Abraham Lincoln; the true story of a great life

Chapter I. Paces

A glimpse into the law-office. — How Lincoln kept accounts and divided fees with his partner. — Lincoln in the argument of a case. — The tribute of David Davis. — Characteristics as a lawyer. — One of Lincoln's briefs. — The Wright case. — Defending the ladies. — Reminiscences of the circuit. — The suit against the Illinois Central Railroad. — The Manny case. — First meeting with Edwin M. Stanton. — Defence of William Armstrong. — Last law-suit in Illinois. — The dinner at Arnold's in Chicago 1-29

Chapter II

Speech before the Scott Club. — A talk with John T. Stuart.— Newspapers and political literature. — Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. — The signs of discontent.— The arrival of Douglas in Chicago. — Speech at the State Fair.— The answer of Lincoln. — The article in the Conservative.— Lincoln's escape from the Abolitionists. — Following up Douglas.— Breach of agreement by Douglas.- — The contest in the Legislature for Senator. — Lincoln's magnanimity. — Election of Trumbull. — Interview with the Governor of Illinois. — The outrages in the Territories. — Lincoln's judicious counsel. — A letter to Speed. — The call for the Bloomington Convention. — Lincoln's telegram. — Speech at the Convention. — The ratification at Springfield. — The campaign of 1856. — Demands for Lincoln. — The letter to the Fillmore men 3°~58 iv CONTENTS.

Chapter III. Pages

Growth of Lincoln's reputation. — His dejection. — Greeley's letters. — Herndon's mission to the Eastern states. — Interviews with Seward, Douglas, Greeley, Beecher, and others. — The letter from Boston. — The Springfield convention.— Lincoln nominated Senator. — The " house-dividedagainst-itself" speech. — Reading it to his friends. — Their comments and complaints. — Douglas's first speech in Chicago. — The joint canvass. — Lincoln and Douglas contrasted.— Lincoln on the stump. — Positions of Lincoln and Douglas. — Incidents of the debate. — The result. — More letters from Horace Greeley. — How Lincoln accepted his defeat. — A specimen of his oratory 59~87

Chapter IV

Detailed account of the campaign of 1858 by Horace White. — Douglas's imposing entrance into Chicago. — His opening speech. — Meetings at Beardstown, Havana, and Lewiston. — Description of the two champions at Ottawa. — The Dixon conference. — The Freeport debate and its important consequences. — Mr. Lincoln's minor meetings. — His impressive speech at Edwardsville. — Increasing excitement as the campaign proceeded. — Remarkable gatherings at Charleston and Galesburg. — Debates at Quincy and Alton. ■ — The "Danites." — Senator Trumbull, Owen Lovejoy, Carl Schurz, Frank P. Blair, and other participants. — The election 88-132

Chapter V

A glimpse of Lincoln's home. — Sunday in the office with the boys. — Mrs. Lincoln's temper. — Troubles with the servants.— Letter to John E. Rosette. — What Lincoln did when the domestic sea was troubled. — A retrospect. — Lincoln's want of speculation. — His superstition. — Reading the life of Edmund Burke. — His scientific notions. — Writing the book against Christianity. — Recollections of Lincoln's views by old friends. — Statement of Mrs. Lincoln I33_I5°

CONTENTS.

Chapter VI

Effect of the canvass of 1858 on Lincoln's pocket-book. — Attempts to lecture. — On the stump with Douglas in Ohio. — Incidents of the Ohio canvass. — The dawn of i860. — Presidential suggestions. — Meeting in the office of the Secretary of State. — The Cooper Institute speech. — Speaking in New England. — Looming up. — Preparing for Chicago. — Letters to a friend. — The Decatur convention. — John Hanks bringing in the rails. — The Chicago convention. — The canvass of i860. — Li/icoln casting his ballot. — Attitude of the clergy in Springfield. — The election and result 157-178

Chapter VII

Arrival of the office-seekers in Springfield. — Recollections of a newspaper correspondent.— How Lincoln received the cabinet-makers. — Making up the cabinet. — A letter from Henry Wilson. — Visiting Chicago and meeting with Joshua F. Speed.— Preparing the Inaugural address. — Lincoln's self-confidence. — Separation from his step-mother. — Last days in Springfield.— Parting with old associates. — Departure of the Presidential party from Springfield. — The journey to Washington and efforts to interrupt the same. — The investigations of Allan Pinkerton. — The Inauguration. . . . 179-207

Chapter VIII

In the Presidential chair. — Looking after his friends. — Settling the claims of David Davis. — Swett's letter. — The visit of Herndon. — The testimony of Mrs. Edwards. — Letter from and interview with Mrs. Lincoln. — A glimpse into the White House. — A letter from John Hay. — Bancroft's eulogy. — Strictures of David Davis. — Dennis Hanks in Washington 208-230

Chapter IX

The recollections of Lincoln by Joshua F. Speed. — An interesting letter by Leonard Swett 231-248 vi CONTENTS.

Chapter X. Pages

Lincoln face to face with the realities of civil war. — Master of the situation. — The distrust of old politicians. — How the President viewed the battle of Bull Run. — An interesting reminiscence by Robert L. Wilson. — Lincoln's plan to suppress the Rebellion. — Dealing with McClellan and Grant. — Efforts to hasten the Emancipation Proclamation.— Lincoln withstands the pressure. — Calling the Cabinet together and reading the decree. — The letter to the "Unconditional Union" men. — The campaign of 1864. — Lincoln and Andrew Johnson nominated and elected. — The sensational report of Judge Advocate General Holt. — Interesting statements by David Davis and Joseph E. McDonald. — How the President retained Indiana in the column of Republican States. — The letter to General Sherman. — The result of the election. — The second Inauguration. — The address. — Military movements. — The surrender at Appomattox. — Lincoln visits the army in Virginia. — Entering Richmond. — The end of the war and the dawn of peace. — -Stricken down by the assassin, John Wilkes Booth. — Details of the cruel deed. — The President's death. — The funeral at the White House. —Conveying the remains of the dead chieftain to Springfield.— The tribute of Henry Ward Beecher. — The funeral at Springfield. — The capture and death of Booth. — The arrest, trial, and execution of his fellow conspirators. . 249-291

Chapter XI

The visit of Dr. Holland to Springfield. — What he learned from Lincoln's neighbors. — Their contradictory opinions. — Description by the author of Lincoln's person. — How he walked. — His face and head. — Cause of his melancholy. — His perceptions. — His memory and association of ideas. — Concentration of thought. — The crucible of his analytical mind. — The secret of his judgment. — The faith of his opinions and the firmness of his conclusions. — His belief in the power of motive. — The four great elements of his character. — His reason; his conscience; his sense of right; his love

CONTENTS.

\n of the truth. — A meek, quiet, unobtrusive gentleman. — His humanity. — Will power. — Want of interest in local affairs and small things. — Love for his friends. — The combination of characteristics. — His intense devotion to the truth. — His weak points. — Cool and masterly power of statement. — Simplicity and candor; easy of approach and thoroughly democratic. — His presence a charm, and his conversation a sweet recollection. — A leader of the people. — Strong with the masses.— A conservative statesman. — The central figure of our national history. — The sublime type of our civilization.— The man for the hour ...

292-320

Appendix

Unpublished Family Letters .

An Incident on the Circuit

Lincoln's Fellow Lawyers

The Truce with Douglas. — Testimony of Irwin The Bloomington Convention ....

An Office Discussion. — Lincoln's Idea of War Lincoln and the Know-Nothings ....

Lincoln's Views on the Rights of Suffrage . The Burial of the Assassin Booth .

A Tribute to Lincoln by a Colleague at the Bar Lincoln at Fort Monroe ... .

321-326

327.328

329. 330

33*

333, 334

334, 335

335-338

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

VOL. II.

FACING PACE

Lincoln during the debate with Douglas, 1858 . . Frontispiece

Lyman Trumbull 46

Hall of Representatives, State-House, Springfield .... 68

Fac-similc of letter to A. Campbell 71

The Lincoln residence, Springfield 136

Extract from letter to Kansas delegate, March 10, i860 . . 168

Abraham Lincoln, i860 179

Springfield Passenger Station, Great Western Railway . . 196

Edward D. Baker, Stephen A. Douglas, David Davis . .251

Ford's Theatre, Washington 273

The Petersen House, Washington 278

The St. Gaudens Statue of Lincoln ... , 314

The Lincoln Monument in Springfield . . ... 319

THE LIFE OF LINCOLN.

Chapter I

A law office is a dull, dry place so far as pleasurable or interesting incidents are concerned. If one is in search of stories of fraud, deceit, cruelty, broken promises, blasted homes, there is no better place to learn them than a law office. But to the majority of persons these painful recitals are anything but attractive, and it is well perhaps that it should be so. In the office, as in the court room, Lincoln, when discussing any point, was never arbitrary or insinuating. He was deferential, cool, patient, and respectful. When he reached the office, about nine o'clock in the morning, the first thing he did was to pick up a newspaper, spread himself out on an old sofa, one leg on a chair, and read aloud, much to my discomfort. Singularly enough Lincoln never read any other way but aloud. This habit used to annoy me almost beyond the point of endurance. I once asked him why he did so. This was his explanation : " When I read aloud two senses catch the idea : first, I see what I read ; second, I hear it, and therefore I can remember it better." He never studied law books unless a case was on hand for consideration — never followed up the decisions of the supreme courts, as other lawyers did. It seemed as if he depended for

I v^ his effectiveness in managing a lawsuit entirely on the stimulus and inspiration of the final hour. He paid but little attention to the fees and money matters of the firm — usually leaving all such to me. He never entered an item in the account book. If any one paid money to him which belonged to the firm, on arriving at the office he divided it with me. If I was not there, he would wrap up my share in a piece of paper and place it in my drawer — marking it with a pencil, " Case of Roe vs. Doe. — Herndon's half."

On many topics he was not a good conversationalist, because he felt that he was not learned enough. Neither was he a good listener. Putting it a little strongly, he was often not even polite. If present with others, or participating in a conversation, he was rather abrupt, and in his anxiety to say something apt or to illustrate the subject under discussion, would burst in with a story. In our office I have known him to consume the whole forenoon relating stories. If a man came to see him for the purpose of finding out something which he did not care to let him know and at the same time did not want to refuse him, he was very adroit. In such cases Lincoln would do most of the talking, swinging around what he suspected was the vital point, but never nearing it, interlarding his answers with a seemingly endless supply of stories and jokes. The interview being both interesting and pleasant, the man would depart in good humor, believing he had accomplished his mission. After he had walked away a few squares and had cooled off, the question would come up, " Well, what did I find out?" Blowing away the froth of Lincoln's humorous narratives he would find nothing substantial left.

" As he entered the trial," relates one of his colleagues at the bar,* " where most lawyers would object he would say he ' reckoned ' it would be fair to let this in, or that ; and sometimes, when his adversary could not quite prove what Lincoln knew to be the truth, he ' reckoned ' it would be fair to admit the truth to be so-and-so. When he did object to the court, and when he heard his objections answered, he would often say, ' Well, I reckon I must be wrong.' Now, about the time he had practised this three-fourths through the case, if his adversary didn't understand him, he would wake up in a few minutes learning that he had feared the Greeks too late, and find himself beaten. He was wise as a serpent in the trial of a cause, but I have had too many scares from his blows to certify that he was harmless as a dove. When the whole thing was unravelled, the adversary would begin to see that what he was so blandly giving away was simply what he couldn't get and keep. By giving away six points and carrying the seventh he carried his case, and the whole case hanging on the seventh, he traded away everything which would give him the least aid in carrying that. Any man who took Lincoln for a simple-minded man would very soon wake up with his back in a ditch."

* Leonard Swett.

Lincoln's restless ambition found its gratification only in the field of politics. He used the law merely as a stepping-stone to what he considered a more attractive condition in the political world. In the allurements held out by the latter he seemed to be happy. Nothing in Lincoln's life has provoked more discussion than the question of his ability as a lawyer. I feel warranted in saying that he was at the same time a very great and a very insignificant lawyer. Judge David Davis, in his eulogy on Lincoln at Indianapolis, delivered at the meeting of the bar there in May, 1865, said this: " In all the elements that constituted a lawyer he had few equals. He was great at nisi prius and before an appellate tribunal. He seized the strong points of a cause and presented them with clearness and great compactness. His mind was logical and direct, and he did not indulge in extraneous discussion. Generalities and platitudes had no charm for him. An unfailing vein of humor never deserted him, and he was able to claim the attention of court and jury when the cause was most uninteresting by the appropriateness of his anecdotes. His power of comparison was large, and he rarely failed in a legal discussion to use that mode of reasoning. The framework of his mental and moral being was honesty, and a wrong case was poorly defended by him. The ability which some eminent lawyers possess of explaining away the bad points of a cause by ingenious sophistry was denied him. In order to bring into full activity his great powers it was necessary that he should be convinced of the right and justice of the matter which he advocated. When so convinced, whether the cause was great or small he was usually successful." *

This statement of Judge Davis in general is correct, but in some particulars is faulty. It was intended as a eulogy on Lincoln, and as such would not admit of as many limitations and modifications as if spoken under other circumstances. In 1866 Judge Davis said in a statement made to me in his home at Bloomington, which I still have, " Mr. Lincoln had no managing faculty nor organizing power ; hence a child could conform to the simple and technical rules, the means and the modes of getting at justice, better than he. The law has its own rules, and a student could get at them or keep with them better than Lincoln. Sometimes he was forced to study these if he could not get the rubbish of a case removed. But all the way through his lack of method and organizing ability was clearly apparent." The idea that Mr. Lincoln was a great lawyer in the higher courts and a good nisi prhis lawyer, and yet that a child or student could manage a case in court better than he, seems strangely inconsistent, but the facts of his life as a lawyer will reconcile this and other apparent contradictions.

I was not only associated with Mr. Lincoln in Springfield, but was frequently on the circuit with

* He never took advantage of a man's low character to prejudice the jury. Mr. Lincoln thought his duty to his client extended to what was honorable and high-minded, just and noble — nothing further. Hence the meanest man at the bar always paid great deference and respect to him. — David Davis, Sept. 10, 1866, MS.

him, but of course not so much as Judge Davis, who held the court, and whom Lincoln followed around on the circuit for at least six months out of the year. I easily realized that Lincoln was strikingly deficient in the technical rules of the law. Although he was constantly reminding young legal aspirants to study and " work, work," yet I doubt if he ever read a single elementary law book through in his life. In fact, I may truthfully say, I never knew him to read through a law book of any kind. Practically, he knew nothing of the rules of evidence, of pleading, or practice, as laid down in the text-books, and seemed to care nothing about them. He had a keen sense of justice, and struggled for it, throwing aside forms, methods, and rules, until it appeared pure as a ray of light flashing through a fog-bank. He was not a general reader in any field of knowledge, but when he had occasion to learn or investigate any subject he was thorough and indefatigable in his search. He not only went to the root of a question, but dug up the root, and separated and analyzed every fibre of it. He was in every respect a case lawyer, never cramming himself on any question till he had a case in which the question was involved. He thought slowly and acted slowly; he must needs have time to analyze all the facts in a case and wind them into a connected story. I have seen him lose cases of the plainest justice, which the most inexperienced member of the bar would have gained without effort. Two things were essential to his success in managing a case. One was time ;

the other a feeling of confidence in the justice of the cause he represented. He used to say, " If I can free this case from technicalities and get it properly swung to the jury, I'll win it." But if either of these essentials were lacking, he was the weakest man at the bar. He was greatest in my opinion as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Illinois. There the cases were never hurried. The attorneys generally prepared their cases in the form of briefs, and the movements of the court and counsel were so slow that no one need be caught by surprise. I was with Lincoln once and listened to an oral argument by him in which he rehearsed an extended history of the law. It was a carefully prepared and masterly discourse, but, as I thought, entirely useless. After he was through and we were walking home I asked him why he went so far back in the history of the law. I presumed the court knew enough history. " That's where you're mistaken," was his instant rejoinder. " I dared not trust the case on the presumption that the court knows everything — in fact I argued it on the presumption that the court didn't know anything," a statement which, when one reviews the decision of our appellate courts, is not so extravagant as one would at first suppose.

I used to grow restless at Lincoln's slow movements and speeches in court. " Speak with more vim," I would frequently say, " and arouse the jury — talk faster and keep them awake." In answer to such a suggestion he one day made use of this illustration : " Give me your little pen-knife, with its short blade, and hand me that old jack-knife, lying on the table." Opening the blade of the pen-knife he said : " You see, this blade at the point travels rapidly, but only through a small portion of space till it stops; while the long blade of the jack-knife moves no faster but through a much greater space than the small one. Just so with the long, labored movements of my mind. I may not emit ideas as rapidly as others, because I am compelled by nature to speak slowly, but when I do throw off a thought it seems to me, though it comes with some effort, it has force enough to cut its own way and travel a greater distance." This was said to me when we were alone in our office simply for illustration. It was not said boastingly.

As a specimen of Lincoln's method of reasoning I insert here the brief or notes of an argument used by him in a lawsuit as late as 1858. I copy from the original :

" Legislation and adjudication must follow and conform to the progress of society.

" The progress of society now begins to produce cases of the transfer for debts of the entire property of railroad corporations ; and to enable transferees to use and enjoy the transferred property legislation and adjudication begin to be necessary.

" Shall this class of legislation just now beginning with us be general or special ?

" Section Ten of our Constitution requires that it should be general, if possible. (Read the Section.)

" Special legislation always trenches upon the judicial department; and in so far violates Section Two of the Constitution. (Read it.)

" Just reasoning — policy — is in favor of general legislation — else the legislature will be loaded down

THE LIFE OF LINCOLN. g

with the investigation of smaller cases — a work which the courts aught to perform, and can perform much more perfectly. How can the Legislature rightly decide the facts between P. & B. and S. C. &Co.?

" It is said that under a general law, whenever a R. R. Co. gets tired of its debts, it may transfer fraudulently to get rid of them. So they may — so may individuals ; and which — the Legislature or the courts — is best suited to try the question of fraud in either case?

" It is said, if a purchaser have acquired legal rights, let him not be robbed of them, but if he needs legislation let him submit to just terms to obtain it.

" Let him, say we, have general law in advance (guarded in every possible way against fraud), so that, when he acquires a legal right, he will have no occasion to wait for additional legislation ; and if he has practised fraud let the courts so decide."

David Davis said this of Lincoln : " When in a lawsuit he believed his client was oppressed, — as in the Wright case, — he was hurtful in denunciation. When he attacked meanness, fraud, or vice, he was powerful, merciless in his castigation." The Wright case referred to was a suit brought by Lincoln and myself to compel a pension agent to refund a portion of a fee which he had withheld from the widow of a revolutionary soldier. The entire pension was $400, of which sum the agent had retained one-half. The pensioner, an old woman crippled and bent with age, came hobbling into the office and told her story. It stirred Lincoln up, and he walked over to the agent's office and made a demand for a

IO THE LIFE OF LINCOLN.

return of the money, but without success. Then suit was brought. The day before the trial I hunted up for Lincoln, at his request, a history of the Revolutionary War, of which he read a good portion. He told me to remain during the trial until I had heard his address to the jury. " For," said he, " I am going to skin Wright, and get that money back." The only witness we introduced was the old lady, who through her tears told her story. In his speech to the jury, Lincoln recounted the causes leading to the outbreak of the Revolutionary struggle, and then drew a vivid picture of the hardships of Valley Forge, describing with minuteness the men, barefooted and with bleeding feet, creeping over the ice. As he reached that point in his speech wherein he narrated the hardened action of the defendant in fleecing the old woman of her pension his eyes flashed, and throwing aside his handkerchief, which he held in his right hand, he fairly launched into him. His speech for the next five or ten minutes justified the declaration of Davis, that he was " hurtful in denunciation and merciless in castigation." There was no rule of court to restrain him in his argument, and I never, either on the stump or on other occasions in court, saw him so wrought up. Before he closed, he drew an ideal picture of the plaintiff's husband, the deceased soldier, parting with his wife at the threshold of their home, and kissing their little babe in the cradle, as he started for the war. " Time rolls by," he said, in conclusion ; " the heroes of '76 have passed away and are encamped on the other

THE LIFE OF LINCOLN. U

shore. The soldier has gone to rest, and now, crippled, blinded, and broken, his widow comes to you and to me, gentlemen of the jury, to right her wrongs. She was not always thus. She was once a beautiful young woman. Her step was as elastic, her face as fair, and her voice as sweet as any that rang in the mountains of old Virginia. But now she is poor and defenceless. Out here on the prairies of Illinois, many hundreds of miles away from the scenes of her childhood, she appeals to us, who enjoy the privileges achieved for us by the patriots of the Revolution, for our sympathetic aid and manly protection. All I ask is, shall we befriend her?" The speech made the desired impression on the jury. Half of them were in tears, while the defendant sat in the court room, drawn up and writhing under the fire of Lincoln's fierce invective. The jury returned a verdict in our favor for every cent we demanded. Lincoln was so much interested in the old lady that he became her surety for costs, paid her way home, and her hotel bill while she was in Springfield. When the judgment was paid we remitted the proceeds to her and made no charge for our services. Lincoln's notes for the argument were unique : " No contract. — Not professional services. — Unreasonable charge. — Money retained by Deft not given by Pl'fif. — Revolutionary War. — Describe Valley Forge privations. — Ice. — Soldier's bleeding feet. — Pl'ff's husband. — Soldier leaving home for army. — Skin Deft. — Close."

It must not be inferred from this that Lincoln was in the habit of slopping over. He never hunted up acts of injustice, but if they came to him he was easily enlisted. In 1855 he was attending court at the town of Clinton, Illinois. Fifteen ladies from a neighboring village in the county had been indicted for trespass. Their offence consisted in sweeping down on one Tanner, the keeper of a saloon in the village, and knocking in the heads of his barrels. Lincoln was not employed in the case, but sat watching the trial as it proceeded. In defending the ladies their attorney seemed to evince a little want of tact, and this prompted one of the former to invite Mr. Lincoln to add a few words to the jury, if he thought he could aid their cause. He was too gallant to refuse and, their attorney having consented, he made use of the following argument : " In this case I would change the order of indictment and have it read The State vs. Mr. Whiskey, instead of The State vs. The Ladies ; and touching these there are three laws : The law of self-protection ; the law of the land, or statute law ; and the moral law, or law of God. First, the law of self-protection is a law of necessity, as evinced by our forefathers in casting the tea overboard and asserting their right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. In this case it is the only defence the ladies have, for Tanner neither feared God nor regarded man. Second, the law of the land, or statute law, and Tanner is recreant to both. Third, the moral law, or law of God, and this is probably a law for the violation of which the jury can fix no punishment." Lincoln gave some of his own observations on the ruinous

THE LIFE OF LINCOLN.

effects of whiskey in society, and demanded its early suppression. After he had concluded, the Court, without awaiting the return of the jury, dismissed the ladies, saying: " Ladies, go home. I will require no bond of you, and if any fine is ever wanted of you, we will let you know."

After Lincoln's death a fellow-lawyer paid this tribute to him : * " He was wonderfully kind, careful, and just. He had an immense stock of common-sense, and he had faith enough in it to trust it in every emergency. Mr. Lincoln's love of justice and fair-play was his predominating trait. I have often listened to him when I thought he would ^ certainly state his case out of court. It was not in his nature to assume or attempt to bolster up a false position.! He would abandon his case first.