Boys' and Girls' Biography of Abraham Lincoln Part 2

"Twenty years ago Douglas and I first became acquainted. We were both young then. Even then we were both ambitious. I, perhaps quite as much as he. With me the race of ambition has been a failure--a flat failure.

With him it has been one of splendid success. His name fills the nation and is not unknown even in foreign lands. I affect no contempt for the high eminence he has reached. So reached, that the oppressed of my species might have shared with me in the elevation, I would rather stand on that eminence than wear the richest crown that ever pressed a monarch's brow."

By this you see he appreciated Mr. Douglas' honors, but would not accept them himself if to do so, he had to endorse slavery.

In 1858 Mr. Douglas was generally recognized as the ablest man in the Democratic party, and it was thought that two years later, he would be the Democratic nominee for president, and as the Democrats were in the majority he would certainly be the next president of the United States.

Mr. Lincoln was not known much outside of Central Illinois, where he practiced law.

One of the political doctrines of Mr. Douglas was called "Squatter Sovereignty." It meant that in the new territories and states being added to the Union, that if they wanted slavery there, the people could vote to have it or they could vote not to have it. Mr. Lincoln was opposed to this, and wanted no more slave states added to the Union. He challenged Mr. Douglas, as the representative of Illinois in the United States senate to a joint debate. Mr. Douglas finally agreed, and they held seven wonderful debates in different parts of the state. Great crowds came from far and near to hear them. They were drawn by the fame of Mr. Douglas, who rode on special trains and had bands of music, and cannons fired off when he entered the town. Mr. Lincoln often rode in the caboose of a freight train or was hauled over-land in the wagon of some farmer friend. The people, when they had heard these debates, went home and talked them over, and it was seen that two wonderful men had met in the political battlefield. Mr. Douglas seemed just as able as Mr.

Lincoln, and they said so; but they saw Mr. Lincoln was right, and standing by a principle, while Douglas was wrong, and compromising with a principle. Mr. Douglas did receive the Democratic nomination for president although his party split.

These debates and Mr. Lincoln's right stand made him suddenly famous.

His fame spread rapidly over the whole country east and west. He was asked to go and speak in New York city in Cooper Inst.i.tute, and delivered a wonderful address there and at other places in the East. He came to Bloomington, Illinois and delivered a speech in which he said: "As long as Almighty G.o.d reigns and the school children read, this foul, black lie of African slavery shall not continue; it shall not remain half slave and half free." Mr. Seward, of New York, a great statesman, who was the author of the famous "irrepressible conflict" expression was thought to be the man who would be nominated for president by the Republican party which had taken the place of the Whig party and was standing stronger against slavery. There were several others, like Mr.

Chase, of Ohio, and Mr. Stanton, who it was thought might also receive the nomination. Some were advocating Mr. Lincoln for vice president; but he said he would not have that. The Illinois state convention met at Decatur, and in the midst of it, some men came in carrying a banner supported by two fence rails on which was this: "Abraham Lincoln, the rail candidate for president in 1860. Two rails from a lot of three thousand made in 1830 by Thomas Hanks and Abraham Lincoln, whose father was the first pioneer of Macon county." This created a wonderful excitement, and the vote of Illinois became in favor of Lincoln as the nominee for president.

A large, rough building was erected in Chicago, called the Wigwam, in which the Republican convention was held. Large delegations with bands of music came on special trains from all over the country. The excitement was great. Illinois sent thousands to shout for Mr. Lincoln.

The hotels were packed with noisy people. Banners and mottes in profusion floated from the business houses and public buildings. But a small part of the crowd could get into the Wigwam, although it held several thousand. Mr. Seward, of New York, the author of "the irrepressible conflict" was the most popular and most noted of the candidates and it was thought he would receive the nomination. The Illinois men and Mr. Lincoln's friends started to work for Mr. Lincoln's nomination. They worked day and night, scarcely eating or sleeping. The first ballot showed Mr. Seward to be considerably ahead but not enough to win. Then breaking began on the following ballots from the smaller candidates to Mr. Lincoln, and he received a majority of the votes and was nominated as the Republican candidate for president May 16, 1860. A man was on top of the Wigwam; as soon as the result of the last ballot was announced he shouted to a man on the edge of the building, "Fire the salute, Lincoln is nominated." He pa.s.sed it on to others. Soon the bells began to ring, cannon were fired and the people on the streets were wild with enthusiasm.

Mr. Douglas received the Democratic nomination, but that party split and Mr. Breckenridge was nominated by a few. There was now the direct conflict between the extension and non-extension of slavery. Mr. Lincoln became very much worked up on the slavery question, and talking to Dr.

Bateman, whose room, as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, was next his in the capital at Springfield, he said:

"I know there is a G.o.d, and he hates injustice and slavery. I see the storm coming. I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place for me and work for me and I think He has--I believe I am ready. I am nothing, but truth is everything. I know I am right because I know that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it and Christ is G.o.d. I have told them that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and Christ and reason say the same and they will find it so. Douglas don't care whether slavery is voted up or down, but G.o.d cares and humanity cares and I care; and with G.o.d's help I shall not fail. I may not see the end, but it will come and I shall be vindicated and these men will find that they have not read their Bible right."

The election came off in November, and Mr. Lincoln found the people had read their Bibles' right on slavery and elected him by a tremendous majority.

March 4, 1861, Mr. Lincoln stood at the Capitol building to deliver his inaugural address as president of the United States. He did not see a place to put his hat and Mr. Douglas reached forward, took it and held it while Mr. Lincoln spoke.

Now you see the outcome of these two men. One compromised with this great principle, and, after thus holding the hat of his successful rival, who would not compromise with the principle, went out and died a few months afterward with a broken heart for his lost ambition. Before he died, however, Mr. Douglas became an outspoken defender of the Union and opposed to the war of the rebellion. On the other hand, Mr. Lincoln, true to this principle suffered defeat for many years, but in the end won the greatest honor and became the greatest president of our nation.

It pays to be true to principle, no matter how unpopular it may be and though seeming defeat of our ambitions stare us in the face. "This above all things, to thine own self be true," was the wise advice of Polonius to his son in Shakespeare's play of Hamlet.

The preceding president had been favorable to the South and slavery and many of their men were in command of the military posts and other important parts. The navy was scattered to distant ports and large quant.i.ties of arms and ammunition were stored in the Southern forts. The election of Mr. Lincoln seemed to anger the Southern men beyond endurance and there were loud threats of secession. When he delivered his inaugural address he saw many scowling, angry faces in front of him.

In great kindness he appealed to them and his last thought was very beautiful when he said:

"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, are the momentous issues of civil war.

"You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government. While I have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it.

"We are not enemies, but friends. Though pa.s.sion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

"The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield 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."

It was all in vain and South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas in turn led off in secession. They met at Montgomery, Alabama and formed the "Confederate States of America," with Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi as president and Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia as vice-president. a.r.s.enals, custom-houses, forts and s.h.i.+ps of the United States were seized. Fort Sumter was fired upon by Gen.

Beauregard April 14, 1861, and the great Civil war, the greatest in history, began.

This was the hardest place a president of the United States was ever in.

There was but a small army, and as I said the navy was scattered.

President Lincoln at once called for volunteer troops. The attack on Fort Sumter so aroused the North that men rapidly left their families and homes, that which one most loves, and rushed to enlist as volunteer soldiers. They had a song in which were these words:

"We are coming Father Abraham, Three hundred thousand strong."

Thus they called the great president "Father Abraham" and showed how much they loved him.

Gen. George B. McClellan was put in command of the army. The first battle of any note was that of Bull Run, near Was.h.i.+ngton. In this the Northern soldiers were driven back and beaten. It seemed very discouraging then for the cause of the Union.

More soldiers enlisted and the army was trained and drilled until Mr.

Lincoln thought they ought to attack Gen. Lee, who commanded the Confederate army. He felt sure as they had more men they could defeat him and capture Richmond, which was now the capital of the Confederate States. General McClellan seemed to be afraid to move forward and wanted more time to drill the men he had and make other preparations and also wanted more men. In the meantime, of course Gen. Lee was making stronger his army and preparing more defences around Richmond so that it was harder to defeat him.

The army in the West was not doing very well either. But at last Illinois furnished another son in the person of General Grant, who won great and decisive victories. Vicksburg, which was the great stronghold of the Southern army in the West surrendered to him July 4, 1863.

President Lincoln had been trying in every way to get General McClellan to move on the enemy but could not, and at last the general was moved from command. General Meade had command of the Eastern army which fought the battle of Gettysburg and won that great victory on the same Fourth of July that General Grant captured Vicksburg.

The battle of Gettysburg is said to have been about the greatest in history; 23,000 soldiers were killed. Now there was great rejoicing in the North. In these early years of the war, President Lincoln was placed in a very hard position. The abolitionists abused him because he did not issue the emanc.i.p.ation proclamation, freeing the slaves; the Middle states, that had not seceded, threatened to do so if he did. Some of his own Cabinet were not true to him. The people cried out because General McClellan would not move forward, and Mr. Lincoln tried in vain to get him to do so. Therefore these great victories of Vicksburg and Gettysburg came to him as a wonderful blessing and relief from the awful strain he had been enduring. General Grant had won some other grand victories preceding the capture of Vicksburg, and the Union, as the old s.h.i.+p of state, seemed to be sailing into more peaceful waters.

"Sail on, O s.h.i.+p of state, Sail on, O Union, strong and great; Humanity with all its fears, With all its hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate.

In spite of rock and tempest roar, In spite of false lights on the sh.o.r.e; Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea, Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers are all with thee."

General Grant was given command of the Eastern army, and pus.h.i.+ng the enemy hard, victory after victory came to the North. Gen. Sherman marched his army right through the middle of the enemy, dividing it into two parts. He captured Atlanta and then went on to the sea. The song, "Marching through Georgia," was written over this wonderful march. There were more victories in the South and West. General Grant was made commander-in-chief of the armies, and it soon became clear that the cause of secession was lost.

Mr. Lincoln had written an emanc.i.p.ation proclamation and was working it over, thinking and consulting about it. He did not know just when was the best time to issue so momentous a doc.u.ment, that would set free four million of colored men in the degradation and bondage of human slavery.

Mr. Seward was Secretary of State and a very wise man; he gave him some good advice about it. Mr. Carpenter quotes Mr. Lincoln's words as follows:

"I put the draft of the proclamation aside, waiting for a victory. Well, the next news we had was of Pope's disaster at Bull Run. Things looked darker than ever. Finally came the week of the battle of Antietam. I determined to wait no longer. The news came, I think on Wednesday, that the advantage was on our side. I was then staying at the Soldiers' Home.

Here I finished writing the second draft of the proclamation; came up on Sat.u.r.day; called the Cabinet together to hear it, and it was published the following Monday. I made a solemn vow before G.o.d, that if General Lee was driven back from Maryland I would crown the result by the declaration of freedom to the slaves."

The Emanc.i.p.ation Proclamation is certainly the greatest thing in the nineteenth century.

The Confederate army continued to grow weaker. They were short of food and rest. General Grant's army gave them no rest but pushed after them day and night. They made one more gallant and brave attack on the Union forces, but in vain, and April 9, 1865, Gen. Lee surrendered unconditionally to Gen. Grant at Appomatox Court House, Va. At the instance of President Lincoln, Gen. Lee's soldiers were allowed to ride home their horses, and, no longer rebel soldiers, but American citizens, begin to plow the ground with their horses, to till the soil and make a living for themselves and families. To-day there are none that rejoice more than the men of the South that African slavery is forever abolished.

In 1864 Mr. Lincoln was again elected president by a very large majority over Gen. McClellan, the Democratic nominee. At his second inaugural he uttered some very fine things. Some of them are as follows:

"Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration it has already obtained. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same G.o.d, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just G.o.d's a.s.sistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces. But let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. * * * The Almighty had his own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of offenses, for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of these offenses, which in the providence of G.o.d must needs come * * * and he gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern there any departure from those divine attributes, which the believers in a living G.o.d always ascribe to him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pa.s.s away. Yet if G.o.d wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn by the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said that 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'"

Sat.u.r.day, April 8, 1865, was a glad day throughout the North. Men met each other early on that day and shook hands with smiling faces. Many shouted and threw their hats in the air. Great bonfires were kindled and bands came out and played happy airs. Flags floated everywhere. That morning word came on the telegraph wires that Richmond had been captured. Lee had surrendered and the war was over.

Just one week later men met each other on the street with tears in their eyes; signs of mourning were seen everywhere, and the bands played sad tunes. Word came on the telegraph wire that morning that the beloved president was dead; killed by an a.s.sa.s.sin's bullet.

Mr. Lincoln and his wife were out riding around Was.h.i.+ngton, and he said, "Mary, we have had a stormy life in Was.h.i.+ngton, and after this term of office is over, we will go back to Springfield and live a quiet life."

But G.o.d had willed otherwise. That evening while he was resting from his hard labors and duties as president by attending Ford's theater, John Wilkes Booth, a wild fanatic, who had been a southern rebel, stole upon him from the rear and shot him in the back of the head, then jumped to the stage, and shouted, "Sic semper tyrannis." Booth then leaped out of the window. Although his leg had been broken by the first jump, he got on a horse and rode day and night until he got into Virginia, and there hid in a barn. When they tried to capture him, he would not come out of the barn, so they set the barn on fire, and when he came out they shot him. Several others who were in this plot were hung. They carried President Lincoln to the house across the street, where, as the dawn of day came, his soul departed to its everlasting rest in Heaven.

There probably has never been a death more sudden and unexpected and terrible in the history of the nations. Not only in this country did men everywhere cease their work as people do when a relative dies; but even in the countries of Europe they did so. All organizations pa.s.sed resolutions of sympathy and the governments universally expressed theirs. It was a world-wide calamity.

He had gone through the four years of a terrible civil war unharmed, and now, when he had saved his country, conquered the enemy, and made him a friend again, and beautiful peace had come everywhere, to think his life should be taken by a cruel murderer, seemed more than men could bear.

Every family mourned as though one of its own number had died suddenly.

The Was.h.i.+ngton funeral took place at the White House, Wednesday, April 19. The body was then taken to the rotunda of the capitol and covered with flowers. It lay in state until Friday, April 21. Thousands of people came to look at the calm, sad face that so many had looked at for hope through the long years of the awful war. It was now cold in death, but had a peaceful, natural look.

A great funeral train was formed that moved slowly across the country, going back along the route he came as the new president in 1861. It was over a week on the journey, as at many of the cities and towns it had to be stopped, so memorial exercises might be held and the people get a chance to see for the last time, the face of the martyr president. More than a million people, no doubt, thus looked on the dead face of President Lincoln.

They reached Springfield May 3 and there the greatest funeral ceremony took place and he was buried in Oakwood cemetery. Bishop Simpson preached the funeral sermon. In the beautiful tomb and under the magnificent monument since erected, Abraham Lincoln, his wife and two sons now sleep, awaiting the great resurrection day.

The nations of the world pa.s.sed so many tributes in his honor that they were bound into a book of nearly a thousand pages.