the Emancipation Proclamation was submitted to the Cabinet, Mr. Chase
remarked,--
"This paper is one of the utmost importance, greater than any state
paper ever made by this government. A paper of so much importance, and
involving the liberties of so many people, ought, I think, to make some
reference to the Deity. I do not observe anything of the kind in it."
Lincoln said, "No; I overlooked it. Some reference to the Deity must be
inserted. Mr. Chase, won't you make a draft of what you think ought to
be inserted?"
Mr. Chase promised to do so, and at the next meeting presented the
following:
"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."
When Lincoln read the paragraph, Mr. Chase said, "You may not approve
it, but I thought this or something like it would be appropriate."
Lincoln replied, "I do approve it; it cannot be bettered, and I will
adopt it in the very words you have written."
The reader has perceived from these pages the strength and the weakness
of Abraham Lincoln. His errors were due to mercy and not to malice; to
prudence and not to thoughtlessness or pride; to deliberation and not
to recklessness. Perhaps he might have shortened the war by removing
McClellan and placing in command of the armies before Richmond a
commander of greater force and energy; perhaps he might have abolished
human bondage by earlier action, as demanded by the antislavery element
in the North; but who can tell what disasters might have been caused by
impetuous action? If Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan had been at his side
at the beginning of the war, history might have been different.
But who is so perfect or so wise as to judge Abraham Lincoln?
His greatest fault was his inability to suppress his sympathies. He
once said, "If I have one vice, it is not being able to say 'No.' And I
consider it a vice. Thank God for not making me a woman. I presume if He
had He would have made me just as ugly as I am, and nobody would ever
have tempted me."
On another occasion he said, "Some of our generals complain that I
impair discipline and encourage insubordination in the army by my
pardons and respites; but it rests me after a hard day's work if I can
find some good cause for saving a man's life; and I go to bed happy as I
think how joyous the signing of my name will make him and his family and
his friends."
And with a happy smile beaming upon his careworn face, he again signed
his name that saved another life. It was his theory that when a man is
sincerely penitent for his misdeeds and gives satisfactory evidence of
it, he can safely be pardoned.
An old lady came to him with tears in her eyes to express her gratitude
for the pardon of her son, a truant soldier.
"Good-by, Mr. Lincoln," she said; "I shall probably never see you again
until we meet in heaven."
He was deeply moved. He took her right hand in both of his and said, "I
am afraid with all my troubles I shall never get to that resting-place
you speak of; but if I do, I am sure I shall find you. That you wish
me to get there is, I believe, the best wish you could make for me.
Good-by."
To his oldest and most intimate friend he said, "Speed, die when I may,
I want it said of me by those who know me best, that I always plucked a
thistle and planted a flower when I thought a flower would grow."
His greatness consisted not in his eloquence as an orator, nor his
shrewdness as a lawyer, nor his tact as a diplomatist, nor his genius
in planning and directing military affairs, nor his executive ability,
but in his absolute self-control, his unselfishness, the full maturity
of his wisdom, the strength of his convictions, his sound judgment, his
absolute integrity, his unwavering adherence to the principles of truth,
justice, and honor, his humanity, his love of country, his sublime faith
in the people and in Republican institutions. He was without malice or
the spirit of resentment, without envy or jealousy, and he suppressed
his passions to a degree beyond that of most men. He entered the
Presidency with an inadequate conception of his own responsibilities,
but when he saw his duty he did it with courage, endurance, magnanimity,
and unselfish devotion. In his eulogy of Lincoln, uttered a few days
after the assassination, Ralph Waldo Emerson said,--
"He grew according to the need; his mind mastered the problem of the
day; and as the problem grew so did his comprehension of it. Rarely was
a man so fitted to the event.
"In four years--four years of battle days--his endurance, his fertility
and resources, his magnanimity, were sorely tried and never found
wanting. There, by his courage, his justice, his even temper, his
fertile counsel, his humanity, he stood a heroic figure in the centre of
an heroic epoch."
Index
Acceptance, Lincoln's letter of, 157
Adams, Charles Francis, 354
----, John Quincy, 144
Address, first inaugural, 170
----, second inaugural, 89
Admitted to the bar, 65
Advice to young lawyers, 70, 82
Alley, John B., 54, 175, 216
Amendment, thirteenth, adopted, 337
Ancestry of Lincoln, 15
Anderson, General Robert, 231, 308
Anecdotes of Lincoln, 29, 49, 69, 74, 81, 95, 128, 133, 141, 159,
161, 164, 175, 178, 220, 222, 226, 234, 259, 278, 280, 290,
310, 330, 343, 360
Anger, Lincoln's, 54
Appearance, Lincoln's, 48
Argument, Lincoln's method of, 79, 86, 96, 100, 125
Arrival at Washington, Lincoln's, 169
Assassination conspiracy, 168
---- of Lincoln, 311
Atheism, story of Lincoln's, 376
Autobiography, Lincoln's, 59
Bailache, William H., 170
Baker, Edward D., 54, 83, 134, 137, 169
Bar, early practice at, 65, 66, 83
Bateman, Dr. Newton, 158, 388
Bates, Edward, 181, 298
Beecher, Henry Ward, 190
Berry and Lincoln, 34, 63
Bible, Lincoln's admiration for, 387
Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, 20
Bixby, letters to Mrs., 51
Black Hawk War, 65, 229
Blair, Francis P., 187
----, Montgomery, 181, 187, 191
Bloomington Convention, 105, 149
Books, Lincoln's early, 56
Boone, Daniel, related to Lincoln, 16
Booth, John Wilkes, 311
Boutwell, George S., 216
Boyhood of Lincoln, 21, 24, 60, 93
Brown, John, 322
Browning, Orville H., 39, 134, 170
Bryant, William Cullen, 124
Buchanan Cabinet, disloyalty of, 165
---- sends emissary to Lincoln, 162
Buell, General, 252
Bull Run, battle of, 236
Burns, Lincoln's love of, 288
Burnside, General, 262
Butler, General B. F., 273, 294, 323, 333
Cabin in which Lincoln was born, 19
Cabinet, dissensions of, 186, 235, 356
----, selection of, 174, 179, 193
Calhoun, John, 35, 63
Cameron, Simon, 193, 220, 238, 325
Campaign of, Presidential, 1860, 155
Campaigning, Lincoln's method of, 96, 133
Campaigns, plans of military, 249
Campbell, John A., 272
Canal, isthmus, 334
Candidate for Congress, 137
---- for Legislature, 129
---- for President, 158
---- for Senate, 146, 150
Capacity for labor, Lincoln's, 279
Capital, removal of Illinois State, 135
Cartter, Judge, 175, 360
Cartwright, Peter, 138
Cass, General, 231
Chandler, A. B., 53
Character, Lincoln's, 14, 91, 370, 396
Chase, Salmon P., 174, 204, 210, 216, 243, 340, 356
Chicago Convention (1860), 158
Chief-Justice, Chase appointed, 216
Children, Lincoln's, 46, 287
----, Lincoln's love of his, 46
Choate, Joseph H., 125
Christian Commission, 390
Church, Lincoln's attendance at, 370
Circuit, following the judicial, 67, 83
Clergy, opposition of Springfield, 387
Coffey, Titian J., 184, 297
Coles, Edward, Governor, 315
Colfax, Schuyler, 153, 182, 310, 330
Colonization, Lincoln advocates negro, 333
Confusion in government, 186, 233
Congress, speeches in, 98, 145
Congressional campaign, 137
---- experience, Lincoln's, 139
Conners, Senator, 55
Contraband question, the, 323
Convention, Bloomington, 156
----, Decatur, 26, 149
----, Illinois State (1860), 156
---- of 1860, National, 27, 158
Cooper Institute speech, 86, 124, 321
Courage, Lincoln's, 272
Creed, Lincoln's, 391
Dana, Charles A., 227, 364
Davis, David, 67, 83, 193, 369, 379
----, Henry Winter, 187
----, Jefferson, 140, 231
Death, Lincoln's, 313
Debate, Lincoln's first, 96
---- with Douglas, 86, 100, 110, 114
Debt, Lincoln's, 33
Decatur Convention, 149
Defeat by people, Lincoln's only, 130
Democracy, Lincoln's, 345
Dennison, William, 193, 242
Depew, Chauncey M., 85, 93, 281, 361
Diplomacy, Lincoln's ability in, 342, 346, 351
Diplomatist, definition of, 342
Disloyalty in Buchanan's Cabinet, 233
Dodge, William E., 368
Douglas, Stephen A., 40, 74, 83, 86, 100, 107, 114, 122, 134, 151,
169, 320, 380
Dreams, Lincoln's, 308
Duel, Lincoln's, 42
Earnings, Lincoln's first, 24
Eckert, General, 53, 227
Education, Lincoln's, 58, 91
Edwards, Ninian W., 40
Election declared, Lincoln's, 166
----, Presidential, of 1860, 161
Electoral vote counted, 166
Emancipation accomplished, 335
----, Lincoln's ideas of, 319
---- proclamation, 183, 329, 335, 394
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 396
Emigration of Lincoln family, 17
England, diplomatic relations with, 347, 351
Essay, Lincoln's first, 94
Ethics, Lincoln's legal, 70
Experience, Lincoln's legislative, 135
----, ---- Congressional, 139
Farewell to Springfield neighbors, 47
Faults, Lincoln's, 395
Fees, Lincoln's, 45, 72
Fenton, Reuben E., 173
Fessenden, William Pitt, 214, 361
Field, Munsell B., 213
First dollar, Lincoln's, 24
---- lawsuit, Lincoln's, 65
Fish, Hamilton, 350
Flatboat, Lincoln's, 32
Foreign policy, 346
Fortune, Lincoln's, 45
France, diplomatic relations with, 348
"Freeport Doctrine," Douglas's, 107, 120
Frémont, General John C., 246
Frémont, Mrs., 247
Fry, General James F., 88, 221, 344
Fugitive-slave law, 323
Garrison, William Lloyd, 290
Genius, Lincoln's military, 232, 249, 269
Gentry, Mr., 25
Gentryville, Indiana, 21, 25, 94
Gettysburg speech, 86, 89
Giddings, Joshua R., 140
Gilmer, John A., 181
God, belief in, 370
Governorship of Oregon, offered, 137
Graham, Menton, 62
Grammar, Lincoln's first, 63
Grant, General, 177, 232, 245, 252, 253, 260, 300, 308
Greeley, Horace, 92, 284, 332
Green, General Duff, 162
Gurley, Rev. Dr., 313, 370
Hahn, letter to Governor, 337
Halleck, General, 191, 251
Hanks, Dennis, 26
----, John, 23, 27, 32
----, Nancy, Lincoln's mother, 18, 22
Harris, Senator, 311
Hay, Colonel John, 88, 284, 311, 381
Hayti, recognition of, 328
Herndon, W. H., 33, 108, 372
Holloway, Commissioner of Patents, 174
Holmes's poems, Lincoln's love of, 289
Holt, Judge-Advocate-General, 293
Home, Lincoln's first, 19
----, Lincoln's second, 20
----, Lincoln's third, 21
----, Lincoln's fourth, 26
----, Lincoln's fifth, 44
----, Lincoln's sixth, 45
---- life, Lincoln's, 45, 227, 284
Honesty, Lincoln's, 34, 84, 371
Hood's poems, Lincoln's love of, 288
Hooker, General Joseph, 263
"House divided against itself" speech, 110
Humor, Lincoln's, 50, 93, 281, 344, 361
Hunter, General David, 247, 328
Illinois Central Railroad, litigation with, 72
---- State Convention of 1860, 156
Inauguration, Lincoln's first, 169
----, Lincoln's second, 89
Indiana, migration to, 21
Indiana, Revised Statutes of, 56
Infidelity, story of Lincoln's, 376
Invention, Lincoln's, 32
Jefferson, Joseph, reminiscences of, 68
Johnson, Reverdy, 76
Johnston, General Albert Sidney, 231
----, John, Lincoln's step-brother, 23, 30, 32, 382
----, Sally Bush, 23, 30
Judd, Norman B., 154, 188
Judicial procedure, early, 66
Julian, George W., 174, 225
Kasson, John A., 223
Kelso, Jack, 95
Kernan, Francis, 296
Kindness of heart, Lincoln's, 279, 292, 296
Lamon, Ward, 310
Land Office Commissionership, 143
Law-books, Lincoln's first, 57, 64
Law, how he came to study, 56
Lawyer, Lincoln becomes a, 64
Learning, Lincoln's love of, 56, 78, 91
Lee's surrender, 307
Legislature, candidate for, 129
Liberia, recognition of, 328
Lincoln admitted to the bar, 65
----, ancestry of, 15
----, anger of, 54
---- appointed postmaster, 34
----, arrival in Washington of, 169
----, assassination of, 311
----, atheism of, story of, 376
----, autobiography of, 59
----, birthplace of, 20
----, Black Hawk War, 65, 229
----, boyhood of, 21, 24, 60, 93
----, candidate for President, 158
----, character of, 14, 91, 370, 396
----, code of morals of, 372
----, Congressional experience of, 139
----, courage of, 272
----, creed of, 391
----, death of, 313
----, debate of, with Douglas, 40, 74, 83, 86, 100, 107, 114, 122,
134, 151, 160, 169, 320, 380
----, diplomacy of, 342, 346, 351
----, duel of, 42
----, education of, 58, 91
----, election of, declared, 166
----, farewell of, to neighbors, 47
----, faults of, 395
----, fees of, 45, 72
----, first campaign of, for Legislature, 129
----, first earnings of, 24
----, first impressions of, of slavery, 314
----, first inauguration of, 169
----, first lawsuit of, 65
----, first meeting of, with McClellan, 71
----, first school of, 61
---- first suggested for President, 153
----, foreign policy of, 346
----, fortune of, 45, 74
----, grandmother of, 17
----, home life of, 45
----, homes of, 19, 20, 21, 26, 44, 45
----, honesty of, 34, 84, 371
----, journey of, to New Orleans, 25
----, kindness of heart of, 279, 292, 296
----, last speech of, 338
----, legal ethics of, 70, 83
----, legal methods of, 74, 79, 83, 86
----, legislative experience of, 135
----, letter of, accepting Presidential nomination, 157
----, "Lost Speech" of, 106
----, love-affairs of, 35, 37, 38, 40
----, love of, for his children, 46, 53
----, ----, for learning, 56, 78, 91
----, marriage of, 44
----, memory of, 93
----, method of argument of, 79, 86, 96, 100, 125
----, military genius of, 232, 249, 269
----, muscular strength of, 28
----, nomination of, for Congress, 138
----, notification of, of nomination to Presidency, 156
----, oratory of, 86, 116
----, Peoria speech of, 91
----, personal appearance of, 48
----, place in history of, 13, 86, 91
----, plans of, for purchasing slaves, 326
----, political career of, 129
----, political sagacity of, 344
----, popularity of, 130
----, receives emissaries from rebel leaders, 163
----, recommendations of, for office, 142
----, religious views of, 370, 381
---- seeks Presidential nomination, 155
----, sisters of, 20, 26
----, speeches of, 95, 97, 100, 114, 125, 133
----, Springfield speech of, 104, 109
----, stature of, 29
----, step-mother of, 23, 30
----, superstitions of, 309
----, surveying of, 34
----, visit to Richmond of, 271
----, weakness of, 395
Lincoln, Anna, 17
----, Robert T., 30, 46, 177, 310, 312
----, "Tad", 287
----, Thomas, 17, 21, 30, 375
----, Willie, 277
Liquor selling, Lincoln's, 34
Literary style, Lincoln's, 86
Locke, David R., 36, 51
Logan, Stephen T., 35, 44, 69
"Lost Speech," Lincoln's, 106
Louisiana, reconstruction of, 339
Love-affairs, Lincoln's, 35, 38
Lovejoy, assassination of, 317
Lyons, Lord, 350
Maltby, Captain, 55
Markland, General, 189
Marriage, Lincoln's, 44
Mason-Slidell affair, 350
McClellan's first meeting with Lincoln, 71
McClellan, General, 197, 206, 238, 250
McCulloch, Hugh, 183, 214, 309, 340
McCulloch, Mrs., 283
McDowell, General, 237
McKinley, William, 342
Meade, General George C., 268
Medill, Joseph, 122
Melancholy, Lincoln's, 50
Memory, Lincoln's, 93
Methods, Lincoln's legal, 74, 79, 83
----, Lincoln's political, 133
Mexican question, 354
Migration to Illinois, 26
Military genius, Lincoln's, 232, 249, 269
Missouri Compromise, 102, 146
Monroe Doctrine, 354
Moral courage, Lincoln's, 130
Morals, Lincoln's code of, 372
Morgan, E. D., 29
Muscular strength, Lincoln's, 28
Negroes, enlistment of, 325
New Orleans, Lincoln's journey to, 25, 32, 314, 318
Nicolay, John G., 90, 158, 199, 204, 214, 250, 379, 385
Nominated for Congress, 138
Nomination, notified of Presidential, 156, 380
Office seekers, clamors of, 164, 186, 279
Offutt, Denton, 32, 62, 129
Oglesby, Richard J., 26
Oratory, Lincoln's, 86, 125
Oregon, offered governorship of, 143
Owen, Robert Dale, 360
Owens, Mary, 38
Pardon of soldiers, 36, 52
Patent case, Lincoln's, 75
Patronage, Lincoln's opinions about, 143
Peace Commissioners, 355
Peoria speech, Lincoln's, 91
Petroleum V. Nasby, 36, 51, 280
Philadelphia speech (1860), 167
Pinkerton, Allan, 168
Platform, Lincoln's first political, 129
Poem, Lincoln's favorite, 379
Poems, Lincoln's, 94
Poetry, love of, 95, 287, 379
Politician, definition of, 342
Political career, Lincoln's, 129
---- sagacity, Lincoln's, 96, 133, 160, 171, 177, 199, 344
Pomeroy, Senator, 211
Poore, Ben: Perley, 289
Popularity, Lincoln's, 130
Porter, Admiral, 272
Postmaster, Lincoln appointed, 34
Practice, Lincoln's law, 74, 82
Prayer, Lincoln's belief in, 382
Presbyterian Church, Springfield, 46
President, Lincoln elected, 161
Presidential nomination, Lincoln seeks, 155
Press, Lincoln's respect for, 283, 289
Proclamation, Emancipation, 183, 329, 335, 394
Property, Lincoln's, 45
Rails that Lincoln split, 26
Rathbone, Major, 311
Rebel leaders send emissary to Lincoln, 162
Recommendations for office, Lincoln's, 142
Relatives in Kentucky, 16
---- in Virginia, 16
Religious prejudice against, 137
---- views, Lincoln's, 370
Republican National Convention (1856), 149
(1860), 156
Rice, Governor, 296
Richmond, Lincoln visits, 271
Rutledge, Anne, 37
Sagacity, Lincoln's political, 160, 171, 177
School, Lincoln's first, 61
Scott, General, 229, 235, 242
Secession begins, 161
Senate, candidate for, 146, 150
----, difficulty with, 356
Senatorial campaign, 108, 146
Seward, William H., 181, 197, 204, 208, 236, 334, 337, 348, 351,
355
Shakespeare, Lincoln's love of, 288
Shellabarger, Judge, 222
Sheridan, General, 270, 339
Sherman, General, 232, 270, 235, 269, 300
Shields, James, 40, 42
Short, James, 33
Sickles, General Daniel E., 384
Sisters, Lincoln's, 20
Slavery, Lincoln's first impressions of, 25, 57, 314
----, first protest against, 316
----, Lincoln's plan to abolish, in Washington, 318
Slaves, Lincoln's plans for purchase of, 326
----, money value of, 327
Smith, Caleb B., 182
Social life in Washington, 38, 227
Speakership, candidate for, 136
Speech at Philadelphia, 167
----, Lincoln's last, 338
----, the "Lost", 106
Speeches, campaign, 95, 133
----, first political, 95
---- in Congress, 98, 144, 145
---- in Legislature, 97
Speed, James, 185
----, Joshua F., 41, 96, 185, 375, 396
Spiritualism, Lincoln's views of, 376
Springfield made capital of Illinois, 135
---- speech, Lincoln's, 104, 109
Stanton, Edwin D., 183, 189, 218, 224, 244, 253, 290, 298, 309,
313
----, Lincoln's first meeting with, 76
Statesmanship? what is, 342
Stature, Lincoln's, 29
Stephens, Alexander H., 145, 162, 355
Step-mother, Lincoln's, 23, 30
Stevens, Thaddeus, 52
Stoddard, W. O., 265
Strength, muscular, Lincoln's, 28
Stuart, John T., 64
Study, Lincoln's habits of, 58, 77, 91
Stump oratory, Lincoln's, 96, 104, 114, 125, 133
Suffrage, negro, Lincoln's views on, 337, 338
Sumner, Charles, 176, 216, 272, 334
Sunday proclamation, Lincoln's, 392
Superstition, Lincoln's, 309, 376
Supreme Court, Chase's appointment to, 216
Surveying, Lincoln's, 34
Swett, Leonard, 60, 84, 380
Tact, Lincoln's, 171, 285, 343, 361
"Tad" Lincoln, 287
Taney, Chief-Justice, 169
Taylor, President, election of, 142
Teachers, Lincoln's, 61
Temperance, Lincoln's views on, 380
Theatre, Ford's, 311
Thomas, General, 270
Tod, Governor, 214
Todd, Miss Mary, 40, 44, 47
Tragedy in Lincoln family, 17
Trent affair, 350
Trumbull, Lyman, 108, 148, 357
Tuck, Amos, 144, 176
Usher, John T., 183, 340
Wade, Benjamin F., 187
Washburne, E. B., 141, 148, 165, 169, 253
Weakness, Lincoln's, 395
Webster, Daniel, 140
Weed, Thurlow, 160, 171, 173, 181, 197, 382
Weldon, Lawrence, 80, 379
Welles, Gideon, 184, 196, 310
Wentworth, Long John, 75
Whig party organized, 136
White, Horace, 104, 118, 149
Wilkes, Captain Charles, 350
Wilson, Henry, 296
Wit, Lincoln's, 50, 91, 96
Yates, Richard, 103
THE END
Transcriber's Notes:
Simple typographical errors were corrected.
Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant
preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
"fugitive slave law" and "fugitive-slave law" both appear in the
original book; regularized to "fugitive-slave law" in this eBook.
"proslavery" and "pro-slavery" both occur in the original book;
unchanged here.
Letter facing page 168: in handwritten date "October 3, 1861", "3"
(rather than "5") is based on examination of other samples of Lincoln's
handwriting.
Page 289: "Ben: Perley Poore" did abbreviate his first name with a
colon. His name also appears without a colon on page 98.
End of Project Gutenberg's Abraham Lincoln, by William Eleroy Curtis