Mitchell's position became a sinecure.
Walt
Prove it then. Quote Lincoln saying so much as one single word in repudiation of colonization.
Mitchell's position became a sinecure.
That's not what the documents say. AG Edward Bates very specifically says in his letter that Mitchell is to be retained to continue implementing colonization.
A few days before Lincoln died, he was consulting with Benjamin Butler yet again about colonization. On the day Lincoln died, he had Dan Sickles in Colombia pursuing colonization in South America. Lincoln was a documented White-separatist until the day he died.
Official records of the Interior Department:
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RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR (RECORD GROUP 48)
Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior Relating to the Suppression of the African Slave Trade and Negro Colonization, 1854-1872. M160. 10 rolls. DP.
[3] (2) Communications from the Department of State, Nov. 6, 1860-Nov. 7, 1870, including letters referred by that department to the Secretary of the Interior; correspondence relating to the slave ships Delicia and William L. Cogswell; letters relating to colonization on the island of Fernando Po near Kingston, Jamaica, and at Quito, Ecuador; and information concerning the activities and termination of the Mixed Courts of Justice
[3] (5) Communications from the Treasury Department, July 18, 1860-Feb. 3, 1872, relating mainly to salary drafts of personnel of the Mixed Courts of Justice and of special agents outside the United States, accounts of U.S. marshals, and payment of prize money. Included are a copy of a contract between the United States and the American Colonization Society and a statement of the expenses and disbursements of the U.S. marshal at New York, Dec. 18, 1862-Sept. 18, 1864
[6] (2) Communications relating to T. I. Moreno, U.S. marshal for the Southern District of Florida, May 4, 1860-Apr. 3, 1862, including reports on various slave ships; correspondence relating to drafts drawn by Moreno; reports concerning recaptured Africans transported to Liberia on ships of the American Colonization Society; a statistical report showing the number of births and deaths among the Africans at Key West, FL, and the number transported to Liberia; and correspondence and testimonials pertaining to Moreno's loyalty to the Union
[8] (1) Communications relating to Rev. James Mitchell, emigration agent of the Department of the Interior, Apr. 8, 1862-June 6, 1865, including correspondence promoting colonization in Haiti, a draft of a letter from the Secretary of the Interior to President Lincoln recommending the discontinuance of Mitchell's services, correspondence between Mitchell and the Secretary relating to the former's position and authority, letters concerning Mitchell's claim for compensation, and a copy of a report from Mitchell to President Lincoln concerning colonization
[8] (2) Miscellaneous letters pertaining to colonization, May 23, 1860-oct. 10, 1868, including communications to the Secretary of State concerning offers to transport recaptured blacks to Liberia; requests for appointment as agents, reports from agents; a copy of a note from the Spanish Minister to the Secretary of State concerning colonization on the island of Fernando Po; communications relating to proposed colonization on the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique and in Mexico; and colonization accounts
[8] (3) Communications relating to colonization in British Honduras, Mar. 7, 1861-May 20, 1863, including several of the James Grant papers, copies of original land grants in British Honduras, letters from John Hodge, an agent of the British Honduras Company, and pamphlets concerning the advantages of colonization in British Honduras
[8] (4) Communications relating to S. C. Pomeroy, U.S. colonization agent, Sept. 12, 1862-Jan. 30, 1872, including a copy of his instructions, a contract between the United States and Ambrose Thompson pertaining to colonization on the Isthmus of Chiriqui, and correspondence regarding the settlement of accounts
[8] (5) Records relating to negotiations with Denmark concerning colonization, Apr. 23, 1862-Oct. 3, 1865. Included are an agreement dated July 19, 1862, as to the receiving of recaptured blacks in St. Croix, Danish West Indies; printed and manuscript copies of the provisional act to regulate the relations between the proprietors of landed estates and the rural population of free laborers of the Danish West Indies; and a communication from the Danish Legation to the State Department regarding the agreement of 1861
[8] (6) Miscellaneous contracts and agreements pertaining to colonization, 1860-65, including proposals for furnishing ships to transport blacks from Key West, FL; copies of contracts with the American Colonization Society for transporting blacks from Key West to Liberia and for the support of liberated Africans; a copy of an agreement between the Republic of Liberia and the American Colonization Society regarding recaptured Africans landed in Liberia by the society under its contract with the United States; several drafts of contracts; the charter of the ship Ocean Ranger; a printed statement relating to the colonization of free blacks at Ile a Vache; and a draft of a Haitian proclamation relating to colonization
[8] (7) Requisitions and letters, 1861-66, mainly letters from G. C. Whiting to the Secretary of the Interior or to the disbursing agent requesting requisitions for the U.S. marshals and attorneys or for Rev. James Mitchell
[9] (4) Communications, Feb. 9, 1863-Jan. 18, 1869, relating to the claim of James De Long, U.S. consul at Aux Cayes, Haiti, for money expended assisting the colonists at Ile a Vache
[10] (1) Communications from Rev. John Seys, U.S. agent for liberated Africans at Monrovia, 1860-65, consisting of accounts and receipts for expenditures; reports concerning the arrival of American Colonization Society vessels and the condition of liberated Africans; and a report to the Secretary of the Interior concerning the contract between the American Colonization Society and the Liberian government and the number of recaptured Africans delivered to the society's agent
[10] (2) Accounts and financial correspondence of the American Colonization Society, Jan. 1861-May 1863, including communications from the Treasury Department to the Department of the Interior concerning accounts of the society
[10] (3) Communications pertaining to Rev. William McLain, financial secretary of the American Colonization Society, May 23, 1860-Dec. 2, 1868, including proposals for transporting Africans to Liberia, letters from McLain relating to the sailing schedules of the society's ships, letters transmitting reports to the department from agents; and correspondence concerning the claim of the American Colonization Society for the support of recaptured Africans