Abraham Lincoln

by William Eleroy Curtis

The relations between several of the members of Lincoln's Cabinet were from the beginning to the end unfriendly, and no President without the tact, patience, and forbearance of Lincoln could have controlled them. He treated them all with unvarying kindness, and although he never disclosed any desire or intention to dominate, and, in fact, invariably yielded on matters of little importance, he was always their master, and on matters of great importance they were compelled to submit to his will. It is the highest testimony to their confidence in him that even those who had retired at his wish never afterwards failed to show him respect and even affection, and none of them ever retired from his post from feelings of dissatisfaction with the orders or the treatment he received from him.

During the early days of his administration he had a higher opinion of his advisers than they had of him, which was because they did not yet know one another. He recognized them as men who had made honorable records in the United States Senate and in other eminent positions, while they regarded him as an ordinary frontier lawyer, without experience, and the struggle for ascendancy and control puzzled a good many people from time to time. Mr. Seward was looked upon as the chief pillar of the temple for many months, Mr. Stanton's iron will was constantly felt by the public, Mr. Chase was regarded as an eminent statesman; but in all the critical issues of the war the uncouth Western lawyer, without experience in statecraft or executive administration, unused to power, asserted and maintained his official supremacy, and every member of his Cabinet yielded implicit obedience. They recognized his unselfish purpose, his purity of character, his keen perception, his foresight, and his common sense, and were usually willing to accept his judgment. While others fretted and became confused in the emergencies that overwhelmed them, Lincoln was never liable to excitement or impulsive action.

MONTGOMERY BLAIR, POSTMASTER-GENERAL

From a photograph by Brady

At the beginning of his administration the entire organization of the government was in a chaotic state. The Buchanan administration had filled the offices with Democrats and Southern sympathizers, who resigned immediately after Lincoln's inauguration and left their affairs in utter confusion. Their places had to be filled with untrained men who did not understand their duties and had not been accustomed to official labor or discipline. It would have been remarkable if they had conducted the routine work without friction, but the urgency and the magnitude of the responsibility and labor that were thrown upon them was more than a trained corps of officials could have executed without confusion and delay. The President was probably the only man connected with the government that did not lose his self-control. During all that most trying period, as was the case throughout his life, he was composed, serene, and confident. Oftentimes, when subordinate officials and outsiders came to him raging with indignation, he heard them with patience, replied with a jest on his lips, and quieted their nerves by talking of commonplace matters. His Cabinet officers were often fretful, and there was continual friction between the several departments. Several times it almost reached the breaking-point. But Lincoln soothed and satisfied all parties without taking the side of either.

Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, was not only a representative of the border State aristocracy, but belonged to one of the most prominent Democratic families in the country, was one of the founders of the Republican party, and was first known to Lincoln as the attorney who argued Dred Scott's case in the Supreme Court. He was a graduate of West Point Military Academy, had several years of military training in Indian campaigns, had studied law, and was appointed a judge of the Court of Common Pleas when he was a very young man. President Buchanan made him solicitor of the Court of Claims, but removed him because of his opposition to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. This made a Republican of Blair, and, with the exception of his brother Francis P. Blair, of Missouri, and Cassius M. Clay, of Kentucky, he was the most conspicuous antislavery man in all the Southern States.

Blair could not be appointed to the Cabinet without a bitter controversy. He was opposed by Henry Winter Davis, one of the most able and brilliant young Whigs in the House of Representatives, and by other partisans in Maryland, who fought so hard and so persistently as to involve several of the leading Whigs of the country on his side, while the former Democrats in the Republican party rallied to the support of Blair. Davis had the powerful sympathy of Seward and Chase, Benjamin F. Wade, and other prominent abolitionists, and it became no longer a matter of personal rivalry between Blair and Davis, but a struggle for supremacy between the Whigs and the Democrats for the control of the administration. During the few days before the inauguration it seemed as if the Republican party would be split in twain, or at least that the entire Cabinet slate would be destroyed if either Blair or Davis received an appointment. Lincoln seemed to be the only man in Washington who was not involved in the controversy. He watched the situation with keen eyes, however, and was alert for every event or incident that might have a serious effect upon his administration; but his mind was made up, and when Norman B. Judd came bursting into his bedroom at Willard's Hotel on the night of March 3, to inquire in great excitement if he had decided to nominate Davis instead of Blair, Lincoln replied calmly but with emphasis,—

"When that slate breaks again it will break at the top."

Mr. Blair was a loyal and useful member of the Cabinet, and from the beginning was in favor of prompt and energetic measures against the secessionists. He had been a Democrat of the Jackson type, and urged Lincoln to adopt Jackson's vigorous policy against nullification. It might have been wiser and better for the country, it might have saved lives and money, sorrow and tears, if his advice had been adopted. He understood the South better than Seward or Chase or any other member of the Cabinet; but conditions would not permit the adoption of his energetic policy, and he became very restless. His temper and his character were revealed in a memorandum which he submitted with his colleagues at the request of Lincoln, concerning setting forth his views of the course that should be pursued.