.FSX lloz VOL. ? (511 464 426 2 r HOLLINGER pH8J MILL RUN F3-U<3 CopV LINCOLN AND THE PATRONAGE By carl RUSSELL FISH REPRINTED FROM THE luttcriaw gii^tanal §mm VOL. Vlll NO. I OCTOBER 1902 [Reprinted from The Amekkan Hisiokkai. Review, \'o1. VIII,, No. I, Oct., 1902. ]■ LINCOLN AND THE PATRONAGE' The inauguration of Lincoln lias for us so tragic and so critical an aspect, that we find it difficult to put ourselves in the place of the average politician of the day, to whom it was chiefly interesting, as affording an opportunity for plunder, or as bringing, almost, a certainty of removal. No sooner were the election returns in, than Springfield filled with anxious crowds,- and during the nine days which he spent in W'ashington, as President-elect, Lincoln was pur- sued by applicants, as eager as if there were no doubt about the stability of the government they wished to serve.' To those who were present in the flesh must be added thousands who confided their desires to the post, and, according to his degree, every Repub- lican of prominence was deluged with requests, modest and preten- tious,'' some accompanied by bribes,^ others supported by an appeal to pity,'' or a claim for reward." It was a motley crowd ; western lawyers mingled with the drill sergeants of Weed's organization, while some sturdy workers against slavery thought that their dis- interested constancy might now receive an earthly crown." A new party had come into power, eager to break its fast, and feast on the good things that the administration had to dispense. Richard Henry Dana wrote to Charles Francis Adams, March 9, 1863, of Lincoln : " He seems to me to be fonder of details than of principles, of tithing the mint, anise and cummins of patronage, and personal questions, than of the weightier matters of empire." ' Lincoln himself deeply lamented the time devoted to these petty ' This article is a by-product of a work on the history of the patronage. Lincoln's administration is not particularly significant, from the point of view of development, but is rich in materials. It, therefore, seemed worth while, considering also the intrinsic interest of everything that relates to Lincoln, to prepare a fuller treatment of this period than just proportion would permit in the completed work. 'Lamon, Life of Abraham Lincoln, 457. 'Tarbell, Life of Abraham Lincoln, I. 423. * Chase MSS. I have read several thousand such letters, for the period 1 860- 1865. See also Hollister, Life of Schuyler Colfax, 173. Almost any biography or volume of recollections gives like evidence. ^Riddle, Recollections of War Times, 21. 'Chase MSS., /(7J«;k. 'A typical letter is one to Chase, Nov. 24, 1863. Chase MSS. * New York Tribune, March 19, 1861. to Chase, Dec. 15, 1862. Chase MSS. C. M. Clay, Autobiography, I. 252-257. 'Adams, Richard Henry Dana, II. 264. (53) 54 C. R. Fish matters,' when great issues demanded his attention, although, as always, he saw the humorous side of the situation,- and gained a goodly supply of stories, from his experiences in dealing with them. Regrettable as was tliis constant distraction, the importance of the work must not be underrated. The situation demanded a politician, as well as a statesman, and had Lincoln been the latter only, he would have failed in his task. If he could not have held the Re- publican party together, he would have formulated statesmanlike policies in vain ; and that he held it together was quite largely due to such use of the public plunder that its cohesive power was felt to the uttermost. The purely political problem before Lincoln, using " political " in the narrow American sense of the word, was a more difficult one than any that had confronted pre\ious Presidents. Scores of diverse elements, each thinking that its labors had been the most effective, had to be kept together in the moment of ^'ictory. The sharing of the spoils revived the old enmities, which had been temporarily lost sight of in the heat of the conflict. Demo- crat abhorred Whig, and both still looked on the Abolitionist as dangerous, while a rumor that Lincoln would try to conciliate the border states by appointing " Bell-Everetts " in that region caused consternation.'' The Tribune said : " Of course, they must alienate many bj' their distribution of the patronage ; were they angels they could not fail to do this." ^ That the part\- remained solid through- out the war, and that the war Democrats so lo}"aIly supported the Union was, to be sure, mainK' due to the nature of the issue, but the time that Lincoln spent in trj'ing to "do justice to all"' was not wasted. To entrust similar functions to favorites, is deemed blame- worthy in a King, or in a President when he entrusts them to a boss. Lincoln seems to have fallen into the temptation, thus to shift the task to other shoulders. He told a visitor at Springfield that he would call an adviser, when the proper time came, and would go over the most important cases with him, and would have little or nothing to do with minor posts,'' but fortunately he changed his mind before the trial came, and did not shirk this arduous but nec- essary duty. The consensus of public opinion, in no uncertain tones, formu- lated the principles which should be followed in regard to the civil service. These were the halc)-on days of the spoils system ; but ' Herndon, Abrahant Lincoln^ III. 507- ^Lamon, RecolUitions of Abiahani Lincoln, 212; Tarbell, Lincoln, II. 25. » to Chase, March 27, 186 1. Nctju York Tribune, March 26, lS6l. < March 4, 1 861. 5 Lincoln, Complete Works, I. 657. « Tarbell, Lincoln, II. 23. P .5 . X'l / Li)tcoln and the Pati'OJiage 55 listening most intently, one can scarcely hear a whisper of reform. The public offices constituted a fund, from which the most deserv- ing party workers were to be paid for their service ; positions were to be held only four years, in order that everybody might have a chance. If this were the practice when a President succeeded one of his own party, how much more when he followed an opponent ! An excuse was found for such rapid change in the theory that official duties were so easy as to be within the capacity of any American. The career of Lincoln previous to 1861 did not indicate that he opposed this creed. He had held a few minor offices in his youth, before party organization and its concomitant, the spoils system, had reached Illinois.' In 1849, as the voluntarily retiring representative of his district, he had much to say about certain ap- pointments under the new Whig administration. In one letter he stated the facts in regard to the Democratic incumbent, and re- quested that some general rule be adopted, and that it be applied without modification in this case." Another letter, in regard to an officer whose removal had been requested, he premised with the statement that the man in question had done the duty of his office well, and was a gentleman in a true sense, but it is evident before the end, that he shared the desire for the removal.^ Lincoln was himself an applicant, but he seems to have sacrificed his chances for the sake of a friend. ^ While there is nothing in his conduct or expressed views before election which can be considered a protest against the prevailing practice, there is nothing, on the other hand, dishonorable. His language and action are always those of a man who is honest even with himself. He made no ante-nomination promises,'' and as few ante-inauguration ones as possible," but he fulfilled, in making up his cabinet, two pledges made by his managers.' One well ac- quainted witii him would have expected an honest and politic ad- ministration of the patronage, along the customary lines, for the benefit of the party. The pressure for a " clean sweep "* was so insistent that the administration could not settle down to more serious business until it was, in part at least, relieved. Seward, in his famous " Thoughts ' Tarbell, Lincoln, \. 96, 99. 2 Lincoln, Woris, I. 153. 3/biii., I. 155. *Tarbell, Lincoln, I. 229-231. ^ Rhodes, History of the Unit/J States from the Compromise of i8jo, II. 467. 6 Tarbell, Lincoln, 11. 23. 'Rhodes, II. 467. ^ Brooks, Lincoln, 207. 56 C. R. Fish for the President," ' mentioned this necessity, and suggested that they " make local appointments first, leaving foreign or general ones for ulterior and occasional action." This plan seems to have been followed ; for several months notices of foreign appointments are rare in the papers, and begin again during the summer." The bur- den was like Sisyphus's stone, however ; no sooner was one swarm of applicants disposed of, than some new act, made necessary by the war, brought another about the devoted heads of the adminis- tration. While the temptations to dishonesty, owing to the sudden expansion of the budget, caused men to drop from the civil service, and leave places to be filled, the enemy were constantly creating vacancies in the army ; and the patronage was a never-ending annoyance. The sweep made by the Republicans in iS6i was the cleanest in our history ; never before did so small a proportion of officers remain to carry on the traditions of the civil service. In the 1520 presidential offices, there were 11 95 changes, that may be classed under the head of removals.'' In some cases there were two or three changes in the same office,* and so the number left would be a little larger than would at first appear. It must be remembered, however, that there were certainly some Republicans in office, and that there have always been civil servants whose efficiency has raised them above party, men like William Hunter, who positively cannot be spared. Moreover, many offices were in the south, and were simply left unoccupied. As more and more territory was conquered, postmasters and collectors were appointed ; sometimes as " vice A. B., who joined the rebels," '' sometimes as dc iioto;" but in many cases no record whatever is found in the Executive Journal, from which these statistics were compiled. It is evident, therefore, that the change in personnel must ha\'e been practically complete. In the departments at Washington, and the local offices all over the country, changes were somewhat more numerous than usual,'' but here tliey varied from department to department, according to the disposition of those who administered the patronage in the ' Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln, A History, III. 445. 2 It is a peculiar incident, considering the relations between Seward and Weed and Greeley, that although the " Thoughts " are dated April I, and remained secret so many years, the A\nv York Tribune of April 2 announced : " The President has determined not to consider any further changes in the diplomatic service until the more important matters which now engross the attention of the administration are decided." 'Fish, "Tables of Removals," in Am. His/. .-Issol. Report, 1S99, 82. ^E.xicutive Joiirna!, XI. 3S5 ; XIII. 316. ^Ibid., XIV. 495. ^Ibid., XIII. 543. 'Comparison of " Blue Books" of 1859 and 1861 with those of other appropriate dates. I expect to publish, later, tables illustrating this point. Lincoln and the Patronage 57 several instances. With Cameron in the War Department, we are not surprised to hear that the clerks there " received broad intima- tion . . . that most of them would be expected to retire, for others who had not enjoyed the flesh-pots."' The news was early given out that Chase intended seriously to enforce the law that subordi- nates should be examined before appointment ;" and the regulation was apparently carried out.^ Changes were not numerous in the State Department ; William Hunter was appointed under Jackson and served until 18S6, and Frederick Seward says that his father retained all the loyal clerks.^ The mention of loyal clerks suggests one reason for the com- pleteness of the overturn in 1861. The long alliance of the North- ern Democracy with the South caused office-holders to be generally suspected. In the diplomatic service the South had about its proper proportion,' yet it was popularly believed that the whole corps was pro-slavery in sentiment. The TrUninc, June 3, 1S61, stated : " In deference to universal sentiment, the President will suspend the diplomatic functions of James E. Harvey, Minister to Portugal." Seward wrote to Dayton, July 6, 1861, that our representatives in foreign courts were demoralized, and, in some cases, we had reason to believe, absolutely disloyal.^ The few officials who were retained in service were those who came out decidedly for the Union, as Mr. Cisco, Assistant Treasurer at New York." It is probably true also, as the Tribune stated, that the general standard of efficiency was lower than usual in i860.'' These circumstances do not ex- plain the proscription ; that was inevitable ; but they partly explain its severity. As our public men lacked the inventiveness of our mechanics, political custom decreed that all these vacated offices, and all the new ones created by the necessities of the war, should be filled by hand. Yet custom provided, also, for the subdivision of the labor. By a gradual development, beginning in the greater local knowledge of its members, and becoming particularly rapid after the election of Jackson, Congress had established a strong claim to dictate many of the appointments. Its members, indeed, seemed ready to take upon themselves the entire burden ; but as the various Secretaries were responsible for the conduct of their subordinates, they claimed ' Tribune, March 23, 1861. 2 Tribtine, March 9, tS6l. 3 Hart, Salmon P. Chase, 216-217. * Seward, Se'ward at Washinglon, I. 520. 5 In 1859, 79 out of 151. " Blue Book." « Bancroft, The Life of William H. Se^uarJ, II. 153. '' Ex. Jour., IX. 324; X. 330 ; XII. 269. ' Tribune, March 9, 1861. D 8 C R. Fish to be lieard also, wliile the President had his own responsibiHty and the claims of many outside interests to consider. The irresistible conflict between these various official interests was perhaps the more keen in the earl_\' part of the Lincoln administration, because so many of the Republicans were new men, and the}- lacked minute knowledge of the official tradition. Lincoln's policy in adjusting these claims is to be discovered only by a study of his practice, and was probabl}- only developed as the cases came before him. (Jne attempt was made to relieve the administration of a part of its burden. The Tribune suggested, March 13, 1861, that postmas- ters should be chosen by vote of the Republicans in their respective districts. Lincoln advised the use of the plan in at least one in- stance,' and it was employed in a number of cases.'- It was, how- ever, of little practical importance. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, gives an account of a meeting where claims of the several interests came into conflict. It was held late in March, 1S61, to arrange nominations for the state of New York satisfactory to Seward and Weed, the Senators, and the President. An agreement was finally brought about, and Lincoln jsroposed that it be sent at once to the Senate. Welles asked if the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney-General had been consulted, for some of the officers under consideration belonged to their departments. They had not been, but Seward said that he knew what was best for the party in the state, and that, as he and the Senators were of one mind, there need be no more discussion. Welles argued for the rights of the Secretaries ; Lincoln finally decided that they ought at least to be consulted ; and the nominations were deferred.' Still, where there was harmon}- in the delegations, and when they met and arranged a slate, it was apt to be accepted.' In regard to the post-office at Providence, Lincoln wrote to Governor Sprague that the two Senators, the two old Representatives, and one of the new ones were combined in favor of one candidate, and added ; " In these cases the executive is obliged to be greatly dependent upon the members of Congress, and while under peculiar circumstances a single member or two may be overruled, I believe as strong a combination as the present never has been.'"^ A friend from Boston wrote to Chase, April 11, 1861: "You inquire, ' How overrule the Delegation ? ' I cannot and will not ask \-ou to 'Tarbell, Lincoln, II. 340-341. LeUer of March 30, 1S61. ' Hollister, Schuyler Co/fox, 173. ^ Welles, Lincoln and Sewanl, 71. 'Lincoln, ll'oris, II. 200, 272. '//'ill., 45. Lincoln and the Patyonaoe 59 overrule it. But in strict response to ' Ho\v ? ' I will say this. The Delegation have had tlicir choice in Mr. Goodrich, an old Whig — never a Free-soiler. The President has had his choice in Mr. Tuck for naval officer, an old Whig, finally voting for Winthrop in the celebrated contest for the speakership. Though it is your depart- ment, you have not had yoiir choice." ' Sumner in a letter to R. H. Dana, April 14, 1861, described his interview with Lincoln, when presenting the list agreed to by the Massachusetts Congress- men," and the Tribune of April 13th announced that the whole of it had been accepted, though the opposition had been strong. The President seems to have made it a uniform practice to consult with the Senators before making nominations from or for their states,' whether he could follow their advice or not. A correspondent advised Chase to send in certain nominations at once, as the next Senator from California might cause him trouble if he delayed.' While the more important state posts were thus largely controlled by the delegations, and especially the Senators, the minor offices scat- tered over the country were generally left almost entirely to the Representatives from the district, if they were reliable. Riddle, from the Western Reserve, had all the post-offices for the asking, except that of Cleveland," in regard to which Senator Wade was consulted, who, however, refused to interfere in the matter." Although Lincoln thus made Congressional representations the basis of his system of appointments, he did not submit to dictation. There are a few evidences that Congress was not altogether satisfied, or was becoming jealous of the waxing power of the President. These are particularly interesting as indicating that the struggle between the two branches of the government might have come about, even if Johnson had not succeeded Lincoln. The first act creating the system of national banks gave the nomination of the Comptroller of the Currency to the Secretary of the Treasury, and fixed his term at five years, during which he was to be removed only by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." Such a change of constitu- tional principles was too great to be made until the question had been fully threshed out, and the act of 1864 modified the lat- ter clause, so that merely a statement to the Senate of tiie cause of removal was required." The growing distrust of the executive is ' Chase MSS. 2 Adams, Dana, II. 257. 'Lincoln, SForks, II. 210, 213, 513, 57S. •• to Chase, March 9, 1863. Chase MS.S. ^ Riddle, Recollections of War Times^ 24. ''Tarbell, Lincoln, II. 340. " Cong. Gloiie, 3d Session, 37th Cong., App. , p. 1 89. *Cong. Globe, 1st Session, 38th Cong., App., p. 169. 6o C. R. Fish also shown b)' a provision attached to the military appropriation bill of 1863, forbidding the payment of any salary "to any person appointed during the recess of the senate, to fill a vacancy in any existing office which vacancy existed while the senate was in ses- sion and is by law required to be filled by and with the advice and consent of the senate, until such appointees shall have been con- firmed by the senate." ' Not less sensitive than the members of Congress were the heads of departments, and several of them had, besides their official posi- tions, strong political backing ; such men were Seward, Chase and Cameron. To the same class belong certain powerful individuals, who, though in private life, exercised great influence at Washing- ton : of these the most conspicuous were Horace Greeley and Thur- low Weed. The latter was the Mr. Hyde to Seward's Dr. Jekyl. Their close connection is illustrated by the following story related by Gideon Welles. Weed secured from Seward an order appoint- ing one of his henchmen as consul at Falmouth, England. Wil- liam Hunter, the veteran chief clerk of the State Department, pro- tested to Weed, as the appointment involved the removal of an able official, whose father had received the post from Washington as a reward for some public service. Without further consultation Weed kindly destroyed the note Seward had given him, and thus reinstated the old consul." Lincoln has best set out the political difficulties in New York state in a letter to Chase : " Ought Mr. Young to be removed ? Ought Mr. Adams to be appointed ? . . . Mr. Adams is magnificentl}- recommended, but the great point in his favor is that Thurlow Weed and Horace Greeley join in recom- mending him. I suppose the like never happened before, and never will occur again ; so, now or never, what do you say ? " ' The President treated Weed with consideration, but did not lack in firm- ness.^ Seward could not, of course, expect to control all the appoint- ments in his department, for foreign posts ha\'e always had an especial attraction for the office seeker. Quite a number of letters were sent to Chase asking him to secure for the applicants places under the State Department, and he obtained, besides several minor posi- tions, the consul-generalship at Rio Janeiro for an Ohioan. This office seems, in fact, to have been considered the peculiar property of Chase, for when it fell vacant he was allowed freely to name the new occupant. Still, Seward's influence was probably felt in most ' Cong. Globe, 1st Session, 37th Cong., .-^pp.. p. 1S3. ^ Welles, Lincoln an J Sc-oard, 74. 'Lincoln, Works, II 44. ' //'/(/., 425. Lincoln and tlic Patronage 6 i of the more important selections ;' he was responsible for the appointment of Charles Francis Adams, against the wishes of Lin- coln,' and many other estimable appointments should be credited to him, as of John Lothrop Motley, of Mr. March to Italy, and of John Bigelow as consul-general at Paris. No one man caused the President more trouble in the distribu- tion of the patronage than Chase, who had probably higher ideals on the subject than any one else in the Cabinet,'' and was always spurred on to fight for his rights by that suspicion of all who op- posed him, which is so common in people of high ideals. He strongl}' atlvocated the right of the head of a department to choose the subordinates for whom he was responsible ; ^ but he did not at- tempt to control the appointments of the great collectors under him.'' He was favored, however, by the President's appointing, without any pressure from him, his friend Barney to the most im- portant post of all, the collectorship of New York ;'' while the im- mense expansion of business, and the great number of special offi- cers needed, gave him abundant opportunity to try his hand at managing the patronage. In 1864 Chase declared that he would despise himself if he were capable of appointing or removing a man for the sake of the presidency." At this high standard he seems to have aimed con- scientiously during his administration of the Treasur)' Department ; but it did not always insure a wise choice of subordinates or keep him entirely out of the mud of partizan politics. Men are known b\- their friends. Chase disliked opposition, and on the whole did not make friends of the chief men in public life."* The impression that one gets from the letters written to him during his term of office is that, besides many high-principled men, he had about him a large number who played upon his high motives, and that he was less keen than the average man in public life in reading character. There is more flattery than is ordinary in such letters, much parade of high motive, that does not ring quite true ; and, while capacity is put forward as a reason for appointment, the chief emphasis is laid upon personal friendship or need. A typical extract is the fol- lowing : " ' Let justice be done if the hea\'ens fall.' Mr. P^Iliot is ' 10 Chase, June 12, Aug. 29, Sept. 17, 1S62; Jan. 5, 1863. Chase MSS. 2 Adams, Charlc-s Francis Adams, 145-146. 'Hart, Chase, 311. '^ Ibid., 305. Bancroft, Sc-imrd, II. 356. Chase to .Seward, Mar. 27, 1S61. The appointment of his brother was involved in this case. 5 to Chase, April II, iS6i. Chase MSS. Ex. Jour., Vol. XI., 292. ' Hart, C/tase, 217. " /t>iJ., 311. * Jbid., 422. 62 C. R. Fish capable and honest, and for Goc/'s sake don't desert him now for the clamor of those not his equals in either respect ; a better man or one more sincerely your friend is not a candidate for the of- fice." ' Another; " I can assure you that I should look upon his appointment as a deadly bloiv at your influence in this eity, and I be- lieve Dr. Nixon is the only reliable friend of yours who is a candi- date."- Another: "God knows no one needs the appointment more than I do." ' One interesting recommendation is that he find a consulship for an Ohio editor, in order that an abler man might be found to fill the place.* As a result, partly of his lack of judgment in selection and partly of the sudden expansion ( f the business of his department, many of his appointees got into trouble. In these cases Chase seems almost alwa)-s to have been deeply moved b)' loyalt}- to friendship, and to have hesitated too long in seeing reason for removal. Perhaps, also, his legal training made him unable to appreciate that when a public servant is suspected, much less than legal proof may justify, nay em|3hatically call for, his dismissal. This led to continual fric- tion with Lincoln, and much heart-burning. The most important case is that of Victor Smith, Collector at Puget Sound. He fell under suspicion of dishonesty,^ probably unjust, but he was certainly guilty of sharp practice and had utterly lost the confidence of the community.'' Lincoln, therefore, after a struggle with Chase, de- cided on his remova.l.' The latter in a letter to Smith expressed his unshaken confidence in him,"" and assured him that he would give him another appointment if he could.'' This personal loyalty made every failure to secure his point seem a personal rebuff, and the situation became particularly strained toward the end of the administration, when Chase was leader of the radicals, and Lincoln had to conciliate all factions. In New York, Barney tried to oppose Seward and Weed,"' but was not strong enough to maintain himself in the troubled sea of New York poli- tics, and Lincoln finally decided to remove him." Chase probably agreed with a correspondent in St. Louis, that there was " war fi'om ' lo Chase, May 19, 1861. Ch.ise MSS. to Chase, March 9, 1861. Chase MSS. ^ to Chase, Sept. 3, 1861. Chase MSS. * to Chase. Sept. i, 1S63. Chase MSS. ^ to Chase. May 30, 1S62. Chase MSS. ' Hart, C/uisi', 305-306. " Tarliell, l.iiuoln, II. 364. Lincoln. M'i-rks, II. 335. ■"^ Smith to Chase, June 3, 1863. -'Warden, Aaouitt of I he Pih'ate Life niul I'liHic Se>~'iccs of Salmon Poi/'iuh/ Chase, 529. '" to Chase, Feb. 26, 1864 ; to Chase, June 3, 1864. Chase MSS. ■' Lincoln, IVorks, II. 313. Lincohi and the Patronage 63 the White House" upon his friends,' and matters did not beeome more pleasant after his withdrawal from the contest for the presi- dential nomination." Finally a difficulty about an office in New York, which he fought through and finally compromised with a New York Senator, led him to send in his resignation, perhaps with the idea of forcing a definite arrangement with regard to the patronage. The resignation was unexpectedly accepted. Perhaps Lincoln did not feel like entering upon another term with the cer- tain prospect of friction in the Cabinet. July i, 1864, Chase ceased to be Secretary of the Treasury. The other members of the Cabinet occasioned much less diffi- culty. Stanton quietly attended to his business, though he was occasionally irritable.^ Cameron's remark, that if Pennsylvania had stood by him at Chicago, he would have been President, " and then we all could have gotten everything that we wanted," ' shows him a spoilsman and unashamed, but as such, he, perhaps, understood the position of the President better than Chase ; while his incom- petency soon caused him to be delicately transferred to a post in Russia.' The Blairs had learned politics in the school of Jackson and, like Cameron, knew the traditions, and were besides in confi- dential relations with Lincoln,'^ until the dismissal of Montgomery in 1864. The following message to the Secretary of the Interior shows that the President was disposed to consult the less powerful Secretaries : " Please ask the Commissioner of Indian affairs and of the General Land Office to come with you, and see me at once. I want the assistance of all of you in overhauling the list of appoint- ments a little before I send them to the senate." " While he could rather peremptorily command the most powerful when necessary,''^ in ordinary circumstances he did not force his opinion on even the minor subordinates who dispensed the patronage. He wrote to Chase: "I have been greatly — I may say, grievously — disap- pointed and disobliged b>' Mr. Cochran's refusal to make Mr. Evans deputy naval officer, as I requested him to do. ... A point must be strained to give Mr. Lvans a situation." " Another set of men who claimed to be heard were the governors. I to Chase, Oct. 30, 1S63. Cha.se MSS. ^Hait, Chase, 310-314. ^ Corham, Life and Public So-Aces of Etkvard M. Slautiin, 246-24S. Hait, Chase 307. •" McClure, Lincoln and the Men of IVar-Times, 132. ^Tarbell, Lincoln, II. 76-78. Weed, Aiilohiogvaphy of Thiirl,r,ii llWd, 330. 'Lincoln, Worlis, II. 374, 375, 433, 434, 438, 579. ' Tarbell, Lincoln, II. 343. 8 Lincohi, Works, II. 335. * Lincoln, IVorts, II. 42. 64 C. R. Fish Go\'ernor Morton wrote ; " I learn incidcntall)' that the Indiana delegation has nominated men to be appointed brigadier-generals. I do not know who they are, and have not been consulted. I have had much more to do with the officers than any member of Congress, and ha\'e had much moie responsibilit}- in connection with the organization than any of them, and I believe I should at least have the chance of being heard before an\' action is taken." The President answered that the rumor was untrue, and asked him to telegraph recommendations.' No dictation, however, was allowed ; when Governor Morton at another time complained of two rumored nominations, Lincoln replied that they had not been made, but added : " The latter particularl)- has been m\- friend, and I am sorry to learn that he is not yours."- To Governor Pierpont, of West Virginia, who was irritated by an appointment, the Presi- dent wrote that he had thought the name of the api_iointee was approved by the governor, but knew that it was not the one the governor preferred." A despatch to Governor Tod, of Ohio, was as follows : " I think your advice with that of others would be valuable in the selection of provost marshals for Ohio." ' Militar}- appointments, in the beginning of the war, were made in the same way as those in the civil service ; later the majority of promotions settled themselves. Where the administration was forced to deal with the matter the advice of the higher officers seems to have been considered, though not decisive or having a weight of authority like that of a Senator :' merely an additional factor in these special cases, valuable according to the personal influence of the individual. While allowing th.it others had a right to be heard, Lincoln never forgot that he, as responsible head of the government, owed it to himself and to the countr\-, to be master. His Cabinet was his own, and he'' maintained it, even when requested by the Repub- lican Senate Caucus to make changes." The freedom of choice, which he allowed the various officials, was a freedom to act within the limiting conditions of his policy. It is, therefore, important to discover, as far as possible, what that policy v/as. In some few cases he sought the man whose abilities best fitted him for the post,** but these were distinctl}- exceptions. In general 1 l-Vmlke, ///'<• of O/itvr P. JA>rf.>/r, 154. -'Tarbell, Liiuoln, II. J47. ■i Ibid., II. 352. Rhodes. IV. 206. ^ See for example I. anion, A\\-oiii-i't!on^, 211. Lincoln and the Patronage 65 he followed the accepted doctrine that many could perform the duties required, and that other qualities and circumstances should be taken into consideration in making the selection. As there was nothing novel in this practice, so the additional considerations were, most of them, time-honored. But in the abundance of traditions there were some that he neglected, and in this, and in the weight assigned to each, he showed his individuality. From the days of the Continental Congress, geographical con- siderations have always had their influence. Had George Wash- ington lived in Delaware, he would not have been chosen com- mander-in-chief in 1775. Such influences are a natural result of our territorial extent, our federal and representative government. Lincoln was himself largely indebted to them for his own nomina- tion. His appreciation of them is sufficiently obvious from a study of his Cabinet. " Pennsylvania, any more than New York or Ohio, cannot be overlooked," he told Weed.' The geographical arrange- ment, once fixed, was continued through all Cabinet changes. Stanton, of Pennsylvania, succeeded Cameron, of the same state. Caleb Smith was followed by Usher, also of Indiana ; Bates, of Missouri, by Speed, of Kentucky ; and when Chase's place could not be filled from Ohio, an Ohio Postmaster-General was soon after- wards appointed. When McCulloch was needed in the Treasury, Usher resigned, that Indiana might not have two members. It was with reluctance, however, that, as President-elect, Lincoln yielded to advice, and requested John A. Gilmer, who was not a Repub- lican, to take a place in his Cabinet, in order that the South might be represented.^ Party consolidation seemed to outweigh geogra- phy in this instance. When he could do so without risk, however, he was glad to favor the South. The double representation of Missouri was largely due to the fact that it was the only slave state to give a respectable Republican vote. Early in 1861 he wrote to John A. Gilmer : "As to the use of patronage in the slave states, where there are few or no Republicans, I do not expect to inquire for the politics of the appointee, or whether he does or does not own slaves. I intend in that matter to accommodate the people in the several localities, if they themselves will allow me to accommodate them. In one word, I never have been, am not now, and probably never shall be in a mood of harassing the people either north or south." ^ When President, he gave one applicant a note for the Postmaster-General, concluding : " I think Virginia should be heard in such cases." * ' Tarbell, Lincoln, I. 400. ^ IbiJ., 394. ^ 2 Ihid. , I. 402. * Ibid., 340. .\M. HIST. REV., VOL. VUI. — 5. 66 C. R. Fish Another object of importance was to adjust properly the claims of the various factions that made up the party. In part this was easily accomplished. When parties are young each state is apt to have its favorite son, and geographical considerations brought the local leaders into the Cabinet. But there were still difficulties. December 24, i860, Lincoln wrote to Hamlin : " I need a man of democratic antecedents from New England. I cannot get a fair share of that element in without." ' When the Cabinet was com- plete, Seward, Bates and Smith, with Lincoln, offset Welles, Cam- eron, Chase and Blair.- This balance was not preserved throughout the term. Stanton did succeed Cameron, and Governor Tod of (_)hio was asked to take Chase's position ; ' but the Whig element ultimately became the stronger ; without counting Lusher, whose earlier political relations I have been unable to learn, five members of the Cabinet at the time of Lincoln's death were of Whig antece- dents. By that time, however, these old time party distinctions had become less important. The main object of these two rules was to avoid giving offense, but not all of Lincoln's principles were negative. He was all the time using the patronage to strengthen the party and aid in canying out the policy of the administration. Sometimes lie put a prominent man in a good humor by volunteering to let him name a boy for West Point, ^ or by the unexpected offer of a foreign mission.^ He liked the idea of appointing a man named Schimmelpfening, as it would be something " unquestionably in the interest of the Dutch." *' He made, moreover, far more definite use of his power. Charles A. Dana" describes the anxiety of Lincoln lest the bill for the ad- mission of Nevada should not pass, and a vote on the Thirteenth Amendment be lost. The prospect was that the House would oppose the bill, but by a small majority. Lincoln sent Dana to two of the New York delegation and one member from New Jersey with carte blanche to offer them anything in the line of patronage in return for their votes. Two were secured by internal collector- ships. One held out, and was promised a S30,ooo office in the New York customs-house ; he did not secure it, however, as the bargain had not been executed before the death of Lincoln, and Johnson refused to recognize it. The accoimt of this transaction was written long afterwards, but it is circumstantial and probably > Hamlin, Li/c ami Times of Haui*ibal Hamlin, 374. 2 Welles, Lincoln ami Sewnrii, 34. 2 Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln. IX. 332-343.