Page:Reminiscences of Sixty Years in Public Affairs (Volume Two).djvu/29



HEN the Proclamation of Emancipation, of January 1, 1863, was issued, the closing sentence attracted universal attention, and in every part of the world encomiums were pronounced upon it. The words are these: “And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.” Following the appearance of the Proclamation, and stimulated, possibly, by the reception given to the sentence quoted, there appeared claimants for the verbal authorship of the passage, or for suggestions which led to its writing by Mr. Lincoln.

A claim for exact authorship was set up for Mr. Chase, and claims for suggestions in the nature of exact authorship were made in behalf of Mr. Seward and in behalf of Mr. Sumner.

The sentence quoted was furnished by Secretary Chase, after a very material alteration by the President. He introduced the words “warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity,” in place of the phrase, “and of duty demanded by the circumstances of the country,” as written by Mr. Chase.

The main credit for the introduction of the fortunate phrase is due to Secretary Chase. President Lincoln placed