Posted on 06/14/2004 5:16:34 AM PDT by Theodore R.
John B. Baldwin, testimony given in Washington, D.C. on 10 February 1866; in Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1866)
Regarding His Interview With Abraham Lincoln on 4 April 1861
Washington, D.C., February 10, 1866
John B. Baldwin sworn and examined by Mr. Howard:
Question. Did you make a journey to Washington before the firing on Fort Sumter?
Answer. I did. I came here on the night of the 3d of April, 1861; I was here on the 4th day of April, 1861.
Question. Did you have an interview with President Lincoln?
Answer. I did have a private interview with him, lasting perhaps an hour.
Question. Do you feel at liberty to state what transpired at that interview?
Answer. I do sir; I know of no reason why I should not.
Question. Have the goodness to state it.
* * *
Said I, “Sir, I beg your pardon, for I only know of you as a politician, a successful politician; and possibly I have fallen into the error of addressing you by the motives which are generally potent with politicians, the motive of gaining friends. I thank you that you have recalled to me the higher and better motive of being right; and I assure you that, from now on, I will address you only by the motives that ought to influence a gentleman.”
Question. You drew a distinction between a politician and a gentleman?
Answer. Yes, sir; he laughed a little at that. He said something about the withdrawal of the troops from Sumter on the ground of military necessity.
Said I, “That will never do, under heaven. You have been President a month to-day, and if you intended to hold that position you ought to have strengthened it, so as to make it impregnable. To hold it in the present condition of force there is an invitation to assault. Go upon higher ground than that. The better ground than that is to make a concession of an asserted right in the interest of peace.”
“Well,” said he, “what about the revenue? What would I do about the collection of duties?”
Said I, “Sir, how much do you expect to collect in a year?”
Said he, “Fifty or sixty millions.”
“Why, sir,” said I, “four times sixty is two hundred and forty. Say $250,000,000 would be the revenue of your term of the presidency; what is that but a drop in the bucket compared with the cost of such a war as we are threatened with? Let it all go, if necessary; but I do not believe that it will be necessary, because I believe that you can settle it on the basis I suggest.”
He said something or other about feeding the troops at Sumter. I told him that would not do. Said I, “You know perfectly well that the people of Charleston have been feeding them already. That is not what they are at. They are asserting a right. They will feed the troops, and fight them while they are feeding them. They are after the assertion of a right. Now, the only way that you can manage them is to withdraw from the means of making a blow until time for reflection, time for influence which can be brought to bear, can be gained, and settle the matter. If you do not take this course, if there is a gun fired at Sumter -- I do not care on which side it is fired -- the thing is gone.”
“Oh,” said he, “sir, that is impossible.”
Said I, “Sir, if there is a gun fired at Fort Sumter, as sure as there is a God in heaven the thing is gone. Virginia herself, strong as the Union majority in the convention is now, will be out in forty-eight hours.”
“Oh,” said he, “sir, that is impossible.”
Said I, “Mr. President, I did not come here to argue with you; I am here as a witness. I know the sentiments of the people of Virginia, and you do not. I understand that I was to come here to give you information of the sentiments of the people, and especially of the sentiments of the Union men of the convention. I wish to know before we go any further in this matter, for it is of too grave importance to have any doubt of it, whether I am accredited to you in such a way as that what I tell you is worthy of credence.”
LINK to 4CJ post of 7/28/2003 which provided much of the supporting documentation cited upthread and in my prior posts on other threads.
But for those who really, really feel they are not paying their fair share and need to be taxed more... you may recall that a few years ago Governor Huckabee of Arkansas created the Tax Me More Fund for just such people who felt an irresistable impulse to pay more.
Huckabee said he would not donate to the fund and added that no Arkansans he has met outside of the Capitol have asked him to raise taxes.However, "There's nothing in the law that prohibits those who believe they aren't paying enough in taxes from writing a check to the state of Arkansas," Huckabee said. "Maybe this will make them feel better."
Needless to say, few of the liberals put their money where their mouth was.
You are welcome to claim him as your hero.
LOUISIANA MEETS SHERMAN, 1860.
As the building of his house progressed, Sherman confided to [his wife's brother] Tom that moving to Louisiana would
be a trial to Ellen -- far, far harder than San Francisco or Leavenworth. ... I have no doubt one of our first troubles will be that Ellen's servants will all quit, after we have gone into debt to get them here. And then she will have to wait on herself -- or "buy a nigger." What will you think of that -- our buying niggers -- but it is inevitable. Niggers wont work unless they are owned. And white servants are not to be found in this Parish. Everybody owns their own servants.... You must be careful in your black Republican speeches not to be down on us too hard, for your own sister may be found by necessity to traffic in Human flesh.
William Sherman to Thomas Ewing Jr., Seminary of Learning, June 21, 1860, box 154, Thomas Ewing Family Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
SHERMAN ON RACE AND POLITICS
I see my name occasionally alluded to in conversation with some popular office. You may tell all that I would rather serve 4 years in the Sing Sing Penitentiary than in Washington & believe I could come out a better man. If that aint emphatic enough use stronger expressions and I will endorse them. Let those who love niggers better than whites follow me, and we will see who loves his Country best -- A nigger as such is a most excellent fellow, but he is not fit to marry, to associate, or vote with me, or mine.
William Sherman to William M. McPherson, Goldsboro (N.C.), March 24, 1865, Huntington Manuscripts, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
SHERMAN ON STANTON AND NEGRO SUFFRAGE
No amount of retraction or pusillanimous excusing will do. Mr Stanton must publicly confess himself a common libeller or -- but I wont threaten.... He seeks your life and reputaton as well as mine.... He want the vast patronage of the military governorships of the South, and the votes of the Free Negro... for political Capital, and whoever stands in his way must die.
William Sherman to Ulysses S. Grant, camp opposite Richmond, May 10, 1865, reel 9, cont. 16, William Sherman Papers, Library of Congress.
SHERMAN DURING HIS STAY IN THE SOUTHWEST
Sante Fe is the oldest town in the United States except St Augustine, but the People with a few exceptions are greasers of the commonest sort....
William Sherman to Ellen Sherman, Santa Fe (N. Mex. Terr.), June 7, 1868, roll 3, Sherman Family Papers.
SHERMAN ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
Three days after Canby's Death, Sherman names as his successor Colonel Jefferson C. Davis of the the Twenty-third Indiana, the same Jeff Davis who twice on the march to Savannah had taken up pontoon bridges and abvandoned feeling slaves to the tender mercies of Wheeler's cavalry. Characterizing his soldiers as "cowardly beef eaters," Davis relentlessly pursued the Modocs, apprehending Jack on June 3. "Davis should have killed every Modoc before taking him if possible, Sherman advised Sheridan after the capture; "then there would have been no complications."
SOURCE: Stanley P. Hirshson, The White Tecumseh: A Biography of General William T. Sherman, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1997, p. 72, 298, 315, 336, 352.
And the second ;o)
Sherman [*SPIT*] was a man after Lincoln's own heart.
Two YEARS after creation, the fund had received less than $3,000.
In a just country, equality before the law belongs to the equally responsible.
First, with a view toward moving to Louisiana, Sherman notes the lack of available white "slaves" for rent. As a result, a dilemma arises. The Shermans might have to wait on themselves. Just the thought erased any moral dilemma about slavery. As Sherman noted, it might be a "necessity to traffic in Human flesh." For some folks back then, the Law of Necessity could be invoked to justify anything and the moral imperative to eliminate slavery yielded to the elite social imperative to have servants.
Second, Sherman noted that "[Stanton] want[s] the vast patronage of the military governorships of the South, and the votes of the Free Negro... for political Capital, and whoever stands in his way must die."
Suffrage was given to Black men whom one could presume would vote Republican in overwhelming numbers. Suffrage was not given to women. Enfranching women would have created many Democrat voters. In 1868, Grant prevailed in the popular vote 2,971,851 -- 2,689,625 by 282,226 votes. |Link| There were approximately 700,000 votes by newly enfranchised Black voters.
Vote totals vary slightly from one source to the next, but it appears Grant won the popular vote by a total of about 300,000 votes while losing the popular vote of the White voters.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.