350 



trated and crystallized all thai formerly was driftit: 

 doubtful in the Republican parly. Tin- en 

 of the hour required prompt and heroic treatment, 

 and that Congress hud to grasp great and vital ']''- 

 tiona ail they followed each other in rapid succession. 

 it changed the creed of many. It made the re- 

 bellious South still more rahoBMt and determined ; it 

 fii'p.uati-d tin 1 Southern Unionists from dinner friends 

 and built a wall of fire between them. It changi d tin' 

 14-111 per of Northern Al>litionists, divcMing them of 

 faction* spirit and iiride uf methods, and compelled 

 them to unite will) the Republicans, who wen' making 

 sure advances, from their original declaration that 

 slavery should remain within present hounds, to eman- 

 cipation, and finally to arming the liberated slaves. It 

 brought many Northern Democrats into the Repub- 



p-irty, and reformed the political parties of the 

 North. This may IK- teruied the pivotal Congress. 

 for il defined a policy for the Keiuiblican party, 

 which, in the main, has been followed to the present 

 day. Prominent amongst the RepnHiotnfl in that 

 Con cress was Charles Simmer, of Massachusetts, 

 nbotar, orator, and statesman. Senator Fessendcn, of 

 Maine, was a recognized leader until the impeachment 

 trial of Andrew Johnson. Thaddeus Stevens, "the 

 Commoner," was a leader of the House, an _ Aboli- 

 tionist in creed and a practical and brave legislator. 

 He was a radical of the radicals, holding that the 

 government eould go outside of the Constitution to 

 delend itself from destruction. Sell uy lor Coif ox was one 

 of the rising men in that Congress. He became 

 Speaker of the next House, and subsequently Vice- 



. nt of the United States. With him in the 

 House were Justin S. Morrill, the author of the 

 tariff bill which raised hundreds of millions to support 

 tli" army ; Henry L. Da wes, the " man of statist ies " 

 and the "watch-dog of the Treasury." Roseoe 

 Conkling was then the leader of the New York delega- 

 tion ; Ohio was represented by Ashley, Bingham. and 

 Sherman. Illinois gave four prominent anti -Ix'comp- 

 toti supporters of the administration Douglas in the 



, and Logan, McClernand. and Richardson in the 

 llou-e; while bivejoy and WasMmrnc were stalwart 

 Republicans from that State. At this session Sena- 

 tor Lynian Trumlmll reported a hill from the Judiciary 

 Committed of which ho was chairman, to confiscate 

 all property and free all slaves used for insurrectionary 

 purposes. 



Pros. Lincoln's proposal for compensated emanci- 

 pation expressed also the opinion of several leading 

 Republicans. Hesent to the Thirty-seventh Congress a 

 special message, recommending the pUMJteofthe fol- 

 lowing resolution : " /, 'liat the Tinted States 

 ought to co-operate with any State which may adopt 



ii abolishment of slavery, giv ing to such State pe- 

 cuniary aid, to IH: used by such State in its discretion. 

 to compensate for the inconvenience*, public and pri- 

 vate, product*] by such change of system." At a eon- 

 with the Senators and Representatives of the 

 Border slavcholding States, held at the Executive 

 Mansion. 1'res. Lincoln gave his views on the sub- 

 jc.'t and in his presentation of it he said : "I do not 

 cpcak of emancipation tit once, but of a decision nt 



i emancipate i/i--nlii<illi/." Two days later. 

 July II. I -I'll', a majority of the representatives of 

 I sent an offioul reply, rejecting the propo- 

 sition. This dosed the conference. 



It was, however, evident that the institution of 

 slavery must share the fate of those in armed n In 1 

 lion, and that the Union and slavery could not Imth lie 



ed. [n September, iscij. the President by his 



nation serveil notice on the rebel slaveholders 

 th it if they did not lay down their arms in the mean 

 true he woiiM on the following New Year's Day de- 

 el ue t'rrc all persons held as slaves in the rebellious 

 liminary warning produced no 



the famous (-'.mancipation PriM-lamation was is- 

 sued Jan. 1, 1803, " us a fit and necessary war measure 



AN PARTY. 



in suppressing said rebellion." The border States 

 i the proffer uf com) Cation 



were n it included in the proclamation, but in the fol- 

 lowing year emancipation was made thout 

 compensation, and those States or portions of States 

 lost all consideration for their .-laves. In February, 

 IN. I. tin- Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution 

 was reported to the Senate, and in May it was passed 

 by that body. In the I louse it was voted on in June, 

 but did not obtain the necessary two -thirds vote and a 

 motion to reconsider carried it to the next session of 



Ooogram 



The Republican convention met in June, 1864, 

 and rcnominated Pres. Lincoln. Its platform as- 

 serted that slavery was the cause and constituted the 

 strength of the reliellioii. and, " as it must be always 

 and everywhere hostile to the principles of Republican 

 government, justice and the national safety demand 

 its utter and complete extirpation from the soil of the 

 republic."' It also declared in favor of a constitutional 

 amendment prohibiting the existence of slavery within 

 the United States. It pronounced against any com- 

 promise with those in arms against tin: government, 

 except one based on an unconditional surrender, and 

 a return to an allegiance to the Coii-titiition and laws. 



The Democrats at their convention held Aug. 

 30th, when they nominated (Jen. McClcllan, n. 

 direct issue on the above policy by resolving that as 

 the war had been a failure, "justice, humanity, liberty, 

 and the public welfare demanded that immediate ef- 

 fort-, be made (or ii cessation of hostilities, with a view 

 to an ultimate convention of the States, or other 

 peaceable means, to the end that, at the earliest prac- 

 ticable moment, peace may be restored on the basis of 

 the Federal Union of the United States." 



The issue involved was for or against the amend- 

 ment to the Constitution, or in reality whether slavery 

 should be forever abolished. The Emancipation 

 Proclamation of Pres. Lincoln brought forth these 

 resolutions, and in his letter of acceptance he indorsed 

 the Republican position. 



In Pres. Lincoln's second inaugural address, deliv- 

 'iarch 4, isi'i"), he spoke the following words, 

 since often quoted as typical of the kindly disposition 

 of the man believed by his party to be the greatest 

 American since Washington: "With malice toward 

 none, rtith charity for all, with firmness in the right, 

 as (!od gives us to see the right, let us strive on to 

 finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's 

 wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the 

 battle, and for his widow and orphans to do all 

 which may achieve a just and lasting peace among our- 

 selves and with all nations. '' 



He could well afford to show that generosity, which 

 never comes more properly than from the hand- of 

 the victor. His policy was about to end in a great 

 and lasting triumph. In less than five weeks from 

 the day when Lincoln made that utterance ( ien. Lee 

 had surrendered the main army of the Souther 

 federacy to Gen. Grant at Appomattox on terms at 

 once magnanimous and so tersely and briefly stated 

 that they won the admiration of both armies. 



Then followed a grave and responsible political work 

 thu actual reconstruction of the Slates lately in rebel- 

 lion. This work gave renewed freshness to the lead- 

 ing political i-.-ues incident to the war, and also 

 opened out new i-Mie-. It was claimed that IVi s. 

 Lincoln had a reconstruction policy of his own becaii.-e 

 he was so anxious for the admission of Lmisiana and 

 Arkansas, but it certainly never had taken definite 

 shape. On April l.'ith. six days alter the surrender 

 the President was shot by J. Wilkcs Hootli at 

 Ford's theatre. The entire nation was appalled at the 

 deed. No man was ever more sincerely mourned by 

 all classes. Even the Southern leaders Mieved this 

 rash act, had lost to them the lite of one who had 

 never been har-h, and, while (inn. was alw 

 on.-. The North had looked upon him aa "Father 



