The Free Soil element at Chicago was both prominent and aggressive. A characteristic anecdote is told of Greeley during a caucus at which a Free Soil member shouted, “Let us have a candidate, this time, that represents our advanced convictions against slavery.”
“My friend,” inquired Greeley, in his falsetto voice, as he rose to his feet, “suppose each Republican voter in your State were to receive a letter to-morrow advising him that he (the said voter) had just lost a brother living in the South, who had left to him a plantation stocked with slaves. How many of the two hundred and fifty thousand Republicans would, in response, set free those slaves?”
“I fear I could not stand that test myself,” was the rejoinder.
“Then it is not yet time to nominate an abolitionist,” retorted Greeley, sitting down.
This is a good story, but if the incident took place at all it must have occurred elsewhere than in the caucus of the New York delegation, for the reason that Greeley, not being a delegate from the State of New York, could not attend the caucus of that delegation. He was appointed a delegate from Oregon, by the special request of the Republicans of that State, and as such sat in the convention.
Seward had all of the delegates from New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, and he counted many followers in other States.
Lincoln had a strong following from his own State, and on the first ballot mustered one hundred and two votes out of a total of four hundred and sixty-six. Seward received one hundred and seventy-two and a half on the second ballot; then Cameron turned his votes over to Lincoln, and thirteen of the Bates delegates followed suit. On the third ballot Lincoln’s vote had increased to two hundred and thirty-one and a half, while Seward’s was only one hundred and eighty. When the break started I turned to my neighbor in the gallery and remarked, “Seward is defeated; Lincoln will be nominated.”
“No,” he objected; “this is only one delegation, and Seward’s friends are too devotedly attached to his fortunes. They will never go over to his opponent.”
“And what will Greeley do?” I asked.
“Greeley will be left with only his hatred,” he rejoined.