The Life of Abraham Lincoln (Holland)/Chapter XXVI

On the 9th of December, 1863, Mr. Lincoln sent in his annual message to Congress, which had assembled on the seventh. It represented the country as holding satisfactory relations with foreign powers; spoke favorably of the establishment of an international telegraph across the Atlantic; referred to the movements abroad for emigration to this country, to fill the demand for labor in every field of industry; stated that the operations of the Treasury Department had been successfully conducted during the year; and gave a general historical account of the operations of the army and navy. Eleven months had passed since the final proclamation of emancipation was issued; and Mr. Lincoln took up the matter to see what progress had been made under its operations. The policy of emancipation and of the employment of black soldiers had changed the aspect of affairs; and, though it was immediately followed by dark and doubtful days, the results had vindicated its wisdom. The rebel borders had been pressed still further back; the rebel territory had been divided by the opening of the Mississippi; Tennessee and Arkansas had been substantially cleared of insurgent control; and, in these states, influential citizens were declaring openly for emancipation. Maryland and Missouri, neither of which states, three years previously, would tolerate any restraint upon the extension of slavery into new territories, were disputing only as to the best mode of removing it from their own limits. Of those who were slaves at the beginning of the rebellion, full one hundred thousand were in the military service of the United States, and about one-half of them were bearing arms in the ranks. No servile insurrection, or tendency to violence or cruelty, had marked the measures of emancipation and the arming of the blacks. The tone of public feeling abroad had improved under the influence of the policy, while the government had been encouraged and supported by elections at home. The new reckoning showed that the crisis which threatened to divide the friends of the Union was passed.

The message treated with considerable detail a question which had, from the first, been one of great importance, and which, it was seen, would grow more important with the progress of events. On the day previous to the delivery of the message, he had issued a proclamation of amnesty, to all those engaged in the rebellion who should take an oath to support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Union of the states under it, with the acts of Congress passed during the rebellion, and the proclamations of the President concerning slaves. This proclamation made certain exceptions of persons in the civil and military service of the rebel government, and of persons who had left the civil and military service of the United States to aid in the rebellion. It further declared that whenever, in any of the rebel states, a number of persons, not less than one-tenth of the qualified voters, should take this oath, and establish a state government which should be republican, it should be recognized as the true government of the state. These were the principal provisions of the proclamation; and to them the President called congressional attention.

He had issued it, he said, "looking to the present and the future, and with reference to a resumption of the national authority in the states wherein that authority had been suspended." He had given the form of an oath; but no man was coerced to take it. Men were only promised pardon in case they should voluntarily take it. Amnesty was offered, so that, if, in any of the rebel states, a state government should be set up, in the mode prescribed, it should be recognized and guaranteed by the United States, and protected against invasion and domestic violence. The following passage is his justification for prescribing the peculiar oath which he had made the condition of pardon:

"An attempt to guarantee and protect a revived state government, constructed in whole or in preponderating part from the very element against whose hostility and violence it is to be protected, is simply absurd. There must be a test by which to separate the opposing elements, so as to build only from the sound; and that test is a sufficiently liberal one which accepts as sound whoever will make a sworn recantation of his former unsoundness.  But, if it be proper to require, as a test of admission to the political body, an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and to the Union under it, why also to the laws and proclamations in regard to slavery?  Those laws and proclamations were enacted, and put forth, for the purpose of aiding in the suppression of the rebellion.  To give them their fullest effect, there had to be a pledge for their maintenance.  In my judgment, they have aided and will further aid the cause for which they were intended. To now abandon them, would be not only to relinquish a lever of power, but would also be a cruel and an astounding breach of faith. I may add, at this point, that while I remain in my present position, I shall not attempt to retract, or modify, the Emancipation Proclamation; nor shall I return to slavery any person who is free by the terms of that proclamation, or by any of the acts of Congress.

"For these and other reasons, it is thought best that support of these measures shall be included in the oath; and it is believed that the Executive may lawfully claim it, in return for pardon and restoration of forfeited rights, which he has a clear constitutional power to withhold altogether, or grant upon the terms which he shall deem wisest for the public interest. It should be observed, also, that this part of the oath is subject to the modifying and abrogating power of legislation and supreme judicial decision."

This proclamation was issued as a rallying point for those loyal or penitent elements which were believed to exist in many of the insurgent states, and which, in the confusion of plans for reconstruction, were lying dormant, and without practical advantage to the states themselves and to the government. He believed his plan of reconstruction would save labor, and avoid great confusion. On the 24th of March, 1864, he issued a supplementary and explanatory proclamation, defining more carefully the cases in which rebels were to be pardoned, and the manner in which they were to avail themselves of the benefits of the amnesty. He shut out many from the benefits of the proclamation, though he excluded none from personal application to the President for clemency.

The action of Congress during this session was not of notable importance. Important subjects were discussed at length; but they were not embodied in measures, or, rather, the measures sought to be enacted were not successfully carried through. A bill for the establishment of a Bureau of Freedmen's Affairs passed the House, but failed in the Senate; while a resolution to submit to a vote of the states an amendment of the Constitution, permanently prohibiting the existence of slavery in the states and territories of the Union, was passed by the Senate, but rejected by the House. The fugitive slave law--one of those compromise measures which were to silence the anti-slavery agitation forever, and be a final settlement of the slavery question--was repealed, with surprising ease and unanimity. A heated debate occurred upon a resolution introduced by Speaker Colfax, for the expulsion from the House of Alexander Long of Ohio, for declaring himself in favor of recognizing the rebel confederacy. A two-thirds vote being necessary for the purpose of the resolution, and this vote not being obtainable, the mover contented himself with a substitute, declaring Mr. Long an unworthy member of the House. During the discussion of the resolution, Mr. Harris of Maryland thanked God that the South had not yet been brought into subjection, and prayed God that it might not be; and straightway a resolution was introduced for his expulsion, which failed of passage by lack of the requisite two-thirds vote. He was, however, "severely censured;" and, although no extreme measures were effected in these cases, the debate had a healthy influence, in defining the boundaries of legitimate debate on the great questions which agitated the country.

An outcropping of the Missouri imbroglio showed itself above the surface during the session. General F.P. Blair resigned his seat in the House, and resumed his place in the army, at the close of a discussion introduced by one of his colleagues, who charged him with improprieties in the administration of affairs in his department. Although he cleared himself of the charges, the House called upon the President for an explanation of his restoration to command. The President gave them a reply at length, and frankly stated all the circumstances of the case. The two facts which the letter and all the correspondence in the case reveal most prominently, were, that Mr. Lincoln had a strong personal friendship for General Blair, and a firm belief in his anti-slavery principles and sentiments; and that he wished him to be where he could do the government the most good in the prosecution of the war. Mr. Lincoln's representation of the case was, that General Blair and General Schenck of Ohio, having been elected to Congress, were permitted to resign their commissions, and take their seats, with the distinct verbal understanding with the President and the Secretary of War that they might, at their pleasure, withdraw their resignations, leave their places in the House, and return to the field. It is apparent that Mr. Lincoln wished for General Blair's aid in the organization of the House, and, after that, in the field, if he could be most useful to the government there. The arrangement seems to have been a little irregular, though entered upon with the best motives. It was one of Mr. Lincoln's short cuts out of the labyrinth of "red tape," in which it was always difficult for him to walk. In a letter which he wrote to Montgomery Blair, he revealed one of the motives which actuated him in making the arrangement. "It will relieve him (the General) from a dangerous position, or a misunderstanding," said he, "as I think he is in danger of being permanently separated from those with whom only he can ever have a real sympathy--the sincere opponents of slavery."

A measure which time has proved to be of great importance was the restoration of the grade of Lieutenant-general, with reference to investing General Grant with the chief command of the armies of the United States. His appointment to this office, by the President, was an expression of the popular confidence in his devotion to the national cause, and his transcendent ability as a military man. In presenting him with his commission, Mr. Lincoln took occasion to say: "The expression of the nation's approbation of what you have already done, and its reliance on you for what remains to do, in the existing struggle, is now presented with this commission, constituting you Lieutenant-general of the armies of the United States." The modest General made a fitting response: "I feel the full weight of the responsibilities now devolving on me; and I know that, if they are met, it will be due to those armies, and above all to the favor of that Providence which leads both nations and men." Fit officer with fit superior! Two simpler-hearted, truer men than President Lincoln and Lieutenant-general Grant, have not been produced by the republic; and, in their hands, unweakened by selfish ambition, and entirely consecrated to the work of saving the country, the cause of nationality, freedom, and humanity was destined to a glorious triumph. The victories of both had been victories of character. Not brilliant gifts, but a noble spirit had made the President a mighty man. Neither the courage of the brute nor the dash of the cavalier had made General Grant a great soldier; but a devoted purpose and a will of iron had crowned him with the name and enrobed him with the prestige of the greatest general living.

An incident occurred on the 18th of April, 1864, which forcibly illustrated the progress, not only of events, but of ideas. A grand fair, for the benefit of the United States Sanitary Commission, the original and leading charity established to mitigate the immediate horrors of war, was held in Baltimore; and one of the attractions was the presence and the voice of President Lincoln. Three years had introduced and confirmed great changes. Three years before this occasion, he was obliged to pass through the city in the night, to escape assassination. Three years before, the Massachusetts Sixth, hastening to the protection of Washington, had left some of their members dead in the streets. Three years before, the whole city was seething with treason. Now, gold was pouring into the treasury of the great charity which had been established to aid the soldiers of the Union; and the President was welcomed to the city with grateful gladness.

There was a large crowd, and, in the anxiety to get a glimpse of Mr. Lincoln and to hear his voice, great confusion; but enough of his remarks have been preserved to give an idea of their drift and spirit. "Calling it to mind that we are in Baltimore," said he, "we cannot fail to note that the world moves. Looking upon the many people I see assembled here, to serve as they best may the soldiers of the Union, it occurs to me that three years ago those soldiers could not pass through Baltimore.  I would say, blessings upon the men who have wrought these changes, and the women who have assisted them!" These allusions to the changes in Baltimore were heartily applauded by the Baltimoreans; and, when he proceeded to the mention of changes which had been wrought upon the institution of slavery, the applause was still more hearty and enthusiastic. Maryland had practically abolished the institution; and the President thanked her for what she had done and what she was doing.

A month or two later, the President attended another fair of the Sanitary Commission at Philadelphia. Of course, these movements were not entered upon to gratify a love of excitement or a desire for display, but to manifest his friendliness to the beneficent purposes of the commission. Here a grand supper was given; and, in response to a toast, Mr. Lincoln made a brief speech. Opening with an allusion to the terrors and burdens of war, he spoke of the two great associations which had done so much to relieve the soldier, in the field and in the hospital, and paid a grateful tribute to the ministry of woman in the great work of alleviating the suffering of the army. Speaking of the generous outpouring of means for sustaining these charities, he said: "They are voluntary contributions, giving proof that the national resources are not at all exhausted, and that the national patriotism will sustain us through all." Here, as always and everywhere, the war was uppermost in his mind. "It is a pertinent question," said he, "When is the war to end? I do not wish to name a day when it will end, lest the end should not come at the given time.  We accepted the war, and did not begin it.  We accepted it for an object, and, when that object is accomplished, the war will end; and I hope to God it will never end until that object is accomplished.  We are going through with our task, so far as I am concerned, if it takes us three years longer.  I have not been in the habit of making predictions, but I am almost tempted now to hazard one.  It is, that Grant is this evening in a position, with Meade and Hancock of Pennsylvania, whence he can never be dislodged by the enemy, until Richmond is taken." Events that wait to be recounted verified the President's prediction.

A fair for the benefit of the soldiers, held at the Patent Office, in Washington, called out Mr. Lincoln as an interested visitor; and he was not permitted to retire without giving a word to those in attendance. "In this extraordinary war," said he, "extraordinary developments have manifested themselves, such as have not been seen in former wars; and among these manifestations nothing has been more remarkable than these fairs for the relief of suffering soldiers and their families. And the chief agents in these fairs are the women of America.  I am not accustomed to the use of language of eulogy; I have never studied the art of paying compliments to women; but I must say that if all that has been said by orators and poets, since the creation of the world, in praise of women, were applied to the women of America, it would not do them justice for their conduct during this war.  I will close by saying, God bless the women of America!"

The government was pledged to the protection of its black soldiers. The President felt that the matter involved many difficulties, for the government was not always able to protect them. When these soldiers were shown no quarter in battle, or when, as prisoners, they were killed or enslaved by the infuriated and unscrupulous foe, he who could not prevent his white soldiers from starving to death in rebel prisons, could hardly protect the colored soldiers from the indignities which rebel policy and rebel spite inflicted upon them. But he did what he could. As early as July 30th, 1863, he issued an order declaring that: "The government of the United States will give the same protection to all its soldiers; and, if the enemy shall sell or enslave anyone, because of his color, the offense shall be punished by retaliation upon the enemy's prisoners in our possession." Proceeding, he definitely ordered, "that for every soldier of the United States killed in violation of the laws of war, a rebel soldier should (shall) be executed; and for every one enslaved by the enemy, or sold into slavery, a rebel soldier should (shall) be placed at hard labor on the public works, and continued at such labor until the other should (shall) be released, or receive such treatment as was (is, or may be) due to a prisoner of war." This matter of retaliation was brought up during Mr. Lincoln's speech at the Baltimore Fair, to which allusion has been made in this chapter. He had just heard the rumor of the massacre of black soldiers and white officers at Fort Pillow. His mind was full of the horrible event; and, as his custom was, he spoke of that which interested him most. The public thought the government was not doing its whole duty in this matter. For the measure which put the black man into the war, he declared himself responsible to the American people, the future historian, and, above all, to God; and he declared that the black soldier ought to have, and should have, the same protection given to the white soldier. His closing words were:

"'It is an error to say that the government is not acting in this matter. The government has no direct evidence to confirm the reports in existence relative to this massacre, but I believe the facts in relation to it to be as stated. When the government does know the facts from official sources, and they prove to substantiate the reports, retribution will be surely given. What is reported, I think, will make a clear case.  If it is not true, then all such stories are to be considered as false.  If proved to be true, when the matter shall be thoroughly examined, what shape is to be given to the retribution?  Can we take the man who was captured at Vicksburg, and shoot him for the victim of this massacre?  If it should happen that it was the act of only one man, what course is to be pursued then?  It is a matter requiring careful examination and deliberation; and, if it shall be substantiated by sufficient evidence, all may rest assured that retribution will be had.'"

And now we leave these minor matters, for the consideration of great and decisive events, concerning alike the life of Mr. Lincoln and the life of the nation.