Lincoln in the World

by Kevin Peraino

  68. White, A. Lincoln, p. 326 (first-round tally); Stanton, Random Recollections, pp. 215–16; Goodwin, p. 250 (wild cheering); Halstead, Caucuses of 1860, p. 145; Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, v. 2, pp. 271–72. See also E. D. Morgan to Seward, May 18, 1860, Seward Papers, University of Rochester; and Van Deusen, p. 225 (“third ballot”); Stahr, Seward, pp. 188–89; Guelzo, Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President, p. 245 (“back the tears”); Charles Francis Adams Jr., Autobiography, p. 69 (“cursing and swearing”).

  69. Halstead, Caucuses of 1860, p. 154; Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, v. 2, p. 278 (tar barrels, etc.); Charles Zane statement in HI, p. 491 (“than I am”); “Ecarte” [John Hay,] Providence Journal, May 26, 1860, in Burlingame, ed., Lincoln’s Journalist, pp. 1–3 (fireworks).

  70. Schurz, Reminiscences, v. 2, pp. 221–22 (“Illinois lawyer!”); Charles Francis Adams Jr., Autobiography, pp. 62, 65–66. See also Van Deusen, pp. 233–34, 336.

  71. Donald, “We Are Lincoln Men,” p. 148 (“of the other”); New York Herald, Oct. 2, 1860, quoted in ALAL, v. 1, p. 654 (“than by cordiality” and fifteen minutes); Charles Francis Adams Jr., Autobiography, pp. 64–65; Goodwin, p. 270 (“out of place”).

  72. Oates, With Malice Toward None, locs. 3744–56 (“Mr. Speaker!”); William H. Wilson to Lincoln, Oct. 29, 1860, ALP, LOC; Lincoln to William H. Wilson, Nov. 3, 1860, CWL, Supplement 1832–1865, p. 59. See also William Honselman to Lincoln, Oct. 21, 1860, ALP, LOC.

  73. Luebke, ed., Ethnic Voters and the Election of Lincoln, pp. xvii, 215; Smith, “The Influence of the Foreign-Born of the Northwest in the Election of 1860,” pp. 192–201.

  74. Donald, Lincoln’s Herndon, p. 125 (“Irish”); Mary Lincoln to Emilie Todd Helm, November 23, 1856, in Turner and Turner, Mary Todd Lincoln, p. 46; Lincoln to Joshua F. Speed, Aug. 24, 1855, CWL, v. 2, p. 323 (“hypocrasy”); Lincoln to Theodore Canisius, May 17, 1859, CWL, v. 3, p. 380. See also Smith, “The Influence of the Foreign-Born of the Northwest in the Election of 1860,” pp. 197–98.

  75. Smith, p. 195; White, A. Lincoln, p. 333 (divided Dems); Lincoln to Seward, Oct. 12, 1860, in CWL, v. 4, p. 125 (“into our hands”); White, A. Lincoln, p. 347 (“we are elected”); Baker, pp. 161–62 (“little lady”); Goodwin, p. 278 (“we are elected”).

  76. Lincoln told this to Canadian editor Josiah Blackburn in the summer of 1864; see RW, p. 31 (“this great event”); John Bigelow to William Hargreaves, July 30, 1860, John Bigelow Papers, New York Public Library (“Mastodon”). See also ALAL, v. 1, p. 647; and Clapp, Forgotten First Citizen, p. 136.

  77. Boston Herald, Nov. 9, 1860, quoted in Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect, p. 51.

  78. Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, p. 16, cites the observation of an “Iowa Republican” to illustrate the party line. Lincoln would almost certainly have concurred with this sentiment. See also Foner, Fiery Trial, p. 117.

  79. New York Herald, Dec. 15, 1860, quoted in Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect, p. 148 (“eight days”); New York Tribune, Nov. 10, 1860, quoted in ibid., p. 21; Koerner, Memoirs, v. 2, pp. 108–9; ALAL, v. 1, p. 696 (Swiss example).

  80. Lincoln to Lyman Trumbull, Dec. 10, 1860, in CWL, v. 4, pp. 149–50 (“time hereafter”); Lincoln to Elihu Washburne, Dec. 13, 1860, in ibid., v. 4, p. 151 (“chain of steel”); Lincoln to James Hale, Jan. 11, 1861, in ibid., v. 4, p. 172 (“more territory”).

  81. Lincoln to Seward, Dec. 8, 1860, in ibid., v. 4, pp. 148 and 149n1; Seward to Lincoln, Dec. 13, 1860, in Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, v. 3, p. 350.

  82. Bancroft, v. 2, p. 5 (Northeastern businessmen). For a detailed description of the Crittenden Compromise, see ALAL, v. 1, pp. 694–98.

  83. Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, pp. 222–23.

  84. New York Herald, Dec. 27, 1860, quoted in Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect, p. 165 (“undisguised hostility”); Lincoln to Thurlow Weed, Dec. 17, 1860, in CWL, v. 4, p. 154 (“territorial question”); Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect, p. 166 (Seward should introduce, etc.).

  85. New York Times, Dec. 24, 1860 (“evidence of delight”). See also Bancroft, v. 2, p. 8 (cigar-fueled); and Ferris, The Trent Affair, pp. 98–99.

  86. Seward’s speech is in CG, 36th Cong., 2nd Sess., pp. 341–44. See also Chicago Tribune, Jan. 17, 1861; Foner, Fiery Trial, p. 148; Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect, p. 213 (voted against Crittenden); Bensel, Yankee Leviathan, p. 18; and Bancroft, v. 2, p. 15.

  87. George Fogg to Gideon Welles, Welles Papers, ALPLM (“not overpleased”); Schurz to his wife, Feb. 9, 1861; and Schurz to his wife, Feb. 4, 1861, in Schafer, ed., Intimate Letters of Carl Schurz, pp. 247, 242; Seward to his family, Jan. 13, 1861, in Seward at Washington, 1846–1861, p. 496 (“good fruits”); Seward to his wife, Jan. 18, 1861, in ibid., p. 496 (“concessions”). See also Foner, Fiery Trial, p. 148; and Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect, pp. 214–15 (his input).

  88. Seward to Lincoln, Dec. 28, 1860 (“reassuring and soothing”), and Seward to Lincoln, Dec. 29, 1860 (“by surprise”), both in ALP, LOC.

  89. Black, “Circular,” Feb. 28, 1861, FRUS 1861, pp. 31–32.

  90. Blair to Lincoln, Jan. 25, 1861, ALP, LOC.

  91. Romero dispatch, Jan. 23, 1861, in Segal, ed., Conversations with Lincoln, pp. 65–67. For a slightly different translation of this report, see Schoonover, ed., Mexican Lobby, pp. 2–3. See also Mahin, p. 110; and William Moss Wilson, “Lincoln’s Mexican Visitor,” New York Times, Jan. 17, 2011.

  92. Lincoln to Seward, Feb. 1, 1861, in CWL, v. 4, p. 183.

  93. Lutz, Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1915, p. 210.

  94. HL, p. 287; Herndon, “Facts Illustrative of Mr. Lincoln’s Patriotism and Statesmanship,” p. 194; ALAL-DC, v. 1, p. 2061 (farewell address); Seward to Lincoln, Feb. 24, 1861, quoted in Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, v. 3, pp. 319–20 (“date from the inauguration”). See also Bancroft, v. 2, p. 24; and Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect, p. 441.

  95. ALAL, v. 1, p. 758 (“ever saw him”); HL, pp. 289–90.

  96. Mrs. James C. Conkling to Clinton L. Conkling, Feb. 12, 1861, in Pratt, Concerning Mr. Lincoln, pp. 48–49 (party color, “slap in the face”); Daily Missouri Democrat (St. Louis), Feb. 7, 1861, quoted in Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect, p. 286 (“lace collar”).

  97. Weik, The Real Lincoln, p. 307.

  98. Lincoln to Lyman Trumbull, Dec. 10, 1860, in CWL, v. 4, p. 149. See also Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, p. 223.

  99. Van Deusen, pp. 10 (shorter than his wife), 56 (gilt sword), 335 (“might recognize him”), 229 (Moses); ALAL, v. 1, p. 723 (“massive savior complex”).

  100. Rice, ed., Reminiscences, p. 39 (overslept); Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect, pp. 396 (“mild and cloudy”), 407; Van Deusen, p. 255 (appearance); Adams, Education of Henry Adams, p. 104 (“perpetual cigar”). See also ALAL, v. 2, pp. 37–38.

  101. McDougall, Throes of Democracy, p. 409 (“virtually kidnapped”); RW, p. 43 (“churchwarden”); Van Deusen, p. 258; and Russell, My Diary North and South, p. 70, entry for Apr. 8, 1861 (dinners and whist); Remini, Henry Clay, p. 307 (“science of diplomacy”); Seward to his family, Feb. 23, 1861, in Seward, Seward at Washington, 1846–1861, p. 511 (“agreeable”); White, A. Lincoln, p. 383.

  102. Tyrner-Tyrnauer, Lincoln and the Emperors, p. 105 (“crude”); Green, Washington, v. 1, p. 238 (key ministries, “mud,” “fields”).

  103. [Hay], New York World, Mar. 4, 1861, in Burlingame, ed., Lincoln’s Journalist, pp. 48–50.

  104. Baltimore Sun, Mar. 7, 1861 (“national debt”); Nevins, War for the Union, v. 2, p. 196 (“temperance man”); Lutz, Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1915, pp. 210–11 (“make blunders”). See also The Lincoln Log, entry for Mar. 1, 1861.

  105. Bigelow, Retrospections, v. 1, p. 367; Lincoln to Gideon Welles, May 14, 1861, CWL, v. 4, p. 370 (navy); Donald, Lincoln, p. 346 (finance). See also Boritt, Lincoln and the Economics of the American Dream, p. 199.

&n
bsp; 106. RW, p. 392 (“studying up”); Carroll, “Abraham Lincoln and the Minister of France,” p. 145; Fanny Seward Diary, entry for Dec. 25, 1861, Seward Papers, University of Rochester.

  107. Stoeckl dispatch no. 11, Feb. 26, 1861; and Stoeckl dispatch no. 15, Mar. 12, 1861. Both in Russian Foreign Ministry Archives, photostatic copies in LOC. The final quote is in Graebner, “Northern Diplomacy and European Neutrality,” p. 61.

  108. White, A. Lincoln, p. 387 (Seward’s motivation); Green, Washington, v. 1, p. 239 (inaugural morning); Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, v. 3, pp. 324, 371 (sharpshooters and “first trick”); Foote, Civil War, loc. 782 (Blood Tubs); Lincoln to Seward, Mar. 4, 1861, in CWL, v. 4, p. 273 (“countermand”).

  109. Grimsley, “Six Months in the White House,” p. 45; Benjamin H. Hill quoted in Hubbard, Burden of Confederate Diplomacy (Knoxville, 1998), p. 25; Mercier to Thouvenel, Mar. 7, 1861, quoted in Carroll, “Abraham Lincoln and the Minister of France,” pp. 145–46; Thomas W. Evans to James Lesley Jr., Mar. 1, 1861, Seward Papers, University of Rochester (“amicable”).

  110. White, A. Lincoln, p. 387 (“long and confidential”); New York Times, Mar. 5, 1861, cited in Randall, Mary Lincoln, pp. 209–10 (“Hail Columbia”); Barton, Life of Abraham Lincoln, p. 17 (quadrille and “ill at ease”); New York Herald, Mar. 6, 1861, cited in ALAL, v. 2, p. 62 (“queens of the earth”); Adams, Education of Henry Adams, p. 107 (“not be enough”); Bigelow to William Hargreaves, July 27, 1861, in Clapp, Forgotten First Citizen, p. 147; Rev. Benjamin E. Millard reminiscence, in New York Times, Mar. 15, 1885.

  111. Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, p. 123.

  112. Raymond, Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln, p. 720 (“burning the other”) in RW, p. 375; Lincoln quoted in Peterson, Lincoln in American Memory, p. 101 (“pigs for the tits”); Seward to his family, Mar. 16, 1861, in Seward, Seward at Washington, 1846–1861, p. 530 (“closets”); Viele, “A Trip with Lincoln, Chase and Stanton,” p. 818, in RW, p. 453 (can’t say no).

  113. Rice, ed., Reminiscences, pp. 239–40 (“your man”); O’Toole, Five of Hearts, p. 341 (“light duties”); Melville to his wife, Mar. 24–25, 1861, in Davis and Gilman, eds., Letters of Herman Melville, pp. 209–10 (“full band” etc); Parker, Herman Melville, v. 2, pp. 460–64 (failed to win plum).

  114. Lincoln to Seward, Mar. 18, 1861, CWL, v. 4, pp. 292–93; Koerner to Lincoln, Mar. 28, 1861, ALP, LOC. I have inserted the two dashes in the Koerner quote for readability. See also ALAL, v. 2, pp. 91–92; Schurz, Reminiscences, v. 2, pp. 221, 223; New York Herald, Mar. 19, 1861, quoted in Donner, “Carl Schurz as Office Seeker,” p. 129; Schurz to his wife, Mar. 28, 1861, in Schafer, ed., Intimate Letters, p. 253; Brauer, “Appointment of Carl Schurz,” p. 77. An exhibit in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., makes the point that foreign policy is uniquely important for American presidents because of the diverse composition of its citizenry.

  115. For Mary Lincoln’s relationship with Seward, see George B. Lincoln to Gideon Welles, Apr. 25, 1874, in “New Light on the Seward-Welles-Lincoln Controversy?” Lincoln Lore, No. 1718, Apr. 1981, p. 3 (“Never!”); Keckley, Behind the Scenes, p. 131 (“skein of thread” and “can trust him”); Rice, ed., Reminiscences, p. 481 (“abolition sneak”). For a thorough discussion of Mary Lincoln’s interference in appointments, see ALAL, v. 2, pp. 262–73, especially pp. 264 and 266. See also Burlingame, Inner World, pp. 283–85; RW, pp. 68–69 (“disgrace”); Randall, Mary Lincoln, p. 193 (“very reluctantly”); Monaghan, p. 15; Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect, pp. 198, 332 (hard to control); Donald, “We Are Lincoln Men,” p. 155.

  116. Mary Lincoln to Seward, Mar. 22, [1861,] in Turner and Turner, Mary Todd Lincoln, p. 81 (Honolulu); Grimsley, “Six Months in the White House,” p. 64; Herndon, “Lincoln’s Religion,” Illinois State Journal, Dec. 13, 1873, cited in Randall, Mary Lincoln, p. 426; Post, “Lincoln and the Reverend Dr. James Smith,” pp. 397–99. Smith was ultimately appointed consul on Feb. 18, 1863, and remained in office for the next eight years.

  117. Clay, Memoirs, pp. 284, 321; Richmond Southern Opinion quoted in Randall, Mary Lincoln, p. 412; The Independent, Aug. 10, 1882 (“blundering outspokenness”), and the Illinois State Journal, Sept. 1, 1883 (“distant concerns”), both clippings in Ruth Randall Papers, LOC. See also Burlingame, Inner World, pp. 315, 325; ALAL-DC, v. 1, p. 629; and Shenk, Lincoln’s Melancholy, p. 96.

  118. Elizabeth Todd Edwards interview with Herndon, [1865–66,] in HI, p. 445; Baker, pp. 198–99; Keckley, Behind the Scenes, p. 97 (“stupid state dinners”).

  119. Russell, My Diary North and South, p. 41, entry for Mar. 28, 1861; Baker, p. 199.

  120. Lord Lyons to Lord John Russell, Mar. 26, 1861, Russell Papers, BNA, cited in Jones, Blue and Gray Diplomacy, pp. 26–27, and Jones, Union in Peril, pp. 12–13. But see also Ferris, Desperate Diplomacy, pp. 213–14, for an account of the dinner that is more sympathetic to Seward.

  121. Montgomery Blair to Lincoln, Mar. 15, 1861, ALP, LOC; McPherson, Tried by War, pp. 13, 16; Foote, Civil War, v. 1, locs. 943–1017.

  122. Lincoln, “Message to Congress in Special Session,” July 4, 1861, CWL, v. 4, p. 424; McPherson, Tried by War, p. 18.

  123. Foote, Civil War, v. 1, locs. 1127–52; McPherson, Tried by War, p. 9 (seizing arsenals); Samuel James to Seward, Mar. 20, 1861, Seward Papers, University of Rochester (“do something”).

  124. Nicolay, “Memorandum,” July 3, 1861, in Burlingame, ed., With Lincoln in the White House, pp. 46–47.

  125. Seward to his wife, Mar. 29, 1861, in Seward, Seward at Washington, 1846–1861, p. 534 (“before us”); Donald, “We Are Lincoln Men,” p. 152 (firing offense); Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, v. 3, p. 449 (“dismissed the incident”).

  126. Schurz to Lincoln, Apr. 5, 1861, ALP, LOC; Schurz, “Abraham Lincoln,” p. 739.

  127. Brauer, “Gabriel García y Tassara,” pp. 9, 12–13. For a smart analysis of the colonization issue, see Eric Foner’s essay, “Lincoln and Colonization,” in Foner, ed., Our Lincoln (New York, 2008). The quote about colonization as a “middle ground” is on p. 145. See also Foner’s recent Pulizer Prize–winning history, The Fiery Trial (New York, 2010).

  128. Foner, “Lincoln and Colonization,” in Foner, ed., Our Lincoln, p. 148. See also, pp. 150–51 (meeting with Thompson, Crosby in Guatemala), 158 (just as racist); and ALAL, v. 2, p. 394.

  129. Anderson, “1861: Blockade vs. Closing the Confederate Ports,” pp. 190–93. The quote is on p. 190. On the blockade debate, see also ALAL-DC, v. 2, ch. 23, pp. 2459–60; and Jones, Blue and Gray Diplomacy, pp. 56–57.

  130. New York Herald, July 8, 1867, in RW, p. 423 (“we can”). Fehrenbacher grades this reminiscence a D, but he doesn’t seem to take into account the fact that Honest Abe may simply have been dissembling.

  131. Corwin, The President, p. 264 (blockade during recess); Lincoln, “Inscription in Album of Mary Rebecca Darby Smith,” Apr. 19, 1861, CWL, v. 4, p. 339.

  132. My thanks to Howard Jones for walking me through the nuances of the neutrality decision. See also Edward Everett diary, Aug. 23, 1861, Everett Papers (“give them hell!” and “suggestions of Mr. Seward”); Donald, Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man, p. 21; ALAL, v. 2, pp. 160–62 (could buy weapons etc.); Carwardine, Lincoln, p. 181 (“caged tiger”); Conway, Autobiography, v. 1, p. 350 (“corvine”); Seward, Seward at Washington, 1846–1861, p. 584 (“degree”); Lincoln, “Revision of William H. Seward to Charles Francis Adams,” May. 21, 1861, CWL, v. 4, pp. 376–80 (Seward dispatch); Adams quoted in Ferris, Desperate Diplomacy, p. 51 (“shallow madness”).

  133. Lincoln, “Revision of William H. Seward to Charles Francis Adams,” May 21, 1861, CWL, v. 4, pp. 376–80; Donald, “We Are Lincoln Men,” p. 154.

  134. Goodwin, passim; Donald, “We Are Lincoln Men,” p. 160.

  135. Carpenter, Inner Life, pp. 128–29 (signed without reading); O. J. Hollister, Life of Schuyler Colfax (New York, 1886), p. 200 (“Uncle Abe’s n
ose”); Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, v. 6, p. 265 (“unperceived”); Eaton, Grant, Lincoln and the Freedmen, p. 178 (“I am his master”); ALAL, v. 2, p. 456.

  136. Bancroft, v. 2, pp. 173–74.

  137. D. P. Crook notes that both Lincoln and Seward shared “the mediating approach of the old Whig party” on slavery. The same is largely true of their foreign policy strategies, with the exceptions outlined above. (Crook, Diplomacy During the American Civil War, p. 18.) Howard Jones notes that “even though their styles were as different as night and day, they worked in close harmony” after April 1, 1861. (Jones, Blue and Gray Diplomacy, p. 38.)

  138. Seward dispatch cited in Ferris, Desperate Diplomacy, p. 14.

  139. Donald, Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man, p. 25 (“mild and gentle”); Seward to his wife, June 5, 1861, Seward at Washington, 1846–1861, p. 590 (“cooperation”).

  140. Cortada, “A Case of International Rivalry,” pp. 66–76, esp. 66, 68 (annexation date), 73 (revolts), 76 (Lincoln’s response); Welles, Lincoln and Seward, pp. 183–84. See also Mahin, p. 204. In practice, it should be noted, European powers often challenged the principles of the Monroe Doctrine during the midnineteenth century, and it was not until long after the Civil War that the doctrine achieved its modern-day stature. My thanks to George C. Herring for emphasizing this point.

  141. Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, v. 3, p. 379 (“virtue of patience”).

  142. Grimsley, “Six Months in the White House,” pp. 61–63; Charles Sumner to James A. Hamilton, June 8, 1861, in Hamilton, Reminiscences, p. 483; RW, p. 433 (“all things right”).

  143. Lincoln to Albert G. Hodges, Apr. 4, 1864, CWL, v. 7, p. 281.

  144. On Lincoln and presidential “war power,” see McPherson, Tried by War, pp. 23–25, 30 (incl. quote to Hodges); Rossiter, American Presidency, pp. 98–99; Schlesinger, Jr., Imperial Presidency, pp. 58–64; and Corwin, The President, pp. 264–267 (expanding the navy and “significant precedents”).

  145. McDougall, Throes of Democracy, pp. 251–52, 350–53; and Remini, Henry Clay, pp. 137, 643 (Whigs and navy); Henderson, Hidden Coasts, p. 238.