It first appeared in the Boston Journal,[75] with the caption, “Senator Sumner and the President,” and with these introductory words:—
“We are permitted to publish the following private letter from Hon. Charles Sumner, in reply to a letter addressed to him by a personal friend. Senator Sumner’s hearty indorsement will not be without its influence upon those who are impatient at what they term the Proslavery policy of the President. At the same time there is nothing in this indorsement which should shake the confidence of conservative men in his wisdom and prudence.… It is something to obtain from one who may be regarded as a representative of this class so handsome a tribute to the purity of the President’s motives, and so hearty an indorsement of the correctness of his convictions and sympathies.”
Senate Chamber, June 5, 1862.
MY DEAR SIR,—Your criticism of the President is hasty. I am confident, if you knew him as I do, you would not make it.
The President cannot be held responsible for the misfeasance of subordinates, unless adopted, or at least tolerated, by him. And I am sure nothing unjust or ungenerous will be tolerated, much less adopted, by him.
I am happy to let you know that he has no sympathy with Stanly in his absurd wickedness, closing the schools, nor, again, in his other act of turning our camps into a hunting-ground for slaves. He repudiates both, positively. The latter point has occupied much of his thought, and the newspapers do not go too far in recording his repeated declarations, which I have often heard from his own lips, that slaves finding their way within the national lines are never to be reënslaved. This is his conviction, expressed without reserve.
Could you—as has been my privilege often—have seen the President, while considering the great questions on which he has already acted, beginning with the invitation to Emancipation in the States, then Emancipation in the District of Columbia, and the acknowledgment of the Independence of Hayti and Liberia, even your zeal would be satisfied; for you would feel the sincerity of his purpose to do what he can to carry forward the principles of the Declaration of Independence. His whole soul was occupied, especially by the first proposition, so peculiarly his own. In familiar intercourse with him, I remember nothing more touching than the earnestness and completeness with which he embraced this idea. To his mind it was just and beneficent, while it promised the sure end of Slavery. To me, who had already proposed a Bridge of Gold for the retreating Fiend, it was most welcome. Proceeding from the President, it must take its place among the great events of history.
If disposed to be impatient at apparent short-comings, think, I pray you, what has been done in a brief period, and from the past discern the sure promise of the future. Knowing something of my convictions, and of the ardor with which I maintain them, you may, perhaps, derive assurance from my confidence. I say to you, therefore, Stand by the Administration. If need be, help it by word and act; but stand by it, and have faith in it.
I wish that you knew the President, and had heard the artless expression of his convictions on those questions which concern you so deeply. You might, perhaps, wish he were less cautious, but you would be grateful that he is so true to all you have at heart. Believe me, therefore, you are wrong; and I regret it the more because of my desire to see all our friends stand firm together.