The Fall of the Confederacy. 541 
force to bring them back into the Union. If secession 
was illegal it wastreasonable. Well the treason was undis- 
guised, but Mr. Lincoln said not a word about punishing 
traitors. He declared that he had no right and “no 
inclination” to interfere with the institution of slavery in, 
the States wherein it existed. Beyond holding the places 
and property belonging to the Federal Government there 
was to be no assertion of Federal rights in the South. If 
the custom houses were not allowed on shore the dues were 
to be collected by vessels stationed at the entrances of 
the ports. If the hostility against the Union was so 
violent as to prevent resident citizens holding Federal 
offices there was to be no attempt to force obnoxious 
strangers upon the people, and for a time the offices were 
to be discontinued. If the South desired it, even the postal 
service was to be suspended. Thiswas denounced asa feeble 
and unwise policy. It seemed to be framed to give comfort 
and assurance to secession. The Republicans, flushed 
with victory, were annoyed at the deference paid to their de- 
feated political opponents; the Abolitionists were na- 
turally incensed at the emphatic recognition of the 
pro-slavery rights of the South ; the staunch Unionists were 
alarmed at the mild treatment of secession, and the demo- 
crats were not pleased with a policy which proposed peace 
on the basis of a republican platform. Yet what could 
Mr. Lincoln do? When he took the oaths of office se- 
cession was formally accomplished. Confederate Com- 
missioners were in Washington. Still the public mind was 
not excited, and there was no talk of punishing the 
“traitors.” Nay, the epithet of “traitors” was not applied 
to secessionists. This apparent apathy did not arise from 
any indifference to the fate of the Union, but because the 
majority thought that secession was a mere pretext, and 
those who believed in it deemed it temporary, and by 
no means involving the existence of a rival power. Mr. 
Lincoln was obliged to be cautious. Any threat might 
have been ruinous. He therefore adopted the only wise 
policy, that of masterly inactivity. It was a dangerous 
policy, but it was successful because of the impatience of 
the Confederate Government. 
If the South had maintained a pacific attitude, Mr. 
Lincoln would have been compelled to adhere to his in- 
augural programme. Any aggression on the South 
would have stimulated the Southern people, and would 
have strengthened the pro-secession party in the North. 
