<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>
<h3>INAUGURATION.</h3>
<p>If before leaving Springfield Mr. Lincoln had become
weary of the pressure upon him for office, he found
no respite on his arrival at the focus of political intrigue
and corruption. The time intervening between his
arrival at Washington and his Inauguration was, for the
most part, employed in giving consideration to his Inaugural
Address, the formation of his Cabinet, and the
conventional duties required by his elevated position.</p>
<p>The question of the new Administration's policy
absorbed nearly every other consideration. To get a
Cabinet that would work harmoniously in carrying out
the policy determined on by Mr. Lincoln was very
difficult. He was pretty well determined on the construction
of his Cabinet before he reached Washington;
but in the minds of the public, beyond the generally
accepted fact that Mr. Seward was to be the Premier
of the new Administration, all was speculation and conjecture.
All grades of opinion were advanced for his consideration:
conciliation was strongly urged; a vigorous
war policy; a policy of quiescent neutrality recommending
delay of demonstrative action for or against war,—and
all, or nearly all these suggestions were prompted<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</SPAN></span>
by the most unselfish and patriotic motives. He was compelled
to give a patient ear to these representations, and
to hold his decisions till the last moment, in order that
he might decide with a full view of the requirements of
public policy and party fealty.<SPAN name="FNanchor_4_10" id="FNanchor_4_10"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_4_10" class="fnanchor">[4]</SPAN></p>
<p>As late as the second of March a large and respectable
delegation of persons visited Mr. Lincoln to bring matters
to a conclusion. Their object was to prevent at all
hazards the appointment of Mr. Chase in the Cabinet.
They were received civilly and treated courteously.
The President listened to them with great patience.
They were unanimous in their opposition to Mr. Chase.
Mr. Seward's appointment, they urged, was absolutely
and indispensably required to secure for the Administration
either the support of the North or a respectful
hearing at the South. They portrayed the danger of
putting into the Cabinet a man like Mr. Chase, who was
so notoriously identified with and supported by men who
did not desire the perpetuation of the Union. They
strongly insisted that Mr. Chase would be an unsafe counsellor,
and that he and his supporters favored a Northern
republic, extending from the Ohio River to Canada,
rather than the Union which our fathers had founded.
They urged another argument, which to them seemed
of vital importance and conclusive,—that it would not
be possible for Mr. Seward to sit in the Cabinet with
Mr. Chase as a member. To think of it was revolting
to him, and neither he nor his State could or would
tolerate it.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</SPAN></span>These arguments, so earnestly put forth, distressed
Mr. Lincoln greatly. At length, after a long pause, he
replied that it was very difficult to reconcile conflicting
claims and interests; that his greatest desire was to form
an Administration that would command the confidence
and respect of the country, and of the party which had
placed him in power. He spoke of his high regard for
Mr. Seward, of his eminent services, his great genius,
and the respect in which he was held by the country.
He said Mr. Chase had also great claims that no one
could gainsay. His claims were, perhaps, not so great
as Mr. Seward's; but this he would not then discuss:
the party and the country wanted the hearty and harmonious
co-operation of all good men without regard to
sections.</p>
<p>Then there was an ominous pause. Mr. Lincoln went
to a drawer and took out a paper, saying, "I had written
out my choice and selection of members for the Cabinet
after most careful and deliberate consideration; and now
you are here to tell me I must break the slate and begin
the thing all over again." He admitted that he had
sometimes apprehended that it might be as they had
suggested,—that he might be forced to reconsider what
he regarded as his judicious conclusions; and in view of
this possibility he had constructed an alternative list of
members. He did not like the alternative list so well
as the original. He had hoped to have Mr. Seward as
Secretary of State and Mr. Chase his Secretary of Treasury.
He expressed his regrets that he could not be<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</SPAN></span>
gratified in this desire, and added that he could not
reasonably expect to have things just as he wanted them.
Silence prevailed for some time, and he then added:
"This being the case, gentlemen, how would it do for
us to agree upon a change like this? To appoint Mr.
Chase Secretary of the Treasury, and offer the State
Department to Mr. William L. Dayton, of New Jersey?"</p>
<p>The delegation was shocked, disappointed, outraged.
Mr. Lincoln, continuing in the same phlegmatic manner,
again referred to his high appreciation of the abilities of
Mr. Seward. He said Mr. Dayton was an old Whig,
like Mr. Seward and himself, and that he was from New
Jersey, and was "next door to New York." Mr. Seward,
he added, could go as Minister to England, where his
genius would find wonderful scope in keeping Europe
straight about our home troubles. The delegation was
nonplussed. They, however, saw and accepted the
inevitable. For the first time they realized that indomitable
will of the President-elect which afterward became
so notable throughout the trying times of his Administration.
They saw that "the mountain would not come
to Mahomet, with the conditions imposed, and so
Mahomet had to go to the mountain." The difficulty
was accommodated by Mr. Seward coming into the
Cabinet with Mr. Chase, and the Administrative organization
was effected to Mr. Lincoln's satisfaction.</p>
<p>Mr. Seward was a Republican with centralizing tendencies,
and had been a prominent and powerful member
of the old Whig party, which had gone into decay.<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</SPAN></span>
Mr. Chase was a State's Rights Federal Republican, not
having been strictly attached to either the Whig or
the Democratic organization; he had for years been a
conspicuous leader of the Antislavery party, which had
risen on the ruins of the Whig party, while Mr. Seward
had cautiously abstained from any connection with the
Antislavery party <i>per se</i>. Mr. Lincoln adopted, whether
consciously or unconsciously, the policy of Washington
in bringing men of opposite principles into his Cabinet,
as far as he could do so, hoping that they would
harmonize in administrative measures; and in doing
this in the case of Mr. Seward and Mr. Chase he
entirely reversed the original arrangement,—by giving
Mr. Seward, a Republican centralist, the post of Jefferson,
a State's Rights Federal Republican; and to
Mr. Chase, a Federal Republican, the post assigned to
Hamilton, a centralist.</p>
<p>There was a prevailing opinion among a great many
politicians that Mr. Seward had an overpowering influence
with Mr. Lincoln; and the belief was general that
he, in whose ability and moderation the conservative
people at the North seemed to have the most confidence,
would be the real head of the Administration.
This supposition was a great mistake. It underrated the
man who had been elected to wield the helm of government
in the troubled waters of the brewing storm. Mr.
Lincoln was as self-reliant a man as ever breathed the
atmosphere of patriotism. Up to the 2d of March, Mr.
Seward had no intimation of the purport of the Inaugural<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</SPAN></span>
Address. The conclusion was inevitable that if he was
to be at the head of the Administration, he would not
have been left so long in the dark as to the first act of
Mr. Lincoln's official life. When the last faint hope was
destroyed that Mr. Seward was virtually to be President,
the outlook of the country seemed to these politicians
discouraging.</p>
<p>The 4th of March at last arrived. Mr. Lincoln's
feelings, as the hour approached which was to invest him
with greater responsibilities than had fallen upon any of
his predecessors, may readily be imagined. If he saw in
his elevation another step toward the fulfilment of that
destiny which he at times believed awaited him, the
thought served but to tinge with a peculiar, almost
poetic, sadness the manner in which he addressed
himself to the solemn duties of the hour.</p>
<p>There were apprehensions of danger to Mr. Lincoln's
person, and extensive preparations were made for his
protection, under the direction of Lieutenant-General
Scott. The carriage in which the President-elect rode
to the Capitol was closely guarded by marshals and
cavalry, selected with care from the most loyal and
efficient companies of the veteran troops and marines.
Mr. Lincoln appeared as usual, composed and thoughtful,
apparently unmoved and indifferent to the excitement
around him. On arriving at the platform, he was
introduced to the vast audience awaiting his appearance
by Senator Baker, of Oregon. Stepping forward, in a
manner deliberate and impressive, the President-elect<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</SPAN></span>
delivered in a clear, penetrating voice his Inaugural
Address, closing this remarkable production with the
words, which so forcibly exemplified his character and
so clearly indicated his goodness of heart: "I am loath
to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must
not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it
must not break, our bonds of affection. The mystic
chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field and
patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all
over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the
Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the
better angels of our nature."</p>
<p>The immense audience present was deeply impressed,
and with awe viewed the momentous character of the
occasion they were given to contemplate. The Address
produced comparatively little applause and no manifestations
of disapprobation. All were moved with a
profound anxiety concerning their own respective States
and the future of their country; and the sentiments
they had just heard uttered from the Chief Executive
foreshadowed the storm awaiting the nation.</p>
<p>After the oath of office was administered to him by
the venerable Chief-Justice of the United States, Judge
Roger B. Taney, Mr. Lincoln was escorted to the Presidential
Mansion in the same order that was observed
in going to the Capitol, amid the firing of cannon
and the sound of music. Mr. Buchanan accompanied
him, and in taking his leave expressed his wish and
hope, in earnest and befitting language, that Mr. Lincoln's<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</SPAN></span>
Administration of the government would be a
happy and prosperous one.</p>
<p>The Inauguration over, every one seemed to have a
sense of relief: there had been no accident, no demonstration
which could be construed as portending disturbance.</p>
<p>The New York delegation, on the night of the Inauguration,
paid their respects to the President. He said
to them that he was rejoiced to see the good feeling
manifested by them, and hoped that our friends of the
South would be satisfied, when they read his Inaugural
Address, that he had made it as nearly right as it was
possible for him to make it in accordance with the
Constitution, which he thought was as good for the
people who lived south of the Mason and Dixon line
as for those who lived north of it.</p>
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<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</SPAN></span></p>
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