Abraham Lincoln: Part Two

Welcome to Civics and Coffee. My name is Alycia and I am a self-professed history nerd. Each week, I am going to chat about a topic on U.S history and give you both the highlights and occasionally break down some of the complexities in history; and share stories you may not remember learning in high school. All in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

INTRO MUSIC

Hey everyone, welcome back. 

As the Union and Confederate armies battled on the front lines, President Abraham Lincoln sat at the White House, working to the point of exhaustion to bring about peace and restore the union. A man who never wanted hostilities, Lincoln nevertheless found himself in a position as President where he was the Commander in Chief of men in the midst of a Civil War. 

I last focused on Abraham Lincoln back in December and promised then that there would be at least one more episode dedicated to the man who remains among the best presidents when ranked by historians. So this week, I am continuing in my coverage of Abraham Lincoln. How did Lincoln go from a former member of the House of Representatives to President in just over a decade? What role did his debates with Stephen Douglas play in elevating his national profile? And how did he evolve on the question of slavery?

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

When we last focused on Lincoln, he had just been elected to the House of Representatives and caused a bit of a stir when he spoke out against President Polk and questioned his motivations for entering into war with Mexico. On December 22, 1847, Representative Lincoln asked President Polk to answer questions about the war - including clarification as to whether the loss of life used to enter into the conflict happened on U.S. soil. This anti-war rhetoric threw Lincoln’s family and friends back home in Illinois through a loop and many interpreted Lincoln’s comments as a lack of support for the troops serving, despite the fact that Lincoln repeatedly voted for legislation that provided funding for soldiers. 

Lincoln made the best of his time in the House, introducing legislation proposing for the elimination of slavery within the District. Under the terms of his bill, slave owners would be entitled to compensation; however, Lincoln was unsuccessful in gaining much support for the bill and it died before ever getting off the ground. After the completion of his term in the House, Lincoln returned to practicing law, where he traveled the 8th judicial circuit. Out of politics and back home, Lincoln’s wife Mary had hoped she would get her husband back, but she would continue to find herself running the house on her own as her husband traveled the state. Although Lincoln went back to practicing law, he remained attuned to what was happening in the political arena.  

While he did not run for office himself, Lincoln campaigned on behalf of Republican candidate John C Fremont in the 1856 presidential election - a contest that ultimately went to Lincoln’s predecessor, James Buchanan. In June of 1858, Lincoln gave his famous house divided speech where he said partially quote: “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided,” end quote. Drafted in the aftermath of the Dred Scott decision in 1857, Lincoln gave this speech at the Republican state convention as he launched his campaign for Senate against Stephen Douglas. 

The speech, which was intended to offer a contrast between Lincoln and Douglas on the issue of slavery, was seen as radical. Whereas Lincoln was trying to explain where he stood on the issue, and his belief that eventually the United States would either embrace or abolish slavery in its entirety, many who heard the speech charged Lincoln was calling for a Civil War. He unintentionally said the quiet part out loud; the country could not continue to be split on the issue of slavery’s expansion and compromises were not the answer. However as Lincoln indicated in his speech, he did not believe the union would need to collapse - but his critics, and political rival Stephen Douglas - took Lincoln’s words and used them throughout the 1858 election season as proof that Lincoln was an overzealous abolitionist looking to eradicate the economic system. 

The two candidates embarked on a marathon series of debates throughout the year. Traveling throughout the state of Illinois, Lincoln and Douglas met seven times and debated for over 21 hours. Spectators came to watch the two men exchange ideas, including nearly 20,000 who descended upon Galesburg on October 7th, making it the most attended debate of the campaign. For Lincoln, running against someone like Stephen Douglas was a bit of a David & Goliath situation. As historian and Lincoln biographer Ron C White observed quote, “at the time of the debates, Douglas was a leading national actor while Lincoln was regarded solely as an Illinois politician,” end quote. Ultimately, Lincoln lost his bid for the Senate, but the debates and his campaign helped elevate his national profile - leading some in the Republican party to look at Lincoln as a potential candidate for president in the upcoming 1860 election. Reflecting later in life on his loss of the Senate seat, Lincoln apparently said to himself quote: “it’s a slip and not a fall,” end quote. 

As I mentioned, despite losing to Douglas, Lincoln had done enough to elevate his profile to the point where party leaders and newspapers began seriously considering him for the presidency. In November 1858, the Chicago Democrat wrote about Lincoln quote: “present his name to the National Republican Convention, first for President, and next for Vice President,” end quote. For his part, Lincoln remained publicly humble, deferring the compliments by naming other, more recognizable politicians, who may be better suited for the role. In discussions with friend and fellow lawyer Jesse Fell, Lincoln  of the presidency rumors quote, “I admit the force of much that you say, and admit that I am ambitious, and would like to be President; I am not insensible to the compliment you pay me, and the interest you manifest in the matter, but there is no such good luck in store for me, as the Presidency of these United States,” end quote. 

Whatever his sense about his chances, Lincoln spent most of 1859 traveling and giving speeches, likely testing the political waters to see if he had what it took to capture enough votes. When the Republican party launched their convention in May of 1860, Lincoln was still considered a bit of a dark horse candidate, but managed to surprise everyone by clinching the nomination on the third ballot. I covered the election of 1860 in a previous episode - be sure to queue it up after this one if you want to hear more about it. Of course, even without listening to that episode, you can likely guess who was successful in the presidential contest - not without some drama, of course. Despite winning, there was a concern that Lincoln’s electoral victory would not be counted. It fell to outgoing Vice President John C. Breckenridge to certify the vote count. Breckenridge, who had also run for the presidency and was a southern-sympathizer, followed his constitutional duty and certified the election for Lincoln, making him the 16th President of the United States.

As president-elect, Lincoln faced unchartered waters as almost immediately upon his election, states began announcing their intention to secede from the union, with South Carolina becoming the first state to do so in December, 1860 - some five months before Lincoln was scheduled to take the oath of office. James Buchanan, who was the outgoing incumbent, failed to take concrete steps to prevent states from leaving the union, leaving Lincoln to figure out how to address the situation upon entering office. Never before had a president faced a crisis as gravely serious as secession. The country itself was on the line. Lincoln kept a level head and vowed that if Civil War was in fact to come, it would not be as a result of the federal government making the first move. 

As you’ve been following along with the Civil War series here on the pod, you know that Lincoln’s hand was forced during his attempt to restock Fort Sumter when shots were fired on April 12, 1861 barely a month into Lincoln’s administration. The President’s sole focus became how to end the war quickly and how to ensure that other states did not join the southern half of the country in seceding from the Union. The presidency ages everyone, but the toll of the Civil War was clear when you review photos of Lincoln throughout his administration. Over the course of the four year conflict, over 200 battles were fought, leading to the deaths of over 600,000 men and women. The nation itself was remade throughout the conflict as the federal government expanded and the war prompted advancements in medical treatments and technology. Throughout it all, Lincoln remained steadfast in his commitment to ensuring the reunification of the union. 

In a letter to Secretary of State William Seward in June of 1862, Lincoln wrote quote, “I expect to maintain this contest until successful, or till I die, or am conquered, or my term expires, or Congress or the country forsakes me,” end quote. Lincoln wanted desperately to reunify the country, but as the conflict dragged on, Lincoln began reassessing his position on the topic of slavery and black freedom.

Although Lincoln had long been personally opposed to the slave system, he was consistent in his public statements that as president, he would take no action to abolish slavery where it already existed. His hope was to limit its further expansion. Like many white Americans of the period, Lincoln held paternalistic views of African Americans, believing that once free, Black men and women would be better suited living outside of the United States as he thought white and black men could not live together peacefully. It wasn’t until a year into the Civil War did Lincoln begin to reconsider his previous view points. 

Understanding how committed the Confederacy was to ensuring their survival, Lincoln began privately debating whether emancipating African Americans would help shift the tide of the war in the union’s favor. He drafted a version of what would become the Emancipation Proclamation in July, 1862 and shared its contents with members of his cabinet. Lincoln was clear in his intentions; he was sharing the proclamation only for advice on the merits of the issue, not to debate whether he should move forward. The cabinet had mixed reactions to the proclamation, but it was Secretary of State Seward who made Lincoln pause. The summer had not been kind to the union as they lost battle after battle. In Seward’s opinion, if Lincoln moved forward with announcing the Emancipation Proclamation right away, it would be seen as a desperate act by the losing side. Instead, Seward recommended Lincoln wait until a union victory to help reframe the message. Lincoln agreed. 

There were practical purposes to Lincoln’s decision too. Lincoln knew he needed reinforcements and wanted to get African Americans involved in the war effort to help defeat the confederacy. But he also realized that asking these men to risk their lives for nothing in return would likely not garner the results he wanted. Therefore, as biographer Jon Meacham observed quote, “the president was doing the right thing for practical reasons - a political being pursuing a course grounded in morality,” end quote. Lincoln waited until the union victory at Antietam before announcing his intentions to issue the proclamation freeing enslaved individuals in the states currently under rebellion.  

Issuing the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862, Lincoln gave the confederacy a warning: if the states in rebellion failed to cease hostilities and rejoin the union within 100 days, he would move forward with issuing a proclamation freeing all enslaved individuals residing in their territory. Touting the document as a war time measure, Lincoln was careful in ensuring only the states in the confederacy were impacted by the declaration; meaning, no states who remained in the union - several of whom continued to enslave others - was included in the declaration. Lincoln’s announcement, though largely symbolic, led to the enlistment of over 200,000 black men in the union army. And while Lincoln may have pursued the proclamation for mostly political purposes, he understood the magnitude of the moment, saying of the proclamation quote: “if my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul it in it,” end quote.  

Once decided, Lincoln was all in and discussed his decision in his second annual message to Congress in December, writing partially quote, “we say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We - even we here - hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve,” end quote. 

When 1863 arrived and the confederacy remained steadfast in its commitment to continue fighting, Lincoln made good on his promise and issued the formal emancipation proclamation. Despite calls from some of the more liberal members of his party to push for a full abolition of slavery, Lincoln stuck with the original text, limiting the declaration of freedom to only those enslaved in rebellious states. Black men enlisted into service and the union started to slowly, but surely gain ground against the confederacy. The union was making so much progress that by December of 1863, Lincoln decided to announce his plans for reconstruction and reunification once the hostilities ended. 

Issued on December  8, 1863 the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction outlined what Lincoln hoped would be the terms of reunification for southern states. Under Lincoln’s plan, most individuals who participated in hostilities would be granted a full pardon and have their property returned, would allow southern states to establish new state governments once ten percent of voters took an oath of allegiance to the United States, and allowed southern governments to make plans for how to properly address formerly enslaved persons - as long as it did not compromise their freedom. It was a nuanced, balanced approach to get the country back together - something not all members of his party could get behind.

In spite of the noise, Lincoln continued to move forward with seeking reelection in 1864. A centrist in an era of extremists, Lincoln faced criticism from his own party who felt that Lincoln had fallen short by not issuing a full abolition of slavery and for not being harsh enough to southern states in his plans for reconstruction. Defenders of president emphasized that although Lincoln may have moved slower than others would like, he always moved forward and did not retreat from a decision once it was made. Some pushed for military commander, and future president, Ulysses S. Grant to replace Lincoln, but Grant remained in support of the president. However, another military commander, George McClellan, made a different decision. Feeling Lincoln made a bad call in making slavery a key issue in the war, McClellan ran on a platform that put reunification above all else. 

As the country was in the midst of war, there were questions about how to get soldiers to vote. Some states adopted absentee ballots, but others did not, posing a conundrum. In response, the army decided to give soldiers a leave of absence so they could complete their civic duty. When all was said and done, service members overwhelmingly threw their support behind their commander in chief and Lincoln was reelected. Replacing Hannibal Hamlin as Vice President was former Tennessee Governor Andrew Johnson - a decision that would forever alter the trajectory of reconstruction and Black rights after Lincoln’s assassination in 1865. 

Lincoln made it just a few weeks into his second term in office, and only days after securing confederate surrender, before he would die by an assassin's bullet on April 15th, 1865. He was just 56 years old. 

Abraham Lincoln was an intelligent, complex leader who left a lasting impression on the nation. In death, he would be touted as the Great Emancipator and consistently ranks as one of the best presidents by historians. He did not always make the right choices, and he did not always move as quickly on issues as others would have liked, but he moved the country, bit by bit, forward. 

Come back next week as I have one more episode dedicated to Lincoln and his legacy. I will be joined by a special guest who brings an insightful, thoughtful perspective on Lincoln’s leadership and how our current leaders could learn a thing or two by following his example. 

Thanks, peeps. I will see you next week.

Thanks for tuning and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Civics & Coffee. If you want to hear more small snippets from american history, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening and I look forward to our next cup of coffee together. 

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