LINCOLN.
"Since the November of 1860 his horizon has been black with storms. By
day and by night, he trod a way of danger and darkness. On his shoulders
rested a government dearer to him than his own life ... Even he who now
sleeps has, by this event, been clothed with new influence. Dead, he
speaks to men who now willingly hear what before they refused to listen
to ... Four years ago, O Illinois, we took from your midst an untried
man and from among the people. We return him to you a mighty conqueror.
Not thine any more, but the nation's; not ours, but the world's."
_Henry Ward Beecher_, _April_ 16, 1865.
In 1860 the curtain rolled up on the beginning of the last act in the
great drama of the struggle between Freedom and Slavery. Because of the
events already narrated, a division in the Democratic Party was almost
certain if Douglas persisted in being a candidate, and that division
would mean the success of the Republican Party. A greater anxiety and
fear than perhaps ever before or since in the history of the country
pervaded the political situation in the early months of 1860. What would
transpire at the Conventions of the great parties? All eyes turned to
the first Convention, that of the Democratic Party, which assembled at
Charleston, S. C., April 23, 1860. Senator Douglas was a candidate.
There was almost an immediate disagreement on the slavery question, and
a group of extreme Southern Democrats, unable to agree with their
Northern brethren who adopted a Douglas platform, withdrew from the
Convention. This first group of seceders held a separate meeting, and
after adopting a Platform, adjourned to meet at Richmond, Va., on June
11th. In the main Convention opposition to Douglas was still strong, and
after fifty-seven ballots, without being able to nominate any candidate,
the main Convention adjourned to meet at Baltimore on June 18th. The
bolters from the Charleston Convention met in Richmond on June 11th, but
immediately adjourned again until June 28th, which was to be ten days
after the adjourned meeting of the main Convention. The main Convention
duly assembled at Baltimore on June 18th, and as it was apparent that
Douglas would be nominated, there was another withdrawal of Southern
Democrats accompanied by some of their Northern brethren. Those who
remained nominated Stephen A. Douglas for President and Benjamin
Fitzpatrick of Alabama for Vice-President. Mr. Fitzpatrick afterwards
declined, and the National Democratic Committee named Herschel V.
Johnson, of Georgia, for Vice-President. The second group of bolters
unanimously nominated John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, for President,
and Joseph Lane, of Oregon, for Vice-President, and adopted the platform
which had been agreed upon by the bolters from the Charleston
Convention. The Charleston bolters, when they met again on June 28th,
ratified the nominations of Breckinridge and Lane. The Douglas
Democratic platform affirmed the Cincinnati platform of 1856, and stated
that the party would abide by the decision of the Supreme Court on
questions of Constitutional Law, and it denounced the Personal Liberty
Laws as revolutionary. The Breckinridge Democratic platform also adopted
the Cincinnati platform, but with explanatory resolutions to the effect
that neither Congress or any Territorial Legislature had a right to
interfere with slavery, pending the formation of a State Constitution,
and that it was the duty of the Federal Government to protect slavery at
all times. This platform also denounced the Personal Liberty Laws. The
Democratic Party had won in 1856 on an ambiguous plank in their
platform, relating to slavery in the Territories, that enabled them to
secure votes in the North and South by arguments irreconcilable with the
political thought of the two sections, and now, in 1860, they were
dissipating their strength by disagreeing on an explanation among
themselves of that ambiguous plank; it was a just political retribution.
A temporary political party appeared in 1860, known as the
Constitutional Union Party; their convention was held at Baltimore on
May 9th, and John Bell, of Tennessee, was named for President, and
Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, for Vice-President. The Platform of
this party declared for "The Constitution of the country, the Union of
the States and the enforcement of the Laws." It was an attempt to divert
the voters from the geographical and sectional parties, and polled a
large popular vote.
The second Republican National Convention convened at Chicago on
Wednesday, May 16, 1860, in the "Wigwam," a vast pine board structure
specially built for the occasion by the Chicago Republican Club. The
split in the Democratic Party, although the adjourned sessions of that
Party had not yet been held, gave increased hope of Republican success
this year, and it was felt by a great majority of the delegates and
spectators that the Convention would name the next President of the
United States. This strong probability added an importance and dignity,
not unmingled with awe, to the work of the Convention. Edwin D. Morgan,
of New York, called the Convention to order and faced an audience of
about ten thousand people, only four hundred and sixty-six of whom were
delegates. All of the free States were represented, as well as Delaware,
Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Texas and Virginia, and the Territories of
Kansas and Nebraska and the District of Columbia. Mr. Morgan named David
Wilmot for Temporary Chairman, and committees on Permanent Organization,
on Credentials, and on Rules were then severally appointed. George
Ashmun, of Massachusetts, was reported a Chairman of the Convention, and
one Vice-President and one Secretary from each State and Territory were
named. A Platform Committee was then appointed, after which the
Convention decided, after some debate over the admission of "delegates"
from the Slave States, some of whom had never seen their States, to
admit all delegates, and this included Horace Greeley, "of Oregon," who
had not desired and had not been sent with the New York delegation. A
virtual attempt to fasten the two-thirds nominating rule on the
Convention was defeated, and it was decided that a majority of the whole
number of votes should nominate. Judge William Jessup, of Pennsylvania,
reported the platform, and it was adopted with the utmost enthusiasm.
The platform on which Mr. Lincoln was elected should be read by every
Republican and every citizen interested in the history and development
of the nation.
REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1860.
_Resolved_, That we, the delegated representatives of the Republican
electors of the United States, in convention assembled, in discharge
of the duty we owe to our constituents and our country, unite in the
following declarations:
1. That the history of the nation during the last four years has fully
established the propriety and necessity of the organization and
perpetuation of the Republican party, and that the causes which called
it into existence are permanent in their nature, and now, more than ever
before, demand its peaceful and constitutional triumph.
2. That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration
of Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution, "That all men
are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,"
is essential to the preservation of our republican institutions; and
that the Federal Constitution, the rights of the states, and the union
of the states must and shall be preserved.
3. That to the union of the states this nation owes its unprecedented
increase in population, its surprising development of material
resources, its rapid augmentation of wealth, its happiness at home and
its honor abroad; and we hold in abhorrence all schemes for disunion,
come from whatever source they may; and we congratulate the country that
no Republican member of Congress has uttered or countenanced the threats
of disunion so often made by Democratic members, without rebuke and with
applause from their political associates; and we denounce those threats
of disunion, in case of a popular overthrow of their ascendancy, as
denying the vital principles of free government, and as an avowal of
contemplated treason, which it is the imperative duty of an indignant
people sternly to rebuke and forever silence.
4. That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the states, and
especially the right of each state to order and control its own domestic
institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to
that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our
political fabric depends; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed
force of the soil of any state or territory, no matter under what
pretext, as among the gravest of crimes.
5. That the present Democratic administration has far exceeded our worst
apprehensions, in its measureless subserviency to the exactions of a
sectional interest, as especially evinced in its desperate exertions to
force the infamous Lecompton constitution upon the protesting people of
Kansas; in construing the personal relations between master and servant
to involve an unqualified property in persons; in its attempted
enforcement everywhere, on land and sea, through the intervention of
Congress and of the federal courts, of the extreme pretensions of a
purely local interest; and in its general and unvarying abuse of the
power intrusted to it by a confiding people.
6. That the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance
which pervades every department of the federal government; that a return
to rigid economy and accountability is indispensable to arrest the
systematic plunder of the public treasury by favored partisans, while
the recent startling developments of frauds and corruptions at the
federal metropolis show that an entire change of administration is
imperatively demanded.
7. That the new dogma--that the Constitution, of its own force, carries
slavery into any or all of the territories of the United States--is a
dangerous political heresy, at variance with the explicit provisions of
that instrument itself, with contemporaneous exposition, and with
legislative and judicial precedent; is revolutionary in its tendency and
subversive of the peace and harmony of the country.
8. That the normal condition of all the territory of the United States
is that of freedom; that, as our republican fathers, when they had
abolished slavery in all our national territory, ordained that "no
person should be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due
process of law," it becomes our duty, by legislation, whenever such
legislation is necessary, to maintain this provision of the Constitution
against all attempts to violate it; and we deny the authority of
Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to give
legal existence to slavery in any territory of the United States.
9. That we brand the recent reopening of the African slave trade, under
the cover of our national flag, aided by perversions of judicial power,
as a crime against humanity and a burning shame to our country and age;
and we call upon Congress to take prompt and efficient measures for the
total and final suppression of that execrable traffic.
10. That in the recent vetoes, by their federal governors, of the acts
of the legislatures of Kansas and Nebraska, prohibiting slavery in those
territories, we find a practical illustration of the boasted Democratic
principle of non-intervention and popular sovereignity, embodied in the
Kansas-Nebraska bill, and a demonstration of the deception and fraud
involved therein.
11. That Kansas should of right be immediately admitted as a state under
the constitution recently formed and adopted by her people and accepted
by the House of Representatives.
12. That, while providing revenue for the support of the general
government by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an
adjustment of these imposts as to encourage the development of the
industrial interests of the whole country; and we commend that policy
of national exchanges which secures to the workingmen liberal wages,
to agriculture remunerative prices, to mechanics and manufacturers
an adequate reward for their skill, labor and enterprise, and to
the nation commercial prosperity and independence.
13. That we protest against any sale or alienation to others of the
public lands held by actual settlers, and against any view of the
free-homestead policy which regards the settlers as paupers or
suppliants for public bounty; and we demand the passage by Congress
of the complete and satisfactory homestead measure which has already
passed the House.
14. That the Republican party is opposed to any change in our
naturalization laws, or any state legislation by which the rights of
citizens hitherto accorded to immigrants from foreign lands shall be
abridged or impaired; and in favor of giving a full and efficient
protection to the rights of all classes of citizens, whether native or
naturalized, both at home and abroad.
15. That appropriations by Congress for river and harbor improvements of
a national character, required for the accommodation and security of an
existing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution and justified by
the obligation of government to protect the lives and property of its
citizens.
16. That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean is imperatively demanded by
the interests of the whole country; that the federal government ought
to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction; and that,
as preliminary thereto, a daily overland mail should be promptly
established.
17. Finally having set forth our distinctive principles and views, we
invite the co-operation of all citizens, however differing on other
questions, who substantially agree with us in their affirmance and
support.
An exciting incident occurred when Joshua R. Giddings moved to embrace
the principles of the Declaration of Independence in the platform, and,
when voted down, withdrew from the Convention; but what he proposed was
afterwards accomplished by George William Curtis, of New York, and
became the second plank of the platform, and Mr. Giddings returned to
the Convention.
Two days were consumed in organizing and adopting the platform. The
second night of the Convention, that which intervened between Thursday
and Friday, was given up to remarkable exertions in behalf of the
several candidates. William H. Seward, of New York, was the most
prominent candidate before the Convention, and would probably have been
named had the nominations been made on the first or second day of the
Convention. The other candidates were Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois;
Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania; Salmon P. Chase and John McLean, of
Ohio; Edward Bates, of Missouri; William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, and
Jacob Collamer, of Vermont. There was a strong opposition to Mr. Seward,
based on the ground of his availability, as it was felt by Henry S.
Lane, of Indiana, and A. G. Curtin, of Pennsylvania, who were the
candidates for Governor in their respective States, that Mr. Seward
could not carry those States. Mr. Greeley was also doing his utmost to
defeat Mr. Seward, but was advocating the nomination of Edward Bates, of
Missouri. The Illinois delegation had been instructed for Mr. Lincoln,
and soon added Indiana to his support, and they also obtained promises
of a majority vote of the New Hampshire, Virginia and Kentucky
delegations on the first ballot, with some scattering votes from other
States. Mr. Lincoln's candidacy was very promising, but not entirely
certain of success, as, to many, the strength of Mr. Seward appeared
invincible; but Mr. Lincoln's supporters were certain that if he could
obtain a good vote on the first ballot it would be largely increased on
the second ballot by votes from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Vermont. On the
third day of the Convention, Friday morning, May 18th, the nominations
were made. William M. Evarts presented the name of William H. Seward,
and was immediately followed by Norman B. Judd, of Illinois, who
nominated Mr. Lincoln. Others were named, and a number of seconding
speeches were made, Mr. Lincoln's name being seconded by Caleb B. Smith,
of Indiana, and Columbus Delano, of Ohio. The cheers and noisy
enthusiasm which attended the various speeches were terrifying in
volume, and it was apparent that the Lincoln shouters had the advantage
in volume of sound, and the influence of the vast assemblage and the
great pressure of environment unquestionably increased Mr. Lincoln's
chances for the nomination. The balloting began and proceeded amid
intense excitement; two hundred and thirty-three votes were necessary to
a choice, and three ballots were taken, with the following result:
1st 2d 3d
Ballot. Ballot. Ballot.
Seward ......... 173-1/2 184-1/2 180
Lincoln ........ 102 181 231-1/2
Cameron ........ 50-1/2 2
Chase .......... 49 42-1/2 24-1/2
Bates .......... 48 35 22
Dayton ......... 14 10
McLean ......... 12 8 5
Collamer ....... 10
Scattering votes were also cast for Benjamin F. Wade, John M. Reed,
Charles Sumner, John C. Fremont, and Cassius M. Clay.
At the completion of the third ballot, Mr. Lincoln lacked one and
one-half votes of the nomination. There was a momentary lull, and then
David K. Cartter, of Ohio, mounted his seat, caught the attention of the
Chairman, and, in the breathless excitement, announced that Ohio changed
four votes from Mr. Chase to Mr. Lincoln. There was a moment's silence
until it could all be appreciated, and then pandemonium for more than
twenty minutes. The immense crowd outside the "Wigwam" was soon apprised
of the result and the news spread like wildfire. Mr. Evarts moved the
nomination be made unanimous.
There were two prominent candidates for Vice-President, Hannibal Hamlin,
of Maine, and Cassius M. Clay, of Kentucky. Others mentioned for this
honor were John Hickman and Andrew H. Reeder, of Pennsylvania, and
Nathaniel P. Banks, of Massachusetts. Two ballots were taken, and Mr.
Hamlin was nominated on the second:
1st Ballot. 2d Ballot.
Hamlin ..... 194 367
Clay ....... 101-1/2 86
Hickman .... 58 13
Reeder ..... 51
Banks ...... 38
Others who received complimentary votes on the first ballot were
Samuel Houston, William L. Dayton, Henry W. Davis, John M. Reed,
Andrew H. Reeder and John Hickman.
During the entire Convention Mr. Lincoln remained at Springfield; there
he received the telegraphic news of his nomination, and thither went the
Notification Committee, composed of many brilliant men, most of whom had
never met him. On May 23d Mr. Lincoln wrote an admirable letter of
acceptance, and the campaign was on in earnest, notwithstanding that the
Democrats had not yet presented their ticket. In the Western States,
where his name and history appealed to the people, Mr. Lincoln's
nomination was received with the utmost delight; but in the Eastern
States the first feeling over the defeat of Mr. Seward was one of bitter
disappointment, but Mr. Seward and the other great leaders promptly and
manfully gave their whole support to Mr. Lincoln, and there was never
any question that the party would not be united in his support. The
Democratic press vented its snobbishness by constant articles calling
attention to Mr. Lincoln's poverty, and asserting that he was not a
gentleman, and had "never traveled and had no pedigree."
The Republican Campaign of 1860 consisted of a liberal use of political
literature and of a systematic stumping of the country by the great men
of the party, prominent among whom were Seward, Schurz, Clay, Greeley,
Stevens, and many others, and hundreds of other Republican speakers of
less prominence who traversed the Northern States. Bands of
"Wide-Awakes" were organized everywhere in the North and participated in
the parades with torches and a simple uniform. There were many great
State rallies for the Republican ticket. In the North it was apparent
that the vote would be cast for either Lincoln, Douglas or Bell, and in
the slave States for Breckinridge. From the end of May to November the
work went on and the Republicans gained rapidly in strength,
notwithstanding the threats of the South to secede if the Federal
Government should ever pass into the "treacherous hands of the Black
Republican Party." Mr. Lincoln remained at Springfield during the entire
campaign, going about his usual affairs, and meeting the hundreds of
curious and otherwise who came to see him. He maintained a strict
silence on the great problem of the hour, but watched the campaign
closely, and often gave sound advice to the managers. On August 8th the
greatest State rally held in the North took place at Springfield, and it
was estimated that fully 75,000 people were present.
After some desperate campaigning Senator Douglas gave up all hope of
success, and announced that he would go South to urge upon all the duty
of submitting to the result of the election, and he steadfastly asserted
his intention of standing by the Union.
The only danger was that Mr. Lincoln might not receive a majority of the
electoral vote, which would throw the election into the House of
Representatives, but this was dispelled when Pennsylvania and Indiana
went Republican in October, and the result of the election on November
6th was conceded. Mr. Lincoln received the electoral votes of
California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, all Northern States,
and casting 180 out of 303 electoral votes. Breckinridge carried
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, all slave States,
and casting seventy-two electoral votes. Bell carried Kentucky,
Tennessee and Virginia, thirty-nine votes; and Douglas only carried one
State, Missouri, with nine votes, but also received three of the seven
votes of New Jersey, the remainder going to Mr. Lincoln. The popular
vote was as follows:
Lincoln ........... 1,866,352 Breckinridge ........ 847,514
Douglas ........... 1,375,157 Bell ................ 587,830
This does not include the popular vote of South Carolina, where the
electors were chosen by the Legislature.
[Illustration: Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861.]
The Slave Power lost no time in carrying into effect its threats of
disunion. South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860, and by the end of
the year had seized the United States arsenals and other government
property in the State, but Fort Sumter was not molested. By February,
1861, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas had
also withdrawn. Virginia did not secede until April 17th. On February
4th a Confederate Congress met at Montgomery, Alabama, and on February
9th Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, became President, and Alexander H.
Stephens, of Georgia, became Vice-President of the Confederate States of
America.
The breaking up of the Union did not go on without some attempts at
compromising the situation, but all such efforts failed. The House and
the Senate appointed special committees, who were either unable to agree
or whose conclusions were not adopted. On December 18th the Crittenden
Compromise Measures were introduced, and after long debate were rejected
March 2, 1861. Dramatic withdrawals from Congress were made by the
Southern Senators and Representatives, and this enabled Kansas to be
admitted, on January 29, 1861, as a free State.
Far from attempting to stop this breaking up of the Union, Buchanan's
Administration did everything it could to aid it. Treason ran free in
Washington; the Navy was scattered and rendered unavailable; the Army
was demoralized, and thousands of stands of arms and other military
equipment were removed from the Northern arsenals and sent South; and
President Buchanan, through his Cabinet, announced the remarkable
doctrine that any State could strike at the Union, appropriate the arms
and property of the Government, and that nothing could be done to stop
it. It was not treason for South Carolina to act as she did, but it
would be treason to attempt to stop her course.
Such was the situation when Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4,
1861; seven States were out of the Union, a Southern Confederacy had
been established with an organized Government, and its President
inaugurated; the Army and Navy were crippled, the Treasury drained, and
treason and assassination threatened on all sides. From the east portico
of the Capitol, with Senator Douglas standing behind holding Mr.
Lincoln's hat, the President delivered his first Inaugural Speech. Calm,
clear, wise and firm were the words. It concluded, "I am loath to close.
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion
may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic
cords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to
every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet
swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will
be, by the better angel of our nature."
The bombardment of Ft. Sumter, which began on the morning of April 12,
1861, was the event that unified both the North and the South, and
henceforth the issue was to be decided solely by War. In the North,
party lines were forgotten, and the President received promises of
hearty support on all sides. On April 15th, the President declared the
South to be in a state of rebellion, and called for 75,000 troops to
recover the Government forts and property, and also called an
extraordinary session of Congress, to meet on July 4th. This history is
not directly concerned with the trying and bloody events of the Civil
War. The tremendous strain on President Lincoln during this period
perhaps will never be fully appreciated by the generations which follow
it; it was all a horrible nightmare through which the country safely
passed under the guidance of President Lincoln and the Republican Party.
On April 16, 1862, Slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia,
and on June 19th was forever prohibited in the Territories. On September
22d President Lincoln issued his preliminary Proclamation of
Emancipation, declaring all slaves forever free in territory which might
still be in rebellion on January 1, 1863. This act, and what was
believed to be the failure of the Administration in conducting the War,
turned thousands of Democrats in the North away from the President, and
in the Fall elections of 1862 large Democratic gains were made. Ohio,
Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey and Wisconsin went
Democratic; New York elected a Democratic Governor, Horatio Seymour; but
New England, the Border States and the Western States not mentioned,
stood firm for the President, and the Administration was assured of a
good working majority in the House.
Before passing to the presidential campaign of 1864, mention must be
made of several great legislative acts of the Republican Party during
the first few years of its control of the Government. The Morrill
Protective Tariff Bill was made a law on March 2, 1861, and became the
foundation of the Republican Tariff Bills of later years; the Legal
Tender Act of February 25, 1862, was a great turning point in the
financial history of the nation; the Homestead Act of May 20, 1862,
opened up the western country to actual settlers, and contributed
greatly to the development of the West; the Internal Revenue Act of July
1, 1862, and a National Banking system, established by the Act of
February 25, 1863, were most important, the latter removing the conflict
between the national currency and the currency of the state banks, and
marked the beginning of a sound and stable financial system, the
importance of which, in the remarkable physical development of the
country, cannot be too strongly asserted.
Although throughout 1863 a strong radical element in the Republican
Party worked against the renomination of President Lincoln in 1864, on
the ground of his alleged timidity in handling the question of the Civil
War, this movement gradually dwindled in strength and had almost
disappeared with the opening of the presidential year of 1864, when an
election was to be held with a war in progress and the country divided.
Throughout the winter of 1863 and 1864 Mr. Chase made active efforts to
secure the presidential nomination, but the Ohio Legislature demanded
Mr. Lincoln's renomination, and Mr. Chase had to withdraw. State
Legislatures throughout the North now demanded the renomination of the
President, and they were joined in their resolutions by large numbers of
clubs and public meetings, and it was apparent to those in the party who
were antagonistic to the President that no other candidate would have
any chance. But the Copperhead element was still rampant, and the
Democrats denounced the President in unmeasured terms, declaring the war
to be a failure, and demanding peace.
The radical element of the Republican Party held their Convention first,
at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 31, 1864, and nominated John C. Fremont for
President and John Cochrane for Vice-President, but these candidates
withdrew on September 2d, and no further notice of this meeting is
necessary. The regular Republican Convention, or National Union
Convention, as it was called, was held at Baltimore on June 7 and 8,
1864, in the Front Street Theater. The Convention was again called to
order by Edwin B. Morgan, of New York, who, after a short speech,
proposed the name of Robert J. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, for temporary
Chairman. Mr. Breckinridge accepted the honor, and said that he did not
enter the deliberations of the Convention as a Republican, nor as a Whig
or Democrat, but as a Union man. There was some debate over the seating
of loyal delegates from the Confederate States, which was settled by
admitting them; thirty-one States, including eight of the slave States,
were represented. The usual committees on Credentials, Permanent
Organization and Resolutions were appointed. The Committee reported the
name of William Dennison, of Ohio, for permanent Chairman. The platform
was reported by Henry J. Raymond, of New York, and enthusiastically
adopted. The Republican Platform of 1864, framed while a great Civil War
was in progress, is a most interesting document.
REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1864.
1. _Resolved_, That it is the highest duty of every American citizen to
maintain against all their enemies the integrity of the Union and the
paramount authority of the Constitution and laws of the United States;
and that, laying aside all differences of political opinion, we pledge
ourselves as Union men, animated by a common sentiment and aiming at a
common object, to do everything in our power to aid the government in
quelling by force of arms the rebellion now raging against its
authority, and in bringing to the punishment due to their crimes the
rebels and traitors arrayed against it.
2. _Resolved_, That we approve the determination of the government of
the United States not to compromise with rebels, or to offer them any
terms of peace except such as may be based upon an unconditional
surrender of their hostility and a return to their just allegiance to
the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that we call upon
the government to maintain this position and to prosecute the war with
the utmost possible vigor, to the complete suppression of the rebellion,
in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing patriotism, the heroic valor,
and the undying devotion of the American people to the country and its
free institutions.
3. _Resolved_, That as slavery was the cause and now constitutes the
strength of this rebellion, and as it must be always and everywhere
hostile to the principles of republican government, justice and the
national safety demand its utter and complete extirpation from the soil
of the republic; and that while we uphold and maintain the acts and
proclamations by which the government, in its own defense, has aimed a
death-blow at this gigantic evil, we are in favor, furthermore, of such
an amendment to the Constitution, to be made by the people in conformity
with its provisions, as shall terminate and forever prohibit the
existence of slavery within the limits of the jurisdiction of the United
States.
4. _Resolved_, That the thanks of the American people are due to the
soldiers and sailors of the army and navy who have periled their lives
in defense of the country and in vindication of the honor of its flag;
that the nation owes to them some permanent recognition of their
patriotism and their valor, and ample and permanent provision for those
of their survivors who have received disabling and honorable wounds in
the service of the country; and that the memories of those who have
fallen in its defense shall be held in grateful and everlasting
remembrance.
5. _Resolved_, That we approve and applaud the practical wisdom, the
unselfish patriotism, and the unswerving fidelity to the Constitution
and the principles of American liberty with which Abraham Lincoln has
discharged, under circumstances of unparalleled difficulty, the great
duties and responsibilities of the presidential office; that we approve
and indorse, as demanded by the emergency and essential to the
preservation of the nation, and as within the provisions of the
Constitution, the measures and acts which he has adopted to defend the
nation against its open and secret foes; that we approve especially the
proclamation of emancipation and the employment as Union soldiers of men
heretofore held in slavery; and that we have full confidence in his
determination to carry these and all other constitutional measures
essential to the salvation of the country into full and complete effect.
6. _Resolved_, That we deem it essential to the general welfare that
harmony should prevail in the national councils, and we regard as worthy
of public confidence and official trust those only who cordially indorse
the principles proclaimed in these resolutions, and which should
characterize the administration of the government.
7. _Resolved_, That the government owes to all men employed in its
armies, without regard to distinction of color, the full protection of
the laws of war; and that any violation of these laws, or of the usages
of civilized nations in time of war, by the rebels now in arms, should
be made the subject of prompt and full redress.
8. _Resolved_, That foreign immigration, which in the past has added so
much to the wealth, development of resources, and increase of power to
the nation--the asylum of the oppressed of all nations--should be
fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy.
9. _Resolved_, That we are in favor of the speedy construction of the
railroad to the Pacific coast.
10. _Resolved_, That the national faith, pledged for the redemption of
the public debt, must be kept inviolate, and that for this purpose we
recommend economy and rigid responsibility in the public expenditures,
and a vigorous and just system of taxation; and that it is the duty of
every loyal state to sustain the credit and promote the use of the
national currency.
11. _Resolved_, That we approve the position taken by the government,
that the people of the United States can never regard with indifference
the attempt of any European power to overthrow by force, or to supplant
by fraud, the institutions of any republican government on the western
continent; and that they will view with extreme jealousy, as menacing to
the peace and independence of their own country the efforts of any such
power to obtain new footholds for monarchial governments, sustained by
foreign military force, in near proximity to the United States.
After the adoption of the platform, Simon Cameron introduced a
resolution declaring for Lincoln and Hamlin as the unanimous choice of
the Convention for President and Vice-President; but this resolution was
divided so that the Convention could vote separately on the two offices.
On the first ballot Mr. Lincoln received the vote of every delegation
except Missouri, which voted for Ulysses S. Grant, but changed
immediately as soon as the ballot had been announced, and made Mr.
Lincoln's nomination unanimous. The interest of the delegation and the
spectators throughout the Convention had been centered on the nomination
for Vice-President. A number of names were mentioned, the most prominent
being Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, and
Daniel S. Dickinson, of New York. Mr. Johnson was a War Democrat. The
sentiment in the Convention was in favor of recognizing this element in
the party, and Mr. Johnson was nominated on the first ballot; the vote
as cast gave Johnson 200, Hamlin 150, Dickinson 108, and 61 scattering
votes, but before the final result was announced many changes were made,
and the final vote stood, Johnson 490, Dickinson 17, Hamlin 9.
[Illustration: From New York Herald, Saturday, April 15, 1865.]
The Democratic Convention did not meet until August 29th; George B.
McClellan, of New Jersey, was nominated for President, and George H.
Pendleton, of Ohio, for Vice-President. The platform called Mr.
Lincoln's Administration "four years of failure to restore the Union by
the experiment of war," and demanded immediate efforts for cessation of
hostilities and for peace. Gen. McClellan accepted the nomination, but
repudiated the platform, saying, "I could not look in the faces of my
gallant comrades of the Army and Navy and tell them that their labors
and the sacrifice of so many of our slain and wounded brethren had been
in vain." The candidate was nobler than the party.
The President's homely expression, "It is not wise to swap horses while
crossing a stream," was the basis of the great trend of political
thought in the North, and there was little doubt of the result, although
an animated campaign was conducted. The great military victories of the
Union forces made the position of the President's opponents absurd. At
the election on November 8, 1864, Lincoln and Johnson carried twenty-two
States, receiving 212 of the total electoral vote of 233. McClellan and
Pendleton carried three States, Delaware, Kentucky and New Jersey. The
popular vote, including the Army vote (many States having made provision
for taking the vote of the soldiers in the field), was, Lincoln
2,330,552, McClellan 1,835,985. Eleven States did not vote at this
election.
The Government was now making rapid strides for the complete abolition
of slavery. In June, 1864, the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was repealed;
in July the Coastwise Slave Trade was forever prohibited, and on January
31, 1865, the Joint Resolution proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the
Constitution, abolishing slavery, passed the House.
On March 4, 1865, President Lincoln was inaugurated for the second time.
The beautiful words closing his inaugural will live forever: "With
malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as
God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we
are in, to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have
borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with
all Nations."
Gen. Lee surrendered to Gen. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia,
on April 9, 1865. On April 14th, the Stars and Stripes were again raised
over Ft. Sumter, and the glad news swept over the North that the war was
over. On the same evening the President was shot in Ford's Theater by
John Wilkes Booth, and died the next morning. "Now he belongs to the
ages," said Stanton, at the death-bed. The death of the President meant
that Andrew Johnson, a War Democrat, would be made President, and from
the overwhelming shock of Mr. Lincoln's death the Republicans turned
with misgiving and fear to the new Executive.