The Finances of the War.
29. At the outbreak of the civil war the financial credit of the United States sank to a very low ebb. Mr. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury, first sought relief by issuing Treasury Notes, receivable as money. By the beginning of 1862, the expenses of the government had risen to more than a million of dollars daily. To meet these tremendous demands on the government, Congress next provided Internal Revenue. This was made up from two general sources: first, a tax on manufactures, incomes and salaries; second, a stamp-duty on all legal documents. The next measure was the issuance of Legal Tender Notes of the United States, to be used as money. These are the notes called Greenbacks. The third great measure adopted by the government was the sale of United States Bonds. The interest upon them was fixed at six per cent., payable semi-annually in gold. In the next place, Congress passed an act providing for the establishment of National Banks. National bonds, instead of gold and silver, were used as a basis of the circulation of these banks; and the redemption of their bills was guaranteed by the treasury of the United States. At the end of the conflict, the national debt had reached nearly three thousand millions of dollars.
Pres. Lincoln's Assassination.
30. On the 4th of March, 1865, President Lincoln was inaugurated for his second term. Three days after the evacuation of Richmond by Lee's army, the President made a visit to that city. On the evening of the 14th of April, he, with his wife and a party of friends, attended Ford's Theater in Washington. As the play drew near its close, an actor, named John Wilkes Booth, stole into the President's box and shot him through the brain. Mr. Lincoln lingered in an unconscious state until morning, and died. It was the greatest tragedy of modern times. The assassin, after the murder, escaped into the darkness.
Secretary Seward Stabbed.
31. At the same hour another murderer, named Lewis Payne Powell, burst into the bed-chamber of Secretary Seward, sprang upon the couch of the sick man, and stabbed him nigh unto death. The city was wild with alarm. Troops of cavalry departed in all directions to hunt down the assassins. On the 26th of April, Booth was found concealed in a barn south of Fredericksburg. Refusing to surrender, he was shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett. Powell was caught and hanged. David E. Herrold and Geo. A. Atzerott, together with Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, at whose house the plot was formed, were also condemned and executed. Michael O'Laughlin, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, and Samuel Arnold were sentenced to imprisonment for life, and Edward Spangler for six years.
32. So ended in darkness, but not in shame, the career of Abraham Lincoln—one of the most remarkable men of any age or country. He was prudent, far-sighted, and resolute; thoughtful, calm, and just; patient, tender-hearted, and great. The manner of his death consecrated his memory. From city to city, in one vast funeral procession, the mourning people followed his remains to their last resting-place at Springfield, Illinois.