by those
forming the head of
the procession at the foot of the
western stairway,
Lincoln and Ohio 265
formed a scene never to be forgotten,
and not to be de-
scribed. Mrs. Hoffner, representing the
Horticultural
Society of Cincinnati, the only lady
present, stepped
softly forward and placed at the foot
of the coffin an
anchor composed of delicate white
flowers and evergreen
boughs, a wreath of the same upon the
breast of the
dead, and a cross at the head.
Instructions were given
more by signs than words, and
arrangements made for
the people to look upon the remains.
The Rotunda of the Capitol, well
calculated for dis-
play, grand in its loftiness, and much
the resort of our
people, was transformed into a gorgeous
tomb. The
column of light streaming down from the
lofty dome,
made distinct and impressive each
feature of the solemn
scene below. There was no stiffness to
jar with soft-
ened feeling, no unwonted display to
mar the solemnity,
but beautifully and simply grand as was
the character
of him whose mortal remains were to
repose therein, the
rotunda of Ohio's Capitol emblemed the
sorrow of
Ohio's people. The entrance ways and
the correspond-
ing panels were uniformly draped with
black cloth, fall-
ing in heavy folds from the arches to
the floor. In the
panels the drapings were gathered to
the sides equidis-
tant from arch to floor, and then
allowed to fall in full
volume, and closing at the bottom as at
the top. In three
of these central spaces thus formed,
were grouped the
war-worn battle flags of veteran Ohio
regiments. In
the other panel, the one between the
north and east en-
trances, tastefully mounted and
appropriately draped,
was Powell's painting, "Perry's
Victory;" the group-
ing of the characters and the sublimity
of the scene
represented, adding much to the general
and impressive
beauty of the rotunda. Above the panels, entirely
Lincoln and Ohio 267
round the dome, were three rows of
festoons with black
and white pendants, the whole joining
appropriately the
general drapings below.
On a platform with a base of 21 1/2 by
28 feet, rising
by five steps until it presented a top
surface perhaps one-
half as large, was placed the dais for
the reception of
the coffin. This platform, tastefully
carpeted, the rise
of each step dressed in black, was
ornamented with em-
blematical flowers and plants in vases
so arranged as to
present, with their impression of
beauty, the sorrow for
the dead. At the corners facing the
west entrance, were
large vases containing beautiful
specimens of amaranth,
and midway between them a grand central
vase glowing
with the richness and beauty of the
choicest flowers of
the season. A similar disposition of
vases faced the east
entrance, from the corner ones the
flowers of the em-
blematical Justitia, reaching to the
height of the dais.
Around these large vases, were grouped
smaller ones,
rising in gradations of beauty with the
steps of the plat-
form. The dais was most properly the
crowning beauty
of the structure, and in a brief
description it is impos-
sible to do it justice. Rectangular in
form, with a side
elevation of two feet, it was without
canopy and beauti-
fully ornamented. The sides were
covered with black
broadcloth, over which drooped from the
top festoons
of white merino, and tassels of white
silk. The end
facing the west entrance bore
inscribed, on a black.
panel with white border, in silver
letters, the word "Lin-
coln." From the festooning at the
top, rose in grace-
ful swell a bed of white roses,
immortelles and orange
blossoms, the pure white relieved only
by the deep fresh
green of the leaves and sprigs
accompanying.
The Guard of Honor was relieved by the
following
268
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
named officers, acting in the same
capacity and under
the immediate charge of Colonel J. A.
Wilcox and
Major L. S. Sullivant; Captain Douglas,
13th O. V. I.;
Captain Stivers, U. S. A.; Captain
Walker, 5th O. V.
C.; Captain A. T. Wikoff, 91st O. V.
I.; Captain Mc-
Groat, Captain Hull, 18th O. V. I.;
Captain H. P.
Wands, 22d Mich.; Captain Davis, 18th
O. V. I.; Cap-
tain Hannal, 124th O. V. I.; Lieutenant
Horringer, 2d
O. V. C.; Lieutenant J. H. Orr, 109th
O. V. I.; Lieu-
tenant H. B. Freeman, 18th O. V. I.;
Adjutant D. C.
Patrick, and Lieutenants J. B. Dague,
G. I. Davison,
J. D. Wilson and Norris Killen, of the
88th O. V. I.
The officers, pall-bearers and committees,
after look-
ing upon the remains, retired,
excepting those having
the body in charge. The officers
forming the guard
were assigned their positions, and
without delay the
people commenced moving in the rotunda.
First came
the various military organizations of
the procession, the
men formed in four ranks, marching
without noise upon
a carpet to the catafalque, passing by
twos on each side
of the coffin -- the face and upper
part of the body be-
ing brought in full view of each
individual -- and then
those on the right passing out at the
south and those
on the left turning to the north. Then
followed in order
the various delegations of the
procession, succeeded by
the people en masse; the same
order being preserved
throughout the day.
The impressive solemnity with which the
ceremonies
were inaugurated continued without
interruption. The
officers on duty firmly but courteously
enforced every
rule, and the people seemed imbued with
such a spirit
that they all moved on as one person.
Not an indecor-
ous action, not a whispered word, not a
frowning coun-
Lincoln and Ohio 269
tenance marred the scene. The marked
order, the seem-
liness of action, and the subdued
demeanor of the mul-
titude, composed of every class, age
and color, during
the entire day, form a feature of this
more than pageant
that speaks louder than the most
eloquent and pathetic
words the people's love for Abraham
Lincoln.
By actual count it was found that over
eight thou-
sand passed in and out every hour from
half after nine
until four o'clock, and, making due
allowance, it is
thought that over fifty thousand people
viewed the re-
mains in that time. The unparalleled
good order pre-
vailing at all times must remain ever a
source of pride
to all participating.
Many scenes during the day were
affecting and im-
pressive, but to chronicle them all
would fill a volume.
All felt the sorrow, and countenance
and act mirrored
it with striking plainness. Thousands
of persons stood
in line on High street, four abreast;
the lines extending
in either direction, north from the
west gateway to
Long street, and south from the west
gateway to Rich
street, patiently awaiting their
opportunity. For more
than six hours a steady stream of
humanity poured
through the channel, all eager to gaze
at the martyred
President on his bier.
Long before the hour appointed for the
delivery of
the funeral oration the east terrace of
the State House
was crowded with men and women, who had
gathered
to hear the lessons which might be
suggested from the
exemplary life and violent death of
Abraham Lincoln.
A platform had been erected immediately
in front of the
entrance to the Capitol, and upon this
platform, at three
o'clock, appeared Major-General Hunter,
Major-Gen-
eral Hooker, Major-General Barnard, Brigadier-Gen-
Lincoln and Ohio 271
eral Townsend, Brigadier-General
McCallum, Colonel
Swords, Colonel Simpson, Colonel
Lathrop, Captain
Taylor, Hon. T. B. Shannon, of
California, Hon.
T. W. Terry of Michigan, Hon. Mr.
Clarke of Kansas,
the orator, Hon. Job E. Stevenson of
Chillicothe, and
Revs. E. P. Goodwin and C. E. Felton of
Columbus.
After appropriate music by military
bands, and the sing-
ing of a hymn by a choir, under the
direction of J. A.
Scarritt, a prayer, impressive in
thought and earnest in
manner and word, was offered by the
pastor of the Con-
gregational Church of Columbus, Mr.
Goodwin. A
solemn hymn was then sung by the choir.
When Mr.
Stevenson began his oration a mournful
quiet pervaded
the large assembly. It was broken during
the delivery
of the oration only when the orator,
alluding to the
great crime which rebellion had
instigated, demanded
that justice be done the criminals, and
declared that con-
ciliation of those who had murdered
Mercy was con-
demned by the cries to heaven of
thousands of soldiers
murdered in rebel prisons -- by
bereaved homes in all
loyal States. Mr. Stevenson's oration
follows:
My Fellow Citizens:--Ohio mourns, America mourns, the
civilized world will mourn the cruel
death of Abraham Lincoln,
the brave, the wise, the good; bravest,
wisest, best of men.
History alone can measure and weigh his
worth, but we, in
parting from his mortal remains, may
indulge the fullness of our
hearts in a few broken words of his life
and his death and his
fame; his noble life and martyr's death,
and matchless fame. A
western farmer's son, self-made, in
early manhood he won, by
sterling qualities of head and heart,
the public confidence, and
was entrusted with the people's power.
Growing with his grow-
ing State, he became a leader in the
West.
Elected President, he disbelieved the
threats of traitors and
sought to serve his term in peace. The
clouds of civil war dark-
ened the land. The President pleaded and
prayed for peace,
"long declined the war," and
only when the storm broke in fury
on the flag, did he arm for the Union.
272 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
For four years the war raged, and the
President was tried
as man was never tried before.
Oh, "with what a load of toil and
care" has he come, with
steady, steadfast step, through the
valley and shadow of defeat,
over the bright mountain of victory, up
to the sunlit plain of
peace.
Tried by dire disaster at Bull Run,
where volunteer patriots
met veteran traitors; at Fredericksburg,
where courage contended
with nature; at Chancellorsville, that
desperate venture; in the
dismal swamps of the Chickahominy, where
a brave army was
buried in vain; by the chronic siege of
Charleston; the mockery
of Richmond, and the dangers at
Washington--through all these
trials the President stood firm,
trusting in God and people, while
the people trusted in God and in him.
There were never braver men than the
Union volunteers;
none braver ever rallied in Grecian
phalanx or Roman legion;
non braver ever bent the Saxon bow, or
bore barbarian battle-ax,
or set the lance in rest; none braver
ever followed the crescent or
the cross, or fought with Napoleon, or
Wellington, or Washing-
ton. Yet the Commander-in-Chief of the
Union army and navy
was worthy of the men filling for four
years the foremost and
most perilous post unfaltering.
Tried by good fortune, he saw the
soldiers of the west re-
cover the great valley, and bring back
to the Union the Father of
Waters, and all his beautiful children;
he saw the legions of Lee
hurled from the heights of Gettysburg;
he saw the flag of the free
rise on Lookout Mountain and spread from
the river to the sea,
and rest over Sumter; he saw the Star Spangled Banner,
bright-
ened by the blaze of battle, bloom over
Richmond, and he saw Lee
surrender. Yet, he remained wise and
modest, giving all the
glory to God and our army and navy.
Tried by civil affairs, which would have
taxed the powers
and tested the virtue of Jefferson,
Hamilton and Washington, he
administered them so wisely and well,
that after three years no
man was found to take his place. He was
re-elected and the
harvest of success came in so grandly,
that he might have said;
"Now Lord lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation." Yet
he was free from the weak-
ness of vanity.
Thus did he exhibit, on occasion, in due
proportion and
harmonious action, those cardinal virtues, the trinity
of true
greatness--courage, wisdom and
goodness;--goodness to love the
right, and courage to do the right.
Tried by these tests and by
the touch-stone of success, he was the
greatest of living men.
Lincoln and Ohio 273
He stood on the summit, his brow bathed
in the beams of
the rising sun of peace, singing in his heart the
angelic song of
"Glory to God in the highest; peace
on earth; good will to man."
"With malice toward none, and
charity for all," he had for-
given the people of the South, and might
have forgotten their
leaders--covering with the broad mantle
of his charity their mul-
titude of sins.
But he is slain--slain by slavery. That
fiend incarnate did
the deed. Beaten in battle, the leaders
sought to save slavery by
assassination. Their madness presaged
their destruction.
Abraham Lincoln was the personification
of Mercy. Andrew
Johnson is the personification of
Justice.
They have murdered Mercy, and Justice
reigns alone--and
the people, with one voice, pray to
heaven that justice may be
done. The mere momentum of our
victorious armies will crush
every rebel in arms, and then may our
eyes behold the majesty of
the law. They have appealed to the
sword;--if they were tried
by the laws of war, their barbarous
crimes against humanity
would doom them to death.
The blood of thousands of murdered
prisoners cries to
heaven. The shades of sixty-two thousand
starved soldiers rise
up in judgment against them. The body of
the murdered Presi-
dent condemns them. Some deprecate
vengeance. There is no
room for vengeance here. Long before
justice can have her per-
fect work the material will be
exhausted, and the record closed.
Some wonder why the South killed her
best friend. Abra-
ham Lincoln was the true friend of the
people of the South; for
he was their friend as Jesus is the
friend of sinners--ready to
save when they repent. He was not the
friend of rebellion, of
treason, of slavery--he was their
boldest and strongest foe, and
therefore they slew him--but in his
death they die; the people
have judged them, and they stand
convicted, smitten with remorse
and dismay--while the cause for which
the President perished,
sanctified by his blood, grows stronger
and brighter. These are
some of the consequences of the death of
Abraham Lincoln. Ours
is the grief--theirs the loss, and his
is the gain. He died for
Liberty and Union, and now he wears the
martyr's glorious
crown. He is our crowned President.
While the Union survives
--while the love of Liberty warms the
human heart, Abraham
Lincoln will hold high rank among the
immortal dead.
The nation is saved and redeemed. She
needs no aid from
rebel hands to reconstruct the Union.
The Union needs no re-
construction. It was not made by man; it
was created by the God
of Nations. It is vital and immortal. If
it has wounds in mem-
Vol. XXXII -- 18.
274 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
bers of its body, they will heal, and
leave no scar, without the
opiate of compromise with treason. Let us beware of the
Delilah of the South, who has so lately
betrayed our strong man.
Let the "Prodigals" feed on
the husks till they come in repen-
tance, and ask to be received in their
father's house--not as the
equals to their faithful brethren, but
on a level with their former
servants. Then we can consider their
petition, and discuss the
question, not of the reconstruction of
the Union, but of the forma-
tion of free States from the national
domain. Until then let the
sword which reclaimed their territory
rule it, tempered by nation-
al law. Some cry conciliation, and say
there can be no true peace
by conquest. On the contrary, there is
no enduring peace but the
peace that is conquered. The peace of
France is a conquered
peace; the peace of England was
conquered and conquered again;
the peace of our fathers was a conquered
peace; the peace of the
world is a conquered peace; the peace of
Heaven is a conquered
peace; and thanks be to God, our peace
is to be a conquered, and
therefore a lasting peace. For a
thousand years shall the people
enjoy Liberty and Union in peace and
security. The nation re-
vived through all her members by the
hand of free labor, pros-
perity shall fill and overflow the
land--roll along the railways--
thrill the electric wires--pulsate on
the rivers--blossom on the
lakes, and whiten the seas; and the
imperial free Republic, the
best and strongest Government on earth,
will be a monument of
the glory of Abraham Lincoln--while over
and above all, shall
rise and swell the great "dome of
his fame."
When the orator took his seat earnest
and solemn
manifestations of approval testified
that he had appro-
priately and impressively spoken for
the people.
Immediately there were cries for
Hooker. Major
General Hooker rose from his seat, when
the band be-
gan to play a dirge. He stood until the
music stopped
and then administered to those who
called for him a
just rebuke:
General Hooker said: "My friends,
I thank you
very much for the compliment you pay me
by your call.
If I do not respond by remarks, you
will ascribe it to
the inappropriateness of the occasion.
Your call was
dictated by curiosity as much as to
hear a speech from
me; that I grant you. Further you must
excuse me."
276 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
This frank speech was received in the
spirit which
dictated it. The ceremonies were then
concluded by the
singing of the ode written by William
Cullen Bryant,
which formed a part of the funeral
ceremonies in New
York.
The hour for the removal of the coffin
from the
rotunda having nearly arrived, a
majority of the people
who had listened to the funeral oration
quietly wended
their way toward High street, which was
densely
thronged, until the cortege was
reformed and moved to
the depot.
At six o'clock in the evening the doors
of the Capitol
were closed, the bugle sounded the
assembly, the soldiers
took arms, and the procession began
reforming for the
final escort to the depot. As the body
was being borne
out to the funeral car at the west
gateway of the Capitol
grounds, a national salute was fired.
Soon after, the
procession moved, and the remains of
the President
were transferred to the funeral car at
the depot of the
Indiana Central Railway, for
transportation to In-
dianapolis.
The committee superintending the
catafalque in the
rotunda determined to allow it to
remain until the re-
mains of Lincoln were consigned to the
tomb at Spring-
field, and it is to be recorded as a
memorable deed for
the citizens of Columbus, that every
morning until that
of the 4th of May, fresh flowers were
placed around
the dais where the President's coffin
had rested, and
thousands of men, women and children
visited and re-
visited the catafalque, and again and
again with sad
emotion viewed the symbols of grief
which decorated
the rotunda of Ohio's Capitol, in
which, in February,
Lincoln and Ohio 277
1861, Mr. Lincoln had been given the
most enthusiastic
reception ever bestowed by the people
of Ohio upon a
citizen of the Republic.
The funeral train left Columbus at
eight o'clock. B.
E. Smith, Esq., President, and J. M.
Lunt, Esq., Super-
intendent of the Columbus and
Indianapolis Central
Railway, accompanied it, giving
personal attention to
the wants and wishes of the passengers.
They had with
them Messrs. Blemer and Cummings, chief
track men,
and William Slater, telegraphic
operator, with all the
necessary implements for immediate
repair. S. A.
Hughes, Esq., as Conductor, and Mr.
James Gounley,
Engineer, were in charge of the train.
At Pleasant Valley bonfires lit up the
country for
miles. A large concourse of citizens
assembled around
the depot. Two American flags, draped
in mourning,
were held in hand by two ladies. At
Unionville about
two hundred persons present, most of
them sitting in
wagons -- the people having come from
the country. At
Milford, assembled around bonfires,
four or five hun-
dred people waved flags and
handkerchiefs slowly.
About two miles from that place a
farmer and his family
were standing in a field by a bonfire,
waving a flag. At
Woodstock about five hundred people
greeted the train.
The ladies presented bouquets; one by
Miss Villard, Miss
Lucy Kimble and Miss Mary Cranston, on
the part of
the ladies of Woodstock; another by
Miss Ann Currier;
and another by Mrs. G. Martin and Miss
Delilah Beltz,
two sisters; These ladies were
permitted to enter the
President's car and strew flowers on
the coffin. The
Woodstock Cornet Band, U. Cushman,
leader, played
a dirge and hymn -- "Dreaming, I
sleep, love," and
278
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Pleyel's Hymn. The village bells slowly
rang; men
stood silent with uncovered heads. A
soldier stood in
the center of an assemblage, holding a
flag. All men
stood uncovered.
Urbana was reached at ten o'clock forty
minutes.
Not less than three thousand people had
gathered near
the depot. On the platform was a large
cross, entwined
with circling wreaths of evergreens,
which was worked
under the direction of Mrs. Milo G.
Williams, Presi-
dent Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society.
From the top of the
cross, and shorter arms, were hung
illuminated colored
transparencies. On the opposite side of
the track was
an elevated platform, on which were
forty gentlemen
and ladies, who sang with patriotic
sweetness the hymn
entitled, "Go to Thy Rest."
The singing represented
the Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian
and Presbyterian
Churches. Large bonfires made night as
light as day.
Minute guns were fired. Ten young
ladies entered the
car and strewed flowers on the martyr's
bier. One of
the ladies was so affected that she
cried and wept in
great anguish.
At St. Paris were brilliant
illuminations, by which
could be seen a number of drooped
flags, a large as-
sembly present, who stood in silence as
they looked on
the moving train. A bouquet was
presented and placed
on the coffin by Mrs. Purron. The
bouquet was a most
artistic one, made by Stoutey Meyer. At
Westville Sta-
tion crowds were gathered to pay
respect to the dead.
At Conover a long line of people two
deep stood in file;
on the right little boys and girls,
then young men and
women, and on the left the elderly
people. In the center,
supporting a large American flag, were
three young
Lincoln and Ohio 279
ladies, Miss Eliza Throckmorton, Miss
Nora Brecount,
and Miss Barnes. A patriotic religious
song, with a
slow and mournful air, was chanted by
the flag-bearers.
At twenty minutes past twelve o'clock
the train
reached Piqua. Not less than ten thousand people
crowded about it. The Troy Band and the
Piqua Band
played appropriate music, after which a
delegation from
the Methodist Churches, under Rev.
Granville (Colonel)
Moody, sang a hymn. Rev. Moody repeated
the first
line, when it was then sung by the
entire choir. Think
of such actions at the midnight hour,
when humanity
is supposed to lay by its cares, and
take its rest in the
arms of repose. At Gettysburg was
a.large number of
people around huge bonfires. Drooping
flags and other
evidences of mourning were displayed.
There were like
scenes at Richmond Junction and
Covington.
At Greenville, Ohio, thirty-six young
ladies dressed
in white, slowly waving the Star
Spangled Banner,
greeted the cortege. Lafayette's
Requiem was sung
with thrilling effect by a number of
ladies and gentle-
men. About five hundred people were
congregated on
the platform. Company C, 28th Ohio
Infantry, was
drawn up in line, with firearms
reversed. The depot
was tastefully decorated. On either
side of the depot
were two bonfires fifteen feet high,
which shed most
brilliant light all around the train
and depot.
At New Paris great bonfires lit up the
skies. A
crowd was gathered about, who stood
with uncovered
heads. A beautiful arch of evergreens
was formed
above the track, under which the train
passed. The
arch was twenty feet high and thirty
feet in circum-
280
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
ference. At Wiley's, New Madison and
Weaver's Sta-
tions, hundreds of mourners were
congregated.
The funeral train was delivered just
across the line,
at Richmond, by the Ohio officials to
Governor Morton
of Indiana, and his suite.
Thus Ohio honoring Lincoln in his
life-time gave
him her supreme homage at his death.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I am indebted to former Governor James
E. Camp-
bell, President of the Ohio State
Archaeological and His-
torical Society, for the privilege of
reproducing in fac
simile one of Lincoln's most famous and expressive let-
ters, the original being owned by the
Governor, as well
as for suggestions that were helpful to
me.
To
Mr. Charles B. Galbreath, Secretary
and
Librarian of the Society, I am under
special obligations
for his valuable aid and criticism, and
for his careful
reading of the manuscript, thereby
securing the benefit
of his scholarly and literary help.
I am also indebted in various ways to
the following
for substantial help: Mrs. Charles W.
Nickum, Day-
ton, Ohio; The Dayton Journal; The
Detroit News,
Herbert F. Hirshberg, Ohio State
Librarian; N. D. C.
Hodges, Librarian Public Library of
Cincinnati;
Marilla W. Freeman, Cleveland Public
Library; Electra
C. Doren, and Frederick H. Cook, Dayton
Public
Library; Alice Comstock, Columbus City
Library; Stan-
ley J. McMichael, Cleveland; J. Edgar
Butler, and
Charles J. Justice, Columbus.
Lincoln and Ohio 281 For most of the authorities cited herein I am be- holden to the Claude Meeker Collection of Ohioana in the Library of the Society. It contains the most com- prehensive collection of Civil War literature pertaining to Ohio in this country; it has been to me a fountain of knowledge, from which I have drawn freely. DANIEL J. RYAN. Columbus, Ohio, January 18, 1923. |
|
LINCOLN AND OHIO
BY DANIEL J. RYAN
CHAPTER I
LINCOLN'S FIRST CONTACT WITH OHIO
STATESMEN
Lincoln's contact with Ohio men and
influences be-
gan with his entrance into the
Thirtieth Congress, De-
cember 6, 1847. The Mexican War was in
full tilt,
and the Whig party was opposing it. Two
Ohioans --
one in the Senate and one in the House
-- were con-
spicuous leaders in a bitter antagonism
that was com-
bating war legislation on every hand.
They were rep-
resenting the anti-slavery Whigs, who
saw in the war a
Democratic move to add slave territory
to the Union.
These leaders were Senator Thomas
Corwin1 and Rep-
resentative Joshua R. Giddings.2 The
former had de-
livered in the Senate a passionate
philippic, which will
forever rank among the classics of
American eloquence,
against the Polk administration and the
War. Gid-
dings maintained the same attitude in
the House, oppos-
ing appropriations and war measures.
This opposition
of Corwin and Giddings was heartily
approved by the
1 Thomas
Corwin born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, July 29, 1794;
served as a wagon-boy in the war of
1812; elected to the Ohio Legis-
lature in 1822 and in 1829; member of
Congress 1831-1841; Governor,
1841-43; United States Senator, 1845;
Secretary of the Treasury under
President Filmore, 1850-52; member of
Congress, 1859-61; Minister to
Mexico from March 1861 to May 1864; died
in Washington, D. C.,
December 18, 1865.
2 Joshua
Reed Giddings born in Athens, Pennsylvania, October 6,
1795; in 1805 came with his parents to
Wayne township, Ashtabula county,
Ohio; volunteer in the War of 1812;
admitted to the bar, 1820; elected
to the Ohio Legislature, 1826; member of
Congress, 1839-1859; con-
spicuous as an anti-slavery leader;
Consul-General in Canada from 1861
until he died, in Montreal, Canada, May
27, 1864.
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