LETTER OF LINCOLN, DECLINING AN OFFER OF OFFICE
⁂ It is easy to see the great personal interest of such a letter as this. It marks a period in Lincoln’s life, the importance of which can hardly be over-estimated. In Morse’s Life of Lincoln, it is said that upon the offer of the position, “controlled by the sensible advice of his wife, he fortunately declined.”
Springfield, Illinois, Sept. 27, 1849.
“Hon. J. M. Clayton
Secretary of State.
Dear Sir
Your letter of the 17th inst. saying you had received no answer to yours informing me of my appointment as Secretary of Oregon is received and surprises me very much—I received that letter accompanied by the commissions in due course of mail, and answered it two days after, declining the office and warmly recommending Simeon Francis for it. I have also written you several letters since, alluding to the same matter all of which ought to have reached you before the date of your last letter.
Your Obt. Servt.
“A. Lincoln.”