certainly had not been flattered. The others shook him by the hand and,
as they put on their overcoats, said: "Mr. Nott is going down town and
he will show you the way to the Astor House." Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Nott
started on foot, but the latter observing that Mr. Lincoln was
apparently Walking with some difficulty said, "Are you lame, Mr.
Lincoln?" He replied that he had on new boots and they hurt him. The two
gentlemen then boarded a street car. When they reached the place where
Mr. Nott would leave the car on his way home, he shook Mr. Lincoln by
the hand and, bidding him good-bye, told him that this car would carry
him to the side door of the Astor House. Mr. Lincoln went on alone, the
only occupant of the car. The next time he came to New York, he rode
down Broadway to the Astor House standing erect in an open barouche
drawn by four white horses. He bowed to the patriotic thousands in the
street, on the sidewalks, in the windows, on the house-tops, and they
cheered him as the lawfully elected President of the United States and
bade him go on and, with God's help, save the Union.
His companion in the street car has often wondered since then what Mr.
Lincoln thought about during the remainder of his ride that night to the
Astor House. The Cooper Institute had, owing to a snowstorm, not been
full, and its intelligent, respectable, non-partisan audience had not
rung out enthusiastic applause like a concourse of Western auditors
magnetised by their own enthusiasm. Had the address--the most carefully
prepared, the most elaborately investigated and demonstrated and
verified of all the work of his life--been a failure? But in the matter
of quality and ability, if not of quantity and enthusiasm, he had never
addressed such an audience; and some of the ablest men in the Northern
States had expressed their opinion of the address in terms which left no
doubt of the highest appreciation. Did Mr. Lincoln regard the address
which he had just delivered to a small and critical audience as a
success? Did he have the faintest glimmer of the brilliant effect which
was to follow? Did he feel the loneliness of the situation--the want of
his loyal Illinois adherents? Did his sinking heart infer that he was
but a speck of humanity to which the great city would never again give a
thought? He was a plain man, an ungainly man; unadorned, apparently
uncultivated, showing the awkwardness of self-conscious rusticity. His
dress that night before a New York audience was the most unbecoming that
a fiend's ingenuity could have devised for a tall, gaunt man--a black
frock coat, ill-setting and too short for him in the body, skirt, and
arms--a rolling collar, low-down, disclosing his long thin, shrivelled
throat uncovered and exposed. No man in all New York appeared that night
more simple, more unassuming, more modest, more unpretentious, more
conscious of his own defects than Abraham Lincoln; and yet we now know
that within his soul there burned the fires of an unbounded ambition,
sustained by a self-reliance and self-esteem that bade him fix his gaze
upon the very pinnacle of American fame and aspire to it in a time so
troubled that its dangers appalled the soul of every American. What were
this man's thoughts when he was left alone? Did a faint shadow of the
future rest upon his soul? Did he feel in some mysterious way that on
that night he had crossed the Rubicon of his life-march--that care and
trouble and political discord, and slander and misrepresentation and
ridicule and public responsibilities, such as hardly ever before
burdened a conscientious soul, coupled with war and defeat and disaster,
were to be thenceforth his portion nearly to his life's end, and that
his end was to be a bloody act which would appall the world and send a
thrill of horror through the hearts of friends and enemies alike, so
that when the woeful tidings came the bravest of the Southern brave
should burst into tears and cry aloud, "Oh! the unhappy South, the
unhappy South!"
The impression left on his companion's mind as he gave a last glance at
him in the street car was that he seemed sad and lonely; and when it was
too late, when the car was beyond call, he blamed himself for not
accompanying Mr. Lincoln to the Astor House--not because he was a
distinguished stranger, but because he seemed a sad and lonely man.
_February 12, 1908_.
CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. LINCOLN
69 Wall St., New York,
February 9, 1860.
_Dear Sir_:
The "Young Men's Central Republican Union" of this city very
cordially desire that you should deliver during the ensuing
month--what I may term--_a political lecture_. The peculiarities of
the case are these--A series of lectures has been determined
upon--The first was delivered by Mr. Blair of St. Louis a short time
ago--the second will be in a few days by Mr. C.M. Clay, and the
third we would prefer to have from you, rather than from any other
person. Of the audience I should add that it is not that of an
ordinary political meeting. These lectures have been _contrived_ to
call out our better, but busier citizens, who never attend political
meetings. A large part of the audience would also consist of ladies.
The time we should prefer, would be about the middle of March, but
if any earlier or later day will be more convenient for you we would
alter our arrangements.
Allow me to hope that we shall have the pleasure of welcoming you to
New York. You are, I believe, an entire stranger to your Republican
brethren here; but they have, for you, the highest esteem, and your
celebrated contest with Judge Douglas awoke their warmest sympathy
and admiration. Those of us who are "in the ranks" would regard your
presence as very material aid, and as an honor and pleasure which I
cannot sufficiently express.
Respectfully,
Charles C. Nott.
To Hon. Abram Lincoln.
69 Wall St., New York,
May 23, 1860.
_Dear Sir_:
I enclose a copy of your address in New York.
We (the Young Men's Rep. Union) design to publish a new edition in
larger type and better form, with such notes and references as will
best attract readers seeking information. Have you any memoranda of
your investigations which you would approve of inserting?
You and your Western friends, I think, underrate this speech. It has
produced a greater effect here than any other single speech. It is
the real platform in the Eastern States, and must carry the
conservative element in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Therefore I desire that it should be as nearly perfect as may be.
Most of the emendations are trivial and do not affect the
substance--all are merely suggested for your judgment.
I cannot help adding that this speech is an extraordinary example
of condensed English. After some experience in criticising for
Reviews, I find hardly anything to touch and nothing to omit. It is
the only one I know of which I cannot _shorten_, and--like a good
arch--moving one word tumbles a whole sentence down.
Finally--it being a bad and foolish thing for a candidate to write
letters, and you having doubtless more to do of that than is
pleasant or profitable, we will not add to your burden in that
regard, but if you will let any friend who has nothing to do, advise
us as to your wishes, in this or any other matter, we will try to
carry them out.
Respectfully,
Charles C. Nott.
To Hon. Abraham Lincoln.
Springfield, Ills., May 31, 1860.
Charles C. Nott, Esq.
_My Dear Sir_:
Yours of the 23rd, accompanied by a copy of the speech delivered by
me at the Cooper Institute, and upon which you have made some notes
for emendations, was received some days ago--Of course I would not
object to, but would be pleased rather, with a more perfect edition
of that speech.
I did not preserve memoranda of my investigations; and I could not
now re-examine, and make notes, without an expenditure of time
which I can not bestow upon it--Some of your notes I do not
understand.
So far as it is intended merely to improve in grammar, and elegance
of composition, I am quite agreed; but I do not wish the sense
changed, or modified, to a hair's breadth--And you, not having
studied the particular points so closely as I have, can not be quite
sure that you do not change the sense when you do not intend it--For
instance, in a note at bottom of first page, you propose to
substitute "Democrats" for "Douglas"--But what I am saying there is
_true_ of Douglas, and is not true of "Democrats" generally; so that
the proposed substitution would be a very considerable blunder--Your
proposed insertion of "residences" though it would do little or no
harm, is not at all necessary to the sense I was trying to
convey--On page 5 your proposed grammatical change would certainly
do no harm--The "_impudently absurd"_ I stick to--The striking out
"_he"_ and inserting "_we"_ turns the sense exactly wrong--The
striking out "_upon it_" leaves the sense too general and
incomplete--The sense is "act as they acted _upon that question_
"--not as they acted generally.
After considering your proposed changes on page 7, I do not think
them material, but I am willing to defer to you in relation to them.
On page 9, striking out "_to us_" is probably right--The word
"_lawyer's"_ I wish retained. The word "_Courts"_ struck out twice,
I wish reduced to "Court" and retained--"Court" as a collection more
properly governs the plural "have" as I understand--"The" preceding
"Court," in the latter case, must also be retained--The words
"quite," "as," and "or" on the same page, I wish retained. The
italicising, and quotation marking, I have no objection to.
As to the note at bottom, I do not think any too much is
admitted--What you propose on page 11 is right--I return your copy
of the speech, together with one printed here, under my own hasty
supervising. That at New York was printed without any supervision by
me--If you conclude to publish a new edition, allow me to see the
proof-sheets.
And now thanking you for your very complimentary letter, and your
interest for me generally, I subscribe myself.
Your friend and servant,
A. Lincoln.
69 Wall Street, New York.
August 28, 1860.
_Dear Sir_:
Mr. Judd insists on our printing the revised edition of your Cooper
Ins. speech _without waiting to send you the_ proofs.
If this is so determined, I wish you to know, that I have made no
alterations other than those you sanctioned, except--
1. I do not find that Abraham Baldwin voted on the Ordinance of '87.
On the contrary he appears _not_ to have acted with Congress during
the sitting of the Convention. Wm. Pierce seems to have taken his
place then; and his name is recorded as voting for the Ordinance.
This makes no difference in the result, but I presume you will not
wish the historical inaccuracy (if it is such) to stand. I will
therefore (unless you write to the contrary) strike out his name in
that place and reduce the number from "four" to "three" where you
sum up the number of times he voted.
2. In the quotations from the Constitution I have given its exact
language; as "delegated" instead of "granted," etc. As it is given
in _quo_. marks, I presume the exact letter of the text should be
followed.
_If these are not correct please write immediately_.
_Our_ apology for the delay is that we have been weighed down by
other matters; _mine_ that I have but to-day returned to town.
Respectfully,
Charles C. Nott.
To Hon. Abraham Lincoln.
69 WALL STREET, N.Y.
Sept. 17, 1860.
_Dear Sir_:
We forward you by this day's express 250 copies, with the last
corrections. I delayed sending, thinking that you would prefer these
to those first printed.
The "Abraham Baldwin letter" referred to in your last I regret to
say has _not_ arrived. From your not touching the proofs in that
regard, I inferred (and hope) that the correction was not itself an
error.
Should you wish a larger number of copies do not hesitate to let us
know; it will afford us much pleasure to furnish them and no
inconvenience whatever.
Respectfully, etc.,
CHARLES C. NOTT.
Hon. A. Lincoln.
SPRINGFIELD, ILLS., Sept. 22, 1860.
CHARLES C. NOTT, Esq.,
_My Dear Sir_:
Yours of the 17th was duly received--The 250 copies have not yet
arrived--I am greatly obliged to you for what you have done, and
what you propose to do.
The "Abraham Baldwin letter" in substance was that I could not find
the Journal of the Confederation Congress for the session at which
was passed the Ordinance of 1787--and that in stating Mr. Baldwin
had voted for its passage, I had relied on a communication of Mr.
Greeley, over his own signature, published in the New York _Weekly
Tribune_ of October 15, 1859. If you will turn to that paper, you
will there see that Mr. Greeley apparently copies from the Journal,
and places the name of Mr. Baldwin among those of the men who voted
for the measure.
Still; if the Journal itself shows differently, of course it is
right.
Yours very truly,
A. LINCOLN.
The Address of
THE HON. ABRAHAM LINCOLN,
In Vindication of the Policy of the Framers of the
Constitution and the Principles of the
Republican Party.
Delivered at Cooper Institute, February 27th, 1860.
Issued by the Young Men's Republican Union.
With Notes by
CHARLES C. NOTT and CEPHAS BRAINERD,
Members of the Board of Control.
OFFICERS OF THE UNION
CHARLES T. RODGERS, President.
DEXTER A. HAWKINS, Vice-President.
ERASMUS STERLING, Secretary.
WILLIAM M. FRANKLIN, Treasurer.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
CEPHAS BRAINERD, Chairman.
BENJAMIN P. MANIERRE,
RICHARD C. McCORMICK,
CHARLES C. NOTT,
CHARLES H. COOPER,
P.G. DEGRAW,
JAMES H. WELSH,
E.C. JOHNSON,
LEWIS M. PECK.
ADVISORY BOARD
WM. CULLEN BRYANT,
DANIEL DREW,
HIRAM BARNEY,
WILLIAM V. BRADY,
JOHN JAY,
GEORGE W. BLUNT,
HENRY A. HURLBUT,
ABIJAH MANN, JR.,
HAMILTON FISH,
FRANCIS HALL,
HORACE GREELEY,
CHARLES A. PEABODY,
EDGAR KETCHUM,
JAMES KELLY,
GEORGE FOLSOM,
WILLIAM CURTIS NOYES,
BENJAMIN F. MANIERRE.
PREFACE
This edition of Mr. Lincoln's address has been prepared and published by
the Young Men's Republican Union of New York, to exemplify its wisdom,
truthfulness, and learning. No one who has not actually attempted to
verify its details can understand the patient research and historical
labor which it embodies. The history of our earlier politics is
scattered through numerous journals, statutes, pamphlets, and letters;
and these are defective in completeness and accuracy of statement, and
in indices and tables of contents. Neither can any one who has not
travelled over this precise ground appreciate the accuracy of every
trivial detail, or the self-denying impartiality with which Mr. Lincoln
has turned from the testimony of "the Fathers," on the general question
of slavery, to present the single question which he discusses. From the
first line to the last--from his premises to his conclusion, he travels
with swift, unerring directness which no logician ever excelled--an
argument complete and full, without the affectation of learning, and
without the stiffness which usually accompanies dates and details. A
single, easy, simple sentence of plain Anglo-Saxon words contains a
chapter of history that, in some instances, has taken days of labor to
verify and which must have cost the author months of investigation to
acquire. And, though the public should justly estimate the labor
bestowed on the facts which are stated, they cannot estimate the greater
labor involved on those which are omitted--how many pages have been
read--how many works examined--what numerous statutes, resolutions,
speeches, letters, and biographies have been looked through. Commencing
with this address as a political pamphlet, the reader will leave it as
an historical work--brief, complete, profound, impartial,
truthful--which will survive the time and the occasion that called it
forth, and be esteemed hereafter, no less for its intrinsic worth than
its unpretending modesty.
NEW YORK, September, 1860.
ADDRESS
MR. PRESIDENT AND FELLOW-CITIZENS OF NEW YORK:--The facts with which
I shall deal this evening are mainly old and familiar; nor is there
anything new in the general use I shall make of them. If there shall
be any novelty, it will be in the mode of presenting the facts, and
the inferences and observations following that presentation.
In his speech last autumn, at Columbus, Ohio, as reported in the New
York _Times_, Senator Douglas said:
"_Our fathers, when they framed the Government under which we live,
understood this question just as well, and even better than we do
now_."
I fully indorse this, and I adopt it as a text for this discourse. I
so adopt it because it furnishes a precise and an agreed
starting-point for a discussion between Republicans and that wing of
the Democracy headed by Senator Douglas. It simply leaves the
inquiry: "_What was the understanding those fathers had of the
question mentioned_?"
What is the frame of Government under which we live?
The answer must be: "The Constitution of the United States." That
Constitution consists of the original, framed in 1787, (and under
which the present Government first went into operation,) and twelve
subsequently framed amendments, the first ten of which were framed
in 1789.[4]
Who were our fathers that framed the Constitution? I suppose the
"thirty-nine" who signed the original instrument may be fairly
called our fathers who framed that part of the present Government.
It is almost exactly true to say they framed it, and it is
altogether true to say they fairly represented the opinion and
sentiment of the whole nation at that time. Their names, being
familiar to nearly all, and accessible to quite all, need not now be
repeated.[5]
I take these "thirty-nine" for the present, as being "our fathers
who framed the Government under which we live."
What is the question which, according to the text, those fathers
understood "just as well, and even better than we do now"?
It is this: Does the proper division of local from federal
authority, or anything in the Constitution, forbid _our Federal
Government_ to control as to slavery in _our Federal Territories_?
Upon this, Senator Douglas holds the affirmative, and Republicans
the negative. This affirmation and denial form an issue; and this
issue--this question--is precisely what the text declares our
fathers understood "better than we."
Let us now inquire whether the "thirty-nine," or any of them, ever
acted upon this question; and if they did, how they acted upon
it--how they expressed that better understanding.
In 1784, three years before the Constitution--the United States then
owning the Northwestern Territory, and no other,[6] the Congress of
the Confederation had before them the question of prohibiting
slavery in that Territory; and four of the "thirty-nine" who
afterward framed the Constitution, were in that Congress, and voted
on that question. Of these, Roger Sherman, Thomas Mifflin, and Hugh
Williamson voted for the prohibition,[7] thus showing that, in their
understanding, no line dividing local from federal authority, nor
anything else, properly forbade the Federal Government to control as
to slavery in federal territory. The other of the four--James
M'Henry--voted against the prohibition, showing that, for some
cause, he thought it improper to vote for it.[8]
In 1787, still before the Constitution, but while the Convention was
in session framing it, and while the Northwestern Territory still
was the only territory owned by the United States, the same question
of prohibiting Slavery in the Territories again came before the
Congress of the Confederation; and two more of the "thirty-nine" who
afterward signed the Constitution, were in that Congress, and voted
on the question. They were William Blount and William Few[9]; and
they both voted for the prohibition--thus showing that, in their
understanding, no line dividing local from federal authority, nor
anything else, properly forbade the Federal Government to control as
to slavery in federal territory. This time, the prohibition became a
law, being part of what is now well known as the Ordinance of
'87.[10]
The question of federal control of slavery in the territories, seems
not to have been directly before the Convention which framed the
original Constitution; and hence it is not recorded that the
"thirty-nine," or any of them, while engaged on that instrument,
expressed any opinion on that precise question.[11]
In 1789, by the first Congress which sat under the Constitution, an
act was passed to enforce the Ordinance of '87, including the
prohibition of slavery in the Northwestern Territory. The bill for
this act was reported by one of the "thirty-nine," Thomas
Fitzsimmons, then a member of the House of Representatives from
Pennsylvania. It went through all its stages without a word of
opposition, and finally passed both branches without yeas and nays,
which is equivalent to an unanimous passage.[12] In this Congress,
there were sixteen of the thirty-nine fathers who framed the
original Constitution. They were John Langdon, Nicholas Oilman, Wm.
S. Johnson, Roger Sherman, Robert Morris, Thos. Fitzsimmons, William
Few, Abraham Baldwin, Rufus King, William Paterson, George Clymer,
Richard Bassett, George Read, Pierce Butler, Daniel Carroll, James
Madison.[13]
This shows that, in their understanding, no line dividing local from
federal authority, nor anything in the Constitution, properly
forbade Congress to prohibit slavery in the federal territory; else
both their fidelity to correct principle, and their oath to support
the Constitution, would have constrained them to oppose the
prohibition.
Again, George Washington, another of the "thirty-nine," was then
President of the United States, and, as such, approved and signed
the bill; thus completing its validity as a law, and thus showing
that, in his understanding, no line dividing local from federal
authority, nor anything in the Constitution, forbade the Federal
Government to control as to slavery in federal territory.
No great while after the adoption of the original Constitution,
North Carolina ceded to the Federal Government the country now
constituting the State of Tennessee; and a few years later Georgia
ceded that which now constitutes the States of Mississippi and
Alabama. In both deeds of cession it was made a condition by the
ceding States that the Federal Government should not prohibit
slavery in the ceded country.[14] Besides this, slavery was then
actually in the ceded country. Under these circumstances, Congress,
on taking charge of these countries, did not absolutely prohibit
slavery within them. But they did interfere with it--take control of
it--even there to a certain extent. In 1798, Congress organized the
Territory of Mississippi. In the act of organization, they
prohibited the bringing of slaves into the Territory, from any place
without the United States, by fine, and giving freedom to slaves so
brought.[15] This act passed both branches of Congress without yeas
and nays. In that Congress were three of the "thirty-nine" who
framed the original Constitution. They were John Langdon, George
Read and Abraham Baldwin.[16] They all, probably, voted for it.
Certainly they would have placed their opposition to it upon record,
if, in their understanding, any line dividing local from federal
authority, or anything in the Constitution, properly forbade the
Federal Government to control as to slavery in federal territory.
In 1803, the Federal Government purchased the Louisiana country. Our
former territorial acquisitions came from certain of our own States;
but this Louisiana country was acquired from a foreign nation. In
1804, Congress gave a territorial organization to that part of it
which now constitutes the State of Louisiana. New Orleans, lying
within that part, was an old and comparatively large city. There
were other considerable towns and settlements, and slavery was
extensively and thoroughly intermingled with the people. Congress
did not, in the Territorial Act, prohibit slavery; but they did
interfere with it--take control of it--in a more marked and
extensive way than they did in the case of Mississippi. The
substance of the provision therein made, in relation to slaves, was:
_First_. That no slave should be imported into the territory from
foreign parts.
_Second_. That no slave should be carried into it who had been
imported into the United States since the first day of May, 1798.
_Third_. That no slave should be carried into it, except by the
owner, and for his own use as a settler; the penalty in all the
cases being a fine upon the violator of the law, and freedom to the
slave.[17]