abraham lincoln (1907) r g ingersoll

8/6/2019 Abraham Lincoln (1907) R G Ingersoll

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Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2010 with funding from

The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an Indiana State Library LSTA Grant


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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S94, byROBERT G. IXGERSOLL

a the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A.


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COLLECTORS'LIMITED AUTOGRAPH EDITION

Of this edition only One Hundred Copieshave been printed on Imperial Japanesevellum. This book is Number /-*_

September sixth, 1907.


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNreputation becomes so great heis so revered and worshiped thathis followers, in his name, attackthe hero who endeavors to takeanother step in advance.The heroes of the Revolution,

forgetting the justice for whichthey fought, put chains upon thelimbs of others, and in their namesthe lovers of liberty were denouncedas ingrates and traitors.During the Revolution our fathers

to justify their rebellion dug downto the bed-rock of human rightsand planted their standard there.They declared that all men wereentitled to liberty and that govern-ment derived its power from theconsent of the governed. But whenvictory came, the great principles

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNwere forgotten and chains wereput upon the limbs of men. Bothof the great political parties werecontrolled by greed and selfishness.Both were the defenders and pro-tectors of slavery. For nearly three-quarters of a century these partieshad control of the Republic. Theprincipal object of both parties wasthe protection of the infamous in-stitution. Both were eager to securethe Southern vote and both sacri-ficed principle and honor upon thealtar of success.At last the Whig party died and

the Republican was born. Thisparty was opposed to the furtherextension of slavery. The Demo-cratic party of the South wishedto make the "divine institution"

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNIndiana. A few trees were felled a log hut open to the south, nofloor, no window, was built alittle land plowed and here theLincolns lived. Here the patient,thoughtful, silent, loving motherdied died in the wide forest as aleaf dies, leaving nothing to her sonbut the memory of her love.

In a few years the family movedto Illinois. Lincoln then almostgrown, clad in skins, with no wovenstitch upon his body walking anddriving the cattle. Another farmwas opened a few acres subduedand enough raised to keep the wolffrom the door. Lincoln quit thefarm went down the Ohio andMississippi as a hand on a flat-boat

~ afterward clerked in a country


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNvariety of things we made, thegreater would be the developmentof the American brain. And heknew that great men and greatwomen are the best things that anation can produce, the finestcrop a country can possibly raise.He knew that a nation that sellsraw material will grow ignorantand poor, while the people whomanufacture will grow intelligentand rich. To dig, to chop, to plow,requires more muscle than mind,more strength than thought.To invent, to manufacture, to

take advantage of the forces ofnature this requires thought,talent, genius. This develops thebrain and gives wings to theimagination.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNIt is better for Americans to

purchase from Americans, even ifthe things purchased cost more.

If we purchase a ton of steel railsfrom England for twenty dollars,then we have the rails and Englandthe money. But if we buy a ton ofsteel rails from an American fortwenty-five dollars, then Americahas both the rails and the money.

Judging from the present uni-versal depression and the recentelections, Lincoln, in his firstspeech, stood on solid rock and wasabsolutely right. Lincoln was edu-cated in the University of Nature educated by cloud and starby field and winding stream bybillowed plains and solemn forests by morning's birth and death of

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNday by storm and night by theever eager Spring by Summer'swealth of leaf and vine and flower the sad and transient glories ofthe Autumn woods and Winter,builder of home and fireside, andwhose storms without create thesocial warmth within.He was perfectly acquainted with

the political questions of the dayheard them discussed at tavernsand country stores, at voting placesand courts and on the stump. Heknew all the arguments for andagainst, and no man of his timewas better equipped for intellectualconflict. He knew the averagemindthe thoughts of the people,the hopes and prejudices of hisfellow-men. He had the power

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNof accurate statement. He waslogical, candid, and sincere. Inaddition, he had the "touch ofnature that makes the whole worldkin.

In 1858 he was a candidate forthe Senate against Stephen A.Douglas.The extreme Democrats would

not vote for Douglas, but theextreme Republicans did votefor Lincoln. Lincoln occupied themiddle ground, and was the com-promise candidate of his own party.He had lived for many years in theintellectual territory of compromise in a part of our country settledby Northern and Southern men where Northern and Southernideas met, and the ideas of the

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNto read the history of the world toknow that liberty and slavery couldnot live in the same nation, or inthe same brain. Lincoln was astatesman. And there is this differ-ence between a politician and a states-man. A politician schemes and worksin every way to make the people dosomething for him. A statesmanwishes to do something for thepeople. With him place and powerare means to an end, and the end isthe good of his country.

In this campaign Lincoln demon-strated three things first, that hewas the intellectual superior of hisopponent ; second, that he was rightand third, that a majority of thevoters of Illinois were on his side.

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IIIN 18G0 the Republic

mlgl reached a crisis. ThejM? conflict between lib-erty and slavery could

no longer be delayed. For three-quarters of a century the forceshad been gathering for the battle.

After the Revolution, principlewas sacrificed for the sake of gain.The Constitution contradicted theDeclaration. Liberty as a principlewas held in contempt. Slaverytook possession of the Government.Slavery made the laws, corruptedcourts, dominated Presidents, anddemoralized the people.

I do not hold the South respon-[19]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNsible for slavery any more than Ido the North. The fact is, thatindividuals and nations act as theymust. There is no chance. Backof every event of every hope,prejudice, fancy, and dream ofevery opinion and belief of everyvice and virtue of every smileand curse, is the efficient cause.The present moment is the child,and the necessary child, of all thepast.Northern politicians wanted

office, and so they defended slaveryNorthern merchants wanted to selltheir goods to the South, and sothey were the enemies of freedom.The preacher wished to please thepeople who paid his salary, andso he denounced the slave for

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNnot being satisfied with the posi-tion in which the good God hadplaced him.The respectable, the rich, the

prosperous, the holders of and theseekers for office, held liberty incontempt. They regarded theConstitution as far more sacredthan the rights of men. Candidatesfor the presidency were applaudedbecause they had tried to makeslave States of free territory, andthe highest court solemnly andignorantly decided that coloredmen and women had no rights.Men who insisted that freedomwas better than slavery, and thatmothers should not be robbed oftheir babes, were hated, despised,and mobbed. Mr. Douglas voiced

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNthe feelings of millions when he de-clared that he did not care whetherslavery was voted up or down.Upon this question the people, amajority of them, were almostsavages. Honor, manhood, con-science, principle all sacrificedfor the sake of gain or office.From the heights of philosophy standing above the contending

hosts, above the prejudices, the sen-timentalities of the day Lincolnwas great enough and brave enoughand wise enough to utter theseprophetic words

" A house divided against itself cannotstand. I believe this Government cannotpermanently endure half slave and half free.I do not expect the Union to be dissolved ;I do not expect the house to fall ; but I doexpect it will cease to be divided. It will

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IllHEN came anothercrisis the crisis ofSecession and Civilwar.

Again Lincoln spoke the deepestfeeling and the highest thought ofthe Nation. In his first messagelie said

" The central idea of secession is theessence of anarchy."He also showed conclusively that

the North and South, in spite ofsecession, must remain face to face that physically they could notseparate that they must havemore or less commerce, and thatthis commerce must be carried on

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNevery battlefield and patriotic grave to everyloving heart and hearthstone all over thisbroad land, will swell the chorus of the Unionwhen again touched, as surely they will be,by the better angels of our nature."

These noble, these touching,these pathetic words, were deliv-ered in the presence of rebellion,in the midst of spies and conspir-ators surrounded by but fewfriends, most of whom were un-known, and some of whom werewavering in their fidelity at atime when secession was arrogantand organized, when patriotism wassilent, and when, to quote theexpressive words of Lincoln him-self, " Sinners were calling therighteous to repentance."When Lincoln became President,

he was held in contempt by the[28]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNSouth underrated by the Northand East not appreciated evenby his cabinet and yet he wasnot only one of the wisest, but oneof the shrewdest of mankind.Knowing that he had the right toenforce the laws of the Union inall parts of the United States andTerritories knowing, as he did,that the secessionists were in thewrong, he also knew that they hadsympathizers not only in the North,but in other lands.

Consequently, he felt that it wasof the utmost importance that theSouth should fire the first shot,should do some act that wouldsolidify the North, and gain for usthe justification of the civilizedworld.

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IVHEN came a crisis inthe North. It becameclearer and clearer to" Lincoln's mind, day

by day, that the Rebellion wasslavery, and that it was necessaryto keep the border States on theside of the Union. For this pur-pose he proposed a scheme ofemancipation and colonization ascheme by which the owners ofslaves should be paid the full valueof what they called their "property."He knew that if the border States

agreed to gradual emancipation,and received compensation for theirslaves, they would be forever lost

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNto the Confederacy, whether seces-sion succeeded or not. It wasobjected at the time, by some, thatthe scheme was far too expensivebut Lincoln, wiser than his advisersfar wiser than his enemiesdemonstrated that from an eco-nomical point of view, his coursewas best.He proposed that 8400 be paid

for slaves, including men, women,and children. This was a largeprice, and yet he showed howmuch cheaper it was to purchasethan to carry on the war.At that time, at the price men-

tioned, there were about 8750,000worth of slaves in Delaware. Thecost of carrying on the war was atleast two millions of dollars a day,[33]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNand for one-third of one day's ex-penses, all the slaves in Delawarecould be purchased. He also showedthat all the slaves in Delaware,Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouricould be bought, at the same price,for less than the expense of carryingon the war for eighty-seven days.

This was the wisest thing thatcould have been proposed, andyet such was the madness of theSouth, such the indignation of theNorth, that the advice was un-heeded.

Again, in July, 1862, he urgedon the Representatives of theborder States a scheme of gradualcompensated emancipation ; but theRepresentatives were too deaf tohear, too blind to see.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNLincoln always hated slavery,and yet he felt the obligations and

duties of his position. In his firstmessage he assured the South thatthe laws, including the most odiousof all the law for the return offugitive slaves would be enforced.The South would not hear. After-ward he proposed to purchase theslaves of the border States, but theproposition was hardly discussedhardly heard. Events came thickand fast ; theories gave way to facts,and everything was left to force.The extreme Democrat of the

North was fearful that slaverymight be destroyed, that theConstitution might be broken, andthat Lincoln, after all, could notbe trusted ; and at the same time

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNthe radical Republican feared thatLincoln loved the Union more thanhe did liberty.The fact is, that he tried to dis-

charge the obligations of his greatoffice, knowing from the first thatslavery must perish. The coursepursued by Lincoln was so gentle,so kind and persistent, so wise andlogical, that millions of NorthernDemocrats sprang to the defence,not only of the Union, but of hisadministration. Lincoln refused tobe led or hurried by Fremont orHunter, by Greeley or Sumner.From first to last he was thereal leader, and he kept step withevents.

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N the 22d of July,18G2, Lincoln sentword to the membersof his cabinet that he

wished to see them. It so happenedthat Secretary Chase was the firstto arrive. He found Lincoln read-ing a book. Looking up from thepage, the President said : " Chase,did you ever read this book ?" What book is it ? " asked Chase." Artemus Ward," replied Lincoln." Let me read you this chapter,entitled Wax Wnrx in Albany. "And so he began reading while theother members of the cabinet oneby one came in. At last Stanton

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNtold Mr. Lincoln that he was ina great hurry, and if any businesswas to be done he would like todo it at once. Whereupon Mr.Lincoln laid down the open book,opened a drawer, took out a paper,and said : " Gentlemen, I havecalled you together to notify youwhat I have determined to do. Iwant no advice. Nothing canchange my mind."He then read the Proclamation

of Emancipation. Chase thoughtthere ought to be something aboutGod at the close, to which Lincolnreplied : " Put it in, it won't hurtit." It was also agreed that thePresident would wait for a victoryin the field before giving theProclamation to the world.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNThe meeting was over, the

members went their way. Mr.Chase was the last to go, and ashe went through the door lookedback and saw that Mr. Lincolnhad taken up the book and wasagain engrossed in the Wax Wurxat Albany.

This was on the 22d of July,1862. On the 22d of Augustof the same year Lincolnwrote his celebrated letter toHorace Greeley, in which he statedthat his object was to save theUnion ; that lie would save it withslavery if he could ; that if it wasnecessary to destroy slavery inorder to save the Union, he would ;in other words, he would do whatwas necessary to save the Union.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNThis letterdisheartened, to a great

degree, thousands and millions ofthe friends of freedom. They feltthat Mr. Lincoln had not attainedthe moral height upon which theysupposed he stood. And yet,when this letter was written, theEmancipation Proclamation was inhis hands, and had been for thirtydays, waiting only an opportunityto give it to the world.Some two weeks after the letter

to Greeley, Lincoln was waited onby a committee of clergymen, andwas by them informed that it wasGod's will that he should issue aProclamation of Emancipation.He replied to them, in substance,that the day of miracles had passed.He also mildly and kindly suggested

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNthat if it were God's will this Procla-mation should be issued, certainlyGod would have made known thatwill to him to the person whoseduty it was to issue it.On the 22d day of September,

1862, the most glorious date inthe history of the Republic, theProclamation of Emancipation wasissued.

Lincoln had reached the general-ization of all argument upon thequestion of slavery and freedoma generalization that never hasbeen, and probably never will be,excelled

" In giving freedom to the slave, we assurefreedom to the free."

This is absolutely true. Libertycan be retained, can be enjoyed,

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNonly by giving it to others. Thespendthrift saves, the miser isprodigal. In the realm of Free-dom, waste is husbandry. Hewho puts chains upon the bodyof another shackles his own soul.The moment the Proclamationwas issued the cause of the Re-public became sacred. From thatmoment the North fought for thehuman race. From that momentthe North stood under the blueand stars, the flag of Nature,sublime and free.

In 1831 Lincoln went down theMississippi on a flat-boat. He re-ceived the extravagant salary of tendollars a month. When he reachedNew Orleans, he and some of hiscompanions went about the city.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNAmong other places, they visiteda slave market, where men and

women were being sold at auction.A young colored girl was on theblock. Lincoln heard the brutalwords of the auctioneer thesavage remarks of bidders. Thescene filled his soul with indignationand horror.

Turning to his companions, hesaid, " Boys, if I ever get a chanceto hit slavery, by God I '11 hit ithard !The helpless girl, unconsciously,

had planted in a great heart theseeds of the Proclamation.

Thirty-one years afterward thechance came, the oath was kept,and to four millions of slaves, ofmen, women, and children, was[43]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNrestored liberty, the jewel of thesoul.

In the history, in the fiction ofthe world, there is nothing moreintensely dramatic than this.

Lincoln held within his brainthe grandest truths, and he heldthem as unconsciously, as easily,as naturally, as a waveless poolholds within its stainless breast athousand stars.In these two years we hadtraveled from the Ordinance ofSecession to the Proclamation ofEmancipation.

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VI^E were surrounded byenemies. Many ofthe so-called great inEurope and England

were against us. They hated theRepublic, despised our institutions,and sought in many ways to aidthe South.

Mr. Gladstone announced thatJefferson Davis had made a nation,and that he did not believe therestoration of the American Unionby force attainable.From the Vatican came words

of encouragement for the South.It was declared that the North

was fighting for empire and theSouth for independence.[45]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNThe Marquis of Salisbury said :

" The people of the South are thenatural allies of England. TheNorth keeps an opposition shopin the same department of tradeas ourselves."Not a very elevated sentimentbut English.Some of their statesmer declared

that the subjugation of the Southby the North would be a calamityto the world.

Louis Napoleon was anotherenemy, and he endeavored to es-tablish a monarchy in Mexico, tothe end that the great North mightbe destroyed. But the patience,the uncommon common sense, thestatesmanship of Lincoln in spiteof foreign hate and Northern divi-

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNnothing without their armies. Thepraise is due to all to the privateas much as to the officer ; to thelowest who did his duty, as muchas to the highest.My heart goes out to the braveprivate as much as to the leader

of the host.But Lincoln stood at the center

and with infinite patience, withconsummate skill, with the geniusof goodness, directed, cheered,consoled, and conquered.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNdenominated the negro as " a con-traband." Congress provided thatthe property of the rebels mightbe confiscated.The extreme Democrats of the

North regarded the slave as moresacred than life. It was no harmto kill the master to burn hishouse, to ravage his fields butyou must not free his slave.

If in war a nation has the rightto take the property of its citizens of its friends certainly it hasthe right to take the property ofthose it has the right to kill.

Lincoln was wise enough to knowthat war is governed by the lawsof war, and that during the con-flict constitutions are silent. Allthat he could do he did in the

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNinterests of peace. He offered toexecute every law including themost infamous of all to buy theslaves in the border States toestablish gradual, compensatedemancipation; but the South wouldnot hear. Then he confiscated theproperty of rebels treated theslaves as contraband of war, usedthem to put down the Rebellion,armed them and clothed them inthe uniform of the Republicwas in favor of making them citi-zens and allowing them to stand onan equality with their white brethrenunder the flag of the Nation.During these years Lincoln movedwith events, and every step he tookhas been justified by the consideratejudgment of mankind.[51]


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VIIIINCOLN not onlywatched the war, butkept his hand on thepolitical pulse. In1863 a tide set in against the

administration. A Republicanmeeting was to be held in Spring-field, Illinois, and Lincoln wrote aletter to be read at this convention.It was in his happiest vein. It wasa perfect defence of his administra-tion, including the Proclamationof Emancipation. Among otherthings he said

" But the proclamation, as law, either isvalid or it is not valid. If it is not validit needs no retraction, but if it is valid itcannot be x-etracted, any more than the deadcan be brought to life."

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNTo the Northern Democratswho said they would not fight for

negroes, Lincoln replied" Some of them seem willing to fight for

you but no matter."Of negro soldiers" But negroes, like other people, act upon

motives. Why should they do anything forus if we will do nothing for them ? If theystake their lives for us they must be promptedby the strongest motive even the promiseof freedom. And the promise, being made,must be kept."

There is one line in this letterthat will give it immortality"The Father of waters again goes unvexed

to the sea."This line isworthy of Shakespeare.Another" Among free men there can be no success-

ful appeal from the ballot to the bullet."

He draws a comparison between[53]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNthe white men against us and theblack men for us

" And then there will be some black menwho can remember that with silent tongueand clenched teeth and steady eye and well-poised bayonet they have helped mankindon to this great consummation ; while I fearthere will be some white ones unable to for-get that with malignant heart and deceitfulspeech they strove to hinder it."Under the influence of this letter,

the love of country, of the Union,and above all, the love of liberty,took possession of the heroic North.

There was the greatest moralexaltation ever known.The spirit of liberty took pos-

session of the people. The massesbecame sublime.To fight for yourself is natural to fight for others is grand ; to

fight for your country is noble[54]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNto fight for the human race forthe liberty of hand and brainis nobler still.As a matter of fact, the defenders

of slavery had sown the seeds oftheir own defeat. They dug thepit in which they fell. Clay andWebster and thousands of othershad by their eloquence made theUnion almost sacred. The Unionwas the very tree of life, the sourceand stream and sea of liberty andlaw.For the sake of slavery millions

stood by the Union, for the sakeof liberty millions knelt at the altarof the Union ; and this love of theUnion is what, at last, overwhelmedthe Confederate hosts.

It does not seem possible that[55]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNonly a few years ago our Consti-tution, our laws, our Courts, thePulpit, and the Press, defended andupheld the institution of slaverythat it was a crime to feed thehungry to give water to the lipsof thirst shelter to a womanflying from the whip and chainThe old flag still flies the stars

are there the stains have gone.

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IXIXCOLX always sawthe end. He was un-moved by the storms

^g^}> and currents of thetimes. He advanced too rapidlyfor the conservative politicians, tooslowly for the radical enthusiasts.He occupied the line of safety, andheld by his personality by theforce of his great character, by hischarming candor the masses onhis side.The soldiers thought of him as

a father.All who had lost their sons in

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNsad as theirs. They knew thatLincoln was actuated by one mo-tive, and that his energies werebent to the attainment of one end the salvation of the Republic.They knew that he was kind,

sincere, and merciful. They knewthat in his veins there was no dropof tyrants' blood. They knew thathe used his power to protect theinnocent, to save reputation and life that he had the brain of a phi-losopher the heart of a mother.During all the years of war,

Lincoln stood the embodiment ofmercy, between discipline anddeath. He pitied the imprisonedand condemned. He took theunfortunate in his arms, and wasthe friend even of the convict.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNHe knew temptation's strength the weakness of the will andhow in fury's sudden flame thejudgment drops the scales, andpassion blind and deaf usurpsthe throne.One day a woman, accompanied

by a Senator, called on the Presi-dent. The woman was the wifeof one of Mosby's men. Her hus-band had been captured, tried, andcondemned to be shot. She cameto ask for the pardon of her hus-band. The President heard herstory and then asked what kind ofman her husband was. " Is heintemperate, does he abuse thechildren and beat you?" " Xo,no," said the wife, " he is a goodman, a good husband, he loves me[59]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNand he loves the children, and wecannot live without him. Theonly trouble is that he is a foolabout politics I live in theNorth, born there, and if I get himhome, he will do no more fightingfor the South." " Well," said Mr.Lincoln, after examining the pa-pers, " I will pardon your husbandand turn him over to you for safekeeping." The poor woman, over-come with joy, sobbed as thoughher heart would break.

" My dear woman," said Lincoln," if I had known how badly it wasgoing to make you feel, I neverwould have pardoned him." " Youdo not understand me," she criedbetween her sobs. " You do notunderstand me." " Yes, yes, I

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNdo," answered the President, "andif you do not go away at once Ishall be crying with you."On another occasion, a member

of Congress, on his way to seeLincoln, found in one of the ante-rooms of the White House an oldwhite-haired man, sobbing hiswrinkled face wet with tears. Theold man told him that for severaldays he had tried to see the Presi-dent that he wanted a pardonfor his son. The Congressmantold the old man to come with himand he would introduce him to Mr.Lincoln. On being introduced,the old man said : " Mr. Lincoln,my wife sent me to you. We hadthree boys. They all joined yourarmy. One of 'em has been killed,[61]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNthat a President has. Through allthe years, Lincoln will be knownas Lincoln the loving, Lincoln themerciful,

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INCOLN had thekeenest sense of hu-mor, and always sawthe laughable side

even of disaster. In his humorthere was logic and the best ofsense. No matter how compli-cated the question, or how embar-rassing the situation, his humorfurnished an answer and a door ofescape.

Vallandigham was a friend of theSouth, and did what he could tosow the seeds of failure. In hisopinion everything, except rebel-lion, was unconstitutional.He was arrested, convicted by a

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNcourt martial, and sentenced toimprisonment.

There was doubt about thelegality of the trial, and thousandsin the North denounced the wholeproceeding as tyrannical and infa-mous. At the same time millionsdemanded that Vrallandighamshould be punished.

Lincoln's humor came to therescue. He disapproved of thefindings of the court, changed thepunishment, and ordered that Mr.Yallandigham should be sent to hisfriends in the South.

Those who regarded the act asunconstitutional almost forgave itfor the sake of its humor.

Horace Greeley always had theidea that he was greatly superior

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNto Lincoln, because he lived in alarger town, and for a long timeinsisted that the people of theNorth and the people of the Southdesired peace. He took it uponhimself to lecture Lincoln. Lin-coln, with that wonderful sense ofhumor, united with shrewdness andprofound wisdom, told Greeleythat, if the South really wantedpeace, he (Lincoln) desired thesame thing, and was doing all hecould to bring it about. Greeleyinsisted that a commissioner shouldbe appointed, with authority tonegotiate with the representativesof the Confederacy. This wasLincoln's opportunity. He au-thorized Greeley to act as suchcommissioner. The great editor

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNfelt that he was caught. For atime he hesitated, but finally went,and found that the Southern com-missioners were willing to takeinto consideration any offers ofpeace that Lincoln might make,consistent with the independenceof the Confederacy.The failure of Greeley was hu-

miliating, and the position in whichhe was left, absurd.Again the humor of Lincoln

had triumphed.Lincoln, to satisfy a few fault-

finders in the North, went toGrant's headquarters and met someConfederate commissioners. Heurged that it was hardly proper forhim to negotiate with the repre-sentatives of rebels in arms that

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNif the South wanted peace, all theyhad to do was to stop fighting.One of the commissioners cited asa precedent the fact that Charlesthe First negotiated with rebels inarms. To which Lincoln repliedthat Charles the First lost hishead.The conference came to nothing,

as Mr. Lincoln expected.The commissioners, one of them

being Alexander H. Stephens,who, when in good health, weighedabout ninety pounds, dined withthe President and General Grant.After dinner, as they were leaving,Stephens put on an English ulster,the tails of which reached theground, while the collar was some-what above the wearer's head.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNAs Stephens went out, Lincolntouched Grant and said : " Grant,

look at Stephens. Did you eversee as little a nubbin with as muchshuck ?

Lincoln always tried to do thingsin the easiest way. He did notwaste his strength. He was notparticular about moving alongstraight lines. He did not tunnelthe mountains. He was willingto go around, and reach the enddesired as a river reaches the sea.

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XI!NE of the most won-derful things everdone by Lincoln was

Pl^SjIgy the promotion ofGeneral Hooker. After the battleof Fredericksburg, General Burn-side found great fault with Hooker,and wished to have him removedfrom the Army of the Potomac.Lincoln disapproved of Burnside'sorder, and gave Hooker the com-mand. He then wrote Hookerthis memorable letter

"I have placed you at the head of theArmy of the Potomac. Of course I havedone this upon what appears to me to besufficient reasons, and yet I think it best foryou to know that there are some things inregard to which I am not quite satisfied with

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNyou. I believe you to be a brave and skill-ful soldier which, of course, I like. Ialso believe you do not mix politics withyour profession in which you are right.You have confidence which is a valuable,if not an indispensable, quality. You areambitious, which, within reasonable bounds,does good rather than harm ; but I thinkthat during General Burnside's command ofthe army you have taken counsel of yourambition to thwart him as much as youcould in which you did a great wrong tothe country and to a most meritorious andhonorable brother officer. I have heard, insuch a way as to believe it, of your recentlysaying that both the army and the Govern-ment needed a dictator. Of course it wasnot for this, but in spite of it, that I havegiven you command. Only those generalswho gain successes can set up dictators.What I now ask of you is military successes,and I will risk the dictatorship. The Gov-ernment will support you to the utmost ofits ability, which is neither more nor less thanit has done and will do for all commanders.I much fear that the spirit which you haveaided to infuse into the army, of criticisingtheir commander and withholding confidence[72]


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XIIR. LINCOLN was astatesman. The greatstumbling-blockthe great obstruction in Lincoln's way, and in the

way of thousands, was the olddoctrine of States Rights.

This doctrine was first estab-lished to protect slavery. It wasclung to to protect the inter-Stateslave trade. It became sacred inconnection with the Fugitive SlaveLaw, and it was finally used as thecorner-stone of Secession.

This doctrine was never appealedto in defence of the right alwaysin support of the wrong. For

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNmany years politicians upon bothsides of this question endeavoredto express the exact relations exist-ing between the Federal Govern-ment and the States, and I knowof no one who succeeded, exceptLincoln. In his message of 1861,delivered on July the 4th, thedefinition is given, and it is perfect

" Whatever concerns the whole should beconfided to the whole to the GeneralGovernment. Whatever concerns only theState should be left exclusively to theState."When that definition is realized

in practice, this country becomesa Nation. Then we shall knowthat the first allegiance of the citi-zen is not to his State, but to theRepublic, and that the first dutyof the Republic is to protect the

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNcitizen, not only when in otherlands, but at home, and that thisduty cannot be discharged bydelegating it to the States.

Lincoln believed in the sover-eignty of the people in thesupremacy of the Nation in theterritorial integrity of the Republic.

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XIIIGREAT actor canbe known only whenhe has assumed theprincipal character in

a great drama. Possibly the great-est actors have never appeared,and it may be that the greatestsoldiers have lived the lives ofperfect peace. Lincoln assumedthe leading part in the greatestdrama ever enacted upon the stageof this continent.His criticisms of military move-ments, his correspondence with hisgenerals and others on the conductof the war, show that he was at alltimes master of the situation [77]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNthat he was a natural strategist,that he appreciated the difficultiesand advantages of every kind, andthat in " the still and mentalfield of war he stood the peer ofany man beneath the flag.Had McClellan followed his ad-vice, he would have taken Rich-mond.Had Hooker acted in accordance

with his suggestions, Chancellors-ville would have been a victory forthe Nation.

Lincoln's political prophecieswere all fulfilled.We know now that he not only

stood at the top, but that heoccupied the center, from first tolast, and that he did this by reasonof his intelligence, his humor, his

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNphilosophy, his courage, and hispatriotism.

In passion's storm he stood,unmoved, patient, just, and candid.In his brain there was no cloud,and in his heart no hate. Helonged to save the South as wellas North, to see the Nation oneand free.He lived until the end was

known.He lived until the Confederacy

was dead until Lee surrendered,until Davis fled, until the doors ofLibby Prison were opened, untilthe Republic was supreme.He lived until Lincoln and

Liberty were united forever.He lived to cross the desert

to reach the palms of victory to[79]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNhear the murmured music of thewelcome waves.He lived until all loyal hearts

were his until the history of hisdeeds made music in the souls ofmen until he knew that onColumbia's Calendar of worth andfame his name stood first.He lived until there remained

nothing for him to do as great ashe had done.What he did was worth living

for, worth dying for.He lived until he stood in the

midst of universal Joy, beneaththe outstretched wings of Peacethe foremost man in all the world.And then the horror came.

Night fell on noon. The Saviorof the Republic, the breaker of

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNchains, the liberator of millions, hewho had "assured freedom to thefree," was dead.Upon his brow Fame placed the

immortal wreath, and for the firsttime in the history of the world aNation bowed and wept.The memory of Lincoln is the

strongest, tenderest tie that bindsall hearts together now, and holdsall States beneath a Nation's flag.

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XIVBRAHAM LIN-COLN strangemingling of mirth andtears, of the tragic

and grotesque, of cap and crown,of Socrates and Democritus, ofiEsop and Marcus Aurelius, of allthat is gentle and just, humorousand honest, merciful, wise, laugh-able, lovable, and divine, and all con-secrated to the use of man ; whilethrough all, and over all, were anoverwhelming sense of obligation, ofchivalric loyalty to truth, and uponall, the shadow of the tragic end.

Nearly all the great historiccharacters are impossible monsters,

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNpoor standard, as he should havebeen.

Lincoln was not a type. Hestands alone no ancestors, nofellows, and no successors.He had the advantage of livingin a new country, of social equal-

ity, of personal freedom, of seeingin the horizon of his future theperpetual star of hope. He pre-served his individuality and hisself-respect. He knew and min-gled with men of every kind ; and,after all, men are the best books.He became acquainted with theambitions and hopes of the heart,the means used to accomplish ends,the springs of action and the seedsof thought. He was familiar withnature, with actual things, with

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNcommon facts. He loved andappreciated the poem of the year,the drama of the seasons.

In a new country a man mustpossess at least three virtueshonesty, courage, and generosity.In cultivated society, cultivation isoften more important than soil.A well-executed counterfeit passesmore readily than a blurred genu-ine. It is necessary only to ob-serve the unwritten laws of society to be honest enough to keepout of prison, and generous enoughto subscribe in public where thesubscription can be defended as aninvestment.

In a new country, character isessential ; in the old, reputation issufficient. In the new, they find[85]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNwhat a man really is ; in the old,he generally passes for what heresembles. People separated onlyby distance are much nearertogether, than those divided by thewalls of caste.

It is no advantage to live in agreat city, where poverty degradesand failure brings despair. Thefields are lovelier than pavedstreets, and the great forests thanwalls of brick. Oaks and elms aremore poetic than steeples andchimneys.

In the country is the idea ofhome. There you see the risingand setting sun ; you become ac-quainted with the stars and clouds.The constellations are your friends.You hear the rain on the roof and

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNlisten to the rhythmic sighing ofthe winds. You are thrilled bythe resurrection called Spring,touched and saddened by Autumn the grace and poetry of death.Every field is a picture, a land-scape ; every landscape a poemevery flower a tender thought, andevery forest a fairyland. In thecountry you preserve your identity your personality. There youare an aggregation of atoms, butin the city you are only an atomof an aggregation.

In the country you keep yourcheek close to the breast of Na-ture. You are calmed and enno-bled by the space, the amplitudeand scope of earth and sky bythe constancy of the stars.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNLincoln never finished his educa-

tion. To the night of his deathhe was a pupil, a learner, an in-quirer, a seeker after knowledge.You have no idea how many menare spoiled by what is called edu-cation. For the most part, col-leges are places where pebbles arepolished and diamonds are dimmed.If Shakespeare had graduated atOxford, he might have been aquibbling attorney, or a hypo-critical parson.

Lincoln was a great lawyer.There is nothing shrewder in thisworld than intelligent honesty.Perfect candor is sword and shield.He understood the nature of

man. As a lawyer lie endeavoredto get at the truth, at the very[88]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNheart of a case. He was not will-ing even to deceive himself. Nomatter what his interest said, whathis passion demanded, he was greatenough to find the truth and strongenough to pronounce judgmentagainst his own desires.

Lincoln was a many-sided man,acquainted with smiles and tears,complex in brain, single in heart,direct as light ; and his words,candid as mirrors, gave the perfectimage of his thought. He wasnever afraid to ask never too dig-nified to admit that he did notknow. No man had keener wit,or kinder humor.

It may be that humor is thepilot of reason. People withouthumor drift unconsciously into

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNabsurdity. Humor sees the otherside stands in the mind like aspectator, a good-natured critic,and gives its opinion before judg-ment is reached. Humor goeswith good nature, and good natureis the climate of reason. In anger,reason abdicates and malice extin-guishes the torch. Such was thehumor of Lincoln that he couldtell even unpleasant truths ascharmingly as most men can tellthe things we wish to hear.He was not solemn. Solemnity

is a mask worn by ignorance andhypocrisy it is the preface, pro-logue, and index to the cunning orthe stupid.He was natural in his life and

thought master of the story-[90]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNteller's art, in illustration apt, in ap-plication perfect, liberal in speech,shocking Pharisees and prudes,using any word that wit coulddisinfect.He was a logician. His logic

shed light. In its presence theobscure became luminous, and themost complex and intricate politi-cal and metaphysical knots seemedto untie themselves. Logic is thenecessary product of intelligenceand sincerity. It cannot belearned. It is the child of a clearhead and a good heart.

Lincoln was candid, and withcandor often deceived the deceit-ful. He had intellect withoutarrogance, genius without pride,and religion without cant that is[91]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNto say, without bigotry and withoutdeceit.He was an orator clear, sincere,

natural. He did not pretend. Hedid not say what he thought othersthought, but what he thought.

If you wish to be sublime youmust be natural you must keepclose to the grass. You must sitby the fireside of the heart ; abovethe clouds it is too cold. You mustbe simple in your speech ; toomuch polish suggests insincerity.The great orator idealizes the

real, transfigures the common,makes even the inanimate throband thrill, fills the gallery of theimagination with statues and pic-tures perfect in form and color,brings to light the gold hoarded

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNby memory the miser, shows theglittering coin to the spendthrifthope, enriches the brain, ennoblesthe heart, and quickens the con-science. Between his lips wordsbud and blossom.

If you wish to know the differ-ence between an orator and anelocutionist between what is feltand what is said between whatthe heart and brain can do togetherand what the brain can do aloneread Lincoln's wondrous speech atGettysburg, and then the orationof Edward Everett.The speech of Lincoln will never

be forgotten. It will live untillanguages are dead and lips aredust. The oration of Everett willnever be read.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNThe elocutionists believe in thevirtue of voice, the sublimity of

syntax, the majesty of long sen-tences, and the genius of gesture.The orator loves the real, the

simple, the natural. He placesthe thought above all. He knowsthat the greatest ideas should beexpressed in the shortest wordsthat the greatest statues need theleast drapery.

Lincoln was an immense person-alityfirm but not obstinate.Obstinacy is egotism firmness,heroism. He influenced otherswithout effort, unconsciously ; andthey submitted to him as mensubmit to nature unconsciously.He was severe with himself, andfor that reason lenient with others.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNHe appeared to apologize for

being kinder than his fellows.He did merciful things as stealth-

ily as others committed crimes.Almost ashamed of tender-

ness, he said and did the noblestwords and deeds with that charm-ing confusion, that awkward-ness, that is the perfect grace ofmodesty.Asa noble man, wishing to pay

a small debt to a poor neighbor,reluctantly offers a hundred-dollarbill and asks for change, fearingthat he may be suspected either ofmaking a display of wealth or apretence of payment, so Lincolnhesitated to show his wealth ofgoodness even to the best he knew.A great man stooping, not wish-[95]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNing to make his fellows feel thatthey were small or mean.By his candor, by his kindness,

by his perfect freedom from re-straint, by saying what he thought,and saying it absolutely in his ownway, he made it not only possible,but popular, to be natural. Hewas the enemy of mock solemnity,of the stupidly respectable, of thecold and formal.He wore no official robes either

on his body or his soul. He neverpretended to be more or less, orother, or different, from what hereally was.He had the unconscious natural-

ness of Nature's self.He built upon the rock. The

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNThe structure was a pyramid,narrowing as it rose. Throughdays and nights of sorrow, throughyears of grief and pain, with un-swerving purpose, "with malicetowards none, with charity for all,'with infinite patience, with un-clouded vision, he hoped and toiled.Stone after stone was laid, untilat last the Proclamation found itsplace. On that the Goddess stands.He knew others, because per-

fectly acquainted with himself. Hecared nothing for place, but every-thing for principle ; little formoney, but everything for inde-pendence. Where no principlewas involved, easily swayed willing to go slowly, if in the rightdirection sometimes willing to[97]


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ABRAHAM LINCOLNstop ; but he would not go back,and he would not go wrong.He was willing to wait. He

knew that the event was notwaiting, and that fate was not thefool of chance. He knew thatslavery had defenders, but no de-fence, and that they who attack theright must wound themselves.He was neither tyrant nor slave.

He neither knelt nor scorned.With him, men were neithergreat nor small they were rightor wrong.Through manners, clothes, titles,

rags, and race he saw the realthat which is. Beyond accident,policy, compromise, and war hesaw the end.He was patient as Destiny,

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ABRAHAM LINCOLNwhose undecipherable hieroglyphswere so deeply graven on his sadand tragic face.

Nothing discloses real characterlike the use of power. It is easyfor the weak to be gentle. Mostpeople can bear adversity. But ifyou wish to know what a manreally is, give him power. Thisis the supreme test. It is the gloryof Lincoln that, having almostabsolute power, he never abused it,except on the side of mercy.Wealth could not purchase,

power could not awe, this divine,this loving man.He knew no fear except the fear

of doing wrong. Hating slavery,pitying the master seeking toconquer, not persons, but prejudices

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ABRAHAM LINCOLN he was the embodiment of theself-denial, the courage, the hope,and the nobility of a Nation.He spoke not to inflame, not to

upbraid, but to convince.He raised his hands, not tostrike, but in benediction.He longed to pardon.He loved to see the pearls of

joy on the cheeks of a wife whosehusband he had rescued from death.

Lincoln was the grandest figureof the fiercest civil war. He is thegentlest memory of our world.

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abraham lincoln (1907) r g ingersoll

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