Source: Jon Meacham. And There Was Light -
Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle (2022)
Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle (2022)
4 March 1861, Lincoln’s First Inauguration: Lincoln took his time writing the Inaugural Address. Lincoln used Clay’s speech on the Compromise of 1850, Jackson’s Nullification Proclamation in 1832, Daniel Webster’s “Second Reply to Hayne” in 1830 (where he spoke the famous phrase “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable”), and the Constitution. Lincoln saw himself as the President of the entire nation, even though he had only received 40% of the popular vote. The South, however, believed that Lincoln, as well as the entire North, viewed the region with moral contempt, with one leading Virginian calling anti-slavery a “religion of hate”. Lincoln tried to calm the fears of the South in his Inaugural Address by stating that he didn’t want to interfere with slavery where it already existed, and even if he did, he didn’t have the right to do so under the Constitution.
Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address is most remembered for his closing appeal: “We are not enemies, but friends . . . it must not break the bonds of affection . . . the mystic chords of memory . . . will yet swell the chorus of the Union . . . by the better angels of our nature”. And then, “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, not in mine, is the momentous issue of Civil War. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict, without yourselves being the aggressors. You have no Oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I have the most solemn one to ‘preserve, protect,and defend’ it”.
Thurlow Weed thought Lincoln’s Inaugural Address was a success. Frederick Douglass, however, was not happy, in that he thought the speech was “little better than our worst fears”, and he thought that Lincoln’s statement that he wasn’t going to deal with slavery where it already existed to be a crushing blow. Douglass had been contemplating emigrating to Haiti, and he saw nothing in Lincoln’s speech that would change his mind.
Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address is most remembered for his closing appeal: “We are not enemies, but friends . . . it must not break the bonds of affection . . . the mystic chords of memory . . . will yet swell the chorus of the Union . . . by the better angels of our nature”. And then, “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, not in mine, is the momentous issue of Civil War. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict, without yourselves being the aggressors. You have no Oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I have the most solemn one to ‘preserve, protect,and defend’ it”.
Thurlow Weed thought Lincoln’s Inaugural Address was a success. Frederick Douglass, however, was not happy, in that he thought the speech was “little better than our worst fears”, and he thought that Lincoln’s statement that he wasn’t going to deal with slavery where it already existed to be a crushing blow. Douglass had been contemplating emigrating to Haiti, and he saw nothing in Lincoln’s speech that would change his mind.
After being sworn into office as President by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, Lincoln rode back to the White House with James Buchanan, who told Lincoln that he was very glad now to be a former President. The very next day, Lincoln received news from Major Robert Anderson, the commanding officer at Fort Sumter, that he had basic supplies for no more than forty days, and then the entire garrison would face starvation. While Lincoln did not want to overreact and be overly aggressive, he was determined to protect federal property and US soldiers. It became clear to Lincoln that Fort Sumter, located in the heart of Charleston Harbor (SC), was the pivot point for the start of a war.
SecState Seward and General Winfield Scott advised Lincoln that Fort Sumter wasn’t worth Civil War. Scott, who had been such a rock leading up the Inauguration, had now fallen under the spell of Seward, which must have disappointed Lincoln. Senator Benjamin Wade
(R; OH) scoffed at the advice offered by Seward and Scott, telling Lincoln that if he gave up “fortress after fortress”, the President would be a prisoner of war within a month. Lincoln, however, saw what others did not - there was a middle way to respond; instead of abandoning Fort Sumter or aggressively defending the garrison: Fort Sumter would be resupplied.
The “tug”, as Lincoln called it, had come, knowing that the South’s sense of grievance, its flourishing sense of self-righteousness, and it’s awareness that the region was losing its influence, found an outlet on 12 April 1861 in Charleston Harbor. Just before dawn, artillery started to fire on Fort Sumter: the first shots of the Civil War were fired by the South. Lincoln had wisely announced that he was sending transports to resupply Fort Sumter, knowing that the rabid secessionists in South Carolina would never allow the supplies to reach the garrison, in that Fort Sumter would be able to hold firm for a full year, which meant that Charleston Harbor could not be freely used. So the order to fire on Fort Sumter was given; in effect, Lincoln maneuvered South Carolina to start the Civil War.
SecState Seward and General Winfield Scott advised Lincoln that Fort Sumter wasn’t worth Civil War. Scott, who had been such a rock leading up the Inauguration, had now fallen under the spell of Seward, which must have disappointed Lincoln. Senator Benjamin Wade
(R; OH) scoffed at the advice offered by Seward and Scott, telling Lincoln that if he gave up “fortress after fortress”, the President would be a prisoner of war within a month. Lincoln, however, saw what others did not - there was a middle way to respond; instead of abandoning Fort Sumter or aggressively defending the garrison: Fort Sumter would be resupplied.
The “tug”, as Lincoln called it, had come, knowing that the South’s sense of grievance, its flourishing sense of self-righteousness, and it’s awareness that the region was losing its influence, found an outlet on 12 April 1861 in Charleston Harbor. Just before dawn, artillery started to fire on Fort Sumter: the first shots of the Civil War were fired by the South. Lincoln had wisely announced that he was sending transports to resupply Fort Sumter, knowing that the rabid secessionists in South Carolina would never allow the supplies to reach the garrison, in that Fort Sumter would be able to hold firm for a full year, which meant that Charleston Harbor could not be freely used. So the order to fire on Fort Sumter was given; in effect, Lincoln maneuvered South Carolina to start the Civil War.
Lincoln’s initial attempt to hold the nation together had failed with the assault on Fort Sumter. The Rebel South would not be convinced to stay in the Union, and the Union would not hold, so Civil War had come. At the outset of the Civil War, when neither the North or the South had yet to sacrifice anything, both regions believed that God was on their side, and that the war would be relatively quick and sacrifice-free.
On 15 April 1861, Lincoln called for 75,000 militiamen, to if nothing else secure DC. Washington, D.C. was surrounded by VA, which had seceded on
27 April 1861, and Maryland, which was on the brink of secession. Lincoln decided to suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus in MD, using the “Rebellion or Invasion” clause of the Constitution as legal justification. Since the clause was in Article 1 (Legislative), and Congress was out of session, Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus as Commander-in-Chief. On 4 July 1861, Lincoln announced that the conflict required a total response from the Union. Lincoln called for more troops, extended enlistments, and ordered a blockade of Southern ports, all with Congress out of session.
On 18 April 1861, a white mob in MD attacked troops from PA as they came through Baltimore. Railroad tracks were torn up, telegraph wires were cut, and Nicholas Biddle, a Free Black who had escaped slavery in DE and was a volunteer accompanying the PA troops to DC, was killed by the mob - Biddle is considered to be the first person to be killed-in-action (KIA) in the Civil War.
On 15 April 1861, Lincoln called for 75,000 militiamen, to if nothing else secure DC. Washington, D.C. was surrounded by VA, which had seceded on
27 April 1861, and Maryland, which was on the brink of secession. Lincoln decided to suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus in MD, using the “Rebellion or Invasion” clause of the Constitution as legal justification. Since the clause was in Article 1 (Legislative), and Congress was out of session, Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus as Commander-in-Chief. On 4 July 1861, Lincoln announced that the conflict required a total response from the Union. Lincoln called for more troops, extended enlistments, and ordered a blockade of Southern ports, all with Congress out of session.
On 18 April 1861, a white mob in MD attacked troops from PA as they came through Baltimore. Railroad tracks were torn up, telegraph wires were cut, and Nicholas Biddle, a Free Black who had escaped slavery in DE and was a volunteer accompanying the PA troops to DC, was killed by the mob - Biddle is considered to be the first person to be killed-in-action (KIA) in the Civil War.
As the Civil War started to escalate, additional dilemmas for Lincoln included whether to allow Black Americans to fight in uniform, and whether to announce a plan for freeing slaves. At this very early stage of the Civil War, Lincoln was against doing either, knowing the Union’s overall negative public sentiment, which was rooted in the North’s brand of white supremacy. To the vast majority of white Northerners in the Spring of 1861, the Civil War was a “White Man’s War”. Race was the central cause of the Civil War, and soon enough it became central to the initial conduct of the war. At Fort Monroe (VA), Union
General Benjamin Butler, when presented with runaway slaves asking for protection/deliverance, made a key decision, ordering federal protection. Butler told Lincoln that he did so, mostly because if he turned the slaves away or ordered them to return to the location from which they ran away, they would be forced to support the Confederate war effort. Lincoln approved Butler’s decision through the War Department (Stanton wasn’t yet officially in as SecWar), and Fort Monroe became the “Freedom Fort”.
Soon thereafter, during a Special Session of Congress (4 July - 6 August 1861), the First Confiscation Act became law, in which if slaves reached the North, or areas in Union control (e.g. Fort Monroe), they would not be returned to the South. In effect, the act canceled the “return” part of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. However, the term “contraband” was used, applied to runaway slaves reaching Union safety, which was a coldhearted term that still accepted the notion that the now “free” slaves were still property. That being said, the act was a necessary step towards freedom for slaves.
General Benjamin Butler, when presented with runaway slaves asking for protection/deliverance, made a key decision, ordering federal protection. Butler told Lincoln that he did so, mostly because if he turned the slaves away or ordered them to return to the location from which they ran away, they would be forced to support the Confederate war effort. Lincoln approved Butler’s decision through the War Department (Stanton wasn’t yet officially in as SecWar), and Fort Monroe became the “Freedom Fort”.
Soon thereafter, during a Special Session of Congress (4 July - 6 August 1861), the First Confiscation Act became law, in which if slaves reached the North, or areas in Union control (e.g. Fort Monroe), they would not be returned to the South. In effect, the act canceled the “return” part of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. However, the term “contraband” was used, applied to runaway slaves reaching Union safety, which was a coldhearted term that still accepted the notion that the now “free” slaves were still property. That being said, the act was a necessary step towards freedom for slaves.
Very soon after Fort Sumter, Senator Charles Sumner (R; MA) visited Lincoln, and told him that as President he had the right to free the slaves since there was now a war; Sumner wasn’t the only prominent politician that advised Lincoln along that line of argument. Lincoln listened, but did not act, which frustrated to no end the Abolitionists and Radical Republicans. Lincoln faced powerful opposition to the war in the “Border States” (MO, KY, DE, MD), as well as in the North, such as the
Copperheads, who were anti-war Northern Democrats. To Lincoln, the Copperheads and other opposition to the Civil War were a “fire in the rear”.
The Copperheads (often referring to themselves as Peace Democrats) called for the Union as it was, and the Constitution as it is, with the not-so-hidden goal of keeping the Negro “in his place”. The Copperheads did not want the Union to break up, or the CSA to win - they wanted to press the restart button and put everything back in place the way it was before the Civil War started (status quo ante bellum). As a result, Lincoln tried to stay on the conservative side of anti-slavery through the early-winter of 1862. Lincoln knew he needed to keep the Border States in the Union, especially MD, since DC would be threatened to a greater degree. And, if KY seceded, MO would secede as well. On 24 May 1861, Lincoln received word that his friend
Elmer Ellsworth had been killed in Alexandria (VA). In effect, Ellsworth became the first “Union Martyr” of the Civil War.
Copperheads, who were anti-war Northern Democrats. To Lincoln, the Copperheads and other opposition to the Civil War were a “fire in the rear”.
The Copperheads (often referring to themselves as Peace Democrats) called for the Union as it was, and the Constitution as it is, with the not-so-hidden goal of keeping the Negro “in his place”. The Copperheads did not want the Union to break up, or the CSA to win - they wanted to press the restart button and put everything back in place the way it was before the Civil War started (status quo ante bellum). As a result, Lincoln tried to stay on the conservative side of anti-slavery through the early-winter of 1862. Lincoln knew he needed to keep the Border States in the Union, especially MD, since DC would be threatened to a greater degree. And, if KY seceded, MO would secede as well. On 24 May 1861, Lincoln received word that his friend
Elmer Ellsworth had been killed in Alexandria (VA). In effect, Ellsworth became the first “Union Martyr” of the Civil War.
After the “Pageant of War” in DC, with Lincoln reviewing troops in neverending parades, the reality of Civil War hit the nation on 21 July 1861, with the First Battle of Bull Run. Union soldiers, after gaining initial momentum, were forced to retreat in confusion and panic, and DC was in panic-mode as well. Casualties for the Southern forces were 1982 overall, with 387 KIA, and for the Union, 2896 (460 KIA). The Union disaster caused Lincoln to replace General Scott as the Union commander of what was then the only real Union field army.
Lincoln promoted General George B. McClellan (from the Army Corps of Engineers) to the post. McClellan had already developed a reputation for effectively training and equipping soldiers, but also for a reluctance to lead them into battle. The former trait was McClellan’s true contribution to the Union war effort, in that he trained and equipped what became known as the Army of the Potomac, which became the “signature army” for the Union. To McCellan, he was in command of an army whose sole purpose was to preserve and restore the Union, not to free slaves, which was also the prevailing view of the North, a view of which Lincoln was fully aware. The Confederacy held grand hopes that a “knockout blow” would be achieved in the battlefield, and that DC would be captured, and Lincoln and his Cabinet would run for their lives. The Confederacy was not thinking of surrender, and neither was Lincoln . . .
Lincoln promoted General George B. McClellan (from the Army Corps of Engineers) to the post. McClellan had already developed a reputation for effectively training and equipping soldiers, but also for a reluctance to lead them into battle. The former trait was McClellan’s true contribution to the Union war effort, in that he trained and equipped what became known as the Army of the Potomac, which became the “signature army” for the Union. To McCellan, he was in command of an army whose sole purpose was to preserve and restore the Union, not to free slaves, which was also the prevailing view of the North, a view of which Lincoln was fully aware. The Confederacy held grand hopes that a “knockout blow” would be achieved in the battlefield, and that DC would be captured, and Lincoln and his Cabinet would run for their lives. The Confederacy was not thinking of surrender, and neither was Lincoln . . .